Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas!!!!  We got up early today so that Braydon could open ALL of his presents.  He was amazed at all the gifts he got.  Braydon started ripping into them right away.  He then would pull a piece of paper off and walk into the kitchen and throw that piece in the trash.  Braydon loved all of his presents but kept going back to his kitchen he got last night from our friends.  We plan to put some toys away and give to him throughout the month so he doesn't get sick of the toys.  Our day was spent opening gifts, then having brunch with some friends and playing games.  After our friends left we all took naps and then finished packing for our trip to Germany tomorrow. 

Merry Christmas Eve

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 This is Braydon's second Christmas.  Last year I don't think he really knew what was going on and he may not be fully aware this year, but he likes presents!  We had some friends over for Christmas Eve and exchanged presents with them.  Braydon got a little boy doll and a small kitchen, he loved them both very much!  Tomorrow we will open the presents from Santa, Mommy & Daddy, Nana, Grandma & Grandpa French, Grandma & Grandpa Turner, Uncle Shannon & Aunt Tracy, and Uncle Dan & Aunt Kelly.  Braydon has lots of presents to open so Mommy & Daddy decided to exchange their presents once he went to bed, and leave tomorrow to Braydon.

Zip Lining

Chris's command decided to take people to go zip lining today.  I have always wanted to try it so we decided to go along.  The adventure started at Parco Avventura Etna http://www.parcoavventuraetna.it/index.htm (if you google the place you can get selected a translated version).  Chris doesn't like heights so he decided to hang out with Braydon in the children area. We received a briefing that told us how to work the course for our safety.  Then we headed to the green course, this course was considered to be of little difficulty, but it was difficult.  Then after that we went to the blue course.  This course was more challenging and it ended up that I needed to be rescued from the last part of it.  This last part was a little scary and I started to hyper ventilate.  I decided not to continue and do the last course which was purple because I thought it would be even harder.  Now looking back I wish I had done it because it was all zip lining and no little obstacles.  Braydon had a good time watching everyone and running around.  Although when we first got there he want to go look at the snow (because we where up so high on the volcano there was snow from the recent cold weather).  He tried to run down the hill and ended up falling face first on the pavement and got some road rash on his face.  He cried for a little bit, but was more concerned about Haleigh because she was with him when he fell and she thought it was her fault.  My little boy is such a caring person!  Here are some pictures from the adventure just click on the link below.

 

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Bad Santa

Santa came to visit us here in Sigonella today.  There was a gym filled with activities for kids.  They had a bouncy house, arts and crafts and even pictures with Santa.  Braydon patiently waited in line to see the big guy.  When his turn came I carried him up to see Santa and he just looked at him.  The real fun happened when I tried to get him to sit in Santa's lap, he wouldn't have it.  So I decided to try and sit with him and he didn't want that either.  The best photo we could get was of him crying.  It reminds me of my childhood feelings toward Santa.  Most of the pictures I have when I was little I'm crying and trying to get away.  Guess it'll be a few years before Braydon is alright with the whole Santa thing.  After he saw Santa we let him run around for a little bit and he played with one of his friends for awhile.

Christmas Party

 Thursday night Chris's command held their annual Christmas Party.  We got a babysitter for Braydon, and got all dressed up and ready to have some adult fun.  It was held at a hotel near the base and turned out to be really nice.  After the dinner portion they had a casino room were we could gamble with fake money and dance the night away.  I danced with a few friends and had a good time.  The next morning my feet still hurt from my heels though, so I guess that is a reminder that I should keep flip flops with me so I don't have to wear the heels all night. 

Oh Christmas Tree!

This past weekend the base had a tree lighting ceremony on base.  Braydon didn't want to sit in his stroller, or be held, he wanted to run around.  That wasn't something that was going to happen because there were so many people around.  Therefore, I tried to hold onto him until they were done with the ceremony.  The school kids sang Christmas carols and then the tree was lighted.  They also had a fake snow machine.  This machine was what caused all the drama with Braydon.  He did not like the fake snow and when he saw it coming he would tense up and start screaming.  I hope that this isn't what is going to happen when we are in Germany and he sees real snow!

Braydon's 18 month well baby check

After a few reschedules, today was Braydon's 18 month well baby check up. His new measurements are 32 lbs, 35 inches tall. He is in the 97th percentile for both his height and weight.  The Doctor showed me the chart of Braydon's growth and weight and it showed that at this period in his life he should slow down a little. He also suggested that we start thinking about how we plan to discipline him as he gets older.  Basically he said that we look at it now because he is getting to the point where he knows that he shouldn't be doing certain things and he does them just to get a rise out of us.  It helps that the Doctor has a son who is two months older then Braydon! Braydon also got some shots today and blood work done.  I think the worst part was the blood work because they pricked his finger and then we had to wait while he dripped enough blood into the vial. 

There was one shinning moment at today's visit and I guess I just thinking it was a funny moment, well actually there were two.  The first was the fact that any time someone walked by while we were waiting for the Doctor Braydon would wave to them, and it's not a normal wave it's more of a parade wave!  The second was when he was getting his shots and he looked around at everyone as if he was taking a picture and remembering that they did this to him.  We'll see if that is really what he was thinking when we see one of the nurses who is a friend of ours outside of the hospital.  All in all Braydon had a good appointment and he is maturing nicely.  Now if only he would stop throwing tantrums!  Guess it will be a while before that happens!

18 month dental visit

This morning I took Braydon to his 18 month dental visit.  It only involved the dentist brushing his teeth and putting some "vitamin" paste on his teeth.  He cried during the whole procedure. The Dentist basically told me I do not brush my son's teeth properly.  I do the best I can considering he is a child and doesn't want me to go near his mouth, nose or ears.  Braydon has all eight teeth on top and has one more molar on the bottom coming in and then it will be time for his two year old molars to come in. The Dentist also mentioned that I should try to break his habit of sucking his thumb.  Really, you expect me to be able to curb that when my own parents had a hard time doing that with me?  Plus isn't 18 months a little too early to expect him to be over that? 

Halloween

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This year we went with a Star Wars theme.  Chris was Darth Vadar, Braydon was Yoda, and I was Princess Leia.  We were a big hit around the neighborhood everyone wanted to take pictures of us.  Braydon even kept the head piece on all night, and he never keeps anything on his head. At the end of the night though he was warm, as were we all, and he was just standing there waiting for me to take the costume off him.

We took Braydon trick-or-treating to a few houses and he was really good when the people would put the bowl in front of him.  I told him he could only take one piece and he did!  He even put the piece in his trick-or-treat bag, he then would get made because I wouldn't let him eat it right away.  I ended up giving him a few pieces along the way though.

There were a ton of trick-or-treaters this year, more then last.  We bought four big bags of candy and ran out, luckily a friend was around and has four more bags we could give out.  Those bags didn't last long either and we ran out and had to turn kids away.  I think Braydon had a good time, I know Chris and I did.  Now to think of what theme we will do next year.

WAH!!!

Here is a picture to prove to everyone that Braydon isn't always happy.  He is starting to throw tantrums quiet frequently.  These tantrums don't last very long but he is very dramatic when he does them.  This one pictured here only last a few seconds, I think it was because he had unplugged my laptop and I told him not to do that. 

Braydons First Year

So I've been doing a little cleaning on my computer and came across this video.  I then realized that I never shared it with anyone other than Chris.  So here is a video I made of Braydon's first year. I think I may continue doing this for him, since he loves having his picture taken it shouldn't be to hard.

Laughing at Braydon

Braydon is the source of a lot of the entertainment in this house.  The other day he was playing with his toys and decided to sit in his toy box.  All of a sudden our front door opened and Chris came in.  Braydon got all excited and couldn't get out of the box.  He was just squirming around and getting more stuck.  Instead of helping him out of the box I ran and got the camera because I was laughing so hard.  He finally figured out how to get out of the box and run over and say hi to his daddy, but I was still laughing at him being stuck.

Paris

http://picasaweb.google.com/thehughesfamily1/Paris?feat=directlinkFor my birthday Chris wanted to take me to Paris, well actually I wanted to go to Paris and Chris said that would be my birthday present.  So a month later we went to Paris!!  This past weekend we had a wonderful friend (Karen) watch Braydon so Chris and I could spend the weekend enjoying Paris just the two of us.  We fly in on Thursday afternoon and after two hours in transit (one hour delay from our shuttle and an hour to get to the hotel due to traffic) made it to our hotel. Since it was dinner time we headed to Hard Rock Cafe, we have to go to one if the place we visit has it.  We enjoyed our dinner and several drinks and then headed to Starbucks for a mocha before heading back to the room to call it a night.

On Saturday we began the day with an open air tour bus ride.  We saw Notre Dame, the Effiel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and several other sites.  We had baguettes for lunch and ate dinner at Les Relais de l'Entrecote (the best steak frites place).  After dinner we shopped on Champs Elysse and had nutella crepes.

Sunday we spent the morning at the Louvre, and I was very impressed and surprised.  Chris is not an art person and just gave in to my desire to go, but he even admitted that he enjoyed himself.  The rest of the day we wandered into little shops and enjoyed are last day in Paris.

We said goodbye to Paris on Monday afternoon and went back to our lives in Sicily.  It was nice to come home though because I really missed my little boy.  The next trip we have lined up is Munich in December.  After that trip we don't know what places we will visit.  Some of the places in mind are Prague, London, Ireland, and I would like to go to Spain and mainland Italy.

Last of September

http://picasaweb.google.com/thehughesfamily1/Braydon1Year?feat=directlinkSo I have had this post typed for the last few weeks and things have come up that kept pushing me back from posting it.  1. Braydon was sick with a stomach bug for a week and required that I spend all of my time holding him, he is so lovey when he is sick.  2. I got his bug and was up in bed all weekend and it took all my strength to even log onto the computer to do my homework.  3. Chris and I went to Paris.  Lastly, I wanted to attach pictures and kept forgetting to upload them.   So here is my long over due post about the last weekend in September.

The weekend of September 25-26 was the last of our busy weekends for awhile, at least I think it is. On Friday I had a luncheon for Ombudsman Appreciation month.  It was a nice luncheon and I got a wonderful gift of flowers, scented lotions and a massage from the command.  I also got a gift from the Naval Air Station Sigonella base, it had a ceramic plaque, movie and bowling pass, scented lotions and a 40th Anniversary Ombudsman coin.  After the luncheon I headed home to prepare for a going away party we were having at our house later.  The weather didn't hold out for the party and we all ended up huddling under our car port.  Even though the weather wasn't nice we all had a good time, my head told me so the next morning :)

Saturday we went to the Autumn Festival the base was throwing.  They had food booths, rides, games, and vendors from around Sicily.  We ended up buying some wine and pesto.  I took Braydon down a giant inflatable slide and then went to let him play in the bouncy house with all the other little kids.  He was having fun until this lady went in to get her daughter out and bowled him over.  After that he didn't want to go back in and was clinging to me for the rest of the evening.

Sunday was the relaxing day just lounging around the house and doing nothing.  It was nice to relax after having such a busy past few weeks.  Now that the weekends over I have to clean my house, do laundry, do homework, and go to the market.  I still can't believe that it is October, but yet I'm thankful for it to be here.  This coming month is Halloween and my trip away with Chris to Paris :)

September

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I can't wait for September to be over, this has been one busy month.  My brother and sister-in-law were just in for a week and we were busy everyday.  They were only here seven days but those seven were very very eventful.

On Monday we went to Caltigrone a place famous for their ceramics.  They also have these 300 steps that everyone climbs.  As we were climbing them and taking a break Braydon fell and hit his head getting a cut and therefore we needed to leave for the ER.  Dan drove us back since we were an hour from base and I don't drive as fast as he does, or the Italians.  We got to the ER and Braydon was fine he just needed to get a staple in his head to help close the wound so it would heal.  I think I needed something after that experience though!


Tuesday we headed to the Catania market.  I have been once before but thought it was too busy and didn't want to drive there.  We now have a bus that comes every hour to the front gate and for 1 Euro will take you to the center of Catania.  We went to get the bus and after waiting for 40 minutes the bus never showed so I decided I'd try to drive it.  I'm proud to say I did well and got us there and back all in one piece.

Then on Wednesday we went to Palermo and Braydon decided to lose his shoes.  We were walking and he was un-velcroing (I know that's not a word) his sandals.  I accidentally stepped over one in a cross walk and didn't really pay attention because I was busy watching were I was going.  Then a few blocks later he did the same with the other shoe only this time I noticed.  We didn't find the other shoe and I wasn't really worried because he was outgrowing them anyways.  Luckily we were in front of a children's clothing store so we ran in and got a pair.  There also happened to be a sock store right next door so we got him a new pair of socks too.

On Thursday we headed to Siracusa which isn't too far away since Kelly (my SIL) had a phone call for work later in the day.  I had never been so I was wanting to see it.  After getting frustrated with the GPS we finally got there.  Then we couldn't find the place we wanted to eat lunch at since the streets are like a freakin' maze there.  Overall though it was really pretty and I would like to go back.  This time I saved the location in my GPS!

Friday was uneventful for traveling.  We went to the mall and then home so I could get ready for the Khaki Ball.  Kelly did my hair and did an awesome job everyone kept complementing me on it.  Chris and I had fun at the Ball while Dan and Kelly babysat Braydon.

On Saturday Chris stayed home with Braydon while Dan, Kelly and I headed to Taromina. I love Taromina it has to be my favorite spot so far.  We did some shopping and walking around.  That evening we had dinner at Antico Borgo our favorite Agriturismo.

Sunday was another great day because we went to my favorite winery Gambino.  We got to tour how the make the wine and then have a wine tasting.  We also got to buy some bottles to take home!  What a great way to end the trip for Dan and Kel.

After they left I had another busy week between my final night of class; dinner at the Captain's house; an Ombudsman appreciation lunch, and a going away party thrown at my house, plus Autumn fest on base.  Hopefully this finally week in September will be more relaxing.

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend we were really busy!  On Saturday we had some friends over for dinner.  Sunday we went to the pool and then went to Borgo Antico which is a Agriturismo, it's a home on a farm that serves dinner with products from their farm.  The meal usually lasts about 3 hours and you better bring your appetite because they really feed you!!!  We had a great time except I left there with 55 mosquito bites all on my legs!  This caused me to not be able to sleep for a few nights.  Now my legs look horrible and we have the Khaki ball on the 17th!  On Monday we went to Caltigrone which is known for their ceramics and there 300 steps.  We had a really good time and good food for lunch as well as some cool ceramics!  Tuesday was my 32 birthday and I spent the day doing economics homework, not the most exciting birthday.  That night my girlfriend watched Braydon and Chris took me to dinner.  We had a nice time and the meal was very good!  Then back home to do more homework.  Chris gave me beautiful flowers and a cute little coach wristlet for my birthday.  My real present is in October when he takes me on a trip to either Paris, Ireland, Praque, or Rome.  Can't wait!!!!!

I'm getting excited for this coming weekend because we have guests coming to visit us.  My brother and sister-in-law will be here for a week.  They picked the busiest week to be here, because Chris will be busy with work and we have our ball to go to.  It should be fun showing them around the island.  I love when guests come to visit!

I'll post pictures soon from our weekend, right now it's back to more homework for me.  These last four classes are going to be very time consuming for me.  But in the end it will be worth it to have my MBA!

Ciao!

Funny Moments

Braydon does so many funny things but we can never seem to catch most of them on film.  Here for instance is a recent moment when he decided that he wanted his socks on his hands. Some other funny things he has done recently is: sits backwards in his car so he is facing the trunk and sitting on his feet, show us his muscles like he is a body builder, ride his airplane, get stuck sitting in his toy story chair, duck walking under his swing which is no where near low enough for him to duck, just walk around talking to himself, and turning his ball pit upside down and getting stuck in it.  These are just a few of the funny moments we have with Braydon.  People sometimes have asked me how I deal with being home alone with a 15 month old all day, to those people I just tell them he is wonderful and makes me laugh all the time!

15 month check up

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Friday morning we took Braydon to his 15 month well baby check.  He is now 30.31 lbs. and 32.67 inches tall.  The Doctor says he is in the 87th percentile for his height and 97th percentile for his weight.  Even though they keep telling me these percentile's I can never quite figure out what they really mean!  He lucked out today and didn't get any shots. The Doctor is happy with his development and says we should consult a speech therapist just for some recommendations on teaching Braydon how to talk.

Random Happenings

Things have been a little hectic around here lately.  Well mostly for Chris, not for me and Braydon.  Chris has been busy with the new Chief selectees and training them.  They officially become Chiefs on September 16th and until then Chris will be busy with them. I am getting ready for another class to start and trying to decide on some more travel plans.  Braydon is just having fun and getting more and more of a personality.  It amazes me how much he changes each day and he is just so funny we laugh at him all the time.  This week we have his 15th month well baby check at the Doctors office.  I'm anxious to see how much he weighs and how tall he has gotten since his 12th month visit.  I'll post an update on Friday after the appointment!

A quick new video of the cutie!

Ear Tubes

Braydon had his ear tubes put in this morning.  We arrived at the hospital at 7am and we left to go home at 9:30am.  The Doctor was sent here from Naples and had eight surgeries to do today.  Braydon was the third of the day with a 10 month old and another 14 month old before him.  The whole procedure took no time at all and Braydon is currently playing with his toys like it's been a normal day.  There isn't really much to report about the surgery except that he did awesome for the Doctors and is recovering well.  He will get drops in his ears for the next three days and we need to make sure that he doesn't get any water in his ears.  This is a fairly common procedure and should help to improve Braydon's hearing and learning of new words.  It will also help with the ear infections.  I'm so proud of my little boy he was so good at the hospital and when he woke up he wanted to play.  Now comes the fun part with me having to put ear drops in his ears.

First Dental Visit

Braydon had his first dentist visit today.  As we waited in the waiting room he flirted with all the females and was happy walking around with his book.  When the dentist came back to get us we went in the room and he sat on my lap quietly playing with a book.  Then when I laid him down on my lap he started to cry because the dentist was brushing his teeth.  He cried the whole time and at the end when I held him he just sucked his thumb and cuddle with me.  The dentist wants us to use fluoride toothpaste now and buy some water that has fluoride in it.  I guess the fluoride is there to help the teeth become strong.  He said it would be alright if he swallowed some of the fluoride from the toothpaste just not in large doses.  Overall Braydon did very well at the dentist, considering he doesn't like anyone to touch his nose, ears, or mouth!  We go back in 6 months, by then he will be 20 months old and hopefully a little better at the whole thing.  Now I have to prepare for my dentist visit.  I'm six months past due on a cleaning! 

Dumpster Finds!

You never know what you'll find at the dumpster.  With people moving all the time if you pay attention you can find some good items.  So far we have found a chair and table for outside for Braydon and now this little tikes cozy coupe car.  This car runs for $49.99 and we got it for nothing.  It needs some new stickers since the ones on it have faded and some are missing.  I looked up the replacement stickers and it will end up costing me $10.00.  That is a steal!  Now don't read this wrong it's not like we dive in the dumpsters digging for things.  This happened to be sitting right next to the dumpster with a pet carrier.  After a few hours the pet carrier was also gone.

Malta

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We decided to leave the island of Sicily and head somewhere to enjoy our 4-day weekend.  Near Sicily is the small island of Malta.  A few of our friends have visited and said it was great so we decided to go see the travel agent about it.  We booked a flight, transportation, hotel and daily breakfast at a 5-star Hotel.  Our flight was only about 30 mins and we were on the island.

The island is beautiful and the water is so crystal clear.  We enjoyed ourselves over the weekend and mostly relaxed and hung out at the pool.  We went to Hard Rock Cafe and also went on a harbour cruise.  We finally got Braydon to enjoy the pool so we are planning more time at the pool when we get back.  The above picture is the view from our room, just click on it and you can see all our pictures.

Ear Update

Last week we had Braydon's appointment with the audiologist.  His hearing is normal except that he has some minor issues due to the water in his ears.  The conclusion of this appointment was that he will have to have tubes put in his ears to drain the fluid so he can have normal hearing.  The Doctor said this is very normal and the procedure doesn't take very long. Now all we have to do is wait for the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Doctor to get to the island.  They estimate that the ENT Doctor will be here sometime in July or August.  This is one thing I don't understand about the military, how can they not know when someone is going to get to the island.  Isn't this person on orders and don't those orders have dates on them?  I guess I'll just be quiet and wait for the Doctor to get here and still be baffled at the military.

He's walking!

For the past few weeks Braydon would walk just a few steps and then fall into the couch. The other day he walked from the tv to the couch with no assistance! He has a little bruise on his chin from walking a few steps and then falling. He gets so excited that he is walking that he falls down. We managed to get a little video of him walking and will try to get more as he becomes more sure of himself. Once he masters walking I know he will be running next and then I will be running after him. Maybe that will be my new workout routine!

Modica

This past Saturday we took a trip to Modica which is located on the eastern coast of Sicily. Unfortunately my camera had been left on in my bag and was dead so no pictures where taken. This town is known for their chocolate. We visited a small little family owned shop that has been making chocolate for 48 years. The owner showed how he makes the chocolate and then gave us lots of samples of EVERYTHING!!!!! We ate the chocolate, cream puffs, cannolis, orange peels in chocolate, meat cookies and then chocolate liquor. Braydon ate everything except for the liquor and was hyped up on sugar for the next few hours. We bought a few bars of chocolate and now want to go back already and buy more. Their chocolate is nothing like we are used to. It is so natural and you can taste the sugar they use to make it.

After the chocolate shop we headed back home and stopped by the beach to put our toes in the med. Braydon wanted nothing to do with this or even the sand. We need to get him used to the water and beach because I love it and want to take him. After we got home we had dinner with some friends and Braydon could not get enough of the baked beans (we paid for it the next day with his diaper changes). All in all it was a good day and just the start of our traveling we plan to do more of.

1 year checkup

Today was Braydon's 1 year checkup, yeah I know he is 13 months already but we only have one pediatrician on the island and a lot of kids. Braydon now weighs 27.89 lbs and is 31.5 inches tall. He is in the 90th percentile for his weight and 80th for his height. The doctor said he looks good and is progressing well. The only concern is that he still has fluid in his ears since his ear infection a few months ago. We are going to consult with a ear, nose, and throat doctor in July when he gets to the island. He may suggest putting tubes in his ears to remedy this problem, but we won't know until we see him. Next up is his first dental appointment which I still need to schedule.

Hello Mr. Toad

This is a picture of our friendly little toad who comes by every night. He just sits in our yard and doesn't move. We think that maybe his family is in the yard and he is watching over them. The other day Chris was watering the lawn and he saw a whole bunch of the little ones jumping out of the yard. I just worry that the lawn mower will get them, but that hasn't happened so we are all good.

On to other little things. Braydon has such a little personality on him. His new thing is to pick up the phone off the charger and bring it to me. He then puts his hand to his ear and says "Da Da" which means I have to call Daddy for him. He even does this when Chris leaves the room. He also likes to take all the diapers out of their stacker and throw them on the floor. Then he takes them and puts them in his mouth and crawls around. He knows what we are saying when we are asking him questions. He will crawl up the stairs when we say nite nite and go to his room. He also tells us "bite bite" and points to his mouth when he wants food, and then says "ba ba" for his bottle. He waves hi and bye all the time and is still a very big flirt. Braydon is getting very close to walking on his own, he cruises like there is no tomorrow, and also will take two steps from the table to the couch. I think he will be walking by the end of the month.

This week we have a busy week, I have my statistic's final and Braydon has his one year check up. Then we are going to the market to get some good veggies and fruits for his snacks. On Thursday the command is having a picnic to celebrate the end of the school year so that will be fun. On Saturday we are taking a trip to Modica to go to a chocolate factory. Can't wait for some homemade chocolate!

Memorial Day Weekend

On Saturday we took Braydon to his very first movie "Shrek Forever After". Since it only costs $3 per adult we would only be out $6 if he couldn't stand the movie. The run time for the movie was 1 hour and 34 minutes. That seemed to be a good amount of time and he might actually make it through the movie. He lasted an hour before he wanted to get down and walk around. I consider that a success!
On Sunday it was overcast but that didn't stop us from going to the pool. Last year Braydon would only go up to his thighs. We figured he would love the pool since he loves taking baths. Well at first he wasn't so sure and would fuss a little and cling to me. After a few minutes he warmed up to the pool and began to enjoy it. The weather wasn't that great, but the pool is heated and stays at 78 degrees. We are going to go more often and he will see how much fun the pool is. Later that night we had some friends over and caught up on our trips. They were gone the same time we were and went to Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos, we will have to take a trip there.

Monday we had planned to go to Argrigento (sp) but neither one of us felt really good. So we spent the day in the house in our pj's and relaxing. Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day!

County Fair

Each May the base puts on a County Fair. There are booths with different types of food, carnival rides, bands, and vendors. Last year Braydon was only a few weeks old when they had the fair so we didn't really explore very much of it. This year we went both days and really enjoyed ourselves. Braydon is still too young to try any of the rides, but that didn't stop me from trying them for him.

Chris's command always has a food booth, but this year I wasn't feeling their food (soul food really isn't my cup of tea). So I spent my money at the Filipino booth, I even went back for seconds, their food just tastes soooo good. We also enjoyed funnel cakes (after waiting a 1/2 hour for it), some sangria, and even a deep fried twinkie. It's a good thing I waited to start my diet!

Our weekend wasn't all about the county fair though. We had some friends over to celebrate Braydon's birthday. He has had three birthday parties so I don't know how we will ever compete again with his first birthday! We waited until this party to give him the gift we got him, which was a 4x4 for 12-36 month old children.

Our Vacation

We just got back from a trip home, it was very exhausting but also very fun. Braydon celebrated his first birthday and also his christening. We took him to his first Cubs game and also to the Zoo for the first time. Braydon had his one year photos done by my friend Jessica and both he and her did an amazing job. We traveled to Kentucky to visit with Chris's family and let Braydon spend some time with his cousins. Hayden is 18 months and Maddie is almost 12, they both love Braydon and the three of them had a great time. Hayden was very sad to see Braydon go and she cried when we left.

Finally an update!

Okay so I am horrible at updating this month. We haven't done anything interesting since we are trying to save money for our trip home in a few days. Also the class I'm taking right now on Operations has been a very hard class and lots of reading being done.

Braydon still isn't walking he is cruising and doing it very fast too. He can move around the coffee table in the blink of an eye. He is trying to stand on his own and that has resulted in a few falls with some bumps and bruises. Yesterday his crawling changed from the military style to an actual crawl, sometimes though he will go back to the military style because he can move faster.

I still can't believe that my little guy is almost a 1 year old. We have a very busy trip planned while we are home. Braydon will get to go to his first baseball game and we are going to go to the zoo. Of course we are also going to have his first birthday party and his christening. We also have a visit planned with my friend Jessica who is going to take some awesome photos of Braydon! Can't wait till we are home and everyone gets to see Braydon.

Doctor Visit

Today I took Braydon to the Doctor for a follow up visit following his ear infection. They did the usual and weighed him and measured him. He now was 25.5 lbs and is 31 inches tall. The Doctor found that he still had some fluid in his ear, but she expected that since it's only been a little while since he got medicine for it. The Doctor said that the fluid should clear up in a couple weeks and that there is nothing that could be done to fix it. Overall, Braydon is a healthy boy and he should be 100% in a few weeks. Just in time for our plane trip back to the states for his 1st b-day.

Happy Easter!

One more holiday closer to Braydon's first birthday. Yesterday we went to an Easter celebration the base had and Braydon got to meet the Easter Bunny. Braydon didn't know what to think, hence the no smile in the picture. There was an easter egg hunt, but we missed it by just a few minutes.

Today we just stayed home and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Braydon got two Easter baskets. One from us and one from his Nana. The one from us had a toy and some chocolates, the one from Nana was an Elmo basket with a toy and candy. This little boy was very spoiled this year. He had also gotten presents from his Grandma and Grandpa French.

He Said MOM!

BRAYDON FINALLY SAID MOM!!!! Chris thinks he is just saying "um" but I have witnesses that say he is saying Mom! Now you judge for yourself.

Poor Baby

We have our first illness! Last night Braydon had a temperature of 100.9, I gave him some tylenol and was going to keep checking his temp. He ate dinner, took a bath and went to bed like normal. Then around 2:20am I heard him moaning and crying, so I went to check on him. I picked him up and he was burning up and he had thrown up in bed. I took his temp both in ear and rectal. It was 103 and 105 respectively. That settled it we put him in the car and off to the ER we went.

They took his temp and gave it was 103.9 so they gave him some Motrin and Pedialyte. The doctor looked at him and determined that he had an ear infection. We got some Amoxicillin and took him home.

This morning his temp was back to normal and he appears to be fine. We will continue giving him medicine and have to take him back to the doctor in a few days. I guess we are really lucky that this is the first time he has ever been sick and that it's only an ear infection.

Spring is here!

Although we don't get the cold snowy weather here, it still does get cold and dreary. Our winter is mostly a rainy wet one. The weather has been getting nicer lately and we have been taking advantage of it. We even bought some new furniture for our car port (nobody really uses their backyards here, they hang in the driveway).

Braydon even has his own chair to enjoy the weather. It's a cute little folding chair that looks like a frog (it has eyes on the top).

This Past Week

We have had a busy week here. Wednesday we had lunch with a friend and enjoyed our Saint Patricks Day. It was the first for Braydon and we made sure he had his green on so he didn't get pinched. We went to a little restaurant that is located at a gas station. I had heard rumors that this place was really good so I was super excited to check it out. The place has two different entrances one for the restaurant and one for a little sandwich shop. We had lunch at the restaurant and it was really good, next I'll have to try the sandwich shop because I hear that their panni's are out of this world!

I had school Wednesday so I didn't get to go out and find anywhere to have some green beer! There are a few Irish Pup's around so I'm sure they probably would have something going on. I was tempted to add food coloring to my water bottle so I would be having something green, but thought that might look a little weird.

Thursday Braydon and I went to a play group in the morning. Normally we can't go when they are having the group because it is during his nap time. So this Thursday I decided to keep him up a little longer. We had a lot of fun! There were songs sung, books read and toys played with. The group is off the next two weeks, but I think we may go again.

In the afternoon we went to the park and Braydon swung on the swing again. Then we decided to try the slide again and this time he LOVED it!

I've been putting together a video for his one year birthday as well as a photo garland that I got the idea for on-line. Looking back at these past months I can't believe how much he has changed and that my little boy is almost a year old! I really didn't believe everyone when they told me how time flies, but now I do and I want to put a hold on it! He changes every day and amazes me all the time.

Something Isn't Right

So I have a baby who just isn't acting like himself today. He is crying and whining alot and just isn't happy. I know some of you are probably saying "well he is only 10 months he isn't going to always be happy?" If you knew Braydon though you would understand that this child is almost always happy. I can usually understand why he is crying and easily solve the problem. His usual reasons are; tired, hungry, hurt, or wanting to be held. This time though nothing would solve the problem. He eventually went down for a nap and after the nap I went to change his diaper and found the problem. He had a serious diaper rash! Braydon is 10 months old and has never had diaper rash. I know we are lucky that he hasn't! I put Desitin on his bottom and he screamed during the whole thing. I feel so bad that he is going through this, I just hope it passes by really fast!

Ouch!

Braydon had his first accident today. He was playing with his toys and got a little off balance and slipped and hit his toy face first. I try not to jump at the first cry but when I looked at him I saw blood and I freaked. I immediately raced to him picked him up and tried to check him out while his was crying. Then I noticed that the blood was in his mouth so I looked at his mouth and checked to make sure all teeth and that he didn't bit through his lip. After cleaning him up and looking at him I noticed everything was fine and he started to laugh and be his talkative self. I think I was more hurt by the accident then he was. I know this won't be the first accident but I can't guarantee this won't be be the last time I freak out when he does hurt himself.

Happenings at home

We have had a busy past few days in our house. I was in training all last week for my volunteer position at Chris' command. I am the Ombudsman, which is a fancy word for liaison between the command and the service members family. During my training my friend Karen watched Braydon for me. The last time that she watched him was for three hours and he cried the whole time. Needless to say I was very nervous about the three days that she would be watching him. I did a little praying and she and her husband did too, and it must have worked because he was wonderful for her.
Over the weekend our weather was so nice that we decided to go to the park with Braydon. It was his first time at the park and his first time on a swing and a slide. He loved the swing, but started crying once he went down the slide. I can't wait for the pool to open so we can go and spend time in the water and see how he does.

This week things are getting back to normal, however, we did have a commissioning ceremony to go to yesterday and Braydon was a handful. I mean that in the nicest way because come on he is only 9 months old. Our friend Deborah went from being a Chief to an Ensign and it was a wonderful ceremony. Her son is two days older then Braydon so she insisted I bring Braydon with me. I wonder if she regrets that now because Braydon wanted to talk during the whole ceremony. We are very lucky that it is a small island and very family friendly and everyone loves Braydon. The cutest part had to be when she was holding her right hand up and taking her oath, Braydon was holding his right hand up to, so does this mean we have a new sailor in our family?

Braydon is talking a lot now but not really making any sense or knowing what he is saying. I posted a little tracker on the side to show the new words. His first word was "Dada" he says it to everything. After that came "Ba" and "Bob" we can't understand why he is saying "Bob" since we don't know any Bob's. I am still trying to get him to say "Mama" but when I say it he just laughs.

We have also been giving Braydon more and more table food and recently gave him his first PB&J and Grilled Cheese. He loved both, but I didn't love the mess the PB&J left for me to clean up.

Here are some photos to see what Braydon has been up to lately:

Look What I Can Do!

Braydon is now pulling himself up on things. It started a few weeks ago he would pull himself up to his knees and he even did this in his crib so we had to lower the crib. Now he is pulling himself up to standing and loves to do it all the time. The other day we went into his bedroom and found him standing in the corner of his crib, time to lower it again. Now he pulls himself up on the coffee table and on his toys. I guess this means it is now time to start childproofing a little higher up now.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day! I am a sucker for this holiday I love everything about it. I love the hearts and everything pink. I'm not that big into getting presents because all I really want is some flowers and a card. This year Chris got me a wonderful card, some roses, a chocolate rose and a bottle of D & G perfume. All I got him was a card. You have to admit that this holiday is more for the girls than the guys, but he will probably go online and buy himself something anyways. Braydon even got his own little valentine a Kinder chocolate. His outfit is thanks to his Grandma and Grandpa French. They didn't have anything here for boys so we were so happy that we got this outfit in time. If you can't read it the shirt says "Mommy's little heartbreaker". No fancy dinner for us, we are having some friends over and having burritos and playing Uno.

9th Month Check Up

Today was Braydon's 9th month check up. He is doing great and the doctor said he seems to be excelling past other 9 month olds. He now weighs 23.4 lbs. and is 30" tall. He continues to be in the higher end for his height but has gone down on the weight. Braydon is beginning to thin out but continues to grow taller. He most recent stunts are trying to pull himself up on everything. The other day he pulled himself up on the coffee table to get to my laptop. You can't take your eyes off of this child for one second because he is trying something new. His next Doctors appointment is for his 1 year check up. I can't believe he is almost a year old, really where does time go. He is eating more and more adult food and so this weekend we are going to take him to McDonalds and get him a happy meal. I'll have to make sure to bring my camera because this will be too cute.

Wish I Had A Camera

Braydon does so many funny things everyday I would have to have a camera attached to me at all times to capture them. His most recent was climbing on top of his toy basket and getting stuck. Last night we all were on the floor playing and he kept crawling to his toy basket and pulling himself up on it. Every time he did this we stopped him because we knew he would get stuck on it and not be happy. I know I should have grabbed my camera because he kept doing this and eventually would get stuck, but I was being lazy and just enjoying the time with my family. Low and behold he climbed up and we didn't stop him and he got stuck and started crying. It's so funny when he tries to do something and doesn't get the result he wants, he gets this frustrated look and starts to cry.

He's on the move

Braydon is such a little devil....he gets into everything and is always keeping us on our toes. He crawls everywhere and we let him crawl up and down the hall. We just make sure to close off the door to the kitchen and to the bathroom so he can't anywhere. He hadn't shown any interest in climbing the stairs or pulling himself up on anything so we hadn't put the gate up yet. Well he was crawling the hall and suddenly got very quite, that's when I knew something was wrong so I checked on him and low and behold he had climbed up two steps and was about to climb the third.

Now we have the gate up and he can't climb the stairs so he just bangs on the gate instead. I wish we could get a gate to keep him out of the dining room but it's too wide of an opening. I didn't get any pictures of him climbing the stairs because I was too busy getting him off the stairs. So instead I'll share some pictures of him the next day when he tried to climb them again, this time I was watching him the whole time he was in the hall.

Fresh new do's!

Look I'm doing better already two posts in two days!!! Today Braydon and I went and got our hair done, don't we look so pretty? It's actually his second time getting his haircut. I know 8 months old and a second hair cut already! He did so good he only got fussy waiting for me to finish getting my hair done. He decided to take a little nap with Daddy and then when he woke up there was another little baby that he was trying to talk to.

Resolution

My New Year's resolution is to go to the gym more, eat better, and be better at blogging. Today was Braydon's 8th month birthday. I still can't believe he is 8 months! We had a great Christmas and he enjoyed all of his gifts. We spent Christmas with some friends of ours, we had a great meal and good times, playing cards and singing karaoke. New Year's eve we celebrated at our house. Too bad Braydon didn't get to enjoy the evening with us, he went to sleep after fighting it for 20 mins. This new year is filled with lot's of things to look forward to. I have signed on to be the Ombudsman for Chris's command, Braydon will turn 1 this year and we have some trips we are trying to plan to visit Europe. 2010 should be a good year, let's just hope it doesn't go bye too fast.