Elf on a shelf! {25 days of Elf-mas}

Grandma was nice enough to pick up the Elf on a Shelf for mommy! I had been wanting to pick it up since I saw it back on the shelves and she must of read my mind! :)  We opened the Elf the other day and read the story. Before anyone says anything Brayden did touch his elf. I know that's a "no no" but how can you explain to a 1 year old they can look but not touch and it's for him. lol From now on though his elf will be "keeping his eye" on him.  I plan on doing the "25 days of Elf-mas" as I am affectionately calling them. Where every morning his Elf will be doing something fun and we will have to go find him. I found some really great links on Pinterest for ideas, so I'll be doing posts for each day in December on what Brayden's elf is doing each day. I though it would be a cute idea and something to put in a photo book for him.  We didn't pick a name for his elf yet, but I'm sure by the time next Christmas rolls around he can help pick it out himself! I think Bray loved the box and book for the Elf more than the Elf itself. lol

Visiting Santa!

After the parade today we decided to take Brayden to see Santa at the Cherry Hill Mall. My neighbor was nice enough to give us a voucher for a free portrait package, can't beat that!  I really didn't know how Brayden was going to react to Santa. Last year he was just over a month old so he just hung out in Santa's arms.Most of the time he is outgoing but he was the opposite he was PETRIFIED!  Poor kid, first he was tortured at the parade then Santa. lol Fortunately the line was really short for pictures so we didn't have to wait that long.  When it was our turn I walked him up to Santa and let him "take him in", he clung to me with a death grip like no other. The second I tried to put him on Santa's lap the screaming commenced. Santa and his photographers were really great and let us try and calm him down, let mommy sit with him, give him a binky and blaket ext ext,  but all of the shots he was screaming with a crazy face. I guess it's kinda good the photos were free lol  But i'm glad we got them either way, it was definitely a memorable visit to Santa and i'm sure we will be looking back laughing when he is older.  So...here is it!!

Christmas Parade!

 This afternoon we headed to Pennsauken for their annual Christmas Parade. Last year Brayden was only a month old and it was freezing cold so we didn't get to go. This was his first official parade. He had a lot of fun, but he cried ALOT! Honestly I think the biggest problem was he was tired and has been teething relentlessly. In order to go to the parade we had to wake him up from his nap early so I think b/w that and all the loud noises he just wasn't enjoying it as much as he would of.  He was so interested in everyone and everything!

  He normally loves looking at firetrucks but after 30 rescue and trucks driving by with their sirens and horns blaring he was yelling and crying. Poor kid!  Even when the different bands would come by he was getting upset. He is obsessed with music so I know he was def not feeling himself.

My Poor Baby! 

He did love the candy and the reindeer that Grammy got for him! 

 And he got to meet his favorite character Elmo!!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know we had a great day spending time with family and having lots of delicious food! We had a nice breakfast in the morning and after Bray's nap we headed to my parents to visit for a little bit.  Later we headed to mom and dad Keyser's for the big Turkey dinner! Everything tasted amazing and we had a lot of fun! 

 This Thanksgiving I am thankful for so much. I am especially grateful for my amazing husband for his love, support and what a wonderful father he is. My son, for bringing happiness and laughter in to our lives and giving me the gift of being his mom.  My family, for being there for us through thick and thin. My friends, for never judging and supporting us through the good and bad times.

 Mmmmm Turkey! Gobble Gobble!

 Suck a long day! 

Homemade salt dough Thanksgiving Turkeys!

For Thanksgiving I wanted to make some cute crafts!  I came across another site that had the recipe to make the dough for Christmas ornaments but I decided to make turkeys out of hand prints!  It's super easy and a lot of fun. I think Brayden is a little young to fully enjoy it but we had a good time!

What you'll also need:
A cute kid with adorable hands :)
A small piece of card stock
toothpicks

* Trace Childs hand on to cardstock and cut it out. (believe me this will make it 10x easier than trying to trace a fidgety childs hand 6 times lol)

* Cut toothpicks in half

Recipe: Yields 6-8 handprints depending on desired thickness and hand size
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup salt
3/4 cup water






Directions:
* Preheat oven to 300 degrees
* Mix all ingredients in a mixer using a dough hook for 3 minutes, or for 10 minutes by hand.
* Roll out dough to desired thickness and lay hand print template on the dough. Using the knife trace/cut out the shape of the hand and repeat to get the number of turkeys you desire
* Place turkeys on a making sheet. Make sure it is a non stick pan and/or use baking spray to prevent sticking
* Take 2 cut toothpicks and push the pointed side in the to the bottom of the turkey hand to make legs. Be careful to go straight in the the middle so the toothpick does not stick out either side.
* Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until dough looks browned.  Thicker dough may take much longer. Just keep checking it every few minutes.
* After removing from the oven they may not feel hard right away but will harden as they cool.
* After they are completely cooled you can paint and decorate them.  Acrylic paint works best if you choose to paint them. 

Favorite Things #10: Munchkin Snack cups

My son being the rambunctious toddler that he is, is always on the go. When it's time for snacks i LOVE LOVE LOVE his little Munchkin snack cups. The design means little mess and he can still play and eat at the same time. Its also great so the dog doesn't eat up his snacks before he gets a chance to.  They are also great on the go. When we go to the store I can keep him entertained with a snack and drink so he doesn't get too antsy!  They are reasonably priced and you can find them sometimes cheaper if you shop around!

My what big feet you have!

I decided when Brayden was born that I would make sure I took hand and footprints at 6 and 12 months to compare and see how big he had gotten. I did forget that at birth they only did a foot print so I don't have a hand  but that's okay.  It is AMAZING to see the difference. He was by no means small at birth!  I couldn't even really get newborn shoes on him without squishing his feet. He started out a size 1!  lol. I could of guessed before he even cam out since his feet were wedged in my lungs for the last few months and they felt huge lol  Being that daddy has size 13 feet now, we shouldn't of been surprised!

Top to bottom: Birth (size 1 shoes), 6 months (size 3-4) and 12 months (size 5 1/2 -6)

Birth to 6 months 

6 months to 12 months

Birth to 12 months