Happy 6-Monthiversary, Dear Brady!

Our little man is half a year old today! I cannot believe it! (I feel like I say that a lot in my blogs, but Brady really does leave me in awe these days!). Six months ago today, at 3:30 am, I met my son for the first time. I'll save the sappy memories for his first birthday, especially because I'm exceptionally susceptible to tears lately. (I don't know if it's hormones, the realization that Brady is growing up, or the heavy-hitting situation in Haiti, but poor Zach has come home from work to find me in tears more this past week than in all of our almost 8-year relationship. What a mess!!).

Anyhoo, Brady sure is changing. All of a sudden he has a ton of white, blond hair on his little head, he's rolling over like a champ (only from belly to back--he's still much too lazy to put all the effort into rolling from his back), he's talking like a mad man (many of our family think he has said "Mama;" therefore, I am dubbing that as his FIRST WORD!), he's content to entertain himself for over a half an hour in his bouncer, he's extremely observant, he's grabbing and holding onto things easily (he enjoys pinching and pulling skin, so beware to those of you who hold him!), and his voracious appetite rivals that of his dad's, as he can put away his veggies and fruits at lightening speed. He's definitely growing up, and I know that until his first birthday, time will fly and he'll wow us with something new every day. I hear the next few months are the ones in which Brady really turns into a "little person." His personality will become more apparent, his likes and dislikes will be more obvious, and the range of the things he'll learn to do will grow right along with him. How exciting!

Brady has been quite the social butterfly lately! Last week, we went to lunch with one of my Riverview co-workers and her son Noah, who is a month younger than Brady. It was adorable watching the boys "socialize;" at this age, socializing pretty much means they just stared at each other :-) At one point, both boys were hungry and a bit sleepy, and it was very interesting to see how differently they handled their respective situations: Baby Noah, snuggled into his mom's neck, was cooing, and quietly sucking his fingers. Brady, on the other hand, pushed away from me, using my face to launch his shove-off, ripped his pacifier out of his mouth, swung it over his head like a lasso, and then proceeded to grunt like a wart hog. Maybe our next baby will be a snuggler, but for now, we have a fiercely independent little guy on our hands.

In another social visit, Brady had his first play date with our neighbor, Ataleigh and her mom Lindsey. Ataleigh is 9-months old and is really cruising around! She's pulling herself up to stand, crawling all over the place, and narrating everything she does. Brady was impressed! He watched her quietly with big eyes, and then as she approached him, starting running in place as if to say, "I'll join you!" Lindsey and I held the babies in a standing position so that they could look at one another and it was adorable! Both looked at their mommies as if to ask permission to be friends, and then Brady reached out for Ataleigh. He's quite the flirt! What I noticed most, though, was the fact that Brady is as tall as this 9-month-old child. I'm curious how much At weighs, so I'll let you know when Lindsey gets back to me with her official weigh-in; if our son weighs as much as a 9-month old he either needs a diet or we'll just pretend he's going to be a giant and primed for athletics...or hot dog eating contests (that was Zach's contribution to this post)...

I don't really have that many new pics, but enjoy what's here! Brady and I are taking a secret field trip this Sunday (not even Daddy knows where we're going!), but I think I'll have a lot of cute pics from it. I'll be able to post them after Valentine's Day :-)

New Year, New Baby

I realize that this title is misleading, so let me just start by assuring all of you that we are NOT expecting a "new baby!" I am referring to Sir Brady who, seemingly, has grown overnight! He now fake cries (short, staccato yells) to make a point, and he's also perfecting his fake cough. He lets a little "hack hack" out and looks around to see who appreciates his performance. He's very proud. He's amusing himself with his "no-no" head shakes, too. At first, I wasn't sure if this was normal and because so many different people brought his head-shaking to my attention, I felt the need to call our pediatrician. The good doctor said if there hasn't been any trauma to Brady's neck or head (there hasn't) and if his eyes aren't going crazy while he shakes his head (they're not), then Brady has just found something new he's capable of doing. We were told we shouldn't worry. So we're not. Instead, we're taking videos of our little man while he entertains himself with his new trick!

Brady is pretty good at entertaining us these days, too! Daddy likes to practice different things with Brady (lately it's "ABC"), and as you'll see in this clip, Brady gives new meaning to the letter "B!" Too bad my video ran out when it did; we could have submitted this to America's Funniest Videos and won some mula!




In addition to fake coughing and crying and occasionally spitting up on Daddy, Brady has been trying his hardest to communicate. Most of the time, he talks to himself, but he's really starting to vocalize when he's happy or recognizes something/one familiar. It's to the point that when he hears the Baby Einstein intro music, he stops what he's doing and listens. He really likes the little blond girl on the DVD; he talks to her, too! He's also really in-tune with me, which I found out yesterday when I got some sad news. One of my co-workers called to let me know that a science teacher in our school had her second child a few days before Christmas; unfortunately, the poor baby didn't make it and died on New Years Day. As I'm listening to this story on the phone, I'm saying things like, "Oh, no" and "How awful." I don't know if it was the sound or tone of my voice or if my energy had changed that much, but before I knew it, Brady (who, moments before, had been shrieking with joy at the dogs) starting bawling. His bottom lip jutted out and there was nothing I could do to console him. It's amazing how intuitive these little people are.

What else? Well, Brady officially rolled over on his own! He loved it, but hasn't done it since. I'm pretty sure he's just biding his time until he can sit up; he plans to bypass the whole rolling over thing! He's eating like a horse (and sleeping like a log at night!), which is how I know he's a Zach-in-training! Even though he still makes horrible faces with the first bite of peas, he's not picky at all! He loves carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, and peas. We have a few more veggies to try before we move on to fruit. I can't wait!

Zach and I have been busy, too. While on break, we worked on making our office a little more Steph and Brady friendly! Everything in the office (aside from a bookcase and a crappy desk I bought my freshman year of college) was basically Zach's. And those of you who know him know that keeping him and his stuff contained is a job in and of itself! Since we've rearranged and organized, we have so much more floor space for the baby, filing cabinets keep Zach's millions of things hidden and in order, I got a great desk with a ton of storage, and we invested in some fantastic bookshelves that house all of our books, odds and ends, AND Brady's "stuff!" Once the baby starts crawling around, we'll just slide the pocket door closed and presto--a playroom for baby and an office for parents! I'm so excited about this room I felt the need to include pictures of it in the slide show :-) Please note that our fabulous new shelves are so big that we didn't even fill them up...yet!

The PA Coaches Clinic is Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week, so Zach will be leaving us for a few nights. I'm sure we'll manage, but we'll definitely miss Daddy! I do hope the weather cooperates and the out-of-state coaches and speakers are able to fly in on time; that could put a damper on things, so please keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!

Keep your fingers crossed and send happy thoughts to my dad, too; he's having a cataract removed tomorrow morning. While I think this is a routine procedure at this point, he's been having so much trouble with his eyes since his detached retina that I know he's nervous and frustrated. I also know how awful it is to be constricted after a surgery; a C-section is NO FUN!

That's all for today. It's time for our nap...I mean, Brady's nap... :-)

Happy 2010 and 5 Month-iversary!

I completely underestimated how incredibly busy the holidays would be with an infant! It's a chore in and of itself gearing Brady and his stuff up for a trip (or 3!), but because he's the center of attention everywhere we go, he's shuffled from one loving embrace to the next. This makes for a very, very sleepy baby. Fortunately, he did very well! One downer was that we only have ONE picture of baby and Mommy and Daddy. You'll see below it was early in the morning and Mommy's not lookin' too great! But it is our first Christmas, so at least a small part of the memory was captured!

Our first stop to kick off the holidays was Nonna and Nonno's on Christmas Eve. Their ravioli soup makes my belly so happy :) I can't wait until Brady can try some--he's in for a treat next year! After that visit, we headed to my parents' and actually prolonged a tradition I thought would have surely fallen by the wayside after I got married: spending the night to wake up together on Christmas morning! Zach has been such a good sport and when we got married 3 years ago, he kindly agreed to carry on the annual sleep over. This year, sadly enough, was the last. Next year, Brady will, undoubtedly, be running around the house and ready to open presents! So we decided that because he's still clueless this year and because it was the first Christmas without my Gram, we didn't want to break another tradition just yet. It was nice to wake up with the whole family like always, but I do look forward to hearing the pitter-patter of excited baby feet running down the hall to wake me up :)

We went to Zach's aunt and uncle's on Christmas day, followed by a short stint at my Aunt Debbie's. The weather was threatening with ice, and even though it turned out to be just rain, I was glad to get home earlier than expected. The Jankowski clan was exhausted! And it's probably no coincidence that Brady has begun--and will hopefully continue--to sleep WELL all through the night. He hasn't been waking to talk or fuss, and he's usually good for at least 8 hours. Santa obviously got my wish list this year :)

Everyone was extremely generous with Brady (and us!); he is definitely a spoiled little guy! Aside from many, MANY other things, Gram and Pap Scalzott got him his first lap top (adorable!), so now when Mommy and Daddy are working, Brady can, too :) They also got us a program to play with and edit the millions of photos I take of our child. I swear this kid understands what the light on my camera means; he's starting to perform when he sees it! Grammy and Pappy Barone got Brady a bunch of stuff, too; his favorite was the "old school" rotary phone. He's practicing dialing it as I type this!

New Year's Eve came and went just as quickly as it always does. Zach and I went to dinner with our parents like we try to do each year, and then Brady had his first overnight stay without Mommy and Daddy. Pappy insisted that he would "bunk" with Brady so Zach and I could host our annual New Year's Eve bash with a few of our pals. I was hesitant at first because I didn't know how I would feel about not having Brady with me for that long, but I managed! I missed him, but I knew he was in good hands so I enjoyed myself! It was so nice to relax with friends and a few (okay, maybe more than a few--my head is still pounding...) adult beverages. This year was a bit different, though; when we rang in the 2o10, the hubby and I just felt like there was so much more to celebrate. Last year at this time, we had known we were pregnant for about a month and a half, and while that was certainly exciting, it's nothing compared to having a healthy, happy, wonderful little boy brightening our (and the rest of the family's!) days. He truly is such a joy and sometimes I still tear up when I look at him. That little smile, those little hands--even when they're trying to pull the skin off of my face and the hair out of my head--make me happier than anything else in this world. Kinda makes me want to have another one sometime soon... :)

On that note, my New Year's resolution is to get back to my pre-baby weight/shape/size--I'll take one or all of those options, please! I have a great motivator, too: Zach's brother (AKA: my brother-from-another-mother!) Derek and his long-time girlfriend Kim got engaged!! They're planning a summer 2010 wedding, and it'll be here before we know it! AND Zach and I were both asked to be in their wedding party! I am so honored to be a part of their special day; I teared up about that, too. Seems as though some pregnancy hormones haven't found their way out of my body yet! They would like Brady to be the ring bearer and I cannot even tell you how excited I am to see that little guy in a tux! I don't know that he'll be able (or willing, let's be honest!) to walk himself down the aisle since he'll only just have turned 1 year-old, but Kim said she'd be fine with Zach or me carrying him. Either way, he'll look so stinkin' adorable! I'm hoping I don't look too shabby either--keep your fingers crossed for me!

Looking back on 2009, I know how blessed we are. I'm able to stay home with our son and experience all of his first year milestones with him, our family could not be more generous, kind, and supportive, our friends are fabulous, and although I lost one of my "biggest fans," my Grandma, in March, I know she's thrilled about Brady and watches over him every day. It's been a crazy year with a lot of changes and added responsibility: obviously the baby, but Zach also took over the PA Baseball and Softball Coaches Clinic which is held every January in Pittsburgh. It hosts high school and college coaches from all over the country. He says preparing for it is like planning a wedding because he has to start working on it a year in advance, so this new dad has been super busy! I know his hard work will pay off because he's so dedicated, and he's invested a lot of time and energy into putting this together. Once he's decided he's going to do something, he's completely committed and loyal to it--that's why I married him :)

Oh, in the midst of the holiday craziness, I almost forgot to write that Brady turned 5 months on December 26th. I've added his picture to the others--what a difference a few months make!!!

From our family to yours, have a wonderful 2010! A lot of great things will come our way with Derek and Kim getting married and our best pals Jen and Doug welcoming their first little one in February. We're excited to make many more memories and share them with you here.