Miller Family Meets Brex

We had a very fun weekend in Chicago and Brex got to meet his Uncle Jim, Aunt Karen and cousins Samantha & Macklin. 

I've lived in Chicago for almost 12 years and this was my 1st time at the Field Museum. Brex was dressed up special in his Snugglesaurus outfit to see "Sue" the (world's largest, most complete and most famous T. rex) and "Dinosaurs Alive!", his 1st 3-D movie. There was also a beautiful diamond exibit which I loved, but cameras were prohibited so I have the memory of those gigantic sparklers in my head.

They stayed in the awesome Peninsula Hotel and the kids were very excited to have a TV in the bathroom. The Peninsula Spa is one of the most incredible in the world and after a 10 month break from massages, there is no better treat for a new mommy.

AC/DC concert

AC

Office visits

Brex made the rounds to see where mommy & daddy work today.  We started downtown at the Huron building and then dropped dad off at his other office - the airport.  Since we were on our way to the suburbs, we kept going to mom's office in Northbrook.  Brex was again on best behavior and he had a great time meeting the Sterling gang.

BREX IS 1 MONTH OLD TODAY!!!

Wow time flies when you're drinking milk, sleeping and soiling diapers. On one hand it's hard to believe Brex has been with us one month already, but on the other hand it is almost impossible to imagine life without our little boy. Happy 1 month birthday sweetheart!!!

Early St. Patrick's Day celebrations

We don't have any Irish in us but we still had a fun day visiting lots of friends at multiple St. Patty's Day parties. Both Brex and daddy were dressed to impress...

Our 1st stop was at the Hosler's to meet another Sterling beauty - Laila and 8 more new friends. Brex was the 2nd youngest party animal. He remained consistent and slept through his 3rd playdate - that's 3 for 3 sleepdates!

Out of the car seat and into the baby bjorn since our next party was right around the corner at the Reicharts.

Brex got to meet another little buddy - Ray McGrath and yep, he slept right through that one too (4 for 4)! Ray is a super happy toddler and his parents have been really helpful with parenting advice and awesome 'must-have' baby product recommendations!

 

Jeans and Shoes

We've been spoiled the past few weeks sticking to the one piece zip up or snap outfits. Today we got adventurous and wore jeans AND shoes for the 1st time. Brex looked really cute but mommy was sweating by the time he was fully dressed.  These wardrobe items will be reserved for special occasions ONLY!

Funny gestures

Brex makes a lot of funny faces and arm movements both when he is awake and asleep.  One of his signature poses is holidng his hand up to his ear as if he is talking on the phone, which he probably picked up from watching daddy on his many conference calls.

He has the fist pump/power up move down pat, which is no surprise since he practiced it a lot inside my belly.

Lunch date

It was so nice to get together with Shoshana for lunch today and we were very lucky to meet another beautiful baby girlfriend. Mikaela Vernick was born a few days before Brex on February 11th (7 lbs/10 oz and 20 inches long). The babies behaved like perfect angels in the restaurant and collected loads of compliments from the other diners.

Looking in the mirror

Brex is starting to get more alert and he seems to be focusing on the people/objects he is looking at.  At first I thought it was a fluke that he was looking at himself in the mirror, but now he checks himself out every time we lay him on the activity gym. 

Saturday Night Dinner Date!

Mike & I enjoyed an awesome dinner at Carnival which was also our 1st meal outside of the house post pregnancy. Brex also had a great time hanging out with Jen & Joe and we were very thankful for their offer to babysit!

 

Running errands

How lucky are we to get 2 days of sunshine in a row?  It was time to pull out the jogging stroller because we had some serious errands to 'run' before it was time for the next feeding. We started with a visit to the corner coffee shop that I went to almost every day on my way to work. The employees had watched my belly grow throughout the pregnancy and they were all genuinely excited to meet Brex.  From there we hit the grocery store, 7/11 (for a Slurpee!) and the bank...made it home with 20 minutes to spare before lunch!

Going Strolling...

Finally the temperature was above freezing in Chicago and we were able to get outside for Brex's 1st stroller ride.  We tried the lite stroller today and made a very important stop down the street to get mommy's crazy eyebrows taken care of...

1st Playdate

Tonight was our 1st playdate at the Bluhm's house.  It was so much fun to get together with good friends and see our 3 babies together. 
Quinn Stallings was born 2 weeks before Brex on January 30th, 2010 (6 lbs, 14 oz and 20 inches long)
Ava Bluhm was born a few days after Brex on February 19th, 2010 (7 lbs. 9 oz and 19 inches long)

It was great to go through pregnancy together with Michelle and Anna. It's also comforting to have 2 brand new mothers so close to us for support!

Three Pregnant Girls...

 

Three Happy Mommies!!!

Auntie Shawn and Auntie Jen came to play too!

1st REAL bath

This is one chilled out baby. Brex slept through all of his sponge baths as we carefully navigated around his healing umbilical cord and circumcision, so we were anxious to see how he would take to the full submersion in water. Much to our surprise, he just sat there and yawned as if we were boring him. At one point, he tried to eat the washcloth, but other than that, he was very mellow as we scrubbed him down.

Bath Videos:

Old wives tales

I learned a lot about old wives tales throughout my pregnancy. 
A few were true for me:
1.) I was carrying low (which meant I was having a boy)
2.) Girls cause morning sickness (I never felt sick)
Others were false:
1.) The 1st baby -especially boys- arrive after their due date (Brex was almost 2 weeks early)
2.) Heartburn means baby will be born with hair (he had a head of hair, but I didn't have heartburn)

Wanna say hi Brex

Brex stare down