Memorial Day and 8 Months!

Well our long weekend is over and it's back to reality! Brode sure does love his Johnny Jump Up as you can see. He is getting much better at it instead of just eating it!

Friday I had an exam then spent the day getting some things done before playing with Brode. That afternoon we all hung out outside and planted flowers and played in the nice weather before I had to work. Friday night and Saturday morning I worked, then got some more stuff done! While brode napped I got my car cleaned out, and boy did it need it! I can't stand when it is all messy.

Sunday morning we got all packed up and headed to my grandparents cottage in Waupaca for Memorial Day! We sure had a full car with Brode and all of his things and Libby and all of her things, and all of ours on top of that! Gramps had to take Brodes toys in a separate car. You would have never known we only went for 1 night. Sunday we hung out on the dock and enjoyed the sunshine while the boys fixed the dock. It was nice to sit around, and it was perfect weather to do it. Monday wasn't as nice but we could still go outside for a walk and sit in the patio. Brode and Libby got tons of fresh air and still haven't caught up on their sleep!

May 26th means Brode is 8 months old today! I don't even know where 7 went! Each month as he learns more he gets so much more fun and giggles even more. It is even better now that is he is feeling better and back to his old self! He is still doing breathing treatments, but doesn't mind them very much as you can see below.

Everyone have a good rest of the week!

Weeks Later!

May 8th! I don't even remember back that far a lot has happened since then!

First my parents went on vacation to Tennessee and the Carolinas. Brode, Libby, and I were all alone for the week! Libby gets very jealous and missed her family so she was being difficult running away and stealing clothes! Brode still had pneumonia so getting him up and ready for day care on time and giving him medicine and getting enough sleep was a large challenge but we made it through! I had finals the day after they got back and I have to say they all went pretty well! It was nice to be done, but I am also taking a 3 week interim to get a general ed course over with! I need an A so that I can make the Dean's List so hopefully my exam today got me off to a good start! I'm pretty confident.

Finale and Mother's Day was also in that long time span. Saturday night (may 9th) I went to Finale and got up on stage for the alumni song, Celebrate, but I couldn't remember the words! It was still fun though and the show was great! Brode stayed at Grandma Beth's that night so I got to sleep in on Mothers Day! Brode has made me fingerpaints at grandma beth's and at day care so I got those on Sunday. We went to the cottage for the afternoon with my mom's family since my parents were still gone and celebrated Mother's Day.

The weekend after THAT (wow this is a long time) my cousin Tom got married. I read in the wedding so we had a full weekend of rehearsal and dinner, the wedding, the reception, and gift opening afterwards. Brode got to stay with daddy that whole weekend and hang out with him. Everything went pretty well!

This week seemed a lot longer with my 3 hour interim class every day! It is a long time to sit and learn about geography! Tiff came here from Manitowoc on Wednesday to hang out with Brode and I, and then Kelsey stopped by to see the little guy as well! We started talking about planning some things for the summer so hopefully we can get people together to go to all the fun summer places like six flags and noah's ark!

This weekend is already memorial day weekend! I have to work tonight and tomorrow morning, then we're going to head up to the cottage on Sunday morning! This will be Brode's first overnight trip up there! Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can sit outside!

Gramps started giving Brode popsicles and he sure loved them! Brode has been doing well! He is back to his giggly happy self! We are still doing breathing treatments after the pneumonia to help treat the asthma that seems to be causing it. Brode has also started jabbering more so grandpa, daddy, and I are all working on getting him to say our names first! He has become very animated and yells very loudly. Brode has also started to sleep on his side and stomach so when he rolls over he gets his legs through the bars and gets stuck so he can't roll over. He gets quite startled at 4 in the morning when he is stuck so he wakes up crying but goes right back to bed when I roll him over!

Everyone have a great memorial day weekend and I'll try to update and put pictures up more often!

Here is a video from a while ago of Brode eating, he sure chomps with those teeth!

This is a little video from this morning of Brode chatting and playing. He seems to be getting so big! I'll have to remember to film them the other way because you can't rotate them like pictures!

A Couple Weeks!

Wow, I didnt even realize I haven't updated in a couple weeks! I always get reminded by the girls and other friends so that they can see what is going on with Brode. Unfortunetaly I do not have any pictures to put up today.

Things have been pretty crazy. My parents are on vacation in Tennessee and the Carolinas so it is Brode, Libby, and I all week by ourselves. Luckily they didn't leave until later in the week because Brode once again got kicked out of day care on Monday. He had a pretty rough night that night so we made a trip to the doctor's office on Tuesday to find out that he has pneumonia again! He is on antibiotics, steroids, and a nebulizer. The days have been getting a little better. He stayed with my mom a couple mornings and Matt's mom another morning while I went to school. Day care went well yesterday, but the nights are long. He wakes up coughing and cant get back to sleep so he starts crying making it worse. Hopefully these medicines get rid of this soon otherwise we'll have to go back in and look for something else or a different way to get rid of it!

This weekend should be busy too. Saturday I have to work, then Vintage and Act II Finale is that night so I'm going to go with some alumni and get up on stage to do our song (and hopefully remember the words)! Brode should get some good time with daddy that day. Sunday is Mother's Day so we're going up to Grandpa and Grandma's cottage on the chain with the rest of the family! It'll be a nice relaxing and fun weekend before finals week!

Have a good weekend!

LaCrosse

Brode and I made another trip to LaCrosse. Matt was playing in a hockey tournament in Madison and all the girls were going to be around so we figured it was a perfect weekend to go before the end of school got crazy and everyone went home! Brode was great on the car ride there and slept the whole time! He got to meet a lot of people and get lots of playing time in. Erin, Erin, and Kelsey even babysat him while I went out with Tiff, Wes, and Ryan to the dance benefit on campus. The weather was so beautiful that we got to put Brode in the stoller and sit outside at Wes's Lacrosse games! Here are some pictures of all of his fun and all the people he met!

Brode and Erin, and Brode and Leah

Brode and Tiff, and Brode and Kelsey

Brode and Wes!

Picking Brode up from daycare on Monday was interesting as they asked me how he was that weekend. I said fine, they said he was crabby when he was playing. Sure enough, just what I thought, he would not play by himself because he got so spoiled and so much attention over the weekend! It took him a few days to get back to normal!

Nothing is really happening this week. I had two exams, a couple quizzes, work every day, and a big application essay to write so Brode has been getting a lot of bonding time with Daddy and Gramps! Hopefully the weather will be as nice as it says its going to be and we can get outside tomorrow and have a good Friday! Brode is also turning 7 months this weekend! I can hardly believe it.

Have a good weekend!

Easter

Tomorrow is already Easter, I couldn't even believe it was April already! The weather makes it seem like it is still winter. Hopefully it will get nice soon, we're all ready for green grass and playing outside!

This week was rough for Brode. He is getting his front two teeth in the middle so he had temperatures and was in pain. He stayed home from day care and wasn't into the eating or playing so I had some nice days just carrying him around and getting him to sleep and giving tylenol to try and help. This also meant that I got nothing done which was not good with two exams! Luckily my parents could work from home in the mornings while I went to class and Matt was around at night so I could study and work.

We didn't have much planned for this weekend. I had to work last night so Matt was here playing with Brode and then we just sat around and watched a movie after Brode went to bed. I worked again this morning, then Karly and her mom came to visit Brode for a bit. After socializing he was ready for lunch and a nap so we took care of that. While he was sleeping Matt and I ran some errands and looked around at the mall while gramps did things here until Brode woke up. Tomorrow Matt and I are each going to Easter mass at our own churches and they end up being and different times so one can watch Brode while the other is gone. Brode is going to go to brunch with Matt's family and then the two of them are going to come here because my mom's side of the family is coming here for dinner and hopefully an easter egg hunt outside!

Brode is eating some new foods. He loves yogurt, toast, and mashed potatoes now. It is fun trying all these new things, Libby likes it a lot too! He is also sitting up very well now too so he can play with some new toys and see things differently.

Ooopps!

Well it has been almost 2 weeks and I haven't updated on anything so here we go!

Spring Break wasn't much of a break, Brode got called out of day care all week because he was sick. We weren't really sure what was going on but he has some constant temperatures, didnt want to eat, and those darn teeth were really bothering him. As of today he is doing much better! This past weekend he was great and back to normal, but he went to day care yesterday and was home in no time! Hopefully being healthy is here to stay, he hasn't been 100% in two months!

We have been giving Brode some different foods and he is doing well! It is very entertaining watching his reactions to each new one! Brode has been getting some attitude lately. He needs attention at all times and is not happy when you set him down or leave him for a minute. He is going to be a little stubborn one!

I had to work all day Saturday last weekend so Brode and Matt got some good bonding time, then Sunday we all relaxed. We put Brode down for a nap and watched some movies until we realized Brode had been sleeping for a LONG time... oh no... wrong... He was just upstairs playing with gramps, who quietly snuck him out of his crib to play when he woke up!

Monday we went back to Milwaukee to meet Brode's second surgeon, the craniofacil reconstructive surgeon. We got some more questions answered and learned a little more about his procedure, now we are just waiting to schedule. This time gramps came with us so afterwards we stopped a few places and took Brode on a little field trip! He even got his first hockey stick to match his first little golf club, and a Badger hat that fits a little better than gramps golf hat. He was extremely well-behaved and loved his little adventure.

We're now back to the routine. I've got exams, Matt is back in work, and Brode is back and day care and actually staying there! This weekend we don't have too much planned besides dinner with Matt's parents and grandparents to see Brode! They haven't seen him for a LONG time so he'll be very big to them!

Have a good end of the week and weekend!

Milwaukee

Well today was the Milwaukee appointment we have been waiting for, but we only learned about a half of what we wanted to know. We met the neurosurgeons and his PA and they answered our list of questions. The answers were mostly good, it helps to know a lot more about the process. Unfortunetaly they work together with a cranial reconstructive surgeon (plastic surgeon) to work on the overall shape of his head and how it will look afterwards so we need to go back down to meet with him and then find a time before the end of June that they both have half a day open for Brode!

Brode was very well-behaved and just played with his toys and smiled at the doctors. The Children's Hospital was colorful and fun for the kids. We really liked it.

Once we got home Brode needed a nap after messing up his schedule, then we got out his new toy! He is pretty good at it now that he can stand a little more and loves all the different toys on it! It keeps him occupied for a while.

We don't have much planned for this weekend. Tiff came to see Brode tonight and Matt hung out with his friends. Tomorrow is a usual hockey, work, nap time, routine day. Brode may be staying at Grandma Beth's (she wants her Brode fix) tomorrow night while we go to my aunt and uncles for my cousins birthday and then I'll get to sleep in a little bit! This next week is my Spring Break but there isn't anything going on because everyone else was off this past week so I'll just have to study and workout and play with Brode (oh darn)!

Brode now has two teeth! This past week he was very fussy again and ran a little bit of a temperature but sure enough that second tooth came poking through. Everything is always is in his mouth now! They look very funny when he laughs now that they're are peeking through a little more. He still has his darn cold though. Between teething and day care I dont think he is ever going to get rid of that cold until he is 2!

Everyone have a good week!

Update

Well we're very overdue for an update but not much has been going on. We stick with our routine of school, work, and day care then mix in lots of other things that come up.

Brode still has his cold but it's starting to loosen up and hopefully go away. We finally figured out his spiked temperatures were from teething when he chomped on grandpas fingers and it felt a little more sharp than usual. Sure enough there was his first tooth peeking right through! He was pretty crabby for a few days from that but he has been doing a lot better.

We started his physical therapy for his tight neck muscles (Torticollis) yesterday. It isn't too extensive, nothing more that one main stretch. Brode won't have to go back too many times, we just need to do some things at home so he develops more strength.

We also started green beans and carrots with Brode. He has been doing well with them. It's impossible to keep him clean and scrub it all of afterwards! The carrots weren't the most exciting thing for him, he didn't really know what to think of the taste but he has been doing better! Hopefully we can start another new thing tonight!
That's about all that is going on. School is school, more tests to get done before spring break but nothing else exciting. The weekends have been pretty uneventful as well!

Have a good Spring Break!

5 Months!

Brode turned 5 months last week! It has been going so fast! Here are a couple pictures... he is getting so big!This weekend I went to LaCrosse once again to see everyone there and it was a lot of fun! I love seeing everyone and being back there. We had a house full so it was a good girls weekend! While I was gone Brode stayed at Matt's and had a boys weekend. From what I heard they talked and played a lot!

Nothing is really planned for this week except for work and school but somethings always comes up! Right away this morning I got a call from day care that Brode's temp was 105. He has been spiking a lot lately and has had a terrible cold for almost two weeks. He has been doing well since I picked him up but we're still going to go to the doctor this afternoon because we dont want to risk anything like that pneumonia he already had!

Have a good week!

Update

Just a few pictures and updates!

My roses from Matt for Valentine's Day all opened up and beautiful!

Today we had Brode's 5 month pictures with Sarah Celine. He did well, even with his horrible cold! We got some cute smiles! Here are a few from her website.

Matt got his tattoo yesterday of Brode's footprints and initials on his shoulder blade and it turned out well!


Here is Brode after his bath last night. He hates the part of putting clothes back on, so we just hang out for a while!

Well thats about it going on right now. Not too much going on this weekend just going to see some family, they haven't seen Brode in a while! Have a good week!