Brayden's One Year Pics

We had Brayden's 1 year pics done about a week ago. Jane Huddleston did them for us and I think they came out wonderfully! She captured so many of the different faces Brayden makes! Just love them... Couldn't pick out my favorites, so here they all are!

First Birthday!

Oh my heavens, my baby turned one today!!!  It's definitely a bitter sweet thing.  Sad that the time went by so quickly and that he's not my itty-bitty baby anymore.  But so happy that he's healthy, happy, and growing!  It's so fun to see all of the changes over the past year.

We love you, Brayden!!!

He's been walking for a good, solid month now and will even (try to) run when we tell him that we're "gonna get" him.  It's adorable!  He loves animals... especially dogs.  And he really loves to feed them.  :)  His favorite book is one that has a few different animals and the sounds they make.  We read it every night before bed and he tries to make the sounds of the dog, chicken, and duck!  He's very intelligent and knows where my eyes and nose are.  He also knows Jesus and points to His picture (at home or church) when we ask where He is... and he knows Ma-Ma, Da-Da, and Blaze.  He's very inquisitive and loves to figure out how things work, like his motorized car, etc.  He'll turn toys over and examine every piece!

He's sleeping in his own room and usually sleeps the entire night without waking up!  Finally!  He a very good eater, and will try just about anything.  Although he's becoming a tad more picky these days.

I absolutely love the gap between his front teeth and the dimple in his cheek.  His eyes are just gorgeous and his lips are so smooch-able!  His temperament is just wonderful...  Brandon and I couldn't be more blessed, and we feel very grateful to be Brayden's parents and can barely remember life without him!

Trip to Biloxi

This weekend we decided to take a short weekend trip to Biloxi.  Brandon's uncle has a condo out there and offered to let us stay over the weekend since he's only there during the week.  The condo was absolutely beautiful and had an amazing view overlooking the bay!  It was very spacious and Brayden had a great time exploring everything.  :)

Unfortunatley for us, it rained the entire time we were there except the afternoon we arrived and the morning we left.  :(  But it was still fun spending time with one another in a place other than our own house.

Amazing views of the bay!

The kitchen, dining, and living areas were completely open with tons of windows letting in all of the light!

Gorgeous view from the Master Bedroom

He loved playing on the balcony

Checkin' out the view!

Luckily there was a short break in the rain and we headed to the beach, about 5-10 minutes away.   It was Brayden's first experience with sand and he loved it!  He tried hard to dig with his toys, and would take little trips to the water.  He liked putting his feet in and wasn't nervous about it all!

Get a hand full of this stuff...

Hmmm... feels weeeeeird.

Checking out the water

Hey!  I'm trying to work here!

Tasty!

Storms started rolling in again, so we headed back home.

View from the master bedroom's balcony

Kinda blurry, but you can still feel the excitement :)

Crab Boil

Today we had a crab boil/BBQ with Brandon's Uncle Shannon, Aunt Birdie, Dad, and Mrs. Traci.  It was really nice to get to spend some time with them as we relaxed in the shade and ate some good food!

Mimi Traci, Landon (Aunt Birdie's grandson), and Aunt Birdie

The Master Griller

Les crabe!

Daddy and Paw Paw rigged up a red-neck baby pool for Brayden to swim in while the big boys cooked the food!

Paw Paw, Uncle Shannon, and Brayden

It was a little tooooo cool to sit down...

Workin' and Playin'

This past weekend we got Brayden a baby pool to play in.  He absolutely loves being outside and also loves the water, so we thought the combination would be a hit!  And to no surprise, it was!  Brayden had so much fun playing in his pool, but he mainly loved climbing in and out of it!  He would take his toys, throw them out, climb out and grab them, throw them back in, and then climb back into the pool.  He then repeated the routine about... a million times!

All this playin' is tough work!

Off to explore...

Don't worry... those white legs don't belong to a ghost!  It was just me!  ;)

Hmmm... what to throw out next?!

After a while, he saw Daddy working on his truck and decided to give him a hand!  :)  It was too cute and had to get a couple of pics!

I'm busy working, Momma!

What size you need again, Pops?

Walker!

So we officially have a walker!  Brayden has been taking steps since he was about 10 months old but it hasn't been his main mode of transportation until now!  It was so fun watching him get more and more confident the more he tried.  He got so used to us making a big deal about him walking that every time he'd reach his destination, he'd turn around and laugh and clap for himself!  It was the cutest thing!  Anyway, he is definitely faster and keeps us on our toes, but we love that he's up and walking around!