Friday's Fab Five

Did you have a fabulous week? I hope so! Here is what we've been up to.

1. Brennan got a new Maclaren stroller! Amanda, being the best friend that she is, was shopping at Marshalls on Wednesday and called to let me know they had a very nice Maclaren stroller on sale. I texted Kyle about it because we have been talking about possibly getting one and he said he wanted to go look at it. So after he got home from work we did. Amanda said the retail price is over $300, and Marshall's had it for $179, so it sounded like a good deal and once we saw the stroller we really liked it. Then our deal only got better when we found out how much stuff was included! Take a look at the picture! It came with all that stuff, plus a rain cover and a reversible blanket! Brennan is now a high roller in his stroller! Now the hard part is convincing Kyle to keep it and not sell it to make a profit!

2. I printed off this prayer calendar yesterday. I've been wanting one for a while for Brennan's nursery (I think that's where it'll stay) and found this free one. Since today starts a new month, I figured it was the perfect time to start (although there's never a bad time to start praying more diligently for your child!). I also found this old post on Pleasing to You and I like her ideas too. Do you have a prayer calendar/routine you use?

3. I am reading "Bringing Up Boys" now. I checked it out from the library. I mentioned in a previous post it was a book I wanted to buy, but when B and I were at the library last week, I thought I'd see if they had it. I am liking it. It is different than I thought it would be, but I'm glad I'm reading it.

4. So the other day I was reading in the book of Isaiah and read: "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18-20). I marked it because I liked the verses and because it was familiar to me because our church choir sings a song based on those exact verses. Then on Sunday, the choir sang the song! Weird! God's pretty cool, right!

5. And last, but certainly not least, I get to stay at home with this handsome little guy. Check out his hair. It will no longer stay flat, so that is how it looks all day long. And he just discovered his tongue yesterday and now it won't stay in his mouth. These were all just taken a few minutes ago while I fed him breakfast. So many faces within just a few seconds!

How Big is Brennan?

So big!

For Auntie La-La

Brennan's Auntie La-La LOVES looking at pictures of her little monkey butt. Last week she requested some pictures of B during swim class. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull that off, but today it worked out! Kyle is working late tonight, which meant he didn't have to go into work until 11, so Daddy went with us to swim class today to be our photographer!

Mommy and B before class

He can't wait to get in!

Splish! Splash!

Loving it already!

He really likes to float on his back and kick his legs.

But also does well on his tummy.

Swimming by daddy for a close-up.

As always, his finger tastes mighty good.

Mommy is SO funny!

Here we go!

Swimming across the pool.

Time to pick a squeaker.

We have to throw the toy and swim to it.

I will get you fishy!

I am getting closer!

Gotcha!

I dunked him under two times today and he never got mad. As you can tell from the pictures, he certainly loves the water!

Friday's Fab Five

Back to a Fab Five this week.

1. Do go over and check out Kelly's Korner today for Show Us Your Life. Today people are linking up and showing their master bedrooms. I am not linking up today, but am hoping to get inspired to maybe make some changes in our bedroom; small changes because I know Kyle does not want to paint.

2. I entered a giveaway to win these prayer cards. I never win a giveaway, but might as well keep trying. I said I wanted to win How to Pray for Your Child cards.

3. I mentioned in a previous post we are going to take a trip to DC. Well now we have also booked a little mini-trip to Atlantic City! My parents are coming there and we are going to drive down and stay two nights. Check out the hotel! It looks pretty awesome!

4. I know already talked about Brennan's swim class, but that has to make the Fab Five because it was so much fun! I can't wait for next week's class!

5. I also mentioned briefly in a previous post that we went to the Big E Fair last weekend. Check out the winter hat we bought for Brennan!

That's about it! Have a fabulous weekend!

Library Visit

"Can you tell from these pictures that my mommy's a teacher?"

"Which one should I read (eat) first?"

"Maybe one of these over here?"

"Oooo, how 'bout this one?"

"Thanks, Mommy for helping me open the book."

"So far it is very interesting!"

"It's okay if I wad up the pages, right?"

"And I think I'll give it a little kiss!"

"Mommy, do you think the library will mind that I put a hole in the page while you were busy snapping pictures?!!?"

Swim Class

Yesterday Brennan and I went to our first Baby and Me swim class. It was a huge success! Brennan loved it and was so happy the whole time. He has always seemed to love the water, so I was so glad I found a swim class we could take. It is about a 3 minute drive to get to class, so it is super convenient. We sang songs, swished the babies back and forth in the water, had them on their tummies and their backs while trying to get them to kick their legs and move their arms, and even dunked them under once. It was so much fun! We even saw a Mommy and baby from our church there, so we already had a friend in class.

I would love to get some pictures of B during class, but I guess I'll have to bring someone with me sometime to get those. I did snap a picture yesterday before we left, but I already had him all bundled up to go outside. If this is what he looks like leaving for class on Sept. 21st, I can't imagine how bundled he'll be on our final class on Nov. 30th! It was definitely chilly yesterday morning!

Here he is making his new favorite face for the camera.

And if you could kindly say a little prayer. We just got back a little bit ago from the doctor and Brennan has his first ear infection. I've been suspecting it for a couple of days and wondering if it was just teething, but decided to take him in this morning and sure enough he has one. He is on meds now and we'll go back in two week for a check-up. He's a trooper though. The doctor was really surprised he actually had an infection. I think she was surprised because Brennan seemed so happy and alert at the doctor. Even an ear infection can get him down!

Pictures!

Here are some recent pictures of Brennan.

Brennan always wants the remote control, so Kyle cleaned off an old one and let him have it.

Future guitar player

For those of you not on Facebook, here is one you all haven't seen yet.

We went to the Big E (the New England Fair) on Saturday.

This was Brennan this morning getting ready to leave for Stroller Strides. It was a little chilly out, so I left him in his pjs and put on a matching hat.

Show Us Your Life - Living Rooms

Instead of doing a Fab Five today, I am linking up over at Kelly's Korner for Show Us Your Life. Today people are showing pictures of their living rooms, so I thought I'd join in.

This picture was taken from the corner by the front door and shows off most of the living room. We got great deals on the large pieces of art at a store that was going out of business. We paid less for both of them than we would've for one at normal price.

Here's Ringo. This is his normal spot, but he is usually looking out the window.

This shot was taken from the edge of the kitchen. It is a beautiful September day here in Connecticut, so the windows are open. Everyone seems to love sitting on our red couch because it's so comfy. Kyle actually owned the couch before we were married. It has lots of love from Ringo now!

These shots show the shelves on the back wall that we purchased at Pottery Barn. I love these shelves. I love the picture of Brennan on this one. It is still one of my all time favorite pictures of him.

This shelf has gifts from friends and family. The cross and Texas flag are from Amanda. The blue sign in from my mom and the family crest was made by Becca.

Here is baby central! Right now we are getting the most use out of the jumper, but the others are there for back-up. You can also see into our kitchen where my laptop is opened up to Kelly's blog!

And finally a shot from my normal spot on the couch. You can see down the hall where we have a new light fixture from IKEA.

Head on over, link up, and join the party!

A Confession

My dad was a United Methodist preacher, so I have grown up in church all my life.

During college, I started participating in some Bible studies and quickly found a church home that I loved.

Once Kyle and I married and moved to Connecticut, we started attending a Bible study right away and also found Groton Heights Baptist Church pretty quickly.

However, reading the Bible has never really been a big part of my life until recently.

I need to do a better job and certainly study more than I do, but I do think I am making an improvement.

That's not really the confession though.

The confession is that (until a week ago) I didn't know the order of the books of the Bible. Of course I knew some of them. I could name the first four of the Old Testament and the first six and last one of the New. I was usually pretty confident when given a book name to know if it was in the Old or the New Testament. But I would always get nervous in church when the preacher would say to turn to such and such book because I was afraid I wouldn't know exactly where it was. And I didn't want to have to use the contents to look it up because that would make me look dumb.

I guess it's really not that big of a deal not knowing the exact order. And I know it doesn't really matter if you have to use the contents to find what you're looking for. But I decided I wanted to make a change and learn the order of the books of the Bible.

And I did.

In about 15 minutes with this little diddy!

And now I can't get it out of my head. Which I guess is a good thing. But I'm not sure Kyle is so thrilled!

Most Photogenic

I think Brennan wins "Most Photogenic" around here hands down.

Dear Brennan,

Today you are seven months old! You are getting so big so fast! Just this morning we took you to watch an Upward soccer game at church. I got all teary-eyed when they introduced the kids and they ran out onto the field because I feel like you'll be doing that too in no time at all. Here is a little of what you've been up to lately.

You can wear a variety of clothes right now. Mostly you wear 6-9 month, but there are a few 3-6 month things that still fit too. I am excited for the weather to get cooler because I'll get to dress you in things you haven't worn before. You wear size 3 diapers now. We had a few size 2 diapers left over in the car and I wanted to go ahead and use them up. It was wild to see how small they are on you now. They used to be big!

You are in your convertible car seat now and really seem to like it. You can see outside better and you can see yourself in the baby mirror and just talk and talk and talk. You have used a highchair at restaurants a few times now and are getting more used to sitting in it. You're still not quite sitting on your own for an extended period of time, so I stuff some blankets around you when you're in the highchair. You have also ridden in the front of a shopping cart. You weren't too sure about that though. You mainly just chewed on the cart cover and then started fussing so I carried you. You seem to really like sitting upright in your stroller because you're pretty good during Stroller Strides. Just a little fussy because it runs into your nap time. I just recently started using the little giraffe-print umbrella stroller for our walks around the block and you like that one too.

You are a pretty good eater. You are usually eating 4 times/day right now. That varies if you are up later than usual. I am still nursing you for your liquid intake and you get solids three times/day. There really aren't any foods you don't like now. You have had all veggies in Stage 1 and 2 and most fruits in those stages too. You also seem to be ready to eat some finger foods at this point. You reach out and grab anything and everything people are eating. You got to eat a Ritz cracker at church last week and inhaled it! You still don't have any teeth, but I guess you gummed it and ate it that way. You are getting better with your sippy. It is still a messy process because just as much falls out of your mouth as goes in. You will drink water and milk out of it now. You still don't like either to be cold though.

There aren't too many other new things you are doing. You still haven't rolled from your back to your belly. You can only sit up alone for a few seconds and as I mentioned you don't have any teeth yet. I am curious to see when you start crawling. You certainly seemed interested in doing it. When you're on your stomach you get pretty angry that you can't move. You move your little feet, but just can't go anywhere yet.

Sleeping is still going really well. You take good naps. You get swaddled and have a binky during naps. I still usually read you First 100 Words before nap, swaddle you up, and just lay you straight down. If you wake up fussy, I know you need to sleep more because after a good nap you wake up happy and talkative.

Nighttime is still going great too. Up until this week, I had always been nursing you right before bedtime. This meant it was only me who could put you to bed. In order to stop that and get you used to going to bed without nursing right before, I now do your feedings at night the same as during the day. When you wake up from your last nap, I go ahead and nurse you then. If you wake up a little early, we usually go for a walk around the neighborhood first. After breastfeeding, you get your nighttime solids (usually cereal, a veggie, and fruit) and then you take a bath. You still love bath time too! Then I get you ready for bed, which now includes brushing your "teeth". (Just want to get you ready for when we have to start that). I read you "It's Time for Bed" and your Bible story, swaddle you, sing Jesus Loves Me, and lay you down. You don't get a binky at night. You're still waking for a feeding around 6:30am, so I feed you on one side and you go right back down until around 8:30 usually.

Each stage of your life seems more exciting than the previous one, so I can't imagine what these next few months will bring, Love ya bunches!

Love,

Mommy

Brennan at 6 months

Brennan today at 7 months

And one with his hood up

And Mommy made him ride the giraffe today

Brennan and Mommy at Upward soccer this morning

Brennan in his big boy car seat