Finalization news

We got some exciting news today... The adoption agency called with some potential dates for Brady's finalization hearing!  Unfortunately Pete is scheduled to be out of town for each of the three dates they gave us.  He's working on it as we speak, but we will definitely be finalizing sometime in October!

I was hoping that Pete would be done with travel for a while, but it doesn't sound like that will be the case.  He just found out that he has to go to CA next week, and he is supposed to spend a week in FL and two weeks in AZ in October.  Plus we were hoping to go to WI soon, and now we need to go to FL for court.  I'm not sure how this is all going to work out!

In other exciting news, Brady rolled over (front to back) for the first time today.  Of course I didn't see it happen, but I definitely witnessed the end result.  Good job kiddo!

UPDATE: Our finalization hearing will be on October 14 in sunny Clearwater, FL for anyone who needs a quick fall getaway!

 

Being amused by Lucky.

I'm so cute!

And you're so funny!

Ready for my new trick?  I'm in...

... and now I'm out!  Don't try this at home kids.  The Bumbo is officially retired. :)

The sign of a good party (Happy Birthday Auntie Kim)!

Solid-ish food

This weekend we decided to give "solid" food a try.  We mixed a little rice cereal with formula, and Brady went at it like a champ!  We expected it would take a few tries until he figured out what he was supposed to do, but it was only a matter of minutes before he was waiting with his mouth wide open for more and grabbing for the bowl.  We should have known he'd be a natural at eating... We learned that the day he was born!  He should fit right into this family of eaters!

We had yet another monthly visit from our social worker as well.  Brady was awake, but grumpy, when she arrived.  She picked him up and started talking to him and he immediately started crying!  She said, "Doesn't like social worker, I'll make a note," haha.  What can I say, we're all ready for these visits to end!

We took Brady out to eat twice over the weekend with varying degrees of success.  We were pushing the limits of his bedtime, so we won't hold it against him.  In general, he seems to like going to restaurants, and dislike grocery stores and malls.

He's been jumping like a maniac in his jumperoo.  I can't believe the energy he has already!  I've noticed that his fine motor skills are improving too.  He is now able to not only jump to make music play, but he can also spin the little spinny-things.

Brady has been waking up again during the night quite a bit after a nice stretch of sleeping through the night.  My new theory is not that the nap schedule screwed him up, but that it's the rolling over.  He seems to automatically roll over while he's sleeping now.  The problem is when he rolls all the way to his stomach rather than his side, because he still can't roll back to his back.  He gets stuck, frustrated, and wakes (us) up.  We move him back, and the process repeats.  I might try rolling up a receiving blanket next to him to see if that will stop him tonight.  If anyone has any other brilliant ideas, let me know!

A big congratulations to our friends Suzy and Chris, who just found out they will be having a girl in February.  We are so happy for them and can't wait to shop for little pink things!

This green stuff is very interesting up close.

Tough and mean.

Lucky sharing a little secret with Brady.



This floor feels lumpy for some reason.



I've got the hang of this.



More! More! More!



Mmm mmmm good.

Oh rice cereal, where have you been all my life?

Trying on the new car seat for the not-to-distant future

I surrender

OK Brady, I give up.  I'm waving the white flag.  I know I've been torturing you by keeping you up for longer stretches during the day, but I didn't expect you to retaliate by doing the same to me at night.  Well played my friend.  Well played.  Your old nap schedule is reinstated, effective immediately.

The face of victory.

Giving Sophie pointers on how to wear her parents down, no doubt.



Good friends and good news

Brady has recovered from his shots, but the cold still lingers on.  It doesn't seem to bother him too much, except when I come at him with the tissues!  He's rolling over like crazy now, every time you lay him down he immediately rolls over.  The only problem is that he rolls over in his crib during the night, and it worries me because he can't roll back onto his back yet.  I think he's working on it, though.  We're trying to help, but really, can you teach a baby to roll?  It seems like something he's got to work out for himself.  We're also trying to put Brady on a more consistent nap schedule, and we are trying to go from four to three naps a day.  Day 2 is proving to be as difficult as Day 1 was, but I think if we can get through the transition period we will all be happier.

Last Friday we met Bethany and Sam at the mall playground.  Sam is getting so big, and he's running around non-stop.  Brady totally loved watching all the kids play.  He got so excited that I had trouble getting him to eat!

On Saturday we went to baby Sophie's dedication.  Brady did pretty well, despite being out way past his bedtime.  At one point we had Brady and Sophie facing each other on our laps during the service.  Brady was jumping, flapping his arms, babbling, and smiling at Sophie, and she would coyly smile and giggle at Brady.  It was hilarious to watch!  I wish I had my video camera with me.

And finally a huge felicidades to Katie and Sean!  They received a referral for a baby girl in Colombia yesterday.  We are so excited for them- they've been waiting a long time for this wonderful news!  We can't wait to meet her.



Exhausted from a trip to the library.



And I thought Brady was heavy! Sam is growing up so fast.

Beth helping Brady and Sam say goodbye for now.

Brady likes being on his tummy a lot more now that he can get there on his own.

LOVING his new jumperoo (and Mommy loves that her arms don't have to do all the jumping now)!

Four month pediatrician appointment

Today we had Brady's four month appointment with the pediatrician.  All is well; he is healthy and on- track with his growth and development.  He weighed 16 lbs 4 ounces (50-75th percentile), he is 26 inches long (75th percentile) and his head circumference is 16.25 inches (25th percentile).  He had to get shots again today so he was pretty fussy this evening.  Plus he caught my cold, so he's really pitiful.  It's sad to see his tiny little nose run!  I feel guilty, but I guess it was inevitable despite all my hand-washing.

No pictures of our sad little boy today.  We'll bust out the camera tomorrow when happier times (hopefully)return!

Roll with it

Happy Labor Day!  We had a good holiday weekend, especially because Pete was back at home.  When we picked Pete up from the airport and Brady saw him, he laughed and laughed and laughed.  He really missed him!  Brady decided to show Daddy how happy he was by rolling over for the first time on Friday!  I was at Walmart, of course, so I missed the whole thing.  Evidently Pete had just finished giving Brady a bath, and he put Brady in the crib on his back while he went to the kitchen to make his bottle.  When Pete got back to Brady's room, Brady was on his stomach!  For three days we tried to get him to do it again with no luck.  Then on Monday night he did it!  Pete yelled for me and I grabbed the camera, and we got his third roll on video.

That was the highlight of our weekend.  I've been sick, so we didn't do anything too exciting.  We did take Brady to Target to get pictures taken yesterday, but I was not very impressed with them.  It didn't help that Brady is teething (I think) so every other picture has his fingers in his mouth!   

Swinging with duckie

Playing with Daddy

Ready to watch his first WVU game

Let's Go Mountaineers!

Truckin'

Brady and I had a fun time in WV over the weekend.  It was definitely much harder to get ready for the trip without Pete (thanks Kim-marie for coming over on Thursday night), but we made it without forgetting anything!  We made the usual rounds visiting family, plus we were able to catch up with my friends Amanda, Dodi, and Amber.  Brady was so excited to see everyone that he hardly napped.  The plus side to this was that he slept through the night two of the nights we were there!

Brady keeps getting bigger (imagine that), and he is now laughing up a storm.  Sometimes he thinks things you say are totally hilarious, and he'll belly-laugh at every sentence.  He is quite the charmer.  Brady's face is very expressive, and he continues to move non-stop.  He's really good at holding his head up and he prefers to sit up like a big boy so he can see the world around him.  His four month pediatrician appointment is next week and I can hardly wait.  I'm hoping I get the green light to start feeding him something other than formula.

Today we learned that Pete will be coming home tomorrow- two days early for those of you keeping track at home.  We are so so happy!  I wonder if Brady will look any bigger to Pete this time?

Another busy morning at the office

Why do you torture me with this tummy time?

Ma, where's the remote?

Catching up with Grandpa and Uncle Dustin in WV

Showing Amanda how much he's grown

Belle looking cute as can be (Amanda's daughter)

Amanda and Dodi helped put the big guy to sleep

Good morning with Grandpa, Uncle Daniel, and Grandma

Mmmm, Nana makes a mean bottle

Relaxing with Pop Pop, Nana, and Aunt Casey

Playing with Mammaw

Enjoying some fresh air back at home

Munchkin

Baby talk with Sophie (Meredith's daughter aka Brady's girlfriend)

Ready to take on the heat and walk Lucky