Softball

Pretty soon after we moved back home, Matt got involved with our church softball team. Braeden and I have gone to almost all of the games Matt has played in and we have fun playing and hanging out with friends and their little ones. Here are some pics from the last few games.

These pics are of Braeden and his buddy, Kalen. Kal is the son of our good friends, Matt & Laura.



In these pics he was pretty subdued after a calming wagon ride.

Cut that hair!

On Monday night, we took Braeden to Wendy (the lady who cuts mine and Matt's hair) to give him his "first" hair cut. Actually, we cut Braeden's hair for the first time when he was just a couple months old and have continued to trim his hair from time to time. This time, since we recently discovered that Braeden is a sweating fiend and summer is almost upon us, we might as well go drastic and make life easier for all of us. :) For the most part, he did pretty well. At first, he was very interested in the clippers and even got to help Wendy hold them and move them along his head. Then he got bored with sitting altogether and fought to get free. Wendy was able to finish it pretty quickly and after she made sure there were no long strands that she had missed, it was reward time for Braeden Bean. Matt took him upstairs for his favorite pasttime...a bath! :) You see, we had stripped him down to his diaper and after the massive amounts of hair came falling from his head, he was quite a hairy little beast. So, since Braeden loves taking a bath, we thought this was the best way to get him clean and reward him for being such a good sport! And so, without further ado...presenting our little toddler (no longer baby.)

Before...


During...

After...

And some more after...

We can't get over how much older he looks and how light his hair color is, too! With or without much hair, he is still the cutest little guy! :)

Step by step

The long wait is finally over! I have finally downloaded the videos of Braeden walking and have them here to share with you! The first is a little dark but the second has plenty of natural light so it should be easier to see. Hope you enjoy!

(Side note: these are shorts that he's wearing, not pants or capri pants...shorts...what can I say? He's petite like his momma!)

Here are some pics from our weekend of summer-like weather. Now that Braeden can walk, playing outside is a new and exciting adventure!

It's been a long time....

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately. I thought it was about time for an update on how things are going so here ya go!

Our little family has been keeping very busy! Matt was working with a company that scores standardized tests and during that time, he was blessed with an interview with Capital Blue Cross through JFC (a temp agency). He was very surprised to receive a phone call just hours later from the JFC lady offering him the job. He began his job as a full-time Word Design Specialist with CBC on Monday of this week and is really enjoying it thus far! This is actually a temp-to-hire position and hopefully at the end of 3 months, he will be asked to come on full-time as a CBC employee.

As for me, I have kept very busy with substituting. I tell people that 1) it feels like deja vu and 2) I feel like a broken record. Reason #1 because I did almost the same thing 3 years ago when we were living in PA (besides the fact that unlike 3 years ago, we have a son and own a home in another state) and reason #2 because I am constantly telling my story about my time with Central Dauphin 3 years ago and teaching 5th grade in TN for 2 years! I have been very blessed to have only 1 day thus far where I only worked a half day. The rest have been full days at schools which I'm drawn to and in which I would love to serve full-time in my own classroom. I am definitely counting my blessings and praying that the hard work I'm putting in now will pay off in the next couple of months.

Braeden has adjusted so well to his time at "school." He and another little boy in the class tag-team all the time and get into mischief. :) He has also only had 2 episodes total since we've been home. He is walking CONSTANTLY, drinking solely from a cup, and eating table foods consistently (of course, he's a pretty picky eater so the menu is pretty small.) We have also recently discovered that he LOVES "Little-Make-Much" (a yummy Pennsylvania Dutch dish), stuffed shells, and tilapia (random, I know!) More of his favorite foods include bananas, mandarin oranges, CHEESE, toast, and Rita's Italian Ice (when grandma or grandpa sneak a couple of bites to him! Hehe!) We also were pleasantly surprised when we took his pediatrician's advice and dropped the bottle cold turkey and found that he didn't freak out on us about it. And after spending way too much money on way too many cups that we honestly didn't need, I found that the cheap Target 5-pack of cups with straws were his favorite! Yep, no bells and whistles...no spill-proof, fancy cartoon images...just good, old-fashioned (BPA-free) cups with straws! We also have found that the best way to get him to take milk is to mix in a little bit of Beech Nut Yogurt Blends (gosh, I feel like an advertisement!)

Anyways, enough of "Heidi's advice column"...we're still waiting for any bites on the house. Showings have been good (that is, those that we've been told about!) and we're supposed to have an open house this Sunday. Just be praying that God blesses us with a buyer soon so that we can really feel like things are moving forward (and so we can keep some of our paychecks! Haha!)
Church life is great! We're very excited about the building campaign that they've just launched for the Family Life Center, etc. We've been going to the 9:30 (modern) service and getting to spend that time with Grandma Bruner (Matt's maternal grandma) and our good friends from here so that's been really nice! Matt has also gotten involved in the church softball team and Braeden and I have made a couple of appearances at games/practices. We're also thinking about taking part in church volleyball!

This weekend we're making another trip to Virginia to see my family and also to finally share the Apple Blossom Festival with him! :) I can't wait for him to see what all of the hype is about this time of the year in good old Funchester!

It's been wonderful to finally be able to give Braeden this time with family. Matt and I have talked about how much it means to us to see that he recognizes and truly knows his grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, etc. These and other "little" things along the way have really confirmed in our hearts that this was the right time to make such a major change in our lives. Don't get me wrong, we still think of our close friends and the people at GCPC all the time and really miss them very much. But we have no doubts that we made the right choice...this is where we are supposed to be. Our hearts have been here all along and not to be cheesy but you know what they say, "Home is where the heart is."

A case of the giggles

I had to post this video before going to bed. Ironically enough, I was taking a look at Hudson's blog (Nick & Marcie-our friends and the proud parents of little Hudson) and thought it was so cute that they captured some adorable pics of Marcie making Hudson laugh. Then, as we were hanging out at home tonight, Matt randomly started making a loud noise and clapping which Braeden thought was just hysterical! Braeden then started mimicking Matt which was even more exciting! Life with a 1-year old is awesome and always full of surprises. I once again feel so blessed to be Braeden's mommy!

First Easter

This past week was Braeden's first Easter experience (being that last Easter he was partying in the womb) and it was quite a busy week! He began his first week at daycare (I prefer to call it "school"...I know, I'm such a teacher) and had all of the Easter festivities to take part in as well. What a busy little 1-year old! He did magnificently during his first couple of days at school and being that it was "Holy week", he wasn't there the complete 5 days. He is the youngest in his 1-year olds class and seems to really like his teacher and new friends! His teacher even puts together lesson plans (a woman after my own heart) and they have art projects, Bible lessons, story time, indoor and outdoor play time, etc. Lots of entertainment for little ones who are discovering the world around them in a new and fascinating way! On Thursday since school was out, I got the chance to go in and take part in the Easter Egg Hunt and party! He did pretty well and was able to find several eggs on his own. The rest we had to grab and put directly in front of him so he would be interested in them. Braeden also enlightened us to the fact that finding the eggs is not nearly as fun as picking them up, throwing them, and watching them roll! Here are pictures and a video of his egg hunt adventures.

Yes, I was one of those parents who forgot an Easter basket/bag for her child! :(


Easter Sunday was awesome! This was the first Easter in many years that Matt and I have been able to share with family. To add icing on the cake, it was also Braeden's first Easter so it was quite special all around. Church came first and then we shared in some tasty food that afternoon!



This is one of my new favorite videos! Matt's family from around the area came over including cousin Josh who is about 5 years older than Braeden. Well, the 2 boys seem to really enjoy one another's company and Braeden especially finds Josh intriguing. I am so glad we caught this on video! Take a look! *Disclaimer: you may hear Josh mention something about a "tush" and "tooting" (although other words will be used.) :) hehe*

Just for fun, here are some more pictures from the last few weeks here in PA! Have a great week!





Swinging at the park


Braeden and daddy at the church Easter festival/egg hunt


Playing on grandma and grandpa's deck

Birthday party

Last Saturday we had a big first birthday bash for Braeden. Ironically enough we happened to choose March 28th for the day of the party which was Braeden's original due date! :) We decided to go with a sports theme and when we were finished decorating the house was covered in blue balloons and other festive decorations!
It started out with mixing and mingling. Braeden decided to show off his walking skills and pushed his truck all over the living room. He was also very entertained by his cousin Josh who is in Kindergarten (hard to believe!) Our good friend, Nick, began the festivities by praying over the meal (over the phone) and then we all sat down to eat. Before long we had to move on to singing "Happy Birthday" and giving Braeden his first piece of cake because we could see that he was fading fast. After food and dessert, Matt and I opened Braeden's presents and by the time we were done, Braeden was up and ready to play! Braeden, Josh, and Kalen had a great time breaking the toys in and before long, the party drew to a close.
It was wonderful to be able to share this event with our family and friends. We're so glad that we have so many great pictures and video to share with Braeden when he's a little older.
(A huge thank you to Matt's parents for all of their help with the food, planning, and for letting us use their home. Also, thanks mom and grandma for the veggies and fruit and Jenna for the yummy brie! Everything was delicious!)

Saying good morning to Uncle Mike

Jenna, on balloon duty :)


"I think I can touch this balloon and still play with my music table!"


"Hi there, PopPop!"


Showing Granddaddy his truck pushing skills


One of the 2 yummy cakes from Costco


The feast!


Cute birthday boy in his big boy hat from Grandma and Grandpa E.


First bite of cake (he's fading fast)


By the end, he was having fun just playing with it. (He looks so much older to me in this pic.)


Kal and Braeden


Testing out the toys


Playing with the cool toy from "Uncle" Nick, "Aunt" Marcie, & Hudson- We miss you all!