Happy Birthday Bradon!

Way back in the month of June the baby of our family turned 2. It seems like the more children you add to your family the faster time goes by. Wasn't it just a few days ago that I was holding him in my arms? Now he's always trying to squirm away.

We celebrated Bradon's birthday by having our first backyard celebration at our new home and invited family over. While we waited for everyone to arrive we let Bradon unwrap a present so that the kids could play with the new water snake in the backyard. It was a hit with Bradon since it's really low key. All the kids had a good time. We were especially lucky this year since cousins Grace and Mackenzie are living with grandma and grandpa this summer before moving to Indiana in a few weeks. Mackenzie shares Bradon's birthday so we're glad she had a good time too while visiting.

After getting everyone really wet it was time to settle down for presents and cake.

Bradon was quick to sample the food on hand.

And brother Tanner was quick to try and persuade him to pay a little more attention to the presents!

Bradon got all kinds of wonderful things from his grandmas and grandpas. It's pretty hard to figure out what to get a 2 year old who has two older brothers. We have a lot of toys so it's hard to be original and I was a little stumped this year as to what to get him.

I let Bradon choose a cake from Sam's Club and he chose a small one with a Cars design and several cupcakes.

Ethan didn't want Tanner to blow out Bradon's candles.

The cupcakes were delicious and left their mark.

Happy Birthday to you too Mackenzie!

Bradon has enjoyed his presents.

Bradon is a real joy and a wonderful addition to our family. He's usually a happy, even-tempered little boy. He just adores his older brothers and tries his very best to keep up with them. He can get around like a super-star on the Rip-Riders we bought (he doesn't peddle just uses his feet to push him along).

Bradon loves technology of all kinds. Perhaps he has called you on our telephone. If you're in our phonebook there's a good chance he's tried. We finally made a fake entry on our telephone directory called AAA so that he wouldn't call Allan and Kami all the time. He's a whiz at the computer and can navigate pretty well, sometimes into things that you don't want him to. He is a You-Tube junkie. Do you have something you'd like to watch on the internet? Call Bradon. He's up for anything. He's a master at the Wii. He can confidently navigate all of the Wii's menus and knows his way around Wii Resort Sports like nobody else. It did take him awhile to figure out bowling since you have to use the B button to bowl (located on the back of the remote), but he's figured that out now. He also knows when you need to press A & B together at the same time to get through certain menu choices. I'm very impressed whenever I watch him play.

Bradon hates naps. It's a rare occasion when I can get him to lay down for awhile in the afternoon. I've pretty much given up because it takes at least an hour to get him to go to sleep. He really only naps when he falls asleep in the car. He misses his brothers terribly when they're away at school. He likes to read, especially a few select favorites. Bradon also isn't terribly fond of nursery. He'll go, but he's not happy about it. He usually starts to cry when we pull into the church parking lot.

If there's one thing that Bradon still struggles with it's language development. I don't know if he can't get a word in edgewise or what, but he's pretty much just a babbler. He has a few things he says very clearly: mama, dad, more please, ball, go, and NO! He says more than that, but it's not very distinct. Lately he's been repeating things that Tanner says so we're hoping his language skills are about to take off.

We love you Bradon and our so glad you're a part of our family!