Braden's Newest Achievement--Pulling Up!

Let's see....what's in here? .....I think I can......I think I can......I think I can......YESSSSSSSSSS!!! Oh yeah, I'm in business now. I can empty this drawer in a flash now!

Braden's big achievement for the week was pulling up to a stand. He surprised us all in getting his "chunky monkey" thighs up off the ground before his 1st birthday. He pulled himself up to the nightstand by hanging on to the open drawer. What a BIG boy!

Braden was quite proud of himself for his achievement!

By the way, we really do usually keep socks on both of Braden's feet. Some of these pictures really look like I never dress the poor child or clean my house, but really, when you have a Kodak moment, you just have to go with what's there. :)

An Update on Andy's Health

Andy's back is doing much better now. After the second epidural shot, he had enormous improvement so he did not have to get the third shot. He is doing rehabilitation on his back now and hopefully will be able to begin lifting things again by this summer. He is still restricted to 5 lbs. or less. However, he has a newly discovered problem now. It is with his memory. He went to see a neurologist about a week ago and the Dr. scheduled a bunch of tests for him. He has been suffering from shaking, (similar to people with Parkinsons) headaches, very poor short term memory, excessive frustration when trying to do tasks he has done for years with no trouble (ie preparing sermons, lessons, Bible study lessons, etc.) He has just had a horrible time ever since he came off all the drugs he was on with his back. So he had finally had enough and went to see his family doctor who then sent him to a neurologist. He had an EEG today, and he is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow. They are testing him for Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and any other major brain disorder. They do not think it is something that is not correctible, but they are testing to be certain. What they think is happening is that he had a concussion (he got knocked out by a sliding glass door at one of his dealerships last year) that was never addressed. When he took all the drugs with his back, it complicated the situation. They say he has a recurring "migraine" that is "triggered" by either something stress related, or his diet, or something that is to be determined. That is all we know right now. The neurologist put him on a very strict diet that eliminates all "triggers" of migraines. It is basically an all natural diet, of only organic foods and nothing with any preservatives or anything in it. He has to go off all caffeine which has been a nightmare so far this week (this is day 3 of his diet) because of the intense headaches of caffeine withdrawl. He is supposed to do this diet for 4 months but should see improvement after 6 weeks. The Doctor told him that his brain needs to "reboot" just like a computer does when it is turned off then turned back on again. (?) We should get the test results back in a few days.

A McDonald's Play Date

The day after Valentine's Day, we had a play date with some friends from Elm Grove. Here Ben plays on the McDonald's game with Kylie and Kaycie.

Melissa and Braden bond over a good jar of mush :) I'm surrounded! ....but by two of my favorite girls-Kylie and Kaycie! Ben's friend Bradon was playing video games at the time so Kylie got to spend some time with her buddy Ben. Some days Ben says he's going to marry Kylie when he "grows up." Other days he says he's going to live with Mommy forever. I prefer to not think of either at the moment. But I must admit, Kylie would be a good choice! :) :) :)

Valentine's Fun

Our newest little Valentine after "reading" a Valentine's Day card from one of his Grandma's plays with something he shouldn't (what's new?) :) ~gotta love those toes!

Ben is forever wanting to make "cookie shapes" so for his preschool Valentine's party, I signed up to bring cookies so we could make some together. I made them from scratch and we cut the shapes, baked, and decorated them. It took almost an entire day and destroyed the kitchen, but we had great fun together! The ones above were Ben's creations (he wanted to use half of the 100 cookie shapes we have but I limited him to hearts a train, and an airplane. He also made a cowgirl boot which had been eaten before I took these photos ) There was a combined effort to make the ones below.

The "Trail of Kisses"

One of Ben and I's Valentine's traditions is to make a "trail of kisses" leading from the door Daddy enters the house through leading to the little Valentine's "surprises" he has for the day. Ben was looking forward to making a "new trail in his new house" for weeks. He made sure I remembered to buy some kisses for the trail which gets bigger and more complex each year he does it. This year's trail included 3 "forks in the trail" and a "dead end" that ended with red kisses in the shape of a heart. Also new this year was that he wanted to make a "pattern" of every other kiss being red then silver and was adament about it. I hope he never outgrows his love of giving to others. One of his prominent love languages is giving and receiving gifts. And although he really loves to get them, I think he enjoys giving them just as much. What a blessing!

This trail led up over the bean bag and in between the recliners. :)

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy!

Valentine Banquet cont...

Our good friends Travis and Paula

Ben gets the chance to play with Bradon and Kylie during the banquet. They had fun playing in the puppet stage.

Valentine's Banquet

Andy was asked to speak at Elm Grove's valentine banquet last Saturday night. We got to visit our friends there which is always a treat! Pictured above and below are Paula and Ronnie with Braden. Ronnie is singing to Braden and as always Braden is loving being sung to.

Travis is being ornery and putting paper hearts on Paula when she isn't looking.

Our good friends Ron and Melissa

Our Valentine photo

Snuggling with Daddy

With Daddy's back issues he's been through the past several months, he has not gotten to hold Braden very often. He may be breaking the doctor's orders here, but he just couldn't resist the snugglings of little Braden Alexander. Those two look so much alike!

Allergies or Excezma?

Our 2nd little sweetie seems to have the same skin type as Mommy and Ben. His face has been turning incredibly red lately for reasons that I cannot figure out. He has been waking up from his naps with one side of his face completely red and hot to the touch for days now. I use all-natural detergent for his bedding, so we're still trying to determine the cause. It doesn't seem to bother him after he gets up and starts playing, but it is a little disconcerting to Mommy and Daddy because he'll wake up crying like he is in pain.

Our little red-cheeked wonder.

My Little Cowboy Wanna-Be

I just had to include this photo in my blog. Ben got this hat from his buddy Paula and he wears it all the time. He was doing his chores last Thursday and I peeked in on him cleaning his room and he was cleaning in his cowboy hat. It was so cute.

Waiting For a Friend

Ben is always asking if his neighbor buddies are home. Since they are in Kindergarden this year and Ben isn't, he has to wait until the bus brings them home to invite them over. Here he is looking for the bus to come by.

Here his head droops because he rushed to the window when he heard what sounded like the bus, but turned out to be a delivery truck.

Big Brothers are Fun!

Ben and Braden are buds!

Ben loves to make Braden laugh. Here he was running around and pretending to run him over (imagine that!) Braden just loves it when Ben does physical comedy! Ben loves to swing Braden in his Johnny Jump Up. Braden giggles and squeals.

"Can I play too Ben? It really looks like fun!"

Ben constantly entertains Braden in the car. Here Ben leans over to get a photo with his little bro as Andy drives us to Travis and Paula's house.

Braden's 10 Month Photos

I couldn't seem to find the time or money to get Braden's "9 month" photos done professionally, so I took some "10 month" photos by our fireplace at home. (He is holding his very first Hot Wheel car Daddy bought him for Christmas)

Love those little toesies! :)

What a ham!

Such a sweetie!

Crazy Hair!

When I picked Ben up from Preschool one day last week, he put his stocking hat on and when we got home he took it off and his hair was standing on end. I hope this is not a picture of things to come. He looks almost like a teenager in this photo. Stop growing so fast little guy!

Braden in His Skives

Our little chunky monkey Our sweet baby boy!

Look At My Pretty Teeth Mommy!

Braden's [only] 2 teeth are coming in nicely. It's time to start on a couple more, I'm sure!

Mmmm Chocolate Pudding!

Grandma Haines helped my neice, "Princess Lillian" find the chocolate pudding on the food bar at lunch Sunday. I see she enjoyed it! :)