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.

Thanksgiving

We drove up to the Santa Cruz beach house for Thanksgiving. We split the drive up in half, stopping overnight in San Luis Obispo. Aunt Cristin came in the car with us and helped entertain Braydon. We left on Wednesday night and arrived in Santa Cruz on Thursday afternoon. We were there with Grandma and Grandpa Schwarz and Cristin. We went to Shadowbrook Restaurant in Capitola for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. The restaurant is in Capitola and is REALLY cool. It has a trolley you take down to the restaurant which is not he river and tucked into the cliff. Braydon did great at dinner, entertained by the fish tank and the yummy food. Before dinner we ran around the beach in Capitola, a little girl about Braydon's age ran up to him and gave him a big kiss on the lips, it was so cute!

On Friday we drove to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's in Los Altos where we met up with Mimi and Grampy too. We ended up going to my great Aunt Charlene's funeral which was sad. Not exactly the best place for a hyper 2 year old either. He was running around, pulling American flags off the gravestones and waving them and throwing flowers. Craig chased him around trying to entertain him and distract him away from the service. It was pretty funny actually. After we went back to Great Grandma and Grandpa's house and hungout, it was great seeing them, Bray gave them both lots of big kisses :)

On Saturday Mimi and Grampy Wilder came to the beach house. Grandma and Grandpa Schwarz and Cristin went touring around Santa Cruz while Craig, Bray, Mimi, Grampy and I hungout at the beach. Craig surfed and Bray was concerned when he disappeared into the water. He kept pointing to the ocean saying "uh oh, Daddy". He got REALLY excited and ran to Daddy when he got out of the water. He LOVES Mimi. When we would stray too far away from her on the beach he would yell "Mimi!!" And go running to her. He and Grampy built a sandcastle and chased birds. That night we all went to Moss Landing and got delicious Cioppino soup. He sat between both Grandpas and accidentally whacked Grandpa Schwarz in the eye with a crab cracker giving him a bruise. Whoops!

On Sunday Cristin flew back home and Craig, Jerry, Jan and I all left to go to Pebble Beach for a few days for a golf tournament. Mimi and Grampy stayed at the beach house to hangout with Bray who kept them VERY busy. He loves them! We got lots of video updates, one of the days Braydon ran a marathon on the beach. Just sprinted back and forth, waring Mimi and Grampy out I'm sure. He also had a playdate with his second cousin Landon at the park. He cuddled up with Mimi each night and watched Winnie the Pooh or Toy Story.

On Tuesday Craig and I drove to the Monterey Wharf where Mimi and Grampy were hanging out with Bray, watching seals and chasing Seagulls. They bought him a train that made noises that is his new favorite toy. After hanging out for a bit we took a long 7 hour drive back home. Bray did great the whole ride until we accidentally left the choo choo at a Jack in the Box off the 47. We finally distracted him from it with a DVD. The next morning when he woke up and asked for the choo choo I knew we were in trouble, thankfully Mimi was smart and had bought extras so she Fed Exed one to us the next day.