My PB + J

my baby turned two.

This past Friday my baby boy turned two. It is insane that he is no longer considered a “baby”. I know in my eyes he will always be my baby but he is turning into a boy so quickly and his baby face is slowly diminishing. I love each new milestone, each new word and honestly there isn’t one thing I don’t obsess about with this boy. I could stare at him for hours watching him closely analyzing everything around him. He has the sweetest soul, is the biggest animal lover and loves sports. He wants to do everything his big sister does and honestly she is his biggest fan, too! Payton is so patient with him and helps him each day sounding out words, helping him draw, plays games and whenever they’re apart they want to be back together again. My sweet little man is already sarcastic and has the most infectious laugh there is. His ability to kick and throw a ball is amazing, I cannot wait to watch him grow as an athlete. His love for the Chargers has already set in and wherever he sees football or the Chargers logo he exclaims, “GO CHARGERS!” at the top of his lungs.

To celebrate his birthday we headed to Disneyland a few days early. He could not wait to see Goofy, Mickey, Pluto and Mater. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by Goofy and we had one ecstatic boy on our hands. The day was perfect, he is perfect and we couldn’t have asked for a better day to celebrate his birth.

I love you, Brayden James. You completed my heart the day you were born and the past two years have been magical. Thank you for choosing me.

happy birthday, sweet boy

One year ago we welcomed you into our arms. It seems so surreal that an entire year has passed. All the worries we had before you were born have come and gone. You are my angel baby and every time you look into my eyes with that inevitable sparkle I am reminded why you were given to me. Our bond is so special and I don’t think I can describe what you mean to me. Your even keeled personality, deep bellied laughs that sometimes sound like a goat, your gorgeous blue eyes that strangers stop to talk to us about and the journey you’ve overcome is remarkable. You’re turning into a little boy and I wish I could just bottle you up and keep you this small forever. I miss those first few months where you could only sleep with me holding you tight in my arms. Your love for your sister melts my heart and how you already play so well with another. You both make eachother laugh when one is sad, you throw a ball to one another, and yes, you’ve already got one heck of an arm. I dread the day where you tell me you’ve found “the” girl. It’s silly that these worries already race through my mind but you’re my baby and will be forever. Thank you for making me a stronger person this past year, if you would’ve asked me thirteen months ago I would have said I couldn’t do it. Today, I stand a proud momma and laugh at our minimal struggles. Bugs, I love you with all my heart and I wish you the happiest first birthday.

a letter to brayden – 6 months

dear brayden-
   today marks your half birthday. it’s surreal how fast the first part of your life has sped on by. day by day you become more alert, grabbing for more of your surroundings, talking, laughing and melting my heart more with each day. you follow everything your sister does and within a few months you will be chasing her around, while i want you to slow down i cannot wait to see you play with one another. at dinner time each night, while you sit in your bumbo, your sister and i play the “ahhhh-dude” phrase game. this saying, no matter what time of day we do this we get the sweetest deep bellied laughs. your sister loves playing peek-a-boo with you and often she will lay with you on your play mat to just hangout. you are quite the active roller, back scooter, and love the flying/swimming position. you have all the crawling movements down you just need to put them all together and then you’ll be off. since last month you have slept in your crib every night from roughly eight to ten hours. there are nights where you wake for your pacifier or for a few ounces of formula but you go right back out. you still take three naps during the day, which is amazing. i am happy to have two children that love sleep as much as i do. you are our true blessing. 
happy half year sweet boy. the next six months are going to be a fun ride as you discover your motor skills and everything else this world has to offer you. 
  • 15 pounds 2 ounces – 15th percentile. still my peanut. 
  • 29 3/4 inches – 70th percentile, long & lean. 
  • size three diapers
  • 9 month clothing for length, 6 months for your little waist. 
  • we’re going through a two pound tub of formula each week. i don’t understand how you don’t weigh more.  
  • apples, pears, peaches, bananas, peas, green beans, yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, rice and oatmeal.

you melt my soul. 

a letter To Brayden – 5 Months

brady-
  you are one month away from being a part of our family for half of a year. we cannot imagine life without you. if you didn’t cry when in the car we might forget you some days just because you are so quiet…well, that is unless you are talking to your panda on the play mat or licking the toy on your jumpy to death. you are definitely in teething mode, i have never seen so much drool. we have been calling you a “walker” after the walking dead because when you’re hungry you reach your hands out and start shaking, it’s quite comical. your eyes light up when you see me, daddy is still quite jealous about this, i am just fine with it. you are finally getting used to tummy time since having your surgery and have progressed really well considering you were out of commission for three weeks. you are getting the army crawl movements down, knees are getting under you and your chest far off the ground. i am thinking teeth and crawling are in our near future! you have been a complete joy and i love watching how strong and big you have become over the past two months.

  • 15 pounds 1 ounce – this is from our home scale we’re sure the doctor scale will show something different next month. but we’re still on the up and up! 
  • size two diapers – these are very tight! size three’s are on the horizon. 
  • 6 month clothing, some 9 month. 
  • rice cereal with the addition of butternut squash and carrots have been introduced. 
  • your hair is getting more blonde by the day. you have a natural faux hawk like your cousin. 
  • you are loving your jumperoo but you love it most when positioned by the window. we like to think you’re reflecting on your day while hanging out there. 
  • you love sticking your tongue out. we’re not sure if after your surgery if there is something along your inner lip but that tongue of yours is always sticking out. 

  • you and sissy have inherited my “look”. 

  • sister-isms – you adore your sister. she calls you her best friend. she loves to find your pacifier, she loves saying good morning, gives you kisses, tickles you and copies everything i say to make you laugh. it melts my heart. 

a letter To Brayden – 4 Months

Baby Brady-
 you are four months! four months, already?! you are slowly turning into a little boy with a little personality. you are such a calm, happy baby. i always envisioned the second baby to be a terror but so far you are clam and easy going. while your sister was a better sleeper you have gone through trauma, learning to use your newly found suction and reintroducing your pacifier. you handled your surgery like a champ, and i am still in awe of how you handled everything. with the whole thing behind us now it seems so surreal because i have forgotten what your cleft looked like. all i see is a handsome baby boy who has the most infectious smile and giggle. your sleeping patterns since the surgery have gone back to normal, but you are waking up once or twice at night because you are such a gassy boy. daddy and i often die laughing so hard because of your loud tooties, we just don’t understand how it comes out of your tiny body. i guess you’re just a little boy and that’s what they do! you love your sister, you often watch her jumping, singing, acting silly and it looks like you are thinking, why can’t i do that?! in time. we introduced your jumpy on your four month birthday and you love it. as long as there is something to nom on you are happy. you love your hands, your sleep-sounds giraffe and your blanket. you still love to be swaddled partially because you love the blanket to be on your face. sometimes i have to check to see if your breathing because you smother your face with your hands and blanket so much. now that you have recovered from your surgery you love your play mat again and once we took off your no-no’s you were back at trying to roll over again and you finally could tuck your shoulder enough to where it did not hurt your nose or mouth. you are also scooting all over the floor and trying to sit up. it all seems to be going so fast because we know what to expect. i love your age right now and look forward to all the fun that is around the corner! 

  • 13 pounds 5.3 ounces – 27th percentile. my little peanut!
  • 28 inches – 65th percentile 
  • size 2 diapers 
  • 3-6 month clothing 
  • talking up a storm. getting the ‘d’ sounds out, why does dada always have to be the first word. i am praying that you get mama out first. 🙂 
  • you are eating rice cereal now that your stitches have dissolved in your mouth. your pedi says your mouth is still really swollen inside. we also think you are teething. 
  • you love the swing more than anything. worried about transitioning you to your crib this month because you don’t like sleeping without movement. 
  • you have been eyeing your feet and finally figured out how to get to them. 
  • you love looking at the lights from the tv. you laid on your mat watching basketball intently a few weeks ago. 
  • your hair is really coming in now. it gets really greasy fast because you sweat a lot so it looks dark and like you have a mohawk but when you see it after bath time it is really light and fluffy (as your sister describes it). 

for whatever reason the video uploaded with only half the sound. not like you need to hear me but i don’t know what happened!? 

sister love: payton truly adores you. if you are crying she asks me to sing twinkle, twinkle. now that she has fully learned the song, she just starts to sing it if you are fussy. if she feels you need your pacifier she will bring it to you and put it in your mouth. she loves picking out your clothes and while shopping a few days ago told me what you love. when we first saw your lip without the stitches and glue she stopped, put her hand to her mouth and gasped, mommy, buddy’s lip perfect. awwweee! he’s so cute! i think it’s safe to say little boy that your sister loves you BIG! i can only hope that this will never change.


you figured out if you lean forward you can get those toes a lot easier!