21 Weeks Old! What a Big Boy!

We just had Brendan's 4 month check up (it was a little late) and he got a clean bill of health. The last appointment 2 months ago he was trying to keep up with the kids in his gestational age group but since then he has caught up with the full-term babies! He is in the 70th percentile for his weight (at a huge 17 lbs) and 35% in height. And when they tested his development he ranks in at the 4 1/2 to 5 month level--right where he should be! We're so proud! He can now hold his head steady when he's upright, can squeal, reach for objects, smile (spontaneously and back when you smile), grasp and hold a rattle, keeps his head level with his body when pulled to sittting, can roll over (occasionally), says "ah-goo" and mommy's favorite "gooey, gooey, gooey", blows raspberries, and turns in the direction of voices. His favorite new skills are gurgling and standing while holding on to someone. He's so gosh-darn strong!

He is over his colic as long as we keep him on the extremely expensive formula. We tried to slowly take him off of it this past week but it was definately too soon! Back to the expensive stuff. But luckily we are no longer giving him any other medications (no more Pepcid, Mylanta, gas meds., etc.) That's really nice. And he is so happy!

Since he's so much more pleasant, and more mobile, we took him for his first annual trip to Eckert's for pun'kin pickin'. We go every year with the Coles and Pelhanks to pick out our pumpkins and apples, and this year was no exception. We made the poor guy dress up in his Halloween costume for his pictures in the 85 degree heat. He was such a trooper. He didn't fuss at all. What a difference a month makes :)

More Brendan Pics

Brendan's First Vacation

Our first vacation as a family of 3 came and went this past month and we had a great time! We stayed at a cabin in Carbondale with the Cole family for a couple of nights. Daddy was happy because he got a little bit of fishing in and Mommy caught her first bass! They caught 15 bass total (Ryan=11, and Mandy=4)--all catch and release since it was a private pond. Brendan got to hang out with his Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Shane, Aunt Lilly, and his Aunt Jess. We spent a lot of quality time together by helping each other make dinners, having a washers tournament, watching a movie, and just hangin' out. It ended up being a relatively low stress first trip together.

Brendan got to meet his baby cousin, Jaxon, this month. Mommy wasn't able to meet him as she was at work, but rumor has it that he was a tired little guy. He made B look like a very big boy! And he IS getting to be quite big now, tipping the scales at over 15 lbs. We'll have more official numbers after our next doctor's appointment at the end of October. Other developments this month include Brendan continuing to improve on his colic, he can hold his head much higher--so high that he is starting to extend his arms, he's reaching for things (but hasn't figured out how to use his hands to grasp), he is starting to speak baby (mostly coos, ahhs, and squeels), he just noticed his feet today, and with the help of his new "Bumba" he is getting the hang of sitting up with assistance.


And our greatest news is that Ryan received the promotion that we so desperately wanted. He starts training next week. With that, Mommy now gets to go to part-time, for the first time in over 6 years, in order to spend more time with Brendan. We're so happy! Two full-time parents working opposite shifts was much more difficult than we ever expected. But we don't have to worry about that any more. And Daddy no longer has to be at work so early in the morning (6 am) as he is now going to be on the night shift. Woo! Hoo! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Welcome Home Party

3 Months Old

Brendan has made it to 3 months old and his colic seems to get better every week. Instead of being fussy all day, it seems to be concentrated between 6pm and 10pm every night. We'll take it! And the rest of the time he is such a different baby! He smiles, laughs, and makes those adorable baby noises that you just can't get enough of. We had people over last weekend for a Welcome Home Party for him. He was very happy to meet many of his friends and family for the first time. Although he slept a lot, the attention didn't make him too crabby which made for a wonderful day. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it. And to anyone who couldn't, give us a call. We love to show him off--we're pretty proud of the little guy if you couldn't tell. He was able to meet his great-Granny that weekend and also his Great Grandpa Pelhank for the first time. All in all, it was a memory-filled, and exhausting weekend for all of us.

We are also very happy to welcome to the world our first nephew (and Brendan's first cousin) Jaxon Jonathan. He was born on September 4 and weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz. We are so excited for Johnny and J'me. We also can't wait to see Jaxon and Brendan grow up together and be huntin' and fishin' buddies with their dads and Grandpa. What a great time they're going to have! Can't wait to get them together. Hopefully we'll have pictures of the little guy on our next post. Until then, enjoy the pictures of Brendan's Welcome Home Party.

Brendan waiting for his cousin Jaxon to arrive:

Jaxon has the hiccups