Braxton and Santa

Monday was the Steele Christmas party. Every year Santa comes and gives the kids one present. Braxton wasn't scared of Santa but I don't think he quite gets who santa is. So Braxton sat on Santas lap and got a present. We ripped the paper on his present a little bit so that he could see what was inside. As soon as he saw that it was a see and say he ripped the paper off so fast. He loves his "see and say" he hardly puts it down.




On Saturday we took Braxton to the mall to see santa. He seemed to like Santa a little more this time.

The Zoo

This week we decided to go to the zoo. Braxton is four months older since the last time we went and he was a lot more fun. This time he looked at the animals instead of the other kids there. We saw all the baby animals and they were all so cute. We took braxton on the train and the carousel. He didn't seem to interested on the train but he seemed to like the carousel. His favorite part about the zoo was that we let him run around.

 

Braxtons new trick

We finally open up the kitchen to Braxton and this is how he repays us.

Halloween

Halloween this year was really fun. We had a pretty relaxing morning and then in the afternoon Braxton and I went to visit Ryan and his work. After that we headed to Maceys to get some things we would need later. Paul Millsap from the Utah Jazz was there meeting people so Maceys was INSANE. Then we went to my moms house to visit. I decided since we were there we should trick or treat at their house. When Braxton saw the candy basket he threw his bucket on the ground, grabbed the basket and ran. It was really funny. We then went to Ray and Dana's for dinner. After dinner Grandma Walker took us trick or treating around her neighborhood. Braxton loved it. At every house he tried to go inside and get their candy baskets. Thanks Grandma for taking us we had a lot of fun. At 6 we picked Ryan up from work and headed to Nephi. We had dinner and played Bingo. I won pickles playing bingo! Every year for Christmas I give Ashley pickles so she decided to give me some. Braxton ate so much candy by the end of the night he was so hyper.

 

Our little Turtle

Braxton is going to be squirt from finding nemo for halloween this year. I have tried on numerous occasions to get some cute pictures of him. He is a very busy boy and doesn't have time to hold still. So these are the best I could do. I think he makes a pretty cute turtle. I am way excited for Halloween this year. He is old enough I can take him trick or treating. He learned how to put candy in his bucket and he thinks it the best thing ever. For those of you who know braxton know how much he LOVES candy and chocolate so this is his kind of Holiday.

Carving Pumpkins

This year Ryan and I carved pumpkins with Ashley and Jordan. We carved them at my moms house so that she could watch Braxton. However, she had to go to Nephi for a doctors appointment and didn't make it back until we were half way done. So we put Braxton in his high chair and he watched cartoons.




Here is the finished pumpkins. Braxton's in on the left, Ryan's in the middle, and mine on the end. Don't mind my pumpkin it was suppose to be a monster but I used a paper stencil and apparently I did it wrong so it didn't work.

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Ryan is the employee of the month! He gets his own parking spot, a gift card to cinemark, and a plaque. Way to go Ryan!

Braxton's Tantrum over a marshmallow

Braxton is going through a phase where he throws tantrums over EVERYTHING. Well today was his worst tantrum yet. In our house we have the kitchen blocked off with a gate so that he cant go in there and play with the dog food and water. When Braxton wakes up usually he will go to the gate and make his little noise that means he wants to go into the kitchen for breakfast. So this morning he starts crying and screaming and jumping up and down because he wanted to go into the kitchen. So I put him into his highchair and made him some breakfast. He is still screaming and crying and choking. He can't talk at all yet so he points to things. He kept pointing to something on the dishwasher. I just figured he wanted to get out and play in the kitchen. I let him play in the kitchen but he was still crying and pointing to something. I took him into the front room hoping he would calm down. The screaming and crying got louder and louder and he was choking even more. He was screaming so loud I have never heard a child scream that loud. So I decided that I would take him into the kitchen again. He ran over by the dishwasher and was pointing up. I picked him up and he pointed to the bag of marshmallows. I gave him to see if that was the problem and it was. He was so good and happy after I gave him the marshmallow. I couldn't believe it I was so annoyed. I really wish Braxton could talk it would really help.

Braxton's Tantrum

Squaw Peak

Today Ryan wanted to go and find some snow. So we headed up to Squaw Peak to see if we could find some. Also, we decided that since we will be up by some pretty leaves we would take some pictures of Braxton in his Halloween costume. It was a cold but beautiful day up there. Once we got out of the car Braxton saw a big puddle and wanted to throw rocks into it. It was a big mistake to let him because then that was all he wanted to do. We tried to pull him away and take pictures but he was tired. We decided to skip nap time and he was super ornery. I was disappointed that we didn't get any good pictures but at least we were able to find snow for Ryan.

Braxton's glazed donut

Today while at the store we were walking past the donuts and Braxton started freaking out. He really wanted a donut. He had been really good all day so we decided he could have one. When we got home I gave it to him and he loved it. Surprisingly he couldnt finish the whole donut which is good because he had dropped it on the carpet and it was covered in hair. Luckily it didn't give him a sugar high and he went straight to bed.

Family Pictures

A little over a month ago Ryan's family had family pictures taken. Janae Campbell was the photographer and she did a really good job. However, I was really disappointed with how our individual family pictures turned out. My eyes were closed in EVERY SINGLE ONE! I decided that I would have my mom take some pictures for me. It was also a great time to get an updated picture of the entire family. I was so excited with how they turned out. We were able to get some really cute ones and my eyes were open in a lot of them. Jordan was there and we had him be in the pictures with us (just in case they get married). Thanks Mom and Ashley you did an amazing job!

Grandpa Walker

For the past year and a half we have been living in front of Grandpa Walker. We are living in his house and he lives in a little house behind us. He is letting us live here and in return we take him to church on Sundays and feed him dinner on Wednesdays. It has been a blessing to live here. Grandpa is 93 and until recently has been in good health and has been able to live by himself. Grandpa has been fainting a lot and his health is declining. The family has decided that grandpa is not well enough to live by himself anymore. So he moved in with his son Weber. Ryan and I are still able to live in his house. We are deeply saddened that Grandpa doesn't live here anymore. It is like a piece of our family is missing. We will miss him greatly and hopefully we will be able to go visit him often.

Pirate Island Pizza

Last night we went to Pirate Island Pizza to celebrate Ashley, Jordan, and my mom's birthdays. Ashleys birthday is on Sept 6, Jordan's is on the 10th and my mom's is on the 13th. It was a lot of fun. They have an arcade and a place for little kids to play. Braxton didn't have much fun though because he has a cold. We had a really good time as a family!

This is Ryan. these videos are part of a series of videos putting news to music. They are very funny. I am posting my favorite ones. Make sure you watch them because I will probably ask you about it. You know who you are.

Some things Braxton likes

We have been a very boring family recently so I haven't had anything to blog about. So I decided I would share with you some of the things Braxton likes.
He likes to look at the fish.

He sometimes likes his cowboy hat. (thanks grandma and grandpa F.)
He LOVES to read.
He likes being silly.

He likes to talk on the phone. This picture is of Braxton talking to my mom on the phone. He got REALLY UPSET when I took the phone away.

He likes to climb He likes to play at the park

He likes playing the piano at grandma walker's

He likes to play in water (especially the dog water at grandma Fordhams).

BATH TIME WITH ZOEY!

I have always wondered what Zoey would do if I put her in the bathtub with Braxton. I decided today to try it. Zoey stood there for about 15 seconds and the jumped out. As soon as she jumped out braxton stood up and started clapping his hands. Then he started laughing really hard. It was really funny and totally worth the puddle of water I had to clean up.

WENDOVER

For our 5 year wedding anniversary, we left Braxton with my mom and sister and went to Wendover. Neither of us had ever been there before and we had a lot of fun. We played pool, darts, and arcades games most of the time. Ryan and I have never gambled before and we thought since we were in wendover we might as well give it a try. We each got a dollar and went to the nickel slots. I was pretty excited I tripled my dollar but decided I didn't want 57 nickels so we gambled until all our change was gone. It was very refreshing to get a break from being a mom for one night. It helped me come back a better mom and wife. It is hard to believe I have been married for 5 years! It is so CRAZY to me. I love Ryan so much and I am grateful everyday that I get to spend eternity with him. I LOVE YOU RYAN! YOU ARE A GREAT FATHER AND HUSBAND!