Where does the time go?

I can’t believe it’s already December. Geez, I really fell off the blogging world didn’t I? Here are a few of the things we’ve been up to in the last 3 months. Sorry for the long post! I will try to post more often!

We went to Idaho over Labor Day and went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. Braxton loved the sheep the best. He also had his first bit of baby food—he didn’t think it was too bad.

A few weeks later we went to Idaho again for Brad’s graduation from the ISU Law Enforcement program. Congrats Brad! (He’s the 2nd one from the right in the pic)

Braxton loves Grandma Coombs house because she has all kinds of animals. His favorites are the chickens and dogs.

He also got to hang with his cousin Sienna.

In October, we graduated to the big tub. He loves taking baths! PS The washcloth is less about modesty and more about not getting peed on!

Grandpa Lulloff came to stay with us for a few days and bought Braxton the cutest rocking horse. He loves it!

Then, we went to Fielding, UT for Brian’s grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary party. I really hope Brian and I can have one of these. It was so nice to see how many people know and love his grandparents!

For Halloween, Braxton was a giraffe and a spider. His aunt Brandi got him the cutest spider costume, but for some reason he didn’t like it at all. So, we found the giraffe costume for $5 two days before—score. It was pretty much like pajamas, so he tolerated it for our branch party.

Finally, in November we had family pictures taken with my side of the family and our own family picture for a Christmas card. The pictures are forthcoming and will be posted later. Then, we hosted Thanksgiving for Brian’s family this year. It was fun to have it at our house and to actually be home for Thanksgiving instead of traveling, which we have been doing for the last 8 years.

Whew! That was a long one.

Our Break from Normal Life

Brian’s semester ended and we had 2 ½ weeks before fall semester started so we took the opportunity to have some fun. First, we took Braxton for his first trip to Cabela’s. Brian thought it would be funny to offer up our son to the polar bear.



He loved everything and was so exhausted from whipping his head back and forth to see everything that he fell asleep the moment we got to the second floor!


Then, we took Braxton to his 4 month appointment. The stats are:

Weight: 15.85 lbs (72.83%)
Height: 25.5 in (74.42%)
Head Size: 16 in (13.86%)

So, 73% for weight sounds chubby, but I still don’t think he looks that chubby. He’s just solid and has really strong and developed muscles for his age.

For the weekend, my parents came down to babysit Braxton while Bri and I went camping in Logan Canyon with Brian’s family. We were going to take Brax with us, but in the end I am glad he stayed at home because we couldn’t have done some of the things we did—like an 80+ mile four-wheeler ride that was awesome. It was my first night away from him and it was a little easier than I thought it would be. I only cried for the first five minutes of the drive and called home to check on him two or three times. We had a great time with Brian’s family eating moose burgers (my first taste of moose was surprisingly amazing—so tender, which was unexpected), riding four-wheelers, and going to the beach at Bear Lake. We definitely need to do it again.

The day after we got back from camping we headed down to St. George with my family for some golf and shopping. We also went to Aida at the Tuacahn outdoor theatre and it was fantastic!!! Last year I was surprised at how professional The Sound of Music was and again I couldn’t believe they found such talented singers for the parts. Some of the dancing and acting was less than Broadway standards, but the red rock desert was a gorgeous setting for this play. They even had horses, a camel, a pig, goats, chickens, fireworks, and a huge waterfall coming down from the hillside that flooded the stage for the ‘Dance of the Robe’ number. It was truly awesome. Also, Thayne from So You Think You Can Dance was in it. He was a backup dancer and singer, but he is the lead in Footloose which plays the other nights that Aida is not running. I would highly recommend going to see either! I am totally going back next year for Cats and Tarzan the Musical.



To end our break from normal life, we went boating with the Mann’s and Bleak’s and Brian finally got up on the wake board for a good amount of time. Braxton loves boating!

Living Life in Repeating Patterns

So, it has been a while since my last post, but really we haven’t been up to much. Basically, we get up, eat, play, sleep, play, eat . . . go to bed. Each day feels very much like the day before with few changes. I will be excited when Braxton is old enough to play on toys and maybe we would go to the park or something instead of sticking around home. I know I need to get out more, but really what should I do? Going to the mall only leads to spending money. I don’t have that many errands, so I would be just going out to go out and anyone who knows me knows that I hate doing that. I hate wandering stores just wander. I usually have a purpose and a list and am in and out as soon as I find what I need.

Anyway, here’s an update on Braxton. He is getting so much bigger—probably close to 14 lbs. He still doesn’t look like a chubby baby, but he is really solid. Every day he loves his toys a little bit more. He loves to stand on anything, smile and pull faces at me with occasional giggles, and tons of jabber. He likes to tell me what he thinks of everything—good and bad. However, every time I try to capture these moments on camera, he gets shy and just stares at this big thing in front of mommy’s face. It also doesn’t help that my camera has a 5 second delay time between the button and the picture, so I miss everything. He drools a ton and has a permanent bib on because every time we take it off, the front of his shirt gets soaked. I don’t think he is teething already, but maybe. Another new development is that he is starting to sleep 12 hours at night without waking up at all—sweet! Despite being an excellent sleeper at night, he is still struggling with naptime during the day—oh well, we can’t have everything. Here are some pictures:



As for me and Bri, Bri is getting close to finals for the summer and gets two weeks off! We are looking forward to going camping with Bri’s family and to St. George with mine to see Aida at the Tuachan Theater. Both should be HOT activities for August, especially St. George. As for my first month being officially unemployed, I am happy to say that I think I made the right decision to stay at home. I like things better every day and it is getting somewhat easier. I still miss work a lot, but it is the people I miss the most.

4th of July and Beyond

For the 4th, my cousin Amy and her fam came over for some pool time and a BBQ. It was Braxton’s first time in the pool and he loved it!

Braxton decided this week that he doesn't like his crib so naptime is a nightmare. But, I am not giving in--he will take his naps in the crib! It is just hard to hear him cry and have to go check on him and reassure him all the time. Hopefully he will catch on that he is there whether he cries or not and chooses to spend that time wisely. For now, he just cries and is really tired and grumpy for most of the afternoon. On the bright side, he is starting to smile big and he is really getting the Bumbo thing down.

We went to my last work summer party the other night at Seven Peaks Water Park and had a lot of fun. For some reason we didn’t take any pictures, but it was good to see some of my coworkers again. There are a few that are good friends that I know I’ll see and still talk to, but it is sad to think that that part of my life is over for now. Tuesday was my official last day and I am no longer employed at XanGo—yes, I actually cried. I have loved the job and I already miss the day to day and all my friends there.

The other night we went boating/wakeboarding with our neighbors and had so much fun. Brian actually got up for a few seconds (better than this picture—I put my camera away thinking he wasn’t getting up again. He actually fell because he was yelling at me to take a picture—oops). Braxton loved the boat and the rocking put him to sleep. Here are some pics:

Two Months and Counting

My baby is two months old already! I can't believe it! I took him to the doctor the other day for his checkup and here are the new measurements:

Weight:12.15 lbs. (63rd percentile--up from 6% last appointment)
Length: 23 in. (55th percentile--up from 46%)
Head Circumference: 15 in (13th percentile--up from 5%)

So, my little guy has gained a ton of weight, but still has a fairly small head. I hope his head catches up a little or else he may start to look out of proportion or something. The doctor also noticed that his eyes do not move completely together, but he said not to worry because it will likely correct itself over time. Another new development is that he has developed reflux. Although he is quite happy and content, he has started throwing up a lot after every meal and the doctor had us switch formulas again. I hope this is the last time, because it is very hard to buy formula in advance when we keep switching!

Braxton’s Blessing & First Trip to Idaho

Braxton and I have been in Idaho for the last week and so much has changed. We blessed Braxton on June 14th and had so many of our family come to Orem to share his important day with us—some as far as California. We even had all 4 great-grandmas there. Braxton didn’t like his outfit very much so we still need to put it back on him for some pictures of just him, but he made it through the whole blessing without crying—hallelujah!

The next day Braxton and I drove to Idaho with my mom so we could visit family all week while Brian took his finals and hopefully got some good sleep. We visited lots of family including my Grandpa Foster in the assisted living center and Braxton got to hang out with his adorable cousin Sienna. She was so sweet with him and kept giving him kisses.

When we went to Idaho, Braxton was still very fussy in the evenings and was generally unhappy. But, I seriously have come back to Utah with a new baby. He is so happy and is starting to smile. We hope his digestive problems are behind us—knock on wood! And, most importantly, he is starting to sleep through the night. We are getting between 5 and 7 hour stretches at night, which has made a big difference in our sleep—Yeah!

Newborn Pictures

We just got Braxton's newborn pictures back tonight and I have to share our favorites. Thanks Ashlie for recommending Michele Reyes. She did an awesome job considering he was already 4 weeks old and did not cooperate very well. I actually wondered whether we got any good shots at all he was so fussy!

Say What?

We are doing much better since my last post. We switched formulas and Braxton’s stomach woes seem to be gone. However, because the new formula is easier on his stomach, it digests faster and for a few days we were back to feeding him every 2 hours. So, now we have had to start babywise all over again and get him on schedule—kind of frustrating. But, every day seems to get better.

I have become a picture crazied mom, so I thought I would post some of my favorite poses with what I think he is trying to tell me.

“Mom, stop taking pictures, huh?”

“Um, I have a question”

“Excellent” (in the Mr. Burns way)

“Ahhh, Snore, Snore. Me like my carseat”

“Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake your Booty”

“Say What?

Also, here is my attempt at being artistic with my little old camera. My future little leaguer:

Memorial Day Weekend & Braxton’s First Unscheduled Doctor Visit

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to a little BBQ with our neighbors at the clubhouse on Saturday night and then went to meet my parents in Park City on Monday. We shopped for hours at the outlet mall and Braxton just slept the whole time with a little break for a feeding and diaper change in the middle. He was so good. He loves the car seat/stroller.

It was so fun to see my parents and go to dinner. I wish Brian didn’t have class so we could have stayed with them for a night or two in the condo. Also that weekend Braxton started showing signs of serious discomfort. We thought he was just having a hard time having a bowel movement and it has progressively gotten worse over the week. He has become very fussy—even after eating—and won’t take naps during the day because he is so uncomfortable. Then he cries all evening because he is so tired from missing his morning naps.

Finally on Friday we decided to call the doctor and ended up at the doctor’s office. He had us give him a suppository and he is now having regular bowel movements, but the discomfort and fussiness is getting worse every day. I am reading On Becoming Babywise and yesterday I got to the part that outlines colic and reflux and Braxton is showing all the signs of colic—bummer! I am calling the doctor again tomorrow to talk to him about it because I want to make sure it isn’t something more than colic. He just acts like he is in so much pain. It is heartbreaking! Here are some pictures I took during his few calm moments today: