Bumbo!

Meet Bumbo. It is a lightweight chair that helps babies sit up on their own and has been WONDERFUL for the full week that we have owned it. You see, even though Brycen has mastered sitting up on his own, he occasionally likes to throw his head back, or reach for something that causes him to fall and hit his head (we have hard floors and Brycen has VERY developed lungs; he especially likes to do this as soon as Christi walks away). However, with this Bumbo, it is designed to hold him in without straps (big bonus, Brycen HATES straps of any kind) and kind of molds to his body so that it holds him in place but he can still move and reach for things without falling over. Christi just wishes she had discovered this about 4.5 months ago. Babies can start using it as soon as they learn to support their own head and since Brycen stopped wanting to lay on his back months ago and thus, Christi has had to carry him everywhere, Bumbo could've came in handy awhile ago. Oh well, it comes in GREAT handy now! Brycen loves Bumbo but only for roughly 15-20 minutes at a time (the length of time for him to explore his surrounding area and get bored), which is enough time for Christi to do a load of dishes, do her hair, fold laundry, etc. It has also served and will continue to serve as a high chair, a travel high chair and booster seat. It made the trip to Chicago with us last weekend when we attended the temple and Brycen was able to sit at the table with us when we went out to eat and when we ate the breakfast the next morning (everyone thought it was "so cute"). No more trying to balance Brycen on one leg and eat with one arm! Yes! He also sits on the counter while Christi does the dishes, sits on the washer while doing laundry, etc (probably not recommended but Christi watches him). The Bumbo goes in every room with us.

Well...at least for now, I'm sure Brycen will learn how to either get out of it or get tired of it soon. The best part of it, with the tray (something that we will use when he can start eating cheerios and such); these seats run for $50 brand new in the stores. Since Christi didn't even know if Brycen was even going to like it, she did not want to pay that much (she knows, she's cheap). So, she has been looking on craigslist/ebay for awhile but they go fast and usually people sell the seat alone for $20 minimum. Still a good deal, but Christi managed to find one that was only used twice before and included the tray for only $15! What a deal! Downside: it is purple....oh well, purple means royalty, right? haha

Sitting on his 'throne'

"Helllloooo Mom! Can't you see, I'm busy... practicing sitting on the pot?" Haha...just kidding, Brycen was watching Mommy do her hair/make-up for the day.

Brycen showing Mommy how to do laundry..."now you push this button.."

"You looking for a sock? What sock?"

"Hey, look Dad! I'm being you, 'this problem is tough, let's think hard'.

"Here's your pencil back, I rather have my little piggies"

"You again! Mommy, I'm helping Daddy here".

Our Little Man!

Brycen is only 5 1/2 months but don't let his age foul you, he is already wearing 12 month old clothing and looking pretty handsome!

Church outfit

Twins with Daddy!

Our little reader as well! (Look at that red hair :))

Corn-mazing!

Bryce took Brycen and I to our first corn maze experience two weeks ago! It wasn't any kind of corn maze though, it was one of the largest in Indiana, with roughly 7-8 miles of maze, and 5 different maze designs.

Brycen was so excited!

A right? But the map says a left...my good sense of direction turned out to be oh so unhelpful in the corn, how do you know which way is North? We were supposed to be heading to #15 (you try to find these posts with numbers on them to get a reward), and the map said it was in the middle of the witch maze....I followed the map perfectly and we ended up at #10-the very top of two mazes over..talk about skills :)!

Brycen didn't know what to think of all this..

Too much corn... soo slee...zzzzzzz

We also got to pick our own pumpkin...

Ride on a hay ride...

Ride these go-cart type things...

Play the "who can pump the water the fastest so their duckie will win" game...

And..go corn shooting!

It was a windy...

But beautiful Fall day!

So...for all those other city folk out there...corn mazes do exist; they are not just an old Halloween tale... and boy, are so they much fun!

Story Time!

Once upon a time, there was a 5 month old boy named Brycen that had a strong desire to touch everything within a 2 feet radius of him. Well, his poor mommy is still getting used to this and didn't realize when she laid Brycen on the bathroom floor in preparation for bath time; that she laid him in harm's way. As she turned away to start the bath water, Brycen's curiousity led him to pull a nearby black cord that was dangling about a foot away. This fasinating black cord belonged to that of a very hot hair strightener that had been turned on when the light switch was flipped on ( something Mommy is still trying to get used to). Brycen pulled the cord, and sent the straightener in free fall to land perfectedly around his arm causing him to literally scream bloody murder. Mommy immediately picked up the straighter and Brycen and ran the burn under cold water for a few minutes (something she just learned to do two weeks before from her husband, thank goodness!). However, serious damage had occured and Brycen ended up in the ER with a second degree burn.

The happy part: Brycen is such a trooper! He only screamed for about 2-3 minutes right after he was burned, fell asleep in the car on the way to the ER, woke up in the happiest of moods, and absolutely loved meeting the five ER employees/nurses/doctors that took a look at his burn. As soon as they came into the room, he shot them the biggest smile (showing off his very own two bottom teeth) and then continued to be fascinated by his new friends and the lovely gagets that hung around their necks and in their pockets. Brycen would let his new friends know if they got too close though by his speedy ability to sample their fingers and pens with his mouth. haha. Every single person (all the other ER patients as well) loved Brycen and the last nurse said that his smile made her day and she just wanted to take him home. Other comments he recieved: ER patients:"It's been a looong time since I have seen a cute redheaded baby". "He's so beautiful!". "Awww!"From other ER employees: "What a big boy!" "He already has fangs? At 5 months old?" haha.

Waiting for the doctor to come in..

How many patients take their picture with the emergency sign?

Big band-aids make it all better!

Anyways, what a day Brycen had. Pulled off 1.5 new teeth (one broke through the skin, one is soo close) and a trip to the ER. Lessons learned by the mommy: 1: It might be part of the ER policy, but the constant questioning and hard looks she received from the ER employees weren't fun, she does not abuse her son! Sadly, she knows that there are some that do and it's understandable that they need to be suspicious so they can report any abusers..but still! 2: She has a genius of a child and is struggling to baby proof the house when he isn't mobile. How in the world, will she be able to when he IS mobile?? She's terrified...of what her INFANT is capable of.. what's wrong with that statement? 3. Her already full time job as a mommy just turned into a 24/7 job...no more, "I'm just going to look away for two minutes" episodes. 4. Realization that this is just the beginning, can you imagine Brycen as a toddler...teenager? Oh boy.... He is soo much fun but way too smart and curious. I guess that's what she gets for marrying the smartest guy she ever met...she gets the smartest baby she has ever met (and she has done A LOT of babysitting in her lifetime).

The End.

5 Months Old!

Hi. I'm Brycen and I'm a messaholic. Well, mommy calls them messes, I call them pieces of art!

*The crowd responds,"Hi Brycen."*

I'm 5 months old, stand at 28 inches tall, weigh roughly 21 pounds, and I am fascinated with your world. There is so much to see and so much to learn and babies might wonder how it can even be possible, but have no fear! It all becomes possible when you have a personal chauffeur like I do. Yup, that's right. My mommy attempts to put me down occasionally but I won't have it! How am I supposed to discover the world when I'm stuck looking from ground's view? The crumbs under the table and loose cat hairs can only be entertaining for so long. And boy...those toys, we need new ones or something.. I also have this slight problem...I can't quite move yet! So, I'm supposed to just sit in 1 spot, entertain myself with the same toys I've been asked to entertain myself with everyday, and let the mommy go about doing all the fun stuff?

I think not! Thus, I have a plan, all I have to do/ and all those other babies out there, is out-smart my/your mom; sound hard? It's remarkably not.. I might only be 5 months old, but when you have been doing the same routine for the last 5 months, it doesn't take much to pick up on things. See, if my mom attempts to walk casually into the parent's room mid-day, I'm not stupid. I know it's not her bedtime...it's not even mine, but she wants me to take, get this, a nap! Crazy mommy. But the convenient thing is mommy is built in with this handy dandy rope that does wonders when it is pulled. So, right as she is about to put me down, I get my fingers in deep, twist them, and then pull on those awesome ropes hanging from her head; she usually doesn't get to far. If mommy happens to need something from her bedroom and it's not nap time, she will still get her hair pulled. Whoops, poor mommy. I also like to do this when she is heading towards my toys; c'mon mom, I would rather play with you! So, if the rope routine doesn't work, all those babies out there pay attention now, because the next step works every time.

So if you mom successfully puts you down, pretend to play with your toys for just a bit-like a minute or two- to make her happy, and then start to wine as soon as she turns to walk away or you can throw a toy and then wine, she has no choice but to retrieve it since you can't (I especially have a good arm:)) . I guarantee you, she will look back at you, some crazy instinct they have, and right as she does, put your hands up, start bouncing up and down, and put on your excited face-complete with the cutest squeals and smiles you can produce.

Works like a charm every time, your mommy's whole face will light up, she will call you adorable, and then come pick you up and want to kiss you. Yeah...sorry, that's the one downside, the kisses. You see, both my mommy and daddy have done this thing ever since I was born, if I even think about starting to scream, become grumpy, etc, they just kiss me repeatedly on either the top of my head or on my cheek, like it's going to distract me or something. Well...actually, it usually does but that's besides the point, I have learned how to retaliate these days. I turn my head, grab either hair or an ear in each hand (depends on what I can get to first), pull their face in really close, open my mouth really big, and then proceed to eat their nose or cheek based on the angle and position. It makes them laugh every time.

Anyways, I got a little side-tracked, the whole point of this lecture is to convince all mommies that your child learns so much more when they are getting the eagle's eye view on everything. There are so many more things to see and touch as the mommy chauffeur continues to walk and try to get things done around the house. Hands-on learning is by far, the best-ask anyone-and observing is probably the best way I learn. That's why it is my goal is to copy what my mommy is doing in every way.

If doesn't matter if she is trying to play with her hair, I want to play with her hair too; if she is attempting to draw lines around her eyes using color pencils, I want to help hold the pencil and draw too. The other day, I was paying close attention to how my mom was holding and carrying my bottle after she fed me. So when she put the bottle down on the counter right in front of me (I was facing out on her hip); and then proceeded to walk to the stove, well, I just didn't want my bottle to be left behind so I picked it up right after she let it go and carried it to the stove with us. However, when we got to the stove, mommy was now playing with new toys so I immediately dropped the bottle I was carrying and tried to help add spices to mommy and daddy's yummy dinner. Apparently, my mom didn't notice that I had picked up my bottle after she put it down and so when it landed on her toe...hm...kids, all you need to know that if you ever feel like you hurt or made your mommy sad; just smile and look them in the eyes and it makes everything better. Take it from the expert, I already have my mommy wrapped around my finger..

One of my all-time favorite activities is to accompany my mom to the mailbox because that means, new things that I get to explore! Especially when the weekly ads come, boy, are those fun to steal out of my mommy's hands, rip, crumple into a ball, and then sample. So many different flavors and textures can be discovered! But actually, I'm really on a secret mission for my daddy. Every ad that I attempt to devour, I mean explore, my mommy responds by, "well I guess we won't be shopping there this week" and wallah! Daddy saves money! :)

Speaking of discoveries, did you know that everyone is equipped with yummy pink piggies? Well...mine are pink, yours might be a different color and get this! I have 10 of them! Crazy, where have they been all my life? Well..I know where they have been but why put them as far away from my mouth as possible?? How am I supposed to truly discover them and even know they exist all the way down there? Well...it took 5 months but it happened! One day my mommy was doing her daily...sometimes...hourly routine of cleaning up my "piece of art" or let's say presents that I like to leave in my diaper for my wonderful mommy. C'mon, to all those mommies out there, you should be excited! You get to discover new presents every day, conveniently wrapped up too! Well, anyways, back to MY discovery, my mommy was busy and like usual, she was holding my feet above my head but this time it was different because since it was by far one of my biggest presents yet, she was a little more busy and must not have noticed how close she was holding my legs to my face and since I had no choice but to look at my legs, what else am I supposed to do for entertainment during these things? Sitting there, right in front of me, just chilling, were these ten pink things that my eyes have never beheld! They were perfect, in bite-sizes and all! So, what is a baby to do? Grab all ten of them and stuff them in their mouth, all at once of course! So yummy!

And well..it must've looked pretty funny or something because my mom busted out laughing. She should've known better though...never scare a baby like that! I couldn't help it..it just happened. At least it was a pretty fountain though...with the angle having all my toes in my mouth, gave it; quite remarkable really. Well anyways...now there is a constant fight with my mom every day to get my diaper back on after each change. I really don't enjoy wearing those things anyways and plus, I can snack on my 10 piggies a lot easier without wearing one...so what's the rush? My mom thinks differently though..

My piggies also like to play Halloween almost every night! See...my mommy puts on my sleeper that my Aunt LeAnn gave me before bed that have little giraffes on the feet and I go crazy! Where did those piggies go?

Since we are on the topic of clothes, my mom suddenly uses me like I'm her dress up doll or something. Since it has gotten cold outside and my mom thinks I need to wear more these days then just a onesie..she has started dressing me up in all the clothes my great Aunt Kelly gave us. My mom loves it! It's like going shopping in my room every morning! Since I haven't been big enough until now to wear most of them, she is going through them and is amazed how much I have! I haven't worn the same outfit more than once in the last 3 weeks! Jealous? Yeah, my mom is too! Thanks great Aunt Kelly!

However, even though I have all these clothes-don't let it fool you. See, for the last month and a half that we have lived here, my parents have always wondered how the heating system worked. There are heaters in every room but no thermostat to be found, so when it started getting cold, they asked the neighbors what happens. The neighbors confirmed my daddy's assumptions and said that yup, these buildings are old and are all regulated together based on the temperature outside. As soon as it goes under 50 degrees, all the heaters go on. Well, our apartment is also the lucky one to be right above the boiler room so it's already warm and both my dad and I are very warm blooded so since I keep my mom busy and warm all day during her chauffeur duties and my dad keeps the bed warm at night... we roast when the heaters turn on. So, let's just say that if you are ever in the area and want to stop by, please call first so that we will be modest! :) And if you are ever wondering which apartment is ours, it is the one with all the windows open even though it is freezing outside!

I have also recently discovered the funniest looking creature yet! She has enough hair that she could donate a whole head of hair to roughly 1 million bald babies; share the wealth, my friend! She only knows one word and she walks on all fours. Weird, I know, but guess what! I actually got to touch her recently, only once but she was as soft as can be! So soft, I just wanted to squeeze her! My dad separated us though, before I got the chance.

I'm secretly jealous of the creature though, see, while I have to take a bath every night, she occasionally likes to go play and dig in her sandbox that is conveniently located next to the bathtub. How is a baby not supposed to get jealous of that? While, I'm sitting in there being scrubbed from head to foot, she gets to play, in sand of all things! It's okay, I have fun and get her back by splashing everywhere...she apparently is not too fond of water. hehe. And plus, just you wait, one day when my mom isn't looking...I'm going to get to play in her sandbox too...

I can eat my piggies in the tub too..

I find water so fascinating..

Speaking of the bathroom, the bathroom is where I first discovered my best friend in the mirror. He sure looks like me and is always polite and smiles back, he makes me happy.

Other things that make me happy: food! I love trying new things and I'm constantly try to eat what my mommy and daddy are eating. According to my mom, I have officially tried and eaten more varieties of fruits and veggies in the last month than she did in her entire first 20 years of life, boy, was she a picky eater! My daddy has changed that though and mommy has become quite a chef! And thus, they are treating me too the finer things in life: mangos, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, bananas, peaches, papaya, applesauce, green beans, green peas, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, to name some! I love it all, and have a wonderful new tooth to help me do it!

"That was goooood food!"

My tooth!

Teething is hard but I have a handy toy that I like

and I can still get away with my dad's finger occasionally. He is so used to letting me suck on it, he forgets about the new tooth until well..the finger sucking sessions are getting shorter and shorter.

"Shh...mommy, don't tell him..."

My dad coming home at night also makes me happy; see, my mommy is entertaining but she has to do it for 10 hours straight and thus, spreads the excitment out.

"Hellllooo, playing with mommy here, you mind?"

My dad has 2-3 hours before I go to bed and with all his energy and less time to use it in, he comes equipped with funny voices, gestures, and all out fun!

"Great Aunt Kelly gave me this Halloween costume but I'm already too big for it, so mommy and daddy wanted to take a picture while they could! I'm a star!"

I also love to talk/squeal/sing to mommy and daddy all day long and if I do it long and loud enough, they occasionally do it back to me. This video was made when we first arrived in Indiana over a month ago but mommy says that I pretty much still sound the same; it's just usually continuous, no breaks, and more of the squeals than anything, all day long :). What can I say, I'm talented- and obviously get it from my daddy--just watch (and listen)!

Well as I'm sure you can tell from my discoveries and adventures, I pretty much love life and like my mom always says, "I'm growing up so fast!" (read in a high pitch, mommy voice). I have officially mastered sitting up on my own, so I should be mobile in no time!

However, in some ways, I am still such a baby. I still find my dad so soft and comfortable..and I love to lay in my mom's arms when she naps with me; I sleep so much longer that way too!