Back from Beantown

I got back from Boston last night and I am tired! It was definitely a work trip as I didn't get to do much during the time I was there....but work! Go figure, right? I was hoping I would have a chance to at least do a little shopping on Tuesday night, but I didn't leave the office until after 7:00 pm, proceeded to get lost on my way back to the hotel (I decided to walk it and I wasn't sure where I was going in the first place so in hindsight, definitely not the best idea) and then I had so much work to do, I ended up getting room service and watching the baseball game on TV. The Red Sox were at home and I would have loved to go, but it didn't work out. Maybe next time! :)

I missed Brody so much. I got home late last night and decided to not go by and pick him up since I would have to turn right back around and drop him off this morning. When I saw him today, it was like I hadn't seen him in forever! My parents said he was so good the last couple of days! They said he was talking, and laughing, and playing and didn't really fuss at all! He has such a laid back personalityand seems to go with the flow....nothing really bothers him. He definitely gets that trait from his father! I am definitely blessed!

Of course, you know I couldn't leave Brody anywhere where there wasn't a camera so my parent's were on camera duty and they got some cute pictues! He is really starting to enjoy his bouncer and he even fell asleep at one point, which you can see below!

Doing the gangsta' lean in his highchair!

Getting Packed

Today, my parents came over so I could get packed and they came and got Brody's stuff for this week. My plane leaves tomorrow at 5:00 pm and I don't get back until 10:00 Wednesday. We decided that I wouldn't pick him up until Thursday because by the time I got my luggage and got to my parents house it would be close to 11:00 pm. I don't want to wake him up, just to put him back down at the house, hope he stayed asleep and then take him back to my parents on Thursday morning. It will definitely be weird not to have him for the next 3 days, that's for sure. But, he is in good hands!

He is definitely sitting up now. This morning, he was doing so good with it and even though he still leans forward, he is definitely trying to sit up straight. He has yet to really roll over. I keep working on it and he keeps wanting nothing to do with it. He has rolled over twice, back in the beginning of May, but he hasn't done it since. I try and coerce him by putting all of his toys on one side, but he just stares at them and waits for me to give them to him. We will keep working on it......

Here are some pictures from this weekend! Hope you had a good weekend!

Sitting Up

Brody had a first yesterday.....he sat up without falling over on his own! Normally, when he sit him up, he falls forward face first. Well...yesterday, when I sat him up, he started to fall forward, but he was trying to pull himself back up and did that for a few seconds. I of course had the camera with me and was able to capture this very moment! (Look at his guns....he could do some damage with those arms!)

Also, last night when I was feeding him, he held the bottle on his own for about a minute. I don't think he knew what he was doing, but he held it up far enough for him to get formula and not air. I did not have my camera to capture this moment because I normally don't bring it in his room when I am feeding him his bottle before bed. (Maybe I should start so I can get these moments too!)

Anyway, he is growing like a weed and doing more and more things everyday. I told my friend last night that this stage of Brody's life is my favorite because he is so interactive and thinks I am the funniest person on the planet! Seeing him do so many "firsts" is so exciting and I look forward to seeing what he will do everyday! She told me that I am going to eventually say that about every stage of his life!! :)

Ted left today

I just dropped Ted off at the airport for his flight to Italy! :( He is scheduled to be there for 3 weeks. I would like to hope that he will be back sooner than that, but I am pretty sure that won't happen! It was originally supposed to be a 6 week trip, but his work decided to split the 6 weeks between 2 guys. I still wished I would have been able to go...I have always wanted to go there. Maybe one day!

I am dropping Ethan off at his mother's after his karate class tomorrow. I wished he didn't have to go back so soon....he is such a good big brother to Brody. He talks to him, makes him laugh and smile and I think Brody has really taken to him. Seeing them together has been so sweet! I have been talking about getting their pictures taken since Brody was born, but I haven't done it. It seems like we are running, running, running on the weekends and I never get a chance to do it. Things need to slow down, but when does that really happen once you have kids?

Back to Normal....

Last night was much better with Brody's sleeping! I had an appointment last night after work so Ted was on kiddie duty! At Brody's appointment on Monday, his pediatrician said that we could start increasing the amount of cereal he eats and even increase to feeding him cereal twice a day (once in the morning and once at night). I wasn't planning on doing anything until the weekend so just in case he had some issues, I was home and didn't have to go to work. Well....considering he woke up Monday and Tuesday night to eat, we decided to increase the amount of cereal last night. Ted said he gave him a good amount (not sure that is a measurement) and when I got home, he was almost finished with the bottle. I finished feeding him and was out before he finished the last 2 oz. I laid him down and when I came out, the clock said 8:07. About 1:45, he let out a cry, but only one and we didn't hear anything else until 10 minutes to 6:00 this morning. So, I am thinking that either the extra cereal helped or whatever issues he was having are over.

Ted leaves tomorrow for Italy and I just found out today that I have to go to Boston next week. UGH!! Perfect timing for this to happen. So, good ole' MeeMaw and Pop-Pop are going to watch him next week. Thank goodness they are here and able to take care of him or else I wouldn't have been able to go. So...I am starting to get a little stressed about all the stuff I have to do between now and Sunday. But...it will all get done...some way, some how!

Here are a few recent pics! He loves his cereal, that's for sure!

Growth Spurt Maybe?

Okay...I am starting to think that Brody must be going through a growth spurt. Last night, he woke up at 12:30, we fed him at 1:00, he woke up at 3:30 and he went back to sleep and woke up at 5:00. Not sure what that was all about, but he woke up the night before last too. I am hoping this is a 2 day deal and tonight will be back to normal! Keep your fingers crossed and I will let you know what happens! :)

Last Night.....

Brody got another set of shots yesterday (the same ones he got at 2 months). He didn't have any issues last time except a slight fever so I decided to give him some Tylenol right before the shots yesterday and then again last night before bed.

After his appointment yesterday morning, he fell asleep in the car on the way to my parent's house and then stayed asleep once I got there for a little while longer. My parents' smoke alarms went off (low battery), scared the crap out him and he didn't go back to sleep in the morning after that. My Dad said that he fed him around noon and he was back asleep by 12:30. When I called around 4:00, he was still asleep! He never takes long naps like that anymore, so I figured it must have been the Tylenol that wiped him out. He was in a good mood last night when I got home and we played for a bit before he started to get red-eyed around 7:30 pm. I fed him and he was out by 8:15 pm.

Around 11:30 or so (I was already asleep), I thought I heard him in the monitor. I asked Ted and he said he had been fussy on an off for about a half hour. He would cry and then go back to sleep and cry and go back to sleep. I dozed off for another hour or so and heard him again. Ted went in there and tried to calm him down and even rocked him for a little bit. He fell back asleep when Ted was holding him, but as soon as he laid him down in the crib, he woke up. I went in there and checked to see if he was hungry and sure enough, he would have sucked my finger off if he could have! We decided to go ahead and feed him and he went right down after that and slept until 6:15 or so this morning.

Not sure what that was about, but I am thinking it might have been a combination of the shots and his 4 hour marathon nap yesterday! He seemed okay this morning so hopefully he will have a good day!

4 Month Stats

Okay...so I took Brody for his 4 month appointment this morning and here are his stats:

Weight - 19lbs. 8oz (Whoa!)
Height - 26 inches
Head - 17 inches

He is in the 75-80th percentile for his height, the 75th percentile for his head and of course, off the charts for his weight. She still said there is nothing to worry about at this point with his weight....just keep doing what we are doing! No problemo! He currently eats five 7 oz. bottles a day and cereal once a day right before he goes down. She told me to go ahead and add another serving of cereal (in the morning) and I may start to see his formula intake go down. I have noticed recently that he doesn't necessarily finish all of the bottle each time. Then, a couple weeks before his 6-month appointment, I can start him on Stage 1 fruits and vegetables. How exciting! :)

I also asked her for suggestions for how to get him to take naps in his crib. Pretty much everything she suggested, we have tried. She finally said that eventually, when he does outgrow the swing, we will have to let him cry it out. I am just worried that time might come sooner, rather than later! I mean the weight limit on the swing is 25 lbs....we are about 6 lbs. away from that! I still can't believe he weighs almost 20 lbs!! I have to keep reminding myself that he was almost 11 lbs. when he was born. Still....do babies typically double their weight in 4 months?

Change is good....I think!

On Saturday, we went to my friend Melissa's for a little get together. I had debated on whether to bring Brody or to have my parent's keep him for the night because I wanted to stay out past 8:00 pm. We have never stayed out later than 8:00 with him because I am such a stickler about his bedtime routine and have been afraid of what would happen if we weren't home by the time he eats and goes to bed. Call me crazy, I know, but the schedule he is on and the routine we have established works really well for him. Well, I decided to get "wild and crazy" and see how Brody would do if stayed out later.

My friend set up the pack-n-play for him to sleep in and I thought things could get interesting because he has never really slept in the pack-n-play before. We stuck to the bedtime routine (minus the bath) and after his bottle, I laid him in the pack-n-play and he was out! I checked on him a few times during the evening and he was sleeping like a champ. We decided to leave around 10:30 (I know, we are party animals!) and Ted picked him up (still sleeping, BTW) and put him in the car seat. He opened his eyes briefly for a moment while I was carrying him to the car, but fell fast asleep once we got going. Once we got home, I made the transition from the car seat into the crib and he didn't even wake up. He went right down and slept until 4:45 this morning (a total of 8.5 hours)

I was definitely relieved to know that he didn't seemed fazed about falling asleep one place and waking up in another! I was always afraid of changing things up because he is doing so well the way that things are. I guess I need to start realizing that he is pretty resilient and can handle change every now and then. He can....but I am having a harder time with it!

Also, I think I have given up the battle of him not sleeping in the crib during the day. My friends and family keep reminding me that he sleeps so well at night that not sleeping in the crib during the day doesn't seem to affect him. It apparently bothers me more than him. He has his 4 month appointment in the morning and I am going to ask his pediatrician for her suggestions. I am assuming she is going to say that as long as he is taking a nap during the day and he is sleeping good at night, let him sleep where he likes. I am starting to come to that realization. It only took me 4 months to get here! :)

So, here are a few pictures of Brody and Ethan in the pool on Saturday. Ethan volunteered to guide him around in the pool in the baby raft. I definitely think he is getting used to his big brother role!

Just Pictures

Not much is going on so I thought I would just post some pictures from the last couple of days. Enjoy and have a great weekend! :)

Attempting to Roll Over

Brody is trying and trying to roll over from his back to his front, which he has not done yet, and he is almost there. He can definitely get his top half over, but his bottom half is holding him back. (It is probably those chunky thighs of his!). I used one of his favorite toys to try and coerce him over and it was working for a little bit. You can see how bad he wanted it in the videos below.

On another note, Ted found out on Monday that he is leaving on July 26th to go to Italy. I want to go there so bad but now is definitely not the right time...work is crazy (and about to get crazier) and my Mom is not 100%. He is scheduled to be there for three weeks! Hopefully, this will be his last trip for a little while. It is always a little more hectic when he isn't here. But I have done it before and can do it again! :) Knowing my parents are right down the street and available to help is definitely a blessing!!

What are these?

Brody has finally discovered that he has feet!! Yesterday, when I was talking to my parents (my mother is out of work with a herniated disk....UGH!), they said that Brody was grabbing at his feet. I was always afraid he was going to do something for the first time and I wasn't going to be there for it. I was so bummed that I was not there! Well..this morning, when I got up to feed him before I left for work, he reached down (as his leg was coming up) and grabbed his feet. I wished I had had the camera with me (I have thought about bringing the camera in there with me when he first wakes up because he is so happy but only a crazy lady would do that). So..I put the camera in the diaper bag and told my parents to take a picture if he did it again. Here it is.....(my dad actually helped him out a little with this one....)

Here are a few others...he is actually starting to get his hair back. He lost most of the hair he was born with and now he is starting to grow back.....who would have thought one would be excited about hair growth! You can see his peach fuzz in pictures below.

Ethan Day

Yesterday, we decided we would have an Ethan Day and let Ethan decide what we were going to do. Ted, Brody and I went into his room around 10:00 to wake him up (yes, he slept that long). We put Brody on his chest and as he woke up, he looked around and said, "Good morning family!" It was sweet! So we told him that we could do whatever he wanted. He said, "Whatever I want?" We said, "Yep!" He said, "What about Water Country?" I looked at Ted's face, and of course, that was the last thing that Ted wanted to do, but because it was Ethan Day, he put on his swim trucks and we dropped Brody off at my parents and headed to Water Country.

It has been a long time since I have been to a water park and I have to say, it brought back some childhood memories. As we were walking in the park, I was telling Ted the story about me as a small child going to White Water in Oklahoma and how they had this ride called the Black Hole, which was basically a covered tube that you rode down in a raft and it was pitch black the entire time. I told him how I was so scared I never rode it. Well...they had a similar ride called the Aquazoid. We were able to all ride in one tube through it and I have to say, I did brave it and it wasn't that bad! All in all, we had a really good time!

When we got home last night, we were all pretty tuckered out. We picked up Brody and Ted decided to cut the grass. I was inside keeping Brody occupied and Ethan came down and played with him for a little bit. I put Brody in the bouncer and Ethan had him laughing and talking. I tried to get some pictures, but of course, Brody wasn't really smiling then! Here are a few:

Last night was interesting. I fed Brody his cereal around 7:30 and then took him upstairs to get him ready for bed. I started feeding him his bottle and of course, he started falling asleep halfway through, which he is starting to do on a regular basis now. I have to jiggle the bottle to wake him up so he will take it all. I laid him down about 8:30 and he was out...or so I thought. I started doing some stuff on the computer and Ted came in the room and then we heard him crying in the monitor. We both thought it was odd because he normally goes down really weel and doesn't fuss at all!!

Well...I went in there and sure enough, he spit up all over himself and the sheet. I guess he had a little too much! I quickly changed his pjs while Ted changed his sheet. Once all that was done, I laid him back down in the crib and his eyes were wide open. I left the room and didn't hear a single peep out of him. I checked on him 30 minutes later and he was sound asleep. I guess that advice about putting the baby down when they are sleepy, but not all the way asleep was helpful because he seems to be able to go to sleep on his own really well. I didn't hear anyother peep out of him until 6:00 am this morning.

Here are a few others of Brody that I took last night before he went to bed.

Look at my little chunky monkey!! It is crazy how much I love this little man!

Rock Climbing and Other Stuff.....

This morning, I took Ethan to his friend's birthday party at a sporing store where they went rock climbing. Yesterday, and even this morning, he kept saying how bad he was at rock climbing and didn't seem that excited to go. But, of course, once we got there, he had a good time and was actually better than he thought! They have three different courses, or whatever you call them, with #1 being the easiest and #3 being the hardest. He made it up to the top of #1, and rang the bell. He skipped #2 and went straight for #3 next. His goal was to make it up halfway and he only made it 1/4 of the way. He did have a pretty negative attitude, which probably contributed to his lack of succes as he kept saying "I can't do it the whole time!" His legs and arms were shaking at one point as he was trying to hold on, though, and I can't even imagine how difficult it probably is. I have never done it and have no desire to so I guess I probably won't know what it is actually like! Here are a few pictures....

And, as you can tell, Brody had a lot of fun watching his brother!!!

On another note...one morning last week, while Ted was trying to get ready (he drops Brody off in the morning now), he brought Brody in our room and turned the TV on. I mentioned to him that one time when we were at my parents, they had SpongeBob on for my niece and nephews and Brody was staring at the TV. He thought he would see what he would do if he turned cartoons on. Sure enough, Brody sat there, mesmerized by the TV. I know that one of the development milestones around 4-5 months is the ability to see bold colors and I think I can definitely check that one off. I put him in front of the TV the other night and he sat there for 30 minutes, completely content, just watching the TV. He probably would have sat there longer if I would have let him. Here is a picture...(excuse all the mess....between Ethan and Brody's stuff, it looks like ToysRUs threw up in my living room!)

Tab and Kevin were here this weekend and everyone knows how much Tab loves to have her picture taken...here are a few of her and Brody....

We got down on the floor with him and took this picture. I love his look.....

And finally, I don't have many pictures with Brody since I am normally the picture-taker and take his picture like its my job! I think he might actually start posing soon! :) If nothing else, there will definitely be plenty of pictures to embarass him with when he gets older, that's for sure!