My son the Dare Devil!

Every time we go to the park, play at home or anywhere for that matter my son likes to pretend he is older than he really is. This kid is crazy! Today he decided he was going to "surf" and dance on a box. He is seriously going to give me a heart attack lol  I didn't realize he was going to be able to stand on it or i wouldn't of let him play while i was 5 feet away. Before I knew it he fell, thank god he didn't get hurt, he actually thought it was hilarious and was trying to get back up to do it again.  OH BOY!  I had to snap some "supervised" pictures.  I know he LOVES to climb anything he can but he is really giving me a run for my money.  I don't think he realizes he is only 11 months old!

WATCH THIS MOM! 

I'm doing it!

 This is the BEST!! 

11 Months Old! How is that even possible?!

As usual I feel like I am way behind on my monthly Brayden updates!  I seriously can't believe that we are counting down till his first birthday.  16 days to go! I am in some SERIOUS denial.  It really is amazing how fast time goes, everyone says it does but I think it goes even faster!

The last month has been really busy!  We've been doing all kinds of activities, birthday parties, first hurricane/earthquate/tornados and more milestones. lol At 11 months Brayden was weighing in at 20lbs(25%) and 31"(98%) tall!  He is still drinking WAY to much formula/milk but we have successfully transitioned from formula to whole milk so that is an accomplishment in itself. He loves his sippy cup but will only drink water. We will eventually get the milk in there but I need to get the amount he's drinking down first. Not that we are trying to give him juice but he won't drink it even if we wanted him to. I think my kid's the only kid that doesn't like juice. lol  He is still in 12 month clothes with the exception of his waist lol  and is wearing size 4-5 shoes. This kid has big feet!

As of a few weeks ago he was still taking 2 naps a day but since then he's dropped down to 1, it's been a very interesting transition to say the least. I've had to push his nap back so he can make it till bedtime. His nap is usually at least 2 hours but he REALLY needs to make it longer, like 3 hrs to be happier. Guess we will see how it all works out.

Brayden is still a great eater, when is isn't sick and teething.  He eats everything we do and loves trying new things.  One of his latest obsessions is tomatoes. Coming from the kid who had such bad reflux and stomach issues this is awesome!  He loves running around the house with his snack cup in hand. I've really been trying to push filling snacks in between the meals and bottles to help knock down the number of ounces he is drinking. So far it's helping a tiny bit but not enough.  Its a work in progress. I have a feeling we are going to be having a LONG talk with the pedes about this at his 12 month appt.

He is still waking at night! Uggghh! I'm not going to lie, 11 months and counting of not sleeping through the night has been really rough on jason and I.  With all the teething and sickness stuff that has gone on in the last month (he's currently teething BAD right now too) it's been at an all time worst. If he only wakes up 1x it's a miracle. Some nights it's been 2,3 and more times. He has NEVER been a good sleeper. I don't know if it's just the way he is or if it's a result of the terrible sleeping/pain he was in when he was little b/c of the MPI and reflux but I feel so bad for him. He is always moving around in his crib as he sleeps.  My poor baby, I keep joking with jason that he's trying to help us get ready for when we have baby #2.  lol

I know every parent is proud of thier kids but I am seriously so proud and impressed with Brayden. Not to come off as bragging but I'm allowed to do that here! :)  It's so amazing to watch your child grow and develop.  Especially at this age he really is understand things and how they work, talking up a storm and using words accordingly.  It's amazing. Now of course his words are very baby talk and if you don't spend all day with him you prob don't have clue what he's saying like I do but he is getting good at speaking. Of course he babbles, screeches and makes silly sounds but he does know some works to use appropriately. He knows mama and mom, dada, cup (comes out as up), nap, doggie, cat(rarely but sometimes he say it in context), up (as in pick up). He's learning to say other words or more or less repeating things as we say them.  It's seriously mind blowing. I've tried doing some sign language with him but he would rather try and say the words instead of signing them. But that's fine by me if he wants to be vocal. :)  His word association has really improved. We can ask him where the doggie(Riley), cat(jack jack), mommy, daddy, and some toys/items are he knows exactly what you're talking about.  :)   He is also getting really good as learning how things work.  We practice open/close, on/off (he loves doing on and off with the bottle lid) and putting things inside of things.

He loves playing with the most random stuff! Like all the kids I know you could give them a million toys and they want to play with the box it came in.  In the last month I've had to "upgrade" our child proofing. He keeps finding things that he can get in to.  I had all the "bad cabinets" in the house locked up but I've had to childproof the dvd cabinets, the remaining kitchen cabinets and drawers and take down more stuff that was he wanted to climb on or steal.  His obsession with emptying everything out and running around the house with all of my kitchen utensils made me have to lock it all up. Not that i necessarily minded him playing with them but it was like cleaning up after a tornado over and over and over.  lol

Brayden LOVES musing and elmo! lol He started noticing the tv more.  He doesn't really watch too much unless something grabs his attention.  But Elmo is like a drug to this kid!  He rocks out and dances to the theme song and is entranced by him. lol For this reason I really try and minimize the amount he's watching. A few minutes are not going to kill him here and there over the course of the day but he literally locks on to the tv like a statue...yeah not so good.  He also loves music. Which we knew but he's been showing off his crazy dance moves and it's AWESOME!  He learned to push the buttons on my ipod while it's in the docking station so he can play music.  I think i seriously need to get him one of those kid mp3 radio things, he would be in LOVE!  Anything with a beat and dance music is his favorite!

Some bullet points of the "highlights" of the last month!

*The trifecta of teething shenanigans: in a matter of 2 weeks(8/25, 9/1,9/7) we had 3 teeth come through, if anyone knows my son is NOT a good teether by any means, it def made for some interesting times :)

*9/2: First busted lip! Following by example of the grace and coordination of his mother he fell while playing and bit through his lip.  Poor baby had a bloody mouth but got a "freeze pop" to make it all better.

*9/11: Sickness hell breaks loose. Daddy started the week before with a stomach virus that was passed along  then Brayden and Mommy followed suit.  The next day Bray started vomiting and running a fever, not eating or drinking.  We were able to get in with the pedes and he had a stomach virus and Strep throat :(  First time taking amoxacillin. He HATES the taste of it!  I remember as a kid loving the "bubblegum" medicine but this kid acts like he is being tortured when you give him and meds. Must be flashbacks from the Zantac days.  lol  He ended up losing a whole pound while he was sick.  By the time he hit 11 months he had gained 1/2 lb back and was back up to 20. By the end of the month he was back up to 20lb 5 oz.

*9/17 First Apple and Pumpkin Picking!  He had SO MUCH FUN! With him walking so early it has really made things for him so much more enjoyable!

Taking monthly Onesie pictures is ridiculous!!! this kid refuses to sit still! It takes at least 2 of us acting like complete idiots to get any decent pics! lol  

 Trying to escape giving a devilish face! 

 FINALLY a nice smile! Even though he's looking at Aunt Katie! lol 

 Typical Brayden expression! 

BLOOPER! Most of the pics are crazy like this and up in his face b/c he was trying to 

run and dive on the couch at us or reaching for something in the distance. lol 

Happy Birthday Dad Keyser!

On Sunday we celebrated Dad Keyser's birthday a day early.  We had a great dinner and I made a cake for dessert.  We had a great time and of course Brayden had a ball getting in to everything, pushing Tupperware around the house and playing with his Elmo balloon grandma and grandpa got him! I was FINALLY able to get some pictures of Dad and Brayden together. Bray always refuses to sit still and tries to climb on him when we try and get shots of them together. lol  Brayden and Mommy made grandpa a birthday crown with pictures of him and grandpa.  He was a good sport and let us take pictures!   For the cake I did a Yankees theme, OF COURSE! Anyone that knows mom and dad Keyser knows it's ALL about the Yankees!  Brayden also helped mommy make the cake by taste testing. Looks like i'm going to have a big helper in the kitchen!

Yes, after the fact I though I prob shouldn't of let him lick it b/c it wasn't cooked 

batter and it was chocolate but he survived. lol I LOVE the tongue sticking through!!! 

 He had a blast!! 

 LOVE those eyes! 

The Cake!  Chocolate Cake with fondant details!  

 Faux wood grained baseball bat and ball! 

Helping Grandpa open his card and presents! 

 YANKEES SLIPPERS!!!

 I'm helping!

 Playing with Grandma!!! 

 Happy Birthday To YOU!!! 

 Make a Wish!

 What a good sport!! 

Happy 3rd Birthday Zoe!!

My girlfriend Ana's Daughter Zoe had her 3rd birthday party on Saturday. She did a small party at the McDonalds in Woodbury. Brayden had his 1st Happy Meal. lol  The kids had a great time! Of course Brayden was trying to follow all the big kids around. He LOVES Arianna! lol Maybe a little too much he was trying to hug and kiss her and she was not having it! Poor girl! lol The play place wasn't really for little kids but  I was able to take him in the one section to crawl around and my g/f Jill's daughter Jessie took him up the "big kid climbing area" to play. I really can't believe she turned 3! I remember her being born and going to visit in the hospital!  Even scarier Brayden will be 1 in 16 days!  Crazy how time flies!

Zoe and Abby climbing!

 Just hanging with my boy Ronald!

 ( and i promise we didn't pose him he did it on his own! LOL)

 Hey girl, wanna play?!

 Don't you dare put your hands on me brayden! lol 

 Arianna pre-bbq sauce explosion :) 

 Abby!!! 

 Zoe! The birthday Girl!! 

 mmmmm burger!

 Arianna and Jessie!

Busy Week: Paw's Farm, Please Touch Museum and Mom's Group Picnic

Last week was a busy week for Brayden! We had a lot of fun things planned to do!

On Wednesday we headed to Paw's Farm in Mt. Laurel with our playgroup. Brayden had a great time. It was rainy that day so we spend most of the time inside but we made it work.  The place was really cute for kids, they had a barnyard area of animals, a play vet area and various play places.

On Thursday we went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia with Jill and Abby! The kids had a great time!  There was so much for them to do and play with we could of spent all day there!    I think at this point in Brayden's development he was at the earliest age to be able to go and play. Most of the kids were older and with him being able to walk so well and being able to play walking and stalking really made a huge difference.  This boy really thinks he is a "big kid" and jumped in playing with all the older kids with no problem.  Thanks again to Aunt Jill for taking us, we had a great day!!! We took SO many pictures so i'm trying to narrow it down to a few. lol I'll post them all on FB later! 

On Friday we still had our Mom's Group Picnic at the Red Bank Park by our house! We got to meet a lot more moms and kids and had a great time at the park! Everyone is so great, I really love this group! Brayden has a wonderful time chasing after the kids and trying to play on the "big kid" playground.  We tried to get a big group shot, i think a few kids were missing but not bad considering! :)