28 months!

It does not look like I will be getting to the blog but once a month from now on. I just can’t keep up with everything these days and I know once Brynn comes my time will be even shorter.

Brayden turns 28 weeks tomorrow. He is such a big boy and amazes us and makes us laugh everyday. Maybe some of these will amaze you or make you laugh also.

He can sing is ABC’s without fail and can touch count items to ten. He knows the difference and can tell you the sizes when things are big, medium, and small. He loves to tell you when things are upside down and then when they return right side up. He is going through a stage where he likes to flip his “L” sound in words. It can kind of make his words sound like they have an accent. I wonder if this has anything to do with one of our best friends being from England and another from Mexico. When Bray is pretending to write words on paper you can hear him saying the letters he is writing, “A...H…R…K” He can count all the way to 20 by himself, but often leaves out 18.

Brayden uses his language so well. He was pretending to be a rock rolling on the bed, but instead of that he said he was “a rock tumbling down a mountain.” Instead of sipping his drink he “slurps his drink.” When standing he says, “I’m standing on the wall straight and tall.” Everything is very descriptive. He also likes to be independent with his language. When Daddy said to tell Mommy that dinner was really good he said, Mommy, thanks for dinner it was yummy!”

He is also very imaginative. He is very into pretending to be other things. He is often the big bad wolf, Santa Claus, a wizard, a pirate, a grumpy troll, a king, differing animals, and characters from his TV shows. When he is Santa he goes around delivering “birthday trees” to everyone and presents from his pocket. Auntie E says calling the Christmas tree a birthday tree is very nice to represent Jesus’ birthday. I think that is what our family will call it from now on. When Bray is one of the characters he loves to be, he will finish whatever he is saying as that character with a, “said, the big ghost,” or “said, big brother Brayden,” or “ yelled the big bad wolf.” I think it is so interesting. It must come from all our reading.

Brayden loves to spin the stools, make coffee with Daddy and pretend he is wiping Brynn’s nose with a tissue (as he wipes my belly button). He loves airplanes, horses, tunnels, and to dance to rock music. His big words are “Wow!” and “That’s amazing!”

Grandma Sheri has been calling Brayden a Punkin over the phone and Bray thinks she is calling him a Pumpkin. He keeps laughing and telling her, “I’m not a pumpkin!”

At the used store, a boy turned to look for his mom and said, “Mommy!” when he saw Bray beside him. Brayden laughed and said, “I’m not you Mommy. I’m Brayden!” This little boy did not want to leave the store and put away the cars he had in his hand, so Bray took them for him and returned them to the shelves all the way in the back of the store. The sales lady said Brayden was such a good boy and such a helper.

We were at Target and Bray was running around the clothes isles playing hide-n-seek when a sales lady came by with a big cart. Brayden was running so fast I yelled for him to “watch out!” and he stopped just in time. He quickly said, “Excuse me!” to the lady. I was very impressed and proud of him and his politeness.

Bradyen wants to say “Hi” and wave to everyone before he really engages in any kind of talk or play. It seems to be his way of checking them out with how they respond. If a kid at the park does not respond to his “hi” he does not want to seem to play. He has really tickled a few old ladies with his Hi’s recently.

We went camping with Noni and Papa a few weeks ago and Brayden was telling us all that there were crocodiles in the lake and he was going to chase Pumas through the forest.

He loved washing rocks in his bucket, playing with Noni’s fire engine and playing three little pigs behind the camper door. He did not like the fire smoke and always wanted to be in the camper pushing buttons.

In the trailer! (With an accent of course because of the flipped L in trailer)
















Here is the big bad wolf....















"I'm going to blow your house down!"
















Huff and Puff!!!









Just chillin




























Shhh Mom, I'm watching my show!



























Practicing my silly faces for baby Brynn.
























































This is a face Bray often makes when being shy and first meeting people or when he cant' think of the words he wants to say.















We got our pumpkins this weekend.











































































Drinking my coffee with Daddy in the morning.













Here is the king out walking his horse. Did I forget to tell you that one often has to be some type of a character also.
















31 weeks along. I seem a bit bigger than last time, but my measurements are right on. Her head is down now and she is moving around a lot. I have gained 21 lbs. so far and am starting to show thickness everywhere, especially under the chin.



Two months to go!!!




Here are my new specs! I got two pair. I have the other pair on in the other pic.

27 months old!

Brayden is all about imaginative and role-play. He pretends to be characters out of his books and loves to act out the stories over and over again with someone, especially the Three Little Pigs and The Billy Goats Gruff. He role-plays many stories from books and movies using his little people, animals, tractor and rockets. He uses the funniest voices deep voices when pretending to be the troll or bad wolf. And, he is really using a lot of sound effects when flying is helicopters and giving his animals shots at the doctor.

Bray pretends to be people he knows and acts out what they do. His best friend Eva still scoots on he bottom to move around the house, so Bray will scoot around like her and say, “I’m moving like Eva.” Papa was kicking Noni as she walked by his chair last night and Bray sat in his chair and said, “I be Papa. Noni you walk by me.” And he kicked her just like Papa. You can see it in a video. Recently he says he is a baby and cuddles in my arms or pretends to cry. I think he may be anticipating Brynn.

He loves to make tents and forts with sheets and play hide-n-seek in them. He loves to run around and have you run with him, but does not like to be chased. He says is scares him and he stops dead in his tracks, yelling “NOOOO!” if you say you are going to get him.

Last week he was saying, “Poop!” whenever he let out a fart. Today he started saying “Parp!”

Brayden is always making observations and talking nonstop about everything. He uses the best descriptive words when he is talking like SLERP, CHILLY, GIGANTIC, etc. He also uses a lot of different inflections in his voice. He is very aware of language and how to use it for effect. It amazes me!

I think Bray may have been to too many doc visits with me recently. He had Papa’s little reading light, came up to me and said, “I have to check your bottom mom.” Oh my!

Bray taps his toes to the beat when he hears music. He can also keep a simple rhyme pattern with his hands.

He hurt his ankle the other day and could not think of the word to tell Dad, so he said, “Dad, I hurt my down knee!” Then he hurt his second finger and told me he hurt his 2 fingers. It made since. He holds it up when he tells everyone he is two years old.

I went down the slide with Bray the other day and it had a bump at the end. I said it hurt my bottom. Brayden ran to Daddy and said, “Mommy has diarrhea Dad!” I thought the connection was so funny! He is such a thinker.

There are 3 new videos, just double click on the old Three Little Pig video as the top and then go into my home page with the house icon in the upper left hand corner. My name is next to it. Then you can click on any of the videos I have in my log. The top ones are the new ones.

Dinner out the other night.

"You want some?"












































Dinner at chuck-e-cheese last month.




























Wow, a helicopter ride!





































Maybe it goes too high!




































"We need to call Auntie Jen!"














"I'm practicing my funny faces for Baby Brynn."












This is Brayden's first story ever told and drawn at the same time with no help or encouragement from Mommy...

"There was a storm, it was coming. There was thunder and lightening. It was scary! There was a plane flying in the sky, in the storm. There was a big bad wolf and the three little pigs. They are in the storm with the plane flying! There was a storm!"





"I'm a wizard!"

Wish List for Brynn's arrival

Here is the list for those that have asked showing what we need for Brynn. We have a small account with Target online you can look at also. It will be under Debbie's name. We do not need any clothes or blankets for the first 6 months. Her dresser is already full and set for her arrival. She will be here in 3 1/2 short months!







Zutano fleece booties (pink) - calibex.com
Small/soft girl baby doll for sleeping with
Hand/Foot print picture frame
Sleep supports
Oversized swaddle blanket (can be found online)
Newborn Diapers
Target gift cards
Clothes for Fall 9-12 months and Winter 12 months
Gift card for used children store in town(Once Upon a Child)
Money for college fund

It's August...what are we up to!

Brayden’s new sayings for the week are “What should we do about this?” , “What do you want to do?” , and a long drawn out “WOW!” Imagine it with a cocked head and a scrunched up face.

He calls Daddy, “Daddy-O”

He says the P sound for his F’s

He loves to sing Old King Cole and the theme song from Veggie Tales right now.

Brayden loves the story of the Three Little Pigs and loves to act it out all day with his animals and in his castle.

We got him a cool standing cash register toy at a yard sale and he loves to play store and pretend he is checking you out. It makes all kinds of cool noises. He always gets tickled when it says, “Thank you, come again!” He also loves to throw the paper money all over the house.

He learned to cross his fingers on his own the other night

All of Brayden’s friends want to play with him everyday. There parents tell us that they talk about Brayden all the time at home and how they want to go to Brayden’s house. He is very sociable and wants to really interact with his friends. He is always getting down at their level and talking to them. He tries to encourage games and playing with toy together. He loves to touch Eva’s curly hair, give her hugs and hold on to her arm. It is really cute.

When Brayden gets a bump he always wants a kiss to , “Make is better!” Now he even kisses us when we get a bump. It is so sweet.

Brayden got a hair cut the other day and was so good. He even used the big boy buzzers.

The other morning Brayden saw Daddy putting on his belt and said, “Daddy, you need to put on you seat belt.”

Brayden woke up from nap the other day and bumped his head on the bed rails. He said, “I hit my two head!” I responded with, “ Oh, you hit you forehead?” He said, “Oh yah!”

Brayden wants everything “FASTER” these days. He wants the water running faster, the swing going faster, for one to sing songs faster and faster. He will even say “Accelerando” sometimes to mean faster. It is from his Little Einstein movies.

Here we are a Ocean Journey in Denver. Brayden was a little frightened with is being to dark and the noises were strange in the inclosed area. He did love seeing the divers and the big turtles.

Cute pictures

Here are some great pictures to look at....

Isn't he getting so big!?!

Brayden made his first analogy July 23^rd, 2007 and has been doing it every day. His first one was, “Wow, I’m falling like humpty dumpty!” Some we have heard since are “I’m crawling like a baby,” and “ I’m eating like Chloe!”

Brayden likes to pat his friend Eva on the back and say “What a good Eva you are!” He says it to her dog, mommy, daddy, Noni, and little babies too. Brayden and Eva are so cute these days. They stroke each others arms lovingly, give hugs and sometimes try to lean in for a kiss. He is really doing well with all his friends. He is very social and wants to talk and play with them not just beside them.

Brayden walked up to man at the library the other day and said, “Hi there guy!” He went on to tell him all about reading books and how much he loves it. It was so cute. The man was very responsive. Then we went to the store and he saw two men from Africa. He flirted and talked with them a lot. The men were very tickled by the interaction.

Brayden walks backwards like a champ. He does is often and has been doing it for months now.

When Bray wears his superman PJ’s flies around and says he is ‘Super Map’ from his Dora cartoons.

He is obsessed with helicopters and watching the propellers turn. We need to find one that can just hover above him all day so he can watch it.

Silly words tickle Brayden when we say them. He really laughs at LOOPY and Snicker Doodle.

Brayden is starting to rhyme with me a bit. When we are hanging out and I start rhyming words he will copy me or even chime in with some of his own. Once again, something I could not even get kinders to do.

When you ask Brayden to show you his muscles he puts his arms straight up in the air and says, “I’m strong!” It is so cute.

He got his first arm painting at the fair. We were so proud of him for wanting to jump in and do it and he knew just what he wanted, “A Spider.” He was very happy with it all day.

He is really into imaginative play with his toys. He retells his favorite stories or makes his characters talk with each other. It is very cool. His favorite story to reenact is The Three Little Pigs.

Bray does not want Daddy to go to work these days. He says things like, “Could you not go to work this weekend,” “Daddy stay home,” “I go too,” and “You take your shoes off.”

Brayden has allowed us to put his sandals on without socks 4 times now. WOW!

We had another proud moment for Mommy. Brayden joined in for circle sing time after library today. He held other children’s hands and danced along in the circle. It is so great to see him becoming social and feeling like it is okay to be a part of the group. We did The Farmer in the Dell and one other circle game. He was even smiling some times. I’m really feeling like he might be ready for a preschool group to play with soon. He has been making friends at the park recently also and talking and copying what they do. We were out to eat the other night and he could not take his eyes off the little boy across from us. When the boy took a drink, Bray did. When the boy put his hand on his face, Bray did. He is really noticing others and wanting to interact with them.

Brayden loves to flip through
magazines...







































My new bear backpack ("purse")
from great aunt Fran




































Getting my first face painting at the fair this weekend. We were all so proud of him. You can see he was not sure at first, but by the end he gave her a high five and was very proud of it all day.
























































See my cool spider!?!


















































I love to brush my teeth...
























































Do we look alike or what!?! At least we know he will grow up to be good looking like his Auntie Jen.











Brayden loves to pretend to be Bob the Builder,
even as he is reading to go to bed.












































That is all folks!