Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

We surprised Grandpa Pecorino last Friday by coming up to NY for his 60th Birthday! Happy Birthday, Grandpa! We spent the day with the Pecorinos and had a great dinner with them and Philip and Kerry to celebrate. Unfortunately, because of Hurricane Irene, our trip was cut short, so we didn't get to see everyone we were expecting to on Saturday. However, we did get a quick visit in with my parents, sister and grandparents before driving back on Friday night, which was nice. Aunt Theresa and Uncle Lou even made a surprise appearance. Brennan had fun playing with my cousin, Andrew, who let him tackle him repeatedly. We got home at 3 AM on Saturday morning, which wasn't fun, but at least had the weekend to recover. In the end, Irene didn't hit us hard, so we didn't have to deal with any tree damage or power outages.

Quake!

To preserve the memory of the earthquake we experienced yesterday, I wanted to put a quick post out here. According to the US Geological Survey, the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred was the largest in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone since 1875. It was approaching 2 PM. Brennan, Tyler, my friend, Nikki, and I were sitting in the living room, singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. With no warning, the entire house started to shake. It wasn't hard enough to knock anything off the walls, but we could visibly see the walls shaking and feel the ground shaking underneath us. It didn't register that it was an earthquake at first. We illogically thought of heavy wind, which we dismissed, and then I thought maybe our HVAC unit was about to blow up in the basement. Just as I was about to say, "lets get out of the house," the shaking stopped. We realized it might have been an earthquake, so we headed outside to see if the neighbors had also experienced the shaking. Sure enough, everyone came out of their homes to confirm what we felt. It was a little scary and I was surprised at my non-reaction to the situation. I realize how unprepared I am to react to something like this! If it ever happens again, I'll know to either get to a doorway or preferably, get outside. Brennan's initial reaction was that it was cool and he wanted it to happen again. Although, he'll now tell you it was scary, but I think he overheard me saying that too many times!

Fun Around the House

We've been getting into a little bit more of a routine now, but are still spending most of our time at home. I try to get us out once a day, even if it's just to a store, but it doesn't always happen. Brennan has become quite a chatterbox and comes up with all sorts of cute things to say. I want to put a blog post together capturing some of his sayings so that I don't forget them. Brennan has been making up games to play and songs to sing. It's fun to see him prompt imaginative play. Tyler is starting to enjoy, or at least tolerate his bath, without tears. He's big enough now to sit in his tub comfortably.
A few mornings ago, Brennan headed downstairs ahead of me and this is how I found him. He assured me, "Don't worry Mommy, I'm safe," and continued to sit in the basket for a while and play with his Leap Frog Scribble & Write toy, that he received for his birthday from Uncle Tuck and Debbie. I've discovered that putting Tyler in this sling almost instantly lulls him to sleep. Brian gave it a try this weekend and it worked for him just as well as it does for me.Anytime Brennan sees me taking a picture of Tyler, he wants in, but doesn't really want to cooperate by smiling. At least in the photo below he isn't sucking his thumb and picking his nose simultaneously, which is what I usually get in my photos. The funny thing about this photo is the baby monitor sitting on the Boppy pillow. Last week, I left Brennan eating while I went up to check on Tyler, who was upstairs napping. I spoke into the monitor and said something like, "Brennan, please keep eating. Mommy will be down soon." I noticed how he responded. He was amazed that a "voice" talked to him. Brennan calls the monitor a microphone and wants to keep it on all day because he is waiting to hear the girl's voice, but doesn't realize it's me. I try to sneak away on occasion to keep the mystery of the voice alive! He carries the monitor around with him quite a bit.Here is a cute picture of Tyler, zonked out on the couch. He's really starting to fill out and even has a little thigh chub now!

Brennan & Tyler's Baby Picture Comparison

A few friends have asked if Tyler looks like Brennan, or if pictures were deceiving. When looking back at Brennan's baby pictures, you can see the boys do look very similar at this age. (Debby, thanks for helping me pull these pics!) The biggest difference is their noses - Tyler has a little turned up nose, which he might get from me. Their chins are different and I think their eyes/eye brows might be shaped a little differently. We'll see how Tyler changes as he gets older. One thing is certain, you can tell these boys are brothers! In the photos below, Brennan is on the left, Tyler on the right.

Tummy Time

Tyler's head control is getting quite good and he sometimes holds his head up at a 90 degree angle during tummy time. I often carry him in the Baby Bjorn, which also gives him a chance to work on his head control, so he is getting plenty of time to work on his neck muscles.

Tyler's 1 Month Stats

Tyler had his 1 month doctor's appointment today. He weighs 10 lb 3 oz (61%) and is 22 inches long (68%.) The doctor was pleased with his head control. During the appointment, Tyler not only followed a light with his eyes, but fully turned his head from left to right following the light. Tyler has been spitting up a lot and the doctor said he does have a bit of reflux, but didn't think it was bad enough to treat with medication. I will keep an eye on that over the coming weeks. Overall, he is looking good and gaining weight quite nicely!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

The Pecorinos were in town for a long weekend. We celebrated Brennan's 3rd birthday with another cake and another round of singing happy birthday. Grandma and Grandpa brought him a great Little Tikes workbench for his birthday (pictures to come) that kept him entertained all weekend. Brian's parents spoiled us with a shopping trip to the mall for birthday presents for everyone, including me and Brian! Thanks Gary and Caryl!Brennan enjoyed playing with Grandma in the basement. In the photo below, they are peeking out from the tent through the tunnel.Brennan's toy truck "met" Grandpa's truck this weekend. Brennan was very interested in matching Grandpa's pose with his vehicle.We got some much needed rain yesterday and Brennan enthusiastically put on his fire chief gear to go out and splash in the puddles. He had fun putting small pebbles in the rain run-off and following them to the drain in the side of the road. The fire chief costume was very effective at keeping him dry.As for the life with the little guy, it feels like I am starting to make some progress at getting him into an "eat/wake/sleep" pattern during the day. Prior to a couple of days ago, it's been tough to keep him awake after eating, but he seems to be getting over that hurdle now. We are also falling into a decent nighttime pattern of putting him to bed (in the swing) around 9 PM, which he follows with a wake-up around 1 or 2 AM, and again around 5 AM. More often than not, the 5 AM wake-up has been a quick, one-sided feed that immediately lulls him back to sleep until somewhere in the 7 o'clock range. Although I am tired, I am thankful for that first longer stretch and know it will get better as he gets older.

Cute Tyler Pictures

My friend Sarah came over last week to cook for us. While here, she captured some adorable shots of Tyler. Thought you'd enjoy these.