Summertime is here!

I know, I know I've been very bad. I've reverted back to my old ways of not blogging for long periods of time. I'm terrible! So much has happened since my last post!! We've made two trips to the beach...which Bryson thoroughly enjoyed. We now have TWO bottom teeth, with two more on the top making their way through. We've also begun to master eating finger foods. Today we also have another first...but not a fun first. We have now encountered our very first bout of pink eye. Not fun at all!! Apparently, on top of that, he also has another ear infection. It just never ends! Needless to say, we've had a very busy month!

Bryson is growing, growing, growing. I can't believe he'll be 9 months next week!! He still has not begun to crawl, but we figure it wont be much longer. He is rolling around everywhere, and moves in circles frequently. He is always moving, that's for sure. If he's not kicking his legs, he's bouncing. It also appears we've got a talker on our hands. (just like his mama??) He's always talking jibberish to himself now. He plays with his toys and just jabbers away like no one else is even in the room. He also loves to make little Indian sounds now which is quite possibly the cutest thing ever. I will have to post a video soon so ya'll can all see what I'm talking about.

We also celebrated our first Father's Day a few days ago. Bryson is definitely blessed to have a wonderful daddy, that's for sure. In a world where so many dad's want nothing to do with their kids, what a blessing it is to have a husband who wants EVERYTHING to do with his son. Dirty diapers, late night bottles, doctor's appointments...you name it, Jeffrey does it....and with no complaints. I thank God for him!!

Now, for some pictures!!

1st beach trip to Hilton Head with GiGi

First taste of orange

Two teeth! (they have now fully popped out!)

Lovin some lemons!

Hangin with GiGi

Daddy and Bryson

My FAVE!

2nd beach trip to N. Myrtle with MeMe

Playin in the sand

Lovin the pool

Bouncin away!

Sittin with MeMe

First meeting with GiGi's kitty, Alfie!

Until next time!

Check out this tooth!

Also, here is a video of Bryson's new favorite game. Enjoy!

Here I go again on my own!

Hello again! This has truly been an eventful couple of weeks. Not only has Bryson taken his first swim in the pool, he has also begun sitting up by himself and is in the process of cutting his first tooth! It is insane how quickly things are happening! He is now rolling back and forth constantly and is no longer stationary on the floor. I'm thinking crawling will be here soon...probably before we hit 9 months! Also, despite my diligent efforts to get him to say "mama" he spit out "da da da da" tonight. I will keep trying though!

Since Bryson has mastered the art of sitting up now, we decided to try some "finger foods" tonight. I'm not sure he liked them. What do you think?

No, that is not his tooth that you see in the below picture. That is a puff stuck to his gums!

Here is Bryson during his first trip to the pool at his Great Aunt & Uncle's house.

Swimming is serious business.

And here are several other miscellaneous pics:

Sitting up all by myself!

WOAH!

Forget the cow, I'd rather chew on the tags.

Giving Gingey some lovin

Ha! I'm not sure what this look is but it was too funny not to share!

More to come soon!

Love,

Jennifer

Look at me, I'm blogging!

I bet you thought it would be another month before I updated again? WRONG! I am on top of things this month!

Bryson's 7 month birthday has come and gone and I'm sure 8 months will be here before we know it. Bryson has been talking up a storm...and sometimes screaming up a storm. (he recently "found" his voice....so yeah, that's interesting.) It's so funny to watch him when he's being silly...he thinks he is the funniest thing ever. I swear this child must be a mini Jeffrey all around! He just laughs and laughs at everything...which is really cute unless you're trying to put him to sleep and all he's doing is laughing at your efforts.

He has also started waving his hand constantly which is pretty amusing to see. I don't think he quite realizes that this means "hello" but I feel like this is his "I'm happy to see you" greeting. It is too cute. Also, he has finally conquered the difficult task of rolling from back to front so we are excited about that! He's not a pro yet, but I'm sure it wont take long. I'm anticipating having to baby proof the house VERY soon because I know in just a few weeks that child is going to be crawling.

Anyways, not much of an update this week BUT I do have some pretty darn cute pictures to share!

Worst blogger?

Ok, be honest...am I officially the worst blogger ever? I know I've been seriously slack about posting stuff on here. I think some people may have given up on me already but for those of you who continue to check in on us, thank you! I promise I'll be better!

Next week Bryson will be 7 months old!!!!!! Can you believe that?? The time continues to fly by. He is doing so well and growing so big. He's almost gotten the hang of rolling over from back to front so we're expecting him to start doing that any day now. He is also really learning how to kick those legs so we're also expecting crawling to start sometime in the near future. I swear every day he's doing something new. Yesterday he discovered how to make this weird clicking noise with his tongue and bottom lip which was definitely new to us! He thought he was so funny though!

Also, he's starting to show his "mama's boy" side...which I of course love. It warms my heart when he is actively seeking me out, wanting me to hold him or come to him. There is just something about the bond between a mother and son....I absolutely love it. If we ever have a little girl, Jeffrey is going to be in big trouble! I know we'd have a daddy's girl on our hands!!

Bryson has really turned out to be such a happy/content baby. We had some rough times in the beginning, but now it really seems like the only time he cries is when he's hungry or sleepy. When he is sleepy, we have major issues. Nap time and bed time can be one heck of a challenge for us on most days/nights. He fights sleep like it is his worst enemy. We are trying not to give into him so much at night time and trying to teach him to put himself to sleep. (As I type I'm listening to him cry in his crib in the next room.) It's hard not to go to him and "rock" (i.e. bounce, swing forcefully, etc...whatever works) him to sleep but he has GOT to learn to be able to fall asleep on his own at some point! It's tough but we're giving it a shot! We're just going to get him good and tired and lay him down. The rest is up to him. (we'll see how that goes!)

Anyways that's about all there is to tell right now. I thought it would be fun to end my post today with a comparison of some pictures of "then and now".. so enjoy!

THEN:

NOW:

Swaddling then:

Swaddling now:

(I literally walked in to check on him 10 minutes ago and found him like this. What a photo op! But...at least he's asleep!)

Love yall,

Jennifer

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