Just living ...

Here are some random pictures that we've taken over the months. Cousin Gary is in this bunch and Brayden getting acquainted with Lucky. :) There's some with Brayden and I foolin' around on a Saturday morning and him finally learning to drink from a straw. ha! Gotta love him. Enjoy ...

2008 Parks - Waters Family Reunion

Family reunions are really big on my Mom's side and this year was the 24th year held in Memphis, Tennessee. Brayden and I are pictured here standing in front of the Civil Rights Museum. Of course Brayden is being nosy lookin' all behind me, but we had a great time. We'll have to go back when he can really appreciate it. :)

Here we are again ... this time he's lookin' at the camera! yeah! :)

It was extremely hot and neither of us were feelin' it so I'm standing there fake smilin' and he's keepin' it real. lol.

Here are some pictures of Brayden and the family .

Here are some more of all of us having fun in the hotel. :)

..... and here is a picture of Papa See, Mama See and Brayden. They reside in Atlanta, Ga and are pillars in our family. We respect them to the utmost and they love them some Brayden. :)

I love this picture of the 3 of them.

We all look forward to seeing everyone in 2009 in San Antonio!!

Hangin' at my crib ...

I haven't shown you guys, but this is where Brayden has been living since his days in the basinette which only lasted about 3 months. :)

He really likes colors and toys that "do" something. He loves his mobile (gift from Erin .. good job girl!) The leaves and the animals move on it ... very cool.

Ohhhhh also ... we had to lower his bed last week because he is now able to pull up on anything ... including his crib. He pulls himself up lookin' all innocent, unbeknownst to him that he's about to topple over the edge. :) His depth perception is REALLY off. lol As with most babies I presume. lol. He's good now with it lowered, but it helped me realize how big he's getting!

He's smiling a lot more these days. He was a VERY serious baby, but now he's boucing and dancin' and smilin' and clappin'. He makes me want to cut a rug sometime. ha! Heyyyyy cutie!

Big B and lil' b

Ok, so this pic deserves a post all by itself. Brandon got these shirts for Father's Day and they are wayyyy too cute. Big B and little b Simmons. Don't hurt 'em now .... :)

Swimming B

Woo Hoo!! It's Brayden's first swim lessons. I signed him up for the Waterbabies/Watertots at Oakpoint in Plano. He had a lot fun playin' in the water more than anything. :) Anyone who knows Brayden knows he has to check out the scene first. lol. He was a little apprehensive in the beginning, but then he literally went with the flow. This pic was just before we left the house ...

Here we are getting ready to go ....



I'm telling you, Brayden is a tough little baby. He's not scared of anything, including water. lol. We had a great time with his instructor, Julie, who had the cutest songs for us to sing. Here's one:

I'm a little pancake nice and flat

See me lying on my back

I'm a little pancake nice and flat

Flip me over just like that

Yeahhhhh!!!

At the end, of course, you flip your baby over and they splash in the water (really thinking they are swimming). He also went underwater for the first time. He gets excited even when we're not in the water when I go ..... ONNNNNEEEE, TWOOOOO, THREEEEEEEEEEE, dunk! ... :) Very very fun ... Here are some pics ....

Sittin' High ... Explorin' Low ...

Ok Everybody, brace yourself ...... Brayden is eating out of a ......

HIGH CHAIR! :)

We put the chair together this weekend and sat him in it. He looked around and started playing with the toys. By the way, the toys seem to be more of a distraction than anything while trying to feed him, but they do keep him occupied while I'm getting his food together. Watching him eat out of his high chair like a big boy almost brought me to tears. I know ... I know ... I'll get over it. :)



See, he's trying to feed his dinner guests. :)



Speaking of feeding, I haven't found anything Brayden doesn't like. Gerber has also gotten quite creative with the baby food. They have Harvest Blend (food that smells like pumpkin), Garden Vegetables, Peach Cobbler, Banana Pudding ... I mean the list just goes on and on. I was impressed when looking through the 2nd foods for him to try. Ah and thanks to Melissa and Amaya, he now likes Cheerios ..... hmmmm. Thanks May! :) I know he's singing their praises.

Awwww, and yes, that is his first sippy cup. He hasn't quite gotten the hang of it, but he's definitely working on it. He's also holding his bottle pretty well. I'll try and get a pic of that soon. His grip is somethin' serious so I know he'll have it down in no time. :)

I CAN SIT UP ON MY OWN NOW, TOO!!

I understand this is the beginning .... lol

Here's my handsome one reaching for one of his toys as he does MANY THINGS, really ANYTHING these days. HA! Everything goes in his hand, then in his mouth. I'm constantly taking his hand off of something he has no business messing with ... lol ... oh like, let me see, remote controls, cell phones, DVR box, earrings, you name it. :) But you know what, he's exploring his world down there and that's ok with me. This is a fun stage and I love it!

Is this not CLASSIC or what?!! This is a PRIME example of what he's doing around the house these days. LOL. He scoots EVERYWHERE he wants to go and that sometimes means he ends up in places he shouldn't be like UNDER his EXERCAUSER! :) I saw him under there and was like, oh yeah, gotta get this one on camera. :) Again, this is a fun stage. He's just makin' his way. :)

Party Hardy!!! :)

AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A BRAYDEN JOHN PARTY 'CAUSE A BRAYDEN JOHN PARTY DON'T STOOOOOP! LOL :)

Alrighty .... now you couldn't possibly imagine the number of birthday parties that Brayden gets invited to. (Although, I think that most kids get invited to lots of birthday parties. :) This is one of about 6 he's gone to since he's been born so what is that, on average, about 1 per month? Yeah, that's about right. lol.


Here he is in his party hat! :) Oh yeah, it's time to kick it!





Brayden's cousin Caleb (who wasn't feeling very well ... awwww) turned 2 June 9th and his party was at, none other than, Chuck E. Cheese. By the way, does anyone know what the "E" stands for? Anyway, lol, yeah it was at the Big Mouse's House and B was dazzled by the lights, the music and all the kids running circles around him. This time, I did let him have a little icing off of Caleb's cupcake cake and boy did he like it! yummmy!



Brayden and Mommy. :) He was looking at balloons above us. Just NOSY! :)

Me and Tiff and little Brayden at the party. That's my lil' man. :)