6 Months

This 25 things list has been all over the internet the last few weeks. I have yet to do one for myself but I thought it would be a fun way to capture some of my favorite memories of Brady over the last six months.

25 Things About Brady

1. To say that we were surprised to find out we were pregnant with you would be an understatement. But, you turned out to be the greatest surprise we have ever received.
2. While I was pregnant with you I didn’t crave the cliché pickles and ice cream. Instead it was mangoes and oranges. Yum!
3. When I was eight weeks pregnant with you Popsy passed away, but he got to see your first ultrasound picture and he was so excited about your arrival. I’m sorry that you will never have the chance to know him because he loved you so much.
4. I was convinced you were going to be a girl and I was shocked when we found out you were a boy. So much for my motherly instinct.
5. You are an active little boy and I always knew you were going to be that way because you kicked and squirmed like crazy when I was pregnant with you.
6. Your arrival caught your Daddy and I off guard because you decided to come three weeks early. The nursery wasn’t ready and we had to scramble to get it all done in the weeks after you got home.
7. The 2008 Summer Olympics started a few days after you were born and we would record the prime-time coverage to watch during the middle-of-the-night feedings. Getting up at 2am didn’t seem as bad when we could watch Michael Phelps swim for another gold.
8. You were such a little bean when we brought you home and I remember thinking that our cats looked enormous compared to you.
9. You slept a lot for your first few weeks and we loved holding you, cuddling with you and listening to you breathe
10. There are two painting of Paris that we have in our living room and you were obsessed with looking at the picture frames when you were really little. You also loved staring at our ceiling fan.
11. You shocked us at three weeks when you decided to roll over from your tummy to your back for the first time. We thought it was a fluke but you continued to do it.
12. One of my favorite first memories of you was your first real bath. We placed you in the water and you were frozen in this confused looked at least 30 seconds. Your Daddy and I could not stop laughing!
13. You slept in a bassinet next to your Daddy for the first 8 weeks of your life. You were so loud and you grunted all of the time so we started wearing earplugs to sleep.
14. Daddy sang Rock A Bye Baby while rocking you to help you fall asleep at night.
15. One of your first favorite places was your changing pad. We have a mobile with animals hanging above it and you would kick and giggle every time you saw them.
16. You came to the polls with us for the historic election that elected the first African-American president, Barack Obama.
17. When you were three months old we took you to your first bar for the Annual Chick’s Tavern Penn State day. Unfortunately Penn State lost, but you were a huge hit!
18. Amah bought you a jumper when she came to visit you in November and it is your all-time favorite activity. You would spend the entire day in there if we let you.
19. Watching you wake up from a nap is one of our favorite things to do. You are just so happy and smiley to see us.
20. You love looking at yourself in the mirror. It is an instant cure for when you’re fussy.
21. Grandma and I took you to see Santa and you were such a good boy. You didn’t cry or get scared at all. You seemed perfectly content to sit in his arms all day.
22. You got Daddy (with just a little help from me) a train set for Christmas. It is similar to the one Popsy would set up under the Christmas tree when Daddy was little. I hope it will become as special of a memory for you as it was for him.
23. You started rolling over from your back to your tummy around 5 months. As a result, you move around your crib throughout the night and sometimes end up in the funniest positions.
24. You absolutely love being naked. When we get you undressed for your bath at night you erupt into a bunch of giggles and squeals.
25. You didn’t like eating solid foods at first, but you have since warmed up to them. And, you are the messiest eater!

We could go on forever, but remember that we will always love you more than you can imagine and you have brought so much joy and happiness to our lives. We love you, little buddy.

- Mommy and Daddy