olympics fan. most of the time.

welcome to the 2012 olympics, buster.  they're your first ones even though you won't remember.  but we spend lots of hours in front of the tv these days, which is unusual for us.  but mama loves the summer olympics so you have to, too :)  you don't seem to mind too much.

even though sometimes the water polo bores you to sleep.  me too, buddy.

it can all wait.

there's nothing better in the whole world, than brady laying on my chest.  i absolutely love this time, with him so small and snuggly.  before long he'll want "down!" and these days will be things of the past.  i'm soaking it up while i can, even though it means i'm behind on photo edits & laundry & running.  it can all wait for now.

when my arm hurts.

brady has decided he likes to nap best in mama's left arm.  but sometimes my arm gets so tired...and yet i still want him close by.  so today i laid him on the floor next to me in my office & he contentedly finished his nap there.  to the sounds of keys clicking & coffee slurping :)

two months old.

at two months old, brady has really started to come into his own personality.  the last couple weeks we have seen tons of smiles and he's started to coo...and we have also witnessed a bit of a temper :)  i have said "good thing he's cute!" about a hundred times this week alone.  he continues to be a really happy little guy when he's full, rested & dry.  if you look at him and say hiiiiiii he breaks into a huge gummy smile.  i love that he's making consistent eye contact, too.  and he continues with his hilarious expressions.  however, just last week he decided he wanted nothing to do with nursing and began a little routine of back-arching and screaming incessantly whenever he was held to the teat...really awesome trick, brady.  now please bring back my sweet quiet little nurser :)  i'm onto his game though, and have told him a few times that he is not in charge - and so we continue to work on nursing much to his chagrin.  in fact, he hasn't had a bottle since that fateful night last week when his first tantrum occurred.  my aunt ellen & grandma price were in town the next day and the three of us spent the week telling him who the boss was (mama!).  he's doing a lot better, and i'm figuring out what to do to help remind him that nursing is how he gets to eat - and that the work is worth it - but i think he just got too used to bottles which we were giving sometimes once a day but at least a few times a week.  we of course will go back to using bottles once this nursing strike is over, but for now he is nursing exclusively.  i think i'm in for it with his little temper though.  for an eight week old, he sure has a set of lungs!!!!  bring mama some more wine!

otherwise, seriously - he is a dream baby!  when he's happy, he is HAPPY.  he grins and coos and waves his arms around and looks around the room and plays with his playmat hanging toys.  when i go to get him out of bed in the morning, he grins at me really big and makes the 5 or 6 o'clock hour much happier.  bradykins has been sleeping anywhere from 5-7 hours straight the first part of the night.  one night he went 9 hours between feeds (wasn't asleep for all of that though).  i am so grateful for this, as i am not a girl who functions well on little sleep.  i have a low threshold for crabbiness when i'm tired - and maybe God knew i couldn't take the sleeplessness for long.  instead i am dealing with a maniacal eater but at least i'm rested for his antics ;)  he weighed in this week at 9 pounds, 5 ounces and i'm excited for his two month appointment in a few days to see how long he is.  he seems to have really stretched out a lot in the last few days...hardly fits on my lap and has nearly catapulted himself onto the ground when i'm sitting with him laid back on my legs!  he looks so much longer next to his puppy dog in the picture above.  compare with one month old here.

some of the nicknames we call our boy - so i can remember: peanut, little mister, buster, bubba, bradykins, babykins, little snookums.

i made this little collage a couple days ago and DIED at his cuteness.  these iPhone pics were all snapped within seconds of each other, and his vacillating moods are captured quite well i think.  we are constantly laughing at how quickly his facial expressions change!  so many people tell us all the time, "he's so expressive!"  i like to think he gets that from me :)

my sweet happy little bug, i love you so much i can't stand it.  i could just eat you up!  thank you for bringing so much JOY to my life the past two months.  i honestly don't know what i ever did without you.  we love getting to know you, and your daddy & i love you and each other more deeply every day.  thanks for coming to be part of our family.  we can't wait to watch you grow & learn & take in the world with us.

happy two month birthday!!!

softball. and coming full-circle.

i spent my first summer as a new baby at the ball parks, watching my dad play softball.  brady has spent his first summer the same way (from 5 days old!).  i love the warm summer evenings, the sound of a ball bat, the cheering, the pride when his daddy makes a good catch or smacks a triple.

i love taking him along to the ball park on sunday nights, it just seems like life full-circle.

froggy bellies in the morning.

please don't ever stop being this cute.  i can't even stand it when you make pirate faces at me in the morning! it's the best thing ever!!

i love how your belly looks like a froggy after you eat.  you're just full to the brim!

better bathing these days.

bradykins doesn't mind his baths these days.  he sure hated them at first, when he was on the sponge bather thing on the counter.  now that he's immersed in soapy warm water he just LOVES it.  even if he's been fussy he settles right down when i put him in the water & looks around calmly.  i think he'd stay in there forever if i'd let him!

baby in a hooded towel = pretty dang cute.  especially when it's a brady-baby.

what a big boy!

you wore your first polo shirt today, little man.

and i don't think you've ever been more handsome!! 

we all giggled at how cute you looked, and how much older you looked.

to celebrate, we took you out for mexican food after church :)

mmm, mexican milk is gooooood.

bunching up.

i never want to forget how tiny our little peanut is, or how he bunches his legs up when i hold him like this.

LOVE IT.

smiley mornings.

since first learning how to smile, little man has been working hard on this new trick every day!  i love it & am not afraid to act like a complete idiot to get him to do it, again and again.

he is smiliest in the mornings, after our first daylight feed - and i soak up this time with him so much.  once the day gets started, busyness & distraction & errands take over.  but first thing in the morning is mama & b time and i really cherish it.  him, and the coffee.

night-time snuggles.

at the end of the day, nothing beats a snuggly warm baby on my chest.

i have always loved it, but it's a thousand times better when that baby is mine.

my heart overflows.

grandparents visit {price side}.

over the fourth of july week, my parents came out to see little man (my mom came out earlier, just after brady was two weeks old).  it was my dad's first time meeting brady - and his first time visiting us in colorado!  in fact, he'd never been west of the kansas city area so it was really fun to show him the mountains!!  i think he really loved the few days they spent out here and i know for a fact he was totally smitten with little man.  it's his first grandson & my pops has said a million times how much he can't wait to teach him how to be a wild man.  i know he will do just that!  can't wait to watch their relationship unfold.  every little boy needs an awesome grandpa & i'm so lucky my dad is that to him already.

talking about life. or maybe just the weather.  either way, it's easy to see they're bonding :)

of course he got some good grammy time in too - i would say my mom is pretty sweet on him.  brady will fit in well with the price herd...can't wait to take him home to missouri this summer to meet his cousins & extended family.

thanks for coming to visit us, grammy & papa!

changing. it's for the birds!

two weeks old vs. five weeks old.

he changes so fast!!

first smile.

on july 5, at just over five weeks old, brady smiled intentionally for the first time.  people, this is big news.

i was getting ready to get in the shower that morning and he was being entertained by his rainforest bouncer. i noticed that he was watching me move around the bathroom, and was making great eye contact.  i squatted down next to him and said "hiiiiiii bubba!" and he grinned really big!!!  i about died, and in fact started crying it was so sweet.  of course then i had to grab my phone and see if he'd do it again for me so i could share it with his daddy who was at work (well, and the rest of the world too if i'm being honest - i think i sent out 100 texts announcing this world feat).  i made a complete idiot of myself cooing and squeaking to him and smiling so big my face was about to crack - and he gave me a less radiant second smile (picture two below) but i'll take it.  what a sweet moment with my little buster!!  he's getting big so fast!

back to being mister serious :)