The Sterpka Family Blog: Braden laughing at daddy tickling his feet

Braden's 1st Month

At a little over one month old, Braden weighed 12 lbs and was 23 1/2 inches long. He has discovered his thumb, how to blow bubbles, and his smile (the day before turning 1 month old). He is a very busy body just like when he was in mommy's tummy! He constantly moves his arms and legs and his little fingers and toes. He follows mommy and daddy's voices and lights with his eyes. He's very alert and strong - he lifts his head and holds it for long periods of time. It's probably because he's in the 90th percentile in both height and weight. He's a big baby boy which is maybe why he's so good. He always seems to be content. He doesn't even seem to mind Jazzi's kisses. He sleeps on average 4 hours, 3 hours, and 2 hours at a time throughout the night, nurses, and goes right back to sleep in his cradle. Mommy and daddy are adjusting to being parents and loving it more than they ever could have imagined.

Braden's 2nd Month

At 2 months, Braden Drew weighs 13 lbs. and 10 oz. and is 23 1/2 in. long. His sleeping habits haven't changed much nor his eating habits, but he has changed. He tries to talk all of the time in his sweet deep little voice. He smiles, giggles a little, and cooh's. He's not shy - he loves getting attention and will usually smile and talk to anyone. He still loves blowing bubbles, follows objects will his eyes, and can mimmick a bit. He uses his stomach and neck muscles to almost pull himself up and his legs to push off against mommy and daddy to a standing position. He amazes mommy and daddy everyday. He likes to cuddle, but definitely loves to be layed out flat and tell us all about his stories:) He seems to be layed back. He doesn't fuss much but can grunt with the best! He has such a sweet little demeaner. This next month, I'm sure he will be even more fun to watch as he discovers new things.

Braden's 3rd Month

Braden is now 26 inches and weighs 16 pounds. At the beginning of the month, he was sleeping on average 6-7 hours, but lately 4 1/2 hours the first stretch. We think he might just be going through a growth spurt. He still eats every 2-3 hours, but sometimes after 1 1/2 hours he's ready to eat again. Braden can always find his thumb. We think he learned this from watching his cousin, Isaac, over the week that we were on vacation together in Hilton Head. Braden smiles very easily and definitely giggles outloud - he even gets the hiccups from laughing so hard. It's so cute! He plays shy guy and even smiles behind his pacifier, his thumb, or hands - whichever he chooses to have at the time. He holds objects with a tight grip and pulls blankets up to his face - that is if he doesn't kick them off first! He loves the attention:) Braden loves jumping in his jumper now. He can actually stand on his feet and hold his body weight for a couple of seconds with us holding him of course. He loves to sit up with support and look around, loves the TV and looking at other kids. He notices when mommy and daddy leave the room now. He doesn't like being on his stomach unless he's napping. He pushes against the ground with his face and pulls his butt up in a crawling position and fusses. He's so close to rolling over but will probably roll from his back to his stomach first. We'll see! Braden still loves to talk and tell us all about his stories when he's in the mood. He notices his voice and projects it louder and louder. He likes to play patty cake (with his fists), fly in the air, the tickle monster, and to bounce sideways on your legs - oh, and of course, watching the ball games with daddy! We're having so much fun with him at this stage!

Braden's 4th month

How time flies! Braden is 26 1/2 inches long and weighs 16 pounds 10 ounces at 4 months (90th percentile in both). His sleep patterns and eating habits are still about the same. As for his new adventures, he has been experimenting more with his voice - from screeching to gurgling, and now he likes to blow rasberries. It's hillarious! He soaks his bibs. Infact, he goes through like 3 in a day. He pulls his pacifier out and puts it back in the wrong way. He definitely would rather have his thumb now. One morning, he woke up very stuffy and since then, he has been wanting to bite down on things - our fingers and his own teethers, but the doctor doesn't think he's actually teething quite yet. Braden holds his toys and reaches for them. He grabs your hair, clothing, jewelry, and even skin if he can get it. He is adjusting to spending more time on his belly. He's stronger and can hold his head up for longer periods of time without getting frustrated. He actually rolled over 2 weeks ago for the first time (3x in 1 day and just 1x the other day). He needs to be persuaded however to do it! He loves to fly, play boo, and hear funny noises. His back is a bit ticklish, and so is his neck. He loves to be sang to and will sit through mommy reading him a book each night. He reaches for his right ear and plays with his feet. He loves to be naked, but I guess what baby doesn't:) He still enjoys everyone of his toys - from his swing, to his playgym, to his bouncer, to his bouncy chair, his bumpo chair, being layed out on the floor, and even being cuddled. He's very blessed, but we are even more blessed to have him!

Braden's 5th Month

Braden is now appoximately 27 inches long and 18 pounds, 8 ounces. He's just getting so big so fast! His sleeping habits still have not changed much. He's pretty much put himself in a napping routine - 2 small ones in the morning to mid-afternoon and sometimes 1 in the evening. He normally goes to bed between 8 and 9 and over the holidays sometimes 10. He still loves to eat often. He actually had some rice cereal (2 tbs) mixed with some of mommy's milk for the first time 2 days before turning 5 months old. It was hilarious! He might have gotten more on his pj's, hair, eyebrows, ears, and nose, than in his mouth:) He was pushing some of it back out with his tongue, laughing, throwing his hands up and down, and reaching for the spoon. He actually ate much better after I warmed it up more. Braden really concentrates on things now and works hard to maneuver them and himself. He's fascinated with mirrors but even more so Jazzi. He loves playing with his toys and especially putting them in his mouth. He reaches and grabs things including our hair, jewelry, and even skin - ouch! He sits so well by himself, about 15 - 20 seconds at a time. We're expecting him to sit a long time by Christmas and maybe even open a few gifts. He doesn't like laying down as much anymore. He pulls himself up to a crunch position so he won't miss anything. He has been making lots of high pitch screeches lately and still loves to blow his rasberries. He hums himself to sleep a lot, and just has to have that thumb of his. Braden got his 1st tooth (bottom left) on Dec. 11th and mommy thinks the other bottom tooth isn't too far behind. Braden continues to be such a happy baby. We love that he smiles so much and laughs. He anticipates flying and the demon drop on the count of 1,2,3...before it even comes. Thanksgiving was a ball too! That's when he really started jumping in his jumper and since then, we try not to miss a day in it because he loves it so much. Maybe that's why his quads are a bit chubby:)

Braden's 6th Month

This month, Braden is 27 1/2 inches long and weighs 18 pounds and 12 ounces. The doctor says he's 75th percentile in weight and 82nd percentile in height. I guess it's normal for babies to fluctuate month to month. Throughout Braden's whole 6 mth visit, he tried to talk over Doctor Crawford and mommy. His voice is getting louder and louder each month. Braden loves when other's clap their hands in front of him and he fakes his coughs now. I think he gets a kick out of others laughing at him. Peek-a-boo has been his favorite game this month. Braden jumps in his jumperoo for probably at least a 1/2 hour everyday and gets so excited when you clap and encourage him. He already likes getting praise:) He has been sitting up all by himself since Christmas. Even when he's lying on his back, instead of rolling over, he tries to pull himself up - he's going to have some stong baby abs! The doctor says that he's considered mobile now because he sits and scoots himself to where he wants to go - slowly but he has a purpose. Mrs. Chrissy says he went about 2 yards or so to reach Shane the other day. Mommy and daddy think that he'll be crawling by next month by how much more active he's been. He's so content to play with all his toys by himself. He's lucky that mommy's a teacher because he's gotten a lot of hand-me-down toys from other teacher's children. It's been wonderful. Braden got his 2nd bottom tooth on Christmas morning and is working on some top teeth, so his sleep patterns are still not consistent. Mommy got 10 hrs one night and about 6 - 7 hours 3 other nights. Every other night, he wakes anywhere from 2 - 5 hours. Next month, hopefully he will form a schedule or else mommy and daddy will have to enforce it a little more. He's been eating rice cereal for about a month and just had green beans for a week. He hates them. He gagged and made the worst faces. Mommy had to mix it with a bit of cereal and milk. Braden still blows his rasberries, giggles outloud, squeels and yells with concentration. He puts about everything in his mouth, including his toes. He pulled Jazzi's ear for the first time and jumped when Jazzi squeeled. Jazzi just gave him kisses afterwards thank goodness! He's a pretty good napper - about 2 - 3 hours throughout the day. He's such a happy baby and interested in everything around him.

Braden's 7th Month

Braden is already 7 months and changing so fast. He weighs 20 lbs. and is 28 inches long. Most nights, Braden is making it 6 full hours before eating. However there are those nights when he wakes 2 or 3 times before eating just to be cuddled. Maybe it's his teeth since he now has his top two teeth in also, but mommy thinks he's playing that game! He knows if he cries long and hard enough that mommy will give in. Needless to say, Braden's parents are trying not to give in to him! As for his eating habits, he eats most anything, After the first initial grossed out faces, he ends up liking it the next day. Squash and carrots are probably his favorite! He even got to try 3 sweet potatoe puffs on Feb. 16th. He wasn't quite sure what to think. He used his little teeth to crunch them and then got the puff stuck on his lip from his slobber:) His routine is eating cereal around 10ish, a fruit in the afternoon, and then a vegetable and fruit around 6:30 pm. Braden is so much fun to play with now. He bangs toys together - anything to make noise! He goes from sitting up to his belly and tries to move forward, but scoots backwards. He rocks on all 4s and just started crawling backwards Feb. 19th. He will be crawling forward anyday. He gets frustrated when he can't get to what he wants. He loves playing with strings and putting them in his mouth. Lately, he has been interested in balls and especially Jazzi's toys. He is getting louder each month. He makes ba ba ba and ma ma ma sounds - or atleast that's what mommy is making out:) He makes kissing sounds, blows rasberries, grinds his teeth - yuck, and plays with other sounds all the time. He smiles so readily for anyone and giggles when playing peek a boo, being tickled, or surprised. We are all tickled to death with our bundle of joy!

Braden's 8th Month

Braden is 21 lbs and 29 inches long at 8 months old. On Feb. 22nd, Braden pulled himself up to his feet with the arms of his jungle gym. The day after he rolled over to his stomach, crawled backwards and then sat up. His favorite thing to do has been to be on his hands and knees with his butt in the air. It’s hilarious! He also got his top LI tooth this day. He has a total of 5 teeth now with another on the way. On Feb. 27th, Braden started crawling forward and clapping his hands! He crawled after Jazzi’s toy. The next day, he crawled 4 steps, and the day after he crawled the length of the couch twice – all after Jazzi’s toys, cords, and the TV remote! We’re in for it now! On March 2nd, Braden waved bye bye with a squeeze of his hand by his side. He’s done that only a few times since this month, but claps usually on demand with a huge smile. For the last 2 weeks, Braden has been sick with his first real cold – poor guy. He didn’t have a fever thank goodness. He has watery puffy eyes, a cough, and was just getting sick of his nose being wiped by mommy. On March 10th, Braden pushed his car walker 5 steps and has done it 9 steps since. Overall, this has been such a fun month because of all the changes we've seen. He’s crawling all over the place. He opens drawers, pulls everything towards him or puts it in his mouth, and even crawls to be picked up. He’s got such a personality already. He thinks it’s a game when we say NO to something he tries to get in to. He turns his head and laughs. He plays peek-a-boo with us now, and he’s just started to crawl away if he thinks we’re going to get him. What a big month for Braden’s development! We’re all anxious for what’s next.

Braden's 9th Month

Braden weighs 21 1/2 lbs and is 28 3/4 inches long this month. He's in the 70th percentile. A week after Braden's first bad cold of two weeks, he developed an earache in his right ear. He had a fever of 102 degrees. Mommy took him to the doctor and he was put on his first antibiotic, amoxicillin. He got a little rash and seemed to have a belly ache from it so we switched the antibiotic to zithromax. Within a week he was feeling better. On March 29th, Braden got his right LI tooth, and on his 9 month birthday his lower left cuspid tooth came through - 7 teeth already! Mommy and Daddy had their first date night away from Jazzi and Braden on Friday, March 2nd. Mommy cried a bit leaving, but Braden and Jazzi did real well at Aunt Jen, Grandma and Grandpa Sterpka's. The week of Mommy's Spring Break, Braden got to experience some new tastes in foods - just bits of adult food and absolutely loved it. However that weekend, Braden slept horrible, so we cut back on the adult foods just in case. The last 2 weeks of Braden's 9th month, he was put on more of schedule and the heater/constant noise that was put in his room seemed to help. Braden has been sleeping an average of 8 hours. He wakes up around 5:00 every night and wants to eat, but he goes right back to sleep. Since Saturday, April 17th, Braden has been waving bye bye on demand. It's so cute how when he learns something new, he contantly does it. He's still growling all the time. He sucks his cheaks in like a fish - Daddy showed him that after drinking from his water bottle. Braden also clucks his tongue on the roof of his mouth. He's making more and more sounds and sometimes we think we even make da da out. He opens his mouth and loves to act like he's getting you! We wrestle all the time. Braden loves hide-in-seek. He crawls all over the place. He gets into everything he can get to and has figured out how to open drawers and cupboards and how to shake things. He stands for longer and longer periods of time and even took 1 step 2x without any support 2 weeks ago. He claps at himself and smiles when he stands for a long time. Each month just keeps getting more exciting because of all the new things he's learning.

Braden's 10th Month

Braden is now 21 lbs and measures 29 inches long. Braden's personality has been coming out more and more. Twice this month, he's gone from mommy's arms to daddy's arms, and he got the biggest grin when he wouldn't go back to mommy. He was teasing mommy and totally knew it. Braden's been using the back of his hand on his mouth to make noises, he still squeels, yells, makes his growling sounds, and says momma and dadda. Braden stayed the night for a second time with Grandma and Grandpa May 8th while mommy and daddy went out. He did real well and mommy did too. On May 10th, daddy gave Braden a pretty full haircut while mommy kept him occupied by letting him play in jello. What a mess! Braden loves adult food and feeding himself and even mommy - he'll tease mommy with his food too:) There's not much baby food that he still likes. He's been eating the stage 3 meals mostly and some toddler food. Braden has been more daring this month - only 4 steps by himself, but he stands and squats for long periods of time. Mainly, he loves climbing. He climps on mommy's dishwasher, in drawers, on his little bumpo, or anything else possible. He actually got his first little black and blue fat lip this month from the coffee table. No teeth actually came through this month, but he's been working on an 8th one. It's about to pop through his gum. He's been drooling again more and has had a few restless nights. This May weather has been beautiful so we've spent a lot of time outside swinging, we went to the park once to see Uncle Matt's race with nana, Aunt Amy, and the kids, and we've been checking out what it's like in the grass - which is hillarious because he doesn't want to put his knees down. He bear crawls! He found the dandelions that you can blow fascinating, he loves bouncing on daddy's foot, and still attacking mainly mommy:) Braden is into finding out what's inside of boxes, cupboards and drawers. He likes balls, and still carrying his bat around. He likes riding on little cars and even makes the vroom noises. This parenting just keeps getting more fun!

Braden's 11th Month

Braden weighs 22 1/2 lbs and measures 30 inches long this month. Braden is definitely getting a mind of his own now. He doesn't like when someone takes something that he has. Usually it's our phones or remotes. He throws a fit but calms down fast when you tell him no. He swings his arms a little crazily too. Jazzi's always on the look out:) He points at a lot now with his little finger, yells and talks more loudly. He's trying out new syllabal sounds. It's cute because he points to Jake's watch and says dada. Braden loves to drive with any wheel and make vroom vroom noises. He crawls all over the place, and shakes his head when he's on a mission. It's hillarious! He bear crawls in the grass or cement, squats and stands to take breaks, and finally he walked 17 steps this month on Father's Day. Everyone was so excited. Even Braden was proud of himself. Mommy captured a great video. Braden climbs steps very easily and loves being chased up them. He even looks behind to make sure you're coming. Braden waves bye bye most of the time, but always with his right hand. He totally favors his right! For the last few weeks, he's learned how to kiss. He just opens his mouth real gentle and goes for your mouth. He gives mommy kisses quite often and even kept kissing Sydnie for her 1 year old birthday. It was adorable. Braden beats on things with his bat or whatever he happens to have in his hand, he climbs on his horsey on his own, coffee table (ugh) and Jazzi's stool, gets down off the couch about on his own, puts his whole arm with his ball in his basketball hoop, sings into his microphone on his big book, drives in Nana and Papa's play car with the beeper and any other big wheels he can push. Braden did a lot this month. He got to go to a couple parties, including celebrating mommy's b-day with just a little bit of cake and icecream. He absolutely loved it! Uh oh! He's been biking, swimming, hung out at a campground, watched mommy play sand vball (loves the sand), and he went to his first Tribe game. Braden is in need of another haircut soon. His hair is lightening up, he's thinning up a bit, but is eating whatever mommy and daddy eat for the most part. He likes to take bites of things now like sandwiches and pizza, and still loves drinking water from his sippy cup. Braden sleeps pretty much through most nights. Sometimes he cries and just wants mommy in his sight, and sometimes it's his teeth that bother him. His gums have been swollen where his eye teeth are trying to come through. For the most part, he's a pretty tough little boy. He's just starting to get that weird shyness around other people at random times. Most of the time though, he goes to anyone with a smile. He's such a happy-go-lucky baby!

Braden's 12th Month

The year just flew by! Our baby is already 1 year old and weighs 23.4 lbs and is 30.5 inches long. Braden is developing very well. He can say 8 words: mama, dada, uh oh, whas dhat (what's that), dog, Jas (Jazzi), ball, and papa. The doctor said that's very good. He walks all over the place now. He looks a little drunk sometimes but never slows down:) He even walks away, pivots, and comes back to you. He crawls up stairs very quickly and knows how to slide down them on his butt, but tries to walk down them by himself also. His walking is becoming faster and faster. He tries to run after Jazzi like we do or away from us if he knows he's got something he shouldn't. Oh yes, he's very persistent! Braden loves wrestling and knows how to 'get someone' when you tell him to. He gets a high pitch squeal and a big smile immediately. He seems to know how to be easy or gentle and how to love. He gives kisses with his mouth open to most anyone, gives high fives, waves hi and bye to everyone he sees. He's such a ham! You should see him ham it up when he eats something sour! He likes when people laugh at him. He still loves climbing and standing up high on things (like his little toy story quad mommy and daddy got him for his birthday). He understands no and listens only sometimes. He is cooperative while getting dressed unless it's taking too long. He loves to feed himself and drink from our water bottles or cups. He's been a little picky this month on what he is given to eat. He turns his head and closes his eyes if it's something he doesn't like or want or if he's full. Braden has eaten crab legs, shrimp, peanut butter and jelly, cake and ice-cream, and even cheese curls this month and liked it all. His favorite thing to eat this month has been pizza (Ci-Ci's or mountain pies), ham and cheese sandwiches, salmon, hamburger helper, bananna blueberry pancakes, and watermelon. He wants to taste everything everyone else is eating! Mommy has been trying to wean him from nursing and he's not liking milk from a bottle or even a sippy cup. He doesn't have any interest in a bottle and loves drinking water from a sippy cup. We're going to have to try other methods of getting him to drink milk, especially since mommy starts back to school real soon. He's still a momma's boy right now. He wants mommy most all the time, but is very attached to daddy too and even grandparents when mommy's not around:) He sleeps through the night, or atleast consistently 8 hours, naps everyday 1 or 2 times depending. Braden did have a fever of 102 for two days because of his molars he was cutting and has been a little fussy off and on because of swollen gums. The most annoying thing is he says ugh when he wants something and it's usually what we can't give him at the time. We try to tell him no whining like we do Jazzi. Actually it works sometimes:) We noticed that Braden got jealous on July 1st for the first time. He tried pushing Isaac off his horsey. He'll have to learn how to share now. Braden points at everything all the time. On his birthday morning, he woke up pointing to his radio saying "Oh" because he wanted to listen to some music. He shakes his head no (usually when he's mad or when he's done) and now yes when he likes something or wants more. Braden cut 5 teeth this month, a bottom left molar and his top 2 eye teeth. Ouch! We've gone water skiing in Nana and Papa's boat at West Branch Lake. Braden got to go tubing with mommy and actually skied while mommy went on two. He liked it, but isn't to crazy about his life jacket confining him. We went camping in a cabin in Ellenton, PA with mommy's side of the family for 2 days and Braden really enjoyed himself. He got acquanted with how to walk up and down hills! Braden loves the water, being outside, playing with all his toys, riding his cars, playing ball, and being cuddled. It's funny how he starts panting when he knows he gets to go outside or down in the basement. Braden had his 1 year old birthday party on July 22nd. Mommy made burger cupcakes and had burgers for the main meal. It was a blast. Immediate family came and Mrs. Chrissy's family. Braden hung in there all day with only a nap on the mower with mommy in the morning. What an exciting first year for Braden!

Braden's 15th Month

Dr. Crawford told Mommy and Daddy not to be surprised if Braden's eating habits slowed down a bit. So we have been waiting, and Braden has not slowed down. He can eat and eat! He loves corndogs (w/ ketchup - and even dips his finger and sucks it off once the corndogs gone), sardines (yuck), pickles (says 'pi' for pickle), fajitas, and pretty much anything we eat. He still likes his veges and fruits, and loves apple juice that Mommy mixes with water. He drinks at least a big full sippy cup of milk a day and water, and nurses once at night or every other night. Mommy and Daddy thought he was having a growth spurt because he's now in 24 mos. pj's. He's 24 lbs and measures 32 1/4 inches long. Braden got to watch a lot of volleyball this month including Adriane and Revere's girls. We've been quite busy. Braden got to spend the night at Nana and Papa's this month (10/1) and did real well. We got to visit with Jenna and Monica, Tatiana and Griffin, and we went to Keaton's Spooktacular party on the 16th. Braden and Mommy loved taking the spooky night walk on their lighted path. We went to Boo at the Zoo the next day with Nana, Aunt Amy, and all Braden's Brungard cousins. Braden didn't do well holding the bag for trick-or-treat, but he loved the animals, playing, and eating the snacks:) Braden has really been trying to say a lot more words this month, he picks out books and brings them to us to read (he loves the catipillar counting book). He likes the videos on youtube like Old MacDonald (thanks Grandpa), Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and even tries to do the motions and dance to them. He likes imitating sounds, singing along with music, and dancing. He points at his head, nose, and belly button and even says 'bele' for belly button. Mommy and Braden listen to his music in the car on the way to the sitters and back. He constantly gives us his look of surprise with his bottom lip curled under and his big wide eyes. We all get a kick out of him! He's into bikes, trucks, tractors and mowers, the 4 wheeler and riding his own toys. He still doesn't steer his 4wheeler but he's getting there. He likes crashing into things. He loves wearing slippers and his shoes. He knows his shoes let him go outside now and he loves outside (he says outside too). He loves popsicles! He goes right to the frig and says 'pop, pop, pop' in a low excited voice. He's so darn cute:) He tickles you and says 'tik, tik, tik' while squinching his face up and squeezing his hands. He's not shy when it comes to teasing:) He'll normally get anyone! He loves baby Ari. He tries to touch him, hug, and kiss him. He pushes his head and body into the babies to give love just like he does with Jazzi (we have to be careful). He throws balls now, likes to catch with help, hit his golf balls and chase them with Daddy, and slide down his slide. Braden being quite the climber has surprisingly not climbed out of his crib which we're thankful for. He's a dare devil and loves getting praise for his accomplishments. He does throw occasional fits. He'll throw his head back, cry, and pout when he doesn't get what he wants. Mommy has put him in time out for about 30 seconds a few times - the little stinker! Nana just laughs because I think she remembers how Braden's mom was. Mommy thinks he gets his stubborness from Daddy though:) The last 3 months have been fun. Lots of changes have taken place. He's a little toddler and we're loving every bit of it!

Braden's 14th Month

Braden weighed 23 1/2 lbs and measured 31 1/4 inches long this month. He actually lost some weight. Braden's last bottom right eye tooth came through on the 22nd of August. All teeth are in now, but his 2 year molars. Mommy went back to work this month, and Braden adjusted real well at Mrs. Chrissy's. They went to the Randolph Fair the first week and he loved it. He was pointing, and oohing and awing at the animals. On Sept 9th, he cried for the first time when mommy dropped him off in the morning (it took a couple weeks). It completely broke mommy's heart. Mrs. Chrissy texted mommy five minutes later to tell me he was fine and already playing. We're all blessed to have them a part of Braden's life! Braden notices TV now. In fact one time, he walked up to the TV, bent his knees, said ohhh, pointed at a lion, and growled back at it. He watched a little bit of the movie, Avatar on blue-ray. He claps for the Buckeyes when they score touchdowns, and he waves at the players. It's hillarious! Braden learned how to jump this month without getting off the ground. He thinks he's pretty big stuff:) He kind of runs and when you try to grab his hand, he pushes it away. He wants to be on his own. He climbs on the coffee table now, and on the couch by himself. He dove headfirst and flipped off the couch and scared Mommy to death, but ended up being fine. Braden says 'shhoo' for shoes, 'mor' for more (started saying that for more watermelon), 'mo mo' for Papa's motorcycle, smell (started saying this while smelling pine cones). Mr. Tom said he said "ike" for Nike. Braden got to go camping for the first time this month at Mohican Camp Ground in Loudonville on Sept. 17th and 18th with Mommy, Daddy, and Jazzi, and Suls, Frank, Amy, and Hayden. He had a blast. Hayden and him got along well. In fact they were wrestling each other in the tent and playing with their cars. It was cold the first night, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. He slept better than mommy and daddy! Camping was a great way to end his 14th months!

Braden's 13th Month

Braden is getting so big. He's about 24 lbs and 31 in. long. This month, we went to Ellenton PA for a little camping trip in a cabin with mommy's side of the family. Braden absolutely had a ball in the water, riding on Nana and Papa's golf cart, and walking all around up and down the hills. He gained much more balance after a lot of practice walking on uneaven ground this month. Braden got to go to the Sterpka family reunion and swim with mommy and his cousins. He just kept walking right in the water all by himself and going under the water. He was loving it. Braden has no fear! Braden says a few more words this month (a total of about 14 words), 'boon' for balloon, book, up (occasionally), 'tr' for truck, 'Bra-en' for Braden, moon, and the cutest thing is when he starting saying 'ohhh' with his little rounded lips. He was mimicking Mommy, Nana, and GG when we went to show GG Lebron's house. It was so funny. Since then, he's been doing it all the time. Braden walked backwards and noticed it on August 9th and tried to do it again with a big grin. He also walked in small circles making himself dizzy on purpose. He was giggling so hard. Braden points to "your" nose when you say where's your nose. He likes to dance and he even tries to sing sometimes. Daddy and mommy even thought he was in tune to his ABC's. He's finally drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup but mixed with water and he's been eating just about anything. So the weaning from nursing is gradually coming along. He climbs up his little jungle gym that Mrs. Pasco gave him and slides down the slide all by himself. It's pretty impressive. He goes down the basement stairs and porch stairs by himself and back up. He's Mister Independent! He waves at everyone and when he thinks he's getting into something he shouldn't be or just wants you to look at him, he waves at you with a little 'you know what' kind of grin:) Is he gonna be just like his daddy or what!