Last Day at Home

Today is my last day at home with Brandon before I go back to work. I have been home for 16 months due to bedrest, Brandon's NICU time, and staying home with Brandon since he came home from the hospital at the end of September last year. It has gone by so fast. I am sad to be returning to work but not upset that I need to go back. I am sad that I will not be spending the time with Brandon but I like my job teaching a lot. I never planned on staying home with Brandon for as long as I did and then he was so early and had so many doctor appointments his first 5-6 months home that I really had to. I am so happy that I was able to stay at home with him as long as I did and see him develop into the toddler that he is turning into. I am sad that I will probably miss some of his milestones but he will be in good hands when I am gone.

This morning I brought Brandon for his one year bloodwork. I had brought him in the beginning of June for it the first time and they put the needle in at the lab and couldn't get any blood out so they told me to come back in a month. I waited until now because I was so upset that they had put the needle in knowing they couldn't find a good vein the first time. This time they were able to find a vein and get blood out. Brandon cried the whole time.

Maureen and Danny. who just turned 1 a few weeks ago, came over this afternoon for a little while. Brandon and Danny had a good time playing together. Danny kept giving Brandon hugs and kisses...so cute.

Monmouth Medical Center NICU (Regional Newborn Center) walk

Dear Friends and Family,

On Sunday, September 13,Stu, Brandon, and I will be participating in the third annual Big Steps for Little Feet, a fund-raiser for the Regional Newborn Center at The Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center that will be held on the Beachfront North at Pier Village in Long Branch. Please consider a gift in support of my team or joining my team -- your donation will be going toward a very worthy cause!

This is a very important cause to us since Brandon was in the NICU (Regional Newborn Center) at Monmouth Medical Center for 12 weeks in 2008 after he was born 14 weeks early. If it weren't for the wonderful nurses and neonatologists Brandon would not be where he is today.

All proceeds of this event will help the RNC continue to provide the highest quality neonatal intensive care service to the fragile newborns it serves, and help it to expand that care to help even more families in need. Any amount that you can give is greatly appreciated. Past proceeds from Big Steps for Little Feet have helped Monmouth to purchase the newest life-saving equipment to treat these fragile newborns.

Thank you so much for your support!

Click here to view the team page for Team Brandon
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://mmcf.convio.net/site/TR/Particpantswhoraiseatleast100/General?team_id=1370&pg=team&fr_id=1040&et=iZFjoUyKCzXPDz9Vc8AZNg..&s_tafId=1151

Love,
Karen

More Walking

First Haircut

Brandon got his first haircut a little while ago. He was so good the whole time. My friend's aunt cut his hair. He sucked on his pacifier and looked at himself in the mirror and halfway through they gave him a lollipop to lick and suck on which he loved. He looks so grown up with his haircut. He got a certificate that said he had his first haircut and they gave me a curl to keep.

Pulling to Stand Up on Everything

Brandon's favorite thing to do is pull up to stand and cruise. He pulls himself up to stand on everything. He is getting pretty brave and starting to hold on to a lot of things with only one hand. The reason Brandon is wearing only a diaper with a shirt in some of the pictures is because he wouldn't let me put his shorts back on after I changed his diaper yesterday. He kept rolling over, sitting up, etc. and I finally gave up and let him stay in just his diaper since we weren't going anywhere.

Cheese!

Brandon smiles almost every time he sees the camera. It is the cutest thing.

Walking with the lion walker

Brandon is cruising all over the place and is pretty fast at it now. He can pull up on the coffee table and walk around the whole table by holding on. He has also been pulling up on his two walkers and using them to walk the past few days.

Rainy Sunday

We stayed inside yesterday since it was a rainy Sunday except for a trip to the beach to see the waves . The waves at the beach were really big so they weren't letting people go in the water. We wanted to see them so we went when we woke up yesterday. The last picture of Brandon on here is him stuck on the bottom of the chair. He pulled himself up to stand and then forward so he could get a toy that was under the chair, only he got stuck in the process.

Meeting Great Grandma

On Saturday, Brandon, Stu, Stu's parents, and I went to New York outside of the city so Brandon could meet his great grandma (Stu's grandmother) for the first time. She lives in assisted living so we couldn't bring him during RSV season and our summer has been pretty busy. It was nice to finally bring Brandon to meet her. It was grandchildren day where she lives so they brought in a small petting zoo. Brandon enjoyed petting and seeing the animals that were there. He also enjoyed going on the swing at the playground next to where she lives. Most of all he enjoyed meeting his great grandma.

Dorbrook Sprayground

We went to the sprayground today at Dorbrook Park with Sommer, Bob, and Sydney. Brandon loved it. He crawled all over the place and enjoyed getting splashed by the water. There was also a water table that he had fun playing with. After the sprayground we went to play at the park next to the sprayground.