Nebraska Spring Break/ 9 months old

Briley had his 9 month appointment today even though he is 9 months and 1 week. It was a great appointment becuase he didn't have to have any shots :) We were kind of shocked because we always assumed we would have the massive kid that was just destined to be 7 feet tall. He weighed 18 lbs 7 oz which means he only gained 1 oz his last month (he was 18.6 at an appt he had at 8 months). This dropped him from the 37% to the 15%. The doctor thinks it might be because of recent diahrrea or he just needs to be eating more. Then he only grew 1 in. since his 6 month appt. so he dropped from 85 % to 55%. Brian is now calling him tiny tim even though the doctor said he probably hasn't hit his normal growth curve. Either way he is doing great and getting really close to walking. In the last couple of days he is starting to let go of the furniture or toys and stand for a little while before losing his balance. We can't wait until his 1st birthday coming up in 3 months.

Walking with Cambria's stroller.

This was hilarious because Cambria and Briley fought over toys several times during the trip and in this particular case he was pulling her hair while she was screaming, and as you can see, Briley found it rather amusing.

He loves his big cousin, Avalyn

All of the cousins in front of the penguins at our trip to the Omaha Zoo

Briley really enjoyed all of the fish. It was pretty much the only thing at the zoo that he showed some form of reaction or enjoyment. He is pretty good at just staring and playing it cool.

Even though little Cambria is 5 months older than Briley they look about the same age. She is our sweet little girl.

Briley loved how Aunt Sarah's TV was within reaching distance. Don't worry we didn't let him spend to much time like this.

One of the perks of being a teacher is that I get to enjoy Spring Break. My mom, sister and I thought it would be good to go see Sarah in Nebraska and give her a break (with 3 kids, 1 on the way and Kyle in Iraq I'm sure its exhausting). So my mom, sister Christine, Hadley and Hayden, and Briley and I loaded in my mom's car for a 10 hour trip. Gavin and Avalyn were so excited to see all of us on Saturday night and I am sure Cambria was just as excited.

We relaxed for a couple of days, while playing with the kids and going to the park. Unfortunately my mom got really sick the whole week so we couldn't go do as much, plus we didn't want to leave her all alone. We did make it out to the Omaha Zoo which is always great and my mom lasted at least an hour before having to go back.

On Wednesday, before we had to go back, we were able to go see Sarah's sonogram to find out the sex of the baby. It was a little earlier than expected but we were hoping to find out. We were almost positive it is a little girl and Gavin took it really well. He was hoping for a little brother but he was happy that he actually got to see the baby move. He is such a sweet big brother and he is going to make some girl so happy having been a brother to 3 sisters. She looked nice and healthy and I can tell she already has big beautiful eyes. We can't wait to meet her or a slight chance of him in mid-August. It was sad to leave them but it makes me happy to know that we will get to see them in a couple of months when they come down to Texas

San Angelo Rodeo 2009

YEEEEHAW!!!!! The San Angelo Rodeo! We heard great things about it, but sometimes people talk things up a little to much here. When some of our friends invited us to go with them we thought it would be really fun for Briley. We all put on what little county western wear we had; (for me that was jeans and flip-flops) and headed out to the fairgrounds.

Ready to go in Briley's fishing hat.

We started off at the petting zoo. These were baby kangaroo's, wallabee's and wallaroo's. They even had an albino kangaroo. We didn't get good pictures of them or the monkeys, but they were really cute.

This was in the petting zoo area. Briley loved the goats, sheep, calfs, and even a camel.


I didn't post a picture but they had a goat actually giving birth while we were ther. Her water had broken an hour before and she was having contractions (very similar to humans), but it was taking to long so we left before the delivery. It made me sad but Brian and Briley didn't really care to see it.

After the petting zoo we went to the carnival for some awesome funnel cakes. We didn't ride any rides because it was kind of pricey and Briley only cared about looking at the lights.

Briley watching one of his friends riding the carousel. This picture makes me sad because it looks like he really wanted to ride it. Maybe next time.

Briley loved the actual rodeo. There was so much going on between the bull and bronco riding and all of the horse tricks. They even had that little monkey that rides on the sheep dog to heard the sheep. It was hilarious and he even wore a cowboy hat and boots.

He was so happy and striked a really cute pose.

This is a video I took because he kept flapping his arms when everyone was clapping.

We had such a great time and all of the good things people said about the rodeo were true. We will definitely be back next year hopefully with some little cowboy boots and cowboy hat.

8 Months Old/ Valentines Day

Valentines Day just happened to be Briley's 8 month birthday this year. We decided to take a little trip to Abilene with Brian's parents to see Grandpa and Grandma Perkins. It was a great day to just relax and hang out with them.

It was pretty late when we left so we stopped at a cute little Mexican resteraunt in Ballinger on our way home. We enjoyed our Valentine's meal with Grammy and Grandpa. It was perfect because I didn't have to get ready for a nice meal.
Grandma Perkins

If you look close you can see Briley's 2 teeth. There has been times when you can tell they are bothering him but he is such a trooper and hasn't really cried over them. I hope he can keep it up for all the other teeth.

It is hard to believe 8 months have gone by. They have been absolutely wonderful and Briley is doing more than I could have ever imagined by this time. We have had to deal with 2 ear infections but they weren't too bad, and a never ending runny nose. I am constantly changing his sheets because there is snot smeared all over them almost every morning. He has retired the army crawl and now he only crawls on his hands and knees EVERYWHERE. If Brian or I turns our head for a second he is after some cord or in the other room. He has also perfected his pulling up skill. He can pull up on his toys, couch, and the entertainment center. He also stands on his head with his legs straight (like a bear crawl) and will try to stand, but just falls on his bottom. His teachers agree with us that he will be walking in the next month. I have uploaded two videos, one with him crawling and the other of him talking. He has somehow forgotten how to say mama and just says dada to everything. It makes me a little sad but I am sure he will say it again soon. I am already starting to plan Briley's 1st birthday becuase I know the next 4 months are going to fly by.

The Little Engine That Could

His Grammy got him a Thomas the Train walker and he loves the Choo-Choo noise it makes.

Just a really cute picture of Briley and his blue eyes.

He could even stand by himself for one second for me to take a picture.

Briley can stand

This past week Briley stood up by himself and now he is doing it all the time. I uploaded a video of him on the second day of his new milestone.

I do want to let you know that there is a quick tooting sound that I made with my mouth to get Briley's attention. Just in case you think its something else.

MLK day at the park

We had a wonderful MLK day because both Brian and I were off. We had lunch with Brian's family at Logan's, and Briley loved sitting in the big highchair. Of course, we had to but his shopping cart cover because who knows how often they clean them. After that we wanted to take Briley to the river/park to let him see the ducks and play on the playground.
We parked a little further away so that we could test out my new jogging stroller from Mau-Mau. I do fully intend to someday actually jog in it, but I think it might take me some time to get beyond a walking pace.

Briley loved the swing. It will be better when he gets a little bigger but he still had a good time.

He liked it so much that after about 2 minutes he started to fall asleep.

We had to go down the slide at least once.

He was definitely to small for this, but I remember last time his cousin Avalyn came down and how much she loved it. Oh well, maybe next time.

Big Boy Bath

Briley absolutely loved the big boy bath. His little bathtub did not have enough room for splashing.