Christmas Day 2012

For Brady's 1st Christmas we stayed in Texas so he could wake up Christmas morning at home.  Half awake we brought him downstairs and he immediately got wide eyed and eager to play with his new toys from Santa - a toy house and an activity center.  He loved the gears on the activity center (go figure).  Then we opened presents.  His Grandma Reggie got him his first motorcycle (walker), his uncle E got him some toys and puzzles and a snack tray for his stroller, and his Grandpa Bob and Grammie Terry got him some stack and tumble cups.  He also got a sit to stand walker from his Aunt Jennie and his very 1st snow jacket and snowpants from his Uncle Paul.  Indy, Fenway, and Foxboro got spoiled too with new beds, treats, toys, and a new kitty tower.  It was a fun day.

That afternoon we were supposed to fly to NJ, but instead a front came through giving us ~2 inches of snow and giving Brady a white Christmas for his 1st Christmas.  What a lucky kid!  We made it to NJ the next day.

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful gifts and hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Week 35 -

8 months old this week!  Brady continues to do great after his surgery.  He's more alert and happier now that his ears aren't bothering him.  He seems to be over his cold other than the lingering cough.  Daddy too.  And no more pink eye.

Brady had his last day at school for the year and Mom learned he has his first "girlfriend".  Her name is Stormy.  According to Ms Barb, they play together all day long following one another around, smiling, and laughing.  Brady was really cute when he said goodbye to her, smiling then turning away shyly.  Despite the recurring illnesses he gets from daycare, he does get a chance to be around other kids and learn things like socializing and sharing.  Daycare sent home gifts too, sending homemade Christmas cards and ornaments that are just too cute.

He's started to pull himself up and started trying to stand on his feet, usually not at the same time so it's not very coordinated.  But his legs are strong and he's getting good practice.  Ms Barb says it won't be long before he's on the basket pushing himself around the daycare.  He's also mastered the pincher and LOVES to eat Cherrios.  He's a Cherrio vacuum cleaner.  For some reason he's not too fond of puffed o's (sweet potato).  The ladies at daycare also recommended yogurt melts, we'll have to keep an eye out for those.  When he gets back from vacation he'll try cut up veggies.  He did try a sippy cup with water and eventually figured out how to drink from it, again not very coordinated but he's catching on.  And after a couple blowouts, it was time to move up into size 3 diapers.  These seem so much bigger and really help him fill out his 6-9 month clothes.  He's growing up so fast.  Speaking of growing up, this week he took his first jog with Mom in the jogging stroller.  He was bundled up and warm holding his monkey blanket, sucking his thumb, and checking out the local scenery.  Mom was excited to get back out and get some exercise.

This was the last working week of the year for Mom and Dad.  Mom got an invite to the CATB holiday lunch and got to see some old friends she misses very dearly.  She also got a job offer and despite the fact it was a promotion it wasn't something that really interested her so she turned it down.  The good news, she gets to stay part-time a little longer.  And Daddy got another contract extending the funding for his project another year.

Next week is Christmas. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Week 34 -

What a difference a week makes.  Last week was great, this week was not.  Both Dad and Brady got sick this week.  Brady started coughing then came down with fever, congestion, throwing up, and to top it off got pink eye.  Poor little guy was on 5 meds at the same time.  Dad came down with a sinus infection and didn't want to make Brady any sicker.  Mom had to play nurse.  No one got much sleep this week.

On Friday Brady had his first surgery getting tubes put in his ears.  The procedure only took about 10 minutes and we were in and out of the outpatient center in ~2.5 hours.  He did really well and the results were just like they told us - almost instantaneous.  See before and after photos below.  It took him ~25 minutes to wake up and he was a little fussy, super hungry, and wanted to be held by his Mommy.  Once he ate, we left for home and he was pretty much back his normal self (aside from some reflux).  He's SO much happier and has more energy, it's really good to see him feeling better.  The doctor said there was a lot of mucus and pus behind his eardrum and he is getting some drainage but that should clear up by Monday.  And he's still coughing getting that last bit of congestion out of his chest but eating and sleeping more like normal.  Now he can focus on playing and learning and not constantly trying to get healthy (we hope).

Some things that did go good this week - just before getting sick Brady got to meet Santa.  Not sure if it was stranger danger or just close to nap time, but Brady wasn't a fan.  Brady did learn some new things this week including feeding himself with a spoon.  For the most part he gets the right end into his mouth, with or without food.  We bought a splat mat and will give him more opportunities to practice feeding himself.  He also started waving hi or bye (not consistently) and Daddy saw him sign for milk.  He's pulling himself up more and has expressed an interest in being able to stand but his legs are still wobbly.  No additional teeth yet, just the 2 on the bottom, but he's been chewing a lot on his teether.

Mom and Dad finished their Christmas shopping for Brady today.  Despite the fact the week ended at 70 degrees, it actually did snow (a little) earlier in the week.  Hopefully this means we'll have a good ski season this year!

Week 33 -

Another first this week - finger foods! After trying it last week, Brady kept at it and now can eat Cherrios or puffed cereal on his own.  He gets about half in his mouth and the other half in his high chair, but he's so happy when it works.  We're so proud of him, it just makes us smile to see him learn and grow.  

This year we put up a Christmas tree.  We got a real one from the lot down the street and it makes our house smell really nice.  We decorated it after Brady had gone to bed, so he first saw it the next morning when he woke up.  He wasn't afraid of it at all, rather he liked touching the branches and feeling the needles.  He even added his own decoration (a Cherrio).  He's also excited to see the presents under the tree and crawls toward them any chance he gets.  Fenway likes them too, especially eating the ribbons (bad kitty).

Mom and Dad got an early Christmas present from Brady - a finger painting from daycare.  It's super cute with photos of him making the painting around the edges and they put it in a frame.  Can't wait to try more arts and crafts with him at home.  Surely Daddy will remember some boy scout projects he can do with Brady.

Had another play date with Michelle and Keira this week too.  It's been about 2 months since we'd seen them and it's amazing to see how much Keira has changed.  Her hair has gotten longer (and super soft), she's gotten taller, and she can sit really well. She gets up on all fours, but doesn't seem too interested in crawling, rather she's starting to pull herself up to stand.  It's so cool to see how babies learn their way differently.  The kids had a great time together sharing toys and giggling.  Both were pretty wiped out taking extra naps the next day.

Week 32 -

Brady is getting more coordinated with each passing day.  He's starting to pull himself up now to climb over objects or climb up on his Mom, using his feet to push.  When given a spoon, he will put it in his mouth but hasn't quite made the connection to feed himself.  We tried giving him finger food this week (potato) but he just looked at it.  When out at lunch or dinner with Mom, he watches her eat closely, so she shares a few bites.  He tried and liked homefries, and again tried and liked turkey chop suey (meat and pasta).  Both times it was after he'd already eaten, this boy can certainly eat!  He'll get upset if you don't keep feeding him, so we're trying to teach him sign language for "more".  So far, he just does some Jersey fist-bumping and leg wiggling.  Check out the new videos we posted.

His ear infections finally seem to be going away and he is in better spirits sleeping and playing back to normal.  He loves cruising around the living room adventuring to the kitchen.  He discovered Indy's food bowl making a stop to "share" a toy.  He loves to explore and check things out, feeling all the different textures.  And it's funny, he doesn't like things left open, he always closes his laptop and book on his activity center. He still does his clapping and squealing and babbling (bababa), and has added smacking his lips.  He will often imitate sounds or motions we make with our mouths.

Mom got over the stomach flu but her bad luck continued getting a rock in her windshield and having to replace it AGAIN in less than 2 weeks.  Guess that's an early Xmas present for Mom.

Week 31 -

Thanksgiving week and 7 months old! But not without a stop first at the Dr office for Brady's 3rd round of ear infections and 3rd type of antibiotics.  Unfortunately it hasn't seemed to help as the ear rubbing continues.  We go back to the doctor Monday for a checkup and to start discussing tubes (which Mom does not want to do).  He's also still pretty congested both in his sinuses and in his lungs, poor little guy.

This week Grandma Reggie, Jeff, and Uncle Erik were in town for Thanksgiving.  We ran/walked the Arlington Turkey Trot 5K with Erik running his first 5K at 26:29 and finishing 20th in his age group - congrats Uncle E!  After burning off some calories, we ate the second ever Seminara fried turkey and it was quite delicious.  Grandma Reggie was a huge help making all the sides - potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and carrots - the sound of it still makes us hungry!  And Mom made her first ever sweet potato casserole.  Brady sampled the feast, liking the potatoes and sweet potatoes but spitting out the turkey (he didn't seem to like the consistency).  Another morning he also tried bacon and unlike his Dad did not seem to like that either.  Indy was happy as Jeff took him for 3-4 walks/day in the gorgeous 60-70 deg weather.  Uncle E and Gary took advantage of the warm weather and put up the Christmas lights.  This year's decorations include the bushes and reindeer.

Brady loved all the company and attention.  He learned how to clap from his Uncle E and loved watching Grandma make sock monkey make faces and do flips.  He showed off his crawling skills going all over the living room and kitchen floors.  And he showed how strong he is doing "jumpies" in his exersaucer.  As his personality continues to develop, he has started making a scrunchie face (a half excited half smile) usually followed by his arms and legs going in excitement.  And he's developing his ability to chew, biting down and holding his spoon in his mouth sometimes not wanting to let go.  He's still in a "mommy phase" crying and reaching for Mommy when he sees her, but he can usually be distracted to settle down.  

By the end of the week, both Dad and Mom came down with stomach flu.  This wasn't exactly how they wanted to lose those extra pounds after Thanksgiving, but it did give them a chance to catch up on their Christmas movies and not spend money on black Friday.  Only 4 weeks until Christmas, wow.

Week 30 -

Getting stronger, more active, and more mobile.  Brady still loves water bottles, and according to friends on Facebook we must be raising Baby Superman since he can crush a plastic bottle with one hand!  This also makes it difficult to clear his nose or clip his nails when he resists.  He is definitely more active, constantly on the go checking things out or turning to look when he hears a noise.  And he's all over the place now on the floor crawling around object to object.  Mom lets him crawl around in the living room, seems backwards picking UP the dog toys and putting the baby toys on the FLOOR.  The pets seem to be getting used to him.  Indy sniffs him then walks away, Fenway holds her ground until he gets close and Mom moves Brady away, and Foxy can't really be bothered preferring to stay away at all times.  Brady loves watching Indy, we're sure they'll be BFFs someday.

Grandpa Bob and Grammie Terry left this week, but before they went Brady got to check out the RV.  Grandpa Bob let Brady play with the keys and wheel, next year they will have to take him for a ride.  The RV will stay with us in Texas for the winter, or least the next 2 months, before they come back down to get back on the road.  We also went to the Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine.  Brady liked watching the fish in the giant fish tanks and the gorillas and elephants move to the jungle music.  That's a great place for a kids birthday party. The family visits continue next week with Grandma Reggie, Jeff, and Uncle Erik in town for Thanksgiving and fried turkey.  Crazy the holidays are already here.

Brady had his first shoplift this week at a major superstore.  Somehow a toy he was playing with ended up tucked in the cart seat and we made away with it.  Hopefully we are not destined to a life of crime!

Brady is up to 2-3 solids a day now with meat and veggies or rice for dinner (blended of course).  This made for some quite solid poops this week too.  Can't believe he's growing up so fast, he will be 7 months old later this week.

We had a bit of "fall" weather this week with the temperatures at night dropping into the 30s.  Indy and Fenway took advantage of Indy's oversize pillow and were really cute cuddling up on it at night.  They each try to get as much room as possible and while Fenway has claws to her advantage, Indy's tail can be overpowering.  In the end they managed to share.