2nd Birthday Party!!

The birthday party was lots of fun. It was small but perfect size with everything that has been going on. Brayden did very well and loved all of it. He enjoyed playing with all the kids, eating at his little table with other kids, opening presents, playing and sharing his new toys, and finally the cake! He got one good swipe of the cake and got to try some frosting, but after that cousin Isabella held her hand out to assure he didn't get it again. He even blew out his own candle!! I was busy taking pictures so I wasn't sure if he did it or if someone helped but they assured he did it himself!!

It's almost here, THE BIG 2

Brayden continues to make us laugh constantly!! He is so funny even when he doesn't try to be. If it is something he does on accident, or something that comes out of his mouth we are always laughing!! He is talking better than ever and will repeat almost anything you say now pretty clear. He continues to have his "nicknames" for things including "Pepe" is airplane, "Copti" is helicopter, "PAPA" is grandma and grandpa, "MiMou" is mickey mouse, "pow" is cow, and "Polors" is to color!! He continues to go from one extreme to another very quickly. He goes from singing and yelling while running around crazy to sleeping in my arms in 2 minutes!! He can go from happy to sad in a second and back again in the next!! He goes from not eating anything all day to eating 6 chicken nuggets and french friend at dinner!!  You truly never know what you are going to get!!!

Who's learned more?

Brayden will be 2 in just a week. I can't believe it!! I just put Brayden to bed and am sitting here thinking about how much things have changed in the past 2 years. I can't figure out who has learned more: Me or Him!! Of course he has learned everything, but he has taught me so many things about myself, life in general and about being a MOM!!
I have learned so much about LOVE, LIFE, and MYSELF. I have learned about sharing, caring, giving, loving, guilt, motherly instincts, and so much more. I never knew that I could love someone so much, I never knew that I could feel guilty doing so many things that I use to do whenever I wanted, I also never knew what it was truly like to have someone count on me for everything!! My family has brought so many amazing memories over the past year and I don't know what I would do without both Donny and Brayden!! They truly are my everything!! Thank you so much for everything! I Love you both so much!!!

Well, our big accopmplishment for this week is that the gate on the stairs is gone!! Brayden is free to go up and down the stairs on his own. He is doing such a good job, he even goes to the stairs and says "Night night" when he is ready to go to bed. He is learning his colors, one color at a time, it cracks me up because he picks things for the day that are that color and if they are not the color he wants then he changes to a new favorite color.

We went to a first birthday on Sunday and for the first 30 minutes or so Brayden wouldn't leave my side, but after that he was wild, all over the place, and playing with all of the kids. He is so mnuch bigger than the little girls his age but still played so good with them!! He was even nice to the babies, and kept reminding himself when he saw a baby to be "Nice, nice". Here are a few new pictures:

I've got my hands full!!

The past few days have continued to be busy!! We are getting ready for the BIG 2 Birthday Party!! Brayden thinks that everyday is his birthday, but thankfully it is really just once a year!!
At daycare they have been giving Brayden an open top cup, he is struggling to use it with out spilling, so he is coming home in new clothes every day because he soaks himself!! OOOOppppps!
One of Brayden's new favorite games is to run around the house with a dog treat in his hand and have the dog chase him!! He runs as fast as can and the dog is right behind trying to get the treat and make sure he doesn't get hurt!! It is so funny to watch!!
Our lives are getting a little closer to back to normal. Donny went back to work last week with the exceptions of doctors appointments and tests!! He is seeing improvements every day and we hope to have him back to normal in a few weeks, which is good news!!

"Happy Birthday Maddie"

Yesterday was cousin Maddie's birthday party!! Brayden called her in the morning and told her "Happy Birthday Maddie"!! It was so sweet, all day he was excited about the birthday party, which leads me to hoping that he has so much fun at his party this year!! Brayden and I drove to Peoria yesterday at nap time and drove back home last night. Brayden did AWESOME!! He even stayed awake all the way home. He only cried once all day and that was when his PAPA left!! One of these days PAPA is going to learn not to leave him!! He sure is PAPA's boy!!!

Brayden enjoyed playing in the girls' playroom yesterday and him and Maddie spent lots of time playing in there together, not with the same toys usually but they would sit on the rug close to one another!! It was so cute!! Then Brayden wanted to show Maddie how to ride her new bike, Maddie wanted no part of that, of course!!

Brayden is continuing to learn to count, learn his colors, and go Potty on the potty!! He is getting so big!! He says so much now and in sentences, he is always asking "What is this?" He wants to take is as much as he can!! He is an amazing little guy, and almost has mommy and daddy anxiously awaiting what he has in store for us next!!

Here are a few pictures from the party!!