Mama

I am counting this as Brax's first word.  Since he was born, he has always made a sound that sounds like, "Mom."  When he is upset, he will babble "Mom" or "Mama."  I am pretty sure he knows this is me.  :)

First Bath in the Tub

Last week, we bought this little sling so we could start giving Brax his baths in the tub.  I think he likes it better since he can splash around more with his legs and arms.  Also, we got out the bath toys although he doesn't seem very interested except to chew on them.  The electric blue star in the bottom picture is pretty cool and sprays a water fountain really high into the air.  He was ready to get out by the time we actually figured out how to get it to work.

Teething

You have two teeth!  Your first tooth broke through the bottom of your mouth.  The first time I felt this was on Saturday, September 14, 2013.  It was the day after your seven month birthday.  I wonder what you think about it all since I am sure it feels quite different in your mouth.  Right now, the tooth next to your first tooth is barely breaking through.  You look pretty cute with some teeth!  Wade's mom, Nana, bought this onesie for you.

Farm Animals

I never in my life thought I would so often on a regular basis be speaking animal farm talk.  It seems as though almost every book that we have for Brax has some sort of animal in it.  A majority of them seem to be farm animals.  Needless to say, I am constantly making animal noises.  I will be highly offended if Brax does not know animals sounds when he starts to speak.  Here is a good book that we like to read often although I am not quite sure why the book is called Moo when there isn't a picture of a cow on the cover.  The author also created a dog and cat book which is good, too.  I will have to see if there are more out by the author.  Brax likes them because they have a ton of touch and feel pages along with pages that have flaps.  He is getting pretty good at opening flaps in books.

Gymboree and Church

I seriously may have to enter rehab one day for my new addiction of shopping at Gymboree.  It is my absolute favorite store to buy Brax's clothes.  I always hit the sales with my coupons so it is just as cheap or cheaper than Carter's although Carter's does have the best pajamas.  I love the truck line they had that is currently on clearance.  Here is Brax in one outfit from that line.  We have many more pieces from that line.  They will be his outfits he wears this winter when we go out and about along with some of the football outfits from Gymboree.  I took this picture before we went to church today.  Of course, we took the hat off before we went into the church.  My mom said he looks so much like Wade when I sent her this picture.  The second picture is what Brax decided to do during Mass.  I may just have to ground him.  :)

Stomach Bug

I called Wade on my way to an after school training on Thursday.  He said Brax had been throwing up since 3:00.  He gave Brax a bath since he found him in his crib lying in his vomit.  Poor Buddy!  I got home at about 6:00.  He was just throwing up saliva.  We gave him some Enfalyte, but he threw that up, too.  I called the after hours number which gave us a nurse at the children's hospital.  She told us to feed him small amounts every 5 minutes.  However, after she heard his medical history of open heart surgery, she paged our pediatrician.  I admit it was nice to talk to him although unnecessary.  Brax finally fell asleep at about 9:00.  He woke up at 1:00 and tolerated 3 ounces of Enfalyte.  Then, he went back asleep until 5:45 when he breastfed.  I am so glad it was a short lived virus.  It definitely is hard to see your child sick especially when they can't tell you how they feel.  It was so nice to see Brax in a good mood today!  Here he is on the way to dinner.  It was pretty cool out today that a hat was necessary.  He looks pretty cute!  Thanks to Brady and Cece for the hand me down hat!

Grandparent Visit

Grandpa Lyle and Grandma Mary Beth came to visit two weekends in a row.  It was the first time Mary Beth met Brax.  They were nice enough to babysit each weekend so Wade and I could go golfing.  It will probably be the last time we golf together this year unless the weather cooperates over Thanksgiving.  We all went out to dinner the first weekend and watched the Husker game together the next weekend.  It was nice that they came to visit!  Brax sure smiled and laughed for them quite a bit.

7 Months

September 13, 2013

You are celebrating your first Friday, the 13th, by turning 7 months old!  You will have your golden birthday on Friday, the 13th, too.  We will have to have quite the frightful celebration!

You are eating baby food for dinner every night.  You have a fruit, vegetable, and rice cereal.  We have tried turkey a few times, but it is not as smooth as the fruits and vegetables so it makes me nervous giving you too much until you get a little bit older.  You eat in your high chair.

You are still breastfeeding.  I am not pumping as much as you eat during the day so we have been using the freezer supply.  We will probably have to do a few bottles of formula every day in about a month.  You started hitting yourself in the head while you nurse.  I'm hoping this is just something new you discovered.

You still smile a lot.  It is so fun to see.  You still are so cute when you laugh hysterically.  I love it when I get home and put you on our bed and lay by you and tickle you.  You just laugh and laugh and laugh.

You go to bed around 7:00-7:30.  You sleep until about 3:30-4:00 when you wake up to eat.  Then, you sleep until 7:00.

You are not a good napper.  We are lucky to get two naps in the day for about an hour each.  Sometimes, they are even shorter.

You started daycare.  You did fine the first day, but have been crying when I pick you up since.  We might just start having a babysitter come to the house instead.

Grandpa Lyle and Grandma Mary Beth came to visit.

You watched your first Husker game.

You went to your first Rockies game.

You started swim classes at the local YMCA.  You don't cry when you are dunked under water although the water is a little cold for you.

You will roll and scoot until you grab different objects we lay out on the floor.

You will say "Mama" when I say "Mama" to you.  I'm not sure when you will realize that's me!

You put one of your soft books over your face when you are on the floor for a bit.

Your first tooth has just barely broken through on the middle bottom of your mouth.

You rarely ever cry anymore.  It is easy to take you places.

I miss you so much when I am at work all week.  I love spending the weekends with you.  I love you so so much!

My First Birthday with Brax

This birthday celebration definitely meant a lot more, and we celebrated quite a bit differently.  It was my first birthday with Brax!  I had such a lovely day.  I woke up and laid in bed with Brax and Wade for a bit.  He is just so smiley in the morning, and it's nice to be able to just enjoy it and not be in a rush like the mornings I have to go to work.  Then, I went for my 8 mile run.  Just three more weeks of training left until the half!  Afterwards, I showered and then went to the mall for a few hours.  I bought a few dresses and a pair of pants for myself.  The mall had great sales along with my birthday coupons.  My last stop was Gymboree.  The clearance was 30% off, and I had a 20% off coupon so I stocked up on all the winter clothes we will need for Brax.  I was pretty proud of my deals.

I got home and watched the rest of the Nebraska game.  Thankfully, we won by quite a bit and could leave early for dinner.  Brax was a little whiney, but he was fine once we sat him in the high chair at Red Lobster.  Thanks, Mom and Dad for the gift card!  We ate so much and were so full.  After dinner, we stopped by Hobby Lobby and DSW.  I had to get some shoes to go with my new pants!

Everyone was so nice with all of my birthday wishes, cards, and gifts!  Wade's mom sent an Origami Owl necklace with the letters B and W along with a cross and Brax's birthstone.  I can't wait to wear it.  Jill sent a gift card to Hobby Lobby.  I bought a nice cross to hang in our bedroom along with some Halloween ribbon for some treats I am making.  I still have some left to spend later.  My parents sent some money I will put towards my new hair do I plan on getting at the end of October.  Wade bought me a gift card for a pedi/mani that I will use after I get my hair done since it is next door.  That will be quite a nice day!

At dinner tonight, Wade said it wasn't a very "exciting" birthday especially for a Saturday birthday.  I was so perfectly happy with my day.  I said if we didn't have Brax, I would be so depressed on my birthday that we didn't have kids, yet.  Spending a birthday with my family sure beats going out and celebrating at a bar.

Brax went to bed around 8.  We will see if he gives me a nice birthday present and sleeps in an extra hour.  :)

Love This!

A few months ago, Wade's mom sent this very cool custom frame.  It has Brax's name at the top along with nice inspiring words at the bottom.  I finally got a family picture to put in the frame, and it is hanging in Brax's room.  I just love what it stands for and how we can switch out family pictures throughout the years.  It will be a great permanent feature in his room!  Thanks, Nana!

Superhero!

When I visited Kansas City, last year, when I was pregnant, there was a Halloween sale at one of the consignment stores.  This Spiderman outfit cost $1.  Even though Brax isn't going to be Spiderman for Halloween, I thought it would be fun for dress up.  It was probably more enjoyable for Wade and me than Brax, though.  He looks pretty cute!  Our neighbor's son is really into superheroes right now, and his mom thinks they should go as Batman and Robin next year.  We shall see.  

Before the Second Half

Here's Brax watching his third Nebraska game.  He was actually awake for kickoff for the first time.  This is obviously during the first half.  Tears started flowing during the third quarter.  Hopefully, Nebraska will be back on top at some point during his lifetime.  We got a bit spoiled in the 90s.

First Pair of Shoes

I bought these shoes for Brax while I was pregnant.  They are still big for his feet even though they were the smallest size available.  I now know that babies really never wear shoes until they walk.  Plus, I think they look cuter with just their bare feet showing or in socks.  I figured I should have Brax wear his sandals at least once while it is still warm out since they will be too small next summer so here he is in shoes for the first time.  He did leave them alone, but I took them off while we were at dinner since he likes to hold his feet, and I'm sure it's more comfortable for him, too.

Swim Lessons

Wade has been taking Brax to swim lessons at the YMCA every Thursday for a half an hour.  He is the youngest in the class.  For the first class, he was dunked under the water three times.  He didn't cry at all.  Wade said he looked like he was about to after the third time so he didn't dunk him the fourth time.  He got a little cold at the end of class.  For the second class, Wade was worried since he hadn't really taken much of a nap and was up earlier than normal.  Wade said he was fine, but it was colder than last time.  He said there were some other kids crying.  They didn't dunk any for the second class.  Here is Brax after class in the locker room.

First Kiss

Wade's friend had a baby girl last October.  He stopped by with his daughter, Riley, to drop off a late baby gift for Brax.  When they arrived, Riley's mom and I switched babies.  Brax and Riley did okay for about 5 minutes until they wanted their mommies back.  Riley was standing on the floor, and I stood Brax next to her.  She was leaning on him as a support to stand up.  Then, all of a sudden, she leaned in with an open mouth to give Brax his first kiss.  Too young for my likings!  She's quite the go-getter!

Baby Braxton

Our neighbor girl who is four just loves Brax.  Every time we go outside and see her, she yells, "How is Baby Braxton?"  Then, she runs up to see Brax and always strokes his head and tries to make him smile.  Our neighbors had a welcome back football party, and she really wanted to hold Brax.  Here they are together.

The Best Sound Ever

If someone would ask me what my favorite sound is, I would definitely say the sound of Brax laughing.  It just makes my day and makes me feel so good that he is so happy.  It's so fun to try different things out to make him laugh.  In this video, I was making slurping noises and pretending I was eating his baby food.  His baby food does taste pretty good.  Nothing like the store bought kind.  We were having carrots and mangoes for dinner.  He seems like he enjoys eating even though food gets all over his face, hands, bib, highchair, and me somehow.  I usually have to give him his own spoon to hold while I feed him or he grabs the spoon I am using and won't let go.  He has quite the grip!  Enjoy!