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 :)

one month old. (officially)

i have decided to do monthly updates - officially - from here on out.  of course i will just blog shorter posts along the way about our day-to-day life & activities & milestones.  but i want to share monthly stats & recaps of life with bradykins.  i've decided to take a photo each month with this sweet puppy dog that suzanne gave us before we even knew brady was a HE.  i love it so much and hope it becomes his fave too. i think it will showcase his size as he grows.  so far, i think he's a big fan of our little photo shoots :)

at one month old, brady weighs in at 7 pounds 6 ounces.  he's nursing well and sleeping well - usually a five hour stretch at the beginning of the night and then a couple two hour stretches.  he's healthy and alert and sweeter than ever.

i think we'll keep him.

waking up is hard to do.

waking up is so hard to do.  mama understands, baby.

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.