Brogan the Dinosaur

Brogan is a frightening beast. He actually made a little girl cry! Sunday night, we met my parents for supper at a Mexican restaurant. Brogan was in a fairly good mood and was pretty content chewing on his baked sweet potato fries. After a while, he started to get bored and then the grunting began. He has done this for several months and we are lost as to why he does it. He grunts when he wants something, when he has to poop, when he's hungry, when he's full, when he wants our attention, when he's sleepy, etc. It isn't just a little "Tim the Toolman" grunt either. He sounds like a dinosaur. Anyway, he started to grunt and immediately a little baby girl began crying. She stopped after a few minutes. Brogan grunted again, and she started crying again. This happened all through supper and we couldn't stop laughing. What could we do? Thankfully, the little girl's parents thought it was funny too (or so we think, they spoke Spanish...) How could anyone be scared of such a cutie?

Brogan and Anna Claire's 1st play date

Anna Claire and her mommy, Shanda came over last week for a play date. Anna Claire is one week younger than Brogan and we've been wanting to get the two together for a while. Here are a few pictures of the sweet babies!

What a hoot!

Brogan cracking-up at his GiGi from Tadd Grandstaff on Vimeo.

Happy 7 month birthday Brogan!

My baby boy is getting SO big! Here are a few things that he can do now:

-sit in the front of a grocery cart
-sit in a high chair at restaurants
-drink from a sippy cup
-put his toes in his mouth
-take a bath in his ducky tub
-eat baby food- so far he likes: carrots, applesauce, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, and squash
-eat green peas- NOT the baby food kind, just the real ones
-eat slightly soggy puffs- yes, I suck on them first...I know it's gross

Isn't he a cutie in the tub? :)

Watching his daddy preach

Finding a better use for the jarred peas :)

Me and my baby boy

Daddy and his best buddy

Check out his bottom teeth- there's four more on top!

Sweet Brogan :)

Brogan's first snow day!

Last Tuesday, we woke up to a beautiful snowfall- about 3 inches- which is pretty good for us here in NC! Tadd took the day off and we waited until the snow quit falling to take Brogan outside to "play". He was so bundled up that Tadd called him Randy from the Christmas Story :) I tried to make a snowball for him to hold but the snow was too powdery and wouldn't stick together. I put some in his lap and he just stared at it like, "What the heck is this?" We don't have a sled so we put Brogan in his little red car and rolled him down the driveway. He loved it and thought he was such a stud! We only stayed out about 20 minutes since the wind was blowing and then we went back inside and stayed in our pajamas the rest of the day. Perfect!

Peas and ZZZzzzzzzzzz.....

So much for starting with vegetables!! I really wanted to get Brogan loving his veggies before starting fruit but the green peas RUINED this kid!

Before we tried the peas, Brogan loved his oatmeal and we couldn't feed it to him fast enough. Then came the peas. After that, he refused to open his mouth at all- even for oatmeal. After four days of trying, I finally opened a jar of applesauce and tried it. Same thing. He gagged. However, after four days this time, he finally seemed to like it. Well, at least tolerate it. I discovered that if I put him in his exersaucer when I want to feed him, his toys distract him and he laughs and I plop some applesauce in his mouth. Now, after 8 days of apples, he actually opens his little mouth! YAY!


Today while I was eating lunch, Brogan seemed very interested so I decided to try out some bananas...they were a HIT! He kept opening his mouth on his own- so cute! I think I'll put some in his oatmeal and see if he'll eat it that way. Next on the menu: CARROTS!

Also, two nights ago, Tadd and I decided it was time to "Ferberize" our son . We placed him in his crib and he fell right to sleep. Three hours later he wanted his Momma and I let him cry 5 minutes, then 10, then 15, etc. After an hour, he was back to sleep! I ended up feeding him once the first night and pumped. That was a huge improvement from his usual 3-4 feedings a night.

Last night, we put him to sleep at 8:30 and he didn't wake up until 5:00 this morning! I was ecstatic! I nursed him and he slept for 3 more hours. Can you believe it? I really hope I'm not jinxing myself here, but it was just wonderful. Although, I do find myself missing our many late night/early morning bonding sessions. That's why I'm perfectly fine with still nursing once during the night.

Brogan is really getting close to crawling. He kind of pushes himself backwards instead. His latest favorite thing to do is look out the back door at the birds. He smiles when they fly away. Also, we've been keeping our family dog, Maddy this week. Brogan is infatuated with her! He follows her with his eyes and loves to put his hands on her. It's so cute!

Brogan Update :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! We had an awesome time playing Santa- Brogan even "helped" me bake cookies for Santa. He was actually really interested in his presents. My parents gave him his first car :) and he LOVES to ride in it. The minute we put him in it, he grabbed the steering wheel and didn't let go. Tadd's parents gave Brogan an exersaucer that keeps him entertained while I get ready in the mornings. How I went six months without one of these is amazing to me. Brogan received lots and lots of other toys from family members and we are so thankful! Since we play practically all day long (the boy does not like to sleep!) the new toys keep ME from going crazy haha! Some of his other favorite toys are his new toothbrush and some spoons...anything he can chew on!



Brogan is such a fun baby! He has mastered rolling over both ways now and loves to sit up by himself. He even sleeps in his OWN ROOM now!! Yep, on January 1st, my New Years resolution was to move my baby from the pack n play right beside our bed to his own crib. He still gets up 3 times to eat (err...cuddle with mommy) but it's a start. My next job is to let him start crying longer and longer until he realizes that he doesn't need me to go back to sleep. It's a bad habit that I've got to break.

We took Brogan to the doctor today for his six month check up and Dr. Bailey said everything looked great! Brogan weighs 17.7lbs and was 26 3/4 in. long- which is the 50th percentile for both. His head circumference is off the charts...but that isn't surprising! :) Dr. Bailey gave us the go-ahead to start other solids besides cereal and to introduce a sippy cup with water or breastmilk in it. I can't wait to give Brogan some peas! I want him to love vegetables like I do and hope he's not a veggie-hater like his daddy!! Also, he has SIX teeth now- 2 on the bottom and four on the top. I know that they have to hurt! With his teeth coming in at this rate, Brogan will be eating a T-bone by the time he's 9 months!

He's Amazing...

On June 28, 2008, our lives were changed when our son, Brogan Timothy Grandstaff entered this world. He is my baby boy and I love him more than my words could ever explain. I've never known a love so instant. I love this line from the song: "You came blazing, right into my heart." I knew I would love my son, but never knew just how much. He is our amazing gift, given by God. My sister in law, Tandy (www.photosbysugarsnap.com), took these pictures of Brogan when he was a little over a month old. Enjoy the slideshow and listen to the words of the song, as they echo my heart. I sing the words to this song every night as I rock my baby to sleep.

Smiling and Laughing!

Brogan laughed for the first time on Monday- four times in a row...but not since then! It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. It made my heart so happy to know that my son was happy. It made me think: I bet God feels the same way when He hears us laugh...really, truly laugh with joy in our hearts. Just as I am trying to get Brogan to laugh again, I picture God waiting to hear me laugh too!

I got a blog- yayay!!!

I finally did it. I made a blog! I feel so cool and computer savvy- we shall see how long it lasts! Mainly, I just wanted another way to show off my baby boy haha! I will try to blog during Brogan's 20 minute naps (yes- really only 20 minutes grrr!)

Ok, so last night my mom and I went to this humongous baby consignment sale at a mall in Raleigh. It was unreal how much stuff they had! We were in baby heaven! Brogan was a trooper and slept most of the time (2 hours- Praise Jesus!) I found a travel swing, some toys with flashing lights (his favorite right now), and lots of clothes. As we were paying, we heard the lady say to another woman, "probably six months". We turned around and she asked us if Brogan was six months. My mom and I just looked at each other and laughed and said, "noooo- he's 11 weeks!" My baby is a CHUNK! I love it!