Each day is a new day...

Sadly, we are back in the land of Minnesota.... A place that I have grown to love with the one exception of when I come back from my Arizona. To me, Arizona has always been my home away from home, a place that I always feel like I belong and a state that I adore everything about. I am happy to report that Brecken seemed to love my state also and we are already counting down our days until we can go back for more fun in the sun!

On our plane ride back, Brecken took a 2 1/2 hour nap, had a snack on the airplane tray, and played hide and seek in the seat with his giraffe. His only "outbursts" were his full body giggles when his giraffe would hide and then peek at him. I think the game could have gone on for hours and with each "peek-a-boo" from the giraffe, Brecken shrieked with excitement. We knew we were causing other passengers to glance our direction, but could they really be annoyed with a laughing baby?? A crying baby is one thing, but one that is laughing??? Who knows, I'm sure it annoyed some people but they'll get over it. Brecken was having fun. When we were getting off of the plane, a lady looked at us and said, "He must be surrounded by a lot of love because he is the happiest baby!" Of course that made us proud parents :)

People have asked me before what my favorite "Brecken stage" is ... I always answer by saying my favorite stage is whatever stage he is in RIGHT NOW. And that is the truth. I love everything about Brecken's every movement. His facial expressions, laughs, looks, smiles... Even his tears. I have loved every second of watching him grow and change and each day he amazes me for new reasons and in new ways.

Brecken is SUCH a BIG BOY. When I look at him, I no longer see "baby Brecken" but now I see "big boy Brecken." He has late afternoon snacks with mommy, makes horsey noises with daddy, has ridden on (and survived!) his first plane ride, has his first family vacation under his belt, loves his daycare (and especially Ms. Lisa!), can't get enough of his straw sippy cup, gets excited to try new foods (and we've yet to find one that he doesn't like), outgrows his jammies each month requiring us to shop for new ones, likes to make blowing sounds with his lips, laughs at himself when he burps.... I could go on and on. On Tuesday, he will be 9 months old! As we look back at all of the fun memories we've shared already, it's easy to imagine all of the fun we'll have in the future!