Happy 1 1/2 year birthday handsome bundle of joy!! We love you Braden! :)
We cannot believe our little munchkin turned 18 months old on Feb 27th. People are so right when they say that time FLIES by when you have kids. There is no doubt about that at all.
I had no idea what 18 months would bring but I have been thrilled with how much fun Braden is at this age. I think this is my favorite age so far!! :) He is a hoot, and we laugh at something he does on a daily basis. He seems to be learning at rocket speed right now, and he seems to surprise us with something new each day too. :)
We went to his 18 month well check, and the best part of it was that they told us that he does not have to have anymore vaccines (other than annual flu shots) until he is 4 years old!! WHAT? LOVE it! :) I was thrilled by that b.c I am the mom that has to look away while Chris holds him down. So that was music to my ears. :) He had one vaccine at this appt and that was all. We absolutely love our pediatrician's office...and they are so good with him. Braden sat at that appt and flirted with our doctor the ENTIRE time. He would not stop smiling at her, and she could not stop laughing! :) At the end of the appt (after he had shown off for literally an hour), she wrote on his chart that she had NO questions about his development or talking....and that he was a big flirt. HA! :)
His 18 month stats were 29 lbs (80th percentile) and 35 inches (greater than 95th percentile). Growing like a weed! :)
Here are some of the things that are going on with Mr. Braden at 18 months:
1) He can count up to 6 on his own right now. If we prompt him just a little bit then he can get to 10...and then he says "YAY!!" :)
2) He can officially do all of his puzzles....and he has a ton of them so he gets lots of practice. :) It is so fun to watch him put them all together.
3) We took out one of my old baby boy cabbage patch dolls from when I was a kid. We have been trying to teach him about babies and Baby Brant. He loves to carry that little boy around and is so sweet to it. Well until he sees something else he wants and drops him on his head! LOL! :)
4) He loves to wipe his nose. Not sure why that is so cool but for some reason it is! :)
5) We have one of those "boo bunnies" that you put in the freezer and use when you get hurt. He is in LOVE with that bunny!! Every single time anything happens to him, he runs to the freezer and says "bunny, bunny" over and over again until we get it out. And no matter where he got hurt, he will hold it up to his head. :)
6) He is such a good helper at cleaning up. He loves to take trash and throw it away too.
7) He has had 4 haircuts already. That thick blond hair can grow! :)
8) He still eats well but is opnionated on what he wants to eat and when. :) He does not want to try a ton of new foods anymore...but we are thankful that he has a very large variety of things that he does eat. That helps a ton. :) You gotta love being a toddler!
9) As I have mentioned in past posts, he is VERY VOCAL!! It blows my mind all of the things that this little man can say. He repeats EVERYTHING we say, and he is so good with his words. They are very audible and clear. He uses phrases much more now so conversations with him are great. He knows what all of the animals "say" and can even call out some of the harder ones like alligator, hippopatumus, etc. We often ask him lots of questions and he can answer them well. Lately we ask him his name (first and last), his age, where he lives, where he goes to school, and what his cousin's names are. He gets them all right! :)
10) We have been practicing our prayers at night. Never too young to start. :) I love when he says "Dear God". Too stinkin cute!
11) He is still kicking it in his 24 month clothes but he can also wear 2T as well. Cannot wait to go shopping for spring clothes! :) His foot measures a size 6 1/2 so we just got him some size 7 shoes. That seems so big to me for some reason! :)
12) He can be a sassy pants at times (think he gets that from me).....but he is also so loving. It is very common for him to come over and just give you a hug or a kiss....or tell you "I Love You". He is such a sweetie! :)
13) His interest for being outside has never waned. He LOVES it! The park is one of his favorite places. :)
14) He loves time with his grandparents. :) He is spoiled rotten but he has so much fun with them. He calls them by their name when he is with them...and he seems to always be on his best behavior vs when he is with mom and dad. HA! :)
15) He loves Seasame Street and Curious George...and he loves watching those shows on PBS. It is too cute how he calls out "Elmo" and "Monkey" constantly when they are on. :)
We had to celebrate the big 18 months with a cupcake. :)
Our little heartbreaker. :)
We cannot believe we are closer to 2 years then we are to 1 at this point. WOW!! Time to start planning that 2 year old birthday party!! HA! :)
Braden-you are such a joy in our lives. You add so much to our family sweet boy!! :)
Check out these amazing hamburgers.......LOVE the presentation!! :) 
Thumbs up to Second.....really good gub!! Check out the buffalo fried pickles with gorgonzola sauce if you go! :) Happy Dining! :)
The hostesses. :)
Alicia with her high school girlies. :)
Alicia and the grandmas..... :)
Family pic of the ladies....Alicia, her sister Jenna, and her mom. :) 
Cute little Alicia checking out her food options. :) 
Love this fun rocking chair.......
Time to start opening gifts!! :) 
Crispy snapper goodness. :) 
Braised beef short ribs.....we loved the food presentations. :) 
And you can never go wrong with donuts with some really good dipping sauces! :) 
Good job Trace!! Looking forward to coming back and trying something else next time! :)
