A Present and Memorial Day

Braden's "auntie" Jeanine dropped off his birthday present which was in a package as big as he was! He enjoyed playing with the present before, during and after opening it!

We had a great time hanging out with our friends on Memorial Day as you can see below!

Wonder if Nicole will be feeding a boy when the next little Minnick arrives this December!

Cole getting hydrated before hitting the pool.

Anthony feed them grapes after...

Anthony jumping off the roof... what a great role model!

These daddies... at least our kids have fun ones!

I love Veggie Sticks!

The kids thought they were so cool getting to eat outside while also playing!

Cole tried to escape!

Our baby is 1!

The past year has been a true blessing. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to be Braden’s Mommy and Daddy. There is nothing better on earth. As I looked at these pictures of his first year, the miracle of who he is became even more evident to me. Last night I was able to rock him to sleep (which is a rarity!) and I cherished it with all my heart.

A little before he was born (gotta love scheduled c-sections!)

1 month (a few hours really)

2 months (in San Diego)

3 months (such a chunk!)

4 months (with cousin Addison!)

5 months (trip to Pittsburgh and Ohio)

6 months (chillin with Daddy)

7 months (Christmas time)

8 months (loving carrots)

9 months (lost count of the number of kisses he got from his Mommy)

10 months (the big boy has emerged)

11 months (sideways bites)

12 months (growing up!)

A few of my favorite things (according to Braden)...

Helping Daddy clean up after lunch!


My buddies Cole and Kyndal.


Eating paper.

My Daddy, having my bottle and being on Mommy and Daddy's bed!

The space between my 2 front teeth!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (he adores this book!).

Paci and bear at nap time.

Diaper Find

As I've shared, Braden loves to eat leaves. So, I shouldn't have been surprised when I got a message from Anthony today that read "Braden pooped an intact leaf." I was in a meeting when I read this message and I'm glad I didn't lose it! Probably better not to read Blackberry Messenger notes from Anthony while in meetings!


We had a great weekend and Memorial Day hanging out with friends and relaxing. Here's a preview picture of the kiddos after a swim!

An afternoon in the park.

We've had a couple of beautiful, rainy days and a nice reprieve to the hot weather! So we decided to go visit the park near our house.


After swinging, Braden decided to start exploring.


First he found a pine cone.


Then he decided to go down the slide headfirst.

It made his hair staticy.


He thought that was pretty funny!

Trying to climb the wall was a lot of fun, too.

He did make sure that we were keeping track of him.

And was glad there weren't any speed limits because he's such a fast crawler.

He speed crawled to the grass and found everything he could.

And then put it in his mouth.

And then got tickled by the pine needles.

Airplanes are never forgotten.

And new, comfy shoes help keep his feet clean.

Mama is always watching to make sure he doesn't find anything bad.

And always ready to pick him up when he wants to go home.

Communication

We've been doing sign language off and on with Braden. Nothing consistent at all and actually the thing we have done the most is "all done" when he is finished eating. He shocked me the other day by signing "more" when he wanted some more food. He's been doing it ever since! Today he even distinguished between which item he wanted more of! Here's a little video.

Braden also started telling us animal noises. Another shocker with it being a lion since I've been teaching him what a doggie says forever now!

Return of Daddy... and other things!

Anthony made it home safely! He had a great time and enjoyed the challenge and adventure. What a great opportunity for him and we are glad he got to do it. It's great to have him home and finally getting back to a normal sleep pattern. He will probably post some pictures and stories from his journey.

I'm glad to have the camera back, too. 6-days of no pictures of Braden was a long time!

Braden's had his first bout with an upset stomach. Believe me, he's spit-up enough in his short life, but the last 2 nights he's actually woken up during the night and barfed. Poor little guy. He's so sweet and helpless and snuggly. Oh yeah... and stinky! He seems to be fine during the day and no fever. So hopefully he'll be back to his normal, nighttime self here soon. I do have to admit that it's fun snuggling with him.

He's so much fun and makes me laugh out loud on a regular basis. It's fun as he grows and gets more and more interactive. He's basically a little Statue of Liberty recently as he points at things and hopes there is something at the end of his finger. Another thing he does is kneel down low to look for his toys when they roll under the couch... so cute. And we are so glad to say that after a 6-month delay he finally started swim lessons tonight! Yippee! He did great. We took a waterproof camera so maybe will have some pictures some day. I didn't know you could still have film developed!

Braden anticipates the flash now so it's hard to get pics with his eyes open! It's avocado on his nose which is currently his favorite food.

Are you messin' with me...

Hi Mama!

Listening to Daddy.

Night swimming with the Minnick's!

Kyndal gave Braden a preview of what he would be learning at swim lessons.

No, it's not E.T.

Wow, I got the whole pear!

A strawberry and a few claps.