Carson quickly went from walking a few steps before tumbling to walking in a zig zag as he tried to maintain his balance to walking just about full-time. He did this around the time of Braden’s birthday, meaning that he started truly walking about two weeks earlier than his brother did.

However, Carson still isn’t talking much (no “uh-ohs” like Braden), and he hasn’t perfected how to blow a kiss (he just leaves his hand on his mouth).

Also odd is that Carson can feed himself, but he can’t/won’t drink from a sippy cup without our help.

He does know how to kiss, though! If you pucker your lips at him, he’ll walk up to you and kiss you. It’s so cute!

Journal walking

How fast a year goes by! Carson turns one today, and we’ll have a family celebration this Saturday at our house.

We thought at this point he’d be fully walking, but he can only do about eight steps before falling. That means he’s about the same level as Braden was at the same age, despite Carson standing sooner than Braden did.

This week, Carson stopped breastfeeding (the last of the frozen milk was consumed yesterday) and has started drinking regular milk. So far, he doesn’t seem to be having the allergic reaction that Braden did, fortunately.

Kristin took Carson in for his shots and to have blood drawn. In both cases, he didn’t cry or put up a major fight, like his older brother once did.

We’ve tried to feed Carson vegetables, but he completely ignores carrots, cucumbers and the like. He’ll still eat corn now and then.

Carson dances more than Braden ever did. Sometimes when he hears music, he’ll start bouncing around while sitting. It’s really cute!

Journal birthday, feeding, walking

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

Right before our very eyes, Braden is now consistently walking instead of crawling to get to where he wants to go. We are just amazed at the ability for babies to learn skills that aren’t taught.  We were in a shallow (half-foot) pool this past weekend, and it was fun to watch Braden “wade” through the water.

Fortunately, Braden has not yet developed the ability to run. THAT will be immense trouble for us when he does!

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Kristin took Braden to the zoo the other day. Braden seemed to really enjoy it, as he was fascinated by the animals and kept pointing at them (while grunting).

Speaking of pointing, Braden is getting a lot bossier now. When he wants something, he will point and either grunt or say “da.” If he doesn’t get what he wants (e.g. the TV remote), he’ll sometimes sit or lie on the ground and throw a short, mini-fit.

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Braden is really starting to understand words. One example is that he understands his name, so if you say it, he’ll look at you. Another example that Kristin discovered is that she asked him to bring her a book, and he walked across the living room to his play area to retrieve one for her.

Brian likes to say “where’s the banana?” (Braden’s favorite breakfast food), and Braden will point to the kitchen and grunt.

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Following on the previous topic of food, we’ve noticed Braden is eating less and less now (no longer the bottomless pit of yesteryear). We figure this is going to start to be a problem at restaurants soon. Previously, Braden ate before, during and after we ate. But now, he’s full by the middle of our meal, and then he becomes antsy (meaning he wants to run around).

We figure we will have to go out more frequently now before we can’t for a couple of years.

Journal bossy, feeding, going out, walking

Brian’s grandmother is in town, so we finally got to introduce her to Braden on Friday. After being a little shy at first, he eventually walked a bunch for her and even gave her a kiss. That night, Braden ate more for dinner than Brian did! Unbelievable.

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This morning Braden took about 15 steps. In case we didn’t previously mention, he also likes to say “uh-oh” a lot, and he frequently points (and grunts) when he wants something.

Journal four generations, talking, walking

We are working hard to get Braden to walk. As we and our family have noticed, he can stand for about 8-10 seconds at a time, but only because he forgets that he’s not holding on to something (very cute).

Usually we sit a couple feet from him while he’s standing (holding or not), and he can take a few steps toward us. The other day, Braden set a personal best with eight steps before falling face forward onto us. Wish we got that on video!

We were told by another parent that the one-year-old mark is a magic number, and that he’ll just suddenly be able to walk after that. We can’t wait, as it will (hopefully) make life more convenient not having to carry him everywhere.

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Braden now knows how to get down from places. For example, if he’s on the couch, he reverses himself and slides off feet first. He has transferred this skill to the stairs, so now he can go both ways. Babies are so smart!

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We’ve been ordering off the kids’ menu at restaurants now. It’s neat to see Braden eat burgers, chicken tenders, etc. He no longer likes carrots, and we still can’t get him to like strawberries or blueberries. And when Braden gets sick of an item or is full, he gets mad and slaps his hand onto the table. He’ll also drop the item to the floor–so damn cute.

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Braden is still pretty bald, but he’s been growing a lot more hair on the back of his head. We swear some of it is blond!

Journal feeding, standing, walking

Braden really enjoys standing. For example, his favorite spot is the window, where he’ll grab onto the ledge and pull himself to a standing position. He does this easily with any object (stairs, coffee table, etc.). Some times he’ll let go just to see if he can stand without any aid (and he will for a few seconds!). As a result, Braden’s arms and legs are getting pretty strong. We’re certain he’ll be walking soon.

Braden’s only difficulty is sitting down again. He usually just lets go and falls on his butt, which is obviously padded by his diaper.

With Braden so mobile, we’ve really been trying hard to baby-proof the house. Brian installed gates to the stairs and cabinet locks, while Kristin has installed socket protectors everywhere.

Braden also likes chasing and being chased. If the latter, he’ll stop to make sure you’re still coming after him. With all the crawling, he’s starting to get some rug burn on the top of his feet. We would put socks on him, but with our wood floors, it would too slippery for him to continue trying to stand.

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Braden’s front two teeth are coming in. That makes six visible teeth in his mouth. Now instead of just baby food, we’re giving him other foods like bananas, cereal and other non-mushy foods.

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As previously reported, Braden can say “Hi dad” and “da-da.” He just added “ma-ma” the other day, much to Kristin’s happiness. Still no luck in getting him to say, “May I help you with some more chores, father?”

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Happy 9-month birthday, Braden!

Journal crawling, teething, walking

We’ve been noticing since this past weekend that Braden really likes stretching his legs out. Before that, he kept them tucked in close to his body, but now his likes to straighten them out. When he’s sitting, it gives the illusion that he’s trying to stand up when he unfurls his legs.

Maybe this means he’ll start to walk sooner?

Journal Braden, walking