New Friends!!

Meet Lucy!

Meet Gibby!

We feel so blessed to have found such good child care for Brayden. Mrs. Julie is amazing! And even better than that...Brayden has two new BEST FRIENDS!!! Lucy and Gibby-my friend Heather's twins! When I picked him up Monday, Gibby and he were facing each other in the bouncers just "talking" away!! Too cute! Brayden loves his wubby so much, that he bought some for them too!-aren't their wubby ducks precious???

Hard Times

Today is day 1 without my baby boy...
I did a week of half days with him going to childcare, but this is the official first FULL day without Brayden. :(
How in the world am I going to make it through this!! Everyone says it gets easier...hope so!

Yummy Yummy!

About a week ago, I had spoken with one of the nurses at our pediatricians office. We had some problems with Brayden not sleeping through the night anymore and needing to ADD feedings through the day. This is strange because most babies take a larger amount and drop feedings. We seemed to be adding a larger amount and feeding him MORE!! The nurse said that Brayden seemed "desperate to start solid food." She determined that was the problem with him wanting to eat more and more. However, our pediatrician has been booking well visits 2 months in advance, so we have to keep our appointment for next week and can't come sooner.

Sooooooo....against everything any pediatrician would tell you...I made the "mommy common sense" decision to start my baby boy on rice cereal today!! Come on...he is 4 months on Monday! So it's only 5 days...okay 6 days early! He is double his birthweight (14.6 pounds) and is not getting full on just formula anymore. And...the nurse said "desperate" for solids!!!!

The whole first solid food experience was HILARIOUS!!!! First I got everything ready. I put his highchair cover on the highchair. I got extra burp cloths out. I put a towel in the seat of his chair so he could sit up higher and put a towel on the side since he isn't completely sitting up on his own. I mixed the rice cereal as directed for a first time feeding, and got out some different types of spoons we have.
Then, I put my precious boy into the highchair and he took his first taste of solid food!! As you can tell from his expression...he wasn't too sure about it at first!

His first few bites came right back out because he wasn't too sure about this "spoon" thing!

The entire time Cali stayed extremely close, and she licked up all the "extra" that fell on the high chair table! (Guess she learns quickly how to get extra food!)

After only a few tries Brayden started grinning ear to ear!! He LOVED it! I don't know if it was necessarily the food he loved, or if it was Cali licking him, or being up in the high chair...but he was all smiles the rest of the time!

I could tell not much food was staying in his mouth, so we went back to good ole' Mr. Bottle towards the end.
Then we tried some more eating with the spoon and Brayden laughed and just played with it! It was so cute!

The whole process took about 45 minutes, and once we were all done I placed everything in the sink. I turned back around and looked at Brayden and he was passed out asleep in his high chair!! Guess it was too much excitement for him to take!!!

So, we are obviously not quite ready for the spoon, but I thought I would try it! However, we are definitely ready for rice cereal!

This past Sunday we had Brayden dedicated at church. It was a very special day for all! We were fortunate enough to have my mom and grandmother there, along with Brayden's Uncle Ryan! Pastor Jeff prayed a special prayer over Brayden...to find the Lord in his life and be guided by him. Brayden was given a beautiful flower, certificate of dedication, and precious children's bible. I put his certificate in his baby book for him, and we are saving his bible so nothing will happen to it. Now our sweet baby boy has been baptised AND dedicated! Twice blessed!

New Activities

Up until recently, some of Brayden's favorite things to do were: playing on his play mat, watching mommy make funny faces, and being sung to by daddy! Now he has a new favorite...standing up! He could stand up all day! He loves to be up looking around. He just smiles and laughs when we hold him up. I'm trying to fix him in his walker with pillows so he can stand up on his own some because my arms are killing me!!

Viewing the world

Brayden loves to just look around and observe...Daddy was just helping him out!

Just because...

Just because he's too darn cute... I have to post every picture I took this week!

Staying warm!

Brayden has our nighttime routine down pat!

First-

We take our bath at 8:30 or 9:00...depending on the last time he ate.

Then-

We put lotion on him, make sure his nails are filed, and dress him in his PJ's.

Next-

We give him his last feeding of the night...usually at 9:00 or 9:30.

The last few nights he has started squirming and crying after the bath because he knows its going to be time to eat. We haven't been able to get him dressed quick enough after bath time before he is screaming bloody murder!

To solve our problem, we bought our baby boy a PRECIOUS bath robe and slippers (shown below). Now after his bath, we put him in his robe, then feed him. There isn't enough time for him to start screaming! Then after he eats we dress him and put him down.

A different view

Brayden and I get on the floor and play together. I used to have to sit over him to get him to look at me, but now he will roll over to see me! I love it!

Grab it!

Brayden has started grabbing at EVERYTHING. My hair, my jewelry, his travel bar on the carrier, his play yard, his mobile. He has really gotten the hang of holding onto things. Isn't he precious with his soccer rattle!?!

The time has come...

Today marked the end of my life as a stay at home mom. I can't believe the time has come for me to go back to work. It's such a huge range of emotions. To help prepare myself, Brayden is going to Mrs. Julie's house for some half days this week. It was the hardest thing ever to drop him off and leave. I'm so afraid I am going to miss some big milestone he hits. I want to be there for it all, but it's just not my life. I need to settle into some sort of routine QUICKLY so I don't cry myself to death everyday! Of course Brayden did great and had a blast at Mrs. Julie's. He was all smiles when I went to pick him up. Hopefully day 2 at her house will be easier for me! After I picked him up, he came with me up to school to get some work done. I must admit...after being away from him all morning, I got very little work accomplished! I just had fun holding him and playing with him!

Playdate!

Brayden can't decide if Annie Parker is going to be his best friend or girl friend!!!

Annie Parker and Brayden were pooped after their playdate!

Brayden's New Chair!

The pediatrician has said he is pretty sure Brayden is "desperate" to start solids! He is thinking this because he was sleeping through the night great...and now...NOT! He isn't waking up out of habit because he takes 6-8 ounces when he wakes up in the middle of the night. He wants us to hold out until 4 months though. And crazy enough...that is only 2 weeks away! So we introduced Brayden to his high chair today! He loved being able to sit up high and look around! He is just so stinking cute!

Adding another to the collection...

I am so in love with being Brayden's mom! As a matter of fact...I love it so much that I have an entire wardrobe that let's everyone know it! HAHA! For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I have become quite obsessed with the "mom" attire. I am just so happy being Brayden's mom and I love showing it! This week, my mom attire site offered a FREE Camp Mom tank! All I had to do was send in a picture of Brayden and I having fun together this summer, and I had to be wearing some sort of "mom" attire. Well...this was EASY for me to do! I sent like 6 pictures in! So sometime later this week I get my free tank! Just another fun shirt to add to my collection :)

I have found when I wear my "happy mom" shirts or hat, that some parents have a fit and want to know where to get one...but others have some smart comment to say about it like:
"Wait until they talk back to you..." or
"Now she's happy...just wait!" or
"They will be a teenager one day!"

For those NOT "happy moms"-I just want you to know I LOVE being a mother, and even when that cute mouth talks back to me, I'll still LOVE it. My neighbors lost both their precious children this summer in a car accident, and it really put things in perspective for me. I guess not all mom's have had an experience like that. I know Crystal and Craig would give anything to have their children smart off to them or grow into teenagers. I'm going to thank God for everyday with my precious Brayden and enjoy every dirty diaper and late night feeding! I AM a "happy mom" and proud of it!

Mommy's Fav's

I have some good friends who are currently pregnant, or recently had a baby. We are always calling each other about the "best" that's out there, or advice about baby items. We all decided to post our mommy fav's on our blogs so we don't have to call each other anymore! Enjoy :)

Mommy's favorite...

Diaper: target brand...hasn't leaked through one yet! (Thanks Lauren!)

Wipes: target brand sensitive wipes

Diaper bag essential: formula dispenser

Book: Pat the Puppy (not bunny...puppy)

Baby Gear: Baby Trend Snap and Go-soooo easy!

Place to visit with baby: Target

Bottle: Dr. Brown's-standard nipples

Time of day: Bath time :)

Brand: Tied between Graco and Chicco

Baby Toy: Tiny love mobile and his tiny love play yard

Clothes: Carter and Polo!

Nursery Item: Diaper Genie

Paci: His Wubby and NUK brand

Children's Store: Little Lambs and Ivy II

Baby Furniture: Baby Furniture Plus

Nursery Decor: Baby Furniture Plus

Website for info: babycenter.com

Book for info: Babycenter Book

Website for fun: Makebabystuff.com

Maternity Clothes: Gap.com

Place to Register: Babies R Us

My "Must Have's": Snap and Go stroller, formula dispenser, wipe warmer, ultimate crib sheets, Graco pack n' play, Baby Bjorn

Watch me grow!!

I have been wanting to find a growth chart for Brayden to use each birthday. I couldn't find one I liked (or in a nice price range!!). When we visited daddy's family in Louisiana, his mom brought up that she had seen one she wanted to get us! When I saw it, I knew it was PERFECT! It is too cute in his nursery and will be so fun to keep and look back on! Thanks so much Nana!

New toys!!

I can hardly believe it, but in a little over 2 weeks my sweet baby boy will be turning 4 months!! WOW! I put together his jumper this weekend just to get excited about the next stage he is entering. I don't want him to grow up...but at the same time each new mark he hits gets more and more fun!

Any suggestions????

We have been working on tummy time with Brayden for quite sometime. At first I was concerned he wasn't lifting his head when he turned 3 months, but after hours of watching him, that is not the problem! Brayden cannot figure out to use his hands while on his tummy!!! He can sit in his bumbo, sit when I hold him up, pushes off my shoulder to sit up, and on his tummy he lifts his head, turns it all over the place, looks up and around at what's going on, but gets easily frustrated because he wants to life it more! My poor baby! We have tried holding his bottom down because he seems to be trying to use his legs not arms, and we have tried placing his arms in a push up position and holding them. None of these worked. We have also placed his arms under him so he has to move them and use them to get up. Nope...not working either. Any suggestions to help me get him using his arms!!! I know he is aware of them because he is eating them all day long!!!

Huggin' on Daddy!

He loves to watch the baseball games with daddy!

Standing Tall!

While it will be quite sometime before Brayden can enjoy his walker, we having been using it to help him with his legs. He is starting to enjoy being able to lift himself up with his legs. However, mommy has a hard time holding him up for long amounts of time! So we have been using his walker to help us out! He has so much fun as you can see!