And he's up...

Sitting up that is!!!

By no means is this little boy FULLY supporting himself, but he SO wants to! He can sit up for about 30 seconds without falling over, and he is starting to try and pull himself up whenever we put him down. He hasn't figured how to look around and keep his balance though. It's too funny. My sweet baby is turning into a precious big boy!!! I'm amazed everyday at how much he has learned to do!

TV time with daddy

Daddy hasn't liked Brayden trying to steal his remotes. You can't sit them anywhere near him or he will be reaching out and fussing to get them! But during the football game, he gave up and let Brayden play with the remote to keep him entertained and happy!

Out with the old...NO WAY!

These were my daddy's clothes when he was little :)

Time of our lives

Daddy and mommy both have birthday's in November, so tonight we were trying to decide what the other wanted. After a few minutes of thinking daddy made a SO SO true comment:

You know...the things I want have just changed so much. They aren't important like they used to be. If you get me just a soccer chair or something I'll be happy. Those "things" we used to want just don't seem as important anymore.

What a brilliant man I married...and I couldn't agree with him more! Having Brayden has just made such a priority switch in our lives that those "things" we wanted for our birthday's or Christmas just aren't as important anymore. Now we want to GIVE to our precious baby boy instead of GETTING for ourselves. I can't wait to enjoy the giving season we are about to enter. I'm just having the time of my life with my boys, and the memories I make with them are the only things I want to GET in this life.

Where's Brayden??

There he is!!!

Today we took Brayden to the pumpkin patch and had a blast!!! Daddy followed us around and took pictures.

We could hardly get him to look at us becasue he wanted to observe and touch all the pumpkins in the wagon!

Then Brayden and mommy sat on the hay stacks and got their pictures taken!

Brayden liked the hay!

Then we walked around to find the "just right" pumpkin to take home with us. We can't wait to carve it for Brayden's first Halloween!

And we couldn't leave without a boo picture!

Cheap toys!

Brayden two new favorite toys of the month are: Cali and the washcloth

We were sitting outside on our porch the other day, when Cali ran by excited about daddy getting home. Brayden let out the loudest laugh!!! It was hilarious! Every time Cali would run by he would crack up! And now anytime Cali is near he is reaching for her, or watching her walk around. His eyes follow her everywhere. Too cute! And in the tub he has started grabbing at the washcloth. If I take it from him to clean him he screams until he gets it back! I'm having to use TWO every bath...one to clean with and one for him to play with. And I spent all that money on bath toys.... Who new a piece of cloth could be so entertaining!!

What a Pro!

Brayden has really become a pro at eating solid foods AND using a spoon! He knows what he's getting when we put him in his high chair and he gets VERY excited. We know this by his coos and kicking of the feet! So far his favorites are sweet potatoes and carrots! As you can tell from his sweet potato smile here! He is also currently eating: applesauce, squash, and bananas. We are starting peaches and pears next week. He has been having half a Gerber container twice a day (fruit for breakfast, veggie for lunch), but next week we are moving to a half container at lunch as well. I was worried he was eating too much, but since starting solids twice a day he has dropped a bottle feeding putting him at 30 ounces a day (give or take a few). Dr. W assures me he is not eating too much and is a great size. This man is WAY up on my totem pole these days, so his approval means everything to me!

I still LOVE my bath times with my sweet boy, but eating solids is coming in at a very close second! :)

My little man

Brayden is just growing bigger every minute. This past week, daddy bought him a Panthers wind suit. I must admit...at first I wasn't crazy about it, but he was so passionate about it, I supported him! And it was really really cute when we got it on him. When I put it on him for the first time I seriously almost cried. He just looked like a little boy...not a baby...a little boy! My sweet boy is growing so quick.

The Dreaded Monday

I knew it was going to come...

I knew it last Wednesday when I left work...

I hated it then, and hate it more now...

I dreaded its arrival...

But here it is...

Tomorrow is the dreaded Monday. Monday's are always hard, however this one is going to be 10 times harder than the others. I have been spoiled rotten by having Brayden all to myself the past 4 days. I don't know how I am going to leave him tomorrow. I've already started the crying bit, and it's 8:00pm on Sunday!!! Just look at that face, how am I going to stand it???!!!

I feel like every day he gets bigger and bigger before my eyes. I just don't want to miss one thing! Everyone says it gets better...I'm ready for it to get there!

Somewhere there is a naked teddy bear...

This summer, while we visited daddy's family in Louisiana, Brayden's Nana sent him home with a bunch of daddy's old clothes! We are getting really excited because he can almost fit into them! Nana also gave Brayden an outfit off of one of her teddy bears. Personally, I think it looks cuter on Brayden...but I think everything is cute on him...hehe!!!

Then Grandma J.J. went and bought him some outfits for his first Thanksgiving AND first Christmas. And Aunt Brittany bought him 8 brand new bibs! I was worried Brayden wouldn't have enough clothes since he was growing so fast....

Thank goodness for family!!!

Look out daddy...

Hmmmm what's this???
Let me check it out...

Ohhhhhhhhh

There's two...this is great!!!

Brayden has found a new favorite toy!

New Entertainment

Brayden's latest kick is being in his walker. He likes to play with the toy bar attached, but doesn't quiet get you MOVE the pieces. He just wants to eat them. So daddy and I get a laugh when he starts gnawing on the bar. In fact, he likes his walker so much I can hardly get him to look at me for a picture!

He also really likes his teething toy. We have tried giving him different things to chew on so he wouldn't go for his thumb so much. I really could care less about him sucking his thumb, but we just thought we would try and confine it to nap and bed time...(Brayden says yeah right)! We have tried other teething toys that were textured or attached to other toys, but he doesn't like them at all! He likes the smooth water filled toys. So if that's what my baby wants, that's what my baby's getting!!!

Christmas in October???

If you can believe it (haha), I have already began my Christmas shopping. I've been trying to take money out of every check to get a little here...little there. I'm good with getting my family gifts, but I'm a little stuck on Brayden. He will be almost 9 months at Christmas...ahhhhhh! I know we are going to get him:

• Radio Flyer wagon for next summer and the beach


• clothes


• shape sorter


• toy telephone


• books with sound and texture


• blocks


• bath toys

We need to get him some things to last from 9-12 months, and longer if possible. We will get him some new toys for his birthday. Okay experienced moms...any ideas?

Boo!

As of today...there have been 3 days in October. So far, Brayden has worn Halloween outfits on 2 of them! I just can't help myself. This is his first BIG holiday and I can't wait to celebrate with him. We have big plans! Boo at the Zoo with friends, trick or treating at Saluda Shoals, and passing out candy to the trick or treaters in our neighborhood. We (that being mommy) are so so so excited!

A Small Vacation

I use the term vacation very loosely. I did get two days off of work (which left me with a 4 day weekend), but the situation was not ideal. Because Brayden has had swine flu, he cannot return to child care all week. So daddy and Brayden got 2 days together and mommy and Brayden got 2 days together! Thursday afternoon he started feeling much better, so that left us with a GREAT Friday together. I enjoyed spending time with him! We did the laundry, cleaned house, sat outside, watched movies, and took naps. It was great!

Although the time with him was amazing...it also left me sad. I've been having a really hard time since school started back. I feel guilty leaving Brayden each and every day. Everyone says: "It gets better." Does it??? I haven't found that yet. I think about him all the time and want to be with him all the time. Me not working is no option, so I'm praying for the Lord to bring peace to my heart. I have found a great in home care provider for him, and he is being loved by her! But I haven't fully found that peace yet. I mean just look at this precious thing... who would want to leave it.

Everyone also says: "being away makes your time with him more special." But my time with him is always special. So that doesn't make me feel any better!!! For all of you working mom's out there...how are you making the best of your time away?