7 Month Milestones

Braeden turned 7 months on December 30th and we have a few new skills to report.

He's not going to win any races, but Braeden has started crawling. It is definitely an army crawl, but it gets him where he wants to go. One of Braeden's favorite things to do these days is destroy towers of blocks that I build. Here's a glance of Braeden's newest skill (and as my husband says, the commentary is almost as good as the video :-)

As for other 7 month milestones. Braeden is getting a little better at eating solids, but he is still not loving them. The only thing he seems to like so far is the baby yogurt. It is hard not to laugh when we feed Braeden something that he really doesn't like. He is quite dramatic, spitting and gagging while scrunching up his face like I just fed him dirt. Oh well, I guess at the very least, he can eat yogurt for every meal :-)

I also gave him his first bath in the "big tub". I had been bathing him in the small infant/toddler tub that you can put in the big tub, but he spent most of the last several baths trying to climb out of it. So, I gave in and put him in the big tub. He loves it.

This little boy just keeps getting bigger and bigger. He is growing up so quickly and I couldn't love him more. I am so excited to see what the next stage brings. I love you Braeden!

Go Nuggets!

I think every parent out there will admit that they love their kids more than words can say, but it is always nice to have an adult night out. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Chad and I were definitely ready for a little fun. Chad's brother Danny and his wife Dena are big Nuggets fans. For Christmas, we bought the 4 of us seats to the Nuggets vs. the Cavaliers. What a great night. The Nuggets won (which always makes for a good Nuggets game) and more importantly, Chad and I got a night out with Danny and Dena. I need to remember to make more time for nights like these. They are not only a great night for me and Chad, but they rejuvinate me as a mom.

On a different note, I can't wait until we get to take Braeden to his first Nuggets game. I know he is going to be a big Denver sports fan (he has no choice with me as his mom :-) Go Nuggets!

Happy New Year - A different celebration with kids :-)

Happy New Year! I have always loved New Years Eve. In years past, I have gone down town, gone on trips, gone to parties. However, in none of these years did I have kids. I wasn't sure what this New Year's celebration would bring. That is why I was so excited when my friend Liz (who also has a 7 month old little boy) decided to have a small New Year's gathering with a couple other families. There were 3 little guys total, Braeden, Declan and Nicholas. Wouldn't you know it, I have the only baby that refused to go to sleep. This really isn't a surprise (he is a terrible sleeper), I guess he just didn't want to miss the excitement of New Years Eve. Chad and I had a great time, even with our little guy awake the entire time. Luckily, he never really gets cranky when he is up late. We enjoyed dinner, some board games and the New Year's countdown, before heading home about 12:15. Braeden was out before we pulled out of the neighborhood. I guess he enjoyed his first New Year's Eve. What will 2010 bring....I don't know how it can top 2009. Happy New Year's everyone!

Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year!

I think most people with agree with me, Christmas is such a magical time of year. I love all of the family gatherings, great food and drink, and the time of reflection on all of the good in my life. This year, there was definitely a lot of good, in fact there was a lot of great. This was Braeden's first Christmas, and we had a great time.

Christmas with the Bakers is not a one day affair, but more like a week long celebration. We started at my Aunt Luanne's on Tuesday the 22nd. We usually get together with her on Christmas Day, but this year she was going back to Wisconsin to celebrate with all the Dunlaps. Because Luanne and her kids live in Colorado, we are lucky to see them a lot. Lu and I have grown to be more like friends rather than just aunt and niece. Braeden got his first Christmas ornament from his "great" aunt Luanne (the first of many presents for the little guy.) I don't think he will need anything new for a while.

On Wednesday night, we got together with the Staebells for our traditional fondue dinner. We have been having fondue on Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember. My family has been kind enough to move our annual dinner to the 23rd because Chad's mom's birthday is on the 24th and we are usually celebrating with them on that night. I always love getting together with my whole family. Unfortunately, it is rare that we are all together, now that we have grown and moved our separate ways as we journey through life. That is why I really cherish Christmas and the holidays. Our fondue dinner was filled with lots of great food and drink, lots of memories and more laughs than I could count. I love my parents, brothers and sister more than words can tell. I feel so lucky to have them in my life and even luckier to call them my family.

Christmas Eve was a very busy day. Luckily, I was somewhat organized with my shopping this year, so I wasn't out finishing up any last minute gifts. We met Chad's family for mass at 4 and Braeden took a liking to the man sitting next to me. I think it was because he was wearing glasses and Braeden wanted to grab them. Overall, he was good in the packed church. After mass we headed over to White Fence Farm. This is a restaurant where Chad worked there for 9 years and it is also where we had our rehearsal dinner, so it has some sentimental value. Chad's family has been eating their Christmas Eve dinners there for years. As usual, Braeden did great at the restaurant. He loves eating out (he must take after his mom :-) After dinner, we went back to Chad's parents house to open gifts. We also took a 4 generation picture with Chad's grandma. As always, it was so much fun to hang out with Chad's family. I am so blessed in so many ways, one of which being that I have awesome in laws. Everyone had a great Christmas Eve, and Chad's mom, Michele, had a great birthday.

Luckily, Braeden has been a good boy in his first 6 1/2 months, so he got a visit from Santa. I think his parents were more excited than him this year, but I know that will change in years to come. After we opened our stockings and Santa gifts, we headed over to my parents house for our big Christmas morning celebration. My parents always go WAY overboard and this year was no different. We were showered with way too many gifts, my mom made her awesome monkey bread and we got to enjoy being together. This year was kind of exciting for me and my siblings, as Travis organized a group gift from the 4 of us. My parents have been watching this old tv for years, so we got them a flat screen. They were so surprised and so excited. It was so fun to do something big for them, as they have done sooo many great things for us. One of my favorite gifts to give out was to Travis. He is notorious for not dressing warm enough for Bronco games. I am always teasing him that he should wear a snuggie. So, this year, Trav received a Bronco's snuggie from his nephew, Braeden. Doesn't he look cute :-)

Christmas afternoon, we went over to see Chad's big extended Denver family, which is always a great time. The family is huge, probably about 50+ and growing. There are lots of little ones running around and I know there will only be more and more as Chad and his cousins have more kids. I am definitely looking forward to the years ahead when Braeden is running wild with the rest of the kiddos.

Overall, it was a GREAT Christmas. I think Braeden (and his mom) were exhausted, but it was worth every minute. I can't wait until next year when Braeden can walk down to see Santa's gift on his own. I love this little boy and I am sooo excited to have him in my life. So many good times to come. I love you Braeden. Merry Christmas!

I love December!

I LOVE December! It is probably my favorite month of the year. Not only is it filled with holiday spirit, fun times with family, and more celebrating than we should do in a year, let alone a month, it is also my birthday month. This year's December 10th celebration was a little different with our new little addition. Rather than go out for a night on the town, we hosted a poker party at our house. That way I could get Braeden to sleep and enjoy the party. Now, if you knew my son, you would say, no way will he stay asleep through an entire party, and I would agree with you. On this particular night, Braeden went to sleep at 7, just as everyone was arriving and woke up at midnight, just as they were saying their goodbyes. It was like his special birthday gift to me. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures, but it was a great night. We had about 20 friends and family for pizza and poker. My dad won and Chad took second. It may be the way I spend all my future birthdays :-)

The rest of my December days have been spent preparing for our Christmas celebration. We are hosting my family at our house for a fondue dinner a few days before Christmas and between shopping, decorating and house cleaning (in addition to working and taking care of Braeden), I have been super busy. Luckily, Braeden is a great little shopper, at least this year. I took a little video on one of our excursions. Hopefully, he will be this good next year.

I also found time during the holiday hoopla to take Braeden for his 6 month pictures. They turned out great. He did great until the very end. It was the photographer's idea to put him in the middle of a wreath dressed in a diaper and his Santa hat. We probably should have done this first, because by the end of the shoot, he did not want to sit in that wreath, he even produced real tears, which was the last picture of the day. We got some great pictures regardless.

Everyone is very excited for Braeden's first Christmas. I know he will have no idea what is going on, but there is just something magical about this time of year, and I am so thrilled to share it with my little boy. I look forward to this Christmas day and all of the holidays to come.

6 months

I can't believe how fast the time flies by. It seems like I just had this little baby boy and he is already 1/2 a year old. I am still amazed by how quickly he is changing and growing during this first year. His 6 month appointment went great. He is a long lean baby (like his mommy was) measuring in at 28 inches and 17 lbs 9 oz. He got all his vaccinations along with the flu and H1N1 shots, so it wasn't the greatest visit for him, but overall he did great with the shots. He has started eating solids and while he is warming to the idea, he doesn't love them. We have always gone out to lunch and dinner with him quite often, and it is nice that he can start to participate in these meals. A couple of nights ago, Chad and I took him to Texas Roadhouse and I realized that I forgot his bib. Chad made a makeshift bib out of one of the napkins and he kind of looked like an outlaw. He got lots of adoring looks from the diners around us. Braeden is kind of a nosey kid, he is always staring at the people sitting around us at restaurants. In fact, most of the time he won't turn away until they acknowledge him with a smile. As his as they smile, he will smile back at them and then turn away.

Every Monday, I meet my parents and my brother Travis for lunch at this local Mexican restaurant called 4 G's. It is near my parents office and we have been going there for years. In fact, we don't even have to place an order with our regular waitress because we all have a "regular order". Anyway, Braeden has tagged along with me on Mondays since he was born. On this particular day it was cold and Travis was wearing a beanie. We put it on Braeden, and while he didn't love it, we thought it was soo cute.

As far as other milestones. Braeden has been rolling both ways for some time now. His 2 front lower teeth made an appearance during the last month (he was definitely happier when they finally broke the skin). He still loves his excersaucer.

He still wakes throughout the night. I can honestly say, he is a terrible sleeper. In fact, the only time this child cries is when we try to put him to sleep. Oh well, it can't go on forever right...someday I will sleep through the night again :-)

I am loving every minute of this little boy. I am trying to appreciate all of the stages (even the sleepless nights) as I can already see how quickly this time is passing. I can't believe in another 6 months we will be celebrating his 1st birthday. I love this little guy :-)

Mexico

If you had asked me a few years ago if I would take a 6 month baby to Mexico, I would have said no way. Well, times have changed. Last winter, my good friend Chrissy got engaged to her boyfriend Travis. I was so thrilled for her, Travis is a great guy and I knew they had a great relationship. Given Chrissy's adventurous spirit, I wasn't surprised at all when she started talking about a destination wedding. She and Travis decided on Riviera Maya in November 2009 and I was so honored when she asked me to be a bridesmaid. At the time I was pregnant with Braeden and I quickly did the math on how old he would be when the wedding came around...6 months...hmm, would I be ready to leave him then...probably not. So, lucky for me, I have an amazing mom, who was happy to tag along on the trip, to be our on call babysitter. I am so glad I decided to bring Braeden. Since I stay home with him during the days, he is very attached to his mom, which I love :-) Additionally, I am still breastfeeding, and I wasn't sure about the effectiveness and logistics of pumping to keep my milk supply up. Lastly, Braeden is still struggling in the sleeping department, especially when other people try to put him to sleep, so I definitely would have worried a lot had we left him in Denver. All in all, I was glad to have him with me for 4 days in Mexico. Might the trip have been more relaxing without him...probably. Would it have been as good...no way!

So, on Wednesday morning, November 18th, Chad, Braeden, Grandma and I headed to the airport for the little guy's first international trip. Did you know they require infants to get passports!! The crazy thing is that they are good for 6 years, like it will look like him at all. It will be a good memento for the memory box. Luckily for us, Braeden has been a great plane traveler so far. With one trip to Wisconsin and now the trip to Mexico under our belts, I can honestly say he hasn't really cried at all on the plane.

The resort we stayed at was very nice and super kid friendly. They provided a crib in the room and they even had highchairs at all of the restaurants (and it was the same highchair we have at home.) We got to take Braeden swimming for the first time. They had a kids pool area with shallow, warm water and Braeden really liked that area. He was super cute in his swim trunks and sun hat. I am already looking forward to swimming with him this summer.

Chad and I stayed busy with all of the pre-wedding hoopla. There was a welcome party on Thursday, the Rehearsal Dinner on Friday and the Wedding on Saturday. Additionally, Chrissy took all of the bridesmaids on a snorkel cruise on Friday morning. That was such a great, relaxing time for me to hang out with the girls. I can't tell you the last time I sat in the sun, no worries, for 3 hours. It was great. All of Chrissy's bridesmaids were awesome too. We had so much fun hanging out.

As expected, the wedding was beautiful and Chrissy looked amazing. They got married at sunset on the beach and everything went perfectly.

A few funny things...a tractor that picks up seaweed, drove right behind the ceremony area just before the bridesmaids started walking down. Also, there was a nudist colony a few resorts down from our resort. Apparently, the nudists like to wear banana hammocks when they clothe. I didn't see them, but there was a couple standing 30 yards from the ceremony making out, and the man was wearing his g-string swimsuit. Chad thought it was humorous enough to take a picture :-)

The reception was a lot of fun. Great company, good music and lots of dancing. Overall, it was a great wedding. I am soo happy for Chrissy and Travis. I look forward to lots of fun years ahead as married couples.

The trip back to Denver ran into a couple slight glitches. Mainly, that our plane was delayed 3 hours and almost didn't take off. Apparently, the flight attendants oxygen mask wouldn't stay up in the compartment, and legally, they can't fly with it dangling down. Thank goodness, they found a way to fly at a lower altitude to get us back to Denver that night. I was so thankful, as I was definitely ready to get home. It was a great trip, but I was glad to get back to our own beds (and crib) and back into our routine.

I want to thank my mom again for coming with us. She was a godsend. We definitely couldn't have gotten by without her. Thanks for being a great mom and an amazing grandma. I love you!