Our nice family weekend

Shane is usually a busy person with his many hobbies and projects, so most weekends it's just Bryson and I. This weekend, we were lucky enough to have daddy around the whole time. Saturday morning we went to a birthday party and we were supposed to go to my MIL's for the weekend but she woke up that morning not feeling well, so we didn't go. Instead after the party we went to visit my grandparents and my mom. We came home, played around the yard, went to Target and Party City. On Sunday,his mom called and said she was feeling better so she decided to drive to our house and we went to the zoo. We figured the zoo would be a good place to go since it was an overcast day, but it was so sticky. Bryson enjoys the zoo because he gets to run around, but he really likes the water as you can tell from most of the pictures below.

Our photo session last weekend

Favorite Photo Friday #27

Bryson on his new ride

Favorite Photo Friday #26

This is now one of my favorites!

Of course...

We have pictures scheduled for Saturday morning, so of course Bryson would go and bang his head yesterday at school. That bump between his eyes will look great in the pictures. Shane told me that I will just have to put some makeup on it. Apparently he needs his eyes checked because Bryson is about 50 shades tanner than I am. Yeah, my makeup will look so lovely on his skin.

Our weekend

We had a very good weekend. My MIL came up for the day on Saturday. We went to lunch, the park and ended the day with a trip to Toys R Us. We went to look for some gift ideas for Bryson's birthday next month. I am not sure who enjoyed it there more, Shane or Bryson.

On Sunday, we (along with my mom, brother and sister) went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for my brother and sisters birthday. It was SO HOT there! Bryson did really well, but was not a fan of any rides except for the carousel. We went on several and he freaked out on them. We were actually on the ET ride when it broke down. Bryson was already screaming by then and some workers came to us to let us know that they were going to try and get it running again. I told them that they had to find a way to get us off the ride because Bryson was getting more and more upset. So they took us off the ride and through the backlot. I guess we got the VIP tour. Once we got off that particular ride, some of the characters (woodpecker, Scooby, shaggy) had came out to sing and dance. Once he saw them, it took Bryson no time to forget what just happened and he got so excited and started dancing. We are having family pictures taken on Saturday, so my mom decided to buy us Thing 1, Thing 2and Thing 3 shirts to wear for a few pictures. I was pretty surprised Shane agreed with it, but he still has a few days to change his mind.






Yesterday morning Bryson had his Upper GI test done. He wasn't able to have anything to eat or drink that morning, so he was getting a little cranky while we were waiting. When we walked into the x-ray room, I could see in his eyes that he was getting nervous. As soon as I laid him on the table, he flipped out. Nothing is more heartbreaking than having to hold your child down when you know he is so scared. He would only take one sip of the drink. I knew that would happen. I had this test done as a teenager, so I know the stuff is not very good tasting. They were able to take a few x-rays, but not as many as they hoped. I will keep you posted on the results.

I have to say I saw two great attachment signs yesterday that make me smile on the inside. While in the x-ray room, I needed to put on the vest so I handed Bryson to the technician so I could put it on. He immediately started to get upset and reached his hands back out to me. Later in the afternoon, I decided to bring Bryson up to Shane's work to visit everyone. Bryson walked in the front door all proud and as soon as we walked in, 3 of the guys came out of their offices and were saying hi to Bryson. As soon as he saw these guys, he turned around, ran to my legs and was trying to climb up them. It is such a wonderful feeling when you see progression that most others would not understand.

Brought a smile to my day

I received a package from my secret blog pal. It definitely brought a smile to my day. I couldn't believe how much was in there.

4 sets of pajamas (which Bryson needs)

polo shirt

sippy cup

pair of socks

pack of diapers

CD of music for mom

CD of music for Bryson

bag of twizzlers

bag of gummy bears

Thank you so much SBP! That was so sweet of you!

7 months Gotcha Day

Today is 7 months since Bryson was placed in our arms. So many times I have posts in my head and than I get distracted and busy, then I forget to post. Like most others, I have no idea where the summer went. Before you know it, Christmas will be here. We have had a pretty busy summer. It included trips to the beach, lake, park, zoo, aquarium. Bryson definitely likes to be on the go which is great because so do we. He continues to do well at his new daycare. He happily walks in the door every morning which is such a difference from his old daycare. The teachers have told me how well he is doing there. The other day I asked them if he is very busy during the day and they said YES! Apparently his name comes out of their mouths many times throughout the day. I told them I just wanted to make sure he isn't giving them a break since he never gives us one. He is a very busy boy! He loves to climb and get into EVERYTHING. Awhile back he found the cabinet that our pots and pans go in and let's just say, he is in that cabinet alot! My mom can testify to many conversations over the phone where she heard him banging the pots in the background. I have also noticed him interacted with other children more lately and playing with them. It's really cute to see kids do this. I am happy to say, he is officially wearing 12 months on the bottom (pants, shorts). For others, this is probably no big deal, but for us, it's a milestone. He hasn't put on any weight in the past month and 1/2 and is holding steady at 25 pounds. We are continuing to have major food issues with Bryson. At this point we are working with our speech pathologist and pediatrician to determine if there is an underlying issue or if we just have a very picky child. He also went potty on his toilet last week. It was a complete fluke, but it was still so exciting. Shane bought him a potty and we have it in his bathroom. Every once in awhile before he gets in the tub, he will sit on his potty first. On this particular day, he happened to pee.

He has been doing speech therapy for a few weeks. We haven't noticed much difference yet, but hope to in time. He isn't saying any new words, but he has dropped dada from his vocabulary. Shane is actually now mama. Yes you read that correctly. About a week ago out of the blue, Bryson started calling Shane mama and continues to do it all the time. Needless to say, Shane isn't thrilled about his new name. I have told him to at least be happy he is being called something. I'm still nothing. One day I will be, I hope! He loves saying hi/bye to everyone and everything. He doesn't care if it's a person, car, animal, mailbox, he will waive and say eh (that's his bye). Communication was our biggest struggle with him since he would just sit in a room and cry and we wouldn't have any idea what he wanted. He has been signing more and eat a lot in the past few weeks which makes things so much easier when he wants something. He will bring us into the kitchen when he wants food or a drink. If he wants a snack, we will go through everything in his cabinet and he will shake his head no till we come to what he wants.

In the attachment area, I think we are doing amazingly well! He doesn't mommy shop and is really apprehensive of strangers except for family. When we are out at the park or somewhere, he will usually search for us. He loves to be held, kissed and loves to come up and cuddle in our laps. Nothing is sweeter than when he comes to sit in my lap, we will rock and he will put his ear and side of face to my mouth so I can give him many kisses. Moments like that are the ones I cherish.

It seems like he is sick every few weeks or so. Poor kid can't seem to catch a break. This last time he was sick for almost 2 weeks! I took him back to the pediatrician last week and he ended up having a double ear infection. He also wants us to keep using the breathing treatments (neubulizer) once a day for awhile and we are to give him an allergy medicine daily to help prevent this all in the future. Despite the fact that he is frequently sick, he mood (for the most part) has drastically changed over the last few months. I remember just a few months ago he cried all the time and there were many days I sat down with him and cried. Now most days, he is a pretty happy boy. I still have my days where his grandmothers will call to see how he is doing and I will say "if you want him, you can have him." As each day and each month passes, I love being a mommy more and more. The love I have for Bryson also grows and deepens.

Favorite Photo Friday #25

Bryson decided he was so thirsty, that he couldn't wait for me to get his cup

A few have said they weren't sure what this is. Sorry. Its the dog's water bowl.