Riddle Me This: 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Christmas Vacation

We are back in Las Vegas after a week of fun in Idaho and Utah. We all had a great time. Brody slept through the night the whole time so you'd think his mom would be well rested, but since she was with her brothers and sisters she was up late. Maybe that's why she forgot to take lots of pictures. Whatever the reason, here are a couple of the pictures I did take. Enjoy!

Brody with Grandma Vip on Christmas Morning

Brody and G-Dub

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Let It Snow!

Well at least until Thursday afternoon. Then the sun can come out and clear our path to Idaho.

Yes that is snow in Las Vegas. Santa brought me an early Christmas present. A little piece of home.

Brody's bundled up and ready to brave the cold! Idaho, Here we come!!

Friday, December 12, 2008

My mom mentioned awhile ago that we do a good job of hiding Brody's wires in the pictures we take. We have never intentionally hidden the wires in the pictures though, and they are there in several if you look closely. So here are a few pictures we have used in previous posts.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Results Are In

We went to the pulmonologist yesterday to find out the results of Brody's sleep test. Turns out all those electrodes found he's perfectly normal. Well, at least his breathing, heart rate, and brain activity. So why, you ask, does his monitor continue to alarm? Why is it that his parents still see his chest rising and falling? Well the doctor had no explanation. So my son is tied to a little box for yet another month.

Friday, December 5, 2008

We go out walking...

Monday, December 1, 2008

What I would have posted Nov. 19, 2008...

Life is busy with a little one in the house. I have found that I just don't get everything done that I had in mind between the feeding times. So Lyric gave me this idea so I could still post the blog I had in mind for this day even though it's a little out of date. So here goes.

10 weeks and 5 lbs. Later

Brody is 10 weeks old now, and today at his pediatrician appointment he weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz. Exactly 5 pounds bigger than his birth weight! We are so pleased with how well he is growing. Somedays I wake up and I swear it looks like he just plumped up overnight. He has started to track objects with his eyes and even smile now too. Though I've yet to catch him in the act. I think he knows what I'm trying to do when I pull the camera out because he immediately stops smiling. Oh well, I'll just keep tryng.

In the mean time, here are some pictures of our little Broderick.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Good Advice Taken

I've received several words of wisdom and little pieces of advice since my little guy was born. But the best piece of advice I have received came from Christine. In a conversation a couple of weeks ago she told me to cherish every moment. Then she told me about an experience she had recently and how it might have been the last time any of her children will wake her up in the middle of the night for a bad dream and how much she will miss those days. So I've been thinking lately about how I can really cherish every moment with Brody now. Well the other morning Brody was starting to get fussy as a result of his reflux. He really has a hard time getting comfortable sleeping on his back these days. He had been sleeping off and on for about an hour and now he was starting to whimper and cry. I picked him up to cuddle him and help him get comfortable again. As he fell asleep in my arms I had the option to lay him back in his crib so I could do somethings around the house or just hold him for awhile so he could really rest. With Christine's advice ringing in my ears, I sat down on the bed and snuggled with my little boy. It didn't take long for him to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep wrapped in his mother's love, and he slept for about two hours. While I sat there staring at my little boy I couldn't help but think of what a blessing it is to stay home with him. How lucky I am to be able to take of my son every minute of the day. I thought of the many times my mom took care of me over the years. (Thanks Mom!) How I loved having Vicks rubbed on my chest when I had a cold or sore throat, and I wondered if Brody would like the smell of Vicks. I dreamt about all the times I would get to tend to my sick little boy over the next several years. And I couldn't help but think of how someday my son would be miles and miles away serving a mission, or away at college, or even married with his own children and how I wouldn't be able to take care of him then. And I was so glad that at that moment I had nothing more pressing than sitting on the bed with my little baby and letting him know that his mother cared. And I cherished every minute of it!

Welcome to the Family, Brody!

Brody's official welcome to the family came on Monday. Last week the pulmonologist mentioned that reflux might be the cause of Brody's apnea. So Derek and I researched the signs of reflux in infants. It turns out that we could check yes on most of the symptoms. So we called the doctor back on Monday, told him what we had observed, and he wrote out a prescription. My baby is now taking a generic form of Zantac 4 times a day. I really like what Susan, one of our favorite nurses from the NICU said when we told her. "They outgrow that in time, grow up and develop it as an adult over worries." Sound familiar to anyone? Luckily Brody will grow out of his reflux by two years old. As for the rest of us... we'll be poppin' pills for the rest of our lives.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Super Brody

We have been continually amazed at how strong Brody's neck is. He lifts his neck up when he is laying on his stomach and when we hold him vertically he looks like a little turtle who is poking his head out of his shell and looks over our shoulder at this new world he is excited to discover. We tried to capture this little miracle as best as we could! Enjoy! Stay tuned for when he will be able to hold his own head up. (If he keeps this up we see it happening pretty soon.)

We need to get Mom and Brody back to church

Brody looks like he is switching religions in this picture (what are Mom and Brody actually doing while I'm at work) :) Actually the real story is that he pooped all over his back and dad needed to change him an give him a bath. Ari came and wrapped him up and we laughed afterwards at this sight!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Veteran's Day Weekend

Well, I was happy for this past weekend. School was cancelled on Tuesday for Veteran's Day and the school district decided to give us monday as well for a holiday, so needless to say...I HAD A GREAT FOUR DAY WEEKEND. I was able to spend a whole four days at home with my wife and son. Now your probably wondering what did we do with all the time together? Well I will let Brody show you exactly how we spent our long weekend...

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Why it is so hard to be a Dad

This is Dad's first post to our family blog and it is dedicated to all those working fathers who can relate to this story. I was getting ready for work this morning and Ari was snuggled up sleeping in bed. Brody began to get a bit fussy so I went in and picked him up while I was waiting for my clothes to get out of the dryer. After a while, I noticed that I needed to put the petal to the metal if I wanted to make it to work on time so I told Ari to come and take him so I could finish getting ready. She simply said, "Put him in bed with me." I finished getting ready and was going to kiss my wife and son good-bye and head off for work when I beheld the scene that you all see in the picture. So there it is... Mom and Son all snuggled up, peacefully sleeping, and enjoying thier morning together while Dad has to drag himself off to a drudgery day at work. It is tough being the Dad sometimes but scenes like this makes work have a much better purpose.

Monday, November 3, 2008

If Walls Could Talk

After his bath and some milk, I put my boy in his crib for a nap. Then I go out to wash his bottles and eat some breakfast. Over the monitor I often hear soft babbles. When I go to check on Broderick, he is wide awake and talking to the wall.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

TWINS!

No one noticed until Grandpa Riddle picked Broderick up to cuddle on the couch that the two were matching. Red shirts. Black shorts.

Adventures in Motherhood... Part 1

Tuesday was a long day with a trip to the doctor to follow-up on the Apnea Monitor. I got home at 6 pm just as Teresa was headed to her Young Womens activity. Derek was still in class, and Jim and Chad were at baseball practice. I got Brody settled in his cradle and started on dinner since I knew Derek would be home in about an hour and we both would be starving. As soon as I got started I heard a whimper from the craddle. That whimper soon turned to a cry and then to constant screaming. I picked the poor little guy up and tried to calm him. He settled down in my arms but I knew I had to finish dinner. I tried setting him in the swing but it was obvious after a few seconds that it was not going to work. I was starting to get hungry, the water on the stove was starting to boil, I was exhausted and dissappointed from the trip to the doctor, and now my baby was crying. I knew he would only be happy in someone's arms and since I was home alone that someone would have to be me. Just before resigning myself to the couch with my baby boy in my arms until Derek came home, I remembered the cute sling I received as a gift. I have been waiting for Brody to be 7 lbs. so I could use the sling. He weighed in at 6'11" earlier that day and I was desperate so I figured that was close enough. I threw the sling on, plopped my baby inside, and continued to make dinner with one hand.

Luckily, I can set the monitor on the island and the cord will reach all around the kitchen. By the time Derek got home, Brody was asleep and dinner was only a few minutes away from being done. Whew! I'm sure many a mother has a story that relates to mine. I'm not alone in these adventures, but I thought it would be fun to share a few of my own experiences as a new mommy. All in a day's work!