Thank You Aunt Kelli!

Thanks to Aunt Kelli who snapped these pictures of Brendan at 3 1/2 weeks. Also, MANY more thanks to her for coming over to our house this morning and helping change baby clothes, style toddler hair and corral James during our family photo shoot with Nell from Cowtown Camera Girl. We would not have been able to do it without you Kelli! We love you! And no, Kelli is not really an aunt, but if I was lucky enough to have a sister, I would hope for one just like her.

My Little Artist

After a long, hard day at daycare we came home and saw that a storm was coming. James was crabby. I could not get a smile out of him! We watched the rain from the garage. He was amazed by the rain and kept pointing at the "wa wa". When I was a kid my dad and I would watch storms form the garage. I always loved it. James seemed into it too. When the storm picked up, we headed inside and I got out new crayons for James. I was desperate to cheer him up. Well, the crayons turned his frown upside down! We have used the "toddler" crayons before but he wasn't a huge fan. These were triangle shaped and easy for him to grasp. He colored for a long time and had so much fun. He kept holding up the blue and telling me what color it was. I will be framing his creation for the playroom. A few of the pictures I got of my little Picasso.....

3 Weeks and Cuter Than Ever!

So here is Brendan at three weeks. He looks so much like James as a baby.....
We got great news this past week! Brendan's blood work for his thyroid came back within normal limits. His T4 and TSH levels were both elevated at birth. It seems now that those levels were just residual levels from my system. I had my follow up at the endocrinologist and should be hearing back on my levels soon too. I have been feeling cold and that is a feeling I have not felt in a long time! Could be due to too high a dose of medicine or simply that I am now not pregnant in this August heat.

Our Sweet Cheeks at Two Weeks

Brendan is the easiest baby so far and just such a joy! We are really enjoying having a tiny baby in the house again and it is amazing how quickly we have fallen back into the routine required to nurture such a little person. I am pretty sure the best feeling in the world is feeling a baby tucked into your arm. I must admit cuddling with Brendan makes me think about having another one some day. But for now, I will just savor these moments with my second born.

We took Brendan for his two week check up and he weighed 9 lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches long. He is nursing exclusively and we were all surprised to hear he had gained 1/2 pound in two weeks. He looks good but we are doing follow up blood work since his thyroid levels were abnormal at birth. Hopefully (fingers crossed!), it was just some residual effects from me and things will be good now. We should have more info in a few days.

While they are fresh on my mind, I must share some of my observations about Brendan so far. He is SUPER cuddly and just molds into your arms for a long snuggle. He has the most beautiful blue eyes right now and at some times is so alert that I get a kick out of his curious and inquiring face. He has long, long fingers and long toes that feel like they are made of jelly! There surely cannot be any bones in those tiny, soft toes. We have taken to calling him Mr. Jelly Toes, along with numerous other silly nicknames. We are big on silly nicknames in our house. At 20 months James has quite a collection of them and I know Brendan will be the same way. He looks very much like James looked at this age, but perhaps has chubbier cheeks and is a little more plump all over. He is a mellow, go with the flow baby (knock wood!). He loves to sleep and has been sleeping in his basinette a few nights with the exception of nursing. I have actually had to wake him up to eat! He is just the perfect addition to our family and I am taking great honor in being his mother.

I have been thinking about it, and a change in our blog name is a coming! Stay tuned....should be happening in the next week!

Baby Brendan Makes his Debut

Brendan Neal Duffy
August 5, 2009
12:48 pm
9 lbs 20.75 inches long

Welcome baby! We love you!!!!