Down with the bottle!

Hi. My name is Brayden, and I'm a milkaholic. I've had this "problem" for about 5 months now, and have slowly started alleviating this problem by sometimes resorting to a sippy cup. This allows about half of the beverage to leak down my chin and onto my bib and shirt. I also am trying to cut back by eating "food"-if you can call it that. My mom provides me with this liquidy "mush" she calls carrots. Or bananas. Or Sweet Potatoes. It looks nothing like actual food, but it's a nice respite from the milk.
Here I am, off the "bottle", enjoying a dribble of the good stuff.

Yes, it is THAT good.

THIS is why it's a problem. I suffer from milk-induced comas.

Oh, and PS-in case you didn't realize, I'm cute.

Alaska State Fair

Koda and Tyler made a little friend who wanted to go with them on the big swing!

These pictures are in no particular order because I have no clue how to easily organize the pictures around text I've already written. Anyways, here they are!





I suppose you could call this Brotherly Love, but Koda has a really cheezy look on his face, and Brayden's screaming his head off!













Brayden and I......he's such a cutie. And he's about 2 months old here.



They think they're so cool!




You DEFINATELY don't want Koda behind this puppy!




Best cousin buddies




Definately brothers!







He's actually not too bad hula hooping for a 5 year old!

Ok, ok, I'm sure you're all thinking "holy cow, seriously.....the FAIR?" Yes, seriously, the fair. I COMPLETELY forgot to post any pictures of the State Fair this year, and we went 3, count them, THREE times! Or at least Koda, Brayden, and I went 3 times. George got to go twice, which is great, considering he usually doesn't get much time off in the summer. Sorry that it's 3 months late, but as they say, better late than never!

Highlites: it sounds stupid considering all the rides and food and everything, but Dakota is in love with the new "hula zone". It's really just an area roped off with a ton of hula hoops, but it probably would have kept him entertained for hours if we would have sat there. Plus, George and Alan took to it as well, proof is in the picture! Lizzie and I also took a turn at it, but I think George didn't take pictures on our camera, so I'm spared the photographic embarassment. The new reptile/exotic animal exhibit was amazing too, and Dakota especially liked the different nasty trantulas. eeewwwww. Also, the National Guard had a pretty cool setup with an inflatable obsticle course, which Koda and Tyler had to run about 5 times each. And, they also had to get up in one of the military hummers fully equiped with the machine gun on top as well. Koda also enjoyed all the "big boy" rides, especially since our trip to Disneyworld last fall where he REALLY got to experience his first big boy rides, and would have went on everything, if not for the height requirements! Also, Koda wasn't a wuss this year at the petting zoo! He actually would touch virtually all the animals, which is a HUGE change from years past. He used to FREAK OUT if he so much as got closer than an arm's reach of anything, including cute little fuzzy bunnies! But he was probably most afraid of the pygmy goats (which I LOVE!). However, this year we all actually got to enjoy the petting zoo, which was a nice change! Brayden didn't do much but love his front carrier and the stroller, but he did great, and wasn't too upset. It was amazingly a very warm, very nice day, which if anyone is familiar with Palmer and fair time (August), is a miracle in itself. It is almost universally colder, windy, and usually at least drizzling at fair time, but this is 2 years in a row now that the weather has cooperated!

our BIG boy!

Brayden had his "4 month" well-baby checkup on Monday....yes, about 3 weeks late, so really, it's more like a 5 month checkup, but who's counting?! The result: he's perfect! And BIG! I've never really looked at him and thought he was all that big....he doesn't have the Michelin-type baby rolls or anything. But apparently, he IS very tall. Like in the 95% tall. Which would make his weight on the higher side--75%--as well. Officially, he is 27" tall and 16 lbs, 2oz. And who would wonder why he is growing up so fast? Perhaps the fact that he's LOVING actual food now! Today alone (in one sitting), he ate a good cup and a half of baby cereal, and then the ENTIRE container of peaches! YUM!

Brayden and Daddy time!

Two of my 3 favorite guys! George is having a BLAST being a daddy of a newborn (even though Brayden is hardly the size or personality of a newborn anymore! Brayden is such a happy, smiley, laughter-laden little boy. He has quite an adorable personality, usually happy as long as you FEED him when he's hungry! He is definately a little socialite, loving being held, talked to, and sang to.

Brayden's current favorites, besides food, are his link-a-doo's, his gloworm at nighttime, his bouncer (now that he can actually BOUNCE!), and watching tv. Yes, he has turned into a little couch potato, and his favorite seems to be football!! And he LOVES his daddy time!

Brayden's dislikes, first and foremost, is TARGET!!! Without fail, anytime we step foot into Target, or even into the parking lot for that matter, he starts freaking out. I'm not saying he's just a bit upset, I'm talking full on, red-faced, TICKED OFF! We've also figured out that Brayden simply does not like hats. Since it's gotten colder outside, I've started to put a hat on him (when I remember), and he's always pretty upset at me when I do. I suppose it doesn't help that quite a few of his hats have some type of ear flaps, which when he turns his head (usually to the left to suck his thumb) in the carseat, one of the ear flaps inevitably migrate in front of one of his eyes. That would probably piss me off too I suppose. And, he's never been a fan of his actual carseat, which was probably his very first dislike.

And to add to it, he's a big drool-monster, which makes me suspect a tooth may be soon on the way!!

The good and the bad.....there's NO ugly here :)

So I'll start off with the good: I awake from a VERY restful sleep this morning to Brayden crying (as usual) for his bottle. Only it's 6:30am, not midnight or 2am or 3am! Yes, sleep from 9pm to 6:30am is *WONDERFUL* to say the least! I felt crappy all yesterday....feeling like I was coming down with the flu or something (like George, my brother-in-law Brian, and sister-in-law Lizzie.....and come to find out my mother as well!). And this FULL night's rest was just what I needed. I don't feel 100%, but much better than yesterday. All I can say is THANK YOU, BRAYDEN!!!

Now onto the BAD: George woke up yesterday morning, about 3am (about the same time Brayden woke up for his bottle), feeling rather ill. I asked him if I got Brayden, would he feed him because I was SO incredibly tired. He mumbled something about not feeling too good, so naturally, I was a bit peeved, and grumbled out of the room to get Brayden. In the middle of fedding Brayden in his room, I hear George get out of bed, run to the bathroom, and start hurling incontrollably! The poor guy. I felt so bad that I just got peeved at him for not feeding Brayden while he's trying to hold vomit back. I felt like a *wonderful wife* right about then! Our night was riddled with these trips to the bathroom, accompanied by a 5am text from my brother-in-law who insisted that he needed to go to the doctor (for the same thing George had!), and that because he hadn't slept all night, it would be safer if I drove him. HA! Yeah, after getting up at midnight JUST to register for school, then back to sleep again. Then up at 3am to feed Brayden, and every 30 minutes or so after that to help (or hear) George, and then we both drift off to sleep about the time the test message comes into my phone. UUUUGGGHHH!!! Needless to say, I was even more peeved. After I assure my brother-in-law that there's nothing a doctor could do. To that, he says he thinks it's not the flu, but food poisoning from McDonalds. Part of me wants to just ignore it and go back to sleep, another part wants me to tell him, "well that's what you get for eating at McDonalds", but the *good* part of me tells me to assure that no matter if it's the flu or food poisoning, a doctor can't do much but tell you to make sure and stay hydrated and rest.....oh, and syphion out about $150 for that advice. I should have taken a cut of that in order to save him the time and money! After telling him this MULTIPLE TIMES, he finally relents and says "ok, have a good sleep!". Yeah, thanks. As if that's going to happen-because we need to get up in less than an hour anyways to get Dakota ready for school and Brayden fed again.

Yes, so I may not have very exciting days, but the nights are sometimes a bit interesting! So to make a crappy story a bit better, we woke up this morning to BOTH of us having a full night of rest and BOTH of us feeling much better.

But George also got up this morning to pack up a few things and head out to Dillingham for an entire week :( Now that it's winter, he's in surveying for the state, which is infinately better pay and more exciting than last winter, but it also means traveling a bit. So although he's not enjoying being away from home for a week (and neither am I!), I am just a bit envious that he gets a week of not having to wake up at night (sometimes twice) to feed the cutest little guy on the planet, or to wake up to change the sheets of who we've deemed pee-pee man (Koda still wets the bed on occasion), or to really do ANYTHING domestic (laundry, dishes, cleaning....if that ever gets done, running errands, etc). Yeah, I'm a bit envious.

On a lighter note, though, there is a concert tomorrow night I wanted to take my dad to for his birthday, which I WON tickets to yesterday!!! I picked up the tickets today, which apparently are VIP tickets.....which generally means something cooler than regular tickets (although I have yet to figure out what's so VIP about them). And although it totally bites that George is gone (because he would definately be going with me if he was here), it allows my dad to go, which is great! We always have a good time at country concerts...mainly because a good chunk of my friends wouldn't be caught dead at a country concert, and I really could care less that I'm showing up with my dad :) In fact, the last time my dad and I went to a concert together (just me and him), I was 7 months pregnant with Dakota, and they CARDED me! Yes, I'm showing up to a concert with my FATHER, who already has greying hair, mind you, and obviously VERY pregnant. I don't think I'll be drinking! Anyways, I'm off on a tangent, so lets just say that I am on cloud nine that I got tickets for free and that I get to take my dad!

With that, I say since George is gone, it's 8:45 at night, and I have both kiddos asleep, I'd better get some shuteye myself!

Halloween in PHOENIX!

Playing football in the backyard at Uncle Alvin and Aunt Eleanor's house. Yes, Isiah is playing in rollerblades.

Our "Star Wars" Dinosaur.

Optimus and Superman with light sabers

My parents have been contemplating buying a *eventual* retirement place in the Phoenix area for close to a year. So....with the long weekend (it was the end of the quarter for the school district), they decided to head down and take 2 days just to go look at houses. It also happened to be George's FIRST weekend off since Brayden was born, so we went with them! It was so nice to see Alvin and Eleanor again and see how much the kids have grown! And, of course, nice to be in some warmer weather! We were loving it, and Koda loved it even more since he didn't have to put a coat over his costume to go trick-or-treating! George, Koda, and the kids went swimming Friday night in the outdoor pool.....which I figured was a bit cold for me, so I stayed on the sidelines reading. I knew it was heated, but HOLY COW.....that was the 2nd warmest outdoor pool I've ever felt (the first being the one at the condos in Orlando!). We had a blast in Phoenix!

Mark's Halloween Party

The coolest decor at Mark's party?
Definately the blacklight reflective chalk body lines on his concrete living room floor!

Just because he's cute.

*Almost* trying to sleep

Our little Dinosaur and his Biker-chic Mamma

Such a happy little man!

And this is the ONLY picture of the night that includes Dakota (he's Optimus Prime). Once we got to Mark's place, we lost him somewhere in the house. He only surfaced a few times to launch nerf darts at the "spiderwebs" over the fireplace with a few friends he had made.

Mark, the electrical contractor superindendent that George worked with this summer, and his wife throws a MASSIVE Halloween party every year. Apparently everyone (almost everyone) who attends are very elaborate in their costumes. George was probably one of a very small handful that showed up without some amazing regalia. And the whole time he was making fun of me dressing up as a biker chick......hey, I had everything I needed without spending a ton of time and money on a costume that I'd never wear again! I, for one, thought my costume was pretty good for creating it on the fly.

We all had a blast at the party......except perhaps Brayden, who was just simply too tired to enjoy it all! BY FAR, the best Halloween party I've ever been to!

Ethan's Birthday Party-H2Oasis

Lounging......like a couch potato. In the water.

Best brother buddies!

Dakota's best buddy since birth, Ethan, had his 5th birthday party at H2Oasis In October. Since Koda started Kindergarten, we haven't been able to go have fun at toddler swim (it's M-W-F mid-morning!), and he's been pretty bummed about that. Koda and the kids had a blast, and it was Brayden's first time at H2Oasis. Brayden took a bit of time to warm up to the idea of a pool that wasn't quite as warm as his bath, but after the initial "shock", he was LOVING it! However, he wouldn't *smile* for the camera!!! But at least he's not screaming, so that's a plus!

Bathtime

Just a few pictures of the boys in the bathtub. I can't wait until Brayden is a bit older and able to sit up in the bath and play with Dakota! I LOVE being a mom of two adorable boys....I can't imagine my life without them!