6 Month Dr. Visit

Last Friday Braydon had his 6 month Dr. visit. I know I'm a little late in posting it but this week's homework was a killer. 4 chapters in one week!

My little boy is 6 months old...can you believe it? He has changed so much since he was born. He now weighs 21.7 lbs. and is 27" tall. He is in the 90th precential for both his height and weight. This time he was a champ for his shots. It's so cute to watch him roll around on the floor and bounce in his jumperoo. He now gets three meals a day of solids and I swear he could eat my hand off. I can't seem to get the food into his mouth quick enough. He loves everything he eats his favorites are Pears, Sweet Potatoes, Peas and Carrots. The only thing he doesn't like is the oatmeal no matter how hard I try to get him to eat it he just won't. He got several shot's this time because he needed the flu shot. He goes back in two weeks to get his flu shot booster and then in another two weeks for the H1 N1 shot and after that another two weeks for the H1 N1 booster. Basically he has shots every two weeks for the rest of the year.

We are having Thanksgiving at a friends how next week so that will be nice. I'm really looking forward to the deep fried turkey we are having. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for this year and couldn't imagine my life without Braydon or Chris.

Halloween

It was Braydon's first Halloween. We decided to dress up as a family of Superhero's. Dad went as Batman with Braydon as his sidekick Robin, and I went as Supergirl. On the Friday before Halloween Chris's command had a party for the kids. All the kids were dressed up and they had games and a parade for the kids.

On Halloween the kids went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and we sat outside and handed the candy out to the kids. Braydon was a huge hit and some kids were scared of Chris's Batman.

Next year Chris already has our costumes picked out. We decided that next year we will also take Braydon trick-or-treating since he will be 1 1/2 and able to actually enjoy it somewhat.

Back Home in Italy

After a long day of travel we arrived back to Italy last night. We tried to keep Braydon up as long as possible so his sleep didn't get too messed up. But have you ever tried to keep a 5 1/2 month old awake when he is sleepy? Let me tell you it is not easy and it can cause a headache. It didn't help that last night our time changed so we gained an hour. We gave him a bath which usually he likes but not last night. Finally we gave in and put him down at 8pm which was really 7pm. He didn't sleep really good last night but he did sleep. Chris and I tried to stay awake as long as possible too, but I just couldn't do it. I managed to stay awake for an hour after Braydon by unpacking the bags. We did all manage to sleep all night (with a few times for bottles in between). Today has been spent doing laundry and catching up on things after being gone so long.

The weather isn't too much better then it was back in Chicago. It is warmer but we are heading into our rainy season so it's not very pretty outside. We don't get snow though and it doesn't get too cold so that is something I'm looking forward to. Braydon will only get to experience the snow if we take him up to Mt. Etna or to Germany durning the winter.

We have a busy next few months with Thanksgiving and then Christmas. Plus I go back to school the week after next and Chris will be very busy with work. Hopefully the time goes by fast because I'm already missing everyone from home. We will be back for Braydon's first birthday and his christening.

I've uploaded all the pictures from our trip. Most seem to be of Braydon and of his cousin Hayden (it was her first birthday while we were home). Just click on the picture above and it will take you to all of them.

Illinois, Michigan, and Kentucky Visit

I'm writing this while waiting on catching my flight back to Italy. It's raining and nasty in Chicago and sunny and in the 60's in Italy so that makes me want to get back faster, but I'll miss everyone here. We had a good trip home and visiting everyone. Braydon was a big hit and everyone loved him. It was nice to spend some alone time with the hubby, but I missed Braydon most of the time when we left him.

Dan and Kelly's wedding was beautiful and Kelly was a beautiful bride. I would kill to have her figure and been able to pull off her lace dress. Dan looked good too but Kelly looked better! Braydon was good during their wedding, but we left him with a sitter for the reception. It was the first time I've ever left him with someone other than a relative, I was a little scared but he was awesome. When we went to pick him up after the wedding reception they told me how good a baby he was.

Our flights went good for the most part. Braydon was WONDERFUL on the flights but we ended up having a 6 hour delay in Rome so Chris and I weren't too happy!!!! Braydon was a trooper and slept for some of the flight. When he was awake he just watched people and flirted with the woman flight attendents. I'm in trouble because he is such a little flirt I'll need to curb that later.

We had Braydon's 6 month pictures done while back in the states. We actually got them done at Walmart and they did a great job. We couldn't get in anywhere else to have his pictures taken because we waited too long. I'll remember to schedule his 1 year in advance. I've uploaded all the photos and if you click on the picture above you can see all of them.

Well that's all for now. We will keep waiting to see if we are actually flying out today because of the weather.

Two Bottom Teeth

I should have posted this last week but was busy finishing a school assignment. I know nothing comes before Braydon but sometimes things happen. Anyways, Braydon has his two bottom teeth. In a matter of three days he had teeth it was amazing. On Sunday he was eating one of his toys and I noticed some blood, I looked and everything looked alright so I ignored it. Then on Monday I noticed white spots on his gums, and on Tuesday he had two bottom teeth. All in all I can say that he did this teething thing without any major fussing. He had his moments though and mostly we knew he was teething because he was drooling like a faucet, it has since slowed down a bit, plus he was gnawing on anything he could get his hands on. I was worried that the teething process would be a horrible one, based on all the reading I've done and stories I've heard from friends. Maybe we are lucky because for the most part Braydon is a very calm boy, he is usually fussy at night but hey give him a break he is only 4 1/2 months old.

Other interesting news...He's trying to sit on his own and it is so cute. He gets frustrated trying to pull himself up when he is laying in his bobby. Braydon has outgrown all of his 3-6 month clothes. We had a lot of this size and luckily he wore almost every outfit. He doesn't have much 6-9 month clothes so I've got a lot of shopping I get to do :)

Next week Braydon has his first air plane ride. We fly back to the States for my brother Dan and Kelly's wedding. I'm a little nervous about flying with a baby and hope Braydon does good. Luckily we have only one connecting flight in Rome and then straight through to Chicago. We have a lot planned for the three weeks of vacation we are taking and I am hoping Braydon is a good boy. We will be visiting three different states and almost always on the go. I'm really looking forward to going home and everyone meeting Braydon. I'll post more when we return from our trip since I'm sure I'll have lot's to say.

4 Month Dr. Visit & Eating Solids

On last Tuesday Braydon had his 4 month Dr. visit. He got weighed, measured and some shots. Our little man isn't so little anymore. He weighs 17 lbs. 13 ounces and is 26.5 inches tall. He got another three shots and an oral. He did better with the shots this time, he had a little bit of a delayed reaction to the shots and only screamed for a little while. Next visit is at 6 months and he will be getting the flu shot then, he was too young for it this time. We talked about starting him on solids. So on Wednesday we picked up some oatmeal to try. That night we attempted to feed him the oatmeal and it was interesting to say the least.

We waited a few days and then tried the applesauce. This seemed to go better, but still got all over the place. We have been doing this every night and it seems to be getting a little better. We went and got a high chair for him and this helped a little because he couldn't get away :) I wonder how long it takes before kids understand that they should swallow the stuff on the spoon? Good thing we have tile floors!!!

Here are some new pics of the little guy. Just click on the picture and it will take you to a gallery of more. We are getting nervous about flying back to the states with a 4 month old (he will be 5 month's the day of the flight) but can't wait for everyone to see him.

Almost four months

So Braydon will be four months old tomorrow...wow the time sure does fly by. He loves to stand on my lap and on the floor (with us holding his arms). He also recently learned that he can sit on his own, even though we have to put him in the position. Braydon loves putting everything and anything in his mouth. He will take our fingers and put them in his mouth or even his own pajamas. We think he is teething because he is drooling like crazy and putting everything in his mouth. We have taken him out to friends house's more and he is a little shy at first but then hams it up. We finally got the pool we ordered for Braydon so maybe we will get to use it once before the end of the year. We are a little lucky because it does stay warmer here longer, but not much longer. Maybe tomorrow we will test it out. In a few more weeks we fly back to the states for Dan and Kelly's wedding. It will be the first time everyone gets to see Braydon and it should be lot's of fun. I'm a little nervous about flying with a baby, but everyone tells me he will do better then us. I know everyone is anxious to meet the little dude and we are anxious for it as well. Tuesday Braydon has his four month Dr. visit. He gets more shots and we may even start him on rice cereal after that. This may help with getting him to sleep longer at night. I really can't complain though he does pretty good and usually goes right back to sleep after he eats.