Finally she posts!

I have started to do several updates in the last few weeks (and this post incorporates a couple), but kept waiting for more pictures or better videos. At this rate, I might get this updated by Christmas! Decided to just jump in with what we have.

Brady turned 18-months-old on June 3rd! I can't believe it, but he proves daily that he is all toddler! At his 18-month check-up last week, his pediatrician was all smiles. He really isn't delayed in any area. In fact, he is now at the 85th percentile for height (with those little short legs??!) and 50th percentile in weight. He wasn't even on the charts when I brought him home. He's in 18-24 month shirts and 18-month pants now.

Woo-hoo! I'm 18-months old today!

Mommy won't let me pick these flowers.

Big Step!

Hammin' for the camera.

Where's your head?

Where's your nose? (Always IN the nose!)

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First Trip to Anywhere

We took a trip in May to visit the relatives in Oregon. First time they have met Brady! It was wonderful, but exhausting. We stayed at a Comfort Suites for a few nights, which was my sanctuary, as every home we visited was so NOT babyproofed! Brady enjoyed all the attention and did really well, although never took a single nap the entire time (other than sleeping for a few minutes at a time in the car). The big discovery on this trip was the value of blackout curtains! I had to wake him up at the hotel. He has them in his room at home now. :) We flew in (too bad my current Premier Exec status on United, earned with all those Kaz miles, will only be used for quick trip to Eugene!) and then rented a car. It was a 2009 Nissan Altima and it had a push-button ignition -- no key! Very weird and kinda cool.

Having a snack at the hotel. I knew there was a use for those phone books!

Brady jammin' with a couple of distant cousins.

Puppy! Puppy!
"Puppy" is his favorite new word. It applies to anything with 4 legs except "kee-kees" (kitties)

Chase me up the stairs again! Brady had a ton of fun visiting our old friend John Andrew.

Brady LOVES to see what is going on whenever we drive anywhere. He always points and talks/babbles and waves. I felt awful for him the entire time we were in Oregon. We had a couple of all-day drives and he couldn't see out the window of the rental car! Combination of the carseat being too low and the door being too high. Poor kid. It would have been much easier for both of us if he would have had that distraction, especially with so much to see! Cows, barns, sheep, big trees, llamas, green hills, ocean, etc. So very different from Colorado.

Are we there yet?
(Taken moments before yet another meltdown.)

Lush countryside

A local farm.

An old wigwam and mill.

The beautiful southern Oregon coast.
(Gorgeous day, but it was spent driving.)

Fun playing on the hearth -- this was his favorite spot at my aunt and uncle's house.

That's a big bathtub!
(This is from my aunt and uncle's backyard. Amazing views, especially in nice weather. Several hundred foot drop to the water.)

ACCKK! NO climbing the fence!

Due to the weather being cold and rainy the two days we were at my aunt and uncle's house, we didn't go down to the beach. I just couldn't deal with cold, wet, sand, and toddler. I'm sure I'll regret it someday, since I have no idea when we'll get to go to back.


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The Everyday

Summer is here, or so they say. We've had severe thunderstorms, hail, and tornado warnings in the area almost every day for a week, with another week of the same in the forecast! I'm missing California weather more this year than ever! When I picked Brady up at daycare today, I was told they had spent 2 hours in "emergency" mode, so he'd be pretty tired. Emergency mode apparently means that due to a tornado warning they woke up the kids from their naps after less than an hour, stuck them in a single crib, and pushed the crib into the very small bathroom. I guess after awhile, they decided to move them to the inner hallway with the rest of the kids in the center, serve snacks and let them play a little. This whole episode lasted for 2 hours. Seems they don't have a basement, but then, tornadoes are not supposed to be very common this close to the mountains. That's what I was told last year too! I vacuumed out the enclosed area under the basement stairs a couple of nights ago and tossed in an old throw rug, a big foam mattress pad, a couple bottles of water, a flashlight and a radio. We're set if needed.

I may be a stay-at-home mom before long, but, alas, not with my phantom lottery winnings. My company has been acquired (have competing bids at the moment and not sure who will "win") and have no idea if I'm going to have a job next month. For some reason I'm not too worried about it, but if I get laid off, I'm sure the panic will set in. Keep your fingers crossed!

Brady still loves daycare and they love him, most of the time. I am still getting several incident reports every week due to biting and "aggressive behavior." I've witnessed and been the recipient of it several times now. We are using time outs and a stern "No bite!" or whatever is appropriate, but it does not seem to be subsiding. And no, he is not teething, although the fingers are in the mouth much of the time. All of the teeth have been in for a couple of months now.

Other than that, life in Bradyville is good. He plays and learns and continues to amaze me day after day. Here's a few more photos from the last couple of weeks.

They had a substitute teacher for a couple of days at daycare. I cracked up when I saw Brady had a name tag (aka masking tape) on his back when I brought him home. (He did have pants on then though!)

This year's community-wide garage sale garnered this fabulous train table for cheap! It has all its tracks and trains and buildings, but Brady is too young for them yet. Meanwhile, he found the best way to play with it! Off to the basement it went until he stops climbing on everything!

The time out pose.

The applesauce "do" created by Brady.

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I originally created the following post for Mother's Day. Yep, just a little bit behind. So Happy (Very Belated) Mother's Day to all you current and future mommies out there!


There are many of these lists around, but I just have to add a few of things I have discovered, mostly about myself, in the last 8 months.

You know you are a mother when...

...the hostess at the restaurant where you had a quick workday lunch says goodbye and you wave like a 16-month-old and say "bye-bye."

...every one of your shirts has stains on it from a grubby little face and hands.

...it dawns on you at the end of the day that the annoying smell emanating from that spot on your shirt is vomit.

...the smell of vomit apparently no longer makes you gag.

...you might be willing to reheat day old coffee every day because the beeping of your automatic coffee pot wakes up your kid at 6am.

...having washed poop off your hands at least once during the day doesn't make you want to eat chips, carrot sticks, cookies, etc. with a fork any longer.

...you can sing (way off key) all the verses to Old McDonald, the Muffin Man, and Little Bunny Froo-Froo.

...you have more fun playing with your son's new bathtub toys than he does.

...you've learned how to find the pacifier in the dark under the crib at 3am and can still go back to sleep. Sometimes.

...you have finally come to terms with the fact that your hardwood floors, cabinets, furniture, window sills, walls, and baseboards will never, ever, be the same again.

...you're already trying to figure out how you are going to tell your child some day that Moo, Baa, and Cluck-Cluck is what's for dinner.

--you know exactly how much a bushel holds, cuz that is how much snot comes out of a toddler with a cold in a single day.

...you have Kleenex boxes every 12 feet throughout your house.

...you realize you really shouldn't have burst out laughing (and couldn't stop) when your son's daycare teacher, very seriously, asks if you have ever had his hearing checked, because no matter how many times she says "no", "stop", "get down", or "don't do that", he doesn't respond. (I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. Told her he "can't hear" at home either, but he has already had two hearing tests and tested at a level better than perfect.)

...you have to turn your back quickly on the little imp after putting him in timeout to keep from smiling at the big puppy-dog eyes and the cute way he just sits there and doesn't move.

...you try to not to look forward to timeout, since when you tell your little boy that timeout is over he comes running and gives you a big hug!

...you don't stop smiling for hours when your baby boy gives you a hug AND a kiss just because he wants to.

...you realize your heart can melt on a daily basis when one little boy smiles and comes running when you walk into his room at daycare.

...you burst into tears the first time a sweet little voice says "Mommy" and he means you!

Tidbits

Boy, does time fly! Cannot believe it's been over 6 weeks since I've posted and Brady has been home for over 5 months. He just keeps growing, learning, amazing me, and getting cuter by the day.


I planned on doing a post weeks ago about Brady's verbal skills, but time got away from me. To sum up, he is saying several words and seems to be adding a new one every couple of weeks. His first word was "moo" in response to my asking him what a cow says on the way home from daycare one day. We had been reading Sandra Boynton's Moo, Baa, La La La and I guess it rubbed off. He says "la la la " now too. We're also working on sign language. He very quickly picked up on "all done" but the first time he waved his little hands to sign it, he also said it! Too funny. Now he says "ah da" at every meal as he hands me his spoon and his sippy cup and tries to squirm out of his high chair. He can sign "more" and "eat" although I don't think he fully understands what they mean yet. "Uh-oh" and "apple" (which really means "applesauce") and "up" are also part of his repertoire. He also says "hi" when he holds the remote to his ear. No "mama" yet though, at least not in context. He does say "mamama" when I put him in the highchair, but I think he is actually saying "yum, yum, yum" since that is what Mommy always says. He babbles, squeals, screeches (going through that ear-ringing stage again), and utters all kinds of things constantly that might be words, but mama isn't getting it.

His receptive language is even better. He understands so much! Yesterday I asked him if he was ready to go see Miss Kelly (his daycare teacher) and he ran to the door into the garage and started pounding on it. When I said, "Brady, no pounding!" he proceeded to close the laundry room door, which was between us, then returned to pounding on the garage door from inside the laundry room. I've had to deadbolt that door now.

He's also gone from toddling to running. And climbing on every piece of furniture in the house. And standing on tippy-toes at every available surface pulling off whatever he can get his little fingers on. A new favorite is the toilet brush (major ick) which is now in hiding. And opening (and closing) every door in the house. And standing on toys (only the big ones with wheels, of course) and then squealing to be sure I look ("See mom, no hands!") and have a heart attack. He is also rearranging the furniture. Anything he can push around he does. Stools, kitchen chairs, garbage cans, end tables, you name it. My hardwood floors have the "stressed" look already. Really hoping this is just a stage!

Mama is having some neck/back trouble these days -- combination of age, sitting in front of a computer all day, and (surprise, surpise) packing around and lifting a 24 lb squirmy little boy! I had the steroid injections into my neck a few weeks ago. It took a week or so (and several days of nausea from the anesthesia), but at least my neck isn't as painful any more. Unfortunately, the rest of my back is still hurting and tingling most of the time. My disks had better slow their degeneration, cuz I fear I have a few more years of carrying and lifting my little bundle of joy.

Okay, I have to admit to giving Brady's bangs a trim. Oops. Well, every little boy needs the "mama cut" at least once. Thank goodness his hair grows fast! He's only figured out how to go backwards on this riding toy. It's kind of funny.


Callie is definitely warming up to the little alien in the house. She follows us everywhere, stays in Brady's room at bedtime (and after I leave) until the lullaby playing on the "soother" is over, scavanges under his highchair (far cry from a dog, but I'll take all the help I can get in cleaning the floor), plays with his toys, and I caught her playing "hide and jump" with him a couple of days ago. It is really interesting that for an 11-year-old cat that has never been around kids, she truly understands that he is a baby and she needs to be gentle. He has grabbed her a couple of times and she hisses and squirms, but doesn't claw or bite. She'll claw and bite me when she feels like it, no problem! A couple of days ago, Brady wouldn't leave her alone when she was eating. He kept getting closer and pointing that little finger at her. She backed up and swatted at him. Just a warning -- no contact. I told Brady to leave her alone, but instead he got closer. As I watched, she did the whappity-whap on his little pointing hand 5 times in about 1.5 seconds. No claws, but got the message across. He was startled, then started crying. Just hurt feelings. I did my best to not let him see me laughing.

Brady loves his Uncle Lyle. Check out the little ears over his right shoulder. Jealousy indeed!


I felt like I really dodged a bullet with Brady when he immediately took to eating just about anything I gave him and all of it. Well, those days are over. Now, if it looks like a vegetable or fruit, he ain't touchin' it! And I mean he won't touch it, except to push it off his plate, and then to the far side of the tray, and eventually he picks up whatever the offending food is and puts it piece by piece on the table next to his highchair. Applesauce, mashed potatoes, this frozen spinach/pea/grain baby food, and avocados are the only produce-like foods he'll eat. I'm back to grinding up veggies and putting them in the mashed potatoes or spaghetti or whatever. I also know you have to keep trying, but he has been getting broccoli, green beans, corn, carrots, or peas at daycare every day for two months and hasn't eaten a morsel. The problem could be taste, but more likely texture. Half the time he won't eat things that he's eaten tons of in the past. He'll eat a chicken quesadilla, tuna sandwich, cupcake, and crackers, but won't eat a pea, green bean, banana, pear, or peach. Go figure. I'm getting grayer by the day. Arrrggh!

At least he has mastered the spoon. Actually he has, but he gets distracted and starts waving it or pounding with it, so Mama has one too or mealtime would be a two-hour event.



Okay, you asked for it: even more pictures! It's funny how even when taking so many pictures, they still don't capture all the cuteness and you always miss the best shot.

Brady in his new chair (it's a rocker, but had to take the rockers off, cuz he likes to stand in it. Oy!) BTW, his TV attention span is only about 3 seconds (except for when the Manly Men song comes on, of course), so no worries about the electronic babysitter. Notice that gate in front of the TV? Needed a deterrent from banging on the screen with a toy. Worked for about a month, now he is just reaching over it!

And for some reason (maybe just Mom's entertainment) this is how he gets into his chair.



Playtime in Mom's bathroom. Yep, torpedo alley! Was actually cuter when he was younger, cuz he would get so excited and wave the "torpedoes" in the air for a full 20 minutes. Good blackmail photos for when he is older. ;)


Brady is getting so big, but when I see him climbing up the stairs, he still seems so tiny! His little legs are only about as long as each step is high. And how do you guarantee a growth spurt? Buy a bunch of 12-month pants and then discover two days later that he has to suck it in to get them snapped! Sheesh.


This is the way he goes up the second half of the stairs. He wants to hold the railing just like Mommy. It can take 15 minutes to get to the top.


I put 'em on myself! What a giggle-fest trying to get them on him the first few times. Still haven't tried them out of the house, but soon. Definitely need shades in this area where the sun is so bright.


The perpetual cowlick. Fitting for the Kazakh version of Dennis the Menace!


Can't get those pieces in the puzzle, then stick your feet in and use them as cymbals!


Brady was home sick last Monday. This is how he entertained himself. I still don't have a good picture of it, but this little guy will blow his nose into a Kleenex that he pulls out of the box himself. Of course, the goop gets smeared all over his face, but he thinks it is pretty fun. After he pulled all the tissues out, he blew on half of them, then shoved them back in the box!


And he has discovered the toilet paper roll.





He likes to climb into tight spots, but Mommy had to take a picture before she helped him out. I just loved seeing all those teeth! The last of the bottom ones are coming in, so next up is the second molars in a few years. Hopefully once the current teeth are completely in, the biting will stop at daycare. Keep your fingers crossed!


And last, but not least, he found a new hat. When I first saw him, he was just sitting back in the chair with his hands on the arms enjoying the hat, which was squarely on top of his head. This "hat" is the cat's canned food dish. Yes, it was full of warm smelly Tuna Feast.

Love and Kisses

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've just had the best one ever and it is only 7:42 am. Brady and I were cuddling in my bed this morning. He was laying on my chest and we were making silly faces at each other. I made some kissy motions and he puckered up and planted one right on my lips! My first kiss from my baby boy! Doesn't get better than that! Especially since this was about 5 minutes after he spit up a bunch of formula and a wad of snot all over himself and my down comforter. ;) I'll take a pukey-faced kiss from Brady anytime!

Wishing you all a day full of love and kisses!

Alysa and Brady

The Days Just Keep Getting Better

Things are good in Bradyville. I was a little anxious a few weeks ago with some of his behavior, but as things have settled down at daycare, Brady has been calmer all around. He actually cried (for the first time) when I dropped him off at daycare yesterday. I know that shouldn't make me happy, but I grinned like a fool all the way to the office! Thanks to all of you that offered advice and support, it was very appreciated.

Brady has gone from a few tentative steps to walking nearly all of the time. It's amazing how fast he learns new things. I love his little toddle! I wish I had more video of cute little crawling diaper butt, but alas, I think those days are over.

A couple of weeks ago we attended a first birthday party for a sweet little boy in Colorado Springs. Brady had a good time, but was more interested in the new "toy" than the other kids! I guess I know what will be on the Christmas list this year!



He LOVES anything with wheels. There are a pair of school buses, about the size of shoeboxes at daycare. He makes a beeline for those buses the moment his feet hit the floor when I drop him off, and he still has at least one, if not both, clutched in his hands when I pick him up after work. Apparently no one else is "allowed" to play with them during the day. What a boy!

Several times in the past couple of weeks I have been given an Incident Report when arriving at daycare at the end of the day. First, when Brady whacked his head on something and had a big purple bump on the corner of his eye -- ouch! The next morning when I dropped him off, of the four kids already there, a little girl had a swollen black eye, a little boy had an angry red scratch across his forehead, and another child had a pair of bandaids on her arm! I know kids get banged up, especially when they get more active, but it was kind of funny to see them all there proudly displaying their boo-boos.

The next couple of Incident Reports (I keep wondering when we get sent to the principal's office) were due to Brady "tackling" and/or biting other kids! Uh-oh. Someone went for the buses! ;) We have been having more of a biting issue lately and nothing seems to help. They are separating him from the other kids when it happens at daycare, but I can't get him to stop biting me either. The last time he was biting often he had a couple of teeth coming in. Now he has at least 2 molars and the rest (4-5) of his upper teeth coming in. I'm thinking there is a connection. He's also chewing up the crib. Since it is a convertible crib, those little teeth marks may very well be with him into high school! :)

Brady finally got his hair cut! It started out pretty good (that is a comb in his right hand -- he was helping),

but went downhill quickly.




Ah, the memories!


We also have a new little behavior that I'm trying to squelch before something or someone gets hurt. Even if it was pretty cute the first couple of times:




But despite his new naughtiness, he's still pretty darn cute. I love this video!




Brady really isn't interested in TV, except as a favorite surface to bang a toy on hard and repeatedly. Oy! Once in awhile something will catch his attention for a few seconds. The only and hilarious exception is Two and a Half Men. EVERY time the credits roll for this show, he stops whatever he is doing and runs for the TV and, well, watch this: