Halloween 2017

Happy November and happy belated Halloween! We've had a BLAST celebrating this year with our toddler and even though he didn't exactly know what was going on, he's had fun too!

If you follow my Instagram stories, you know that Brayden went to Mother's Day Out yesterday for a "princess/super hero/pizza party".

Well, as I dropped him off, I realized that I hadn't even THOUGHT about goodie bags for the kids! Oh no. I joked on Instagram that it was a "mom fail" but I definitely know there are worse things in life! Anyway, I made a run to Target on my lunch break and somehow managed to find enough toddler friendly goodies to put this together...

Whew. Crisis averted.

I really really really enjoy doing things like this and was kinda sad I didn't even think about it! I am even more excited about Christmas now!! :)

He came home with a rather large haul, too! For an 8 kid class, I'd say he did pretty darn well!

This week we've also made a couple of trips to local church festivities which included a few trunk or treats!

 
Sunday was incredibly cold, so his overstuffed Mickey costume that would normally be waaaay too warm for our weather worked out perfectly!

We met up with our friends and had a blast!

Brayden very quickly picked up on the concept of taking a "treat" and putting it in his bag. It was so cute!

He also had fun with the games but didn't quite understand the concept of playing each game just one time and moving on, especially if it was a fun game!

My friends were dressed as Mike, Sully, and Boo from Monsters Inc. Adorable!

Halloween night here was a bit different as the weather was warm and humid. I had a "back up" costume just for that instance and it worked out great!

Ride like the wind, Bullseye!

I'm sure you'll notice that neither costume included a hat on his head. Well, ever since the summer, he's decided to boycott hats completely. Instead of trying to make it work, we just let it be and I ended up pinning his cowboy hat on the back of his shirt.

We attended another community event last night and he again had fun playing all the games. Since he now knows that he's picking candy out of a tub, he started handing them to me to open instead of putting them in his bag. So funny!

Watch out, Astros...your future relief pitcher is up and coming...

My friend Kim was there with her nieces and nephews so we got to say hi for a minute or two!

My parents also joined us and we had a blast!

Remember what I said about the hat?

AFTER it was all said and done, this little turkey decided hats were ok...and he wore it for the entirety of dinner, too!!

(hashtag) ToddlerLife

Apart from our dress up events, we also visited the pumpkin patch a few times!

Just because he had so much fun the first time, we went again on Monday afternoon after work!

Enough with the pictures already, mom!!

Well, that about sums up Brayden's second Halloween! If we had this much fun with him this year, I can't wait to see what Christmas has in store!

How was your Halloween? Did you dress up? Hand out candy? Trick or treat? Kids dress up?

18 Month Baby Update

A year and a half - an entire year and a half has gone by since Brayden was born! Today, he turns 18 months old!!

It's hard to believe this little boy is already 18 months old! I seriously feel like I just sat down to write the last update and that was three months ago!

Clothing: 18 month clothing mostly - He also fits in some 12 to 18 month clothing
Diapers: Size 4 for both day and night time diapers (same as before)
Shoes: Size 4
Weight: 28 pounds (estimated)
Height: 32 inches (estimated)

 Over the past three months, Brayden has grown a LOT. Where he was barely walking before, he's into EVERYTHING now!

His favorite cabinet at home is my Tupperware cabinet. He LOVES to scatter the pieces around.

Brayden moved up to the Toddler II class at Mother's Day Out (he skipped Toddler I altogether since it took him so long to walk) and also moved up to the Toddler class at church nursery. He really seems to love it and being with his friends!

Over the past several months, we've dealt with a hurricane (Harvey)...

...for a really long time because he stayed stationary for so long...

Brayden also attended his second college football game which he loved!

We even made it to half time!

He also somehow contracted hand, foot, and mouth from somewhere!

As far as food goes, he's still taking toddler formula about 3 times a day for a total of 18 oz. He also LOVES FOOD and will eat almost anything...except mac&cheese which is totally random. Mexican is his favorite because he loves to break the chips into pieces and eat them. Did you know that breaking a chip into two pieces is hilarious? Well, apparently it is.

This kid also loves pizza, rice and gravy, and mixed veggies!  Oh yes, and animal crackers, goldfish, and yogurt bites. Seriously, this kid just loves FOOD in general!

Toys that light up and make noise are the BEST! He also really enjoys reading and exploring the world outside. Even if the heat index is 102 degrees and his hairline is soaked from sweat, this kid LOVES to be outside. Swing? Yes. Going on a jog with the stroller? Yes, yes! Exploring flower beds and playing with rocks? Of course!!

He's still really into music! His favorite songs are "Jesus loves me" and "Twinkle Twinkle". The "Good Morning" song from Singing in the Rain is also a favorite. I sing it to him every morning and he loves to dance to it! 

Brayden's cousin is in gymnastics and does somersaults all the time, so he likes to try and be like her which completely cracks me up.

He's learning to put two and two together now and will often bring a pair of my shoes to me and try to put them on my feet. He also knows when it's time to put his own shoes and socks on - he will hold up his feet for me! Brushing his teeth is also something he loves (I'm thinking the toothbrush feels good on his gums/teething areas). 

Lately, he will reach for our hand and take us along wherever he wants to go - he also likes to take our hand to make us do something he cannot, like open a door, turn on the TV, etc.

Speaking of TV, the new show "Puppy Dog Pals" on Disney Channel is his new FAVORITE! Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is still up there along with PJ Masks but Puppy Dog Pals has quickly reached the top!

Brayden now has 14 teeth and two more on the way! He has taken teething very well minus the first set of molars. I'm not looking forward to arrival of the the second set!

Sleep is still going well - he usually sleeps from 8:30 p.m.-7:30 a.m. with a 2 or 3 hour daytime nap thrown in there. 

His vocabulary has grown a lot over the past 3 months. He now says "hat" every time he seems someone wearing a hat. He also says "ball", "gees" (for doggies), "key" (for Mickey), "tis-ters" (for sisters)...along with the previous words "mama" and "dada". Another sign he is learning is "please", but he doesn't have it quite right just yet.

The occasional tantrum has begun if he doesn't get his way but he quickly gets over it. He also cries right when I leave him at Mother's Day Out or the Nursery but if they offer him goldfish or puffs, he's 100% ok. It's really funny - I'll stand outside of the door to make sure he's ok and I can always tell when food has been presented because the tears dry up super fast!

It's crazy to think of our life before he was here. We sure do love our little guy and are excited to see what the next three months have in store!

Thanks for following along in our journey!