Happy Halloween!

Although we didn't really have a Halloween costume for Talmage, we did have several outfits that could be geared toward Halloween! So I tortured poor Talmage with lots of clothing changes and about a million pictures...

Someone in our ward gave us this little onesie. It's a little too big for Talmage, so the leg holes hung around his knees. I love his little grin in this picture!

 

"I love my mummy!"

 

How about a little chick?

Our proper little son with his hands folded nicely...

And my personal favorite...the lil' puppy!

 

Pant, pant

 

These next three illustrate some of the silly faces Talmage keeps us laughing with!

He often pulls on his eyes, or sometimes sticks his fingers right in!

Happy Halloween everyone!

16 days old!

Everything is going well with our little guy! He shows more of his personality each day. He is such a sweetheart! He loves it when we sing to him. In fact, he loves music in general, whether it is coming from the computer, CD player, or our voices (thankfully he isn't judgmental when we sing off-key...). He also loves his swing and will sit there contentedly until it's time to eat, at which point he will start releasing rather urgent reminder grunts.

 

He is very mild-mannered, yet absolutely stubborn. One example of this happened the other day when I was trying to feed him more. He will only eat for about 15 minutes before he is positively insistent that he is done. Well, we wanted him to eat more, but his mouth was clamped tightly shut. He just stared pleasantly at us while we pried his lips open, only to find that his gums were pressed together as tightly as possible! He didn't fuss during the entire process, but there was no way we were going to get him to eat when he didn't want to.

 

He also had his first Church experience this Sunday at just 2 weeks old! He did pretty well, but I had a momentary bout of panic when I found out after Church that one of the 6-year-olds in the class I teach was just recovering from the swine flu, and he had been the one child that I had the hardest time keeping away from him! For next week, I'll be bringing a bottle of hand sanitizer that I will require the whole class to put on. :)

 

Sam and I just remain astonished that this little package of delight came from us. We feel so blessed to be his parents and thank Heavenly Father every day for that singular opportunity.

He's a Big Boy Now!

Talmage's umbilical cord stump fell off yesterday! That meant...yes, it was time for his first real bath. After feeding him, I started preparing for the bath. This was a bad idea--I should have waited for 15 minutes or so to give his system time to settle after his big meal. Talmage has been pretty good to control himself during diaper changes, but he became a human fountain right after I removed his diaper! Happy that at least he hadn't had his bath yet, I proceeded to clean up and stick him in the sink. 

After the initial dislike of laying on the porcelain, evidenced by his sudden flinging of arms and legs and look of panic on his face, he decided it was quite comfortable!

 

Even though his bony shoulders make him look like he is suffering from the early stages of starvation, the pediatrician is very pleased with his growth. He's back up to his birth weight, which means he gained 8.5 ounces in 6 days.

 

All clean! But not for long...I noticed a splotch of a bowel movement on his towel, and then as I was unwrapping him, Talmage once again became the human fountain. Laughing at his antics, I finished getting him ready and walked into the bathroom to clean it up, only to see that my shirt was also showcasing some lovely spots of his bowel movement. I guess when it rains, it pours, huh? :)

 

Baby Feet

Talmage has the longest feet! Right after he was born the nurses started commenting on them. On the little certificate where they put his footprints, his prints overlap the words on the top and the bottom because there wasn't enough space for them.

I have incredibly long fingers...longer than Sam's...and this is how Talmage's feet compare.

 

 

 

Gotta love those baby feet!

Our Strong Little Man

 

Talmage is getting to be so strong! On Saturday morning, I put him on his stomach for some tummy time. About 10 minutes later, he had scooted himself around 180 degrees, so his feet were facing the direction his head was initially! And then the next day, he rolled about 2/3 of the way over from his back to his stomach...almost off of the changing table! He is such a mover, but he rarely ever moved when he was in me. It is interesting to see the contrast. I'm grateful he spared my internal organs his frequent spring-loaded kicks!

It's Hard to be a Baby!

Talmage really is such a good baby. Sometimes it seems like he is trying so hard to be good that his concern is evident through his facial expressions! We often see him pulling faces and gestures like this:

I Love Daddy!

Sam is so good with Talmage. He loves being with him, singing to him, holding him, and doing anything with him...even changing dirty diapers! I am so grateful he wants to be so involved in the lives of our children. 

I came out of the restroom one night and found the two of them like this.

I love seeing the size difference in their hands.

I just love my two men!

Some Random Pictures

I just love baby hands. They really express the miracle of life to me.

 

Sam thought it was cute that we were sleeping the same way in the hospital.

 

He was nice to keep the flash off, because it usually made Talmage flinch in his sleep!

 

A view of his cute chicken legs

Talmage and Grandma White!

Sam called me over the other day to see "Desert Talmage."

We're having so much fun with our little man!

Introducing...

Talmage Samuel Brady

Born October 11, 2009; 5:45 pm

7 pounds, 7 ounces

20.5 inches long

 

Just going into labor!

 

Talmage's first picture

 

 

Dr. Sam-we had gotten ready for Church, so he was wearing his white shirt and tie, which the hospital staff found quite funny. They gave him a paper scrubs top to wear so he could help deliver the baby and cut the cord!

He loves sucking on his lower lip.

We think he looks quite a bit like Sam's younger brother, Joseph, in this picture.

SMILE!

Holding Mommy's hand...and his face.

He loves his daddy!

He had a good grip on a blanket, and Sam tried to take it. He just nonchalantly held on for dear life.

His first ride in the car-home from the hospital!

Little Talmage was 4 days late, but my water broke on Sunday morning, and things went smoothly from there! He is extremely mild mannered and rarely cries, even when he's getting shots, pokes, diaper changes, and experiencing other discomforts. He has very long feet and hands and long, skinny chicken legs with wrinkly knees. His hands were up rubbing his face during the 20 week ultrasound, and they must have stayed there throughout the entire pregnancy, because they are always up by his face! We have to pry them away whenever we want to wrap him up, and he'll still always find a way to squirm them out no matter how tightly we wrap them. I had to trim his fingernails the day after he was born because he kept scratching his face. He is also surprisingly strong and if we put him on his stomach he will prop up his head to look around and push himself onto his side. He has a little bit of dark hair on his head that is already displaying his dad's calic in the front! We love having him in our family!