And Baby Makes Three

Earthquakes and hurricanes and outtages, oh my!

2011-09-01T20:45:00.005-04:00

It's been an interesting two weeks, to say the least! Last week I experienced my first earthquake. A little tiny nothing one, but we don't get those in these parts so it was a pretty big deal. I was sitting at my desk at work and thought I was having a dizzy spell when I saw one of my co-workers looking at me funny and I realized the whole building was shaking, not just my head.

This past weekend we braced ourselves for hurricane Irene, who was making her way up the east coast. Thankfully, by the time she got to us on Sunday she had weakened to a tropical storm but that didn't stop the power from going out. For four days. Now that we're way out here in the boonies we have well water. Well this little lady who grew up on public water systems did not realize that when the power goes out the water goes out too. Yeah, no electricity means no pump, which means no flushing toilets or running water.

Nana, Brendan and I roughed it for a day before B and I threw in the towel and headed to Mima and Papa's house. There's only so many times you can do a Spiderman puzzle by candlelight before you begin to lose your mind. Nana had power at her apartment so she headed home. Kenny had gotten called into work very early Sunday morning and ended up working pretty much non-stop for three days.

We are very lucky that we had a place to go, I can't imagine what a beast I'd be right now if we had to stick out here at the house for four days without any power or water. Or what I'd look or smell like for that matter.

Brendan and I shared a room, which I think he enjoyed. He pretty much talked my ear off every night while I tried desperately to get some sleep before work the next morning. I can laugh about it now but when you're pregnant and exhausted and not sleeping in your own bed, it's entirely possible to lose your mind over something that under any other circumstances would be absolutely adorable.

I did cherish our little sleepovers though, that kid is really very cute and loving and completely fascinating. On one of his neverending story sessions he told me about "getting the alligator and wrapping your arms around his teeth and throwing him down and that's how you do it Mommy." This is the kind of weird stuff three-year-olds discuss at 9:00 at night when you're trying to go to sleep.

Throughout all this, my little inside baby was kicking up a storm, as if telling me he/she was all right and everything was going to be OK. And speaking of the little person in there, we [hopefully] get to find out what we're having on Tuesday. Please cooperate little one! Mama has a compulsive need to know everything, not to mention a nursery to decorate.

Ole!

2011-08-22T20:47:00.003-04:00

My inside baby has started becoming a lot more mobile, at least to the point where I can feel the movement much more frequently now. Saturday night the little jumping bean was moving so much I could see it from the outside. At my 16-week appointment two weeks ago the nurse said she was having a hard time finding his/her hearbeat because baby was doing flips like crazy in there. I couldn't feel it at that point though. Two more weeks and I'll be at the halfway mark - right on Labor Day. Then the next day we get to find out what we're having. (Please cooperate, little one!!!)

Once we find out I'll get motived to clean out the closet and pick some paint and bedding for the baby's room. Hopefully some loving family members will volunteer to help. :)

My outside baby finally got his big-boy bed, yay! It was getting too hard for me to hoist his 34lb body in and out of his crib with my growing belly. Not to mention, he was outgrowing that thing like nobody's business and the move was long overdue. We picked it up yesterday and B helped Papa and me put it together. Such a big helper! Only thing was the store was out of the tent thing that goes on top, which is the coolest part! They won't have it in stock until tomorrow and of course they don't deliver because the nearest one is an hour away. Lame. He slept in it for the first time last night and did fantastic. Didn't try to get out of bed and slept right through the night.

His other first last night was a gnarly fat lip. We put a baby gate in his bedroom doorway so he can't sneak out at night but it's got a bar at the bottom that's a total trip hazard. Poor guy was running full steam ahead into his room, tripped, and landed right on his face. His top lip was swollen and bleeding; he cried for a good 30 minutes, straight through his bath. A few bedtime stories in his new bed calmed him down though and this morning he was in good spirits even though he said his booboo wasn't better yet. By the time I picked him up from camp the swelling had gone down pretty much completely and has been replaced with a big scab. I'm now on a mission to find a new gate that won't cause any more injuries...

We have some pictures of the new bed and the fat lip but I haven't uploaded them. I also need to have Kenny take some belly pictures so I can compare this pregnancy to the one with Brendan. Someday I'll get around to uploading and posting them.

Hello Again

2011-07-27T10:29:00.003-04:00

It's been a little while. Truthfully, writing feels like a job to me lately. And I already have enough work between my full-time job at work and my other full-time jobs as Mom, wife, accountant, maid, event planner, and so on and so forth.

So why am I back?

Here's the thing: I'm pregnant. And I have this massive guilt over the fact that I had a blog when I was pregnant with Brendan and then proceeded to blog pretty regularly for the first two years of his life. And here I am 14.5 weeks into my pregnancy and not a single entry since I found out.

I'm going to write a few sentences that sound like excuses to make me feel better and then I'll get on with updates. When I was pregnant with Brendan, we lived MUCH closer to where I work and I didn't have a toddler to take care of when I came home or on the weekends. If I felt like sitting on the couch all night/weekend then that's exactly what I did. Now, I have an hour commute each way and an absolutely adorable little boy who wants nothing more than to play with his Mommy when she gets home. So sitting my ever-expanding ass on the couch is not really an option.

I'm EXHAUSTED. And because of that I'm cranky and prone to mood swings mostly directed at my poor husband. It's hard to let the excitement of the pregnancy take over like it did the first time when I feel like I have so many things competing for my attention. What I would like is a nice, long vacation by myself where I can just sit on the beach, read a book, and not have to take care of anyone/anything but myself. Where do I sign up?

I realize I sound ungrateful. I am so blessed in so many ways and yet I can't always step back and appreciate what I have. So let me stop complaining and focus on all the wonderful things in my life.

A bit about this pregnancy. I have dealt with some morning (all day) sickness, but NOTHING like I had with Brendan. I've only thrown up three times whereas with him I threw up at least once a day. This time around my body is more sore, I'm dealing with more headaches and I'm just really tired. Some of these could be because I'm thisclose to "advanced maternal age" this time. :/

We are going to find out what we're having but have to wait another 5.5 weeks because my new OB doesn't do them before 20 weeks. Patience is really not my thing but I'm working on it. I'm excited about having a nursery to decorate this time and am also going to make some changes to Brendan's room while we're at it. Just a new paint color and a few new accessories here and there.

We've been living in our house close to a year now and absolutely love it. It's hard to remember living in that cramped apartment with no yard for Brendan to play in. The area is really nice and it's so peacefully quiet.

That's all I've got for now. Be back soon...

I do it!

2011-01-20T20:30:00.007-05:00

Pardon my slacking, I've been busy building myself an igloo. The fourth (fifth??) snow storm in the last 3.5 weeks is headed our way tonight, which is really just so awesome. If you're someone who likes that much snow. Which I don't.

Brendan started his new daycare in the beginning of the month. They love him and say he's doing really well, making friends and having fun. Problem is the whole drop-off thing, which as I've complained about already, is the job of yours truly. The first week he actually did really well and I felt a little silly that I had been so anxious and dreading this transition so much.

The second week, on the other hand, didn't go quite so well. He cried and held onto me for dear life. How I would have loved to stay there with him all day and make him feel better, but I have a job and it's now an hour away so I don't have the luxury of time. Not to mention, they don't want me sticking around making things worse and it doesn't help him get adjusted if I baby him. I have to take the opposite approach and peel him off of me and run out the door. So that's what I did. Then I got in my car and cried.

It made me think of that first day I dropped him off at daycare after my maternity leave was over. It was sooooo much harder on me than it was on him. And it's the same now. He puts on a great show when I leave but I know within five minutes he's fine and having a dandy old time. But I feel awful for hours after. I just keep telling myself that he won't remember any of this a few years from now. I also tell myself that when he's testing the limits of my patience and I do something ridiculous like growl at him and make him cry. Yes, I'm a horrible mother.

So yeah, two and half is an interesting age. His vocabulary consists mostly of No! My turn! I do it! and I don't want to! He moves at a glacial pace, inspecting everything in his path, doing things when he's good and ready and not a moment sooner. Which is why we have a delightful morning ritual of him running away from me when I try to get him dressed so we can get out the door at a reasonable time. He doesn't get the sense of urgency and I learned quickly that you can't rush a toddler because it backfires and they resist even more. So either I'm trying to outwit him and trick him into letting me get him dressed, or I'm peeling off his pajamas and shoving his clothes on him all while running after him. Fun stuff.

It's all about Jedi mind games at this age. They're too young to understand "later" or "tomorrow" so there's no reasoning with them. You need to give them choices, but not too many because you overwhelm them. I'd like to start potty training him but he's much more interested in sitting on the potty and using up all the toilet paper while he pretends to wipe himself (he shoves the toilet paper into the potty between his legs). Oh, and he's discovered the joy of picking his nose.

I'm really making B sound like a beast, but this age is truly a lot of fun. He's so much more independent and the things he says are just hysterical. He teeters between being super affectionate and telling me he loves me "toooooo much!" and yelling at me because I had the audacity to sit in "his spock" (spot) or take the hairbrush away because he's brushing the wall. Which has the same effect as scratching nails on chalkboard, by the way.

I've heard that age three is actually harder than the terrible two's. I'll admit it, I'm kinda scurrred...

Snow!

Making a snowman with Daddy

Decapitated snowman

Brendan is 2.5 years old!

Hiiiiiii!

2010-12-27T20:45:00.002-05:00

Holy cow, it's been a long time! I'm so busy, blah blah blah. But seriously, we moved, I have a long commute, I'm pooped when I get home. Then it's the weekend and I blink and it's over. There's too much to cover so I'll give you the Cliff's Notes:

We officially moved into our new house on August 21st. We LOVE it. It's roomy and fun and best of all -- it's all ours. The roof that we had to patch, the septic pump we had to replace, the electric panel we had to replace -- all ours! No one ever said owning a home was cheap!

Brendan is getting smarter by the second. He says a lot of ridiculously funny things, like:

Mommy be nice to the song! (whenever I sing)
I love big boobies!
Where's your penis Mommy?
Where'd my (boogie, penis, insert random noun here) go? Oh, there he is!

And he's very complimentary too. He'll tell me great counting, or dancing or whatever I'm doing at the moment. Great job Mommy! Good manners too, lots of pleases and thank yous (or just enthusiastic "thanks!").

There are so many other ones that I just can't remember at the moment. I really have to get better at writing them down.

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. Mom stayed over the night before so she could get up nice and early to help me cook. Everything turned out perfectly; no one had food poisoning so that's promising.

We skipped sitting on Santa's lap this year. B is a little suspicious of strangers, especially big ones in funny red suits. Santa may bring him toys under the Christmas tree if he promises to sneak in and out quietly. But in-person visits? No thanks! Mima and Papa hosted and had a nice crowd, including Nana and Uncle Scotch and Aunt Lauren. And of course everyone spoiled him rotten. Doesn't hurt to be the only grandchild!

B is starting a new daycare next week. I have such anxiety over the transition, not to mention saying goodbye to his beloved Chrissy that's watched him since he was a little ball of 12-week-old mush. That's going to be a really hard goodbye. :*( She's been so wonderful to him and he has a very special place in her heart; she's already said how her heart is breaking at seeing him go. Ack, I'm getting upset just writing about it.

The new place will be great, it's a preschool right around the corner from us so it will chop off about 20 minutes from my currently 1.5 hour commute. He'll meet more children his age that live in the area and that he will eventually go to school with. All great things. But he's really awful in new situations. Kenny and I were both super shy growing up and B takes after us big-time in that respect. I have the drop-off so of course I have the hard job of seeing him get upset when I leave him in this new place. Kenny gets to be the hero and pick him up at the end of the day. I just keep reminding myself that I don't remember anything from when I was 2.5. So he'll be just fine. Me? Might take a while to recover.

I'll be back soon... I promise. With pictures!

Houses and ducks and tantrums, oh my!

2010-08-10T20:23:00.003-04:00

We are officially homeowners! We closed on the house on the 29th and then B and I left for Maine with the family the next day. The big move will be on the 21st so the next two weeks will be a blur of packing and getting everything ready.

Mima, Papa, Keith, Shannon, Lauren, B and I stayed in one cabin in Maine and then our extended family stayed in another cabin up the lake a bit. It was great to see everyone; we hadn't seen some of our family in almost 10 years!

Brendan was super toddler on the five-hour car ride up but things took a turn for the worse pretty much as soon as we got there. I had a stage five clinger on my hands the entire nine days we were there. Would not go to anyone but me; had no interest in going in any of the boats; insisted on being pushed in the stroller or carried if we went for a walk or to the beach. To make things even more awesome, he developed a fever for two days and threw up all over himself and the pack n' play during one of his naps. Thankfully Mima stayed composed and led the cleaning crusade. Once his fever broke he was covered in a rash so it was pretty clear that he had roseola.

Now that we're home again he's back to his usual charming self. Tonight he insisted on sitting on the potty not once, but three times in a ten-minute span. He has yet to actually do anything other than sit on it. I bought it just after he turned two to see if he had any interest. We aren't going to actively start until he shows more readiness signs but it's fun to pretend for now. He has this bit of a quirky thing where he must be completely naked when he goes on the potty. I've tried in vain to convince him that he can keep his shirt on but it's clearly a pointless battle.

Anyway, once he gets on there he insists on some quality reading material. As it happens, we have a magazine rack next to the toilet so he'll ask for a "sassine" (magazine) after he hoists himself up on the potty. And wouldn't you know, the only magazines available for perusing happen to be Maxim. So here's my naked toddler sitting on the toilet looking at women in their lingerie, pointing out their belly buttons and various other body parts, asking where their clothes are. To which I answer, "hmmmm, I don't know." Brilliant! Methinks someday that answer won't be good enough. I'll let Daddy handle it when we get there.

Here are some pics of the house and our trip. Enjoy!

The house!

Living room

Dining room

Kitchen

Family room

Car ride up to Maine - YGG!

The beautiful view from the dock

The cabin

Colors! (Brendan's way of saying "coloring")

Aunt Lauren fixing puppy's broken arm

Peaceful moment with Mommy

"Unkew Keef" sizing up the canoe

Tantrum #274

A very brave duck

Mima and Papa

Tantrum #568

The very adorable Sam, Elena and Megan

The family (minus Kenny, Betsy and Paul)

Tantrum #942

A very serious game of roofball

A rare sighting of happy Brendan!

Brendan is 2 years, 1 month and 11 days old today!

A whole lotta goings on going on

2010-07-16T21:16:00.003-04:00

My lack of blogging is not due to a lack of stuff to talk about. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kenny and I are in the process of buying our first house (our first house!!), so between that, being very busy at work and trying to squeeze in family time it's been too nuts to find the time to write.

We're scheduled to close on the house on the 29th and then Brendan and I are leaving on the 30th for a weeklong trip to Maine with Mima, Papa, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon. We're going up for a family reunion on my mom's side and seeing folks we haven't seen in many, many years. We're all super excited! Daddy is saving his vacation time for our big move so unfortunately he won't be able to come with us. :(

We had Brendan's birthday party at Mima and Papa's house two weeks ago with family and some friends. I still can't believe my little man is two years old already.

His two-year check-up was yesterday; he's up to 35.5" tall and weighs 28lb 7oz. So back to the 75th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight.

B started the visit in very good spirits. He played with some toys and read me a few books while we waited to be called in. When we were called back he led the way, then decided that maybe he remembered this place and maybe he didn't want to be here after all when he saw we were going into one of the exam rooms. "Up, Mama." I picked him up and he clung to me for dear life. It's not easy getting a lanky two-year old undressed while he suctions his body to yours and pleads with you not to let go.

I wanted nothing more than to just scoop him up and run out of there but I figured one of us had to act like an adult and since technically, I'm that person, I played the role of the Stepfordesque Mommy and smiled while I told him in my most pleasant voice that everything was going to be all right. After crying and saying "no, no, no" and looking at me with crazy eyes while he was measured and weighed, he finally calmed down and got distracted by books and a few toys that someone had blessedly left in the room.

Now, I very clearly remembered the doctor saying at his 18-month appointment that he wouldn't be getting any vaccines at this appointment. So you can imagine my surprise when she said that someone (who obviously has no children) made the decision that toddlers should get an extra dose of a particular vaccine. Ugh. In walks the nurse who tells me to lay him down and HOLD HIS HANDS OVER HIS HEAD like some sidekick in a torture routine while she sticks his meaty little thigh. Brendan cried and cried and cried.

Next up: down to the lab for bloodwork. In all honestly, I considered calling it quits at this point. Then I had a little pep talk with myself where I told me to man up and get this over with. So down to the lab we went. He had calmed down at that point and was flirting with all the lovely ladies in the lab while we waited. They called us in and I was told to have him sit on my lap, then BLOCK HIM IN WITH MY LEGS AND HOLD HIS ARM OUT SO THEY CAN STICK A NEEDLE IN HIS ARM AS THICK AS A BANANA AND DRAW TWO VIALS OF BLOOD. Yes, I'm shouting. Yes, it's necessary.

Thankfully his veins drain faster than his Mama's. Screams and cries and Mama's heart breaks but I kept my Stepford grin on and mustered up all the pleasantness I had left to hold him and tell him that the torture was done and everything was going to be all right. He cried all the way out to the car then passed out.

I told Daddy the next check-up is all him. Mama's done.

Here are some pics from B's birthday party. I haven't taken a whole lot of pictures lately but am going to try to remember to bring the camera this weekend.

Wearing his adorable shirt that Auntie Jilly found on etsy.com

Blowing out the candles with Uncle Scotch

Brendan is 2 years, 2 weeks and 3 days old today!

A Letter to My Son on His Second Birthday (a few days late)

2010-07-03T20:36:00.008-04:00

Brendan,
How is it possible that my baby is two years old?? In some ways it feels like just yesterday that I first held you in my arms, so tiny and new. And in others, it feels like you've been a part of my life for so much longer.

You're an observant little fellow, watching and absorbing everything around you. It's not unusual to see you following behind people, closing doors and drawers, lining up everyone's shoes by the doorway, singing the "clean-up" song while you put your toys away in just the right spot. Your little displays of OCD make Mommy's heart melt.

You're still a VERY picky eater—the list of foods that you'll eat without a fight is a short one: yogurt, macaroni & cheese, pizza, pasta, crackers and cinnamon graham goldfish. Meat is not your friend. And vegetables might as well be dog food.

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. And for some reason you sound like you spent most of your young life growing up in the Bronx. Water is pronounced wahtuh; cars are cwahs. Every truck is a fire truck (fy tuck), but nothing excites you more than a train (choo choo tain).

You're very polite, always ready with a "peas" and "tank you"
(sometimes just "tanks") and you hug like a champ (complete with pats on the back) and give the best little kisses. But you're not afraid to boss us around when the feeling hits. Mommy and Daddy don't sit for more than a few minutes before you wander over demanding that we "come on" and "sit down" to help you build train tracks or play with cars.

Brendan, you are an amazing little being, so full of life and love, and I'm so proud to be your mother. I cannot think of anything more rewarding than the joy of watching you grow into the amazing young man I know you'll become.

Love,
Mommy

Brendan is 2 years and 3 days old today!

Deezus!

2010-06-02T20:58:00.010-04:00

Despite the fact that Brendan is still super picky with what he'll eat, he's somehow managing to grow like a weed. We haven't had him measured since his 18-month appointment and it's damn near impossible to get him to stand still long enough to measure him but I think he's grown at least 1.5" since then.

His vocabulary is also growing by leaps and bounds. His newest thing is saying Jesus all the time. I know I should hang my head in shame over the fact that my child uses the Lord's name in vain and whatnot, but I find it kind of funny that even though his Daddy says lots of fun 4-letter words (the kind that rhyme with truck and pit) he picks up the word Jesus.

I have a habit of saying it as a replacement for other, less toddler-friendly words (like the kind that rhymes with grassbowl). For instance, when I'm driving in the middle lane of a three-lane highway and some driver merges onto the highway and immediately MUST move into the middle lane. Even though THERE IS NO ONE IN FRONT OF THEM FOR MILES and they have to CUT ME OFF to perform this manuever. So out comes, "JESUS!!!" instead of... well, other things that wouldn't be very nice. I never realized just how much I say this until he started repeating me. Thankfully he says it "Deezus" so I doubt most other people know what he's saying.

Brendan is still delightful as a daisy when he wakes up in the morning (and he still wakes up by 6am most days, waaahhh!). On one recent morning when it happened to be my morning to sleep in, I heard him saying "Mommy, Moooommmmmy, up peas (please)." So I opened one eye and said "Tell Daddy to get up." And he whispered, "Daddy's beeping (sleeping)." Why he recognizes that Daddy is sleeping but it doesn't matter that Mommy's eyes are closed is beyond me.

I say this about every age, but this age is sooooo much fun. I'm going to miss this baby talk stuff when he's speaking in full sentences with perfect pronunciation while giving his valedictorian speech at Harvard. At the tender age of five. Because my kid is a genius. Move over Doogie Howser.

Blowing bubbles with Nana (sometimes known as "Nina" although I'm not sure why)

In an attempt to get him to eat more, I thought I'd use fancy food presentation. In a fancy ice cube tray. Left to right: red grapes, cucumbers, swiss cheese, cheddar cheese and pizza, all cut up into bite size pieces. He ate the pizza and grapes. It was a valiant, if not particularly successful effort.

Walking around one of Mima's gardens (Mima is G'ma Annie's new name that B just came up with)

Taking a sip of "wattuz" (waters)

Trying on Daddy's work "shyooz" (shoes)

Brendan is 23 months and 3 days old today!

A (sort of) relaxing vacation

2010-05-01T20:35:00.008-04:00

We just got back from a week in FL visiting family. It had been a year since Grandpa Billy, Grandma Sharon and Aunt Nicole got to see B; he's changed a bit since then. Grandmama Annie and Grandpapa Charlie came down too, to see my brother Keith graduate college with his mechanical engineering degree. Such a proud moment to see that, especially since he graduated with the highest honors. Go Keith!!

On our first morning I woke up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the thought of being on vacation (vacation!!) and relaxing in the sun. B, on the other hand, wasn't feeling quite as chipper. He popped up in his crib and asked for his shoes. I asked why he needed his shoes and he answered "home." Awwww.

Two important and mind-blowing things I learned on this trip: 1. My son doesn't like the beach; 2. My son doesn't like the pool. ::bursts into tears:: Inconceivable! He has 50% of my genetic makeup for goodness sake. Papa Charlie got B in the pool on one of the days for a few minutes but that's about the extent of it. The rest of the time I was chasing him around the perimiter of the pool. He kept wanting to sit on the top step of the pool and would run around screaming "I sit, I sit!" Only it sounded more like "I sh_t, I sh_t!"

We had some touch and go moments, but Gabba got us through. I brought several DVDs for Brendan, along with a portable DVD player that Nana Darlene bought for him last year. Sir only wanted to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and we only had one YGG DVD so we watched the same 4 episodes over and over and over and over. Jack Black you're a funnny dude, but I can only watch you prance around in orange spandex so many times.

We had dinner with Grandpa Billy and Grandma Sharon most nights. Grandpa entertained B with his Donald Duck impression and cooked him some delicious homemade pizza, one of the very few foods B will eat (beetza). B also got to play the piano for the first time, which he absolutely loved. He's a virtuoso, people!

We flew home today and of course the airline lost our luggage and car seat, which is totally awesome. Kenny called and found out that it's arrived at the local airport so he's on his way to pick it up. Thanks be to Jesus because we're talking about B's favorite blankie and stuffed puppy, the baby monitor that I still can't live without and my makeup bag (gah!!). Oh, and a $300 car seat. Apparently Delta has some newb's working at the Atlanta airport who skipped the chapter about how to handle luggage during a layover because about 1/3 of the people that landed with us left the airport sans luggage.

Anywho, it was a much-needed vacation and it was wonderful to see everyone again. Now it's back to reality. Oy.

Watching YGG

Collecting shells with Grandmama

Starting to grow weary of the whole beach thing

...and we're back in the stroller. Papa's behind the wheel.

I'll miss you, beach.

Suspicious-looking fin. Just popped up to say allo! No swimming in the ocean for Momby.

Sunrise

Please, help me! They want me to go in the pool!

Even the swanky choo choo bathing suit couldn't get him in the water.

Oh look, YGG!

Brendan is 22 months and 1 day old today!

His future's so bright...

2010-04-07T21:06:00.004-04:00

I realized it's been a while since I've bragged about my child's geniusness. (Is that even a word?) So let me tell you about all the fun things he does.

What he can say...
Single words:
Belly, ear, nose, eyes, mouth, socks (shocks), shoes, open, no, yes, cookie, momby, daddy, papa, scotch (uncle Scott), bye

Phrases:
I want a cookie, I have poopy, night night, I love you too, I wanna brush teeth, uh oh, oh no

Other amazing feats:
He can sing happy birthday, old MacDonald (sort of), Noggin theme songs and itsy bitsy spider, count to 10, flash people, close doors (and drawers and anything else you leave open), follow commands

Aaaand, that's all I can remember. Because it's late and I'm brain-dead.

Now for some pictures...

Daddy is mean

Farmer Ted is talking to the bunny

Farmer Ted is flashing the bunny

Trying on sunglasses

And a hat the firemen gave us on our walk that day

Sporting a mouthful of cookies on Easter

Posing for the camera

Taking a break from all the activity to watch TV

Playing peek-a-boo

Brendan is 21 months and 8 days old today!

Picture Time

2010-03-20T20:10:00.004-04:00

Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!

Trying to wear Mr. Potato Head's glasses

Yes, I'm still wearing my Christmas pj's, but I'm cute so it's okay

B reads this magazine for the insightful commentary

Helping Papa clean the branches out of the backyard after the big storm

Putting the "big" branch in the wheelbarrow

Put the branches in the dumpster, riding back to get more

Have to go for a ride in Grandmama's cart too

Tickle, tickle

I wanna go back outside!

Brendan is 10 days away from 20 months old today!

Terrible 1.5's??

2010-03-15T21:05:00.004-04:00

Someone has taken my loving, even-tempered, good-natured, little lovebug and replaced him with a hormonal bipolar teenager. Oh, and before anyone starts in with "it's normal" or "just wait" with an all-knowing I'm a mom and I've been there before smugness - let me save you some oxygen and let you know right now that it's not helpful. Mmmkay? Thanks.

::open scene::
"Yay! Everything is WONDERFUL! I'm so HAPPY!"

adorable toddler peels back his face to reveal a demon
"ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!! I don't want that crayon/train/cookie/cup/whatever you're trying to give me. I want that OTHER thing that I can't tell you I want because Mommy can't understand my mishmosh words and therefore has absolutely no idea what sort of important request I'm attempting to make."

::Cue music for dramatic scene::
Roll around on floor, flailing arms and legs, let out a few screams like someone just killed your puppy, gasp for air and gag until you almost throw up

replaces demon face with adorable face
"Why is everyone staring at me? I'm so HAPPY! Let's play and dance and sing!"
::end scene::

Truly people, it's exhausting. And I know I'm preaching to the choir; I'm not the first parent to go through this and certainly won't be the last. But I'm most definitely going to moan about it.

Brendan is 20.5 months old today!

Snow Day! (Part Deux)

2010-02-27T21:00:00.004-05:00

In keeping with the whole Armageddon theme that seems to be happening this winter, we got hit with a massive snowstorm Thursday and Friday. Since Daddy had to work, B and I went up Grandmama and Grandpapa's (Papa) house for a sleepover. After a yummy breakfast (Grandmama made B french toast which he gobbled right up), we headed out to play in the snow.

Helping Momby build a snow woman:

Begrudgingly cheesing it up for the camera:

He got bored with the snowpeople so Grandmama took him for a walk:

Then they came back and he gave the side-eye to the snowkid:

Papa built a hill for sledding in the backyard. Wee!

And a close-up, just because:

The End.

Brendan is 3 days shy of 20 months old today!

Life

2010-02-27T19:42:00.003-05:00

I wasn't sure if this was the right outlet for what will follow. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to put it here. After all, this is where I come to write about life. And for one brief week I had life growing inside of me. So I'm going to put this out there and then I'm going to bury it with happy posts.

Everyone has been asking me how I'm doing. And honestly, I really don't know how I'm doing. I feel okay, then I don't feel okay. We weren't trying to get pregnant, in fact we weren't/aren't 100% sure we're going to have more than one child. But as soon as I saw that positive test and got over the initial shock I let myself fall in love with the idea of having another one. And all of the possibilities that come with a new life.

Seeing pregnant women or babies doesn't bother me. I've been in their shoes and experienced that euphoria. I have a beautiful, perfect, precious little boy as a result. I don't want their pregnancies or their babies, I want mine.

Part of my issue is letting myself feel that I have the right to be so upset. I'm lucky that this happened sooner rather than later. I can't imagine the sort of heartache women feel when they're further along and lose their precious babies. Or women who've experienced multiple losses along their journey. So a part of me feels silly for feeling so much sadness over it.

I don't want to dwell on this. It is what it is. It happened for a reason. It just wasn't meant to be. [Insert other well-meaning cliche here.] Instead, I'm going to remember to count my blessings for the wonderful things in my life - especially my amazing family and friends who have offered so much support and compassion over the last few days. I am lucky and loved.

Snow Day!

2010-02-10T11:37:00.002-05:00

After a few teases last week, we're finally getting some snow! My office is closed so B and I are home getting things done. Well, not really. I did put a roast in the slow cooker though, smells dee-li-cious!

We went out side for a little bit to check out the storm's progress.

Brendan is 19 months and 11 days old today!

Feeeeelings, nothing more than feeeeelings

2010-02-07T19:51:00.004-05:00

This morning was my morning to sleep in. Normally that means I get up at 7 instead of 6 but today I stayed in bed until 10 o'clock. Ten. It was glorious.

When I finally decided it was time to get up I went out into living room and was instantly greeted with, "I have poopy." ::swoon:: And he did in fact have poopy. Which he graciously saved for Momby to deal with. As much as this wasn't the way I wanted to start my day, it was yet another reminder of just how much my precious little baby boy is growing up.

Sir and I went to a Superbowl party at my friend Jill's house. We had a great time playing with Steven and a few of his friends. Then we discovered the stairs. And we wanted to go up and down a few hundred times.

Now I'm far from old but I don't have the stamina for this sort of activity. So after the 37th time I told Sir that we were done with the stairs. As you can imagine, this did not go over so well. Hysterics. A little girl named Abby, who is about two weeks younger than Brendan, wasn't sure what to make of it so she just kept giving him hugs. It was close to the time I had planned to leave so we packed up and headed home.

I made the mistake of letting him walk down the stairs outside to the car and when we got to the bottom he turned around to do it all over again. I picked him up and carried him to the car while he wailed. I'm a mean, mean Mommy. The worst ever.

On the way home he would be quiet, then remember how mean his Momby is and start with the hysterics again. I tried to rub his arm as a gesture of peace and he picked it up and dropped it away from him like a diseased limb. Love you too babe.

By the time we got home he loved me again and all was right with the world. But oy, how my heart ached during those few minutes that he hated me. And this is just the beginning.

Eating his grilled cheese sandwich on the big boy chair.
Some serious bed-head going on.

Since the bedhead was so out of control, I decided to give him a fauxhawk

Brendan is 19 months and 8 days old today!

Pictures

2010-02-04T19:39:00.002-05:00

Brendan had a stomach bug for a few days and was a bit of a beast. Well, a major beast actually. These are pics of him in a more mellow mood.

Every morning I put my makeup on while I'm sitting on the couch. Every morning Sir parks himself on the couch next to me, grabs my makeup bag, dumps the contents on the couch, then helps himself.

The last time Kenny took Brendan to the barber he had a bit of a meltdown. Brendan did too. So this time I decided to take him to a kids' place and he did much better. They cut it very short and I had her put gel in and spike it for fun. We went to Target after and got a lot of double-takes. I didn't get any pics of the spikes though. :( Here are some pics of him with his big-boy haircut. Unfortunately he wasn't feeling too cooperative. He looks sooo much older!

Brendan is 19 months and 5 days old today!

Oh, the things you'll say and do...

2010-01-30T21:17:00.002-05:00

Things I never pictured myself saying...

There's a booger waving at me.
Don't touch the poopoo.
We don't put our fingers in outlets.
Don't eat Mommy's hair.
You have fuzz hanging out of your mouth. Give it to me.
Come here and let me smell your heiny.

Things I never pictured myself doing...

Prying a booger from someone else's nose after it had been mocking me all day. Then doing the victory dance.
Laughing about getting poo on my finger. Multiple times.
Getting peed on. Multiple times.
Cleaning vomit off of myself, my child and his sheets during the wee hours of the morning. Multiple times.
Playing with Legos and race cars. Vroom vroom! I was always such a priss.
Falling so deeply in love with someone so much shorter than me.

Brendan is 19 months old today!

18 Months

2010-01-18T19:46:00.004-05:00

Sir is a growing machine! He had his 18-month appointment today where we found out that he grew 2.5" since his last appointment three months ago. He shot up from the 75th percentile to the 95th percentile!

This is kind of where I imagined he'd be all along, considering how tall Kenny and I are. He gained one pound, nothing crazy, but he's been fighting a stomach bug (which he graciously shared with Momby and Daddy - yes, he calls me Momby) so I'm sure that he's closer to a 1.5 to 2lb gain. Anyway, he's still in the 50th percentile for weight and above the 95th percentile for head circumference, which still makes me giggle.

He's been a lot more vocal and determined to express himself. Most of what he says still sounds like a whole lot of gibberish but we can make out some words here and there. Some of his favorites are:

Oh mo! (oh no)
Shyooz (shoes)
Uh oh!
Cookie (of course he knows this one!)
Mombydaddy (he has a habit of babbling and stringing these two words together)
Ee-i-ee-i-oooo (this is the only part of Old MacDonald he knows and he likes to interject it randomly during his rants)
Uppy (up)
Bush tee (brush teeth)
No (always with a head shake to emphasize the "no" part)
Te-you (two, after I say one)

And of course he knows a few of his favorite shows on Nick Jr.:
Wow wow wow wow Wubshe (Wow Wow Wubbzy)
Booz cooz (Blue's Clues)
Yoo (Yo Gabba Gabba)

His receptive language is really developing nicely too. He knows what it means when I ask him to bring me something, when I say it's time for a bath or bed, etc. It's amazing how quickly their language develops at this age. Every time I look at him I wonder where my baby went.

Brendan is 18 months, 2 weeks and 4 days old today!

December

2009-12-25T17:43:00.008-05:00

I've been a very bad blogger. Let's see...

Brendan had his very first sleepover at Grandmama's house without Mommy. Kenny and I had a party to go to and didn't want to worry about what time we came home and waking up at the crack of dawn after a night out. Despite all my worries about him being devastated when I left and then waking up every hour on the hour crying for his Mama, he did wonderfully well. In fact, I'm not sure he missed me one bit. But I suppose that's a good thing.

We had our first real snow storm last weekend and Brendan got to go on his first sleigh ride. I bundled him up in his snow pants, snow boots, hat, gloves and puffy jacket like a little burrito. He was a little wary at first once we got outside--I think he's like his Mama and doesn't care too much for the cold. But once he warmed up he had a lot of fun.

Almost ready!

Having a snack after the sleigh ride

Look at those lashes!

We've had presents under our tree for a good two weeks and Brendan has not even acknowledged them. So I assumed that he wouldn't be terribly interested in opening them just like when we opened presents after his birthday. But he LOVED it! I can just see him now going to other people's parties and opening all their gifts when no one is looking. Of course, being the only grandchild on both sides, Sir made out like a bandit.

Christmas Eve was spent at Grandmama & Grandpapa's house:
The pointer finger attacks!

Christmas morning at home:

Christmas day at Nana's house:
Opening presents with Uncle Scott

A slide! In the house!

Ho ho ho!

Brendan is 5 days away from 18 months old today! (OMG!!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T13:06:00.006-05:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving at Grandma Annie's house. She had a nice crowd and Brendan got to spend some QT with his Aunt Lauren and spread some holiday cheer with his cute self.

As I look at pics from last Thanksgiving, I'm noticing that B has a blue plaid shirt uniform thing going on for this particular holiday.

Goofing around with Daddy

Investigating the contents of Grandma's drawer

And a random bathtub shot, just because. I'd post a bootylicious shot of him but there are too many creepy interwebz out there.

Brendan is 3 days away from 17 months old today!

Sliding

2009-11-09T06:31:00.003-05:00

B and I had a fun day at Nana Darlene's. She just got back after a week in FL. Uncle Scott took Brendan to the park and showed him how to use the slide. I think he liked it...

Brendan is 1 year, 4 months and 9 days old today!

Fall Fun

2009-11-07T21:08:00.003-05:00

Brendan is 1 year, 4 months and 8 days old today!

Lions and tigers and bears... oh my!

2009-11-02T10:36:00.003-05:00

Behold the absolute cuteness of our ferocious little lion! Grandma Annie worked with B all day to get him to hold his bag and say "trick or treat." He actually did say it ('ti-cheat") a few times but never quite at the appropriate moment. More like, after the person closed their door and we were walking away from the house.

Ready to make his debut!

Checking out the loot

I just want to smell it Mommy, honest.

All done. Now waiting for the big kids to come so I can give them candy.

Brendan is 16 months and 2 days old today!

Cookie Monsters and Crushes

2009-10-23T20:04:00.006-04:00

Brendan and I went to see Sesame Street Live with my friend Jill and her 2.5 year old son Steven yesterday. I was a little apprehensive—okay, more like moderate panic attack mode—anticipating how long he would sit still before he starting squirming and demanding I let him down off my lap. He's a toddler, it's understood that they have short attention spans, but you never want to be that mother. I am thrilled to report that Brendan did amazingly well.

We got there early enough for him to let off some steam before the show started. He practiced his walking, weaving in and out of the rows of chairs, which he found absolutely hysterical. We had seats in the front row, right in the center so all the characters came over to say hi and there were no kids or parents blocking our view. He sat on my lap and watched the show. Sure, there were moments here or there where he got fidgety but I pulled a toy out of the diaper bag and he would play with it for a minute, then watch the show again. Overall he did about 10,000 times better than I thought he would.

And marvel of all marvels, both Brendan and Steven fell asleep during the last five minutes of the show. Jill and I are not entirely sure how this was possible because the mic volume was clearly turned up to MAXIMUM plus about 5,000. But the only thing we could really think about was whether or not sleeping babies meant we would have to wait before we could go have lunch. Jill is pregnant, like last trimester pregnant. And well, I'm always hungry. And we were planning on having buffalo wings. BUFFALO WINGS! And a giant plate of french fries. And we had dietish breakfasts so we were STARVING, more than normal starving. Our worry was short-lived though, they woke up soon after the show ended.

So yeah, he did really well. But I will probably wait a while before I take that kind of chance again. Although, I did hear that Yo Gabba Gabba is coming here next month...

On another note, I'm pretty sure B has his first crush. Laurie Berkner. Every time she shows up on Nick Jr (we liked the Noggin name better, by the way!) singing her delightful tunes about F-A-M-I-L-Y and such he immediately stops whatever he's doing and watches her all mesmerized, with a smile that stretches from ear to ear. She does have a way with words, I'll give her that.

Oh, and by the way Moose, I don't like candy corn either.

Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!

Reading up on one of the 50 states

Love this boy!

Giving an eye roll to the most recent tabloid scandal

Snoozing on G'Pa Charlie's lap.
The only time Gizmo will go anywhere near Brendan...

Walking is FUNdamental

2009-10-17T17:05:00.003-04:00

Ladies & Gentlemen... We Have a Walker!

2009-10-17T17:01:00.005-04:00

He's been taking steps here and there for a while but today he's been walking all over the place! I usually can't post video and write in the same post because Blogger hates me and my html so I'll post the video above. Squee!!

Brendan is 15 months, 2 weeks and 3 days old today!

First Night Away

2009-10-12T09:40:00.005-04:00

I did it. Spent my very first night away from B. I cried like a toddler who realizes that he's just eaten the last bit of yogurt in the container (is our kid the only one that does this?). Picture the sort of sobbing that occurs when you're a hormonal female watching Steel Magnolias or Terms of Endearment. Yeah, like that. Shut up.

I calmed down enough to start to enjoy the prospect of a night out with old friends. Not 30 minutes after we got to the hotel, I was sitting around talking to the girls and noticed the skin around my eyes was VERY itchy. Like, I want to rip the skin off kind of itchy. Looked in the mirror and there they were. Big welty hives. On my eyelids. Fabulous. I was away that weekend for my college reunion. To see people that I hadn't seen in 10 YEARS and here I was with freaky swollen eyelids.

We went out to dinner and the hives went away so I foolishly decided not to stop for some Benadryl. Because if you take Benadryl you really shouldn't drink. And frankly, what's a reunion without a little alcohol? Priorities. Long story short, the hives came back while I was out and all I could do was put a cold bottle of beer on them to try and soothe the itch. Thankfully, the reunion itself was lame and we didn't see anyone we knew. My friends assured me that if you didn't know me, you would never know that something was wrong. Aren't they sweet.

B and Daddy survived a night without Mommy. Sigh. This is good, I know. But I will sigh anyway. They were supposed to miss me terribly, not have any fun without me, and just sit around all weepy until I returned. This did not happen. They had lots of fun and Daddy took some photographic evidence to prove that life continues to be fun even when Mommy is not around.

Exhibit A:
B has been getting a lot braver with taking steps on his own

Exhibit B:
Look Dad, 20% off!

Exhibit C:
Lounging. Fun is exhausting

Moral of the story: The world will not fall apart if I go away for a night. However, I will. Thus then, it will be a while before I attempt that again.

Brendan is 15 months, 1 week and 5 days old today!

Fearz, I haz dem

2009-09-28T15:20:00.011-04:00

So let’s discuss the irrational fears that come with parenthood. Actually, let me backtrack a bit and talk about the crazy love that I have for my son. Just be patient, because this is directly related to the irrational fears.

Now, when you’re pregnant one thing you’ll constantly hear is something along the lines of, “Oh, just wait until you hold your child for the first time. The love you feel for him will be like nothing you’ve ever known.” Let me tell you, I felt a lot of stuff the day I gave birth to my son. But love was not one of those feelings. I had a lot of guilt about that in the beginning—something had to be wrong with me that I wasn’t in love with my son the day I met him, right?

Fast-forward a year and some odd months and here I am—older and wiser. There are women who fall in love with their babies immediately. ::Throws confetti:: Yay for them! Then there are women like me, who are so consumed by the magnitude and gravity of the situation that they can’t quite make enough room in their spinning heads for love just yet.

I had just birthed a human. Out of my vagina. If you haven’t done it yet, let me tell you that it HURTS. Like no other pain I’ve ever experienced in my whole damn life. And it doesn’t just hurt when the baby is crowning and making his appearance into the world. It hurts for DAYS ON END. And really, since we’re being so honest with each other, let me add that I’m just starting to come to terms with the fact that things will never be quite the same down there.

Anyway, where was I… oh yes, okay. So here we are almost 15 months after B was born and I can tell you without any hesitation that I love my son to bits and pieces. So much so that it hurts sometimes. And I can’t imagine a life without him in it. I don’t want to imagine a life without him in it. And there’s my problem. I get anxiety when I think about all the “what if’s.”

B is a boy and boys get into situations where they cause themselves bodily harm. It’s inevitable. I have two brothers, I know the sort of idiocy that happens when they get around each other. It’s like a rite of passage or something. Is it crazy to already worry about the damage he will do to himself when he’s not even walking yet? Maybe. But just the fact that I know it’s coming is enough to make me want to run to the doctor and ask for some happy pills as a prophylactic measure.

The worst time of day is when I lay down to go to sleep. After I’ve obsessively checked B to make sure he’s breathing (I think he’s breathing but let me get closer just to make sure. Wait, I can’t hear over my own breathing. OK, stop breathing for a second. OK, he’s definitely breathing.) and touch his arm to make sure he doesn’t feel cold (Should I put a blanket on him? What if he gets himself wrapped up like a burrito and can’t breathe?? What if the pajamas I put on him weren’t warm enough? What if he’s too hot?) I get into bed and have some kind of awful thought. Every night. Something like, B runs into the street and gets hit by a car. Then I’m lying there with my eyes wide open like I’m in some cheesy horror flick and some rendition of the following conversation ensues:

Irrational Me: Oh my God, what if that happens? That could totally happen.
Rational Me: Yes, but the chances of it happening are small. You just have to teach him to be safe and watch him carefully while he’s still young.
Irrational Me: Yes but I can’t be with him all the time.
Rational Me: Billions of people get through the day without seriously hurting themselves. Even the not-so-bright ones.
Irrational Me: Okay, you’ve got a point there.

And it doesn’t help that I read sad stories constantly about parents who’ve lost a child. The most recent one was in Good Housekeeping. (Yes, I skip over Cosmo and Glamour at the grocery store and buy Good Housekeeping instead. Shut up.) It was about a little girl (I think she was about two years old) who had third degree burns over 60% of her body. While she was in the hospital recovering she was on pain medication, became severely dehydrated and ultimately died as a result. Well holy @#$*! Please let me never have to know that kind of pain.

I think this anxiety is normal. That it’s just a natural part of being a parent and that eventually the fears dwindle. But I suspect that the fears will always be there, only the ones I have now will be replaced by different ones as B gets older and more independent. But really, isn’t this the kind of stuff that people should tell you when you’re pregnant? This is useful information, no?

Brendan will be 15 months old in two days!

Parades and pony rides

2009-09-19T18:10:00.006-04:00

Today Brendan and I went with G'ma Annie to watch G'pa Charlie march in a firemen's parade. He was a little uneasy with the loud horns and sirens at first but once he warmed up he was waving and clapping at everyone.

After the parade we went to an orchard that had a petting zoo and a pumpkin patch. They had pony rides too, so we had Sir take a spin. He was not impressed and wanted to come down pretty much immediately but G'ma paid for it and I wanted him to tough it out. Got to teach him those life lessons early!

Ready for some parade action!

But first I have to take a walk with G'ma

Mommy making sure her little angel is okay with all the loud noise

It's G'pa Charlie!

Fun at the orchard

I want this one Mommy!

Not really loving the pony ride (Mommy needs to get her roots done, STAT!)

A duck giving me the side eye...

Brendan is 14 months, 2 weeks and 6 days old today!

Walking, sort of

2009-09-13T09:10:00.006-04:00

Brendan has been getting braver and taking steps on his own more and more. He used to demand both hands to hold on to but has recently started dropping one hand so that he's only holding on with one. Daddy got a video of him walking with Mommy around the aquarium yesterday. We didn't get too far. B has a habit of walking around in circles when he only holds on with one hand.

Aquarium Fun

2009-09-12T18:37:00.005-04:00

Brendan, Kenny and I went to the aquarium today. Brendan was kind of bored after the first five minutes or so; I guess that's what happens when you have the attention span of a 14-month-old. He got more of a kick out of watching all the other kids whose parents had the same idea on a rainy September day.

It was tricky figuring the camera out in the rooms with little to no light. You'll see what I mean with the shark pictures below. The flash would create a reflection off the tank but without a flash the shutter speed was really slow so anything in motion became a blur. (I'm guessing this is what it is, I have no idea what I'm talking about though.)

Penguins!

Ugly kissing fish with fangs

Sharks with no flash = blurry

Here's a pic using the flash. B was looking at the sharks but you can't see them in this picture.

No flash on a side of the room with a bit more light

Pretty fish

GIGANTIC turtle. This thing was bigger than me.

Brendan is 14.5 months old today!

Washing hands

2009-09-09T06:54:00.004-04:00

I forgot to post this picture yesterday. One day after Brendan and I were playing outside, I brought him into the bathroom to show him how to wash his hands before dinner. I usually just use a wipe when I need to but figured now was a good time to get him in the habit of actually washing them. He's too little to actually reach the sink, and he can't stand up on his own without holding onto something so I sat him down on the sink counter. I turned the water on, put his hands under the stream and... he proceeded to sit in the sink to get a better angle.

Stuff and other stuff

2009-09-08T20:57:00.006-04:00

Not much new to report. Brendan is still a cruising fool though he allegedly took a few steps last week. I say allegedly because I wasn't present to witness either one, thus then it did not happen. Right? Right. Mommy sees all the firsts, that's the rule.

I've been enjoying a nice, long weekend with my little lovebug. My job gives us a 4-day weekend for Labor Day and Brendan's babysitter is away this week so I've been home with him since Friday and will be again tomorrow. Today we took a ride to the mall so I could drop my car off at Sears and get some new tires. My mom's neighbor pointed out that the front ones were basically bald over the weekend, which totally freaked me out. So while we waited for the new tires, B and I did some shopping. I was hoping to get him some new shoes but didn't find anything we liked in his size. We stopped and had some lunch and I took a chance by ordering something off of the kids' menu for B. I was all prepared to whip out the purees from the diaper bag but Mr. Finicky actually chowed down on some chicken fingers. My little boy is finally eating table food like a real, live person! Sure, it's greasy and deep fried but it's progress people, and that's really all that matters at this point. Right? Right. (I'm loving that you're so agreeable!)

After the mall we met Daddy at the barber for B's second haircut. I made sure to arrange this on my day off so I could be all paparazzi-like and take eleventy billion pictures. Below are some recent pictures, some are from a visit at Grandma Annie's, some are from a birthday party we went to over the weekend and some are from today's haircut. Enjoy!

Aren't they supposed to save this look for when they're teenagers??

Oh, the chub on those legs!

More chubby deliciousness

Giving a smooch to Uncle Scott

Swinging

Taking a tour of the backyard with Daddy

With Nana

Hanging out with Daddy

Haircut:
Before

Watching the progress in the mirror

Starting to get a little uneasy

I don't like this anymore!

And... apparently I forgot to take an "after" shot. We'll have to do that tomorrow before we head to the aquarium. YAY!

Brendan is 14 months, 1 week and 2 days old today!

Photo Shoot!

2009-08-26T18:34:00.004-04:00

My very talented co-worker does photography on the side and was nice enough to take photos of Brendan and me to build up her portfolio. All of the pictures came out beautifully, but here are my top 10 favorites (which was really hard to do!). In no particular order:

Brendan is 1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks and 6 days old today!

Another month, another road trip

2009-08-23T18:54:00.004-04:00

We spent the weekend visiting Aunt Lauren and Aunt Sharon. It was a lot of fun and Brendan enjoyed spending time with his Aunties. He even got to go swimming in a big pool again, and float in a cool car that Lauren bought. Brendan is one lucky little boy!

OK guys, I'm ready to go in the pool now!

Driving my car with Grandma and Grandpa

Open, close, open, close

Here are some pics that Mom was too lazy to upload sooner:

Me and Nanny

Me in my favorite chair from Patty and Jason :)

Brendan is 1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks and 3 days old today!

Road trip!

2009-08-03T20:45:00.005-04:00

Last week Brendan and I made a trip upstate with Aunt Lauren, Grandma Annie and Grandpa Charlie to visit family we haven't seen in almost 15 years. It was a five hour road trip and I was totally freaking out about how Brendan was going to handle being couped up in his car seat for so long. He slept for a total of 15 minutes on the ride up. That's right folks, 15 minutes. 10 minutes on the way from Grandma's house to Mimi's house to drop off Gizmo and then another 5 or so later on.

We stopped for lunch about halfway through at a Cracker Barrel. Seated at the table behind us was an older woman, presumably in her 70s, having lunch by herself. The little heartbreaker twisted himself around in his highchair and blew her kisses, two at a time. Can he possibly get any cuter?

In all, he did remarkably well on both the trip there and back. The few instances where he looked like he might pitch a fit I just tossed some food or a toy his way and he forgot all about his furor at being strapped in for hours on end. Although, he clearly had the most comfortable seat in the car. Those Britax carseats are like Lazy Boy recliners with their plush padding and recline position.

We had a great time seeing everyone and my cousin's three boys had Brendan totally enthralled. (On a side note: I am now 100% sure that two kids are way more than enough for me!) Their dogs also provided some entertainment, although if Brendan could speak (in English) I'm sure he would tell you that it wasn't the good kind of entertainment. The smaller of the two couldn't get enough of B and would run over to him and lick the crap out of his face. I'm pretty sure he gave B his first tongue kiss experience.

Oh! Brendan took his first few steps while we were away. And I completely missed them. From where I was sitting I could only see the top half of him so I thought he was holding onto his cousin when he was walking. All of a sudden everyone started cheering and clapping. Apparently he let go and took 2 or 3 steps before he realized he wans't holding on to anything. I ran to get the video camera and he wouldn't do it again. My son is in daycare so I understand that I will miss some of his firsts. But COME ON, I was right there!!! Unbelievable.

I like your rock better Grandma

B and G'pa Charlie feel asleep soon after this pic was taken...

The ferocious face licker

The gang

Brendan's cousins

Brendan is one year, one month and 4 days old today!

Colossal Cranium

2009-07-20T20:38:00.008-04:00

Today was Brendan's 12-month check-up (a little late considering he's 10 days away from 13 months). Brendan is home from daycare this week since Chris is away so Daddy brought him to the doctor and I left work to meet them over there.

He was a model patient, as always, sitting up nice and straight and was very calm (and curious!) while the doctor listened to his heartbeat and checked his ears and eyes. She asked about the milestones he reached; one being whether he pointed at objects and he promptly responded by pointing at her, genius child that he is.

B weighed in at 22lb 5oz and 30.75" tall. His weight is somewhere around the lower middle range, while his height puts him at about the 75th percentile. I don't know his head measurement but whatever it is, it knocked him clear off the charts! Daddy found this very funny. Of course, B had a nice big black and blue on his forehead from one of his recent falls. Thankfully they didn't run out and call CPS on us.

He had to get his third HIB vaccine and first Hep A vaccine. Which pissed him off royally but thankfully he calmed down pretty quickly. We headed down to the lab next so they could draw two vials of blood to test for lead poisoning and anemia. As we were waiting in the lab I commented to Ken how much better B and I handle his shots now compared to his first ones at two months. And then I promptly ate my words.

Drawing blood, if you've ever had it done and I'm sure you have, is much worse than getting a shot because it's a prolonged kind of event. B sat on Daddy's lap while a nurse held one arm and the lab guy held his other one and took the blood. I made some excuse about needing to get the stroller out of the way and stood on the other side of the room. They put the needle in and it was quiet and I thought, wow, he's handling this really well! Then he turned toward me in slow motion and I saw his face, melted with absolute sadness and horror at the pain (oh, the pain!), and then he let out a wail that didn't stop until a few minutes after they took the needle out and he was safe in Daddy's arms again. I did not cry, interwebs, but my heart broke for him.

Next appointment is at 15 months. Eek.

Brendan is 1 year, 2 weeks and 6 days old today!

Fun with G'ma and G'pa

2009-07-19T20:21:00.003-04:00

Brendan and I spent the day at G'ma Annie and G'pa Charlie's house today. We had another gorgeous day so Mommy got to practice with her new camera again. Brendan has his 12-month check-up tomorrow. I've heard there's lots of shots with that one. Boo.

Brendan's tree:

G'ma and B nap in the hammock while Mommy and her drink sit in the shade and swing them with a rope. Brilliant.

Brendan is 1 year, 2 weeks and 5 days old today!

Fun With Family

2009-07-18T18:13:00.007-04:00

Brendan and I spent the day with Dana and her beautiful twins, Emily and Julia. It was a great visit on a perfect, sunny Saturday so I got to take lots of pictures of the kiddies. Enjoy!

Brendan is 1 year, 2 weeks and 4 days old today!

Playing

2009-07-13T21:09:00.003-04:00

Brendan's birthday gift from G'ma Annie, G'pa Charlie and Aunt Lauren was a swing set. G'pa Charlie put it together on Saturday while Brendan supervised.

Walking around to check out G'pa Charlie's work

The finished product!

Telling G'pa Charlie what a great job he did

Supervising is very tiring work

Obsessions

2009-07-11T07:36:00.007-04:00

We are getting a digital SLR! I've been inspired by some of the blogs I've seen with mommies' pictures of their kiddos. My mom has one and you can totally see the difference between our point and shoot and her SLR, it's like hi-def TV vs regular - just can't compare. So, like everything else, I became slightly obsessed and when I decide I want something I have to have it NOW. Thankfully Kenny agreed because those things aren't cheap. We got a great recommendation from a co-worker's brother, and since it's a refurbished camera it was a steal (well compared to the regular price). So now I just have to wait for it to be delivered...

My other recent obsession is strollers. We have a great full-size one, the Peg Perego Pliko P3. It's been really good to me since we retired the infant seat and Snap n Go 5 months ago. But I wanted to get a lightweight stroller for walks and other adventures where we don't need a full-size one. So, I did some research and decided on the Baby Jogger City Mini in grey and green. It's so purty. I tried to use a 15% off coupon at Babies R Us but apparently Baby Jogger doesn't allow them to discount the price. So I found it at babyage.com with free shipping. It's scheduled to ship today! I'll post a review here after I've used it a few times.

Brendan is a cruising maniac. Still not walking independently but getting around just fine nonetheless. He's not really saying any English words yet but just this morning was speaking in tongues. Not sure what he was saying but it involved some flicking of the tongue so that can't be good.

We've been trying to cut back on TV time because he's becoming a bit obsessed with it. I'll allow 30 minutes in the morning while I dry my hair and get us dressed and then an hour at night. Which is probably a lot for a lot of parents but I'm okay with that. The first morning I didn't turn the TV on right away he kept trying to give me the control so I could turn it on. He does the same thing if he doesn't like the show that's on. First he'll attempt to change it himself and if that doesn't work he'll hand it to me to change the channel. He totally hearts Yo Gabba Gabba. It's baby crack.

We're heading to G'ma Annie and G'pa Charlie's today so I'll try and take some pics with Mom's camera and post them here later.

Brendan is 1 year, 1 week and 3 days old today!

A letter to my son on his first birthday

2009-06-30T11:10:00.007-04:00

My beautiful baby boy,

Exactly one year ago today your daddy and I got to meet the perfect little baby who had been nestled all snuggly in my womb for the previous nine months. It’s unbelievable to think that a full year has gone by and our little baby is becoming a little boy.

I have to wonder how you even know what your name is at this point but you turn around when someone says it (at least when you feel like it). Daddy and I have lots of nicknames for you – Bootie Butt, Bootie, Poop, BP, Munchkin, Stinkbutt, Soo Soo (I don’t know where I got this one from), Peanut, Luvalump, Bubba, Monkey, and a few thousand others. It took us basically the full nine months of pregnancy to pick your name, so you would think we might actually use it more often.

You have a great temperament, getting involved in the action when you’re good and ready. Until then, you usually just sit back and soak everything in. You’ve got your mom’s serious expression, which Daddy likes to call our “science face.” You’re a charmer, with really expressive eyes, and you know when to pile the cute on. Big-time. You get excited about things easily, which makes us laugh. When you get really excited about something, you flap your arms up and down and move your feet about 100 miles an hour.

You are a seriously picky eater, Brendan. I’m having visions of you at 30 years old, blending all of your food down to purees while your significant other gives me the ole stink eye because I didn’t nip this problem in the bud when you were a bambino. Daddy is in charge of feeding you dinner every night and he is SUPER patient with you. He’s got a whole repertoire of antics reserved just for dinnertime. You do like sliced banana though, and of course Cheerios and Puffs. Which you sometimes prefer to use as weapons rather than food. I’m trying to be optimistic and think that this pickiness will pass and you’ll come to love food just as much as your mama.

And the love you have for your mama, oh my goodness! I wish I could bottle it and save it for down the road when you’re a teenager and you think I’m embarrassing and just want me to go away. Remember, moms have feelings too so take it easy on me kiddo. In return, I’ll try not to embarrass you. Too much. Not that you don’t love your daddy too. You definitely do, lots. But you’re a mama’s boy and I eat it up.

You’re a pretty good sleeper. In general, you sleep like a log much like your father. Somehow you fail to hear the loud snoring (that would be your dad) and my flipping and flopping about all night. Sadly, I’m not a sound sleeper. I still get up frequently throughout the night to make sure you and Daddy are still breathing (when he’s not snoring) and that you didn’t figure out how to fling yourself over the side of the crib since the last time I checked. Your preferred sleeping position is on your belly, with your adorable rump sticking up in the air.

You’re a morning person, like me. Only you’re much more chipper than any human being has the right to be at the ripe old hour of 6 o’clock. (Which is a lot more reasonable than the previous wake-up time of 4:30 when you first started sleeping through the night.) You usually wake up and start chatting away to yourself about some nonsense that no one but you can understand. I’ll stealthily open one eye to check on you and see you sitting up with your head smushed between the crib slats just dying for one of us to wake up and play with you. It makes me giggle every time.

Brendan, my angel, your father and I love you to bits and pieces and can’t imagine anyone more special or perfect to be our precious son. We have witnessed so many fun firsts over the last year and look forward to all the firsts yet to come. We are so proud to be your parents.

Love,
Mama

Just for fun, here's a vintage pic of B from the day he was born:

Brendan is ONE YEAR OLD today!

Goodbye to babyhood, hello to toddlerhood (OMG)

2009-06-29T16:50:00.020-04:00

Today Mommy is home with Brendan. He was up every 30 minutes hysterically crying so none of us got any sleep. Nanny Darlene and I took him to the pediatrician this morning and it turns out he's got yet another ear infection and she wants us to do nebulizer treatments with him again three times a day to clear up all the gunk in his chest. Poor little guy.

Brendan's birthday party was yesterday and even though he wasn't feeling his best, he had a great time. Unlike his mom and dad, Brendan seems to really enjoy being the center of attention. We had the party at the clubhouse where Nanny Darlene lives and had family and a few close friends join us. He wasn't terribly interested in eating his birthday cupcake (surprise, surprise) but he was immensely interested in touching the flames on the candles.

Brendan has been crawling around like crazy, pulling himself up on any and every piece of furniture in the house and cruising like a pro. He's getting braver and braver with the cruising so we're pretty sure he's going to be walking any minute now. His head must be made of lead because he hits it about ten thousand times a day but he's still managed to escape any sort of brain damage. The first three hundred times it happened my heart skipped a beat. But now we just say yay and clap. And don't you know, he face planted into the TV not ten minutes ago, sat up and started clapping for himself. Oh, and I taught him to do a high 5. :)

Tomorrow is the big day, when my little baby turns one year old. I can't even explain the sort of mixed emotions I have about this milestone. I had to stop singing happy birthday at his party because I was choking back tears. I'm about three thousand times more emotional since I had Brendan than I was before, and that's saying something because I've ALWAYS been super emotional. I have this incredible excitement at seeing all the new things Brendan is going to be doing and saying. But I'm going to be sad to say goodbye to "baby" Brendan. On the plus side, we're starting to wean him from formula so at least I can excited at saving a little but of money. (Although the amount of money we're going to spend on band-aids over the next few years probably negates that savings!)

Here are some pictures from his party:

B with Mommy and Daddy

B with Grandma and Nanny

B trying to touch the fire

B with his pretty cousins Emily & Julia

Brendan is one day away from being ONE YEAR OLD today!

New Milestones!

2009-06-10T20:06:00.007-04:00

Last Friday, at five days past the 11-month mark, Sir decided it was finally time to figure out this whole crawling thing. I guess he got tired of public transportation (i.e., mom and dad carrying him everywhere) and took matters into his own hands (and feet). He's not crawling all over the place or anything just yet. He's kind of lazy like that. He'll only exert that kind of effort for something REALLY important. Like Daddy's cell phone. Exhibit A:

And we didn't stop at just one new trick! On Monday, Sir and I went to watch Daddy play softball. Sir decided to show his appreciation for the game by clapping his meaty hands. We were sitting there... (Well, that's not really true. More like, I was sitting while he climbed all over me, bit me, wiped his excessively snotty nose on me, etc.) Anyway, I was sitting there cheering on the team when all of a sudden the little loudmouth started yelling and clapping. And he's been a clapping fool ever since.

For instance, the other night he was having a hard time falling asleep and one of the times I went into the bedroom to calm him down, Sir was crying. And clapping. AT THE SAME TIME.

He's been doing it a lot at daycare too. Today's note read: "Brendan played and crawled and clapped his hands all morning." There's really no rhyme or reason for it at the moment. Just claps when the mood strikes. Of course, when I try to get it on video he acts like I'm terrorizing him. Exhibit B:

Brendan is 11 months and 10 days old today!

Pipe Down!

2009-06-03T20:21:00.006-04:00

LOUD. This is the only word necessary to describe Brendan at the moment. OH. MY. GOD. I don't know if this is something he picked up at daycare, maybe the other kids yell too? Or maybe he just thinks we're all deaf like his daddy? Best is when he pulls himself in close to hug me (or so I think) and then proceeds to YELL AT THE TOP OF HIS LITTLE LUNGS INTO MY EAR. Then stick his finger in there and pull my hair for good measure. Ouch.

Brendan is now in full-on "I need to be moving every second of the day" mode. He's pulling himself up on furniture and wreaking general havoc. Anything that's not on the floor must end up there. This is Sir's new rule. Oh look, a pile of papers. Pick up. Throw on floor. Repeat with every other object on the table, couch, etc.

It's the final countdown to the big O-N-E. And I'm still not happy about it. But I guess there ain't a whole lot I can do about it! We're celebrating with friends and family on the 28th. Hopefully he'll have a good nap beforehand so as to avoid the whole cranky, everything makes me pissy, sort of behavior.

Sir is still not into the idea of table food. I'm pretty sure we're going to be sending him off to kindergarten with a lunch bag full of pureed fruits and veggies. We've tried cheese, meatballs, pasta, macaroni & cheese, turkey, mashed potatoes, chicken, bread, even a cupcake! Yuck, yuck and more yuck to all of them. As soon as the food is in his mouth, his little face gets all contorted and he starts his whole gagging routine until he either swallows it or, more often than not, throws up. Awesomeness all around. He digs Cheerios and puffs though. I think he'd eat those all day if we let him.

Anywho, here are some recent pictures for your enjoyment.

With Aunt Lauren

Snoozin on G'pa Charlie

The infamous cupcake (what kid doesn't like cupcakes???)

Too cute!

And I said, you've got to wait out the market. You can't just sell, sell, sell...

These are mobile pics so the resolution stinks but you get the idea.
Before:

After:

Brendan is 11 months and 4 days old today!

If I could think of a witty title for this post, I'd put it here.

2009-05-29T09:53:00.008-04:00

Brendan will be a year old in just over a month. ONE YEAR OLD PEOPLE! This little fact tends to cause palpitations and eye spasms, not to mention excess forehead wrinkles. I'm excited about everything that's to come, watching my little baby grow into a little boy but at the same time, I can't help but miss all the special little baby things. All those adorable milestones - like the first time he gave me a genuine smile. And the first time I heard that contagious laugh. I spent so much time in the beginning looking forward to when he would be just a bit older (can't wait until he's out of the bobble-head phase, can't wait until he can sit up on his own, etc.) and now I'm wishing he was still my snuggly little peanut.

The babe is not at all interested in sitting still. I think it's a frustrating stage for him because he still hasn't figured out how to crawl or walk on his own and he wants to go out and explore. Daddy and I work on his walking with him every day. But Sir has his own idea about how the process should go so when Ken and I try to hold him by his waist rather than his hands, he goes into near-hysterics. How dare we deviate from the established Bootie walking procedure?! I'm pretty sure I'm going to need back surgery by the time this stage is over.

Sadly, he already has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with the scale. When we're walking him, he makes a beeline for the kitchen and then walks right to the scale and promptly sits down on it. Every time.

About two weeks ago he figured out how to get himself up into a sitting position from laying down. It was one of those, when I walked away he way laying down but when I came back, not so much situations. "How... hey... weren't you just... hmph!"

As I get ready in the morning, I leave him sitting on the living room floor surrounded by toys and his favorite show, Blues Clues, on the boob tube. I'm in the habit of checking on him every minute or so to make sure he hasn't learned to run in the last five minutes or found any sort of inedible substance to toss in his mouth while I'm not looking.

This morning I did my mid-hairdrying check and what do I see but our little explorer trying to pull himself up to get a better look at all the stuff he isn't allowed to touch on the coffee table. I say his name and he turns around with an absolutely angelic look and proceeds to slink down slowly so that he's laying down all innocent-like on the floor. With a look that says, "Mommy, I was just laying here watching TV. I wasn't trying to pick up that pen/magazine/remote control on the table."

I walked back into the bathroom, counted to ten, and tiptoed back out into the living room. And lo and behold - there's our little angel making his way back over to the table. I stood there quietly until he made his dutiful look back to make sure Mom wasn't watching. And there's that innocent, "I was just sitting here looking. I wasn't going to touch, promise" face. I've got your number kid.

So yeah, one year. ::sigh::

Brendan is one day away from 11 months today!

Fun In the Sun

2009-05-11T20:08:00.009-04:00

Last week was a week of many firsts for Brendan: First plane ride, first time meeting lots of family, first time at the beach and his first time in a pool.

We left on Saturday from the local airport. As we walked and walked and walked down the plane aisle to find our row, we finally got to the back and realized we were in the very last row. The one with no leg room and the seats that don't recline. We're tall people folks, 6'3" and 5'10" and we are holding a lengthy 10-month old on our laps for the next 2+ hours. We need some space!

Thankfully, the seat tray on my seat was stuck open and the angel of a steward told us he was going to find us better seats. And glory of all glories, he found us a lovely 3-seat row in the front with tons of leg room and an empty seat for Bootie's little hiney, in the event that he actually wanted to sit for a change. Our child did not sleep a wink. No, no. He wanted to be entertained the entire way. So Kenny and I took turns passing him back and forth like a hot potato for a few hours. As we landed, Sir decided it was an appropriate time for a Mr. Softee diaper, chocolate if you get my drift. It was smelly and thisclose to busting out of the back of his diaper. Daddy shamefully even went in for a picture of it. (Okay, Mommy held his waistband out so he could get a better shot. It had to be done.)

We made it to our destination in one piece and headed up to the condo. The one we stayed in was right on the ocean, with a great view from the balcony. Sunday everyone came over to hang out and get to know Brendan. Grandpa Billy, Grandma Sharon, Aunt Nicole, Uncle Keith, Aunt Shannon and Great Grandma Jackie were all there showering our little nugget with lots of attention. Which, being the little ham he is, he loved every second of.

Showing off one of his swim outfits

Chomping on his rake (hoe?)

Practicing standing with Grandpa

Talking to Great Grandma Jackie

Conked out after an exhausting day

Dancing

Closeup of the feet

A sneak peak of the days to come (more about that below)

Daddy could only stay until Tuesday so Grandpa Billy stayed with us during the week to help out. Brendan got a kick out of his Grandpa, especially whenever he spoke in his Donald Duck voice. He also tried to teach Brendan how to make funny sounds by popping his finger against the inside of his cheek. Brendan only got as far as sticking his finger in his mouth, but it was a solid attempt.

By the fourth day, Brendan woke up with a cold and a little fever. And for the next three days he was a bit of a beast. He would be perfectly content, then pitch a fit for no reason. My happy little boy became a cranky, relentlessly whiny little poop. And this was the baby that Grandpa was around for the better part of the week. If the wind changed or you looked at him the wrong way, watch out! Arched back, big gloppy tears, the whole nine yards. If it wasn't for the absolutely gorgeous weather I'm pretty sure I would have flung myself off the balcony mid-week.

A blurry shot of the pool, beach is to the left

View of the beach from the balcony

Sunset view from the balcony

Looking at the funny people in the mirror

Yet another swim outfit

Brendan has a brand new cousin, Micah, who Uncle Matthew brought us to meet during the week. He's an adorable little guy who looks just like his Daddy and gave lots of smiles.

Micah and his daddy Matthew

On Friday I had an appointment at a hair salon and enjoyed a solid two hours of heavenly peace and quiet while Aunt Nicole watched Brendan. She claims he was a perfect angel for him, which just figures. Apparently Mommy brings out the worst in you when you're sick, off schedule, in a strange place and overtired.

We hit the pool later that afternoon and Brendan enjoyed another swim. At first, he would cling on to me for dear life but as soon as he got used to it he'd kick and splash around like a pro. It probably just seemed like the biggest bathtub ever to him.

Hat hair

Warming up with Aunt Nicole

We all decided it should be Aunt Nicole's job to walk Brendan around since she's such a shrimp at just 5'4" (hehehe...)

The view from the back (baby got back...)

Aunt Nicole and I also decided to try a photo shoot on the beach. But Mr. Crankypants wasn't terribly into it. Who cries at the beach on a beautiful, sunny day?! This boggles my mind. How can any child of mine not LOVE the beach?

A closeup of a big. gloppy tear

And a random picture for fun. Giving new meaning to the word flexible...

On the last night I put Brendan to bed and had some fun girl time with Shannon and Nicole and a nice bottle of wine and tub of ice cream. Every girl's perfect night.

I dreaded the flight home all week since it would just be me to handle Mr. Fidgets but he gave me a great Mother's Day gift by behaving like a perfect little gentleman. He was awake for the first hour, then slept on me for an hour. I was stuck in a hideously uncomfortable position but frankly, I'd rather have achy joints for a week than deal with a cranky baby for an hour so I thought it was a fair trade. We were supposed to land a few minutes early but Mother Nature was PMS'ing and decided to make it really windy so we ended up having to circle around above the airport for 30 minutes until it calmed down enough to land safely.

It was really a cruel joke. I wanted nothing more than to be home and there was home, within view, but I couldn't get anywhere near it. We were sitting in the window seat next to an 8-year-old girl and her mother and the two of them were puking in their barf bags for the entire 30 minutes. So I was stuck in my suddenly claustrophobic seat getting whiffs of vomit panicking that Brendan was going to start getting pissy. In all seriousness, it was only a matter of time before the plane ran out of fuel and barf bags. We finally managed to land safely and spent the day at Nanny Darlene's house with Grandma Annie, Grandpa Charlie, Uncle Scott and Daddy.

It was a great trip and it was wonderful to see everyone and for Brendan to finally meet the rest of my side of the family. We are counting down the days until our next venture down there next year!

Brendan is 10 months, 1 week and 4 days old today!

A Shot for Brendan (and a few for Mommy -- the kind that burn the back of your throat going down)

2009-04-23T10:24:00.016-04:00

Brendan had his 9-month check-up on Monday. Grandma Annie came along, which was nice for Mommy because I was pretty sure he was going to be getting at least one shot. Brendan was displaying some clear signals that he was aware of where he was and the sort of impending doom that follows when one visits the doctor. When I put him on the table to get him undressed he started whimpering and looking at me with pleading eyes, "Why Mom? Why are you doing this to me? I promise I'll be good. I'll eat all my green vegetables without making faces or gagging until I puke." And my heart just broke for the little guy. I did my best to keep my game face on and smiled at him and told him everything would be fine. But let's face it, when you're at the doctor's office everything ain't gonna be fine and he knew it.

Despite my absolute certainty that he weighs at least 130 pounds, Brendan came in at a delicate 21lb 1.5oz (50th percentile). He's 29.75" tall (80th percentile) and has a head circumference somewhere in the 90-95th percentile. A string bean with a watermelon on top. I made sure to announce to the doctor that he got this last trait from his large-headed father. He did indeed need a shot, but only one. Which did nothing to diminish the amount of pissed-offness that followed.

As Brendan approaches the big O-N-E, Kenny and I are more than ready to start looking for a bigger place to buy. One that might actually be able to contain the absurd amount of stuff that comes with a baby. And a husband who gets serious separation anxiety when I casually mention that it might be time to think about throwing away that pile of magazines from oh, 1980! I'd like to say that the new place will be spotless and everything will be organized in labeled, color-coded bins and we'll host weekly parties to show everyone how on top of it we are. But let's face it, we're not those people and our house will never be clean again. At least not until I have a place of my own.

Brendan has decided to skip crawling (he says it's for babies) and move straight to walking. Mommy and Daddy either need longer arms or Sir needs to grow about a foot. When he gets it into his head that it's time to practice, there's no room for negotiation. And it's some back-breaking stuff—walking all hunched over him so he can hold onto our fingers. I tried to get him to use the walker thing but he just got all pissed off and pitched a fit. Maybe because he kept rolling it over his little sausage foot. (He has a tendency to walk with his left foot facing due west.) I'll post a video of it when I can find a few minutes.

Since I neglected to blog about Easter, which we spent with Grandma Annie, Grandpa Charlie and Great Grandma Mimi, I'll post some adorable pictures of our very own little Easter Bunny below. Oh, and some other pictures too. Because they're cute. And I like to show off my exceptionally photogenic child.

Nine more days until Florida!!! Woooo hooo!!! We are soooo excited to see everyone and for Brendan to meet his Grandpa Billy, Grandma Sharon, Aunt Nicole, Uncle Matthew, Great Grandma Jackie and everyone else down there he hasn't gotten to meet yet. Mommy has made packing lists and is doing everything in her power to be as prepared as possible. Not not mention hoping beyond hope that Brendan doesn't freak out on the plane. I remember being that young girl without kids who rolled her eyes and declared the parents of the screaming kid unfit! And then thinking to myself, "When I have kids they're TOTALLY going to be the best, well-mannered, amazing kids EVER!" ::Blushes and looks down at the floor:: Yeah, what the hell did I know about anything? Is it bad parenting to administer a sleeping aid to a child before takeoff? JUST KIDDING PEOPLE. I wouldn't do that. Not really. Unless it was totally necessary.

Brendan is 9 months, 3 weeks and 3 days old today!

2009-04-08T17:16:00.004-04:00

Because Blogger hates me and won't let me post a message with the slideshow without giving me some html code error nonsense, I will post the message here. Ahem...

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a slideshow I created of pictures over the past 18 months, from the first pregnancy test to the present. Maybe I'm extra hormonal, but I had to choke back some tears watching this thing.

2009-04-08T17:11:00.001-04:00

Memories...

2009-04-08T13:53:00.019-04:00

Okay, let's discuss the fact that Brendan will be a year old in less than three months. This makes me indescribably sad. How on Earth is this possible?! He has now been outside the confines of my lovely uterus for 15 days longer than the time he spent inside snuggled up all itty bitty.

Gone is my little baby boy who fit in the crook of my arm and whose primary job was to sleep, save for the occasional bottle and diaper change (not to mention the bouts of diarrhea and vomit—which usually ended up on me, to varying degrees). In his place is a loud, opinionated, chatty little fellow who I'm pretty sure grows about 1/2 an inch a day (and still manages the occasional diaper blowout and vomit episodes). The transformation babies go through within their first year of life is truly amazing.

To keep track of the memories that my ever-worsening Mommy brain will rudely evict, I'm going to list some of the things that I'll miss when he stops being our little baby.

The way he plays with my hair while I give him his bedtime bottle and rock him to sleep.
The way Daddy's backrub technique puts him right back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night.
When he cries if I come home from work and don't IMMEDIATELY pick him up to say hello.
The way his face explodes in a smile when we do our "stern parent" voice.
The times when he wakes up way too early so I sit him up next to me while I lie down, and then feel his meaty little fist caressing my face.
The way he practically lunges out of my arms to hang out with Daddy when it's time to play with the computer mouse before bed.
The face he makes when we put finger foods in his mouth. (How dare you?! Oh wait, I think I kind of like this...)

That's all I can remember at the moment. I'll be sure and add more as they come to me. Below are pictures of Brendan with his friend Caden, my friend Fran's son. They were actually both in the midst of a diaper change but Mr. Fidgets had other ideas.

The attack of the meaty fist!

Brendan is 9 months, 1 week and 2 days old today!

House of Cooties

2009-03-29T07:27:00.012-04:00

We have cooties, folks. Well, I have cooties. Brendan has a cold that's holding on for dear life (two weeks and counting), Kenny is getting over a cold and I'm breaking out in mysterious hives all over my body. They started innocently enough on my elbows Thursday morning and just kept popping up in new places as the hours ticked by. I went to the doctor on Friday and she's guessing it's a reaction to something I ate since I'm not using any new detergents, lotions or soap. I've been taking Prednisone but it hasn't given me any relief yet. I woke up in the middle of the night last night itching from head to toe with lots of new clusters of hives. I'm so over this!

Brendan has been sleeping later in the mornings. He's been pretty much sleeping through the night but most nights about an hour after he falls asleep he'll wake up crying. I wonder if it's too soon for bad dreams? When I'm already in bed and he wakes up I hear him whimpering in his sleep before he's fully awake and crying. What could he possibly be dreaming about already? Mommy took his toy away? Daddy made him eat green beans? Poor thing. Hopefully whatever it is will end soon. Other than that, when he's not waking himself up with all of his coughing, he sleeps until about 6 or 6:30. Much better than his old 4:30 wake-up calls! Oh, and he's got his 8th tooth! Now he has five on top and three on the bottom.

Just over a month to go before we take our first plane trip with Brendan. We're going to FL so he can finally meet his Papa Billy, Nana Sharon and his aunts and uncles. I'm a little nervous about the flight but I'm going to buy some new toys and have plenty of formula and food ready. Hopefully he'll pass out since we're flyng during his usual afternoon nap time. It will also be his first time at the beach (Mommy's favorite place!). I'm excited to see how he likes the sand and the ocean. I bought this tent to bring on the beach to keep his pasty butt out of the sun. I figured it would also be easier to lure people to the beach to keep me company if I had some shade to offer them.

I don't have any new pictures to post today but I have a video that I wanted to share from last night. He's figured out a new trick when he eats that he just finds hysterical. I have to admit, it's pretty hard not to laugh back at him when he does it.

Brendan is 1 day away from 9 months old today!

Horn toots and men in skirts

2009-03-23T20:18:00.010-04:00

Brendan went to his first parade yesterday (in celebration of St. Patrick's Day) with Mommy, Grandma Annie and Grandpa Charlie. The silly weather people predicted a high temp around 60 degrees which was beyond exciting. Of course, they predicted sunshine on Friday and the day started out with a snowy blizzard. But I digress. It started out as a nice, warmish day with lots of sunshine but eventually turned to a frigid, cloudy day. We had a great time, nonetheless.

Brendan was a trooper, taking everything in with his ever curious (and often nosy) eyes. I was worried that he'd get upset when the big trucks came by honking their VERY loud horns but it didn't bother him one bit! The parade was pretty short—about an hour—and he was definitely ready to go by the time it was over. It was nap time and there was too much going on to be able to fall asleep while we were there. Sure enough, by the time we got back to the car he was passed out in his stroller. Mommy decided to stop at McDonald's for a quarter pounder with cheese (minus the bread) and some caffeine in an effort to prolong his nap. Brendan really appreciated my thoughtfulness.

Of course I took lots of pictures... enjoy!

Waiting for the parade to start

I'll just play with my shoes while I wait

Watching the police cars go by

Laughing with Grandma

Getting a better view with Grandpa

Watching the funny men in skirts go by

Who's next??

Silly Mommy covering my ears when the loud horns passed by

Eating my hand until something better comes along

Snuggling with Grandma under the blankie

Brendan is 8 months 3 weeks and 2 days old today!

Pictures!

2009-03-18T14:32:00.011-04:00

Here are some more recent pictures of Brendan.

Flashing his big grin (and showing off a few of his teeth—he has 7 now!)

We woke up one morning to find Brendan with this hair. It reminded me of Cameron Diaz in There's Something About Mary when she had Ben Stiller's "special" hair gel in her hair. LOL.

Every night I get Brendan changed into his pj's, then hand him over to Daddy while I get his bottle ready. And every night as soon as he's at the desk he LUNGES for the computer mouse. He absolutely loves that thing! He's getting ready to make his attack in this picture.

Brendan loves bathtime! He used to sit in a reclining seat in the bath and splash the crap out of Mommy but he recently graduated to a big boy bath seat. Now he can play with all his fun bath toys!

Nanny Darlene has two close friends that she grew up with who also got to meet their first grandchildren (all boys!) in 2008. Here's a picture of the grandmothers and grandsons: Darlene and Brendan, Dee and Justin, Patty and Luke.

Here are the mothers and sons: Brendan and me, Andrea and Justin, Chrissy and Luke.

And here's one of Nanny and Brendan.

Brendan is going to his first parade this Sunday (St. Patrick's Day Parade in Greenwich). Should be fun. I'll try to post some pics from that too.

Brendan is 8 months 2 weeks and 4 days old today!

He ain't heavy...

2009-03-08T16:15:00.008-04:00

As I sit here hemorrhaging brain cells while watching Yo Gabba Gabba (have you ever seen this show? The people who write it MUST be tripping 24/7), I'm trying to come up with something blogworthy to write about. Brendan is still as adorable as ever and getting bigger and bigger. In the last two days I've seen two 11-month-old babies who are the same size as my 8-month-old. He is a big boy. Not crawling or walking. Frankly I think he's just lazy and thinks why should he do the work when there are people who will carry him around and move him to where he wants to go?

I don't blame him. Although, like I said, he's not a small kid and lugging around 20lb of squirming little boy gets pretty tiring pretty quickly. I brought him to the doctor a week ago (2 weeks ago?) for his second flu shot and stupidly decided to leave the stroller in the trunk and carry him, my purse and the diaper bag from the parking lot to the doctor's office. The trip in wasn't so bad. But we had to wait a while and that meant I had to keep him entertained while we were in the waiting room. So lots of walking around, bouncing him up and down and all that. By the time we were walking back to the car after the appointment it took everything I had not to drop the bags and sit down in the middle of the parking lot until my back stopped locking up. Somehow I made it to the car without sustaining any permanent damage. Note to self: ALWAYS bring the stroller.

He's an expert sitter and a very chatty little fellow. He's definitely saying mama and dada, although he has no idea what either word means. He's also saying baba and flicking his finger across his lips when he talks to make funny sounds. I've tried feeding him Cheerios and puffs but he has zero interest in either. Grandma even tried giving him a piece of bread but he just wanted to use it as a drumstick to pound the table with. Which makes me wonder, with parents that love to eat, how is it possible that we produced a child who needs to be coerced to eat??

Anyway, here are a few recent pictures. Enjoy!

Mr. Smiley

Being shy Brendan

OK Mom, one more picture and that's it.

Close-up of his beautiful eyes

Playing in his fortress

Sleepy Head

Brendan is 8 months and 1 week old

The early bird...

2009-02-15T07:20:00.005-05:00

It is 7:20am. Brendan and I have been up for 3 hours. My coffee has little white specks in it. Methinks the milk might be bad after all but the need for caffeine overrides the possible side effects of drinking sour milk. I am grateful for Blues Clues and the Baby Einstein jumper, both of which are entertaining our little bundle of joy while I try to keep myself awake until Kenny gets up. It's his morning to sleep in, I'm figuring I've got about another hour and a half before he gets up and I get to take a nap.

Later today we're going to a birthday party for my friend Jill's son Steven who recently turned two years old. This is just wild because I'm pretty sure she just had him like 2 months ago. Time just FLIES by. Anyway, this is the first kids party Brendan is going to so that will be fun.

Hold on. I smell poop and I'm fairly confident it's not coming from me... I'm back. Brendan is extra cuddly this morning so we snuggled for a bit on the couch after I changed his diaper and now I'm thinking he'll fall asleep in a bit.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Brendan made Kenny and me a beautiful card at daycare. He's quite the little artist. ;) I found a really cute onesie at Baby Gap that says "Hunk-a Burning Love" and we had a pseudo photo shoot Friday morning before we left for the day. He was being such a little ham, there are so many great shots. I'm going to make a slideshow as soon as Kenny downloads flash player. But here are a few of my favorites to tide you over until then.

And here's a picture from a few weeks ago that I love:

Brendan is 7 months, 2 weeks and 2 days old today!

Quick Note

2009-02-02T09:21:00.006-05:00

I'm going to make this a quick one. Brendan and I are both sick and he kept me up all night so I'm headed back to bed in a bit.

Yesterday Brendan and I met up with Auntie Jill and her son Steven at the mall. We got some lunch first and Brendan sat in a high chair at the restaurant. It was his first time, normally he stays in his infant seat, and he loved it. Mr. Nosy kept looking (actually staring would be a more appropriate word) at the people sitting at the table to our left. When we were done eating we walked around the mall and he got to sit in the big boy stroller which he loved. After the mall we went to Christmas Tree Shop and he sat in the shopping cart. Another first.

Anyway, the point of my post is that while we were strolling around Christmas Tree Shop, I happened to look down and see him watching me with this look of absolute and utter adoration. Like I was the best thing since sliced bread. And he didn't look away all ashamed that I caught him. Instead, he gave me this beautiful, giant smile. And it occurred to me then, that I'm a kind of superhero to him. And Daddy too. Super Parents. When he's not feeling well, we have the ability to make it better with hugs and kisses. When he's fighting sleep, we have the ability to hold him and whisper how much we love him and rock him to sleep. When it's time to play we have the ability to make him fly, or bounce, or stand, whatever he feels like doing at that moment.

What an amazing feeling, to know that someone loves you so totally and unconditionally. So I'm going to keep reminding myself to cherish every second of the time I have with him right now. Because sooner or later the gig will be up. He'll grow up and somewhere along the way he'll learn that his parents don't know everything and we don't have any super powers to speak of. And he may even hate us now and then when we don't give him his way. But hopefully when he's a grown man with a family of his own, just like I did, he'll realize that parents really are superheroes and we did the best we could with what we had.

Brendan is seven months and two days old.

Snow, snow go away!

2009-01-28T20:18:00.008-05:00

I'm tired of snow. It's cold and slippery and hard to drive in. (At least when you have a little Honda Civic. That needs new tires.) While I appreciate the fact that snow means overtime for Kenny which means extra money for us, it also means that I'm basically a single parent until it ends. Sometimes it only means a few hours of overtime. Sometimes it means I don't see Kenny for 2-3 days.

I adore that little bundle of chubby deliciousness but it's exhausting to get up at the crack of dawn with him, get us both ready and out the door by 7:30, drop him off at daycare, work all day, pick him up (if Kenny is still working), get him fed, bathed, spend some quality time with him and then hopefully get him to sleep by 7:30 or so. Then I get an hour, maybe an hour and a half of "me time" before I go to bed. I have such great respect for single parents out there. Especially the ones who have more than one kid. I don't know how they do it!

Anyway, enough of my moaning. We've got grandmothers a half hour or so drive away just chomping at the bit to watch him so it's not like I don't have help if I need it.

The monster, or Sir, as I've become fond of calling him (as in yes Sir, whatever you want Sir, Sir why are you growling, Sir please don't pull my hair) had a check-up last week. Daddy took him to this one by himself and he did a great job! He reported that Brendan is now 28" tall and weighs almost 19lb. He's in the 80th percentile for height and head circumference (he can thank Daddy for that) and 50th percentile for weight. He got a bunch of shots which he did not like one bit but it was nothing a little Tylenol and TLC couldn't cure. I have to bring him back at the end of February for his second flu shot and then he's in the clear until his 9-month appt.

Brendan is eating solids like a champ, three times a day. He gets some cereal and fruit for breakfast, fruit and vegetable for lunch and cereal and vegetable for dinner. All pureed of course. The doctor said he can start finger foods when he's got his pincer grip down (when he can grab small objects with his pointer and thumb fingers). He's just DESPERATE to crawl but he hasn't figured it out just yet. Which, frankly, is fine by me because that's when all the trouble really begins anyway. It's only a matter of time though.

He's got six teeth now, four on top and two on the bottom, and he chews everyhing he can get his chubby little hands on. We're supposed to be brushing his teeth so I went out and bought a tiny little toothbrush for him and gave it a try but he looked at me like it was the most disgusting thing that's ever been in his mouth. Even worse than the time I fed him green beans (which he gagged on and eventually threw up). So I just wipe them with a wet washcloth instead. We'll try the toothbrush again in a few weeks.

Brendan is two days away from 7 months old!

So cute!

Sporting his Alfalfa look

Spending some QT with Grandma Annie

Hanging out with Auntie Andrea

Brendan is two days away from 7 months old today!

6 Months

2008-12-31T21:01:00.011-05:00

I cannot believe what was once our little tiny peanut is six months old already. He's looking more and more like a little boy than a baby every day, which is scary and exciting all at the same time. He's showing his personality more and more. He's a very happy little man, always ready to flash a big smile. And he's very friendly, he'll work his charms on anyone and everyone. Of course, he loves his Momma best. And his Daddy second best (hehehe).

The most exciting development of late is that Brendan is finally starting to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT. YAY!!!!! The first night was December 17th, Daddy's birthday. He woke up bright and early at 4:40 but I was still super happy about it. He's gotten through eight of the last 14 days without waking up for a bottle with four of those eight days being the past four days. Of course, I still wake up a few times throughout the night out of habit (and to fulfill my OCD need to make sure he's still breathing). Hopefully I'll stop that soon.

We spent Christmas with my family and Brendan got to see his Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon who hadn't seen him since he was five weeks old. They were very impressed with how good he is, just hanging out soaking everything in. I'm hoping they're going to give Brendan a cousin very soon...

Aunt Lauren was also there and of course Grandma Annie and Grandpa Charlie, who hosted the day at their house, along with Rob & Susan and their sons Jason and Christopher and Charlie's mother Mimi and two sons, Charlie and Nicky. After everyone was sufficiently buzzed the karaoke competition started. Grandma Annie started it off and Little Charlie "sang" a few songs too. I'm happy to report that I got the high score of the evening. There was a claim that Uncle Keith got the high score after I left but I'm not counting that. Anyway, I've heard him sing.

We celebrated Christmas with Kenny's family this past Sunday at Nana's. Uncle Scott, Aunt Splat and Aunt MaryAnn were all there too. Brendan got a lot of cool presents, including a rocking horse from Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Jay that sings and talks. Brendan is already trying to eat it. Oh, he also got his third tooth for Christmas! Well, the day after Christmas anyway. He'll be eating steak in no time.

Here are some photos from our first Christmas celebration. The other pics are on Nana's camera so we'll have to wait for her to send us those.

Styling in his argyle sweater vest

Snuggling with Aunt Susan

Snoozing on Mommy

Some hats Daddy bought Brendan for Christmas

And one of the shirts he bought (yes, that's his middle finger)

Uncle Keith showing Brendan how to use the jumper

Doesn't everyone sleep with washcloths in their mouth?

Doing what he does best - being cute

Brendan is 6 months and 1 day old today!

When it rains...

2008-12-13T10:05:00.005-05:00

It's been a banner week at the Gaska household. Brendan developed an awful cold last weekend that just wasn't getting any better. He started to have a fever Monday that wouldn't go away and he wasn't interested in eating - he was only getting about 15oz a day. Mind you, he's not a big eater to begin with. He takes in an average of about 25oz/day. The rule of thumb is 2-2.5oz per pound per day. He weighs about 16lb so that's 32-40oz. I'm convinced our son is anorexic. The dr is not concerned because he's growing nicely from month to month.

Anyway, clearly 15oz is no good. I took him to the dr on Wednesday morning. Diagnosis = bronchiolitis and yet another double ear infection. Bronchiolitis is a lung infection caused by a virus, most likely RSV in the baby's case. We have to do nebulizer treatments with him 3 to 4 times a day for about 10 minutes. And holy cow, he HATES it. He'll be ok for about the first 5 minutes and then turns into Mr. Squirmsalot for the next 5 and cries the whole time. I've learned the easiest way to get it done is to sit him in his carseat and distract the heck out of him with toys. The noisier the better.

Thankfully, we're pretty sure he's on a teething break this week so that's one small blessing. He now has two adorable little teeth on the bottom that he's constantly rubbing with his tongue. Ken lovingly refers to him as a coke addict since that's exactly what he looks like when he does it.

We must have caught the ear infections nice and early because they don't seem to be bothering him a whole lot. Or it could just be that the rest of his ailments are distracting him enough where he doesn't even notice they hurt. He's got lots of gunk in his chest which makes him wheeze and cough a lot. Not to mention the boogie factory. I change my shirt a few times a day when I'm home with him because when I hold him he uses it as a hanky, rubbing his nose all over me. And when he coughs, he makes sure to turn his head each time so he can cough in my face. So there's some saliva mixed in with the snot for good measure. But that's what parents are for, right?

Here's a pic of Brendan self-medicating

Brendan is 5 months, 1 week and 6 days old today!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T08:31:00.008-05:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Nana Darlene, Uncle Scott, Aunt Splat and Uncle Al at Nana's. Nana made a delicious turkey and some homemade stuffing and mashed potatoes. Brendan sat at the table with us in his big-boy high chair and enjoyed some rice cereal and applesauce.

Some more firsts: Brendan has his first tooth! I brought him to the pediatrician Wednesday so she could make sure his ears were completely healed and she felt his gums. Sure enough, he's got a little tooth on the bottom and another one on its way. Our little boy is growing up so fast! Another first: Brendan discovered how to turn the bathtub into a jacuzzi Wednesday night. Not quite as exciting for me, but fun for Daddy and Brendan. (What is it about guys and farts???)

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we can look forward to celebrating Christmas! We decorated inside the house and put the tree up yesterday. Brendan was a little freaked out at first because he was napping when I put the lights up around the living room. But when it came time to decorate the tree, he sat in his bouncy seat happily helping Mommy decide where to put each ornament. He was extremely excited about it, squealing and laughing the whole time. Mommy even wore a santa hat and Daddy put Christmas music on to get everyone in the mood. And get this - Mommy cooked dinner! (Get away from the window, pigs are not flying. I do cook--every once in a while.) I made pot roast in the slow cooker and we had some biscuits and garlic mashed potatoes.

Okay guys, I'm ready for my turkey!

Seriously, where's my turkey?

Hanging out with Nana

And Uncle Scott

Looking very cute, as always

Turkey coma strikes again

Brendan is 2 days away from 5 months today!

Whatnot and other stuff

2008-11-24T20:38:00.015-05:00

It's been a while, I've been a very bad blogger. Let's see... the big things since we last chatted were our first trip to the emergency room and the baptism.

November 15th started and ended normally enough. Brendan went down at 8:30 -- an hour past his usual bedtime but this happens every once in a while so I didn't think much of it. He woke up at 12:50am for a bottle and fell back to sleep within 15 minutes. He woke up at 1:30am and was crying like someone was stabbing him. We tried desperately to calm him down. Kenny did laps around the room, bouncing him around and that helped a little. But every time we went to lay him down in the crib the hysterics would start again. Finally, Kenny put him in the bouncy seat on his side of the bed and turned on the TV and I rocked him until he fell asleep around 3:00am. Not 20 minutes later he woke up screaming again. We went through the routine again and nothing was helping. I brought the swing into the bedroom, put it next to my side of the bed and he fell asleep in there for about 2 hours. But then at 6:30am he woke up again screaming.

We finally decided it was time to go to the ER. Got to the hospital and of course once we were there he seemed totally fine. I was starting to feel like a giant idiot. Then the dr came in and he was giggling away at her while she was checking him. She got to his ears and the hysterics started again. Sure enough, both ears were infected. Poor thing. We were thinking it was a stomachache and here he was with two earaches. He never tugged at his ears, at least not more than he usually does when they don't hurt so we had no clue. The dr had us give him Motrin and gave us a Rx for amoxycillin. He was so not loving the yummy bubble gum flavored amoxycillin but after about a day he decided he absolutely LOVES the stuff. He's pretty confident that he can administer it himself as he's always grabbing the syringe with his chunky fingers and jamming it in his mouth. He'll be done with the medicine tomorrow (10 days) and then we have a follow-up appt with the pediatrician on Wednesday to make sure the infections are both cleared up.

We've been feeding him baby cereal for a few weeks now. He absolutely hated it at first and cried every time I tried to feed him. But then I started adding baby applesauce and now he can't get enough. Just like the medicine, he tries to grab the spoon and feed himself but he just ends up jamming himself in the gums. He's prety good at getting it all over his face. He has a habit of jamming his fist into his mouth in between spoonfuls, getting the cereal on his hand and then rubbing his face. This is why Mommy feeds him before bathtime.

Yesterday was Brendan's baptism. He was very well behaved, no crying or fussiness. Although, he did start talking during the ceremony. I guess he wanted to add a few words to the sermon. He's very religious, you know. My sister Lauren stood up as the godmother and Kenny's brother Scott is the godfather. After the ceremony we headed up to Grandma Annie's to hang out and have some food. Brendan changed out of his baptism outfit - which he wasn't terribly fond of - into an adorable little outfit that I tortured him with. In all fairness to me, I did leave out the bowtie. Once we were done with pictures I changed him into windpants and a cotton shirt. That boy has more clothes than Kenny and me combined. I suppose that's my fault. Daddy is guilty of adding to the growing wardrobe too though.

Some pictures for you.

Here we have Brendan doing his Jesus pose:

The happy family. By this point Brendan had enough with the pictures and refused to look anywhere near the direction of the camera:

The crew. Notice how we're all looking in different directions:

The happy family with the grandmas:

Looking dapper in his after-party outfit:

Brendan is 4 months, 3 weeks, 4 days old today!

To eat or not to eat...

2008-11-10T12:31:00.007-05:00

We attempted to feed Brendan his first bowl of baby cereal on Saturday night. He was excited about his cool new chair and the funny faces Mommy and Daddy were making to show him how to eat but he wasn't quite sure what to do with the cereal once it got in his mouth. He mastered opening his mouth and moving the slush around in there (and everywhere) so we'll just go ahead and label that a success. The next night I think he actually even managed to swallow some! Hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon. Before we know it he'll be asking us for a bite of our cheeseburger (get your own!).

Here's the video of his first meal:

And here's a video of him rolling over:

Brendan is 4 months, 1 week, 4 days old today!

Sleep is for wimps

2008-11-07T20:25:00.009-05:00

I will no longer ask other mothers about their babies' sleep habits. I just can't listen to another person tell me how their little angel started sleeping through the night at three months. ::shaking fists of fury:: Lies! It's all lies.

I mean, how is it possible that EVERYONE else's baby sleeps all the way through the night without needing a lil' snack here and there?? Oh Brendan, it's okay that it's 1am and you can't possibly survive another second without a bottle. And oh sure, 4am is a perfect time to have a really LOUD conversation with your imaginary friends. But seriously, as soon as I peer over that crib and he sees me and flashes that huge gummy grin, I can't possibly be annoyed about the early wake-up call. Kenny and I have laid (layed? I can never get this right) still in bed many a time at wee hours in the morning stifling a giggle when the baby starts his incessant high octane babbling. The trick is not to let him know that you're in the room or it's all over. Of course, there are times when he just won't give up and we have no choice but to surrender.

Anyway, our little guy had his 4-month checkup on Wednesday. He's up to 15lbs and 25.5" tall. So just below average for weight and a little above average for height. Long and lean. He had to get three shots. Oy. Still not easy for Mommy to deal with so I was grateful that Daddy was able to get to this appt too. Brendan was pissed about the shots and let us know it but this time he calmed down very quickly and was fine for the rest of the night. Thankfully Nana Darlene was watching him the next day so when he woke up with a little temp and crankiness she was able to give him some Tylenol and make everything better.

We got the all clear to start giving him baby cereal and we're hopeful that it will help him sleep for a longer stretch at night. We're going to give it a whirl tomorrow night. Have to make sure the video camera is fully charged for that one. I'm sure it will be an interesting (read: messy and hysterical) adventure. Don't worry, I'll make sure I upload it to You Tube so I can post it here.

Here are some recent pics of the little munchkin. He's just too cute for words.

Halloween:

The new toy:
(Notice the big drool spot on his arm.)

(Moving in for a closer look.)

And of course, a sleepy picture:

Brendan is 4 months, 1 week, 1 day old today!

More Milestones!

2008-10-27T21:07:00.007-04:00

Brendan rolled over last week, October 22nd to be exact! He was laying on the bed next to me while we were pretending to get ready in the morning. I had put him on the Boppy pillow like I always do so he could watch Disney and he wanted nothing to do with his beloved Boppy. So I laid him flat on the bed and all of a sudden he rolled from his back to his belly! He did it a few times but of course every time I called Daddy in he would lay on his back looking all innocent like I was making it up. Once he got on his belly he would get annoyed because that's his least favorite position and he kind of got stuck there so I'd have to help him roll back the other way.

Within the last week he's gotten noticeably better at holding himself up when he's laying on his belly. See exhibit A:
It's absolutely amazing what a difference just one week makes.

And here's a sleepy picture, just because.

But the best new thing of all is the laugh! He does it for Mommy and Daddy every once in a while but apparently he does it for everyone else all the time when we're not around. I was able to get a video of Grandma Annie playing with him and a good chuckle at the end. Hopefully I've figured this you tube thing out and the video works:

Brendan is 3 days away from 4 months today!

Milestones

2008-10-14T20:23:00.004-04:00

My darling son woke up at 4am this morning. Nothing unusual there. I gave him his bottle, he drank it, fell asleep. I lifted him up to put him in his crib. Big eyeballs. "I am wide awake now Mommy, entertain me!" I turned on the rainforest soother that he loves. It has a light show, a swinging monkey, a fish and it makes all kinds of rainforest sounds. He usually will watch it for a few minutes and then conk out. Not this morning. No. This morning he decided to talk to it. FOR TWO HOURS. I pleaded with him to go to sleep so I could get some much needed rest before it was time to get up but he was merciless. Babble, babble, coo, giggle. And repeat. He FINALLY fell asleep at 6am. Just in time for me to get up for the day.

It gets frustrating sometimes. But then something always happens to remind me how lucky I am and how grateful I am to have this beautiful baby. I stumbled upon a blog today about a woman who gave birth to her baby boy via c-section and was able to hold him for sixteen precious minutes before he passed away. I had only gotten through the first few sentences of that entry before I lost it. I'm not even sure of the details surrounding her son's short life but from what I gathered she knew she would lose him shortly after his birth.

Before I had Brendan I obviously would have been upset to read that. Anybody would. But now, knowing what it's like to go through the journey of trying to conceive, then growing this miracle inside me, then giving birth to him, I really just cannot imagine having to say goodbye ever, let alone moments after meeting him for the first time. So now every day I will make sure I hug him a little longer, give him a few extra kisses and tell him how much I love him.

Our favorite little jumping bean is learning how to roll over. ::Cue the scary music:: This means we're closer to the day he becomes mobile. I won't be able to stick him on the Boppy pillow on our bed to watch TV while I get ready in the morning. God forbid I come back in and he's managed to roll himself off the bed. Yes, I am a horrible mother. I let my baby watch TV. Sue me. This is the only way I get 45 minutes of peace to do everything I need to do to get us both ready in the morning. He watches Johnny and the Sprites and the Wiggles, which actually both have some educational value. Johnny is alway teaching some lesson about patience and right from wrong. And those crazy Wiggles sing about the merits of fruit salad (yummy, yummy) and vegetables. So there. He's learning some valuable stuff.

He rolls over onto his side, gets stuck for a few minutes, then rolls onto his back. Once he even rolled onto his stomach. And got stuck there. Until I finally rolled him back the other way. He's quite proud of himself and flashes a big gummy grin every time he does this little trick. His favorite spot to practice his rolling skills is on his new elephant cuddle mat.

In this picture he was taking a break from rolling and became too engrossed with whatever was on TV to pay any attention to Mom.

We also tried out the Bumbo seat. It's a seat for babies who can hold their heads up but aren't able to sit up on their own just yet. The first time he sat in it for about 30 seconds before he was overcome with boredom. But this time he stayed in it for a while longer, which is promising.

So many new adventures we're having! Stay tuned...

Brendan is 3.5 months old today!

Where has the time gone??

2008-10-08T19:21:00.004-04:00

How the heck did it get to be October already?! The cold weather has started already -- I actually turned the damn heat on today. It's never a gradual change, always from warm to holy crap it's cold out here! Today is Kenny and my 3rd wedding anniversary. Go us!

Last week Brendan turned 3 months, had his first cold and had diarrhea for FIVE DAYS. It was quite a week! Poor little guy just sort of swats at his nose because it's bothering him and he doesn't know what to do with it. I try putting saline drops in there and sucking those babies out but I might as well be poking his eyes out with a dirty fork for all the fight he puts up. Every once in a while I get a good one out and even though he won't acknowledge my efforts, I know he appreciates my determination. Kenny insists that I have an unhealthly obsession with boogers and poop. I just might.

So yeah, on to the poop. Started Saturday night and didn't stop until we finally switched him to soy formula Thursday night. His little tush was so raw that the changing table -- his absolute most favorite hangout -- became a torture chamber for him. No squeals and big smiles and jogging in place. Just absolute terror that we were going to have to wipe his raw skin again. The woman who watches him recommended Triple Paste. That. stuff. is. AWESOME. And expensive. But totally worth it because his little bootie is back to normal and we're back to being excited about the changing table. Good times.

Brendan is growing by the second. Every time I look at him I can't believe how small he started out and how much bigger he's gotten in only 3 months. Kenny weighed him the other day before his bath and he's up to 14 pounds! His 4-month checkup is next month so I'm curious to see what he'll be up to then and how tall he'll be. I'm not excited to see him get more shots though. That will be another sad day for Mommy.

He isn't doing any full-blown giggling yet but he's definitely much more expressive and has a wider range of happy sounds now. He is such a happy baby with a nice, even temperament. We get lots of smiles and squeals and some little laughs. I really can't wait until he starts giggling, that has got to be the best sound in the world. He also is able to hold his head up pretty well now so all he wants you to do is hold him in a sitting or standing position so he can check things out. He is NOSY. Always staring at everyone wanting to know what's going on. I just don't know where he gets that from. ;)

Brendan is 3 months, 1 week, 1 day old today!

Back to the grind

2008-09-24T18:02:00.005-04:00

Monday was my first day back at work and Brendan's first day at daycare. We are bringing him to a woman who watches 5 kids at her home. One, because I'm more comfortable having him in a smaller setting and two, because it's a crapload more affordable than sending him to a big daycare center. Anyway, I dropped him off Monday morning and cried. Then I got in my car and balled on the way to work. Then I got to work and every time someone came over to welcome me back and ask how it was dropping him off I'd get teary eyed again. Brendan, on the other hand, had a grand old time being with the woman who watches him and the other kids. I'm sure they're a lot more entertaining than dear old Mom. Needless to say, it ended up being way more traumatic for me than it was for him. Now, at my third day back at work, it has already gotten much easier. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I know he's well taken care of and he's having a good time.

Here's a pic of Brendan on his first day of "school":

Work has been going well so far. The 12 weeks off did wonders for my patience because the few people who used to irritate the shit out of me with their "I can't do what you're asking, everything is impossible" attitudes don't bother me one bit. At least not yet. I'm all smiles and sunshine for now.

Brendan seems to be getting bigger and older by the second. He'll be 3 months old next Tuesday which, frankly, is just insane. Because it means he'll be 16 before I know it and because it also means I'm 3 months closer to turning another year older. The little ball of mush who used to fit in the crook of my arm is now too heavy to hold for very long (granted, I'm a little out of shape at this point but that's besides the point) and can't sit still long enough to cuddle with me unless he's fallen asleep on me. But hey, I'll take what I can get.

So Halloween is just around the corner. And being the thoughtful and compassionate mother that I am, I searched high and low for the perfect costume for my little man. Let me tell you, costumes for infants under 6 months are hard to come by. Every time I thought I found the perfect costume I'd get all excited only to find out that it didn't come in his size. Unless I wanted him to be a hot pepper or a pea in the pod, my options were very limited. Well, on a shopping trip where I was supposed to be getting myself some new pants for work, Grandma Annie happened to stumble upon a very snazzy costume. And they had one in his size! We scooped it up (along with several pairs of pants and sweatshirts -- for Brendan) and proceeded to run back to Grandma's house to try it on. I think I've sent most of you the pics but here are the shots, for anyone who hasn't seen them. The costume came with pants but we thought it best not to press our luck just yet:

Brendan is 2 months, 3 weeks, 4 days old today!

Two Month Check-up

2008-09-09T19:10:00.004-04:00

Today was Brendan's two month check-up at the pediatrician's office which meant it was time for his first shots. Daddy took the day off of work to come because Mommy was too chicken to go by herself and see her baby get upset.

Our little nugget is growing fast! He's up to 12lb 4oz and is 24" long which puts him at the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. No doubt that he will be up in the 90th percentile for height very soon given how tall both parents are! He has a bit of a flat spot on the right side of his head because he favors this side when he's laying down. We've been trying to turn his head as much as possible but it hasn't gotten any better. We also noticed that he has a more limited range of motion when he turns his head to the left so the dr suggested that we take him to a physical therapist to learn some exercises we can do at home with him. It may also be possible to get a sonogram to help loosen the muscles a bit. She doesn't seem to think it will be a problem down the road if we work on getting it fixed now.

Brendan was being his usual chatty self with Daddy while we were waiting for the dr to come in. This is his latest thing and it's absolutely adorable. He stares intently at your mouth while you talk then coos and gurgles a response back. His neck muscles are getting stronger so he's constantly lifting his head to look around. Don't even try to cradle him in your arms, he'll have none of that! He likes to be sitting upright so he can see what's going on around him. He seems fascinated by lights these days. The other night he couldn't get enough of the clock on the cable box. He also has a habit of head butting us when we're trying to burp him. I guess his little head gets a bit too heavy when he gets a good start at lifting it.

Anyway, back to the appt. All was well while the dr was examining him, he was a model patient just kind of watching her and letting her do her thing. Then the nurse came in and gave him the first shot in his thigh and he let out a wail that broke my heart. He was supposed to get three shots today but there is a shortage of one of them so he mercifully only got two. He just about forgot about the first shot when she stuck the second needle in his other thigh. That did it. He started crying, I started crying. Oy. Poor Daddy had to console both of us. I knew I would cry though, I hate seeing someone I care about hurting. And now multiply that when this is your child and you can't explain to him why this is happening.

When the nurse was done I scooped him up and smothered him with hugs and kisses until he stopped crying. Then we put him in the carseat and he passed out for a an hour and a half. He seemed fine when he woke up but around 6pm he started to get really cranky and miserable so I gave him some Tylenol and that seems to be helping. Thankfully we have another 2 months before we have to do this again.

I have only 1.5 weeks left of my maternity leave. I can't believe how quickly it went. Brendan is not even close to sleeping through the night so we'll have to figure out a way to coordinate his night-time feedings so we can both get some sleep and function at work the next day. Hopefully he'll start sleeping for longer stretches than 2 hours at a time very soon. I'm not sure how I've managed to get by this long on such little sleep. Coffee is my best friend.

Here are some adorable pictures of Brendan. There are cute ones of him awake but these ones of him sleeping just make me melt.

Brendan is 2 months, 1 week, 3 days old.

Brendan's Busy Week

2008-08-23T20:35:00.005-04:00

We had absolutely gorgeous weather this week - high 70s to low 80s - so I took advantage and brought Brendan all around town.

Wednesday we went back to the Kensico Dam and hung out. We were enjoying ourselves under a nice big, shady tree when all of a sudden the damn sprinklers started shooting at us. I scooped up Brendan and ran away screaming I'm melting, I'm melting. Meanwhile the stroller, carseat, diaper bag, video camera, digital camera and towels were right in the line of fire. Thankfully, a woman who was sitting nearby was nice enough to grab it and bring it over to me. What kind of morons decided that Noon would be a good time to turn on the sprinklers when there are always tons of people sitting on the grass during the day??? In all the hubbub I lost my damn car keys. I had a spare key but it didn't have the remote starter or lock button on it. (No worries, I found it the next day tucked safely in the diaper bag. Where, oh where has my brain gone?!)

Here's a pic a nice lady took of us (the zoom feature is not her friend):

The little guy got tunkered out:

Thursday we went to visit Auntie Jessica where Brendan had his first encounter with a dog, Tori (sorry if I spelled that wrong Jess!). He didn't seem terribly interested although she was very curious about him.

Yesterday we went to visit Grandma Annie. We started out in a very cute outfit but apparently Brendan didn't care for it very much. Instead of just telling me that he didn't like his outfit, he decided it would be best to launch some projectile vomit all over it. Sweet. Daddy says you can't wear a polo with "jams" (I've never heard of this word before, aren't they just called board shorts??). Mommy says a polo looks good with everything.

Here's the outfit he started out in:

I'm pretty sure Grandma Annie is telling him classified information about Mommy here:

And here are some other pictures of him from that day, just because he's too darn cute!!! (Not that I'm biased or anything.)

Today we went to Nana Darlene's company picnic and met lots of new people. Everyone was very excited to meet the little baby that Nana brags (er, talks) about so much! He flirted with all the pretty ladies he met, flashing them his beautiful smile and big blue eyes.

Brendan is 1 month, 3 weeks, 3 days old today!

Where has the time gone...

2008-08-18T13:50:00.005-04:00

So I've been seriously slacking on my blogging, so sorry. Brendan is 7 weeks old today and getting bigger by the second and reaching some really cool milestones. He's so much more alert now, he's laughing and cooing away at the toy bar on his bouncy chair as I type this. According to my baby book he can see up to 10 feet away now - you've come a long way baby! He turns his head when he hears familiar voices and he follows people when they move around the room. And the smiles! Beautiful, genuine smiles, not the ones that mean he's launching an air attack. Now these may seem like no big deal but to Mommy and Daddy they're huge. It means he's now an interactive toy rather than the blob he used to be when he first came home (although blobs have advantages too, like not needing to be entertained constantly).

I took the baby to the Kensico Dam last week so I could get some exercise walking around. He got pretty restless after the third lap so I set up a blanket under a nice shady tree and we hung out for a few hours enjoying the gorgeous weather. He was sooooo excited, laughing and cooing and flailing his arms and legs all around. It was so much fun to see him like that and of course I went nuts with the camera but the little ham didn't mind it one bit.

We have just 5 weeks left before I go back to work. That is most definitely going to be a sad day for me. But I have something even worse looming on the horizon that will happen before that... Brendan's 2-month checkup where he'll receive his first set of shots. Oh Lord. This is going to suck BIG TIME. He has an appt on 9/9 and I am dreading it. He cries when they weigh him, nevermind when they actually do something that hurts. I'm going to go ahead and announce that I will be crying that day. I would say that I'd try to be strong but there's just no way. If he's crying, I'll be crying for sure. There's nothing worse than hearing your baby cry and not being able to do anything for him. Especially since he won't understand what's happening and why I'm not doing anything to stop it.

Sleep is still mostly elusive at this point. Last night he woke up at 3am for a bottle and decided that he wanted to stay up for a while. Then he woke up again at 5:30am to eat, yet again, and gave me about 5 minutes of sleep before he woke up at 6and declared it was time to wake up for the day. He teases us about once a week by sleeping for a 4-5 hour stretch after midnight. He's been known to do these stretches during the day or in the early evening when it doesn't really count. I get excited thinking that maybe he's finally going to start sleeping through the night and then the next day he's back to eating every 2-3 hours at night. Not fun. But then I look at his cute little smiling face and I can't be frustrated for too long.

Here are some recent pics:

Laundry Day:

Snoozing:

Hanging Out:

Brendan is 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days old today!

Brendan's Big Weekend

2008-08-06T19:02:00.004-04:00

First let me backtrack and say that the little bugger has packed on some poundage since his one week pedi appt! He had his one month checkup last Thursday and has grown 2.25 inches and 2lb 4oz since birth so he's now 22.25 inches tall and 9lb 3oz. He hates being naked and getting weighed because it's always so freaking cold in the dr's office. But he was a happy little clam when I got him dressed and snuggled him up to me. He was passed out within minutes. We have another appt the first week of September where he'll get his first shots. I'm going to be a wreck, I just know it.

Fast forward to this past weekend. Brendan and Mommy hung out with Grandma Darlene on Saturday. He got to spend some QT with her while Mom got a much-needed nap! Maybe one day before the summer is over we can get to that pool at Grandma Darlene's apartment complex!

Brendan got to meet a lot of very important people this weekend. His Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon came up from Florida and Aunt Lauren came up from Philadelphia. He also got to meet some other friends and relatives at Grandma Annie's big BBQ on Sunday. Mommy got a nice break as everyone fought over who got to hold and feed the baby. It was wonderful to see everyone and I think all his aunties and uncles that he got to meet absolutely adore him. Now he just needs to meet the rest of the Florida clan!

Here are some pictures from the weekend (notice who is asleep in EVERY picture!):

Hanging with Grandma Annie on the hammock:

Aunt Lauren:

Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon:

Cousin Adria:

Mommy and Uncle Keith watching Brendan do tummy time:

Grandma Annie's friend Sassy:

Mommy, Grandma Annie, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Keith:

A shot of family and friends at the BBQ (I look pretty damn stunning):

Brendan is 1 month, 1 week old today!

Pictures

2008-07-27T22:16:00.005-04:00

Well the longer sleep times were just a fluke. He slept until 5am for two nights and by the third he was back to being up every 3 hours. Now that I got a taste of it I am looking forward to the day he actually does sleep longer than three hours at a time even more than I was before. The thought of actually getting a decent night's sleep is pretty damn wonderful. Momma's tired.

Have a few more cute pics to share.

Kung Fu Brendan:

Pensive Brendan:

Snuggly Brendan:

Softball Brendan (with Daddy's new bat):

And here are pics from one of his more recent bathtimes. He's getting better at staying semi-calm:

Brendan is 3 days from 1 month today!

Small Miracles

2008-07-24T18:10:00.004-04:00

He slept until 5am last night!! Kenny fed him at midnight and brought the bassinet into the bedroom around 1-1:3o. I heard Brendan fuss for a second around 3:45am so I figured he was getting ready to wake up for his next bottle. I wheeled the bassinet into the living room and went into the kitchen to get his bottle ready. When I came out he was sound asleep so I figured I should let him sleep and see how long he'd go. I was thinking he'd wake up within 15 minutes. He slept for another hour and 15 minutes! I was kicking myself for getting up when I could have had another 1.25 hours of sleep but I'm so happy he went 5 hours between feedings. I hope this wasn't just a fluke!!

He's such a good baby. He only gets upset when he's making a poopy or when he gets a bath (see exhibit A - his first sponge bath):

Speaking of poop, Kenny has taken to calling me "Poo Finger" because one time when he was changing Brendan, I was holding the baby's legs to avoid getting his foot in the poo and all of a sudden Kenny starts hysterically laughing to the point where he's actually crying and unable to speak. I was just standing there like what the fark is so farking funny? He finally spit out that I had poo on my finger. And yep, sure enough, I had a little spot of poo on my pointer finger. But alas, Kenny's time came too and the other night his finger was christened with poo during a late-night diaper change. He has yet to be peed on though. I myself have been peed on several times. Starting with his first pedi appt when I had to completely undress him so the dr could weigh him. As I was holding him the dam broke. All over my shirt and my flip flop clad feet. Awesomeness. Then of course there have been several occasions of squirts while I change him. I just try to get good at changing the diapers with lightening speed and throwing a wipe over his stuff when it looks like he's getting ready to attack. He's even gotten himself a few times. And the wall.

I can't believe the nugget is already 24 days old. How quickly time flies! I'm still getting used to trying to get stuff done during the day while I'm home with a baby. It's not that he's a lot of work, it's just that between feeding him every 3 hours, changing diapers and entertaining him when he's awake, it's tough to find that 10 minute window to shower, eat, etc. I can't complain too much though. Daddy gets Brendan during his witching hour. From about 10pm until about 1am Brendan is wide awake and demands attention. And this just happens to be the time block that Kenny watches him so that I can get a few hours of sleep before the 3am feeding.

Here are some of the many pictures that Daddy has taken during his shift:

And since we had an exhausted Mommy picture in the last post, here's one of a very tired Daddy:

Brendan is 3 weeks, 3 days old today!

Pictures

2008-07-19T19:38:00.004-04:00

Thought I'd post some pictures of the nugget. In no particular order:

Brendan making his debut

An exhausted Mommy during the first week home

Daddy holding the new arrival

Brendan making one of his many funny faces

Snuggled in the alligator towel after his first bath

On his first car ride home

Waiting for Mommy or Daddy to change his diaper

Brendan is 2 weeks, 5 days old today!

No sleep for Mommy

2008-07-17T11:49:00.005-04:00

Hard to believe the little nugget is already 17 days old. If I had him on my due date he'd only be 3. Thank God he came early, I can't imagine being in the same spot I was when he was only 3 days old. The pain from healing and the anxiety of going home with a new baby was a bit much! I can't imagine what women who have kids one after the other are thinking. My body needs a few years to recover from the trauma!

Anyway, because of Brendan's bout with jaundice early on we had to get him on a strict 3 hour feeding schedule. Now that he's better we're allowed to let him tell us when he's hungry. So here I was thinking I'd finally be able to get some sleep at night. But no, the little chunky monkey has decided over the last two nights that he wants to eat every 2.5 hours or so. Which means I get no sleep. Woe is me. He's lucky he's so darn easy on the eyes.

We're getting adjusted to life with a newborn. The first two weeks were rough for me. The post birth mutilation pains made getting around difficult. I really wonder why no one ever gave me the lowdown on just how painful the after part would be. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park but man - it was pretty awful. I'm feeling about 95% better at this point so I can actually take the little man on walks around the neighborhood. I am SERIOUSLY out of shape though so our walks are very short. Like 100 feet up the street and back down again. So sad.

Tonight I think I'm going to take him to Daddy's softball game. Hopefully the fresh air will knock him out and I can get some much needed rest!

Brendan is 2 weeks, 3 days old today!