We are constantly amazed with the new skills Braden learns. One day Kristin’s sister was babysitting, and when she went to check on Braden in his crib, he was sitting up. We both soon witnessed how he gets up on his own: first he rolls to his stomach, then he walks his hands toward himself until he is upright.

Braden’s crawling has improved, too. Instead of dragging his legs with him (like an accident victim), he can now move his right leg as well. He’s actually pretty fast, so we really have to keep a close eye on him. Unfortunately, the gates we bought don’t fit our stair system (in fact, we don’t think any gates will fit), so we’re not sure what to do. Once we get our new furniture, we’ll create an enclosed play area for him, and hopefully that will help.

We once said that we thought Braden would walk before crawling–well, he was close. Braden can now stand if he rests his hands against something. For example, he can stand facing the couch.  He seems to enjoy it!

Lastly, Braden can shake hands and give high-fives.

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We are now feeding Braden two meals of solid foods each day. The hard part is knowing when to stop–he seems like he could eat indefinitely. When we went to dinner at Fitzgerald’s, we fed Braden almost the entire time we were there!

Journal crawling, feeding, new skills

We went to Farmington, Conn., this past weekend for Kristin’s cousin’s wedding. Thank God the flights were uneventful. We got the worst out of the way first–Madison to Minneapolis, then Minneapolis to Harford–and Braden was a good boy. After one of the flights, a mother said to us, “That is the cutest baby I have EVER seen.”

On the way back was a bit easier, since the flights were shorter (Hartford to Chicago, Chicago to Madison). Basically, Braden either ate, slept or flirted with other passengers. Brian changed a wet diaper in the bathroom, which was an immense challenge since there was no flat surface (Brian changed Braden on his lap).

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Saturday marked the first time we had a non-family babysitter, a person who was recommended by the groom’s family. She was nice, and fortunately Braden didn’t have a meltdown with her (again, he’s a big flirt). We did stop back in between the ceremony and reception to feed him (Brian also took the babysitter to get pizza).

Journal babysitting, travel

Back in mid-August we wrote that Braden reached 11 hours of continous sleep. Well, it took about a month, but he finally reached that milestone again, having slept from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. today.

We have mixed feelings about Braden going to bed so early (from his previous bed time of 8 p.m.). When we’re at home, it gives us more time to get things done or relax. When we’re out, though, we have to get home by 6:15 p.m. or so to make sure he gets in his routine (and he starts getting fussy then).

We can’t have Braden sleeping much past 6 a.m., either, because Kristin needs to feed him before she goes to work.

At least we’re sleeping!!!

Journal sleep

Kristin had a pharmacy convention at the Kalahari Resort in Lake Delton Thursday-Saturday (Aug. 27-29). Brian and Braden tagged along and spent most of the days together while Kristin was gone.

On Friday, Brian took Braden to Tanger Outlet, where Braden pooped. This gave Brian his first opportunity to try a Koala changing station (it worked well). In the afternoon, Brian took Braden to both the outdoor and indoor waterparks at the Kalahari. This time, Braden did not cry like he did when we went during Memorial Day weekend.

That night, we had dinner at Del-Bar (in May Braden was fussy the whole time). We were put in a section with two other babies, and Braden was the best behaved we’ve ever seen at a restaurant (also his first time using the high chair).

Saturday unfortunately was chilly (temps in the 50s). We had moved over to the Great Wolf Lodge, where Brian took Braden to the indoor waterpark. Braden seemed to generally tolerate his surroundings, and we can’t wait to return when he’s older and really appreciates it.

Please make sure to check out the photos. We’ll post the accompanying videos soon.

Journal, Pictures vacation

Last Wednesday, Braden started shrieking in the morning. It’s high-pitched, and he’ll continue it for quite some time, but it doesn’t signal anger, hunger or tiredness. We just think he’s simply trying to talk.

He unfortunately did it all throughout Kristin’s birthday lunch at Restaurant Muramoto, and he has been shrieking every day since. Braden has now increased the challenge of taking him places, especially restaurants.

***

We hate to mention this, but here goes: Ever since we added one meal of solid food each day, Braden’s poop has solidified a bit. Brian swears he’s now done changing poopy diapers.

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Lastly, Braden’s two lower teeth are coming in nicely and are really starting to show. Now if he could just grow some hair …

Journal diapers, new skills, teething

Braden has proven that he is part Kristin: he has begun scrunching his nose, especially when he smiles. This is a Plummer trait going up three generations, and it has now reached a fourth. We’ll try to get a picture to show you.

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Braden reached 11 hours of continuous sleep the other day! We think feeding him solids has helped. He has now slept five straight nights without interruption. Brian said he’s actually groggier now in the mornings because he’s not used to the sleep.

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We are taking Braden to West Towne Mall for professional portraits on Saturday. We’ll share those pictures when we get them.

Journal photos, sleep, smiles

Braden turned six months old this past Monday–wow, does time fly. The day before his birthday (Sunday), we started him on solid foods. Most of it ended up on his face, as he wasn’t sure how to eat something other than milk. Braden has gotten progressively better at eating throughout the week. We’ll show some video of him eating soon.

To recap the last six months of his development, Braden has learned to:

• Smile and laugh
• Roll over
• Sit
• Grab objects (and put them in his mouth)
• Fall asleep on his own
• Eat
• Not be afraid of taking a bath

Plus, his bottom two teeth are coming in. We can’t wait to see what the next six months bring us (hopefully more sleep).

***

Check out the photos from July. Included are photos from Concerts on the Square, the Madison Mallards and the Dane County Fair.

Journal, Pictures birthday, new skills

As previously mentioned, we took Braden to Kristin’s family’s cabin up north near Summit Lake (about an hour north of Wausau) last week. We took Braden to the beach (he ate some sand), to the lake (he didn’t swim much) and on the boat (the lifejacket seemed to annoy him). With all the family there, we had plenty of babysitters.

Unfortunately, Braden slept poorly, especially Wednesday night. That made for some groggy mornings for us.

Check out the photo album called “Maywood.”

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Did we mention that Braden is teething? He has two lower teeth coming in. Now when he bites you, it hurts!

Braden does NOT like it when you try to look for his teeth–in fact, he will swat your hand away (very cute). You can only see them when he cries.

***

We are trying a new system for putting Braden to sleep. Instead of rocking him, we are just letting him cry himself to sleep (Kristin’s book, which she follows religiously, suggests this method). We let him cry for five minutes, then console him, then 10 min and one minute, then 15 and one, then 20 and one and so on. He actually fell asleep after the 15-minute mark last night.

Journal sleep, teething, vacation

We’re staying at Kristin’s family’s cabin this week. Kristin–who has the entire week off–and Braden left today with Kristin’s parents. Brian will join them on Wednesday.

The cabin is located on Clear Lake just west of Summit Lake (about an hour+ north of Wausau). Brian is looking forward to fishing (and some day fishing with Braden).

We’ll have plenty of photos when we get back.

Journal vacation

This past weekend we went to Kristin’s friend’s wedding in Milwaukee and left Braden with Kristin’s parents overnight. That meant we were both free for the first time, though Kristin still had to get up in the middle of the night to pump. Still, it was nice to get a full-night’s rest.

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We celebrated our sixth anniversary on Sunday. It was a year ago that we began telling people we were pregnant. What a difference a year makes!

We had dinner at the Tornado Steakhouse this year. Braden fussed most of the time as he usually does when we go out to eat, so he had to sit in our laps once again.

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We took Braden to Art Fair on the Square twice over the weekend (all three of us went Saturday morning before we left for the wedding, and just Brian and Braden on Sunday while Kristin worked). He slept the second time.

Uncategorized anniversary, going out