Milestones

We made it. Well, Braden made it. I had a difficult time of course.

Braden is officially a two year old. Braden's birthday was Saturday and we HAD to start the day off right with homemade chocolate chip pancakes. We took the kids to Grants Farm (which if you're ever in St Louis is a must see place!) and Braden took charge of the goats. I was stung by a wasp at the park and unfortunately am still trying to get my arm back to normal. We then came home to have Braden's favorite food: Amburbur's. Hamburgers for those of you that don't know toddler lingo. We capped off the birthday with a trip to Nana and Papa's house for birthday cake. Braden got some great gifts and has since decided not to remove the conductor's hat he got, nor sleep without the John Deere tractor. While singing happy birthday Braden sat stone still and when we started cheering Braden wanted us to sing it again. And again. And again. 4 times and we forced him to blow (or spit on the cake in his case) out the candles. All in all, I think Braden had a great day! As for a little about my special boy:

Braden is a boy! No doubt about it, his favorite past times include playing ball, and playing in the dirt.
Braden can actually play baseball. Braden since 18 mos has an uncanny ability to actually catch a ball when you throw it to him and really has a great arm. So great in fact that most of his teammates are unaware of his abilities until they catch one of his passes in the head or chest.
Braden has favorites. Braden loves his Papa like no other bond I've seen. Every item or activity in his little life refers back to his Papa. If Richard is cutting the grass, we have to hear about Papa's lawnmower. If we are in the car, we hear about Papa's car. Papa is the first one Braden cries for when he gets in trouble or when he gets hurt. Braden looks just like his papa as well.
Braden does not like to sleep alone. I can actually count one one hand the number of nights Braden has slept without one of the four of us in his lifetime. His most favorite place is my bed. And if you ask him whose bed it is, he'll reply with his! He's a stinker but we love him. Happy Birthday Braden!

Our 2nd major milestone, is Ashlyn. On Saturday Ashlyn was having issues keeping her mouth closed as her teeth hurt. She's been battling two loose teeth for over a month and it finally came out. This morning while getting ready to eat breakfast she told us she couldn't eat since her tooth hurt. Daddy told her to just pull it out ( and if you know Richard this was sarcastic) to which she reached in, pulled it out, and set it on her plate. That's my girl. So the tooth fairy will get to visit our home two nights in a row. And just in time for all the wedding photos we'll be taking in the next two weeks!