Braden's Last Hoorah

We had to break the news to Braden.....the next celebration that involves gifts will not be until Christmas time. His birthday celebration is officially over....well, until we take him to Disneyland for his birthday in a couple weeks hopefully. We couldn't fit that activity in over the last few days. Braden's been too busy visiting with family, opening too many gifts, and eating cake!

Braden made sure Granddad still had stamina and energy to keep up with a 2-year-old. Judging by the looks on their faces, it appears as though Granddad did a pretty good job entertaining and caring for Braden while Matt and I went to an event for work. They are watching 2 dancing Elmos perform on the kitchen counter.....just one of many activities Braden involved his Granddad in!

Uncle Billy and Aunt Maria stopped by to spoil their nephew. Braden's mastered the look of excitement and surprise while meticulously opening his gifts.
No nap....it was very late.....so we decided to let Braden top off the evening with some cake!

The Blame Game

Braden has started talking quite a bit lately. Sometimes he'll surprise us with full sentences. It's fun to hear the things he comes up with. Sometimes he'll say words or phrases that we have no idea where he learned them! It's pretty amazing how clever a 2-year-old can be.

He's gotten quite good at the blame game. Sometimes when I ask him who made the mess in his room, he replies, "Pepper did it" or "Papa is messy." When he's given up on blaming others for his actions, he simply pleads innocence. "I don't know" is one of Braden's favorite lines. This is the response given whenever he is too lazy to come up with the right answer. For example, I asked Braden who spilled the dog food all over the pantry and I got the innocent stare with the "I don't know" response. Before we know it, his teachers will be telling us that Braden claimed his dog ate his homework!

Biker Babe

Since we stretched Braden's birthday out over a few days, he actually opened his helmet and elbow pads a couple days ago. Not having a bike didn't faze Braden a bit. He tried them on and actually didn't want to take them off.

With all the running, jumping, and climbing that he does around the house, Braden probably thought this safety gear was a good idea.

You just never know when sitting at an art table could get dangerous, so Braden made sure he was prepared! This table was one of the gifts from Granddad. Braden loves it!
Braden was so excited to hop on his Harley bike from Gramma and Papa that he almost forgot to get geared up!
Braden had fun racing around the house on his new ride. He insisted on giving DeeDee, his beloved monkey, a ride too.
Poor Pepper.....she puts up with so much!

Birthday Boy

Happy 2nd Birthday Braden!! We started celebrating Braden's birthday today, but it appears as though we may spread the celebration over a couple days. We never got to eating cake, so we'll have to at least do that tomorrow. Plus, Braden still has a few more gifts to open.

We could have gotten away with just giving Braden balloons for his birthday. He ran around the house wildly chasing Pepper while holding a bunch of balloons.

I insisted on tossing a couple books into the shopping cart at Toys R Us because our little nerd loves them! Plus, I feel better if he has a few educational gifts to open.
Who knew this toy would be so complicated to assemble?! Braden definitely tried to help as usual.
Braden looks like he is pleading with his Daddy to buy him the puppy. Fortunately, we did not leave the pet store with a pet!
Adding a bit of culture to his birthday celebration, Braden did a great job of eating his dinner with chopsticks.
We celebrated Braden's birthday at Shogun. Braden loved the "show" the chefs put on table side with sound effects and fire. Clearly, he wasn't too fond of the birthday hat though.
This was our authentic Japanese chef, Jose. He spoke Spanglish throughout his presentation.

Birthday Eve

As I think about the last 2 years, I have countless memories of wonderful times with Braden. He has lit up our lives like we never could have imagined possible. He's sweet, funny, and loving. Braden has definitely added an amazing aspect to our lives. Tomorrow is Braden's 2nd birthday, so I figured I'd post a picture from just minutes after he was born, as well as one from his 1st birthday.

Although I never thought I had maternal instincts, I absolutely fell in love with this little guy the moment I set eyes on him and knew I would love being a mother. Braden was overdue & very reluctant to enter the world. He still looks a bit aggravated in this picture, but became happy and adorable shortly thereafter!

Braden had quite the 1st birthday extravaganza. He insisted on having a full-blown pirate theme, so we gladly obliged.

Balancing the Budget

"Where'd all the money go??" This is a question we've pondered many times, but I don't think we've actually verbalized it in front of Braden. However, this clever little guy has been saying that line obsessively since he got his new cash register. He climbed in bed with us this morning, with his cash register and whispered in both of our ears repeatedly, "Where'd all the money go?" In a few years, we'll inform him that a huge chunk of our money goes to spoiling him!

Clearly, the money didn't go towards buying clothes or a comb....I promise we were in the process of getting him dressed and brushing his wavy mop!

Endless Summer

Someone might want to tell Braden that Californians are supposed to be conserving water. After splashing around in the pool, Braden just hadn't had enough water for the day.

When I saw the sprinklers turn on unexpectedly, this innocent-looking little guy was the culprit. We have never shown him that this box controls the sprinklers, so I have no idea how he figured it out!

Chasing the beach ball around on the grass while the sprinklers soaked him was a great way to cool off.
This "who, me??" face is beginning to look all too familiar. I have no idea how he figured this out either, but Braden knew exactly how to turn on the hose. He tried to do it nonchalantly so I wouldn't notice. Braden figured he'd make once last attempt to rid himself of this farmer's tan by going shirtless!
One of Braden's favorite things is water & that's exactly what he's screaming here!
There's nothing quite as refreshing as Temecula water out of the hose on a warm summer day!

Painting the Town

Ok, so maybe Braden wasn't exactly painting the town, but he sure painted everything else in sight at Gramma and Papa's house.

First he touched up this tree.....

Then the rocks on this fountain.....
" Shhhh, don't tell them I'm washing off my paint brush in the fountain!"
Why stick with the rustic look when you could paint the cabin white??
It's hard work painting with two rollers at a time, even if he was just painting with water....just taking a stretching break!

Mail Man

The novelty of receiving packages on our porch wore off long ago for Matt and me since we get so much stuff from work daily. However, Braden was thrilled to find a few packages addressed to him. Two were early birthday presents from Uncle CJ, Aunt Sandy, Kendall and Sydney. Grandma Judy also sent Braden a box full of fun snacks.

Braden's aunt, uncle, & cousins happened to visit this weekend, so they were there to open Braden's gifts with him. Braden loves this cash register. Hopefully now he won't be so intrigued by the money in my wallet since he has his own now.

We couldn't quite figure out how to use this toy, but Braden has found a couple uses. He spun himself around and was in hysterics. He also sat in it to eat his lunch. Love those multi-purpose toys!
Braden has the knack for ripping open packages now. He isn't even interested in the box and wrapping like many children are. Nope, he just wants what's inside! In this case, Grandma sent some fun snacks that Braden loved.
Acting as if I was going to take them away, Braden scarfed down the "goldshish crackers" by the handful.

Happy Grandparents' Day!

Braden has been blessed with wonderful grandparents. He loves his Nana, Grandma, Granddad, Papa, Gramma and Grandpoobah.

The shy artist was hiding his masterpiece he made for his grandparents.

Braden put lots of love into the grandparents' day card. It was completed with lots of colorful scribbles and stickers.

Carnie

We spent some time at the LA County Fair in Pomona today. Despite the extreme heat and crowds on opening weekend, we managed to have a fun family day. We enjoyed rides, animals, and, of course, lots of great people-watching! Fortunately, Braden had no desire to try the fried Twinkies, fried Snickers, fried frog legs, or any of the other exquisite treats the fair had to offer.

Looks like Braden was competing with the sheep to see who could "baa baa baa" better!! This competition would be a bit more entertaining than some of the other farm animal competitions taking place around the fairgrounds.

Braden showed off his sheep herding skills. He loved petting all the animals he could get his hands on, including a cow, pig, and lots of goats.
When Braden wasn't checking out the farm animals, he rode a few rides. He mastered yelling "weeeeee" on the rides.
Adults weren't allowed on this ride, so Braden had no problem riding alone.
Still a kid at heart, Matt made sure he still had soccer skills. Sadly, he didn't win the Mexican soccer jersey, but he did prove that he still has skills!

Carnivore

Braden has always been interested in pretty much anything but eating. Mealtime can be an exhausting process since he often refuses to eat anything. He has always loved eating fruit and pasta, so there was the possibility that he decided he just wanted to be a vegetarian. After all, I was raised vegetarian, so maybe he was just going to follow a Nelson diet. His daddy barbecued a big tri-tip for dinner tonight. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Braden sticking a fork into it while saying "eat!" Well I missed that with the camera, but I did capture him thoroughly enjoying his daddy's dinner.

Braden was very excited when Matt told hm to sit down so he could get his own plate and fork.

Digging into a steak takes a bit of concentration.
"Done!!" This was Braden's comment after savoring every bit of his steak.