Christmas and New Years in Tahoe

We drove up to Tahoe on the night of the 22nd, staying overnight in Bishop, cutting the drive in half. Poor Bray got a horrible cold and was in misery for the first few days of the trip. We got to Kim and Ricks on Braydon's birthday, the 23rd. Jesse and Jake are so cute with him! And he LOVES them! They played with him a ton, read him books, wrestled with him and had a blast. Jesse even wrote a children's book for him with illustrations and all. We had a great Christmas at the Greenes with lots of presents, good food and fun. Braydon got his first bike, a recliner seat and a floor piano you dance on from the Greenes and a Thomas the train set from Mimi and Grampy along with a ton of other toys. On the 26th we drove to the condo and stayed in Tahoe City until the 1st.There was zero snow in the mountains, a record breaking year so that was kind of weird but we managed to still sled and get in a ski day at Northstar. Braydon loved sledding with his cousins and put on his helmet thinking he was like Buzz lightyear when he wore it. His other favorite thing was the gondola ride at Northstar. He would yell "I'm flying!!!" and "To infinity and beyond!!!" like he was Buzz. He would get really excited when he saw snow and yell "SNOW!" and "Santa!' We had the best time and Braydon misses his cousins and Mimi and Grampy. He asks every day where they are and I tell him we will see them soon.

December 23, 2011 - Braydon is 2!

Our little buddy is 2 years old! I can't believe how fast the time has flown. Life with him the past 2 years has been the best. He is our ray of sunshine and laughter :) Every day he is growing more and more physically and mentally. He talks a ton now, and in sentences. He's like a parrot, repeating everything we say and do. In his cute little high pitched voice he'll say "Merry Christmas!" or "Mommy, paci please!". Every morning we have this routine where he climbs into bed with us and we watch cartoons, I make him pancakes and give him those and a Banana in bed. Now as soon as he gets in bed he'll point to the door and say "Mommy, pancakes and Bae peeze" and when I bring him to him he says "Tank You Mommy!" with a huge smile. Then we all cuddle, Bray, Daddy and I until Daddy goes to work. Bray says, "Bye Bye Daddy work!".

We have a blast together and when we have free time we will go to Legoland, Sealife, the park, or Kidsville. Every Friday we do a playgroup with his friends. He's a very happy and social little boy. He's becoming an individual, he knows what he wants and tells us "No" if he doesn't want to do something or is reprimanding us for touching one of his toys. Daddy will tease him a lot by grabbing a toy or tickling him and he'll say "No tikki Daddy!" or "No, mine!" He knows Monty's name now and orders him around a lot :) He says "I love you and Mommy where ARE you?" He gives lots of hugs and loves his Mommy and Daddy as much as we love him. He's the sweetest boy.

Visit with Santa

We took Braydon to see Santa at the outlets by our house this last week. He did MUCH better this year. He was a lot more warmed up to him. He was posing for the camera and saying "Cheeeeese!" Then after he got a Candy Cane which he loves and he got to play with a snow globe. After we had burgers at Rubys Diner.

Braydon's 2nd Birthday Party - Toy Story

We threw Braydon his 2nd Birthday party at our house on Saturday. It was a Toy Story theme because he LOVES Buzz and Woody. That's by far his favorite movie. Buzz is his hero. When we ask him how old he's turning he says "I 2!" The party started at 2:00pm and he had 16 of his friends come with about 45 adult friends. It was so much fun! I decorated the house and backyard with green and blue lanterns and paper flowers and got a Buzz and Woody life size pop-up and balloons. He loved to drag the Buzz balloon around the house while Uncle Steve followed behind holding all the other balloons it was attached to. He shouts something that sounds close to "To Infinity and Beyond" while making Buzz fly. We set up the bouncy house and had a bunch of snacks and appetizers. We also got the TK Burger truck and served burgers and Chicken sandwiches. Bray had a blast running around and playing with his friends. We had a Pinata for the kids which was hilarious entertainment. Craig, Steve and Travis took turns holding the Pinata out our bedroom window on the end of a broom pole. Most of the kids were under 3 so it took a long time to break it. Craig ended up having to cut it open to speed up the breaking process. After the Pinata we had a cake. We got one for Auntie Heather Colmar too since it was her birthday as well. Towards the end of the night everyone was inside the house and I couldn't find Bray. I looked outside and he was sitting all by himself at the kids picnic table eating everyones leftover cake. Uncle Chandler ended up joining him.

Bray was really into present opening. He would grab one off the table and walk it over to me, hand me the card and rip it open. He was spoiled this year with lots of great gifts. Craig and I got him the Buzz Lightyear doll which was a huge hit! He has slept with it every night and every nap. We spread out the gift opening process throughout the whole weekend so I think he got used to running in the front room, grabbing a present and opening it. This morning (Monday) he ran out there to open one and when he saw they were all gone he stomped his foot and said "all gone" with a pout on his face. Then he yelled "Mimi, Grampy!" as if they were going to magically appear with gifts (Mimi normally brings him gifts). I told him he will have to wait until Christmas and to play with the toys he got and he said "okay" and ran into the family room happily playing with all his new toys.

Hansen's Winter Wonderland 2011

The Hansen Family throws this mind blowing party for Christmas in a Warehouse in Orange County. They pull out all the stops. They have snow and make sled ramps out of it, they have a taco bar a frozen yogurt stand, popcorn machine, hot chocolate stand, a caricature artist, a photo booth, Disney princesses and Santa! The Smiths, Winzens, Chandlers, Arakelians and Santa Steve Cota and Elf Ruthie were all there. Braydon had the best time sledding with his daddy! He could have done it all night. He calls Snowmen "No man" and Snow "No" He discovered candy canes which he loves except when his hands get sticky. He will hold his hands out to me and say "Oh no, sticky!" He was scared and curious about Santa Steve, he sat on his lap for a short bit but didn't want to hangout there. And he loved the Disney princesses. He kept trying to steal their attention away from the other kids.