Giggles!

One of my favorites......

Bowling

Last weekend we all went bowling! Brett was unsure of it at first but as we played more he thought it was pretty cool. I forgot how good of a bowler Kristin was, she almost beat me in the first game. The bowling alley in Chelsea is smoke free so I think we will be going more this winter.

Brett in Jail

Brett is now standing by himself more regularly. I don't think he will be full-on walking by Christmas, but I am sure we can show the Grandparents some "baby steps". He seems to be getting a voice too. His first official word is definitely "ma-ma". He started putting that one together last weekend. We are also working on more aggressive sleep techniques as Brett has become more and more stubborn about good sleep habits. Last night went a lot better so we hope more sleep is on the way for The Bingham's!

Brett's Santa Adventure

Catching Up

It's been a fun last week. For Thanksgiving, we went over to Brett's Great Aunt and Uncle's house in Manchester. We had lots of good food and lots of great company. There were plenty of other kids there that Brett could hangout with. Then last Saturday we had some more good eats at a friend's house. Some of Brett's buddies were there from mother/baby group so he was having fun. New toys at other people's house is always exciting to an 11 month old.

Kristin has been decorating the house for Christmas and getting a lot of help from Brett. He loves all the ornaments and the other fun holiday stuff. Yesterday I put up the Christmas lights as Brett looked on. When we came back in the house we were playing near a low drawer and I gave him something to hold on to. While he was holding it, he didn't even realize it and ended up standing up all by himself for a good 10 seconds. Kristin got a good glimpse too. I know it wasn't long but it's a start! Below is more recent video of Brett & I jamming!

Hangin with Uncle Matt

Brett and I went over to see Uncle Matt on Sunday. He is in town for the holidays. Brett really loved checking out his beard and hanging out with him. He came over to our house today and got some more good Brett time.

On a side note, I am proud to say I bought him his little soccer warm-up outfit. He looks good in it. Once he gets walking I will have to start kicking the ball back and forth to him.

The kids at play

It's so fun to watch Abby and Brett at play and see more and more of their personalities. Brett always seems to want to see what Abby is holding or in to.....and checking out her curls!

I have been busy traveling for work so I hope to post several posts this week to make up for lost time. Looking forward to Thanksgiving! Heading down to Manchester to hangout with Kristin's side. Should be lots of good food and company.

Brett is doing great, although sleep is still a struggle at times, but it doesn't seem to affect him that much during the day. He must think life is too exciting to be wasting time sleeping. Hopefully, before we know it we will all be sleeping better again.

New Videos!

Brett is starting to walk with the help of toys like this one. He usually has the biggest smile when he is doing this!

He's starting to learn all kinds of new things as you can see below. I love coming home to him and see what else he learned from Kristin that day!

More Pics

Kristin and Laura took the kids for a walk last weekend and got some great shots in the leaves. Brett loves the leaves (mostly trying to eat them). This weekend Brett has a little cold but overall is doing great. We spent most of the afternoon outside enjoying the warm weather and hanging out with the neighbors. Brett is also becoming mare talkative. Lately its been a lot of "da da's". We are also teaching him to blow kisses and give high fives. He's starting to get the hang of it!

Brett's first Halloween

"where's the candy?"

The babies from Mother/Baby group

"When can we eat candy?"

The Happy Family

"Dad, what does this do?"

It was Brett's first Halloween and we dressed him up as a pumpkin, a cute one at that! His Grandma and Grandpa Bingham were in town to share the holiday with him. On Friday we went downtown Ann Arbor to go trick or treating at the local shops and met up with his buddies from Mother/baby group. Then on Saturday Kristin's parents and Laura, Bill, & Abby came over to celebrate the holiday. Earlier on Saturday we carved pumpkins. Brett was intrigued but not into it as much as we thought. On Sunday Kristin and Laura got some great pictures of the kids that I will have to share as well. Overall, a busy weekend but a fun one!

10 Months now!

Brett is now 10 months old! Double digits! Today Kristin and him went to a open house hosted by Brett's doctor at the local indoor play area called the Treehouse. All babies born in the last year were invited. Kristin and Brett met many other babies and moms from Chelsea and even learned of a baby near Brett's age that lives on our street. Tomorrow Brett and Kristin are going to meet me for lunch. On Friday, Brett's Grandparents (John & Karen) from WI are visiting. We are looking forward to seeing them.

Finger Painting!

Last Friday Brett, Abby, Kristin, and Laura played with finger paint! From what I hear...and saw from the pictures, they thoroughly enjoyed it. We have his masterpieces hanging on our fridge. We'll have to think of more activities like that as the weather gets colder. The other picture was Brett and I getting the gloves and hats out for the winter. We both wore our winter hats for the occasion.

Besides clapping, Brett is also now waving. This past weekend he started doing it. I think the next thing I have to teach him is high five.

Video from the Pumpkin Patch

Brett's first visit to the Pumpkin Patch!!!

Look at this big pumpkin!! WOW!

The Bingham family at the Pumpkin patch!!

Brett's first wagon ride with his pumpkins!!! What fun he had!!

This is the Pumpkin I want mommy!!

No, maybe I want THIS one!

As you can see, Brett had a BLAST exploring at the pumpkin patch last weekend! It was a beautiful fall day so after picking out our pumpkins we went to the Dexter Cider Mill and Brett got to taste his first donut too - YUM!

Started Clapping

On Saturday Brett started putting his hands together and clapping. Every chance he got that day he would stop and do it. It was so cute. On Sunday I got it on video. I know it's cliche but it really feels like he is growing up before our eyes!

Later that day we had a fun adventure that I will post later this week....we went to the pumpkin patch and got cider and doughnuts at the Dexter Cider Mill.

Before Bath

It's been a while since I posted because I was catching up on things following our CA trip and I recently got back from a work trip to Toronto. Our little boy is getting so much more animated and continues to show us his wonderful personality everyday. He loves to explore both by crawling around and studying the detail of objects. He is not one to sit still in the same spot for very long and loves it when we take him out to see new places and things. The video below shows how excited Brett gets pre-bath time. Basically, all we have to say is the word "bath" and he lights up!

Brett's first flight!

We are back from L.A. after 5 sunny and busy days. Brett was a total prince on the plane! I was very anxious and nervous for the 4 hour flight because Brett likes to explore and change things up so 4 hours in a plane (on our laps) seemed impossible. He had so much fun though playing with his toys we brought, me walking him around the aisles, and handing out smiles to the flight attendants. We even had a vey nice older lady sitting next to him that didn't mind him crawling on her. When we landed, everyone said they thought he was so well behaved. I even had the flight attendant get him wings and said I must be so proud of him, which of course I was! I also learned one child equals 5 people in terms of luggage. Stroller...check, car seat.....check, diaper bag......check, toy bag......check. I think you get the idea. As my mom pointed out to me before we left, they do treat you pretty good in the airports. Plus, I now know where all the elevators are now.

Now for the tough part, the time change! Brett really struggled with the 3 hour difference which seemed to get worse every day. We had him in and out of the car too which seemed to not be a lot of fun for him. The fun parts though are when Brett and I went to the beach one day and explored the sand. He freaked me out when I looked away and turned back to see his mouth full of sand!! We also chilled at The Strand on Hermosa Beach where we did some good people watching. Maybe when he's older I can teach him to surf. The wedding was on Friday at 5:30 which was 8:30 EST so he was a little tired but he loved crawling around in Trump's big ballroom and seeing all kinds of new faces. The family even got a little dance in before I put Brett in his jammies to take him back to the hotel.

On the flight home Brett was a little under the weather so he slept most of the time. I'll have to tell him when he's older he shared a flight with a Detroit Tigers legend (Sparky Anderson) and the cast from ABC's home makeover.

I feel like we can take him anywhere now, though I am not ready for any flights across the Atlantic anytime soon. Maybe road trips are the way to go....the pace is a little slower and you can get out to stretch......and no elevators!

Go Packers!

Getting ready for our trip to Cali and enjoying the Fall weather. Today Brett and I spent most of the day together giving momma a rest. We went to the grocery store where Brett loves to help hold the groceries and we visited with the neighbors.

Crawling & now pulling himself up

Brett is starting to look like a hockey player with his 1 tooth on top. As you can see from the video his new thing is pulling himself up on anything and everything!

Labor Day

This is how Brett and I spent our Labor Day Weekend

Petting Farm

As promised, here is the video from last week of Brett & us at the Petting Farm.

Teeth are coming in

I think we have figured out why Brett is having trouble sleeping. He has teeth coming in both on top and bottom. It must affect him the most at night. Hopefully relief is on the way for him. Here's a few more pictures. The one shows, yes, he is getting hair on his head although we are still unsure what shade it is going to be.

Fall is coming

Brett, Kristin, and I went to a local park on Sunday and had lots of fun exploring. I think Brett loves any place that is new. It was a little windy so we bundled up. Brett has been on a little bit of a sleep strike lately as he is waking up around Midnight or earlier and having a hard time going back to sleep. It seems everyday we run into parents with these same issues. I guess it can only get better with time. Today Kristin and Brett met me at work and went to the petting farm by my office. At times he liked wathcing the kids more than the animals but I think the ducks and the goats were a hit. I'll post a video I took soon. One last thing, I wish I had it on camera but I had Brett giggling so loud last night. As a dad, that's hard to beat!

Brett & the Guitar

Brett really likes to hangout with me as I play guitar. He is always very intrigued by the strings. We will be releasing our first father/son album soon. Overall, he is doing great. Crawling really has opened up a whole new world for him. I think it has also started to annoy the kitties! Tomorrow we are having people over so I am sure Brett will enjoy all the activity. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Brett's cousin is a....girl

Just found out that Brett's cousin is going to be a girl! Jason and Megan are due in early Jan. so we still have to wait a little bit to meet her. The hand me downs will have to wait for the next baby. It will be fun watching them grow up.

The video I posted is from last weekend at out friend Rachel's wedding. Brett got dressed up for the occasion too (mathched Kristin who was in the wedding). Weather was hot, but we had a good time.

Brett is crawling!

On Sunday Brett started putting the motions together and started crawling! While it's not super fast he's able to get to objects far away now. The baby proofing has begun! Him and I were out on the grass after work and he kept crawling towards Annie. Check out the videos.....

Brett Sleeping Shhhhhhhhhhh

Brettski

Brett had a great day! Kristin took him to Target and bought him his own remote control (of course the Seasame Street version) and he loves it. Now he won't take ours and change the channel during the middle of golf. This morning we got up at 6am and had fun getting ready for the day. He seems to like watching me run around the kitchen. Tonight he fell asleep in a funny position. I promise to post tomorrow.

Brett is feeling better!

On Friday, Brett starting showing signs of being sick so Kristin took him to the doctor. Apparently, he got Coxsackie infection, which is fairly common in babies. The symptoms for Brett included high fever and sores in his mouth which made it difficult for him to eat. This concerned us so much that we took him to the ER in Chelsea on Saturday morning because he would not eat and had not had a wet diaper for a while. The ER said he was not yet dehydrated and to keep trying to give him liquids. Believe it or not we were in and out of there under an hour and it's only 5 minutes away. Unfortunately, on Sat. Kristin had a wedding shower she had to throw so I worked on getting him better. Every 30 minutes or so I had to use a liquid syringe to feed him a little at a time. Half would leak out of his mouth and I could tell he was in pain. Obviously, he was not sleeping good and thus we weren't. Some how we got through it and Brett is doing TONS better today. It was rough to see him like that but now I know we can get through it! I took him for a walk already and he is acting more and more like himself. While he has not started breastfeeding again, he has no problem taking a bottle. We hope his sleep habits and the breastfeeding returns soon. I'll update early this week.

New Late July/August Pics