Getting Ready for “Tinker Bells”
The holidays are rapidly approaching (next week) and we still are shopping for gifts. This holiday season really crept up on us! Another fun month! Trent and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary of being together! We began dating in November of 1998 (well, for the 4th time…this one worked!) so it was pretty cool to know we’ve lasted a decade! Kendall and I celebrated our 12-year anniversary of being best friends with a day at the spa, dinner, and a funky hotel in Greensboro. We decided we would make this a yearly tradition, but try something new each time. It was a blast to connect with her sans hubbies and kids. We spent Thanksgiving in DC with Trent’s parents and enjoyed some shopping and delicious food. We had our last football game and while it was cold and cloudy, Brayden did amazingly well. She even fell asleep in my arms amidst all the cheers! We’ve enjoyed decorating the house for Christmas and Brayden is very proud of her ornaments and loves munching on the chocolates out of her advent calendar. I spent the first weekend in December in New York City with Aunt Patty and Abby. We had a wonderful time and continued being shopping divas! We saw Jersey Boys and Wicked while we were there as well. Our good friends, Jon and Keri, came to visit us and we have also enjoyed some fun holiday parties as well.
Brayden is blossoming and her fun personality and contagious smile continue to capture our hearts. She is stringing together nine-word sentences, says “um, yeah”, sings “Itsy Bitsy Fider”, “Tinker Bells” (Jingle Bells) and “Frosty the Snowman.” Brayden enjoys singing into our microphone at home (see video) and has also become very concerned with taking her temperature with her “mometer” every time she is on the changing table. She puts it under her arm and when it beeps, tell us “I’m OK.” She did get over her 9th ear infection this month as well. One picky trait Brayden has is regarding diaper choice. For a 1-2 week period, she would only wear her pull-ups with the Cinderella design on it. We are talking a total meltdown if you gave her the one with three princesses. So, that theme has carried across basically everything. We give her a choice of two items during meals, for diapers, stickers, you name it. It makes her feel empowered to make a decision and avoids a meltdown (well, not always, but usually). We finished up our swim class and will look into either a gym class or another swim class for the winter. We are really looking forward to watching Brayden’s eyes light up this Christmas and can’t wait to see what Santa Claus brings her!