The Ultimate Hiding Spot

I think Braden found the best hiding spot ever.....



I couldn't even find him.


Funny thing is...he waited so long he fell asleep!


Actually, I found him here after coming home from the grocery store late one night. He had gone to bed, but wanted to come down and watch the basketball game with his dad. He knew he shouldn't get out of bed, so he hid in the living room....and fell asleep!



Luckily, I saw him (which was hard - you can barely see his arm) before I went to make sure he was in his bed. I would have panicked not seeing him in his bed.

This kid is a crack up! He keeps us hopping!

Puzzled!

He loves to do puzzles

All kinds

All day long!

The best part about it is that he sings while he puzzles.

Music to my ears!

Some Important Things Missed....Part 2

Another important thing missed was my sweet Braden's birthday.



He turned 4

And couldn't be happier that it was finally his birthday!

He had been counting down for months.....waiting and waiting



He loved all of his Buzz Lightyear toys, and especially liked his binoculars, knife (fake of course), and walkie talkies. His words: "Dad...now I can go huntin with you, and get a bear with my knife!"



He chose "NicDonalds" for dinner, and we celebrated the next day at Grandma Nae's and Papa Jer's with cake and ice cream.

Some of Braden's favorite things to do:

Getting "atorgade" (Gatorade) from Papa Jer's house

Hunting with his Dad

Playing "hunting and camping" all day long



Packing everything he owns into bags, sacks, and his pockets. (it is not unusual to find ALL of his underwear, socks, and pjs in his backpack. And he insists on taking it to the grocery store - or any other store - with him)

Playing with his friends (this is the first thing out of his mouth each morning)

Telling mom and dad that he loves us multiple times a day

Saying "hold you me" when wanting to be snuggled

Singing loudly all of the words to songs on the radio....such as "I've Gotta Feeling" and "Love Story"

Giving his shy, coy smile when he is embarrassed. (I love this smile!)

We love you Braden boy! Happy 4th Birthday!

Birthday Boy

Braden turned three last week. Of course, I am a week behind. He has been waiting so patiently for his birthday to come. Brandon and Jaicee's birthdays were last month - and it was so hard for him to understand that it wasn't quite his birthday.

He was so excited when he woke up the morning of his birthday. He just kept saying "It's Braden's spiderman birthday." (He has been telling me he wanted a "red spiderman" birthday for weeks.)

We had our traditional "candle in the pancake" breakfast. He has been practicing this for weeks also!







It was killing him to wait until Brandon got home to open presents....but he made it! Some of his favorite things were his spiderman fishing pole, spiderman hat and gloves, and his "cars" racetrack. He also got a spiderman scooter from Grandma Nae and Papa Jer that he loves.

He picked his favorite spot for a birthday dinner.....a gourmet restaurant, with a playset....Carls Jr!

Grandma Debbie and Papa Bruce took him to "Build A Bear", and he thought he was in heaven. He spotted the Spiderman bear right off - and couldn't think of anything else. He wanted that bear!

His cousin Max (whose is two weeks older) came too. They loved it!

Thanks Papa and Grandma!

Braden you are a wonderful little boy and I love so many things about you.

I love that you are so polite. You have always said thank you and please from the time you could talk. I especially love your reply that you always give of "Thank you really much Mom" (said with such true sincerity).

I love that you adore your big brother Kason. You wait for him to come home from school and follow him from the minute he arrives.

I love that you run around the house in your spiderman, batman, superman costumes and say "SUPERMAAAAN" (No matter what superhero you have on).

I love that you said after getting on the scale this morning..."Mom, I growing bigger. Now I can go to the mountains with Dad, and hunt moose and bear!" (Seriously, like father like son)!

I love that you say "I wuv you Mom. Bye" as you are running out of the room.

I love that you are so excited every time your Dad gets home from work! No matter if he has only been gone for 1 hour, your reaction is the same. You scream "Daddy!!" and run to his arms.

I love that you wake up in the morning and immediately ask "where's my daddy?" When I say that he is at work, you reply "Daddy at work making lots of money?" Then your next reply is "I want my Daddy back!"

You are a climber...not so sure I always love that part, because it is so dangerous. You climb everything from tables to pantry shelves, to columns on the front porch. You are too coordinated for your own good.

I love that you say "wipe my drippin eyes" when you have been crying. You want me to wipe your tears off of your face with both of my hands (not just one). Funny thing is your big bro Kason said this same thing when he was your age! So crazy!

You are a special spirit, my litle Braden bug. I love the happiness and pure joy you add to our family. Happy "spiderman" Birthday to you!

And I had to add a few pictures of this sweet baby! She is 4 1/2 months and growing like a weed. She is my chubby ball of happiness with thighs that have endless rolls. (Seriously, I will have to post a picture - it is amazing!) And I love every square inch of her to pieces.

Serenade For Two

I came around the corner the other day to find this:

Braden was strumming on the guitar and singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It was so sweet, and he was even singing in his nice, soft voice - which doesn't happen very often. I was so happy I got to witness this moment.

It was one of those "rewarding mom" moments that keep me going! Thanks Braden for reminding why I love being a mother.

Independence

This is what happens when you let a 2 1/2 year old pour his own bowl of cereal, because you are just too tired to fight him about it one more time!

Could have been worse....he could have made it to the milk before I made it downstairs!

Best Friends

Since the moment Braden was born, Kason has been so thrilled to have a little brother. (I actually think that he was just so relieved he wasn't going to be the only boy in a house of girls!)

They have a very special bond, one that I hope will last forever!

Braden lives for Kason to come home from school, practices, friends houses, etc. He runs to him every time he sees Kason - yelling "Dare" (this is what he has called him since he could talk - who knows where he got it!).

As a mother, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing your kids love and protect each other! And there is something so sweet about brothers loving each other so much.

So, since Braden idolizes his big brother, he tries to do everything Kason does. Who cares that he is 8 years younger!

This is their favorite summertime activity to do together:

Kason is a great skateboarder....and Braden has totally surprised me with how good he actually is. The kid has no fear! These pictures were taken when it was 95 degrees outside. They didn't mind, they stayed outside for a long time perfecting their skills. When they came in, however, they had bright red faces and were covered in sweat! Love the determination boys!

oh, and just for your information...the big trucks in the background are not mine....just my neighbors across the street. Don't worry they have three more (even bigger) trucks in their driveway that you cannot see! (Do you think I am a little bothered by this?)

one other thing....I am not sure what is up, but the spacing on my blog has been crazy lately! Blogger won't let me separate my paragraphs with spaces....it just does what it wants! Any ideas all my blogger experts?? So, sorry about the "visually unpleasing look of my post"

The Next Edward

So, for all you "Twilight" fans out there....here is the boy who should be playing Edward. (In about 20years!)

For those of you that aren't "Twilight" fans, it is a novel about a vampire and a mortal girl who falls in love with him. Edward is the amazingly gorgeous vampire....I think Braden fits the character exactly. Check out those incisors in his mouth. All four of them are extremely sharp...hopefully the permanent teeth won't be quite as sharp, or I might start believing in vampires!

Another One

This boy has hit his head multiple times in his short 2 and 1/2 years of life! I hope his brain survives all the trauma. Here is the latest...

He was jumping on the couch (something I should not have been letting him do) and hit his head on the arm of the couch. This picture was taken minutes after. He had a huge goose egg protruding immediately. Since then the bruising has all gone away, but he still has a little knot on his head. Is that ever going to go away? I sure hope so!

P.S. For those who are interested, we ate the wild turkey on Sunday, and I have to say it tasted like TURKEY! It was probably the best "wild meat" I have eaten thus far. Don't get me wrong, however, I didn't eat too much of it. I still have a hard time stomaching something that I have watched be killed, plucked, cleaned, and cooked. For some reason I would rather buy it frozen from the store. My husband thinks I am crazy! But at least I try everything.

How I Found Him

Braden disappeared they other day, and I couldn't find him anywhere! It is very rare that he is not right under my feet saying "Hold you me!". I searched and found this...

First of all, he is 2 1/2 years old and still has a binki! Kason was my only other "binki lover" and we had taken it away by the time he was 1! I always had friends that let their kids keep the binki until they were two and three and thought they were crazy! Well, bring on the fourth kid - and all rules go out the window. I love so much that he sleeps well at night, and takes long naps during the day. I haven't yet been able to part with the binki. We have however, limited the binki only to nap and night time. Every morning Braden leaves his binki in his bed. When he gets upset in the day and wants his binki, I remind him that he can't have it until nap time. Well it looks like he solved the problem on his own....he needed a little binki time, so he climbed in his bed and found his binki. I love kids that can solve their own problems!

I keep trying to tell myself that I will take the binki away soon....but for some reason there always seems to be some other pressing crisis happening, and the binki gets put on the back burner. Maybe I can make a goal to have it gone before the baby comes? Can't make any promises though :)

Oh yes, and that is a pink silky blanket you see in his bed. It was originally Halle's, but Braden has now made it his. Good thing he is strong in his manhood!

Conversation with a 2 year old

Braden and I were talking about the baby that is in my belly. You know, trying to prepare him for the shock that will hit his life in a few months. Well, this was how it went:

Me: Braden, what is in mommy's belly?

Braden: Baby!

Me: Baby brother or baby sister?

Braden: Baby sister!

And then touching my belly he excitedly said: "Let's open it!"

He then proceeded to pull on my already protruding belly button very hard! Obviously trying to open it!

Braden: "It's stuck mommy!" (While continuing to pull on my belly button - now making it stick out 4 inches instead of 2)

We laughed and laughed. Kids are so literal. I wish I could pull on my belly button and have the baby come out - now that would be great labor! Needless to say, my belly button was quite sore for a couple of hours, and if it didn't poke through my clothes before...well, it is huge now!

Ever Seen This One?

The other day Braden was coming up the stairs, and then started screaming! I ran down to find this:

It almost immediately looked like this. Has anyone ever seen such a bruise? And there were no bumps on his head or anywhere else - just his ear. The picture doesn't do it justice....his whole top half of his ear is black and blue! We have had many strangers stop to ask what in the world happened to his ear! I am guessing he must have hit it on the edge of the banister....who knows? With all the injuries my kids have had (there have been plenty crazy ones) this one has to take the cake. He actually didn't cry long - and hasn't been bothered by it since. I guess it is a good injury to have!