Bryce's First Christmas

You might be fooled by how great of parents you think Sean and I are to Bryce. But let me just tell you how not awesome we are.

Let's start from the beginning. First, Sean, Bryce and I ventured over to Ridgway, Colorado this year for Christmas. My parents bought a vacation home up on this mountain where there are members of a golf country club. The home is also about 35 miles away from the popular ski resort of Telluride.

The plane ride went really well for the most part. We had to leave the house at 4am the morning of the 23rd, where we caught our flight from Philly to Atlanta. Although long lines awaited us at the airport, checking in and getting through security was virtually painless. Bryce slept much of the flight and we were so lucky because Sean and I got a row of three to ourselves. Once we arrived in Atlanta I had to find a place to pump-- fun times. Accomplished.

Our layover was short lived (thank goodness), and despite our plane waiting in line on the runway, the airlines were on time for the most part. The second part of our trip was 3.5 hours, and Bryce was getting so ancy because he was so tired since we were up so early and he really didn't have quality sleep on the first flight. Thank God that this flight was also not full, and after a 20 minute temper tantrum, I moved to an open row of two where I could lay Bryce on his back in the seat next to me...lifesaver. I think everyone on the plane also appreciated it.

Okay, so here is the bad parenting. Since we have been here (a total of three days and two nights), Sean and I have been skiing our little hearts out. Up at the crack of dawn to get in two full days of skiing-- grammy is heaven watching our baby, so I don't feel bad there. I do feel bad about leaving him with her today-- CHRISTMAS-- of all days to hit the slopes.

Oh well, he'll live and he'll never remember. Anyway, I think we're celebrating Christmas more tomorrow when my brothers arrive.

I'll definitely take some pics of the new area. We all love it-- such a great getaway and so much fun being only 45 minutes away from a great ski mountain.

We hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

A Letter from Bryce

Dear Mommy Friends,

I am having soo much fun being 15 weeks old. I love my mommy and daddy so much. My daddy is so silly-- he makes so many funny faces at me that I can't help but smile all the time when he's talking to me. Daddy also likes to play Bob Dylan music for me. I don't mind, but mommy doesn't like Mr. Dylan, so I don't know how long that will last. I will say that I also enjoy it when daddy sings ABC's to me. I sing right back with him-- I love the alphabet song, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. Mommy and daddy just think that I coo-- but I'm really singing right along.

I love my mommy too. She's so comforting. Whenever I'm upset, I just know that she is going to pick me right up and hug me. She's so good, she knows when I'm tired, when I'm hungry, or when I'm just plain fussy. I try to be good for her. I try to sleep through the night so she doesn't have to get up to comfort me. I think I'm doing a pretty good job at this because I can't remember the last time I was even up in the middle of the night. After I have dinner at 7pm and mommy reads to me, I usually get tucked in to my crib around 8pm.

Mommy always has to wake me up at 7am. I have to stay on her schedule, because she's got to get to work on time. She always sings loud to me to wake me up at 7am-- I'm not a huge morning person, so this kind of annoys me. I just want to keep on sleeping. But once I'm up, I get dressed for the day, eat my breakfast of champions (or so my mommy says because it's 7oz I eat) and off we go to school. She also always seems a bit stressed about my eating because I sure do eat a lot-- but she says she's still able to pump more than I eat per day-- I'm not sure what that means, but I think it means I have plenty of food.

I love school. I love my teachers. They are so helpful and so great. I'm pretty well behaved there too and I have made a lot of friends. Ms. Lisa and Ms. Linda are who I spend most of my day with along with four other infants all around my age. We have a lot of fun and they send me home with a daily report card to let mommy and daddy know what I did that day.

Well mommy friends, I hope I can steal mommy's computer and write more often. Love you all.

Bryce (or as mommy and daddy often call me-- Brycie)

Here are some recent picks mommy took of me in my new Uggs. They say I have big cheeks too.

I must say I was thinking about some of my goals I set the other day-- post pregnancy goals. One of them was my breast feeding goal. When I told my OB/GYN that I planned to breast feed (BF) for three months, she was upbeat when she told me that I probably wouldn't and that I would probably give up before then. She said that people who goal set for three months usually wouldn't make it that long (I have a very straight-forward, no-nonsense type of physician). Anyhow, three months has come and gone, and guess what?!?! I'm still going strong...smile.

I will say that this is possibly the most annoying, toughest thing I have ever done. It seems like every time I turn around, I am nursing. And, on top of that, it's usually pumping. Bryce only gets the real thing once a day in the evening, otherwise he gets expressed breast milk. I have been able to keep up with Bryce (thanks to my 2am pumping sessions every night), but I must say I'm beginning to get a little tired of this routine. I think after the holidays I'll give up my 2am time, and risk getting less milk. I figure that we could eventually supplement with formula if necessary. However, it is definitely nice not to have to worry about the cost of formula, and pumping less would mean more sleep for mom!

Anyhow, I just thought I would share, because I'm pretty happy that I have been able to do this for so long. My work has been very accommodating with a nursing room where mothers can pump, equipped with a sink and fridge. I go down there three times during the work day to pump, so it's very accommodating.

We'll see if I can make it to six months...

Three Months

A few days ago, Bryce turned 3 months. When I think about three months, it makes me think of the first trimester of pregancy. I really never thought it would end...a lot of nausea with many a night and morning spent over the toilet, and endless exhaustion.

Now, three months has a totally different meaning. Time just flew by, I'm so sad to report all the wonderful things that Bryce is doing for the first time, as his 'firsts' are going by so fast!

Here is what he's been up to since the the two month milestone:

- Talking-- well, in his own terms. He just likes to answer you when you ask him a question, and often he'll just coo to hear himself make noises. It's so funny because his pitch changes and it's as if he's trying to mimic us.

- Laughing-- Sean is great at getting him to laugh. He does it for me too, but Bryce just likes silly faces-- one of Sean's talents!!! Ha!!

- Consistently sleeping through the night. Yes, I'm actually kind of sad. He sleeps right on through. 8pm - 7am-- every night. We wake him up for one last bottle at 11pm (just to ensure he'll actually make it through the night), but he goes right back down. I'll miss our midnight and 3am feedings...I love that bonding time. Now that it's over, I think I'll cherish it even more, but I must say I do enjoy my sleep. Now I just get up in the middle of the night to pump...still a pain, but I'm up and back asleep in less than a half hour.

- Eating, eating, and more eating. Talk about growing...this kiddo is so long. We haven't measured or weighed him in awhile, but he's a growing boy.

- Slobbering. Yuck. He tries to eat everything, including my shirt, his hands, his toys-- which leads to lots of bubbles and lots of slobbering. Not a fan of the wet chin.

- Soon to be out of size one diapers-- they still fit, just snug.

- Size 3-6 month clothing. It's a bit big, but the 0-3 months clothes are just too short. So funny because I remember when he couldn't even fit into the 0-3 month stuff because it was just too huge!!!

- Loving the swing and Christmas lights we put up on the tree. His swing faces the tree-- he loves it. And so do we-- that's where he goes when he gets fussy :) The teachers at school love it too for him! Ha!

That's all for now. :) Keep growing Bryce! We love you!

Where has the time gone?

Merry Christmas Baby Bryce! God's Blessings to our little 3 month old!

How about this pic?!? All boy.

Holy cow! Mom has been so behind in her postings! So much has been happening it's so hard to keep up!

Bryce had a wonderful first Thanksgiving! We first saw Sean's dad and step mom-- Grandpa and Grammy Reedy. Then, we drove to see Sean's aunts and uncles and cousins (too many to count) up in the Poconos. I don't think Bryce was ever put down-- all of his aunts and cousins wanted to hold him! (Happy dance for us, a little break for mom and dad!)

The day after Thanksgiving we flew to Houston for the weekend. Bryce was a rockstar on his first flight. He slept the whole way! In Houston, Bryce met two of his uncles, my brothers, Dan and Rob, and his aunt Sammy. He also met my grandparents, his Great Grandparents. And if that wasn't enough he also met my cousins and aunts and their kiddos (one of them is only two weeks older than Bryce).

Bryce waiting to meet Santa!!

Who needs Santa when they've got Grandma?!?

Baptism: Montgomery, TX

November 28, 2010

Such a blessing.

Beautiful God Parents, my brother Robbie and his wife, Sammy :)

(And I'm holding his hands down in this pic, because this is his new favorite thing-- eating his hands).

Doggies! Look at those cheeks!

Great Grandma Krenz! She's making him laugh!! Thanks Grandma!

Ha!!

More laughs!

This is my cousins kiddo, Noah. So does that make them 2nd cousins?

Noah is 2 weeks older than Bryce. These kids are pretty much the same size!!

Loving the jungle.

Oh, look at those hotties! Gotta have the Hanna Andersson matching PJs!

Look at this beautiful girl. This is Sammy, my brother's wife.

Enjoying her nephew and Godson.

MoM! I'm getting sick of these pics!

But I like to be held by mom :) and I like to suck my hands.

Mommy's Cousin Keri!!! Keri lives in AZ, and I have known her my whole life. Even though she so far away, we are still so close and we pick up right where we left off each time. Love you couz!

Nap time grammy Krenz!

How Awesome is this! Bryce loves Gramps Krenz, and looks like him too.

Love it!

Half smile, half cry...

All Laugh!

First plane ride for Bryce. First plane ride for mom with baby. I hate the TSA.

The Bjorn-- best invention ever. Thank you Karen and Jane!

Grammy Reedy and Aunt Molly!

Gobble gobble on Thanksgiving!

Aunt Molly had a great time holding her nephew. He loved her and wishes he would see her more!

Cute boys. Sean, and brothers Dan and Rob.

Blow Out

We have officially been inducted to the Parent Blowout club.

Actually, let me be more specific, Sean has been inducted to this club, not me. Sean told me that today he came home from school a 'little angel' as Sean says. Sean picked Bryce up and was holding him on our wonderful new rocker recliner (thank God for Laz-y-boy), when Sean noticed a weird 'vinegar' smell. Sean said that he then noticed his arm was a little yellow (ewwww). Anyhow, long story short, yuckie stuff up his back. Official blowout.

Sean, like a pro, got him in a bath and all dried and ready for me when I got home from work. I think I missed all the action by about 15minutes. This is one I'm glad I missed.

Falling into Leaves

Dad spent some time raking this weekend in our backyard.

He wasn't happy I was taking pictures-- I just LOVE this outfit.

Rudy got some good sunbathing and stick chasing in too.

And Bryce had a wonderful time in the leaves!

Bryce the Jay Hawk Fan

In honor of uncle Dan, Bryce wore his onesie. Apparently we will be receiving a cute Jay Hawk hat soon too!!!

Baby's Schedule

This weekend Bryce had a great time. He went and met one of his great grandmas, Grandma McLaughlin. He had a wonderful time being held and fed by her, as she wanted to keep him for herself. (I personally don’t understand this logic since she has TEN, yes TEN, children of her own.) Bryce is her seventh great grandchild. And those great grandchildren are all a product of Sean’s mom. None of Sean’s mom’s other nine siblings have grandchildren yet (I don’t think). Bryce must have been on his best behavior there because he was certainly back to his ‘hell raiser’ self upon returning home. He managed to keep Sean and I up for most of the night on Friday night and Saturday night. There was not much sleep to be had in the Reedy household. I’m convinced it must be another growing spurt—this is what I tell myself anyway.

Last night however, was another wonderful act of God. He slept nine hours. Thank goodness! I must say those nine wonderful hours were preceded by an hour and a half of full out screaming. I think he’s just tired, and on top of that he has a cold so we are not a happy camper. Sean and I just wear out over how much crying he does in the evenings.

I’ve decided that this whole going back to work thing at eight weeks was not a smart move. Not because I’m not ready, but more because Bryce is not ready. And since he is not ready, I’m exhausted all the time. Someone please tell me this gets better. On a bright note, we have a morning routine and night routine down. It goes something like the following:

(1) 5:15am, Kate’s alarm

(2) 5:25am-5:45am pumping away

(3) 5:45am- 6am—get bottles defrosted and all ready for school

(4) 6am-6:45am—shower, getting ready, listening to Bryce move around in his crib and praying that he doesn’t start screaming before I have to get him

(5) 6:45am—get Bryce up, changed, clothed and downstairs to eat

(6) 6:45am—7:20am—Bryce eating and playing time—best time of day for him, Mr. Smiley

(7) 7:20am---7:40am—finish getting myself dressed, packing my pump, packing my snacks

(8) 7:40am—Sean decides he better wake up (or I force him up) Love you honey

(9) 7:45ish to 8am—Done playing with Bryce and I’m out the door off to work. All Sean has to do is put him in the car, drive the half mile to school and drop him off (probably a 10-15 minute roundtrip depending on efficiency upon arriving at school)

(10) 8-8:15—at my computer at work

It’s seriously amazing that it takes me 3 hours from arise time to work time. I used to do this same routine, except I would get a solid one-hour workout at the gym in the mornings. I definitely miss that routine, but, I would never replace my current routine with the former.

Having Fun in the Jungle

Bryce loves his play jungle gym. I had to do a little video taping with my little non-hightech camera. He's now starting to smile without Sean and I prompting him. It's still slow and small, but we are patiently waiting for that HUGE smile to happen.

This week went well (for me). After the first week back at work, I must admit, I am super duper tired. I thought I would for sure be off to the gym today, since it's been nearly a week since I've done any sort of movement, but alas, I'm so exhausted.

On a fun note, Sean and I celebrated our FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY yesterday!!! I still cannot believe that we were married on a warm, sunny 88 degree day in Houston five years ago. I talked to my mom yesterday and she said that it was a lot colder there this past week-- she said the high was only in the 60's and it hadn't really been sunny at all. So, we really lucked out! Anyhow, Sean sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers at work, it was so awesome and sweet of him. (I was totally surprised!) Then last night we went out to eat at a place called Legal Seafood-- not too bad :) We took Bryce with us. We had to give him a bottle at the restaurant, but overall he was very well behaved. I think we need to do this more often. And plus, I had an excellent glass of wine, it was total bliss.

I think Sean and I are actually going to officially celebrate in a couple of weeks. We might hop the train to Atlantic City or New York City for just a night. That is, if we can find an excellent sitter for a night (Thanks Grammy Gibbons!) That will be fun too, but weird without Bryce.

Two Month Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Bryce! Today is his two month birthday and tomorrow he's officially NINE weeks old!!! Crazy!!! I seriously cannot believe how fast the time has gone and how big he's gotten!

So, at the doc's office this month (thank goodness he didn't pee on the scale) he made some great progress. Unfortunately it was 'man' time at the ped's office, and I didn't get to attend the appointment, but Sean did an excellent job of taking good mental notes and relaying them to me via text message during the appointment.

• Weight: 11 lbs., 2oz-- 40 percentile for his age
• Height: 23 inches-- 50th percentile for his age
• He received several shots in his leg, and I'm proud to say he's such a little man and only screams for 5 seconds and then is just fine and happy again. (Weird kid, I mean who doesn't cry at shots?!?!) Overall, it was a success and Bryce is doing great!
• Here's some extra stuff that we have been up to this month:
• Bryce's best face is his little pouting face. He loves to pout-- he sticks his lower lip out and makes this face that reads, 'I'm mad, help me.'
• He also smiles, but not that much yet. His best 'smiling' time is in the morning. He's so happy just watching us in the morning.
• We have him on a pretty great schedule, as we are following the Baby Wise book, which is so great because he's becoming pretty predictable in terms of when he wants to eat. He's so great at his school and takes three bottles from them each day.
• We had two glorious nights this week-- Monday night he slept 10 hours straight and Tuesday night he slept 8 hours straight! I'm loving the extra sleep, especially since I started work this week.
• He's in 0-3 month clothing, although I'm finding that some of those brands run small, and he's starting to be too long for some things. I find this hard to believe, as his newborn clothes were sooo big on him at first, and there's no way he could fit in those now!
• He's a tummy time fan!!! Although he likes it to take naps on more than he enjoys the actual pushing himself up! Too funny.
• He's a big mirror fan. He enjoys watching himself in the mirror on his playmat. He'll stare into that thing for 20 minutes or until we pick him up.
• The swing is our lifesaver-- when he's crying unconsolably, he goes straight to the swing, watches the mobile on the swing, and then he promptly falls asleep.
• He loves his crib (thank God). He watches his mobile on his crib a lot and he also has an awesome Rainforest Soother that plays sounds for him to help him learn to self soothe himself.

We love him sooo much! And have sooo much fun with him.

As for me, I'm back at work this week, and as much as I wish I was spending time with Bryce, I'm also glad to be back to the grind. I enjoy my company and the people I work with, which makes it that much better. Sean and I have established a routine (somewhat) at home with Bryce in the morning and at night. It's totally different from before Bryce, as I used to be able to have time in the morning to workout-- not so much now, there's no working out here. The only other hard part about work is that I'm still pretty exhausted. It's definitely hard trying to stay awake after 3pm comes around (my previous nap time), but I'm sure I just need to get back in a routine and regulate my sleep schedule. My body is definitely not used to getting up at 5am right now.

Again, happy bday to my sweet baby boy. (Yes, I have become that person...the annoying proud mama!)

Happy Halloween!!!

Some pics of Bryce as a pup!

Things I will miss upon going back to work (Non Bryce Related)

Kind of sad-- I return to work on Monday, as Bryce is already eight weeks and I have elected to return back to work (mostly because I enjoy my paycheck, and they stop paying me at 6 weeks). Anyhow, I have had a fun run spending so much time with Bryce and Sean, but alas, that time has come to a close. I wanted to share with you all some of the things that I will miss.

My Personal (Non-baby) List of Things I will miss upon going back to work:

10) The gym during the mid-morning hours. I love watching and laughing (internally) at the sassy stay at home moms during the 9am hour. Dressed in their $200 Lululemon outfits, they arrive and pretend to workout (most times with a trainer) in full make-up, hair down and styled, wearing their beautiful Cartier watches. It's pure entertainment-- who needs a TV or an I-pod for distraction?!?! By the way I'm not hating on Lululemon, as it's officially my favorite lounge clothing, but I can't afford a new outfit for each day at the gym!!!

9) Going to the grocery store mid-week and mid-day rather than the weekends or at the beginning or end of the day. How awesome is it to feel like I'm not weaving in and out of crowds just to get to the grapes?!?! Plus, there is NEVER a line at the deli...oh, how I will miss this.

8) Not wearing any makeup or fixing my hair, and not caring about it. If you know me, this is very out of character for me, and yet, I have fully embraced going to the mall without any makeup or hair done. (In typical 'mom' fashion!)

7) Speaking of mall-- although I didn't do this very often (shocker, yes, I know)-- going to the mall midweek, similar to going to the grocery store, is great. That's if you can get over every sales person approaching you because your the only one in the store...bit annoying. But nonetheless, I love the non-hectic shopping experience.

6) Playing with Rudy, my precious yorkie, during the day! He's been loving having mom home despite some jealousy issues. I'll miss my pup going back to work.

5) Going to lunch with people. I loved setting my day around who I was going to lunch with! Whether it's Sean, my work colleagues or my neighbor who's a nurse, I will miss this. I've gotten to try several new places in Wayne that I hadn't before.

4) Daytime TV. Grey's Anatomy reruns, what would I do without you? And thank goodness for Oprah-- although I must say I'm a bit disappointed on the show subjects for her her final 25th year.

3) Enjoying my mom's company for three weeks over the last couple of months. She was so helpful with Bryce, especially during the first two weeks after birth. She took night shifts when he had his days mixed up with his nights.

2) Naps! I will definitely miss my naps!

1) Hoda and Kathie Lee!!! I have really come to LOVE this show. I will miss not just lounging around and watching them and laughing during my mid-morning nursing session with Bryce. I may even buy Hoda's book!

The First Day of SCHOOL!

Okay, so it's not really 'school' per say, but rather 'day care'. I guess these days everyone tries to steer clear of that term, 'day care', maybe it's because Dr. Laura S. has made us working mothers feel like such crap for giving our kids up for 5 eight-hour days a week and calling it 'school' makes us feel better because my 7.5week old comes home with a report card each day. So, 'school' it is. I digress...

Anyhow, Bryce started school this week. And I'm happy to report that he is SOOO well behaved. His teachers (yes plural) LOVE him. There are two teachers in his room of six infants. However, the well-behaved part ends as soon as we step foot into the parking lot. For the last two days, bloody murder is belted out in such a loud scream that it's made to sound like I'm taking him away from the best place on earth. Ugh. Needless to say, he's still adjusting, as the last two nights have been by far and away the worst two nights we have had since he was three weeks old. Oh well, he's still cute and if someone else can experience the cuteness that we got to see all during the first 7 weeks of his life, by all means I'm happy for them.

Speaking of adjusting, Sean and I are also adjusting. It was definitely a smart move for us (yay new parents) to take him a week before I actually go back to work. So, yes, I'm on vacation this week-- no kid to immediately tend to during the day :) It's so weird to put on make-up in peace and quiet again. The first day was a little rough-- funny because the teachers even said upon us leaving Bryce that morning that 'This looks a little tougher on dad than mom'. Let me just say that yes I have emotion, but I think Sean wears it on his sleeve a bit more (love him for that). Anyhow, we've been visiting Bryce each day at lunch time, which is fun because we get to see him at random and feel even better about our decision on this 'school' place as the teachers are wonderful and the gatekeepers are extreme Nazi-like, making sure no stranger enters the school. (Annoying but thankful for this.)

And yes, I do feel a bit guilty for not being the stay at home mom. Dropping a kid off for someone else to watch him does suck-- there's no denying that. But I do really like my job and company, despite the craziness most days. We have great medical and dental benefits-- as my mom put it 'unheard of' in terms of benefits. (Sean and I had a free baby-- not one single copay during the nine months of checkups and labor and delivery. Oh, and did I mention we don't have a deductible at all? And one more thing, it costs us a grand total of $6 per month for our medical and dental benefits. That's up $2 since we had Bryce.) So despite my feeling of guilty-ness, I think that we are doing the best for our baby boy and can only hope that his teachers and educators really do love him and will help teach him so that he's an average (or above average) student by the time he gets to kindergarten.

Speaking of kindergarten, I just found out that Bryce misses the cutoff date by a measly 12 hours. This means he'll turn six on Sept 2nd when he starts kindergarten, rather than turning five.. but the pros and cons of this should be kept for another post a little later in life.

The pic of the Goddard School. It was a beautiful day on Monday.

Proud dad :)

This is Bryce's crib. He's got a mobile and everything. We also have his blankie in there for him. He's a happy camper. Oh, and notice the jersey. He wore the Dallas Cowboy Emmit Smith jersey on Monday to root for the Cowboys in Monday night football vs the Giants. His efforts didn't really help. Poor Cowboys.