This Weekend

This weekend was great.  We did a whole lot of nothing and it was just what I needed.  Lots of quality time with my boys. 

Lots of laughing.  This kid cracks me up.

We had our first swimming lesson with Julie.  It was fun hanging out in the pool (we had it to ourselves) and spending time with Julie.  Brantley is not a fan of putting his head under water OR laying on his back, but we're going to keep working on it.

Daddy built the boy a swing set.  I don't want to brag or anything but there pretty much isn't anything that my husband can't do.   It comes off of the back porch.  We've spent the last two nights out there swinging after dinner and before we put him to bed.  Fun way to spend our evenings. 

We played with our bath toys.

And we ate lots and lots of pancakes (and a waffle from our trip to Waffle House on Saturday). 

He is such a ham. 

Just what I needed after a really long week!

Here Lately...

It has been awhile since I did an iPhone photo update.  We've stayed pretty busy this summer in between me having to work on Saturdays in June.  Now that is behind us and we get to enjoy our full weekends again.  And this weekend has already been pretty great. 

For my birthday, Anna suggested going to the lake.  So the Culbersons tagged along with the Browns.  Brantely loved it.

By the time we headed home he was out.  Head down and down for the count.  

A lot of nights he is better off if I just put him in his crib.  He's used to putting himself to sleep and can get a little irritated if I rock him.  This night was not the norm and I took full advantage of it. I love when he has his snuggly moments. 

 We spent one Sunday at Craig's boss' lake house.  We played in the water, swam, and they had us stay for dinner.  It was a good time!

 What is a boat ride without a few interesting facial expressions from Brantley?  He loves his life jacket in case you couldn't tell from the picture below.

 Met my boys at Bass Pro Shop after work one Saturday.  Brantley loved the fish tank.  Craig looks just as excitd as Brantley minus the mouth wide open.

 On our way home from a day of shopping.  He looks thrilled.

 Hanging out one Sunday afternoon in the carport while we waited for Gammy to come pick us up to go shopping.  Craig was replacing my brake pads and we were stir crazy.  So Gammy came to the rescue.

 Gammy has created a mall ride machine.  We ran out of quarters or he would have gone all day.  He takes his driving very seriously. 

This one was today.  I love that he is eating more table food now.  He loves waffles and pancakes.  But if he knows what is good for him - he will like waffles the best.  Craig and I both were craving Waffle House today.  So Brantley got his first Waffle House dining expierence.  I think he'll become a regular. These waffles are huge and he ate over half of it plus a thing of bananas.  Don't have to worry about his appetite - that is for sure.

Wordless Wednesday

Brantley Rolling Over

Wordless Wednesday

I mean really...need I say more?

His Laugh! {Not So} Wordless Wednesday

He laughed tonight for the first time. Normally he smiles like crazy but nothing comes out. We got it on video. What an awesome thing to come home to! Gah, I love this kid so much!

Wordless Wednesday

Photo courtesy of June. :)

Working Mama

This week I officially joined the working mom category and let me just say I am worn out. Like every new adventure with having a baby for the first time, it is definitely an adjustment. An adjustment that consisted of being in bed by 8:30 most nights. I'm not going to lie. You know I'm tired when I don't stay up on Thursday night to watch Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice.




I came in to my computer screen full of welcome back post it notes, a picture of my co-workers as my background on my desktop, flowers, and brownies after lunch for dessert. It made the day so much better than I thought it would be.

Thank God my manager at work just had a baby in February. I made it to work on time every day, but my brain did not join me. I apparently left it with Brantley. There were just a lot of dumb questions and stupid mistakes. Example - forgetting how to transfer a call to someone else. I answered the phone for someone else and then froze when it came time to transfer the call. Easy stuff, but my mind blanks. I had a free pass this week though. I told her I was so glad she hired me before I had a baby, although I'm sure she's regretting it. Haha!

There are two girls that I work with that are pregnant. Both having boys - Waffle House seems to do that to you. And they are so much further along in their pregnancies now than when I left for maternity leave. It's like a visual of how much time has passed since I've been there. And it all went too fast.

Pros to being back at work:
- Adult conversation
- Dressing up in work clothes!
- Co-workers I consider friends
- A new chair as a welcome back gift
- Using my brain - or what is left of it
- Seeing Brantley's sweet smile at the end of the day.

Cons to being back at work:
- Missing Brantley
- Missing Brantley
- Missing Brantley
- Missing Brantley
- Missing Brantley



I did better than I expected. I only had a semi-meltdown on Monday evening. I looked forward to seeing him all day on Monday and getting a smile, and when I got home he was conked out. And stayed pretty conked out for most of the night. No smile was given and I threw myself a mini pity party. But it got easier as the week went on. I just couldn't wait for the weekend to get here to spend time with him. So excited to have the day with him tomorrow and Sunday.

2 Months!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe two months have already passed! I've been telling myself over the last few weeks that I would be ready to go back to work. I'd be ready to not be spit up on all day long. I'd be ready to have adult conversation during the day. I'd be ready to use my brain again. And the nerdy accountant in me cannot wait to get back to bank reconciliations, journal entries, etc. This is my last week at home on maternity leave. I go back on Monday. And wow, it is starting to hit me how hard Monday is going to be. I am so glad that we are lucky enough to have June watch him when I go back (and my mom on Fridays for the first six weeks).

Ok, enough of being a debbie downer about next week and on to his two month stats...

- Weighs 11 pounds 3.5 ounces
- 23 inches long
- 50th percentile for length and head circumference
- 40th percentile for weight
- He has started sitting up really well in his Bumbo. His head bobbles every now and then but he's got awesome control over it for the most part.
- He smiles all the time. It does not take much to get him to smile. And I of course love that he finds us so entertaining.
- He will play on his play mat for longer periods of time and is learning to bat at his toys. Every now and then he'll get a hold of a toy and hang on.
- Still loving his swing. But we are starting to use it less for naps. He's started napping in his crib more. We are using Babywise to get a schedule and he's taking to it really well!
- Has made eye contact with Sadie a few times. And she can't get enough of him.
- His reflux seems to be under control now and this makes me a happy mama. Once it was under control he started gaining weight and eating great.
- He takes a 5 oz bottle every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. At night we give him a 6 oz bottle. The longest he has slept at night was 6 hours. I think it was a fluke at this point though.
- Still loving his bath time. He becomes so chill when we sit him down in it and loves looking at himself in the mirror while we bathe him.
- Is in Size 1 diapers.
- Wearing mostly 0-3 month clothing but still has a few newborn outfits that fit him well.

Oh Yeah! {Milestones}

I was JUST telling Anna yesterday that people who post all over Facebook how many hours straight their babies are sleeping at night really piss me off. And I sooooooooooo had to fight the urge not to be that person. Little man slept 6 hours last night. Put him down in his crib after a bottle at 9:30 pm and I woke up panicked at 3:30 am because he hadn't woken me up yet.

He also took a bath last night that there were no tears shed over. I got him to stop crying while giving him the bath (we switched from a sponge in the big bath tub to a baby tub he sat down in) but getting him out of the tub he pitched a fit. Last night the bath and drying off from the bath were tearless. Little accomplishments!

AND he is now big enough to sit in his Bumbo seat for small periods of time. He's got awesome control of his head. When it falls down he picks it right back up. He's growing so fast and is so much fun.

I have to go back to work next Monday. I'm going to miss him like crazy but I'm soaking up this week as much as possible!

We have his 2 month appointment this week. I'm anxious to see how much he weighs. Look at that double chin! I love that he finds me so funny! :)

One of Those Days

There are days when I feel like I have this parenthood thing figured out. Where he cries and I know exactly what to do to make him happy and content. These days are the majority. The phrase "parenthood thing figured out" seems like a joke anyway. I have a feeling I am going to spend the rest of his life "figuring this parenthood thing out". We've spent so much time together and I'm constantly learning more about him. Example - Car rides have not been his high points. They pacifier falls out of his mouth and he screams like a crazy man until we get to our destination or stopped at a light where I can put it back in. The other day before going for a ride I took the head support out of the car seat because he's got control of his neck now and doesn't need it. He did AWESOME in the car. He cooed and was vocal but it was a happy cry not his ticked off cry. And he moved his head from side to side. He was a happy kid. That was a day I was feeling on my game. Thinking to myself, "I got this."

Today was not one of those days. They are few and far between and I am by no means complaining. I wouldn't trade these days for anything. But I hate that helpless feeling. We were up all through out the night last night with him. He had horrible gas. He would cramp up and then straighten really quickly and pass gas. He'd cry hard and you could tell he was miserable. I hate that feeling! So I made a few changes and did what I could to help him out today and I think tonight is going to be a better night. (Fingers crossed.) And it's all really a guessing game. People tell you what worked for them, but it doesn't mean that is going to work for our baby. You just do what you can.

I'm only writing about this because I want this blog to be the good, the bad, and the ugly. I got ready to leave the house this evening to run errands and when Craig hugged me bye I just started crying. Because I was exhausted and because I spent all night last night feeling completely helpless and unable to make it better for him.

I know I'm going to have days like this for the rest of his life. Even when he's able to talk and tell me what is wrong with him. There will still be days where I feel like I brought nothing to the table. Where I did all I could and it will still not feel like it was enough. Where I am unable to "make it all better for him". But the good far outweight days like this. That's the best part about it. And at the end of the day, he's going to love me anyway. At least I hope. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Home Tour: Brantley's Nursery

A blog that I love to read, Kelly's Korner, has a weekly post on "Show Us Your Home" where she invites readers to show different rooms in their house. This is my first time to participate. I figured I would kill two birds with one stone because I realized I haven't posted pictures of Brantley's room on our blog.

We decided to go with a vintage firetruck theme. I am so happy with how it turned out. My grandfather (who passed away before I was born) was a fire chief. Brantley's shares his middle name with him. Kind of cool that he can grow up in a room the represents his grandfather also.

The bedding came from Pottery Barn Kids. It didn't come with a crib skirt so my mom and I made the crib skirt out of curtains that were the same curtains we hung in the room so they were sure to match. (They aren't pictured here because these photos were taken before it was completed.)


My husband is a huge LSU fan. My mom works for a leather furniture company. They custom make leather furniture. She had this adorable kids rocker made - LSU style! Geaux Tigers! We are taking his monthly photoshoots in this chair - can't wait to watch the little dude grow in it!


I fell in love with a vintage firetruck painting at Pottery Barn Kids but couldn't bring myself to spend the amount on the price tag so I started looking for other options. I found a woman on Etsy that painted an almost exact replica of it for half the price. When I mentioned it to my husband he said he could do it. It turned out even better than I imagined. And it is even more special that Craig took the time to make something that Brantley can appreciate when he gets older. The rocking chair was given to us by my sister. She rocked my nephew in it when he was a baby and offered it to us when we got pregnant with Brantley. It is so comfortable and fits that corner perfectly. I have loved rocking Brantley to sleep in it at night.