Braden's birthday

Braden is 1!!! I can't believe how fast this year has gone. He had such a good birthday. When we got up in the morning I said "Happy birthday Brades" and Dalin replied "Happy birthday, with fire?" He somehow remembered from Dan's birthday that when we say happy birthday that means we also get to blow out candles aka play with fire. So all day Dalin kept saying "get the fire". It was so funny. We went out to eat at Applebee's where Braden discovered my raspberry lemonade and thoroughly enjoyed it. When we brought him his candle on his cupcake, I taught him how to blow and he actually did it himself...after several tries because Dalin felt it his duty to blow out every candle I tried to light. Then I put the cupcake in front of him and he just looked at it. Most kids dig in, but Braden just looked. So after a while he finally stuck his fingers in the frosting and then got upset because it was on his fingers and he couldn't get it off, at which point I had to wash his hands. Then I let him taste a little bit off my finger and he finally understood this was really good. So very tentatively he stuck his fingers in again and then sucked it off, then he really got excited (which he usually does over food) and dug in. My little boys are growing up so fast! I have loved being a mother and we have fun every single day. Braden loves to go outside and go for walks, he likes to try new foods, he loves to play with Dalin and chase him, and he loves to give kisses. His favorite thing to play with is any kind of ball and whenever he spots one he says "ball" and hurries over to grab and throw it. He's always quick to smile and loves to cuddle. He's already very much attached to his blanket and will not go to sleep without it. He likes to pull it up over his head and rub it over his eyes when he's tired. He also really likes his bottle and I'm a little nervous to start weening him off of it. I couldn't imagine life without him and he makes life much more enjoyable. He can always make me laugh and loves to laugh himself. We love you Brades!!

A little nervous about the candle at first. Testing out this weird new food.

Sucking the frosting off his fingers.

Digging in.

Loving every minute of it.

What a cute mess.