Another month has flown by and, with it, the routine to which we had become so accustomed! Brady sure does mix it up every once in a while, forcing us to start from square one! The boy who used to be such a good sleeper now wakes with sun (read: 6 am), the solid two-a-day napper has decided one is enough, and even if he needs more shut-eye, he now refuses because God forbid he should miss something!! He's also become quite independent in the last few weeks. His crawling quickly turned to "cruising" and he is rarely content to sit. It's all happened so fast that the video I've been trying to post of him crawling now seems obsolete since he's standing and walking while holding onto furniture! He is very busy to say the least. But I am eternally grateful because he's happy and healthy.
His latest visit to the doctor left me with a wet lap--as he chose that point in time to wiggle and squirm enough that his pee escaped his diaper--and him with a clean bill of health. He's right on target in terms of physical and mental development; he's actually considered "tall and slender" for his age! He's an even 20 pounds and 29 inches, and the pediatrician didn't fail to make his usual observations about Brady's "electric blue eyes and white blond hair." Everyone keeps telling me to look out when he's old enough to date. I just laugh because I know my son will never want to leave me for a DATE........right?? (My mother-in-law is reading this, cursing me for stealing her first-born!).
Anyway, Brady is constantly watching what's going on around him and mimics most everything he sees. He's waving, picking up objects, throwing them down, passing them between his hands and to another person, so I figured now is the best time to attempt some sign language. I've done a good bit of research and discussed it with our pediatrician, and I figured since I'm home with the boy all day every day, we'd have a high chance of success. So, we're giving it a go. Zach and I have decided to use American Sign Language signs as opposed to "made-up baby friendly" signs so that they'll be useful in the future, but if Brady opts to create some of his own in the process, we're game! Signing babies are normally less frustrated because they can communicate what they want so some of the "Terrible Twos" can be alleviated this way...fingers crossed!
We'll obviously adhere to the "No-no" foods, but other than those, Brady has free reign to try different textures and tastes. This makes him very happy as he's been balking at the baby food for quite some time. He's also ready to put his new bottom teeth to good use! So far, Brady enjoys any kind of fruit (but really loves bananas), chicken, potatoes, and veggies. My mom was kind enough to make a Brady-friendly wedding soup with chicken instead of meatballs and the kid was in heaven! He always says, "Mmmmmm" when he's eating and while I used to think he was happy to be with "Mama," he's apparently just happy with his meal!
We've had a few play dates since the last post, but our recent favorite was with Lani and Aunt Jen. Both Jen and I want the kiddos to spend time with other little ones, so we've been trying to do one play date a week. I'm sure things will get more interesting as Lani begins crawling, Brady begins walking, and neither of them understands " play nice!!" Nonna and Nonno also got to spend some quality time with Sir Brady when they visited last week. (Special thanks to Gram and Pap who were kind enough to stay with Brady so me, Zach, and my parents could take advantage of my brother's offer to take us to dinner with his tax return!!! It was fabulous actually feeding myself without feeding another person at the same time, but I will admit, I missed my little guy.)
My friend Cynthia came in from Boston and we met her on a beautiful day and ate some lunch outside at the Pittsburgh Mills. Brady had his first "teething biscuit" (they look as gross as they sound), and really went to town! There are some great pictures of that mess...
My favorite development is that Brady is starting to show affection. He'll give hugs and kisses (open-mouth, slobbery kisses) to his Elmo and, on a good day, some of the family! He's begun snuggling into my neck and reaching for me and I just L.O.V.E. it!!! I got a few shots of his love-fest with Elmo, but I'm going to have to pass the camera duties to Zach so we can capture the Mommy kisses!
Speaking of capturing a moment, I tried my best with Brady's 10-month picture, but with every passing week, he's less and less inclined to sit and pose for me! He's perfectly happy to rock the chair himself and then (attempt to) dive head-first onto the floor with the dogs. We've yet to have any professional photos taken, but something tells me it is going to be quite the project when we finally relinquish our photography skills and rely on someone else!
Enjoy the (LONG!) slide show and stay tuned for more fun with Brady! We have a VERY busy Memorial Day weekend (so busy, in fact, we actually had to decline a few invitations; I don't think we've EVER been this popular!), and the weather is supposed to be perfect for picnics, fun in the sun, and great outdoor shots of our little man in action!
M
other's Day has taken on a whole new meaning for me this year. In church, when Father Mike was talking about the love of a mother, I felt a true connection to his words. I made the most of last Mother's Day when I was pregnant, but it wasn't until I held my son for the first time that I understood what it means to be a Mom. What a fabulous job!! I love it so much, I'm switching careers, sort of... 
During a 2 am feeding when Brady was about two months old, I looked down at his face and thought, "I'll never be able to go back to work!" Maybe it was the sleep deprivation talking, but at that very moment I Googled "stay at home teaching jobs." I hit a company called Aventa Learning and the rest, as they say, is history. I currently teach sophomore World Literature and I'm part of our online magazine faculty. I like it well enough that I made the switch from teaching at Riverview to teaching online for Aventa. I spoke with my principal and Superintendent last week and hand-delivered my resignation this past Friday. It was bitter sweet because I think I was pretty good at my job and I'll definitely miss the face-to-face interaction with the kids and my colleagues (well, SOME of my colleagues!), but I wanted to make this change for my family. There's a chance I'll be hired full-time and if I am, the pay is quite comparable to what I was making at Riverview. Until then, I'm a part-time teacher and a full-time Mom. I've been joking with Zach that it's time to start thinking about Baby J. #2 :)
Baby J. #1 has been keeping us busy! He's infatuated with my cellphone, so much so that his little chubby fingers managed to unlock my keys and activate the Emergency Mode. This resulted in a call from 911 to make sure we were safe and unharmed! Also, his once-timid crawling has turned into sheer confidence, and he is into everything. It took him approximately .03 seconds to knock all of my make-up and lotions off of the shelves in the bathroom, and he tries like crazy to catch the dogs. He can also get himself into sitting and kneeling positions. The other day I caught him on his knees, trying to get to Bella through the gate in our living room! He's now feeding himself finger foods, too. He does really well, especially with Cheerios. He's also on a waving kick! He rarely does it on cue or in appropriate situations, but he CAN do it! Just this morning, he waved to the congregation at church...the entire mass. He and his pal Noah (my former colleague's son) practiced waving back and forth to one another when we met for lunch the other day. It was adorable :)
On a completely separate note, I had a doctor appointment this past week and a midwife-in-training was working with my doctor. When the woman walked into the room, she was so familiar, and that's when I realized who she was: my labor nurse, Julie! She actually remembered me and Zach--mostly because he shared his snacks with her because we there for a V.E.R.Y. loooong time! She was 3-months pregnant then and has since had her little one, so we talked about new-Mommy things for a while. It was wonderful to see her; she was so incredible to me, especially when I ended up in the OR to have the C-section. It was such a great surprise seeing her again!
We made breakfast for Zach's parents on Saturday morning, headed to a birthday party in the afternoon, and then to Brady's Godmother's house to watch the Pens game and for a bonfire. Unfortunately, the high winds made a bonfire a bit difficult--and a lot dangerous!--and because of said winds, trees had fallen onto power lines, leaving us power-less! We listened to the game on a battery-powered radio, so at least we didn't miss any of it! Sunday morning, we went to church, breakfast at my parents', and then to my Aunt Debbie's to celebrate Mother's Day and my Dad's birthday. For Dad's birthday, he got his other cataract removed (which explains the FABULOUS sunglasses he's donning in the pictures!), and is slowly mending. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he'll be able to golf with Zach on our vacation to South Carolina in about a month. Until then, it's a slow process of eye drops and fancy eye wear. 
Between my official resignation, reuniting with Julie, and time well spent with Zach, Brady, and the rest of our family, I'd have to say that my first Mother's Day was a success!
(I have been trying to post the video of Brady crawling, but it will not work!)
