Quick Update

Hi all! I hope this finds everyone doing well! Things are going well for us. Bryson seems to have overcome his little ear infection and I'm feeling much better as well, so we are happy for that. There's not too much going on with us, but I did want to post a video of Bryson's new favorite thing to do. He has learned how to blow "razzies". This is something he loves to do and I think he's really proud of himself. I blow one at him, and you can see how much he concentrates and tries to do one to me. It's really neat to see him interact like that! (for some of you, this may be boring, but for us this is huge!) Here is a video of him blowing Mommy some razzies. (if you can, wait til the very end of the video because the last one is the best! :) )

He is also starting to grab things and hold on to them which is also really exciting for us. It's just so cool as a parent to see your child developing in so many ways! I know the fun is just beginning!

I'll leave you today with a picture of Bryson all cozy in his favorite hat. :)

We love you all! Enjoy the Super Bowl this weekend! I know I'm looking forward to the commercials (my favorite part of course!)

Enjoying the winter wonderland from a cubicle...

Hi all! Well today was an exciting day for all of us southerners....we saw a little bit of snow! Of course, those of you who live down here know that this is a huge event...schools close, businesses have delayed openings...etc. All for just a little snow. We just don't know what to do with ourselves. My job of course had no delayed opening and no closing so here I am sitting in my cubicle when I'd rather be wrapped up in a blanket at home with my boys. Oh well. What better way to be productive than to update my blog? Jeffrey had MLK day off yesterday so he got to stay home with the baby, and since the daycare is closed today, he gets to stay home again today. Lucky him!

Unfortunately Bryson has not been feeling too well lately. He had a little tummy bug last week which, after some formula changes we thought we had under control, however it is back this week. Poor little guy was up most of the night last night fussing. Hopefully we can get him back to feeling well soon. He is now strictly on soy formula until he goes to do the doctor in a couple weeks (we were told by a nurse that this would help ease his tummy). I'm really hoping he does not have a milk allergy though! He also has a bit of a cold which he has so lovingly shared with me so that's no fun for either of us. I guess these are the joys of having a child in daycare! I better get used to it I suppose.

We have been debating on whether or not he could possibly be teething early because he is showing some signs of it. He will gnaw on anything you put in his mouth, and he has been drooling a lot more than normal. If this is the case, it could be a contributing factor in his fussiness. I don't see any teeth poking up just yet so we'll just have to wait and see!

Despite being sick, Bryson has been in a really good mood the past week. He has been talking even more and smiling at almost anyone who talks to him....especially the ladies. What a flirt he is already! He is a silly little thing. Here are some recent pics of our little ladies man!

Mmmm, I love eating my hands!

There's that smile! (a little blurry)

Still lovin bath time!

Stickin the tongue out for the camera. What a jokester.

Breathing in some steam from the shower. (the camera was fogging up)

Sacked out!

Just hanging out in mama's favorite pj's!

I am way too cool.

I'll be walking soon! :)

We did it!

Well we've made it through almost a full week of daycare! Monday was really hard and I cried as soon as we walked into the daycare. But as the day went on (and I kept calling the daycare to check on him), I really saw that he was in good hands and was being well taken care of. A huge wave of relief just washed over me and I really felt at peace with everything. We found out he slept in his crib at daycare (which he has NEVER done at home) and we were just amazed. The ladies swaddled him up and he went right to sleep. (swaddling?? we gave that up after just a few weeks!) So when we got home, we decided to start a nice bedtime routine for him. Bathtime, story time and then bedtime. We swaddled him up, stuck him in his crib, and by golly the boy slept! Tuesday night was even better! He slept for 9 hours straight and I actually had to wake him up in the morning! It was just incredible.
I am so thrilled that daycare has been such a positive change for him. His teachers say he's adjusted quickly and well and he's such a good baby! They said he was even showing off his little dimple yesterday he was so happy. :) Another bonus of this daycare is their security cameras they have in each room, which I can watch throughout the day on my computer. (how cool is that??) So anytime of day I can log on and see what my little man is up to, which also gives me peace of mind.
We did have a little bit of a scare on Tuesday afternoon though. The daycare called and said they had experienced a small fire! (WHAT?!?) Everyone was fine and nothing was damaged, it was just a dryer that had caught on fire on the inside. How crazy is that? Second day of daycare and there's a fire! Fortunately noone was hurt and everyone got out safely. That showed me that they can take good care of Bryson, even in a crisis. Thank goodness!
Although I miss my baby so much and can't want to get my hands on him every afternoon, this has been a really good change for me too. I feel like I really needed a break and some time to myself so that I can be a better mom. Every afternoon I am so refreshed and so happy and it helps me to be more patient with him. I cherish the few hours I have with him before bedtime and we have so much fun just smiling and talking to eachother. I sit at my desk all day long and stare at his pictures which helps me get through the day. He is just such a precious little thing. (I also realized this week while closely examining his pictures, that he does indeed have my eyes! So if you block out his little forehead and his mouth and chin...THERE I am right there in his little nose and eyes. I knew I was hidden in that face somewhere!)
If anything, this week has taught me how much I love my little guy. It's just such an overwhelming love that I never thought I could have for another person. He is just so amazing and his daddy and I are so proud of him. Who knew that being a mom would be so awesome? The only regret I have is that my dad isn't here to share this time with us. I know he would be so proud and would love Bryson to death. I do know that he is up in Heaven watching over us and protecting our baby. I'll do my best to let Bryson know just how wonderful his grandpa was.
Thanks to everyone who was praying for us this week during this change! We appreciate that so much and I have no doubt that that helped this week go so smoothly! We love you all!

Until next time! :)

The end is near...

Well Christmas has come and gone and the New Year is upon us. I can't believe how fast the weeks have flown. We had a nice Christmas spending time with our families. Bryson even met Santa and that went very well! :) I just can't believe Christmas has come and gone so quickly! I guess we say that every year though!

This is my last week staying home with Bryson and it's breaking my heart thinking about it. I never thought it would be so hard to take him to daycare....boy was I wrong. I can't help but worry if he'll be taken care of like he should be. Will they rock him to sleep if he needs to be? Will they know when he's hungry? Will they comfort him if he's upset? It just absolutely breaks my heart to know I wont be there for him. I know I'll be fine once I get used to everything but it's definitely going to be a difficult adjustment. I really hope that Bryson doesn't have too much trouble adjusting to his new environment. I also worry about missing out on major happenings in his life. Will I miss the first attempts to crawl? His first word? His first steps? I sure hope not!

With all that being said, I know it will be good for me to get back to work and get back into the grown up world I've left behind for so long now. I also know that it will be very healthy for me to get out of the house and have the time to myself during the day. I just know I'll be itching to get my arms around my baby at the end of each day!

Anyways I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I hope the upcoming New Year brings many blessings to everyone! I'm certainly looking forward to what this year has in store for us!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

Well another two weeks have passed! Bryson is growing more and more each day. We went and had his first shots last week which was a little hard for mom but Bryson was a trooper. As of that visit he weighed 11 lbs 4 oz and is now 23 inches long. It's hard to believe how big he's getting! Everyone always says that time with a baby just flies by and now I'm really starting to see that. He changes so much every day! We get so many smiles and sounds from him now. Every noise he makes (aside from the crying) is music to my ears. Even as I type now he's in his swing talking away. I can't help but smile and laugh...it's just such a sweet sound.

We are really looking forward to the holidays coming up. This year is going to be so special with a new baby. I've finished up most of my shopping and thankfully I've been able to do a good bit of it online. Shopping with Bryson is not always the easiest thing to do. I've learned he's not too fond of it. We like to wait until the weekend when Daddy can go with us. Bryson loves the Christmas tree. We sit him in his bouncy seat and he just looks the tree up and down. It's precious.

That's about all there is to share right now. Our baby boy continues to get more beautiful each and every day! I can't believe how lucky we are!

Smiles that warm your heart...

Hi everyone! Today marks Bryson's 8 week birthday! I can't believe how fast the time is flying. It's absolutely incredible. He has finally started smiling and it is the most precious little smile ever. He also likes to talk to us now with a bunch of coo's and aaah's and you can't help but laugh because it's so sweet. Aside from bathtime, his other favorite time of day seems to be diaper change time (unless he's being cranky that is). He has the best time on the changing pad just talking and smiling. In fact this morning when I was trying to clean out his nose with the bulb syringe, he thought that was the funniest thing! I never thought I'd get a big grin from him for doing that!
Each day he brings so much joy into my heart it's unbelievable. Part of me wants him to stay little forever but the rest of me is so excited and anxious to see the little person he's going to be. I do know one thing, he's going to be one handsome little dude!
One thing that I have learned in the past few days is it is nearly impossible to catch one of his smiles on camera. I have tried my hardest but by the time the camera flashes, he's already stopped. So here are some shots of me trying to catch a smile...he still looks adorable though!




I'm so glad that Thanksgiving is coming up this week. It's my favorite holiday because it's all about spending time with family. This year I am so thankful that God chose Jeffrey and I to be Bryson's parents. We don't deserve that kind of blessing but God has given him to us anyways. We really don't deserve any of the things God gives us, but to be chosen as parents...wow, that's huge. Having Bryson in my life has really taught me to count my blessings daily. Because of him, my heart is overfilled with love and joy and my life is now complete. What more could I possibly want?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Gobble Gobble!

6 weeks and 500 diapers later...

Time sure is flying! Bryson will be 6 weeks in just a few days which is unbelievable. He's getting to be such a big boy. Everything continues to go well and he's a very healthy boy so we are grateful for that. Every day around 12:00 PM he goes into a little crying fit for a while, so that can be a bit frustrating but somehow I make it through. Being a temporary stay at home mom is pretty stressful at times but I really cherish the special moments that we have together. I wouldn't trade this time for anything.

We still haven't seen that first precious smile yet but every day I try to get one out of him. I think it will come really soon! Bath time is our most favorite time. Bryson is the happiest little thing ever when he is in the bathtub. It is so adorable! If he could smile, he'd have the biggest grin on his face. I feel so bad when I have to take him out because he gets so upset. I wish they made a little portable bathtub that we could tote him around in. He'd love it!

We are just really enjoying being parents. Each day is a new adventure! Gotta love parenthood!

Love,

Jennifer