the park

Brayden loves the park. He could spend all day walking around and going down the slide. We try to go as often as we can. Hope you enjoy the pictures! :)

bad blogger

Ugh, I've been a bad blogger again. :( And an even worse photographer...I didn't take a single picture during the month of January! The horrors.

Brayden is talking up a storm. It seems he learns a new word or sound every single day. Most of his "words" probably wouldn't be understand by a random stranger, but we're loving the communication. He's such a fun, loving, sweet, precious little boy!

And in other important Bellon family news...WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! We just recently started the bank process to begin purchasing a home in the University area behind Dolby Elementary. We're SO excited!! It will need some light construction before we can actually move in, so if you are the handy dandy type, you are more than welcome to stop by! :) And if you're not the handy dandy type, you're more than welcome to visit too!

I promise I'll be better at blogging soon...for real this time. :)

2009 in review

If you haven't noticed, 2009 has ended and 2010 has begun. We can't believe that the first decade of the millennium has ended. 10 years ago I was the awkward middle school years. I never dreamed I would be where I am today. 2009 was an eventful year for the Bellon family. Here is our year in review:

• January 2009: Jason turned 23. Brayden started smiling and interacting more, and started sleeping through the night. Sleeping baby = happy parents.
• February 2009: Our first married Valentine's Day and Brayden first Valentine's Day. The day was more or less uneventful...we spent a quiet evening at home with pizza. We started thinking about what we would do once I (Kristen) graduated college.
• March 2009: Kristen started her final quarter at Louisiana Tech. This including spending 1-2 days per week in Shreveport, leaving Jason at home to take care of the bouncy Brayden. This resulted in Brayden spending many days in unmatching clothes.
• April 2009: Brayden's first Easter. He looked quite dapper in his little sweater vest. Brayden started eating solid foods, starting with cereal. He was not a fan at first, but he quickly learned that eating foods with different textures and tastes was very enjoyable.
• May 2009: May has officially been dubbed "Kristen Month." Kristen turned 22. Mother's Day. Kristen graduated college. Kristen and Jason celebrated one year of marriage bliss. Brayden had his first serious illness...a 9 day stomach virus that resulted in one doctor visit, two ER visits, and three unhappy Bellon's. Brayden also started sitting up and enjoyed playing from a new point of view.
• June 2009: Brayden spent his first "vacation" away from mommy and daddy. He stayed in Lake Charles with various grandparents while mommy and daddy relaxed at home. We were definitely happy to get our little booger back! Jason's first Father's Day. Brayden started sitting up in the big bathtub for baths, took a few trips to the park, and went swimming in his first big swimming pool.
• July 2009: Brayden's first Fourth of July. Brayden started crawling. Mommy and Daddy spent many hours chasing a mobile baby. The Bellon's officially decide to move to Lake Charles!
• August 2009: Bellon's make the big transition from Ruston to Lake Charles. Jason starts work at Signs Now, Kristen starts working for EarlySteps. Brayden starts school at University United Methodist. Brayden gets a new car seat (but will remain re-facing for a while longer). We all adjust to life in the deep south.
• September 2009: The Bellon's purchase a new fancy schmancy camera and take lots of pictures of little man. Brayden visits the horses in Longville and falls in love. College football starts, resulting in lots of purple/gold attire. Brayden starts pulling up on things and cruising around furniture.
• October 2009: Brayden finally starts crawling on all fours. Brayden turns one whole year old. Mommy gets really emotional, and mommy and daddy spends lots of time reflecting on the past year. Brayden discovers that he loves cake, and makes the official transition to whole milk.
• November 2009: Brayden starts taking a few steps, but still mostly crawls. The family takes Brayden to his first carnival. Brayden spends Thanksgiving eating LOTS of sweet potatoes.
• December 2009: Brayden starts walking full time. Brayden sees snow for the first time. We spend Christmas with our loved ones and Brayden gets way too many toys.

2009 was definitely a blessed year for the Bellon's. We're looking forward to all the adventures that 2010 will bring! :)

Sad attempt at Christmas pictures

A few weeks ago we attempted to take some Christmas pictures of Brayden and Mackenly. It was more or less a huge fail, but we got a few decent ones out of the 150 or so pictures that were taken. Taking pictures is hard when your subjects are:
a) Very mobile
b) Very tired
c) Hungry
d) Cold

Oh well, enjoy. :)


Brayden and the tree.

Not one, but TWO crying babies. :)

Brayden's only decent picture.

Sweet Mackenly.

In other Bellon Family news, Brayden has finally mastered the wonderful world of getting around on two feet. As expected, he is all over the place and very eager to explore everything he was once unable to reach. He thinks walking is the funnest thing since sliced bread. It's still so weird to see him walking around! He's also "talking" and trying to communicate more, although I don't think he's increased his word count just yet. Also, I think it's pretty safe to say that he LOVES Christmas lights. And Christmas goodies. He spends his days as a busy little toddler, eager to get into anything and everything! :)

Stay tuned for pictures and a re-cap of the Bellon Family Christmas activities. Hopefully they'll be up soon!

Snow in SWLA

I'm really behind on posting these pictures. In the beginning of December, it snowed! More like a light dusting, but it was exciting to see the fluffy white stuff falling from the sky. It melted about an hour after it fell, but it was fun while it lasted.

And yes, Brayden missed most of the fun, sadly. He got outside and felt his first snow, but we forgot the camera.

many blessing

Here are a few pictures of the first part of our Thanksgiving (we can never seem to document the whole day...we're working on that). We're so thankful to have many, many loving family members who love us and our sweet baby boy. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I have become a horrible blogger. My computer almost crashed back in the summer and my super sweet husband fixed it and saved it from dying, but now it no longer has wireless capabilities. So it has to stay plugged in to an internet source, and ever since we've moved, that means upstairs in our room. So the blogging has taken a backseat. Hopefully, a new computer will be coming my way soon (*hint hint*) and the blogging will be back and better than ever!

For those of you who are interested, here are some highlights from the past two and a half months:

• We got a new camera. A digital SLR camera, actually. We LOVE it. Like, really really love it. We love trying out new modes and playing with all of the features. However, it's really hard when your favorite subject is constantly on the move. Which brings us to the next point...
• Brayden finally figured out how to crawl on all fours. He's also standing alone and cruising like crazy around the furniture. He takes a few independent steps when coaxed, but no "real" walking yet. It's definitely right around the corner, though!
• Brayden turned ONE! We just can't believe that our sweet little man is a whole year old. Or that we survived his first year and that Brayden is still more or less in one piece and seems happy. We had his birthday party on October 24th. I think it's pretty safe to say that Brayden LOVES cake. He also really enjoys balloons, and getting lots of attention. We loved being surrounded by our sweet family members and friends to celebrate the first year of the best thing that's ever happened to us!
• Speaking of that little miracle, he now points to things that he wants, can sign "more," babbles constantly, will occasionally repeat simple words with clarity, tries to repeat anything else (most things coming out sounding like "dah"), puts his hand to his ear when we say "Hello" (mimicing a telephone), smiles constantly, has one full tooth out on the bottom and one out on the top, plus one halfway out on the bottom and another poking through on the top (yes, he's very snaggle tooth-ish). And, mommy's favorite trick: he puts both arms up in the air when we say "touchdown!".

I'm sure there's more. Hopefully The Bellon Family blog will be back up and running soon. :)