Late Christmas post

7 months 2 weeks

Sorry everyone, a little late on the Christmas post! As you can imagine, it was crazy!! Brock was so spoiled and got more toys than we know what to do with or have room for! LOL! He's one lucky boy!!

He get the 2nd half of his flu shot last week and at the appointment, we discovered a 2nd tooth! He know has both his bottom teeth coming in. He doesn't let you look at them much because he usually covers them up with his tongue when you try to catch a peak!!

Christmas weekend was insanely hectic and flew by! Friday night (Christmas Eve Eve) we went over to Drew/Erin's for the first annual Barbosa Egg Nogg-Off...the boys drank egg nogg, the girls drank wine. Brock just played like a little angel with his toys!

Christmas Eve was dinner with Grammie and Mia at our house. He had his first bite of mashed potatoes! He didn't mind it, but didn't love it. Christmas day was morning with Mia and Grammie again, lunch at Grandma and Grandpa  Barbosa's, then dessert/presents at Great Grandma Elsie's. He got to play with his cousin Joey at lunch and it was so cute! He was sharing all his toys with Joey and they were having fun together. Next year, I'm sure they'll be chasing each other all over the house! He got lots and lots of toys and we had a full car from both Gary/Judy's and Elsies!

The day after Christmas we mostly relaxed at home. We all needed some rest after the crazy Christmas weekend! It was hard to come back to work after those few days off!!

Ok, now with that out of the way, here are some fun things Brock is up to right now.
- Shaking his head like he's saying 'no' - I don't think he's trying to say 'no', but he likes to shake his head like that
- Talking in all different voices - he'll be really high pitched sometimes and it's so funny
- Not eating - he's getting a little better now, but he went through a phase where we had to force him to eat food - well, food like his cereal and veggies - still loves his bottles!
- Doesn't like: peas, green beans
- Loves: squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes
- This week he has carrots and he's sort of on the fence about them
- He loves to drink water out of a sippy cup - we don't give him much, but he likes to chew on it and feels like a big boy when he can get water out
- He's full on in 9 month clothes and sometimes even 12 month stuff
- He's going thru major separation anxiety - if Nick or I leave the room (sometimes even when the other one is holding him), he starts fussing and crying. It's hard not to rush right back in, but everything I've read says to try and be strong and not encourage it!
- He's favoring Nick a little more than Mommy right now and it's not easy on me...it's not all the time, but when it happens, it rips my heart out!

I can't believe 2011 is going to be over tomorrow! It has by far been the best year of my life! I have had so much fun and am a little torn about 2012. I'm so sad to see 2011 go, but there are so many exciting things coming up next year that I'm looking forward to what it will bring for the Barbosas!

First tooth and First Christmas

7 months (wait, does that say what I think it does?!)

Well, we just passed the 7 month mark! I can't believe it, it's flying so much faster now that he's getting older and more 'firsts' are coming!

The big one is his first tooth!!!! It finally broke through last Thursday! I saw a little white spot when I was feeding him dinner and jammed my finger in there and felt the little jagged edge of his tooth! Nick was at a work function so there I am screaming and crying and clapping my hands and jumping up and down like a freak. Luckily, Brock totally knows that I'm a freak and thought it was hilarious! I called my mom, my sister, my dad, everyone to tell them about the tooth! It was quite exciting!

This weekend was Brock's first Christmas celebration in Wichita with my family. It started out a little rocky with him throwing up his entire bottle Friday morning. We thought it was just acid re-flux until we took him to daycare and she told me it was going around and it probably was the flu. I was only working a half day so we could get on the road early. When I went to pick him up, Cynthia told me he had thrown up again, all over the bed while he was sleeping. Poor little guy was acting totally fine, just kept throwing up. I was concerned for him and for the fact that it could be contagious, but my dad still wanted us to come down so we loaded up the car and hit the road. But NOT BEFORE installing his new big boy car seat I bought after I left work on Friday!! He looks so much more comfortable in it!!

So Friday went well, no more puking and we made it to Wichita safe and sound. We got some good quality time with just my dad and Pat and Mia. We had dinner, and relaxed which was nice. Saturday was a different story. We got up and started to get ready for the craziness of the day with everyone coming over for lunch and presents. Little did we know, Brock was no longer puking, but now the funk had decided it was going to come out the other end, in the form of 6 (yes, 6, not an exaggeration) pretty massive blow outs. We had to do a load of laundry, give him 2 baths and buy scented wipes to keep it all under control! Luckily, he was still acting like he felt ok.

He LOVED opening presents. I was anticipating him just kind of ignoring them, but he loved it! He looked at every present so intently and was so patient. We open presents one by one (we let all the kids go first this year), and even though he was exhausted and so ready for a nap, he stayed so happy and content. He helped take the wrapping paper off each gift and was totally focused on each one when he opened them! He got some new pj's and lots of new toys!! It was such a pleasant and exciting surprise that he enjoyed it as much as he did! After the kids were done, he went down for a nap and we were able to get all the adults presents opened. Mommy got a sewing machine and some fabulous jewlery and Daddy got a one cup coffee maker and a power washer! Saturday night, we even finally got a 'ma ma' out of him!! He was starting to get fussy and while he usually only says 'da da', he's been playing around with the 'm' sound and finally said 'ma ma'!!

Saturday night, things got ugly. The 'questionable' flu bug we weren't sure if he had, was confirmed when I started throwing up in the middle of the night. As we woke up Sunday morning, we found out both my dad and Pat were sick too! Nick and Mia somehow missed it. We called over to Teea's and so far, everyone there was ok. We hit the road pretty early as I was feeling horrible. Brock had a blow out (by the way - when I saw 'blow out', I don't just mean big poop. I mean like blowing out of his diaper and all over him and his clothes) when we were about 45 mins away from home and we had to stop at a highway rest stop and try and change him in the car...it was quite an experience!

We made it home and took it very easy Sunday. I was still pretty sick yesterday so I worked from home to avoid spreading the gunk to anyone else. We found out yesterday that it did end up spreading to at least Teea and Brigdon, not sure if anyone else got sick as the day went on yesterday. Brock had 3 more blow outs at daycare yesterday, but seems fine today (we hope!). As bad as all of us feel, I'm just glad he didn't act like he felt as badly as the rest of us did. I can't imagine that poor little baby feeling as awful as I did the last 2 days! I'm thankful for that - I'll take the brunt of it any day to keep him from having it!

He's going through a weird 'break mommy's heart' phase. He seems to only prefer Daddy right now. It's killing me. If Nick walks by and doesn't pick him up, he cries. He says 'da da' even more now and today he said it while looking at Nick. I don't know what it is and I'm praying it's just a phase, but it's heart breaking! It's all I can do not to just break down and cry when I'm holding him and he would rather be with Daddy. I'm so happy that they have such a close bond and Nick is an amazing Daddy, it's just hard to not be number 1 in Brock's eyes right now!

We got for his 2nd round of flu shots tomorrow and then have a crazy busy Christmas weekend planned! I can't wait to see what all Santa has brought for Brockie!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all get to spend lots of time with family this weekend!

Picture update!!

6 months, 4 weeks (not quite 7 months yet, Mom just can't admit it!)

Not a ton to update this week, so I'll just overload with pictures from Thanksgiving and a few early Christmas shots! We had a wonderful weekend at home. Nick and I dropped Brock off with Grandma and Grandpa on Friday night and went Christmas shopping for Brock (and to finish up some other people). We had so much fun, we think we might make it a tradition! We got Brock some toys and new clothes, but tried to keep it simple as we know all the grandparents are going to go crazy this year! We spent most of the weekend finishing up the shopping and wrapping and just enjoyed a nice weekend at home.

Brock had zucchini yesterday and really seemed to like it! I think next up is either apples or avocados and he's going to try juice this week! Also, he now is going to be in size 4 diapers!!! He's getting close to outgrowing his 9 month clothes too!! He's growing wayyyyy too fast!! Ok, enough talk, enjoy the pics!

Here is a picture of Brock's first 'real' food - sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. He didn't like it at first, but they quickly became a favorite!

Here's Brock and his turkey bib. He wasn't feeling quite himself from his flu shot the day before, but he still looks so cute!

 Laughing with his cousin Tatum at Thanksgiving! Finally feeling better and had so much fun!

 Daddy is ticking him and he's loving it! 

Brock got this bear from his great Aunt Carol. The bear reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas - he loves it!

Meeting his cousin Naomi for the first time! They are only a week apart!

I had to add this picture as it may be one of the few where he actually looks a little like me (or at least my baby pictures)! Such a sweet little face!

 First trip to see Santa! At first he just looked up at him, but never got scared!

 I swear he smiled! We didn't catch any, but he did!!

As much as Oscar may pout about not being the baby anymore, as soon as anyone gets up from snuggling with Brock, he has to take their spot!!

Brock's Christmas picture in front of the tree and presents!

 This is our Christmas card photo shoot. I saw a crazy idea online with a baby and the lights so decided to give it a shot. I have to say, they turned out much better than I expected!

I absolutely LOVE this picture, but since he's not looking at the camera, we couldn't use it for the Christmas card. I just think it's so sweet!

New tricks and new friends!

6 months, 3 weeks old

Brock has had quite an exciting week!! We had a crazy busy weekend with Meme and Poppy in town.  We shopped and shopped and then ate some really delish food! We started the fun Saturday morning when we went out for breakfast and headed to Westport and the Plaza for some shopping. However, Mother Nature had some other plans as she decided to drop a nice freezing cold rain on us. Since the Plaza is entirely outdoors, we decided to skip the annual trip. Instead, we headed out to Nebraska Furniture Mart. Even though he was in and out of his car seat all day and had next to no nap time, Brock was still a total champ. He had his Santa hat on in NFM and he just loves that thing! See how cute he looks in it:

He loves it! Whenever he has it on, he just cracks up! We're not quite sure how, because it's super itchy! Saturday night, Nick and I had a Christmas party to go to, so Meme and Poppy were on Brock duty. He totally put on a show for them. He was laughing and smiling for them all night. They had a blast and so did he!!

Sunday was more shopping, but ended with Brock's first trip to see Santa!! We headed to Crown Center with Grammie and Grandma Judy. We waited in line and Brock had his Santa hat on and LOVED Santa. Right when he sat down he looked up at him like 'who are you', then just turned around and smiled for the camera! We got lots of good pictures and I'll try and get some posted soon, it's been awhile! After Santa we ate at Fritz's where Brock got to play with a paper train conductor hat and watch the trains go around the restaurant. Before we totally left Crown Center, we stopped by the gingerbread house display they had. Brock was fascinated. They had so many houses and things for him to look at! It was so fun seeing him so amazed! Overall, it was a wonderful, but very busy weekend!

Monday brought a new friend for Brock. My co-worker (and dear friend) Suni and her husband Brian, welcomed their son Jaxxon Vann Michaelsen into the world on Monday! I got to see him yesterday and he's perfect!! I can't wait for Brock and Jax to play together!! Being up at the hospital was very surreal. On one hand, I had a bit of nostalgia when I walked in since she delivered at the same hospital I did, in fact, in the room next to ours! I sort of missed being there and those first few precious, amazing days of having Brock. All the love we felt from all of our friends and family who came to see us and the wonderful nurses who took such great care of us. I miss how tiny Brock was and how much he needed more for everything. I miss the idea of just starting to have 2 full months off to enjoy at home, with my little angel. However, I also just LOVE this stage. Seeing him starting to really absorb and learn new things. I love how responsive and fun he is. There are definitely mixed emtions. I love watching him grow, and at the same time, it's going so fast!!

Squash is the veggie on deck for this week and so far, he seems to love it! We are starting to do 2 'meals' a day along with his normal bottles now. He gets cereal at daycare in the morning and then squash for dinner when he gets home. He is getting the hang of the sippy cup more and more! He also has learned to wave! We think he must have picked it up at daycare, but it's so cute. When people walk up to him, he starts flapping his arm up and down waving. At first we thought it was just excitement, but over the last week or so, it's become clear that it's actually a little wave. Sometimes he just opens and closes his hand as a little wave too! He's learning so fast!

We bought a Samsung Galaxy tablet last weekend and I downloaded a 'baby game' for Brock. It's just a blank screen and pictures of different animals pop up and make noise on the screen. Each time you touch the screen, a new animal pops up. At first, Brock just got excited and kept hitting the screen, but after a few times, he started to figure out how it worked. He would hit the screen once, then pull both his hands back and wait for the next animal! He was smiling at the screen and having so much fun!!

It's amazing how quickly he's growing up and learning. He's interacting so much more with the world around him and it's so much fun to watch. We had our first snow yesterday and while it was very little, it was still so fun to let Brock see it for the first time. He just stared out the window the whole way to daycare, looking at the snow on the trees.

I know it's just going to get more fun and exciting, especially with the holidays! I can't believe 2011 is almost over! It has been quite possibly the best year of my life so I'm almost a little sad to see it end. But there are lots of exciting things on deck for the Barbosas in 2012 so much  more to look forward too!!

6 month stats and Thanksgving

6 months, 2 weeks

Soooo, I failed and missed last week's post!! Sorry about that!! It was a crazy week for the Barbosas, but isn't that what the holidays are about?!

Anyway, as promised, here are some 6 month stats on Mr. Brock:
- Height: 27" - 65%
- Weight: 19.9 lbs - 80%
- Head - still rockin' the 90th percentile head!! LOL!
- He is now fully wearing 9 month clothes and even some 12 month outfits
- He sits up completely on his own and can usually catch himself if he starts to fall
- He is a TALKER! He loves to just gab and gab all the time
- He has started sleeping on his stomach - he rolls over no matter how many time we 'fix' him back onto his back, we just leave him now b/c he seems to prefer his tummy
- He has FINALLY started rolling from his tummy to his back, not often, but he'll do it
- Foods he's tried: Rice cereal (loved), oatmeal (loved), sweet potatoes (unsure at first, but loved), peas (HATES so far)
- He has started getting a sippy cup of water with his 'meal' and he loves it! He more likes to play with the cup, but he feels like a big boy!

Now, on to our busy last couple of weeks!! We'll start with our 'first' Thanksgiving meal in Wichita. Brock got his shots (and a flu shot) on Friday before we left town which worked in our favor as he slept the ENTIRE drive down there. However, he was just not himself for most of the trip. He was sleepy, fussy and just not his usually  happy little self. By Sunday morning, he was totally back to normal! He had a blast playing with his cousins and sitting on the floor with toys like a big boy!

Last week was actually Thanksgiving. It was a crazy week for us as I had to make tons of food for both Thanksgiving meals, and had to make goodies for Nick's grandma's 85th birthday party on Saturday. Wednesday I was lucky to get off work early and Brockie and I headed home. I had planned to start getting the baking done that I needed for the next day, but I ended up laying on the couch with my little angel and I'm so glad I did. It was one of the rare down moments I had all weekend and we both ended up falling asleep on the couch! I woke up and got straight to work, making cookies, made from scratch bread dough, dinner for us that night. Oh, and did I mention we had Nick's cousins coming to stay with us over the weekend with their 2 kids? Yeah, so cleaning had to get thrown in there too!! LOL!

Thursday (Thanskgiving day) was a complete whirlwind. I was convinced that I somehow messed up the bread dough for the rolls...so much that my OCD self couldn't even sleep! Then it hit me at about 5 am that I didn't even have a rolling pin to roll out the dough! So after a couple of hours of trying to get back to sleep, I gave up at 7 and ran to Price Chopper. I was so thankful that they were not only open, but that I grabbed the LAST rolling pin they had! Whew, crisis averted. Until I realized my bread dough that I had put in the fridge (after rising the night before) wasn't rising. I totally pulled a rookie moved and panicked. I threw it out and just started over! LOL! While it was a ton of work, the rolls were actually really yummy!! Once everything was done, we headed over to my mom's for Thanksgiving lunch. It was wonderful and we had a great time. After dinner, we just relaxed before loading up and heading over to Nick's Aunt Carol's for dessert with his family. We finally got home around 8:30 and somehow, I was WIRED! I went crazy cleaning and trying to finish up some things.

Friday was probably my favorite day of the whole weekend. Thanks to our crazy cleaning Thursday night, the house was ready to be Christmas-ized! I wanted the house decorated before our guests came since I knew we wouldn't have any time to do it otherwise. It was wonderful. Nick tackled the outside lights and I handled all the inside stuff (tree, stockings, garlands, etc). It was that perfect overcast, cold looking, windy, wintry kind of day outside. The kind of day where it's perfect to stay inside and snuggle. Brock fell asleep on the couch right as I was starting the tree and woke up in sheer amazement at the final product. I heard him wake up and looked over and I'll never forget his sweet little face. He had his head lifted up off the couch, eyes and mouth wide open just staring at the tree and all the lights! As silly as it sounds, that's a moment I hope I don't ever forget. That's exactly why I was so eager to decorate! I knew my little man would love it and he did!! We went out for dinner that night with Drew and Erin and then made a quick run to Target (where we got some AWESOMELY random deals) and then drove around to look at Christmas lights. Brock, as usual, was a total champ the whole time!

Saturday was crazy! I think Brock sensed it so he slept in until 9 am!! A new record and Mommy was VERY appreciative! We had a couple quick errands to run and then headed home so I could get started on the snacks for the party that night. Nick's cousins were originally due in at 12 but luckily didn't get there until 3, giving me time to cook and shower. They have 2 little ones, Jayden (2.5 years) and Naomi (one week older than Brock). It was SO FUN to see them all together. Brock and Naomi are so close in size and they just laid on the floor together and it was adorable!! Everyone loved Brock at the party and of course, he let everyone love on him and snuggle him and show him off!

Yesterday was a wonderful 'down' day. We all just relaxed on the couch all day and it was a much needed break!

We have another crazy week coming up! Nick's cousin Freddie (same one from this past weekend) is coming to stay with us for a week while he works on the railroad in Bonner Springs. We have been asked to be in a commercial for our wedding venue (The Sawyer Room) and we are taping that tomorrow. We have my parents coming in town this weekend for our annual Plaza shopping trip (can't WAIT for Brock's first trip to the Plaza!!)

The holidays are always a crazy busy, but yet somehow fun time for us!! I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!!

Happy Half Birthday!!

6 MONTHS OLD!!!

I can't believe my sweet angel boy is 6 months old today! As I've probably said before, on one hand, it feels like he's been here forever and on the other, it seems like these past 6 months have gone so unbelievably fast!!

We are heading to the doctor this afternoon to get his stats so I'll be back next week to post them.

Today, I just wanted to take a minute and reflect on the best 6 months of my life. (Warning: cliches, gushiness and possible tears ahead).

Brockie boy, you have changed our whole world in a way I never knew possible. As cliche and over-used as it sounds, I don't think I fully knew true love until you came along. You are the light of my life and I thank God EVERY DAY that you are not only healthy, happy and beautiful, but that I get to be your Mommy. I am so incredibly humbled, honored and blessed to get the opportunity to not only be a Mommy, but to be yours. You are the most fun, sweetest, cutest, happiest, funniest and overall best baby out there! You have brought so much joy and love into our entire family. There is no amount of words in the entire world that could ever fully express how much I love you and how much you mean to me and your Daddy, but we hope to show you every day!

I can't wait to watch you grow and continue to learn. We have already seen so many 'firsts' and I hope we have a lifetime more with you! You make us proud of you every day and have already given us so much just by being you! I will forever cherish every moment and 'little thing' we get to do with you!

While you are growing up so fast, I promise to try and really slow down and take it all in. Your first holiday season kicks off in about a week and the holidays have taken on such a whole new meaning and focus now. It's all about you and I love it! I can't wait to see your reaction when you try sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, or when you see the Christmas tree lit up for the first time. I'm so excited for you to learn about Christmas (the real reason and the fun parts). I'm anxious to see how you'll react when you see your first snowfall. You have made everything so much more special and exciting and are allowing your Daddy and I to re-live things we take for granted!! Thank you for that gift!!

I love you, I love you, I love you with all my heart!!
Love,
Mommy

First ear infection :(

5 months, 3 weeks

Well, my precious little man has his first ear infection. We actually caught it totally by accident. On Monday night he started to get this cough kind of out of nowhere. He woke up Tuesday  morning and sounded like a 90 year old smoker! I felt soooo bad for the little guy! It sounded terrible, but he didn't seem to mind other than the coughing. He didn't have a fever, or any trouble breathing or eating. I of course wanted to rush him to the doctor right away, but Nick talked me off the ledge for that day. He made the valid point that just like the other 'walk in' trips, there was probably nothing they could do and let's just watch it for a day.

As Tuesday went on, the cough continued and that night he sounded just AWFUL so I decided I was taking him to the doctor the next morning. I knew there probably wasn't much they could give him for it, but I wanted them to at least make sure it hadn't made it's way down into his lungs or chest.

So we get up Wednesday morning (early thanks to Brock still not quite being used to daylight savings time) and head to the doctor. It's days like that when I think my life could be on a reality TV show and people would just shake their heads and laugh. I went to the doctor on my own thinking we'd be in and out. We were the first ones there so I was hoping for a quick turn around. We get checked in and as soon as we sit down, I can smell Brock's dirty diaper. He was wearing this adorable long sleeve, long pant fleece one piece outfit and immediately I panic that maybe the contents didn't stay inside the diaper.

I head into the bathroom to change him and my fears are confirmed and then some. It's not only coming out the sides (which at first I thought was easily recoverable), but all the way up his back. So not only does he have it all over his outfit and back, but in order to get the outfit off of him, I'll have to pull the outfit over his head and just spread the love. This caused my normally chill, calm, never crying baby to go into a full blown meltdown - tears, screams and all. So, as I'm wrestling him, the diaper, the clothes, etc, I realize there is NOWHERE for me to throw the dirty stuff away! The trashcans all say 'Please no soiled diapers'. In a Pediatrician's office? REALLY?? Is it so much to ask to get one freakin' trashcan for poopy diapers people? After getting him stripped down and a new diaper on him, I freeze and think there is NO WAY I have an extra outfit for him in the diaper bag as I had just grabbed it on my way out the door. Somehow by the Grace of God, there was an outfit in the bag so the little munchkin wouldn't have to be naked until he got to daycare!!

Anyway, while he continues to scream and cry, a nurse gently knocks on the door to ask if it's Brock in here. When I manage to squeak out 'yes', she offers to come in and help me. She helps me carry his stuff and get him somewhat back together. Luckily, she needed to weigh him so I could put off the battle of getting him re-dressed for at least a few more minutes. We get him finally calmed down, and I'm carrying him, his blanket, his diaper bag, my purse and 2 bags of 'soiled' items (at this point I've decided to pitch the super cute outfit) around the whole office.

The doctor comes in and Brock is back to his sweet little self. Smiling while the doctor pokes and peeks at him. We go over his symptoms and he listens to his chest to tell me luckily, it's just a cold and it hasn't gone down in his chest or lungs. I think we're good to go until he looks in his ears. Left ear, looks great. He gets to the right ear and there is some wax build up preventing him from seeing in his ear all the way. He goes to the cabinet and pulls out this handy dandy ear wax tool (I totally want one) and starts going to town on Brock's ear. Well, this sends him into yet another meltdown. He's screaming as the Doctor goes in not once, not twice, not even three, but FOUR TIMES to try and remove the wax. After he finally gets it out, he says it looks like Brock has the start of an ear infection. I'm so grateful we found it before it gave him any trouble, but I just wasn't expecting it!

They give us a prescription that I was thankfully able to fill right in the lobby of their office (yet another challenge - imagine still holding the diaper bag, the purse, the blanket, the baby AND the 2 soiled items, while trying to press buttons on this big machine). After about 10 minutes of fumbling, we were finally in the car and on our way to daycare! I was so glad to get there and get him safely dropped off, but the whole 'working mom' thing hit me like a ton of bricks as the day went on. I felt so bad about leaving  him knowing he didn't feel well. I just wanted to be with him and snuggle him all day! That was the first time since being back at work that I really struggled to leave him (well, more than just normal missing him).

He seems to be on the mend today. He's been sleeping with his mattress propped up and the humidifier running in his room. His cough sounded a little better this morning and we'll be giving him the meds for a total of 10 days to hopefully kill the ear infection before it really bothers him.

The past week has been relatively uneventful. He started oatmeal on Saturday. At first he didn't seem to like it as much as the rice cereal. He eats it just fine, but he didn't seem as interested at first like he was with the cereal. The time change certainly threw him for a loop. He was waking up about an hour early (but what used to be his normal time) all week. I think he's finally in the groove.

He is sitting up pretty much on his own! He can't sit up yet, but if you put him in a sitting position, he can sit. He sits up in the bath, on his changing table, on the couch, etc. The main thing that makes him fall over is his new fascination with his feet! He loves them and he leans over to grab them all the time. This morning he woke up and was just playing with his feet in his crib, totally quiet. Seriously, how did we get so lucky???

His new favorite activity is to grab, EVERYTHING. He'll grab your hair, your face, your nose, your hand, whatever is close. He likes to reach out and grab too. He uses both of his hands to pick things up. He reaches a lot more for things. He also opens and closes his fingers when his hand is on a new surface like he's trying to figure out what it is by feeling it.

He absolutely LOVES his jumpy chair. He's gotten so active in it. He laughs, squeals and jumps as long as you'll let him. He especially likes when you stand by him and move up and down like you're jumping too. He thinks it's hilarious!

Over the weekend we went to Carters and bought him a bunch of new clothes! He's officially in 9 month clothes! He still has a few 6 month things he can wear, but they are a little snug. He's growing so fast I feel like we can't keep up!!

Next week we have his 6 month check up and then are headed to Wichita for an early Thanksgiving!

Halloween and house hunting!

5 months, 2 weeks old

Halloween has come and gone! I can't believe it's already November!! I remember last year at Halloween, being SOOOOO excited for this year to actually have a little one to share my favorite holiday with. Little did I know at the time that my dreams would not only come true, but would be so much better than I ever imagined! While my overall excitement for Halloween was a little decreased this year (mostly focused on Brock), having my precious pumpkin this year made the whole season that much more fun! Every night at bedtime we read one of his Halloween story books. He got to wear Halloween pj's, bibs, socks, etc. We sat down this year and watched Charle Brown and the Great Pumpkin and it was amazing to be watching it with my son!!!

I was so excited when I woke up yesterday! I couldn't wait to wake Brock up and get him dressed in his Halloween outfit. I had his costume packed in the car and ready for him to come trick or treating at my office. I picked him up at a daycare and brought him up to work. He dressed as a bat and was sooooooo cute! He was all smiles and happy when we first got here, then the excitement wore off and he got really sleepy. I had a few things to finish up at work and he fell asleep on me as I was sitting at my desk. It was actually really cute!

We decided sort of last minute to have some friends over on Halloween. The Chiefs were playing for Monday Night Football so we figured the guys could watch the game, while us girls passed out candy. First, we stopped by Grandma Elsie's to see Gary before he went to the game. We also got to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Paul and our friend Cindy (who lives across the street). They were all so excited to see him in his costume!

That night, both grandmas (my mom and Judy) came over to see the little bat, along with Mia, Tracy/Matt/Carter/Marlee and Kristin/Brett/Madison. All the kiddos were soooo cute in their costumes! Carter was a dinosaur (a T-Rex), Marlee was a Stegosauras (pink and so cute), Madison was a duck and Brock was the bat. We got a few pics of them together, before they all decided the photo session was over!! The kids were so fun to watch and I know the gma's loved seeing all the babes! Carter was a blast to watch! He loves Brock so he kept trying to give him his toys and get him to sit in the swing. He was a scar T-Rex and was going around giving everyone his 'ROAR' and it was so cute!! I was so happy at the end of the night that we decided to have everyone over because it turned out to be so much fun!! I'll try and post more pics soon, but here's a sneak peak of Brock in his bat costume:

We barely had any trick or treaters which made me so sad! I was so excited and somehow delusionally convinced we'd have a lot!

This past weekend was pretty uneventful. Mostly spent working on the house, yard, etc. We got a new Dyson vacuum and I am now in love! It is amazing and puts my mind at ease that the floors will be much cleaner for the little bear as he starts moving around! Sunday we did some neighborhood scouting for our next house. We're hoping to move next spring/summer so we are trying to get a feel for neighborhoods. The lack of trick or treaters last night solidified our want to move to a more 'family oriented' neighborhood. Ours is wonderful, but there aren't many kids so we are wanting to find somewhere with more little ones for Brock to play with!

It's so funny looking for houses now, compared to last time we looked. It's definitely a different 'list' now. We have to think of the neighborhood, schools, lay out, etc. But it's an exciting new chapter and we're ready for it!

Brock has a new hobby, he likes to suck his top lip in his mouth. It's hilarious and started out of nowhere. He's still eating cereal once a day and has now completely stopped needing the bottle before bed. He usually eats his last bottle and his cereal anywhere from 7-8 at night. Then it's either relax time on the couch or bath time. We've started only giving him a bath every other day because his skin has been so dry and sensitive.

We are supposed to possibly get our first few snow flakes this week and I can't believe it, but I'm so exciting! I totally get now what people say when they talk about kids making everything more fun and new! I'm so excited for him to see snow and see his reaction! I am more excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas than ever this year. I just can't wait to put our tree up and see him look at all the lights and presents and stockings!

A week of firsts!!

5 months, 1 week old!

Sooooo, it's been a little over a week since my last post and man, what a busy week it's been!! Brock has a whole list of 'firsts'!

First trip out of state AND on an airplane. He was his usual perfect little self on the airplane. Slept like a total champ most of the way there and all the way home. However, someone replaced our usually chill, sweet, never has a problem sleeping infant with a waking every 2 hours newborn!! I think he was just out of sorts so he didn't sleep well in the crib the hotel provided OR even in bed with us. The air was soooo dry up there so the poor little guy was so stuffed up! The rest of the trip was great!! Brock stayed with my friend Kristin's mom Sophie and had so much fun with her! Nick and I got a chance to have a nice, 'adult' dinner at this goregous steakhouse overlooking all of Denver. It was wonderful!

Another first, his first 'word'. I'm not totally counting it as a word yet, because it's not on purpose! LOL! But when he is upset or wants something he'll start sort of whining and saying 'da da da da da'. So yes, he kind of says 'da da', but again, it's not on purpose so I'm not counting it yet! HAHAHAHA!!

This past weekend, he had his first cereal!! He LOVED it! I wasn't sure how he would react, but I anticipated a funny face so I made sure Nick had the video camera ready. And he didn't disappoint. The first few bites were met with some hilarious faces, but after that, he wanted more and more and more! Within just a few bites, he learned to open his mouth for me to put the spoon in for another bite. I don't know if all babies do that, but I like to think he's just super smart (and realllly loves food!).
Here is a picture of him with the cereal all over his mouth:

It's kind of fun feeding him with a spoon and watching him open his mouth for another bite! I'm excited for him to start trying new foods and to see what he likes and doesn't! I'm praying he's not picky like me!!!!

He tagged along with me this weekend to go wedding dress shopping with Erin. He was checking out all the ladies, but was a total angel the whole time! We had Drew/Erin's engagement party on Saturday night and afterwards, Nick went out with some friends so Brockie snuggled with mommy in bed until he came home.

Sunday we went to the Pumpkin Patch with Kristin, Tracy and their families. I was a total space cadet and totally forgot our camera!! Luckily, they both had cameras and got some cute pictures of the babies! Brock and Madison modeled their Halloween costumes. Brock slept most of the time we were there and we got in the car to head home and didn't realize how long it had been since he had eaten! Poor baby cried the whole way home!! We were giving Brett a ride home and he was joking that he couldn't believe it because he'd never heard him cry before!

Since I missed last weeks post on his 5 month b-day, here are his 5 month facts:
- rolling over from back to tummy in his crib
- eating cereal
- sleeping about 10-11 hours a night
- still taking the 6 -7 oz bottles, 5-6 times a day
- NO TEETH YET, but I know they are coming soon
- OBSESSED with dogs, he thinks Oscar and especially Taz are so hilarious
- loves to be tossed up in the air
- sitting up more on his own
- grabbing things with both hands (and then usually taking them straight to his mouth)
- uses his right arm like a hammer...if he has a toy, he chops it up and down

Sittin' and spittin'

4 months, 3 weeks old

I didn't think it were possible for Brock to get more fun, but every day he does. His newest hobby is spitting. Not like nasty, loogie spitting. Cute, putting his little baby lips together and blowing so it makes a noise and ok a little spit comes out spitting. It's kinda gross, but it's so cute I can't tell him to stop! He was doing it the last 2 weeks like crazy, but over this past weekend he seemed to slow down. I think it's boring him now...

He's started sitting up on his own! Not for long, but he can usually balance himself for a few seconds. If he falls forward he can usually catch himself, but if he starts falling backwards there is no hope, he's a goner. He even sat in a big boy high chair at a restaurant this weekend for the first time!

 He is starting to get more and more hair, but we still can't really tell what color it will be. Sometimes it looks blondish, sometimes it looks redish and sometimes it looks light brownish. I think it'll be more Nick's color which is a a very light brown. He definitely seems to have his mama's eyes. He's got big blue eyes and long dark eyelashes.

We've decided he CAN roll over, he just doesn't want to. LOL! If you put him on the couch or the bed, he'll roll over like it's no one's business. But on the flat surface of the floor, he'll just look around then get bored and lay his head down. He just wants to MOVE. His feet now touch the floor in his jumpy little chair and he LOVES it. He goes crazy in that thing. He jumps up and down, side to side, every which way.

He is loving toys now. They usually go straight to his mouth, but if it's a rattle or something that makes noise, he'll just whip it up and down. He's got this little 'arm chop' he likes to do, with or without a toy. We've been saying it for weeks now, but there has GOT to be a tooth coming in! He's drooling and a little more fussy than normal and moves his tongue over his bottom gums constantly. He won't let me peek though. He thinks it's hilarious when I try to look at his teeth, but he keeps his tongue like glued to his bottom gums so I can't see!

If there is a mirror in sight and he can see himself, he's all about it. He laughs and smiles at himself in the mirror. He is also a little daredevil. He loves to be thrown up in the air, or when I swing him back and forth like I'm going to throw him. He thinks it's so funny!!

Last week we went to dinner with my mom and Brock and Nick waited in the car while I went to get my mom from her house. She got in the backseat with Brock and was saying hi to him. I don't know if she startled him or what happened, but he started hysterically crying. It was a cry none of us had ever seen or heard from him before. He had tears in his eyes (for only the 3rd time since he's been born) and was just beside himself! I felt so bad for him and for my mom. She felt terrible about making him cry! At the same time, I was dying laughing because it was so random that he started crying that hard. Luckily, he calmed down and was all smiley and happy to see her inside the restaurant.

He's still just the best baby. He's so easy to take wherever we go. In fact, he's so great (and I'm such a wuss), that he's coming with us to Denver this weekend! I had a complete meltdown about leaving him so we decided just to bring him along! My friend Kristin's mom lives out there and is going to watch him on Monday night so we can go out to dinner for our anniversary. Otherwise, it'll be our little fam on our first family vacation!!!

He's almost outgrown his carseat! His feet hang over the ends of it. He's also getting so heavy that it's hard to carry him in it anymore. He's just a solid little man!!

We are starting him on solids next week when we get back from Denver! I'm all excited about it! I keep forgetting all these exciting things he's going to be doing! He's so much fun and I love him just like he is right now it's hard to imagine him hitting all these milestones that are fast approaching, but it's exciting at the same time!

4 month pics and more!

4 months, 2 weeks old

We had Brock's 4 month pictures taken on Friday after work. As always, our photographer, Rebecca was amazing!! She picked the perfect place that had some great fall colors on the trees and the weather could not have been more perfect!! Brock was a little tired from daycare, but he was a total champ. He wasn't as smiley as normal, but he definitely gave us lots of sweet faces!! We had so much fun. We brought Oscar and got some great pictures of all of us as a family. I also wanted to get a few 'fun' shots of Brock in his spider costume so I brought his costume and some pumpkins along to capture our love for Halloween. Here are some sneak peeks of a few of the pictures:

This picture was sort of an 'accident'. We were walking from one spot to the next and Rebecca caught this adorable shot of Brock looking over Daddy's shoulder at us walking behind them. I LOVE the expression on his face!

This was his 'dressy' outfit. The orange looked so cute on him and was perfect for fall!

This was near the end of the shoot, but I swear he was giving us the 'spider face'

As you can tell, he's clearly 'over it' by this point. He's not crying, more just tolerating what is happening!

I love love love this picture! He's such a happy baby and this really captured his smile/laugh!

As we were getting ready to leave for the pictures on Friday, Nick got Brock changed before we left. I was finishing getting myself ready and as Nick was walking towards me with Brock, Brock got really excited when he saw me, turned his body and leaned with his arms forward towards me! It made me tear up since it was the first time he's really 'reached' for me! It was sooooooo sweet! Totally melted my heart!

Saturday we headed to Lawrence for the KU Homecoming game. Brock got to meet a bunch of my college friends and was the total hit of the tailgate. As always, he was wonderful and let everyone hold him and play with him. Sunday was a snuggle day. I was struggling with a terrible headache and sinus pressure so I was mostly useless. But it was the perfect day to snuggle on the couch with the little man!

He has started eating every 4 hours now instead of every 3. Still going to bed like a total champ. Tired or not, he'll lay right down and usually within 5-10 minutes, he's totally passed out. He barely makes a peep after we lay him down.

We are going to Denver for vacation in 2 weeks and as excited as I am to have that time with Nick, I'm terrified and so sad to be leaving Brock. Even though it's only for a couple of days, I'm going to miss him like crazy and worry the entire time. I think the fact that he is SUCH a good baby is making it harder to leave him. If he was fussy or not sleeping through the night, there might be that motivation of getting at least a good nights sleep while we're gone. But that's not an issue for us. He's seriously the best baby ever and I hate the thought of missing a second with him!!

We have most of our Halloween decorations up and a lot of them light up and he's loving it! He'll just stare at them forever!! I'm excited to see what he thinks at Christmas!!

Wichita Weekend

4 months, 1 week (ok, I'm losing count on the true number of weeks old because it's actually more than just 4 months, 1 week - SOOOO, from here on out, it'll say number of months and number of weeks to keep things easy)

We had quite a fun filled weekend in Wichita! Our activities included watching Brigdon's soccer game, visiting the pumpkin patch, dinner with the family and shopping!!

We left Friday night for Wichita and as usual, Brock was wonderful on the way down. He slept most of the way, but about 45 minutes outside of Wichita he started to fuss a little bit. I got in the backseat and sat with him the rest of the way and he was just fine! We got there early enough to spend some quality time with Meme and Poppy before our big day on Saturday. I was a little nervous about how he'd sleep in the pack 'n play, but of course, he impressed us as usual.

Saturday was a big day!! We got up and went to watch my nephew Brigdon play soccer! It was a perfect morning for it and they won 6-3!! Brock enjoyed being outside and everyone was excited to see him! After the game, we went out for lunch and then headed to the Pumpkin Patch! This pumpkin patch had everything!! They had cannons to shoot pumpkins, gourd shooting slingshots and guns, big slides, a corn maze and a hayride. It ended up getting very sunny and a little warm so we didn't stay too long. Here are a couple pictures from the day:

After the pumpkin patch, we headed back to Meme and Poppy's house for a family dinner. By this time, Brock's cheeks got a little red and it looked like maybe he got a tiny sunburn. Despite the big hat and being covered by the top of his stroller all day, he still managed to get red cheeks like his daddy!

 Sunday we got up and went out for breakfast, then went over to Aunt Teea's house to see her new kitchen and Halloween deocrations! She made Tatum's Halloween costume (a peacock) and it was soooooo cute!! Brock was great again on the drive home. He slept about half way and then woke up and needed some more mommy love. I rode the 2nd half of the trip in the back with him and we both dozed in and out of sleep.

We are constantly amazed by what a great baby he really is. And he's so cute!! Here are a few pictures from this month that we've taken!

4 Month Stats

Brock had his 4 month check up appointment yesterday and it went great! As usual, he was absolutely perfect!! He let the doctor poke and prod him without a peep. Everything looked and sounded great! He got his shots and the first shot, he didn't even cry!! The 2nd one he cried a little bit, but not for long and nothing his binkie covered in sugar couldn't cure. As we were checking out, he was wide awake, talking and checking out the receptionists and within a second, he was passed out, totally asleep! At first we were worried it was a side effect of the shots, but he was just wiped out! He slept the whole way home, then woke up and was happy as usual. You seriously would not have even known he'd just had shots!

Stats breakdown:
- 25 and 5/8" (80th percentile)
- 17 pounds (80th percentile)
- again in the 90th percentile for his big 'ole head
- GREAT head control and neck/arm strength
Here are some other fun facts about him right now:
- Wearing size 3 diapers (and has been for about 2 weeks)
- Wears 6 month onesies and about to grow out of his 3-6 month clothes
- Wears 6-12 month jeans
- Eats 6, 6 oz bottles per day (every 3-4 hours)
- Sleeps about 10 hours a night (goes down b/w 9-10 and up around 7)
- Grabbing at things in front of him - he loves grabbing ahold of his blanket or burp rag and pulling it up over his head
- Still gets a binkie at night or for naps, but doesn't need it or really use it much
- Gets about 1-2 long naps a day and then sometimes has other cat naps
- He's found his tongue! It's always sort of been there when he smiled, but now he sticks it out and plays with it
- Giggles and talks ALL THE TIME! So much fun! He especially loves to talk in the car

What we're working on:
- Rolling over - the doctor thinks b/c of his size it might be a little harder for him to roll over, so she's not concerned
- Starting solids - we'll be starting this around the 5 month mark
- Sitting up - he can sit up leaning against things, but not on his own yet
- Teething - so far, still no teeth, but the doctor said it could be anytime

We're heading to Wichita this weekend and everyone is so excited to see him! Aunt Teea and his cousins Tatum and Brig haven't seen him since June and Meme and Poppy haven't seen him since his Baptism a little over a month ago. They are all going to be so surprised by how big he is!! We're going to watch Tatum play soccer and then hit the pumpkin patch!!

The check up yesterday just reminded us how incredibly lucky we are that he is so healthy and happy! We never want to take that for granted and thank God every day for our little blessing!!

Likes/Dislikes for the first 4 months

When I started this blog, I thought it would be a great way not only to keep track of Brock as he grows, but also to share with other mommies and daddies out there, things that have worked (or not) for us. I am a huge believer in recommendations. I am the first person to recommend something that really worked well and the first person to tell you when something was awful! So, here's a few things we've liked/disliked or some ways we found to save $$/time so far.

Likes:
- Carter's brand clothes: Between the constant sales (I swear nothing is ever full price there) and the coupons I get in my email, they are not only affordable, but they are great quality. They are thick, don't fade out/shrink or de-soften in the wash and they sizes are usually closer to Brock's age range.

- Baby Trend jogging stroller: We LOVE our stroller. The jogging stroller with the 'real' tires instead of plastic wheels is awesome. It can go over any kind of terrain - rocky sidewalks, uneven streets, grass, etc. It rolls so smooth and  Brock loves it!

- Enfamil forumla packets: Enfamil makes formula packets (4 oz) that you can throw in the diaper bag and head out. They are perfect to have just in case you end up being gone somewhere longer than you plan.

- Aiden and Anais blankets: We got a set of 4 of these as a gift and we love them! They are super light weight so they were great for the summer, but they are also nice and big so you can wrap them up. They are soft and super cute!!

- Huggies wipes: So far, all of the Huggies wipes we have gotten have been the 'tear apart' kind and they are SOOOOO much easier than the 'fold in' ones (which we'll address in the dislike section).

- Backpack diaper bag: We got 2 diaper bags for Brock before he was born. We have my large one for extended stays at Grandma's or something, and then we have Nick's little 'back pack' one. I didn't see a point to it at first, but now that's what we take more than anything. We can throw a few diapers, wipes, a change of clothes and anything else we may need and head out the door.

- Trumpette socks: Since Brock was born in May, he didn't wear socks most of the summer. Now that the temperatures have started to cool off, he's been needing them almost daily. We got some Trumpette socks as a gift and they look like little shoes. They are the best! They stay on better than most socks AND they just 'finish' his look for the day!

- Pottery Barn blankets: We have a couple different blankets from Pottery Barn and they are the best when you need 'warm' blankets. They are a little pricey, but they are so soft and you can tell they are great quality.

- Bath Ball: I bought this bath ball from Buy Buy Baby after a recommendation from a friend (Thanks Suni). Not only is it a fun toy, but it fills with water and when you pick it up, the water sprinkles out of the bottom. So you can run it over baby in the bath to keep them warm with the water while you soap them up.

- Pampers Swaddlers and Baby Dry diapers: Super soft and absorbant.

- Nuk pacifies: Brock seems to hold on to the Nuk pacifiers that have the bent nipples better than the straight ones.

Dislikes:
- Pampers wipes: They fold inside of each other and are SO HARD to pull out of the package. We still have a huge pack in his diaper bag and it's such a pain every time I change him while we're out. He'll be laying on one of those bathroom changing tables (which make me soooo nervous) and I'll be fumbling with the wipes trying to get one at a time out!

- Huggies Snug 'n Dry diapers: Everyone swore these were better as they got older. Well, maybe that's for when they get mobile. Because we just bought a pack of these and so far, are not impressed. They are stiff, hard to pull apart and don't seem to fit very well on his sides.

- Pack n' Play (and accessories): While it's a necessity for traveling, putting the pack 'n play back into it's nice little carrying case is like trying to stuff a size 12 woman into a size 6 jeans. The diagram in the instructions shows you how perfectly it all folds back into itself, slides right into the case and zips right up. After about 30 minutes, we threw what we could into the carrier and the rest went home in Brock's bag.

- Cheap, super fluffy blankets: Yes, they are soft. And yes, they may be cute. BUT, they will get little fuzzies all over everything. Clothes they are washed/dried with, pacifiers, babies hands, anything.

- Diaper Genie refills: These are a necessity, but are SOOO expensive. Nick actually did a little searching online and found a way to make your own at home. After the refill is totally empty, take a large rubber band and a regular trash bag. Feed the top of the trashbag through the refill opening and use the rubber band to hold it in place. We've been doing that for a couple of months now and it works great and is so much cheaper! We saved 2 of the refill cartridges so we always have one ready when the other one needs replaced!

We are just about to embark on starting solids (rice cereal starts this week!!) so I'm sure we'll have lots more to update on this in a few months!!

First cold AND first tooth???

17 weeks

It seems a little early, but I think the dreaded 'teething' phase is upon us. Or at the very least, right around the corner peeking it's ugly head around just waiting for the right moment. Everything Brock touches goes straight in his mouth. His hands, toys, blankets, your fingers, whatever is in the area, heads straight for the mouth. I've noticed him taking whatever he's chewing on and sort of trying to position it back to the right, so I took a peek. I was shocked to see what looks like a potential MOLAR (yes, like the big teeth you have in the back of your mouth) coming in!! It hasn't broken through yet and really you can barely feel it, but you can definitely see a bump. After the horror of imagining the pain it was causing him, he woke up on Sunday with what is definitely yet ANOTHER tooth. This is his top left 'fang', as I like to call it. This one you can not only see, but you can feel it as well. As usual, he's been a total champ about the whole process. He's been very rarely fussy or anything, but the couple of times he's seemed fussy with no other reason, I've given him just a little baby Tylenol to try and ease the pain.

Cynthia was off on Friday and Monday so that meant Mommy got to be home with him for 4 days straight! Friday morning started off with a little trip to the doctor. Brock's voice had been hoarse for about a day and a half with no known cause. No fever, no cough, no attitude changes, just a hoarse little voice that sounded so pitiful! We took him to the doc and they said it was probably just a little cold (his first one - sadface!) that he could have picked up from either daycare or could also be a symptom of teething (see above paragraph). We did get a weight on him and he's a perfectly plump 16 pounds! He was acting fine and there really wasn't anything we could do for him so we went home for the day. I was working from home so I sat him in his high chair next to me (best office buddy ever!) and worked awhile. By that afternoon he seemed totally back to normal and we enjoyed the day.

We had a Barbosa family gathering for Nick's grandma's church on Saturday night so he get to see all the family and show off his voice. Nick's brothers and their ladies came back to the house to watch the KU game after the dinner and Brock was obsessed with Drew. He would just stare at him and laugh at him anytime Drew would talk to him! He showed everyone what a loud mouth he really is! LOL! He was talking up a storm! It's the best sound in the world and he's got the cutest little voice!

Sunday was the Chiefs game so he stayed home with Grandma Judy while we all went tailgating and to the game. Instead of working from home on Monday, I just took the day off altogether and loved every minute of it. I fed Brock in the morning, then brought him in with me to sleep in some more. He LOVES to snuggle and so do I!! We spent most of the day in the basement doing laundry and getting caugh up on TV! We didn't really do much else but relax and chill together which was wonderful! It makes me wish so much that I could be home with him everyday!! I had a bit of a Mommy Meltdown. He was acting very tired so I thought he needed a little nap yesterday afternoon. I popped in his beloved 'binkie' and laid him on the couch and he started to doze off. I went to take something upstairs and could hear him crying a bit, but figured he was just fighting the sleep. It was close to his next bottle time, but not quite there yet so I finished what I was doing upstairs and went back down to find him absolutely BAWLING. We're talking real tears here people! Well, I felt so terrible for misreading him and making him cry so hard, that I started crying! I got his bottle ready and pretty much cried the entire time he ate. He quickly got over it, but I'm clearly still scarred!

He's definitely starting to realize who Mommy and Daddy are. He smiles every time he sees either one of us and it's the best sight to see!! He's definitely getting a little more attached to me now. If I'm not holding him, he's either looking for me or at me. He's still totally chill and lets other people hold him, but he's got his Mommydar on at all times. On one hand, I LOVE it because I feel the same way, I almost don't even want to share him, but on the other, I know it's important for him to get comfortable being with other people. Plus, he's so cute everyone wants a squeeze!!

He's still eating 6 oz at a time, but it's more like 3.5-4 hours. Every once in awhile, he'll start to get hungry at 3, but I sort of wait for his cues now to tell me when he's hungry instead of just feeding him at the 3 hour mark. He seems to spit up less that way. He talks ALL the time (LOVE IT), still goes down SO easily at night, usually around 9pm, and sleeps until 6-7 am. He takes a binkie only when he is trying to fall asleep. Still no rolling over, but he definitely starting rolling on his side from his back this weekend. He grabs for things and pulls them in to him a lot and it's so fun to watch him discover everything!

Long labor day weekend

16 weeks

What a wonderful weekend we had!! It was Labor Day weekend so we got 3 full days with our little angel and made sure it was jam packed full of fun activities! We started out Friday with 'early dismissal' from work for both Nick and I so as soon as we got home, Brock and I took a nice little afternoon snuggle nap. We woke up and went to Carter's (new store just opened SO EXCITED) as they were having a sale - 50% off the ENTIRE store, plus I had 20% off your total purchase coupon - double score! Anyway, we got Brock some more sleepers and his Halloween Costume!! It's a little bat and it's SOOOO cute! He actually has 2 costumes - a spider that Carter wore for his first Halloween and then the bat. They are both SOOO cute I don't know how I'll choose. The bat is a heavy fleece jacket and pants so it may depend on the weather! Either way, it was only $15 and the fleece pants he could totally wear this winter!

Saturday was Brock's first KU game!!! And it was quite the adventure! We started with a trip to Mass St to shop around a bit (and found the CUTEST shirt for Brock), then to the Union to look some more. Nothing too exciting there, but we stopped to feed Brock before going in to the game and also we snacked on some food. They sell hot dogs, nachos, drinks, all the 'game snacks' for $1 each right outside of the Union so we stocked up!! As we got settled into our seats, the announcer came over the loud speaker and told everyone that 'severe weather was approaching Memorial Stadium and we all had to leave the stands and take cover'. I went into total Mommy Mode and had a hold of Brock so tight as we carefully walked back down under the stands. Well, it was extremely hot/muggy as the storm was bringing in a cold front behind it, so carrying him made me drip with sweat! However, I wasn't letting go for anything! After about 10-15 mins, people started heading back up so we followed. Not more than 5 mins went by and I felt a HUGE raindrop hit my face. I stood up and immediately started heading down the stairs, just in time for the giant DOWNPOUR to begin. Of course that caused everyone else to get up and it was a mad rush to get back to covered ground! Luckily, the storm was short lived and we finally got back to our seats just in time for kick off. The storm actually brought much cooler and more comfortable temperatures! As usual, Brock was WONDERFUL! He slept through part of the game, the other part he was watching the big screen (a giant TV I'm sure to him). We couldn't have asked for him to be any better!!

                                                   Here's a picture of him in all his KU gear!

On Sunday, we got some VERY exciting news!! Uncle Drew and Aunt Erin finally got engaged on their trip to Mexico!! We are sooooooooooo excited! We had them over for dinner and I got a little overly excited....we had burgers, dogs, brats, mac n' cheese, corn on the cob, watermelon and a 2 layered chocolate cake I made that afternoon! Yeah, went a little overboard on that one...lol!

Since we had an extra day to the weekend, we used Monday to take Brock on his first trip to the zoo! Mia had 4 free passes to the zoo from her work, so Mia, Mom, Nick and I all loaded up and headed to the KC Zoo! It was an absolutely perfect day for it! It was packed but the weather was so gorgeous! Fall, when we have one, is by far my favorite season in Kansas. It was the perfect temperature and we got to see soooo many animals! Brock really loved all the animals and people watching because he stayed awake for most of the 3 hours we were there!

We had our first experience with what normal babies do and what normal parents deal with on Sunday night. Brock just did NOT want to go to sleep. He kept spitting out his 'binkie' and crying his head off! Finally, we put him in bed with us until he got tired enough to move back to his bed. He went right to sleep and slept like a rock! While it wasn't much of a fit, it definitely made us realize how unbelievably lucky we are that he's normally such a happy, chill little man.

He's still laughing and smiling a lot, but that has almost given way to him talking all the time! He just loves to talk and squeal, especially in the car! It's so adorable and funny!! He loves when you talk back to him! We ate dinner outside on the deck last night and put him in his high chair...he loved it! He's loving the nice weather because that means lots of walks in the stroller! He still hasn't rolled over yet, but he definitely likes to sit up. I'm not totally sure because it's still a little early, but there may be a little tooth trying to come in. He's chewing, drooling, etc all the time. We'll see if anything pokes through soon!

This is Brock's first 'full' week at daycare and I'm having very mixed feelings about it. I'm happy because Cynthia (our daycare provider) is AMAZING. I've known her for over 20 years and she's like family to us and I know she already loves him like family. I'm happy that he'll be going to the same place every day and we don't have to figure out who is going to watch him and piece together daycare arrangements. But I'm also completely sad because up until this week, I've been able to see him at lunch every day. Now, I drop him off around 7:30 and don't see him again until 5:30 and it KILLS me. I thought it would get easier, but it gets much harder to miss out on time with him. Luckily this week Cynthia is going out of town so I'll be working from home with the baby Friday and I took Monday off completely to just enjoy a full day with my little angel boy!

Sometimes I surprise myself. I used to not just want, but NEED 'me' time every weekend. Naps, laying on the couch doing nothing, etc. Now, I want to spend every second with Brock. If I'm napping, it's only because he's napping with me. I was NEVER a morning person before. I push the snooze button 10 times before I get out of bed (and set my alarm accordingly). Usually Nick gets up with him in the morning to feed him, but on weekends if he gets up early, I get up with him. If Nick gets up, I'll usually change Brock's diaper and get him changed, while Nick makes the bottle and then feeds him. And it doesn't matter how tired I am, as soon as I see his sweet little face and he smiles at me, my whole day is made! This weekend we had his 'breakfast' outside on the deck because it was so nice. And after he was done, we just sat there and listened to the birds and enjoyed the weather. This morning he woke up much earlier than normal, and Nick was still asleep, but I didn't mind one bit to get up early and get him changed and fed. It was actually a bonus to get that extra bit of time with him!!

Belly aches and belly laughs!

15 weeks!

Sorry for no post last week!! It was quite a busy week!! Not too much happened with the Brockster last week. On Friday he started a new trick - he loves, I mean LOVES to sit up whenever he can (with assistance of course), so Nick holds him a little propped up and he uses his little ab muscles to not only pull himself up, but he gets top heavy and falls over face forward...LOL! It's a work in progress!

Still no rolling over yet...I'm starting to think maybe he just won't do it. He does plenty of tummy time he just likes to look around, but not really roll too much!

He has now started to stick not just his thumb, but all his fingers in his mouth! And he doesn't bend them, he sticks them straight in his mouth, fingers sticking straight out! Sometimes, he sticks them in too far and ends up gagging himself! It's kinda funny, but I try to pull his hands out whenever I see him doing that!

He had his first full on belly laugh this weekend!! Uncle Drew was tickling him under his armpit and he thought that was hilarious. So I started doing it on both sides and he was laughing harder than I've ever seen him laugh! It was so cute!!

Sadly, we also had a little stomach bug going around the family this weekend. Brock had it we think Thursday and Friday. He was having stomach issues and pains and we think looser than normal poopies. Nick then got it Saturday and I had it Sunday...it was no fun!! But, just the first of what I'm sure will be many more bugs that we share as a family!

We went for a long walk yesterday and decided to let Brock sit just in the stroller instead of in the carset which latches into the stroller. Whenever he's in the carseat, he gets antsy and starts pulling his head up to try and sit up. So, we tried just in the stroller and he seemed to really like it. He fell asleep not too far into the walk, but I think he liked being able to see all the cars, trees, animals, people, etc that were passing us. We took some pictures that I'll try and get posted ASAP!

We also did a little 'fall cleaning' this weekend. I hit a children's consignment sale last week and scored quite a few things for Brock for the fall/winter - mostly pj's. I also went through a bunch of the things we got from Tracy right after Brock was born that we hadn't put away yet. Since our house isn't exactly a mansion, we have to get creative with storage. When Tracy gave us the clothes (and she was wonderful and gave us TONS), we seperated them by size and only put the size he was currently wearing and the size he'd be wearing next away in his closet. The rest went into the basement. Well, he's now wearing that 'next' size and about to transition to possibly an ever bigger size. He's been wearing 3-6 month clothes and mostly 6 month onesies since about 8 weeks old. Luckily, he's still pretty much wearing that same size, but I think by fall he'll be in to the 6-9 month clothes and probably 9 month onesies - I don't know about other babies, but it seems like the onesies are way smaller than other clothes on him so he's usually a size up in those, while he may be closer to on target with other clothes. Anyway, we stored away all the clothes that no longer fit him (to hopefully save for another one someday) and put all of his fall clothes away in his dresser/closet. He's ready to rock!

He's going to be pretty much every night around 9 and is still pretty easy to put down on most nights. Usually I put him down, get ready for bed, get things ready for the next day, and then get to bed. Last night however, Nick and I stayed up in the living room watching TV and I swear Brock knows when we're still up and he's not. It took just a little longer than normal for him to fall asleep! He's still sleeping like a total champ and wakes up just smiling away!

He has really started to grab things and bring them straight to his mouth. He also grabs his blankets, burp rags, whatever is close and pulls them up over his head! It's pretty funny because he can't figure out right away why he can't see anything anymore. He is still just talking, squealing and smiling all the time. He's the most fun baby and EVERYONE who watches him says he is the easiest and most perfect baby to watch!!

Sleepy boy...

14 weeks

As if Brock weren't already a little sleeping champ, now he wants even more!! We're having to go in and actually wake him up each morning to eat around 6:45. So, we've started putting him to bed a little earlier - 9-9:30 ish and he still sleeps like a champ!!

This was one of the most fun weeks we've had with him so far!! My Dad/Pat bought him a little stuffed animal duck that flaps it's wings and sings when you push a button on his foot. Well, I sat down with Brock on the floor between my legs and put the duck facing him. He went NUTS! He was laughing, yelling, talking, just all about the duck! Of course as soon as we turned on the camera to get a video, he got all shy!!

He has a new hobby in the bathtub too - kicking his leg to splash water everywhere. He doesn't necessarily laugh, but he definitely enjoys doing it! He has officially outgrown his infant tub so he's just on a mat in the tub like a big boy! He really really wants to sit up during his bath but he's not quite there yet. He tries to pick his head up off the mat to sit up, but when you sit him up, he doesn't have the balance yet to stay that way.

I think he's definitely on the verge of rolling over. We've been doing lots of tummy time at night and he's getting closer and closer. He has been with Grandma Judy all week and has been perfect!! Their dog Taz loves him...he even likes to lay by him to 'protect' him:

I went to Pottery Barn Kids today and bought Brock some new Halloween books! I can't wait to read them to him and to get him excited for Halloween. I know this year he may not be into it much, but as he gets older I hope he'll appreciate it and love it like I do!!

Baptism pics

Proud Parents!

Brock and his Godparents - Mia Cole and David Barbosa

                                          Brock the Baptism Elf

             Brock and Father Storey (the same Priest that married us!)

                   The fabulous Baptism cookies from Dolce!