Sweeter Every Day

In case you have not figured out by now, I'm a little biased and just a little obsessed with my son.  He is precious and if it's even possible, he grows sweeter and more fun every day.  All of that said, yes I will continue to freak out about how fast his life is going by and how it is so very sweet and at the same time sad that he's growing up.  Now, with all of that out of the way...Brody is three months...yes, that's right...three months.  Seriously, where does the time go?!  Brody's last month was a good one with several milestones.  He is still on a three hour schedule...remember?  Eat, play & sleep.  Brody is still awake for such short ammounts of time, we have to soak up every stinkin' second he's awake (although, who doesn't LOVE a precious, sleeping baby?)  Brody is still only awake for about an hour (inclulding feeding) and then will take a two hour nap.  Yes, my son sleeps for 10 hours a day!  No, not every nap is perfect and not every nap is always two full hours, but it is pretty dang close.  His naps are taken either in his crib (currently only the first nap of the day), on his tummy on a blanket on the floor (most of his naps), or on mommy or daddy's chest (like I said, who doesn't love a sleeping baby?).  So, you might think with all that sleeping going on during the day that might effect his night time sleep, but somehow (mommy's genes?) Brody is a serious rock star when it comes to sleeping at night too.  He sleeps from 10:30-7:00 without a peep in between.

Brody is getting better at (and enjoying) tummy time and therefore can sit up better on his own.  We did try the bumbo for the first time and we're not quite ready for it yet, but will be soon.  He is smiling a lot more, which is sometimes just in response to us smiling.  And he actually laughed for the first time!  I think it just might be the cutest laugh e-ver.  He's been to his first Insula (our Sunday School class' name) playgroup, been out to lunch with mommy and her friends for Mrs. Sarah's birthday, had family outings with mommy and daddy, went to the nursery for the first time, been to his first birthday party (Happy Birthday to cousin Jordan), and "experienced" his first Halloween.  Man, this little bit has been busy in month two.  It's fun to see him become more aware of his surrounding and more responsive.  He currently loves "his" song...mommy & daddy singing Brody Bear to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat...yes, we do sing it in a-round.  He also likes Baby Baluga (he pretty much has to like this song since he is part Tallman) and patty cake.  His favorite "Buddy" is still the fan, but he does still also like the knob on his dresser.  We're trying to get him to "play" more with his actual toys, but he still often cranes his neck around the toys hanging from his play mat in order to see the fan.  What can you do?  He's a man who knows what he likes.  And speaking of things he likes...his hands in his mouth.  He loves to suck on his hands and has totally begun to drool.  He has several knicknames which include, Little Man, Brody Bear, Little Bear, Brod, Brodymeister and I often refer to him as Mommy's Sweet Boy, My Little Love and My Little Hot Potato (because of his body temperatue).  We have no stats (weight or height) from month three since there is no wellness exam and we don't own a scale, but he seems to be growing from the workout he is giving my arms.  He is currently wearing size 2 diapers and anywhere from 3-6 months in the clothes department.  Brody is our sweet miracle, angel baby and we love him dearly.



Chillin' with mom after we got back from Dallas.  It sure is quiet,
but I miss those fun Wilson girls!  Can we Face Time please?

 

I'm a scootcher...haven't mastered staying on the
blanket.

I'm not sure exactly what's going on here, but I have a feeling
I'm not going to like it.

 

Our brave boy after his two month shots.

He slept a lot afterwards.  Do you see his little bandage?

It didn't take me long before I was back to my
normal, happy self.

 

Like father, like son.  Afternoons in the Kraus house.

I still have E.T. face every once in a while.

Yeah, I'm a rock star.

 

Yea!  Mommy doesn't have to be sad anymore...
I stay where I'm put (for the most part).



Gotta enjoy it while we can.

Our sleeping angel.



Showing off his love for staring at the fan and sucking on his hand.



All clean.


 

So sweet in the morning.



Yes, supposedly I see debt people.

Grandad is already teaching me to be
financially responsible.

Using the Baby Bjorn for the first time.

Jordan LOVES his cousin.

Cutest profile e-ver.

Granna and Grandad with their two grandsons.

He found a "Buddy" at Aunt Catherine and Uncle Gary's house.

Happy Birthday, Jordan.



Family pic...how cute are my two boys?!

 

Brothers with their boys.  Best picture out of A LOT. 
Going to be hard to capture these four together! 

The par-tay was a hit!



Brody in his Halloween "costume" thanks to a care
package from Mrs. Johnson.  He was a baby dinosaur.
 

               

The socks were the best part!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Fun

For some reason this year, I've been mourning our warm climate and wishing it felt like fall, looked like fall and smelled like fall.  This probably seems funny coming from a girl that spent most of her life in equator like temps year round.  Maybe they don't make sense, but I've given it a lot of thought and here are my reasons why...1.  Because I'm not stuck in a flourescent box and can be out to enjoy the weather 2.  Because I want Brody to experince a change in weather (poor little thing is a little heater and it doesn't help his cause that it's still in the high 80s/low 90s) and 3.  Just because I do (which is the most reasonable reason of all).   SO in an attempt at tricking myself into thinking it's fall, a few weeks ago we went to fall festival/pumpkin patch, carved a pumpkin and made toasted pumpkin seeds.  Now that it's NOVEMBER, here's hoping for some cooler weather!

Brody was SO excited about the pumpkins...
can't you tell?

Jordan was arranging the pumpkins to his liking.  And just
in case you were wondering...no, there were no pumpkins
too heavy for him to pick up.

Brody LITERALLY slept his way through ALL of it!

My sad little "B" didn't quite turn out like I had hoped,
but you get the point. 

Greg liked the taste, I liked the look.
 

   

God Is My Foundation

"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." Psalm 127:1

Brody was dedicated last Sunday and the spiritual meaning of his name is "God is My Foundation" and Psalm 127:1 is the verse the pastor picked especially for Brody that goes with the meaning. If you remember way back when (before I could officially commit to naming Brody "Brody") I felt a lot of pressure in coming up with a name that "fit" our little man. I cared about the meaning of the name too. Greg on the other hand didn't so much care about the meaning, but just wanted a good name. He told me that we could just use the meaning that the church would use when we dedicated him. Brody means Scottish castle which isn't a bad meaning, but it also isn't in any way super meaningful to us. So, I like that they used his meaning (castle=building), but made it spiritual. Brody's middle name is James which is special to us (particularly me) because it is my Dad's name. It means "follow". Now that I have Brody, I've never been more aware or concerned about someone coming to know the Lord. I know as a Christian, I should share God's love with everyone, but now with Brody it is this burning need for him to know and have a real relationship with Christ. I am joyful that I have a Christian husband to make a commitment with to be parents that will pray for our child(ren) and try our best (with God's grace) to train him to be a Godly man. So, Brody my prayer for you my sweet boy is that you will know the Lord as your savior, that he would be your foundation and that you would follow him all the days of your life.

Little man looked extra cute on the day of his dedication
in his little church clothes.

During the dedication service.

We really did pay attention to the service and take it seriously, but Brody is SO 
cute he's a little distracting.

Loving Every Minute

Brody is two months old! There are several things that I want to remember from this past month, so here it is.

Eating: Brody is down to six feeding a day now that we've dropped the middle of the night feeding. He eats pretty fast and it usually only takes him from 15-20 minutes total to eat. I would be concerned about this except he's growing like crazy! After he eats, he's awake about 30-40 minutes (about an hour total) and then he's usually ready for his two hour nap.

Sleeping: Brody is sleeping through the night! Well, most nights. Brody still loves his sleep and has started to do it for stretches of 7-8 hours at night which is awesome! He had gone down to one feeding at night and then he just started going until the morning. Not only is he sleeping at night, but during the day too. He takes several two hour naps (one after each feeding) everyday. Brody has outgrown his rock n' play, so he now takes his naps on his tummy on the floor or on my chest. This momma who loves sleep is lovin' that her son loves it too!

Awake Time: Since we have very limited time with Brody when he's awake and not eating we have to make the most of it. We frequently face time with Nana & Poppy, Aunt Audra, and Aunt Sarah. He's the most smiley and talkative after his ten o'clock feeding, so we often face time in the morning. I say "the most" smiley because he's pretty much happy all day long. I know I might be jinxing myself, but Brody really doesn't have a bad time of day. Just a "good", "better", and "best" kind of thing. I guess this is easy to accomplish since he sleeps most of the day! : ) Greg thinks it's silly but I like to read to Brody. I think he likes looking at the pictures. We also take short walks or sit on the back porch or do bath time. I try laying him under his play mat to try to get him to "play" with his toys, but all he does is crane his head to look at the fan which I think might be his favorite thing in the whole world. He also loves looking at the knobs on his dresser and a big sign we have in our game room that has a big "K" on it.

Brody has his two month visit with Dr. B.  He is seriously growing like a weed.  He weighed 13 lbs. (75th percentile) and is measuring 24 and 3/4 inches (93rd) percentile. He got his two month shots.  I was nervous about it, but he took it like a man and only cried for a mintue and I survived so I consider it a win. 

Highlights

• Brody started smiling and cooing
• His first time to church 
• His first road trip
• This text from my sister, "Kennedy is in bed singing to herself before she falls asleep.  I heard her over the monitor...can't really make out anything else but I just heard the words 'baby Brody"
• Tummy time and falling asleep on his tummy

 

Big yawns and stretches in the morning

 

His big boy bath tub...looks like he's contemplating
how to solve the problem of world peace.

 

 

 

A few of the last pics I have of him sleeping in his
rock n' play.

 

All ready for church!

Church was fun, but I think I'm ready for my nap now
(even though I slept the whole time I was there).

Tummy time (a rare picture of him actually enjoying it).

  

 

 

My friend Katy gave me this onesie when I was newly pregnant...
and he was TOTALLY worth the wait.

Even his yawns are cute!

Love, love, love this face!!!

 

 

 

First time Brody feel asleep on his tummy.  This picture was
taken after several minutes of hating and crying his way
through tummy time.

 

This was his concerned face when we got stuck
in Dallas traffic.

Little B Goes To The Big D

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Marc were able to meet baby Brody in his first few days of life, but big girl cousins Maren and Kennedy had not had the chance to meet him yet. So, Greg decided a road trip to Dallas would be a good idea. Brody would be able to meet his cousins and we could do a "trial" road trip to prepare for our BIG road trip to Pensacola for Thanksgiving. Brody was his typical angel baby self and slept most of the way. We stopped one time for a diaper change and to feed Brody. He didn't particularly care for Big D's traffic, but even then he was only a little fussy. When we arrived in Dallas, Brody was greeted with all kinds of love, hugs and kisses. And he pretty much got that kind of treatment all weekend long. We didn't do a whole lot, but I loved just getting to hang out with my precious little nieces and sweet sister and let the Wilsons love on little man. We did get out of the house to go to In-N-Out Burger per Greg's request since he'd never eaten at one before. All our other delicious meals were eaten at home (thanks to the wonderful Wilson chefs). Thank you, Wilson Family for your hospitality and for being so sweet to Brody.

 

 

Paparazzi?

Kennedy had just hurt herself...hence the look.

Always one sweet...

And one silly.

Aunt Sarah couldn't get enough.

 

Sweet Uncle Greg reading Silverlicious...love it!

 

The whole Wilson Clan plus baby Brody.

Sweet Baby Gray

My amazing little sister has welcomed my new precious nephew into the world. Grayson Patrick Garlich was born at 1:28 am on Thursday, October 4, 2012. He was 8 lbs. 4 oz., 20.25 inches. This makes two boys for the Tallman side. My parents have doubled their number of grandchildren in two months! Brody can't wait to meet his future partner in crime! Welcome to the world, Grayson. We're so thankful you're here!