Magic House!

Last night, Brennan's BFF's came over to spend the night-always a fun time! These boys love each other so much!

First off, they found some toads and a frog pretty much as soon as we got to our house. They spotted them in our window well, which is on a side of the house that we don't really even walk by much. So pretty much these boys can find them anywhere! They put them in the bucket and then went on to play with water balloons. I didn't get any pictures of this, but they were soaked when they came in.

Next they watched a short movie and ate some popcorn-yum!

This morning we left around 9 to go to the Magic House. The boys were sooooo excited! I was not exactly looking forward to this trip. I just wasn't sure how Brooks would do and I was afraid we would have to cut the day really short and they would be disappointed. And I've heard it's been crazy busy there lately and I prefer to go to places when the crowds are minimal! But it all worked out-Brooks was perfect, he did not make a peep the whole time until the car ride home when he screamed pretty much the whole time!;) 

I'm pretty sure they did and saw everything!

First stop...China

They have this one part of the Magic House that they change maybe once a year? This year, it's about China. There are many different activities and educational information posted about China and the culture. I was trying to read some things to them...but they weren't really interested in listening, more about the playing;) They had ADD all day, I mean the place is very overwhelming! They would do something for 10 seconds and move on, which if you want to do everything-you pretty much have to do that.

Apparently ping pong is something that is set up in schools and even along city streets in China. I did not know that, but how fun would that be?!

They also have exercise equipment such as these-stepper, elliptical, and a twisting thing. It's made like playground equipment so it will last. All of these along the city streets. Exercise anywhere...that is what America needs! 

Of course, Grady couldn't wait to fish!

This picture cracks me up, Brody had a fish and Brennan didn't. 

But everyone got their turn...it was just crowded and there were only like 3 fish!

Ameren worker double dutying by making pizza too. See what I mean, you have to wear one costume while playing with the next activity-haha

Gray shaking parm cheese on his pizza.

Taking turns with bunny ears for Brody. 

Bathing their animals.

Brody loved this doggy, so cute!

He made sure he was up to date on his shots;)

Changing the tires on the car...

while Grady did a fluid check on the engine.

It's sad to say, but we have never really explored the Garden and it is so pretty and fun. We ate lunch outside and then the boys played. 

We did have to make a trip to the car to change Brooks, his bottle leaked and his clothes were soaked! The boys got to eat their marshmallows while they waited for me to change him.

and of course we needed some silliness too.

I carried Brooks in the carrier the whole time because The Magic House is not stroller friendly, so I think he was happy to get to lay down for a minute:)

But he did not complain at all about being carried around all day

Of course not, he loves to be held!

I took these pictures of us because we don't get pictures together very often and we were having so much fun playing while the boys were playing.

They built this house:)

 After lunch and playing outside, we headed back in for more fun.

Brooks was ready for a nap so I turned him around in the carrier and he snuggled right up to me and fell asleep♥

I had never seen this part either, it takes a picture and records your shadow. 

This them actually standing there

This is the shadow, but Grady started to run away at the end (on the left) but you can see Brody and Brennan with Brody's arm up giving him bunny ears.

The static electricity ball is a must do! Brennan did it and I didn't even realize he had gone in there, but he said his hair was too short. Grady cracks me up!

I think they were overwhelmed by all the instructions: stand on the green tape -touch the ball-shake your head-look at the camera that they didn't smile haha.

Next we headed all the way downstairs to the construction area. 

We ended the day on the famous Beanstalk.

Oh wait, I thought we were ending the day on the beanstalk, but while attempting to exit the building, we got side tracked by the musical instruments. So this was technically our last stop. So many things to do!

They seemed to have a lot of fun. We were there for 5 hours!

7 months!

So usually I have the writing done for a post, but have trouble getting it posted because I need to add pictures. This one has been sitting with pictures and needing an update about this dude at 7 months! Then I realize that he is almost 8 months (in like 4 days!) so I need to get 7 months in the books...or on the blog:) I had to add more pictures because now he is ending month 7 and he has already changed!  I wish I had time to blog more, I know I will regret it later because I already regret it now!

These were pictures I took the day before he turned 7 months...seriously so in love with this boy♥

He has grown so much in the last month! Looking back at these pictures is really making me realize that!

So at his appointment on the 25th he was 13lbs 6oz. He is following his own curve nicely and the doctor was happy with that. He is still taking the high calorie formula and he eats really well, but he did start spitting up more. Sometimes it seems like it's everything he eats, then other days it's pretty minimal. I was going to skip rice cereal and go straight to baby food, I tried avocado a few times and he wasn't really into it. Then we had our appt and the pediatrician thought the cereal may help with spitting so we tried in the bottle and I did try it on the spoon and he still wasn't really a fan. Then I felt like he was getting restless at bedtime and naptime. I stopped the cereal (even though it had only been a couple of days and he wasn't getting much) and he seemed to get better. I started it again recently because I want to get him started on solids soon and he started doing the same thing with being restless. So I stopped it again and I think I am just going to go back to avocado again. He is interested in our food and he has a good appetite so I think he should be ready soon. 

The doctor was happy with where he is developmentally and said he is even a little ahead in some areas. He is still in physical therapy though and he needs it! He is making great progress and his legs are very strong, but his upper body and core still need a lot of work. I definitely think the exercises are helping, but I also think just has low tone and part of him getting stronger is him getting older and increasing his tone naturally. Here he is working on an exercise ball with Miss Patty.

Here is Missy Patty using Brennan to help Brooks exercise:) They both thought this was a lot of fun!

Brennan loves to play with Brooks! He is always asking me to lay him on the bed (propped on the pillow) so we can play with him. Something about the comfy closeness of us all together. It's so sweet♥

He is a big help and he is very in tune to Brooks' needs. In the car he is always watching out for him to make sure he has something to play with or tries to entertain him if he is fussy. If Brooks is crying, Brennan always says in the most sympathetic voice "Mom, that baby has a tear" It's so cute!

The sweetest scene♥

We have been doing a lot of swimming this summer! It's a good thing Brooks likes it!

 Here he is with  Paw paw (my dad) before a swim.

With Mamaw (Casey's mom)

Playing with Uncle Vance and Aunt Owly (Aunt Ally, but Brennan called her Owly so we're carrying on the name:)

Daddy and his boys 

Okay, so now all about Brooks at this age! He has a million facial expressions and a cute little dimple to compliment them!

This was the end of June, he started discovering his feet between 6 and 7 months. 

Here he is today discovering that he can get those piggies in his mouth!

He loves to chew on everything! Mostly his hands, but really anyone's hands/fingers will do! (Which of course I don't prefer because of germs!) So we have a lot of toys for him to chew on. He is teething big time, but no sign of a toof in sight. Brennan didn't get a tooth until 11 months so it could be awhile! So while we're exploring tasty fingers, we have found our thumb to be quite comforting. It is so cute (I know, not so cute later when we have to break it. Casey actually discouraged it at first and I wasn't thrilled either, but I know this is what he needs and it is actually good for him at this stage. AND it's adorable!)

Brooks still likes to be swaddled. Even though he is rolling over (mostly belly to back not back to belly, although he has) he is not strong enough to roll in the swaddler nor do I think he would because he still does not prefer his belly. His bed is actually kind of funny-he sleeps in a beautiful wood cradle that Maw Maw made for Brennan when he was born (still in our room). But we also have this cushy insert that actually goes with the pack n play. We used it to change him and bathe him on because it was soft and secure for him when he was so small.  Then when we were transitioning him from the rock-n-play (at 6 months old) he needed  more security than just laying flat on the mattress.  Thanks to Miss Patty's suggestion, we put it in the cradle. He had really outgrown it for a changing table insert anyway. It curves a little on the sides so it makes him feel secure. He can't really roll over in it if he wanted to. I took a picture of him sleeping today, I will have to post it sometime. Then he usually has his white noise which is an app and it sounds like a running stream. I wouldn't say he always need this, but sometimes he does need it to go to sleep and it does drown out outside noise.

Brooks loves the baby carrier! If he is fussy, I will put him in there and he is so happy to hang out with me and watch the world around him. He also loves selfies-he gets a huge kick out of looking at himself on the camera and in the mirror. He might love his mama a little too;)

He started playing in the exersaucer and really likes it. I think (I hope!) it is helping to strengthen his core too. We do have to use blankets to support him because he is still wobbly, but he likes to be upright looking around and playing with his toys. This picture is just in the last few days, look at his hair! It is out of control! He just has this curly patch on top of his head and it is growing at a rapid rate! 

Here is his hair just 3 weeks ago, you can see the difference in how much it has grown!

So this baby boy is pure joy! He is really a happy baby now and loves to interact with people. He loves to talk, sometimes in a boisterous manner when is he is up and playing and sometimes just calm little baby talk while I am rocking him to sleep. He is a busy boy-when I stand him on my lap, he bounces up and down and he likes to crawl up me sometimes when I'm holding him. When you lay him down to play, he kicks and gets so excited! When he gets moving, I don't think he is going to stop! He loves stimulation-lights, music, bright colors, vibration, everything! Lately, when he is fussy, daddy will play the guitar for him and he just relaxes and watches him so intently. Such a special bond. When he is hungry and he sees his bottle, he grabs for it to put in his mouth or he leans forward to get it in his mouth. He also gets mad if he sees it and can't have it right away:) He loves to be naked! Since the weather is warm, he spends a lot of time in only his diaper because he is a hot baby! But he likes to be completely free too;) As much as he loves swimming, he still does not like to get in the bath. I think it's because I'm not holding him, but he doesn't mind if I give him a sponge bath. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and he has a huge head! He is not on the charts for height or weight, but his head is 24th percentile on a regular infant chart. He wears a toddler size hat now. So far his eyes are still bright blue which is about the only thing that separates him from his brother's looks:) When he gets to eye level with me, he loves to grab my face and squeeze as hard as he can (he is strong!) I like to think of it as his way of giving me a big hug at his age:) Every day I am completely amazed that he is here and healthy. He brings so many smiles and so much entertainment to our home. I can't imagine life without this sweet sweet boy.