Outlet Shopping, Playing, and GI Specialist

I have been off this week for Spring break. Brandon and I spent the morning hanging out in the house. I put him down for an early nap since he had a GI specialist appointment at 1:20. Brandon's appointment with the GI specialist went well. He said to try to take him off of the prevacid again when he turns 2 in July and see how he does. He said we might need to just try him off of it every 6 months until he does okay off of it. He thinks eventually he will be able to come off. If not he will need to do a scope eventually. Brandon weighed 21 pounds, .9 ounces so at least he has stayed the same the past 3 weeks with his weight.

After his appointment we met my friend Nancy and her 7 month old son, Justin, at the outlets. It was the first nice day all week. The temperature was 60 and sunny. The past few days it has been raining like crazy so at least we finally got a nice day. It was nice to get out for some fresh air at the outlets.

Passover at Aunt Carolyn's and Uncle Charlie's

Last night we went to Stu's Aunt Carolyn's and Uncle Charlie's house for the first night of Passover. It was Brandon's first time going to their house. It took a little over 1 1/2 hours to get there and Brandon did really well in the car the whole ride. It helps that he watches Elmo's World on the car dvd player. Brandon had a lot of fun playing with Stu's cousins kids (Brandon's third cousins), Isadora, Avery, Rosalie, Caleb, Ali, and Matt. All of the kids loved him and couldn't get enough of him. It was nice having them play with Brandon because I was actually able to sit and eat without chasing after Brandon the whole time. He ate his dinner but was done a lot sooner than I was. Brandon especially loved Matt and kept giving him hugs. I thought for sure Brandon would sleep well last night because he was so tired from playing with the kids all night. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept for an hour but as soon as we got home and the car stopped moving he was up. And wide awake. The problem was it was 10:30. He didn't fall back asleep until midnight and then slept really badly. I find when Brandon has a hard time getting into a good sleep pattern it messes with his sleep the rest of the night. Hopefully he will take a long nap today and I will be able to lie down too.

Play Dates and Breakfast with the Easter Bunny

Brandon had a busy, fun weekend. Yesterday morning Heather and Jen came over for a playdate. I went to middle school and high school with Heather. Her daughter Jen was born 2 weeks after Brandon was due. Heather lives a few towns over from me now. Brandon went to Jen's first birthday party in October and this was the first time since we have seen them. Now that it is getting warmer out and there will be more to do outside we are going to try to get together more often.

Yesterday, late afternoon, Becky, Barry, and Logan came over. Brandon and Logan had a lot of fun playing together. They stayed for dinner and then the boys got in their matching pajamas after dinner.

This morning Brandon went to the breakfast with the Easter bunny at Stu's firehouse. Brandon liked seeing the Easter bunny and was smiling at him but as soon as I gave him to the Easter bunny so I could take a picture his smile went off of his face and he got a worried look on his face and tried to escape from the Easter bunny.

Future Computer Programmer?

Brandon loves the computer. Last night, shortly before bed time, he climbed onto the computer chair, and started using the mouse and keyboard the right way. It was too cute.

Brandon had speech yesterday and is doing great with his receptive language. He really understands almost everything now. He can point to me, Stu, and Hershey when we ask him where we are, he can point to parts of his body when asked where they are, he can point to pictures of things in books. He will also point to different kinds of food when you ask him where it is. When I tell him it is time for a bath he runs to the bathroom and when I tell him it is time for daddy to read books at night he will go and pick out a book and bring it to Stu to read.

First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of spring. The temperature was 72 degrees so after Brandon woke up from his nap he went outside to play for a little while. We also went to the outlets near us and then we went to meet Addison, our friends Bob and Sommer's baby, who was born 4 days ago. Brandon had fun playing with Addison's 2 1/2 year old sister Sydney. When I asked him where Sydney was he pointed right at her.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday Uncle Brian

We didn't do anything for St. Patrick's Day but I still had to dress Brandon in a St. Patrick's Day shirt. At least the kids at his babysitter saw it. Brandon was so happy when he woke up yesterday morning. He slept so much better the night before than he has in a long time. He was only up once during the night that I had to go in. He did try to get up at 5 am but I got him back to sleep and he slept until 7:15. Last night he actually finally slept through the night again for the first time in over a month. I feel like a new person today.

Happy Birthday Uncle Brian. We are looking forward to seeing you this weekend.

I Love This Picture

On Tuesday morning Brandon sat himself down on the bottom step and put his hand behind his head. It looked like he was posing for a picture so I took the camera out and took a few. I love the way they came out. It would be better if he didn't have his pacifier in his mouth. He still sleeps with his pacifier and had only been up for a little while when the pictures were taken so he hadn't stopped using it for the day yet.

Last RSV Shot

Brandon had his last RSV shot ever today. My mom brought him to the pulminologist for it since I had to work. Brandon weighed 21 pounds, 1 ounce. I am SO excited that he finally broke 21 pounds. He had been stuck at 20 pounds, 10 ounces since October. He has been eating so much the past few weeks that I thought he must be going through a growth spurt. Dr. Sembrano said Brandon has good motor skills. He wants to see Brandon again in 2-3 months since he was on the nebulizer so much this winter. If he gets put back on the nebulizer before then I have to call him and see if he wants to see him sooner.

We finished our basement a few weeks ago and Brandon figured out how to go up and down the stairs. It is his new favorite thing to do. He is so fast at it. He also loves his rocking moose that I got at my shower. He gets on it and rocks.

Laurie Berkner Band Concert

On Saturday I brought Brandon to his first concert. We went to see Laurie Berkner Band at Count Basie theater. Brandon really enjoyed the show. We sat on the balcony and we were the first row on the balcony so he could really see everything. I think it was a lot better having him be able to look down at her then up if we had been on the floor. He clapped his hands, danced on my lap, and smiled when he recognized her songs from Nick Jr. when he sees her on tv. We went with my friend Becky, her son Logan who is 5 months younger than Brandon, and Becky's mom. It was raining on Saturday and I realized Brandon did not have a rain jacket except for one that was a few sizes too big. I put it on him and he looked really cute in it even though it was a bit too big.

Sleepy

Brandon hasn't been sleeping well at night all week. He wasn't sleeping great prior to this week but was only waking up once and it took me about an hour to get him back down. Monday night, after getting his tubes in earlier in the day, he was up at least 6 times (I lost count) and only wanted to sleep with me holding him. It has continued that way all week. He goes to sleep okay but 2 hours later wakes up crying hysterically. He stands at the edge of the crib and jumps up and down holding onto the bar and doesn't calm down. I try giving him at least 10 minutes before I go in and by then he is so worked up and doesn't even try to find a pacifier to soothe himself. I don't know if his ears are bothering him from his surgery, if he is going through separation anxiety at night, or if his teeth are bothering him (he is getting his bottom molars). He is exhausted in the day because his sleep is so interrupted at night.

Brandon is watching Yo Gabba Gabba in these picture before he went to sleep last night which is why he wouldn't look at the camera. He plays with his hair when he is tired like he is in the one picture.

Another Nice Day

It was 62 degrees again today. My dad babysat for Brandon this morning since Brandon's babysitter is out of town this week. He took him for a wagon ride around the neighborhood. Stu had a job interview this morning so he was off. When he got home my dad left and Stu took Brandon outside to play in the backyard. When I got home from work that is where I found the two of them and Hershey. Brandon had so much fun running around the backyard. He kept squealing with delight and running all over the place with a smile on his face. We have a climbing toy with a small slide and swing in the backyard that one of our friends gave us. Brandon was a little unsure of it at first but I sat him at the top of the slide and helped him down and then he couldn't get enough of it. He figured out how to get himself on his stomach at the top of the slide also and go down on his stomach.

Ear Tubes

Brandon got his ear tubes this morning. We had to be at the Shrewsbury Surgery Center at 7:00 am. We got there and I had some paper work to fill out and then they called us and brought us to our room. When we got there a nurse put a thermometer sticker on his forehead, had me change Brandon into a gown, and then gave him some medicine that made him really loopy. The medicine was so he would separate ok and also so they would be able to give him the gas for anesthesia without him fighting it. He kept looking at me and smiling at me. A few minutes later they had me bring Brandon as far as they would let me and then I had to hand him to the anesthesiologist. That was the hardest thing...handing him over and walking back to our room to wait. Brandon laughed when I handed him over. The whole surgery took about 3-4 minutes, then Brandon was in recovery for about 5 minutes, and then they brought him back to the room and gave him to me to hold. He was hysterical and there was nothing we could do to calm him down. They said that is very common because of the anesthesia. After 10-15 minutes of him crying he finally calmed down so we got him dressed and left to came home.

The morning home was tough. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and I put him in his crib when we got home and he slept for almost an hour. When he woke up he only wanted to be held but was crying hysterically when I was holding him. We did a lot of cuddling and he finally calmed down enough to have some puffs and drink some milk. He was finally starting to walk around and then it was time for his ear drops. He was hysterical when I gave him his ear drops and then wouldn't stop crying. I finally got him to sleep at 11:50 and he slept until 1:30. He then woke up and felt a lot better and ate some chicken nuggets and had a lot of milk.

It was 62 degrees here today so this afternoon I decided to take Brandon for a walk at a park near here. It was nice to get out but he fell asleep for the last half of the walk. He was in a good mood the rest of the afternoon and this evening.

He just went to sleep about 10 minutes ago. I am hoping he sleeps well tonight. I am not sure if he will wake up because of his ears. They said they are sometimes uncomfortable.

Brandon's New Favorite Place to Sit

Brandon started climbing a few weeks ago. Mostly onto the couch. Earlier last week he realized he can climb onto the coffee table. It is right in front of the tv so he likes to climb onto it and then sit and watch tv.