Mr. Independant Still Needs His Mommy

Bradley has had a cold for over a week now and it only seems to be getting worse. Before it was only a runny nose and now it has turned into a stuffy nose and cough as well. When I got home from work yesterday, Scott and Bradley were playing together perfectly fine but within minutes of me walking in the door Bradley starts crying. The night before he was fussy as well and ended up going to bed at 7:00 which is about an hour and a half earlier than normal so I am thinking we are in for another night like that. After feeding him, he was still fussy and didn't want to play or do anything besides be held. I complied with his wishes since he is sick and held him for a long time. He just relaxed and laid there in my arms with his head on my shoulder. Then he poked his little head up and gave me a couple sloppy open mouthed kisses on my face. He seemed more content and relaxed so I set him down on the floor and started playing with him. He was in a great mood then and was back to him normal self banging on the coffee table while making dinosaur noises. I think he just needed a little momma lovin!

Scott told me earlier about a new trick that Bradley is doing but wouldn't tell me what and that I would just have to see. After a bit, I got to see for my own eyes his new moves. He goes from sitting up and puts one foot flat on the floor and raises himself up into a crouching position like he is just going to stand up! Right in the middle of the floor! He is starting to let go of the wall or table while standing up and balancing on his own more but is still not sure if he is comfortable with that. We thought he would walk early since he has always liked to be upright and on his feet and I think we are going to be right. I guess we will just have to wait and see. He seems much too small to toddle around!

Food Fun

The other day Miss Carol-the lead daycare teacher for the infant room-asked me if it was OK to give Bradley Cheerios and toast. I have wanted to have him try these two things for a little while but kept holding off because Scott was nervous about him choking. Over the weekend though I finally let him try both the Cheerios and lightly buttered toast. I wasn't sure if babies automatically know how to pick food up and put it in their mouth but Bradley answered that question for me (for him at least). As soon as I put the food on his highchair tray he grabbed some and shoved them in his mouth. Granted, half went in his mouth and half on his lap but that's not too bad for his first attempt. He seems to really like taking charge of eating and I must say it is adorable to watch him eat and chew with his non existent teeth! The only problem is that since trying the Cheerios he seems to think anything is edible such as the pea gravel at the playground. It is so fun to see him growing up and eating big people food that I have to stop myself from letting him have part of my dinner with me. I think he needs some teeth before we give him chicken!

Busy busy busy

I survived my first week back to work and am starting to realize how difficult it is to keep a household organized, work, and have a moment to relax. I would have thought weekends were supposed to be my time to chill out and not do too much but I was wrong. We walked up to the wine fest that was being held in our town on Friday night. It wasn't too impressive actually. It was just a live band that played a lot of Celtic music and a couple drunk people dancing in the street. On Saturday we drove to an apple orchard to go apple picking but when we got there the place was deserted. Out of a row of trees an old dilapidated mini van with no side or back door drives past us and both the driver and the passenger, who was missing most of her teeth, stared at us in an erie way on their way past. Nobody came out to help us so we decided to leave while we still could. We went blueberry picking down the road instead. Later that day we went over to a friends for some dinner. Bradley loved their wall of mirrors and kept crawling over to it, standing up, and laughing at his reflection. It was pretty funny to watch!

On Sunday my Dad and Step mom came over to help us with our screen room that we are building. Deb, Bradley, my cousin Brady, and I all walked to the park and played for awhile. Bradley must be gaining confidence from daycare because he was crawling all around the playground and got super dusty from the ground. All of that wore him out and he was falling asleep sitting up in the wagon on the walk home.

I didn't relax at all during the weekend but did have a good time. I think this coming weekend I am going to have to take it easy a little more so I don't burn myself out. Between being busy all day and Bradley not sleeping well due to teething, I am worn out!

Checking In

I am that annoying mother that calls the daycare daily to ask about their baby. Yes, that is me. I do that because I like to hear what he is doing and savor it the rest of the day. For example, today Miss Carol told me that Bradley and some of his buddies were all standing around a table banging on it with their hands and making each other giggle. I wish they had nanny cam there so I could see that but I am sure if they did I wouldn't get any work done! I am so glad that he seems to be having fun with the other babies, it makes it so much easier for me.

So Far So Good

So far work and daycare are going well. I have had half days the last three days and start working full time hours tomorrow. Bradley seems to be adjusting really well though. He (knock on wood) hasn't cried when I dropped him off and seems ready to play with the other babies. He naps well there which was one concern of mine since he is a light sleeper. The only thing that still has me worried is that he isn't taking too well to formula yet. We have tried a bottle, sippy cup, different bottles and he just isn't interested. I know he isn't going hungry since he is eating solids too but I want to make sure he is getting the milk that he needs as well. It is a work in progress...

He has done a lot so far this week especially considering he has only been there for half days. He has done arts and crafts and played in the paste (flour and water), and I guess loved it. They sing songs, learn about colors and numbers, and develop motor skills like standing on his own. They were telling me today that he was making them laugh today because for about a half of an hour he was playing by the mirror laughing and making noises. He seems to like them and they like him. I am really happy with the daycare so far but I still envy them the time they spend with my little boy.

Changes

I am going back to work! It all happened so fast too. One minute I was wondering what I was going to do all day and the next I got offered a job. Not just any job but the one that I had been trying to get for about a year before I had Bradley. Now instead of driving an hour and a half one way to work I get to drive about 20 minutes so that is a huge bonus. Within an hour of the offer I had daycare lined up and everything. I am really excited to go back to work especially because I loved my job and the people in the office I will be working at are great but it is hard to leave Bradley. I am thankful at least that I was able to have 8 months off with him rather than the 3 I thought I would get. I have had a busy last couple days trying to get Bradley somewhat weaned and buying, packing, and labeling everything the daycare needs for him. I go from one minute thinking that it is going to be so hard to be away from him all day to the next minute thinking that this will be a good change for the both of us. The daycare really seems great and they do a lot of learning activities in addition to him learning to interact with other children. I know it will be hard but I hope that it is harder on me than on him!

Yowzers!

He is growing up too fast! I have always heard of that happening but I didn't realize that it is actually so true! Less than a month ago Bradley started to crawl, now he is walking while holding onto things for support. On top of that, I caught him letting go and standing completely on his own yesterday. If that all isn't enough, I can now feel his first tooth that must have just broken the surface. He seems to take after his father in terms of independence that it seems like he is racing to hit all of his milestones in the shortest time possible.

Here is his newest video of him trying to walk:
http://www.youtube.com/tburns612#play/all/uploads-all/0/EKWNdA48uGI

Labor Day Weekend

We headed up north Michigan to my Dads cabin on Friday night and stayed until dinnertime on Saturday. We got to take Bradley out for a nice little tour around the lake on the boat and spend some quality time with family. I was a bit worried how it would be watching him at the cabin with him crawling now but he was really good actually! He stayed close by for the most part just making occasional breaks for it. He was most interested in the DVD player and the fireplace pokers. Yikes! He did manage to stay out of trouble though. His infatuation with my Step-Mom's Poodle has grown and now he will just laugh while looking at her. He also loves to grab hand fulls of her hair and yank which she deals with without hardly a flinch. We stopped at this convenience store called "The Bear Store" that has a bit of a non-petting zoo including a bear and some other animals. Bradley was too tired to wake up for this pit stop but we got a picture of it anyway.

On Sunday we headed out to Mitchell's Bay to go out on Scott's parents boat. Poor Bradley had to wear his life jacket again but he does seem to be getting used to it. It was a beautiful day for it and we anchored at the sand bar and just hung out for a few hours. He did manage to get me to share the honeydew and cantaloupe again. He seems to love fruit as long as it is not in baby food form. I hope he eats regular food better than he eats baby food! Here are some pictures of Bradley on the boat with his Grandma.

Daredevil

There is no doubt left, my son loves to climb. He is going to give me gray hairs any day now because every time I turn my back he is climbing something else. He fell and gave himself a bruise already too. I have cushions strategically placed around my house to prevent bad falls but there is only so much I can do because he is a boy and he will find a way to climb.

Climbing the stairs...

Standing up in his crib...

Standing up against the stools...

And finally...his bruise.

We are trying to make him tough by not reacting when he falls but it is so hard to do! I don't care about my own rules when it is a bad fall though, his little teary face is too hard to resist!