Dwight K. Schrute

Doesn't matter how I brush Bradshaw's hair, Dustinn always restyles it the same way.

Santa Monica Livin'

Let me tell you about how sweet my husband is....

Bradshaw woke up this morning around 6am as usual. I pulled him into my bed to see if he could coo beside me while I'd get some more sleep. Dustinn got up and headed for the shower. About 10 minutes later he came back to our room with a plate of cheesy scrambled eggs and apple juice singing a mix of my dad's "Good Morning to You" and "Happy Birthday." (It's not my birthday--Dustinn just likes being jolly.) He said he had just turned on the fan in the bathroom so I would think he was showering so he could bring me breakfast in bed.

Well anyway he insisted that I blow out the (imaginary) birthday candles and that I could make three wishes. Well, I'm not going to share the first two (way too personal) but my third wish I said "Stay home from work today and play with me and Bradshaw." Dustinn said "Your wish is granted."

Last night, Dustinn's manager had told him that they'd worked hard and gotten it done and to take the next day off. (This is one thing I LOVE about Monitor. Everyone works really hard; but if the work is done they don't expect you to come in to the office just to serve your time like some companies do.) Hooray!

Today has also been the first day it has rained while we have lived in Santa Monica. But it was still a very nice day. Dustinn and I (plus Bradshaw in the stroller) ran along the beach in shorts and t-shirts. Due to the weather and it being a work day, the beach was completely deserted and silent except for the waves and the seagulls. The light was streaming through the clouds; it was very lovely.

-Valery

Folks who love Bradshaw

Family portrait

Our first family portrait! This was taken in Palm Springs over Thanksgiving.

Bradshaw is 2 months old at this point. He used to be able to lift is head up, but then it got too heavy for him! Now he's learning how again. The past few days he's learned to get his little fist up to his mouth and start sucking. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to open his fist up and stick his thumb in. We're so amazed at how he's learning, and especially at how determined he is--he spends hours laying on his back pulling his fist up to his face only to punch himself in the face repeteadly. But he keeps trying, somehow knowing that his thumb will taste great when he finally finds it.

Val is becoming the amazing mother she was destined to be. She really is the quintessential mother. She's handling beautifully the serious stresses of feeding an infant (he's been growing at a healthy rate of a pound a week since birth) while moving into a new apartment in a new state where we don't have any family. Did I mention that she's the perfect mother? Recently she's learned to distinguish Bradshaw's many different cries.

More about Bradshaw's collosal-ness: At his two month appointment, he weighed in at over 16 pounds. That's the average weight of a 6 month old, I'm told. On the national percentile charts, he's off the charts. For height he's in the 99th percentile, as to be expected, but we never anticipated he would be so huge! At Thanksgiving we laid Bradshaw next to his 7 month old cousin, and they were the same size (Jack's a little longer, Bradshaw's a little heavier). It was actually pretty sad--because they're the same size, it seems like they're the same age. But then Jack is sitting upright and engaging socially with you and playing with toys while Bradshaw is laying like a sack of potatoes.

-Dustinn

2 Months

From about 2 weeks-2 months old Bradshaw was very colicky. My mom had 2 very colicky kids (KT & Colt) and would've recognized it immediately but unfortunately she left before it hit.
It seemed like the only time Bradshaw wasn't crying was when he was eating. I assumed that this was normal, that all babies were like this, and other moms were just better moms. In this time I scoured books like Baby Whisperer, The Happiest Baby on the Block & Babywise.
I was totally dumbfounded when we finally took Bradshaw to church several months later and I witnessed all the newborns and teeny babies content in their parents arms. Anyway, if you have a colicky baby, let's talk. =)

In Bradshaw's second month of life, he met and was visited by many important people: