Britton Loving on Piper

Sweet boys!

First Time at the Table

Well, it's 7:30 p.m and all my boys are in bed for the night -- it's Britton's bed time, Danny is still feeling the jet lag, and Piper (who just got home this morning from "camp" at the Jameses) is stuck to Danny's side ... as usual. I thought I would take this rare quiet moment to blog ...

Tonight was Britton's first time to join us at the dinner table. Now that we're all home for a bit, he is enjoying some homemade baby food, which he loves! On the menu tonight -- green beans, acorn squash and applesauce.


He is such a happy eater! He makes these happy noises throughout the entire time we're feeding him:


Here is Britton doing the sign for "all done" at the end of a meal. He has no idea what it means ... he is just mimicking me. But, hey, it's a start!


Another first -- He sat in a highchair for the first time at a restaurant this week:

Playtime with Mom

Britton is making all kinds of noises and new sounds lately, and they get louder and louder as the days go by! Here is some of our play time today:





Fun times!

Britton Digs the Jumper

We tried the doorway jumper again and Britton seems to really like it this time. He stayed in it for a good 20 minutes yesterday. Not too much jumping action yet, but there was lots of twirling!

A Boy & His Dad

Well, Britton woke up this morning and saw his daddy for the first time in 8 days! He woke up crying, but saw his daddy and changed his tune. He immediately reached out for Danny's beard, which is what he always does when Danny holds him. 

Here are my boys first thing this morning ... Britton, I'm sure, is telling him all about the fun we had while he was gone:

Danny pulled into the driveway last night at 2:30 a.m. -- after nearly 24 hours of traveling home from Bucharest, Romania. He only got about 5 hours of sleep, woke up, played with Britton, then spent all day at work, and ran errands with me this evening! I don't know how he did it. He is beyond tired, and, I am happy to report, is sleeping soundly at the moment. 

Waiting Up for Daddy

Danny has been in Romania for the past 8 days, and we have missed him so much! He is finally getting back late tonight, and Britton & I have been waiting up ... well, Britton did for a little while. Here are two quick videos of me putting him down for the night ... such a happy boy:




Can't wait until he wakes up in the morning and sees his daddy! And can't wait for Danny to see all the new things Britton has started doing in the last week!

All the Things He's Doing

As if all of you didn't know, Britton has come a looonnnggg, long way in the past 5 months. I was looking back at videos from Britton's birth day today, and was so amazed that my little boy is where he is today.

I remember them saying in the hospital that eating would be Britton's biggest challenge. They warned us that a baby with so much trauma to his brain would likely have a difficult time getting the hang of eating (a fairly complicated set of skills). He ended up taking to the bottle quickly, though it took weeks for him to be able to start taking in the amounts that his body needed. By the time we took him home, he was eating like a champ, and even had started nursing, an incredible feat! And now, here he is at 5 months eating solids like it's no big thing (he just started solids 2 weeks ago)...

What's left of dinner tonight!

In other wonderful news, Britton is rolling over both ways (he did them both at about the same time), and is on the verge of sitting up without support. A few weeks ago he started pulling his head forward whenever he was leaning back ...

... and now he never wants to lean back & relax (his head is all the way up in this picture if you can't tell)! It's all about sitting or standing these days. I'm thinking he could sit up without support if he could just get that side to side balance down. His therapist says it won't be long.

He is also playing with toys lately. This is fun for us! It came suddenly about a month ago when we were out for a walk, and I had laid a toy on his chest in the stroller. I looked down and he had both hands on it and was turning it around. Since then, he has taken off with the toys. At his last therapy session, she said he was just on the verge of transferring toys from one hand to another. Also, when he reaches now, each hand can grab separate toys (or hair, or earrings). Though, he's been reaching & grabbing for awhile now, it's surprising how adept he is at it now.

Play time in the big boy chair.


Studying a new toy.

He is also sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night! This has been a wonderful gift to his mama & daddy. He's been doing this for a couple of months now (we're so thankful!), so it is rare that we're sleep deprived these days. Lately, he has become attached to one of his "lovies" when he sleeps. When we put him down at night, we give him the lovie, he smiles, wraps his arm around it and pulls it up next to his face. It will usually stay that way all night. So sweet! I didn't realize this, but the therapist said that becoming attached to an object is great for his socialization.

Sleeping angel with his lovie.

You may have seen it on this video, but he recently mastered the fine art of squealing ... loud squealing. He learned it just in time for his first airplane ride. Thankfully, he squealed more before we boarded the plane as if to scare off anyone from sitting next to us. (In cohoots with his daddy, I'm sure.) But, alas, it was a full flight, so some poor soul was stuck with us. In other verbal skills, Britton is also a great "conversationalist" -- responding back and forth when he is spoken to. So sweet...

Another new thing in the world of Britton ... when you show him a bottle, he gets real excited, then he'll reach for it with both hands, open his mouth wide, and pull it toward his mouth. Sometimes it gets there and sometimes it doesn't. But another big thing is...

... he can hold his own bottle! For a few minutes anyway. ;o)

Seeing our little guy become more independent and strong is so wonderful. Considering what he went through, he really shouldn't be able to do all these things. He is such a miracle. These days, though, are also a little bittersweet as he just changes so fast. He is definitely not that tiny, sleepy, cuddly baby anymore, but he sure is a fun and happy 5-month-old baby. We remind ourselves all the time to enjoy each day with him because they go by way too quickly.

Hope you enjoyed the all-things-Britton update. Here are some sweet pictures to leave you with:

After dinner tonight, he gave his mama ...

... a hug...


... and some smiles. What a sweet boy?!

First Bite O' Food

Well, solids are upon us! Britton had his first bite of rice cereal a few weeks ago, and, he is hooked. The first time we fed him (photo on left), it, of course, ended up all over his chin & bib. Didn't seem like too much of a fan at the time. I waited a week or so later to try again. This time, he ate the whole bowl, and has has hardly slowed down since. Lately, we have been introducing veggies and a few fruits, all of which he loves! I sure am hoping these good eating habits continue.

I am curious to see how much he weighs at his upcoming 6 month appointment. He has really chunked up lately, as evidenced by chubby cheeks and the beginnings of some roly poly legs!

The obligatory veggies-all-over-the-face photo!:

The Stars at Night are Big & Bright

(duh duh duh duh) Deep in the Heart of Texas.

We just returned from a wonderful week-long visit to Dallas! We went for our denomination's annual meeting, and then stayed a few extra days to spend time with family & friends. We had a jampacked week ... we caught up with lots of friends, had some good family time, ate tons of Mexican food, were the guests of honor at a Sip'n See for Britton, and enjoyed watching him encounter several 'firsts' ... like his first airplane ride, first hotel stay, first full formula bottle (didn't go so well), first time to meet his great-aunt/uncle & cousins, and first trip to the great state of Texas.

With the fam.

With Daddy Doug.




With Danny's parents (Daddy Doug & GiGi).


Snuggling with GiGi.


Emily's Uncle Lee meets Britton for the first time.


With his Great Aunt Peggy.


With Peggy, and his cousin Julia.

Britton's Papparazi photo shoot ... such a ham:


Firsts.

Waiting for his first airplane ride in the new stroller he loves.


Being passed around on the airplane. He is quite the travel trooper!


Look at me in my travel duck bathtub!


Loving the comfy king bed at the hotel.




Why rented car seats are bad.

The 'first' that we didn't get a picture of is the projectile vomit number he did at Lee & Peggy's house. What an introduction to their great-nephew?!? Britton has never done such a thing, never even spits up. But that first full bottle of formula apparently didn't sit well! So much for the occasional formula bottle.



Danny's first time on his dad's new scooter.



With friends.

With my good college friend Jenny & baby Tate Robertson (aka best baby ever).


With the spouse and future spouse of Danny's best friends from college. We all caught up over dinner one night, and had a great time! From left, Kathy, Meredith & me.

Baby Britton's Sip 'n See.
Danny's parents hosted a wonderful Sip 'n See last weekend so that friends could come meet Britton. Carolyn is so creative and planned a B-themed Brunch for Britton ... complete with Baked French Toast, Breakfast Burritos, Butternut Vanilla Pound Cake, Berries in Champagne Sauce, Betit Fours (aka Petit Fours) & Bing Cherries.



The Betit Fours!




With sweet friends who have prayed and prayed for our little boy!



Danny's friends from The University of Texas -- from left, Barclay, Patrick, Russell, Clay, Danny, & Afshin.


Friends and their lovely wives.


Emily with her mother's dear friends, Carla & Pam, from Baylor.


Love this frame my mother-in-law found ... a reminder of the miracle that Britton is!

It was such a great trip! Hope you enjoyed the pics & recap.

Britton & the Bagpipes

It's official ... the boy loves bagpipes. When I was about 20 weeks pregnant and very new to the feeling of a baby kicking in my belly, we were at a wedding where the processional was a bagpiper playing "Highland Cathedral." As soon as the bagpipes started playing, Britton started moving around like mad and didn't stop until the song ended. Just today, we played the same song to see Britton's reaction. Take a look ...

Father's Day

Here is Danny with Britton on his very first Father's Day. Is there a better way for a Dad to spend the day than with a steak lunch, vegging on the couch, watching the U.S. Open, and playing with his baby boy?! (Here's a video of Danny & Britton taken just a few minutes ago. Danny was blowing in Britton's face .... so cute.)



Some sweet moments of Danny and Britton over the months:

Danny's first time holding his baby boy.