Peek a Boo

People usually ask about the physical milestones that babies hit, like crawling, standing and walking. And then some ask if he's talking yet. But no one really thinks about the cognitive milestones. These are actually some of my favorite!

For instance, young babies don't understand that when they can't see someone or something that it still exists. That is why it was so hard to leave Brody at daycare when he was so little, he really didn't understand that I still exist and I will come back. Over time though, his brain starts to grasp this concept.

A few weeks ago I noticed that Brody dropped his pacifier while standing in his jumperoo. It fell near his feet and out of his eyesight. Normally, he would just go on playing. This time, he leaned over the edges of the toy trying to see it where it went! He finally figured out that it's down there, but he just can't see it. Of course this makes hiding things from him a lot harder, when he realizes what you did with them!

He also started enjoying peek-a-boo a lot more over the last few weeks. Just last weekend, he grabbed his burp cloth and covered his own face. Then he dramatically pulled in down, to which Jason & I said, "Where's Brody?" and "There he is!" He kept doing it over and over and laughing as soon as he pulled it down. It was so cute!

Another thing I've noticed recently is how he reacts to mirrors. He used to laugh at himself and me when I held him in front of the mirror. He really thought it was a different baby in the mirror. Now, I don't know if he realizes that he's in the mirror yet, but he realized that it is a reflection.

One day we were standing in front of the mirror and once he saw me in the mirror, he turned around to look at me. Instead of watching me in the mirror, he figured out that I was behind him. It so fun to watch.

An age old tradition

We've all heard the stories from our parents about how when we were little we loved to play with pots & pans or tupperware, or some other random household item. Well, I'm here to say, that times have not changed.

The toys today are fancier than ever. Brody has a dog called My Pal Scout who is programmed to say things like, "I love you Brody" and makes up songs about Brody's name. However, while he does love his Scout, he also loves a lot of other random things in our house:

Wipes containers, diaper boxes, phone books and plastic cups are among his favorites. And I am definitely not complaining. He's easily entertained by the tupperware cupboard while Jason and I work in the kitchen.

However, he also loves: brick fireplaces, oven doors, electrical cords, laptops and dog food bowls. Which of course, just keeps us on our toes!

Family Photos

Back when Brody was around 6 weeks old, we did our first set of Family Photos. The 6 week ones were done at your typical portrait studio, 15 minutes of snapshots and then pressure to buy as many pictures as possible. I'm not really complaining because I loved the pictures they got of him and you can do it at a relatively low cost.

However, for his 6 month photos, we decided to go a different route. I came across a photographer via facebook who had done some adorable pictures of a 9 month-old girl who was the daughter of someone I volunteered in college with. I thought she did a really great job and contacted her about doing Brody's pictures.

Check out her blog & facebook site:

Sarah Jayne Photography

http://sjaynephotography.blogspot.com/p/portfolio.html

I really loved the idea of doing outside pictures and Sarah had a great place to do them. We met her there (about 45 minutes away) on a very warm, mosquito-ey (I know that's not a word), morning. Brody didn't sleep as well as we would have hoped on the long car-ride to meet her. So of course these would be red flags for disaster. But our Brody? Nah, he's so good at this stuff...or so I thought!

We started off on the grass, he didn't seem to like the feel of that too much, so we moved him onto a blanket. Sarah had this hilarious Cookie Monster toy which honestly made me laugh out loud, yet Brody reacted like this:

Then of course I was a mean mommy and put this adorable hat on him (which Jason hates by the way), and I got looks like this.


So...off went the hat. And I still got a look that said, "Mom, I'm sitting in a bucket, c'mon!"

But Sarah was patient, and spent over an hour photographing him while Jason & I tried to get him to smile as much as possible. When he doesn't have a camera in his face, he can't stop giggling. But that morning, he definitely wasn't in the mood.

All in all, she got a ton of great pictures along with some funny ones. My favorites are definitely the action shots, where not everyone is looking at the camera.

I'm very happy with the pictures and feel like our money was well spent. As part of her packages, we have the copyright release on the photos for printing as many as we want! And who wouldn't want a million pictures of this adorable little guy?

Brody is 7 Months Old

Babies grow fast and Brody is no exception. However, I honestly think his biggest month of change occured over the last month. Looking back at my post at 6 months, Brody wasn't crawling or standing and still had zero teeth.


Today, Brody crawls like a pro, pulls himself up on everything and has two very adorable bottom teeth.



His new found talents have made him quite an explorer. He loves all the things he can get into around the house. He's discovered the dog bowls, toys and tries to even steal the bones away from the dogs while they're chewing on them. Luckily he hasn't been bitten yet! We do keep an eye on them but the dogs are pretty good with him. He's constantly falling over and bumping his head on things, but handles them surprisingly well. He came home with his first accident report from daycare when he tried to pull himself up on the shelves and bumped his eye. It was a small bruise that went away in a day.

He's also doing a good job of forming sounds (instead of just squealing) and I think he loves the way his mouth moves when he says "ba-ba."

We haven't weighed him this month, but he definitely getting bigger, including his appetite. He now eats baby food 3 times a day along with 5 bottles of varied amounts. He food selection has greatly expanded and he's made it through most of the fruits and veggies for his age group. In the next month or so he'll try some meats and practicing with a sippy cup.

He's still doing great at daycare and has become really good friends with a girl in the room (his girlfriend). They sit facing each other giggling non-stop and now that they're both on the move, they chase after each other. It's adorable. She's also a tall girl and has a very similar personality to Brody, so it's a natural match!

Ladies Man

Who knew you had to worry about boys at such a young age? I came home to a note from Brody's daycare teachers that went something like this:

Brody was kissing a friend today! He "crawled" over to her, grabbed her head and kissed it.

Now, Brody doesn't know how to kiss yet. So I imagine it was really an open mouth full of slobber on her head. He really knows how to turn on the charm!

I imagine with a cute little man like him, we'll have lots of these stories down the road. However, I'm not looking forward to the day when it's no longer cute that he's kissing girls and a little bit scary.

Life isn't fair

Okay Mom, you've finally won.

When I was little I would always say "that's not fair" in my not-so-cute whiney voice. To that, my mom would said, "life isn't fair." I of course felt the need to argue that point...long into my adult life. I am an eternal optimist. While that hasn't changed and I will still continue to look on the bright side, I've finally come to the conclusion,

Life is NOT fair. Or rather, death isn't.

This past weekend a friend of mine died in a tragic car accident at the age of 27. She had been engaged for less than a month, completely in love and planning her wedding. Her fiancee was in the car with her. Along with two of their friends. All of them were very young and all of them deserved to live much much longer.

Even if you didn't know her, this is clearly unfair.

My heart is broken. It breaks for her family, her fiancee's son and her best friends.

I've known Becky a long time and we've been in the same circles of friends since 5th grade. Ever since this weekend I've been remembering the most random things about her. The glasses she used to wear when we were little, when everyone fought over the same guy in 5th grade, New Years Eve parties at her house in high school and hanging out in the pool at Jason's apartment after our senior year of college. The last few times I saw her our conversations were usually about her fiancee, rings, weddings and usually Jason and I telling her how we couldn't wait until her Jason finally pops the question. She was happy and always had a smile on her face. My very smart and strong husband reflected last night, "I will never forget her smile."

And this brings me back to the beginning of my post. LIFE IS NOT FAIR. I believe in God, I know He has a plan and I hope someday I'll understand it. But for now, I can't help being pissed. I'm mad that she didn't get a chance to walk down the aisle, be married, become a step-mom and possibly have children of her own someday.

The last time we saw Beck. I remember joking with her about how she was standing closer to Jason than I was. They were much closer friends but we will both miss her dearly.

Open Wide!

It's hard to see in the picture, but Brody has two little teeth coming in! They've already broken the surface and you can feel their sharp edges against his gums. He's hanging in like a champ and doing great.

So Close!

I apologize for the bad video quality, it looked much better before uploading!

Happy half birthday Brody!

Brody is 6 months old! I know, I know, they grow up too quickly. I've been hearing that since the day he was born. But what truely amazes me is how in 6 short months he went from this:

to this:

No, he's not crawling, but he can push himself up on his knees and arms and rock back and forth. Then he loses momentum and collapses to the floor. He can push himself backwards quite sucessfully which drives him nuts when he's trying to go towards a toy! In the last week he's been trying to pull himself up by grabbing onto us or a couch or anything nearby, but he probably still has awhile before he has enough strength.

He's not quite double his birth weight, but weighs in at 16 lbs (only 25th percentile) and is 28 inches tall (90th percentile). Brody wears mostly 6-9 month clothes but I think he'll grow out of them length-wise sooner than later.
He's eating baby food purees twice a day and so far had tried: Applesauce, Peaches, Pears, Bananas, Prunes, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans and rice cereal. He doesn't seem to love the green beans anymore, but he likes the rest of what he's tried. I'm working on making most of his baby food and so far he loves my homemade carrot & sweet potato baby food.
He sits up great by himself and has learned to catch himself before he falls to the ground. He'll roll a little as he tumbles to soften the landing. And when he doesn't quite catch himself, he usually doesn't cry. Though every once and awhile he'll slip away, tumble or fall backwards resulting in tears that usually only last a few seconds. He even ended up with his first bruise this week. Since he's half-mine, I know he's in for many many more of those in his life.

He's still a very happy active baby boy. He doesn't like to be held still, but when he's sleepy or needs comforting, he's a great cuddler. He turns towards voices he recognizes and smiles at familiar faces. Even if your face is familiar though, he sometimes gets a bit apprehensive. I haven't quite figured it out. He may be experiencing some stranger anxiety, but it's a little early on the learning charts for that one.

No teeth yet but he continues to show symptoms of teething. It could be awhile before we see anything pop through or it could be right around the corner. It's really hard to tell!

Other new experiences for Brody this month include: first family vacation, first "swim" in lake Michigan (big fail!), first beach experience and first fireworks.

Happy 4th of July

Brody celebrated his first 4th of July this weekend. It was a busy weekend and overall he had a great time!

Saturday we headed downtown to the fireworks that I used to go to when I was a kid. It meant a lot to take Brody with me even though it took a toll on his regular sleep schedule. He decided to boycott his afternoon nap and didn't fall asleep until well after 9. Then when the fireworks started he woke up again. However, he didn't seem to mind the noise at all! He actually started to giggle at some points and just wanted to play. We were so close the fireworks that debri was falling down on us, so he stayed in his stroller well covered up. But we did let him see the fireworks a little.

Then on Sunday we headed to Brody's Uncle Nick & Aunt Jenny's house to celebrate the 4th with Jason's family. Again, his sleep schedule was very off. Despite his constant yawning and rubbing of eyes he refused to miss out on any fun by taking a nap. We couldn't get him to sleep all afternoon/evening and when he did fall asleep, he woke up 15 minutes later. Finally he fell asleep....once the fireworks started! Who knew that loud booming and crowd noise could put a baby to sleep? We were smart enough to keep him strapped in his carseat the whole time, so he slept through the fireworks and straight to bed when we got home. Apparently this is also the trick to getting him to sleep in until 8am.

To wrap up the fun-filled weekend, Monday afternoon we headed to the Brewers game. This was Brody's third Brewers game in his short 5 month life. He slept a bit during the game waking several times to loud cheers. I don't think he appreciated the crowd constantly interupting his sleep. He handled the heat really well, but his clothes didn't last long. What's cuter than a baby in nothing but a diaper in public? I didn't care as long as he was cool enough.

In the last month...

Brody has started eating solids:

Been swimming:

Started sitting unsupported (he cannot pull himself up yet, but will stay sitting for quite awhile!):

Got an exersaucer:

Started playing in a jumper:

He's also had multiple runny noses, fevers, two ear infections, a sinus infection, hives, rounds of antibiotics and passed all sorts of germs around the house! So between the doctor appointments, busy summer activities and my busy work schedule, things have been a bit quiet on here. If not sooner, I'll definitely be back to posting more regularly in the fall!

Our little Tiger

His daycare teachers have so much fun with him!

Wordless Wednesday (mostly wordless)

This is the closest Brody will be to a McDonald's cup until he's much, much, older.

4 Month Check-Up

At the end of May Brody had his 4 month wellness check-up. I originally scheduled it for the same week he turned 4 months. Then realized we'd be taking him on a road trip the same day, which probably wasn't a good idea since he didn't do so well after his 2 month shots. So, I rescheduled.

My favorite part of the appointment, growth stats: weighed in at 14lbs 6oz (25th-50th%), 26 inches tall (75th%) and a head circumfrence of 42 cm (50th%). So in reference to the charts, his weight is lower, his height is a bit lower and his head is becoming more average. I've never taken too much stock in the growth charts, but it's always nice to see where he fits in. Even though his weight looked on the lower side, he went to the doctor again 3 days later (another post on this later) and he already gained a couple ounces.

We talked with the pediatrician about his soy formula and he recommends keeping Brody on it. He's been doing pretty well and although he still doesn't digest it as well as nutramigen, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of an allergy.

Next step...solid food! (Well, you know, that pureed baby food that looks nasty but I hear tastes alright)

This will definitely be a new adventure for us. The doctor recommended we start rice cereal for about 2 weeks and then move on to veggies then fruits. He expects that Brody should be eating solids about twice a day by his 6 month appointment. This did surprise me a little since some babies don't start any veggies or fruit until 6 months. However, these are only guidelines and I'll be following Brody's cues as to whether or not he's ready. For the first year of Brody's life, he will continue to get formula, since it includes many important nutrients that he'll need.

I talked to the pedi about how much Brody is eating of formula each day. I've read mixed opinions about formula toxicity, which is when actually having too much formula can be bad (who knew?!?) Apparently it has to do with the amount of vitamins in it. He kind of looked at me like I was crazy and said I don't need to worry about too much formula right now. At Brody's 30ish ounces a day, he has no concern. Also, since he'll be phasing in "solids" soon, he'll end up eating less formula.

On a side note, does anyone else think it's weird they say that he's starting "solids" when it's actually mushy and not very solid. Anyway...

His pediatrician saw pretty quickly how much Brody moves around and made sure to do his safety lecture. This is nothing new, he goes over safety stuff at every appointment (back to sleep, rear facing car seat etc.) But this time he was very clear to say, keep your eye on this guy, he can roll off of something in a second. While I obviously already knew this, I do have to remind myself every once and awhile. I have gotten a little too used to leaving him on his changing table for 2 seconds while I grab a diaper. Now, 2 seconds is all it takes to fling himself over.

End of appointment = vaccines. Same ones as 2 months, same screaming from Brody. I also thought it would be a great day to go shopping with Brody since I was off all day, but that didn't last too long. He ended up getting pretty fussy when we left the mall because I hadn't given him any Tylenol yet. Unfortunately I still had to run to the store to buy generic Tylenol because all we had was the recalled name brand Tylenol (thanks a lot!) Once he had some pain relief and a nap, he was great the rest of the day.