Little elephant head hike

Another great day for a hike in Arizona. We hiked Little elephant head today. Brandon and Taylor did well in the hiking packs and Easton was a trooper on foot. After hiking we all went back to Anne's house (Kevin's Grandma) for lunch and to celebrate Brian and Anne's birthday with cake and ice cream.

Vonderheide Christmas

Grandpa and Brandon hanging out in Grams backyard before the Vonderheide get together.

All of the kids (Chloe, Sarah, Ally, Ethan, and Brandon) before the gifts were opened.


Brandon really liked the wrapping paper and bows.

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas day with Kevin's family at Grandma Payne's house. Brandon had lots of fun visiting with everybody but took a special liking to Aunt Gail (visiting from Alaska). Brandon even kept himself occupied (in Grandma Payne's kitchen cabinets) while we played a game of Shanghai.

Christmas Eve fun

We spent the evening at home with my Mom and Bill. Kevin and I made our first turkey dinner and it turned out pretty good. Brandon had fun opening his gifts and just about went crazy over his new monkey pillow from Grandma Thomas.

Happy Birthday Kevin

December is quite the busy month with all the Payne family brithday's, the holidays, and of course the hunting!!!! Kevin did well the first weekend of their hunt, "he killed a monster" as he put it. Bad for "bambi" but good for my freezer.
Kevin was able to snap a few pictures of Brandon in front of the tree....I can't believe he never turned around to realize the baby gate was down and he actually had access to the tree.

Rick Engineering Holiday Party

The holiday party was at Ventana Canyon again this year. They have such beautiful views of the city at night. Thanks to Grandma Thomas for watching Brandon and giving us a few hours out on the town. It's funny how I often feel I am missing something when Brandon (and the diaper bag) are not with me.
Thanks to Grandma Payne for watching Brandon the next night while Kevin was hunting and I was at another party. He absolutely loves spending time with the Grandma's.

More tricks

Brandon learned to clap his hands this weekend and he spent a good part of today walking around the house just clapping his hands randomly. I caught it on video but will have to post the video tomorrow. He's so darn cute.
He also loves to play with the new radio flyer wagon from Aunt Sharon. Thanks Aunt Sharon.

Things to remember

These are some cute things that Brandon does that I don't want to forget (thanks for the idea Aleyna):
1. The alligator roll (Brandon does the alligator death roll during diaper changes
and during some outfit changes)
2. Going "boneless"
3. Blowing in and out when he gets excited
4. Bouncing while standing in his crib
5. Giggling with delight
6. Pounding on the back door when one of us is outside/looking out the front window
when company comes over
7. Talking to his monkey (on the wall by the changing table)
8. His double chin (really round face) when he is looking down and concentrating
9. Sleeping like a stink bug, in the corner of his crib

More to come as I think of them!

Brandon seems tp have more teeth breaking through, 4 more to be exact over the past 1-2 weeks. No molars that I can see/feel but he is still chewing on things, especially his fingers. We think he said "dog" the other night when he and Kevin were playing with Lily.

Walking

I've finally remembered to post the video of Brandon walking on his own. The video is from mid-November, just before he turned 10 months. Over the past two weeks since then, Brandon has prefected the art of walking and now spends most of his time walking around the house, usually carrying an item in his hand.....oh the joy of mastering a new challenge.