14 weeks

Brandon surprised me with my second night of eight hours of continuous sleep last night!!! I still think we are a ways away from this happening on a regular basis but a new mommy can hope can't she??? Kevin, Brandon, and I are getting used to our new routines with me returning to work. The evenings sure do go by fast and I can't believe how much more I look forward to my days off (especially if Kevin has the day off also).
Brandon is now regularly rolling from his back to his stomach (and vice versa). We attempted to weigh him on our home digital scale and he is ~18 pounds already!!! He is actually wearing the same size diaper as his cousin, Ally (and she is 14 months old)!! We are going to have a big boy on our hands.

Jake and Lilly absolutely love the grass that Kevin put in a couple weeks ago. Kevin is pretty proud as it is very green and appears to be doing well. Hopefully they won't dig it up as it gets hotter. We have found that projects take a bit longer to finish with Brandon around. Aren't my dogs too cute!

Getting Older

Happy 30th birthday to Mommy!!! We celebrated last night by going out to dinner at the Steak Out and Brandon got to spend a few hours with Grandma and Grandpa Thomas.

Fun in the tub

Brandon seems to have outgrown his infant tub and now we are using his duck bath tub!! He had fun last night and managed to roll to his side and look at himself in the mirror. He still really likes bath time. We have started putting a few toys into the tub but mostly he likes to splash around and get water everywhere.

Back to Work

My first day back to work was actually a very good day. Brandon didn't sleep through the night like I had hoped but he only got up once ~2 am to nurse. I admit, I was teary eyed when I pulled out of the drive way but the rest of the day I was fine. It was nice to see everyone and to use my clinical thinking skills again.
Kevin and Brandon did very well together, which I knew they would. I only called home once to see how things were going. Kevin would make a great Mr. Mom (if anyone has seen that movie!!). Kevin couldn't resist taking Brandon's picture on our new lawn, with his camo on.
Brandon surprised me by sleeping through the night for my second day back to work!!!! I was shocked when I realized he slept from 8:30 pm to 5:30 am!!!! I can't believe how nice it was to sleep for eight hours straight. I am slowly finding my routine again at work and hopefully next week when Kevin and I are both back to work, we will figure out that routine too!

Summer starts

Since yesterday was about 94 degrees, Brandon spent the afternoon just hanging around in his diaper (as we haven't turned on the air conditioner yet).

Brandon has also discovered he can adjust the volume of his voice lately. He starts talking to us and by the end of the "conversation" he is squealing as loud as he can! He is getting better at tummy time and is reaching out and (successfully) grabbing the toys on the toy bar of the bouncy chair. He still seems to prefer "standing", and has started trying to army crawl (which usually fustrates him). I'm still waiting for him to do more rolling over. His hands are now a favorite item and he usually tries to put both of them in his mouth at the same time.

Brandon is still taking naps during the day but the length of his naps vary based on where he is sleeping (in the bouncy chair vs the pack n play/crib).

Tomorrow I return to work.....hopefully we have another good night tonight. Brandon let me slept again from 8:30 pm to 3:40 am last night!!!! I will miss Brandon like crazy however I am taking some pictures with me to work to show him off. Wish me luck!!!!

12 weeks

Brandon is going to be bigger than his Monkey soon!

Funny faces

After Brandon wakes up from sleeping, he always stretches and makes the cutest faces. I hope that as he gets older he will still do this, although I think that once he is no longer swaddled he won't need to stretch as much. It has taken me weeks to get it on camera as he is usually quicker than the camera!

Happy Easter

We spent the day with Kevin's family. Brandon was in a good mood and enjoyed being held by everyone. I was hoping to get a picture of him helping to find Easter eggs but he was taking a nap.

If you can't tell by his round face and tummy, he is getting pretty big. We are now in size 3 diapers and 3-6 months clothing. I think he will weigh in at a hefty 18 pounds at his 4 month doctors visit, which is still over 4 weeks away!

Early Mornings

Brandon let me sleep until ~4:20am a couple nights ago!!! I was shocked when I looked at the clock and realized how long he had been asleep. But last night he was back to his usual 2:30am feeding schedule. I can't complain too much, since I know it could be much worse. I have actually become accustomed to getting up in the early morning hours, sometimes I wake before Brandon does in anticipation of him needing to nurse.
I have started preparing to return to work after having almost three months off. I know it will be difficult to leave Brandon but I also know he will be in goods hands with various family members over the first four weeks I am back to work. So, thank you to Kevin, the Grandma's, and Aunt Rachel for all the help and support!!! We are very excited to have Grandma Payne watch him over the summer for a couple days a week.

Still swaddling

I find that Brandon sleeps best if he is still swaddled, but sometimes he is a little houdini and gets his arms out of the blanket. I wonder how much longer he will allow us to swaddle him, hopefully I am not setting up a "bad" sleep habit but it definitely seems to help him take an hour nap in the am and a two to three hour nap in the afternoon. Not to mention that most nights he lets me sleep from ~8:30pm until ~2:30 am before needing to eat again. Last night he even let me sleep until 3:15 am!!!! I hope this regimen lasts when I return to work on the 22nd!!!

Tummy time

I was able to catch Brandon mid-roll this afternoon! I'm pretty sure it happened on accident but it was still exciting!!

Brandon also grasped his rattle for the first time today without my help. He even picked it up and shook it back and forth. Another exciting first!!!

He has definitely discovered his hands, he has recently been putting them into his mouth (especially when he starts getting hungry) and staring at them. I'm still not too sure he realizes his controls them though.

Opening Day

Go Diamondbacks! Kevin spent some time with Brandon this morning while I ran errands (we are getting both Brandon and I used to spending time apart in preparation for my return to work) and when I returned home Kevin had dressed him for the day. I have a feeling they will be watching many games together.

10 weeks

I have been taking pictures of Brandon next to his monkey since he was born to track how big he is getting. I got the idea from my friend Aleyna. Thanks for the idea!

More laughing

I just couldn't resist taking more pictures of him smiling and laughing in the morning.

Bath time

Brandon has already outgrown the bath sling and now is able to just "sit" in the infant bath tub. He usually strikes up a conversation with us while we are drying him off. I wish we had a video camera to capture these conversations!

Bath time is part of our bedtime routine and usually he is half asleep while trying to take his last meal before bed. We have continued to work on putting him to bed slightly drowsy to help him learn how to get himself to sleep. So far, he has done well, at most 5-10 minutes of fussing.