January activities!

This past weekend we went to Wykoff for cousin Cameron's birthday and for Bryson's baby shower. We had a great weekend and were able to spend some quality family time! On Saturday, Great-Great Grandma Aleda was able to spoil Bryson again! She fed him a bottle and gave him quiet a burp. Aleda has a signature "head lock" which resulted in quite a burp from Bryson! :)

On Sunday, Great-Aunties Tina and Pam hosted a baby shower for Bryson! It was the perfect opportunity for family to meet Bryson who had never met him before! Bryson was blessed with many wonderful gifts that will keep him occupied for hours to come! I can't wait until spring to use our bike trailer/jogging stroller!

Bryson is starting to smile so much!! He has the most adorable smile!! I am pretty sure that he is the only baby that loves getting his diaper changed and he smiles the entire time!! There is definitely no better way to start the day than to begin the day with his smile :)

We also graduated to a bigger bottle!! Bryson is eating 6oz and sometimes even 8oz!! He's a growing boy! We weighed Bryson last night and he weighs about 12 pounds! We have our 2nd wellness visit next Tuesday so we'll find out exactly how much he weighs!

Dad is back to work! :(

Well Tony's two weeks off from work went by super fast!! We had an amazing time at home together with Bryson and I wish we could have another two weeks!!

This past weekend was Tony's birthday so Tim and Theresa came up Friday night to visit and babysit Bryson for Mom and Dad's first overnight stay away from Bryson to celebrate Dad's birthday. We had a great time, but we both missed Bryson like crazy! We even saw Bryson via FaceTime during supper :) Grandma and Grandpa purchased an iPad so now we are going to chat via FaceTime at least once per week so they can stay even more connected! Technology is great!!

Bryson was a little angel for Grandma and Grandpa and only woke up once during the night! Grandpa and Bryson were busy watching a John Wayne movie Saturday night and I am pretty sure that Bryson didn't even notice that Mom and Dad were gone :) He also enjoyed snuggling with Grandma and Grandpa and is looking forward to seeing them again next weekend!

Sunday night was the first night that we didn't use the baby monitor. Bryson only work up two times, 1:30am and 5am. I am pretty sure that we were getting up at least an extra time during the night that we didn't have to because the monitor would pick up all of Bryson's noises when he sleeps, and I was a little too quick to go into his room :) we still use the monitor during the day when the house is noisy, but for now, I think we'll keep if off during the night!

January is Family Time!

Tony has two weeks off from work to spend at home with Bryson since he was only able to take off a couple days after Bryson was born! Bryson loves spending time with Dad and will definitely miss him when he goes back to work!!!

On January 5th, Bryson gave me a big smile and actually giggled!! There is nothing more wonderful than his laugh, it definitely made my day!!!

On Friday night, we had our first, non-family baby sitter! Ashlynn came over for three hours to watch Bryson while Dad and I spent time with friends! Bryson kept Ashlynn on her toes, but she did great and Bryson was fast asleep when we got home!

On Saturday (January 7th) we took Bryson to the Mall of America for his first time! He was so good!! He's' definitely going to be Mom's little shopper :) Afterwards, we ate at a Mexican restaurant for supper and Bryson was the perfect angel and slept the entire time!

Bryson has been a little fussy at a certain time each night and it has been heartbreaking not knowing the root cause of his unhappiness :( we changed his routine a little last night and Bryson was the perfect angel that we have grown so used to! We didn't have bath time last night and I gave Bryson some chamomile/ginger water (supposed to calm little ones) and that seemed to help! Now we just have to find out whether it was the absence of a bath or the chamomile.... or maybe a combination of the two??

Vito and Sammy seem to be adjusting well! Vito a little more than Sammy :) Vito loves to sit next to Bryson, especially when it involves snuggling on the couch! Vito even licked Bryson's toes :)

New Years!!!

Tony, Bryson and I made the long trip to Grand Forks to celebrate Christmas with the Rocksvold's. Bryson was great in the car! He didn't wake up until Fargo, he ate, and fell back asleep until Grand Forks! Bryson spent his first night in a hotel at the CanadInn! Bryson slept great, and we even snuggled a little in the morning :)

On Saturday we went to Grandma Rocksvold's, where he was spoiled even more!! We are definitely going through Grandparent withdrawals now that we are home!! Bryson is so blessed to have such amazing Grandparents who love him so much! Bryson absolutely loves his jungle gym (gift from Grandma) and is so much more aware of his surroundings now!

Grandma Rocksvold and Auntie Farrah babysat Bryson while Mom and Dad had their first night away from Bryson for New Years Eve. It was nice catching up with friends, however, it was hard to be away from him, and I am pretty sure that my constant text messages were an annoyance, but I couldn't resist :) Bryson also loved playing with his cousins and we were definitely sad when it was time to go home!!

Bryson is definitely not in the 13th percentile anymore!!

Shortly after Christmas we took Bryson back to the doctors office. He has gained two pounds and has grown 1.75 inches in three weeks!! He is definitely a good little eater!! He is starting to have such cute chubby cheeks and he seems to change almost daily! We are still trying to figure out if he looks like Mom or Dad, but it seems that he is the perfect mix of both of us! The only sleepers that used to fit him were preemie and now they are way too small!! His poor feet looked like they were going to come through the ends :) now, even his newborn sleepers are getting tight! I can't believe how fast he is growing!!! Every two weeks we take a picture of Bryson in his rocker next to his lion to track how much he is growing :)

We have bath time every night and Bryson absolutely loves it!! After bath time we read a book and then it's off to bed! After the holidays, he is struggling sleeping in the crib, but I am sure this is just temporary :) I don't blame him, I would rather cuddle too!!

Christmas 2011!

It's hard to believe that the holidays are already over and what a fantastic Christmas we have had with our precious new addition!!!

Bryson took his longest car ride to Wyokoff for the Zwart Christmas and slept the entire time and didn't wake up until we were 5 minutes away!! He really enjoyed being spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma Zwart and his Aunties! Bryson definitely enjoyed cuddling and has found that it's much better than sleeping in the crib by himself!! :)

Bryson really enjoyed meeting Great-Great Grandma!! It brought tears to all of our eyes watching her hold Bryson because we are so blessed to have someone who is so special in our lives! She definitely is one of the sweetest women that I have ever met!! Bryson is a lucky little guy!!