Thankful for the little things...

This post is in celebration of what are "little things" to most families who have a baby making small milestones, they would soon be overlooked and forgotten as the baby moves on quickly to other new and exciting things. But in our house, it's the little things that we celebrate like we would a birthday or winning a race, and evoke such strong emotions that it's hard to put into words. So I will do my best to share with you some of the exciting things we have been blessed to witness in our house over the past few weeks...
1. Remember a year ago when we first introduced Braden to the ocean and a swimming pool? He was not much of an eager participant, to say the least. Well two weeks ago I took Braden into the bathtub with me - and he was so very relaxed. He was so comfortable and enjoying me holding his head while he was floating that HE FELL ASLEEP!! Not only was he sleeping while floating, HE WAS SNORING!!! It was so HILARIOUS!!!
2. Braden is learning how to throw a real toddler fit these days. He is starting to arch his back in protest to whatever activity he is not thrilled with at the moment. We actually have to strap him into chairs, strollers, swings, etc. for the very first time since he was born. When we suction him and he does not want it, he will also bite down and close his jaw so we can't get in! While most parents would be upset over such behavior, we RELISH that Braden is COMMUNICATING his dissatisfaction with the current activity.
3. Similar to the above behavior, Braden for the very first time, began rolling back and forth the other day, WITH PURPOSE. He is able to roll from one side to the other, but these occassions are accidental when he is throwing a fit and getting his legs into it, and the by-product is simply the rolling to one side. He recently started throwing his head back and forth when he is upset and does what daddy & I call the "siren cry". He will toss his head back and forth now on a regular basis in protest. To take this behavior to a whole new level, the other morning, when attempting to suctioning him, not only was he throwing his head side to side, he was rolling side to side, twisting his his shoulders to get away!! It was so neat to see him make this movement with PURPOSE!! :-)
4. Those of you who have seen Braden posture his arms when he is fussing, know that he sticks them straight down, and they cross over making an "X" just above the wrists. Brad and I were thrilled to witness Braden picking up his arms symmetrically like he was doing Superman, or doing the "Y" in the YMCA. He did it more than once, so we just cheered him on... he even looked like a little cheerleader himself!

So that's what is new in our world with Braden, we wanted to share some positive and inspirational moments we have been blessed with lately. We hope they bring a smile to your face like they did to ours! He is such a joy to us, and we hope this little fighter brings some joy to you as well!

The Wilsons (Kodi, Brad, Braden)