Brady's 1st Christmas

I can't believe that Brady's first Christmas has already come and gone.  I have to admit as much as I love the holidays, I am kind of glad they are over.  It is much harder to get around to see everyone with a baby.  I am glad to be able to get back to our normal routine.  Brady was a trooper though, and I will always cherish this Christmas.  Paul and I hosted Christmas Eve at our house with my mom's side of the family.  Paul cooked a beef tenderloin that was delicious as always.  Brady enjoyed hanging out with everyone.

My grandparents and brother

I love Gmom's shiny Santa hat!

Sticking his tongue out!

So glad to be able to spend Christmas with Dustin!

Our family
Christmas morning we woke up, ate breakfast and opened presents at home before heading to Manning to Paul's Grandmother's house.

Opening his presents Christmas morning.


This was Brady's first trip to his Ma-ma's house.  She was thrilled to see him, and we made sure to get there a little early so she could spend some time with him before everyone got there.

Christmas Day at Ma-ma's house.

Taking a quick snooze on Daddy.

With Nanna and Papa
Our last stop on Christmas Day was at my Dad's house.  Brady did so well all day considering he barely napped other than a quick hour there and back from Manning.  As soon as we got home he ate and passed out!

So strong! Standing on Waldo's lap.

Hanging out with Aunt Katie.

So happy!

He loves his Uncle D!
Our FINAL Christmas celebration was a couple days after Christmas at Paul's parents house.  We had not seen Paul's sister and her kids yet, so we were glad we got a chance to see them as well.

Laughing at Papa!
Brady racked up and got all kinds of new toys, books, and clothes for Christmas.  It is hard to imagine that next year he will be walking around at Christmas time!  He is really starting to gain his sweet little personality.  He giggles and smiles all the time.  He almost has neck control, but he can't hold it up for too long yet.  He loves to stand up.  I can tell when he gets mobile he will be all over the place.  He is the only thing that I wanted for Christmas.  He brings a whole new meaning for the season.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

3 months!

Our baby boy is 3 months old!  It is just crazy how the time flies by.  Slow down baby boy.  I am going to blink and you will be going off to college.  Our photo shoot started out like this:

How dare you try to take my picture before you feed me!
 After some good milk, we got this:

Milk coma
 Then we finally caught a little grin!

Belly full and happy!

Ok mom, enough with the pictures.
You are such a happy boy in the morning!  You just coo and smile at me on your changing table.  This is one of your favorite places.  You love to look out the window, talk to me, kick your feet.

 You still have those beautiful blue eyes!  I hope they will stay that way, but there is still time for them to change.  You have some male pattern baldness going on, but you are still so stinking cute.

 You like to exercise your face and make all kinds of facial expressions.  I just love it!

Do what?!

You're so funny!

Alright, what is this thing you are constantly flashing in my face?!
You have definitely grown into a chunky little baby boy.  I must kiss your chubby cheeks 500 times a day.  You are still a great eater, and you are becoming a much better sleeper.  Some nights you will sleep up to 8 hours!  Sometimes you go right to sleep, and other nights you want to put up a fight.  I am so enjoying being able to spend this time at home with you to watch you grow everyday.  These have been the happiest 3 months of my life.  I love you Brady Walter!

The Top 10 Baby Necessities

I am surely no expert on babies or baby gear, but I thought I would share my top ten favorite baby items that have helped us survive these first couple months.

1. Aden and Anais swaddle blankets- I use these for everything.  They were perfect for swaddling him when he was so little.  The fabric is very light and stretchy to make them easy to swaddle.  He pretty much lived wrapped up in these the first couple of weeks.  I also use them for burp clothes and stroller blankets.  I  love them!



Look how tiny he was!

2. Fisher Price Snug-a-Bunny Swing- This is a life saver!  He loves his swing, and I love the swing as it allows me to actually get some things done around the house.  It is his favorite nap spot.  This particular swing has a mirror on the mobile, and he loves to just stare at himself.  This is a must have baby item for sure!



 3. Baby Bjorn- Brady loves riding around in the Baby Bjorn.  It is really easy to use and relatively comfortable.  It is another life saver when I am trying to do stuff around the house and he wants to be held.


4. Kissy Kissy brand footies- These may not be a necessity, but they are definitely one of my favorite things. They are made of 100% pima cotton, and super soft!  I love snuggling with my baby boy when he has these one (ok and ALL of the time).  They are a splurge, but so worth it :).

Just lounging on his play mat in his Kissy Kissy footie.

5. Video Monitor-  It is so nice to be in the other room and be able to not only hear your baby, but see them too.  It helps ease any new mommy's nerves when you can just glance at a screen and see that baby is safe and sound in their crib.  Plus, you don't risk waking baby up by going in their room.  We have the Summer's Infant digital touch screen monitor.  It is awesome.  It has a zoom feature, it can pan the room, it has night vision, and a speaker on the camera so you can talk to baby from the other room.  This is another item worth splurging on.


6. Medela Freestyle Breast Pump- Obviously this is only necessary if you are planning to breastfeed, but it is wonderful.  It is easy to use and pretty fast which to me is important, because I HATE pumping.  But, it is crucial if you want to have any kind of freedom as a nursing mom.  Plus, you can store up milk for when you plan on going back to work.  This way baby can have strictly breast milk for longer.  While this is an expensive item as well, think of how much money you are saving on formula!



 7. Boppy Pillow- This is another item that is especially useful if you are nursing, but it also serves other purposes such as propping baby up to take pictures :).  It makes it much more comfortable to hold baby.


 8. Miracle Blanket- While I liked using the Aden and Anais swaddle blankets when he was little, this thing is perfect for a bigger baby.  Our little Houdini started to escape those blankets at night and would wake up flailing his arms.  It does not have any loud velcro like some of the other easy swaddle blankets, and it really keeps his arms wrapped up tight so they don't wake him in the middle of the night.  I swaddle him in this every night now, and it really is a miracle.

9. Wubbanub- I just love this paci.  Not only is it beyond adorable, it is useful too.  You can position the little animal attached to help keep the paci in baby's mouth. When baby gets bigger, it makes it easier for them to find and grab in the crib when they wake up.  Adorable and practical, a definite favorite.


10. Bouncer- Last but not least, a bouncy seat.  This little seat is great.  It has a removable toy bar with toys and music.  Plus, it has a vibrating option to help soothe baby.  It is really light and easy to move from room to room.  I just put him in this when I'm eating lunch, drying my hair, whatever so I can keep an eye on him.


One other item not on my list, but worth mentioning is the Baby Connect app I have on my cell phone.  I use it all the time!  It times his nursing, charts his poops, you can list when he got vaccines, his blood type, how much I pumped, how many ounces he drank from a bottle, how long he slept- pretty much anything you would need.

Get all the items on this list and you're sure to get a big one of these...

...and it will melt your heart!
 
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