Hu-MUM-gus!

Look at the size of these giant mums Home Depot had! Brady had fun using all his senses while strolling through the landscaping department. The fall florals were so colorful to look at....and some smelled pretty. He touched (pulled and patted) Everything as he listened to me describing the plants. He even managed to taste a mum after this picture was taken. I went to pick him up and find the entire head of one of the little yellow flowers in his mouth with drool running out of it. Yes, our visit to Home Depot was a fully sensory experience. ;p

Crunchy Granola

The Crocs were the first shout-out to Brady's Colorado peeps (Grandma, Grandpa, and all the aunts, uncles, and cousins). Today he modeled another Colorado fashion trend- baby Birkenstocks. They are a little small, so he didn't wear them long. But I had to get a picture of our little crunchy granola. I would have coupled socks with his baby Birks for added authenticity, but this last September weekend is really humid and warm.

What a Croc!

I had forgotten that Becky sent Brady these baby Crocs when he was born. I already had them in our partially-packed-for-vacation suitcase. But today we busted them out. I'm not sure how much longer he'll be able to fit them, but I'm putting them on him as much as I can because they are some of the cutest little shoes I've ever seen!

Here's a picture of Brady's Crocs next to Brett's to get some perspective of how cute these little thing really are:

His bark is worse than his bite

I finally gave Brady a "Biter Biscuit" for the first time today. I was concerned that he wasn't ready for them because he only had his bottom two teeth. But with the top two pushing through and his need to bite everything because of this, I decided today was as good a day as any other for him to try one. He seemed to like it. I've been trying to have him only eat in his high chair both for safety purposes and for manners practice. But today I gave him the biscuit while he was just sort of standing around playing in the family room. (You'll note in the video that Brett is having his lunch on the couch...so table manners is something we're working on as a family. :) Brett and I rarely eat at the kitchen table- usually we eat at the island or in front of the tv. I'm planning on changing this behavior when we eat as a family. We'll see how that goes.) :p

So given that Brady stands just 28 inches from the floor and that he was in the middle of the family room waving food around, it was actually Romey's behavior during this new experience that impressed us. He was really good as Brady unknowingly teased him as he pantomimed dipping his biscuit in the air and offered to share with his furry brother (but then changed his mind and retracted his offer) repeatedly.

Needless to say, biscuit biting is messy. I had to change him out of his cool fall look (Riley's RL Polo shirt and shorts) so I could soak the shirt. The little dude eating may not be fun from the laundry task lead's perspective, but I have a feeling Romey is seeing great potential in this new development!

Good morning sweet pea

These sweet sleepy shiny bright eyes, this drooling smile, and curious face was what was crawling towards me this morning. I just had to capture my little man in these moments.

Pajama Party

Today Brady stayed in his jammies all day. Partly because it's FavDay and we can do whatever we want! Partly because it's sort of cold and rainy. Partly because we are both sick (and he's teething). And partly because I love baby pjs. Oh, and I REALLY love footie pajamas! I have since I was little. My brother, sister, and I all wore them and would slide down the stairs and across the floor with them. They are the best! These too-cute ones are from our Joshua/Sawyer collection. Stripes are just adorable anyway...then you add footies....and then you add a diaper flap and it sends me over the top! Can it get any cuter??? I don't think so.

This is a snapshot of our world these days. Here's Brady standing at his bookshelf. I've deterred him from pulling on the dirty doorstop that he loves to "dooooiiiiiiing" these days by sitting in front of it. He standing there and notices one of his humidifier/noise maker/fans. I say "ah ah ah" because I don't want him touching it. It's not on now but when it is, there are fan blades turning- little fingers and fans are not a good mix.

"Brady, ah ah ah! No, no no."

And here's the execution of the forbidden action and the very pleased with himself face about a second later.
What a goober!

Little Buckaroo

That's what this cute little rodeo outfit says- ha! This is another from our Riley collection and the Horse Robeez that Kelley gave us matched perfectly! Brady was too busy looking at things to walk over to to look at the camera this morning. :)
I took a few more Firehouse Dog shots this evening...I just love jammies now that he has them! Little man's top front teeth are trying to poke through and are accompanied by massive amounts of drool these past few days.

(Baby) Fashion Week Continues

My own version of Fashion Week (or Month with all the adorable clothes we now have to choose from!) is here! So indulge me as I continue to post pictures of Brady in all these cute little clothes. I'm having a little too much fun playing dress up! :)

For a while I was just putting Brady in a onesie and a sleepy sack for bedtime, so he didn't have many pajama sets. But Kelley outfitted him with a bunch of super fun jammies in addition to all the cool shoes! These little Firehouse Dog pjs were so cute that I had to take some pictures before bed tonight. Here's Brady's favorite way to play- banging two plastic toys (or in this case objects- his Elmo brush and a ball and then 2 balls) together. He does it All the time and Loves it!

Shoe Fetish

Yes Veronica, you are correct...the baby shoe fetish has begun! So where did I go yesterday to get Brady some more shoes? To Kelley's! :) Kelley is yet another of our awesome neighbors. She has four boys. I left her house yesterday with two giant bags full of clothes and shoes. Today Brady's sporting the puppy Robeez.

My dogs are barking!

These shoes are made for walkin'...

...but I'm not sure that's what he'll do! ;)
Yesterday when I picked Brady up from daycare he was standing in the grass with dirty socks. Ms. Adela let me know that he really needs shoes because he's no longer content to sit on the mat with her and watch the kids play. He crawls off the mat and pulls himself up on the toddler toys. So today we put shoes on him. He's not a fan of footwear. He appeared very confused on exactly how to maneuver (both walking and crawling) with these things on his feet. But aren't they the cutest little things? They and the stylin' broken-in jeans are on loan from Sawyer. :)

Country Kid

We went out to Bluemont, VA today and walked around a fair that was being held this weekend. The weather was perfect! Brady hitched a ride with Daddy in this cool little backpack I picked up at a consignment sale for $7.50- Score! One man commented on Brady's travel arrangement and asked Brett, "Is it now your turn to carry him around for 9 months like his mama did?" LOL!

Farm boy-
in his plaid shirt, jeans, khaki hat, and bare feet...love it!
The monkey on Daddy's backJust hanging out waiting for someone to pick me up.
Hmm, what's "chicken on a stick" Daddy?

Brady got to meet and pet this cute little pony named Oreo. She was so soft and so sweet! Her short stumpy legs and her round barrel chest made me just want to hug her. Her soft and squishy muzzle made Brady just want to shove his fingers up her nose...and he did!

Fall's coming

Let's Go Hokies!

It's a beautiful weekend! Fall's right around the corner and the crisp cooler weather is awesome! This is the last of Brady's "first" seasons. (A baby's life is all about "firsts" right?) He was born in winter and has now lived though winter, spring, and summer. His first fall begins on Monday.

We had lunch outside at a pizza place today. Brady was very interested in the fountain and kept reaching for it. He loves flowing water and squeals with delight when he's in the bathtub and the water is running or you pour water from a cup. The fountain was like a giant version of that...but he just couldn't get close enough to touch- bummer! :)

9 months old

Happy Birthday Brady! At 40 weeks, Brady's now been growing on the outside longer than he was on the inside. (He arrived 8 days early from his expected due date of December 28, 2007, at almost 39 weeks.) He looks quite proud of himself in this picture- haha! He has a lot to be proud of! He's right on target developmentally and continues to be curious about the world. He's now cruising on furniture and on the rungs on the banister upstairs.

He seems to be a little bored with his pureed baby food now and can be pretty fussy at mealtime. Adding texture (like rice or pasta) to the puree or supplementing with bread or Cheerios seems to help. Who doesn't like a bread basket with dinner though? :)

We think Brady's at the point that he wants to communicate, but is frustrated because he can't. He seems to be a bit more cranky (read: whiny) :) than he used to be. I've been using signs with him for a while now, but I'm not sure how much is really transferring. I think once he's able to express himself in some way that will help though. His receptive language is age appropriate. Lately he's heard a lot more "no, no, no" and "ah, ah, ah" sounds from us. He's beginning to understand that...and not always liking it. :)

Weight: 19 lbs. 7 oz. (30th percentile)
Height: 28.25 inches (70th percentile)

FavDay- Sept. 19

"B" is for bear, bike, ball, and Brady!

Isn't this outfit so cute? He looks like a little man. Courtney brought over two giant tubs of Joshua's clothes for Brady to borrow since it'll be a little while before Sawyer will need them. How awesome is that? Even though Brady is the oldest of the three next door buds (he is 6 weeks older than Riley and 7 months older than Sawyer), he's borrowing clothes from both of them. These clothes are TOO cute...and this is SO helpful! Thank you Courtney and Laura!!!

Brady had his 9 month wellness visit today...we'll post stats tomorrow. We spent an unusually long time at the doctor's office this time (90 minutes! eesh!). But Brady was a trooper- we entertained each other and he again took his vaccinations like a champ...barely a tear this time!

He was still a little wound up when we got home so we had a little lunch and then played a bit delaying his afternoon nap. He was having a blast though.

Seriously, did you really just have two shots in the legs
and one in the foot about 30 minutes ago?

This afternoon we took a long walk. The fall-like weather and the beautiful trails in our neighborhood made for a great time!

I love how his feet are crossed in these two, as if he's just Relaxing and Enjoying...which was exactly what we both were doing!

Can you see why spending the entire day together with my little man makes these days my FAV Days? There's nothing I'd rather do more!