Brayden is Back in the Pool!

We had Brayden in swim lessons for about 9 months, but as the holidays started to approach we decided to take a little break because things get a little chaotic around that time. We knew we wanted him back in the pool, but we wanted to see if he'd miss it - if it was something he longed for. About two weeks into our 'break' we drove in the vicinity of our swim school and Brayden begged to go swimming. It was at that moment that I knew he needed to be back in the water. So fast-forward a few months, my Mom asked what Brayden wanted for his birthday and I said, swim lessons! So much to our delight, he got his swim lessons back.

In the 9 months of our lessons we did Mommy & Me lessons which were great. I was able to help him, learn the skills, but he also had time with our lovely instructor, Michelle.  However, getting both of us changed, in/out of the pool, showered and changed again was literally taking longer than the lessons themselves. I had also noticed Brayden was doing better with Michelle than he would with me, so we decided to switch him over to semi-private lessons. (Which he's required to do now that he's 3, but I thought it would be a win-win for us)

For the last few days we've been talking to Brayden about going back to swim and how Mommy wasn't  going to be swimming with him - which he was pumped about. Haha!! Thanks for the love, sweet boy! However he kept saying how he didn't want water in his ears, so I was getting concerned and wasn't sure how today would go. Well...much to my surprise Brayden blew my and Michelle's socks off!! He jumped in the pool and looked like he didn't miss a beat!! I was so proud of how well he listened, he pushed himself even when he was getting tired and most importantly he didn't stop smiling! He was so happy to be back in that water. And after one class - he'll be ready to move up to level 2. Whoop-whoop!

Here are some pictures of our first day, back at the pool!!

He has ZERO fear of the water.

Abbigayle's First Holy Communion

In addition to Brayden getting older, my sweet Abbigayle Grace is getting older too!  Not possible.  And this last weekend Brayden and I drove down to Farmington, NM and witnessed her receive her first holy communion.  What a beautiful, joyous occasion it was!  

Congratulations Abbi, we're so proud of you and we love you so much.  

Happy 3rd Birthday, Brayden!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas even though I failed to post one picture - holidays really do get better and better now that Brayden really is starting to get the gist of what's going on.  

And now it's April and our baby is officially a 3 year old.  Waahhh!  I don't even know how that is possible.  Our sweet boy is bigger, stronger, smarter, braver and feistier than ever.  He loves to play with his construction trucks, firetrucks and garbage trucks - pretty much anything that has wheels.  If he could live outside, I'm pretty sure that he would.  He can say his ABC's and count to 10 consistently.  We're still working on his colors, loves to read books, but also loves to watch Paw Patrol, Team Umizoomi and Little Einsteins.  He loves going to Playschool on Thursday's and he has really gotten the hang of taking direction from others, which is great, because starting in late August he'll be starting preschool for 2-half days.  (My Mommy heart cannot take it!!)  Brayden adores Bella, to the point that he drives her crazy sometimes.  He enjoys riding his scooter and bike and now for his birthday he got a sweet ride so he enjoys that as well.  We just love our little man so much and have enjoyed every second of watching him grown up - now only if it'll slow down!!  

With that being said, here's a photo dump of his 3rd birthday party.  CAUTION - CONSTRUCTION ZONE AHEAD!  

We had such a great time and we are blessed beyond measure with such great family and friends that love our sweet boy.  So thank you to everyone for helping us make Brayden's day so special!!  :)