11 Months Old

Holy crap in a month this little guy will 1 year old...........a whole 12 months will have gone by in the blink of an eye.  I am really looking forward to his party but am sad at the same time.  It is true what they say about them growing up so fast; he will be 5 & heading off to kindergarten before I know it & oh how the tears will fall down this momma's face when that happens.

Colton is almost walking & a speed demon crawler.  He has taken a few steps here & there but doesn't seem to have his balance under control just yet.  He loves to giggle & has the best belly laugh I've heard for being so little.  He has figured out that he likes real food & prefers to try to feed himself when ever possible.  I am still giving him 3rd foods 3 times a day but he likes to feed himself apples, strawberries, bananas, carrots & even chicken.  The kid LOVES food & loves his independence already. He claps when you say "yeah" & loves when I sing to him.

He is taking one long nap a day & thankfully it has worked out to be the same time that B naps so I am in nap heaven finally.  Colton is no different than his brother & every time the door opens to outside he wants to go out & play.  It is hard at the moment since he is not walking to keep both entertained since I drag his walker outside & he wanders without fear but he can be contained by putting him on the grass.  He will sit & pull it out of the ground forever.  He is also like his big brother in the water area; the hose comes out & I get huge smiles & laughs.  The water is still a bit cold but I really don't think kids have a sense of that while they are playing.

Colton has finally also gotten on a great nightly sleeping schedule; he goes down at 8 & is up around 6 UNLESS he is teething & then it gets a bit earlier.  He has 5 teeth & it seems like more are coming because the drool is just pouring out of his little mouth.  There is literally a line on the floor that follows his crawling path...............gross I know but what can I do?  He is wearing 12 month shorts but 18 month tops & size 3 shoes.  He is a long lean little thing!!

Colton loves his brother with all of his heart & the way that he looks at him is with such admiration already; I only wish B looked at him the same way.  We are still struggling with B sharing & poor Colton gets pushed over or popped by B at least a few times a day.  B goes strait to timeout when this happens & then has to hug, kiss & say sorry to his baby brother & we are hoping this will pass very quickly.

Colton is happy about 95% of the time & is all boy all the time.  He has a smile that can light up a room.  He is trying to talk & be heard already.  He says "da-da", "no-no" (& shakes his head while saying it), we get a j sound for juice & has attempted "ma-ma" a few times but I'm not sure if he is really saying it or if just babbling & that is what I want to hear.

We are so lucky to have these little guys in our lives & I feel blessed each & every day that I spend with them.  I am really looking forward to Colton Circus Party next month & will post his invite once everyone receives theirs in the mail.

11 Months Old..........

A year ago today I was checking into the hospital to start the induction process of my labor; I knew that I was going to love Brayden so much (since I already did without even seeing him) & also knew he was going to change our lives but I guess I didn't realize that it was going to be the most wonderfully overwhelming kind of love that it has been this past year.............he will be 12 months old tomorrow!!

He is so happy all of the time.........

He laughs..........

& smiles..........

& giggles all of the time.......

He loves to be shirtless..........

He "grrrrs" at us his face looks like this (he tenses & straightens his arms, hands & fingers too)............

& he has grown to love to be read too..........he even says "ba" for book!!

11 Months Old

I CAN NOT believe that he is already 11 months old & that we will be celebratinghis 1st birthday in just a few short weeks.........CRAZY!!

Brayden baby,

You are the light of our lives & we love you more than you can ever know!  It seems like you have become your own little man with in the last month; actually just with in the last 2 weeks.  You think you are a big boy & want to walk everywhere you go; you no longer like mommy to carry you all the time & even though I knew this day would come I didn't think it would come so soon.  You still stumble around a little bit here & there but you have the hang of walking for sure!!

You have switched over to Pampers Cruisers in the hopes that you will no longer have saggy butt & you are still in a size 4.  You love to feed yourself ; it is pretty messy but you are getting better at it each day.  You have been on whole milk for a little over a month now & love it; I am so happy that I trusted my gut feeling about the formula & your belly issues seem to be a thing if the past since the switch.  You still get you am & night night bottle but I think we will work on getting rid of that AM one pretty soon; I am not looking forward to getting rid of your night night bottle because that is our special time each night!  You love your sippy cup & seem to always want something to drink.

You are still only saying "dada", "hi" & "bye" but I keep hoping "mama" will be coming soon.  You haven't gotten any new teeth so you are still holding at 3 top & 2 bottom; from the drool that has been covering your shirts lately I am thinking that a new one is on the way though.  You eat just about everything that we do & love to try new things.  I think that bananas are your favorite fruit & you LOVE mac & cheese just as much as I do!

You are so smart & can even sign for "more" & "eat" & you do both all of the time; I guess we need to focus on more words so you can tell me what you want more of.  You are a studier; you will look, stare & observe until you figure out what or how to do something.  You are trying to figure out the baby gate at the top of the stairs & yesterday I actually thought you did & almost had a heart attack. 

You love paper, the fly swatter, & the remote to the stereo; you seem to always be carrying one of them around.  You love to be in the kitchen with me when I am cooking or cleaning & you love to help clean out the Tupperware cabinet every chance you get!  You love to go on the fridge but not the freeze (I think the cold wireds you out) & you LOVE the play in the pantry as well.

You love to dance & you dance & bounce your head anytime you hear music.  You give & blow kisses & also wave bye-bye when we are leaving or walking away from you.  You love Bella & Georgia so much & they love you too.........especially when you are feeding yourself & THEM too!!  You love when dad & I do something & then tell you to do it; you always do what ever it is & it is the cutest thing ever.  You have discovered you giggle/laugh & find so many things funny so we hear it all of the time.  You love to raise your hands up in the air when we say "so big" & for some reason you are grinding your teeth & that drives me crazy!!

You are such a joy when we are out & about but if you ever get upset all I have to do is give you the baby wipes out of your bag & you are good again.  You love to flirt with the ladies & love when you see other kids; you always wave at them to make sure that they see you too.  You are like mommy & love to people watch & love to roll around in your stroller.  Your big boy car seat is still backwards & you love to look at yourself in the mirror & wave.........you get that from you dad!!  I have a feeling you are going to really like to be facing the other way though & love the sights that you will get to see.

You have & are doing so many things that I can't remember them all but just know that everyday your father & I cherish & love you & think that you are the best thing that has ever happened to us.  Your smile melts our hearts & hopefully you will never use that against us :)  You are growing & changing on a day to day basis & I can not wait to be home with you everyday to see & capture it all (if you ever start to sit still for pictures).  You are our little man & we will love you always.

Love Momma & Dada