Jumping is Tiring

I was in the other room and noticed that Brady was being unusually quiet in his jumper. I assumed he was just intently studying the parrot or gecko (which he has been known to do) but no, he had passed out.

I've worked hard to get him on a good nap schedule and I guess it has worked because he fell asleep within a minute or two of his nap time. He barely woke up when I picked him up to put him in his crib.

All Smiles

Watch Out, Michael Phelps

We took Brady to his first swim lesson this past weekend, hoping that if we start early, he won't turn out to be a terrible swimmer like me and Suzi. And if he happens to win 11 gold medals at the Olympics, then that would be cool too. Things got off to a slightly rocky start, Brady was a little unsure of the water and was stuck in a sitting position for the first 10 minutes or so. It was cute, but not very good form. Luckily, a rousing series of sing-a-long songs relaxed him and he started enjoying the water. He started kicking, splashing water (mostly in his own face) and having lots of fun. It was great -- we can't wait for next Saturday!

Brady in the water

Getting a little more used to the water

Brady starting to kick and splash

House Swap

I love living in the city. I love being able to walk out the door of our apartment and having our grocery store around the block, the coffee shop on the corner, etc. But, I have to admit there are times that I long to have a house in the suburbs with a yard, extra space and a much coveted guest bedroom. I hate that when friends or family want to visit we have nothing more to offer other than an air mattress set up in the very unprivate family room. I know that sometime we'll make the leap but for now I'll settle on finding a loophole.

Last weekend Jim's mother, brother, his fiance, sister, her boyfriend and a close family friend all traveled down for a visit and I figured out a way to make it work... we swapped houses with my parents. We Shipes took over my parents' three bedroom house 30 miles south of DC while my parents spent a weekend up in the city hitting up fabulous restaurants and visiting museums. It was perfect! We played a lot of Wii and Brady got some good quality time with his Amah and Aunts and Uncles.

Brady and Amah

Playing with Amah

Family shot (minus Adrienne & Jennifer who had to leave early)

7 Months

I know I'm really behind on this month's birthday post but we've been busy around here. Where is the time going? How could my little boy possibly be 7 months old (actually 7 1/2 now)? Not only is Brady getting bigger everyday, he's also becoming such a little person.

Happy seven months, Brady!

His likes and dislikes are becoming more apparent. He wants to get into everything, especially anything that Jim and I show interest in. His top picks are our cell phones, computers & remote controllers. He also loves his books and is starting to really show preferences to his favorite toys. While the little guy hasn't started crawling yet he's working his way up to it. He rolls around everywhere and can turn on a dime. Occasionally he'll push his stomach off of the floor but it's only for a split second.

Rolling around half naked in the crib = good times

Someday I'll stop posting pictures of Brady on the swing but for
now I can't stop. He's too cute.

Smiley boy.

Another big milestone is that he babbles all of the time. He mostly says "da da da da" but will sometimes throw in a "ga ga", "ba ba" or "la la". Sadly no ma ma yet but I know that will come with time. No pressure little guy. He also went through a short phase of blowing raspberries. It was around for about a week and he stopped doing it just as abruptly as he started, but it sure was cute while it lasted.

Jumping and blowing raspberries

Brady has also become quite an eater. He wasn't a fan of it at first (see: here) but now he loves it. I've given him apples, pears, sweet potatoes, mango, peaches, peas, avocado & butternut squash. So far his favorites are sweet potatoes, mango and peaches. I can't blame him, those are some of my favorites as well.

Pears... yummy!

The Aquarium

Last Saturday we took a quick drive up to the Baltimore Aquarium. I tried taking Brady to the zoo a few weeks ago and he was less than impressed with the animals lazily laying around on the ground, but we were hopeful that the quick little fish would capture his attention more. We were right because he was absolutely fascinated by everything at the aquarium.

There was a group of these bubble filled lighted tubes and
Brady loved watching the bubbles float up.

Fish!

The rainforest room

Penguins!

Lunch time at the cafe

Morning Time With Brady

A picture of our little buddy this morning before I went to work.