a fan already.

he is already a huge fan, obviously.

water head.

this child does NOT care in the least about having water in his face.  he can't be my child:)  this may all change in the coming months but for now he's happy as a clam.  can't wait to take him to the beach soon & see how he does with the water there!!

end of the day.

sweet little bath bug, this is my favorite time of day.  you go from being kind of fussy in the 5-6pm "witching hour" where you are clingy & not terribly excited about staying up any longer - to happy & splashing & laughing & smiling & charming me to death.  it all ends when i pull you out of the tub (sometimes 30 min later!!) and you melt down again for a few minutes til your bedtime bottle is in your mouth & the lights are low & bedtime is near.  but for these few minutes you are happy as a clam and absolutely darling.  i love you so much.  i'm so so so lucky to be yours.

sitter upper.

he's getting so good at sitting up on his own now.  sometimes still a little wobbly, but i think we can say he has mastered the skill :)  and also, those blue eyes SLAY me!!

outside.

aunt kake is the best babysitter!  she took the bean outside for a little plastic-ring-picnic on the grass.  thankful for warm sunny january days, a babysitter who is family, a boy who feels a lot better after eight days of viral URI, and knowing he's being well loved & cared for today.  it's the little things!

bath time crazies.

had to do a little selfie action post bath last night.  pretty sure the peanut thinks mama & aunt kake are CRAZY though...look at his expression!!

again mom?

dear mom, how many trips to target a week do you make anyway? seems like we're always here!  dear dad, when are you coming home to rescue me from this shopping?

stop it, already.

stop growing up so fast, baby!!

i bought him a sippy cup yesterday to start slowly learning on.  he took right to it, with just water in it.  can't quite figure out how to tip it back yet but he gnawed on it for a good ten minutes.  gotta start learning how to hold his own bottle independently - first baby problems ;)  he doesn't have to because mama always does!

changes.

these two sure look a lot different than the first time they ever played together, when brady was four weeks old & ruby was seven months old!

now they are the same weight, ruby is a little taller & obviously more mobile, but it's so cute to see them interacting a bunch.  we love our hampostle littles!

last morning.

one last playtime before ruby & julie head back to washington.  ruby was "helping" brady jump.  as a side note, i love babies in fleece footie jammies!

fab four.

fun times.

the babies had a great weekend playing together. even though B was sick for the weekend & R got his bug towards the end, they were both pretty happy little bugs and shared well and played happily together and we just LOVED having julie & ruby visit.  and we miss you guys already!

tuckered out.

after a long day walking around old town, the babies were flat tuckered out by the time we got home.  they even stayed asleep for two more hours after we got home and moved them to their rooms!

reading with aunt julie & ruby.

angry bear.

aunt julie gave brady a fun new binky:

then mama took it away for the pic & the little bear was angry!

lunch date.

julie & i took the babies out for a lunch date today in old town.

mama forgot a bib for bradykins & rubes was kind enough to loan hers to him :)  sorry it's pink, buster, but you still look super cute.  even with sweet potatoes running down your face.

these two looked adorable sitting next to each other at the table like big kids!  ruby does not approve of photos while she's eating...how embarrassing! 

helping.

brady is very helpful during morning computer time with aunt julie.  he even took the liberty to email a few people!

girls night out.

jules & i got away for an evening this weekend, thanks to a great sitter who was brave enough to take an almost-8 month old & 14 month old for a few hours:)  the littles were almost in bed when we left, so we thought all would be good.  however, they tag-team screamed for the first hour after she put them in bed...BABIES!!!  we were actually really grateful to be out of the house though for some uninterrupted conversation while she wrangled the babies at home.  we mamas needed it!  within an hour, the sitter texted that the house was quiet, both babies asleep, and julie & i were able to relax and enjoy an awesome dinner.

we went to next-door, a tapas restaurant in loveland.  it was amazing!  great atmosphere, awesome food & drinks...and best of all, baby-free :)

so grateful for a bff weekend.  i have been needing it more than i knew.

(unintentionally we both ordered drinks that matched our shirts, haha)

conversation.

looks like they are having a great conversation!

up.

big news around here!  last night i looked over and brady was up on his knees with his butt in the air!  first time he's made an effort at crawling.  he didn't go anywhere, didn't even rock back & forth, but it's a start :)  now, when did he get this old?!

aunt julie!

whoop whoop whoop!

aunt julie is here!!!

i love her because she is a human bouncy, jungle gym, and she loves snuggling me as much as mama does.

added bonus, she brought my cute girlfriend ruby along with her.

man, i have a good life.

thanks aunt sarah!

my aunt sarah (brady's great aunt sarah) made him these AWESOME hoodie jackets!  they are sooo cute and i love how they're personalized.  thank you so much sarah!!!  we LOVE them!

BFFs & baths.

these two are BFF's!

even ruby, who's not a huge fan of baths, was happier taking one with brady last night :)

very excited for our weekend together!!

colorado is my fave in january.

"january thaw" is in full effect around here.  today was SIXTY degrees!  and gorgeous!  i'm watching mags for a few days so we got out and took a couple of long walks today & soaked up the sunshine.  maggie enjoyed the ball throwing in our huge open spaces:

and brady, who is fighting his 947th cold of the season, took a little power nap in his stroller.  i know he's sick when he does this because he NEVER naps in his stroller - too much to look at, i guess!  here's hoping he feels better soon (and mama doesn't get it!)...

why it's my fave.

this is our favorite walk because the sidewalk is huge (perfect when jen walks with us with her stroller), the views of the mountains are awesome for me, and the huge green space along the trail is perfect for an energetic puppy dog.  win-win.

walk.

everyone was very happy about the walking yesterday.  we took the chuck-it and maggie exhausted herself chasing it while on our forty minute stroll (she probably "walked" twice that!).

bradykins exhausted himself with, what else, chewing on things.

happy pup, happy baby, happy mama.

head shake.

cracking me up last night in the bath.

funny baby!

waiting on you, mom.

i promised chubs a walk as soon as i started some laundry.  he was happy to wait with me.

puffy eyes.

little mister, take it from mama.  crying at 4am results in puffy eyes the next day!

even though he's been teething for FOUR months now, i feel like we are right around the corner from popping some through.  either that, or he's getting sick.  but he cried at 2:30am last night & put himself back to sleep.  and again at 4am, when i gave him tylenol and he went back to sleep til almost 8 this morning which NEVER happens!  i hope it's just teeth & not another cold...

maggie loves.

maggie spends a fair amount of time hanging out at our house, when rob & suz are working.  she loves it here, i looove the puppy company, and brady is fascinated with her.

it's a win-win situation.

price head.

i got brady a couple of new hats yesterday on mega-sale.  this was one of them.  it was listed at 0-6 months, but was on sale for $4 so i took my chance as it *looked* like it might fit him (he wasn't with me for shopping day - yay for awesome babysitters!).  well, unfortunately he got what my family refers to as the "price head" - it's big.  and the hat is too small.  oh well.  maybe for the next baby!

i just thought it would look so cute for our upcoming trip to the beach...

evening walk.

last night we took a second walk around dusk.  it was in the 60s here yesterday (locals call it the january thaw, as this is normal for january...february returns with 20 degree highs), and brady & i wanted to get out and soak up another round of gorgeous weather.  the sky didn't disappoint either with an amazing sunset as we turned the corner for home.

selfie post-walk.  do you like brady's new hat?  on sale for $3.99 - and adorable! 

office help.

my ever-helpful office assistant :)

seriously?

"you mean I get to eat again in an hour?!  this life is awesome!"

sitting up.

lip smacking.

we are learning new tricks left & right around here.  today, he started lip smacking while i was feeding him.  super cute (to mamas anyway).

copycat.

"that josie jackson sure is on to something.  she said playing with toys in a bowl from mama's kitchen is way more fun that some of my old toys...and she was right.  this is AWESOME.  thanks jp!!"

love, bp

selfie.

who doesn't love a good self-portrait ("selfie" as kate calls it, love that)?!

brady & i were saying hi to dad this morning on the computer and thought we'd share.

oh, and i got new glasses!  brady is giggling at how funny mama looks in glasses:)

up with the dawn.

5am wake-ups call for snuggles & snoozing in mama's bed, sometimes.

tummy sleeping.

this morning i glanced at the monitor & realized brady was sleeping on his tummy.  he's never stayed asleep that way before, so i thought it was kind of funny!  then tonight i laid him in bed at the end of the day, and he immediately flipped over to his stomach again & fell asleep.  i guess it's his preferred position now:)  mama's boy - this is how i sleep too!