6 months later

Hello again! I'm sorry I go so long between blogs but there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I'd like. Everything has been going wonderfully though so I am happy for that. Bryson is growing and growing...and growing. Monday will be his 6 month birthday and I just cannot believe the time has gone by so quickly. It makes me sad! Each and every day a little bit more of his personality peeks through...and each and every day I think he's more like his daddy. Such a silly thing! He has also turned into quite the little piggy and he enjoys dinner time very much. When he sees me mixing his cereal and baby food, he starts making noises, which I can only assume means "Hurry up Mom! I'm starvin over here!". It's just so funny to see how alert and aware of everything he is now! He becomes more and more vocal each day which is really funny. I went to pick him up from daycare the other day and could hear him all the way down the hall. (I wonder how long THAT will be cute?) He has also started to be able to sit up on his own a little bit! He hasn't mastered this yet, but we keep practicing!

Anyways, those are about all the updates I have for now. However, I thought I might share a few things that I've been pondering lately. I remember being pregnant and watching the news and learning about all of the horrible things that have been going on around the world....hatred, violence, war, greed...etc. and just crying thinking, "how can I bring a child into this horrible world?!?" Sometimes now I find myself worrying for him, wondering what will become of him as he gets older...as he faces temptation..as he comes in contact with the wrong people. It's hard knowing my job as a mother is to protect my child...but I can only protect him to a certain point, then it's up to him to make the right decisions and go down the right path...and ultimately God is his only protector. However...I had I guess what you'd say was an epiphany the other day. I was watching a rerun of a show that was showing coverage of the recent presidential election. I watched as it showed the reaction of many Americans as Barack Obama was declared our new president. Tears just welled up in my eyes thinking about what an awesome moment that was. Regardless of your political beliefs...just think one moment about how awesome it is that a black man was given the opportunity to be the President of the United States. It wasn't that many decades ago when blacks couldn't even sit beside a white person on a bus. How awesome is this? Our country has come SO far. This gave me so much hope...maybe when Bryson is my age the world will be a BETTER place. Maybe some of the hate will have disappeared? Maybe racism will be closer to non-existent? Maybe people can learn how to live in peace and not violence? Maybe people will be less greedy and more giving? Maybe my son will be a big part of changing this world for the better? I have no reason not to hope these things. I look into his eyes and know that he has the potential to be whatever he wants and he can do so many good things. Yes, I know that the world will always have evil in it...but I know that with each child born, there is the opportunity for a brighter tomorrow. Our children really do hold the future in their hands! It just makes me so proud to know that one day, my little boy is going to grow up to be a man of God and some how, some way he's going to make a difference in this world. What an awesome thing to witness! What a blessing it is to be a part of preparing this child for the world.

Ok, now that I've got all that out of my system, here are some new pics of the baby!


Until next time...

Wowee, what a couple of weeks!

Hi Everyone!
Sorry it has been so long since I've updated. It has been a crazy couple of weeks around here. Bryson came down with what we think was the rotavirus which was NOT fun. He also passed that along to me so I had a few miserable days as well. So, after several days off of daycare and a few days off of work for me, everyone was in good shape again. (of course lucky Jeffrey never got sick one bit!) After all that was over with I came down with a horrible sinus infection so that was a pain as well. I'm glad to say that I have been feeling normal for the past couple of days and I am loving it! I really don't like this part about Bryson being in daycare. It's as if he's turned into some little germ train, bringing home who knows what every day. Hopefully once the weather gets a little nicer there will be less junk going around. (wishful thinking?) I just hope his little immune system gets stronger and stronger so maybe he wont get sick as often. I hate to see him suffer!

The past few days here have been gorgeous! Last week they were calling for snow (which of course never came) and this week it has been in the 80's! Of course this weekend it will be cold and rainy again so our fun is short lived. Anyways, due to the great weather Bryson got to hang out outside for a while on Saturday which he really seemed to enjoy. Because it's been so cold since he's been born, he really hasn't been outside much. It was nice to be out and let him enjoy the sunshine.

I am also proud to say I got a huge laugh out of Bryson tonight! It was like music to my ears to hear him laugh. It's a tough job to get that child to laugh but we try different things every day to see what works! Something else he's learned lately is how to "fake cough". I don't know where in the world the child picked this up but he does this all the time and thinks it's hilarious. His personality is really starting to show now! I think he's going to be a very silly child. :)

Anyways, that's about all the updates I have for now! Here are a few pictures of our growing boy:

I can do it Mom!

I found my feet!

....and they taste good!


Yall take care!

Love,

Jennifer

Picture day

Finally, some pictures to share! Here are some special moments over the past few weeks that I haven't had a chance to share:

Just hangin out on my play mat!

What IS this stuff?

Still not too sure about this..

It's pretty funny when I spit it all out.

Getting the hang of it...

More please Daddy.

Yummy!

Just bein silly!

Look Mom, I can sit on the couch like a big boy!

Saturday we took our first trip to the zoo! We saw all kinds of animals but our favorite was Lewis, the baby giraffe.

Enjoy the pictures!

Love,

Jennifer

Rollin Rollin Rollin....

Hi all!

Well the past few weeks have been very eventful for us. Bryson had his four month appointment which went very well! He's growing as he should be and weighs a whopping 15 lbs now. He also had his shots, which he had a rough time with. He had a fever for several days which, as it turns out, was partially from the shots and partially from a viral infection he was fighting off. Poor little guy. I'm happy to say he's much better now and is feeling great!

The doctor said we were good to go to start Bryson on solid foods so I'm proud to say he's been eating his rice cereal like a champ. In another week or so we'll try some other foods too so that will be exciting.
Bryson is now reaching out and grabbing things and is able to hold his toys and shake his rattle. It's so neat to see him reaching out to grab something so he can study it closely....and then of course taste it. We found that we can no longer give him a hard rattle because he likes to hit himself in the head with it. He mostly plays with his little soft football rattle that he shakes and shakes...and he can knock himself in the head to his little heart's content.

Also, the big news this week is Bryson decided to roll over for us last night! He rolled from his tummy to his back with little effort and we were so proud we yelled and clapped.....which I think scared him half to death. Oops. It's so crazy how quickly he is learning and growing. Every week he does something else that amazes us and I know that he's going to be crawling before we know it. It's just such a neat thing to witness.

This is such an amazing time in our lives and I feel that if we blink, we are going to miss something! All these years I've been hearing how fast time flies and you never quite realize that until you're a parent. We have to savor every moment we have with Bryson because before we know it, he'll be 18 and off to college!

Unfortunately I have not had time to upload many pictures recently, however I did want to share pictures of Bryson in his new hat that his GiGi brought him. He looks so cute...Jeffrey and I swear he should be a baby model.

Enjoy these pics and I promise there will be more to come soon! (hopefully this week!)

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! :)