Ready for the runway

Brady has his first professional extended photo shoot today @ Portrait Innovations. What fun! Despite having a cold (and his runny nose showed up in some of the close-ups!), Brady did great for the hour it took to capture 75 photos and the next hour it took deciding on the ones we liked and having them printed while we waited. The package even included a CD of the photos so I didn't have to "scan" them in. haha! Here's a few:

Family picture

Brett donated to the Ashburn Volunteer Fire Department this year and we received a coupon for a free 10x13 portrait. We went to the fire dept. on June 8 and the photographer took a few shots. Brady was a little ham and smiled easily for her. We returned to pick up the pictures yesterday. We were suckered, but only slightly. They already had our free 10x13 printed along with a few others. But the others were $35/sheet. eesh! We bought just one other sheet, figuring right now this is our only family portrait. But I am scheduling a 6-month photo shoot for Brady this weekend at Portrait Innovations after many friends recommended them. Sorry for the blurriness...we have a ghetto scanner (translation: we do not have a scanner...so I literally took a picture of the picture). :p

Now THIS is how I roll...

Brady got some new wheels today. Well, actually I found this too cool Jeep Renegade walker in April when the Thaivalappils and I were at their community yard sale. How could I pass this thing up?! It was $10 and it is so freakin' cute! Anyway, so we finally brought it out today and Brady took his new ride out for a spin. It's hysterical because being that it's a walker, it's really like the Flintstones' car. Brady wasn't sure about it at first and we had to help him, but he's getting the hang of it and I suspect it will be another of his favorite toys. I can tell you it's one of mine because he looks so cute "driving" it!

Taking it for a test drive:

Road rage already!

Cruising...

At the pool

Well Brady's already had an indoor pool experience, but today he had his first outdoor pool experience. :) We got him an inflatable baby pool and he had his own little oasis right in our front yard. I'm sure we'll be getting lots of use out of it this summer!

Party Animals

On Saturday night we had two parties to go to. Yup, it was a rocking social evening for the Luhrings! In honor of the start of summer, Brady wore his first Hawaiian shirt and khakis. :)

Brady's daycare provider hosted her annual "Meet the Parents" party. Miss Omayma had all the parents over for dinner while her daughters (who Brady and I both love!) babysat for us downstairs (where the kids usually are during the day). It was really fun to #1 see the upstairs of the house (lol!) and #2 get to know Brady's little friends' parents. I know most of them on a sort of "hi/bye" basis as I see them when I drop off and pick up Brady. But Brett had never met them, or any of their kids. It was really fun talking with them and then also introducing Brett to Brady's "classmates" that I tell him about. I'm chalking this up as our first "babysitting experience." This was a good transition...Brady was somewhere that he is very familiar with (and they have all his stuff- diapers, wipes, clothes, blanket, a crib and toys, etc.) with people he is very familiar with and loves...and we were right upstairs- it worked for us all! :) Brady was again a good boy for them. He was actually napping most of the 2 hours we spent there. I had to wake him up so that we could get to the Kalb's Desi Hokie/First Day of Summer party. We had a great time there too! Brady finally got to meet his Auntie Sonal and Uncle Neil...and just in time. We arrived as they were leaving. But it was great to see them, even if it was only for a short bit! Weekend party animal Brady was up way past his bedtime again, but we figured he's just had an unusual nap and we again wanted to make an exception so that he could visit with his aunties and uncles. He just missed seeing his girlfriend Kadyn, as she was with her grandparents, spending her first night away from her parents. (Hope you enjoyed sleeping in today Basil and Soma!!!) :) It was really nice being at the Kalbs and having all the (baby) comforts of home! Brady borrowed Kadyn's changing table, her rocking chair, and even her bed! Yes, Uncle Basil permitted a little boy to sleep in his daughter's bed...but only because she was not there and because he's only 6 months old. ;p Thanks again guys...we had a great time!

He's got ups

Now that he can touch the ground when he's in it and the fact that he Loves to jump and use his chubby little legs, Brady's really having fun in his Bumper Jumper these days:

6 months old

Happy Birthday Brady! A half a year old already?! How can it be that SIX months have gone by since little man was born?! Wow, what fun it's been...time's just flown by! It looks like he's catching flies in this picture, but it was the best one I could get as wiggle worm rocked on the glider chair (which made me nervous) and grabbed at the paper (which is why it is now behind Hippo's head).

As we've noted, Brady now sits up by himself. He grabs for whatever object is in front of him: toys, mail/paper, drinks (he especially likes cold glasses) and will usually lick it once he's gotten it within range. He is able to pick up his pacis (usually be raking, but sometimes from a bulky grasp) and put them in his mouth by himself. I read somewhere that at this age babies will pat their parents as a sign of affection. I'm not sure how they know that...but I like to think it's true. It's cute! Brady does this often to us and when I think that it's his way of telling us he loves us, it makes my heart smile. He has many conversations with us and often sighs happily. He has also found his voice and seems to like the sound of his high pitched squeals. Coming at him swinging my hair when it is down is guaranteed to elicit a smile and giggles (probably because I always have it back when I'm near him because he grabs on, pulls, and sometimes eats my hair). I refer to him as a "smile slob." He'll give a gummy grin to anyone who smiles at him. He's a pretty happy kid. It's funny how easily amused he is. One of his favorite things is for us to do "jazz hands" or "happy dance" with our hands above our heads and/or to make silly noises. (He still loves the Bing! Bong! noises and will still smile and laugh at them.) Sometimes doing the "raise the roof" motion and saying "woot woot!" is the only way I can get him to eat for me...yeah, Brady's dinner time is filled with goofy fun! :) So far he's tried avocado, sweet potato, and carrots (in addition to his rice and oatmeal). He doesn't seem to love vegetables...can't say I blame you on that one buddy! :p

We were at the doctor today for his six month wellness appointment. He had another booster of 4 shots in the leg and 1 oral vaccine. He handled them like a champ! He cried for about 30 seconds as they administered the shots. Once I picked him up off the table, he stopped. For the first time, he didn't even need the bottle I had brought along! Although, it does seem to have worn him out...he's been passed out for over an hour already (see his little Charlie Brown band-aids? sweet little boy!):

Weight: 16 lbs. 5 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 27 inches (75th percentile)

Happy Father's Day

Don't they look so cute in their hats?

I love how Brady's little balled up fist is resting on Brett's shoulder. :)

We let Daddy sleep in this morning. He needed to after driving home from Richmond last night while Brady and I snoozed. We didn't get home until almost 1 AM! Brady and I got up and made Daddy a smoothie for "1st breakfast" (since we knew we'd be going out to eat later on). Brady had fun looking at and smelling the colorful fruit. But for the first time, I saw the little man get scared today. The sound of the blender frightened him. :( We put all the fruit in to it and I said, "Okay buddy here we go." and pushed the button. He startled at the noise and his little bottom lip came out in a frown and he began to cry. Aww, so sweet! He calmed down almost immediately when I stopped the blender and assured him it was okay. Poor little man...that blender is scary!

Then Brady gave Daddy presents...an iTunes gift card and an iHome alarm clock/docking station for his iPod. Not that he really needs an alarm clock...Brady makes sure we know when it's light outside and time to wake up! ;p He also gave Daddy a tie...it's an obligatory Father's Day gift (and he needs more anyway).
Then we went to IHOP so Daddy could have his fav ham and cheese melt sandwich. It seems that today is all about "I" ha ha! iTunes, iHome, I-HOP. :) Brady slept through our entire wait time and then woke when we were seated (go figure!). He enjoyed sitting on our laps, banging on the table, and playing silly games with Daddy while we waited for our food. He then played nicely in his car seat while we ate. He began to melt down a little bit as we were finishing up...but that worked out anyway because we were ready to go.
We spent a few hours at Hillsborough Vineyards hanging out with Sharon, Stephen, and Eli. Some of these pictures were taken with Sharon's crazy expensive work camera (you can totally tell which ones!) Seeing these pictures compared to the ones taken with our digital camera, have me sold on the SLR (maybe not the super expensive professional version Sharon had, but definitely an SLR- wow! The quality is amazing!).

It was a really warm sunny day. Eli and Brady sought shade in his little tent. Eli kindly handed Brady his toys (one of which was one of her hand-me-downs that he loves!) to play with. Later on, I played toss "puppy Amy" with Eli and Brett played toss Brady. eesh! Even Sharon's SLR didn' t get the in-the-air shots before I just had to put the kabosh on that high-flying game in the hot sun after Daddy had a few glasses of wine. ;p After the winery, we wrapped up the inaugural Father's Day at Bonefish Grill so Daddy could get his bang bang shrimp. Eli slept all through dinner again (so sweet!). Brady sat with us and needed to be held during dinner. Thankfully Brett and I had a third set of loving arms as Sharon strolled around with him so we could enjoy some of our hot meals. :)
Happy 1st Father's Day Daddy!!!

Team Oreo Gen 2

The next generation of Team Oreo met today. Team Oreo is the self-titled name for Brett and Vik when they are playing in their Hokie Invitational golf tournament against Team Brownie (Satish and Sonny). Team Oreo's strategy is to introduce the boys early (Eashan's barely 2 weeks old!) in order to forge the bond necessary for success on the links. They've got to get a jump on Team Brownie because Uncle Sonny has a strategy of his own. 1.5 year old Avi already has his own set of clubs (or "cubs" as he calls them). Brett hasn't seen Avi in action yet, but he's pretty confident Avi is already better than his "Snowman" Daddy. ;p

Brady's already got the hang of the 9th hole beverage pit stop the crew has been known to make:

Meeting his new bud Eashan was definitely the highlight of visiting the Abrahams, but Brady also got to meet Calley Bean dog. Calley is patient and sweet and let Brady pet her. We don't allow Brady to pet Romey because we have no doubt that he will pull Romey's hair, like he does to me all the time. Romey's reflex will be to nip though and we don't want that! 17 year old Sandy just doesn't want to be bothered by anyone, least of all a curious baby. :)

Funny daddy bit: Uncle Vik was telling us how he keeps calling the pediatrician the "vet" ha ha! (probably because he's been Calley's daddy for 10 years now). He'd say things like, "Well the vet says we should try to burp Eashan like this." and we were all laughing and saying, "uh, well maybe that's part of the problem. You should listen to your pediatrician, not your vet's advice about your son."

We were having too much fun with the Abrahams and consequently arrived at Avi's house late. Although Avi was all ready for bed, he said a quick hello and good night to his bud Brady.
Brady actually has the same bedtime as Avi, but with all the excitement we let him enjoy the visit with his aunties and uncles in his jammies.

Quote of the day-
Auntie Monica as she is holding Brady and looking at him: "Brady is just so so so cute...he doesn't look like Brett at all!" (She said this all in one breath like one continuous sentence and it made us all lol!)

Doing the Daddy work, part 2

Surprise #2 Brett! This time I didn't actually do the Daddy work, but I did pay someone to do it for Daddy. Brett's the one who cleans our cars. When he first got his car about 2.5 years ago, he used to clean it inside and out regularly. These days he just doesn't have the time to keep up with it. So Brady and I took care of that today. (You didn't really misplace your keys this morning Brett. I hid them so you'd be forced to take my car and Brady and I could execute our second surprise.) Brady missed all the excitement, as he napped the entire time. But here's one less thing Daddy has to do...he can just relax!

Speaking of daycare...

Miss Omayma just sent me a few pictures taken this week...so fun to have pictures of little man @ school!

On Tuesday playing with a toy.
On Wednesday as we were headed out
for our "vitamin D (1/4 mile) walk" home.
On Thursday with the "next youngest" kids @ daycare. (Brady is the youngest.) Landon, who is almost 1 and Isabella, who just turned 1. Brady is sitting in the Bumbo seat.

Doing the Daddy work

Surprise Brett! Father's Day weekend is here and to kick it off...you get a free pass on mowing the lawn! :) Our lawn was looking pretty shaggy and Brett gets home from work late these days and does not have enough time to mow during the week. Also, we are off to Richmond tomorrow to meet Brady's new bud, Eashan (YAY!) and it's supposed to rain anyway...so he couldn't have done it tomorrow. He certainly couldn't do it on Sunday...his first Father's Day should be spent relaxing with his family and friends. (We're planning to go to Hillsborough Winery with the Verebs if anyone else is interested in joining us! We wanted to do that for Mother's Day, but the weather was not cooperative.) So I decided to mow for him. Brady went to daycare for a shortened day today. He usually does not go on Fridays because I'm home with him, but we pay for the whole week anyway. His daycare does have a part time option, but when we signed up, Brett said for the extra $20 we should just pay for the whole week just in case things come up and I needed help on Friday. This has come in handy so far for doctor's appointments and today, to accomplish the arduous task of mowing about 150 gallons of grass. ha ha! That sounds funny, but I estimate that to be how much I cut today because I had to bag it (the least "fun" part about mowing) and I had about three 50 gallon bags of clippings. Then I mulched the beds that Brett had not gotten to yet. ugh! A true act of love because those bags are heavy and I don't like the smell of mulch. What can I say, I'm an act-of-service gal...it's how I show my love. I do love you Brett! See evidence above. :) Sorry about the lack of edging...you know I still don't know how to use the weed whacker yet!

Daycare has indeed turned out to be a blessing. Soma had helped to calm my concerns about Brady going to daycare when she shared with me that Kadyn's daycare experience had been pleasant and that her caregivers were able to do some things for her that Mom and Dad had been unable to. I've had this realization this week too. First off, he's always napped better for them ( > 1 hour) than he does for me ( < 30 minutes). But this week I notice that he's eating better for them too. They asked me to pack more oatmeal for him because he "eats it right up and looks for more." Yet, when I try to give him dinner he wails and wants out of the high chair. I was thinking, maybe he's just a breakfast person and not a fan of dinner just yet? But then today I planned to give him breakfast and then bring him to "school." Well, he wouldn't eat for me and preferred to get out of his chair, sit nice, and play. So I took the oatmeal to school and asked to watch them feed him. Wouldn't you know it? He sat there like a little guppy with his mouth wide open welcoming the spoon and kept eating until it was all gone. Go figure!

Okay, well I'm off to pick Brady up now and we have another act of service that we can do together for Daddy this afternoon. We'll update then...hopefully Daddy has access to the blog at work today so he can see his mini surprises and know how much he is loved.

Sitting Pretty Handsome

Brady sat all by himself unassisted today! I put pillows behind him just in case he went "Timber!" (which he did every now and then). But this is the first time he's balanced all by himself. It is cracking us up to see our little man sitting there solo just hanging out. He had fun watching Sandy, reading his favorite book to his Learning Puppy, and proudly showing me his drool:

Tonight we also gave Brady a little bit of water for the first time...and he drank it out of a real cup. We don't have any pictures of it, but both Mommy and Daddy were laughing watching him. He looked and sounded like a puppy drinking as he lapped up the water with his tongue. He seemed to be like Mommy and likes water. :)

Holy Guacamole

Brady's been enjoying his rice cereal and oatmeal supplements to his milk for the past month or so. This weekend we decided to try avocado. This is his first "real" adult food. In order to make the transition, we mixed his avocado with a little of his milk and baby guacamole was served with lunch! He's a good little eater and did very well and took what we offered him. But I'm not sure he loved it.

For familiarity, we gave him an oatmeal chaser. But at that point he was a little tired of being in the highchair, and I think tired in general. He kept sucking on his fingers and then rubbing his eyes. The third picture in this series is the end result of these combined acts:

Oh, and here's some cute captured moments of Big B and little b while we were out running errands. Brady needed a diaper change so we folded our front seat down (a feature of the Torrent we really like!) to make a changing table. Afterwards I was packing things back up and looked up to see Brady and Brett talking to each other.

Like Father, Like Son

As I was packing Brady's bag for daycare this morning, Brady sat with Daddy while he checked his emails. I asked them both to look up and laughed out loud at the picture that came out of it:
It's really muggy here today and Brady is sporting his first summer tank top look. He's wearing the outfit his girlfriend Kadyn gave to him. Thanks KK!

So Sweet

Exhausted after a day of church, IHOP, and errands...