The Boy likes spaghetti.....heh

I just wanted to share an unbelievably adorable video with you all. Brandon has finally started feeding himself. So, last night, I let him eat spaghetti by himself. The results were hilarious.....



Isn't it adorable?? I love how he smashes his chubby little hands into his face....hahahaha. These are the memories I will cherish always!

Dr. Appointment today.....

So, B had a doctor's appointment today to get his 2nd flu shot. Originally, it was supposed to be an in and out sort of thing, but I had a few questions that I wanted to talk to the pediatrician about. So, they scheduled us for a full appointment. Here are the details from the appointment:

B weighed in at 28 pounds! Yep, I said it. 28 pounds! He was 31 inches at his 9 month appointment, but they didn't measure him at this appointment. I am guessing he is roughly the same. Maybe a half inch longer.

His eye is doing great. In case you are unaware, he was bit by my mom's dog Felix. He had a bunch of scratches around his eye, and was put on an antibiotic as a precaution. The pediatrician said that his eye has healed well and she cannot even tell he was bit. I can still see a little scar, but it will probably fade away with time.

The main reason I wanted to speak to the doctor is because B has started to have little interest in his formula. He is more interested in eating big people food. At our 9 month appointment we were given the all clear to start giving him big people food. Obviously, we are to avoid peanuts, eggs, honey, chocolate, and seafood. So, those he hasn't had. He loves big people food! Loves it! So, I asked the pediatrician what his minimum formula intake should be, and it is 17 ounces. He gets at least 17 ounces, so no worries there.

The other question I wanted to ask was about self feeding. B refuses (or I guess I should say refused) to feed himself finger foods. I would put the gerber puffs, yogurt melts, goldfish, etc. on his highchair tray and try to get him to feed hinself. He refused. He would pick up the pieces, look at them, and drop them on the tray or floor. This was the dog's favorite part of the day. I began to wonder if it was a developmental delay as many of my friend's children fed themselves earlier than 10 months. So, today, as we are sitting in the doctor's office waiting for the doctor to come in, I gave B some goldfish just for the heck of it. To my surprise, he picks them up, and starts eating them!!! Seriously, he ate them like a pro! I was shocked!! So, when the doctor came in, I mentioned it to her and she got a good laugh out of it. So, apparently, all I needed to do was schedule a doctor visit for him to start feeding himself. It was quite hilarious.

Next was his second flu shot. I was waiting on him to start fussing before the shot, but he was too busy smiling at the nurse that was preping his little thigh for the shot. When she gave him the shot, he looked at her and made a curious face, but he did not cry! Not a tear! I was so proud of him! He usually cries like crazy after his shots, but not today! Such a big boy!!!

So, overall, a great appointment. Our little man is thriving and doing wonderfully!

Christmas Pictures!!!

Brandon and I had our Christmas pictures taken today! They turned our wonderful. I created a slideshow for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

10 Months Old Today!

Our baby boy is 10 months old today!!! Brian and I are amazed by how quickly the time has flown by. It seems like it was moments ago that we were holding him for the first time and looking into the eyes of our future. It is joyous and heartbreaking to watch him grow so fast.

He has started taking steps and his personality is developing more and more each day! His new favorite pasttime is to stand up and shake his head no with a little smirk on his face. It is absolutely adorable and impossible not to laugh at. He now can cover his own eyes for peek-a-boo and loves to hide his head under anything he can get his hands on. His kryptonite is still Mommy's cell phone and will stop at nothing to get it. He is interacting more and more with his toys and has learned cause and effect rather well. He knows that when he pushes the buttons on his toys that they make noise, so the buttons are getting lots of use. A new fear of his is the loss of his toys to the dogs. If one of the dogs have a toy, even one of their own, he cries because he wants it back. This is rather amusing when the dogs have one of their own toys and he is crying. He has learned the emotion of anger. When I prevent him from touching something he is not allowed to have, such as my credit card, he stiffens up his body and yells at me. This is a new development and so far has not lost it's cuteness. It is amazing how much personality our little man has already!

As he gets closer to a year old we are introducing big people food little by little. He loves everything we have introduced him to, especially mashed potatoes and spaghetti. His first Thanksgiving went well. He got to taste a little of everything, except anything that had eggs, nuts, or chocolate in it. He had a little ham, turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli and cheese casserole, cranberry sauce, and some roll. He loved everything he tasted, even the cranberry sauce! After dinner, we went to Grandpa Joe and Grandma Kristi's house and he tried some pumpkin pie. Since he is his Daddy's son, he loved it! Mommy doesn't really like pumpkin pie, so Brandon didn't mind eating most of her slice. Also, as he gets closer to a year old, we are working on breaking him of the bottle. He is really taking well to that, and actually prompted the transition himself. He doesn't do well holding the bottle at a table. He likes to lay down while he is eating his bottle, but he will hold a sippy cup and is getting better and better at tilting it up to get the liquid out. So, that prompted the switch to the sippy. He gets one feeding of formula from his sippy at 4pm along with a snack. So far, he is taking to it pretty well.

It is truly a miracle to have him in our lives. He fills our hearts with so much joy. He is an amazing little man and his zeal for life inspires us to be the best people we can be.

I will finish off with a couple of unbelievably adorable pictures of our big 10 month old sleeping peacefully. Enjoy!

So, I am joining the blog world.....

Yep, it is true.

I have decided to create a blog for my little familia. We have a relatively crazy little life, and I figured that it would be neat to chronicle our adventures and allow for our friends and family to come along for the ride. I suppose this first entry should include a brief introduction of our family and description of our life. So, since I am sure you are on the edge of your seat with excitement, here goes:

Our little family consists of myself Rebecca (Mama), my amazing husband Brian (Dada), our gorgeous son Brandon, and our wonderful doggie Emily.* Brian and I met in 2001 working at a little daycare center in Katy, Texas. We struck up a great friendship and began dating about a year later. In December of 2002 we became engaged, and shortly after, Brian enlisted in the US Army. He left for basic training in March of 2003. In September of 2003 we got hitched and began our life together. After successfully surviving our first deployment to Iraq (2004-05), we were stationed in Germany in 2006. While in Germany, we decided to expand our family and started our journey to parenthood. On January 30, 2008 we were blessed with our first child, Brandon Joseph Hays. On April 9, 2008 Brian deployed with 1st Armor Division to Iraq for a 15 month deployment. Currently, Brandon, Emily, and I are shacking up with my Mom and Step-dad until Brian comes home (which cannot come fast enough!). My everyday life consists of toothless baby smiles, belly laughs, diaper changes, and instant messages from Dada. As if being a full time Mommy and wife is not time consuming enough, I am a full time student. I am enrolled full time at the local community college (keeping it classy) and working towards completing my Associates of Arts in Teaching in order to obtain my Bachelor's Degree in Education. I plan to one day teach 4th grade-8th grade.

So, I believe that about sums out the happenings in our life to date. I hope that you enjoy reading about us Hayses! Enjoy!

*I'm not biased or anything.

9 months old!!!

From B's old myspace page:

Yep, I am 9 months old! Yay me! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was born. I am growing and learning so much!!!

This month was a lot of fun! It is starting to become Autumn, and that means that it is almost time for the holidays!!!! I went to the Pumpkin Patch with Mommy, Grandma, Auntie Heather, Grandma Kristi, and Grandpa Joe! We had such a great time! I went on a super fun hay ride, and got to pick out my very own pumpkin!!! It was a lot of fun! I also went to Fire Fest 2008 with Mommy, Grandma Kristi, and Grandpa Joe. That was a lot of fun because I got to see Grandpa Joe in his Honor Guard uniform and march in the parade. I also go to see a bunch of fire trucks and classic cars. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled me rotten while we were there. They bought me a sign for my bedroom that says "Future Firefighter," a stuffed dalmation, a t-shirt that says "My Grandpa is a Firefighter, and a Houston Fire Depearntment t-shirt, a fire hat, and a fire badge. I saw some fire and rescue demonstrations, and got to ride a pony! It was a blast!!! We are going to go again next year with Daddy!!! I also had a carnival at The Little Gym with my other gymnastics friends! I got to play some games and play on the gym equipment all while dressed in my super cool Firefigter Halloween costume!!! I had a lot of fun there too!!!! I also got to wear my costume to Grandpa Joe's firestation to take pictures on the pumper!!! Grandpa Joe also let me sit in the driver's seat!! It was tons of fun!!!! The day after my 9 month birthday, I had my first Halloween!!! We didn't really go trick or treating, but we went to Mommy's friend Tara's mom's house, Mommy's friend Jamie's house, and Grandma Kristi and Grandpa Joe's house to show off my costume. It was fun, but I was sleepy. Everyone loved my costume!!! Overall, this has been a very fun month!!!

I've also learned some new tricks this month!!! I started out the month crawling, and I have perfected that trick! I also started pulling myself up to cruise throughout the house shortly after I started crawling. Now, I can stand without holding anything! I also started waving hello and bye to people!!! Mommy say that it is the cutest thing ever!! I saw Daddy on webcam the other day and I waved to him. It was fun!!! I have mastered real sippy cups, and am starting to learn how to pick up food and eat it myself. Yeah....I'm growing fast!!!

I had my 9 month well-baby check up today!! I weighed in at 26 pounds 14 ounces and am now 31 inches long!!! I was given my Hep B shot, and my first flu vaccine. I had my iron levels checked too. I held in like a trooper and barely cried at all!!! That made Mommy so proud. Mommy was given the green light to feed me table foods, which I have already been trying, but now I can really start eating once my teeth come in. Speaking of teeth, I now have both of my bottom teeth!!! None on the top yet, but I am sure that it is just a matter of time!!! Once my chompers come in, I am getting me a STEAK!!! Heh....

8 months old!!

From B's old myspace page:

Yep, I am 8 months old today!!!!

Let's see....what have I learned to do since last month....

I have learned to fake cry. Mommy falls for it everytime. Heh.
I have learned to sit up by myself, even sitting myself up from laying down on my back or tummy!
I learned to scoot all over the place, which as of Sunday September 28 turned into CRAWLING!!!!
I have learned that if I wake up in the middle of the night that Mommy snuggles me back to sleep.
I had pancakes for the first time!!