Brayden Turns 3!

My precious boy on his birth day - March 19, 2006

Eating his first cupcake

2 years old (and still innocent!)

3 years (and only looks innocent!) 

We had Brayden's 3rd birthday party at the park across the street from our house.  He had an absolute blast and was quite the host.  At one point he directed guests to the tables saying, "We even have party snacks!"  The kids bounced their little hearts out and it was fun to catch up with friends and family.  I can't believe my little boy is 3 years old!

Caleb and Mimi getting ready to party!

The set up (doesn't Corbin look thrilled??)

Baba and the boys

The cupcakes...some are topped with chocolate dipped oreo molds of jungle animals (I got ambitious as usual!)

"Happy birthday to Brayden"

Brayden and his friend Cole in the bouncy

I couldn't figure out how to rotate this video, but it is well worth turning your head sideways to watch!

Batter Up!

We got Brayden a really cool baseball tee for his birthday.  It loads the ball onto a velcro arm (eliminating the balancing-the-ball-on-the-tee issue!) so all you have to do is swing away...and swing away he did!  Corbin is convinced we have a little baseball player on our hands (I'm not sure who was more excited about it, Brayden or Daddy!)  Look for our little man in a Diamondbacks jersey in about 20 years!  :)

Check out my new trick Mommy!

Caleb recently figured out something new he can do with his lips...and hasn't stopped doing it since!  I love babies!

Meanwhile, my 3 year old has figured out something new as well....it's called "I can take off my diaper and pee on the floor."  I didn't see it, so I'm not totally sure if it was on purpose or an accident (the peeing part!).  I think he thought it was sincerely funny, til he saw my face!   

No video of that moment... 

Missing her...

The boys and I went up to Mariposa Gardens today to visit my mom's grave and put some new flowers in her vase.  Brayden picked out a pink rose, but couldn't quite understand why he couldn't take it home with him.  How to you explain all that to a 3 year old?  I am sad that neither of them will ever know her.  I try to show Brayden pictures and talk about her, hoping to keep her memory around.  As it gets closer to it being 1 year since she passed away, March 27th, I find myself thinking about her a lot.  One whole year has already gone by...one year of memories she was not a part of.  I still find myself wanting to pick up the phone to call her while I'm driving, just like I always did.  I miss her.  

My Little Musician

Brayden loves the cartoon on Disney called Little Einsteins.  Every episode they feature a composer and an artist, and they use lots of musical terms such as "fortissimo!" (which means very loud...Brayden's favorite, go figure!) He loves music in general and will sing just about anything.  So, I decided it was time to pull out my violin and play for him.  Immediately he asked to play, insisting "Mommy, you have to share!" (Can you tell what the latest parenting theme at our house has been???)  

Looking back I could possibly be crazy for letting my 3 year old play my very expensive instrument...but he was surprisingly well behaved with bow in hand, so maybe we will do it again sometime.

Mommy's "Special Milk"

I have to start out by saying that my husband is a very good sport.  When I told him I was going to post this picture on my blog, he looked at me like "Seriously??"  Yes, I was serious.  I just have to tell this story because it could possibly be the funniest thing Brayden has said and without the visual you won't fully appreciate the comment.  It was Wednesday morning and were all just getting up and around (except Caleb who was ready to go back to sleep!)  Corbin was sitting on the couch holding Caleb in the same position that I nurse him.  

Enter Brayden :  "Hey Mommy, Daddy has special milk too!"  

So Much for Organization!

So I hosted playgroup at my house for the first time on Tuesday.  The kids made Valentine's day cards for their dads, played, fought, ate...and left!  I was so busy playing hostess, this is the only picture I managed to take!

But let's back up to the night before...I decided I wanted the play room to look nice and organized (cause 2 year olds care about that kind of thing!)  So, I put all the animals in one bin, all the trucks in another...you get the idea.  Took me about 20 minutes or so.  How long did it take them to mess it all up???  About 2 seconds!  Oh well, they had fun!