Goodbye to babyhood, hello to toddlerhood (OMG)

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!

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!

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.

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

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!