This picture is priceless! We took Braden to a UW softball game, and every time Bucky Badger walked by, Braden would stare and point. Check out the photo album to see pictures of Braden stare at him, like this one. Absolutely adorable!
Braden likes to get his way–or put in another way, he hates it when he doesn’t get his way. If he’s playing with an object and you take it away, he will throw a fit. If you pick him up when he wants to be put down, he will kick his legs and flail his arms. Kristin’s book confirmed that the “terrible twos” actually starts at 15 months, which is exactly how old Braden is.
Besides his demeanor, Braden also is changing physically. For one, his face is changing (Brian says he looks noticeably older). He is going from new-born cute to infant cute, if that makes sense.
Braden also is taller. We have noticed he can reach things he couldn’t reach before. This is going to add an extra layer of difficulty in baby-proofing the house.
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We are constantly amazed how quickly Braden can learn things. For example, he will take his soiled diaper and put it in the Diaper Genie, then flip the handle over. It was quite the sight to see the first time he did it.
Today, Brian was doing some jumping exercises. After Braden laughed for a while, he began crouching and trying to jump, though he was only able to straighten up (still super cute!).
He can almost feed himself with a spoon, though he keeps flipping the spoon upside-down before it reaches his mouth.
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Braden added another sleeping position to his arsenal: arms behind the head. It totally looks like he’s just relaxing. We’ll get a picture soon.
He’s getting close to being able to put himself to bed. We usually just rock him a little bit, to about 10-25% sleepy, before putting him down. Prior to that, he had to be 75-100% asleep.
Brian won a trip to Branson, Mo., and so we took our trip there this week. We left Saturday and stayed overnight in Litchfield, Ill., about halfway of the nine-hour drive. That was the easiest drive of all, as Braden napped most of the way, then we stopped for dinner, and then he watched a DVD until we got to the hotel.
We got to Branson (after a lunch stop in Springfield, Mo.) about 2:30 p.m. Sunday. We didn’t waste any time: after checking into our hotel, we briefly shopped, did a duck ride (a tour of Branson and a lake while riding a duck) at 4 p.m. and then went to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner show at 5:30 p.m. Braden was so focused on the horses that he stayed put in our laps for 95 percent of the 1.5-hour show (thank goodness!). We decided not to push our luck any further and headed home after the show (though we took a scenic route by the historic downtown on the way).
On Monday, we discovered that the theme park called Silver Dollar City was closed Mondays-Tuesdays, which really made us sad (that was supposed to be our entire Monday). So instead, we went to the new downtown and the old downtown to shop/sightsee, then we had lunch at a seafood place on the lake. Braden didn’t nap at all in the morning, but he finally fell asleep in the early afternoon, which is when we decided to take a winery tour (he slept the entire time).
After he woke up, we went to the Shepherd of the Hills park to try to do some horseback riding, but we couldn’t find where that was taking place. Instead, we climbed to the top of Inspiration Tower, which is 230 feet tall and has beautiful views of the entire Branson area. For dinner, we went to a steakhouse that had just one waitress, so dinner was very slow and Braden was getting fairly antsy at the end. From there, we went to a 50s diner and had some dessert (Braden ate a waffle cone), then we tried to ride some go-karts but found out Braden was too short (36-inch minimum height). We retired for the evening at that point.
On Tuesday, we took a two-hour scenic train ride through the Branson area that wasn’t as scenic as described, though the experience was still fun. Braden couldn’t sit still for longer than 5-10 minutes at a time, so we took turns letting him wander throughout the entire train. Of course, Braden fell asleep AFTER that long train ride, so we decided to visit another winery while he slept.
We went to a buffet for lunch that a local couple recommended. It was easy grabbing food for Braden and not waiting for a waiter. Also, with a buffet, Braden got a lot more variety, which is helpful as he often gets tired of eating the same thing too long. We then went to a park so Braden could burn off some energy before we went to our 3 p.m. show–the Shanghai Acrobats. Braden was a bit fussy in the first half, so each of us missed parts of the show as we tried to rock him to sleep. Brian finally succeeded right about the time of intermission; Braden slept the rest of the show.
We went home to rest a bit before dinner. We found a resort on the far west end of Branson up on a very high hill–it overlooks Branson on one side and has a lake on the other. Just beautiful! We were the only ones in our area, so it didn’t bother us as much when Braden got noisy.
Braden had some trouble sleeping that night, but instead of just crying, he simply rolled around his crib while “talking” or standing up from time to time. After nearly an hour of this, Brian finally caved and rocked Braden to sleep.
Wednesday was a LONG day. We left just after 9 a.m., and with three stops (lunch, gas, dinner) and two road construction delays (the one in Illinois lasted almost 30 minutes), we finally got home around 8 p.m. We felt really bad for Braden, who slept little but ate a lot. He was in such a good mood when we got home; we’re not sure he’ll ever get in a car again!
Please make sure to check out the photos!
After a long time without any photo updates, we’ve finally uploaded some new snapshots of Braden from last month. Check them out under “Photos 3.”
The other day, Brian handed Braden his milk, and Braden took it while responding “thank you.” It was so stunning that Brian thought he imagined it. Fortunately, Kristin’s mom was there to witness it as well. Unfortunately, we have been unable to get Braden to say it again.
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Braden can now stand up with needing the support of an object (wall, table, chair, etc.). If he’s in the crawl position, he inches his hands toward his feet and then pushes himself upright. He likes to stand so much that he refuses to sit while taking a bath. (As an aside, it’s fun to watch him stack his toy sports balls on the shelf/ledge of the shower, especially when he’s on his tippy toes.)
He’s also able to walk more quickly, almost running (but not quite). One thing we’ve enjoyed doing is to chase Braden. In the past, he’s crawled away (either on the floor or up the stairs). Now he walks very quickly away with a big grin on his face, and when you catch him, he lets out a big squeal. So cute!
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We considered taking Braden to an Easter Egg Hunt, but we still felt he was too young. Instead, we “hid” an Easter Egg basket under his high chair and planted him near it to see if he would find it. Indeed, Braden found it rightaway and started pulling out all the eggs and fake grass from the basket.
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Poor Braden had a small cold, which he probably got from Brian. Braden’s obviously too young to understand how to blow his nose, so we had to give it a light squeeze with a tissue paper; Braden hated this. The cold went away after about a week, fortunately.
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We think Braden likes (cheeseless) pizza. We made some homemade pizza the other day, including a pepperoni pizza for Braden. He picked off the pepperoni, then licked the sauce off before eating the rest of the pizza. It’s only slightly less messy than when he eats spaghetti.
Right before our very eyes, Braden is now consistently walking instead of crawling to get to where he wants to go. We are just amazed at the ability for babies to learn skills that aren’t taught. We were in a shallow (half-foot) pool this past weekend, and it was fun to watch Braden “wade” through the water.
Fortunately, Braden has not yet developed the ability to run. THAT will be immense trouble for us when he does!
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Kristin took Braden to the zoo the other day. Braden seemed to really enjoy it, as he was fascinated by the animals and kept pointing at them (while grunting).
Speaking of pointing, Braden is getting a lot bossier now. When he wants something, he will point and either grunt or say “da.” If he doesn’t get what he wants (e.g. the TV remote), he’ll sometimes sit or lie on the ground and throw a short, mini-fit.
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Braden is really starting to understand words. One example is that he understands his name, so if you say it, he’ll look at you. Another example that Kristin discovered is that she asked him to bring her a book, and he walked across the living room to his play area to retrieve one for her.
Brian likes to say “where’s the banana?” (Braden’s favorite breakfast food), and Braden will point to the kitchen and grunt.
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Following on the previous topic of food, we’ve noticed Braden is eating less and less now (no longer the bottomless pit of yesteryear). We figure this is going to start to be a problem at restaurants soon. Previously, Braden ate before, during and after we ate. But now, he’s full by the middle of our meal, and then he becomes antsy (meaning he wants to run around).
We figure we will have to go out more frequently now before we can’t for a couple of years.
Just uploaded photos from last month. Our favorites are Braden wearing Brian’s hat and Braden fighting off a piece of broccoli.
Check them out under “Photos 3 / February”
Brian’s grandmother is in town, so we finally got to introduce her to Braden on Friday. After being a little shy at first, he eventually walked a bunch for her and even gave her a kiss. That night, Braden ate more for dinner than Brian did! Unbelievable.
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This morning Braden took about 15 steps. In case we didn’t previously mention, he also likes to say “uh-oh” a lot, and he frequently points (and grunts) when he wants something.
Just unbelievable that Braden turned one year old today. We re-read the blog entries from last February and enjoyed taking a stroll down memory lane. We learned how naive we were (e.g. we thought Braden ate a lot back then) and certainly don’t miss the 3-4 times per night we used to have to get up.
We also realized that even though we didn’t record every detail (e.g. the first two hours after Braden was born, the first night at our house, etc.), we still have them in our memories.
In just one year, he learned to crawl, stand, almost walk, climb up stairs, get himself down from places, cough-talk, self-peak-a-boo, do ‘so-big’ with his arms, wave good-bye, high-five, kiss, say da da, feed himself, use a remote and cellphone, flip pages from a book, throw, dunk and much, much more.
We’re fortunate that he was only sick once (back around Memorial Day), though he was a bit congested in January. Maybe his immune system is too strong, as evidenced by his sensitivity to dairy, eggs and nuts (hopefully temporary).
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We had our family over for a party in our condo’s community room. Braden was a very good boy–he ate, acted cute, played, opened his gifts (sorta) and even walked a little for everyone. We are appreciative of the nice gifts he received, though Braden’s favorite was the container of puffs that he likes to eat.
Props go to Kristin for doing most of the preparation for the party. She even baked a non-egg, non-dairy cake for Braden, and he really seemed to enjoy it (he really has nothing to compare it to).
We promise to upload the photos soon.
We are working hard to get Braden to walk. As we and our family have noticed, he can stand for about 8-10 seconds at a time, but only because he forgets that he’s not holding on to something (very cute).
Usually we sit a couple feet from him while he’s standing (holding or not), and he can take a few steps toward us. The other day, Braden set a personal best with eight steps before falling face forward onto us. Wish we got that on video!
We were told by another parent that the one-year-old mark is a magic number, and that he’ll just suddenly be able to walk after that. We can’t wait, as it will (hopefully) make life more convenient not having to carry him everywhere.
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Braden now knows how to get down from places. For example, if he’s on the couch, he reverses himself and slides off feet first. He has transferred this skill to the stairs, so now he can go both ways. Babies are so smart!
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We’ve been ordering off the kids’ menu at restaurants now. It’s neat to see Braden eat burgers, chicken tenders, etc. He no longer likes carrots, and we still can’t get him to like strawberries or blueberries. And when Braden gets sick of an item or is full, he gets mad and slaps his hand onto the table. He’ll also drop the item to the floor–so damn cute.
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Braden is still pretty bald, but he’s been growing a lot more hair on the back of his head. We swear some of it is blond!