The very first wobbly steps... now he walks clear across the room!

I think it's funny looking back at this video at Goose in the background under the table, who is thoroughly unimpressed with this whole activity. 

Best Picture 2011, starring Brayden Cooper

March? Already?!

Oh boy am I behind... I guess I could blame Brayden for keeping me EXTRA busy over the past several weeks... So what's he been up to... well, he popped a top tooth in last week (and the other top tooth in the front is just a day or two away)... he has fully mastered crawling at this point, having been doing so since mid-January... I can't keep up with him! Especially when he sees something he really wants (like the dog's water bowl, or the cat food, usually...) Most exciting though, is that at 9 months and 1 week exactly, Brayden took 3 steps on his own toward mommy. :) His record since then is only 5 steps, and they sure were shaky, so not sure if I can truly say he's "walking"... I suppose I could call it "toddling" or, maybe more accurate: "stumbling" - either way, we're proud, excited, and somewhat scared parents for this new and big milestone.

I will have to post a video very soon of the big man walking around the house on his own with his little walker. I'll be doing a load of laundry, and I turn around, and there he is, walking toward me from the kitchen with a giant smile on his face: "Ma! Look what I can do!" He is so very proud of his newfound ability to get around faster.

Off to get ready for a trip to the Louisville Zoo today - finally a nice (70+ degree) sunny day to enjoy ourselves outside. We are definitely READY for outdoor adventures after being trapped inside most of the rainy, gray winter here.

Videos to come soon! I promise....

Maverick and Goose, on the run!

This was waaaaayyy back on Day Two of crawling... now he makes it across a room in about 3 seconds flat. 

Raspberry Time!

A sure sign of a new tooth coming in...

Babbling along...

This was taken from the second or third day that he started "talking"...

My early birthday present from Brayden this morning...

Snowman Hat!

Thanks Grandma! Yet another awesome hat to make famous here in Louisville! Laughed ourselves silly again when we opened the package. The hat went right on his head and hasn't really come off since. :) These are pictures taken right before Cooper left with him to church tonight. I'm sure it'll get a few laughs from everyone there. Too cute!

*sniffle*sniffle*cough*cough*

Struggling through the day today against the stuffy nose, which is making Brayden pretty needy. I suppose I should enjoy these days when he grabs onto me and hangs on for dear life like a little monkey, since it won't be long until he wants nothing more than a 1 second hug before he runs off to play.

Took a cute picture a few hours ago of him standing up near his little club chair, playing with his toys. Looks like he's smiling, but really, he's standing there yelling at me. If he could talk already, I imagine he's saying "Maaaa! Quit messing with the camera and come...HUG....ME!!!" But all that comes out right now is "ah-bahhh lah baaahh a-wah raaa" If he allows me to go ALL the way downstairs today to upload the picture, I'll post it soon.

Thought I heard him say "Ma-ma" this morning, but I'm not sure if it counts if it came out while he was fussing. He was trying to get to the fireplace ("NO! HOT!" I'm like a broken record), and he turned to me in frustration and yelled "ummmm-Ma! Ma!" So the jury's out on that one.

The only reason I'm able to type an entry here today is because he's sitting next to me in the high chair, snarfing down some Gerber Puffs. I put a whole pile in front of him, half of which he knocks off of the tray into Dixie's patiently waiting mouth. But I see now that the pile has shrunk to only one puff, so off I go to find another way to entertain my stuffy child. Wish me luck!

Ra ra ra Wa wa wa La la la Ba ba baaaaaa

Let the babbling begin! He started babbling in earnest this past Friday (January 7th), and continues to practice all day - and some of the night now, too! Still no Ma-ma or Da-da, but I'm sure that'll slip out during one of his long speeches any day.

I just took a little video of him talking to a stuffed strawberry, so my next challenge will be to see if I am tech-savvy enough to post the video here some time soon.

Off topic, once the big guy goes down for his nap in a few minutes, mommy will be out shoveling the driveway - again. Looks like we got a whopping 2 inches (maybe 3 in spots?). Just enough to make it pretty out there, but not enough to prevent us from getting to our baby music class this afternoon! Wouldn't want Brayden to fall behind with his musical skills, would we? :)

I think Brayden has tired of watching Maverick and Goose eat their cat food, so off I go to do my duty.

Christmas 2010

 Ready for Santa! I try to take a picture of Brayden in his "big boy chair" at least once a month. 

 Thanks cousins Cole and Alexa for my awesome new activity table!

 I sewed his name on to his stocking - better than paying to have it embroidered! :)

Ahh, the famous Christmas tree hat that Grandma made. He was famous in Louisville throughout December.  

 Back in the Santa suit for the Buschemeyer family Christmas party

Once again - he is surrounded by a million toys, yet the ribbon and the box captivate him (and Goose, who came upstairs to visit for a bit)

The next step - getting pictures on this thing!

Brayden now takes baths like a big boy... this was taken Christmas night. One million bath toys, and he likes to grab for the shampoo bottles behind him. Silly boy.