Lots of Pictures!

I have a ton of pictures to post. I didn't realize how long it had been since I put some up. These are probably going to be very random and out of order but I know the out of town friends and family will still enjoy!

Braden and Leah are birthday friends. They were both born on April 7th, just one year apart. On their birthdays we drove by the Sextons to take some pictures of them together. Hopefully this will be a tradition! They kept making the same funny faces. So cute!

Braden would not eat dinner on his birthday so we felt like maybe we should supplement with a bottle. Here he is taking his last ever bottle. And as of this week he is no longer a nursing baby either!

Traci and Logan came for a visit in April. We went to the zoo on Saturday and the kids had a fun time. Braden enjoyed his first carousel ride.

My handsome boys on Easter Sunday.

Peekaboo!

This is what happens when we have black beans for dinner.

Braden climbed up on this box one day and wasn't able to get down. He is getting more and more dare devilish...hence the scrape on his nose!

Ben caught a fish in the bathtub.

Braden and Papa on our pitstop in Forest City on our way to Savannah/Hilton Head. I will post pictures from that trip next.

The Birthday Party

Sorry it has taken so long to post these pictures. Our wireless internet was out for a while and our neighbors just wasn't fast enough to upload tons of pictures.

Here are the pictures from Braden's birthday party. It was a lot of fun and will always be a wonderful memory.

A clothesline of pictures of Braden's first year of life.

Wagon ride with Anna Kate.
Wagon ride with Laurel.





GrandJan trying to feed Braden some "real food" before he dives into the cake.


Laurel sporting a birthday hat.


Gavin was our youngest partier at 5 weeks old. There were six kids under one (7 counting Braden).

Shannon and Libby



I love this part!


Not sure about the fire.

Hmmm...tasty!




I just can't get enough in my mouth at once!

Sharing with Daddy.

Our family.

First Birthday Fun

We were supposed to go to the zoo on Braden's birthday. However, since it was snowing on April 7th, we had to go with Plan B: Chuck E Cheese!

Braden and I enjoying the "show."

Ben being a good sport!

Braden was mesmerized by the mechanical characters. I was glad he was not scared!

He loved the tractor.

And watching the big kids run around.

Chuck E and Braden

Clifford was broken, but Braden didn't care.

Little redneck. Ha ha!

Savannah

While uploading birthday pictures off my small camera I came across these pictures from our time in Savannah. One afternoon we went downtown for lunch and to hang out in Forsyth Park. It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time.

101 Things...

Last night Ben and I stayed up late talking about what a wonderful year it has been with our little guy. We decided to make him a list of some things we love about him. Here are a few:

101 Things We Love About Braden

1. We love your smile.
2. We love your big brown eyes.
3. We love when you let us hold you.
4. We love how you make us laugh.
5. We love hearing you talk in bed.
6. We love how you love your horsey.
7. We love when you kick your legs in bed.
8. We love it when you head butt us.
9. We love how you grin when you’re getting goodnight kisses.
10. We love that you can feed yourself.
11. We love when you sleep all night.
12. We love giving you wagon rides.
13. We love how you do acrobatics to avoid touching grass.
14. We love that you did the worm before you crawled.
15. We love that you don’t walk yet.
16. We love rubbing noses with you.
17. We love when you let us read you books.
18. We love how you roar like a lion (or bear or alligator).
19. We love your long wispy hair.
20. We love how you love to eat.
21. We love your love for bath time.
22. We love how social you are.
23. We love the fact that you are such a ham.
24. We love how you love being the center of attention.
25. We love that you love to go to church.
26. We love when you read books on your own.
27. We love how you love your bed.
28. We love that you are a good napper.
29. We love how you wave at strangers.
30. We love that you are great on long car trips.
31. We love watching fall asleep.
32. We love when you jump up and down.
33. We love how you can’t stand in shoes.
34. We love your fat feet.
35. We love how you dance when there is music playing.
36. We love watching you learn new things.
37. We love when you laugh really hard.
38. We love your fat neck roll.
39. We love your toothy grin.
40. We love your long eye lashes.
41. We love dressing you like a big boy.
42. We love when you smile when we walk in the room.
43. We love how you are good for babysitters.
44. We love your big fat cheeks.
45. We love that you like having your teeth brushed.
46. We love watching you grow.
47. We love when you grunt to get our attention.
48. We love when you play peek-a-boo.
49. We love when you talk on the phone.
50. We love how vocal you are.
51. We love how you love looking at yourself in the mirror.
52. We love your slobbery kisses.
53. We love your sneaky grin when you are getting into mischief.
54. We love how you smile at us when we tell you no.
55. We love when you shake your head “no.”
56. We love that you like being outside.
57. We love your love of carbs.
58. We love telling you how much we love you.
59. We love that you will wear a birthday hat.
60. We love that you dove face first into your cake.
61. We love that you sleep with your butt in the air.
62. We love how you pull your socks off and laugh at yourself.
63. We love how you then put your socks in your mouth like a dog.
64. We love how you like electronics more than toys.
65. We love how you can make a mess much faster than we can clean it up.
66. We love your tiny butt and fat belly.
67. We love how you like to swim.
68. We love calling your nicknames.
69. We love watching cartoons with you.
70. We love when you lay in our bed.
71. We love sneaking into your room to look at you before we go to bed.
72. We love teaching you new things.
73. We love spending all day with you.
74. We love wrestling on the floor with you.
75. We love taking pictures of you.
76. We love talking about you.
77. We love when you give us five.
78. We love blogging about you.
79. We love watching you play with your cousins.
80. We love taking you to the park.
81. We love how you love to swing.
82. We love your curiosity.
83. We love how you have no stranger anxiety.
84. We love when you say Ma Ma and Da Da.
85. We love how you prefer to be naked.
86. We love how much you love us.
87. We love dancing around the living room with you.
88. We love watching each other be your parent.
89. We love how you have changed our life forever.
90. We love how you’ll always be our oldest child.
91. We love how you’ll always be our baby.
92. We love coming up with reasons to buy you things.
93. We love finding your tiny clothes in our laundry.
94. We love that you are so sweet.
95. We love your big mouth.
96. We love how you always turn the TV to the weather channel.
97. We love how you must have both hands full while eating.
98. We love how you pant after taking a big drink.
99. We love your squishy thighs.
100. We love being your parents.
101. We love YOU!

Happy Birthday, buddy! We love you so much! ~Daddy & Mama

April 6, 2008

Here is what I looked like this day last year:

That's Braden in my belly in case you didn't recognize him! Ha ha. Tune in tomorrow for pictures of the birthday boy and our thoughts on our precious one year old!