Happy 18-Month Birthday

Wow, where has the last 18 months gone? Happy year and a half birthday, Braeden. You're growing into quite the little man now, the little baby we brought home only 18 months ago is gone, replaced by the most gentle, good natured and curious little guy I've ever met (no, I'm not biased..hehe).

While Braeden's still not saying a whole lot, he definitely makes his wants and needs known in non-verbal ways. He loves his new slide/fort, a huge smile on his face when he slides his stuffed animals down first, following right after them.

He can almost put his jacket on by himself. He tries to put his shoes on, but that's not happening any time soon. He helps me undress him in the morning and at night. He knows some shirts go off over his head, others have buttons. Buttons have always fascinated him, as do zippers. He loves "dusting" with a baby wipe, and does it every morning. He also hauls out the vacuum cleaner on occasion - ok, I get the hint, time to vacuum again. He's drawing in his big coloring book now. Only scribbles obviously, but it's a start.

One of his favorite things is running around the yard carrying a little flower pot which he stuffs full of flowers that have fallen to the ground, the odd old leaf kicking around, anything he can find. Our hibiscus plants are in full bloom, but the flowers don't last long, so he's got a new supply of fallen ones each day to put in his pot, squealing as he finds another one. He also loves going to the park so he can climb the play structure all the way to the top, then with some help walk back down to the slides.

He's eating with his fork and spoon almost totally now. He doesn't want to eat unless I had him an approprite utensil so he can feed himself. Same with his milk - he wants to hold his own cup, doesn't want me to help him. He's an independent little guy.

He's still sleeping 12 hours at night, and has for a very long time. I'm always up early for some "me" time, and can hear the music or ocean sounds coming from his crib aquarium. He turns it on and off, changes the music, adjusts the volume (usually blasting it). The time change didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Occasionally he'll have a morning nap, but usually he only wants to play quietly in his pack-n-play for an hour, which we've got set up in the living room. He has a great afternoon nap of 1-2 hours.

Tomorrow is our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt, and we're all set to go. I need to buy a little Easter basket for him to collect eggs, but I'll do that tomorrow morning. Last night I filled the 12 plastic eggs with candy, that will be Braeden's contribution to the egg hunt. I know he'll have fun, especially since he's so familiar with the park and loves it there.

So Happy Birthday, Braeden. Happy Easter to all of you.

Laser Surgery

First, a little about Braeden, since this is really a blog about him, although I really need to blog the medical stuff I'm going through right now too. I don't have anyone to talk to but whoever still reads this blog, and it helps me.

Braeden had no reaction to his vaccinations last week, thank God for that. Next on his plate is his hypospadias surgery in 3 weeks {gulp}. He's enjoying the new slide/fort combo DH got for him last weekend. It's a great place for him to climb, and he loves his slide. We have to check his left shoe. It's got a rough edge inside that's hurting him, so we'll have to see if we can glue it down or we'll get him another new pair of shoes. He's fine for a bit with it, then starts pointing to his foot, limping a little, which stops when we take off his shoe.

We took Brae to a little carnival in town last weekend, and he had a great time with all the games there. He wanted to visit each one. He really wanted to go on rides, but he's too small yet, even for the carousel - next year. We won him 3 toys, and he's enjoying those. He also got to sample his first cotton candy, a big hit of course.

I had to undergo laser surgery yesterday on my right eye (the one that had the cancer and was treated with radiation). Not a fun time, but I'm almost totally blind in that eye now, and the laser surgery will hopefully give me back a little vision. Back we go today, but to the cornea specialist this time. I've got a radiation cataract that will have to be removed in the next 1-2 months. The retina specialist finds it hard to do the laser treatment with the cataract blocking his vision looking inside. Not looking forward to that obviously, but I just want even a little vision back in that eye. I'm finding it harder to change Brae's diaper now, to feed him, because I can't see very well now. Vision correction via glasses/contacts isn't possible. But you deal with what you have to, and thank God for DH and Braeden's support. I know Brae doesn't understand, but he knows mommy's not feeling too well when I have an appointment like yesterday and he brings me some of his toys, almost like he's trying to cheer me up. I'll post later about this subject as things develop - hopefully for the better.

Speaking of feeding Brae, he's pretty much feeding himself now. He does a great job "stabbing" food with his fork and getting both into his mouth before the food falls off. He's not quite as good with the spoon, depending on what's on it. He hasn't quite got the hang of holding the spoon straight as he moves it towards his mouth, but he's sure got the fork down well.

We took Braeden's pediatrician's advice and got him a potty seat over the weekend. It's comical to watch him. I think somehow he knows what it's for, but he's not at the point of being able to pull his jeans down and taking his diaper off - duh. But he runs over and sits on it fully clothed, and after he gets up, sure enough he's "gone" in his diaper. So he's got the concept down, but then it's too early for the real thing. We'll work at it slowly, when he's ready. He insists on leaving his potty seat in the middle of the living room floor, and kicks up quite a stink if I put it away..hehe.

Brae's taken to invading the fridge, providing I open it for him. He looks in there and then decides what he wants and pulls it out, be it a teething toy (I keep a bunch in there so they're nice and cold on his incoming teeth), a container of his yogurt, his cup of water. Umm, any idea why he keeps reaching for an unopened bottle of wine? That's the only thing other than his own stuff that he tries to grab...hehe.

Happy St. Patrick's Day on Monday. We'll be wearing the green, even though we're not Irish. Have a great weekend all.

We're All Sick

Oh, this really sux. Braeden and DH got bad coughs with phlegm on Friday, DH with a ripping sore throat. We think they picked up the "bug" at my retina doctor appointment last week, since they both got sick the same day.

DH was off work Monday, went to the doctor Tuesday, only to be told he's got an upper respiratory infection (the common cold). Neither of us has ever seen a "cold" like this one. We were starting to think maybe it was strep, nope. Brae's being a real trooper. His cough is better than it's been, but now he's got a charming discharge coming from his nose. Still, after he rests for awhile he's off playing again. A nice warm bath helped his chest congestion a lot yesterday.

Braeden was to go this morning for his vaccinations, but I called Tuesday and they said no shots for him for at least 2 weeks, until after he's over this cold. Talk about the medical community run-around. Our pediatrician wasn't there that day, so the on-call pediatrician returned my call and said "no shots". When I called to cancel today's appointment and reschedule, they wouldn't let me, the nurses saying he'd be fine to have his shots with his cold, as long as he doesn't have a fever (which he doesn't). Still, that's not what the doctor said. After being on hold for nearly an hour, the doctor called back again to reaffirm his position - no shots. He said he'd be having an emergency nurses' meeting immediately and one of them would call back. A different story on that return call - Brae's appointment for today was cancelled and a new one made for about 3 weeks from now.

By Monday, I wasn't feeling too well myself, and now I've been stricken full force with the same "bug" DH and Braeden have. Not a fun thing, but I've never been one to give in to a cold, and usually keep going, doing the best I can. I was worn out by the time last night rolled around, and was glad when Braeden went to bed - ok, so I put him to bed about half an hour early. We'll all be fine in a few days. Meanwhile, we'll be gentle with ourselves.

What really sucks is that DH's whole family arrived in town last night for a week, and they wanted lots of Brae play time (sister has multiple kids) and a family photo done. Play time is definitely out for Brae for the next day or two - I don't want those other children catching this on their vacation or risk Brae getting sicker. As for the family photo this weekend, it'll depend on how we all feel. I certainly won't drag Brae to an outdoor photo session if he's still sick. While it's by no means cold here, it's too cold for him to be outside for hours while they take various poses so we can select our favorites. I'll keep you posted.

For now, I just want to rest as much as I can, relax, and not think about anything else.

Retina Leaking Again

Just a quick little background - I was diagnosed over 3 years ago with a cancerous tumor on my retina. They inserted a radiation plaque (like a disc) behind my eye in one surgery, left it there for 6 days, then removed it in a second surgery. That was supposed to kill off the tumor - and it did!!

I had my regular retina specialist check-up today. The good news is that the cancer is still gone, the tumor has vanished. The bad news is that because of radiation damage my retina is once again swollen and is leaking fluid (just like a year ago), and I've also got a radiation cataract which will have to be removed. My vision in that eye has deteriorated badly. I can now only read the 2nd line on the eye chart, and new glasses wouldn't help. They won't let me wear contact lenses either. I have to accept the fact that the vision in my treated eye is basically gone.

I had to have dye injected into my vein and over 100 photos taken of both eyes, of course many more of the radiation-damaged eye. Both eyes are still sore from all the poking and prodding, so many photos with the camera so close to my eyes, the bright flashes literally temporarily blinding me.

I'm waiting to hear back from the retina specialist once he views the pictures, on what the game plan will be this time. Last year they gave me a steroid injection into my eyeball, which hurt like sh** and didn't do anything to help. I refuse to do that again, although I'd definitely go for more laser surgery (I had two surgeries last year) to try and close off the leaks. I've gotta tell you though, I'm getting so dang sick and tired of dealing with this eye of mine, my lack of vision, the discomfort of feeling like there are 100 hairs in there that I can never get out (foreign body sensation), that it's tempting to just let them do an enucleation and get rid of the thing. It's almost useless now anyway.

I thank God every day that my other eye remains in perfect condition and with perfect vision. At least I can see Braeden with that eye. With my bad eye I can't even see his face anymore. It's just a blur. I've become paranoid about my good eye. If something happened to that one, I'd be legally blind and would never be able to see my son again. I have to think positively that my good eye will remain that way.

Thanks for letting me vent a bit here - this is definitely not fun stuff

Molars Arriving

Poor Braeden's finally getting his molars. The two top ones have broken through his gums, the two bottom ones are nearly there. He's drooling up a storm, chowing down on all the teething toys he's got. It doesn't stop him from bombing around or from sleeping, so we haven't given him any meds.

He's now operating his little TV and DVD player on his own, turning both on, ejecting an old DVD, throwing it across the room and inserting a new one in the tray, closing the door. Then he heads over to his Elmo chair and sits down to watch. All the DVDs we have are Baby Einstein ones, so I don't object to him watching about 10 minutes of one DVD in the morning after his breakfast. By then he's bored and ready to move on. When he's done I have to pull the plugs on both the TV and DVD player, or he'll play with them all day.

His latest antic is trying to climb up the back of the couch in the family room, looking over there, playing with the window blinds, then throwing whatever he's got in his hand over the back. I have a very hard time navigating "stuff" to get behind there and retrieve the wayward object, since we've got it blocked off so he can't get behind the couch, but so far I've managed to get his things back for him, him watching me over the top.

He goes Februar 14th for his next check-up and round of vaccinations. Obviously not looking forward to that, but it'll soon be over with for another few months. He hasn't been for shots in 4 months, although we had him once to the pediatrician when he had a weird cold (cough and wheezing) awhile back. It disappeared in a few days.

As for me, I've got an appointment this morning with my retina specialist, to check on the remnants of the cancerous tumor they found (and treated with radiation) 3 1/2 years ago. At m last check-up the tumor was totally gone - I'm praying that's still the case. These dang appointments still scare me, but I'm hoping and praying for a good report today. I'm usually there 3+ hours. It's long and gruelling, and I'm ready to sleep by the time I get home. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Surgery Scheduled

Sorry not to have posted for so long. Things have been very busy for us. Braeden's extremely active now, and loving life. He's so much fun, but in the shadows I've been dealing with the issues below.

Braeden was born with hypospadias - a congenital abnormality of his "private parts". We've been very leery of having this surgery done, because initially we were told they'd have to repair his urethra, which could mean several additional surgeries down the road because it can cause fistulas to develop, he'd have catheters, not a nice prospect, but that situation has changed for the better.

Now surgery will only entail repair to his minor chordee (his penis is bent). After weeks of research, getting a lot of information, and finally speaking with the urology surgeon's office, we're going ahead with the surgery. It's scheduled for Monday, April 7, 2008.

Nervous? Off the charts, but if we don't have the repair done now, it could pose major problems for Braeden in childhood and as an adult - he'd look "different" than other little boys, and could have problems being intimate, may not be able to have children. After the surgery, those problems will be non-issues for him when he grows up. I'll keep you posted.

Otherwise, everything's fine. I've been taking Braeden to Kidsville, a great little "town" set up for the children to play without a whole lot of supervision. I still stay pretty close to Brae while he's playing since there are a lot of older kids there and I want to be sure he doesn't get knocked over by a racing car zooming past, but I let him roam from building to building, hanging back so he doesn't see much of me. His favorite buildings are the school house where he "draws" on the blackboard, plays with puzzles and looks at books; and the take-out restaurant, where he spends most of his time putting the play food into the cupboards, fridge, oven, any compartment available, or sitting at one of the tables with "pizza".

Whoever came up with the Kidsville idea had a great one. It really is like a child-sized town, with all kinds of "buildings" around the perimeter, a park-like setting in the middle with tables and chairs for eating lunch, or having a snack, or just relaxing. Brae loves going there, and I love taking him, especially where our weather's been pretty wet lately. It's impossible to get him to our park up the street since everything's drenched, but Kidsville is always available as a place for him to let off some steam.

I'll keep you posted on Braeden's upcoming surgery, and will try to post more often.

Merry Christmas!!

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but it's been busy with Braeden. I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate with your family), and all the best for a great 2008 for all of us.

Braeden is 15 months old now. He started walking a month ago, now he's running everywhere. He loves to splash in puddles outside when it rains, to pick up the odd leaf lying on the ground where the trees haven't quite lost all of them yet, to go to the park, and his Gymboree classes. And he loves playing with his dog. They chase each other around the house and he giggles. Going on "trips" are his favorite thing (he loves the car), be it to the post office to stand in line mailing out cards, to the store, and especially to restaurants, where we've been ordering him his own meal from the kids' menu. He loves his sippy cups for water, and his straw cups for milk, although he wants to drink right from the cup more now and not use the straw.

Poor Braeden picked up a nasty chest cold just over a week ago - coughing, sneezing, and some chest congestion. We took him to his pediatrician last Friday to be sure all he had was a cold, and she assured us it's going around, and that's what it is. What a relief, since he's only ever had one other cold and it was the nasal congestion type. He only has a slight cough left now, and it never slowed him down at all, or affected his appetite or sleep.

Nothing affects his sleep - he sleeps at least 12 hours at night, still has 2 short naps during the day. I have to laugh some mornings when I go to get him up from his crib. We've left his "aquarium" attached to the side of the crib and if he awakens early he turns it on. If he wants my attention before I get upstairs to start his day, he cranks up the volume on it so I can hear it downstairs and at the back of the house.

Braeden loves helping with the laundry, taking his clean clothes out of the laundry basket and putting them in his drawers. Now if I could only get him to fold them first..hehe. He's emptied one of his drawers of all clothes, and now stashes his favorite books in that drawer, putting one inside, closing the drawer, grabbing another book and adding that one. He loves taking off his socks during naptime. If one's missing and I ask him where his sock is, he either goes over to the wayward one, or points to it if it's nearby.

He's eating pretty well on his own with his spoon, although he misses his mouth sometimes. He also loves brushing his own teeth, after we've given them their "real" brushing. We haven't taken him for his first dental visit yet, but will do that before long.

All our months of work on sign language (and some great tips from Oliver's mommy) are finally paying off, and Brae's doing more and more signing. His favorite ones are sleep and more, but he's doing probably 10 signs. He's saying more words each day now and is starting to string 2 words together, his newest ones being "take dat" as he hands me something. He loves cleaning up his play yard and books each evening, and keeping the carpets and floors free of tiny specks of anything, picking some minuscule thing up and racing over to hand it to me. Carpet fuzz, a crumb, anything that's out of place.

He's a happy little boy. Sometimes I miss that snuggly little baby of months ago, but I really love this new toddler stage. He's not big on snuggling anymore, but he loves to hug and give kisses. It's going to be a fun Christmas with my DH's family. I know Brae's going to totally love all the wrapping paper. A friend gave him a wooden puzzle as an early gift, and he loved it so much that the guy gave us a few more to put away for him for Christmas. And Braeden's so strong now it's kind of scary. He picks up a huge box of diapers all by himself and carries it around the room, dropping toys and books inside if it's been opened.

Anyway, I'm off to start our day. Have a wonderful Holiday Season, and I'll try to post more in 2008.

Fire Storms

We were caught in the middle of the recent Southern California fire storms that started this past Sunday. Before I go on though, we were very fortunate that we're all safe, and our home was spared the horrible devastation that so many people are having to endure here.

We were shopping at a large outdoor mall on Sunday morning, near noon. We bought Braeden a pair of crocs shoes, so we'd have a pair of shoes for him we could put on quickly, that he'd be able to use to walk and crawl around in our back yard without ruining his Stride Rite shoes. We had a great time at the mall, but as we were leaving, saw the all too familiar smoke in the sky that we saw four years ago during the horrendous Cedar fire that destroyed so many homes and started four years ago tomorrow.

We stayed tuned to the radio and TV Sunday afternoon and overnight, and did the same thing Monday. Suddenly on Monday afternoon we heard that our area had been placed under mandatory evacuation, that we had to leave immediately. Neighbors started knocking on the door to tell us we needed to get out - NOW, and our next door neighbor brought over a surgical mask for Braeden, to help him breathe. Luckily I'd been packing things up all day, in anticipation that we might have to leave. Four years ago we got a voluntary evac. notice - this time it was mandatory, the sheriff driving up and down the streets announcing "You must evacuate this area immediately", the fire moving towards us, driven by 60 mph Santa Ana winds.

Luckily my ILs' home wasn't affected by the evacuation notice, so after loading up what we could cram into both cars, I left in the SUV with Braeden and DP (dear puppy). DH followed after one last check of the house, grabbing anything else he could think of.

There's only one way out of our neighborhood, so traffic was gridlocked. It took me over an hour to travel the 4-5 miles to my ILs home, and DH was stuck in even worse traffic, having left about 10 minutes behind me. The smoke and ash was awful. If not for my ILs, we'd have been camping out at the stadium, the freeways gridlocked too. Thank God we were able to stay at their home, although they were under an advisory evacuation - i.e., pack up and be ready just in case. Luckily it remained advisory only and while we didn't sleep much Monday night, at least we were safe, praying for our home to be spared.

To make a long story short, on Tuesday afternoon we received notice that the mandatory evacuation notice had been lifted for our neighborhood, and we were allowed to return home. Seeing so many homes burned to the ground, was so reminiscent of the fires 4 years ago. Once again, we were spared that devastation. Why? The fire was heading right for us, just like last time, and exactly like then winds changed direction and the fire moved elsewhere, sparing us. God was certainly watching over us these past few days.

There are still evacuations being issued, others being lifted, but the 8 fires burning here have moved on, hopefully to areas without dense populations of people, where nobody else will die, be injured, and/or lose their homes. It's been an extremely stressful week, but we've made it.

For any of you reading this who were affected by these massive fire storms, know our thoughts and prayers are with you, and if there's anything at all you need, anything we can do for you, please let us know. Now the healing process starts, and soon the rebuilding for those who lost their homes and are left with only what they could take with them as they evacuated.

Chickenpox Outbreak

It was announced on our news this morning that there's a chickenpox outbreak at one of the nearby schools, and everyone is being urged to have their kids vaccinated immediately if they haven't already done so. That's the 2nd series vaccination, given when they're about 4 years old. The one given at 12 months old gives them about 90% protection, while adding the 2nd one ups that to 99%. I like those odds.

Braeden's had a little head cold which I think he picked up at his gym class last week. Two of the other little ones were sniffling and sneezing, and while they strongly suggest you keep your child home if he/she is ill, some people appear to be oblivious to the fact that it's so easy to spread germs in a setting like that, no matter how clean they keep the gym area. Everyone's still climbing on all the equipment, drooling on everything, hands in their mouths. Braeden's just got the nasal thing going on, and it's starting to clear up now. It hasn't affected his activity level, or his appetite, or his sleep schedule. DH and I caught the dang thing over the weekend - blech.

We've got Braeden's Halloween costume. He's going to be a pumpkin this year. We didn't want anything fancy, and being 13 months old by then, I don't think he'll mind. It's a 2-piece outfit, nice and warm, with a hood. While our weather here definitely doesn't get cold, it's chilly at night, and we'll be out in the courtyard to greet the trick or treaters for a couple of hours, so I want Braeden to be comfortable. DH probably won't make it home from work in time for me to take Braeden to our nearest neighbors and pass out treats too, but again, I don't think Braeden will mind. I think he'll enjoy seeing the kids in costume, and he won't be eating any candy anyway.

He's still working on this walking thing, preferring to speed crawl rather than walk. I put his shoes on him inside the house this morning so he could try walking while wearing the shoes, since he hasn't been out much with his cold, and he did very well holding onto his truck and/or car as he took off around the living room. After about 15 minutes I took them off. I certainly don't want him learning to walk wearing them, but do want him to be comfortable walking while he's got them on for our outside trips.

1-Year Appointment

Today was Braeden's 1-year appointment with his pediatrician. He weighs 22 pounds, 8 ounces (50th percentile), is 33 inches tall - nearly 3 feet (95th percentile), head circumference is 17 3/4 inches.

He got a clean bill of health, is thriving, growing at a "perfect" rate (if there's any such thing as perfect), meeting all his milestones - crawling, cruising, doing a little walking, "talking" and babbling appropriately for his age, waving, etc.; totally off his bottles and drinking from cups. We took a sippy cup full of water to his appointment, and his doctor was pleased to see only water in it and not juice. She's not a fan of sippy cups full of juice being dragged around all day, but prefers any juice to be given as a supervised snack and then taken away. Brae loves his cool water in the sippy cup, uses straw cups for his formula/milk.

We've decided to keep Braeden on a 50/50 mixture of Enfamil Next Step (for 9-24 month toddlers) and whole milk for another month or two. His doctor said we could go either way - as we are, or all whole milk - either is fine. Probably after one more can of Enfamil we'll stop it completely.

We're pro-vaccination all the way, so Braeden had his 12-month vaccines today - two shots. One is chicken pox, the other a combo shot for mumps, measles and rubella (German measles). When I was a kid I ended up contracting all those diseases except rubella, and had a very rough time with all of them - these vaccines weren't available in my childhood. I'm glad they're here for Braeden, so hopefully he can be spared the misery of contracting any of them. And not only that, these vaccinations are all required for him to attend school where we live. I'd much rather have each one administered as we go along rather than play catch-up later when it's time for him to start kindergarten.

Braeden and I went to Gymboree yesterday - he loves his weekly class. He walked for the first time (other than a few steps). He went about 10 feet on his own, heading for a bucket of balls he spotted across the room that he wanted to get to. Yipee!!! His doctor said he's maybe been a bit slower with the walking because he's so tall, that it's hard to balance all that height, but he's on his way now.

So we're home and Braeden's playing. I'm hoping he'll have a nap soon, but he had none yesterday so he may be outgrowing them. I'll post again soon.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, BRAEDEN!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Braeden!! How much you've grown and developed over the past year, how many times you've melted my heart. He's off the bottle now (loves his straw cups) - I'll miss it more than he will. Brae had his first whole milk this morning and loved it, but we'll continue using Enfamil Next Step for a couple of months, and will gradually make the milk switch.

Today we're baking cupcakes for Brae's birthday party tomorrow. He loves to watch me working in the kitchen, and I know he'll be fascinated with all this baking. He's on the verge of walking, and it'd be awesome if he took that plunge today. But he'll walk when he's ready, and his timing works for me. Tonight DH and I will have our private celebration of Braeden's first birthday, a cupcake with a candle. We've got the camera and video camera batteries charged and ready to go.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we're having a little party to celebrate, with just a few close friends. We were hoping for the back yard, but with a rain storm forecast for later today and tomorrow, it looks like we'll be inside. That works. Early in the morning I'll pick up his helium-filled balloons and his cake, while DH will pick up the food. My MIL ordered and paid for the food for us, which was sweet of her. Sadly my ILs are leaving this morning on a trip, so won't be here for any of the birthday celebrations. My FIL's health is deteriorating, and this will probably be their last trip.

So Happy 1st birthday Mr. Braeden. You're no longer a baby, but you'll always be my baby!!

Two Weeks To 1st Birthday

Wow, hard to believe Braeden will be a year old in only 2 weeks. We're planning a small party for him here at the house, a few close friends. Like others have written, it'll be bittersweet - so exciting that he'll be a year old, yet already missing the little guy we brought home nearly a year ago. I'll miss my baby bunting, but my little boy is such a sweetheart.

Braeden's got 6 teeth now - 4 uppers and 2 lowers. I've started weaning him from his bottles, and am not having any problem so far. He loves his cups, especially the ones with the straws. We've got a couple of sippy cups, but I save those for water. He drinks his formula much better with the straws. We've got quite a variety of different brands, but his favorite is the Nuby straw cup. He drinks his formula while sitting in his high chair - it's easier for him to grasp the handles, and when he decides to stick his finger in the straw and fling formula all over the place, at least we're in the kitchen..hehe.

I'm also weaning him from his infant formula to Enfamil Next Step. That's going well too. We thought of going right to whole milk, but decided to give him a couple more months of DHA and ARA that Next Step has before we make that switch. He's eating Graduates veggie and fruit dices, and meat sticks I cut up for him, and any table food around at his meal times. So far there's nothing he doesn't like. That makes life easier. He's still eating some stage 2 and 3 foods, mainly to finish up what we bought earlier.

DH got Braeden a pre-birthday gift - a Tonka riding dump truck. He absolutely loves it. It's supposed to be good for him until he's 3, but when he sits on it, he's already flat footing it, so I think he'll outgrow it before then, but it'll still last him a long time. You can take the seat off and snap it on the back, so he has something for support as he walks along behind it. It's great for picking up blocks off the floor and carpet too - run over one and the truck scoops it up and deposits it in a storage area for later retrieval.

No, he's not quite walking yet, although he stands alone frequently and takes 2-3 steps on his own before he sits down, so walking isn't far off now. His new favorite thing is going outside in the afternoon with the neighborhood kids. They're all over 4 years old, and the older kids sit on our lawn in a circle, Braeden in the middle, and he giggles as they pass him around, rolling on the grass.

This morning I started taking Brae and DP (dear puppy) for walks together. DP has gained weight in the past year and after checking out a dog walking service, they're way too expensive for our budget. When I tried walking DP and Brae at the same time earlier, it wasn't a pretty sight, but today DP walked calmly next to the stroller, totally enjoying a nice long walk, and of course Braeden had the best time - he always loves going for a walk.

So we're gearing up for Braeden's big day. Have a great weekend.

Happy 11-Month Birthday!!

Yikes, 11 months old today. It doesn't seem possible that in one more short month little Braeden (who's not little anymore) will be celebrating his 1st birthday. What happened to our little baby? I'm so glad we've got a ton of pictures and video of those early days to look back on.

We went to our gym class this morning, but poor Brae's cutting 2 teeth at the same time, so he didn't have the best time. Still, he participated with the other children there, and did some of the activities. We were going through tunnels today - lots of fun. He was more clingy though than he has been, but that's ok. He'll have good days and bad like we all do.

So Happy 11-Month Birthday little Braeden. The next time I wish you Happy Birthday, you'll officially be a toddler - ack!! LOL!!

Braeden's Busy Week

Braeden and I headed off for his 2nd Gymboree class earlier this week. It was his last level 2 class. Next week he moves on to where he should be, level 3 - 10-16 months. Now that he feels totally comfortable at the gym, he's more than ready to move on.

He's had a few adventures and minor mishaps this week. We've got a gigantic play yard in our living room (32 sq. ft.). Close to it is an antique "drum" table (about 36 inches round) that's been in my family for over 200 years.

One day this week Brae decided to climb onto a stool we've had in his play yard for him to use to pull himself up. It's not there now. I was playing in there with him when he put his knee on the stool, then pulled his other leg up, so he was kneeling on the stool. Grabbing the top of the play yard, it was nothing for him to pull himself to a standing position so he could bang on the table. I keep the camera in my pocket now, so was able to get pictures of him in action, and got a video of him going from kneeling to standing. Major danger lurks there though. Standing on the stool, the top of the play yard is below his waist, so if he leaned forward, over he'd go. Like I said, the stool isn't in there now.

Apparently my table was even closer than I thought. For his next trick, the next day Brae opened one of the drawers (only 2 open, the rest are false drawers), but I guess he couldn't see everything in there he wanted to see, so he pulled the drawer right out and it landed in his play yard. Thank God it didn't hit him, but it scared both of us half to death. I was in the play area with him, lying down with my eyes closed, obviously drifting off. I could hear him playing with the drawer handles like he always does, but never thought he could pull the drawer out. Needless to say the play yard is now further away from the drum table so he can't even reach the handles.

Yesterday he was playing in his play yard (no he's not in there as much as it sounds - he just gets into more trouble when he's in there now) while I uploaded some pictures to the computer, and he was totally enjoying his new game of picking up toys one by one and dropping them over the top and onto the carpet and/or ceramic tile. He's already broken a few electronic toys by throwing them on the tiles. He started to cry - he'd thrown one of his balls over the top, then decided he wanted it back, so stuck his arm through one of the slats to retrieve his ball - yep, he got his arm stuck above the elbow. It only took a second to free him, but by then he wanted some "hold me" time, and he got plenty.

After he'd settled down, I put him back in the "yard" so I could finish uploading the pictures. More crying. We got Brae a "phlat ball" which you push down in the middle so it goes totally flat, and then springs open into a ball. He loves playing with it, and if a finger or two gets caught when the ball "pops" he laughs and thinks it's funny. I've tried it myself to be sure, and it doesn't hurt at all. Not so when somehow he stuck his whole hand inside. He was waving the ball around, trying to get his hand out, but he needed mommy to push down on the ball a bit so his hand slid out.

No worse for wear, at that point I let him roam around while I finished up the pictures. Maybe Braeden doesn't want his pictures on the computer..hehe. He headed right for the stairs, and of course I hadn't closed the baby gate since he'd been in his play yard. Forget the pictures - I'll finish them later..hehe. I followed him as he climbed upstairs and roamed around up there awhile, then carried him back down.

Otherwise it's been a quiet week - yeah, right..hehe. He continues saying "wassat?" to everything he sees, inside the house, while we're out for our walks, at the store particularly where he wants to know the name of everything on each shelf. Of course right now he doesn't know what they mean, but out goes the hand towards an object he's interested in, then "wassat?" follows. After I tell him, he moves to the next object. It's funny. He's saying his name even more clearly now. I love how he says "Brae" - he rolls the "BR". He's also calling his dog by name now. I was on the phone last week when he called for his dog, and the person on the phone with me could hear him say the dog's name very clearly.

I hope it's a quieter weekend. Hope you all have a good one.

Braeden Rules the Gym

Braeden had his first "real" Gymboree class yesterday, level 2 (6-10 months). He ruled that place, feeling totally comfortable and at home. The instructor said only one more class and then Brae moves up to level 3. He's way beyond the activities from yesterday, but at least he had a chance to become more familiar with the gym and the equipment there - he was crawling everywhere, racing over to the other babies so he could touch their faces. They didn't seem to mind, although you could tell they were probably wondering what this little person was doing racing towards them.

The instructor rings bells when a new activity is to begin - unless Braeden has made off with the bells, racing to the other side of the gym with them. She had to chase after him 3 times, to retrieve the bells, the faster she chased him, the faster he crawled, trying to make his great escape. She eventually had to hide them in her pocket.

The other babies were only 7 or 8 months old, so Braeden was far more advanced. He rocked...hehe. So we'll go back next week, and after that will be in the level 3 class. That class is earlier in the day, which works better for us with Brae's lunch and nap. It's a fun place though. Even I had a good time there.

Gymboree Classes

We signed Braeden up yesterday for 10 weeks of Gymboree play classes at a new facility that opened up over the weekend just down the street from us.

We ended up going with the level 2 classes (6-10 months old), since we went to a trial level 3 class Saturday (10-16 months old) and poor Braeden had a total meltdown with all these little toddlers walking up to him. We had to leave, and they told us to come back Sunday and try a level 2 class. He started with a minor meltdown on Sunday too, but after a few minutes calmed down, and towards the end of the class had started to become more comfortable and was crawling around playing with some of the toys. The babies there were from 7-10 months old, much more his peers. One little girl was giving him the "eye"..hehe.

So we decided to try 10 level 2 classes. We had to pay yesterday, but they told us that if he doesn't become totally comfortable after another 2-3 classes, they'd refund our money, so it's worth a try. It's been very hard to get him out and about with other babies around his age. While there are about 10 of them in the neighborhood, nobody's ever around like they used to be (I have no idea where they all are, but I rarely see any of them at our park or out for walks).

This morning Brae went to work with daddy for a couple of hours. He had a very minor crying jag at first, but settled down quickly, and poor DH spent the majority of the time chasing Brae around the office, as he crawled everywhere exploring the new territory. Braeden's got some real separation anxiety right now though, that hopefully we can work through with the classes. Like at DH's office, he was fine until people came up to him, then he raced for DH. Still, all things considered, it's to be expected, and he's doing well.

He's now got 4 teeth fully through (he was slow getting those first teeth), and has taken to climbing the stairs from bottom to top, with one of us right behind him. He never misses a step though, and once he gets to the top he's off and crawling into all the rooms.

Brae took his first walking steps Saturday - only 3, but all on his own, without any support. Yipee!!! It's kind of scary knowing he'll be walking so soon, but the time has come.

As for his eating, he continues to devour his food. He's not real fond of stage 3 dinners, except the chicken noodle one, but our ped. said if that happened to just skip them and move onto the diced table foods, which is what I've done. So far he's only had green beans, pears, and chicken sticks, but he loves all of them. He's also sampled some restaurant food when we go out to eat, and he loves everything, except carrots. He looks so cute chewing everything up. He still gets his 20-24 ounces of formula, and is still eating stage 2 foods along with the dices, and he likes to drink bottled water in between, right from the bottle. We got small child-proof bottles for him with a sport cap, so he can sip away without worry he'll get the top off. He also loves his cups with straws. He's not fond of sippy cups he has to tip up in order to drink, but we're working on that, since I don't think he'll be drinking from a straw the rest of his life..hehe.

He needs another hair cut already. This with be the 6th one, and it's getting harder to cut myself. I'll keep going through until it's impossible. Everyone says I do a great job on his hair - that's incentive to keep cutting away awhile longer. I've taken to giving him hair cuts while he's in his high chair. That's about the only place he's reasonably still these days.

We're off this weekend to a luau. Brae's got a Hawaiian shirt and shorts for the occasion. It's at 4pm, so we'll be able to have some fun, and still get him home pretty close to his 7pm bedtime. Speaking of bedtime, he's still sleeping about 11 hours at night, straight through. He wakes up at 6am and plays with his toys in his crib, then after I take DP for her walk and get her breakfast ready, I go upstairs and bring Brae down to start his day.

Happy 10-Month Birthday!!

We spent Braeden's 10-month birthday quietly at home, after a very busy week. He's getting more and more active all the time.

The little guy just went to bed, and to be honest, I'm totally wiped out, so suffice it to say, HAPPY 10-MONTH BIRTHDAY, Braeden!! And no more climbing the stairs please..hehe.

My Mother's Birthday

I hope Braeden doesn't mind me posting on his site. Not many people come here now, so I guess this site is just for the two of us - me and my son. I think he'd approve.

Today would have been my mother's birthday - would have been, because she passed away many years ago. It doesn't make it any easier when her birthday rolls around each year. I still miss her and I always will. How I wish she could have known Braeden, how I wish he could have known her. It wasn't meant to be, and that's ok. I know she's watching over us, almost as though she were actually here.

A week from today would have been my father's birthday. Same situation - he passed away a long time ago too. It's hard on both dates, but harder on my mother's birthday - she and I were so very close.

I'm an orphan, no siblings, in fact no remaining family of my own. Until I met DH I spent years by myself, me and my dogs. Now DH is here, DP is here, and of course Braeden is here. While I love them all, I still feel so alone sometimes. I just want to call my mother today and wish her a happy birthday, have her over for tea and a visit. I know that will never happen in this life, but does it ever get any easier? I don't think so. I learned to go on, learned to cope without her, but that gaping hole will always be there, the emptiness sometimes overwhelming.

Braeden is my pride and joy, but he was born via surrogacy - I couldn't carry him and give birth to him. That honor belongs to someone else, and while she's the sweetest lady, and Braeden wouldn't be here without her, it's hard knowing that one day I'll be sitting Braeden on my lap and telling him about her, he'll spend time with her. Will he love me less? I hope not - God, I hope not. Sometimes I almost feel like I don't want to get too close to him, to let him know how very much I love him. Maybe that will shield me a bit from the biting pain I'd feel if he rejects me for the surrogate who carried him, who gave him life. Thankfully though, dealing with that is down the road.

Today I'm sad, depressed, in tears. Maybe it sounds silly at my age to say this, but I want my mom. I could really use a big hug from her. When I was growing up I used to ask her, "Mommy, how much do you love me?" and she always answered, "All the much's in the world". I've been teaching Braeden that little exchange, hoping to keep part of my own mother alive.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Busy Weekend

Yikes, what a busy weekend we had, compared to our usual laid-back style.

Aunt Y. arrived on Saturday and was here for 4 hours. She was shocked at how big Braeden's gotten, at his teeth, his smile, how fast he can crawl. She hasn't been here for a couple of months, so lots of changes. After a great visit here, we all headed out for lunch. Braeden had a great time sitting at the table in the restaurant high chair (shopping cart cover in place). He was flirting with everybody who passed our table, waving and smiling and talking. I felt badly for the little girl at the next table (probably about 18 months old). Braeden was "flirting" with her, and he made her cry. He didn't seem to mind. When she started wailing, he turned back to eating his Cheerios and banging on the table again, trying to grab food off my plate.

After we finished our meal, we all came back to the house, and Aunt Y. was able to give Braeden his bottle and feed him his food. This is the first time she's been able to spoon feed him, and you could see the excitement on her face. Braeden's not particular who feeds him, as long as that food keeps coming. Aunt Y. is really looking forward to Braeden's birthday in September. She doesn't know where the time goes either. We're so lucky to continue having her in our lives.

Sunday we headed to the pet store to stock up on DP's food and treats, then went to Pizza Hut for lunch. Braeden got to sample his first mushrooms (the only thing on our pizza that didn't have sauce on it). He loved them. I gave him one little piece of soft pizza crust with a tiny amount of cheese on it, and that was a big hit. I didn't want to press my luck though, so left it at the one piece. He continued flirting with the people in the restaurant, and became so bold as to grab at the server's blouse as she passed by - she thought it was hilarious. Braeden let out a hearty laugh, so I guess he got a kick out of it too.

So today we're resting a bit. It's been very hot here, so we bit the bullet and dumped Braeden's sleep sack that he's slept in since we stopped swaddling him way back when, and let him sleep in just a little top and shorts his grandparents gave him a couple of weeks ago. He was much more comfortable, and seemed to sleep better. I kept checking the video monitor (will I ever give that thing up?) and he barely moved all night, whereas when he was wearing the sleep sack he moved a lot more. Now the mattress is at the lowest level, we have no fear of him tumbling out of his crib, which is why we persisted so long with the sleep sack. Now he can feel free to move about his crib, play with the little toys in there, turn on his aquarium music, and talk away to himself.

So all is well with us - Braeden will be 10 months old on Saturday.

9-Month Exam & Shots

Braeden did great at the doctor's office this morning, unlike last time when he cried throughout the whole appointment. He was more interested in what was going on around him than in anything else, grabbing at everything within his reach. DH and I took separate cars so he could head right to work after the appointment, but he got stuck in traffic and only arrived at nearly the end. At least he made it.

Braeden weighs 20 pounds and 14 ounces (85th percentile), and measures 30 inches tall (95th percentile). Since he's had a cold, his pediatrician gave him a good going over, but the cold is gone for the most part, nothing to stop him from getting his vaccinations.

He only got 2 shots this time, one in each hip. Of course he cried, but as soon as the bandaids were on and he was back in my arms, he stopped crying, and started banging on the exam table, grabbing for the paper covering, banging on pictures which hang on the wall, he was having a great time exploring, the shots forgotten. He goes back in 3 months, early October, after his 1st birthday celebration.

I dressed him in his jean shorts and a top that has "Chick Magnet" on the front. The staff went totally nuts over his top, and as usual everyone commented on all that hair. He's due for hair cut #5, but I wanted to wait until this weekend, so it won't grow too much before his photo shoot next week. His pediatrician signed the form required, giving her authorization that Brae's good to go for the photo shoot. We'll go next Friday, but getting those pictures will be enough for me. I don't want to drag him all over town doing shoots.

He slept on our drive home, but has been very active since we got back, crawling around his expanded play yards, squealing, standing at his piano table and banging away on that. He's been cruising a lot lately, this morning he let go and took a step without holding onto anything. That was so awesome to see. He's finally settled down for a nap.

I nearly forgot. Brae's got the ok to start with table food only, we can stop any and all baby food at this point, although it'll be easier to keep going with it as we transition over. I'm no cook, so I'm not even really sure where to start with table food other than fruit. He's allowed to eat anything he wants now, and is even allowed a little whole milk, so long as we continue with his formula for the majority of the "milk" part of his diet until his 1-year birthday. Some of that baby food is gross - if I won't eat it, I sure won't feed it to my son.