3.5 Year Toddler Update

For starters, GO TIGERS! The energy this weekend and yesterday leading up to the big game was electric here in the south and almost everyone I came into contact with yesterday was wearing purple and gold! Awesome awesome game!

Ok, so I'm WAY behind on posting Brayden's 3 1/2 year update and before too long, it will be time for a 4 year old update. Wait, what? Maybe I'm just in denial, but I'm about to have a FOUR year old. I'm stunned.

This update takes place from April of 2019-October of 2019. I know, SO far behind. (Hanging my head in shame.)

Clothing: Definitely all 3T. He grew in length by 5 inches in 1 year, so he's going to be a tall dude!
Diapers: No more! He still wears a 4T sized pull up at night, but those are about to go bye bye, too!
Weight: 38 pounds (estimated)
Height: 40 inches (estimated)

Since turning 3 officially, we have had so many wonderful adventures! We went to several Astros games and to an Easter Egg hunt where Brayden found a prize egg!

He finally picked up on Easter Egg hunting this year and he was all over it! So much fun to watch!

In the spring, I ran a race that was part of an out of town festival. Brayden discovered the carousel "like Disney World" and I'm pretty sure we rode that thing about 12 times. Maybe more, I lost count!

As far as food goes, we are still in the same place as before. He's super hesitant to try new things and doesn't really care for vegetables at all, except corn. Staples around here include: oatmeal, waffles, eggs, cereal ("ta ta crunch" aka Captain Crunch and cheerios), spaghetti, tacos, chicken nuggets, french fries, orange fries (aka sweet potato fries), rice and gravy, mac & cheese, and I think that's about it...

This kid's love of the park/"splash I-pad" is real!

As far as potty training goes, I think that's one of the easiest hurdles we've had to jump in this parenting thing so far. We had a sticker chart for when he would actually go on the potty and he took to that like a charm. Potty training for bowel movements was a bit harder, but not much. Once he figured out that he would receive a "prize" every time he went on the potty, we were good!  He still wears a pull up at night and is rarely wet in the morning, so I think we've pretty much got this thing down.

A few other loves include football games and riding his bike!

This kid LOVES to be outside!

This summer, Brayden traveled with us to Alaska for his first ever cruise! He had a blast and we loved being together with Jason's family (12 of us)!

Much much much to my surprise, he even allowed them to paint his face like a "kitty cat" in the kids club. I have no clue how they got him to sit still for that long, but I was seriously amazed!

While in Alaska, we did all kinds of fun things, but Brayden's favorite was the dog sled experience. We were able to ride on a sled with several dogs pulling us along and Brayden giggled and giggled - he thought it was so fun! We also had a chance to pet the dogs and tell them hello after. I highly recommend an excursion like this one!

Another fun experience for us in Alaska was the Alaska Zoo. Brayden loved seeing the animals and playing on their playground. We had such fun!

At the beginning of August, we took a super short weekend trip to Disney World and this is where Brayden discovered his love for the tea cups!

They are all he talks about now!

Late nights are ok while on vacay!

Speaking of late nights, naps are always a nice and quiet part of our day and still last anywhere from 2-3 hours. 

In August, he started in the Toddler 3 class at his Mother's Day Out. Oddly enough, his infant teacher who also became his teacher mid way through his 2 year old class also followed them up to the 3 year old class! He was so excited to start a new year and still have Mrs. Erin as his teacher!

As the time drew closer to Halloween, our photographer offered up the suggestion of a few of Brayden in his Halloween costume (during his fall mini session). I am SO glad we did it because I am in love with the way these pictures turned out! He (of course) wanted to be Lightning McQueen and I think this was his favorite costume so far!

As Brayden has continued to grow and develop, so has his knowledge base, his personality, and his quirks. He definitely does not like to sit still long (Jason says he gets that from me) and is always super busy. He is also a goofball and loves to try and make people laugh (he gets that from his dad). I am amazed at the wealth of knowledge he has picked up since starting the three year old class, too. He knows the months of the year, days of the week, several songs, he's becoming more independent, etc. 

Despite all of the growing and changing going on over here, Brayden is still a momma's boy who loves to "cuddle" and I am soaking up every single moment! 

Thank you so much for following along in our pregnancy/parenting journey. I've had so much fun sharing it with you! Have a great day!

Three Things for Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have several blog posts planned over the next few weeks (including a FASTer Way To Fat Loss update) but for now, here's a few things that have been going on over in our little corner of the world...

#1 Lost SD Card

What the heck? How does one even lose an SD card? Well, I did. I've searched my house high and low and although I know Princess Half Marathon Weekend videos were promised, I sadly no longer have any footage from the Expo or 10K. Sad. Times. I was waiting on putting the footage together, hoping the SD card would magically appear somewhere, but it hasn't. So, footage from the Princess Half Marathon weekend will begin on my YouTube channel, starting after the 10K and the Joyful Miles Meetup and will continue with the Princess Half Marathon itself. Stay tuned for that coming soon!

#2 Alaska

Yes, we are soon to return to Alaska and I'm super excited! Jason's dad expressed his desire to visit Alaska and wanted to plan a family trip, so here we are! Although we will be on Royal Caribbean this time instead of Disney, we are excited to visit once again and see a few new sights. This will also be Brayden's first time on a cruise ship, so we are planning on taking things easy and just enjoying our time. Included in our list of excursions are a musher's camp as well as a whale watching excursion, neither of which we got to experience on our last Alaskan cruise. Brayden should also be fully potty trained by that point (except at night), so he might be able to spend some time in the kids club while on the ship. I know he will love it! If not, we plan to just relax and enjoy our cruise!

#3 Potty Training

Speaking of potty training, y'all...I heard "all the things" about potty training and read up on all the methods...and it seriously continues to amaze me how different every kid is. We spent the majority of our spring break week working on potty training. Brayden is an only child and he's a boy (clearly...hah), so we decided to wait until he actually turned 3 before attempting to potty train. He'd seen the kids in his class use the potty, so I know that was motivation for him, and he literally picked it right up. The first two days took some adjusting, but after a little motivational sticker chart, he had it going on. We pretty much put him in "big boy pants" and skipped the pull-ups all together. My mind is seriously blown at how well he took to it. Parenting can be so hard in general, it's nice when "something" goes your way! With a few random messes here and there, I'd say this kid has it pretty down pat!

So, that's just a little update on our lives over here! I hope you are all doing well! "See" you real soon!

3 Year Toddler Update

The fastest three years of my life have come and gone! I can't quite believe it, but my little squishy baby is now a 3 year old toddler!

Clothing: 2T and 3T on top and mostly 3T on bottom, although some 2T's still fit. He's just SO tall!
Diapers: Size 5...and not long after he turned 3, we started officially potty training. It's actually going remarkably well (he's wearing "big boy underwear" 90% of the time)...but more on that later!
Shoes: Size 7 and some 8's
Weight: 36 pounds (estimated)
Height: 38 inches (estimated)

Over the past 6 months, I've seen even more growth in Brayden. Where he used to be a little shy and reserved, he's more bold and willing to speak out now. His knowledge base has also grown and he remembers things I can't even fathom...it seriously blows my mind sometimes!

He still wants Madalynn to be his BFF, but she's not too sure of him. They do continue to share their love of food, though. Brayden did hit a "picky" eater phase and the thing I absolutely cannot get him to eat are vegetables. I do try to hide them in dishes which works out well but ya'll, this is seriously one of our biggest struggles. Other than that, some of his favorites include pizza, fruit, tacos, chicken nuggets, french fries, "orange" fries (aka sweet potato fries), chips, grilled cheese sandwiches, cereal, waffles, grilled chicken, spaghetti, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something because this kid does love to eat!

I always wondered if he would get "attached" to an object like a lovely or a stuffed animal and it has officially happened! As an infant and early toddler, he had two wubba-nubs...red dog and a giraffe. Well, after he was too big for the pacifier parts, we cut them out and let him just hang onto the stuffed animals. He would carry them everywhere he went if I let him, but they get lost too easily, so he only has them at night.

Christmas was so magical this year. Seeing the sights and sounds through Brayden's eyes was truly incredible and definitely my favorite Christmas with him thus far.

He loved loved loved the Grinch. That included watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, meeting Mr. Grinch after our church Christmas production, listening to the music, etc.

Funny (and true) story - he was super hesitant about Santa this year. After I told him that Santa was friends with Mr. Grinch, he had no problem taking a picture with him. Whoops. I mean, it's kinda true...

One of my favorite memories (and will be forever) was how excited he got over the "Grinch cakes" at IHOP. They offered a green Grinch pancake dish this year and Brayden seriously talked about it for weeks!

From then on, every pancake became a "Grinch cake"...silly boy!

Visiting the local park is still a favorite. He loves anything with swings and slides!

Also, ride on toys have become a recent thing around here!  He absolutely loves them!

He also still loves to go on a run with momma. Sprint workouts are his favorite because we get to run fast!

As any normal toddler, temper tantrums are still there. He gets super frustrated if he can't do something himself, but is easily redirect-able in the end. 

At the end of February, we took Brayden on his third trip to Walt Disney World and we had a BLAST! This was by far my favorite trip of them all! He did great on the plane ride there and loved meeting the characters.

I'm seriously awed at the things he still remembers about Disney World. His favorite parts of the trip included the elevators, riding the bus, riding the boat/monorail, and playing with the trash cans. Gross.

However, he still to this day talks about how he saw bunny rabbits and ducks in Disney World, and riding the boats/monorail. His memory blows my mind!

As per tradition, he also had a haircut on our trip and I LOVE it!!

Mickey was a huge hit this time, too!

Some of his favorite shows include the movie Cars, Puppy Dog Pals (still), Mickey and the Roadster Racers, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Lighting McQueen (aka "Bobby Ween") has been the latest favorite over here!  He also still loves YouTube Kids but we definitely limit his time there.

One of Brayden's favorite rides at Disney World was the Carousel. This little dog carousel (as shown above) is the closest I can get to a true carousel at home, so I take him to the mall on the occasion for a ride. So fun!

Brayden loves going to school and playing with his friends! He can also now count to 30, knows his ABC's, has several of the books we read at night memorized, and he knows the lyrics to several songs. He's also memorized several scriptures which makes this momma's heart so happy. The pledge to the American flag is also something he learned which is so cute to hear! Every single day, he amazes me with how quickly he is developing and growing!

I absolutely love seeing his personality come through! He is loves to laugh at himself and will definitely be goofball like Jason, I can see it already!

...and just like that, we have a big three year old!

Happy 3 years, Brayden! I hope the next year is just as much fun as the last!

Thanks for following along in our journey! I so appreciate each and every one of you!

2.5 Year Toddler Update

I might be a month behind on this one, but better late than never, right?!

Last month, Brayden turned 2 1/2 years old and has grown, developed, and changed so much in just 6 short months! I'm not going to lie, I'm super sad that his baby features (chubby cheeks and thighs) are slowly fading away.

Clothing: Mostly 2T and some 3T
Diapers: Size 5 - working on learning to use the potty has been an interesting time!
Shoes: Size 7 and some 8's
Weight: 34 pounds (estimated)
Height: 36 inches (estimated)

In his last update, I mentioned that he hit a "word explosion" right before turning 2. Since then, those words have turned into more words which turned into phrases and he hasn't looked back for a single second. His current favorite phrase is to say "I want _____"! It's also hilarious to hear how he mispronounces things. Take orange pumpkin for example - "ooo-range pun-kin". I just love it!

His favorite place ever is the park. He also still LOVES the splash pad! Anywhere water is, that's where Brayden wants to be. We keep a pair of boots at both my house and my mom's house so he can splash in the puddles after it rains.

Like the rest of the country, he’s super obsessed with the “baby shark” song and it’s so cute to see the look on his face when the song starts. We’ve listened to it at least a million times!

He also LOVES his momma which of course melts my heart. I've heard before that there's just something about the bond between a little boy and his mom and "they" were right!

As far as food goes, Brayden loves it, especially "ice cream" aka frozen yogurt. Other favorites of his include pizza, spaghetti, tacos, waffles, chicken nuggets, cereal, chips, refried beans, french fries, fruit, and of course, candy (which is totally limited). He's not always open to trying something new, but once you convince him to take a bite, he will usually want more.

Favorite TV shows include Puppy Dog Pals and Mickey Mouse, but he now asks for Little Einsteins by name as well as "Paw Dogs" which is also known as Paw Patrol.

Landmarks are something he's picked up on as well. For example, he knows when we've made the turn to go to the park, my mom and dad's house, the frozen yogurt place, school/church, etc. 

Over the summer, we had all kinds of exciting adventures like swim lessons...

...seeing the 2017 World Series trophy on its tour...

...feeding the giraffes at the San Antonio Zoo...

...an Astros game...

...and Sea World in San Antonio!

Brayden travels really well in the car and we love going on new adventures and exploring new areas!

He LOVES animals of any kind, especially dogs! My dogs still aren't super agreeable to allowing him to touch, but we can convince them every once in a while with a little snack or treat!

Just like any boy, Brayden loves playing in the dirt. I ended up purchasing a giant plastic container that I keep topsoil in for him to play with. He loves using his shovel and bucket to repurpose the dirt (aka put it all over the backyard)! Another new fascination as of late has been dinosaurs. Being a boy mom sure is interesting!

Since moving up to the two year old class at school (where we also added an extra day), I've seen a huge change in the information Brayden absorbs. He knows his numbers of 0-10 and even surprised me the other day by counting to 10! He also knows his colors very well. We are currently working on letters and shapes, too! He's come a long way in just 6 months and I love seeing the new things he says and does every day!

Personality wise, Brayden is still a pretty chill, happy, and sweet kid although he has his moments/days just like most toddlers. He's easily redirectable when he's upset by reminding him to use his words and asking what he wants. We are loving and cherishing this time with this sweet kid we've been blessed with!

Thanks for following along in our journey! Stay tuned for his next update at 3 years old! :)

2 Year Toddler Update

Well, somehow I blinked and my little man turned TWO years old!

Since his last update at 21 months, so much has changed by leaps and bounds!

Clothing: Some 18-24 month but mostly 24 month
Diapers: Size 5 for both day and night time diapers
Shoes: Size 6
Weight: 32 pounds (estimated)
Height: 35 inches (estimated)

My little baby isn't so little anymore! His car seat is now forward facing and he's grown in so many ways! He gained several inches of height since his last update and his feet grew a ton. He's already in a size 6 shoe and almost outgrowing those! I purchased new shoes for him for the summer and I don't think they are going to last until September, sadly.

In the vocabulary realm, Brayden has grown a ton, too! He reached a "word explosion" so to speak around 23 months. His words just began to come more often and more frequently! Before, where he would say a new word every couple of weeks, he now says a new word almost daily! It's also much easier to teach him things now - he picks up on things fairly quick and he remembers them - like his age, what does a dog say, etc...

If he could figure out how to dress himself, he would do it daily. He loves attempting to put his socks and shoes on just about as much as he loves to take his socks and shoes off! I love how he tries to mimic things I'm doing, too. Take "the stick" for example. He saw me rolling out my legs one day and decided he wanted to roll his legs out too! So. Cute! Also sweeping - we bought him a little play broom for around the house because he likes to try and sweep things.

As far as shows go, Puppy Dog Pals is the big one around here. Little Einsteins has grown in popularity. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and PJ Masks also rank up there, too. If he can get his hands on a phone or ipad, he will put it on YouTube in a heart beat. He learned super fast where the YouTube button and Disney Jr buttons were on my phone! (We do try to limit his screen time but when he's restless at a restaurant, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do...)

Water (of any kind, anywhere), the park, and being outside are all things Brayden loves. I can't wait for it to get warmer outside so we can take him to the splash pad once again! Busy, busy, busy...he's always on the go!

The "terrible two's" have been interesting to say the least. My laid back little baby is now a toddler and has an opinion and a voice of his own. If he doesn't want to do something, he will let you know right away. However, he is super easy to redirect and refocus on something else when he's upset (which is very nice)!

Food of any kind is a favorite here. Brayden loves his veggies, yogurt, pizza, tacos, snacks...the list goes on and on! If you put it in front of him, he will more than likely eat it. Sippy cups with straws are his usual favorite, but he picked right up on the spout less trainer cups like a champ! Self feeding hasn't come as easy as I'd hoped (because let's be honest...why do it for yourself if someone else does it for you??), but he seriously knocked out an entire bowl of spaghetti this week on his own (with a fork)...so we are definitely making progress there! 

Since the last update, we've celebrated Easter as well as Brayden's 2nd birthday! Both were super fun and egg-citing. See what I did there? Whomp whomp whomp. Speaking of eggs, he LOVED helping with the egg dyeing process! So. Much. Fun!

Brayden's sisters...oh my goodness he loves his puppy sisters! Anytime they are around (which isn't often because they do keep their distance), he tries to give them hugs. Actually, he loves any kind of animals including "tur-tles" and "fwags" that we frequently see on our run.

Seeing the world through Brayden's eyes is such an amazing thing - it's like learning the world all over again from a new perspective! I don't know how or why I became so lucky to be Brayden's mom, but I sure am grateful for every single moment!

Taking time to cherish and truly live in the moments I have with him is something I started very early on. These past two years have gone by oh so fast and I want to just bottle up those memories to hold on to for later because I know I'll blink and he will be a teenager.

Thanks for following along in the journey of life with our little family! It's been fun sharing our adventures with you along the way! :)