Our Amazing Boy!

July 31^st – 14 months

Brayden mimics most everything we do these days. He loves to make a fishy face. We can’t go to Wal-Mart without seeing the fish before we leave. He climbs on and off and all over the sofa. He can bach like a chicken and has said a few new words we have failed to write down and forgot what they were,

Brayden loves the park. He throws rocks all over the place, climbs the jungle gym equipment and slides down with Mommy on the big slide, watches all the big boys and swings, and swings, and swings.

He still loves his walker and his tractors and trucks. You can see his new green one in the picture.

Brayden will lying down on the floor and or lounge on the couch for a few seconds to rest between play activities these days. It is very cute.

He has stopped biting friends, gagging himself, and hitting his head for the time being. We have been working on some behaviors and ignoring some of the other. It seems to be working.

More and more he is starting to stand for brief moment without support.

He seems to be teething again. All he wants to eat is cold watermelon and celery. We would all like those molars to come on in.

As you can see in the videos, Brayden is quite the problem solver and really sticks with something for a child his age. He will even stack is blocks up high instead of knocking them all down all the time. It is not the best video, but I think you can get the idea and see how much he knows. He is pretty amazing!!!

Yodeling

Here is video of Brayden talking a bit and his new yodeling noise he makes. It was really hard to get him to talk. He really does say a lot, but on his own time. ***Brayden can stack regular square blocks now and his legos, too. Brayden says "hot" and "bat". Those are his most recent words I can remember. If there is anything I am forgetting to tell and you what to know, just email me your questions and I will respond on the blog.

New video

Brayden said “cow”, “Hi” and “Pat” for the first times this weekend. He was looking in the mirror waving with Daddy and he said “Hi!” Then, we were taking a walk and I said, “What says moo?” Brayden responded with a “Cow.” All I say now is, moo and Brayden says “Cow!” Daddy was reading the story Pat The Bunny before bed. Every time Daddy said pat Brayden would say “Pat.”

Brayden is consistently matching all the shapes now in his shaped sorter toy. He has had the circle down for many, many months, but the other shapes were so hard. Well, we have it now.

Brayden got a baby soccer ball from a yard sale this weekend and loves to throw and roll it with Mommy and Daddy.

As you can see in the video, Brayden loves his new/used walker. He goes everywhere so quickly with it and shakes it around to maneuver it where he want to go. He loves to take it through his tent and tunnel. The tunnel can be quite the challenge, but he slowly works his way through it. He is also determined with everything he does and will really study it and take his time.

I think he is working on his first set of molars. They feel really close and he does not want me to feel them or brush his teeth.

I did a bunch of reading about children biting people and why they do it. It seems to be pretty common between 13-30 months. Children tend to bite when they feel frustrated and excited and they do not have the words to express themselves. I feel those are exactly the time Brayden wants to bite. We are really working on “NO BITE!” and I will really have to keep an eye on him when he is around friends, but we will happily get through this stage.

Brayden had refused an afternoon nap the last two days. I cannot figure it out. All the books and specialists say children should lose their morning nap first. I don’t know what is causing this. Heat, molar, changing to one nap a day…Those are some of my ideas. Do you have any ideas?

Brayden is really starting to show a sense of humor. One day he kept tapping me on the shoulder saying “Da, Da, Da, Da” over and over. I would say, “I’m Mommy you silly boy!” and he would do his little snicker with his hand over his mouth. We went on and on like this for a while. It was so cute! Then, one morning when we woke up, Brayden was in bed with me and his rolled over and put his feet on my back. He was so tickled with this. He would take them off and on over and over again and snicker.

Choo, Choo!!!

Brayden loves his $2.oo garage sale Elmo train. Check it out! He also got a $2.00 walker that he can not get enough of. He walks all around the house and loves to chase Mommy as he runs down the hallway, squeeling.

We got it!

Brayden finally got the spoon down. After much practice and many messes, WE GOT IT!!! (July, 20th)

Mommy babysat Sebastian the last two afternoons. Brayden does not like to share Mommy and sometimes his toys. He takes it out on Sebastian by hitting and biting him. When I tell Brayden to be nice he turns and hits himself. Sometimes I don’t know what to do!

Brayden pushes the laundry basket to the laundry room for me these days. It is on wheels and just his height. He gets about halt way down the hall before he gets tired. But, we are getting there. Maybe we will have walking down by 15 months. All his friends are starting to get there also. It is exciting!

Braydens words today are “bump,” a garilla noise and a lion roar.

Update!

At a little over 13 ½ months old Brayden’s new words for the week are “No” with a head shake in response to my questions like, “Do you need water?” He also says “Pooh” as in Pooh Bear. Brayden hoots like an owl and woofs like a dog. He says moon, car and dog now. He can point out most things you ask him to find in a book. I am amazed every day at how much he understands.

Almost Walking

Brayden walked with a walker for the first time today on July17th (13 1/2 months). I could not believe I caught it on the video. We were playing at our friend Sebastian’s house (Brayden calls him "Bas"). Click on the picture and you can see some video of our playtime.

You can kind of get an idea of how he has trouble interacting with his friends, although he is getting so much better. Sebastian love to hug and kiss me and wants my attention a lot. Brayden does not like this. He tries to hit Sebastian. He would much rather be around adults. You can hear him talking away to Arcely (Sebastian’s mom). I think Brayden feels other children are too rough and unpredictable. He does not seem to be as excitable as other children his age. He is very calm and patient most of the time. I would say reserved is the word.

Isn't that smile to die for?

Video

We are trying to figure out how to put video on the blog. Did it work? Double click on image and see what happens. It distorts Mommy and Daddy's voices. It is pretty funny to listen to.
Here is Brayden with his favorite truck.
Here is Brayden using his awesome fine motor skills.

Here is Brayden laughing with Daddy.

Chillin'

Here is Brayden chillin’ in his pooh chair. He likes to make it a recliner. You can see how he really gets in to his movies. He loves them so much and loves to learn from them. Can you find the picture where he found his nose like his video told him? He really interacts with them these days. It is so neat.








Brayden’s new words are doctor, tractor, backpack, and poop!












He loves playing out back. He gets all excited if you mention outside. He throws the sand all over the place and likes it when it falls on his head (but it sure is a mess for Mommy to clean him up…sand sticks to everything).

















He is becoming more independent and pushes Mommy and Daddy away sometimes so he can get by or go do what he wants. He is practicing walking a little more with our hands and pushing thing around a bit. He is really in to crawling over our legs, pillow, any obstical in his way. He points and grunts all the time for things he wants. Mealtime can be very noisy with all the “I want” grunts.

Peek-a-Boo

I forgot…Brayden also says “Peek –a- Boo!” But, he often leaves out the –a- so it is Peek-Boo. Or, you can say “Peek” and he will finish with the “Boo.” It is to sweet!

He is getting to be so much fun these days and it is not life or death if we are late for a nap or bed time. He is becoming a lot more flexible. It is SO nice!

I can’t even begin to tell you how much more I love my sugar bear every day. He is the best thing that ever happened to me. I would not want to live a day without him.

New Things

Brayden loves his new remote control train Mommy got him at a garage sale this morning. He also loves his tent and magnadoodle Noni and Papa got him. He is still really in to trucks and now loves to collect bugs. We have a giant beetle in his new magnified bug box set.





Braden’s new things this week are that he likes to tickle feet and tummies. He makes the cutest little high-pitched squeaky noise as he does it. He likes to “Crash” his cars off a ramp. He likes to say, “Bump” when we go over a bump in his stroller. He likes to say “Boom” and knock down his # blocks. He has put a few words together recently… “Down Dad!” and “All Done!” Our home visitor thinks that Bryaden is SO SMART to already be putting two words together. He says so many other words through out a day I can not keep track any more. He is also shaking his head "NO" to answer questions such as, "Do you want to take a nap?" or "Do you want milk?"

Brayden loves his movies with puppets and singing. He smiles all through them and it really interacting with his words. When he sees things he knows he chimes right in with a “cat” or “choo, choo” and such. It is so cool!

Brayden is sharing his toys with his friends and even lets them go most of the time. It used to be more of a “Here you go…oh, sorry I think I want to keep it” action.

Brayden blows on his food to make sure it is cool before he eats it. He can blow a whistle and is starting to learn how to use a straw.

When Brayden gets frustrated, is told “yucky, yucky” or cannot do something with perfection he smacks his hand to his head. It is something Mommy and Daddy do not like a lot. He seems to be very hard on himself and expects a lot. We will really have to help him with this. Something else he is doing a lot that we do not like is gagging himself. He must like the sensation, but we often lose all our lunch. I hope it is just a phase.

When Brayden wakes up he is all smiles. It is a good time to get him laughing. He has never been a big laugher, but he is starting to really enjoy things and tickle fights. He is also starting to lay his head down more and he even watches his movies the other day lying on Mommy’s lap.

He soothes himself by playing with his belly button, or Mommy’s if we are lying down. He will often do this during a story or movie. And, he still loves to dance to music. He is often sitting when he is dancing so he wiggles and moves his torso back and forth. It is so funny!

The cutest thing Brayden does right now is snicker. When he thinks something is funny or his trying to get a reaction he puts his hand over his mouth and snickers a bit. It is adorable!!!

Brayden has mastered using a fork (July 8th). The spoon is still tricky. It is too easy to tip and spill everything out.

Brayden squeals and screams with anticipation as we play chase or tickle. He is doing much better with interacting with his friends. He is a lot more relaxed and allows them to come close and even touch him. He is starting to jump in to play with them and does not let them take all of the toys anymore. I am very proud of him!

Family visit

Noni and Papa came to visit and Auntie Jen surprised us when she came.


Noni just thinks Brayden is amazing!



















He loves to turn things on and off.

He loves to chew on things. Maybe his 9th tooth is working its way through.


















He loves to babble and talk. His most resent words are "kick," "good book," "num," and he did say "Papa" and "Noni." There are starting to be too many recognizable words to mention any more.


















Noni thinks it is so smart of Brayden when he open and shuts the drawers and he very purposefully closes the drawer and moves his fingers out of the way before it shuts. He is very deliberate and cautious about what he does.









And very patient for a 13 month old.





















Brayden stood alone twice on June 30th...his 13 month birthday.

1st Hair Cut!!!

Brayden got his first professional hair cut on July 1st.


What a supportive family he has. (Look in the background)

This was the worst of his upset. He did so well and he looks so good now.
Mommy got her hair cut, too.