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!