A Boy and His Balloon, Part 2

We felt really, really bad when Brennan's balloon popped. I mean, he loved playing with it and only had it for about half an hour before it met the popcorn ceiling. Today, Brennan and I went out to the park for a walk and some time in the baby swing. When we got home, Daddy had a surprise waiting for Brennan in his room--an Elmo balloon! It was love at first sight! He grabbed onto the string and had a blast bouncing it around and laughing super hard. We'll be keeping a close eye on this one in the hopes that he'll get much more enjoyment out of this one than his first one.

Brennan is also 7 months old today! It's definitely hard to believe that it's already been seven months since he entered our lives. He's just such a great kid!

Highlights at age seven months:
1. He's been sleeping about 11 hours (sometimes longer) straight at night! What a treat!
2. The only food he's tried that he really doesn't like is papaya. He doesn't really care for peas, either, but I just discovered a great way to get him to eat them. I mix peas, sweet potato, and carrots together. It sounds gross but he gobbles the whole bowl up!
3. No teeth yet. We've thought he's been teething for the past three months. All the signs are there, just no sign of those pearly whites!
4. He's a moving machine. I plop him on the floor for some tummy time to build those crawling muscles, and the next thing I know, he's rolled halfway across the room!
5. Bathtime is SO much more fun now that he's sitting up by himself. He loves the water and starts splashing as soon as he gets in the tub. The downside is that Mama gets way wetter than before!

A Boy and His Balloon

We ventured out to Chick-fil-A for lunch today, and a very nice lady there gave Brennan a balloon that was left over from a birthday party. The kid LOVED it! He grabbed onto the string and held on for dear life. He was enthralled by bouncing it up and down and just laughed and laughed. We managed to get a couple pictures of him and his balloon before it met an untimely demise at the hands of the popcorn ceiling in his bedroom. This picture doesn't do justice to the balloon-love that Brennan demonstrated earlier (he just gets super serious whenever the camera comes out!). We'll definitely look forward to the day when he gets to play with another balloon--and we'll be extra diligent around those pesky popcorn ceilings!

On Our Nightstand

A regular feature in our newsletter used to be "On Our Nightstand," where we would take the opportunity to share some books that we had read recently that we were impacted by. That feature got pushed to the side as other things came up that needed to be included instead. So, we (I) decided to revive this feature on the blog, particularly since I love reading (see the Storytime entry below). Without further ado, here's a list of some books that we've read that we want to pass along to you, our faithful blog readers!

1. Red Moon Rising: How 24/7 Prayer is Awakening a Generation by Peter Greig and Dave Roberts
2. The Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne
3. Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughs on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller
4. Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman
5. Anything by Lynn Austin or Tracie Peterson

Preserve the good name of Brennan!

I encourage all our readers out there to make a stand for the sanctity of our son's name by boycotting the soon-to-be-released movie "Step Brothers".

Naomi and I were very careful to choose a name that was unique, had a good sound to it, fit well with Downer and, last but not least, would be hard to make fun of. That latter stipulation eliminated these options:
Debbie (if it had been a girl) -- thanks to Saturday Night Live
Stan -- put it with the last name
Pat -- see above
Prima -- would only work if she was a first born and destined to become an opera singer.
and any combination of first and middle names that would create initials of BAD, SAD, MAD, BED or DED (among others).

Anyway, we thought Brennan met all of the above criteria, and was unlikely to be soured by any TV show or misbehaving celebrity. But then along came Will Ferrell to play a character named Brennan Huff, in what is sure to be the latest of his ridiculously over-the-top roles. I just hope this doesn't become one of his more memorable roles.

So we ask you to do your part to spare us from a future of, "Brennan? Like the Will Ferrell movie?" We much prefer, "Brennan. Like the author", because then we get to tell people about "The Ragamuffin Gospel" and other good books.

When you think about what movie to see this weekend, go to Batman so that our choice of Brennan won't come back to haunt us and become the equivalent of, say, "Ricky Bobby Downer", "Mugatu Downer" or "Ron Burgundy Downer".

We thank you. And Brennan thanks you.

Funny Uncle Brent!

Uncle Brent sure got Brennan to laugh hard! His little laugh is definitely the best sound in the world!

Newport News Day

We decided to trek down to Newport News for the day on Saturday to visit with friends. Brennan got to hang out with Uncle Brent and Aunt Wendy, and meet Aunt Liz and Sydney and Savannah (Uncle Kevin was sadly absent due to being out of town for the day). We had some great hang out time, got to experience the beach, and ate at a GREAT restaurant called Cheddar's. Fun day!

Brennan experiencing the sand. He thought it was kind of fun!

It took a little while for him to get used to the water. He really did not like sitting in the shallow end with the waves splashing up by him. We took him out a little ways, and he LOVED it! Splashing was the greatest thing in the world, and he even discovered the joy of kicking his legs a little bit!

He loved hanging out with Uncle Brent and Aunt Wendy!

Tired Boy!

Brennan didn't sleep nearly as much as he needed (and usually does) during his afternoon nap today. This was the result! A VERY tired and cranky boy and a brief nap after dinner! I think he'll have an early bedtime tonight!

More Birthday Wishes

Another special birthday shout out to Grandma Downer!

Ladies and Gentleman...we have a rocker!

This is one of Brennan's new things to do as he entertains himself...

This a Daddy and Boy moment shared just before Daddy headed off to work. And yes, the wet patch on Brennan's shirt is indeed drool. The kid is a drool factory! He soaks through his clothes rather quickly. We sometimes wonder how one little boy can produce so much drool.

Special Birthday Wishes

A very special birthday shout out to Grandma Prechel!

First Haircut

Brennan was born with quite a bit of hair and it has really started to fill in noticeably lately. But the hair that he was born with has gotten quite long. So much so that at times he looked like he had a comb-over and at other times it looked like he had a pony tail. So, we decided that he needed his first haircut this morning. Daddy did a great job trimming up the really long pieces. Brennan did great too, and didn't cry at all. He just had fun looking around at all the stuff in the bathroom and then enjoyed holding my can of mousse. The picture above is Brennan post-haircut. You can't really tell in the picture since his hair is so light. He's a true blond!

Storytime

Those that know me know that I love to read. I've always loved to read. Most of my memories growing up involved books rather than playing with toys. Through the years, my love for books and reading has grown. Now, as a mother, it's my desire to see Brennan develop a love for books as well. I read him books every day and look forward to the day when he'll show some excitement about listening to stories and eventually being able to read books by himself.

It was so exciting for me to learn that the local library offered a storytime for infants called Lapsit Lambs. Brennan and I have been there twice and it's been great. We do music and movement, sing nursery rhymes, and read a story. Then, after storytime is over, the library lady who organizes it brings out a big bucket of toys so the babies can play and the parents can have time to talk. I love going to storytime in part because it's good for Brennan, but also because it gets me around other moms of young children, something that I've really been wanting ever since we moved to Richmond. Everyone I've met there so far has been really great and it's nice for me to have other women to chat with who are in the same phase of life. Plus, Brennan seems to enjoy going and looking at the other kids (playing and actually interacting with other kids may come a little later). This is definitely going to be a new weekly ritual!

Pool Time!

We went to Pocahontas State Park yesterday on the holiday and spent the afternoon at their pool area. It was the perfect way to spend a hot day. It was also Brennan's first time in a pool. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but learned to at least tolerate it. Once he gets the hang of splashing I'm sure he'll enjoy it much more.

Working on his tan ... gotta look good for the ladies.

First Week

Well, Brennan and I are surviving our first week where John is on his regularly scheduled shift of 2pm-10pm. It's definitely nice to have him home in the morning, but very strange to not have him home in the evening. Our big meal of the day is now at lunchtime. Brennan's bedtime routine now falls solely to me. So far, everything has been going smoothly and we are falling in to a new routine as we adjust to this different schedule during the workweek.

Other random notes of interest: I'm enjoying being on the blog now. While I enjoy the fact that Brennan is discovering his world, I am decidedly not enjoying the fact that he has now learned that I have glasses and hair, both of which he attempts to grab every chance he gets. Brennan is doing GREAT with sitting up (for long stretches at a time!). We are looking forward to going to Pocahontas State Park tomorrow to go swimming and enjoy the great outdoors. We are excited about taking Brennan to a fireworks display tomorrow night, but are unsure of whether he will like all the noise. Maybe we'll be watching this year's display from the car?


Since he was nicely decked out in his Minnesota Twins onesie today, I had to capture the moment. I've been discovering that Brennan is usually all smiles until the camera comes out. Then, he will smile for a second and turn his head away, or he puts on this super serious face. Oh, well. I'll keep trying to get more smiley boy photos!

Another Day in the Life

Brennan just had his six-month check-up this morning, weighing in at 18 lbs., 4 oz. and measuring 27 1/4 inches long. He's a big boy! He got more vaccinations, too, which was not so fun. Today was his second time in his new high chair, and he's adjusting well to sitting up at the table and eating with us. The picture above is Brennan pre-lunch (with a special shout out to Aunt Debbie Lager for the great moose bib!). Post-lunch (or after any meal, really) is a LOT more messy! Especially since he likes reaching for the spoon or hitting my spoon with the spoon that he gets to hold. It's great fun finding remnants of his meals all over him throughout the day...