Braeden's Adventures

Braeden's been a busy little guy the past week, having some fun adventures.

This past weekend was our wedding anniversary. We all went out for lunch, the three of us. Since Braeden's outgrown his 2nd car seat (due to his length) and we've moved on to a convertible one that will last him until he weighs 65 pounds, we've had to carry him, or use his stroller. No more car seat to conveniently sit on the table at restaurants, or in a shopping cart. So at this particular restaurant, Braeden sat in one of their high chairs for the first time. He wasn't real fond of it - kind of hard on his little behind - so we put him back in his stroller.

I ordered a great meal which included a baked potato. On a separate little plate I mashed some up and let Brae try it. He loved it. It's so funny watching him chew, his two little bottom teeth glistening white. He sat back and enjoyed his first taste of "adult" food. I can feel the top teeth, but they haven't broken through yet. Mashed bananas are next on the new food list.

After we left the restaurant, we went and got a supermarket cart cover, so I'll once again be able to easily take Brae shopping with me. I did that yesterday, and it was fantastic. I parked right next to a cart corral so I could leave Brae comfortably in the car with the door open while I quickly grabbed a cart. Never having put one of those things on before, I was pleased to see not many people around, nobody paying much attention to me, although I must admit that it was very easy to put on, and the belt loops very easily behind the cart seat to securely attach the cover to the cart itself.

Brae seemed very comfortable sitting in his new shopping cart cover, his favorite toy with him, and off we went into the store. My only concern was that without a baby car seat or stroller, he had no coverage from the sun, but he was wearing his sun visor so that kept the sun off his face, and it's a short walk into the store. He wasn't real happy traveling backwards, and was constantly turning around to look where we were heading. He wasn't too interested in where we'd already been..hehe. But he did great, seemed to enjoy himself and the sights, and visiting with a few people who stopped to chat. Boy, this is the only way to go for me. I won't be hesitant to take him anywhere now. If the store has a cart, I've got the cover for it. If it doesn't, I've got Brae's stroller.

Early this afternoon we headed up to the park, which is just up the street from our house. It's a great place for dogs, kids, family picnics. Nobody was there today. I was very happy to see that, because I wanted to try out something else, and I get nervous that I'll look like a total dork if there are experienced mothers around. I know everybody has to do all this stuff for the first time at some point, but if I can manage it without people watching, it's much easier.

There are two baby swings at the park. Braeden loves swinging in his swing at home, rocking back and forth to get it moving, so I thought I'd try him in a park swing. OMG, he absolutely loved it. He hung onto the chains on either side of the swing (thank God for baby wipes..eww), and laughed, throwing his head back as I gently pushed him. We stayed at the park in the shade for about half an hour, but he was only in the swing about 5 minutes.

So as you can see, Braeden's been a busy guy this week. We have to lower the mattress in his crib this weekend. When he sits up in the morning to play (even wearing his sleep sack), he can look over the crib railing, so it's time to drop the mattress down a notch. His new thing this week is pushing up from his tummy to a sitting position. When he was first trying it, I wasn't sure what he was doing, but now he's an old pro at it. Once he's sitting up, he drops down to his tummy and does it again - over and over again..hehe. He's more fun every day!!