Trae Trae

As Traegan rounded the 4 month mark, his colic and reflux vanished, and he changed a ton! It is the best ever and we are even more obsessed with him than we were before. We have heard him giggle a little here and there, and he has begun to interact so much with anyone who is interested. I still get the "He is so serious" remarks from strangers every now and then, but honestly I think without those dang tummy aches, he is happier always! We are still trying to sort out a few little digestion issues, but he eats like a champ, he sleeps like a champ, through the night following last weeks training camp, and started eating baby cereal which he cannot ever seem to get enough of. Good grief this kid is huge! I can hardly believe that Braden was bigger than Traegan so far at every age because Traegan just seems like the chunkiest kid ever!!

 "You think my cheeks are full of food? Well they aren't!! And yea this is a girls bib."

I Did It!!

Truth! I learned to French Braid my own hair finally. It took me a few tries, and I'm no Pro, but I can do it. I'm actually really proud of myself. It is just one of those things that really bugged me since I couldn't do it. So cross that one off my list. In other news, my 5 favorite things journal is proving to be a huge success. I really feel like I was inspired to start doing that. Some days it is really simple, other days, it is more like an actual journal entry where I am taking note of things. Between blogging and that, I'd say I am doing alright. I have been tremendously blessed lately and have really recognized the difference that the little things make. The easy things like saying my prayers, reading my scriptures, focusing during the Sacrament, and attending the temple, have recently strengthened me and renewed my faith and love for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and my Father in Heaven.

Braden and Gramp

Braden loves Grandpa McFadyen. Whenever we stop by during the day, Braden goes up to Grandpas in home office to pay a visit to his "Gramp". Recently Braden has been really interested in helping do whatever is going on with Grandpa, whether it be car repair, yard work, or housework. Braden isn't a big help, but Grandpa is such a sport and lets Braden help as much as he can stand.

DAVIS

Braden thinks Davis, CA is a pretty cool place. That is where Uncle Chad was living for the past 8 months. We had only been to visit him there one time, and we only stayed for lunch. So before Chad moved back to Utah for the summer, we all spent an afternoon just hanging around town. It was really awesome. I am actually excited for him to come back and start school again. He won't be living in Davis anymore, but we did a few really fun things while we were there. We walked around the Arboretum on campus for an hour or so, it was smoking hot outside, and Traegan was hungry, needed a change, and a nap, otherwise we could have spent hours just traveling the pathways there. We also went to the "monkey park" as Braden so named it. It was pretty cool, except Traegan was hungry while we were there and there wasn't anywhere to sit so I was looking forward to leaving for the most part. Chad told us he and some friends played tag on this big spiderweb thing there and that it was really fun. Maybe this summer for our reunion we can drive 6 hours both ways to try it out? We also stopped and played at a park with the most insane unsupervised cement slide I have ever seen. It was about 8 feet across and maybe 30 feet long and fast as heck. We had a blast there. I wonder how many people have gotten hurt on that bad boy. I don't know why I didn't think to take a shot of the entire slide.

I tried to get Braden to go down holding my hand on his own cardboard, and I picked the fastest piece there was because I went flying down and couldn't even pull him along.

 Chad is a great sport for Braden. This was an episode of their adventures together looking for sharks in my parents house.

 Braden and Traegan are pretty lucky boys to have these uncles and aunts who all adore them almost as much as their Mommy and Daddy do.

Fathers and Sons

Braden finally got to go camping with Dad at our ward Fathers and Sons campout. Braden had a heck of a time being a ruffian with his buds and was so excited about camping when they got home. We have talked about going again every weekend since then, because Braden is such an outdoorsman. They got to camp at the best campground I've ever heard of. 10 minutes from home on the property of a family in our ward. I am actually hoping that they will let us camp a time or two this summer. It definitely sounds ideal with Traegan.

 Braden loved sleeping in a sleeping bag. We haven't taken him camping since he was a crib sleeper at the beginning of last summer so I was a little worried he would be hard to get to bed, but Devin said he did great. We are going to have to get Braden a sleeping bag of his very own!

 The boys did a little fishing. Braden might tell you he caught a fish or two, but....

Whose kid is that running around with flip flops and no shirt on? Oh that is just the Christensen kid. Yeah it must be a Christensen thing because a few of Bradens cousins are the exact same way. I can't wait until next months Fathers and Sons, a new tradition that I am starting in my family of Dad taking the kiddos camping at least twice a summer. Its going to be my their favorite tradition ever!!

It Starts

Well we broke out our swimming suits this week in spite of the freezing cold water. The hot temperatures and my desires to hold out on turning on the AC inspired our first swims. Today, 5 days of swimming in, and a now heated pool, Braden has taught himself to swim from place to place under water. I mean literally the kid can swim. He can barely barely get his head above water to take a breath, but nothing a few swimming lessons won't take care of. I thought he was drowning himself when he jumped in to the deeper end of our pool without floaties, but after I jumped in and got my pants wet tonight to save him, he did it again and made it to the shallow end in no time. The little stinker. He is quite the little fishy. Meanwhile, he is still a two year old. I think its pretty impressive.

Friends Are the Best

Braden is the best friend ever. He was at Zacks the other day and had to go potty. Zackary wasn't potty trained, but his mommy had sure tried to get that ball rolling a few times with no success. When Braden was there using the bathroom, Zack decided it was time, and his potty training journey began that very minute. Thank you Braden!!

My Favorite Things

I use this blog kind of as a journal/ scrapbook for our family. I know I am not incredibly diligent, but I am trying and I post at least once a month, and I definitely catch up, so Id say, Im doing my best. I just went through my posts to delete drafts that didn't need to be posted, and came across a post from over a year ago, that for some reason never made the cut. It was called "My Favorite Things Today". As I read it over, I loved what I read. It was a joyful post with a list of 5 of my favorite things for the day. I think I might start a journal that way. I have only done well in a journal for maybe 6 months straight, and if I just hone in on 5 things, I think that might be do-able. And if one day I write more in it, then thats great for everyone! So here's to my 5 favorite things of each day.

1) Traegan slept last night until 6am! It was delightful!!
2) Braden had a play date at his friends this morning and I got to work on a few blog posts and go to Costco. Traegan also took a killer nap while Braden was gone and my house looked a million times cleaner that it did when I woke up this morning. My house always looks like a tornado blew through on Monday mornings. Oh well.
3) I ran into one of my favorite friends tonight at an unexpected event. It was fun to chat and laugh together.
4) I am pretty sure that I did like 12 blog posts to update my sis during her trip to Ghana.
5) Braden went swimming today, even though the pool was pretty dang cold, and he was in heaven.

Today was a great day. Tomorrow will be great too!

Traegans Blessing

We went to Rexburg to bless Traegan. We had a wedding to attend and Devin had business in Southern Idaho and Utah so we decided why not? It was so much fun. My siblings came from Utah, and Devins sister came from Utah, and then Devins brother and parents from Rexburg were there. It was such a party!

 Braden was so happy to see Auntie Chantel again. He misses her in between visits.

 Our little angel in his perfect, borrowed, blessing outfit.

 What better time to take a nap then when you have a sleeping baby in your arms?

Our entire blessing party. We felt so lucky to have friends and family with us away from home. 

All of Bradens snow pictures are somewhere still. I think on Devins work computer or on someone else's camera. I didn't take enough on my camera and maybe even misplaced a memory card from that trip. Who knows. 

Growing Up

Braden is pretty good at doing things when I ask. It took a while and he had a listening chart and had to get 100 stars before he could get a new bike, but he did it. He has gotten so good at picking his toys up in fact, that I decided he was probably old enough to do some little designated "Braden Chores". For now he thinks it is cool. Almost every time the dishwasher is clean, he gets to unload the utensils. He has even started wanting to help me unload the dishes. He is great!