Brayden {21 Months}

 

It has been 3 months since I last did a monthly update on Brayden. I had decided at 18 months that I would go to every other month until he was 2. Well, with going on vacation last month and then being busy here I slacked on the 20 month post so we will just go with a 21 month update instead.



My baby boy turned 21 months old on Sunday. I am seriously amazed at how fast the time is flying. He is going to be 2 in just 3 short months, how did that happen? My baby is growing up so fast I can't hardly stand it. He will forever be my baby in my eyes but he is turning into such a BIG boy. He is such a "boy", wanting to make huge messes, being loud and rough and of course getting dirty.
 Brayden has expanded his vocabulary more than I ever thought possible at just 21 months. He says so much and repeats pretty much anything we ask him to say. We can usually understand what he is saying almost always.
 Believe it or not we are actually thinking of potty training in the very near future. I think he just may be ready for that step. More on that topic to come a bit later.
I knew that the time would soon come when we would be dealing with tantrums and he is definitely testing his boundaries and our patience. If he does not like something we have said to him he will protest by throwing himself down on the floor flat on his belly. I always find myself trying not to laugh because its so cute.
 

Brayden has an ever growing love for Thomas the Train and has acquired several wooden trains thanks to Grandma and Grampy. I see a train table in our near future. I am pretty sure his 2nd Birthday will have a Thomas theme for sure.

At last...Brayden's Nursery/Room

Finally I am getting around to sharing Brayden's Nursery/Room. I really have no idea why this post has taken me so long to put together. I have wanted to share his little space for months but have put off taking the pics and getting it posted, until now. I had the bedding set picked out before we even knew he was a boy for sure. If it was a girl it would have been something similar just girly. I love how cute it turned out and would not change a thing. A few minor things here and there have changed in his room simply because there are things we do not use anymore or have found different placement for as time has passed. I do still have a few things I would like to add to the walls but it will happen when time allows. We have taken away some of the baby things we do not need anymore but the room has quickly filled up with lots of toys. Its amazing how many toys this kid has, I think he may be a bit spoiled. 

 

I think my favorite thing in this room is his name above the bed. I absolutely love it and it turned out so much better than I had envisioned. It was so simple to make...a branch from a tree in our yard, letters and animals cut out on cardstock with my Cricut, twine used to hand the letters from branch. So easy and of course I got the original idea for this on Pinterest here. 

Bedding Set-Zoo Zoo Bedding Set at Baby SuperMall

Crib & Dresser/Changer- JC Penny

Glider- Borrowed from my sister...I believe its from Target

Hamper-Babies R Us

Alphabet Art- A piece of scrapbook paper from Michaels put in a frame

 A few things have changed from the time Brayden was born. We have definitely added lots of toys to his room now. He has plenty more arranged in the family room/ toy room where we spend most of our time.
 I could not resist hanging the blanket on the wall, the pattern to me was just to adorable and I had the perfect open wall to hang it on. 

I actually never really thought that I would use the diaper stacker (it came with the set) because honestly I thought they were kinda dumb and who uses them anyway...really! I was just going to use a cute basket on the dresser/changing table to store them and I may still do that in the future. I also had no clue where I would put it either. When I decide to not use the diaper stacker anymore the hooks will be used to hang towels or little jackets or hoodies, as that is what I originally bought the hooks for in the first place.

 I have plans for the corner where the glider is that includes either a toy box of some sort or a super cute reading corner with shelves on the wall.

 I love that this is a space he feels comfortable in and enjoys playing in. 

Brayden {9 Months}

Well, Mr Brayden turned 9 months old on October 6th. 9 MONTHS, geez! Its all going so fast. We have not had to many new milestones this month. He is mostly just improving on the skills he picked up last month. Brayden is still not walking on his own yet but he gets closer and closer every day. He really cruises along the furniture and even took off walking all by himself behind his learning walker.  We officially have  a "first word"mama mama mama! He says it all the time and I of course just love it. Brayden has also finally picked up on waving. He gets so excited when it does it to.

 

 

As of October 12th, 2012

Weight- 16lbs 10oz

Height- 28in

Head- 17in

 

 Dr says he is doing great and is a very healthy little boy.
That always makes a mommy feel good.

 

Loves...

Loves to look at himself in the mirror. He loves to "kiss the baby". Its so cute.

He LOVES to sit almost sideways in shopping carts so he can see whats going on. You would think just being able to sit up would be enough but not for this kid.

Loves to play/chase our dog around but she is not always thrilled about that. She would much rather sleep.

 

 

Hates...
Not being able to do what he wants.
 

 He is getting better at laying still for diaper changes and getting clothes on but its still a struggle most of the time.

Foods with any sort of texture to it. We tried the stage 3 foods and he is not a fan of them at all. I will probably wait a bit and try them again.

What a difference 9 months makes!

 

My Personal Baby Must Haves

I have actually wanted to put one of these posts together for a while but as usual time just gets away from me so easily these days. I have been coming across a lot of posts like this on other mommy blogs I frequently visit so I guess I will jump in and share my two sense as well.

 

As a first time mommy it is really hard to figure out what you need and must have for your new little one. I have learned that there are a lot of things out there that may work for one family/new baby but not everyone. What works for one does not always work for another. It really is all trial and error.

 

My son is now 9 months old so these are things that we have used or currently use now that are my personal favorite baby must haves.

Boppy
I think that this is probably on every new moms list of things to get. I LOVE the Boppy. We used this ALL THE TIME when Brayden was an infant. He just loved to be all snuggled up in it and would sleep for hours in it. Definitely a "Must Have" in my opinion.
Baby Magic Lotion & Soaps
I Love the way this smells. They need to seriously make a candle out of this smell and call it clean baby. Just a personal favorite of mine.
Pack-N-Play
We did not get a fancy pack-n-play with all the cool stuff on it. We just kept it simple and I think I would say I am glad we did. We kept it in our bedroom and used it as a bassinet for first few months and worked great for us.
Bumbo Seat
I think that everyone is pretty familiar with the Bumbo seat and probably already knows that it is a must have for a lot of families out there. We just loved how this seat can be used for so many things...playtime, snack time, chill time. My son loved to be able to sit up and see what was going on so this really worked well for us. I still put him in it at times and feed him his snack, the tray is so handy.
Space Saver High Chair
I cant say enough how much we absolutely LOVE this chair. We don't have a lot of room in our kitchen at all so space is definitely an issue for us. It simply attached to one of our kitchen chairs.  I recommend this for anyone doing research on high chairs. The best thing about it is that it grows with your child and it is so easy to adjust. My niece is almost 3 and she still sits in one and fits just fine.
V-Tech Sit-To-Stand Learning Walker
This has been my favorite toy that we have. Brayden LOVES this and plays with it all the time and just the other day stood up behind it and started walking with it, all on his own.
Bright Starts Bounce Bounce
There are a few different variations of this activity station out there but this is the one that we had and Brayden really enjoyed it. I don't put him in it very much at all these days simply because he just does not like to be contained. He likes his freedom to go and do what he wants. As soon as he was able to hold himself up somewhat we would put a blanket around him for support and he would play in this for a while. It really help build up those muscles for him to sit up on his own. My sister had a Jumparoo that we used when we went for a visit and he really liked that one as well and I actually wish I had had one too.
Cart Cover
I am a bit of a weirdo when it comes to germs ESPECIALLY on public high chairs and shopping carts. I always sanitize them before using them and you better believe it I do carry a package of Clorox wipes with me just for times like these. Crazy momma, I know! If for some reason I am without my cover I wipe germ mobile very well before putting him in it.





 

 

 

Show & Tell: Baby Talk

 Show & Tell: Baby Talk
Linking up this fun post over at From Mrs to Mama. Its all about babies so I thought I would join in for fun.

 

1. Tell us your favorite baby names? Aside from your own babies, if you have some :)

Boy Names

Liam

Noah
Gavin
Logan
 

Girl Names

Addison

Adalyn

Olivia

Cheyenne
Laykin

 

2. Show me your "dream" nursery {can be your baby's nursery or one that you love}
I absolutely LOVE the way my sons nursery turned out and I plan on doing a post about it really soon. I am just putting some finishing touches on the room. Yes, my son is 8 months old but since he arrived 2 weeks early i never had a chance to finish it off but I have put it at the top of my priority list so I should have it finished soon.

Here is a sneak peak at my sons nursery (can't wait to share the rest soon)...

But here are a couple pics of my "dream" nurseries...

Picture and inf about this nursery can be found here on Project Nursery.

I am slightly obsessed with pink and grey and stripes right now.

 

Picture and info about this nursery can be found here on Project Nursery.

 I LOVE LOVE LOVE how adorable this nursery is, the colors and the modern touch.

 

3. How many children would you like to have? How far apart?

I would love to have 3-4 children. My sweet little man is 8 months old right now and we have talked about possibly thinking about trying for another when he is maybe 1.5-2 years old. It took us almost 4 years to get pregnant with him so who knows how long it may take to get another blessing. I think we would really like them to be about 2 years apart but we will just have to wait and see what god has planned for us.

 

4. Tell us what you think the importance of parenting is?

 I think that just being a parent is the toughest job out there. I am always wondering if I am doing the right thing and making the right decisions for my son. I think that it is important to teach our children to be the best that they can be and to treat others with care and respect. I think being consistent is very important, children need consistency and discipline. They need to be loved and know right from wrong. That is what I hope I can teach my children.  

 

5. Show us your favorite newborn photo {can be your children or random}
My son Brayden, its not professional photo but I adore it.

6. Tell us some things you promise to never do as a parent {and if you are a parent, did you stick to it}

I always said my baby would never sleep in bed with me but for me that has been near impossible. There have been many nights when he just won't sleep that my last choice has been bring him bed with me.

I will never let my child scream or throw a fit in public.