Independence Bowl

So this is going to be a long, no picture post...sorry. On Wednesday at 4:45 A.M. we awoke and got ready to leave for the Independence Bowl game in Shreveport, Louisiana. We had quite an adventure on our trip there. When I woke up I was having symptoms of a breast infection, so I grabbed my back-up antibiotics, thank goodness. We got to CU at about 6:45 and waited for the bus to leave. At 7:30 the buses pulled out, we ran into two bad accidents along the way to the airport, got to the airport later than scheduled and then sat on the bus for about 30 more minutes. We should have known something was up. We were scheduled to leave for Shreveport at 9:30 we arrived at the airport about 8:30 started going through security around 8:45. By the time everyone was on the plane it was 9:30 we were doing good. Then trouble started; they first told us they needed to wait until they new the final weight of the plane to fuel up, so we waited for fuel. Then they said they needed to de-ice the plane, so we waited. Then they told us we were ready for take off, we all sat ready to take off for about 30 minutes, but we didn't go anywhere. Finally, about 30 minutes later they said they needed to fix the air conditioning system. Well this took about an hour and the entire plane was getting hungry and tired of sitting on the plane. The flight attendants passed out hot pockets and expected us to eat them cold...the team doctor had to tell all the players not to eat them. They never fixed the air conditioning, they decided to fly at a lower altitude which takes more fuel so we had to get more fuel and about 1 o'clock our flight headed for the runway. We got to Shreveport around 3, we were so late we missed the welcome event for the bowl. I was shocked at how good Brayden did on the plane considering we were on the plane for over 6 hours. I wasn't feeling very good and was running a fever. That first night my temperature got up to 102.2, but I had started my antibiotics so I was sure I would start feeling better soon. On Thursday, I was able to attend Ladies Day out. We basically ate all day, in fact I gained 5 pounds while I was down there. For Ladies Day out we went to a museum and had brunch, they allowed us to look around for about 30 minutes and we loaded the buses to head to Copeland's for lunch. So we basically ate twice in about 1 hour. Every night we had really good food in the hospitality room, so I ate a lot, and then ate some more. The rest of the trip I continued to eat, that was really all there was to do down there. On game day Jared, Brayden, and I walked down by the boardwalk. They had a Bass Pro Shop with an alligator pond, so we went to see that for something to do. Brayden and I attended the first half of the game and then watched the rest of the game from the hotel. CU had a chance to win the game, but lost 24-30. We took a bus to the airport and waited until 2 A.M. to get on the flight and leave. We arrived home at 5:30, it was a long trip home, but we enjoyed the trip.

Brayden is 8 months

Brayden is so big. I can't believe he is 8 months old. He is sleeping pretty good, but joins mom and dad in bed most nights. His bedtime is between 8 and 9. Brayden is a really good eater...he has cereal every morning and night. Brayden has been trying new foods like prunes, carrots, and green beans. He has started to do more exploring around the house, he loves opening drawers in the bathroom and bedroom. Brayden is standing up on everything and you crawl everywhere so fast. I will turn around and he will be gone. We spent a lot of time at home this month getting ready for Christmas and our trip to Shreveport. Brayden had his first play date with Max Helfrich. Brayden is also making a lot of sounds like Ohh.

Christmas 07

This Christmas season was very different from those in the past; it was our first Christmas with Brayden and we weren't celebrating with our family for the first time. It was fun to create some new family traditions and involve ourselves in old via our web cam. On Sunday night we joined the rest of the Aurich's for the annual Christmas party. We watched everyone open presents and Brayden received a guitar and puzzle from his cousin Chase. Here is our finalized Christmas Corner.We had a white Christmas; we woke up to about 3 inches and it snowed most of the day. Santa brought Brayden a new Tonka truck; he can hold the handles and walk behind it and as he grows he will be able to sit on it. Santa also filled his stocking with some fun goodies that he needed.
Here is our Christmas tree; we added a few ornaments this Christmas season.
Here is a better picture of Brayden's Tonka truck that Santa brought.
We were very surprised at how good Brayden was at opening his gifts. He had a great Christmas, thanks to grandparents. Some of his gifts were blocks, toy phone, clothes, shoes, books, and a toy farm truck. Jared received a camping knife, chalk bag, and hydration pack. I had a great Christmas; I received Photoshop and Jared surprised me with a photography class. We had a great day and then I cooked an instant dinner. We didn't want to have any left overs because we were leaving for the bowl game the next day.

Go Buffs

Brayden got some new clothes from friends of ours. They gave us several Colorado shirt and a sweatsuit. He looked like a big boy in his shirt and sweatpants. I had to get some pictures of him.

Our future football player.

Snow Storms

So we have been getting a lot of snow lately. On several occassions we have woke up to several inches of snow. This is our car covered in snow. This storm dumped about 8 inches over two days. I don't like to drive in the snow so I am stuck inside for several days at a time. It has been fun to have so much snow. It reminds Jared of growing up in Utah. It is really pretty to look out and see snow falling.

Getting ready for Christmas

We have been getting ready for Christmas. I have been thinking about it a little earlier this year because we have to mail gifts. In the past I wouldn't start shopping until I was out on Christmas break, which was usually two days before Christmas. It has been nice starting some family traditions. This year we debated about getting a tree, we wanted a real one, but we don't really have room and we knew that Brayden would destroy it. So we opted for the fake 21 in tree. We both thought that Brayden would tear it apart, but when we first put it on the floor he was scared of it. He was so interested in it, but he didn't dare touch it. He finally built up the guts to touch it, but just for a second then he would pull his hand back really quick. It was so funny. Well the fear has wore off and so the tree spends most of it's time on the kitchen table out of Brayden's reach.

End of the season

Brayden is up to so many new things. He can get around so fast. He loves following me when I leave the room. We had a great Thanksgiving with the Pitmans. It was a great dinner and we are very grateful for their friendship. The day after Thanksgiving Jared finished up the regular football season with a win over Nebraska. He was crazy...he didn't wear a coat during the game and it was so cold. A week later we found out that we had been invited to the Independance Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana. We are excited to spend the week in Shreveport, we have heard the food and hospitality are amazing.
Jared has been trying to interest Brayden with the football. Brayden will entertain the idea, but eventually just wants to put it in his mouth.

When I am in the kitchen Brayden will crawl off...lately he will crawl into the spare bedroom where the treadmill is. He loves to crawl to the end of the treadmill and then he starts pounding the treadmill. The other day Jared (in true coaching fashion) put Brayden on the treadmill...poor kid. I felt bad for him, but he loves it.

Brayden is 7 months

Brayden is seven months old. I know that I say this every month, but the time is going by so fast. He is so much fun and work. He has really started to play with his toys more. He loves banging his stacking toys together. He also really enjoys playing with an empty water bottles. He crawls everywhere...and so quickly. He likes to pull down Jared's X-box controllers. He likes to stand up and will do so on anything that is sturdy enough.

He loves to smile and he loves it when daddy comes home from work. He has been playing a lot of our version of hide and seek. He weights a little over 18 pounds. He eats rice cereal, squash, sweet potatoes, and bananas. He has eaten avocados, but the verdict is still out. We do know that he is not a fan of peas. When he first started eating solids Jared and I would laugh at the funny faces he would give us.

Brayden is standing

A few weeks ago Brayden started to straighten his legs and put his head down, he has been trying to stand up. It is so funny. He has started to stand up on everything. He gets so excited when he stands up that he turns around and looks at us with this huge smile.He crawls up my leg all the time.Now he is walking along the couch. Look how proud he is of himself.

He loves the Tigger toy, when he sees it in the room he can't take his eyes off it.

The end of the trip

On Tuesday, Grandpa Jerry drove us down to Draper to meet my sister. We hurried back to the BYU Tuesday devotional, President Monson was speaking. It was a great talk and was especially nice because Cale was out in the hall with Brayden for most of it. Cale was also brave enough to babysit both of the babies while Hailey and I attended the Temple. It was very eventful for Cale, lets just say that Brayden wasn't feeling very well and Cale got a bit messy. Hailey wanted to get a few pictures of Kira with my camera before I left so we attempted a photo shoot. About 3 minutes into it we noticed Kira's nose was red and her bottom lip was quivering.
Since we were outside Brayden and I got on the trampoline. Brayden seemed pretty curious.
We went inside and took some more pictures of Kira. It was the first day that Kira was sitting up by herself.
Brayden had a good time watching us from Kira's Bumbo chair. It didn't take long for him to figure out he was stuck...then he didn't think it was so sweet.

Visiting more family

After the BSU vs Utah State game Brayden and I went home with Jared's parents to Syracuse. We spent the next couple of days there seeing family. Here is Brayden with Sarah and Aunt Lisa. Sarah is 2 months older than Brayden.

Brayden got a nap with Uncle Logan.
We got to see Great-Grandma Aurich.
Brayden kinda matched Uncle Jim's outfit.
Uncle Jason helped Brayden get around.We had a good time seeing Gabe and Uncle Adam too.

Playing in the leaves

While we were at Hailey's we took advantage of having a yard, we kinda miss that living in an apartment. I took Brayden out and he was fascinated with all the leaves on the ground. It was hard to get a picture of him where he wasn't looking down at the leaves.

He found out that leaves don't taste very good.

Trip to Utah

On Wednesday, November 7th Brayden and I flew to Utah to visit family for a week. I stayed with Hailey, Cale, and Kira for a few days and then stayed with Jared's parents for a few. The week was full of events, but it was so much fun just being with everyone. Brayden and I were able to spend sometime outside on the swing. I think he liked it, but he wanted to make sure I held him close. Hailey and Cale gave me a tour of the BYU campus during Cale's break. My parents and Libby drove up from Boise and met us on campus. After the tour we headed home to get ready for a little get together before the BYU vs TCU game. Hailey made Taco Soup to eat and Brent and Vicki and Nick and his friends came by. That night I went to the BYU game with Cale, Hailey, and my dad. My mom and Libby stayed home to watch the babies. It was very different being at a football game without Brayden. It was a pretty good game, BYU won; I think it was because we all stood up for a key play at the end of the game.
Kira is getting so big; she has the cutest personality. You can see so much personality in her expressions. Friday we hung out and saw Kira eat cereal for the first time. She did a really good job keeping it in her mouth.
Saturday, Hailey and I went to a fashion show at Nordstroms. They showed us what men should be wearing. Haily and I both don't think Jared or Cale will ever wear some of their suggestions. We hurried home and headed to Logan to see BSU play Utah State. BSU won by a ton; which was sad because Libby is a USU Aggie. It was pretty chilly so we had to bundle the kids up...they were so cute.
I finally got to dress Brayden up for a game with his blue and orange on. Go Broncos!