Busy Month

Judging by the one post for the entire month of May, it was definitely a busy month. At least it has been for Brady.

Brady...
-took his first trip to Grandma and Grandpa Householder's house
-rolled over for the first time... now won't stay on his back for 30 seconds
-began using a sippy cup
-loves "standing" like a big boy
-sits in his stroller without the car seat
-surprise, surprise, he loves all sorts of new foods: peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, watermelon
-has moved on to 9 month and 12 month clothes
-took a lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.. just missed the track record... for Mutt Strut with Coda and Tess.

As for Brady's entourage....
-after trying everything we could, we finally had to take Lance to his new country home (thanks to the Darleges)
-we finished up the front flower bed/landscaping
-replaced the hot water heater after it sprang a leak
-replaced the kitchen faucet after it sprang a leak
-got our vegetable garden in
-changed jobs (minor shift in responsibilities only)
-decided to continue the stay-at-home Mom job in the fall
-and in general tried to keep up with Brady.

Looking forward to June and all of the planned (WI vacation and Brewer's game) and unplanned (whatever Brady or the house decide to do next) activities.

Let's Play..... Who does Brady look like?

So... the obvious question/statement when people see Brady is:

Who does he look like? or ohhh, he looks just like you.

Now it is your turn.... who do you think Brady looks like?

Brady 4 1/2 months

Brady 3 1/2 months

Shawnna 1 day old

Shawnna 4 months

Daniel 2 months

Daniel 2 months

Front Landscaping

So another item on the list of "things that we will fix after we buy the house.... but takes 5 years to actually do" was the front landscaping. It had some terrible plastic trim and evergreen bushes that we fought every year. We had put in a lot of work on the backyard but hadn't done much up front.

We had slowly been re-doing parts of the landscaping like plants and bulbs and tearing out two of the four bushes. but hadn't taken the plunge. After tearing out the second evergreen bush last fall because it was completely dead on the inside, we realized it was time to finally do it.

So, Grandma Householder came down to entertain Brady while we landscaped. We tore out all the bushes and then rototilled the new bed since we wanted to expand the current beds.

We had such good success with the butterfly garden from Bluestone Perennials that we got one to use as the flowering portion of the landscape. We then tried to get bushes that would be interesting year round like red twig dogwood (red color in winter), holly (berries in winter), burning bush (red leaves in fall), hydrangea (big blooms in the summer and fall).

Last thing to do is to get some mulch to finish it off.

New Things

Brady seems to be changing and developing on an hourly basis, right before our eyes! His new things include:
--Not rolling over
--Squawking noises that make the dogs look at him funny
--Drooling all over your shirt when you hold him on your shoulder
--Giggling....more at Dan than at me....but you know, Dan is pretty funny looking
--Much to his Grandma Householders dismay, watching The Simpson's with Dan while I'm
making dinner. (The first time he says: "Eat my shorts" "Don't have a cow man" or "I'm Bart
Simpson, who the hell are you" will be the end of the Simpson's for our household)(It will be a sad day)
--Pulling on a toy to make the music start. (Doesn't understand that pull=music, but
enjoys it none the less.)
--Taking his pacifier out of his mouth to play with it, then crying when he can't get it back in
--Shifting around in his crib until he can kick at the sides. (Which is super fun to listen to at 5am)
--And continues to melt his mama's heart with big, toothy, cheesy monkey grins.

Rainy Monday

We were able to accomplish the majority of our landscaping project last week. Thankfully Brady was able to hang out with his Grandma Householder while we were working. The rain we have gotten the past two days has been a welcomed blessing to the new bushes. Before and after pictures will be in a later post.

And if you're interested, Breastfeeding 1-2-3 is having a wrap/sling/carrier giveaway.
http://www.blisstree.com/breastfeeding123/baby-carrier-sling-or-wrap-giveaway/
If I win, this is one I would choose http://www.babycarriersdirect.com/kozy-carrier-mei-tai-baby-carrier-in-spotsylvania.htm

Brady Stats: 4.0

Four month check up was this morning. It went well and nursing while he is getting his shots really helps to keep him calm.

Here is the new stats for our Big Guy:

Weight-16lbs. 6oz. 90th precentile

Length-25.5 in. 75th precentile

Head- 16.5 in. 50th precentile

We have been given the green light to experiment with cereal and babyfoods. Also to start using an exersaucer or jumper.

Just like last time, we were warned that he may be very fussy today. But he seems to lean toward being more sleepy than fussy after shots.