Happy Halloween!!

We had a fabulous halloween!! We went back and forth on what to do as a family for weeks prior to the holiday. To observe or not to observe? Neither one of us observed halloween growing up, but we felt like this was a decision we needed to make for ourselves. What can I say...I love any excuse to dress up. After much time discussing and praying about what we should do as a family, we decided that it was ok and dare we say....fun to observe the creepy and fun aspects of halloween, but we will not observe the evil aspects of the day.

That brings up the question, What is the difference between creepy and evil? Are spider webs and monsters evil? No. They are scary and creepy. Who doesn't love a good creepy movie that makes you scream or a good scare? Are witches, ghosts and vampires evil? In our opinion, yes. There are specific Bible verses that warn against such things and therefore we will stay away from them.

Obviously, this is a decision that every family needs to make for themselves. We completely understand why some choose to avoid the day altogether, but for us, we have decided to make it a fun day for dressing up, eating candy and carving pumpkins.

So with that as a disclaimer....here are pictures from our evening. We had a couple of friends over for chili, candy-handing-out/eating, costuming, and jack-o-lantern carving. I was a gypsy, Justin was Frankenstein (yes, I did his makeup...yay for being a music theater major!), and Braxton was a lion. He was so cute! He's been grunting and "growling" so much lately that it was the perfect costume for him!

Speaking of creepy things...aren't we a creepy bunch of siblings? lol! At least in this picture we give a very good imitation of being fully insane. Featured we have GI Joe, gypsy, and hippie. Anyone find it interesting that mine and Lisa's entire costumes (minus my jewelry and scarf) came from Lisa's closet? I told you she has a weird collection of clothes!
I will say this. I was shocked at how many children do not say thank you when you give them handfuls of candy. Should we ever decide to take Braxton trick or treating (still haven't made that decision), we will definitely be practicing the gratitude aspect!

Brandon needed no costume to be scary.

Pumpkin carving contest!

Team Richard/Anna/BabyBrown's Pumpkin

Team Justin/Laura's Pumpkin. I was so excited to carve a pumpkin!

The completed works. Ours is on the far left. The winner was Team James/Kara/Mark on the far right (pirate pumpkin)

Long Time No Post!

My goodness it has been a long time since I've posted anything!! We have good reason though. I've been insanely busy dancing, running lines, brainstorming, and sword fighting with Robin Hood. Next week CYT opens its first production of Robin Hood. I'm choreographing the show which means lots of rehearsals for me, and not much time for blogging. Occasionally Braxton gets to tag along with me to rehearsal and watch all the action. I'm pretty sure his first words are going to be "Hi Ho!" :-) Here we are teaching a sword fight/dance for the song High Adventure. In case you can't tell, Braxton is fast asleep. I'm always amazed at how soundly he can sleep while I bounce all over the place.


On top of all of the craziness of rehearsals, I've also been dealing with several health issues. About 12 weeks post partum I started experiencing Post Partum Anxiety which gradually got worse as the weeks went on. It has definitely been a struggle I never expected to face, but God is good and I have a wonderful support system in my husband and mom/family, incredible friends and my Friday morning Bible study gals who have come to sit with me on my bad days, hugged me when I was falling apart, and taken care of Braxton when I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore. The greatest blessing throughout my difficult postpartum journey has been a renewed belief in how great God's faithfulness is to those who trust him. Sometimes we get going so fast we feel like we can do it on our own if we just have enough caffeine. But as a sweet friend from my Young Mom's friday morning Bible study reminded me, there are times in life when we have to be carried by God and those around us. I am so thankful to the Lord for faithfully carrying me through this time of anxiety and to my husband, family members and friends who have carried emotionally as well!

Justin is keeping busy working at LSI and recovering from a nasty cold that took each of us down week by week. He is also doing some part time work for our neighbor who is building a house. He's loving the time outside and getting to do something other than sit in an office. While I'm at rehearsal, he usually gets to spend some quality time with Braxton. If only Braxton would consider it quality time. Braxton is currently quite the mama and grandma's boy and will only be good for me, my mom or Oma. He usually plays nicely with Justin for about 30 minutes and then realizes I'm gone and goes nuts! Poor guy. I keep telling Justin this is just a phase. Soon all he's going to want to do is be with daddy and won't want to be with "boring old mommy" at all. :-)

Braxton is doing beautifully. Growing so fast and getting huge. :-) At his last dr. appointment he weighed 17.6 lbs!! He is well into the 90% percentile for both height and weight. His temperament is still fairly laid back and he has started laughing and learning how to sit up. We are so blessed!!

Here are a couple of pictures of our sweet boy!

This is my favorite picture ever!

Every Day is Bath Day!

So all the baby books say to only bathe your baby 2-3 times a week, or "as needed." Well, he's just so stinkin' cute during and after his bathtimes I have deemed it "necessary" every single day! Check out the pictures and I'm sure you'll agree with me! :-)

All wrapped up in his favorite bath towel! We've tried a couple different styles and materials of bath towels, but this is the winner! Thanks to his Great-Great Aunt Joyce for making this one especially for him!!

Who could resist this face?

Update

Just a quick update on Braxton's current relationship with his swing......





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HE STILL LOVES IT!!!!!!!
HALLELUJAH!

FINALLY!!!!

Braxton had a horrible tummy ache this morning and after gas drops, holding him on his belly, rocking him, listening to him "whine" (I call whining the grunting, groaning and squirming he gets when he's uncomfortable) for a couple of hours, I put him in the swing because I had to get some important projects done by their 3:00 deadline! To my utter shock and disbelief, he quieted right down! We turned on the music and he even got sweet and pleasant before he fell asleep!

Now, I feel it is important to explain the cause of my utter shock and disbelief. :-) For the past 2.5 months anytime we put him in the swing...no anytime we even took him anywhere near the swing he would start screaming bloody murder. We had no idea why! All I do know is that today, the swing gave me an hour and a half of peaceful bliss!

I took this video for Braxton's Grandma Bergen, so she could see that he did enjoy his swing! (sorry if anyone gets seasick watching it. I didn't realize that my zooming in and the swing motion would create that effect!)

Look how peaceful he is! I still can't believe he actually went to sleep in it! Wow! I hope this new love of the swing sticks around!

10 Weeks Old!

Look how well he's holding himself up!

Happy Boy!

A boy and his bear (affectionately referred to as Mr. Cuddles)

Hurray for neck strength!

Reflections

Braxton discovered his reflection in the mirror and has been endlessly entertained with his "new" friend.

"You look familiar...have I seen you before?"

Here is video of his fascination (check out the "Buddha" belly)

A New Buddy

My friend, Katie had her little boy, Christopher in late July. Braxton and I had been anxiously awaiting his arrival and I'm sure as the boys grow up they will be great buddies!

This is one of their first pictures together. Braxton is only about 8 weeks older than Christopher but it's amazing to see how much he has changed since he was born. I don't notice it as much on a day-by-day basis!

We already had a few behavior issues. First Braxton stuck out his tongue and said "I'm the cutest!"

Then Christopher stuck out his tongue and said "no I'M the cutest!"

Relax boys. You're both completely adorable...albeit a bit sleepy, Christopher! :-)

Talking already??

This is his latest accomplishment. He's babbling up a storm. I absolutely love it! We have all kinds of conversations about things I know nothing about. But it's adorable! :-) Please excuse his little toot at the end of the video. We're still working on manners. :-)

Happy Happy Boy!

Here is video from when I was taking his 2-month picture. Look at how happy he is! Leave a comment if it doesn't work and I'll post the youtube link for the video!

Week by week...

Well. I have a LOT of catching up to do on posting pictures! Sorry for the month hiatus I took from posting. It's been a very very busy month! But I'm determined to stay on top of posting this month since I know for many of you, this is your link to Braxton's life! In the posts below you will find a lot of pictures about our July activities! Enjoy!

6 weeks old and loving his pacifier! (or as we call it "silicone magic")

7 Weeks old and still in his jammies!

"But I love my jammies, mommy!" (this was the week he started really smiling!)

8 Weeks old. I don't have a documentary picture from this week because we were gone all week at the Christian Youth Theater summer camp. I choreographed the show (along with my amazing friend, Ivy who actually taught the kids the dances...brave soul!) and was the leader of Our Gang (the little little kids program). Somehow after taking care of 32 5-7 year olds every day I was too exhausted to remember to take a picture of my own baby during this week!

But here he is on spirit day with me, wearing our team color (blue...just in case you missed that ;-)) in the only form I could find once I remembered it was spirit day! :-) So he looks like a miniature biker...don't judge...I was running on very little sleep and no caffeine! :-)

2 months old and showing off the big Braxton smile we're growing very accustomed to! I love him so much!!

He loves his daddy!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Justin and Braxton from the last month!

Dressed appropriately and all ready to go! This "daddy's helper" was on his way to Grandma and Grandpa Bergen's to "help" chop down a tree!

"Mommy said I couldn't ride on it, so I just have to sit here and look like I'm having fun. How many more years before I can get one, dad?"

This is their new favorite game. Sledding. Braxton lays on the piece of cardboard and Justin pulls him around the house. The baby book says it "helps them strengthen their neck muscles and gets the baby ready for forward motion." Whatever. We just found it to be cheap amusement! :-)

"Crawling is going to be so cool!"

Before I Became a Mom...

Before I became a mom I had long hair
(At Justin's cousin, Melissa's wedding in Meade. July)

Now I have short hair that is spit up and drool free most of the time! :-)
(At Christian Youth Theater summer camp last week)

Before I became a mom I never had to plan chores around naptime. Or do chores around another human being! (I can't wait for the day when he folds the laundry while I take a nap :-))

Before I became a mom, I gave cute outfits or blankets as shower gifts. Now, thousands of diapers into my journey of motherhood, I only give diapers. But at least I dress them up nicely. :-) This is a diaper cake I made for my friend's mom who is having a little girl. It's not as creative as the one Myra and the girls made me, but it was the most I could do in the time I had! :-)

The front of the cake

Getting stronger!!

Check out his neck strength! Won't be long before he can hold his head up all the time! No more bobble head impressions!

Funny Faces

Our little boy is so animated! It seems like every time we turn around he has a new face, new sound or something to make us laugh! :-) Here are a few highlights from the last month!

"Ooops! Busted!"
By the way, check out the fat rolls where his wrists used to be! :-)

Bathtime is his favorite time of the day!
I couldn't get a good picture of the huge smiles we get when he hits the warm water!

Showing off his fat rolls...uhh...I mean, muscles! ;-)

This one's for Uncle Stephen in honor of Night at the Museum 2. "Firepower!!!"

But no matter how old he gets, this will always be my favorite facial expression picture! :-)
1 day old and he already had a little stinker attitude!