Sleep! My long lost friend...

Bryson is not a sleeper. He never has been. He will wear himself out to the point of exhaustion by kicking his feet to make sure he does not fall asleep. It is like he knows he might miss something if he lets himself fall asleep! This has been a bit trying for us as new parents. We have read all the books on different parenting techniques and "how to make your baby sleep through the night." All this to say that none of it has really worked for us. I have finally realized that Bryson is not like every other baby in the world. In fact, all babies are different; and parenting, so far, has been about adjusting to the moment and going with what works at that time. I have been trying to get Bryson into a routine, and it is finally starting to fall into place (I'm sure it will change in a day or so :). BUT, last night, we might have had a breakthrough!!!
We fed Bryson at 7pm and he would only take two ounces. This kid will clamp his jaws shut when he doesn't want anymore, and there is NO WAY to get any more down him. We were a little worried that he would be hungry really soon, but decided that there wasn't much we could do. So, we went on our walk with the Kenley's, then came home. Bryson ended up putting himself to sleep around 9pm. We were thinking he would probably wake up around 10pm to eat. When he didn't wake up at that time, I went ahead and changed his diaper- he still didn't wake up. I decided to go ahead and put him in his bed, and just wait up for a while until he decided he was hungry. I fell asleep around 11pm. Bryson didn't wake up to eat until 3am!!! That is EIGHT hours without eating and most of it spent sleeping! Then he went back to sleep until 7:15am. We are hoping that this is the beginning of something wonderful---- sleeping through the night. :) We'll keep you posted...

Gig 'Em Aggies!!!

Bryson celebrated the A&M season opener by proudly sporting his Aggie attire on Saturday. We went out to eat lunch, then ran errands around town. Bryson did great, and we really enjoyed our day together. I'm sure there will be many more pictures of the little Aggie to come...

~Quote of the Day~

Tonight I was talking to my mom on the phone. We were talking about the day we had, and what was going on in each of our worlds. I told my mom that I had been looking through my closet today, and decided that I will probably NEVER fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes again. I was expecting to get some sort of support from her end of the line, maybe a "Work hard and you'll be back in those clothes before you know it!". Instead, I heard a long silence. Then, in the nicest voice you can imagine, in a feeble attempt to make me feel better, she said "Don't worry. It's almost sweater season..." :)

We Did It!

Okay, so some of you may be expecting to read something miraculous (but probably won't be that impressed). We definitely have what we think is wonderful news----- Bryson slept in his crib for the first time last night!!! While it is a little bit sad to think that he is already too big for a bassinet and ready to move on to the next phase, we are looking forward to getting a little bit more shut eye around here! It went well last night and we're crossing our fingers for a good night tonight. For those of you who are impressed that I am able to do this so soon- don't be. Jason and I slept in the guest room across the hall from him, and I think I checked on him about twenty-five times...

Sweet Friends

Last night we had a knock on the door. It was Sam (and the rest of the Kenley crew) wanting us to go on a walk to the park. Before we left Sam wanted to hold Bryson- and of course I had to get a picture (Bryson wasn't so sure about the whole situation!).

Nightime outings with the Kenleys have become a regular occurrence around the Ruple house. We are so thankful for the Kenleys and what their friendship means to us. I'm looking forward to showing Sam and Bryson this picture in about fifteen years!

Happy Birthday Jason!

On Friday, August 28th, Jason celebrated the big 29!!! Granny, Grandma, and PawPaw came for a visit and babysat Bryson while Jason and I went out to dinner to celebrate. We went to Cafe Excell for a quiet dinner, and then hurried home as fast as we could! Wow- our lives have changed so much! I think we spent most of our dinner talking about Bryson, and I realized that he has never been away from both of us at the same time. I'm sure I was much more scarred by that thought than he was. Of course, we knew he was in good hands. We just wanted to get back to him. :) When we got home Jason opened gifts and we had an ice cream cake (Jason's favorite). It was a lot of fun to have the grandparents here, and of course we enjoyed our first real date since Bryson came along. Thanks to Granny, Grandma, and PawPaw for entertaining our baby so we could enjoy some quality time together!

Here are Granny and Grandma thinking they were posing for a perfect picture- not realizing what was going on behind them...

Bryson has become VERY vocal! He loved having his grandparents around to talk to. Like most babies, he would suddenly stop talking every time we got the camera out. Here is one conversation that we actually caught on camera. He loves his Granny!

Pottery Painting Fun!

We had a special treat on Friday--- Grandma came to visit! After eating lunch at Olive Garden and a quick visit to Bryson's future daycare, we decided to go to the U Paint It pottery studio. Bryson's footprint was the focus of our painting!

Grandma had the great idea to paint these cute little candy dishes.

A cross to hang in his room.

Bryson was pooped and spent most of the afternoon snoozing in Grandma's arms. Look at that sweet little smile...