Brody and Kaitlyn Days

Tomorrow will be a hard day for all of us.  I have decided though to spend the day being positive and being thankful instead of sad. 

Before Brody was born I was certain I would be fine with sending him to daycare but once we had him I quickly realized that I just couldn't.  Brody was so happy and easy that I was afraid he would be the baby left in a swing all day because he didn't need much to be happy.  Because of this we decided to find him a nanny.  Lucky for Dave and I we only had to schedule one interview before we knew we had found the perfect person to watch him while we went to work.

Kaitlyn has been more of a blessing to our family than she knows.  I know that she knows that she is appreciated but until you have children and you have to leave them in the care of a complete stranger you can't put into words how wonderful it is when you find a person you completely trust with your child.

I wish that I would have known how wonderful Kaitlyn would be the nights before I had to go back to work.  I would not have struggled so much the days preceding that day if I knew how great she was.

I found with Kaitlyn I have been able to go to work and devote 100% of my attention to my patients, and almost shelf my role as a parent.  We never have to worry about him with her and that means the world to us.  We know that he is safe, loved, and happy when he is with her. Kaitlyn is like Brody's second mother and I have never felt jealous because of how much he loves her.  My friend Jackie once told me that we have to remember that this parenting journey is ultimately not about us but about our children.  It is because of this, that I couldn't be happier that Brody loves Kaitlyn as much as he loves Dave and I.  His eyes light up when he sees her, and she has even taught me about him.  It was Kaitlyn that figured out that if you pat his butt and rub his head you can get him to sleep in a matter of minutes.

I know that tomorrow will be hard for all of us but I am so happy for Kaitlyn as she takes the next step in her life.  She is to good for us to keep to ourselves and I know she will touch so many hearts as a teacher.   We all will definitely keep in touch and I am happy to have gained a new one of a kind friend in my life. We have been so blessed to have had her watch Brody during this fragile period of his life, and for this I am so grateful.  Tomorrow I will try hard to remember how lucky we have been instead of being sad.  We have been blessed and for that I am forever grateful. 

Tummy Time

Story Time

Brody and Kaitlyn's Parents

One LOVED little Boy!!!!

Swings!

Today after work I took Brody to the park, and Brody loved the swings!!!  He couldn't stop laughing and giggling.  I just love watching him enjoy new things for the first time.  He is so sweet and his heart is so happy! 

As you expected I couldn't pick my favorite AGAIN!!! 

I also can't help to share these two videos...... The first is of him swinging and the second is him imitating me.  He loves to mimic noises, espcially breathing through his nose.  I love this video so much because when he really goes at it he snorts.  :) 

Summer Days, Play Dates, Avacado, and Great Grandmas

We have been having a lot of fun lately!!!  Despite really bust work weeks, especially when Dave is out of town, we have been really enjoying our weekends. 

Brody loves the pool, and wears him self out splashing.  We are so lucky to live right down to the street from our neighborhood pool.  Our pool outings start off with me running around for an hour packing everything we could possibly need while Dave prepares the cooler of beer. Once at the pool we set up at the baby pool and take turns holding Brody while he splashes until he wears himself out.  It is pretty uneventful but we enjoy hanging out with the other parents poolside. 

Last Saturday Brody and I went to visit the Sutherland family while Dave slaved away at the office.  It seamed like ages since I had seen the girls and I hadn't got to catch up with Bryan in a long time.  Even though it was a short visit I really enjoyed just hanging out at the Sutherland house like old times. Brody on the other hand didn't know what to think of all the chaos but the girls sure did have fun dressing him up. 

 I recently noticed that Brody has become kinda winy at dinner time when I give him food to feed himself.  He wants me to put it in his mouth.  Before this behavior gets to out of control I have been working with him on feeding himself.  He is getting better and less frustrated but I still think he ends up with more food on his face, lap, and floor than in his mouth. 

We spent this Saturday in Carrolton visiting Brody's Great Grandmother Nan for her Birthday.  Brody had a blast and was SO SO SO well behaved at the restaurant for dinner.  After driving 30 minutes to the restaurant he sat in his highchair for almost 1.5 hours before we had to leave.  He was doing so well until there was a birthday at the table next to us and everyone in the restaurant started to sing Happy Birthday.  I'm not sure why but there are only two things that completely terrify our little man and that is groups randomly singing, and our neighbor Teresa coming over.  Luckily he is easily calmed down by being picked up and temporarily removed from the situation .  Despite our little meltdown at the restaurant it was a great day and I hope our Nan had a great Birthday!!

Baby Blues!

Brody was in such a great mood this weekend!  He is such a fun loving happy baby and this weekend was no exception.  We spent our mornings snuggling on the couch watching cartoons. Despite the difficulty I have getting out of bed some weekend mornings, I love this time of day with him.  There is nothing greater than walking in his room and seeing his face light up, legs start kicking and his little 2 tooth grin when he sees you.  We spend the next half hour or so just snuggling on the couch watching cartoons until he is ready for his bottle.  I wish I could spend every morning this way, but unfortunately I have to be at work before he is out of bed

The constant rain on Saturday forced us to spend most of the day indoors.  We did venture out with Brody to a new wings place that Dave wanted to try.  Brody did very well at the restaurant.  He loves sitting in his high chair and making a mess with the food we give him .  Before we left I told Dave that when ever I went out to eat with Anne and Theresa they made an effort to sweep up after their kids.  We decided that we would do the same.  The funny part about this is that the mess  Brody had made with his mandarin arranges was small in my eyes but to Dave it was ridiculous.  Never the less we probably left our table area cleaner than when we sat down.

Rainbow After the Rain

Sunday was busy, with random stuff.  We did manage to get Brody's big boy car seat installed and so far I think he likes it. I guess he better because he will be in it for a LONG time.

Big Boy Car Seat!

Sunday evening I filled up the baby pool and Brody played in the water with Chase.  I wish we would have gotten a picture of the two of them.  I of course took a ton of pictures of Brody and I guess I will just post them all because they are all so cute I just can't pick.

7 months!!! Where Did The Time Go???

Has it really been this long since I last blogged.  I am so disappointed that I have not better documented this time in our lives.  It really is crazy how much he has changed and how busy we have become.  Since last posting we have been on so many adventures with our little buddy.

We took him on his first hiking trip to the Red River Gorge.  We had to take a few stops to feed him and let him nap, but I think it is safe to say he loves being outdoors!

We have even been back to Florida twice.  In April it was just Nana, Brody and I but in June Nana, Clark, Dave and I made it to the condo with Brody.  Next time we hope that Uncle Aaron can make it.  I am so thankful that Brody is such a well tempered baby, otherwise these trips would probably not have happened.  Most of the time I have been traveling alone with him.  We have become quite the traveling duo!


APRIL:

JUNE:

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Fathers Day On The Beach

Date Night

First Grocery Cart Ride

  Beach vacationing is very different with a baby.  It is incredible how much stuff you need to keep him occupied/happy.  Long gone are the days of heading to the beach with just a towel, and a book.  Now we have bags of towels, sunscreen, formula, water, solid food, spoons, dry clothes, bathing suits, regular diapers, swimmy diapers, floats, etc. 


May was a busy busy busy month for me.  Dave was gone in Hawaii for three weeks and I was home with the little guy by myself.   Life sure is busy working full time and taking care of an infant.  With the help of Kaitlyn and my family though we made it.  I even hosted Mothers day for my family.

Memorial day weekend was one of our busiest yet.  We went to so many parties.  Brody's cousin Cole turned one, Jackie graduated college, Deacon turned 6, Clark turned 60, and we had the Memorial Day Parade.  Brody was such a little ham at all the parties and despite my predictions he loved the parade and all the loud noise. 

Mothers Day 2013

Kaitlyn and Brody Made Costers!!!

Cole Turns 1

So far the rest our summer has been spent mostly at home, at the pool, or in NKY.  Dave and I are really enjoying watching him grow and become more and more interactive.  He is on the verge of crawling, has two teeth, and is just full of smiles and giggles.  He still is sleeping like a champ, but sadly does not cuddle like he used to.   =( 

Lovin the Baby Pool!

 6 Month Photos:
http://aaronmconway.com/

Best Buddies!!

Brody is changing so much, and he is changing so quickly.  I love watching him learn and navigate life as an infant.  I just can't believe he is already 7 months old.  I know that before we know it we will be celebrating his one year birthday.

Night out for Mommy and Daddy!

SOME VIDEOS FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT!!!