19 months

Braden and Daddy at Li'l Kickers
Braden lined up all his critters for a picture. :)

Family vacation to Warren Dunes- Braden's first time at the beach!

Every 2 months is about as often as I seem to keep up with this blog. Time just seems to get away and Braden keeps getting bigger all the time.

Braden's speech is really beginning to take off. He talks quite well and even starting to speak in some sentences. He'll say, "Daddy, where are you?" for example. And he is gradually replacing more and more of his signing with words. It's neat to see him want to learn more all the time. When we read books, he'll point to the things he knows and tell me what they are and if there is something he doesn't know, he'll point and grunt, like "I want to know what that is". Often when we're all in the car, Braden will say, "Mommy.....tree" and point out a tree outside. Which is very cute, but he'll do it like 20 times. :)

Physically he also is taking off. He can run, at times really fast. Especially if I'm trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. And, his newest thing is that he'll lay down and hide his face and think that I can't see him. It's hilarious! He can do the stairs both up and down with only one hand hold. Sometimes he'll hold onto the wall too, but not always. We've signed Braden up for "Li'l Kickers" which is a soccer/gross motor activity group for kids 18mos-24mos. It's every Saturday for 12 weeks. So far he's gone twice and loves to run around and throw the balls and sometimes kick them. He's learning how to sit still and listen to an instructor. By the end of the 45 minutes he's tired and not wanting to participate anymore. I know it's the age and I wouldn't expect anything else, but it's all good for him to start to learn how to behave in a group/class setting and also just to burn off some energy. Which for boys...is a necessary thing!!

We've also recently weaned him off the binky except for naps, bedtime and car rides. It actually went surprisingly well with only a few meltdowns. He still asks for it occasionally during the days, but I can usually distract him from it.

I am seeing several friends having babies again with little ones Braden's age. And, although I would like a 2nd a some point. . . .I'm very much enjoying what we have right now. It would be tough to manage a newborn and Braden, I think. One day, hopefully.:)