Family Day

Saturday was the perfect day! Steve and I took Braden out for day of fun in the sun!! We started the day by making sure that Braden got a good nap in the morning and then off we went. We picked up Aunt Clara in Plano and headed for the Farmers Market in Downtown Dallas. We had lunch at this Mexican restaurant that is in the middle of the market and lets just say that Braden will have no problems with his tummy when eating Mexican food. He had a little of everything. Then we head off to the Dallas Arboretum. WOW what a beautiful place. I must say that if you live in the Dallas Fort Worth Area or come to visit YOU must go there. What a magical place. You just feel a calm come about you and you feel so relax. This place had areas of open space where people can picnic or read books or just lay down and relax. Brides were there taking Bridal pictures and the best thing about it is that no one bothers you. People are there to relax and enjoy the flowers and trees and the water. It opens up to Whiterock Lake, where we are doing the March of Dimes Walk American April 29th, and WOW what a view. We took so many pictures but thought that we would share the best of what we think we got. We hope you look at all 10 of them they are really worth it. Thanks for checking in on us........................


Braden and Aunt Clara discussing the day!

ONE more thing.....GOOD LUCK to Jonathan, Braden's cousin, who will be at the district science fair this saturday!!!!

The Bunger Family

Picture Perfect

The picture speaks for it's self!!

Touch

Braden is touching everything now and learing differnt textures. He loved the feel of the tulips bulbs. Look at that little fat hand!!!

Shoulder rides already

Steve is carring Braden on his shoulders as we walk through this walk way full of tress that have yet to see there leaves but what a scene.

Steve & Annie

Steve & Annie enjoying eachother and the beautiful day!!!

Posing

Braden took time to pose for Aunt Clara for this picture.

Annie & Braden

Annie & Braden looking at the tulips. Tulips are Annie's favorite flower so she was in heaven with her son and a park full of tulips. Braden said "Mama" for the first time on Sunday, Annie could not be happier about that.

Reaching

Braden enjoyed beign pushed around the park and when he would see something he would reach out for it.

Grass???

Braden was loving the grass. He was a little unsure of it at first but that grass was so soft to the touch that he could not get enough of it. LOOK AT THOSE FEET!!!!

Steve & Braden

Steve and Braden at a creekside. There was a little bench by the creek and just listened to the water it was very relaxing.

Happy Birthday........

Happy Birthday to Braden's Uncle Leroy!!!

We hope that you have a great day!!!!

We took Braden this weekend to the Dallas Arboretum and he had the best time. As soon as we get the pictures ready we will post them, so check back in a few days.

With our Deepest Sympathy

This morning when I took Braden to day care, I was greeted my Grandma Shirley just like every morning. But this morning there was a different look on her face. On top of the fact that Grandpa Gary is in the Hospital, we found out that Melissa Dolan's mother passed away last night. Melissa is a neighbor to the Parks family and is truly more of a family member to them and to all of us. Her mom was an amazing woman who loved life and her family more than we will ever know. You can see her beautiful soul in Melissa.

Melissa is the person behind the fundraiser for the March of Dimes at Taco Cabana in Denton. She did all the leg work for us and gave so much of her time for this fundraiser. We are so grateful and happy to have her in our life. At this time we feel that we need to make sure the the Dolan family feels the same support from us as they have shown us. We will pray that The Dolan family will get through this time with help of family and friends and the touch of God's hands on their hearts.

Grandpa Gary will be fine. We are hoping that he will released from the hospital today or tomorrow. We will pray that he will continue to recover quickly.

Thank you for keeping them in your hearts and in your prayers.

Can anyone believe it? Braden was born a year ago today!!! Steve and I can not believe all that went on day to day for the last year and look at him now. Almost 18 pounds over 27 inches long and still growing. We have so much to be thankful for and where do we start? Who do we start with? Our family? Friends? Staff at Baylor? Where? If God had not been with our little Braden this entire time, I am not sure where we would be. If God had not given the staff at Baylor the knowledge to help Braden, if we didn't have the support of family and friends, where would we be? We thank everyone for the interest and support, we couldn't have made it through this ordeal without it.

Well our little boy is a year old and we couldn't be prouder parents. BRADEN IS A YEAR OLD we could just scream that all day long!!!!! Steve and I decided to both take off work to spend time with Braden. Several family members are planning on coming up that day to spend time with the Braden.

We had a small family birthday party for Braden on Saturday the 25th which turned out great. Braden got a new walker and playpen. He received some new clothes and a instrument called Walking Wings to help him learn balance while trying to walk. He has received wonderful gifts from family & friends from toys, to Texas Longhorns outfits, to new car seats, everything we could hope for.

Braden will have another small birthday party at his daycare with his buddies: John, Sam, & Tristen. Amber, Johns mommy, is going to make Braden a homemade cake suitable for little babies!!!!!!!! We are going to serve the boys their favorite baby foods while the adults have some good pork chops cooked on the grill. Braden also gets his 1 year checkup on Thursday, so the only downer is he will be going to the party shortly after getting some shots. He is so resiliant, he handles his shots well.

Well we will leave you know with just a big THANK YOU for putting up with our happiness, sadness, forgetfullness, moods, tears, heartache, joy, love and finally CELEBRATION for a very challenging first year that turned out to be more than worth it!!!

Bathtime

Sitting Up

Here are a few pictures of the soon to be 1 year old sitting up on his own.

What a face!!

We took this picture after a feeding of sweet potatoes you can see some leftovers on this adorable face.

It's A Boy!!

A year ago today Steve and I found out that we were having a boy. We gave him the name Braden Wayne Bunger. We had the appointment at 1:30 p.m. and were very excited to call and tell everyone. We left the appointment and I looked at Steve's face and he had the best smile on his face,I knew he was very proud and happy to know he was having a son. We would have been happy either way. We get to the car and the first person we call is Grandbob. After all they have the same initials. He was very happy. We told family and friends all night that night and we both went to bed very happy.

The next day I got to work and my co-workers/dear friends Kim Mankin and Jan Hill had decorated my office with blue stuff and papers with his name on it and gave me presents. It was great.

Here is a picture of Braden that we got a year ago today. WOW this kid of ours is something else.

March Of Dimes

Last night I attended a meeting for the March of Dimes Walk America and WOW it was great. It was nice to talk to people who have been through everything that Steve and I have and learn from them how they deal with it. It is a wonderful thing that now that we have all gone through this that now we are giving back and this walk is the best way to do that. So sometime soon you will all be getting something via email, fax, or US mail about our pledge to March of Dimes for "Braden's Team"!!

I met up with my friend Lisa Lee, her son Palmer was a Baylor Baby as well he is now 5 and half and doing great!! Lisa has been a great help to me and my family that doing this with her just feels right. Thanks Lisa!!!

Well I just wanted to share this information with you and a few pictures of Braden. Aunt Clara got this for Braden and we could not help but to take some pictures. We are very happy to say that RSV season is on the down hill and soon we will be out of this time of year. Braden has made it through so far like a champ. Lets all hope and pray that will stick with him for a few more months.

He looks like a big boy in this outfit.

What a year...Already!!!!

Well of course the year could not start out better then Braden doing absolutely perfect. That kid is something else and he has a new trick. He does this screaming thing where he will get a good scream from deep down inside and let it go. Then if you do it back he will continue with different sounds. It is very cute. He knows his bottle and pacifier too. He can put it in his mouth and he is trying to hold his bottle. We have introduced him to the sippy cup but have not mastered that yet. We are working on it. But WOW this kid is doing great and we can not be happier. We had a nice family weekend. Just hung out at home and spent time with Braden. It was really nice. He had a rough night last night he got his Synagis on Monday so that made him a little uneasy for the rest of the day and evening. But Steve is such a good man he took care of Braden pretty much most of the night so that I could get some rest since I had to be back at work today. Things are good and we hope that they continue.

on to other news......

My Mom, Braden's MoMo, Aurora Jackson was named the Parent Teacher Liaison of the Year for medium based schools districts for the State of Texas. She beat out several other people from all over the State. She will receive her official award at the State Convention later this month. We are so proud of her.

My nephew, Jonathan L. Havis won Soaring Eagle at his school. This is an award that the class votes on for the 6 weeks and Jonathan won. He was very happy and got his award at the school assembly last Thursday. Way to go JoJo!!!!

My sister Connie and her family, Christopher, Jackson and Jonathan we named Family of the Year for Denton County! They were nominated several months back and have had several interviews and found out today at a luncheon. They will be receiving an award tonight at the City Council Meeting here in Denton. We are so excited about that.

So see things are turing around for us. We are all determined to make this year better then last year and make it a positive one. Not that we are not thrilled to have Braden and we would do it again if it meant having a healthy baby but we are glad that this year is starting off right!!

Braden relaxing in our jacuzzi tub!! What a life he has.......



Connie, Christopher, Jackson & Jonathan Havis, Denton Counties Family of the Year!!!!!!