The Rainy Days of May

For the past few days its been nothing but rain, rain, rain. For Brandon and me, that means finding fun things to do indoors. We keep busy by reading stories, making puzzles, playing with toys, practicing our baby signs and sometimes by just watching the world go by from our living room window.

What we love to do on a rainy day though is visit with our playgroup friends. Brandon and I belong to two playgroups - one that's held on Mondays and one on Fridays. Both playgroups have about eight moms and babes (including us) and all of the babies are close to each other in age. In fact Brandon even has a friend named Wyatt who is about 5 hours older than him!

Brandon loves playgroup. He's absolutely fascinated by the other babies. He's not very "social" but he enjoys watching the others and he even attempts to touch them from time to time. I also love playgroup. The other moms are really sweet and we share all kinds of tips on naps, feeding, toys etc. For Brandon and me, nothing beats an afternoon with our friends - rain or shine :)

Doing Big Boy Stuff

Brandon is growing fast! He went for his 6 month check-up on May 18th and we discovered he weighs 17.10 lbs and is 27 inches long. He sounds big, I know, but he's actually completely average for his age.

For someone who just started eating solid foods, he's doing really well. Right now he has solids twice a day - once at lunch and again at dinner. For lunch he typically has 3 - 4 tablespoons of fruit. He's surprisingly not picky but his favourites include bananas and pears. At dinner he'll have two tablespoons of either rice or barley cereal and then a tablespoon each of two different vegetables. He doesn't love veggies like he does fruit but he's quite happy to eat sweet potatoes and green beans. Just the other night we tried a little bit of pureed chicken - I think it's safe to say that he didn't much care for it.

Along with solids, Brandon also gets water in a sippy cup. Like a big boy, he can hold his own cup and drink from a straw. Mommy thinks this is most impressive!

Speaking of being a big boy, Brandon is also starting to sit up well on his own. He still needs help for the most part but he gets a little stronger and sits a little longer each day.

Rolling over is a trick that he has yet to master. Actually he doesn't seem that interested in rolling over at all. He can get up on his side but then he's done. The doctor tells me it's quite normal for some babies to go another month without rolling over but if there's one thing I've learned in the past 6 months, it's not to worry about things like this. Brandon will roll over when he's good and ready :)

Six Months Old Today

It feels like just yesterday I wrote about Brandon turning 5 months and now here I am, blogging about him turning 6 months. I don't know his exact weight but I think he's pushing 18lbs! I'm also not sure of his length but he goes in for his vaccinations tomorrow and the nurses will let me know. We've already bought his next car seat, just in case he's outgrown his current infant seat.

Part of the reason why Brandon weighs so much is because he's such a good eater! Jamie and I introduced him to solid foods two weeks ago and he really seems to like it. So far he's tried rice cereal, avocado, apples, pears, bananas and sweet potatoes. He makes funny faces when eating pears and apples but he still eats them. Actually, he hasn't refused anything we've offered him yet.

Along with the eating, Brandon is also sleeping well. He naps in the morning for about an hour and then he'll catch two little 20 minute power naps in the afternoon. He goes to bed around 7PM, wakes up to feed at 11PM and then sleeps the rest of the night until about 7AM. Mommy is loving this current sleep pattern!

Like last month Brandon still loves his jumperoo, bath time and hanging out with his friends in play group. Just recently he's also taken quite a shine to swimming. His dislikes include getting strapped into his car sear and getting his PJs put on at night.

We're hoping this month that Brandon will roll over and sit up on his own. There's no rush but I know he would like to do both things with ease.

And something new for this month . . . we're going to take baby signing classes! It should be fun and of course I'll put up a post about it ;)

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day and what a wonderful day it is! This morning Jamie took Brandon to the farmer's market so I could sleep in. When they got back, Brandon gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a lovely card. We then sat down and enjoyed hot coffee, quiche and pastries. Brandon retired for his morning nap and when he woke up we all went to the pool. It was a great day for the pool because no one was there! Brandon had so much fun splashing and kicking - he even cracked his first smile while in the pool (we knew he was having fun!). As I type this, Jamie is preparing a steak dinner for the BBQ and Brandon is beside me, jumping up a storm in his jumperoo.

I feel so blessed to be Brandon's mother. For so long I didn't know how wonderful motherhood could be. I think of my own mother and feel so thankful for all her years of love and support. With her as a role model, I know that I can be a strong, loving and fair mother to Brandon. Certainly the hardest job in the world, I also think motherhood is the most rewarding. This day really is special for me - not because its my first Mother's Day but because I'm reminded that family really is the most important thing, that so much joy can come from the smile of a child and that my heart feels full every time I hold my son close. Thank you Brandon. Mommy loves you.