Christmas Eve

For Braylon's first Christmas we decided to invite my family to come to our house and spare ourselves from lugging all of his gifts home in addition to the many "necessities" we already lug around. :) Braylon did so well opening his gifts. I think the most difficult part was having to take his new toy away so that he could open the next one. He seemed to like the boxes they came in the best though. Hahaha.

Braylon certainly got spoiled by his grandparents and aunt and uncles. He got lots of great new clothes and toys. He is definitely more than set for a while. I will have to dress him in at least two outfits a day to make sure he gets to wear them all!

Braylon gave grandma and grandpa a calendar for Christmas. It is 18 pages filled with pictures of him and his adventures spent with them over the past nine months.

Braylon and Uncle T.J. had a lot of fun together that day.

We all had a fun-filled Christmas together. And it was only the beginning of Braylon's first, most wonderful Christmas he could have. We are so very lucky and thankful for all of you. Thank you everyone. We love you.

Stay tuned for more on Braylon's first Christmas. He had two more spoiling sessions on Christmas Day!!! :)

Braylon with Santa

Braylon's very first visit with Santa was on November 22nd this year. We got the picture taken at the Cherry Creek mall. The line was really not as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe because it was still November. We stood in line for about 30 minutes. We really lucked out because just as we were approaching the front, they started telling people that Santa was taking his lunch break in 15 minutes and that we'd have to wait an additional half an hour from then before being able to take the picture. Thankfully, we were the last people they were able to squeeze in before Santa went to have some milk and cookies. Braylon was a trooper. He did not cry at all, but he was not really all that impressed either. He just kept looking at Santa like, "Who the heck are you and why are you holding me?" Even when John, me, and the photographer were all trying to get his attention, he'd still just look at us all like we were crazy. I think the photo we ended up with really captured just how he felt about the whole situation. :)



Cherry Creek is a really nice place to get pictures taken with Santa. They had a giant snowglobe with fake snow that you can walk around in. This year's theme was the Polar Express with interactive characters and train features. It was pretty cool.

A Visit From Our Cousins

My cousin Katrina and her kids all came up from Colorado Springs for a visit on December 6th. We enjoyed spending a few hours together catching up on all the new things going on in our lives. Katrina and her husband Doug just got back from an amazing cruise around Europe. They went to Turkey, Greece, Rome, and a few other places in Italy. It sounded like a wonderful time. I definitely hope to visit those places someday as well.

Laura was absolutely enamored with Braylon. I don't think she left his side for a moment the entire time they were here.

Brian spent time with John playing PS3 and Wii games, while Kayla joined Katrina and me in conversation. She is in advanced placement courses in her school so she was working on schoolwork for some of the time she was here. She plays the viola as well and is really into books right now.

I can't believe how big they all are. Time really flies by quickly. Although the visit was all too short as always, it was really great spending the time with them.

Braylon's First Popsicle

Braylon's doctor told us that he could start eating food other than jarred baby food during our last visit. He just happened to start cutting teeth about a week later so we gave him a sugar free popsicle to help soothe it. He seemed to really like the flavor but wasn't sure what to think about how cold it was. It is pretty funny to watch. Enjoy.

Congratulations Andy and Brittany!!!

My brother proposed to Brittany the weekend before Thanksgiving. She said yes! We couldn't be happier with the news and we're so thankful to be adding Brittany to our family. Congratulations to you both!

Thanksgiving

Again, I am behind.

Here are some pictures of Braylon's first Thanksgiving. We spent Thursday at my parents' house where Uncle Jeff and Grandma Lois joined us all. It was a really fun time. Braylon gave us all something to be thankful for and took his first steps that day; 8 and a half months old. He has been walking more and more each day since.


Friday night was spent at Grandpa Bob's house where we enjoyed roast beast, yummy sweet potatoes and green beans. We all dropped the ball and forgot to take pictures there. John and I are just not good at remembering our camera. One of these days I hope we'll get better. Thankfully my parent's took some pictures at their house and gave us what they have or we'd have no record at all of Braylon's first Thanksgiving.


This one is of Braylon in the outfit he wore to dinner at Grandpa Bob's house. I took the picture the next day so that we'd at least have a pic of him in the outfit.





Braylon playing in his toybox at grandma and grandpa's house.



Braylon makes this face and sticks out his arm when he says "ball". It is the cutest thing every time.



Smiley boy. I just love this picture. :)