Bruce's Halloween Photo's

My baby is soooo CUTE! I am IN love. I can't get enough.

Mommy and me

My old ward has the greatest "mommy and me" group. We meet twice a week and do fun stuff with the kids. Piggies and Paws parties, cooking class, and Disneyland just to name a few and every Tuesday is park day. Unfortunately, Bruce rarely goes because it is his nap time. He literally naps from 10-1 and that is the exact time of the activities.

Today, I decided not to miss it. He slept a little bit in his stroller but then woke up and joined the fun.

It was a Halloween Bash at Entradero park. All the kids dressed in their halloween costumes. We had two craft tables, a lunch and a halloween parade.

Here is Bruce's art project. I painted his foot with white paint. Printed it on this piece of construction paper upside down and then decorated it like a ghost. So cute!

"He" also painted a pumpkin. (Okay I painted the pumpkin.)

an attempt of a group picture

I wish I got more pictures but I was holding Bruce most of the time. He is the youngest baby there and all of the kids loved his costume and kept tugging on his tail.

Thanks moms!

"Bimbo" Chair

My friend Cambria let us borrow her Bumbo chair for Bruce. This thing is great. It helps Bruce use his "sitting" muscles. Acts like a high chair. And when things get really messy I can just throw the whole thing in the tub (Bruce and the chair.)

When we first got it, Kiel asked "is it called a bimbo chair?"
"No, it's called a bumbo chair"
"Oh, good. Because that would be really weird if I had to say 'Bruce come sit in your bimbo'"
"Yes, that would be really weird."

Haha, let's hope the only time the words Bruce and bimbo are used in the same sentence is when we say "Bruce stay away from that bimbo!"

The end

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of Bruce's halloween photo shoot. I can't wait to see the rest!

Edited video

Okay, so the video below was running a little long on some of the mini video clips and it was bugging me. So I cut them down and pieced it together the best I could. The ending is a little choppy but that will change when I get more pictures of Bruce before he turns 6 months.

so here it is, 2 minutes shorter:)

My video project

I finally realized my computer has a movie maker so I decided to make a movie of Bruce's first five months of life. I was going to finish by his half birthday but I just couldn't stop. I have to say I'm pretty stink'n proud of myself. It turned out really well. Of course there are few things that I need to cut in order to fit more of his 5 month pictures in but I have to show it off now.

Keep your eyes peeled for your baby...don't even get a drink of water you might just miss them.

So... what did you think? I'm dying to know ;)

And sorry to Amy for not having her babies in the credits. It's one am and I need to go to bed.

Dear Omi and Opa, Nana and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa

I've been fairly busy living life as a baby these last couple of weeks.

First things first; I hate my feet being covered. So most of the time when mom comes to get me out of my crib my pajamas look like this:

And if I'm working overtime, they look like this:

Next, my most favorite thing to do is jump in my jumper:

Also on Wednesday I tried rice cereal for the first time:

And today my schedule was packed. I took professional pictures in my halloween costume. Mom was so busy trying to get me to not eat the grass that she forgot to take "behind the scene" footage so you'll have to wait until she gets her c.d.

Then I had a Dr.'s appointment. I was late on getting my 4 month shots because I was sick so I got them today. I was also weighed and measured. Here are my stats:

Head: 45cm

Weight: 17 and half pounds

Height: 26 inches tall

(all in the 75th percentile)

And the BIGGEST news of today:

I cut my first tooth ;)

After the Dr.'s we went to lunch with mommies work friends. When we came home I was so overtired that I couldn't go to sleep. So I finally jumped myself into a slumber:

Miss you all -

B

Bruce Squawking like a dino

I took this video a month ago when Bruce was at his "I prefer not to be alone" stage. It's pretty funny.

In Heaven I'll be 25...

*Notice there is not one mention of Bruce in this post and not one snuggly sweet picture of him either, so if you care not to read I don't blame you. To make up for it I will post something about him in just a minute.*


When I was a little girl we visited my Grandma Chambers just about once a week. Her health was always poor and she seemed 100 years older than she really was. My grandma was funny, sassy, had a passion for American history and she loved to tease.


I will never forget the day I was sitting in her room watching her smoke cigarette after cigarette and chatting with her and her health care aid. "I may be old now" she said "but when I die and go to heaven" as she said this she crossed her fingers and looked up, I laughed "I will be twenty - five."

"Twenty - five?" I was still stupid enough to think twenty - five was old. "Why twenty - five grandma?"

"Because I don't want to be any younger and I don't want to be any older"

And that was all she wrote.

I still remember the feeling of maturity the day I turned twenty - five. Usually each year feels the same but twenty - five felt different, accomplished. It was the last year I would have a face without a single laugh line. Twenty six gave me that. Twenty seven gave me my first gray hair. Twenty eight blessed me with cellulite. And twenty nine, well twenty nine graced me with an abundance of womanhood (about 80 lbs of it.)

Thirty will let me hold onto 20lbs that twenty nine gave me, but not with a disgruntled attitude. Instead, with acceptance. And that is the difference between our twenties and our thirties.

I'm not going to whine about being another year older or be concerned as another sun spot appears on my forehead because it is a blessing to age. It's a blessing to spend another year in this body. Who knows what I will do with this body this year. I might gain another 20lbs, or lose ten. Have another baby or not.

Yes, I can see why my grandmother wanted to be twenty five. It's definitely the prime of your youthful body. But I when I go to heaven *cross fingers* I want the mindset of my thirties and my cellulite free twenty - five year old body.

*I am thirty today and I embrace it. Plus when I looked in the mirror this morning I didn't have an extra wrinkle like I usually do.

Five

Can you believe that Bruce is already 5 months old?And he is very excited to be so...He can get up on all fours and then...He falls forward when he moves his legs...His favorite thing to do is jump, jump, jump...

And he is practicing sitting up on his own...

Other exciting things...

Bruce knows his name and turns his head when ever he hears it.

He now goes to sleep without a pacifier or being swaddled (most of the time, and only at night. During the day he needs those things.)

He laughs at silly faces, when you repeat syllables such as dadada or papapa, when you lift him up in the air and talk to him.

He is sleeping through the night again. Finally! The 4th month was a brutal growing spurt and really hard on mommy but now he sleeps about 8 hours at night before needing a meal.

His diet is still strictly breast milk.

Common comments I get from friends and strangers...

"he is so cute" "he has the prettiest blue eyes" "Oh my goodness he doesn't look as heavy as he feels"

The kid is tank and we love him!

Bruce loves his daddy

That Didn't Last Long

Kiel broke my candy corn wreath in a fit of rage. He said it was hideous looking and threw it down on the ground. I watched as it shattered into a billion pieces. I then proceeded to crumble to the floor and sob dramatically over my loss.

Pop Quiz:

Can you guess the untruth(s) in the above story?

a. The wreath only shattered into 4 pieces not a billion
b. Kiel didn't break the wreath
c. Kiel broke the wreath but by accident
d. Melissa didn't cry
e. basically the whole thing is made up accept the fact that Kiel broke my wreath by accident and melissa just likes to exaggerate on her blog for entertainment purposes.

Dear Aunt Brittany

Thanks for my super cool kicks...they are still too big but dad put them on me anyway and they made me look super pimp at church ;) I also love to wear them when I'm in my jumperoo because they make me a little bit taller, like a baller (do you know that song?) ;)

Peace -

Bruce

Birthday Month

Let the celebrations begin...

Thanks husband!

New toy

Thanks amy and derek and Sarah...Bruce loves it!

Pumpkin Patch

Candy Corn Craft

Here is the finished project hanging on my door

It is my belief that candy corn is a sorry excuse for a candy, I'm sorry but it's true. I've never liked it. But today I finally found a reason why it exists...to make decorations.

Here is the easy peasy you can do it yourself candy corn wreath...

And the kicker, it cost 3 bucks. I bought a wreath ring at the dollar store and two bags of candy corn. I already had black spray paint at home. I sprayed the wreath ring black and hot glued the candy corn. The orange ribbon was on sale at Michaels, I would prefer black but that wasn't on sale. Wa la done.

I might add some spiders to it but as for now my eyes are dizzy. The best part was, I wasn't tempted to eat one stinkin piece of candy corn, not one.

It's been raining at our house. Bruce and I have snuggled in pj's watching movies while Kiel heroically goes off to work. When night falls Kiel comes home after the baby has been tucked away in bed for a couple of hours. The days are smooth, busy and always left with unfinished business for the next day.

Bruce is happy, hungry and tired in 4 hour cycles.

When the clock chimes twelve times in the am my cute little baby that you see in the above picture turns into a gremlin that has been doused with water. Last night we awoke at 12, 1:50, 3:30, 4:20 and 6:50 by which time I finally gave up and turned on the tube. Bruce went back to sleep and I snuggled with him in our bed desperate for some shut-eye of my own. We awoke again at 10.

He greeted me with a smile and his legs did a happy dance and just like that he made the night worth it.

I used to be a 10 hour sleep person. The days were unbearable if I didn't get at least 8. I was never a morning person.

Motherhood has changed all of that. I miraculousy survive with only 4 hours a night. I have strength to take care of someone else while I feel under the weather myself.

There is something about us that physically changes when we become mothers and it's not just having extra fat on our bones; it is something much, much more.

The Look

I have mother's intuition that Bruce's concentration look is going to play a huge part in his personality.

I remember the moment I got to hold him for the first time, he let out a whimper and I told him it was okay and he stared at me with his wrinkled forhead...for an ENTIRE hour.

Every stranger he meets, he studies very intently. Everyone comments at his furrow brow. I think he is just trying to figure out who they are and if he likes them.

I also think it's very cute.

Happy Birthday Steve

Steve is my brother according to the law x 2 (Kiel's brother in law). We love Steve for the following reasons:

1. He's a Libra and Libra's are amazing and well-balanced (we're feisty and sweet but never at the same time)
2. He's an 80's baby and it's a proven fact by me that children born in 1980 are The B-E-S-T
3. He turned 30 and survived (gives me hope)

And last we love Steve because we know we can count on him when I show up to events as a "single-mom." Steve carries Bruce back and forth, makes me food and takes care of our dog when he's about to pass out from heat exhaustion.

Happy Belated Birthday Steve!

The Bay Area...Again

So it looks like about once a month we go to the bay area and like always our week books up fast.

Bruce took his first plane ride from Long Beach to Oakland and I could kick myself in the shin 50 times for not taking one stink'n picture. But in my defense, I was flying with a child for the first time AND I was all by myself. Not to mention (I never got this phrase, because whenever you say "not to mention" it means you're going to "mention) Ahem, to "Mention" the plane broke down and we didn't even take off until an hour and an half after we were suppose to land. But we made it, Bruce did great and he got a set of wings that I can put in his baby book.

For the first few days we stayed with Aunt Frances and Uncle Mike, cousin Luke and Ashton. Bruce LOVED Aunt Frances and laughed so hard he pee'd his diaper. He loves her curly hair. Kiel picked us up on Wednesday and we stayed at Omi's the rest of our trip. On Thursday Bruce and I went over to Aunt Katies and we had a "cousin playdate." My cousin Lisa drove from Sacramento with her little girl Leilah (7 months), Frances came with Luke (3 1/2 months) and Ashton (3 1/2 years), so we could play with Katie's children, Micky (5 months) and Jerry (5 yrs). It was great to all get together and play with the babies. I was the last one to FINALLY join the baby club. Of course we talked about breastfeeding, childbirth, wake/sleep schedules and other fun stuff. And then we got the babies together for a photo shoot. I took these pictures below. My cousin is a great photographer, (she was my photographer at my wedding) and she took really good shots of the babies, which I will post separately.

On Friday we visited Omi at her work so she could show off Bruce. Everyone thought he was adorable and kept commenting on how much he looks like a boy. That's also what the nurses said when he was born.

I stopped taking pictures on Thursday so you'll have to suffer with journaling.

Patrice's flock (minus Brigitte, Tyler and Logan *sad face) gathered at her house for conference weekend and Bruce played with his cousin's on Kiel's side of the family. I love watching Mariah who is 3 and Ashton interact with Bruce. They are so gentle, caring and playful. Jack is great too, Bruce, bruce, bruce! And we can't forget little Sydney who is the only baby I have ever known to interact with babies at her age. Most children parrallel play until about 1ish. (How do you like that? My child development class I took 11 years ago still stuck.) This little girl laughs at everything Bruce does, hiccups, sneezes, and staring is all hilarious to her. And when you lay them side by side, she wants to see what Bruce is doing, trys to touch him and so on. It is very entertaining to watch and I am amazed at how developed she is in this area. Of course Bruce is not socially advanced and continues to ignore Miss Sydney.

We all watched conference together, played with the kids and ate really good food.

Unfortanately, Bruced did get a cold from the plane ride that he is still suffering from. Hopefully he gets better soon so he can get shots :D