Party Party Party! (literally)

This weekend we had an 'event' every night! Whew.... it was fun, but it certainly was busy. Thankfully, the little Brady Bug did great!!

On Friday night, we had a birthday party to go to at this awesome Splash Park in Allen. Jeff attempted to take Brady through some of the Sprayers, but it was really cold and was spraying a lot harder than it looked, so Brady didn't like it AT ALL! (See pictures... I love the one of his pouty face.... because that's the cute face he really makes when he gets upset!!) The older kids really had a lot of fun, and next year we think it will be a lot more fun for Brady!!






On Saturday night, our Sunday School class had a catfish fry! There were hushpuppies, fried catfish, french fries and a ton of it! Kristin Cameron's dad came up from Longview (outside longview really) and fried it all for us! I had never been to a catfish fry before.... and I must say it was very fun! Brady went with us on Saturday night too... he even stayed up pretty late with us!





On Sunday night, we threw a party for Judd, a long-time friend of Jeff and I's. He graduated top in his class from UT law school and is currently studying for the Bar.... he's moving to D.C. the day after the Bar is over, so it was a combo congratulations and going away party! For this one, Brady stayed at home with our friends Becky and Isaac. My brother cooked all the food for us, Kaytie, Jocelyn and I were just his little helpers! We decided that he needs to start a catering business and we could be his helpers! He went to culinary school and his food really is amazing! (If you ever need a personal chef, let me know!)






Anyway, it's Monday morning at 11:30 and Brady and I are still in our jammies. We are just going to lay around all day to recoop from the busy weekend! The non-swaddling is going.... well, it's just going. Sometimes he's perfectly fine and sometimes he cries for a bit.... and then settles down. Jeff's not as strong as I am on it, he gives in and swaddles him! As far as dropping the 10:30 feeding, he's done that great. On Saturday night, we didn't get home until 10:30, so he was wide awake when I put him down and he didn't go to sleep, so I went ahead and fed him and he went straight to sleep. Other than that, he's slept completely through it, without waking up at all until we go and get him at 7 a.m.! It's amazing how that works!!

Brady's 3 Months Old!

Sometimes I cannot believe that Brady turned 3 months old on Monday. Sometimes it's that I don't believe it's already been 3 months, and sometimes it's that I don't believe it's only been 3 months. People often ask how motherhood is, and I answer with "At first it was boring and hard, now it's fun and hard."

When he was first born, I had a ton of hormones running through my system... enough that I actually could FEEL the rush of them. I know that sounds weird, but if you've had a baby, most likely you can identify with what I'm saying. So I would be sitting at home, feeding and changing Brady around the clock and trying to get some decent amount of sleep in there. He didn't laugh, he didn't smile, he couldn't hold his head up. I was thinking about it today, and I don't think I spoke one word "TO" Brady for the first two or three days we were home. So yes, at first it was not only hard and overwhelming, but I was bored... and lonely.

But now... just a mere three months later... he's full of life, energy and love. Even though he can't say "I love you", every time he smiles he says it. Every time he makes eye contact with me, he says it. Every time he coos he says it... and every time he reaches for a toy and hits it, he says it. Every day I think that I love him as much as I possibly could and the next morning I wake him up and my heart is even more full than it was the day before. It's just like when you get married and you think you love your husband as much as you possibly can... and then a year later you look at him and love him even more... and in new and unexpected ways and for new reasons.

It's so unexplainable... the love for a child. It's an absolute miracle that God created the bond between parents and children. It's such an incredible picture of God's love for us. My friend Julie said that her first Easter after having Sydney was so overwhelming because she viewed the cross differently because of being a mom. How in the world did God give up His ONE and ONLY Son to die for the world.... the SINFUL world? I could never do it.

Anyway... sorry for the Sappiness... onto the fun stuff that Mr. Brady Bug is doing....

He is "talking" so much now... and yesterday I heard his first REAL laugh... where he actually took a breath and laughed.... before this, it's been more of a giggle noise that he does when he's excited. But yesterday I believe it was a real laugh. I have to put talking into quotes, because this guy at my old office would ask me what words he was saying when I told him that Brady's talking a lot more. So, I just want to clarify that when I say TALKING, it's just really lots of noises... and he even does it in response to me. (I read in a magazine that you're supposed to talk to them and wait for an answer. It doesn't work all the time, but when he's in a "talkative" mood, it works well.)

He has rolled over a few times... from his tummy to his back. He definitely does not do it consistently yet or even a lot... sometimes when we put him on his tummy, he just lays there and coos. I think he'll eventually be a tummy sleeper.

He's definitely discovered his hands. He likes to try to put his whole fist in his mouth now... and the other day I found him sound asleep with two fingers in his mouth... I'm not sure it was on purpose, but we'll see if that continues. I can't wait for him to find his feet!!!

He takes 6 ounces in his bottle now and according to our method of weighing him, he's almost 13 pounds now. We're going to try to drop the 10:00 feeding tonight. He's only been taking about 1 ounce the past few nights, as he won't ever fully wake up. It almost all ends up all over his jammies anyway because he'll take it but won't swallow it. So we'll see how it goes tonight.

I'm trying to drop the swaddle too. He's getting too long. We're tired of going in there and re-swaddling... so I'm trying to drop the swaddle thing all together.... that has made for a LONG day. :)

We took these pictures on Sunday, after bath time! He's getting so big!

Happy Fourth of July!

This weekend we took a quick trip to Lubbock so that Brady could meet his Great Grandparents and our Aunts and Uncles!! We left at 2 a.m. on Friday morning and drove to Dickens, Texas where we stopped to feed Brady (and get a picture of Jeff and Brady by a John Deer Tractor). We got to Lubbock just in time for the parade! In Lubbock, the parade is an all-town affair! This was my first time to go, but Jeff grew up going every year.



Brady seemed to like the parade pretty well until the fire trucks came by and turned on their sirens.... he started wailing and it took forever to get him to settle back down... and once he settled back down, here came an ambulance with his sirens. Is it really necessary to turn on the sirens when we're standing right there? What if there really was an emergency? No one would move because they would think that it was just because of the parade!


Jeff's Grandparents --- Mamaw and Pops




Anyway, after we went to the parade with Jeff's side of the family, we went to my grandparents house for lunch. Brady had a great time playing with Megaw and Big Daddy and then he met my Aunt Carolyn and Uncle John too! We went over to Jeff's grandparents' house for dinner and had some good playtime after dinner as well (which is unusual for him, but he did pretty well!)


My Uncle John

My Aunt Carolyn

Jeff's Aunt Denise

Papa Ron

Our Little Firecracker

On Saturday, we all had breakfast together at Jeff's grandparents' house.... our grandparents actually go to church together and have Sunday School class across from each other. It was great fun and we sat out on the front porch chatting for a long time afterward! Brady had such fun visiting with his great grandparents!! On our way out of town, we stopped by Aunt Sharon's house (Jeff's aunt) and saw all of his cousins. We didn't get to stay for too long, but everyone got to see our little Bug.


Mimi


The Great Grandparents

My Grandparents --- Megaw and Big Daddy

Jeff's Cousins

It was a quick trip and it was a lot driving but it was such fun, and our little Brady Bug did so well. Today we missed church and have laid around the house as a family all day. I actually think that Georgia's more tired than any of us.... she's only left the bed a few times to go to the bathroom. Brady Bug has had a fun time playing on his boppy on our bed and watching movies with us all day.... Although having a little one means no sleeping late, it doesn't mean you don't get to nap all day long. Jeff and I have been taking turns feeding him so we get to nap in between. What teamwork! Here are some pics from this weekend!

A Fun-Filled Family Saturday.

This morning Jeff went to the store for Formula and came back with some extra special treats!! A Baby Pool! I'm not quite sure if it was for Brady or Georgia, but nevertheless, we all had a great time playing in the backyard! Georgia normally doesn't like being wet, but she hopped right into the pool with and without Brady and I. We had a great time splashing around and playing with the squirt toys.... Brady had a bit of trouble at first because the water was colder than his normal bath water!!





We also fun with tummy time today. I haven't done it in a while since I haven't been home but right when I put him on his tummy, he rolled right on over to his back! So I ran and got my camera and put him back on his tummy... but of course he didn't do it again! He definitely was pushing up some though. I actually think he was getting frustrated with himself and he pushed up the highest when he was whining the loudest. It would be like a loud grunt mixed with a cry.





We had fun playing as a family today and I only have two more days until I get to be a stay at home mom! YAY!

No Pictures.

Brady turned 11 Weeks yesterday. I realized yesterday that I have not taken any pictures in a WHOLE week!! I usually take some every day, it seems like, because I'm home with him and he's always doing something new. But this week, I was at work and when I got home, he was asleep. I'd wake him up to feed him and put him in his jammies, read him a story and then put him to bed. And it's not always his most happy time of the day. He's READY to get in his bed when it's time. I tried holding him the other day for a while after I read him a story and I could tell all he wanted was his bed. We try not to hold him until he falls asleep so that he won't get 'used' to that and not be able to fall asleep otherwise. But when you don't see him all day long, it's hard!

So this weekend I thought I would take a ton of pictures, but Jeff was sick. And I mean SICK! He started getting a sore throat on Friday night and by Saturday morning he was coughing up a storm with a fever. I kept telling him not to touch Brady but of course that is easier said than done. We were so looking forward to spending the weekend as a family and poor Jeff was sick in bed, and I didn't get any sleep because he was coughing so much, so I wasn't in the mood to take pictures all day. Brady and I did hang out all day Saturday and Sunday though.... and he's definitely up to some new tricks.

He's definitely getting bigger... and when I get some pictures, I'll post them! He is just now starting to grab things. Mostly only when you put it in his hand, but today he grabbed a tail on the monkey from his activity mat and held onto it for a while. I'm not sure if he knew what he was doing.... but I like to think he does. We have this little silver rattle that we started to give him while we're changing him.... he's not the happiest of changers.... and he would grab onto it and shake it over his head and try to put it in his mouth. (Can you tell we may have issues with swallowing things in the future???) I could tell on Saturday when he did it for the first time that he was almost surprised at what he was doing and so excited.... I am SUCH a mom, aren't I?

Anyways, all is well at the Leach house now.... Jeff's getting better and Brady and I both aren't sick... yet. Jeff started his second clerkship on Monday and I only have until next Tuesday at work. My sister got a baby Yorkie today... Fender. I'll post pictures of him too once we get to meet him! Crazy Uncle Cam moved home this weekend! YAY! We're so excited to have him close by.... I think he will stop by tomorrow for dinner. If you don't know already, my brother is a chef.... and an amazing one at that. He's looking for a job (selfishly, I want it to be in the DFW area) so if you know of anything let me know! He's been living in Aspen for a year and Denver for years before that so being back in Dallas is a big change.... especially the weather! :)

I'll post pictures soon... hope everyone is doing well!

Two Weeks Notice.

Today I officially gave my two weeks notice at HKS. Although it has been truly a wonderful place to work and I feel so privileged to have worked with wonderful people, I had to tell them that my heart was now at home. I was incredibly nervous about resigning, as I was thinking that some of the people would see it as a negative career choice as opposed to a positive life choice. But this was not at all the case... and I truly think that was a result of much needed and appreciated prayers. Everyone, including my boss, was so encouraging and supportive of this decision. It is truly bittersweet for me because I will miss everyone tremendously but I know that we will stay in touch.

Here's to Brady being 10 weeks old! I think he's around 11 pounds now (according to our system of weighing him on our scale) and he's just now taking 6 ounces of formula in a bottle! For those of you B-Feeders out there, I have such a respect for you and your diligence, as it's obvious that I didn't stick with it for too long. I think in the long run you have to have an incredible amount of patience and desire to make it work out, and unfortunately, it just wasn't there for me. I will definitely try again, but for now we're on Enfamil. It's working out wonderfully and Brady's taking all of the bottle almost every time.

He's also having a lot more fun on the Activity Mat and is loving the Bumbo... although I still can't let him stay in it for too long. He loved watching the U.S. Open with his daddy on Sunday and is looking forward to the 4th of July with his great grandparents. I think he's starting to really take an interest in his puppy because every time she gets near him, he has a big smile! I can't wait for this long week to go by so I can spend all day Saturday with my little Bug and see what he's been up to all week!

Father's Day.

I don't know about you, but I love cards. LOVE them. I love to give them and love to recieve them... especially when they are absolutely 'perfect'. I love picking them out and laughing out loud or being moved to tears in the aisle of the store. I love have five in my hand for one person and can't decide. I wish I could write cards. I really do.

In high school, when Jeff and I first started dating, we would pretty much buy out the Hallmark store. I think I maybe recieved a card and gave a card at LEAST once a week. I'd come out from school and there would be a card on my windshield, or a card in my mailbox from Jeff when I got home. We were infatuated with each other at the time- being 16 years old and all- and we were also infatuated with this particular kind of Hallmark card called "Personal Expressions". They're the long skinny ones that have a ton of writing on them, and they always, ALWAYS managed to bring me to tears and be exactly what I wanted to say.

So, on this Father's Day, I find it extremely appropriate to write what was written on the card I bought for Jeff. It actually didn't leave me with anything else to say to him.... and if I could write this beautifully, it's exactly what I would have written to him.

"For My Husband --- I always believed that our love would keep on changing and growing as we experienced more and more of life together... yet I never knew I'd feel as moved and thrilled as I always am when I watch you being a father... Seeing your big hands guide little hands into sleeves... seeing your strong arm curled around small, dangly legs... these and countless other things you probably never realize I'm noticing fill me with a sense of security and love... Because of you, the words husband and father have become a picture of incredible tenderness --- an image of you I'll hold forever in my heart." ---B.K. Loots

Happy Father's Day. What an honor it is to have watched my husband become a father.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Jeff's birthday! I have to be a little mushy here and tell you all how honored I am to celebrate 26 years of this wonderful man's life today. I can't believe that we started dating when we were 16 years old! It seems like forever ago (and it was forever ago). We've had some wonderful birthday celebrations over the years, but this one is extra special because he gets to celebrate with one new extra person this year... his son!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. We love you!

Doggie Day.

On Saturday, our Bible Fellowship class (a.k.a. Sunday School class) had a social outing at the dog park. We had an awesome turn out and everyone brought their cute dogs. Someone even brought a piglet! (Not from our class though.) Brady and Georgia both had a wonderful time! It was cloudy most of the morning so it didn't end up being too incredibly hot!

Annual Rib Night....

Every summer Jeff's parents have always done an "annual rib night" for Jeff and his best friends from growing up. However, up until this year, it's been a "no girls allowed" affair. But that's right, since I am a buy-one-get-one-free deal with our Little Man (and with Josh getting married, there's a majority now), we all got to come! Yay!



As you can tell from the pictures, Papa Ron is more than an expert in BBQ-ing and of course Darlene had to make her famous Oreo Cake (if you haven't had it, it's TO DIE FOR!) and we had a fabulous time!



It was also Brady's first time to meet Mr. Judd! Judd is our friend from high school (Jeff and him have been friends since they were itty bity and Judd and I went to school together). He just graduated from law school at UT and is currently studying for the Bar. He will be moving to D.C. in August, so Brady's trying to get in his "fun time" with Mr. Judd before he leaves.

Brady's Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Today was our 2 month Dr's Appointment. For Jeff and I, we've been so looking forward to this appointment for weeks! We were going to get to see how much our Little Man was growing! And good new for us, he's right at 10 pounds! (10 pounds, .5 ounces to be exact) He's also grown 2 more inches, so he's at 21 inches! We were so excited for his weight to be in double digits! He's gained 3 whole pounds since his 3 week weight check! Wow!

The bad news, was that our Brady Bug was going to have to get 4 shots. That's right, count them... 1-2-3-4. Luckily, they have two nurses that give them in the leg at the same time so it really only "feels" like four... (or so they say). I've never EVER heard him cry like this. (Jeff requested me to get it on video, and because he seems to have a nice set of lungs, I've decided to be a horrible mother and post a record of his shear agony here, but I can't figure it out... I'll try again later). He's been crying all day long. He'll go to sleep and wake up crying. (He normally wakes up pretty happy, unless he's hungry). He has even been crying in his sleep. (I wonder if he's having nightmares about it?!)

THEN, when we finally got home from the doctor's appointment, my little man had an incredibly smelly diaper so I decided to go ahead and change him before I fed him. As I was changing him, he was of course screaming his head off because I absolutely had to mess with his legs. (That's where his shots were). He then decided to spray everywhere, which made him (and me) even more upset! I grabbed the CLEAN burp cloth that was already set out for when I was going to fee him (they're like gold in our house) and covered it up before it got absolutely everywhere.

When I grabbed yet another diaper (we're on the 2nd clean diaper), he decided to spit up everywhere. So I grabbed the same burp cloth (yes, i know it's gross but you have to think fast when this is happening) and wiped his sweet cheek off. THEN he decided to go number 2... like, if I had not noticed his red face, it would have gone all over my hands. So it gets all over the front of the second diaper. So we finally got clean on diaper #3.



I could not bear to put him through any more trauma today, so I didn't give him a bath, I just wiped him off with a wet wash cloth and changed his clothes. I thought he would never go back to sleep, but he seemed to be relieved when I finally put him in his crib. I guess he was tired of being held and messed with, when he's not used to that normally. I hope he'll sleep good tonight and wake up tomorrow morning, having forgotten all of today!!

Super Mommies.

So today I caught myself doing something that I found absolutely embarrasing. (Surprising, I know.) I was walking Georgia down the street, with my Little Man in my arms (with a cute sun hat on, by the way), and she decided to leave a nice little 'present' in someone's front yard. I then bent down (with Brady still in my arms and holding onto Georgia's leash) to pick up her 'present' and put it in the little bag I carry with me because I'm a good neighbor. As I was doing so, I suddenly busted out singing "Super Mommy!" I've been doing this at home ever since Brady was born, when Jeff was around to hear. I wanted him to know how proud I was of myself when I could 'multi task' and do more than one thing at one time. BUT, I never expected it to become a habit when I surprise myself with what I can do all at one time, and I NEVER expected anyone ELSE to hear me say it. But lo and behold, the neighbor was looking out the window when I was in their yard, bent on all fours, picking up poopy and singing "Super Mommy."

This got me to thinking that every mom is a Super Mommy and at one time or another has had their own Super Mommy stories. For me, it went from being able to feed Brady a bottle and pour myself a glass of Ruby Red grapefruit juice at the same time, to feeding Brady a bottle and throwing Georgia's tennis ball at the same time. Then I found that I could walk Georgia with Brady in the stroller, listen to my iPod and drink a bottle of water all at the same time. It's like it all kicks in at once. It's like a 6th sense that happens when you become a mom... you just learn how to manage a crying baby, a barking dog and a ringing telephone all at one time.

SOO.... I'd like to open it up for all of you moms out there to share your Super Mommy stories with me! I know you all have them... and especially if you have more than one child.... how DO you do it???

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Jeff and I are celebrating 3 Years of Wedded Bliss today! (We actually celebrated this weekend, but today's "The Day"). I can't believe that we've been together as long as we have, and this year we have another person to celebrate with!!

On Friday night, I made an extravagant dinner (with the help of my brother, the professional chef, of course) for my hubby. We then had TCBY for desert! Yummy. On Saturday night, Kaytie and Josh volunteered to babysit for us (thank you soooo much!) and we went to Trader Vic's for drinks and appetizers and then we headed down to Simply Fondue. What a wonderful meal! We had such a wonderful time together, and didn't talk about Brady TOO much! I'm glad we went the Fondue route. Jeff eats so fast normally, that the meal is over before I had time to eat it.... so this made us take our time, which was so nice!!

I love you, honey. I couldn't have asked for more in a husband or a best friend! You're amazing, and I'm so thankful every day for you! Muah!

We are ALL Boy at 8 Weeks Old!

How cute is this picture? My little baby boy has his first boo boo, and is it not so cute? He of course scratched himself during a nap at some point and ended up with his first scab. I guess this means that I have to bite the bullet and cut his fingernails, right? I read that you're supposed to wait until they're asleep to do it, that way they don't flail their arms as much!

Anyway... I can't believe 8 weeks has come and gone. I always thought he would be "soooo much older" at 8 weeks, and here he is... still my Little Man. He's a doll, if you ask me and we're having more fun everyday. We love to go on walks with Miss Georgia and have had many a lunch date with girlfriends. We also have discovered reality television together and LOVE to watch any and all reality shows (except for the knock off ones that Fox usually makes).

We also have found a love of reading. I didn't really read to him much the first few weeks, I kind of felt silly... and honestly I didn't even think about it. I was much more thinking about getting as much sleep as possible for all involved and it never crossed my mind to read to my Little Man before bed. But now, we have a nighttime ritual of reading in the rocking chair before going to bed. I have also started singing to him. (That was a last night thing.) I felt a little silly singing to him while making his swaddle, but he was just staring at me the whole time... which I think means he likes it!

I also THINK I got a little reaction yesterday that I consider to be the beginnings of a giggle. (Am I such a mom, or what?) I was cheek and making all sorts of weird noises (like all moms do, trying to get their child to smile) and not only did he smile, but he kind of made this noise that sounded like he was trying to laugh... like he thought I was funny. Who knows if he was just cooing (he does that a lot lately) but I like to think he thought I was funny. (I pride myself on that, actually.)

What do you think it is that makes us know how to smile when we're little? Isn't it amazing that a smile is more of a natural reaction than we think it is? That made me think today that NOT smiling in life is more unnatural. I think it may be more of a "learned" reaction to actually NOT smile vs. smile. (I'm no psych major, nor did I take any psych classes in college... that was simply an observation as a mom).

I also had to post this picture of what Jeff picked out for him to wear on Sunday to church! :) This is actually the little Onesie that Jeff bought for him when we found out that he was a boy and not a girl! It says "Chicks Dig Me" if you can't read it... It's still a tad big for him, but he looked darling in it! He's definitely getting my round cheeks, isn't he?



I also wanted to explain why we decided to make the blog private. On Sunday night, we got a few Anti-Baby Wise comments that were made anonymously on my last post. I realized then that not only did I not have a way to defend myself and our style of parenting, but that I didn't know who was reading our blog. I, too, am guilty of blog stalking... and I love it. I'm addicted, actually... and I get frustrated when people don't update their blogs (ahem, Julie Atkinson)... but I would have loved the chance to have a dialogue with whomever it was that disagreed so strongly with the fact that Brady was already sleeping through the night. SO, if was any one of you... please let me know, just so that I can sleep easier at nighttime! :) Ha.