Playing with Bracken

Bracken is my little pal! He's learning new things every day, I'm always finding new ways to make him laugh and smile, and he's doing the same for me. We love our little guy!

*When we give him kisses he grabs our face and pulls us to him and won't let go. And if you're not paying enough attention, he'll try to eat your nose.

*He grabs and plays with his toes now. I think that is adorable!

*I'll put the phone next to him so he can talk to his Grandma or Daddy, but as soon as he sees the phone he stops making any noises and tries to grab the phone and eat it.

*He rolled from his back to his tummy this week.

Swinging into my arms and on my head is one of his favorite things to do. Going on horse rides on my legs is his other favorite. And anything else that involves swinging or bouncing.

He is so much fun in the bath! He loves splashing. I comb his hair different ways and he laughs in between each one. So every time he takes a bath I comb his hair like Grandpa Rob, Grandpa Clay, Uncle Seth (when Seth was little he thought a G.Q. hairdo was the coolest), Daddy, and a mohawk. Then when he gets out he gets dried with my blow drier and rubbed down with lotion.

Underwater Aquarium

Bracken and I went to the Underwater Aquarium that is beneath the Mall of America with Ligia and her little kids. I don't think Bracken really noticed the sharks, but we both liked having a change of scenery, and there were some pretty interesting creatures there.Bracken was squealing and hollering so much I had to get his binkie out. I have to hold it in his mouth because he won't suck on it himself. He's been really noisy lately, just discovering his voice and all the sounds he can make. He loves it when I hold him in front of the mirror and he'll bounce and "talk" to himself for fifteen minutes at a time. I think he's pretty cute and like hearing his noises, it just gets a little loud in church or when there's lots of other people around.
In the shark tunnel

This is a long nosed saw shark. I'd never even heard of this shark before but I was facinated by it. The shark will swim into a big school of fish and thrash its head back and forth spearing the fish. Then it just catches and eats the injured, easy to catch fish. I got the following picture off the internet so you can see how long its nose is. Pretty impressive, huh?
Bracken and me checking out the horseshoe crabs. He liked that he could touch the water.

Como Zoo

We went to the Como Zoo with some friends Sunday after church. It was a small zoo, but it was free and we had a nice time. I don't think Bracken really noticed the animals much, but he liked hanging out with his dad all afternoon. Bracken on the turtle

Bracken always breaks into a huge grin when we throw him in the air. I'm not sure if it's because he likes the motion or if he's laughing at the funny faces I make at him.

Bracken and his little friend Chrysalis.

Independence Day

This is my favorite picture of the day. We love our little boy's laugh!

I started out Independence Day by running a 5K with my friend Ligia. We ran through Bush Lake park, which is beautiful, but my favorite part was the end when I saw Brian and Bracken waiting for me as I crossed the finish line. It really made me happy to know I have their support in whatever I'm doing. I really enjoyed the run, and I want to keep jogging and get faster. Brian got off work a few hours early and we went to the park and had a BBQ with some friends. Yummy! And the best part was just having all three of us together (and awake) at the same time.
When it got dark we set off some fireworks with our friends Alex and Ligia. Bracken was a little frightened by all the noisy fireworks, but he liked the sparklers.

Jumper Fun

A couple of weeks ago Bracken discovered his hands and fingers. Now his two fingers are almost constantly in his mouth. He tries to get his whole fist in there and ends up getting frustrated when it won't fit. It's pretty funny.


Bracken loves his jumper. Notice the little toys. He gets so upset when the zebra falls on the floor and he will holler until we pick it up and give it back to him.

The first time he giggled was so exciting and rewarding. I find new ways to make him giggle every day. The funniest is when I'm taking his clothes off to get him ready for a bath. When I pull his shirt over his head he always breaks into a huge grin and then starts giggling away. His giggles are my new favorite part of being a mom.

Our Little Man