Brayden is 14 months old today. It seems like his birthday was just yesterday, even though he's experienced and learned a lot since then. So here we go...
-He experienced his first fireworks show the night of his birthday party. He was even awake for all of it but the finale.
-We took a mom and tot swim class in July that he loved (except for the part we put them under).
-We joined the zoo. His favorite part has the be the gopher holes because one of us stays outside to wave at him.
-He's ridden on a 4-wheeler multiple times since his birthday at Adam's grandparent's ranch. It's exciting at first, but if the ride lasts too long he starts to get bored. He even fell asleep on the way back from one of the longer rides, even with all the bumps.
-He is trying to talk more, but it's definitely in his own language. :) Here is what he has said for sure: mama, dada, duck, jackson, and no go (luckily only one time). We think he's come close or at least tried to say: up, outside, outfit, and adam.
-He is climbing everywhere!
-He's doing so good at walking down the stairs outside of our condo. Twice now, he has even done it only holding on to the railing and not my hand (I'm sure that terrifies my parents, but I'm really careful with him).
-He is a total goofball. He definitely takes after his dad. One thing he does is purposely take really tiny steps because he knows it makes us laugh. It sounds dumb trying to explain- I need to get it on video. He also hates hats, but willingly wears these play ones I bought him (army, fireman and construction worker hats from the $ spot at Target) because he knows it makes me laugh.
-He did pretty well on the flights to and from Houston. He fell asleep both times so I actually did have time to read!
-He can identify the duck and the frog from the bath toys. He also is starting to play with himself more and more in the bath. Oh, the joys of being a mom of a boy (not).
-His favorite foods are bananas and graham crackers. We're really working on getting some more color in with smoothies, beans, etc.
Warning: This video depicts domestic violence, so I wouldn't watch it with kids around.
[Chorus - Rihanna:] Just gonna stand there and watch me burn But that's alright because I like the way it hurts Just gonna stand there and hear me cry But that's alright because I love the way you lie I love the way you lie
[Eminem] I can't tell you what it really is I can only tell you what it feels like And right now it's a steel knife in my windpipe I can't breathe but I still fight while I can fight As long as the wrong feels right it's like I'm in flight High off of love, drunk from my hate, It's like I'm huffing paint and I love it the more I suffer, I suffocate And right before I'm about to drown, she resuscitates me She fucking hates me and I love it. Wait! Where you going? "I'm leaving you" No you ain't. Come back we're running right back. Here we go again It's so insane cause when it's going good, it's going great I'm Superman with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane But when it's bad it's awful, I feel so ashamed I snapped Who's that dude? I don't even know his name I laid hands on her, I'll never stoop so low again I guess I don't know my own strength
[Chorus]
[Eminem] You ever love somebody so much you can barely breathe When you're with 'em You meet and neither one of you even know what hit 'em Got that warm fuzzy feeling Yeah, them those chills you used to get 'em Now you're getting fucking sick of looking at 'em You swore you'd never hit 'em; never do nothing to hurt 'em Now you're in each other's face spewing venom in your words when you spit them You push pull each other's hair, scratch claw hit 'em Throw 'em down pin 'em So lost in the moments when you're in them It's the rage that took over it controls you both So they say you're best to go your separate ways Guess if they don't know you 'cause today that was yesterday Yesterday is over, it's a different day Sound like broken records playing over but you promised her Next time you show restraint You don't get another chance Life is no Nintendo game But you lied again Now you get to watch her leave out the window Guess that's why they call it window pane
[Chorus]
[Eminem] Now I know we said things, did things that we didn't mean And we fall back into the same patterns, same routine But your temper's just as bad as mine is You're the same as me But when it comes to love you're just as blinded Baby, please come back It wasn't you, baby it was me Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano All I know is I love you too much to walk away though Come inside, pick up your bags off the sidewalk Don't you hear sincerity in my voice when I talk I told you this is my fault Look me in the eyeball Next time I'm pissed, I'll aim my fist at the drywall Next time. There won't be no next time I apologize even though I know its lies I'm tired of the games I just want her back I know I'm a liar If she ever tries to fucking leave again Im'a tie her to the bed and set this house on fire I'm just gonna
[Chorus]
I mentioned a few weeks ago in a post that I really liked this song. However, the more I hear it (and I hear it a lot on the radio), the more I wonder. I kept thinking about how troubling it is in so many ways and how it would have made a perfect topic for my Theories of Pop Culture final project.
First issue I have is that Rihanna was a part of this. Megan Fox was also in this, and that disappoints me as well but she hasn't been a victim of domestic violence as far as we know and she donated the money she made from the video to a shelter for abused women. Rihanna has been a very public victim. She was strong and left Chris Brown, but that scenario doesn't happen in this video. No, she's singing in front of the burning house mentioned at the end of the song.
Second, as I already mentioned, the video is very graphic. It worries me to think of how many young people have now seen this video on YouTube.
Third, what is the "message" of this song? It glorifies violence. They fight and passionately make up. She does not leave the relationship. The last words Eminem sings are about murder, which happens far too often to abused women. I'd like to know what Eminem's defense is to these complaints (a lot of other bloggers have also written about this).
My parents watched Brayden last week for us to go to a movie. I tried to put him down for a nap before they came, but it didn't happen. He was too excited playing with them that he finally crashed around 3:00-3:30 on the pillow in the front room. I definitely think of toddlers and preschoolers when I see pictures where kids have fallen asleep in random places.
-By the way, head here for some amazing pictures. She is so creative! I might just have to try some of her ideas if we have another baby.
Ashley suggested trimming Brayden's hair behind his ears before the pictures, so we did that on Saturday night. I'm starting to think I may not have been ready- those hairs were the only curly ones he did. I keep looking in the box I have the hair in wistfully, which I know is weird.
This picture shows the length the best. It started to curl a but after that picture. It's funny because it was only long behind his ear and goes up to the center.
He looks a little worried, almost like he has an idea what is in store for him.
He didn't know what was going on, but he sure hated it.
Ashley offered him a sucker and that made it all better.
I've got a game of catch-up to play since it's been a month since I wrote last. I'm going to start with the bad and get it out of the way so I can focus on the good.
The list- I know this is last month's news but I'm still sad about it. This is mostly because I read the comments on the articles on ksl.com and sltrib.com. My friend Stephanie wrote an amazing post about it here.
Gay marriage- I'm just sick of the hatred (this goes for the immigration debate too).
Bursitis- Evil, evil bursitis... I shouldn't complain too much, because the flare-ups only last 2-4 days but those days are hell. I could hardly hold Brayden, I couldn't sleep, and the pain was constant because no matter how I tried I couldn't immobilize my arm.
Lights- Or the lack of, I should say. Adam's started to re-do the lighting in our kitchen and it's taken awhile. He's still not done. Our original plan (or I should say mine, Adam knew it wouldn't work but attempted anyways because I wanted him to) didn't work. I think now we just need to agree on fixtures and it should be easy after that since he's done the prep work.
Brayden and I are heading to Texas in 10 days to visit the wonderful family I used to nanny for. I'm so excited to see "my twins" play with my boy.
The Millenium trilogy by Steig Larsson- A friend warned against them, but I decided to start it and see how I felt. Well, I got hooked. I will say it's not a series I would recommend to anyone. In fact, I might write a post complaining about something to do with the movie based on the 2nd book.
Brayden and I did a Mom and Tot swim class at our rec center. Twice a week for two weeks. Brayden loved it, except for the going under part. I'm so glad he likes the water so far. I just don't want him to be uncomfortable swimming like I was (and still somewhat am).
Adam's family reunion was on July 24th. We had a good time as usual, but the notable part is that we had Brayden in a really cute cowboy outfit and he got to go on his first ATV ride. (pictures to follow)
We finally joined the zoo. We've been a few times already. I'll post some pictures from when we took our neighbors Ashley and Bennett.
We got family pictures taken today by Ashley and I am in love! These top my wedding photos (they pretty much sucked) and the Target ones we've had done twice since he was born. I have no idea how I am going to decide which ones to print. And we will finally be putting pictures up on our walls!
I am loving some top 40 songs right now. This is a good thing because it's Adam's favorite type of music and not mine so we usually fight over what station to play. It's also good because these songs do have more of a beat than my usual alternative and Brayden loves dancing to them. The ones that get him dancing the most are "California Gurls" by Katy Perry and "Your Love is My Drug" by Kesha. They are very silly songs in my opinion, but they are catchy to Brayden. The ones I am enjoying are "Airplanes" by B.O.B, "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem, and "Halo" by Beyonce.
Until just now, I had no idea who he was. Now, however, I am in love with his designs. He is a Swedish architect/textile designer and here are some more images I found that I adore:
I love when Google does different designs with their logos, especially the ones that help me learn about more obscure people/historical events/etc.
