Ethan's a Black Belt

Ethan is officially a black belt in karate. He had his black belt testing this past weekend and he did really good. The testing place was super crowded so we didn't get many good pictures, but we of course got some! I spent most of the time in the car with Brody since he wouldn't stay quiet and he wanted to move around. Although, I was able to see Ethan get his black belt from the instructors which was pretty exciting. Here are a few pics! Way to go Ethan!

The past couple of days have been pretty hard on Mr. Brody. Since he starts daycare on Monday (UGH!), I was trying to adjust his schedule to the schedule he will be on. Weird as it is, he has transitioned pretty well. They only take one nap during the day, which he was used to taking 2 so that was a big change and he now eats with us at night, which is around 6:30 or so. He has also transitioned to milk officially......and that has been a bear. For the past week, he has wanted nothing to do with the sippy cup when it had milk in it. He would drink from it some when we put half juice/half water, but not with the milk. He still gets a bottle before bed time and that has been no problem so I was assuming it was the fact that he wasn't getting the bottle anymore. Well, tonight, we decided to warm up the milk a little bit and give it to him in the sippy cup! Success! Hopefully, that is the ticket!

Also, as we were finishing dinner, he looked a little glassy eyed and Ted felt his head and he felt hot. I took his temp and it was 100.9. Hopefully, it is from teething, which I think he is doing, and not that he is getting sick. We made it the whole first year with no sickness (thank God!) so hopefully this isn't his first. I know there will be many sick days for us once he starts daycare, but hopefully it isn't starting now. I gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed a little early. I just checked the monitor and he is just laying there in the crib. I think he is pretty tuckered out!

Other than that, not much else is going on! Brody is just walking, walking, walking! Hopefully he will give me a nice work out chasing after him! :) Here is a video I took of him last week. Forgive me for my voice in the background....calling his name many, many times!! I hate hearing my voice on video! You can see my little bow-legged man walking all around the living room. Looks like he just got off a horse! :)

Brody's Party-Part 2

Brody's Haircut and Party-Part 1

Brody's 1 year pictures

Lots to Post....Pictures to follow!

Okay...so the last four days have been busy, busy, busy. I figured I would blog first and post pictures second. So let's start at the beginning......

Thursday was my baby's 1st birthday! I decided to take off Thursday and Friday to spend the day with him and get ready for his party. So, on Thursday, my mom took off too and my Mom, Dad and I took Brody to get his first haircut. He was such a big boy! I took him to my hairstylist and he sat in the chair all by himself for the majority of the haircut. She said we should try that first rather than having him sit on my lap. He did so good....which is usual for him! He sat there and only towards the end did he get a little antsy. I have pictures that I will post next.

From there, we went and got his 1 year old pictures taken. When I called to schedule the appointment, they suggested bringing a cake or cupcake for him to eat so we could get pictures. We got him changed and took some pictures in his regular clothes first. The photographer wanted me in the first set, which I was not prepared for, but they turned out pretty good. Then we got a few of him walking, with the 1 block, and some on a little tricycle. We also got a few with my parents, which was great! Then, at the end, we brought the cupcake out and got some pictures of him with that and his "birthday boy" shirt on. They turned out great! He was not real excited about the cupcake and having it all over his hands (he is definitely my father's grandson!), but once I broke off a piece, he did eat it! We had to wait for them to develop and when we went back, the photographer said she couldn't decide on the pictures and gave us 41 to choose from. Normally, they only give you 15. I had a coupon for one free 8x10 or 10X13 and I also was able to get another free portrait and sheet. Since we couldn't decide, she said we could get all 41 poses on a CD where we could take them wherever we wanted and get extra sheets made for much cheaper than they could offer. I decided to do that because I could not decide. But, I did get a sheet of 2 5x7s of him smiling, one with my parents and then another one with his signature face (scrunching up his nose). It was perfect. And the funny part is that she asked for my permission to put the picture up in the store! Of course, I said Yes! It was definitely a great day.

So that was Thursday....on to Friday.

Brody's 12 month checkup was scheduled for Friday afternoon. Ted took off Friday to help me clean the house and get ready for the party and to take Brody to the doctor. Here are his latest stats:

Height - 31 1/4 inches
Head - 18 3/4 inches (his head was much better than last time so nothing to worry about...Thank God!)
Weight - 28.3 lbs. Much better than we thought. I totally thought he would be 30 lbs.

He is in the 96% for weight, the 90% for height, and the 80% for his head. While above normal, he is still pretty perfect! So we talked about food, his development milestones and she checked him out. All checked out great and his is doing well! We then talked about his shots. Since I am so worried about his MMR shot, I told her that at his 15 month checkup, I only wanted to do the MMR and no other shots. So, this meant he had to get 3 shots and a finger prick to check his hemoglobin, lead and iron levels. So once they got done with the shots, they sent us down to the lab to get the finger prick.

Well, when they called us back, they said that my insurance did not cover a finger prick, that they had to do an arm draw. I was a little hesitant about that, but what was I going to do. So, they stuck the needle in his arm and could not find his vein. They then proceeded to dig around trying to find his vein for what seemed like an eternity. I finally said, "can you just do the finger prick! I will pay for it!" By that time, Ted came back to see what was going on because he could hear Brody screaming. To make matters worse, since they did the finger prick, they wanted to make sure they had enough blood and took like 10 sticks of his blood! Which meant they had to squeeze his finger for like 5 mintues. It was pretty horrible. Ted said he was proud of me because he expected to come back and see me crying, but I held myself together well. Of course, when we got to the car, I wanted to break down. I hate to see him in pain and I know what it feels like for someone to stick a needle in my arm, digging around for a vein. Needless to say, we made it out in one piece.

Tab came down on Friday. She was originally going to come down later on Friday, go shopping with me for the party stuff and then spend the weekend. Unfortunately, her grandfather died on Wednesday night so the wake was Friday night and the funeral was Saturday at 1:00....the same time as Brody's party. She took off Friday, came down a little early, went with me shopping, then went to the wake after. She then helped me prepare Friday morning, went to the funeral at 1:00 and made it back just in time for Brody to eat his cake, which was the part she didn't want to miss. I totally appreciate all her help during all of this, especially considering what she was dealing with!

Saturday was his party...which was a success. He didn't take a good nap Saturday morning, which stunk, but he was pretty good considering. He was a little fussy, which we think might have been from the shots as his leg was red and swollen and he felt a little warm. We gave him some tylenol and he was much better today. He got so many great things and I think he had a good time. My parents got him a little chair with his name on it and my sisters got him a little table and chair set and a toy chest to put all of his toys in. We decided to make our dining room his playroom, since we don't have dining room table and we really don't plan on getting one anytime soon. It is working perfectly!

Today, we decided to just chill out since the last 4 days have been nonstop! It was so nice!

I was a little emotional last week considering Brody was turning 1 and I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. To make matters worse, I received a call from the daycare that Brody was on the waiting list for and they said they had a spot for him and could start on April 6th. Since we had to respond within 24 hours, I hung up the phone, called Ted. Since we weren't expecting to put him in daycare until June, this was a little early for us. We went back and forth about it and decided that we would go ahead and take the spot. I, of course, immediately started crying. I can't believe my baby is going to be going to daycare. It was a hard decision to make but I know that it will be such a good thing for him. He will definitely benefit from the socialization, which is the main reason for putting him in daycare in the first place. When I told my Dad, he said "let me sit down!" He was a little shocked it happened so soon as well. I know he will miss having Brody around, but I know they will want to take him on the weekends and my Dad has already said that he will want to pick him up some afternoons once he has gotten settled in to the place. I have my intake appointment with the daycare tomorrow at 11:00, where I will meet his teacher and go through all the important information. Once of the best things about this place is that the ratio of children to teachers is 4:1. You can't beat that! And, two of the other kids that will be with him have their intake appointments tomorrow at 11:00 too so I will get to meet them and size them up! :) Just kidding!

April 6th will be one of the hardest days for me, but I need to keep reminding myself that this will be good for him! I asked my boss if I could take that day off and she said, "no, but you can come in late. I am not going to let you stay home, going crazy all day long and being in close vicinity to the daycare that you might be tempted to pick him up early!" She knows me so well! :)

Sorry to babble, but as you can tell, the last few days have been pretty crazy. But, all in all, they were okay (with the exception of Friday) and I officially now have a 1 year old! CRAZY! Atleast I have about 1 million pictures of his first year that I can look back on! And... he is officially a walker now. He is walking all over the place...still a little wobbly, but he is walking. He is also trying to run but he does not get very far!

I am going to post pictures now! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Pictures....Finally!

Okay...here are some pictures from the last few weeks. The first ones were from Brandon's birthday party....Brody rode the little kiddie rides at Chuck E Cheese......and then we bathed him in antibacterial soap! :) Just kidding....but seriously, that place is germ-infested! The others are from the house.......just random pics! We are in the process of weaning him from the pacifier during the day and he is doing really good! He only gets his pacifier during his nap times and at night. We have given it to him when he is a little fussy when it is close to bed time or when he is out of his element, but for the most part he is doing just fine without it!

Hope everyone has had a good weekend!

Here is Brody and his Aunt Ti-Ti!

Brody checking out the ladies! :)

My crazy kid with a ball in his mouth!! He does this often! Should I be worried?

This is what I get when I ask him to say "cheese!" Love it!

He has this fixation with turning his giraffe toy upside down. He will play with it one minute and then turn it over the next. Strange.

Again, "Cheese!"

I love his expression in this picture!

Brody sporting daddy's hat

My attempt at a new Ethan-Brody picture!

Trying again...although neither one is looking at the camera!

I love this picture....it looks like Ethan is telling Brody a story!

Brody is going to be 1 next week.....Can you believe it?

So.....the past week has been pretty lazy. We haven't been doing much. Ted and I are starting to cook more at home because we will have daycare to pay for soon and it ain't that cheap! Ted went by the daycare the other day to see where we are on the waiting list and we are in the same spot. The person he talked to did say that they are getting ready to transition some kids so we may move up a spot or two. At this rate, he will be going to day care next year! I guess I should look for some other options, but it just sucks because that day care is so convenient. But...we will see.

Brody has been walking more. He has definitely taken more steps, but he still loves to crawl. And he is so funny because he always puts his right leg up and crawls more with that leg. He can definitely get there faster and he of course has figured that out. We have finally mastered the sippy cup! Thank the lord! We bought these trainer bottles to try and get him used to the sippy cup and he has really taken to them. He has totally boycotted the sippy cup until now. Although it is really funny to see him drink out of the sippy cup with water because I know he is expecting milk.

We also had our first bleed the other night. Brody was crawling around the kitchen and did a face plant on the floor. He immediately started crying and when I picked him up, I saw blood. So what do I do? Freak out with him! Ted calmed us both down and he just nicked his lip. I know there will be many more boo-boos to come. I just hate to see it when he hurts himself! I better get used to it because he is all boy! The rougher you are with him, the more he likes it. My dad has definitely figured that out and definitely takes advantage of it! :)

I am getting ready for Brody's first birthday. It is hard to believe that my baby will be 1 next week! I have said that I have very mixed emotions. While I am so glad he is growing up and thriving, I am not a fan of him becoming more independent and not needing me as much. He does so much on his own now that it is hard to let go! But, it is definitely a milestone and I am so greatful that he is a part of my life now. I am off next Thursday (for his birthday) and next Friday to prepare for his party on Saturday. My mom took of next Thursday as well (thanks Mom!) and we are going to take Brody for a haircut and then his 1 year pictures. His hair is a hot mess and it definitely needs to be trimmed. His hair is growing every which way and his poor ears are hidden as well. He looks so handsome with his hair done so I can't wait to see him!

My camera has been in my diaper bag with my parents for the past week so I haven't been able to post pictures. I will get it back tonight (since I work from home tomorrow) and will try and post pictures later!

I hope everyone has had a great week!

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday was my birthday and it was a really great day! :) I have always loved my birthday and that hasn't seem to change as I have gotten older. One of my birthday presents was a video monitor. I wanted to get one for a while, but really wanted to get one recently just to see what Brody was doing once we put him down. For a while, I figured that he went to bed as soon as we put him in the crib since I never really heard him in our monitor and he didn't seem to cry out. Well, we installed it late last week and that night, I watched him after we put him down. My little man did not go to sleep for about 30 minutes after we put him down. He was just chilling in his crib, playing with his stuffed animals and his pacifiers. It was so cute. Ted asked me, "Is there anything else on TV besides Brody?" I absolutely love this monitor and am so glad I have it now!

My girlfriend at work sent me these super cute flowers yesterday! They look like a big margarita! I thought it was the cutest idea!

After work, I asked my mom to make one of my favorite dinners rather than going out so we ate there last night. When I got to my parents house, Ted had decorated the house with some birthday decorations. It was really nice. He also surprised me with a gift certificate to New York & Company, which is one of my favorite clothing stores. I have lost more weight than I gained with Brody and some of my pants are too big so he told me to go get some new clothes! He is so sweet! :) We had a nice dinner and in the middle of dinner, Brody said Mama for the first time! For the past couple of months, he has been mouthing mama but hasn't actually voiced it. Well, he did yesterday and it was a perfect birthday present for me!

Today is Tab's birthday and I hope she is having a great day! :)