'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!