Pumpkin Patch

We stopped at a Pumpkin Patch a couple of weeks ago and were able to go out to the field and find our very own pumpkin. There were a lot of pumpkins out there so Mommy, Daddy, and I walked around to find the perfect one for me. I was kind of tired when we got there but I still had fun. Here are a couple of pictures.

Happy Halloween

Here it is... the day all of our faithful blog readers have been waiting for.... Surprise, Brayden was a giraffe for Halloween. For those of you that know us well a lot of you had guessed that he was going to be some sort of animal. After feeding the giraffes at the Minnesota Zoo we ( Andrew, Brayden, and myself) have a love for them. When we saw this costume we knew it was perfect. Thankfully it had a hood because the weather here was terrible on Friday night. Andrew and Brayden went to a few houses close by but then came back and helped me pass out candy. Now that Brayden walks, it was very entertaining because whenever the doorbell would ring he would get up and head to the door because he knew someone was there. After the trick-or-treaters came, we took Brayden to a Halloween party where he was able to see his friend Caitlin. She was dressed up as Tinkerbell. He had so much fun he fell asleep on the way home.



Brayden was showing me all the goodies he had in his pumpkin basket.

Brayden and Daddy posing before they left to go around the neighborhood.

Brayden was all ready to go. He knew what he had to do. He walked around holding his basket.

I snapped a picture of them as they were coming up the driveway. Brayden looks pretty impressed with the whole trick-or-treating idea huh!

I love this picture! Andrew is such a great Dad!

Before we got Brayden in his costume he found where I had laid our treats. I thought it was convenient for me because it was by the door and Brayden thought it was convenient because he could reach his hand right in there and grab a treat!

I asked Brayden if I could see the head of his giraffe and this was his response! At least he followed my directions huh! What a smart little guy.

Brayden wanted a treat. ( fingers to the mouth is the American Sign Language sign for eat)

Such a happy giraffe!

My 1st Haircut

Mommy always said she didn't want to be that mom. Everyone knows that mom who lets their kid go in public with food left on their face or that mom who doesn't cut their child's hair so it is hanging in front of their eyes. Sooo.... although it was sad Mommy and Daddy took me to get my first haircut. They found a special barber who has specials chairs and toys just for kids. I wasn't too sure sitting in that chair and then when Patrick, the barber, sprayed my hair it went downhill. I had a few tears at first but then I mostly just fussed a little bit because I wanted to get down and play. Mommy says I look like a handsome little guy. When I was done with my haircut Patrick gave me a certificate with a picture of me, Mommy, and Daddy and a lock of my hair on it. Mommy put that in my baby book.


Here is my before shot.


Mommy wanted one last picture of just how long my hair was. She took this in the car while I was looking out the window.

Pushing around the chairs while waiting for my turn.


Umm, Daddy... why am I sitting in this funny looking car?

The Mohawk. Patrick, the barber put my hair in a Mohawk before he started cutting it. Mommy was sad to see it go.


You did what? You cut off all my hair?

Here is the finished product. I was glad to be done!

Meeting with Nan and Ampa

We went to Council Bluffs last weekend so we e-mailed Nan ( my Great-Great-Aunt Sandi) to see if her and Ampa ( my Great-Great-Uncle Paul) would want to meet us. They said they would be able to see us so we met them at the Council Bluffs mall. We just chatted for a bit in the food court before we headed into Barnes and Noble where we played with the train table and then found the balloons. If you know me well you know I really like balloons. We were playing by the trains and I walked all the way across the childrens section because I saw some balloons. Nan and Ampa were a lot of fun. We even got some pictures of us together.

Decoating Pumpkins

After my Mommy saw the mess we made during painting pumpkins we decided to use pieces that are similar to a Mr.Potato head to decorate the rest of our pumpkins. I was a big help. It didn't take me long to figure out how to take the pieces out and has soon as Daddy had his pumpkin done I pulled his ears out. Daddy made his pumpkin into a dog. Mommy made her pumpkin into a cat. My pumpkin was a little pig. Check out the pictures!

Painting pumpkins

Mommy had a brilliant idea that while we were back visiting Grandma and Grandpa that we should paint some pumpkins. I don't think she remembered that the last couple of times we painted I wasn't as mobile as I am now. Lets just say I made a big mess! They turned out pretty good though and I made sure to give Mommy a hug since she let me make a big mess and it turned into even a bigger mess because I got the paint all over her clothes!

More Birthday Pictures

Here are some more pictures of Brayden's birthday. I still can not believe my baby is a year old! I always said I wasn't going to be THAT MOM that still calls their child my baby even when he is all grown up.

Here is some very exciting news from Brayden's birthday party. He has been working on walking for the last month and had been getting better. He would get so excited though that he would often take a few steps and then fall forward. Well this past week he was able to take a couple of steps and then stop and steady himself so we knew walking was right around the corner. During his party he was so excited about the balloons that we had gotten that he kept trying to take steps towards them. Well his Godmother, Sara was holding the balloons and Brayden took off after her. She kept moving backwards to make him keep going as she counted his steps. 17 steps in a row. I would definitely call that walking! He even chased Sara around in a circle trying to get those balloons. He is doing such a wonderful job. This morning he walked down the hallway and when he would start to lose balance he would hold onto the wall to steady himself.

Don't mind my crazy hair! I guess that is what happens when you get sticky frosting in your hair!

Wow, check out that party! There are toys and people everywhere.

Happy Birthday Brayden! Don't worry no one will take those balloons!

Here I am with Great Grandma Grace and Great Grandpa Norbert.



A picture of me with my Godparents, Nathan and Hannah! Thanks for coming!

Happy Birthday Brayden!

Welcome to the Jungle!

Yesterday Mommy and Daddy threw me a birthday party since I was turning one. They invited our families and then my Godparents. Saturday night Mommy was in a hurry to get me to bed and I didn't know why but I found out as soon as I woke up Sunday morning. She wanted me to go to bed so she and Daddy could decorate for my party.

We decided on a jungle theme for my party so one day Mommy and I went to Nobbies to look for some supplies to decorate. I showed her the one I wanted and she discussed it with Daddy. They ordered a whole bunch of stuff. They said I was so special that they wanted to make this the best 1st birthday ever! I think they did a great job. You will have to look at all of the pictures.

Sunday afternoon everyone came over to our house and we had some snacks and just mingled. I got to play so it was fun. Then we opened presents and I got some cool new big boy toys. (Thanks everyone for the presents)

After presents everyone gathered around in the kitchen to watch me eat cake. I was a little overwhelmed because everyone was staring at me. I had never had any cake before. Mommy's friend Erika, has her own business called The Chocolate Season so she made me a cake. She is so talented that she made me a cake that had a giraffe, elephant, zebra, alligator, and trees on it.

After eating cake we played for a bit with my new toys and then everyone had to go home. I really appreciate everyone coming and celebrating with me though. I had a very fun time.

Daddy went to run some errands and when he came home he brought me these! I love balloons.

This is the cake that Erika made just for me! It looks so yummy!

This is my cousin Gracie and I playing in my ball pit. Look Gracie I can stand up just like you!

This is me and My Godmother Sara. A few months ago she got married to Scott. He is really nice and I like him.

Look at this awesome cake. It has a giraffe, zebra, and a tree on it. This is all edible. How awesome.

What? You mean I can eat this? I have never had cake before.

Mommy, this green frosting is yummy. I made sure to lick it off.

I was tired so when I rubbed my eyes I got frosting and cake all over my face!

Cousins Grace and Ashleigh really liked the cake too. They even sat at my picnic table which was a perfect fit for them.

Stay tuned for more pictures from my party!

My Birthday Dinner

Daddy, thanks for letting me try a bite of the big cookie.

Mommy had to blow out my candle since I don't know how yet.

Daddy said that since it was my birthday we would all go out to eat and that I got to pick where we went. I decided on Old Chicago since that is close to our house and we had never been there. When we got there they even gave me crayons and a kids menu because they heard that I was a big boy.

We ordered some food and when we were done our waiter who had the same name as my Daddy brought out a big cookie with 1 candle on it. He even brought out 3 spoons. I guess he didn't think I could eat it by myself. Mommy and Daddy were nice enough to give me a bite but I think they ate most of my birthday treat! It was a fun night.

Daddy, thanks for letting me decide where we go out to eat!

Mommy wanted a picture with me too since Daddy got one!

Haha, Mommy trying to take a picture of all 3 of us. Notice my squished cheeks!