Our Little Mobile Man

Mobile Man
On Christmas Day, Brayden gave Justin and me the best gift ever...he crawled. He had been scooting for the longest time, but couldn't seem to get his leg in the right place to crawl. We had come to the conclusion that he would go from scooting to walking. He proved us wrong!
Now, he is all over the place. We have had to baby proof our home. He will be one place one minute and the opposite end of the house the next. We were warned by others that once your child is mobile, your life becomes a lot more hectic. Boy were those people right. Brayden has fallen off our bed twice (I know this is terrible, but both times were accidents). I think it is taking a little while for Justin and I to get our head around what exactly a mobile child means.
The other night, Brayden was in our living room playing. I went into our bedroom to hang-up some dresses. This took maybe 1 minute. I walked back into the living room and Brayden was no where to be found. I looked everywhere and finally found him in our green room chewing on Belle's raw hide bone. It is scary how fast he can get into something and nine times out of ten it is something he doesn't need to be doing.
Although it can be stressful having a mobile child, it is such a fun thing. Don't get me wrong, I have cherished and enjoyed every moment with Brayden, but the older he gets, the more fun he gets. Justin and I both can't believe how fast he is changing and how much more fun and exciting our life is getting.

Clapping
In addition to crawling, Brayden learned how to clap when others clap. It was the cutest thing. He would get really excited and start clapping. Then, he would look at everyone and wait for all of us to start clapping. He is such a happy baby! The only time he gets fussy is if he is hungry or tired.

Christmas
Christmas was wonderful. We were on the road a lot, but it is worth it to be able to spend time with our family. We are so blessed to have so many people that want to spend Christmas with us and our little one. Brayden got so much stuff! He got bath toys, Laugh and Learn table, scooter, phone, jack-n-the-box, jungle slide, walk & play thing, a 3-in-1 sports toy, books, clothes, and so much more. We had to leave some of the toys at my parents' home because we didn't have room. This year he was more excited about the boxes and wrapping paper rather than the actual toy. We had a wonderful time and I can't wait until Christmases to come.

Eating, Ice Cream, and Sweet Treats
Brayden has gotten so good at eating. I have been putting a little bit of cereal in his vegetables and that seems to do the trick. He is also eating some foods from the table such as beans, fish, potatoes, slaw, and other soft foods.

He loves loves loves Ice Cream! It is crazy how much he loves ice cream. He is constantly making the Mmmmmm noise when he is eating it. He grins from ear to ear every time he sees an ice cream cone or the ice cream box. He likes sweets more than salty items. He also likes Gerber puffs and yogurt melts.

24/7 "Daddy" and "Dada"
I am not sure what is up with the words "daddy" and "dada" but Brayden says them all of the time! Yes, I am complaining because I am jealous. I mean would it hurt him to say "mommy" or "mama" every once in a while? Justin will be no where around and he still says the words constantly. He has said "mama," "gigi," and "baba" a couple of times, but he has "daddy" and "dada" perfected.

Gator Bowl Champs
Justin and I went to Jacksonville to have some mommy and daddy time away from the baby. We had an awesome time. We really enjoyed getting to be with each other with no interruptions. We missed our little boy but we needed the quality time. The game was awesome! We beat Michigan 52 to 14. After our team accepted the trophy, they all lined up on the 36th yard to honor Nick Bell. It was very touching. We had a blast but are so excited to be back home with our little boy.