Braden turned three two Fridays ago (Feb. 3). We submitted his photo to Ch. 3 News (our CBS affiliate), and he liked seeing himself on TV.

We had a birthday lunch planned, but Brian had a bug and was sick all day. Braden had the bug first; he came into our room Monday night covered in vomit. On Tuesday, he seemed fine, but he vomited when he got to school, so Brian took him home.

Kristin was then sick on Wednesday and Thursday. Fortunately, Carson avoided being sick!

Anyways, we rescheduled Braden’s birthday lunch for the following Sunday at the Nitty Gritty. It was nice to have both sides of the family there. Braden loved his presents.

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We bought the book “Bringing up Bebe,” which is about French parenting. While we’ve only gotten through the first three chapters, we’ve already implemented the “pause” technique. Instead of rushing over to Carson every time he makes a noise at night, we wait to see if he’ll fall back asleep.

Indeed, the majority of the time he falls back asleep. The book says that parents are the ones screwing up the sleep cycle for their newborns by tending to them too often. Babies need to learn to fall back asleep on their own. In most cases, Carson just has gas/poop.

Currently, Carson only wakes up once per night for feeding; previously, he got up 3-4 times a night!

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Braden is very clever. Before, when he needed to reach something, he would pull a chair over. Now, to reach things even higher (like his animal crackers), he’ll use a broom.

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At Braden’s allergy appointment a few weeks ago, the doctor said that Braden’s dairy allergy is subsiding. Currently, we’re giving him just a little bit of real milk or even cheese each day. So far, he hasn’t had a negative reaction. We’re hoping to keep desensitizing him (as opposed to building up his tolerance).

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We had portraits taken of both Braden and Carson a couple weeks ago. Braden did surprisingly well; Carson had a few shots with his eyes open. We’ll order some soon!

Journal allergies, birthday, photos, sick, sleep

Thanks to Kristin, Braden can read just about the entire alphabet. Sometimes he confuses “I” and “T,” and he has trouble saying “W,” but he’s really getting there!  

In his bedroom he has foam cut-outs of letters and numbers, and it’s neat to seem him pick one up and say what it is. Last night he picked up the “V” and said “Y,” then he flipped it over and said “A.” He’s definitely recognizing the shapes.

Along those lines, Braden is getting much better at identifying objects. He has a book with pictures of everything from A to Z. When we read to him at night, we ask him things like “which one is the dog?” and he’ll point to it.

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Braden’s language is evolving into sentences (usually just two or three words long). From “more, please” to “night night daddy,” his speech grows every day. He also can understand what people are saying to him in both English and Mandarin.

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Braden calls Brian’s grandma “ma,” as that’s what Brian’s aunts call her, and he mistakes that as her name.  To Braden, she should actually be “tai po.”

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Braden was slightly sick last week. He learned to cover his mouth while coughing–it’s really cute. He also knows to grab a tissue paper when he has a runny nose.

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It seems like every new generation is more comfortable with new technology than the previous. Braden knows has to unlock Brian’s iPod Touch by swiping the screen. He also knows how to use the YouTube app on our smartphones.

In addition, Braden loves playing with Kristin’s dad’s iPad. We would probably buy him a tablet device if they weren’t so expensive.

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Somehow Braden learned to roll his eyes. It’s really funny to see him do it. For example, he’ll roll his eyes and then look at Kristin after Brian does something goofy. We suspect Braden will be rolling his eyes throughout his life at his dad.

Journal sick, talking, technology

The other day, Brian handed Braden his milk, and Braden took it while responding “thank you.” It was so stunning that Brian thought he imagined it. Fortunately, Kristin’s mom was there to witness it as well. Unfortunately, we have been unable to get Braden to say it again.

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Braden can now stand up with needing the support of an object (wall, table, chair, etc.). If he’s in the crawl position, he inches his hands toward his feet and then pushes himself upright. He likes to stand so much that he refuses to sit while taking a bath. (As an aside, it’s fun to watch him stack his toy sports balls on the shelf/ledge of the shower, especially when he’s on his tippy toes.)

He’s also able to walk more quickly, almost running (but not quite). One thing we’ve enjoyed doing is to chase Braden. In the past, he’s crawled away (either on the floor or up the stairs). Now he walks very quickly away with a big grin on his face, and when you catch him, he lets out a big squeal. So cute!

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We considered taking Braden to an Easter Egg Hunt, but we still felt he was too young. Instead, we “hid” an Easter Egg basket under his high chair and planted him near it to see if he would find it. Indeed, Braden found it rightaway and started pulling out all the eggs and fake grass from the basket.

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Poor Braden had a small cold, which he probably got from Brian. Braden’s obviously too young to understand how to blow his nose, so we had to give it a light squeeze with a tissue paper; Braden hated this. The cold went away after about a week, fortunately.

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We think Braden likes (cheeseless) pizza. We made some homemade pizza the other day, including a pepperoni pizza for Braden. He picked off the pepperoni, then licked the sauce off before eating the rest of the pizza. It’s only slightly less messy than when he eats spaghetti.

Journal sick, standing, talking, walking

We posted the rest of the photos from the month of April. Check them out in the new photos page (“Photos 2”).

Also, we added a picture of Brian and Braden at the UW softball game. Scroll down this page to see it.

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Braden developed a small cough earlier this week (it’s sorta cute). On Friday it got worse, so we went to see the pediatrician. Turns out he has a small cold. Hopefully it peaks today and that he’ll start to get better. He has been coughing at night while he sleeps, though it doesn’t wake him up.

Braden would probably cough less often if he could just blow his nose, but since he can’t, the drainage into his mouth causes him to cough. Otherwise, he’s in good spirits.

Journal, Pictures pediatrician, sick