The Big Brother

The big brother, Caleb, is 18 months... He has changed so much in the past few months.  He started walking around 13 months.  He quickly got pretty stable on his feet and hardly ever fell.  Just recently he started running.  :)  He absolutely loves climbing.  He also absolutely LOVES his sister and copies everything she does...  His favorite activities are eating (especially crackers, fruit, and bread), doing wooden puzzles, reading books, and dancing to music. He is pretty friendly and says "hi" over and over to people when they come into our house.  He doesn't need as much sleep as Julia (I didn't realize how good we had it with Julia... she is an awesome night time sleeper and napper).  He is super attached to his daddy.  He is a snuggler which I love...

 

At his 18 month check up, here were his stats:

Weight: 25 lbs 2 oz (64%)

Height: 33 in (71%)

Head: 48 1/2 cm (80%) 

 

Over the past 2 months he has been trying to talk so much and loves copying whatever we say.  He has so many words already!  Here are some of our favorites:

 

Mamma (my favorite!)

Dadda

Gim (game)

ta-tur (tractor)

Mee-meh (Minnie Mouse)

Ca-cur (cracker)

Breh (bread)

Gar-ner (gardener)

Pee (please)

Hi-yee (hi)

Buh-bye (bye)

Na-nuh (banana)

Key (kiwi)

Boop (poop)

Bah (bath)

 

 

12 months

 

13 months

 

 

14 months

 

 

 

15 months

 16 months 

 

 

17 months

 

18 months 

 

We love you, Caleb!

2 weeks old

Bradley is already 2 weeks old.  He is a great baby so far.  He is my best nurser which has been a blessing.  He nurses every 3 hours usually and I know I'm spoiled because Caleb nursed every 2 hours at this point.  Occasionally  he'll do 4 or 5 hour stretches at night!  He was 7 lbs 1 oz at birth but has gained over a pound.  At his 2 week check up he weighed 8 lbs 3 oz. 

We are enjoying the newborn stage so much!  He makes the cutest faces and noises.  :)

Julia loves holding Bradley

 

 

Caleb wasn't very interested in Bradley at the hospital.  But when we got home, he has been really sweet to his brother.  He will often walk up to Bradley and say, "Hi.  Hi.  Hi" over and over again.  :)  He loves giving him kisses, too. This was the first time Caleb held Bradley.

 

And on his own, he kissed Bradley!  So sweet!

 

Julia likes putting her headbands on Grandma, me, and Caleb...  :)

 

As you can imagine, we're a little sleep deprived!  This picture was not posed.  He actually fell asleep like this.

 

Our very first outing with the kids.  I needed to get a gift for Ethan's birthday at the mall, so Ethan took the older kids to the playground at the mall while I took the baby with me shopping.

Bradley, sleeping happily on Grandma's lap

 

Our little groundhog  :)

 

Tummy time

 

Love this picture!

 

So tiny...

 

I love his little stretches on the changing table...  :)

 

I took this picture today.  I love how his cheeks are getting so full.

 

Ethan's Birthday

For Ethan's birthday, we decided to try our first outing with all 3 kids!  We went to "Eggs 'N Things" for breakfast.  The kids actually did great and we enjoyed our breakfast!

Bradley slept the whole time  :)

Family Visit

Ethan's brother and family came to meet Bradley at our house.  Aunt Lisa couldn't wait to hold him!  :)

Aunt Lisa

 

Uncle Jared

 

Ava

 

Eric

 

Jared

A Belated Christmas

We came home from the hospital the day after Christmas.  My parents drove from Arizona (they spent Christmas with my sister) and got to meet Bradley here at our house. It was a blessing to have their help while we adjusted to being a family of 5. 

Grandma holding her 15th grandchild for the first time

 

Grandpa holding Bradley

 

Since we were in the hospital Christmas Eve and Day, we waited to open presents with our kids until we got home. 

 

The kids were excited to open presents...

 

 

Hospital Stay

Caleb and Julia came on Christmas Day to meet their little brother.  Julia was super excited.  She wanted to hold Bradley right away.  Caleb was a little oblivious and was much more interested in exploring the room.  :) 

 

Julia couldn't wait to hold Bradley  :)

She kept saying, "I love you Bradley."

 

 

 

 

Teta holding her 6th grandchild

 

Ethan's Uncle Adam and family were visiting from Missouri!  They got to come meet Bradley at the hospital!

 

Poppy (Ethan's Grandfather) was visiting from Florida!

 

4 generations...  Poppy, Teta, Ethan, and Bradley

 

Our first family picture

 

Caleb used to like being held like this  :)

 

Bradley looked so teeny in his carseat!

 

Heading HOME!!!