Grampa’s protégée

What is it with boys and tools? Whether young or old, no man can resist them, and it’s shocking to see how quickly little ones pick up how they work.

A Tale of Two Thanksgivings

Brayden enjoyed not one – but two! – Thanksgivings this year as he celebrated on Thursday with Daddy at a friend’s house and on Friday with Mommy, Nana, Grampa and Uncle Ryan.

Baby art and sciences 101

Brayden an inquisitive baby full of energy. Daycare does a great job of keeping him stimulated so I decided to start integrating more experiences into our home life starting this weekend with coloring and a trip to the Nevada Discovery Museum.

Holy molars

Remember those molars I mentioned the dentist saw during Brayden’s first dentist appointment? The ones where I said, “We didn’t even know he was teething!” Um, well, we know it now.

Mr. Thirsty does WHAT?!?

In another step towards little manhood, Brayden had his first dentist appointment on Wednesday. We didn’t know what to expect, and if you’re like us and don’t know much about pediatric dentistry, this post will answer a lot of questions.

Operation Tiny Tiger Treater

Happy Halloween! We just got back from a fun-filled hour of trick or treating, and our little tiger cub is totally tuckered out and fast asleep.

Lil’ pumpkin’s first patch

Brayden is officially a little boy. He has stomped, fallen in and eaten dirt. And where did this happen? During his first visit to a pumpkin farm!

Toilet Paper Caper

A mystery has befallen Jewell Family Manor! Brayden and Avery are prime suspects in this “who spun it” thriller.

Brayden killed a mouse with his hands and ate him

In the spooky spirit of October and Halloween, Brayden ripped apart a “mouse” and munched on him.

If the shoe fits

Now that Brayden is walking we realized it was time for his first pair of shoes. And this is a true first. He literally has never had shoes on his feet (only socks!) before Thursday.

Put one foot in front of the other…

…and soon you’ll be walking cross the floor. This may as well be Brayden’s theme song for the week because only six days after taking his first step he’s already up to a whooping 14 steps in a row!

Brayden takes his first steps…and builds a house

Kids nowadays achieve in ways we never dreamed of. It seems like the news is filled with third graders doing astrophysics, 10-year olds with college degrees and teenagers making millions off their IPOs. Brayden, not to be outdone, took his first steps AND built a house today. I hope someone from Harvard is reading this…

Babyscaping

Brayden experienced another rite of passage – the first haircut. With each snip of the scissors his caramel honey curls fell to the floor, and I watched my baby grow closer to toddlerhood.

Brayden’s First Birthday Party!

If you ask me, first birthdays are just as much about parents surviving the year as they are about the baby’s big day. So even though Brayden will only know what happened through the photos and video taken at the party, Brian and I wanted to host a celebration worthy of our family’s milestone.

It’s a ONE-derful world!

Brayden is one! It’s been a crazy year. Five days in the hospital, four rounds of antibiotics, three ear infections, two bouts of RSV and one case of croup couldn’t keep Brayden down. And you’ve been with us for every step (and story) along the way.