Braden’s dentist has noted that he has been slow to lose his baby teeth. Now, in the past month, he has lost four. One he accidentally swallowed during dinner, one he lost in the park during football practice and two he pulled at home.

According to Braden, he has at least one baby tooth left. Also, the tooth fairy has been negligent in putting money under Braden’s pillow.

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Over the past year, Braden has been obsessively parting his bangs (to the left). When Braden was younger, Brian would part his hair, but Braden would inevitably move it straight down his forehead. These days, you can see him part his hair everywhere–while waiting at the bus stop, during football games, while on his phone, etc.

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Speaking of the phone, we got Braden a smartphone for Christmas (it’s Brian’s old phone). Like his mom, Braden is continuously on it, texting friends (many of whom are a year older and have had their phones for longer), playing games and watching TikToks videos.

We also like that Braden carries it around so that he can contact us in an emergency. Sometimes he has to ride his bike to football practice while we are at Carson’s Little League games, so he texts us when he has arrived at the park and when he gets home.

Journal technology, teething

Kristin had her 20-week ultrasound yesterday. It was bittersweet. The baby is healthy, within all normal parameters. However, it will be a … BOY! We had been wanting a girl, but now Braden will have a little brother to beat up.

We had enough difficulty coming up with a name for Braden. We are not sure how we’re going to come up with another boy’s name.

At least we don’t have to buy a whole set of new clothes. Braden’s ample wardrobe will now pass down to the next in line.

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We’re not sure how Braden learned to use the phrase “excuse me,” but he did it three times today. He burped twice after lunch, and after both times he said it. Then at home, when he was trying to walk by Brian, he said “excuse me.”

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In our breakfast bar/kitchen counter, we have our laptop. Braden is now able to climb the bar stool to sit in front of the computer. He enjoys watching YouTube videos, but he can’t quite master the mouse yet. That’s why he prefers to use our touchscreen desktop downstairs, because he can simply just touch the videos he wants to watch.

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We love watching Braden get excited about certain treats. For example, if presented with, say, animal crackers or a cookie, he’ll say, “Oh! Animal Crackers!” and then pump his arms up and down while smiling.

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Braden won a toy sword at the fair in Lake Geneva when we were down there a few weeks ago. Brian taught him the difference between the sword and the sheath. It’s amusing when Braden holds them apart and says, “sword … sheath … sword … sheath.” It reminds of us of the scene in the movie “The Jerk” in which Navin learns the difference between shit and shinola. “Shit … shinola.”

Journal talking, technology, ultrasound

Thanks to Kristin, Braden can read just about the entire alphabet. Sometimes he confuses “I” and “T,” and he has trouble saying “W,” but he’s really getting there!  

In his bedroom he has foam cut-outs of letters and numbers, and it’s neat to seem him pick one up and say what it is. Last night he picked up the “V” and said “Y,” then he flipped it over and said “A.” He’s definitely recognizing the shapes.

Along those lines, Braden is getting much better at identifying objects. He has a book with pictures of everything from A to Z. When we read to him at night, we ask him things like “which one is the dog?” and he’ll point to it.

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Braden’s language is evolving into sentences (usually just two or three words long). From “more, please” to “night night daddy,” his speech grows every day. He also can understand what people are saying to him in both English and Mandarin.

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Braden calls Brian’s grandma “ma,” as that’s what Brian’s aunts call her, and he mistakes that as her name.  To Braden, she should actually be “tai po.”

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Braden was slightly sick last week. He learned to cover his mouth while coughing–it’s really cute. He also knows to grab a tissue paper when he has a runny nose.

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It seems like every new generation is more comfortable with new technology than the previous. Braden knows has to unlock Brian’s iPod Touch by swiping the screen. He also knows how to use the YouTube app on our smartphones.

In addition, Braden loves playing with Kristin’s dad’s iPad. We would probably buy him a tablet device if they weren’t so expensive.

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Somehow Braden learned to roll his eyes. It’s really funny to see him do it. For example, he’ll roll his eyes and then look at Kristin after Brian does something goofy. We suspect Braden will be rolling his eyes throughout his life at his dad.

Journal sick, talking, technology

Braden is getting better at repeating and pronouncing words. For example, he can say “I” then “love” then “you,” though he has some trouble stringing it all together. His “please” is more like “psshh” and his “xie xie” (Mandarin for thanks) is “shh shh.”

But he does know the meaning of the words he can say. He says “more” when he wants a food refill (quite often), “bow wow” when he wants to watch the Wiggles (it’s the name of one of their songs; he also knows how to say “wiggles”), “Elmo” when he wants to watch an Elmo DVD or Sesame Street and “ball” when he wants to play catch.

Brian and Braden were searching for something in Braden’s bedroom the other day, and Braden was so cute in looking under and in everything (drawers, closets, his crib, etc.), and each time he came up empty-handed, he would declare “nope!”

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Braden is way ahead of us technology-wise. One of our computers is a touch screen, and he knows how to operate it, especially when he’s picking videos to watch on YouTube. A few days ago, Braden opened the protective case to Brian’s iPod Touch, then turned it on and swiped the screen to unlock it. It was unbelievable (we never taught him this).

Apparently, he can work Kristin’s dad’s iPad as well. We’ve been considering buying him one of those cheap tablets (~$100) to play with.

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Braden is getting closer to dressing and undressing himself. For instance, he can unzip his one-piece pajamas and take it off (this is actually quite impressive). We’ve seen him put on/take off pants and shirts before, too.

He’s getting to the point in which he picks out his clothes in the morning. Once, Brian dressed Braden in something he did not choose, and he was SO mad.

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Braden has an allergy appointment this week. We’re hoping it brings us some good news that he’s grown out of some of his allergies (peanuts, dairy, eggs).

Journal talking, technology