'Tis the Season!

Christmas is quickly approaching and, just like every year, I can't wait! Brady is still too young to understand what's going on, but the season is already much more meaningful with him in our lives. Next year will be great, when he'll anticipate and appreciate the holidays with us.

We debated taking Brady to sit on Santa's lap, but his first cold convinced us to hold off until next year. I had to use that crazy suction bulb thingy to clear his nose, and while he did NOT appreciate it, it did help. Poor guy was coughing and sneezing like crazy, but with the help of some baby Tylenol and extra afternoon naps, he's on the mend.

Speaking of sleep, I'd like some, please! Brady is STILL waking up almost every night, if only to give himself a pep talk to get back to sleep. I try explaining to my husband--who wouldn't stir if a marching band came waltzing through our bedroom--that regardless of how briefly a time Brady is awake, I hear every giggle, grunt, and gurgle. I've opted to let him practice some self-soothing techniques, but inevitably, I can't fall back asleep until he does, and some nights that's an hour or more. The cherry on the proverbial sundae is that Brady is taking after his father's sleep habits: early to bed, early to rise. Brady would like to start each day before 6 am and quite frankly, I can't hang! On the bright side, I do have one beautiful baby boy. I just wish I had one beautiful likes-to-sleep-for-8-consecutive-hours baby boy :o)

On to more exciting things: solid food! Our pediatrician gave us the green light to start solids, and we've since introduced rice cereal, peas, and squash to our little piggy. I think we were more excited than we were prepared to feed Brady cereal for the first time (as is evidenced by the ceramic bowl, non-rubber tipped spoon, and Brady's foul mood), so it didn't go over as well as we had hoped! Not a fan of peas, but he does LOVE squash! He ate an entire container for Gram Scalzott, and then returned the favor when I fed him some a few days later. We're going back to the peas before introducing another veggie, but if he doesn't bite, we have green beans, carrots, and other goodies just waiting for Brady's approval!

Tasting the cereal...


Hating the cereal!


While he did somehow or another manage to roll himself over a month ago (uneven blanket or pillow gave him a boost?), Brady is officially attempting "the roll" on his own now. On his back, he normally kicks his feet until he's made a complete circle, and then he starts rocking himself onto his side. We gave him a hand in getting the whole way over today, and when he was there, he loved it! He's not so productive when he starts out on his stomach, though; hands, feet, head in the air, he prefers simply balancing on his belly. He reminds me of a surfer trying to catch the perfect wave! I tried to get a picture of my surfer dude, but this guy moves so quickly these days, it's hard to capture the moment!



Side and front shots of Brady's balancing act!

The next post will be after Brady's first Christmas (and his 5 Month-iversary!) which is sure to be a treat! We'll visit Nonna and Nonno's earlier in the day on Christmas Eve, and then wrap up the evening at my parents' with my mom's side of the family. We're heading to Zach's Uncle Ted's on Christmas day, going to Monroeville to my dad's side of the family after that, and finally stopping in at Aunt Elaine's to see what Santa brought the "baby" of the family. The baby, Lauren, is now 14 years-old, but it's our Christmas tradition and there's no breaking tradition!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2010 from our family to yours!

The numbers are in!

Brady had his 4 month check-up and shots today. For the most part, he was a trooper. He was calm during the strip down, the weighing, the poking and the prodding, but by the time the nurse came back in for the shots, he had had enough. He screamed until he was out of breath, got blotches on his beautiful face, and whimpered the whole drive home. But he's fine now, all smiles again, and we're hoping he'll bounce back as well as he did the last time he got his shots. Side note: we have realized that he has my oh-so sensitive skin. He gets marks and hives from even the slightest touch, but they disappear quickly. While that might be a downer for him, it's great for his mommy and daddy: to this day, I can't tell a lie without "hiving out," so I've been forced to be brutally honest my entire life, and now Brady is in the same boat! We so trump George Washington and his cherry tree story :o)

Anyway, what we've all been waiting for...drum roll, please!! Weighing in at 16 pounds, 12 ounces, Sir Brady has grown quite a bit and now measures 26 1/2 inches. He's in the 60th percentile for his height, 75th for his weight. The pediatrician allayed Zach's worst fear that our son is "obese," and assured us that he is as healthy as they come. Brady proved it when he soccer kicked the doc in his face while being checked for groin issues. Healthy, healthy boy...

We've also been given the green light to start him on solids. We're going to begin with the ever popular rice cereal and then move on to some fruits and veggies. Brady is more than ready; poor kid opens his mouth every time we eat, so we know he wants in on the action! I'll be sure to post the great pictures that are sure to result from this milestone! I've been waiting to break out the bibs that say "My First Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner," and I can't believe it's about that time! My little man is growing up!

Below are some random pics from the past few days. My college roomies and I had our gift exchange on Sunday, and there are some shots of Brady with his aunts in their Steelers garb. We wanted to get more pictures with everyone, but Brady's nap ruined everything :) I was happy that he slept so well that afternoon, though, because he's been waking up every night for the past week or so. Needless to say, I have what I fear are permanent bags under my eyes, but he's so darn happy to see me--regardless of the time, day or night--that I just can't find it in me to be angry. Sleep deprived and possibly brain damaged for life? Yes. Angry at that little guy? Never!



Aunt Sandy and Brady


The cutest Steelers fan there is (and possibly the last one at this point in the season...)


Brady and his Godmother, Aunt Lisa!


Brady and Daddy, who looks rather creepy in this shot...


"I'm ready to grub!"


Drooling on himself. What's new?


Right before he projectile vomited on me. Good times.


Brady's "bitter beer" face :o)

Until next time, Happy Holidays from our family to yours!!

Thanksgiving and 4 Month-iversary!

Where does the time go? If you're me, then the answer is: out the window! Even though we have 4 months of Brady under our belts, I feel like I'm getting less done now than when he was 3 weeks old! I know it's because of the holidays, and even though they're supposed to bring out the warm and fuzzies in us, all they've brought out in me so far is stress! It took me a span of 4 days to decorate the house, but at last, we are complete. Zach still has to tackle the outside, but that's his job, so I consider myself finished! I do love a dark house twinkling with Christmas lights, but man--it was quite the chore this year!

Moving on to more exciting things: Brady's first Thanksgiving was a success! We went to Zach's mom's side of the family in Elderton where Brady was a perfect angel, and then we traveled back toward home for a lovely visit with Zach's dad's side. Nonna and Nonno had the most delicious apple pie waiting for me which really made me happy because I passed on dessert in Elderton knowing I'd want to stuff my face with their homemade apple pie goodness :) And it was well worth it! Brady took a huge nap at Nonna and Nonno's, but then didn't sleep well at night. Come to think of it, since that day, he hasn't slept through the night! He's been waking up around 3:30 am wanting changed and a bottle. Some days he'll go back to sleep until 7 or so; others, we're up for the day. I'm not a fan of those days! But he did sleep "normally" last night, so there might be hope!

The day after Thanksgiving is my mom's dinner, and unfortunately for the Barones, Brady was not as pleasant. I think he was sleepy, therefore cranky. But eventually he did fall asleep and we played Mad Gab until our hearts were content. I love me some Mad Gab :)

To celebrate Baby Brady's 4 Month-iversary, here are some things we've been noticing about him lately:

1. He knows when we're eating. And he wants in on the action. He opens his mouth like a baby bird hoping we'll drop something in for him, and even though I know I shouldn't have, I couldn't resist: I was with my mom when she was mashing sweet potatoes, and we both "just wanted to see," so we put a teeeeny bit on Brady's lips. His tongue didn't push it back out, which surprised me. He didn't look thrilled with it, though, so we called it a day. But the poor kid wants more than a bottle at this point, so we're going to talk to our pediatrician about possibly starting him on some rice cereal.

2. He hates smoke from candles. He was on my lap and my mom blew out a candle that was behind us, so Brady didn't even know she was back there or what she was doing. As soon as he saw or smelled the smoke, he went bananas. Screaming, kicking, gasping for air--it was insane! Not sure how his first birthday celebration will go, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

3. He wants to sit up on his own. Any time he's on his back, he brings his head and legs up off of the ground so he can get a better look at what's going on around him. This makes change time a task in and of itself, but it's so exciting to watch him grow. I'd personally like him to fit snugly in my arms forever, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Which brings me to my next point...

4. Everyone keeps telling us how "huge" Brady is. So much so that Zach is convinced our son is obese, which he is not. Our next appointment is Dec. 10th, and I can't wait to find out his weight and length. Zach weighed him with our home scale, and he's ringing in at around 16 pounds according to Mr. Jankowski's calculations! Not sure if that's big or normal for a 4 month old, but we'll soon find out!

Brady and I had ourselves a little photo shoot the other day and I think I got the shot we want to use for our Christmas card. We had a naked baby shoot, a baby reindeer shoot, and finally, a naked baby in a gift bag shoot. Brady was such a trooper (and a smiley one at that!) the entire time. Here are a few from our fun, and some other randoms in the slide show. Enjoy!
Naked baby photo shoot

Waving hello...or just falling over

Baby in a bag, the best gift there is!