08.16.08
Posted in being a parent, life with baby, milestones at 8:52 pm by kendra
so i just noticed that it has been a month since my last post…. and i really can’t believe it. sorry to all you bryce fans out there who haven’t gotten your “fix”. but as i said in my previous post, bryce is such a whirlwind of activity that i barely have time to myself. especially now that he’s transitioned from 2 naps to 1 nap but hasn’t yet extended the 1 nap to a longer time period… so there just hasn’t been much time. but enough excuses. let’s see if i can fill you in on all our doings.
summer has been lots of fun for us — we spend most of our awake time outside. bryce is full on running now, and sometimes his body can’t keep up with how fast his legs are going. so, as you can imagine, he constantly has scraped up knees and legs. most of the time bryce is great about falling — he just gets up and “brushes it off” (which usually just means brushing his hands together, irregardless of where he actually fell and got hurt). occasionally we get real tears, but so far nothing a grape, blueberry or other piece have fruit hasn’t been able to “cure”.
bryce loves music. he loves it when we sing, he loves having the radio on, he loves concerts and he loves making his own music. he drums all the time (with spoons, drumsticks, or whatever stick-like tool he finds) and has even figured out how to play his flutes and harmonica. pretty much every thursday this summer we’ve headed over to the local mall where there’s been an outdoor concert in front of a kid’s run-thru water fountain — so bryce can splash in the water, or more often than not, stand in front of the stage and dance. his little dance moves are so incredibly cute. his favorite “move” is just bending his knees and bouncing to the music; and unlike me (or andy, i think) he has a great sense of rhythm and can really keep the beat.
he claps for himself a lot: “wow, i found that toy mom asked about”, “wow, i made it to the top of the slide”, “wow i ate that carrot”, or whatever the occasion might be. he’s also partially learned to snap. he doesn’t actually get a snapping sound, but he makes the movement (we have a book that includes snapping, so if you say “snap”, he’ll try it). he loves climbing, and will try to scale or climb up any surface that looks vaguely climbable.
he’s still not the greatest eater, but he is really good at feeding himself and trying “difficult” textures. he has no problems with whole grapes (or shoving several grapes in his mouth), and loves eating whole, round fruits (peaches, pears, apples, etc).
i’m not sure how to describe his verbal abilities. he “talks” a far amount now, but i don’t necessarily understand many of his “words”. most of the time he tries to string together whole sentence-like things, so it can be more difficult to decipher. he definitely says “there it is” and “what’s this” or “what is that” — both pretty complicated structures, i think. in addition, i’m pretty sure i’ve at least heard the following words on various occasions:
bunny (usually accompanied by a vigorous hopping motion with his hands and arms), dog, balloon, mom, dad, auntie katie, grandma, grandpa, highchair, bird, book, read,”put on” (for shoes), juice box, and shoes. i’m pretty sure there are more words, but it’s not something i keep track of very well — cause usually things are strung together in sentences and there are words that it sounds like he says that fit the context, but what can i say, i sometimes remain a little too skeptical — i’m not one of those parents who swear their 4 month old said “protoplasm” or whatever.
however, the amount of things he understands constantly astounds me. when he’s in a good mood and wants to obey (which isn’t always the case), he can follow pretty much any command i give to him: bringing me various items, turning things on and off, etc. and even though i’ve never been the most consistent with my use of sigh language, bryce has picked up and uses on a regular basis the signs for more, all done, eat, and sometimes change.
his sense of humor also seems advanced (at least to me) — he’ll “trick” me by offering to feed me and then taking it away and laughing, and he makes up other fun little games. bryce definitely has a personality that just shines through in pretty much everything he does.
okay, is that enough of a bryce fix for now? i know, pictures… and what do i always say about that? soon. i promise. complain to andy about that. we didn’t take any pictures for awhile, but i have been doing better the last little bit; it’s just that andy has this whole weird setup for organizing them that he keeps wanting to change so he never wants me to just do it. but we have them. and i just downloaded a fun new program for making web albums, so maybe soon we’ll have some really good stuff. there’s always hope.
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07.16.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:13 am by kendra
“To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
just a little something that caught my eye again recently, and since it’s from one of bryce’s namesakes, i thought i’d include it here.
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Posted in life with baby, milestones at 9:09 am by kendra
so bryce is just a little whirlwind of activity. sometimes its really hard to keep up! from the moment he wakes up until the moment he crashes into sleep, that boy is on the go! my house constantly looks like a tornado has been through it!
the other day a new neighbor stopped by who has a daughter who is one day older than bryce. the little girl is starting to talk a lot and the mom asked me what new tricks bryce was up to. i had a hard time answering… because i’m with him all the time, it’s hard to say anything is exactly “new” because usually the milestone type things are gradual changes. he is “talking” a bit more, but i don’t always pick up on the “words” he uses (my mom tends to hear a lot more “words” when she’s over here). he signs more with me, but again, it kind of seems like he does it and then i gradually pick up on the fact that he’s communicating.
yesterday we went to the pool with auntie angie and her gang, and as bryce was happily splashing around in both the baby pool and the big kid’s pool, ang remarked on how adaptable bryce is — that he seems to revel in new experiences and they don’t faze him, he just plunges in with both feet and is ready to explore. he’s totally curious about everything and is always ready for any new experience (well, with the caveat that mom or dad is there, cause attempts at day-care have been disastrously unsuccessful). and yeah, that’s bryce. active, ready to explore no matter what.
so new tricks? maybe not so much… bryce is just ready to take on the world. i’m sure he’ll be speaking sentences in no time and then i’ll have to keep up with his thoughts as well as all his activity!
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06.29.08
Posted in pictures, life with baby at 8:20 pm by kendra
so i’ve been meaning to write for awhile, but life’s been hectic (water-damaged basement, life with a toddler, etc). and this one will be short, cause I’m tired (see aforementioned basement and toddler).
so we had a big trip to nc at the beginning of june. lots of fun. we went to the beach with grandma w and bryce had a blast (pics at some points once i get them — i didn’t take any, cause bryce kept rushing into the water)
finally got a bike seat for bryce to ride with mom and we’ve been on a couple of rides. as far as i can tell, bryce would love the bike, if only he didn’t have to wear a helmet. as it is, he spends most of the ride trying to yank the helmet off his head.
the neighborhood kids are out of school finally, and so they’re around during the day to play with. this is great news for both bryce and me… bryce loves the kids, despite the fact that the kids are mostly between 8 and 12, bryce thinks he’s one of the crowd and will just walk up and try to join in whatever they are doing. i think it’s great cause they take lots of the burden off me by chasing him around. you know your kid is active when he can wear out 10 year olds (aren’t they indestructible??)
bryce is now running. if we ever figure out videos we’ll get one up. in the meantime, just trust us, it is absolutely adorable to watch him run down the street.
we’ll have more details and pictures once the basement is dealt with.
in the meantime, here’s a little proof that i’m not a horrible mother.
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Posted in pictures, life with baby at 8:08 pm by kendra
so bryce used to be terrified of vacuum cleaners… he’s been working on conquering his fear by sneaking into dad’s office and pointing emphatically at our vacuum, but he had still been a little wary about getting too close and we weren’t sure if the pointing meant “i’m afraid of that thing” or “ooohhh that looks exciting”, since he wouldn’t touch it.
however, the other day at the store, bryce jumped right in and took control — pushing the vacuum all around the store, so maybe he’s over his fear. or maybe it’s just our vacuum cleaner. we’ll find out soon, since the house desperately needs cleaning.
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05.30.08
Posted in being a parent at 6:01 pm by andy
so, this was supposed to be my post for bryce’s first birthday. i did start to draft what i wanted to say, but just never quite finished it until now - so here’s my take on the first 12-13 months…
the last year now feels as if it has gone by so quickly. i don’t know how to summarize everything that has occurred, and i won’t try. a single entry here can’t do it all justice. bryce is now a year old, with a personality and everything. he doesn’t really speak, but he is starting to get his point across pretty well. it’s hard to believe sometimes all the changes that have occurred - and i know that’s about the most cliche thing i could say. he is just my precious guy. i think it helps me sometimes that he’s kind of small for his age because i can think of him as my little baby a little easier (not to mention that he’s easier to pick up or carry).
i think back to the night/morning he was born and the immediate protectiveness that i felt towards him at the time dealing with ambulances, doctors, hospitals, and incompetent nurses, and i can’t say that those feelings have diminished. he just has this special place in my heart that i can’t explain. i guess that’s the way it is supposed to be.
i know that kendra feels the same way, but somehow things are different for me. i guess there’s less of a physiological reaction to him on my part, but i still sometimes find myself being so overprotective of him. kendra gets annoyed at me, but i can’t help it. i think that’s the thing that surprises me most about my reaction to him - not that i don’t tend to be protective, but just how far it seems to go sometimes. maybe that’s the way its supposed to be, although i have come to suspect that it comes partially from my being away as often as i have over the last few months. i don’t regret it, but i just have acknowledged it as something i have to work through.
so that’s how i feel about it all - that and relief that i don’t think about all the little things that often. a week or two before his birthday i got worried that he wasn’t doing all the things he should (normal parental worry/guilt), but i should add that since his birthday now all that has gone away now that he is getting into everything, babbling and just showing his personality more and more. i have always thought he was a little unique, even just by not having that “baby face” look at birth, but he has just stayed that way. he is now such an active and curious and wonderful little guy - i just can’t wait for him to get “big” enough to play more games with me… it can’t be too long now.
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05.19.08
Posted in pictures at 8:14 pm by kendra
we had a coupon in the mail for a free 8×10 at the kiddie kandids studio at the mall (where we did the santa pics before), so in we went — and this time, i managed to leave only with my one free photo. but, these pictures weren’t quite as cute as the santa ones - turns out bryce was hungry, and thus not as smiley as normal; which we didn’t discover until after the sitting when he wandered into the adjacent studio and tried to eat one of the prop apples!
this was our favorite (the one we got printed) — bryce was dancing (we were singing the abc’s and itsy-bitsy spider) and kind of picking up his feet and clapping and laughing.
some clapping action!
just looking cute (picture had to be cropped b/c auntie katie’s hand was in front of bryce, trying to keep him from falling off the stage)
the photographer wanted to get bryce to sit, when we wouldn’t stay seated on his own, she decided to use a little stool-chair
just before (or after?) bryce was drumming on the top of the stool
we were trying to see if we could get him to give another big smile if we let him play with ALL the balls in the studio, but he was basically done (mom, feed me!)
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05.01.08
Posted in misc at 9:32 am by kendra
uncle nate is raising money for the big brother/big sister program in dane county, so if you want to help him out, click on the picture of bryce to find out why he’s sad and what you can do to help!
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04.28.08
Posted in pictures at 3:13 pm by kendra
bryce LOVES the water… (been meaning to post these pictures for awhile!)
at a children’s fountain in el segundo, ca
playing in the ocean at santa monica
in the fountain at the garden room, at home in shorewood
birthday bath number 1 (immediately after cake)
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Posted in pictures, life with baby at 3:03 pm by kendra
not really… but while i was doing it, i kind of felt like it could be… here’s my “confession” — i took bryce to mc donald’s today for his first happy meal! what, oh what, will the other moms say? how shocking, how horrible, definitely not organic, good for you food! a year ago, i would have been saying that. today, there i am, at the mc donald’s ordering the happy meal!
we had fun though. bryce probably ate between 1 and 1/2 and 2 chicken nuggets, half a package of their apple slices (see, i wasn’t totally horrible, he got apples instead of french fries, but then again, i had fries and shared 2 or 3 of them with bryce), and had a little bit of apple juice. he really liked the juice box — i had put a little in his sippy cup but then he wanted to play with the juice box, so i had to empty the juice box so that he could play with it without spilling the entire contents all over the place.
unfortunately, happy meals no longer come in boxes like they did when i was a kid — i think bryce would have really enjoyed a little box with a handle, instead we were stuck with a paper bag. and of course, we got a happy meal toy — at first i requested the “toddler toy”, designed for children under 3. but i thought the toy was a little hokey (a plastic ronald mcdonald), so we traded it back for an american idol toy. bryce hasn’t played with it yet, but i’m sure he’s going to love this big plastic thing with a big, round, purple head.
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