Brady Turns 4!

The holiday season is a busy time for everyone, but at the Eatherton household, we get to "relax" the day after Christmas with a birthday celebration every year! Things have been a little bit easier now that we're having Brady's kid birthday party in the summer (on his half-birthday), but we still want to celebrate the birth of our first born son the good old fashioned way... with pizza and cake (and, of course, singing)!

This was the first year we were not in Chicago for Brady's birthday, and Matt even had to go to work :( But we decorated the house and made him a special birthday breakfast (pancakes ala Daddy). Matt came home early and Brady opened gifts and cards from his family. Then we met up his best buddies Lyla and Leo for dinner.

Even though Brady was a little unsure if he wanted to wait until June to have his birthday party, I still think it's a good idea to space it out from Christmas (not to mention most of his friends have birthdays in Dec & Jan as well). I have a feeling he'll be happy as a clam in a few months when we get to celebrate his special day all over again!

It seems a little cliche to say "Oh, I can't believe my baby is 4!", but people say that kind of stuff for a reason. Time really flies when you become a parent. I simply cannot believe that it's been 4 years since the first time we held him in our arms (though most days you'd think you were talking to a 13 year old, I swear!) Not only is Brady incredibly smart and talented, but he is outgoing, warm, caring and so, so, so much fun to be around. He loves to dote on his baby brother and I've been told by many different people that there's just something really special about our little boy.

His Mom, Dad and Cole love him to the moon and back. He really is something.

Brady's 4 year check up is next week, so I'll update the blog with all his official stats at that time, but here are a couple fun facts about our now FOUR year old...

- Brady attends school 3 days a week and stays after for Lunch Bunch and Afternoon Enrichment. He loves going to school and I've never heard him say once that he didn't want to go.

- His favorite breakfast food is Oh's cereal. Lunch is PB&J. Dinner is a touchy subject... but I'm guessing he'd prefer to have pepperoni pizza every night if he could (or chicken fingers, just like his mama!)

- Brady can write his name, along with Cole's and the names of his friends Leo, Lyla, Halle and Bella.

- Brady's favorite sports to play are soccer and baseball. And man, can that kid swing a bat!

- Brady's other current interests include: collecting "treasures" (rocks, leaves, and other misc. items he finds in the sand at school), coloring or "doing projects", playing Angry Birds on the iPad, playing "educational games" on the iPad, dancing to Gangnam Style, making his baby brother laugh, riding his balance bike, going to Starbucks with Daddy, talking in gibberish, and playing roll call with the 40 stuffed animals that sleep with him in his bed.

Who's 4? This guy right here!

LOVING his "Box of Rocks" from Aunt Lindsay & Uncle Jason

Batman is always a winner Aunt Megan & Uncle Justin

Brady loved his iTikes Piano from Grandma Linda & Grandpa Steve

Getting his groove on with his new guitar from Mom & Dad

Thanks for the cash Aunt Sue & Uncle Brad! 

Brady, Leo & Lyla 

Happy Birthday Buddy!

May all your dreams come true.

xoxo

Merry Christmas Eve & Happy 5 Months to Cole!

On Christmas Eve, Cole Joseph turned 5 months old. It was a very busy day at the Eatherton's, as we were preparing to have our California family (the Kirkpatricks and the Kalvarias) over for a non holiday-specific and not at all religious Dec. 24th party. To add to what was already an exciting day, Cole decided to roll over for the very first time all by himself! If you haven't already seen it, you can watch the video here. Even though the guests all departed by 8pm, a good time was had by all.

Spreading "Reindeer Food" in the front yard

Baby's First Christmas (Eve)

This Christmas baby is ready for bed!

(Thanks to the Schrimpl family for the PJs)

So much brotherly love

Cole's 5 Month Stats

Weight- 18 lbs of pure yummy chunky baby (by Mom & Dad's scale)

Height- Will have to wait for Cole's 6 month appointment for that stat

Clothing Size- This boy is flying though his clothes at warp speed! He is officially too big for his 3-6 month clothes. He can fit into some 6 month onesies, but not pjs (poor baby has a little blister on his pinky toe because the footies on his 6 month jammies are too small!) He has just started wearing 9 month clothes from Carter's. I cannot wrap my head around this! Brady was in 0-3 month clothes until he was 5 months.

We have sadly moved from size 2 Swaddlers to size 3 Pampers Cruisers. He isn't cruising anywhere yet, but if he decides to up and crawl, well, I guess his diaper will be ready!

Teeth- Not a one, but the drool is out of control. I swear we go through 5 bibs a day. Cole will chew on pretty much anything he can get his chubby little hands on, but his two favorite chew toys are his squeaky Sofie and Mom's finger (go figure). I'm thinking about getting some of those Chewbeads necklaces... anyone ever tried one of those? Thoughts??

Sleeping Habits- Sleep is still a delicate subject in the Eatherton household. We had started getting into a better rhythm with Cole just before our trip to Chicago, but when we returned the bottom fell out. He started waking again multiple times throughout the night and his naps went back to 30 minutes. We were all miserable... again. So we decided to spend the 4 day weekend sleep training again, which unfortunately, produced a bit of crying (Cole & Mom). But he's slowly adjusting back to his "routine" and we hope to be down to one night feeding only very soon! Fingers crossed.

Feeding- Sadly, we stopped breastfeeding Thanksgiving weekend, so Cole is 100% formula fed now (Similac Sensitive). It was just not working for either of us. Since we made the switch to formula, Cole and I are both much happier, so I think that it was the right decision. Four months is a good amount of time and I'm glad we were able to make it that long.

Cole also started eating rice cereal and oatmeal shortly after he turned 4 months. He had been watching us eat food like a hawk for weeks, so as soon as we got the a-okay from his pediatrician, we started. He immediately knew what to do! I think he'd probably eat anything we gave him, but he definitely prefers the rice cereal over oatmeal, and his favorite purees are bananas, sweet potatoes and peas. I hope, hope, hope he is going to be a good eater! If not, I think we'll send him over to Miss Jolie's house for a little Food 101...

Daily Activities- Cole is taking 3 naps a day, which doesn't leave much time for activities during the day. If he's not eating, sleeping, or pooping, he enjoys gnawing on toys in his exersaucer, watching his big brother and Tinley play, and pinching the tags on all of his stuffed animals. He also gets a kick out of pulling Mom's hair!

Mobility- He started rolling over from his back to his belly on Christmas Eve and hasn't stopped since (though he's only rolling over one way). We wonder how long it will take before this creates a NEW sleep problem.

Vocal Skills- Cole makes a lot of gurgling sounds (goos/gaas) but he's proving to be the strong but silent type. If you catch him at the right time, he will babble a bit for you, but he's mostly pretty quiet. He is also very stingy with the laughs! He'll smile and give you a few giggles, but he has still not done a full out belly laugh. I am anxiously awaiting that day!

Cole Rolls Over For The First Time!

An Early Christmas In Chicago

As I mentioned, we made the trek home to Chicago a few weeks before Christmas this year. One reason is that airport travel around the holiday is nuts. Another reason is that some of our family goes out of town for Christmas. But the main reason is that we have never had our own Christmas morning in our own home, with our own tree, our own gifts, etc. I know it may sound selfish, but now that Brady is getting older and understands the holidays a bit more, we wanted him to be able to experience what it's like to wake up on Christmas morning and see what Santa brought for him and his little brother.

Even though we didn't get to see everyone for as long as we'd like (the trip home is always too short!), we think it ended up working out well for our families too. We spent the first half of the week in Plainfield with my family, and the second half of the week in Park Ridge with Matt's. It was so nice getting to spend time with our nieces, who we only get to see via Skype, and for the boys to get to spend time with all their aunts and uncles. This was the first time Cole met Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Jason, Uncle Justin and Aunt Megan (and of course, Aubrey and Reese). We cannot wait until we move home and all the kids can grow up together!

Here are a few photos from our trip...

Cole encountering his first Christmas gift!

Brady and his sleeping bag from Grandma & Papa

Aunt Amanda & Cole

Grandma Debbie & Cole

Grandma Linda & Cole

Cole and Sofie

Cole's first "Christmas" family shot

Brothers!!

Aunt Lindsay & Cole

Reesey Piecey (aka, Reese)

The Eatherton cousins in the Christmas pjs

Watch out Reese, he's almost as big as you!

Cole's Baptism

We decided to make an early trip to Chicago for Christmas this year, for many reasons. One very important one was that we wanted to have Cole baptized at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Downers Grove (where Matt and I were married and where Brady was baptized) and we knew it would be hard to do around the holidays.

We were very blessed to have both our immediate families present at the service, including Cole's sponsors, Uncle Mike, Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Jason. Auntie Susie and Ashlynn also came! It was a very nice service, and except for when the pastor poured water directly into Cole's eyes, he was extremely well behaved.

After church, we had a luncheon back at Grandma Debbie and Papa's house, just before we hosted an Open House for my family and friends. Unfortunately, in all the commotion, we never brought out Cole's cake. But aside from that, we had a very nice time celebrating Cole's special day.

Cole & I found something to be hysterical

Baptismal water in eyes, uh oh!

Ashlynn & Cole

Auntie Susie & Cole

Cole and his sponsors-- Uncle Mike, Uncle Jason & Aunt Lindsay

Our family!

Cole with all his grandparents

The Eatherton cousins-- Aubrey, Reese, Brady & Cole

Cole with his baptism blanket, knitted with love by Grandma Debbie

Cole Turned 4 Months (A Month Ago!)

It's hard to believe Cole is 5 months old today! What's not hard to believe is that I forgot to post his 4 month stats/photos (even thought it's been in "draft" since 11/30!) Hey, I've been busy... :)

Weight- 16 lbs 13 oz (72%)

Height- 26 inches (80%)

Clothing Size- His 3-6 month clothes are getting a little snug and he is officially filling out his 6 month clothes from Carter's.

Teeth- None yet, and the doctor said she doesn't feel any coming up. He's still a drooling fool though and will gnaw on anything he can get his hands on.

Sleeping Habits- Just saying the words "sleep" and "Cole" in the same sentence brings on a ton of anxiety! With an inconsistent nap schedule and frequent night wakings, sleep has not come easy around here the last month or two (and makes for a super cranky Mommy!). Without knowing if it's a behavioral or medical issue (he's still taking 2 ml of Zantac 2x a day for acid reflux), we are just trying to "coach" him into falling asleep by himself by putting him down for naps/bedtime drowsy but awake. This is supposed to help him transition from sleep cycles on his own, without needing to be rocked or fed. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't (50/50).

To deal with the frequent night wakings, we have set designated eating times for him (midnight and between 4-5am) and are trying not to feed him at the other times (we cleared this with his doctor). Consistency is key... so Matt has become "official night soother" when he wakes at off times. God bless him for that; I just don't have the willpower to not pick him up and rock him back to sleep. Thankfully, he seems to be learning to rest a little better. Fingers crossed we are finally on the right path!!

So, right now, here's sort of what he does...

Wakes around 7:15 am

Morning nap between 9-10 am (usually for 30-45 mins)

Goes down for another nap 2 hrs after he wakes from his morning "nap" (usually between 11:30-12). Sometimes he'll sleep for 40 minutes, and sometimes I get really lucky and he sleeps for 2 hours. We never know what we're going to get!

Takes a short afternoon nap, again about 2 hours after he wakes from his lunch nap (usually 30-45 mins)

Bedtime routine starts at 6 on the dot (so we can establish a 7pm bedtime). Bath, lotion/massage, pjs, singing, bottle, book and bed.

Wakes to eat around 12 and again between 4-5am. Hopefully he'll drop one (and then both) feeding soon. He has slept through the night one a couple of occasions over the last 2 months, so we know he can do it!

Daily Activities- Cole's "activities" include tummy time, playing in his exersaucer

Mobility- He can roll over from his tummy to his back. This started about 3 weeks ago!

Vocal Skills- Just the same "goos" and "gaas", but they sound wonderful!!

Raising an Ad Man

It's official... marketing blood runs through Brady's veins. I'd like to think it's because he spent 9 months in utero roaming the halls of Leo Burnett, soaking up all the creative juices around him. But, chances are it's all the TV he's been watching lately, while we're dealing with his baby brother who doesn't like to nap...

It all started with his Christmas list-- Cuddleuppets. Stompeez. A pogo stick. All from commercials.

Then, a couple days ago, he asked Matt if he'd like some Chex Mix because "it's a bag of interesting".

Yesterday, we were singing Christmas songs and Brady belted out "Nationwide is on your side". Just to make sure he wasn't biased, I followed it up with "Like a good neighbor..." to which he replied, "State Farm is there". Yikes!

The clincher was this morning when he informed Matt and I that there was a man on TV that sounded like Tow Mater who has heartburn (Larry the Cable Guy is in a Prilosec commercial).

Something tells me we're going to be in big trouble when Brady starts telling people they should call their doctor if they've had an erection lasting more than 4 hours.

** Please note that all these commercials (minus Viagra) air during age appropriate TV shows. It's not like Brady's watching Dancing with the Stars or anything... ok, maybe he watches that. **