2 Years + 3 Months

Remember when Braxton turned two? And remember when I used to be an avid blogger and document important happenings with our family? Well, that ship has sailed. Now I do quarterly blog posts (if that). It's all I can manage while working full time and playing mama the rest of the time. Maybe when I am staying at home again I will get back into it. 

Anyway, Braxton is well in to his third year of life. Despite what everyone says about the terrible twos, Kyle and I really LOVE this age. Braxton is such a relaxed and easy going child. He does have days like this on occasion, though. 

 I was a mean mama and put him in timeout. But seriously, sometimes two year olds are bipolar. They have crazy emotions that (almost) put PMS to shame.

 This kid is such a ham. I can get the cheesiest pictures of him. He loves to copy cat my faces when we take pictures.

 Braxton is really in to wearing other peoples glasses. He thinks they are awesome. We got him a pair of blue sunglasses for his birthday, and he loves them!

 Afternoon church is hard. If Braxton doesn't crash in sacrament meeting, he sure is out quickly on the way home. Unfortunately, a 2pm nap means about 9:30/10:00 bedtime.

 Two phones at the same time. Buying and selling, gotta keep busy!

 Braxton's favorite thing about bath time is blow drying his hair when he gets out. He likes it when it stands up like this. 

 We went shopping at Target and Braxton was obsessed with this pair of blue Mary Janes. He was so funny about them. He did NOT want to take them off, so he rode around the store like this. The only reason we were able to pull this off is because Daddy wasn't there to stop us. ;)

 Dinner with Olivia and Topher. Braxton's big smile fits right in with them. 

 This kid loves to draw. All the time. We draw a couple times a day. He set up his own coloring station at Grandma's house.

 Nakey man livin' life on the wild side!

 E.T. found home!

 One of our favorite dates is .25 ice cream cones at Super 1. Braxton understands when he gets a quarter that we are going to get ice cream. And he will gladly hand over his quarter to the deli lady when she hands him his cone. Those pictures (above) are faces of pure joy!

 Braxton also got a slide from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday. Unfortunately, he fell off of it one time and no longer plays on it. We really have to encourage him to play on it (meaning I have to "slide" down it first. Kyle thinks it's hilarious to watch).

Stealing Janessa's shoes.

 Couldn't help it. Had to post this one. Baby buns are the best!

 Braxton has a major attachment to Pooh Bear. He first started playing with Janessa's old bear, but when we realized that there was no way he was going to part ways with Pooh when we move, we went ahead and bought him his own. Here he is watching Pooh with Pooh.

 Braxton has reached the age where shopping of any kind is no longer enjoyable. He has officially mastered the skill of hiding in clothing racks. Well done, my son.

 Rocking his boots before church. Love this picture (and the boy in it) so much. 

 The worst week of Braxton's life was the week that Papa was out of town. This kid is best buds with his Papa. Luckily, Papa earned forgiveness with a long tractor ride.

 So, I am a terrible person and took a picture during church. It was absolutely necessary though. Braxton fell asleep on my dad with the horns of his moose in his mouth. Notice his bare feet too. Definitely my son.

Longboarding with Daddy. Braxton loves playing outside. He always wants to try to do anything the big kids are playing. Basketball, bikes, boarding, etc.

Brax has really grown up a ton since he turned two. Right after his birthday, he had a major language explosion and added about 30 words to his vocabulary. Now, three months later, he has well over 100 words. Anything that is little he calls 'baby' and everything big he says 'woah! Pretty good for a kid that had maybe 6 words up until his birthday. He also knows his colors (although he won't say red, orange, or brown, he recognizes them), and knows a lot of his ABC's. He recognizes them in printing and knows the names of some letters. His favorites are B and O. He will even draw a circle and point and say O. He is really good at puzzles. His alphabet puzzle has really helped him learn a lot. He is still really in to tractors, cars, and deer. His favorite store is Cabela's and he goes absolutely CRAZY when we drive by the CAT store. He hates bugs! He will scream like a girl and start crying if a bug surprises him. I about peed myself today when an ant crawled onto his paper while he was coloring. His reaction was absolutely priceless! 

One last thing, Braxton has recently started telling me stories when we are snuggling in his rocking chair at night. It usually goes like this. 

Dadda Boom Boom. 

Mama Boom Boom. 

Baby Boom Boom. 

*chewing noises*

Wata!

*slurping, drinking noise*

Uh oh! 

*Gun noise*

Baby Boom Boom. 

Waaa!

Buh Bye.

Translation: There was a Daddy, Mommy, and Baby Deer. They were hungry and ate some grass. Then they had a drink of water. They heard a gunshot and the baby was scared and started to cry. Then they ran away. The End. 

Sorry for the novel and the awful iPhone pictures. Hopefully someday I will find the camera so we can take some decent pictures.