Braden Has a Boo Boo!

So, we were over at Cody and Devon's last night and Braden decided to go explore their house. He wandered (with Dylan's golf club in hand) into Dylan's room, found some stuffed animals that he liked and was pointed and showing Devon how cool they were and then he wandered into the bathroom and somehow lost his balance, and BOOM!...he ended up with a big bump on his head and wailed and wailed. Poor baby...he's taked a couple tumbles, but not any that have left this big of a bump. After a couple minutes he was ok, but here's what our little bruiser looked like after his accident.

An Update on Walking!

Braden is geting a little better at walking. He's taking a couple steps at a time and we got some of his first steps on video, so just had to share it! Enjoy!

We have a walker....well, kind of!

So, we picked Braden up from school on Tuesday, and Miss Ashley informed us that Braden took THREE STEPS! We can't believe it. He has been trying to stand and can actually stand on his own now and is actually finally realizing what he's doing. Mike and I laugh as he tried to keep his balance-- his arms fly all over the place. It's so fun to watch him try to tackle this major milestone. We can't believe how fast he's growing and changing. We'll post a video as soon as he starts walking for us!

The Shopping Cart

So, we're trying to encourage Braden to walk. He can pull up on things and stand up with support, but that's about it right now. The daycare has several little walkers and usually he just pulls up on them and just stands there. Well, about two weeks ago I was picking him up and as usual he pulled up on one and we didn't think he's go anywhere....well, he fooled us! He just took off! So, I thought, it's time we get one of those walkers so he can practice at home too. So, online I went to research different kinds of walkers. I just loved the Fisher-Price Shopping Cart. It looked like so much fun. It literally looks like a little shopping cart, and comes with a little box of cereal, an apple, and eggs. It also makes music as the cart is pushed and in the front has little shapes he can take in and out. What I really like about it was how wide it is. That way, it won't tip over when he pulls up on it and won't lose his balance as he tries to figure out this walking thing.



While we were picking up the shopping cart, we also found this cool gumball machine toy. Braden LOVES it. I highly recommend it. It's also the first toy he has really figured out. He pushed the blue handle on the side to release the "gumballs" and then actually puts the "gumballs" back in the top. I was so impressed!!

I Can Point!

So, Braden has been waving for quite a while now. It's so funny to watch him wave to people, sometimes for no reason (they are not coming or going!). Well, now he has a new trick to add to his list. He can point! Mike and I have been watching Cody and Devon's little one, Dylan, do this for a while, and it is so funny. So, I don't know if he picked it up from that, or they all eventually end up doing this. But, daddy points at him and he points right back. It's so much fun to watch them learn these new little things. It makes up for all the sleepless nights and fussiness!

More Teeth!

Braden has been a crazy little bug for over a week now. Mike and I have not been able to figure out what's going on- are his ears bothering him again, is he tired, is he is sick, are there more teeth coming!? The first thing I did was check for more teeth. I felt along his gum line, and nothing! So, for the past week, that has been ruled out. Well, we were swimming last night (one of Braden's favorite activities) and all of a sudden I noticed he DOES have new teeth! You can see them trying to push through. They are the top two. They aren't completely through yet, and I can't tell how close they are to fully pushing through, but that certainly explains the bad mood he's been in for the past week. I can't believe my little boy is going to have four teeth so soon. He's growing so fast!

Ear Tubes for Braden

We've been struggling with a persistent ear infection with Braden for going on four months. We kept going to our Pediatrician who would give him antibiotics and for some reason Braden could not keep them down...it didn't matter what we tried (probably 4 different ones), he threw them all up. So finally after messing around with that for months, the Dr finally switched to giving him shots for the ear infection. The shot is supposed to sterilize the ear in 24 hours and all should be good after that. Rarely, a child will have to come back for a second to completely clear the infection. Well, after FIVE shots, yes, FIVE, our Dr told us there was nothing he could do for Braden anymore. He referred us to an ENT. So, mom called up Texas ENT and made an appointment for Friday, May 15th with Dr Newland. Dr Newland took one look in his ears and of course told us Braden needed tubes (no big surprise). We knew we really had no choice and although we were not thrilled, we made the appt for May 28th. Well, it is now May 28th and the surgery seems to have been a success. We had to arrive at Memorial Hermann in the Woodlands at 6:30am. We completed some paperwork and then went back to pre-op around 7:15ish. We had a great nurse and doctor's who made us feel very comfortable. As I am sure any other parent can imagine, as routine as this surgery is, it is still nerve-wracking, especially with a nine month old. They even gave Braden a little bear to hold onto...his name is Hermann :). They took Braden away around 7:25am and by 7:35am Dr Newland came back into the waiting room and told us everything went great. Braden still had an active ear infection, but he cleared all the gunk out. The meds they gave him to knock him out disoriented him, he was screaming when we went back to recovery, but were told this is normal. As soon as I gave him his bottle, everything was better. He drank 8 oz (he normally only drinks 4 oz). I think that was the hardest part for Braden, not getting his normal bottle (he did lose it a couple times waiting in the waiting area). But we got home before 9am and he has played all day long...you would have never guessed he just had surgery. I can already tell he hears much better. He reacts much quicker to my voice than he has in the past. We are so lucky this was such a great experience and that we will be dealing with far less ear infections!