changing.

you sure have come a long way, little mister.

the first pic was from week one, and the second pic from week twelve.  i can't believe how much you've changed & how fast it's all going.  you're the sweetest thing ever & this has been the best twelve weeks of my entire life.

changing. it's for the birds!

two weeks old vs. five weeks old.

he changes so fast!!

four weeks old.

being four weeks old was good to brady :)  julie & ruby came to visit us and we had a great time!!  i loved having my bff in town meeting my new peanut and hanging out with our babies.  i don't think we got dressed before noon any of the days they were here....perfect vacation day in my book.

julie multi-tasking between holding bradykins and entertaining ruby.  we got a bunch of brady's toys out (he doesn't play with them yet anyway!) and ruby went to town.  she especially loved the horribly annoying "hug me" dog that my sister ruth gave brady...and being the good aunt that i am, i ordered one to be shipped to ruby in washington after she left!!  she needed one of her own! ;)

a couple months ago before i had brady, i found these rats at a children's store and bought matching one for the hampostle babes.  i think they both liked them.

brady got lots of aunt julie snuggles in.  sweetest thing ever for me to see my julie holding my baby.

honestly this is the only photo we got of the four of us...what is WRONG with us?!  took a little self portrait while out on a neighborhood walk.

i love the size comparison here.  ruby is a tiny little thing but she looks huge next to four week old brady!  and brady is really showcasing his olive skin next to rubes...got that from me :)

checking out her new boyfriend :)

see how much ruby loves the hug me dog!!!  it's so annoying with its sing-song voice but babies go wild for it.  ruthie's baby will definitely get his or her own someday.  every baby needs one.

brady also discovered himself in the mirror at four weeks old.  he laid there and stared at himself for a long time.  it was really sweet.

he seems to really like his activity mat this week and lays under it flapping his arms and occasionally hitting some of the hanging toys. 

still not a huge fan of tummy time but we keep working at it...

the monkey butt is too cute for words!

mike and i spend a great deal of time laughing at brady's expressions.  he seems to go overboard with the cute faces!  we call this first one the snapping turtle...he pulls his lower lip in and sucks on it and i die every time.

this goober face is a close second to my favorite.  can you stand it!?

charming his way into mama's heart already with the winking pirate face.

this week we practiced lots of stretching out!

 this looks like prison stripes :)

it's a mad baby!  when he's hungry or needs to be changed, brady definitely exercises his lungs and lets us know.  but otherwise, he continues to be a really mellow baby.  he isn't fidgety or restless or fussy hardly at all and i'm so grateful!  i was so afraid when i was prego that i'd have a baby with colic - not sure why i was so terrified of that, but i was - and so i'm just really thankful that he's chill.  and at night he pretty much eats and goes right back to sleep in his swaddle.  he's up to a 5 hour stretch of sleep or so now each night.  YAY!

 i love these socks from my friend leslie in jax.  one night when i changed him in the middle of the night his toes were freezing so i pulled these out.  it's actually the FIRST time he's worn socks in his little life!  that's a summer baby for you!!

sweet peanut loves napping in his swing - he can't resist the movement paired with a binky & a swaddle blankie :)

love morning snuggles with my little man.

 also of note this week - brady took his first bottle!  we wanted to introduce it before week 5 per the lactation consultant recommendation.  he took it like a CHAMP!  sucked it right down and then we nursed to top him off.  it was awesome.

happy tiger post-bottle.

we went over to aunt brandi's house one night for pizza & a movie and brady loved snuggling her.  i think brandi loved the baby time too.  she seems smitten with him already.

***
we continue to be more and more in love with brady and with this adventure.  don't get me wrong, it's a lot of work taking care of a little human 24/7, but we love him so much and are trying to soak up the little squeaks and noises he makes, his expressions, his smell, and the way he's starting to make good eye contact with us.  even the sleepless nights are sweet because of how snuggly and warm he is, and how big his eyes get in the nightlight glow as he takes it all in. he is more than worth it.

three weeks old.

three weeks old has been good to us.  little man is more & more awake with every passing day it seems.  and he is growing like a weed!!  we went to a breastfeeding class at the hospital this week & he weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds, 6 ounces on his three week birthday.  up from 6 pounds, 4 ounces at birth (plus the eight ounces he lost in the hospital).  what a good healthy boy we have!!  we didn't do much this week, just mostly hung out at home.  oh! and i did get away for the first real time without him - i got my hair done this week.  i contemplated cancelling the appointment because it's usually three hours long & we haven't introduced a bottle yet - but mike was gracious enough to come downtown with brady & me so that i could feed him in the car immediately before the appointment & then immediately after they met me at the door and all was good to go!  so thankful for a super helpful husband in all of this.  every day i've been intentional to get out of the house with brady, just to avoid going stir-crazy while mike's working...so we managed to fit in some errands, trips to the grocery store & target of course, a few lunches with friends.   i'm loving being home with him so much but i know myself and can't just stay in these four walls every day ;)  however, he's proving to be an easy laid back little guy and getting out & about with him hasn't been a problem at all.  he's really not been fussy at all except if it's getting close to time to eat.  he's pretty alert for the first hour after he eats & then he starts fussing and is ready for a nap.  he falls asleep easily wrapped in a blankie & with his faithful binky.  it's during these little naps that i'm able to easily shower, start laundry, or pick up around the house.  he's doing so well at night with minimum three hour sleep stretches (and occasionally the four hour stretch) that i feel pretty rested during the day and have only had to take an occasional nap.  i feel much more functional at three weeks post-partum that i'd expected.  again, we just feel so fortunate to have an easy going, sweet little baby that has seamlessly fit into our lives.  we are so so grateful for him.

here are the pictures from our week...

i love how snuggly he is in the mornings on our fluffy duvet cover.  he looks so comfortable!

it didn't last long though - he doesn't have time for photos when he's hungry!

self portrait of me & my boy.  i wanted to capture how tiny he still is.  he fits so easily in one arm, legs all pulled up in that sweet newborn way.

 we try to have a little tummy time every day.  this week his skin has started peeling a little.

tummy time is okay but he's much happier on his back looking around.

i love him in the mornings in his swaddle. he looks like a cute glow-worm :)

 sleeping on daddy is still his favorite activity.

sometimes just looking around while on daddy's chest.

speaking of daddies - my dad used to hold me in one hand and we were talking about it this week and decided to see if brady was that tiny.  and yep!  he fits in one of mike's hands perfectly.  and he was totally relaxed being held like this - reminds me of a cat when you pick it up by the scruff. they just go limp :)  i can't believe he is this tiny!!  before we know it he'll be a teenager probably taller than me!

we give the peanut a bath weekly on saturday nights or sunday morning - little boys have to be clean & smell good for church you know!  i think this might be his last week on the mat on the counter.  he's getting so long now & will probably fit well in the baby tub we have.

he hates his bath though - i think he just gets cold when we're done & he lets me know about how unhappy he is.  look at that sad lip!

 favorite baby reflex still intact - the monkey toes!

i love how he's starting to stretch his legs out straight so much more!  he still sleeps all curled up but when awake is kicking lots & extending his long legs.  crazy to see these little legs that were kicking inside me just a few weeks ago.  when we lay him on his back he immediately starts kicking and then startles himself and the startle reflex cracks us up.  arms & legs flail for a second ;)

brady is mostly into being very serious, and his little furrowed brows are about the sweetest thing ever.

i love his brown puppy dog that suzanne gave us before we even knew if brady was a boy or girl.  i'm going to start taking his monthly photos with this dog for one year to see his growth.  i put it next to him in the chair this week just to see :)  the other pic below is on the rug in his room.

baby naps are so sweet.

the curled legs!

 our peanut is VERY expressive.  he ranges from furrowed brow to sleepy (unintentional) newborn smiles in a matter of seconds.  i love capturing all his faces & laughing at how darling he is.

surprised at something aunt kate said apparently ;)

he sucks his lower lip in a lot & it makes us laugh every time!

sweet baby pirate!

 brady is the best thing we've ever done!  he brings with him a daily adventure of love, infatuation, wonder & laughter.  we are so in awe of how sweet our life with him has been so far.