Brady's 1st Halloween - he and Indy dressed up as Angry Birds.  Thank you to Grandpa Dave and Grandma Nancy for helping carve pumpkins.  Happy Halloween!

Week 27 -

CRAWLING! Shortly after last week's post Brady got his arms and legs in sync and got mobile! Now we really have to watch him.  No more leaving him on the bed to make a quick run to the bathroom.  It's cool to watch him experience new things, like his fascination feeling the carpet or looking up at the window.  He's still learning spacial awareness and has given a head butt or two to the wall.  Check out the video library to see him on the move!

As he continues to grow, we've moved him up from the stage  1 (4 oz) baby food to the stage 2 (6 oz and blends) baby food.  He doesn't always make it through 6 oz, good to know there may be a limit to all his eating. He eats good in the high chair, but does flail his hands or grab for the spoon.  When he gets a little more coordinated we'll let him try to feed himself, for now we just let him play with a spoon.

Got to see an old friend from New Hampshire last night - Berta Sinclair was here to visit her brother Adam who's still living in Dallas.  Bummed to hear Adam didn't get the job at Fenway, but that means Berta and Scotty will still be coming to visit!  Berta got to meet Brady and experience Mellow Mushroom (yummy pizza), it was a good night.

Mom got cortisone shots in both wrists this week to give her a little relief.  Apparently they hit a nerve causing both hands to go numb.  It's hard to do simple things when both hands are numb - like drive,  scratch an itch, or brush your teeth.  A day later and she's got feeling back in half her hands.

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Nancy are coming to town to visit Brady this week.  He's looking forward to snuggling with his Grandma and showing off his new skills and new teeth.

Survived our 6 month checkup - weight 14 lbs 3.5 oz (5%), length 25.5 in (15%), and head circumference 43 cm (25%).  Got 5 shots, including the first round of the flu shot, and 1 oral rotavirus.  The pediatrician was really surprised with how much he eats a day (more than avg) and how little he weighs, guess he's just that active!  Speaking of active he tore up the paper sheet and played with his reflection in the mirror laughing the whole time.  Unfortunately all that ear rubbing was not because of teething, but double ear infections, so he gets another 10 days of baby amoxicillin.  He cried in agony when he got his shots, but quickly forgot about it taking a short nap then back to play time.  And his bandaids matched his shirt.  We go back next month to check on his ears and get round 2 of the flu shot (good grief).

Two little Pats fans cheering their team on to a win.

All cheered out (thank you Keira for letting him sleep in your jumper).

Week 26 -

Today is Brady's half birthday, he's 6 months old!  It's also Grandpa Bob's birthday. It's kinda fun that Brady gets to share in his uncle's and grandfather's birthdays.

Brady continues to get mobile.  He has developed a kind of "pull to crawl" method of getting around.  He seemed to push with his legs last week, now he's pulling with his arms.  Maybe soon he'll figure out how to use his arms and legs together! Either way, his methods work and daycare is reporting that he is moving across the room.  He also started wearing shoes to school this week which helps him with his grip getting around.  As we've come to accept with daycare, he got another cold with congestion and a runny nose.  We're getting quite good at the bulb syringe and nebulizer and hopefully it will clear up soon.  He's still eating really well at school, up to 6 or 7 times a day (4 bottles, 1-2 cereals, and 1 jar of baby food).  Mom is looking forward to making more baby food this weekend, which means another stop at the local farmer's market!

He's really growing too.  Monday is his 6 month checkup so will report his stats then.  He can reach the lambs in his swing and will grab one so they can't rotate causing the mobile to click.  At first we didn't know what the noise was!  Mom started putting him front facing in the new jogging stroller when they go for walks.  Brady hates getting in his harness but eventually settles down when they get moving.  He likes being able to look out and see where they're going.

Brady does so well sleeping through the night.  He sleeps in his PJs every night, and depending on how cool it is, we may put him in his sleep sack too.  He's got this one fleece long sleeve sleep sack that is so cute.  He loves it too, getting cozy, and falling asleep right away.  We typically put him down to sleep at 8 or 8:30pm and he will sleep until 6 or 7am if we let him (weekends).

This is the last weekend of the TX state fair.  Sadly Big Tex burned down yesterday (electrical short in his leg) and the stratosphere got stuck 200 ft in the air with 24 people on board.  We didn't make it there this year, but maybe that's a good thing.  Tomorrow going to watch the Pats vs Jets game with some friends and checking out an apple orchard.  Should be fun.

Week 25 -

WE HAVE TEETH!!! This week those two white bumps on the bottom front broke through marking the first of 20 baby teeth that will come in.  And they are sharp just like his nails.  This takes us to our next point - being a mommy is some TOUGH love.  At this age feeding involves squirming, scratching, pinching, and now biting.  T-shirts and soft blankets are a must to keep those little hands busy!

Brady had his first school 'picture day' this week.  We dressed him in his OshGosh collared onesie and overalls and sent a backup just in case.  Thought we were going to have to use the backup too as he immediately filled his diaper when we got to the daycare.  But phew, we did not.  The pictures should come back in 2-3 weeks, can't wait to see how they came out!

Brady is getting so big.  He did great with his veggies at daycare this week, eating one jar a day.  This is in addition to the four 5oz bottles and 1-2 bowls of rice cereal.  This boy can eat!  It's showing too as he's quickly progressed into his 6mo or 6-9mo clothes comfortably.  He goes back for his 6 month checkup in just over a week so we'll see how much he weighs.

It seemed like Brady mastered the art of rolling over and rotating this week.  We can lay him down on a blanket or play mat and he'll move all over the place.  And you have to watch him CLOSELY.  While at a Buffalo Wild Wings for some football Mom was sipping her ice tea when Brady somehow got a napkin and started chewing on it.  That was a mess to get out of his mouth.  When he's on his tummy he's starting to push with his feet in kind of a "pre-crawl" (see blog videos), it's just a matter of time now!  And he can sit unsupported for a few seconds until he gets distracted and turns his head causing him to lose his balance and tip over.  He does best sitting when he leans forward propped up on his hands.

Mommy got her Xmas present early this year - a new BOB baby jogger!  Got a car seat adapter too so Brady can go at this young age.  Soon though Mom is looking forward to having him the front facing seat so he can see all the places they go.  The stroller is pretty cool, it folds and unfolds really easily and the wheels come off if you're squeezed for space.

Brady managed to be the only one not sick in our house this week.  Dad had a sinus infection and Mom picked up a stomach bug that Ms Barb said was going around at the daycare.  Here's hoping we're all better this weekend!

And if anyone's counting, week 25 marks the halfway point to Brady's 1st birthday.  Time is just flying by!

Brady had another play date with Keira yesterday.  We met up for lunch, did some shopping at the Mattel outlet, and hung out at her place.  They love looking at each other smiling, and giggling, and rolling around.  Keira is 2 weeks older than Brady.

Keira's uncle got creative with the graphics.  This is Brady going for Riles in the end zone, touchdown!!!  Go Pats

Week 24 -

What's that we hear on Brady's baby monitor? Fenway! Apparently the cat decided to cozy up under the crib then later realized all the action was outside Brady's room and wanted out. Silly cat.

Brady is getting bigger and stronger.  We often find him rolled over onto his belly when we go in to wake him up and his rolling over on the bed is getting more frequent and smoother.  He's doing great in his high chair and eating from a spoon, even leaning in to take a bite. Mom made homemade baby food carrots and Brady loved it (see picture below).  In addition to the 20oz of breast milk he now has a small bowl of rice cereal at daycare.  Next week he'll get veggies too, then later fruits. So far he hasn't met a food he didn't like!

Now that he's getting bigger we're trying to put him to bed in his pjs instead of the half swaddle.  He still sucks his thumb like crazy and likes having his hands free.  The putting him to bed at 8 or 8:30pm is working well and he seems to like his bedtime routine (eat-clean-pjs-storytime-sleep).  Speaking of pjs, he has quickly grown into his 3-6 mo clothes but somehow remains 5th percentile for weight (we're thinking these charts are for formula fed babies).  We'll put him down in his crib when he's sleepy, but not asleep, and he'll fall asleep on his own.  He's such an amazing kid!

Brady seems to have a lot of personality.  He giggles a lot.  He's ticklish under his arms and on his back.  He'll also get giggling when we make funny faces, sing silly songs, or do funny dances.  He babbles all the time, saying "bababababa" or giving us little squeals of excitement.  He's literally strong too, he has quite a grip and we jokingly call him "Bam-Bam" since he's constantly banging his toys together or into other things.

Thought we were going to make it out to dinner the other night but alas, Brady had an untimely blowout in his car seat (it was everywhere), so we had to give up our table and go home.  It didn't phase him, he was asleep in the car within 5 minutes.  Thankfully we hadn't ordered yet.

Family photo from Lockheed M&FC family day at Daddy's work.