Moody Gardens Festival of Lights

We took Brayden to see the Festival of Lights with Nana and Grandaddy Don a few weeks ago. He loved the lights and looked closely at everything! We rode the Colonel's Paddlewheel- unfortunetly the entire boat had a 8-10 inch gap at the bottom of the rails, so we stayed inside the whole time- in a few years, B will enjoy it even more! (It looks like Brayden is an angel- we realized after this picture that he has reflective stripes behind his head on the stroller :))

Spaghetti Leftovers!

Brayden's loves anything carb- especially pasta! He was just too cute eating his spaghetti to not take some pictures...enjoy all of his different smirks, smiles, and mouthfuls!

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

Brayden's playgroup went to the Hermann Park train today. It ended up just being Caleb, and the boys enjoyed hanging out together. We missed seeing everyone else, though.

Playing with the ducks
On the train

He had a death grip on my finger the entire time. Mrs. Nancy has a zoo membership, so we went over there for a few minutes to see some animals. These are in the Natural Encounters area- I didn't even know existed!

The cheetah's were out and about! They were cleaning the giraffe's area, so all of them were out in the open- so neat!

House Updates...painting!

We are still in the process of unpacking and "moving in," so we decided to paint a few rooms before we had them unpacked. This used to be a whole lot easier before Brayden, but not as much fun! We are working on the dining room now and hope to get Brayden's room done next week.

Laundry Room BEFORE
Landry Room AFTER

Half Bath BEFORE

Half Bath AFTER
Daddy's Little Helper building the shelf for the cat corner in the laundry room

1st Trip to Playground in New Neighborhood

One of the many reasons we were excited to move to the suburbs was to take family walks! I took Brayden on a walk early one morning to a nearby playground. We probably won't go back to that one until the mosquitoes and gnats are gone, but he enjoyed it! Then we took a walk as a family before dinner one evening and stopped on our way back so Brayden could play with and meet some of the kids on the street- it was wonderful!

15 months old

Mommy is very late in getting this put together- but better late than never! You are growing into such a big boy! Everyday we learn something new about you as you are learning new things.

- You are becoming more and more aware of things around you...planes, trains, cars, etc.
- You are understanding Mommy and Daddy more each day. When we ask you to pick up something, bring something, take something, you usually can understand and follow directions.
- You are going to bed about 7:30 p.m. and getting up about 6:30/7 a.m.
- You are in transition from 2 naps a day to 1
- You are eating just about anything...you still don't prefer meat, but LOVE green vegetables and bananas. Anything crunchy and about anything off of our plate
- You have gone to more very nice restaurants and new places and eaten things that Mommy and Daddy didn't eat until they were adults!
- You are a climber! Climbing everything...chairs, tables, couches, ladders...but luckily not out of your bed yet.
- You will sit and listen to a book in the mornings, but are not so happy about it at bedtime
- You are doing very well in the nursery at church and enjoying playing with your friends in playgroup
- You have your top 4 front teeth, bottom 4 front teeth and all 4 molars!
- You love to smile and flirt and meet new people. You haven't turned a shoulder or held onto mommy and daddy, yet!
- We are still waiting patiently for you to start saying more words...still a few little ones...the day will come!

Mommy and Daddy love you very much, precious!
Happy 15 month birthday!

Christmas Ideas for Brayden

For many of you, you haven't even started thinking about Christmas. The Boyers are going to try to do all of our Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving again this year! So...

I have started looking for ideas for Brayden's 2nd Christmas- he will be about 18 months old. Let me know if you have thoughts, opinions on these things or things you have found that are fun!

I think Santa has this on his list for Brayden...

Step 2 Naturally Playful Woodland Climber
We have enough yard to get a big playground, but I don't think he is quite ready for it. This one will be great for the next year or two.

Spin Around
I loved this when I was little- after reading the reviews, the music and lights ones don't get such good ones. We are going to stick with the old fashioned one.

ABC Silicone Tray

(Thanks again PoeFam for the suggestion) She also says you can use these to make crayons, muffins, ice cubes, jello, and more!

How to Build an A
Great book (Thanks PoeFam for the suggestion)- The book comes with a mesh bag and foam pieces that teaches the kids how to build each letter.

LeapFrog Phonics Magnetic Fridge Set

We finally have space on the side of our fridge that is magnetic- every kid I know loves this. It's a great toy to occupy Brayden when I am in the kitchen Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon

Brayden's Nana and Grandaddy are planning on getting him this for Christmas...but he can't wait! He loves pulling anything and runs towards wagons everytime he sees one.

Pop Up Indoor Play Tent and Tunnel

Brayden loves these whenever we get to play in one- good for a few years!

Little Tykes Rockin' Puppy

He is constantly rocking and dancing. He loves the rocking horse at Gran's house. Think it is time for one at ours.

Dirt Diggers Dump Truck
We are ready to play in the backyard! He needs some outdoor playtoys for the sandbox and yard.

I Can Play Baseball
Brayden's Daddy is ready to teach him to play ball. This one is neat because the trainer step teaches them how to swing correctly. Then you can remove it. It has 3 "steps" to more up on.



Jumbonectics Magnetic Construction Set
These just look like a future engineers toy :)


Please leave a comment with any fun toys you have found for your little ones...I would love suggestions!

And in case you didn't know, you can set up a Toy Wish list at Toys R Us for any occasion. It is a great way for me/Brayden to choose the toys he would love to have and to make sure he doesn't get duplicates.