Brayden's Birthday Bash!!

Yesterday we celebrated Brayden's 1st Birthday since he was sick on the originally scheduled party date. We had a great time celebrating Brayden's birthday with some great family & friends. We had almost 40 people there including 3 of Brayden's great-grandparents & 9 kids!!

We are so blessed to have so many people that wanted to share in the special day with us! Thank you all for being great friends!!

Brayden's Great-Grandpa (Papa). Brayden hasn't seen Papa since the 4th of July & he kept walking over to him & wanting to sit with Papa! To cute!!


Close ups of each cake. I actually made both cakes & the little decorations that are on the cakes. I sort of enjoyed it...I think :) I was rather proud of myself for pulling off the grand idea I had in my head!

Our good friend from church, Jennifer, made these cute cupcakes for the kids! Thanks Jennifer! You are awesome!!

Brayden enjoying one of Jennifer's cupcakes!

Some of our friends from church (the Westfalls & Simpsons + Ben who's parents are just out of this photo)


Nothing better than some balloon play the morning after a big party! Brayden was actually scared of the balloons on Saturday, but by Sunday morning he realized that they could be great fun & spent about 1 hr Sunday morning running around the living room pulling 3 balloons behind him :)

I wish I had gotten photos of everyone that was there! I REALLY need to get better at taking photos at this important events!! If you have any photos from Brayden's party, PLEASE send them to me when you get a chance!

Happy Halloween!!

While we were at the beach with our small group, we dressed the kids up and went Trick or Treating in the house.

SuperMan (or Super Brayden!)

Trying out his costume a few weeks before Halloween


One person went to each room & then the kids went around to each bedroom & knocked on the doors saying "Trick or Treat" (or something like that). They got Spider cupcakes, Owl lollipop/suckers (made from moonpies), tatoos, candy, Teddy Grahams, Pumpkin Peeps. The kids had a great time, but I think the parents had an even better time.

Brian (Tigger), Ben (Fireman), Brayden (Superman), and John (Bear)

Ben's ready to Trick or Treat!Brian, Brayden, & John talking about all of the treats they are hoping to get!

Small Group Beach Retreat - Fall 2009

This past weekend we headed off to the beach with our small group from church. In all there were 16 adults and 4 kids (all under age 2). Our friends Caleb & Adrienne were able to get a HUGE, SUPER NICE house for us to stay in. Each family had their own bedroom & bathroom. Plus there were 2 living room areas, a huge kitchen & dining room, porch, pool (closed for the season), hot tub, and outdoor kitchen area. We are talking REALLY nice place!!

The Living Room

Our Bedroom

View from our bedroom window

God's Beautiful Sunset at Holden Beach

One of the guys in our group, Chris, is an amazing cook. He did all of the cooking for us & we had some very scruptious meals! Plus Caleb's parents came along to help out with the kids so that we could all have some time without the kids.

We had a great time of fellowship, studying God's Word and hanging out together.

From the bottom: Jennifer & Greg Westfall, David & Amy Matzer, Jill & Corey Simpson, Chris, Brian, & Kristin Ertel, Caleb, Adrienne, & Ben Weir, Joe, John, & Amy Toomey, Matt, Brayden & I

Sick Days

Poor Brayden has been sick almost every day since his birthday.

I got the ever dreaded call from daycare on Thursday (Oct 22). Brayden had a fever & I needed to pick him up. Brayden ran a fever all weekend through Sunday afternoon. We had to cancel his big birthday party & his photo session on Sunday. Finally on Sunday, I decided that enough was enough...the fever wasn't going away & the poor baby just felt awful at times. We went to the Dr. & found out that he had Roseola. By Monday, Brayden was feeling much better, but he had to stay out of daycare again. He was fever free all day on Monday, but then Monday night the fever came back. Thankfully, my parents were able to come keep him on Tuesday so that both Matt & I could work. He was fever free all day Tuesday & was finally able to go back to daycare on Wednesday after being out since Thursday afternoon.

Then on Friday, I again got a call from daycare. Brayden was just not acting like himself & was very fussy. Matt went & got him (he was going to get him a little early anyway). Brayden was fine by the time I got home & we thought that he had been fussy because he is cutting 2 upper molars. We headed off to the beach & then on Saturday afternoon, Brayden got a fever again. The fever was low grade so I really still thought it was the teething. But on Sunday, the fever got much higher. I ended up taking him back to the Dr. yesterday. This time he has a double ear infection!!! and is now on antibiotic but was able to go back to daycare today.

We have been super lucky that he has been so healthy since being in daycare. This is really only the 2nd time he has been sick. Hopefully this is the end of Brayden being sick. It is no fun having a sick baby on your hands.

Silly Brayden

Happy Birthday Brayden!!!

I can't believe that 1 year ago tonight, I was in the hospital holding my tiny newborn son! Wow how fast this past year has flown by!!

October 20, 2008

October 20, 2009

Brayden has been nothing but a joy to us this past year! He is the happiest, most easy going baby ever! We are so totally spoiled and with each day, he brings more and more happiness to our home.

To celebrate Brayden's 1st Birthday, I took the day off work and took Brayden to Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. My best friend from college, Beth, her husband, Jeffrey, and 2 boys, Luke (2) and Vince (10 months) came from Burlington to hang out with us. We had a great time at Marbles and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch outside in the beautiful sun. Brayden and Vince have both recently started walking so it was great to have the 2 boys together for the day. I think Luke & Jeffrey had a great time at the museum as well!

Driving his first car

Brayden & Vince playing together at Marbles

Brayden LOVED going down the slides!

Playing with a hula hoop. Who knew that they could be so much fun!


After our trip to Marbles, Brayden had his 1 year check-up. He weighted in at 19 pounds 6 ounces (7th percentile) and 28/5 inches long (11th percentile). While we waited to see the Dr, Matt & Brayden spent some quality time together looking out the window and talking about the trees.


After a big dinner it was time for the Birthday Party. Brayden had several cards and 2 gifts from Mommy & Daddy to open.

Then we had Birthday Cake!!! Harris Teeter does a free small cake for 1st birthdays. It is the perfect size for little hands to dig into :)

Patiently waiting on his Birthday Cake

After a few hesitant pokes, Brayden dug right in & started devouring the icing & cake! He looked like a little blue smurf before it was over with!

I don't know about this...

I think I like cake!

My little Blue Smurf
Before

After

Happy Birthday Brayden! We love you SO much! You are the light of our life everyday!

Anniversary Trip to Williamsburg, VA

This past weekend, Matt and I left Brayden with Matt's parents and headed off to Williamsburg, VA to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. I can't belive that we have been married for 5 years. The time really has flown by!!

We took a slight detour to Norfolk so that I could see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel! I LOVE bridges and water so when I saw that we would be relatively close to the Chesapeake Bay, I decided that we just had to go. Matt agreed, so off we went. The bridge-tunnel is one of the coolest things
ever! The water was super choppy too and so there were some HUGE waves!

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (can you see the big waves?)

Ships waiting to come over the tunnel. There were 7 of them waiting just beyond the edge of the bay. I guess it was too choppy to come in.


Of course, our slight detour ended up being a much longer detour. Who knew that Norfolk as a big, bustling town?? Not me...we got stuck in horrible Friday afternoon traffic on our way from Norfolk to Williamsburg! Oh well! We made it. That's all that mattered anyway!

On Friday night, we had tickets to a "Ghosts Amongst Us" tour at 8:30. We headed out from our hotel at 6pm to find dinner. We knew where we wanted to go, but didn't know exactly where it was. This is NEVER a good idea in a new town! First, we turned the wrong way and had to turn around. Then, we turned down a street that really didn't have any food places on it. We sort of got stuck on the campus of the College of William & Mary. We couldn't figure out how to get off campus...it was dark & raining and there were NO signs! We finally headed back in the right direction and found "restaurant row". Of course, in the rain, we drove right by our target restaurant. We both saw it just after it was too late to turn in. So we turned around and came back. There were no parking places. Since we were on a time line for the tour, we decided to go to Chili's across the street...it was standing room only in the waiting area. OK..on to plan C. The hotdog place next to Chili's...it was closed. We finally ended up at McDonald's for our anniversary dinner!

The good news is that we made it to the Visitor's Center and our tour in plenty of time! Even through it was very COLD and rainy, the tour was great & I am super glad that we did it!

On Saturday, we slept in!!! Then we went back to Colonial Williamsburg for the day. We toured the Governor's Palace, Burton Parish Church (has help services every week since 1715!!!), and walked along the main street stopping in all of the little offices and stores.

Burton Parish Church

The Governor's Palace from afar

and up close

The guy in the corner was playing a Mineut for the people taking the Governor's Palace tours. He was really good & told a bit of music history from the 18th century.

Just a small sampling of the swords and guns that were in the Governor's Palace. This was in the Entrance Hall! In total there are 252 swords in the building and just about as many guns!!!


They still use oxen in Williamsburg to transport goods from place to place!

We also had lunch in a Colonial Tavern. We also got to see the Fife and Drum parade, made up of local kids. They were really good! On Saturday afternoon, we went to the Williamsburg Winery for a tour and tasting! That was really cool and the wine was really good! We also had a real Anniversary Dinner Saturday night!

On Sunday, we did a little shopping and had breakfast in a little college coffee shop. It was REALLY good coffee :) and then we headed home to get Brayden!

Happy Anniversary Matt! Here's to many more wonderful years! I love you!