Friday, June 28, 2013

Brooks is 7 Months!!!

Brooksie Boy is 7 months old!

 We had professional pictures taken with our favorite photographer, Rachel Eagle.
This is just the sneak peek, so I'll post more once we get them!

 My big, happy boy!!

 We love you, little man!

Here's the top/bottom comparison of Brooks (top) and Kylie (bottom).
They are definitely related! 
  

Another month has come and gone, and Brooks just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. I am LOVING this age. Brooks is so happy and content most of the time. He plays and moves and smiles and talks. He makes me want to have one million babies! Not really, but I really am enjoying this age and stage! He is starting to develop a little personality, and I am convinced he is going to be my little trouble maker. I say this because I witnessed an interesting event the other day. Brooks and Kylie were taking a bath together. Kylie was minding her own business and playing with her watering can. Brooks kicked the watering can, and Kylie got a little angry. Brooks laughed at her, and kicked it again. The entire event was repeated several times, and I'm pretty sure that Brooks was purposely pushing Kylie's buttons. I thought it was hilarious! I know it's going to be painful in the future, but I love that he is causing a ruckus at a mere 7 months old! 

Brooks loves to move, and he is getting really good at it. He is army crawling all over the place. If you put a toy or another fun object in front of him, he can get to it very quickly. Brooks adores his big sister. She talks to him, tickles him, kisses him, and plays with him, and he just laughs and laughs. He stares at her in the car. He shrieks at her every morning from his crib. I love watching their relationship develop. It's so special! Brooks still likes his car seat and stroller. He just sits back and relaxes when he is riding around. He is also still paci-obsessed. He not only sucks on it, but chews on it as well. He has complete control over it now, though, which is great. Brooks is loving all solid foods, but I think his favorite so far is applesauce. He gets so excited that he shakes when he is eating it! His favorite toy right now is his new "Indestructibles" book. He shakes it, chews on it, and makes as much noise as possible with it. He still enjoys bath time. He kicks, splashes, squeals, and squeaks! He also still loves cuddling with his mama! He always gets a little cuddle time before bed, and I swear he cries when others are holding him just so he can have his mother instead. 

As sweet as he is, Brooks does have a few dislikes. One thing I've noticed lately is that he doesn't like being startled by loud noises, especially when he is tired. If Huey barks, Jon coughs, Kylie sneezes, or a horn honks, he will immediately start to scream/cry if he is sleepy. As I briefly mentioned above, Brooks does not like being put to sleep by people other than me. That is a habit we definitely need to break. Brooks still does not like being left alone for long periods of time. And he is still not a fan of being tired. He really only cries or fusses when he is on the verge of sleep. 

Brooks has continued to meet many new milestones over the past month. As I said, he is army crawling all over the place, which is very fun! He will also go up to hands and knees, or sometimes hand, elbow, and knees, and rock. He can plank and side plank! The side plank is actually one of his favorite positions. I'm trying to get a picture of it to post on the blog. Brooks can sit independently for about 30 seconds. I think he can actually sit for longer, but he always presses back so that he can lay down and move around. And he has officially graduated from physical therapy, which means his torticollis is gone! YAY! In the fine motor realm, Brooks is working on his pincer grasp. I give him puffs when he is eating so he can practice. He still mostly uses his whole hand, but if I put a puff between his thumb and fore finger, he can hold on to it. Baby steps. Speaking of food, he is now eating lots of different baby foods. He has tried rice cereal, peas, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, squash, green beans, peaches, pears, apples, bananas, mums, and puffs. He loves them all! His food schedule goes like this: 7-8 ounces of breastmilk at 8am, 12pm, 4pm, and 8pm. He also gets rice cereal and fruit after the 8am bottle, and a veggie after the 4pm bottle. I give him mums and puffs randomly when we are eating, and he clearly wants to be included. Brooks is sleeping well, and even starting to take decent naps. He still sleeps from about 8:30/9pm until 7:30/8am. He is ready for a morning nap around 9:30am, and if we are home and he sleeps in the crib, he'll go for 1-2 hours. If we are out and about because it's hard for Kylie and I to stay cooped up all morning when we know it's sunny and warm outside, then he'll sleep for about 45 minutes-1 hour in the car seat or stroller. He takes his afternoon nap in the pack and play in the laundry room because Kylie sleeps in the bedroom, and he usually sleeps from about 2:00pm-3 or 4pm. And he still likes to take that evening cat nap at about 6pm for about 30 minutes. Brooks also popped his bottom two teeth through this month. The bottom left came through on May 31st, and the bottom right came through on June 9th. He looks so cute with those two little chompers! Finally, he is starting to move up to size 6-9 month clothes, though he still fits into some 3-6 too, and he is still wearing size 3 diapers. 

We adore you, Brooksie! We can't wait to watch you continue to grow and develop into a sweet, loving, trouble-making little boy! 

Monday, June 24, 2013

A LOT of PICTURES!

Well, I'm behind in my picture posting again, but I think I did an okay job keeping up on taking pictures. It's been a crazy month with Jon's graduation, lots of birthday parties, and too many good-byes and last times. I am hoping to do a more detailed post with some of those events, but for now, here's a glimpse!

6/11/13
Huey doesn't get that much attention on the blog, but we still love him!
He's such a calm, loving, patient dog,
We are going to miss him during our time in Philly, but he will have a good time living with my uncle, Jason!

 6/12/13
 Kylie and I were trying to lure Jon away from work by sending him pictures like these.
Who wouldn't want to come home to such a sweet little Bean?! :)

6/13/13
It was HOT at Thursdays on First.
Kylie cooled down by playing in the fountain!

 6/14/13
This is KYLIE from when she was close to Brooks' current age!
I am planning on doing a side by side with a picture of Brooks in an upcoming post!
But do you see the family resemblance?!
I did a double take.

 6/15/13
 We went to the Honkers game!
It was so much fun...Kylie is still talking about it!

6/16/13
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to the world's best dad!
Jon did a lot of his favorite things...slept in, ate at Chester's, golfed with friends, and spent some quality time with his wife and kids! 

6/17/13
 We have been trying to spend as much time as possible with our friends.
I can't believe our time in Rochester is coming to end so quickly.
We went to Castle Park where Kylie found a truck to ride around!

6/18/13
 More fun with friends.
Enjoying Oxbow Park one last time!

6/19/13
 And another fun adventure with friends.
We hiked and explored at Quarry Hill.
Kylie was, "yookin fishes."
Translation: looking at fish! :)

6/20/13
 Another fun outing at Thursdays on First.
Ellasen and Kylie.

6/21/13
 I feel like this is a glimpse into my future.

6/22/13
 We went to lunch with the Camps and Yuans one last time.
Kylie, Halle, and Annabelle.

6/23/13
 Brooksie didn't get much blog time this week.
This picture is from a couple of weeks ago, but it was part of Jon's father's day gift so I couldn't post it earlier.
Isn't he such a ham!

6/24/13
This was one of the most difficult good-byes I have ever had to say.
The Hartzlers left today.
They have been our best friends for five years.
It's hard to imagine not seeing them almost everyday.
We are going to miss them!
We got the kiddos together for one last picture!
L to R: Kylie, Ellasen, Helen, Witten, and Sydney!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

GRADUATION!

After FIVE long, sometimes hard, always busy, years, Jon has officially graduated from his Orthopedic Surgery residency (although he still has a few weeks of work left)!!!! We are so proud of him and all of his accomplishments!

This past weekend was filled with graduation festivities! Friday evening was the formal graduation ceremony at the Foundation House. It included professional pictures, a formal dinner, a graduation ceremony, awards ceremony, and a speech from the guest speaker, Dr. Hawkins. It was so rewarding to watch all of the guys in Jon's class receive some recognition for all of their hard work. And Jon was even specifically recognized with a few of the awards!

 Dr. Barry (the department chair) giving the welcoming remarks.

 Each resident was congratulated and asked to say a few words.
Jon did a great job!

 Jon and I at the Foundation House!

 I'm going to miss these girls so much!
My besties: Mel, Reba, me, Sari, and Danielle

Saturday was a really busy day for the guys! In the morning, they presented their research to their fellow residents and the consultants. During that time, some of the girls got to together to take pictures of all of our kids together for the last time, and have a quick lunch. In the afternoon, the residents enjoyed a golf outing/tournament. Then in the evening, we had the long-awaited Ortho Roast! The younger residents "honor" the graduating residents with a roast. The spouses provided pictures and stories and the younger guys went crazy making elaborate and HILARIOUS roasts! It was sooo fun! After the roast, most of us went out to the Tap House to enjoy a little more time together. We are just trying to hold on and cherish these last moments!

All of the kiddos!
L to R: Helen, Kylie, Sydney (standing), Hugh, Witten, Brooks, Cora, Ellasen, Graham

 The toddler/pre-schoolers!
Top: Witten and Ellasen
Bottom: Helen and Kylie

 The babies!
L to R: Brooks, Cora, Graham, and Hugh (love the yawn!)

 My sweet Kylie Bean!

The place card/ menu at the Roast!

 Some of the ladies!
L to R: me, Reba, Anne, and Mel

 Me and Rebecca at the Roast!

 Jon and me!

 Lots of girls at the Tap House!
L to R: Rebecca, me, Anne, Sari, Danielle, Mel and Sabrina

Most of Jon's residency class plus Diren!
Top: Jon, Diren (not graduating), Mike, Chris, Tim and Steve
Bottom: Scott, Lucho, and Emily (just missing Rob and Pat)

On Sunday, Mel organized a brunch with a bunch of the ortho wives since she was leaving on Monday morning. We went to Chesters and spent a couple precious hours enjoying each others' company one last time. 
 My best girls!
L to R: Rebecca, Sari, me and Mel

All of the girls that joined us at brunch!
Top: Nicole, Mel, Sari, Rebecca, me, and Diana
Bottom: Anne, Laura, and Tara

This is such a bitter sweet time. I have spent the last five years waiting for the next phase, and now that residency is coming to an end, I am wishing for just a little more time. We have made some of the best friends that we will ever have during this time. We have watched each other begin marriages, have babies, and struggle through some of the hardest months during difficult rotations! We are all moving on to bigger and better things, but I am going to miss these beautiful girls and their sweet kiddo so much! Thank you for the memories!

Falling behind again...

Here's another picture update, but I must admit I have fallen off the picture taking band wagon. I forgot to take pictures for a few days last week. I'm trying to be better this week...

So I missed June 4 and June 5.

6/6/13
 Kylie woke up early from her nap, so I told her she could finish it in our bed.
She looked so teeny, tiny in the big king bed!

6/7/13
 Jon's residency graduation festivities took place over the weekend.
This picture is from his graduation ceremony at the Foundation House.

6/8/13
Our families are slowly starting to move away from Rochester, so we decided to take one last picture with all of the kids with the Mayo Brothers Statue.
L to R: Kylie, Helen, Sydney (standing), Hugh, Witten, Brooks, Cora, Ellasen, and Graham!
Five years ago, there were ZERO kids!
We sure have multiplied!

6/9/13 
 Some of us ladies got together for a farewell brunch.
L to R: Rebecca, Sari, me, Mel

6/10/13
Kylie's outfit of choice: No pants and winter boots! :)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Picture Update!

Another week of pictures! :)
5/28/13
 I know I used a similar picture for Brooks' 6 month update, but it's just so cute that I had to post it again!

5/29/13
 A small glimpse of part of my fabric collection.
I'm in the process of getting organized for a bunch of projects!

5/30/13
 Fun at the mall!

5/31/13
 Today was our 5th wedding anniversary, aka our "wooden" anniversary.
We typically try to follow the traditional gift ideas.
I got Jon wooden cuff links.
He got me roses with dogwood branches, and this bamboo plant.

6/1/13
Another Pink Star is getting married!
Today was Marissa's bridal shower.
Here are the pinks that could be there.
L to R: Ruth (and baby boy), Kristin and Hudson, Marissa, Me and Kylie, and Molly holding Brooks. 
We missed you, Amanda and Schroeder!

6/2/13
Jon and Trevor at Dr. Sems' shotgun tournament. 
They didn't get last! 

6/3/13
Another completed quilt for a friend's little baby boy on the way!