A Night Out with Kids

We had dinner with friends tonight, well this evening. haha! How times have changed...we all agreed that a 5:30 meet time would be best so that we could eat dinner and then be home and in bed (both parents and kids) by 8:00. ;p Brady got to visit with his girls Kadyn and Maya and also got to meet his new bud Rayan. Brady wasn't too social at the dinner table and instead preferred to walk the mall and enjoy the club that was Abercrombie and Fitch (with its blaring bass-laden music and hardwood "dance" floor).

I think it's the blank background, but the picture on the right reminds me of a Gap commercial, or in this case, a baby Gap commercial.

I took some video of Brady walking because I find it adorable and want to remember his tot trot. I love watching his little legs hurrying along. So cute!

Lately Brady is enjoying the novelty of sitting in regular chairs (as opposed to a high chair) and without a booster seat (although he is using me as one in the first picture because I wanted to assess his "squirmy-ness" before allowing him to sit alone). Miss Adela at daycare informed me a few weeks ago that he had been shunning the high chair in favor of sitting at the table with the big kids. He's transferred this preference to the stools at our island at home and did it out at the Corner Bakery tonight. We found he ate better this way too- finished off his grilled cheese, had some fruit, and even sampled a pickle. :)

After dinner Brady shared the joy of mall-walking with Kadyn. He then tried to steal a beso (kiss) from her. Polite little lady that she is, she hestitated.

So he opted for a high five for Kadyn and a foot-fist bump for Maya.

Making Waves

Brady had his first "official" swimming class today. (His swim trunks have had prior use on vacation in Massanutten, our neighborhood pool, Mexico, cruising, and at the beach house.) It was precious time for Brett and Brady together. Brady is not shy about the water at all and walked right in.

With all the splish-splash fun (which included balls, ducks, noodles, and jumping), Brady was one happy little fishie!

Easter Egg

All by himself today Brady decided to make an Easter egg and display it for all to see...on his forehead. He tripped on the sidewalk while running. He put his hands out and caught himself a little bit, but his head still made contact with the cement. Ouch! :( Poor little man. His demeanor is fine though- as you can see from these pictures. Little monkey! I'm sure it will be a whole different shade tomorrow though. Ah, the wonders of homemade Easter eggs! :)

What's the big deal? What're you looking at?

I sip @ IHOP

While we were at IHOP for breakfast this morning, we found a new way to keep Brady entertained....sipping! He's never used a straw before, but did it with ease and seemed quite pleased when the water came up and landed in his mouth. The one thing we had to show him was not to tip the cup. I guess he's just too sippy-cup trained.

He kept making these crazy happy grinning faces, clutching his fists, and shaking with excitement. It was very funny so Brett kept encouraging it.

Little Bear and Big Red Ball

We went to Target today and Brady was all about the giant red balls that line the front of the store. It was very funny. I put him down and he kept running to the next one with his cute little toddler gait yelling, "Baaw! Baaw!"

So I was a sucker and bought him a big red play ball...Brett took one look, shook his head, and said, "This is out of control. As if we need another ball in this house." heehee :)

While we were playing outside, I realized this might be one of the last days I get to put Brady in his little bear coat...spring is here and he probably will not fit it in the fall. So I had to take some pictures of our adorable baby bear.

15 months old

Brady had his 15 month wellness appointment today. During the appointment he received three more vaccinations. While he was crying and lying down, I noticed that his first molars had poked through! I had no idea...but it sort of explains some of his moods lately. He always handles teething like a champ though (I never medicate him). I was just surprised to see them. So he has his 8 front teeth and a few molars...I honestly can't say how many. I *think* I saw three.

He seems to be right on target with all of his milestones. His biggest accomplishment lately has been his language development. His expansive receptive language continues to grow and he follows directions well...well, if he wants to or thinks it's a game! He cleans up his toys well when we make it a game and tell him which things to get and where to put them.

His expressive language is building. I've seen a huge leap just over this past week. Brett has been on travel for work this week and was really surprised at all the progress in just a few days. Brady's one hang up is that he continues to call both Brett and me (and sometimes other daddies @ daycare!) "Daddy." He's been calling both of us Daddy for a few months now. We first really noticed it on the cruise. I was in the bathroom and Brady was with Brett. Brady was looking towards my direction and crying, "Daddy! Daddy!" Brett kept saying, "Hey! I'm your Daddy. If you want Mommy, then say Mommy." Nope. The "Daddy! Daddy!" cries and reaching for me continued until I had him in my arms. But we think he does know the difference. He gives himself away in his devilish grins. We ask him, "Where is Daddy?" and he points to Brett. We then say, "Say Daddy." He says, "Daddy." We then ask him, "Where is Mommy?" and he points to me. I then point at myself and say, "Say Mommy." He points his little finger at me and pokes me and says, "Da-ddy." clear as day with a devilish grin. I was thinking perhaps he had an auditory processing issue, but now I think he just has a great sense of humor and amuses himself! :) Note: just this past week, I'm starting to hear "Mommy" or "Mama" after I ask him to repeat...but he still sometimes says, "Daddy" after I say "Mommy" and always shouts, "Daddy! Daddy!" when I pick him up at daycare. Either way, I'm finding it amusing now too!

Here's his expressive language repertoire:
Daddy
dog (still "daw")
ball
shoe
door
cracker
up
down
diaper
bubble
Hi (he says "Hi-eeeee!")
Bye ("Bye-eeee!")
Uh-oh
car
Oh (for Cheerio)
ssss (for sock)
a distinct naso-pharyngeal "kyoooon" for vacuum, spoon, and balloon
Thank You ("Dank Doooo," when prompted)
downstairs ("down da-ahhs" which you can only understand in context)
upstairs ("up da-ahhs" which you can only understand in context)
and just in the past 2 days, cheese and jacket

Over this past week, he's begun really repeating things, not just when we prompt him. I was telling him how we had to let Romey outside to potty...doggies go potty outside...then telling Romey, "Go potty" and Brady said, "Potty." :p

He only signs more, milk and eat...he does not say these words. It's kind of interesting and has made us realize why some people are against teaching little people sign language. It's almost as if he thinks the sign is the only way he is able to communicate these words. It's just been in the past couple days that he has started to say "muh" for milk.

He eats pretty well, but these days he is the typical toddler wanting to exercise independence. We have to give him his own spoon when we feed him. He digs in to his dish and occasionally gets food on his spoon and makes it all the way to his mouth. (But most of the time it ends up either catapulted across the kitchen, or rolled off the spoon and down his shirt.)

He continues to be full of life and very playful. It's easy to make him laugh, even hysterically! It's so awesome! He has such a fun personality. We often describe him as "spirited" and note that he can be quite a determined little guy. :) I keep telling Brett that I have no worries about Brady succumbing to peer pressure...Brady only does things if HE wants to. That can be a challenge sometimes, but he sure does make life fun and we'd have it no other way!

Brady was sick last week and didn't eat for three days...we think he definitely lost a little weight then. We kept telling him his big belly was shrinking due to his hunger strike fighting off his cold. The scale at the doctor's office (sort of) confirmed that today.

Weight: 24 lbs. 15 oz. (60th percentile)
Height: 32.25 inches (80th percentile)

Little Leprechauns

I cracked up when I brought Brady to daycare this morning and saw that he and his buddy Landon were both wearing the sweaters Ms. Omayma got the boys for Christmas this year. They knew to wear green to avoid getting pinched today! :) SO cute! I laughed even harder when I saw them this afternoon...even the little ones were in on the arts and crafts session this morning. The girls had little shamrock bracelets and the boys all had green ties that said "Kiss Me!" on them. Yup, I kissed ALL the boys at school today. Lucky Me!

Tyler, 23 months * Landon, 20 months * Brady, 15 months

Ethan, Bella, Landon, Jordyn, Adonis, Tyler, Brady, Abby

Bedtime Story

Our LAN

The LAN (local area network) in our home became the LAN (Luhring Adorable Network) this afternoon as we indulged Brady by setting him up with my laptop right next to Daddy with his laptop and allowed him to press the buttons. Bliss!

Silly Saturday

The Dessert {not Desert} Storm Soldier waiting for the troops (Romey) to come home.

As if my hair wasn't a disaster on its own these days! Maybe my new stylist can do something with it...

If I lay down on the floor on my back, it is a guaranteed accepted invitation for Brady to come over and flop on me. I don't know what it is, but he will do it consistently. I cherish these crazy belly flops and toddler boy hugs he gives! Love you, love you, love you some more little man!

In the Hot Cold Seat

Maybe it's the "baby-bear-juuuuust-right" height of it, but Brady loves using the very bottom shelf of the refrigerator as a seat. When we open the fridge, he beelines for it and if we're not quick enough to close the door, he pops a squat and remains there happily for a bit.

Keeping His Eye on the Ball

Brady skyped with Meemaw this morning. As always, it was a fun conversation. Meemaw showed Brady her bright green ball...yes, she knows how to captivate her audience. ;p