15 months

happy 15 months little B! i keep telling people that you are actually turning into a toddler. you have an opinion. a voice. one that doesn't like not getting what he wants. you stomp your feet and have melt downs. i hate to say you are having pre mini tantrums, but that's what it sure looks like. :( you laugh with and smile with glee when you are happy though. which is most of the time. 80/20. 80% perfect, 20% fussy. part of that is due to some huge swollen gums from your molars coming in. i am surprised you have no back teeth yet, since you have been an early teether for the front ones. 

these days:

you eat quite a bit. your favorites at the moment are egg yolk. cottage cheese. yogurt. cheese. salmon. pinto beans. bananas. grapes. blueberries. apple sauce. and of course milk. you drink massive amounts of milk and water. so much, that you leak through your diaper up to your chest every morning when we come to get you. dada usually brings you down stairs in a whole new outfit that i put you to bed in. 

you sleep through the night. which is nothing new. you've always done that. except for a two month period when you were 8-10months old. i have no idea what was up with that. you suddenly just started waking up, then you suddenly just stopped. you're so weird. you nap once a day. we are slowly moving that back later in the day, so you don't have such a long afternoon stretch to stay awake for. this is making some of our play dates more difficult, yet some easier. the ones that you are on the same sleep schedule as the other babies. you still nurse. morning and night. i think i will keep nursing you throughout flu season, so until march or so. which is way longer than i anticipated, but hey, if it keeps you less sick for another season, then i'm on board. i didn't sign you up for music class this session. the MAIN reason is, your mama is a freak! and scared of germs and flu season. yes that's right. i'm crazy. but i like to say i'm a preventer. i will do all i can to prevent harm or sickness to come your way. and that my dear is just ask for the flu. being in a tiny room with the heater on with a whole bunch of other kids sucking on toys and putting fingers in each others mouths. gross. i even, when no parents are looking, anti bacterial wiping the whole play ground. no seriously. and i wipe your hands after too, because you suck your thumb a little too much. i wash your hands when we get home after every outing with warm water and soap. i have a cover for the grocery cart, that i use for high chairs at restaurants as well. i have a silicone mat i put on the tables at restaurants for you to eat off of, so your food doesn't touch the table. i sanitize my phone so you can play with it, and our whole house! i am not normal. i hope you don't get me and your dads OCD-ness from us. maybe a little bit of it, like wanting things to look perfect, like laundry and stuff. but not the other stuff. it's annoying and it drives me crazy that i'm like this. we were going to take you to Orange County for X-mas to visit GGClaire, but now we are making her come here instead, since i was was going to fly with you and dad and Zoe were going to drive, but i didn't want you to get Ebola or the new weird virus called Enterovirus that's killing and paralyzing kids. usually ones with pre existing medical  conditions like asthma, but still. that stuff frightens me. watching or listening to the news gives me anxiety. ever since this Ebola outbreak, i haven't been able to sleep good. i have buying bottled waters and organic milk that is sealed so it doesn't need to be in the fridge and lots of pouches of food for you just incase we need to isolate ourselves in the woods someday. 

on to something else. like your dog. you still love her. and she's learning to love you more. i think. well, a lot more tolerable with you climbing over her at least. when we let her in from outside, you look at her, and then you sprint and race to her bed and face plant into it. you make sure she's following you before you start to head that direction. it's the cutest thing ever. you are pretty gnarly with the cat these days. you tack him. you point to his nose and pull his whiskers and tail. you chase him the house and give him hugs. you are infatuated with him.

your books are your quiet time. you will just sit with your books and speed flip through the pages real fast, or look at one page for a really long time and point to things. everything you point to, i tell you what you are pointing at. your favorite books right now are "pete the cat" "wheels on the bus" "down by the bay" and "farmyard". those are your go to books you always want me to sing/read to you. whenever i start singing you your raffi books, you instantly start dancing with one hand in the air. 

changing your diaper is impossible these days. i actually dread the times when i have to actually change your diaper. you yowl. you twist and turn. you don't straighten your legs. ever. i usually have to get you the house phone, or this cardboard box i won't let you play with, unless it's for diaper changing, so you actually lie still. i hope one day you will get better at this. 

you absolutely adore your toys. all of them. especially the ones with wheels. you can literally play with your toys for 20 minutes at a time without my attention or help at all. sometimes i will just sit and watch and admire you. sometimes i will go off and do some things, like clean the kitchen, or dust. when i vacuum you like to assist. you love the noise of the vacuum. you love to push the vacuum. you are so independent. i love how you can entertain yourself without the need of another human. i can hardly do that. haha. you get that from your dad. 

i let you watch shows on netflix once in a while. i said i would wait until you were two, but you're not that into it, so i'm not that worried about it. you watch for like ten minutes, then you're over it and on to the next best things. but on a rainy day, it's fun to sit on the couch and snuggle. you are becoming closer to that age when you can just chill with me and not move. i'm hoping. probably wishful thinking. 

you kick balls. you throw balls. you can put balls in holes. you can pick up legos and put them away. what's more impressive is that you can comprehend what i say and take direct orders. you run your diapers to the diaper pail. you run your trash to the garbage can. you love to throw away things so much, i find some things in the garbage that aren't supposed to be thrown away. like your magnets. you bring me things i want. you tell me what you want, either by signing, or pointing, or me asking you, and you either nod yes or no. you sign: more,milk,all done,water,later,up,sleepy,ME,hungry,brush teeth. 

at dinner, when somethings really good, you say MMMMM then "good" and nod your head yes. you pretty much moan MMMMMM the entire time you eat though. when your silent, i know you're really tired. like tonight. 

your words are: Elliot, Mama, Dada, UP, Down, Banana, Good, Cheese, & Hi. 

you woof when i say 'whats the dog say' or when i point to a dog, or when you hear a dog. you pull up your shirt and grab your belly when i say 'bronson, where's your belly?' and you tough your head when i say 'where's your head?' you touch your nose and sometimes pick it when i say 'where's our nose?'. we are working on ears, which i think you have down by now. you are really easy to train. you are very trainable. kind of like Zoe was. She was just an easy dog to do tricks with. and your are that way too. not to compare you to our dog, but she is like our other child as well. 

man, there are just so many things i want to tell the world about you, and how smart and lovable you are. you give the BEST hugs and blow the BEST kisses when asked. you're starting to give real kisses too, which are really cute. you wave good bye, very stiff handed. especially when you want dada to leave the room so you can get onto breastfeeding before bed. you are just about the best little companion a mom could ask for. and today, i want to honor YOU. and thank you for choosing me as your mother. as your friend. as your side kick. and thank you for being so healthy. i am so lucky and fortunate to have you in my life. 

14 months

happy fourteen months. i can't believe this. you are so charming bronson. you charm everyone everywhere you go. to the grocery store. to lunch. shopping. the park. you smile every chance you get. you get this little nose crinkle now when you grin. it drives me crazy! the big thing is, you walk. you walk everywhere! you walk all around the side walk waddling around like E.T. you walk down the sidewalk. you walk all over the play grounds. YOU WALK! and it's so fun! this is by far my favorite stage of yours. you're so independent. maybe a little too bit sometimes. as in, you only want to feed yourself and hold your spoon. you love using the big boy sippy cups. you still love food. you get picky occasionally, but only because you can, and it gives you something to have control over. otherwise, you don't stop eating! ever. i'm a lithe less strict about your diet, and it has made our lives so much easier. i don't have to stress so much on always having food for you, and i know i can always count on a kids menu. grilled cheese sandwich? yes please! i always ask of course, do you have unsalted butter? they say no, and i say, ok. :( i don't add any salt to your food still, but the occasional salt at a restaurants ok. i don't give you sugar yet either, but i'm sure it'll happen soon. and you will love it. 

you sign lots and say a few words. you sign 'milk, more, hungry, all done, water' you have a new sign now that you made up and it means "ME!" you slap your chest or tummy with your hands. you also do this poking thing when you want more of it. like my boob. you poke my other boob when the one you're on has run out of milk. which happens all the time, because i have no milk anymore. my supply is drained. almost. i am trying to keep you breastfed throughout flu season. 

you say "DOWWWWNNNN" just like that. when you want to get down from somewhere, which is usually my arms. you say "nana" for banana. you've said "elliot" for a while now. you say, "HIIIII" and pretend to talk on a phone. this is either with a real phone, a fake phone, or just anything that resembles a shape of a phone, like the remote control for the tv. 

you wave good bye. a lot of times way after the fact, but you do it. it's this stiff fast wave. you really love to wave good bye to your dad when he is done reading to you and hands you off to me, because you know you're about to get boob. you are hurrying him to leave the room so you can nurse. you blow kisses..and then run or reach toward the person you are kissing to with mouth wide open. it's very sweet. 

anyways little man. there are always things i love about you that i want to write about, but i always forget until you do it again. i need to keep a little note pad by me so i can jot down what it is i love. but keep up the good work of growing up. you are obvi super smart, and are on the way to be super obnoxious, but i love it. and i'm ready for it kiddo. keep dancing. keep smiling. keep laughing. 

love you so much.

12 month check up

i am pleased to say that bronson gained weight. and grew.and his growth chart graph went up, from a low 20th percentile to a whopping high 23rd percentile. YES! 

weight: 19.5 lbs

height: 28.5 inches

diaper size: 3 

hemoglobin: 11.5 (which is in range)

lead: negative 

we have finished most of the series of vaccines. just started hep A series. we will start MMR and Varicella at 15 month check up. 

goals for this month: we are going to work on building things and saying a couple words, besides mama and dada, and the occasional blurred, slurred attempt of Elliot. we are going to try to eat more beans and lentils. we are going to re-try egg whites without breaking out in hives. and we are going to try strawberries. oh and we are going to WALK! we pretty much can, but crawling is just so much easier! 

1 year (a day late)

happy birthday bronson boy! it's been one year and a day since you were born. you have NO idea how crazy this thought is. that you've been in my life for this long, and i have so many more days to be with you. i seriously can't wait to see what those days bring. 

you are seriously the funniest guy ever! you laugh at everything. you dance when you hear music or if i sing to you. you laugh out loud just because you can. you head butt us just because you like the sound of our heads clunking together. you drive cars ALL day long, and say 'vroom vroom' while driving them. you love Elliot cat. you even try to say his name. it sounds like a muffled blurred together elliot though. you see cats in books and you point to them and say 'elliot'. you are the smartest. books are your favorite. you chew the bindings of your favorite ones with your little shark teeth. the big thing right now is you take steps. sometimes 5 or 6 of them, but usually only 1 to 2. you take more steps when you are holding something in your hands and are distracted. you have no idea you are walking. when you take a couple steps you are aware and timid, and usually fall straight to crawling. you are a pro crawler. sometimes i have no idea how you got from point A to point B so fast. you eat everything! i vacuum like twice a day. or am picking up the tiniest little things so you won't eat them. it's very annoying! or i'm annoying. you are a pretty small guy so far. you are just growing out of your 6 month clothes and starting to wear your 9 month clothes. i buy 12 month clothes for you, and they are HUGE! i'm pretty sure you will fit into those clothes when you are about 2. not kidding! at the rate you're going!

i pretty much just want to tell you, i love being your mama. i couldn't ask for a better job. we have become connected to old friends that have had kids that i lost touch with. we have a whole new crowd of people we see. it's nice to reconnect. it's sad that so many people lose touch just because of a baby. i understand it now, and am trying my hardest to stay in touch with my friends without kids. this is where you realize what kind of friends you have. and what they are willing to do for you and how far they are willing to go. i am so grateful for the friends and family in my life. 

bronson, you will soon learn how important family and friends are. this is why i am so adamant about you having play dates and making life long friends. these kids will be there for you through thick and thin. they will make you laugh when you need to the most. they will be by your side on the most important days of your life. and they will be there for you when you go through a loss. these are the people you need to cherish. without these people, life will be hard. i hope you love and respect these people the way i do. i've only known you a year, but i'm pretty sure you are on your way of becoming the most selfless, compassionate, open hearted person i know. you are a cancer. you are sensitive to others and have deep emotions. this may be hard at times, but in the long run being emotional will be your best asset in life. 

i love you big boy. you are SO loved. 

xo, mama

skater stance

fourth of july (2 days late)

water babies

this is jack. bronson's soon to be best friend, they just don't know it yet. jack is only three months old, so isn't too interactive yet. but will be in the next couple months i'm sure. that is when they will realize they love each other like it's nobody's business. jack is pretty much as big as bronson, as you can tell in the picture. given, his mom is like 69-70 inches tall, and dad is probably like 72 inches. and i am like 61 inches short. there you have it. jack will be huge and b will be short. jack's mama lauren is one of my bestest friends. i am so proud of her. she is a natural at this mommy thing! we love you baby jack and i can't wait to watch you grow up along side with mr B! 

11 months (a day late)

i am a day late in wishing you a very happy 11 months. it hasn't been the best month, but we survived. your papa got hurt and hasn't been able to work..on the upside it's been nice having him home every night for dinner and bed time. you got very sick with roseola. your papa got poison oak from zoe. elliot cat got a fox tail wrapped around his eye ball and had to go to the vet. and me, your mama is recovering from the worst case of mastitis ever! probably from you being sick and nursing every hour and making my supply of milk go way up. and then going back to normal when you felt better and me getting engorged, which led to an infection. i tried going into work yesterday and ended up having to leave only after 3 hours. i had a major fever and chills and just couldn't bare it any longer. i was so cold, when i climbed into my 90 degree car to drive home, it felt so good, i just sat in there for like 10 minutes and warmed up. today my antibiotics have finally kicked in. i am still in pain, especially when you feed, but at least there is no fever and chills to go along anymore. 

today i felt well enough to take you for a play date at the river. you got pretty tan just from the walk to the beach. then i freaked out and slathered sun screen all over you hoping you wouldn't get skin cancer right then and there...you had fun playing in the water with your yellow dump truck. i am trying to get you used to cold water, because you start swim lessons next month, and i don't want you to freak out because it's not a heated pool. i am already freaking out because i hate water and don't want to get in the cold water to give you swim lessons. maybe i will just make your papa do it. hehe. 

your new major skill you do is throw things. i've been kind of avoiding this one. i haven't really encouraged this one for a while, but you are just doing it on your own, so now i have to. yes, you throw tows across the room. you hit me with your toys in the face. OMG you are obsessed with anything on wheels. or anything that rides smoothly across the floor while you drive it along crawling. it's very cute. you are so fast. 

today you attempted to take that first step, and fell flat on your forehead. we were still in shock about the first step that we didn't react very fast when you started to cry. then i picked you up and handed you off to papa, and you just gave him the biggest proudest grin. you're so tough! 

you're getting pretty good at signing. i love being able to communicate with you. we need to start teaching you new things now, but i want to make sure you get the basics first, which always have to do with eating of course! 

it's been such an adventure watching you grow bronson. i am always so astonished and amazed by you. your capability to do things. your excitement. your laughter. and your love that you show and give us. you are so easy to be around. sometimes i wonder if having you will be enough for us. since you are so great. just you. on your own. and i don't want to ruin that. 

love you my little man. you are almost a year! i can't believe it!

last week sucked

we had a rough last week. b had his first sickness ever. which consisted of a fever for four days straight. at one time it got over 103.5 and i almost had an anxiety attack. thank gawd jon was home and able to be the calm one, and to keep me relatively calm as well. (not really) but he tried. luckily he stayed very well hydrated, actually he would just gulp water down out of the sippy cup every time he would wake up..and his appetite was good until the last day. but still ate. just wasn't as into it as he usually is. i took him into my work and they said it was viral. then i took him to the pediatricians and she said it was viral as well, but to not be surprised if he brakes out in a rash. and if he does, well it will be Roseola. sure enough the rash came. yay! it feels good to have a diagnoses. 

b is feeling 100% better now and is back to eating and smiling and being his old happy self. we are so happy to have our boy back to normal. i've got to admit though, having a sick baby did make the days very relaxing. it was the first time since he was a new born where he would just lay on top of you and not move. and just sleep or just hang out. it was nice to cuddle. unfortunately not under the best circumstances. 

three good reasons i'm glad B got sick. 

1. he is immune to this virus for the rest of his life.

2. i got to cuddle with my boy for the first time in a long time.

3. b learned sign language really well. especially the sign for milk. oh man, i'm in trouble with this sign. but it feels so rewarding to see your baby starting to sign back to you. even if they get mixed up, or he alternates more and all done, which confuses the shit out of me. i have no idea if i should give him more or stop. but the milk sign never gets confused with anything. thats for sure! 

new favorite thing

to crawl to the top of the pillows of the bed, and to roll and or throw himself off of them. while giggling the whole time. sometimes he face plants. sometimes he has a perfect 360 roll. sometimes it's not as cool as the previous time, so he tries to add additional rolls while on the flat surface. which doesn't work out so well, but is still just as funny to him. and to us. oh man. this boy is a wild one. 

i.l.p.

bronson's new nick name is impatient little piggy. apparently jon has renamed our son this. food is a BIG deal to this kid. if you are eating something, guess who comes crawling up your leg wanting whatever you're having. yup. lots of grunting, pulling, tears start happening if it's not baby edible. very impatient. very little. very piggy of himself. much like, ME! these days we have to sneak off to shove something in our mouths, or else..we have to feed the beast! 

some of our favorites are: ground beef. chicken. salmon. rice. pasta noodles. cottage cheese (which he hated the first time, but now loves)especially mixed with peaches. yogurt. blueberries. oatmeal. broccoli. and of course sweet potatoes. 

dislikes: raw tofu. i will try again next week. he did this with cottage cheese the first time as well. and 3 weeks later tried again, and he loves it. i think it's the texture of both that he disliked, or dislikes. avocado is kind of becoming in the the dislike category, which i am very bummed about. i give him avocado at least every other day since he was 6 months. he eats it, but doesn't scarf it down like his other food. and sometimes he makes the worst face ever when eating it, but still swallows it. i am hoping this is a phase. because i love avocado so much, i can't imagine my child not liking it. even my dog loves it. 

it's been a fun 4.5 months introducing new foods, even though i am scared of him chocking on everything. i have anxiety when meal time comes around for this specific reason. i can't wait for those molars come in. :)

10 months (a day late)

happy 10 months old my big boy! yesterday. i can't even handle how fast you're growing up. mentally. physically, you're still the size of a 6 month old, so that part doesn't astonish me as much as the cognitive part. you are so damn smart, sometimes i am just baffled on how you would be able to do something at your age. or maybe it's more at your size, and the age part is completely normal. whatever it is, you are smart. you are funny. you are the sweetest thing ever. you give the tightest hugs, especially when you are feeling shy in front of someone you don't know. you KNOW your Zsa Zsa, Memaw, and Nana Leslie. you know your baby friends and their mamas. you know your music teacher Annie and all the little toddlers in the class. and most importantly, you know your parents. and that is the best feeling anyone could feel. 

your papa and i were just talking about how strong you are. and if there was a baby arm wrestling competition, you'd probably win. sometimes you are stronger than me. you push off me when you don't want to be held, and i can hardly hold on. you twist and turn and wiggle until you are loose and fee to roam the grounds with your dog. you love your dog. you share your puffy snacks with her in your walker. you eat one, then you give her one. its a sweet gesture and all, but we don't give our dog table food. 

food is always the highlight of your day. you love your food. and you seem to never get full. i usually stop feeding you when your belly is ready to explode. you pretty much eat all finger foods, not many purees anymore. you've got the pincer grasp down now. along with pointing. you point at everybody and everything. you even point at our noses and eyeballs, and then hook it with your nail, which hurts like crazy. everything you do to us these days pretty much physically hurts us. you nip. you grip our skin with your nails. you slam your head in to ours, which hurts us more than you i think, and you slap in the face. it's all a fun game to you. 

you are a champ in your walker. you can cut corners, reverse, and pivot all with your little tippy toes. you can climb out of it if you really want something in front of you. you run into cabinets and open all the drawers and pull just about everything out you can get your hands on. today you learned to ope and take out each individual baby wipe out of the package and to taste test each one. good thing they're honest. 

lately you have been able to stand without holding on to anything for a good 20 seconds. you can even squat down and pick something up too. we saw you even stand up from sitting. just once though. you squat all the time from sitting. you are so close. you do a cool move where you kneel on the knee and put your other food on the group. we call it the 'captain morgan' pose. 

i think my most favorite thing you do is dance. you wiggle your upper torso and just grin as wide as your little cheeks and mouth will let you. or if you are on all four, you wiggle the entire back and butt in this spiral motion. this happens anytime you hear music. or even if you don't. you still dance. it's just too much. so is your laugh. it's contagious. when you laugh, my laugh is always followed by it. i can always make you laugh by tickling 
your feet, or by blowing on them. 

i can't wait to see you grow into this amazing dude i think you're becoming. they say that babies temperaments in the beginning say a lot of what they will be like when they are older. and so far. you have been such a joy. obviously we both have our moments. like when you are tired, or teething, or hungry. but we have had a nice teething break this past month. it's been quite nice. much love to you baby b. 

love mama

truckee

happy birthday dada!

happy happy birthday to the best dad/friend/bf there is out there. these two and me are so lucky to have you in our lives. thank you for taking time off and for such a great mini family vacay to mendocino this week. it was a nice treat to have you home. we love you dada! 

love, mama, B, Zoe, and Elliot. 

Nine (a day early)

OMG nine months old?? holy smokes big boy. i am a day early because i leave for LA tomorrow morning and won't have time to do this. the 9 month check up isn't until next tuesday, so i have no idea on any of his vitals. but i assure you, he's still small. i do feel like he's grown because he can walk around in his walker now. which is kinda cool, but kinda sucks. i'll be doing dishes and he will come slamming into my ankles at full speed. pretty hilarious actually, but it hurts. like everything else he does to you. and if you're not watching him carefully, he will be in the kitchen opening drawers. those are not baby proofed yet. we will get on that. he's figured out how to open things. this has been fun. (more baby proofing to do). he likes to stand and pull out every single diaper and wipe off the stand. he likes to sit in boxes and be pushed around. -box car racer- he is not walking yet, but getting to standing is becoming a piece of cake for him. i still wonder if he will walk before 12 months. i just wanted to wish a happy 9 month birthday to best cutest boy in the world before i left on my trip. and i hope, no i know B and dada will be ok without me. (not sure w/ out my boob though)wish i could just leave those behind. haha. this is the longest i've left him..but he's so used to being away from me for 11 plus hours at work, so i think we'll be ok. i will be drinking for like the first time too since before my pregnancy. (minus that one glass of champagne in Tahoe 5 months back) i am excited to get away for a girls weekend of fun! jon says i deserve it and not to worry and to have fun. and to relax for once. will miss these boys tremendously. 

i love..

i love your smile. especially when you are looking straight at me with our noses touching. i love the laugh that comes out of that smile. you make me laugh more and more everyday. your laugh makes up for a hard bad day with you. i love how intrigued you are with what i'm doing. have it be opening mail, eating, writing a grocery list or on my phone. your eye balls follow me with such concern, then always followed by a big grin. i love how you collapse your whole head and body back and stare at the skylight/ceiling/walls when i carry you up the stairs. i love how you prefer to sit in a big pile of books while i read to you, gnawing on each and everyone. i love your excitement for toy cars, or anything on wheels. i love that you are not scared of water, and in fact would prefer to always be touching it in some way. have it be in the bath, or the faucet, or Zoe's water bowl, or drinking it with a straw. i love that your Vitamin D is still the best thing you've ever tasted and everyday you get excited for it. i love how you can't sit still EVER, so when you do for a split moment, it is the most calming second ever. i love that after i feed you at night before bed, you twist to the side, climb on top of me and actually lay flat on me give me the biggest squeeze ever and rest your head sideways while sucking your thumb. this is the newest thing you do and i absolutely ADORE it. you don't fall asleep breastfeeding anymore, but you know when bedtime is because you nuzzle up. i rock you in the chair and sing to you, or shhhhh you. then i stand up and sway you until your entire body just collapses. no stiff bone in the body. i lay you down in your crib and tickle your back until you close your eyes and are still. now why can't naps be like this?! i love coming down stairs to see what position you are in. usually its this sprawled out face down star fish. when it's cold, you are curled up with butt in the air. i just wanted to share a few things i love about you. there are a million more things i love about you, but these are the ones that are fresh in my mind. i love you baby boy. 

kitkitdizze

we did a little photo shoot with gary a couple weeks back out at his place on the ridge. here is a little unedited sneak peak of what's to come. photo by the talented Simon Weller. the two portraits of gary were done with this amazing huge film camera simon had. 

music together

today we started our first mama and baby music class. we are doing it with our friend kazumi and her little girl kaede. the class was super fun and filled with lots of other sweet mama's and kiddos. (even twins!) we were of course late for our first class because someone decided to sleep in on this particular day, but it all worked out. bronson of course, was the center of attention. literally. he crawled to the middle of the room and sat there the whole class just smiling and laughing at everyone. a mommy at the end of the class said he was stealing everyone's hearts the whole time. we played lots of fun instruments: rattle eggs, drums, wooden clappers, rain sticks, and scarfs. ooohhhh scarfs. bronson loved these!!

there are all ages in this class. most about between 1-2 years old. a couple infants, like almost new borns. and a couple that looked to be bronsons age, but were maybe younger (but bigger than b) because they were sitting but not crawling around...like i'm sure they would have been if they knew how. everyone was surprised to see bronson crawling around, until i told them his age. then they just seemed shocked at how small he was. yes guys, i know, he's tiny. like me. 

today i also noticed a white new tooth coming in. it's on the bottom left right by his bottom two teeth. which is a bit out of order. i just think he's just going for it and going to sprout all of them this next couple months. hey, at least we're getting it out of the way now. right?! jon thinks he see's one on the top too, right by the two front teeth. no wonder he's not sleeping through the night anymore. he does this thing that sends chills through my body. he grinds his top and bottom teeth together constantly. it drives me nuts and gives me goosebumps. i absolutely hate it!! 

all in all, i do believe this music and me class was a huge success. he seemed to enjoy himself and others company thoroughly! now lets hope we can make it on time next time. 

spring time

the weather has been amazing. meaning lots of park days. lots of vitamin D and sunshine. lots of stroller rides. and lots of smiles.and a new big boy carseat! yay! 

Eight

happy happy 8 month birthday my sweet boy!! wow, i can't believe it's been 8 months since you were born. it has seriously been the best 8 months of my life and such a crazy journey to see you grow into a little boy. from such a tiny tiny helpless baby(well not that tiny, you were 9.5lbs) to this amazingly strong little dude that you are. you are seriously stronger than me. you are solid when i hold you. you have a death grip of a chimpanzee. (that's the one animal that came to mind that would have a really strong grip) your personality is coming out more and more. you let that out long ago, but now it's to its fullest. i can just tell you are going to be a funny little jokester that runs around laughing, bursting with energy. you are going to be a tough cookie, which isn't a bad thing, just sometimes scary. you are like me, your mama. you fear nothing. you try to walk on your own, even though you know you can't even stand yet. you could care less about getting hurt and bonking your poor little head. you rarely cry when you hurt yourself. and if you do, you're over it in like 2 seconds. you really just shed tears of being surprised, not pain. you love your animals, zoe and elliot. they love you back. you are getting less allergic to zoe's saliva and don't break out in hives every time she licks your face. you LOVE your dada! he is the funniest thing in your mind. you love to ride on his shoulders and stare down on him with the biggest grin ever. you love to pull his beard to hoist yourself to standing. you love to stare directly into his eyes and smile while cooing and piercing your lips. you love to eat. especially what we are eating. you hold your breath and get bright red and flap your arms when something tastes really good and excited you. and what the most amazing thing is, is you love us. and little boy, we love you. times a million infinity. 

The Latest

i had written a very long post last week, and then it got deleted. i can't even remember one thing that it said. probably what i was feeling emotionally at that specific time. which is totally different most likely to what i am feeling now. the days are up and down. at least there has been a reason behind all the bronson fussiness. a good reason. we got two BIG front top teeth the other day. and boy are they gigantic! i can't believe these teeth are going to fit in this little man's mouth. yesterday he was quite happy, considering. i worked. but when b came to feed i brought him into my work to see everybody. he was all giggles and smiles. no stranger anxiety. comfortable as can be. sometimes i wonder if he remembers the voices of the girls i work with. i mean he did spend 9 months listening to them babble all day long while in the womb. he takes to them very well. makes me look good! 

POOP: and finally i've found the way to regular bowel movements. it's called REAL sweet potatoes! YES. 

SLEEP: sleeping good considering tooth pain. just been waking up a tab bit early for my liking, but that will go back to normal i'm sure when the teeth have come in a little more.

EATING: loves it. just like his mama! i had a dream that i caught bronson sucking on the sriracha cap. i freaked. but then realized he didn't mind the taste or spicy-ness, so i let him continue to eat sriracha. no big deal. 

SKILLZ: he crawls. he crawls really really good. he's got the coordination down now. left hand/right leg. right hand/left leg. and his cute little butt wiggling in the air. precious. and hearing the smacking of his hands while they hit and flap the ground is the best. you always know when bronson is entering a room. getting pretty good at pulling to standing. not as wobbly as before. starting to transfer around the furniture a bit. once in a while i will see him trying to stand up to his feet from standing without any support. i tell him he's not quite ready for this and to slow down please. learning to sit back down, meaning learning to fall safely, is getting less frightening. i used to freak, but now he squats down to sitting position. way less panic attacks now. 

BITING:yes, he bites. not while feeding. but he bites your fat. like the arm. or dada's chest. or my left over belly fat. man does it hurt. i try not to yelp, but it's impossible. i've read if you have such a big reaction, they are more likely to continue to bite because they see they can get a reaction out of you. 

anyways, here are some pics of the last couple weeks. also please sent good vibes to my kitty elliot who is at the vet right now with a 103 degree fever. hasn't had any food or water for 3 days. they are putting him on iv fluids and meds and doing blood work. 

and thank you Zsa Zsa for coming to visit bronson and me!!! 

the two B's!

Ben and Bronson FINALLY got to have a play date today. i've been working so much that i haven't been able to hang out with sara and this little cutie. it had been like 5 weeks since they last saw each other. it's crazy how much happens in 5 weeks with infants. ben has grown so much, and they are both just crawling all over the place. i'm hoping these two will grow up being the best of friends. 

 b, of course passed out on the way home. when i went to pull him out of the car seat, he was snoring away. unfortunately, he woke up before i could put him down in the crib. and once he wakes from a power nap, there is no putting him down until the next round. ugh! love this little nugget so much! i get to be with him the next few days to myself while jon is working in the city. glad we were able to get out for a short walk today while it was nice. i was literally in just a t-shirt today. ridics!! the next few days it is supposed to rain pretty hard. YIPEE! 

progress report

i am happy and ecstatic to say that B FINALLY sits without support. occasionally he will be too tired to sit anymore and will just plop over and bonk his head on the floor. ouch. but it happens. that's how they learn to balance. which is what i'm slowly learning. as i used to be there for every tilt in the wrong direction, now i kind of let him do it on his own, and he actually auto corrects himself on his own before he falls down. and now since i've stopped being an annoying, worried, over protective mother, he's been able to learn to sit. such a huge milestone. it only took 7 months. which reminds me, B is now 7 months old, as of Feb 18th! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY. 

sleeping: he sleeps through the entire night again. yay! he is done teething until the top one's start to come in, which isn't supposed to be until 9 months. bedtime is at 7:30pm..he wakes up between 6-7am. goes back down for his nap once in a while right after a feeding. or sometimes he stays up for a couple hours and takes him morning nap then. he like to try to have his naps be at least an hour. we average 1.5 hours each nap. sometimes 2-2.5 hours if we're lucky. but of course we have our bad days when naps are only 20 mins long. this doesn't mean he is even grumpy and is perfectly happy wit no sleep. but then there are the days where he can have tons of sleep and he is the grumpiest of all times. i have no idea what determines his sadness/fussiness. usually it's sleep. and the past 2 weeks haven't been the usual happy bronson that we know. :(

eating: bananas, apples, and avocados are the newest things we've tried. doing the 4 day thing still, so it's taking a while. just bought some organic frozen blueberries, so i think we will try that next. i read that frozen fruit is actually more nutritious. and fresher, even though its frozen. doesn't seem so fresh, eh? B still LOVES his Tri Vi Sol. aka Vitamin D. if he could just eat this at all times, he would be satisfied. goes to show you if you start stuff from infancy, they are bound to end up liking it. 

poop: hasn't happened. been a week. gave lots of water and prunes today, so hopefully that will get things moving for tomorrow. 

Anxiety: yes this stranger anxiety and separation anxiety has happened. i was dreading the moment my baby cared who was caring him. luckily he is 50/50 with jon and me, so it's not just mommy at all times. i work a lot, so jon is with B more than i am with him. he is super dad. it's insane. he gets everything done while watching the baby. grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, post office, dinner ready, etc. they have their whole little routine of errands they do together. it's quite sweet. 

playing: toys are really a big thing right now. he have these stackable numbered cups, and every time i stack them, B has to make sure they are knocked down immediately. so we play this game where i try to stack them all up before he knocks them all down again. he always wins. he hates when things are neatly placed. haha. i got B a toy cell phone that lights up and plays songs, since he is so obsessed with mine. we have many phone conversations a day. he is so interactive. sometimes he really surprises me with how sharp he is. we go in the bedroom (the one place with carpet) and just let him have it. he crawls all over. (of course after a big vacuuming) 

baths: ohhh B has learned to splash the water around. it's quite funny. he just hits the water with his hands and cracks up. this summer we will start baby swim lessons, since he likes the water so much. 

we haven't gone on any trips lately. hopefully we will be heading to San Francisco soon to visit Zsa Zsa and PaPa. we miss them. it's been all work and no play lately. poor little bronson needs some excitement in his life. hopefully this means we will be able to see Surya/Nick/Mikio too!! 

<3

Prunes!

Prunes, prunes, nothing but prunes. b loves his fruit. avocados are next. do parent really have their baby try everything for four days to see if they have an allergy?? if this is the case, it's going to take a long time until he tries anything. someone at work told me that you only have to do this if the parents have a specific allergy to something. i'm kind of stumped on what to do. i feel like you can only go so far. i'm sure there's a point where you give up and just starting giving your baby whatever/whenever and stop paying attention to what day you're on. as for the moment i will continue on this four day rule, but feeling like this may not last too much longer. 

the days have been a little boring lately. it's been pouring here the last few days, which has kept us inside for 3 consecutive days, which has given B the opportunity to get really really good at standing. standing with one hand. standing with no hands (for like 3 seconds) and back to standing with one hand and trying to pick a toy up with the other hand. taking plastic rings off his cone. carefully picking and choosing toys. excitably aware of noise and whats going on around him. especially the dog and cat. oh the cat. he loves to just grab the cat with full hand force. usually i have to pry his hands off the cat, and by the end of it he has a hand full full of cat hair. (poor elliot). he loves to just stare at zoe and laugh with with such amusement. 

Poop: it happened today. it woke him up from his sleep. the minute i open the door i knew. i could smell it. my whole hand smelled from just carrying him down stairs. i had to wear a plastic glove while putting him in the sink to wash him because it literally makes your hand permanently stink for like the whole day, even after hand washes after hand washes. seriously.this 'shit' is gross. the cool part though is; there is no leaking of the poo. no up the back. no out the sides. it's all contained now because the consistency of the poop if super thick. so that's a plus i guess. 

sitting: getting a little better. but still not his number one priority. 

words: no mama's yet. the best is when all he does is 'ta' 'ta' 'ta' all day long. it's very quick when he says it. it is the cutest thing. i just repeat right back 'ta, ta, ta'. 

teeth: i believe your second tooth has pushed through. the gum is really white. it's hard to tell though. and that other little tooth of yours so the most adorable things ever. i heart his little teeth. 

naps: sometimes he is awesome. the other day he sucked. it's so unpredictable. i think he is getting tired faster since all he does is pull himself to standing in the crib the whole time, so then he will just pass out by sliding back down the crib railing into the weirdest positions. pretty funny. 

diapers: we are soon going to going up to size 3 diapers. woop woop! only because B's legs are so dang fat that it makes the diapers too small to shut close. but for now, we need to finish the size 2 ones we have, then we can get into that size 3 stash. 

and off to bed for me. good night all. 

Puppy Bowl

yesterday for the super bowl, we went to a puppy bowl party. you can tell how into sports our friends are. the boys skated the bowl all day, while the girls and B hung out in the house. it was cold. b almost tried a chili hot dog. almost. 

B was so tired after that day of socializing. he fell asleep on the way home. we almost had a successful carseat to crib transfer, but he woke up right when we set him in the crib. which was fine with me. i was secretly hoping he would wake up. since i hadn't changed his diaper the whole time we were gone. and i think it's more logical to feed him right before bed so he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night starving. 

first night of uninterrupted in SO long. thank you Mr. B!! that felt good. to actually sleep. it's a weird feeling waking up at 6:30am with no interruptions. you kind of wake up in a peaceful/franticness. i say peaceful because you're so rested from a full nights sleep, but frantic because a part of you thinks you didn't hear the baby crying all night. what happened? omg, is he okay?? but of course, he way fine. so fine. just sleeping. i especially worried because i was on monitor/baby duty last night, since papa had to wake up at 3:30am for work in the bay. i thanked B all morning. kissing his head and saying 'thank you for letting mama sleep. thank you. i love you.why can't you be like that every night '

UPDATE on the BABES:

food: latest kick has been pears and peas. the peas are so gross, i almost don't want to make him eat them. but he loves them. one more day of peas then we can try something new. i'm thinking whatever has the most fiber in them. 

bowel movements: not happening. this is day 5. i just keep telling him it will happen. and we do the poo dance like five times a day. which consists of me bouncing him around and singing 'we're gunna poo today. poo. poo. poo.' repeat like twenty times. it's a really cool song. 

development: still doesn't sit. nothing new so far. getting really really good at standing up with the help of the crib railing. the couch. the clothes basket. or me. has the biggest laugh EVER. its makes me crack up! 

sleep: as i said last night was the first night, in a long time, B's slept through the whole night. i dunno, maybe his tooth isn't hurting as much. his first nap today was 1.5 hours. his afternoon so far has been an hour. still snoozing away though...

our day: we had a nice stroll through the neighborhood today. sunny but cold. went to wells fargo to pay the cc bill. walked up the butt buster hill over to Lucy's house. we played and hung out there for a while. came home, ate some peas, and had a little visit from Memaw. then we will go to the grocery store when he wakes up. 

papa won't be home til late tonight, so i will bathe b alone. it's hard to alone still because he won't sit yet. haha. but he loves his baths. loves to kick his legs so the water splashes. he loves to hold on to his shark bath toy. he loves when i fill the bath toy with water and squirt him in the mouth. he loves to try to drink the water when i'm rinsing off his head. he loves water. he obviously doesn't get this from me. maybe because he's a cancer; water sign. but then i'm a scorpio, which is a water sign too. apparently having a water sign has nothing to do with actually enjoying being in water or not. 

Dadaaadada

all you say these days is 'uhhh Dadadaaaaaddddaaaa'. on accident obviously. or blow your lips with a pile of saliva on them..i can't seem to describe or write that sound effect. your Zsa Zsa knows what i'm talking about. she is not a fan of this slobber mouth move. 

sticking with the color orange

we tried sweet potatoes! we thought we might as well keep the poop the same color, before turning it to green, which will happen after the peas. and yes, the poop is now more solid. and it's a lot. and jon say's it smells like bum shit.

today we went to roseville to get some stuff for this years spring garden. we thought we would start planting some kale and beats since the weather has decided to

turn to spring and not become winter at all. then we went to auburn for some amazing mexican food. b of course fell asleep right when we got there, so i just ran in and got the food togo so he could continue to sleep. and then since he was still sleeping when i got back, we decided to go to ikeda's to get supplies for dinner. i got salmon and asparagus and my favorite, a mini ikeda's marionberry pie. mmmmmmm delish!! 

home we are, making an early dinner so jon can take off to a friends surprise birthday party. i've decided i would rather stay home with B and not ask anyone to baby sit. it's right around his bed time and i don't like anyone else trying to put him down for bed that does not have milk in a boob, because that could be a disaster. 

he's down now for a late nap. tried to put him down earlier, but when i went to put him in the crib, he climbed up the crib rail and decided to learn to stand on his own. oh my was he impressed with himself. biggest grin ever. with the fear of him climbing over the railing and falling out, i picked him up and asked jon to come up to lower the crib. by the time we finished all that, we missed our window to put him down. and he was all amped up again. i showered while jon fed him some FORMULA! and yes, he drank it! finally! 3 to 1. as in, 3 oz of formula, 1 oz breastmilk! now he might NOT starve the month of February while i work. PHEW! 

6 Month Check Up

well, bronson had his 6 month doctor's appointment. he is officially small. he has gone from the 100 percentile (being born) to 25th percentile at 4 months, to 17th percentile now. yet has MAD skills, like crawling. his pediatrician is not worried about his growth chart at all. she says he is growing just fine, and developing very fast, and is super strong. he is just tiny. like us. and he will most likely be an early walker. YIKES! 

and B got his first tooth the other day!! OMG! too cute to see a pearly white tooth pop out. and there is one more following on the bottom. can't wait for that to pop out too, to give him some relief. he's been pretty good considering his pain. just a bit more fussy than normal. 

he did excellent at the doctors. didn't even cry on the first shot. then the second one he did for a minute. that one probably stung though. i probably would have cried too! wah wah wah.

anyways, we are happy to say our boy is healthy healthy. a light 15lbs 12 oz. a short 26inches. and a big dome. i forget the head circumference, but she said it was very large. considering how little he was everywhere else. lots of brain i'm assuming. 

i explained to the np that i was worried that he still doesn't sit. she said, if he can crawl, he can sit. he just won't because he learned to crawl first and stand on his legs, so that was going to be fist priority for him. not sitting still. makes sense. 

we are having fun introducing him to solids. it gives us something new to do. so far just carrots still. he are in the process of introducing formula too. YUCK, but something that needs to be done, so when the time comes that i can't pump enough milk for him while i'm away, he will have an alternative, and he will be used to it already. we are mixing breast milk and formula once a day. about 4 to 1. 

i'ts off to bed for me. oh ya, he pooped today. Finally. day 5 or 6 i think it had been. poor little guy. he's just like his mommy. :(

P.S.

you're 6 months old, as of Jan 18, 2014. here's a picture i took on that day. i'm sorry i had to work on your day. 

xoxo