Brayden's First Christmas

On Christmas morning, Brayden slept until 7:30 am. I think this will be the latest he will sleep on Christmas morning (if he is like me) until he is a teenager, and so I savored every moment of our "sleeping in."

Once we were up, fed, and dressed, we descended downstairs to look in awe of all of the presents. Nonni and Poppi really went all out this year for Christmas. The decorations were beautiful in the morning light, and everything was sparkling. Brayden had a huge pile of presents! Dan and I opened most of the for Brayden, but we did save one shiny package for him to open by himself. 

Christmas morning!

Ripping off the bow. 

 

 

Trying to eat the bow (of course).

Dan bought a suprise present for Brayden from the two of us. As you may know, Brayden is not the greatest sleeper. We're working on it . . . . . Dan bought him a Sleep Giraffe for Christmas. Brayden loves it! It plays four different sounds (some of which include "giraffe drumming," sleep sounds, and giraffe "play sounds" that include eating sounds. The sounds are actually pretty funny. Brayden loves it!

It tastes delicious!

Later that evening, we changed Brayden into his "Fancy Clothes" before the Rowan side of the family came over for dinner. 

 

 When everyone arrived, Brayden was a big hit! He loved seeing my Mom Mom (his Great Grandmother) again! 

He didn't stay in his fancy clothes for long because they were too uncomfortable. Pretty soon, it was back to PJs! With all of the excitement, Brayden took a long nap upstairs in his swing. He almost missed cousin Lisa leaving! But he woke up just in time to say goodbye! And he was as wide awake and as adorable as ever! 

The holiday went so, so fast! I can't believe Brayden's first Christmas is already over! While there will be many, many more "firsts" in his life, this first Christmas was a very special. I tried to hold on to every minute because he only gets one "first Christmas!" 

 

 

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Last night was Christmas Eve! It has been unseasonably warm the last few days, but it was very, very cold yesterday. Brayden decided he didn't want to nap, and so we headed to Ridley Creek State Park for a nice (but cold!) walk. Thankfully, Brayden feel asleep within 10 minutes and slept for almost and hour! 

We also spent some time in the Bumbo in front of one of Nonni and Poppi's many Christmas trees.

My family always goes to church on Christmas Eve. I dressed Brayden up for the event and we took some pictures before leaving for mass. 

After mass, our neighbors, the Doucette's, came for a great Christmas dinner. Brayden even stayed awake during the dinner. And he didn't go down until 11:00 pm! Maybe he was excited for Santa  . . . 

Christmas day pics to follow soon! Merry Christmas!

Flying the Friendly Skies

It's Christmas time already! I can't believe how fast time has flown! Speaking of flying, yesterday, Brayden made his first plane trip! My mom (Nonni) flew up from Pennsylvania on Tuesday just so she could help Brayden and I fly. It was extremely helpful to have her with us! We discovered that Southwest has a family boaring time, which is after the "A" group but before the "B" group. Somehow, my mom managed to get a coveted blue pre-boarding sleeve. Leave it to Nonni to work her magic! We were the second people on the plane (after the people in the wheelchairs. Our plane was stopping in Philly and then going on to West Palm Beach . . . . ).

As soon as we got settled, I fed Brayden and he promply fell asleep and stayed asleep during the takeoff! He was pretty tired since he didn't nap in the car on the way to Providence (he fell asleep in the car five minutes before we got to the airport, of course!). He woke up in a good mood mid-flight, and then he got a little fussy on the descent. He only cried for a few minutes and was great during the landing. I was so proud of my little man! He did so great! He'll be an old pro and flying before we know it! 

When we got off the plane, we saw Santa and his elves! They were taking free pictues, and of course we had to get one!  We even got a smile!!

Merry Christmas to all!

"Quarter" Back!

On December 14, 2011, Brayden turned four months old. We are a quarter through the first year of his life! At his check up, he weight 13.35 lbs and was 24.25 inches long. He grew two full inches! He is a long, lean baby! He also had his shots (and that darn Rotovirus drink), and so he wasn't feeling so great. Here is the best pic from his photo shoot. As you might be able to tell, he is a drooly boy! We love you, Brayden!! 

Best Friends Forever

My birthday was after Thanksgiving this year (and not on Thanksgiving, which is a good thing!). My best friends from high school came over to visit and meet Brayden for the first time. One of my friends, Bernadette, had her baby Kellen in September. It was so cool for them to meet each other for the first time outside of the womb! 

Meeting inside the womb!

Meeting in the flesh!!

Brayden is aware of other babies now, so it was fun to see them interact. We did a photo shoot with the two of them and put them on a leather chair. Kellen's outfit was more slippery than Brayden's and he kept sliding into Brayden. It was so, so funny! We were laughing so hard! Here are some great pics from the day!

Turkey Time!

Brayden's first Thanksgiving was very exciting. Before getting ready for dinner, my Dad and I went to Ridley Creek State Park for the first time with Brayden. I love Ridley Creek, and I try to run there whenever I am back in PA. I know the 4.3 mile loop by heart, and being there always makes me feel much calmer. My dad and I walked about two miles with Brayden. He loved it, too, and fell asleep within five minutes! 

Dinner was at my Aunt Carol and Uncle Paul's house, and there were about 30 relatives there! It was probably the most people Brayden had ever been around at once, but he was really calm and took it all in stride!

At Nonni's and Poppi's before Thanksgiving.

With cousin Amy and Aunt Kathleen.

Brayden with my Mom Mom and his Great Grandmother!

And for the parting shot, Brayden with Poppi in his "Gobble Gobble" turkey outfit. Take note of Brayden's awesome socks. They say "Mom's little Turkey"! Love it!!

Can't wait for Christmas!!

Ocean Air Cures All

Nonni and Poppi Rowan drove to Massachusetts for the Christening, and then drove Brayden and I back to PA a few days later. Brayden was great on the drive, although I think he was a bit confused to be in an SUV instead of my little Toyota! We stopped twice so that I could feed him, which made the trip a bit longer, but he was not really that fussy, which was great! 

A few days before Thanksgiving, we went to my parent's beach house in Ocean City, New Jersey. The ocean air was great for Brayden! The weather was unseasonably warm, and we took a long walk on the Boardwalk and visited all of my favorite sites. It was a great first trip to the Boardwalk!!

I love Ocean City!! 

 That night, Brayden slept for nine hours straight! I think we just might have to move to the beach!

Three Months Old!

On November 14, 2011, Brayden was three months old! There was no check up this month, but we guess he weighed about 13 lbs! 

We love you, Mr. B!!

A New Catholic

Hello, Loyal Readers! I apologize for being way, way, way behind in my blogging! 

Last month Brayden was baptized! This was a very exciting event for our families. The Rowan's and Mahoney's came all the way from PA, and Dan's family came from CT, VT, and even New Mexico! Everyone wanted to see Brayden become a new member of the Catholic Church. 

The day of the Baptism, Brayden was in good spirits. He slept very well (and long enough for me to shower and get ready), and he fell asleep during his morning feeding. Knowing that he would have a long day ahead of him, I let him sleep on my shoulder instead of transferring him to the bassinet. He needed a little bit of calm before such an exiting and overwhelming day! I dressed him in his Baptism outfit, instructed him not to poop or spit up on it (to which he kindly obliged), and we miraculously left the house on time!


We arrived at the church early, but it filled up very quickly. It was really great to see so many family and friends in attendance. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the church! Dan, Brayden and I were in the front row with Brayden's Godparents, Brendan and Katie. Father Larry approached us and asked us the purpose of presenting our child that day. He turned the book toward us so we could respond, but it took Dan and I a few seconds to figure out what he was pointing to in the book! Finally, I saw that I was supposed to say "Baptism!" 


And then it was time for the actual Baptism. Brayden did very well with the water being poured on him (we had been practicing each day when he took a bath), and apparently he just moved his arms like he was doing a backstroke. I was so focused on his face, I didn't see that happen! 

 

Holy water being poured on Brayden.

Father Larry then anointed Brayden with the oil. 

He was then presented to the congregation. 

Brayden received his official Baptismal bib. 

The Baptismal candles were lit. 

We then returned to our seats for the rest of the mass. Brayden was so wiped out, he fell asleep on Dan's shoulder! 

Here are some other great pics from the Baptism. Thanks to Karen and Dave for hosting the reception at their house!