Braden Stats

I do monthly updates on Maeva which I love.
I know years down the road I'll love looking back and seeing her growth.
I feel super guilty, however, that I haven't been doing this with Braden.
He grows and changes to! He is becoming quite the little comedian.
Today, I just want to write about his growth and the little boy he is becoming!
I need to do this more because I want to remember seeing him change as well.
I won't be offended (totally ha) if you don't read this because this is more for me than anyone else! ;)

Things Braden Loves
Cars and airplanes
Watching airplanes with daddy on youtube.
Being outside (he'd live out there if we let him)
Watching Tow Maters Tall Tales. Really, he's obsessed.
Eating. Mostly junk food. Oreos. M&Ms. Anything chocolate.
His sister. He giggles he's so happy sometimes.
Talking on the phone.
Reading

Things Braden Doesn't Like
Nap-time or Bedtime. Usually this involves lots of screaming.
The word "no". This usually causes him to throw himself on the floor.
The vacuum cleaner. If I ask him if he wants me to vacuum, he will shake his head and say no.
If I turn the vacuum on he will scream and run to his room.

His Favorite Books
Anything Dr. Suess.
He especially loves Hop on Pop.
I love Dr. Suess for him because he easily picks up on the words.

Things Braden is Learning
His letters! 
He knows so many of them so well! He can easily repeat them.
He even points to them on his play mat and brings his letter magnets to you, saying what they are!
Some of his numbers. 
He will say 1 & 2. Usually that's where it ends even though he can say others.
He gets stuck on 2. Maybe because that's how old he is!
So many words! 
He can say: sleep, clock, what, on, in, out, yes, drink, food, hop, pop, eyes, too, toes, sis, dad, mom, aunt Lauren, shoes, car, truck, duck, let's go, light, sit, I, have, poop, thank you, ball and more!
I was a bit worried about him talking because he wasn't talking a ton, but it's getting better.
I even heard him say, "I have a ball" the other day!
I realized that he does put words together, but they at times are slurred!

Things I enjoy doing with Braden
Seeing him learn new things.
Taking him outside.
Reading with him.
Taking him places, which I don't do often enough.
Kissing and hugging him.
Lots more!

I know there's so much I could write about him. So much that I'm not even sure I can remember it.
He's a funny kid, always doing things to make us smile and laugh.
If he knows we're going to laugh at something he will do it over and over. I love that!
That's it, for now, I guess, but I'm going to try to do updates on him more often!

Pieces of him

Motherhood is tough. It is serious business. 

I feel like it's even more tough when your little ones are boys 

(maybe I'll think differently when Maeva is his age).

Braden is ear piercing loud.

He loves to run through the apartment screaming.

Back and forth, back and forth he runs, shrieking at the top of his lungs.

It causes my heart to beat fast and my ears literally hurt.

He's fearless.

He sees no reason he shouldn't jump off the top of the couch,

climb on top of the counter, 

walk into the middle of the street, 

climb out of the tub on his own. 

There's no reason... giving Mom a heart attack definitely isn't a good enough reason! 

He is stubborn determined. Oh so determined.

You're not going to give me more junk food mom? I'm gonna yell about it.

Or better yet, I'll just get it myself even though I know I'm not suppose to climb that high.

Always, always determined about food!
If we want him to say a word, he'll just shake his head no, but he's getting better at that.

His favorite word is, "No, no, no!"

If you want him to do something or not to do something, it's probably going to be the opposite. 

He has to want to do things all by himself!

Could drive a parent loopy, I tell ya! 

He's energetic. Always ready to run, yell, and play. 

Just last Friday I took him to a little monkey business and even after 2 hours he was still going... 

I can't believe how much energy this little one can have!
How about you give me so of that, little boy?
Momma needs some! 

There's so much about having a boy (or children in general) that can be so hard. 

Somedays (okay, most days) I feel so completely worn out in every possible way.

But there are great things about this kid, great moments. 

I absolutely love how much he loves his sister. Giggling when he sees her and hugging her.

He gives the best hugs and as he is giving one he says, "Awww..." It's the cutest, sweetest thing. 

He's so lovable and kind that way. 

I love seeing him learn new things, things I didn't realize he even knew. 

Just last night he said the word desk. Had no idea he knew that word. 

He's picking up on so many things, which isn't always a good thing! ;)

He's so forgiving. Way more than I am. 

He's the first to hug me when I've gotten upset with him. 

The first to kiss me. 

Makes my heart melt. 

There's so much to this little boy, so much inside him.

We struggle a lot, battle a lot, but he's a special little boy and I love every piece of him! 

Fun in the tub!

I had an activity I wanted to share on the blog for about two weeks,

But I was having some technical difficulties, so here it is now! 

Sometimes (most of the time really) I struggle in figuring out what to do with my two year old. 

I ask myself what can he do? what will he do? what can hold his attention for more than 5 seconds?

The answer came to me - balloons and the tub! 

^^^added towels because he kept on slipping^^^

If you can't tell, he throughly enjoyed this. There was a lot of squealing and balloons everywhere! 

My first thought was that he would pop them and there would be water everywhere. 

I was okay with that, it's what I had planned for, but he's two, so he doesn't throw hard enough,

Plus it's in the tub, so it just didn't work that way. Fine by me, less mess! =)

This lasted at least twenty minutes.
It was fun to see him enjoy something so much. 

The only issue is now he thinks its okay to throw EVERYTHING in the tub. 

Stuffed animals, books, his pillow...

And of course right after bath-time when I had forgotten to drain the tub!

I think this is a great activity for a toddler to have some fun and get some energy out. 

Maybe some mom's think I'm crazy because it could be a huge mess, 

But sometimes I don't care about that and just want my kiddo to have some fun! 

Giving Grace

I've realized something lately.
I'm awful at giving grace. I expect to get it myself, but I'm not great at giving it.
I'm not good at giving it to my husband, children, other family members, friends,
or even others in the blogging world.
It's something I'm trying to work on, for the good of everyone.

I'm trying to work on my words and my actions, even my thoughts.
I'm holding my tongue a lot more and reflecting on my feelings.
I've always been one to let my feelings get the best of me.
That is not always a good thing.
I overreact a lot and that's when grace isn't given.

I want to be kinder, more loving, and gentle.
I want to give a whole lot more grace.
God said that His grace is sufficient for me.
If its sufficient for me, then its sufficient for everyone.
I need to give more of it.
It's hard, but I'm asking God to help me.

Is this hard for you?
Are there certain people that you struggle giving grace to?
Or maybe even to yourself?
That can be really tough for me as well!

Dear Jesus

Being a parent is hard. It's hard to constantly have to give so much of yourself.

To put away what you want and do what needs to be done for your children. 

There is no one that knows this better than You. 

For You, were the one who gave up Your son for all of Your children. 

That's a beautiful thing and that is what parenting is meant to be...beautiful. 

At it's core, it is the most beautiful thing, but at it's surface, not always.

At the surface there are such hard moments, frustrations. 

That's where I'm at right now, lacking so much in parenting. 

So, I'm coming to You Jesus because You're the only one who I can fully depend on.

You're the only one who knows my heart and knows what needs to change.

Change my heart, Oh Lord. 

Give me patience, love, understanding, kindness, grace... to give to my children. 

It is what they need. It is what I need. 

Fill me with those things Lord.

Amen. 

A boy, his dad, and their helicopter

We're sitting on the couch, looking at book, and then we hear it.
The keys in the door, the alarm going "beep, beep."
I see his face light up and he scurries off the couch.
His little feet carry him, as fast as they can to the stairs,
where he stops only because of the baby gate.
He curls his soft little hands around the top of the gate, stands on his toes, and peers over.
"Dad," he says in a high pitched voice. "Dad, Dad, Dad."

His dad comes around to the steps where Braden can see him.
Again he happily says, "Dad." and gets a "Hi Braden," along with a hug.
Sometimes he giggles in excitement.

Then, he turns to the bookshelf, looking high up, and pointing.
His voice changes then, it's deeper, and a "grrrrr," sound escapes his lips.
"Yes Braden, the helicopter. We'll fly it."
And they do and you can tell it's the best part of both their days.

Yesterday as I was reading blogs, I came across a post that has stuck with me.
It was a mom writing about her blog, how it's her way of catching memories.
That's what I want this blog to be more about.
The moments I want to recall, the moments I keep close to my heart.
I want to be able to look back and remember. I want my kids to be able to look back someday too.
There will be more memory writing because it's so important to capture them growing.

To Other Mamas

Being a mama is a lot of work.
More work than I've ever done in my life. Constant work.
While it's brought me the most joy in my life, it can also be so hard.
There are times of tears - whether its because my babies just won't stop crying or fit throwing,
Or because I had to discipline the toddler and it broke my heart,
Or because something simply scares me about raising children in this world.

There are times that when it is hard, I reach out on the internet.
It may be on facebook, or twitter, or even here on my blog. I write it out.
I don't do this to put down motherhood or my babies.
I don't do it to show how awful moments are.
My real reason is that I want to feel so not alone during the hard moments.
I want someone to relate to me. I want someone to tell me it's going to be okay!

Often, when I give a glimpse into the life of my two year old, I get negative responses.
I may say something like, "Braden just will not listen to me today!"
The responses I've gotten are:
"Oh, just wait until he is three!"
"Just to warn you three is much worse!"
I usually respond by saying something like, "That's not encouraging!"
Or I simply ignore it because it is not uplifting!

I do not find this to be a good thing whatsoever!
I find this very discouraging and harmful to me!
I'm here to tell you something mama, I'm not here to tell you that motherhood is rough.
We know this... it's not something new.

But I'm here to tell you to ignore those negative comments.
Ignore them because they have the potential to sit in your heart.
They have the potential to make you dread the moments, days, months, years to come!
I don't want that for myself or for any other mama!
Ignore them and know that, while some moments are rough, motherhood is a beautiful thing!
Know that everything will be okay.
You got this mama! You're children will be okay! You'll be okay!
Because motherhood was meant to be one of the most beautiful things...
And when it doesn't feel that way, or look that way, you've got the Lord to carry you through!

Friday Letters

Dear Friday,
I'm glad it's you! At first this week was going by fast,
but yesterday it felt like it was taking forever!

Dear Weekend, you however, are allowed to stay as long as you want.

Dear my sweet two year old, I love you more than words could ever express,
but lately you're driving me a bit bonkers, especially when you don't listen to me.
Please, oh, please get with the program and start listening to mama!
I really do know what's best for you!

Dear Husband, thanks for working so hard for us.
I'm glad that because of you I am able to stay home with our kiddos.
It may be tough at times, but it's totally worth it. I love you for that ;)

Dear Maeva, can you please stop growing?
I cannot believe you are going to be 5 months old Sunday.
Seriously, slow down, I just cannot handle it.
I do love watching you grow though and seeing you hit milestones.
Your laugh is the best.

Dear Parenthood, 
Seriously cannot believe you didn't address the abortion issue in the latest episode.
You need to address it. You have to.
It's just so sad and heartbreaking, but I won't get on my soapbox about it now.
Maybe in a different post.

Dear Lying Game, you are my new addiction. Glad husband doesn't mind watching with me!

Dear self, it's okay that sometimes you feel like you are about to lose your stinkin' mind
And it's okay if you do.
You don't have to hold it together all the time.

Dear Coffee, I love you. I don't know how I ever hated you or lived without you.
I am sorry, please forgive me. I want you around always and forever.

Dear Blog, I'm so glad I've gotten back into you. I love your new header and your readers!

Dear Baby Weight, you are going down! You aren't welcome around here anymore!

Dear Leslie Sansone, you are my new walking buddy. Thanks for being my motivation!

Dear Weekend, I know I already mentioned you,
but just wanted to remind you not to go to quickly!

Wordless Wednesday

When you have two little ones

If you'd never one read my blog or didn't know me...

And asked me about myself the first thing I'd tell you is I'm a mom.

It's not exactly the most important thing. That is, I'm a child of God. 

There's other things about me too, like I'm married and recently decided I'm going to go for my dream, I'm going to start my own photography business, but first, I'd tell you I'm a mom. 

Because that is what I spend most of the time doing, being mom. 

No matter where I am, no matter what I'm doing, I'm always mom to my children. 

I'd also tell you that being a mom of two - a two year and three month old- is hard. 

When you have two littles ones, like I do, lots of days can be hard.
You aim to put all your focus on them.
There's so much that needs your attention.
Diaper changes. Feedings. Baths. Toys. Books. Time outs. Crying.
And if one little one doesn't need or want you, the other one does.
You can lose yourself in those things and me, that's how I've felt lately.
Lost and not myself lately.
Its hard when you don't have very little time for yourself.
You feel a bit like your losing your mind sometimes.

Honestly, I feel like I've lost my mind a bit.

And I want to find it, I want to find me again...

So, that's what I'm trying to do. 

Even if that means just putting the babies in the stroller and going for a walk with my camera. 

I find myself in those moments.

In those moments my heart is full because not only do I have my babies, but I have myself too.