The Great Novel

After hints and calls from multiple people wondering why we haven't updated our blog in 2 months I have finally gotten on here with the express purpose to do so. I'm so sorry! January has been a crazy month for us. I must admit that whenever I had down time, blogging wasn't the #1 activity that came to mind. But we'll be back on track from now on!

Where to start...our Christmas was fantastic! We were able to go up to Washington to visit Craig's family which was so much fun. Brady was the center of the attention, as usual, and he loved every second of it. He's not a shy one, our boy. He'll ham it up for just about anyone. His favorite pastimes included trying to pull ornaments off the tree, playing with his Uncle Bryce's face, laughing hysterically when people burped, and riding Toby the dog.

He also enjoyed all the smooches and love that he got from his aunts, uncles and grandparents. And I feel safe saying they enjoyed his antics just as much. Baby's first Christmas was exciting. On Christmas we hung his stocking by the chimney with care - thanks to Great Aunt Kathy for personalizing it for him! After the boy was tucked in bed we opened the Christmas PJs. I am proud to announce that I have seamlessly melded in with the family now...my pajamas were identical to Ashley and Shauna's (it's long been a family joke that Ashley and Shauna always get the same things for Christmas).

That night Brady woke up about 3 times...we're chalking it up to anticipation for the big day. After a brief photo shoot on the stairs we were in to the presents. Brady made out like a bandit. He loves playing with all the toys he received and I love dressing him in all the clothes. Thank you to everyone!

Since Christmas we've hit a few milestones. He now weighs 18 lbs, which is in the 20th percentile for weight, but we have a feeling that's because he's not super long either. It's certainly not because he's a dainty eater. Our child loves food! He will eat forever if allowed. We've ventured in to a few mushy table foods as well as baby food. He loves pears, banana and the pickle we occassionally let him suck on; he could pass on the cooked carrots. On January 23rd, while Craig was trying to get Brady to make funny noises with his lips, Brady munched Craig's finger (not out of the ordinary) and it hurt (out of the ordinary)! At 8 months of age our boy has sprouted teeth! We were starting to wonder if they were really in there. But they are and he is loving learning how to use them. I'm starting to find little teeth marks on his wooden toys and the gummy tips of his spoons.

He's also become interested in expanding his locomotive skills. He's not crawling yet, but he wants to now. Meanwhile, he's figured out that he can roll to what he wants, which is pretty entertaining to watch. If we help him get his knees under him, he'll stay there and rock back and forth. After which he either face plants or his legs slide out behind him like a little frog.

As far as his parents are concerned (we know you're all much more interested in him; we don't blame you, he is cuter) we're keeping busy. Craig is enrolled part time this semester at BYU and is spending the rest of his time working as a physical therapy aide at a local nursing home/rehab center. He's enjoying playing football and basketball with members of our ward and watching American Idol with me. I'm still working part time at Sports Medicine. I've also rediscovered the library this January. I have a whole list of books I'd like to read and I'm blazing through it. It makes me feel alot smarter than when I wasn't reading...and at the same time shows me how much I still have to learn! Also, we'll be in Provo for another year. We decided to wait until Craig had more working/shadowing hours to apply to PT school. So that's us. If you've actually read this far into the blog, I commend you. You have more patience than me. Thanks for taking such interest in our family!