Braska Bear

Tonight I got to go out with Pop to a party for his work. He forgot to bring the camera, so we don't have any pictures, but I'll tell you about it. I think Pop just wanted to take me along because he's not good at what big people call "small talk,"and he thought I'd be good to keep him company. We went to a nice dinner place where there were lots of people from Pop's work. I got to meet a whole big bunch of new nice friends. I even got to cuddle with a few nice ladies like Miss Cathy, Miss Donna (I remember her from when I went to work with Pop once!), Miss DeeDee, Miss Linda, and Miss Cindy. If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry! I didn't get to sit with Miss Julia , but she said next time I would get to. They were all really nice, though. Everyone was eating yummy pizza, but I didn't get any. Pop had root beer! I didn't know he ever drank anything but Dr Pepper! Everyone said that I was pretty and sweet and must look like Mommy. Pop just made a f...

First Miss Robin came , then Miss Tami came. She comes to play with me on Tuesdays so Mommy can get work done or run out to do things. Isn't that super nice of her?! Today we played with a new toy that I got from Aunt Chris and my cousins. It makes music and lights up, and that's my favorite things. I practiced sitting up some more with her, and I played the music. It was very fun. I think Miss Tami was letting go of me little bits, but she didn't let me fall over. At lunchtime, Pop came home and took a little nap with me. He's very good at napping, and it was pretty cozy. Then I went out with Pop (I'll tell you all about that soon ). And tonight I sat with Mommy in my new favorite spot...right next to her in the big squishy chair. It feels so comfy that I fell asleep while she was working. It was a pretty good day!

This morning Miss Robin came to see me. She made me work hard again, like she always does. But she thought I did a good job trying to sit up. I was playing with some stuff while we were practicing sitting, and she let me go for a while and I didn't notice. I heard her tell Mommy that I was holding myself up for over 10 seconds. Mommy and Miss Robin thought that was pretty good. I've been doing better and working more to stay up instead of flopping over, and it's getting more fun to play that way. I still don't like to sit with my hands on the floor to hold me up. I can't do anything with them then! So I'm just trying to be strong so I can sit by myself and play with things. Maybe by my birthday in a few weeks I'll be able to sit for a bunch more seconds.

Miss Melissa at Banana Migraine gave me a neat award! This is what she said about Mommy and me and some other blog friends. "I have the pleasure of passing along this fun treat to three other sweet bloggers, all of whom brighten my day with their insightful entires, and of course, pictures of their little cuties." Thanks Miss Melissa!! We feel so special when friends think of us!!! We've met some new friends lately that we think are pretty sweet, so we'll pass on the award to some of them! Miss Deborah at Sunflower Stories Miss Michelle at The Zoromski Chronicles Miss Melanie at Baeten Family Miss Valerie at Rylie Artie's Mom at Doin' it Down to Earth Check out these new friends and say hello! It's always good to have more friends! ________________________________________________ Today Mommy put a new outfit on me that my Great-Aunt Hyla sent to me. It has the greatest colors on it! I just kept staring at it because it was so bright! Mommy tried to take s...

Braska's been holding out on her therapists. In the therapy sessions, they try and try to get her to reach for things, but she's completely uninterested in any of the zillions of toys that have been presented. She just recently, like in the last few days, has been starting to reach for my hands when I go to pick her up, and that's been fun for us. She doesn't really reach up, like she's asking to be picked up, she reaches out to hold the hands, but only if I put them palms facing her...like I'm miming a window between us. I say "hands" and she giggles and reaches up to grab my hands. She's done it for her Pop too, and that was good times. She has also been extremely interested in her tubing while it's hooked up for her bolus feeds to the G-tube. She spends the entire feeding--granted, it only takes about 3 minutes (perk of the situation)-- reaching and following the tubing around when I move it to add more formula or to try to evade her gr...

Mommy's been talking to me about eating lately, but I haven't been in the mood. I've been taking a few days off and just letting her feed me with my belly tube. I don't have to do anything and my belly gets filled up! But today Mommy gave me some apples and bananas and I ate the whole jar. It took me a little longer because I have learned some fun new things to do with my mouth. Mommy laughs, but she says it sure makes a mess.

Miss Robin came this morning, like she does every Tuesday, and just like always, she made me work very hard! I complained and tried to tell her that I didn't want to do this stuff, but she didn't listen to me. Well, she said she heard me, but she still made me practice sitting and holding myself up. I showed off how strong I'm getting, and I held myself up on my hands and knees for longer today than I have before. Mommy and Miss Robin were pretty happy with me. Miss Robin had a new toy today that had lights and played music...my favorite! So I sat for a little while and played with it. But I only like doing that for little bits of time. I'm starting to stay up for longer though, if I have someone to help me just a little.

Bears win it on my day!! 1 month old 11 months old The outfit was a little big last year (a lot) and it's still plenty big! There's a different pair of then-and-now shots over here if you're so inclined.

Today I went to work with my Pop for a while since Mommy had a meeting. He just had to go in for a bit, so I went too. I tried to help him, but his desk has lots of computers and my arms weren't long enough to reach. I tried to sit up like a big girl in his chair while he took the picture, but I ended up on the floor somehow right after the big light came from the camera. I bonked my head, but I'm ok. I guess I'm not ready to get out of the chair by myself just yet.

I'm practicing sitting up, and I'm getting stronger. I like to prop up on Mommy's lap. It's my favorite place. She doesn't even have to hold me up anymore.

This is from a post on my other blog (the Mommy blog?) that, after talking to some of you, I thought might be helpful here also... I kind of forget that just because you might read this one doesn't mean you also read that one . Silly me! Hope it's helpful! ______________________________________ Here's some little things that have come up recently in conversations about blogs and internet in general, so I thought it might be helpful to share the info. Many of you will be in the "been there, done that" category, but maybe there will be something new. I really appreciate that many of you are not big "internet junkies" like some of us, so the fact that you check in with us regularly makes me feel very special! ~When you see a highlighted word of phrase, like this , it's called a "link" and means that you can click on that word or phrase and it will take you to another web page or another place in the current blog or page. This is very helpf...

It's Sunday. I saw lots of friends at church today and got to spend some time with some nice ladies I hadn't seen in a while. It was so fun to see so many people who want to say hi to me. Then after church we came home and changed into our Bears wear. It was time for football! Mommy's been teaching me how to cheer and get all excited at the right times. She says maybe someday I can be a cheerleader like she was a long time ago. There was lots of times to cheer, but there were also some times to be sad. In the end, the Bears didn't win. Bummer. Tonight we had some nice friends come over and help us a WHOLE BUNCH! Mommy told the story here . Here's me and Kaylee watching everyone else work.

Alright, it's time to come out from the blog lurking shadows. I know there are hundreds of you checking in on us every week, and that's GREAT! But I'd like to know what you'd like to hear about or see in pictures. Are you interested in therapies, doctor visits, and progress? Are you into Braska's social calendar? Would you like to know more about the feeding process and the tube transition? Do you prefer the "normal life" kind of stuff? Would you like to know any specific things about Down syndrome, heart defects, or feeding issues? Come on, take the plunge....leave me a comment with what you'd like to see or what your favorite part of Braska's little blog is. You're taking the time to come by to see us...we'd like to make it worth your while!

I went to see Miss Lynn at Dr. Y's office today, and she put me on the silly scale. Guess what? I finally made it over 14 pounds! Mommy was hoping I would get to that before I have my birthday, so she was happy. (14 lbs 2.5 oz) Since it's been kind of cold here the last couple days, I got to wear a new outfit that Auntie Rachel got me. It has a jacket and everything. I must have been looking super cute because Mommy took a whole bunch of pictures while she was trying to get me to smile. I finally gave her a nice one since she was trying so hard. And here is a little movie thing too, especially for all my family far away. Mommy and me had lunch with Miss Sara and Ali P today, and we also worked outside on the pool for a while. It takes a long time to close the pool since I can't help Mommy, so she has to do it by herself. I think we're gonna get it finished tomorrow, so I'll get to bundle up in warm clothes and go outside and watch her. She says these are da...

Today is my Uncle Jody's birthday. This is a picture of us when I was just a tiny baby, not quite one month old. He's a veder-in-ary-in or something like that. He takes care of big animals and sometimes little ones too. Some people call him Dr. Joel, but I already have plenty of doctors, so he's just Uncle to me! Happy birthday, Uncle Jody!!!

Mommy and me met up with Miss Janet and Miss Pat for lunch today. Mr. Nathan also came along later to eat quick with us girls. He's married to Miss Janet, so that's why we let him come with us. Mommy used to work with Miss Pat, and she was really happy to see her. It's been a long time since she got to see her before. And I hadn't ever met Miss Pat, so it was fun. She talked to me and played with me. And she took a picture of me and Mommy showing off our Patty Cake funtime. Hope we can have lunch with them again soon!

Mommy's been busy trying to keep up with the 31 for 21 thing she's doing, so I've been trying to do my stories by myself. I haven't figured out how to get Mommy's computer open, though. It's been a pretty fun few days though. Pop had to work on Saturday and Sunday, so that was no fun. But he had a day off on Monday, so we got to play some on that day. Mommy's been happy that I've been eating better , and she's been trying to get some good smiley pictures. This one was a cute smile, but I stuck my foot up there just in time to hide it from the camera. Mommy said I was sneaky!

Miss Karen K came over to play with me tonight while Mommy and Pop went out for a while. We had a good time playing. She kept trying to take pictures of me smiling, but I was pretty sneaky. I know that that camera is for, so I always trick them. This is the closest she got to catching me. But it was fun to watch her try over and over and over.

Since everyone always asks Mommy about if I'm eating or not, I thought I'd tell you what's been up lately. The good news is that I'm starting to like eating food, even though I'm still not into drinking anything. Today I made a real mess, and Mommy let me do it! Miss Louise always tells Mommy to just let me make a mess, but usually Mommy likes to keep things clean while I'm eating. But this time, she took my shirt off and let me play. I ate pretty much of the little jar, and I chewed on my hands a little too. They taste better when they have food on them. But I did sure end up in a mess. Look what Pop did last time I got all messy with food. Mommy told him no more of that!

Today we went over 20,000 hits! You all rock! That's in less than 8 months! Thanks for coming so often to see how we are and what's up in Braska's little head. Also, I forgot to mention on this side that there was a Braska post on Just RK with some video...in case you're interested. Make it a great day!!

Happy Tuesday, Grandma C!