The First Laughing Day

Brandon had his first laughs today! We were able to catch some of it on video. Here it is!

Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen? He has also found his tongue as you can also see in the video. He has enjoyed sticking it out at us often today. We now are in Princeton, IN again. We just got back from our caving weekend in Kentucky. We had a fun time with our friends, but it was very different having a baby there this year. You can't exactly do everything you want to do when you want to do it anymore. Life has changed! Krzysztof and I did get to do a short trip through the caves while our gracious friends took care of Brandon. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Brandon's "mountain boy" outfit!

This is at the campsite where we usually camp. This year we got a cabin instead, and we were so glad we did as there were a couple of heavy downpours and tornado watches.

This was the first time Brandon has experienced cooler weather! He stayed warm and cozy in his little sweatshirt jacket.

The Earthquake game

We are in Indiana! This is Brandon's 4th state (KS, MO, OK, IN). We are here for Krzysztof's work, and we're headed to Kentucky tomorrow! (state #5 - not too shabby for a 12 week old).

Here is a video of one of Brandon's favorite things to do! For some reason, we only do this when in a hotel room. Let's call it the Earthquake Game. You can really see some cute smiles!

Here are some other cute pictures:

Put up your dukes!

Happy boy!

The "What the heck are you doing, mom?" look.

Don't you want to give me a kiss?

Oklahoma! Oh! What a Beautiful Mornin'

Here are pictures from Brandon's first little vacation (along with some other random photos of things we've been doing in the past few weeks). Krzysztof had a the opportunity to be a beer judge for a competition in Tulsa, OK in mid September, so we decided to make a vacation out of it in order to check Oklahoma off our list of states to visit (living in Kansas is really going to help knock out all those square states in the middle). Brandon did pretty well during the 4 hour drive...only one or two screaming episodes. :-) Poor baby just doesn't understand why we can't pick him up and hold him since he usually gets that reaction when screaming at home.

All snug in his bed away from home. This folds up to fit in a suitcase.

We got in Friday night and BB (Before Brandon) we usually would have gone out for a late dinner, but we decided to order pizza instead. We aren't usually "take out" or "delivery" kinds of eaters, but I see a lot more of that in our future...

Snuggling with Daddy.

Hanging out with Mommy in the hotel while Daddy did his judging. It was great being in a hotel because we could really spend some quality time together without feeling like something needed to be cleaned or cooked.

We stayed in downtown Tulsa, which doesn't really have too much going on most of the time. This is the view from our room. There was a Rib festival within walking distance of the hotel, so we checked that out after Krzysztof got back and found that we'd rather have ribs in Kansas. Our hotel had a pool and hot tub, which we were able enjoy once Brandon fell asleep. We just put him in the stroller and parked it right by us!

On Sunday we went to the Tulsa zoo. It was a pretty good zoo, but not the best by any means. Brandon really enjoyed it as you can see.

Being this close to the rhinos was definitely one of the coolest parts of the zoo.

Holding on to his cute burp cloth in his stroller.

I don't even know what to label this picture. All I know is that it makes me laugh every time I see it!

That's a little more like it! Almost a good picture of a smile. He looks like such a little boy in his jeans!

Krzysztof's mom's cousin (does that make it his 2nd cousin?) Fred and his girlfriend Gail from Victoria, BC came over for dinner during their visit to KC. Unfortunately they didn't get to see Brandon awake! We had a great dinner, though. I should have taken a picture. We had baked pecan chicken with creamy mushroom artichoke sauce. It is a Southern Living recipe I've made a few times, and we love it! It is great for company. Here are the links for the chicken and the sauce if you need a good recipe.

This is at the Art Fair at the Plaza in KC.

Yes it was this crowded! And so hot too! We saw some cool art and had some great food, but didn't stay too long.

And here is a random picture for the finale. This is Krzysztof's homemade mash paddle! He made it from a piece of wood with a jig saw and some other kinds of saws (I know nothing about power tools). I'm proud of him for making it rather than buying an expensive one that wouldn't be nearly as cool, so I thought I'd post it! He got to use it while brewing a Baltic Porter last weekend. Mmmmm! We keep telling Brandon he better be good or he'll get the Mash paddle! (just kidding of course)

Babies Don't Keep

I recently recollected a poem from deep in my memory that has been there since I was little. There was a framed poem on the wall in my friend Cori Bray's room in her family's old house. I must have spent quite a lot of time in there because I remembered most of it. I was able to find the missing pieces on the internet. Here it is:

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, so I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

I have a problem called "multitasking." Today I found myself feeding Brandon, eating lunch, and checking my email all at the same time, and not doing any of them very efficiently! Even when playing with Brandon I am usually thinking about what needs to be cleaned, what I need at the store, and what I want to cook, and the rest of the time I am doing those things! I am realizing that I need to be fully present when I am spending time with my son - giving him my full attention and enjoying every second because I will never get to savor him as an 11 week old again after this week is over. So what if the floors don't get cleaned for another day...I'm enjoying my baby and babies don't keep!

2 Months!

Hi everyone! Brandon here. I have been 2 months old for over a week now! We've been very busy and haven't had time to finish this blog posting since then.

I am such a big boy! At my 2 month check up last week we found out I am 11 lbs 6 oz (50th%) and 24.25 inches long (75th%)!

Here's what I've been up to in the last few weeks...

I practice my smiles a lot! I smile without even being smiled at now, which just delights my mom and dad!

I love to be sung to! It almost always makes me smile. You should hear my parents sing, though. Sometimes I'm smiling at them and not with them...

Here I am (sleeping) in St. Joseph, MO with mommy's friend from High School Megan and her son William. Megan and William live just 2.5 hours from us in Nebraska, so we met up half way between for lunch and shopping. I don't remember much from that day as I stayed in this position for most of it.

Another smile! It is pretty hard to capture on camera as the camera flash makes me look confused... or angry. Don't I look like a tough guy?

My Mimi and Papa came to visit! This was the 2nd time I've seen my Mimi but the first time I met my Papa. Here we are by one of the many fountains at Country Club Plaza in KC.

This is the first time my Papa held me.
I think this is my Mimi and Papa's favorite fountain because the statue is holding grapes. They said something about the goddess of wine...

We took a few walks in my neighborhood while Mimi and Papa were here. I love going for walks in my stroller! The bumpier the ride, the better!

Another fountain in Country Club Plaza.

This is at the Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, MO. We learned about Lewis and Clark as well as the Oregon and Santa Fe trails.

This is at the dinner table. Maybe it was the garlic bread...

Happy on the deck with Mimi! Here's my fist! I love to wave it around, look at it, and suck on it!

I love bath time! Actually, I love anytime I can be naked. Getting my diaper changed is a highlight of my day. I always start smiling when the clothes come off. This makes my parents worried about the future for some reason.

I have so many expressions!

This is one of my favorite things to do! I hold on to someone's fingers and pull myself up to stand!

Looking pensive in my bouncer. Mommy and Daddy don't know what they would do without my bouncer. I get to sit in it at dinnertime and they bounce me with their feet while they eat! I stay happy most of the time...

See you again soon!

Exercising and my cool hat

Here I am doing tummy time on the ball! Yes, my mom is an OT.

My neck and arms are getting so strong!

The ball also comes in handy when I am fussy. I don't like the rocking chair...that's boring. But I love to be held while Mommy bounces on the ball! We actually have another ball that is kept in my room. One night she said she bounced on it for about 45 minutes total throughout the night! That was a couple weeks ago when I was really fussy. I'm much happier now. Actually, I've had a few really great nights! Last night I slept for 8 hours, just getting up once for 15 minutes to eat. Mommy says that makes her very happy. Maybe that's why I was so fussy before...I've heard it said that if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

On another note, I am not balding (although it looks like I have a comb over in these pictures). I have very light blond hair coming in under my dark hair. You just can't see it in the pictures!

How do you like this outfit? Do you like my matching hat? Daddy thought I looked too cute (and maybe a little funny), so he took tons of pictures of me!

I could be a chef!

or a painter!

showing off my smile!

Ok, Daddy, I've had just about enough of this photo shoot.

I mean it! No more pictures!

A Reward for Enduring the Fussiness!

Brandon is now over 6 weeks old, and he is finally smiling at us! It is a well needed and deserved reward for enduring his fussiness and for all those sleepless nights. I tried to upload a video of him smiling, but it wouldn't work. Maybe blogger is smarter than me. Maybe I'll get it to work later. Here are some pictures anyway.

In other news since the last update, Brandon's Babcia stayed with us for the week while KZ went to Indiana for work. It was great to have the extra help, especially because Brandon has been going through a fussy period. Here you can see that Babcia is good at rubbing his back! She did a lot of walking and bouncing him too.

Krzysztof's Wujek (uncle) Martin came into town last weekend for a visit to see Brandon. He lives in Boulder, CO. Here is Brandon trying to give his Wujek a kiss!

Here are some other cute faces...

Who is the handsome guy in the mirror?

It's me!

I'm pretty cool.

What's over there?

I'm trying to talk!

Getting bored...

My devious look.

Here is Brandon all snug in his miracle blanket (http://www.miracleblanket.com/)! It's the best thing for baby Houdinis who can get out of a regular swaddle.