My Friends

We've had quite the time meeting and playing with new friends. Last weekend, we had friends over and Braylon was able to play with Tristan and Riley for a few hours in the new play room. Riley was very interested in her little friend and Braylon was not quite sure he wanted all the attention. Here's Riley going in for a little kiss, while Braylon protests!
Mommy and Daddy worked hard to get the play room set up just in time for our guests. I found some great deals on toys and the new "ABC" tile which pulls the room together quite nicely. Braylon loves his new play room and all the new things to explore! This weekend, Braylon and I were invited to a play date with a group of boys ranging from 14 mos to 6 1/2 months. Brady, he's in brown on your left, is 9 months. Caden, in the back in the Nike shirt, is 14 mos. Camdyn, in the green and blue, is 8 mos and Brecken, with the colorful block is one week older than Braylon. Caden, Brady, and Camdyn are all very mobile. Below, Braylon and Brecken watch Camdyn as he shows off his crawling abilities... Braylon and Brecken both look totally stunned!! They are in awe of his speed and mobility!! We had a great time with the other boys and their parents! We plan to make this a regular play date and will even join in on some fun at an upcoming Aqua Mom and Me swimming class. We will not, however, be sharing photos from those play dates! Mommy isn't quite ready for a swimming suit :)

Family Resemblance??

After a friend did this with her baby on their blog, I thought it would be fun to compare Braylon's pictures with some of mine and Bryan's. I'm not quite sure who he looks like. You decide!

You're so Vain

Below is a video of Braylon watching himself in the view finder of the video camera. One day, I was reviewing a video I had just taken of him and he was so enthralled by it. He kept laughing at himself on the video and reached for the screen and himself. So, I decided to shoot a video of him while he watched himself in the view finder. This is how he responded...

Burrito Baby

Braylon has discovered a new trick. He kicks the "legs" of his mat until they collapse around him, wrapping him up like a burrito. On this particular day, I was on the floor playing with him and looked away for a second. When I turned around to see what he was doing, this is what I found. I had a quick laugh and then grabbed the video camera...

Six Months

Can it be? I cannot believe it! We are one-half of a year into the most exciting time in our lives! I don't really know what to say. So much has happened in such a short time, but there is one thing that stands out in my mind as I reflect on the past six months and what it has meant to me to become a Mom. I thought I would share a piece of an introduction I made at a recent training where I was the presenter.

So, as it goes with most presenters, it is customary to provide a little background on your experience as it relates to the topic you are presenting on. The focus of our training was social and emotional development of young children. I spoke about my education and work experience. I related professional and educational accomplishments, including recent certifications and licensures. I shared how excited I was to have just completed coursework in play therapy. And then I got to the really important stuff. I shared, with honesty, "the accomplishment I am most proud of...having become a Mom!" I shared how honored I am to be a part of the distinguished group known as parents. I stated that having a child had changed my life and had subsequently changed the way I viewed and carried out my job. I also shared my fears, hopes, and dreams as a parent. None of this was planned, it just came out of my mouth. As I listened to myself trying to impress the audience with my professional accolades, it dawned on me that none of that mattered. What matters and what ultimately makes me better personally and professionally is this wonderful little boy I've been blessed with. I couldn't help but share my joy with everyone in that room. From now on, I'll always include being a Mom as one of my most prized accomplishments.

Okay, now that I've got a huge lump in my throat, let's take a look back at the past six months.

Bouncing Baby Boy

Here's some footage of Braylon bouncing in his jumper. We've had to move the seat up (approximately 2 inches) to the second rung because he's getting so tall! The quality of this video is not as good as the others because I had to upload it to youtube in order to put it on here as the file was too big for blogger to upload. Sorry!

Splish Splash

Enjoy this video of Braylon splashing and playing in the bath.