Pumpkin Patch 2014

 

Are you ready for this cuteness? We visited the pumpkin patch downtown this week to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. So. stinking. cute.

 

 We also took a walk downtown since Bryson wants to be outside 24/7 now. Luckily the weather is much nicer now.

We've had a lot of fun in the last month:
Bryson is doing great in school. They said he is always the most excited to go outside to the playground.

And he has a little friend at school that loves trucks as much as he does.

School was closed for a day last week, so he came to one of my assignments on Sanibel with me.
He likes to do this now when he falls down, like he's playing it off as if he meant to fall.

Here he is birdwatching that day on Sanibel.

Playing on the playground in Estero.....

And I've been taking him to open gym every week. He loves it!

 

We went to the beach a couple of weeks ago.....

And we had a visit from my grandma. It was so nice to spend some time with her. Bryson liked going over to mom's to hang out with her on my mornings off.

Bryson is still trying to talk and says "ire tuck" (fire truck) a lot. His other words include tractor and shower head. Weird, I know. He says "hey!" and waves and blows kisses. He still doesn't say no or more or anything that will help him. Although he does consistently sign "more" and "all done." He also now has all his teeth except for the four final molars, so hopefully we'll get a break from teething for a while. He's been mostly sleeping through the night lately too.

Here's a recent video:

Thank God for Grandparents

Last week Dad and Judy came to visit for a few days before going to the east coast for a conference. So I had a few precious mornings of sleeping in while they entertained Bryson. It was also a good chance for them to spend time with him since he's practically attached to me when I'm around.

We spent one afternoon together at the Six-Mile Cypress Slough. B loved running on the boardwalk and chasing Dad.

 Then he got a little tired and decided to have a quick rest....

So easily entertained.

Dad and Judy headed to Deerfield Beach on Wednesday of last week, and we joined them there on Friday night. It was a fun weekend, but a rough one for Bryson. He didn't sleep well at all. And Saturday night he came down with another fever. (He was sick for two weeks with a cold before that.) We were up most of Saturday night, and the fever stayed for a couple more days. I think he is finally feeling better, but he still has a cough and runny nose. He's pretty frustrated by it, I think, because he's been especially moody this week. That means hour-long screaming fits and tantrums. oh the joys......
I kept trying to get photos on Saturday at the pool and beach, but it rained a lot that afternoon. So I only got a couple pics.

Dad and Judy stayed with B while he napped Saturday afternoon, so we got to have a relaxing lunch date. After we ate, we went over to the beach to watch a little volleyball. When B woke up we waited for the rain to slow down then went to our beach at the hotel.

The beach there is really nice. The water is SO CLEAR. We saw lots of colorful fish swimming by the rocks. No snorkel gear required.

As I said, Bryson has been extra moody the past week, but I'm hoping it's because he's been sick for so long. He'll be going back to school this week so hopefully he stays healthy, active and occupied.

He's got one more canine tooth that is about to break through, too. Then we should get a break from teething for a while until his two-year molars come in. Before he got sick he was sleeping through the night regularly (finally!), and I'm hoping we get back to that!

These are some photos I took for his 19-month-old photo shoot a few weeks ago at Centennial Park. That smile just melts my heart.

A year of weekly photos

Six months after Bryson's first birthday, I finally took the time to compile his weekly photos into one file. It's amazing to see his growth in his first year.

And he's grown just as fast over the last six months. Sadly I was not able to continue the photos. I had planned to do them monthly until he was two, but the little dude cannot stand still. So instead I just try to get some good photos of him with my good camera each month while he plays outside.

Mostly I just snap photos with my iPhone camera which is always available. Here's a few from the last couple of weeks.

We had another major milestone last week. Bryson started preschool two days a week. The first couple of days were rough on us both, but this week was much better. He is doing great there. They do art everyday and lots of developmental activities. They take great care of him and best of all, he takes naps on a mat in the room with all the other kids without his pacifier and falls asleep all on his own. Now if he would just do that for Scott and me........

We are loving the frequent hugs Bryson gives us, and he's using the signs for "more" and "all done" more often now.

And he got two more teeth...an upper canine and a lower canine.

18 months old

This guy is 18 months old now.

At his doctor's appointment last week he was 23 lbs, 10.5 oz and 31.25 inches tall. He gives us hugs and kisses now, which is just. so. sweet.

And just the other day, I said, "Bryson, say cheese!" And he said "eeeese!" So cute. He seems to be mimicking what we say more now. Today, finally, he made the sign for more when I asked him if he wanted more milk. I've been trying to teach him that for months. He also will sometimes blow us kisses.

After his bath every night he loves to run through the house pushing his trucks. Then he wants us to chase him. He'll run into his room and playfully slam the door waiting for us to come get him. Then he runs out through the living room and office, into the dining room and hides under the table. It's a lot of fun.

On Friday, he went to my morning assignment with me on the beach. I decided it would be more fun to park the car and walk on the beach to the places I needed to photograph. He had a good time running, splashing, picking up shells and chasing birds.

At the end of July, dad came for a visit for a couple of days after a conference in Miami. It was nice to have him around for a couple of days especially in the mornings when he would play with B while we slept in. He also bought B some cool new clothes.

playing hide-and-seek behind the curtains

The first weekend in August was a monumental occasion. We spent our first night away from Bryson ever. He stayed at Scott's mom's house while we checked in to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point a few miles away. It was nice to relax, drink a few pina coladas and enjoy a nice dinner and the sunset and lightning show on our balcony. But of course we woke up early, so Scott picked up Bryson and we took him swimming in the pool before we checked out. He slid down their tiny water slide and had a great time.

The weekend before July 4th, we also went to Clearwater Beach for a night. We needed to make a trip to Ikea, but didn't want to drive up and back the same day. We got to have dinner with one of Scott's former students, Jane. It was great to see her since it had been a while.

On the day we got there we stopped at the Tampa Aquarium. Bryson loved looking at the fish.

Bryson still LOVES his trucks and his books. This week he also began getting on the slides on the playground and sliding all by himself.

Here's a few more recent photos......

Vacation 2014

I'm finally getting around to posting about our vacation in June. Yes, it's almost August, I know. It's just been really busy around here. We've got full-on toddler messes to clean up daily, and it took me forever to find the time to edit the photos.

So here goes.....

First stop: Raleigh, NC
We got there on Sunday afternoon, June 8. Then on Monday morning, we headed out to Pullen Park. It was one of my parents' favorite places to take me when I was little. We met my aunt Marjorie, my cousins, Leslie and Amber, and their kids for a little fun.

On Tuesday, we left Dad's house and went to Nags Head, NC in the Outer Banks. It was our first time there, and we LOVED it. We just stayed one night, but we will be going back. Bryson was super excited to be at the beach.

As soon as we pulled into town, we stopped for lunch at Sam & Omie's. Then we went to the beach across the street at Jeanette's Pier so Bryson could run around after the long car ride. He was in heaven and immediately fell on his butt in the water.

After we chased him around a bit, we checked into our hotel, The Nags Head Inn. Bryson was still too excited to nap, so we got back in the car to explore a bit. We drove south to the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Bryson fell asleep right away, so when we got there we had a little fun taking photos from the parking lot while B slept in the air-conditioned car.

 

When we got back into the car, Bryson woke up, so we walked down the boardwalk to the waterfront.

 

As soon as we got back into the car B was sleeping again so we drove a little further south to see the huge sand dunes. After dinner, we went back out on the beach for some more fun.

Bryson really liked the hotel and running down the long hallways, yelling "Aaaahhhh!"

In the morning we were back in the car headed to Gloucester, Va., to see Scott's sister Emily, her hubby Eric and their two boys.

 We hung out and went to the park and checked out historic downtown Gloucester Courthouse.

On Friday morning, we were on the move again. Our destination was the Shenandoah National Park area. We stopped in Charlottesville for lunch on the way and walked around the UVA campus.

We rented a house in the Massanutten Resort, which has tons of houses, condos and a hotel, a ski resort, go-kart track, tubing hill, zip line, park, pools, golf and hiking trails. You really could stay in the resort for the entire vacation.

On Saturday morning we hiked one of the trails in the resort with Eric, Emily, James and little Aaron while Dad and Judy relaxed in the peace and quiet of the house.
 

 

We call this "the vacation of the deer." We saw them everywhere. At the resort and in our house's backyard. On Sunday, everyone but us went home, so we went to Shenandoah National Park to show Bryson a waterfall. In the parking lot, we saw more deer.....

 

We hiked down to Dark Hollow Falls from the Big Meadows area. Unfortunately, Bryson was not as excited as he had been on the trail the day before. He was teething in full force, so he whined and cried the whole way to the waterfall. We stopped for a snack beside the creek, and he cheered up a little. Water and rocks are his favorite things after trucks.

 

 We finally made it down to the falls. Bryson was happy to see that there were lots of rocks to throw into the pool under the waterfall.

That night was a rough one. Bryson hardly slept since he was teething. We even gave him Motrin and teething tablets for the first time. I felt so sorry for him. Soon after his fourth bottom tooth and one of his molars came in. And just after July 4th, two more of his molars came in, so I know he was in a lot of pain. We skipped a planned visit to see my mom's cousin Dan on the way back to Raleigh so we could get Bryson back to my dad's sooner. (Sorry Dan. Next time, I promise!)

Back in Raleigh, we relaxed and hung out around the house. My friend Sara Dowd visited too. It's always good to catch up with her!

We also visited the Marbles kids museum after a really good breakfast at one of our new favorite spots, Big Ed's, in downtown Raleigh.

Back in dad and Judy's backyard.....

our wedding hydrangeas in bloom

The next stop in our epic vacation was Garden City, SC, by Myrtle Beach where Kylie, Amanda and Sarah and their families were renting a beach house. It was good to catch up with my homeys and their kids if only for a night. As always we stayed up way too late playing catchphrase and reminiscing.

 

In the morning, our second Friday of the trip, we headed for Jekyll Island, Ga. We stopped for a quick and yummy lunch at my cousin Gray's house outside Charleston. (Thanks again Gray!)

On Jekyll Island, we stayed two nights at the Villas by the Sea in an oceanfront condo. Nice. And it was right next to the famous Driftwood Beach, which Bryson loved.

We went on a very scenic and very hot bike ride through the island's historic district, which has "cottages" er very big nice old houses once owned by the Vanderbilts, the Goodyears and the like. The island was once a playground for the rich and famous. It's now owned by the state and has limited development. It's gorgeous. We're planning to go back soon since it's only six hours from Fort Myers.

The extreme heat necessitated an ice cream break.

That evening we walked back out onto Driftwood Beach to take in the scenery one last time before our trip back home the next morning.

 There was a lot of chasing Bryson, who loved the rocks and the water.

On the way out on Sunday morning we stopped to check out the Horton House ruins at the north end of the island.

And we saw another deer. We actually saw several on our bike ride too.

It was a great trip! Bryson traveled remarkably well and came home with two new teeth. He was happy to sleep in his bed and play with his trucks when we got home.

15 months old

Bryson is 15 months old and learning more every day. He seems to know exactly what we're talking about all the time now. He loves to "help" us do things. If I ask him to put something away he'll usually do it.

We take him to the playground often, and he loves to climb and explore.

He also loves to go swimming at Nanny and Papa's house with Scott. That is their usual Saturday outing while I'm at work.

He actually slept for 12 hours straight the other night - a major feat that I was very excited about.

I took him for his 15 month check up a couple of weeks ago. He is now 22 pounds, 3.5 oz and 30.5 inches tall. He grew an inch and gained a little over half a pound since his 12 month checkup.

He's also increasingly OBSESSED with trucks and cars and tractors and construction equipment - anything with wheels. And books. Especially the ones about trucks.

Favorite foods include: yogurt with fruit, meat, avocado, and fruit. He's on a veggie strike unless I give him the pouches of pureed veggies.

Easter and more

Once again, I've fallen a little behind. But with a toddler practically running around here, it's hard to get a whole lot done.

Bryson is now 14 months old, almost 15 months. He loves to play games with us like peek-a-boo and even hides behind walls and in the closet for us to find him. Then he squeals with laughter.

He has an infectious laugh that melts my heart. Scott is so good at playing with him, and watching them together is amazing. I love watching them play together. This video is from earlier today when Scott got home from work.



I'm blessed with a wonderful husband, and on Wednesday we will celebrate our three-year anniversary! Wow. Three years already?! I've loved every minute of it, and can't wait for all our future adventures.

This month has been very busy. Scott's mom and dad were out of town visiting his sister, Emily, and her family as they welcomed their second son Aaron. He's so cute and has big squishy baby cheeks like his big brother James.

Since they were gone, I've been juggling Bryson and work. I've been working more late shifts, but when they have needed me earlier and assignments allowed, I took Bryson to work with me. So I was able to take him to the Naples Botanical Gardens, to a kid's show at the hospital and to the Edison home. He's a very good assistant and mostly patient while I work. I also had some help from my super awesome friends, Lindi and Megan, who watched him for a few hours on a few days. I'm so grateful to them, especially since they both have three kids of their own to chase around. They both welcomed Bryson with open arms. Literally, I think they both had to hold him the whole time.

At the botanical garden, I pushed him in the stroller while I worked. I had to take photos of their LEGO sculptures. After I was done, we went over to the Children's Garden to play for a few minutes.

He most enjoys the signs at the gardens. Go figure.

At the Edison home, he got to check out two of their most impressive trees while I was covering a story about Arbor Day.

A couple of weeks ago, Scott's best friend Jimmy got married. Bryson did great at the ceremony, which thankfully, was outside since he is happiest when he's outside. It was a beautiful wedding. We're so happy for them. But we're also sad since they are moving to Dallas. So a trip to Texas is definitely in our future.

Last weekend Bryson had his first Easter egg hunt......I helped him, but he does like to put things into baskets/bins, etc., so it wasn't hard to get him on board. The other kids scooped up most of the eggs before we could get to them, but he managed to get two on his own, and a really nice dad ahead of us threw down a few eggs that his son grabbed so that Bryson could pick up a few more.

So that was our month!

A few more notes on Bryson:
He loves trucks (especially fire trucks) and buses. He love pushing his trucks around the house.
He also loves pushing the buttons on the TV/cable box/Blu-Ray player and remotes.
He's becoming much more coordinated and nimble and is climbing more.
As noted before, he would be outside all the time if he could. He now knows when you say outside and runs over to the door and beats on it until you open it for him. Sometimes he even melts down in a tantrum if you don't take him out fast enough.
Books are another favorite. If you ask he will bring you a book to read to him or flip through them by himself.
He has also started sorting and stacking things.
If I ask him for my shoes, he will go get them and bring them to me. Such a good helper.

Growing and learning

Our boy is growing and learning more every day. He's now 13 months old. He's cutting two new top teeth. He's nearly running. He plays peek-a-boo with us, and loves to be chased. A simple "I'm gonna get you," sends him into a giggling fit and he rushes out of the room. Then he peeks around the corner to make sure you're following.

He insists on going outside all.the.time. He goes to the door, grabs the handle and says "ot, ot, ot."(out).
We have to keep the deadbolts locked because he can open the door by himself now. And when we do take him out in the front yard he, of course, makes a beeline for the middle of the road. He's getting really fast.

He loves going outside on Friday mornings to see the trash and recycling trucks pick up the bins. They have a big mechanical arms that lift the cans and dump the trash/recycling into the back. He watches the trucks all the way down the street, and sometimes the drivers honk the horn when they see us watching from the end of the driveway. His word for truck is "utck," which he repeats excitedly.

Scott takes him to the park just about every afternoon. They swing and slide and explore the woods or the river depending on the park. Bryson picks up sticks twice his size to carry around and chases the pigeons by the river. His hair is getting more and more blonde from being out in the sun.

At home he often brings us books (or throws them at us) so we can read to him. His favorites are Dear Zoo, Where is Baby's Bellybutton?, The Hungry Caterpillar, The Going to Bed Book, Are You A Cow? and Little Blue Truck and Tickle Time.

Though he still wakes once or twice a night, I love it when he falls back to sleep in my arms. He's so relaxed and content. All is right with the world in those quiet moments. And even though I'm so tired, I'm overcome with love for the little guy. He'll only be little once, and I'm trying to appreciate every minute that he wants me and needs me.

As for his eating habits, he still loves meat, avocado and fruit. Especially strawberries. Broccoli - not so much. And he really likes putting his feet on the table.

We eat eggs for breakfast most mornings, and when I give him sausage, he devours it. I've started giving him a little yogurt some mornings, and I have to spoon-feed that to him because if he gets the spoon, the yogurt goes flying everywhere.

We can't seem to stop him from throwing his food on the floor. And he loves to put his avocado-covered hands in my hair when I bend down to pick up the food on the floor. He thinks it's really funny.

 He's mastered the sippy cups and the straw cups and can drink pretty well from my cup if I hold it for him. We've started giving him whole milk some, but he doesn't like it nearly as much as my milk. He also really likes to drink water and the occasional sips of juice from my glass at breakfast. For lunch and dinner, he gets some variation of what we're eating when it's appropriate.

I can't say enough about Baby Led Weaning. He's been feeding himself since we started giving him food at six months. Though it can get messy, we just put small pieces of food down, and he eats all he wants. I love that we can mostly just let him do his thing at mealtime, and we can eat right beside of him without having to spoon feed him. (except for the yogurt. haha) And I think his fine motor skills are better for it.

playing with the coin-operated cars at the mall

 A couple of weeks ago, we took him to Lakes Park for the first time to play at the kiddie water parks. He was apprehensive at first, but quickly figured it out after observing the other kids for a bit.

After all he's done in the last couple of months, we still can help but wonder when he will clap and dance. He just refuses to do either one. Maybe he's just not that impressed….. He does love listening to his Veggie Tales CD though.

Someone had a birthday!

Last week Bryson turned one! It's really hard to believe it's been a year already.

  

For the last weekly photo, I decided to design some fabric in Photoshop and upload it to spoonflower.com. They printed it onto cotton fabric and shipped it to me. I'm quite proud of how it turned out. I used to word for "one" in many different languages and fonts to make the design.

From now on, I'll be doing his photos monthly. It's been difficult lately because he will.not.stand.still.

For his birthday party, we celebrated a few days early on Super Bowl Sunday while dad and Judy were in town. It was, of course, a football themed party.

 

I made him a Paleo cake made from almond and coconut flours and sweetened with maple syrup. I'm still not ready for him to have sugar and wheat flour. The frosting was really yummy and made from avocados, cacao powder and maple syrup. It sounds weird, but tasted just like chocolate pudding.

 

 He didn't really get into the whole smash-the-cake thing, but he did eat a little bit and seemed to like it.

 He got some great toys, including an airport and garage set from Mom and Billy and a big car from Dad and Judy. Emily and James came to town, and little James REALLY loved the car too. Here he is pushing Bryson in it.

Those two are so cute together, especially now that Bryson is walking like a champ.

We enjoyed a week with Dad and Judy. Again, they cooked, cleaned and helped take care of Bryson, which was so nice. I even got to sleep in a few days. 

On my birthday, they let me sleep until 10:00 am. Then I went to get a pedicure and ate a very nice lunch alone. It was heaven. Scott even brought me some Norman Love chocolates that afternoon. 

On Sunday, we took Bryson to the Edison Festival Junior Parade in downtown Fort Myers. He sat in his car for the entire hour-long parade and watched the floats go by. He was so good and seemed to really like it.

On Monday I took him to the doctor for his one year checkup.

 He weighs 21 lbs, 10.5 oz and is 29.5 inches tall. He gained one pound and grew one inch since his nine-month checkup.

Here's a shot of him playing in his room the other day.

 

And a shot of him napping on my birthday....so sweet.

He's been trying to transition to one nap a day now, but most of the time it's between two and three hours. 

Here's the other weekly photos since the last post......

Ooh, and check out this video of his new sinister laugh. 

That's it for now!

Catching up....again!

How has it been seven weeks since I last posted?

We've been so busy with the Holidays, traveling and then getting back to work that I just haven't had time to sit down and write a blog post.

Our little guy's latest development is that he is WALKING! Well, taking lots of steps anyway. Crawling lightning fast is still his preferred mode of transportation.

His first steps happened two weeks ago. He was obviously very excited and so were we. He's getting a little more control now. And tonight he stood up from sitting without a wall all by himself.

Bryson is also getting another lower tooth. (That makes three on the bottom and two on top.) I just happened to see it the other day right before it broke through. He didn't seem affected by it at all.

And his first word is definitely light or "ight." The boy is obsessed with all lights. and fans.

He also loves spoons and the mallets that came with his xylophone more than any toy he has. He carries them around everywhere.

Now let us rewind to Christmas. We celebrated early with Scott's family because we were leaving Christmas day to drive to NC. Scott's sister Emily was in town too with her husband Eric and their son James.

James and Bryson both really wanted to play with Bryson's car.

That night we walked up to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates so Bryson could see the lights. He, of course, LOVED them.

Christmas morning was pretty hectic because we were packing the car, making a nice breakfast, opening presents and trying to get out of the house and on the road to North Carolina to see Dad and Judy. We managed to get it all done and leave by 11:30 am.

Bryson pushing cousin James

We got to Dad and Judy's after driving almost 14 hours. We had to stop at Steak n' Shake for lunch and Waffle House for dinner because nothing else was open Christmas Day. We were relieved to be there finally.

Bryson was wide awake when he saw the fire truck that he could push around.....It took us a little while to get him back to sleep at 2 a.m.

It was nice to be there and have an adult-to-child ratio of 4:1. Scott and I were able to relax a little, read a lot and go out to lunch twice. Bryson took three-hour naps every day we were there, which was wonderful.

He also enjoyed the swing dad and Joshua hung in the back yard.

And Sara visited.....

And Judy loved on Bryson.....

And we went to Larry's farm to visit the cows.....

And Scott and Dad went to a Duke basketball game at Cameron.....

And we had a visit from Amanda, Robert and their kids Mattie and Evan.....

And here's the cutest photo of Bryson sleeping on Dad's shoulder.....

And on New Year's Eve we drove home. We made it home just in time to watch the ball drop on TV. Bryson was up because he was so excited to be home and playing with his toys, so we took him outside to see the neighborhood fireworks. He wasn't quite sure what to think of them.

Skipping ahead to Martin Luther King Day......We decided to take B to the Naples Zoo for the first time since Scott was off school.

Here's the weekly photos since I last posted.....

 

And here's a bonus photo of B with our neighbor Seneca, cruising in her Barbie Mustang a few weeks ago.....notice his hand on her thigh. so cute!

Hello again!

Things have been busy around here, so I haven't posted in more than a month. Yikes!

Where to begin.......
Well our boy is 10 months old today, and he's working on two new teeth. His top two teeth have just popped through. It was a rough week of a clingy, fussy baby, but thankfully he's feeling much better now.

 

You can see just how upset he was in last week's photo....

Thanksgiving was nice with Scott's family, but Bryson refused to nap that day, so on top of the teething pain, he was tired. He did good with eating even though he grabbed a handful of piping hot mashed potatoes off my plate and burned himself as we were sitting down to eat. He still ate turkey, green beans and sweet potato bread.

Yeah, it's been a while since I posted. On Halloween, we dressed him as a fish and strolled him around the block to see all the kids dressed up and the decorations. People go all out in our neighborhood, so it's kinda like a block party. He seemed to enjoy the sights.

Other than that, we've been chasing him around the house, carrying him around to practice turning the lights off and on and cleaning up his messes. He may be saying his first word too. He says "ight, ight, ight," all the time. We believe he is saying light because he is quite fascinated by lights and lamps. But we're not sure he actually means light or if he's just practicing making different sounds.

Two weeks ago, we had Jack do our family portraits for the Christmas card. It was challenging to get Bryson to look and smile, but I think they turned out great.

and finally- a few more pics taken yesterday outside. Have you ever seen a baby so cute?

This week, he started putting his pacifier up to my mouth for me to take while he is nursing. Then he just laughs and laughs. adorbs.

Pumpkin Patch

 

Lil' B is now 37 weeks old.

He's now starting to be able to find his toys if they are underneath something. He's expecially good at finding a ball that has rolled under a bookshelf. He does this cute thing where he leans down when he is crawling and puts his head on the floor to look under the furniture. He's even able sometimes to reach under and retrieve the ball. so cute!

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch, mostly to get cute photos. I was happy to see this little tractor when we got there.

Here's a preview of Halloween....

 

Bryson has teeth!

Over the last three weeks, Bryson has cut his two bottom teeth. His first tooth came in at the end of September and the second tooth appeared this week. He's 36 weeks old now, just over eight months old.

He's still extremely active crawling all over the house, getting into everything and eating like a champ.

If you look closely, you can see both teeth. He sure is hard to keep still to photograph them.

Last weekend Jack, Bryson and I drove to Orlando to visit our good friend Karlyn who was visiting her parents with her one year old, Ellis. She lives in Portland, Oregon, now so we were happy to make the drive to hang out for the weekend. We also did a photo shoot with Ellis and his cousins while we were there.

Is this what they call parallel play?

Back at home playing with his toys....

Here's photos from the weeks that I haven't been posting.....
35 weeks...

first tooth

34 weeks.....

blue steel

Just to prove he's not always happy

But he doesn't stay mad for long.

A weekend away, a check off my bucket list and 33 weeks

First, a preview shot from our weekend away.....yeah, that's me on the trapeze!

And now.....

It's time for another weekly installment of "How old is Bryson?"

33 weeks or 7.5 months old. 

His personality is coming through more and more. He now is able to let us know what he wants more easily. 

He does NOT want his diaper changed or to get dressed. It seems he would be happy to be naked all day if we would let him. He always flips over really fast and crawls away with his little naked butt showing when we take his diaper off.

He crawls into our laps or pulls himself to standing on our legs if he wants us to hold him. It's so cute.

He's pulling up on everything. Every time I turn around he's standing somewhere new.

He can use his sippy cup by himself now and is fascinated with it. And dinnertime is still messy, but now he's getting more in his mouth than on the floor or in his hair. Every night he has frozen avocado slices with whatever veggie we're having. 

He's also sleeping for longer stretches in the middle of the night. Knock on wood, but for most of this week, he has slept from 11 pm to 6 or 6:30 a.m. We're hoping this trend continues. I am super-excited that I'm getting more sleep.

Last weekend we went to Port St. Lucie with Bryson to visit Dad and Judy who were there for a conference for Dad's business. They stayed at Club Med again while we were "chillin' at the Holiday Inn." On Saturday, they got us day passes for the resort, so we hung out with them swimming in the pool and gorging ourselves with all-inclusive-style meals. Who says you can't have two servings of soft serve ice cream in one day?

I also got to check an item off my bucket list. Every Club Med has trapeze that guests can try out. So I got harnessed up safely in a belt and gave it my best. (There was also a net under me.) My wonderful husband did a great job photographing the experience.

I was pretty scared climbing the skinny ladder and then making the step from the ladder to the platform. But once I swung out and hooked my knees, I felt like a kid again. It was so fun!

My first turn was a success, so they told me I was ready for the "catch," where the guy on the other end grasps your hands while you're swinging from your knees. Then he swings you back up so you can regrasp the trapeze.

So on my second turn, I climbed the ladder again, feeling slightly more confident. I was so excited when the guy caught my wrists, we swung out, and then I turned and grabbed the trapeze again. I haven't felt that sensation in years. It brought back all those years of gymnastics training. They invited me to perform in that night's show after my second turn. (Guests who are good at it perform in the shows some nights.) I had to turn them down since it was past Bryson's bedtime, but it felt really good to be asked.

It was such a great weekend and so great to see Dad and Judy. They had a great time with Bryson and he had a great time with them. We miss them already.

31 weeks

Well, Bryson is now 31 weeks old and into everything. I thought we'd get at least a month of him just crawling. Instead he's decided that he MUST pull up and try to stand on everything. You'll notice he's sporting a nice colorful forehead bruise to prove it in this week's photo.

We decided it was time to lower the crib even though he only sleeps in it from 8 pm - 11 pm each night and for some naps. The rest of the night he's in the pack-n-play next to my side of the bed. Sometimes we get lucky and he'll sleep past 5 am in the pack-n-play, but many nights it's closer to 3 or 4 am when he wakes up. Of course, I do get him back to sleep, but it would be SO nice to get a full night's sleep. I know other babies wake up much more often, so I guess I'm lucky in that way. One day he will sleep thorough the night, right?

 There's nothing else big to report this week. I just took some photos with the "big camera" while he was playing.

Yeah, we need to pull some weeds from the front yard. It's been a little neglected for the last seven months.

Oh and a video.......

Workin' for the weekend

I missed a couple of weeks, but we've been trying to have a little fun on our weekends. Bryson is now 29 weeks-old - almost seven months.

Here's the 28 week photo since I skipped last week......

Last weekend we went to Sanibel to hang out on the beach for a bit. Bryson loved being in the water. He wanted to splash. a lot.

Last Friday was his six-month appointment at the doctor's office. He weighed 18 lbs. 7.5 oz and measured 26.5 inches tall. He is very healthy! He's so squirmy now that I couldn't get a decent picture of him on the table. We pretty much have to change his diaper on the floor because he won't hold still for ANYTHING.

He's eating quite well and actually getting a little in his mouth by himself. He seems to really like frozen avocado and bananas the best. He also likes butternut squash, sweet potato and green beans. He's not too sure about broccoli yet.....

This is him eating his avocado and carrots. He still gets a little frustrated, but he keeps on trying. Darn slippery avocado.



We also made a visit to Scott's parents' pool, which has become a weekly thing for Scott and Bryson. I was lucky enough to make it this time.

 

And he's really on the move now. He loves throwing or pushing his balls around then chasing them down. Just the other day he also went from crawling to sitting for the first time. He's also starting to pull up to standing on the couch and up onto us. We're in trouble.....

27 weeks

27 weeks. What more can I say?

He's sitting up reliably, though I still put a pillow behind him in case he flies backward in a fit of excitement. He is also coming along on the crawling and will chase his ball from the living room into his bedroom or the dining room.

As for sleeping- we tried to get him to sleep more in his crib overnight, but instead he woke up every two hours. So I happily moved him back into the pack-n-play when I go to bed and he's sleeping for longer stretches again from about 11pm-4:30 am. We're all happier when we get more sleep, so we'll try the crib again next month. He sleeps in the crib from 8 pm - 11pm and that's enough for now.

He's enjoying hitting and drumming on things now. He's also trying to throw his balls to Scott and me. And he loved playing with this box.......

Starting solid food

Last week Bryson turned six months old. It's so hard to believe. He's getting around pretty good.

Just today he crawled off his blanket in the living room around the corner into the dining room chasing one of his favorite balls. I guess it's about time to childproof and actually clean the floors regularly. 

We also started letting him play with a little food. We're trying baby-led weaning where they feed themselves from the beginning. The motto is "Food before one is just for fun." I think it's going pretty well. Although I did feed him a pouch of purple fruits I got for free as a sample. 

We started with sweet potatoes, asparagus, avocado and banana. I think he loves the feel of the sweet potatoes between his fingers. He squishes them around and then sucks a little off his fingers.

Scott's mom also started watching Bryson on Wednesdays and Thursdays so I can work during the day.  Last week his cousins Faith and Carter came over to play too.

Yesterday I ended up getting some cute shots of him. I had him dressed in one of his tie onesies that my friends made at my baby shower. I sat him in the laundry tub while I was starting a load. It was really cute, so I decided to get a few shots.

25 weeks and almost crawling

Well our baby is about to be really mobile. He's so close to crawling. He can get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth, but he hasn't quite gotten the rhythm of crawling yet.

But he can scoot all over the place, so I have to watch him much more closely now.

He's been sitting since we went on vacation, but now he rarely falls backwards. He's definitely getting the hang of it.





And here's a video of him "swimming" at nanny's house.....




And here's a video of him just being cute......

Getting back to blogging.....

I kinda fell off the blogging for a few weeks. It got pretty busy around here between work, packing for our vacation and then taking our vacation and unpacking from vacation.

So without further ado, here's the weekly photos I missed posting......

And now for the vacation.

We thought that a mountain trip would be perfect for Bryson's first vacation. We decided on Asheville because we hadn't been there in several years since our first vacation together in 2006.

But first we stopped in Raleigh for a few nights to spend time with Dad and Judy. We got there July 4th and watched fireworks across the pasture behind there house and in their neighborhood while Bryson slept.

On July 5th, we went to the town of Garner's celebration, which had been postponed from the third of July. We hung out with the family until Bryson's bedtime, 8 pm, so no fireworks show for him this year.

On Saturday, Dad and Judy had a cookout and invited the family and Robert and Amanda and the kids. It was a fun afternoon of relaxing wrangling children and visiting with everyone.

Amanda and Robert's daughter, Mattie Jane

Amanda, Scott, Bryson and Robert

my cousin Leslie's son Finn

Mattie and Evan

On Sunday morning, we went to Pullen Park. It was my favorite place to go as a young child, and it was recently renovated. So we wanted to take Bryson. It was a perfect place for his first time in a big boy swing.

And for his first ride on a carousel. It was probably a little fast for him. But he did like the shiny brass poles on his giraffe.

On Monday we headed to Asheville to stay in our rental cabin for the week.

Of course we stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way. Bryson reeeeealllly wanted Scott's coke.

On Tuesday we went to Chimney Rock and climbed hundreds of stairs to the top. The view was almost worth it. Our calves were burning for the rest of the week, so this is something we'll probably never do again. It was a little expensive considering the waterfall trail was blocked because of a rock slide.

Lake Lure from Chimney Rock

After Chimney Rock, we stopped in downtown Asheville for lunch, then went back to the cabin for Bryson's nap time. That night we attempted to go to Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway for sunset. It was one of our favorite places from our 2006 trip to the area. But sadly a foggy, cloudy rainstorm made it impossible.

Craggy Gardens, 2006

We returned on Wednesday morning when the weather was a little better.

Craggy Gardens, 2013 - my how times have changed

It was a fun short hike, and Bryson really liked it after we stopped along the trail to feed him.

On Wednesday night we had dinner with Scott's cousin, Amy and her lovely wife Kiana at Sunny Point Cafe. It was soooooo good. Seriously, Asheville has the best food. It was like being in California, only cheaper. Every meal was great. 

Speaking of great meals........Amy and Kiana recommended a new breakfast place in West Asheville called Biscuit Head. Y'all, this was the best place! Scott said this was the best biscuit sandwich he had ever eaten. And he's not one to gush about food. Their website slogan is "Put Some South in Your Mouth." They had multiple flavors of butters - blueberry bacon butter, honey almond butter, etc. - and oh the jams. I had mulberry molasses and peach marmalade and bananas foster jam. I would eat there every day if I lived there.

They even had gluten-free biscuits that were so good. This is my plate with the bacon of the day - strawberry balsamic bacon. They also had a whole board of gravies to choose from. And the grits were heavenly.

Ok, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. We got our food to go because we were planning another hike, but the weather didn't look good, so we just walked around downtown Asheville for a couple of hours.

Dad was coming to visit that afternoon, too, so we just went back to the cabin to wait for him. That night we drove over to Lake Lure to check out the house that dad's business partner rented for his family vacation. This is the view......

On our last full day, Friday, we hiked the Rattlesnake Lodge trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It featured the ruins of an old lodge. We couldn't find all the structures, but here's Scott carrying Bryson by one of the old retaining walls.

Bryson really loved the creek at the end.

On Saturday, we stopped at Grandma's for lunch in South Carolina, then headed home. Bryson did great on the trip home. He mostly slept the whole way.