Homemade pipe cleaner glasses + 6 month old boy = pretty cute nerdInstructions: Go to the song playlist on the right and click "Booty Song" before viewing the picture below. (Credit goes to Amanda Nichols who had this song on their blog for a little while. It's one of my favorite new songs!)
Nothing cuter then this baby booty!
A couple cute pictures from the last little while....
From everything I’ve read Brynner was considered a “fussy” baby. From Day 2 we had to walk the floor endlessly bouncing a screaming baby in order for him to get to sleep. After doing this for a couple months each time he slept, we found bouncing on an exercise ball worked great and found it did help the process from two or more hours to sometimes just 30 min. That is, of course, if we could ever so gently lay him down without him waking up. If he awoke the whole process would start over. More then a few nights Brad or myself would have to take over so the other person wouldn’t get frustrated at our little guy who, no doubt, was also frustrated he wasn’t asleep by now.
By three months he was still waking up every two hours around the clock and it would take at least an hour to get him back to sleep during the night. Brad was telling his client about our sleep woes when she swore up and down how much a book had helped her daughter. That day Brad went and bought the book and I started to read “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” by Dr Marc Weissbluth. Brynner wasn’t old enough to start what he called Extension to get him to sleep (or commonly known as crying it out). So we waited until he was about 3 1/2 months old and tried to let Brynner cry himself to sleep that night. It was horrible!!! I can’t tell you how guilty and worried I was that he would feel abandoned or scared. The book said he would do some “protest crying” but they didn’t say anything about him screaming bloody murder! Poor sweetheart worked himself up so much we couldn’t handle it and couldn’t follow through for the first few attempts. Finally we were so exhausted we decided that no matter how long he cried we were going to start being consistent at night and not go to him as he feel asleep. The first couple weeks were really rough but after that he would typically cry for a ½ hour before he would fall asleep. Then we started with naptime in the day. His sleeping habits were getting worse during the day in that he would sleep more then 20 min. only if I held him. I couldn’t get anything done! It took him another two weeks to where he would cry typically for a ½ hour for naptime. He started to get up twice a night which was a huge improvement to the four or five times in the past.
Slowly but surely he improved until today I feed him and lay him down awake but drowsy and he’ll fall asleep (most of the time) without any crying at all. Strangely enough, however, if he falls asleep while feeding he’ll sometimes cry for 15 or 20 min. when I put him down. I’ll take that any day over what we had gone through in the past! He also needs consistency so if I do something that messes up his schedule, like taking him places during naptime; he has a harder time for the next couple days. As long as I hold my end of the bargain he now sleeps at night and at naptime by himself!! As of last week his day naps are getting consistently longer to where he’ll sleep anywhere from 1 to 3 hours. It’s heaven! I can get so much more done in the day. I look back and realize how hard it was to hear him cry but it was all worth it a couple months later! How nice it is to hear him wake up happy and play in his crib until I get him, a stark contrast from him screaming because he was still tired.
For any new parents out there I just wanted to let you know how much easier it became for us! Every baby is different but if you’re struggling in this area, this book sure helped our little guy! 
On his best behavior
First time eating Rice Cereal. Those are funny Rice Krispies!
Check out those thighs!
Hmmm....socks!
Getting ready for a walk
Daddy and Brynner's favorite game!
I love to snuggle with my sweet little man
He's always so happy to see Dad when he gets home from work
My Mom thinks I'm cuter then you!
Now that we have a child I’ve really wanted to start a lot of traditions so that as long as our children can remember, we’ll always have done certain things. I truly believe that it brings the family together like nothing else can. I think it even brings a sense of security that the kids always know certain things are going to happen every year on this holiday etc... It makes the day so much more fun to look forward to. I would love to hear all the traditions you may have in your family as something to blog about or at least leave me a ton of comments so I can get more ideas!! Here are some ones I’ve either thought of, seen somewhere, or carried from one of our family traditions. And let's face it, most of them revolve around food! New Years Eve: -Fortune Cupcakes. Bake them as normal and cut a slit on the top to put in the paper fortunes. You could make your own and print them off the computer (preferred way...you can make them very personal and funny) or buy some at your local craft store. Once they are frosted you’ll never be able to tell they were ever cut. April Fools Day: -Make food that resembles something but is really something else (like the cupcake meatloaf a few posts back) Halloween: -The Family Night Phantom is another fun tradition where your family takes a treat to unsuspecting homes with a poem. "The Phantom Ghost has come to town to leave you some goodies, I see you have found. If you do not wish a curse to fall, Continue this greeting, the Phantom call. Post this Phantom where it can be seen, and leave it there until Halloween. Then make two treats and two phantoms like this, Deliver them to 2 neighbors who may have been missed. Deliver at dark, when there is no light, Ring the doorbell, run and stay out of sight! Have fun and remember, don't be seen....share in the spirit of Halloween!" Sundays: -We make waffles every Sunday. This week we made cinnamon and vanilla waffles, the week before it was blueberry. I can’t even begin to tell you how many waffle recipes I’ve tried, but so far this one is my favorite for the basic recipe: Basic Waffle Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005 4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup 4 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1 cup 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 3 whole eggs, beaten 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted (1/4 cup) 16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature (2 cups) Buttermilk Substitute: Add 1 Tbl. of Apple Cider vinegar for each cup of milk and let sit for 5 min. Vegetable spray, for waffle iron Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl beat together eggs and melted butter, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve. Longest Day of the Year: -It's always in the middle of June. The idea is to enjoy the most sunshine on the longest day of the year. Take that day off of work/school etc... and let each family member choose an outdoor activity (Picnic, hiking, swimming, miniature golf etc..) Birthdays: -I thought it was so great that I got to have whatever I wanted on my Birthday for Breakfast and Dinner. -Celebrate 1/2 Birthdays! Buy a small gift and have cake and ice cream. These are just a few ideas. Let me know what you do as a family!
This year I decided to do my tricks via food. No, I didn't switch the sugar and salt, but I did make cupcakes and sushi. The cupcakes were made of meatloaf with a mashed potato frosting and the sushi was rice crispy treats, gummy worms, and fruit rollups. I had more fun making it then I'm sure Brad had eating it! He looked at the odd dinner on the table and just smiled and sat down to eat. What a sport. At first glance I really think you could be fooled into thinking they were real cupcakes. The sushi was obvious. At least the Peach Mango flavored water really got him! April Fools Brad!!! After all the weird food he even cleaned up the kitchen. Thank you honey! By the way I got both of these ideas from www.familyfun.com you should check out this site, I love it!
