Christmas continued...

Our holiday week home was quite adventurous. We headed home on Monday, the 22nd and stayed at Bryan's parents' house after a 7 hour trip. On Tuesday, we hung out with Grandma Jean in the morning, made a quick trip over to Great Grandpa and Grandma Cook's house to catch Braylon's baby cousin before they left for NE Kansas. Then it was on to Johnson for a few days with my family. Tuesday afternoon and evening were spent with Grammy and Aunt Josie and Uncle Wyatt (my mom and little sister and brother). On Wednesday we had Christmas with my dad, older brother, younger sister and their families. On Thursday, we woke up to gifts from Santa. My sister and her little guy were there and my nephew, Devin and Braylon opened their gifts from Santa. Thursday afternoon, my brother and his family came in for Christmas dinner and gifts with my mom and step-dad. Friday, we headed back to Ulysses for a final two days of Christmas with Bryan's family. Sunday morning, we loaded up and headed East where our comfy beds awaited. After a whirlwind Christmas adventure, we were happy to be home. Here are a few pics from the trip. First, here is Braylon with his Uncle Wyatt and Aunt Josie.








Braylon with his great Grandpa and Grandma Cook and his Aunt Amber and Uncle Chad.

Christmas Cheer

Braylon has enjoyed his first Christmas so far. We've spent a few days with Mommy's family and now it's off to Grandma Jean's for more Christmas cheer! Here is Braylon with his Grammy and cousins, Rylie, Caelyn, and Devin.
Braylon got his very own penguin and he loves it! The little penguin laughs, talks and wobbles. We'll post again with pics from our celebration with Grandpa Grady and Unlce Wyatt and Aunt Josie and our time with Grandma Jean, Grandpa Scott and the Malone clan.

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

I've been trying all week to snap cute pics of Braylon for our Christmas cards. This is how he felt about that!
Actually, he's been such a trooper with all the picture-taking given that he hasn't felt well in almost two weeks! The poor little guy has had a cold, pink eye, and a virus after just a week and a half of daycare. Plus, Bryan and I both had the 24 hour flu bug. Needless to say, the Ramsay household has been pretty run down lately. In spite of that, I did manage to capture some good pics for our holiday cards. Here are just a few examples... In this pic, we dressed him up in a holiday sweater and khakis. Dorky, I know, but totally worth it!

Hey Mr. Snowman

Braylon has really taken to this snowman I have out as part of our Christmas decorations. He seems to enjoy just about anything with a face now; whether it be the dog, the sun on his jumper, himself in the mirror or this snowman. It's really neat to see him recognize faces and try to engage them. Here he is talking to Mr. Snowman, who talks back with Mommy's help!

As you can see, he's also a big fan of Mr. Snowman's carrot nose. I'm not sure Mr. Snowman appreciates having his nose chewed on, but Braylon does it every time!

Hump Day

Well, we are midway through our first week of daycare! I am happy to report that Braylon and I are both handling the transition quite well. Maybe that's because I know that I'm only leaving him for 3-4 hours at a time! Atleast that's the plan for the month of December. I started back to work this month part-time so will only be gone for 3-5 hours a day until January. Braylon really seems to like the staff and is adjusting to the "noise" of all of his new friends. I think he does get a bit over-stimulated though...he seems pretty worn out and is ready to crash when I get him home. He fell asleep sitting upright on my lap today, without a swaddle, which he NEVER does! We're battling a slight hunger strike as he's having a tough time adjusting to bottle feeding. Bryan and I continue to work on that at home and Braylon is improving every day, taking a few more ounces for his teacher each time! Daily reports from staff indicate that Braylon's "a happy and good baby"! I knew that already!!

Thanksgiving

This year was the first year that Bryan and I did not make the trip to SW Kansas for Thanksgiving. Instead, we hosted dinner at our house on Saturday. We both felt a little weird on Thursday, not having the traditional Thanksgiving meal...we had BLT's...and not spending the day with family and friends. We spent the day cleaning house and preparing for our weekend visitors. Bryan's parents and granddad made the trip up from SW/Central Kansas. Bryan's sister and brother-in-law also came over for dinner. Below is a picture of Braylon and his great-grandfather, Arthur or "Pop". Braylon had a great time entertaining our guests and we were thankful they made the trip.

We also enjoyed, or didn't enjoy in my case, this winter's first snowfall. Here is Braylon all bundled up with his daddy as he experienced his first snow flakes.

Painting

So, since we've moved, we've been doing some minor projects around the house. First, we had to get some paint on the walls! Bryan worked hard one day to get Braylon's room painted and set up. Here is the final result. Braylon has officially moved to his own room going on 2 weeks now. He's adjusting well and so is Mommy! Next, it's on to the living/dining room. Bryan's working on that right now. We'll post updates as the improvements are completed.

Four Months

Today marks Braylon's four month birthday! We had his 4 month doctor's visit this morning, where he weighed in at 15 lbs and measured 26 3/4 inches long. His weight gain has leveled off a bit, but his length continues to rank in the 95th percentile! We've been given the "go ahead" on rice cereal, so we'll start that this week and will move on to veggies in a few more weeks if he is tolerating the transition to cereal well. Below is evidence of our first experience with cereal. It was a little messy and he seemed a bit apprehensive! We'll see how this goes.

I say this every month, but it truly is hard to believe that he's four months old! Every minute of the past four months has been a blessing and I cannot imagine my life without Braylon. He has filled our hearts with so much love and joy, it's difficult to put into words. Last week marked the one year anniversary of the day we found out we were pregnant with Braylon. I remember just how happy and excited we were to begin the journey into parenthood. The journey has been more than I ever imagined it would be.

Chatter Box

Braylon just loves to talk to the kitty on his play gym mat. He also loves to make spit bubbles as evidenced by this video! I've been going a bit crazy with the video, but I want to capture every moment! This gives those of you who don't get to visit us often a chance to see him in action. He's quite the little man. Enjoy!

New Tricks

I've been trying like heck to get video of Braylon rolling over, but he's either too fast or too stubborn. He'll either do it while I'm not watching and when I try to record him doing it, he won't perform! But, I finally captured it! I apologize for the poor quality video, but we have yet to purchase a real video camera, so the following are taken with my digital camera's recording feature. As always, Charlie makes an appearance in both videos. He's never too far away from his little brother!


This next one is of Braylon giggling...what a sweet, sweet sound! I love to make him laugh. He is such a super baby!

Happy Halloween!!!

I've had a great time dressing Braylon up for his first Halloween! He has tolerated a lot between the hats, booties, bunting and numerous photos I've taken already! We plan to take our little chili pepper out this evening to visit some friends and family, plus Grandma Jean will be here to help us celebrate our first Halloween!

Three Months

Saturday marked Braylon's 3 month birthday. Unbelievable! We have celebrated many milestones since month two of his life. First, we heard our very first giggle from Braylon a few days ago. This was a certifiable belly laugh, not just a smile and a coo, but a real chuckle! Now, we tickle him to death in an attempt to re-experience that wonderful sound! Braylon is able to hold his head up high during tummy time and is even trying to roll over. He'd definitely have it if he could keep his hands out of his mouth long enough to use them to push himself over! He's also sitting up fairly well with some support. He's talking and cooing, sharing his daily adventures. His schedule is becoming more and more predictable with regular feedings and naps. Nighttime is an ever changing event, but we deal with it.

Aunt Amber and Uncle Chad came over to help us celebrate! Bryan and Amber cooked a wonderful meal and we had a good time playing and hanging out. By the end of the night, though, we were pooped!

The next few weeks will bring about more change. We hope to close on our new house on or before November 3rd, thus a big move is in store for us! Also, I anticipate going back to work in November. I'll go back part time at first and then by December, I should be back full time and Braylon will begin day care full time. This will likely be more of an adjustment for me than Braylon, but I'm positive that we'll make the transition just fine. In the meantime, I plan to enjoy every minute I have at home with my little guy.

Baby Einstein

We broke out the Baby Einstein jumper a bit early, but Braylon really seems to like it. He can't quite touch the floor, nor can he sit up in it without a little support, but we make it work. We use a towel to help support him; otherwise, he'll face plant into the toys. He has really taken to a few of the toys on the jumper. He loves to look at the sunshine smiley face. He looks at it very intently and will coo and smile at it. Here he is, in a trance-like state, as he gazes at its goofy little smile. He also really digs the spinning frog. He reaches for it and leans forward as if he really wants to put it in his mouth. In the picture below, he seems determined to eat it! He sat like this, both hands gripped on the side bars, staring down that frog for several minutes. If you look closely, you can actually see the drool!
There are other great gadgets like music, lights, spinners, and noise makers. This thing is a life saver, especially when I need to get some work done around the house. Braylon stays entertained for a good 10 minutes and then it's on to the next adventure!

Double Trouble

On Saturday, Bryan, Braylon and I visited Braylon's newest buddy. Briggs Patrick Tomlinson was born on Oct. 7, 2008 to our good friends, Greg and Sara Tomlinson. Briggs weighed in at 9.5 lbs and measured 20.5 inches. It was amazing to see him at just 4 days old. He was so tiny. It's hard to remember Braylon being that little. As you can see, Briggs is dwarfed by Braylon at this point. Soon, however, they will be chasing one another around and getting in to all kinds of trouble together. We are happy to welcome Briggs and look forward to the years ahead.

Pumpkin Patch

On Wednesday, Braylon and I ventured out to the local pumpkin patch with Kelly, Riley and Tristan. It was such a nice day; the weather was fantastic! There were so many photo opps, it was great! I snapped as many pictures as Braylon would tolerate. Tristan was so cute, running around, excited by all the tractors and pumpkins. Riley just hung out, minding her own business. And Braylon, well that was a different story. After I sat him up with the scarecrow, lay him in a batch of pumpkins, and propped him up for a group shot, he had had enough!
As we made our way out to the pumpkin patch atop the hay bales and trailer, Braylon started to get fussy. I inconveniently forgot to pack the paci, so we were in trouble. Once we had the paci, we were good. We didn't leave with a pumpkin, but we did get some cute pics so all was not lost!

Sleeping Baby

Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby? I love to snuggle with Braylon while he's sleeping. I also love to watch him sleep. He seems so peaceful and at times, he'll make the cutest sounds ever. Over the past few months, I've captured numerous photos of Braylon while he sleeps. Here are a few of my favorites.

Heavy Melon

We've been putting in some extra time on the "tummy time" mat, building our neck and back muscles to support this heavy melon. Braylon enjoys tummy time for the most part.
Sometimes, he'll fuss a bit when he's had enough... (he's either screaming, "Get me off my belly!" or "Get that camera out of my face!")

We've broken out the bumbo and love it! It allows Braylon to gain a different perspective on the world. He seems to enjoy sitting upright in his bumbo as he plays with his toys. He's even figured out how to make his favorite toy play music by swatting at it randomly. It surprises him sometimes and he'll laugh and coo at it! Once we get a video camera, we'll be able to share some footage of him playing and cooing. In the meantime, we'll continue to share the still photos of his progress. Here's a series of photos I took as I tried to get him to sit up...as you can see, we failed. He didn't really seem to mind as evidenced by the goofy smile on his face as he face planted onto the couch.

Tailgater

Braylon has become quite the little tailgater. He's been to three KU tailgates and made his debut at the Abbott's tailgate for the K-State game on Saturday. As you can see, he has plenty of little people to play with. Riley and Tristan are his KU tailgating buddies, while he has little Cooper to hang with at the K-State games.
We were excited to take Braylon to his very first K-State football game. The weather was nice, a bit warm, but overall we had a good day. We hung out with the Abbott clan at their tailgate and Braylon caught a cat nap before we headed in. Luckily, we were in the shade once inside the stadium so we were able to enjoy the entire first half before heading back out to pack up and head home. We listened to the remainder of the game on our way home and were pleased to get a Wildcat victory! Here's a shot of Bryan and Braylon in front of the Abbott's K-State bus.