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.

10 months

Happy 10 months!!!!  We spent the afternoon with the Kweiser family having an early Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Teddie's house.  Then we spent the evening with the Vonderheide family having dinner at Aunt Kim's house.  Brandon got to wear his new shoes today but they really impede his ability to walk so they didn't stay on for long.

Brandon wasn't much into the swing as a baby but now he likes to play with the buttons and toys on it.

Visiting Grandpa

We spent the weekend at Grandpa's house, hanging out by the fire thanks to the endless rain and cold weather.  Brandon was quick to find his favorite toy, the remote, and had lots of fun exploring Grandpa's house.  Jake and Lilly love running around in the pine trees, too bad Jake is not the best traveling dog.  We were all traveling in comfort in the new (used) Yukon.  I see more trips in our future.

Brandon and Grandpa reading before bed. 

We spent a lot of time by the fire this weekend, the temperature never got above the low 30's!  I was surprised with how little interest Brandon had in the fire.  We miss you already Grandpa!!!! 

My little helper

Kevin installed the cabinet locks awhile ago but we left one cabinet unlocked for Brandon.  He loves to open the cabinet door and pull out all the pans.  He loves to open and close the the doors in the house.

Mommy, can you see me?  His favorite kitchen item is a long handled ladle. 

First steps

We are so excited, Brandon took his first steps this morning before work!!!!  Twice this morning he took
three or four steps all by himself before deciding that crawling would be easier.  I think he may be on his way to walking....maybe by Thanksgiving.
Brandon took more steps this evening....he took ~10 steps toward the front door with Grandma Thomas watching!!!  I'm not too sure how easy it will be to get this on video.....

Happy Halloween

We decided the poor plant has lost enough leaves to Brandon's curious hands, so up went the baby gate.  Isn't our little "curious george" soooo cute???

Kevin carved our pumpkin to resemble Brandon's smile.....this is exactly how his teeth are coming in!

Brandon had fun as a monkey this halloween.  He watched some of the world series with Kevin and I passed out candy with our neighbor (Brandon's daycare provider), Catherine.  Next year we are hoping to make the rounds in the neighborhood.

Growing big and tall

Brandon weighed in for his 9-month check up at 23 pounds, 12 ounces and was 31 inches tall (although his legs were not completely stretched, so we think he is closer to 32 inches tall).  He dropped down to the 85%ile for weight but is staying in the 95%ile for height and head circumference.  We are officially wearing 18-month size clothes since he has outgrown the length of the 12 months outfits. 
He received his booster flu shot like a champ and did not even seem to feel his big toe being pricked for the anemia check (which he was not anemic). 

9 months

Brandon still loves his monkey....and he is big enough now to drag it around. 

This is about as good as it gets for us trying to get Brandon to sit next to his monkey for a picture!!!

Splashing around

We have officially graduated to the big bath tub!!!!  Brandon loves to splash around.

Like my new hair-do??  Soon we'll need a haircut.

Brandon loves the spout cover, he just sstands there and opens/closes the lid. 

Madera Canyon hike

It was a beautiful day for a hike in Madera Canyon with Brandon, Kevin, Grandma Payne, Aunt Gail, Uncle Brian, and cousins Easton and Taylor.   We saw turkey, deer, skunk, squirrel, and a few dogs along the way!!!

Uncle Brian and cousin Taylor having a snack.

Cousin Easton had tons of energy and was so excited to see two skunks get into a fight!!!! 

Kevin's Aunt Gail is visiting from Alaska.  We can't wait to see you again at Christmas

Pumpkins in Willcox

Just waiting for the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. It was a very windy day, not so great for being outdoors.

Kevin and I have been coming to Apple Annie's pumpkin patch since 2003 (when we started dating). Technically this was Brandon's 2nd trip to the patch, last year we came when I was pregnant!

Our pumpkin was just a bit smaller than this one. We can't wait for next year when Brandon will want a little pumpkin of his own. Next year we are hoping the entire Payne family will be able to go with us!!!

Bonding with the dogs

Lilly is so patient with Brandon, sometimes she acts like such a little mommy.

When Brandon wants something, he just goes for it, no matter what might be in the way!!!

Brandon loves to spend time with Jake and Lilly....

Cuddle bug

Favorite activities

Here he is entertaining himself, since he can't reach anything on the end table (and he really tries, getting on his tip-toes and reaching as far as he can). He's had fun over the past week with Kevin and I since his daycare provider was out sick. Hopefully he'll transition back to her routine with minimal fuss. It's been so much fun just spending our days together. I can't believe he'll be 9 months old in a couple weeks! I can't wait to see how much he weighs and how tall he is. Hopefully his monkey costume I bought him will fit by the end of the month!!!

Brandon has been enjoying our walks, now that the weather is cooling off. Jake is doing much better since he started taking medication for his valley fever.

Reading my book

We have a favorite book to read (and chew on).

Watching the world go by

We still like to sit in the front room and look outside. Lilly and Brandon are usually putting nose marks on the window for me to clean off.

Brandon is feeling much better these days. He has been quite the talker and is figuring out how to squeal with delight or just to make noise. We think he has been saying dada and mama appropriately but it may be too soon to really tell.

Playing with mommy

Brandon has finally figured out how to sit and now gets into the sitting position often. Which I thought was weird, since he has been "cruising" along the furniture for a couple months.

Sticking out his tongue and spitting on us (and the sliding glass door) is a new favorite.

Aren't those cheeks so kissable??? I often watch him just study his toys (before they make it to his mouth).

Tricks of the week

Brandon is learning more tricks and keeping us as busy as ever. He has discovered he can open the cabinets, which has prompted Kevin to install the cabinet locks! He now will stand alone momentarily and has started waving bye-bye. Kevin and I have decided that Brandon is going to be a climber....and of course at this age he is fearless!
I think he is finally feeling better, his appetite has returned and boy can he eat! He is now wearing 12-month size clothes!!!! I have had to start investing in 18-month size clothes.....mostly for the length.
Still waiting for the third tooth to completely break through the gums!