Daddy's "Golden" birthday

Today is my daddy's "golden" birthday. Uncle Nick calls it this because daddy's turning 28 on October 28th. Here are just a few reasons why I love my daddy:

1. He changes my poopy diapers when mommy can't because sometimes they make her gag.
2. He lets me ride in the Snugli (infant carrier) to help him vacuum the house.
3. He still likes to wrestle with me even though I beat him every time.
4. He sings "You Are My Sunshine" in a French accent while he's feeding me (I think he does it to get me to open my mouth for the next bite!)
5. He lets me sit on his lap and watch sports like a big boy (we like Penn State, the Eagles, and the Phillies).
6. He makes a great coach! He cheers me on when I roll, finish a bottle, and when I stand (just to name a few.)
7. He lets me sit on the kitchen counter and spin the spice rack (hey, it's the little things in life!)
8. He plays catch/roll the ball with me (even though I like to keep the ball for myself to chew on)
9. He makes cool animal noises that make me laugh (daddy really likes to say "Baaaahhh!" like the sheep on Baby Einstein...it makes me laugh every time!)
10. He likes to give me big hugs and kisses.

I love my daddy. He takes really good care of mommy and me. Daddy always makes time when he comes home from work to get down on the floor and play with me. That's a lot of fun! It makes mommy happy to see how much daddy loves me and how great he is with me. Daddy tells mommy all the time about how much fun it will be to play in the yard with me, teach me to play catch, ride a bike and all sorts of other fun stuff! That'll be cool!
But for now, we're just happy being a little family.
Happy birthday, daddy! We love you!
Love,
Braeden

Tooth-OW-sand Eight!

What a year it's been so far! This whole "parenting thing" has really been fun. And though we've had our share of milestones (first dirty diaper changed, first time bathing an infant, first spit-up ALL over a nice outfit...I could go on), Braeden continues to have his milestones much quicker. Which brings us to the topic of the day: teeth!

A week ago today we reached into our little one's mouth and discovered--OUCH--he had a fang! HOW EXCITING!! But it gets better...last Saturday while I was watching the end of the much-anticipated Michigan thrashing, I noticed not one fang but TWO! Our little boy had his first two teeth! Both on the bottom.

Now this hasn't actually revolutionized life for him. No T-bone steaks yet or anything. BUT, as a parent, it's pretty cool! And we know it won't be long till he's chewing on all kinds of things (hopefully most of them being food). So there you go! Another milestone in a year FULL of milestones.

Oh and one last thing...as a good friend of mine continues to point out, Penn State has yet to lose since Braeden was born. How's that for good luck!

My buddy and me

I just realized that we have not made an official post about Braeden's buddy, Hudson! Hudson is the son of Nick and Marcie Nitsch. We first met Nick and Marcie when they were kind enough to let us stay with them for the first month (or so :) hehe) after we moved here. It's been great during these last 2 1/2 years getting to know them, being in small group together, sharing in the journey of pregnancy, and now raising our 2 precious baby boys! Braeden and Hudson get to "hang out" several times a week when Marcie and I head to the park to walk/jog. Their family (Darwin, Melanie, and Meagan) has also been very kind to us inviting us over for our Lost small group (*wink*), holidays, and just to share in some good food and fun! We are very thankful for their friendship and are definitely having a blast watching our 2 boys grow up together!
Here are a few pictures of the little buddies!

This first picture was taken a month or so ago by our good friend, Erica, and I just had to include it in the post. Beautiful picture, Erica!

The stare-down begins...hmmm...who's winning?

On a Roll

Okay, so here's the weird thing about babies. Some things come gradually...like, I don't know, holding your head up. Day by day you watch them get a little stronger, little stronger, little stronger until finally you can pull your supporting hand from behind their head and they're fine. They don't flop around like jellyfish any more, and you're thinking, "Cool! Now my hand can get some rest."

And then there are other things that for reasons only God himself knows just-SNAP-happen all in a day. One example was the day Braeden decided, "Hmm...daytime naps are cool. I think I'll sleep EVERY time mommy lays me down for a nap during the day. Go!"

I remember it well. It was a Tuesday. After a few days of saying, "It's been 3 days in a row! It's been 4 days in a row!" we decided this was going to be the trend. And ever since he rarely wakes up during daytime naps (in his crib) and if he does, he almost always goes back to sleep in a few minutes. That was NOT the case before that Tuesday!

So here's our-SNAP-change for this weekend. Rolling! Okay, now I first saw Braeden roll WAY back in June (though I'm still not sure Heidi believes me because she wasn't there to witness it). But I promise you, he rolled from his tummy to his back at about 6:30 in the morning. Well, ever since he has been what I like to call a sporadic roller. Maybe 3 times today. Maybe twice tomorrow. Maybe you won't see it again for a week! You never know.

Okay, so Thursday, he figures out rolling. SNAP! Heidi tells me, "Oh yeah, he rolled 7 times in a row today!" WHAT!!! So I try this out for myself (because parents tend to either not believe each other or just REALLY wanna see it for themselves).

Friday I turn him onto his stomach as usual and BAM! like clockwork he rolls. So I turn him on his stomach again. Roll. I do it again. Roll! Again! Roll! Roll! Roll! Roll! I think I stopped when he was seasick from rolling and I started losing count at about 8+ rolls. And he's been doing it ever since. When you turn him onto his stomach now (which he never really liked anyway) he now knows he can get out of it. And what's more--he ALWAYS rolls to his right. He picks his left arm up, leaves it hang for awhile, then slowly starts to pull it back behind him and begins the rolling process. Sometimes he stops halfway through, laying on his side awkwardly...and then finishes. What a goofball!

Well, I just wanted to share once again my amazement at God's oddest creation--the baby. Well done, Lord. Well done.

Tub time

A few days ago while I was at work tutoring, Matt & Braeden had some quality father-son time and some precious pictures emerged from their time together. Hope you enjoy!

Ryan & Ashley's wedding

Hey, hey! :) So, I promised I would write more about the wedding weekend and I'm finally getting to do it! We had an awesome time last weekend in Virginia. It always goes by way too quickly but we're thankful to have the chance to be with family no matter what. We decided to drive through the night and left around 8:45 on Wednesday night and arrived in Winchester a little after 8 in the morning. Needless to say, we were pretty tired and there were several times during the night when I wanted to personally rip down the Hampton Inn billboards which were taunting me with pictures of people resting cozily in their soft beds (haha!) Anyways, Ryan and dad were there to greet us and help take care of Braeden while Matt and I took a brief nap. I left around noon for the bachelorette festivities while Matt and Braeden spent some father-son time together. The women from the bridal party took Ashley to Georgetown (D.C. area) for a day of girly fun. While there we shopped, took a water tour of the monuments, visited Alexandria, had some delicious Thai food, and got to know each other. Meanwhile, Matty went out with some of the guys to see a National's game which unfortunately was rained out. However, they made a trip to ESPN Zone which seemed to make up for the disappointment of missing the game. :)

On Friday we had breakfast with Jennifer Miller and her handsome little boy, Josiah. Jennifer is a great friend from my home church and Lee. Later on, we met up with Matt's mom, dad, and sister for lunch at Red Lobster and then walked through the shops in downtown Winchester. It was great to have that time to chat and enjoy one another's company.
That night we went to the church for the rehearsal and wrapped up the evening with the rehearsal dinner at Donatos Italian Restaurant. (Matt and I were so impressed with the gifts for the bridal party! Ryan gave the guys pocket watches with their names on them and Ashley gave the girls awesome shoes to wear for the wedding!)
Saturday was the big day! It was obvious that Ryan and Ashley put a lot of time and effort into planning it because things went so smoothly and it was a great day all around. The ceremony was very heartfelt as they exchanged vows that they had written themselves. I did my best to hold it together for the most part but did get a little weepy several times during the ceremony. The reception was a lot of fun and we had a great time dancing the night away! While we were going through the wedding day, Braeden spent the day with Matt's parents. We really appreciated their help so that we could devote ourselves to Ryan and Ashley on their special day. We're also glad that Braeden had a day with his grandparents to be spoiled and loved on! :)
Sunday morning we went to breakfast at Perkins with Matt's parents before we started on our long drive back to TN. It was a weekend that flew by but was packed full of great memories and precious time with family and friends. We're excited for Ryan and Ashley as they begin life together as a married couple (and so jealous that they spent the last week in the most magical place on earth without us- Disney World!) We'll make a big trip there together one day!

Braeden's Half-Birthday

As hard as it is for us to believe, Braeden is now 6 months old as of yesterday at 2:08p.m.! I told so many people this past weekend that it doesn't seem real that he has been around for half a year. I mean, we're half-way to his 1st birthday! We've taken time to look back at pictures and video to remember those early days with Braeden and we can't get over all of the changes we see.

He had his 6-month check-up on Monday and we're happy to report that he is 16lbs., 5 oz. and 25 1/2 inches long. He also had 4 shots and 1 oral vaccine, all of which made him thoroughly unhappy.
He is still doing really well with learning how to sit on his own and steady himself (although he occasionally does a face-plant or topples to one side or the other.) We've also noticed that he is gaining a lot of strength in his legs when we stand him up. Still no teeth yet but he continues to chew on pretty much anything he can get into his mouth. He continues to lean forward when we go to pick him up after changing him, while sitting in his car seat, at meal time in his highchair, and any other time we go to pick him up.
We've also been blessed to have a good sleeper. He usually goes to bed around 8:30p.m. and we wake him around 8a.m. This has given Matt and I time in the evenings just to relax and spend time together.

On this special half-birthday, we also decided to introduce Braeden to the wonderful world of vegetables.
We had been advised by some to try yellow veggies first because they're sweeter...well, the opposing view suggested to get the green veggies out of the way first because they're harder to do after yellow veggies. Needless to say, we had to make a decision for ourselves. So, we went with green. Now, neither Matt nor I are huge fans of peas but for some reason, we got it into our heads that we would feed them to our son who up until now has only had breastmilk, formula, and rice cereal. Some might consider this some sort of punishment but it honestly seemed like a good idea at the time! :) The experience actually started out well and for the most part, he ate them like a champ! We'll give it a couple more days and then switch to something a little less offensive.
I was able to get video and pictures of this momentous occasion and I have to be honest, some of them are pretty priceless! :)

After being such a good sport with the peas, we went back to his old favorite: Rice Cereal! :) As you can see, he was very appreciative!