Happy 10 months!

Yesterday, our little Braeden turned 10 months old. Wow! Time has seriously flown by! I know people say it all the time and now I guess I'm joining the club...but really, it's so true! It seems like just yesterday we were focused on carefully diapering him and cleaning his umbilical "stump", teaching him how to nurse and then re-teaching him how to drink from a bottle. Now, he's a pro at eating, has the cutest little belly button, and every day is showing us more of his unique personality. There was a time early on during the first few weeks when I was anxiously awaiting each milestone and in a way wishing they would come faster. Now, I find myself wanting to hold on to each moment and freeze it in time because I know that he won't be this young and dependent on us forever. And believe me, I'm okay with that. I want him to grow up and be an independent person who can hold his own and make wise decisions without holding on to mommy's pant leg (that's a funny mental picture...a 35-year old still grasping at his mother's pant leg...haha! Sorry, that just tickled me...anyways, back to the post!) My point is that I have been trying my hardest this whole time to just enjoy each stage because it's very precious and if you have children, I hope you are doing/have done the same!

Enough of my ramblings...on to what you really want to hear about! :) Braeden has been crawling much faster these days and pulling up on everything that is steady and not-so-steady. His new favorite thing to do is pull up on mine and Matt's pant legs when we're standing. He also sort of cruises, taking a couple of side steps here and there and occasionally letting go and standing by himself for a few seconds. Overall, he knows that he can get where he wants to go faster if he just crawls so he does that more than the cruising.
Lately his buddy, Hudson, has taught him some of his mad clapping skills. Braeden is very grateful and hopes to perfect his abilities in the future (along with his AWESOME dance moves). He seems to enjoy music (how fitting!) and moves his body when he hears a beat (just like mommy!). Braeden has also graduated from his baby bathtub to the big bathtub. We got a cool new gadget that dispenses soap and makes the water flow from the spout like a waterfall and this has really proved captivating to our little one!
Here are our most recent pics of our big boy!

He loves pulling up and playing with the radio!

So silly!

Whimsical Braeden

As you can see, he doesn't sit still for very long!


Groove to the music!

Cute pictures

Here are some cute pictures from our week. Mommy was in "photo shoot" mode! :)

Snow day!


(Cute new shirt from Mimi & Granddaddy)










(Mmmmm...carrots!!!)

"Shut de doh"

There are many things that Braeden is discovering these days but one of his favorite new things is closing the doors in our house. I think he likes the feeling of being able to control this thing that is massively larger than him. On several occasions he has closed himself in our dark laundry room and when I've opened the door to get him, the look on his face is priceless- perplexed, wide-eyed, and maybe a little scared but overall pleased with himself. I caught it on video this morning while playing with him in the office.
(I apologize for the darkness and angle...technological difficulties :) hehe)

Chili Cook-off

(As you know, these posts are usually about Braeden and his development but I MUST take a minute to make a tribute to the chili cook-off...please, indulge me. Hehe!)

So, as most of you know our church does an annual Chili Cook-off to benefit our children's ministry and this was our 3rd consecutive year to enter together as a small group. The first year will go down in history for the AWESOME-ness of it all as we did a pirate theme. Last year was also incredibly awesome with our Nintendo/Mario Bros. theme (but seemed to go over some people's heads.) This year we decided to go for a coffee house theme. Unfortunately, neither Matt nor Nick could participate in our entry (Matt was working and Nick was, well...in charge of the cook-off.) So, it was left to Marcie, Meagan, Crystal, Kimberly, Mikey, and myself to put our creative juices together and come up with a pretty amazing idea. Not only were our outfits themed but our chili was a coffee chili (and yes...it actually had coffee in it...you wouldn't believe how many people asked us if there was really coffee in it.) When we go with a theme, we stick with it!

Enjoy the pics!

The "coffee" counter


Taking orders


I think I missed my calling...I so should have been a barista!


Kimberly and Marcie showing off our AWESOME aprons- "A Latté Chili"


Mike & Kim (the parents-to-be!)


Our crew after a long day's work

Our little mover

So, I figured it was about time that I write about Braeden's recent milestone achievements! Braeden began crawling during the first week of December and very soon after started to pull up on pretty much everything. His favorite places to pull up and stand are at the piano, the hearth/fireplace, the ottoman, and against the dishwasher (random, huh?). On a couple of occasions he has let go with both hands and stood alone for a few seconds. But for the most part, his favorite thing to do is crawl all over the house, investigating things and scoping out the territory, as well as stand up when there is something to hold on to (whether stable or unstable.) Oh, and the cutest part is when he goes to sit down. He doesn't do this every time but quite frequently he will reach out an arm and put his hand down to steady himself to sit down. It's so cute! :) Here are a few pictures of our little mobile man.

Case in point!


Big smiles


Awwwww...this melts momma's heart!


Playing us a tune


In motion

Virginia Christmas

Enjoy yet another slide show! Here are the details of this next Christmas...

So, after our visit to Pennsylvania, we made the trip down 81 to be with my family in Winchester, VA. On Saturday night we had Christmas at my parents' house complete with fixins from Honeybaked Ham and presents for the family. On Sunday morning we went to church w/my mom & dad and then spent the afternoon/evening at Grandma & Pop Pop's for Christmas there. After the usual feast, we opened presents and then spent the afternoon playing Wii Sports & Guitar Hero.

On Monday we went shopping, had lunch at Olive Garden with my cousins who were in from out of town, and had our first taste of Foster's (a local favorite burger spot) for dinner. Then, we ended the night with "Wall-E." Tuesday night was our traditional Christmas at Uncle John's. As always his decorations were beautiful and his Christmas trees had more lights on them than the tree in Rockefeller Plaza. :) On New Year's Eve day mom, Braeden and I ran errands while Matt helped Ryan and Ashley move into their new apartment-unfortunately I don't have any pics yet. :( That night we went to Denny and Angie's (family friends) for Chinese and a thieve's Christmas. That was when the fun started. Everyone except for my dad, Braeden, and I spent New Year's Eve wishing they had not eaten that Chinese food. Needless to say, we rang in the New Year in a much different way than we planned. This was the first year in many years that I have not watched the ball drop but instead, tried to comfort my sick hubby. We planned to leave for TN on New Year's Day but Matt was still weak and feeling unsettled and I had gotten very little sleep so we decided to wait until the next day. I made my rounds to Martin's, took care of mom, Matt, and Braeden as well as checked on Ryan and Ashley who were engulfed in unpacked boxes in their nice new apartment, too sick to unpack them. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come in 2009. :)

Despite the sickness at the end of our trip, we had a wonderful time in Winchester visiting with family and introducing Braeden to the many Christmases which have been a tradition in the Miller family. To the whole Miller crew- thank you so much for taking great care of us and loving on us while we were home. We miss you and love you more than words can express. As I mentioned in the previous post, Braeden sees you everyday even if it's not in person! :)

A Pennsylvania Christmas

On Sunday, Dec. 21st we began our long drive to Pennsylvania immediately following the modern service at church. Equipped with a new convertible carseat for Braeden (much more comfy for our growing big boy!), presents for family, and all of the other trip necessities we headed out on I-40. We were so proud of Braeden for doing so well on the way up and aside from a little bit of fussing, he seemed to enjoy the ride and the vast array of Christmas music we played. As we drew close to Winchester, VA it was just after midnight and since we needed to take a bathroom break anyway, we decided to stop in and visit my dad who was working the night shift at Hampton Inn. Although it was a brief stop, he seemed excited to see us and take a quick look at Braeden before we got back on the road.

We finally arrived at Matt's parents' house around 2:30 in the morning and were surprised when they appeared at the door bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. :) We were expecting them to be asleep and it was so nice of them to surprise us and stay up to welcome us!

We spent the next several days enjoying time with family and friends. We even had the opportunity to have lunch with Erica (a good friend from Nashville who was doing a show in Hershey, PA) and we also got to see her in her show!

Braeden and Erica


Our good friend Laura stopped by one night so that Braeden could finally meet his buddy, Kalen! Laura and her hubby, Matt, welcomed Kalen into the world on August 31st and we've been so excited for our 2 little guys to finally meet. When they did, Kal had so much that he wanted to tell Braeden. Check out the video!



On Christmas Eve we continued the Estep Family tradition of Chinese food for dinner followed by Christmas Eve services at Linglestown Life UMC. Braeden made friends with our server at the restaurant and enjoyed playing with the fortune cookies wrapped in celophane. Matt, Braeden, Grandma Bruner, and I then went to the 7pm service to share Braeden with Matt's church family & friends. Afterwards, Braeden went to bed while Grandma B. kept watch over our little one. Then, Matt & I went to the 9pm service with his mom, dad, Adam, and Kendra.

Christmas day was filled with lots of gift-giving, food, and relaxing with the family. Braeden didn't really know what to make of unwrapping the presents but really seemed to like the gifts themselves! We also found out some exciting news...Jenna & Mike are engaged! It was a very special Christmas Day for the family!

We had a wonderful time with everyone and were very excited to share Braeden's first Christmas with our family. We were able to relax and, as is true with every holiday, make more fun memories with the people we love. To our favorite "Harrisburgians"- Thank you for taking such good care of all 3 of us. Although we don't get to see you every day, we make sure Braeden sees your pictures daily. We love and miss you more than we can express!

I've created a slideshow with the many pictures from our Estep Family Christmas (there were too many to put on this post.) Hope you enjoy!