It’s moments like this that make my heart pitter patter.  These two have so much genuine love for each other and I am reminded of the simplicity of life.  I am so blessed.

Braden, you are already nine months old!! I'm still trying to figure out a way to slow time down, but obviously that's not going to happen! Here we are, 3/4 of the way through your first year, and I am in disbelieve that you will be one in just a few short months.

At nine months, you:

Still love food and haven’t really met anything you don’t like. Recent favorites are broccoli, cheerios and yogurt. And of course you love anything Grandma Chapa feeds you, including caldo (your sister’s fave). You’ve mastered the pincer grip and love to pick up fistfuls of food!

You have also mastered the sippy cup, taking to it within a few attempts. You love to drink cold water!

Chase any kind of ball you can find around the house, no matter where it leads you!

Put everything in your mouth!!

Are on the move…and getting into everything!! You started crawling just a few days into your ninth month, and you haven’t slowed since.

Can get yourself into a standing position and love to bounce on your chubby little legs. This is how I find you most mornings (and after naps).

Love to get whatever your sister is playing with – here she was playing Children’s Lighthouse (her school) and you were delighted to be able to disrupt her eating arrangement!

LOVE all forms of water!! Mommy was a nervous wreck as you were peddling yourself around Granny’s little pool and splashing the water in your face…you were loving every minute of it!

Pull yourself up onto anything to get whatever you can get your hands on!

Are becoming quite vocal! You love to babble and we often find ourselves mimicking your every sound. We’ve heard da-da and ma-ma, and although I’m not convinced it was used in context, it was still music to my ears!

(random canned goods on the floor = snacks for Riley’s “class”!)

Have three new teeth, all within a week! The newest teeth are all on top, giving you a total of three top and two bottom. We’re so glad that you finally have some relief after months of waiting!

Are still a mama's boy, which I completely love!! You give the best snuggles and open-mouth kisses and bury your face into my chest whenever you get excited. "Jesus Loves Me" is an instant soother for you, always calming you down in any situation.

9 month stats:

Weight – 21 pounds, 6 ounces – 60%

Length – 27.5 inches – 25%

Head – 17.6 inches – 25%

You are currently wearing size 3 diapers and 18 month clothes...such a big boy!!

Braden, we are so smitten with you and love the joy that you've brought to our family! We're so excited to see what these next few months bring and look forward to celebrating your first year of life soon.

We had a wonderful Father’s Day that started with church and ended with a fun evening of swimming and delicious food at my parents’ house.

Riley’s famous cheese face, wishing papa a Happy Father’s Day!

To my wonderful husband, you are the best father I could ever have imagined for our family.  From playing pretend with Riley to rolling around with Braden on the floor, I love watching you throw yourself into their worlds with everything you have.  You are an amazing dad and wonderful husband, and I look forward to the many memories ahead.

After a day of fishing for Josh & Jeff and a day at the beach for the rest of us, we went on a Pirate Ship!  Braden stayed with Granny & Papa while the rest of us cruised around St. Johns Pass on a 2-hr ride through the bay.

Upon arriving at the pirate ship, we were greeted with cool pirate hats and water guns – these kids were in heaven!

As we traveled through the bay, these really neat drawbridges would open for us!  I think we went through three on our adventure.

The kids were entertained with lots of great stuff.  They went on a treasure hunt, heard stories about the scary old pirate (aka daddy) and got their faces painted.

I’m not sure who was having more fun!

Both Dalton and Riley stepped right up when they were offered to have pirate face paint.  I was really surprised at Riley; she usually shies away from face paint, but not this time!  She wasn’t going to pass up the chance to look like a pirate (and her dad)!

Limbo!!

After we got off the pirate ship we were greeted by this sweet face!

The pool at the condo was conveniently located right under our room, with a great view from the balcony.  After each of our beach excursions, we traipsed to the warm pool and enjoyed a swim.

Braden splashed the water with his hands and kicked ferociously when in the water…this kids loves water in all forms!

And the big kids spent their time climbing in and out of the pool, jumping over and over from the edge.

Our neighborhood pool opened the weekend we got back from Florida, and every day as we drive by the pool, Riley begs to go!  We’re predicting a lots of summer weekends at the pool.

Okay, so it’s only been a month since we went to Florida, but we’ve been so busy lately!  Here’s the first of a few recaps of our recent family vacation.

We spent six days near Tampa, Florida in Madeira Beach.  The beach was beautiful, with clear water and white sand.  Our condo was right on the beach with easy access to the water.

The view from our balcony:

We spent a lot of time on the beach, playing in the sand and splashing around in the ocean.  The kids loved the freedom of the open space and bounced from making pancakes with sand to jumping waves with granny!

Both kids were ready to hit the beach as soon as they woke up everyday.  Riley loved applying sunscreen to everyone (quite the helper)!

Do you think he was excited?!

Braden was oh so thrilled with the beach!  He immediately began checking out the sand, feeling it between his fingers and toes.  B also loves to put everything in his mouth, so of course he was determined to put sand in his mouth as well.  It’s exhausting having an (almost) mobile infant on the beach!

More Florida recaps to follow.