meeting the reindeer

It's official. Brayden loves animals. Anything large and furry that moves on its own makes Brayden laugh, giggle, and slightly hyperventilate in a cute, Brayden sort of way. (He talks using sounds and they get long and loud and somewhat high when he's excited. Love it!)

He sees dogs a lot since we have a dog and Erik's parents and Erik's sister and bro-in-law have a dog. His favorite is Tucker, of course, but "Killerman" is probably close behind because he is a 12-pound shih tzu and definitely Brayden-sized! "Kitty"--Erik's parents' dog--is the largest he has seen so far and the one he can actually pet for any length of time because she is so old she doesn't move that much! My favorite is when Brayden is in the high chair and Kitty is begging for dinner from someone at the dinner table right next to Brayden. Kitty is so preoccupied begging that she ignores Brayden's petting and laughing! 

Last night, Brayden met a cat and showed that any furry animal is wonderful to him. He started his excited hyperventilating and chased that cat as fast as his crawling and scooting could go. 

Tonight was a wonderful Christmas memory having to do with animals because Brayden got to meet...

...one of Santa's reindeer!

I thought he'd like to pet the reindeer, and I was right. Well, he would have petted him if his hands had made it out of the end of his down coat. :-) (He's still growing into it!) As soon as he saw the reindeer, he started his happy noises and smiled. I loved watching it! He wasn't too sure about Santa, but he loved the reindeer.

Of course we took some pics...

Love! This was at a party Grandma and Grandpa were going to, so Brayden had to take pictures with them. 

I'm loving Christmas this year more than ever. Looking at it through the eyes of a child. :-)