Vala's Pumpkin Patch

We took Brody to Vala's on Saturday. We went with Josh, Matt, Karen, and their little boy Jack. Brody was a trooper for the five hours we spent there! Vala's has so much to see and do. We couldn't believe we spent five hours, but Brody was being so good that we wanted to enjoy the beautiful fall day as long as possible. Here are some pictures!

The giant rocking chair.

Our little pumpkin.

Choosing the perfect pumpkin.

Trying out the slide.

A tired boy at the pumpkin patch.

Check out my new winter coat!

10 Month Update!

Brody is ten months old today! I have not had a chance to post for a while. It has been quite a month. We have had a long strain of sickness over the past month. Brody had a cold, then a touch of bronchitis, then had to use an inhaler for a while. Last week he was diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease. The poor little guy had a fever when he woke up last Thursday morning. The doctor found sores in his mouth. He also had one sore on his foot. He's doing a lot better now, finally. Let's hope that we are done with sickness for awhile.

Travis and Brody had a lot of bonding time together last week because I had conferences. I think they had fun!

Brody has been crawling like a champ for some time now. He is also pulling himself up and cruising along the furniture. We are constantly chasing him! It is amazing to see how interested he is in everything now. He notices absolutely everything. Caesar is trying to figure out why Brody can move now. Brody likes to chase Caesar and so far, Caesar has been pretty good. Enjoy the latest pictures!

Update

We survived our week with Travis being gone.  Luckily, he only travels once or twice a year.  Brody really seemed to miss his daddy while he was away.  I took Brody to his 9 month check up last week and he now weighs 16 lbs 7 oz (5-10th %).  He is 28 1/4 inches long (50th %).  He is a little shrimp, so we have to try to help him put on some weight.  We are trying to feed him strictly table foods now.  He's doing well with them except for eating meat.  It sure has been an adventure.  

My mom and I took Brody to Portrait Innovations to get his 9 month pictures taken.  We surprised Travis with the pictures when he got home that night.  I highly recommend this company!  They were wonderful and we got to take the pictures home the same day, plus get a free CD with all the pictures on them.  Here are all of the proofs!

9 Month Update!

Brody is 9 months old today!  He is a busy little man who likes to army crawl around the house.  He loves chasing Caesar.  He also likes to walk around the house holding on to mom or dad's fingers.  Brody still loves jumping in his jumperoo.  He is also starting to pull himself up.  He is starting to eat mashed foods.  We are working on his pincer grip with soft finger foods too.  Brody likes to take his sock off so he can chew on it.  He still loves computers and cell phones.  We are having a good time chasing him around the house.  

Brody's daddy flys to San Francisco today for work, so it's just mama and Brody for this week. Grandma is coming out on Wednesday night to watch Brody for two days because I have a school event that I have to attend on Thursday night.  Brody goes for his 9 month well baby check-up tomorrow, so I'll re-post how big he is then.  Enjoy the latest pictures!

Chewing on my high chair strap.

I am nine months old today!

I love my keys!

All bundled up for a cool fall morning.

Happy Labor Day!

We took Brody to the park on Labor Day. He loved swinging! Enjoy the latest pictures!




Look at that hair blowing in the breeze!




Swinging, swinging




Posing with Daddy at the park.





More swinging!




I love my new shades!



Brody's first hawkeye game!



Hanging out watching the Hawkeyes!



Asleep on grandma in the hammock.



I am such a tired boy.




Brody loves rolling around in his crib.
He also loves posing for pictures.



I love getting my picture taken!



A week or so ago, Brody was crying in his crib.
When we went in to check on him, he was
sitting up in his crib. He hadn't done that before.
Now that's all he does.



A second before this picture was taken,
Brody was crying. As soon as we pulled out
the camera, he stopped crying to smile for a picture!

8 Month Update!!

Brody turned 8 months old on Thursday!! He is getting so big! He has become a lot more vocal in the last couple of weeks. He has settled into a wonderful bedtime routine. He eats his dinner, gets a bath, listens to stories, and then goes to bed. He has finally learned how to fall asleep on his own and stay asleep. Sleeping from 8 to 6 has really helped with the transition back to work for both of us.

He has finally discovered the excitement of a book that has mirrors in it. He used to just smile at the mirrors on each page. Now he pulls the book closer to his face and taps on the mirror with his fingers to get a better look. It is hilarious!

Still no crawling yet, but we get a kick out of how hard he tries. We need to start baby - proofing the house. He already scoots towards the laptop cord whenever he can. He is also trying to hold onto the couch while standing. He likes to walk to mom with dad holding his hands. We are very lucky to have such a happy, healthy boy!




Holding daddy's wrestling belt like a champion.





Extreme close-up!





Brody was quite the little poser for his 8 month picture. I think I took 1o pictures of him on Thursday!

Busy boy

We have been super busy the last three weeks with two birthday parties, the LA Open, a Flogging Molly concert, and a wedding. Brody and I spent a lot of time at my school too. I had to pack up my classroom this year because I moved rooms and grade levels. I'm teaching first grade this year, so I spent quite a few days preparing for it before I officially went back to work on August 7th. I finally have a spare moment to update our blog.

Brody has been adjusting to the new schedule. He must have known I was exhausted because he started sleeping through the night on the night before the students started back to school. It has been so nice! He goes to bed at 8:00 and sleeps until 6:00.

Brody is going to a new babysitter this fall and is finally doing well. The first few days were kind of rough. He didn't want to eat or sleep, but now he is doing better. He's a little stubborn!

He has also begun rolling and scooting around the house. No crawling yet, but he seems to be days away from it. He is motivated to move if he sees water bottles, his batman ball, or a computer keyboard.





Cheering on the Cubs! We can't get enough of his Cubs outfits.




The hat's still a little too big.




The boys hanging out.



Brody and daddy swing in the hammock.



I love my jumperoo!



Yes, I'm a little ham for the camera.



Trying baby food meat for the first time.