Get Ready World, Here I Come!!!

Only a few weeks ago, I was reporting to all of you that Bryant started crawling. He has now mastered this skill and is well on his way to walking. In addition he has FOUR teeth coming in on top and is eating a wide variety of grown up food now. He is by far the happiest when he is upright and moving like the big people in his world, but so far he hasn't figured out how to stay balanced on those two chubby little legs of his. He has figured out that if he doesn't have Mommy or Daddy's hands to hold on to, he can use our dining room chairs to move himself around the downstairs area and still be able to walk. He isn't sure what to do when he runs into a wall or piece of furniture, but he pushes it until he hits a dead end and then abandons the chair and heads for the next adventure. I have to say, now that he is moving around more, he is sleeping much, much better, both at night and during nap time, praise God. Napping is one area where Bryant and I have really struggled and we have finally managed to establish some semblance of a routine, which allows me to get in a workout and a shower in the morning and laundry/reading/cleaning in the afternoon.

Now that he is mobile, Bryant has also become extremely helpful around the house. He is fascinated with the vacuum cleaner and loves every appliance in our kitchen. I have learned to be quite speedy when I am pulling something out of the oven, loading the dishwasher, or opening the refrigerator for any reason. I have designated one cupboard for Bryant to load and unload of his own will and he absolutely loves all the new and interesting things there are to see when that door is opened. As you can see in some of the pictures below, the damage is massive and widespread when Bryant is let loose. Some mornings I feel like he is just on a rampage to see how much he can decorate the floor with in the least amount of time. I guess I should just get used to this habit, because experience has taught me that this habit doesn't change when they are a teenager and even as an adult it can occasionally happen! :-)

Bryant helping mommy unload the dishwasher. (Note the two shiny teeth in this gorgeous smile!!)

Friday of this week, August 3rd, Bryant, Grandma (my Mom) and I are heading down to Reno to visit Uncle Bill, Aunt Shirley and my cousin Kim, her husband Chuck and their little girls Alex and Becca. The trip down to Reno should take just short of 7 hours because we are going to take off from Sisters, but coming home we are going to my Mom's house in Portland and the Reno to Portland route is about 10 hours!!! I have been praying for a quick, seamless trip for Bryant's sake more than anything else. I can't remember how many road trips to Reno and even Eastern Nevada I made growing up, but it was definitely a part of our summer routine. Please pray for our safe travels and Bryant to be content and enjoy his time in the car. Best wishes to you all!!

Jackhammers and Other Exciting Happenings

I am not usually this on top of things in terms of blog postings, but we have been very busy the last 2 days. Jeremy and his crew have been at our house, beginning on Wednesday, tearing out our back patio and laying down pavers. The patio was badly damaged from the harsh Central Oregon winters (cement just doesn't hold up to ice melt and freezing cold temperatures), and we really wanted something we could enjoy for the next year while we are building our next house. I anticipated Bryant being a little scared by all the workers and noise, but boy was I wrong!! The first step in the process involved a jackhammer to break up the patio. For those of you who haven't experienced a jackhammer, directly out your back door, it is very loud. Bryant was so excited, I literally couldn't pull him away from the back door. He spent the entire day glued to the backdoor in complete fascination. When I tried to put him down for a nap at 3:30, he was so worked up that he cried for, no joke, 45 minutes, before we gave up and let him get out of his crib, Bryant-1 Mommy-0. :-) I know Jeremy also appreciated the constant distraction that a smiling, excited little baby standing at the back door provided for his workers. They kept knocking on he window and watching him, it was quite cute.

Bryant observing the jackhammer and workers out the back door.

The patio is still a work in progress, but it is nearly complete today. The crew is working on the walkway around our garage and out to the driveway now and then they will have some planting to do, but it is looking really nice and is a much needed change.

The other big event in our week happened yesterday. Bryant had his first Barber Shop haircut! Jeremy and I attempted to cut his hair ourselves and we failed miserably. We tried using a razor and I think the noise really freaked Bryant out. The Barber Shop wasn't a whole lot better, but he did get to sit in my lap, so I could help soothe him and hold him still and the Barber was a definite professional. He worked fast and efficiently and when it was all said and done, Bryant has a pretty decent haircut. The Barber didn't even charge us, he said first cuts are free, only in a small town!!









Bryant with his big boy haircut. He is really glad it
is all over with!!!

I'm Gonna Get You...

Bryant has finally figured out that crawling means he can go after anything and everything he wants. (Whether we allow him to have it is a whole other story!) :-) He has been fascinated with our kitty since his eyes were able to follow her as she moved and this week he is finally able to chase her down. Several days ago he cornered her in the kitchen and she backed herself all the way up between the wall and the refrigerator and actually got up on her hind legs and tried to figure out how to crawl up the wall, it was hysterical. Meanwhile Bryant is squealing with delight over the fact that he is actually close enough to touch the kitty and she isn't running away. You had to be there, it was seriously comical.

Monday of last week my friend Becca, from Kennewick Washington, came for a short visit. Becca and I have been friends since first grade. Our friendship has survived many moves over the years and I can thankfully say that there was no shortage of conversation while she was here, we had so much to catch up on. Plus, Becca is the mommy to four boys, so I had a lot of wisdom to glean from her! It was really fun to catch up again and hopefully it won't be six years before we see each other again.

Last Friday my Dad took his boat to Detroit Lake, which is only a 1 hour drive from our house in Sisters and invited us over for the day. So, while Daddy slaved away in the 90+ degree heat, Bryant, our friend Regan and I enjoyed a wonderful day on the water with Robin and Grandpa. Bryant did really well on the boat, but he absolutely hated the life jacket, so all in all I would consider the day a great success.

Some of you may notice from the pictures that our little punkin is getting a little bit tan...he NEVER leaves the house without SPF 50 on and I reapply it every hour, like a good Mom should. We were out walking around Sisters on Saturday morning during the quilt show and we had several people tell us to put sunblock on our baby, that he was getting burned. Jeremy got so tired of telling them we had just put the second coating of block on the baby that he took out the bottle of sunscreen and sat it next to Bryant in the stroller in order to address any concerns before they were voiced. There were way too many concerned Grandma types in town this weekend!!

Here are a few more pictures of Bryant hanging with Daddy. They really do have fun together.

So Much to See...

My life is officially much busier...that's right, Bryant is crawling. I had my first realization this morning as to how different life will be now that he is mobile. I put him down in front of his toy basket we keep downstairs near the kitchen and I was unloading the dishwasher and I turned around to find him unloading the magazines and books from the coffee table and of course peeling apart the magazines as they were being unloaded!! He is curious and yet still a little hesitant to move around too much. Today he made his first successful attmept to pull himself into a standing position, only to come crashing down with minimal crying involved. Here are a couple of pictures of him crawling. He has also started this funny little "bear" crawl where he is up on all fours with his little bottom in the air, very cute.

On another note, my friend Carrington, who I mentioned in my last posting, delivered her triplets on Sunday July 1. All are doing well. She was having some complications with her liver due to the pregnancy and some preterm labor symptoms, so her doctors felt it was best to go ahead and deliver the babies. Here are the stats on their babies: Amelia Faith came first at 4lbs 5oz and 16 and 3/4 inches, and Abigail Kimberly at 4lbs 7oz and 18 and 1/8 inches, followed by their little brother Gabriel Michael who is heaviest at 4lbs 10oz and 17 3/4 inches. The babies are really good sized for a triplet delivery and are currently in the NICU, but breathing on their own, praise God. Carrington was in a lot of pain after the delivery and I imagine is going to spend a few weeks getting back her stamina and healing from the surgery. Here is a link to their blog if you would like to see pictures of the little miracles you were all praying for: http://mostlylife.blogspot.com/

We are planning to spend the fourth of July laying low and staying out of the sun. We hope you all have a safe and happy 4th!!