Bradyn Loves the "Chicks"

We hatched 12 baby chicks in my classroom, so I was so excited to take Bradyn to see them! Here was his first response:

Then the next response:

This lasted all of 5 seconds...then he was off and running around my classroom. He finally decided to make his way back to the chirping sounds...


He decided that he REALLY liked the chicks. He liked them so much he just had to kiss them! Mama and Papa had to supervise, as Bradyn's love is very "enthusiastic"!

Daycare Battle Wounds

Aside from the daily heartbreak from being left at daycare, Bradyn endured other wounds! One day he was scratched by another child because he wanted the toy Brady was playing with. He didn't put up with the scratching though, apparently he pushed the boy back. The next day, Bradyn took a toy from another boy and the boy bit Brady on the arm!! It left a pretty good bruise. I was excited to get a picture of Brady in his St. Patrick's Day outfit when I picked him up, but he was wearing his backup clothes that were black sweatpants and a white shirt. It seems that Brady had too many St. Patrick's Day goodies and he had a blowout in his diaper! So much for the cute picture and the St. Patrick's Day post on the blog! Finally the weekend came and you think the little guy could get some rest and relaxation in his safe home...but no, he fell and hit his ear on the corner of a side table. So, he has a black and blue ear. Then he scraped the back of his leg while trying to climb down the side of our deck. Poor little guy! He did get lots of extra love and attention though because he met his Great Uncle Dan and cousin Abbie, who he fell in love with! Uncle Dan and Abbie got Bradyn some new Air Jordan shoes so he can show the kids at the daycare who is Boss! Hopefully next week will be free of injuries!

Bradyn is also very excited about mealtimes because he is know sitting in the big boy chair at the dinner table.

TGIF!!

We're going home?!


There's our car!!


Let's get out of here!!

You can tell from the pictures that Bradyn survived his first trial week of daycare!! He had a much better day today!! He even let them take his shirt off for lunch. He seems to be settling into daycare...just in time for the weekend. So, we'll have to start over on Monday!! In the meantime, we've got one happy camper that loves to be home!

No Poopka for the Daycare

Well, Bradyn has survived another 2 days at daycare. Day 3 was great...Day 4 not so great! On Day 3 he cried for about 10 minutes and was fine after that. The daycare made a big mistake of telling me that I can call as often as I'd like...and I did! They thought it would be best if I left him for as long as possible to help him get in the routine of things. I guess he did fine, but I didn't! I was a mess...I didn't know what to do with myself, so I resorted to shopping and chocolate (the two things I knew best in my Pre-Bradyn days). It wasn't very fun shopping though because I was so worried about Brady. When I went to pick him up yesterday, the daycare was having a fire drill. Of course I panicked thinking he was freaking out, and then I saw him walking out, holding his teacher's hand. He looked so cute! Once we got home, he immediately went to the fridge and pointed to it. We had quite the hefty little snack and when he was done, he filled his shorts...not once but twice! It seems that he doesn't want to go poopka at the daycare.

Today was a rough day. When I was taking him there, he did great, almost seemed excited. But, when I left he supposedely cried off and on for an hour! Ugh! I kept him there through naptime again and the teacher said he was doing much better after awhile. She said that he ate 2 plates of food! They did sensory time again, but this time they didn't go to the scary tactile room...they stayed in his room. She let them play with shaving cream and she said he LOVED it. He kept signing and saying "more, more". When she was done she was wiping the table off and he came over with his blanket and helped her wipe off the table (using his blankie). He's such a good helper! He was relieved to be home again (literally and figuratively). He had 2 poopka diapers for me within the hour! As we were leaving today, we walked down the hallway and the teachers would all say "Good-bye Bradyn". He wouldn't do or say anything. Then we got outside and some random lady was walking by and Brady said "Bye-Bye". I guess he wanted to make sure we were really leaving before he said his good-byes. Only one more day left and then I start full-time next week. I have applied to the district to see if I can jobshare with another teacher for next year and go part time. Waiting to hear if it has been approved....keep your fingers crossed!

Day 2 Daycare Trial Run...

Well, we stayed a little longer at daycare today. I stayed with him for an hour and then left for about 1/2 an hour. The teachers told me he did well, but then they took him down to the sensory room and he was not too happy about that. The sensory room is a big room with a drain and the kids get to do fun tactile activities, like play with rice, beans, whipping cream, water, etc. The kids dress down to diapers and then have fun. Today was rice day and I thought Bradyn may have liked that because he loves playing with rice at home. Unfortunately, I think it may have reminded him of bath time at the baby home and he cried uncontrollably. Luckily, I had come back during that time and was able to calm him down. We then stayed until lunch time. That didn't go over so well either. He kept getting bites of broccoli and carrots and his taste is just like Papa's...NO VEGGIES! So, we ended up eating another lunch at home. He does enjoy playing with the toys and enjoys the other kids. The other kids were all concerned about Bradyn and kept bringing him his Mickey Mouse toy. He even gave his teacher a hug goodbye today. So, hopefully tomorrow will continue to get easier.

Thank Goodness for Girl Scouts...

Thank goodness for girl scouts because they deliver girl scout cookies and I consumed A LOT of them today! Why did I consume so many cookies? Stress!! Today was Bradyn's first day of daycare. I start back to work full time next week, but I wanted to slowly transition Bradyn into daycare this week. We went to daycare together and I played with him for about half an hour. He was doing great and having fun with his new friends and teacher. I went down to the office to pay and give him some independent time. When I came back he did great!! So, I figured, well, I will give him a little more time and I went out and sat in my car. I was probably gone for 15 minutes. When I came back in, I heard him crying. The teacher said that he noticed my purse was gone and he couldn't stop crying and looking for me. Yes, my heart broke! So, Bradyn and I returned home after our very short visit to the daycare. I know it will get easier for him as time goes by, but I wonder if it will get easier for me. The good news is that I know Bradyn is attaching to me, otherwise he wouldn't have been so upset. The bad news is that I will most likely gain a lot of weight from all those cookies!

Papa the Hero

They say there are only two kinds of people in an emergency situation, those who help and those who don't. You never really know which one you are until you are presented with an emergency situation. Mike proved that not only is he one that helps, but he runs to the emergency.

We were enjoying our last day on the beach before we had to pack to leave. The beach was lined with red flags, which means danger...no swimming. We were enjoying the sun and listening to the huge waves crash. Tom and Marissa said they were heading back to the condo to get ready and Mike said we were staying another 15 minutes. Just after Tom and Marissa walked away, I heard someone yell "help" and I asked Mike if he heard it. We looked down into the surf and saw two people way out in the big surf. Then we both heard the yell for help again. Within seconds Mike threw his hat and glasses off, while I yelled at him "Don't go, don't go!" Mike said "I can't just leave them" and he was off running 100 yards down the beach and jumped in swimming out to help.

He swam out to the crashing waves and grabbed the woman from her husband and started swimming back to shore. He kept telling her "Hold on, help is coming". Another man on the beach had swam out to help, as well. Finally, lifeguards arrived and threw a buoy out. Mike got the buoy to the woman and pulled her in. I was on the beach panicking and crying. I couldn't see that Mike had made it back to the beach. Tom and Marissa had heard the screams and came back to see what was happening. They told me that they saw Mike and he was okay and they came and grabbed Bradyn. The lifeguard came over and shook Mike's hand. The woman that Mike saved came over to us and thanked Mike and apologized to me. Everyone was safe, although extremely fatigued and waterlogged.

Luckily, through all of this, Bradyn was oblivious to what happened, even though the rest of us were shaken up. It was a slow walk back to our beach chairs and once there, all the bystanders applauded Mike. Bradyn can be proud that his papa is a hero.

Where's the Water?

Bradyn thinks he's the king of the beach, he has studied every inch of it! The truth of the matter is...if you are basing this on looks, he truly is the King of the Beach! Well, our little King of the Beach stumbled upon this jetski and realized it is like a motorcycle for the water! So, of course, he had to get on it and the engine revving sounds started coming!! Don't worry Oombas...the jetski never left the sand!

Surfer Dude

Ready for the surfboard!

Hola!

Hola from Cancun! We decided that, not only did Mike and I need some rest and relaxation but, Bradyn needed to experience the Ocean! So, here we are in Mexico soaking up the rays with our friends Tom and Marissa (well, some of us soaked up a little more rays than the rest…Tom is now called “Lobster Boy”).
Getting here was a bit of a stress…Bradyn started crying when we were heading down the tunnel to get on the plane, not sure if it brought back memories… Once we were in flight, he did great, and I think he may have actually enjoyed it! While we were in the air, I was trying to get him to say hola, but it didn’t happen. We landed and when we got in the taxi, the taxi driver said “Hola!” and clear as day, Bradyn said “Hola” back to him! He continues to impress the locals with his Spanish speaking abilities! Bradyn loves the sand, surf, pool, and has no fear! He isn’t too fond of the bus though…go figure, since all he talks about back home is the bus!! But when he is on the beach, there is no stopping him! He had his first taste of the sand (literally), as well as, a couple of face plants into it! So much fun in the sun!

One Happy Valentine

Bradyn's Valentine's day was similiar to Christmas...it lasted over several days with lots of gifts from Oompa's and Oomba's (Grandpa's and Grandma's)! He has figured out what "presents" are and now when he sees a wrapped present, he points to it and says "Oompa, Oomba!" This holiday was a special one for us, considering this holiday is all about LOVE and this little guy is LOVED!! Not only did Bradyn get a lot of love for Valentine's Day, but he also indulged in chocolate! Yep...we paid the price come bed time!! And the numerous poopka diapers the following day!! All worth it though, to see that precious smile!

Bradyn's Synonyms

Bradyn's vocabulary is developing quite well, but we are learning some very interesting synonyms he has created. Here's the list:
Clock = Neck
Cheeks = Jeep
Hockey = Yucky
Mouse = Mouth = Couch
Elbow = Elmo
Yes, we discovered these in the following way...every time we say "where's your neck?" he points to his neck and then the clock...mmm?? Or if he sees a clock, he points to his neck. Then whenever he sees a jeep (he can spot them a mile away!), he grabs his cheeks. When he sees hockey on the tv, he makes his yucky face...not because he doesn't like hockey! When we see a picture of a mouse, he points to his mouth. When he sees a picture of Elmo, he points to his elbow. As an educator, this is exciting, as this is an example of some very early stages of phonemic awareness...as a parent, it is quite confusing, but so adorable!!


BOO!!
One of Bradyn's favorite games to play is Boo! Basically, it is a hide-n-seek game. We chase him or he chases us and then we hide, when we are spotted, we say boo! When he plays the game with Papa, I help him out by pointing to where Papa is. Now, he has learned this, he will look to me and point questioning where Papa is. He has also noticed that when Mama and Papa play around the island in the kitchen, we have to duck down so he can't see us. So, of course, Bradyn has to duck now too! Failing to realize he is too short that he doesn't need to duck! Too cute!!