Ho Ho Ho

Brie had a great Christmas with family and friends. On the 23rd we went over to the Marano's house with the Morita's and the Phillips and had pizza and chili. And then on Christmas Eve big rains locally closed our local hang out (trabuco oaks steakhouse) so we opted for fondue and had a fun European meal with Dad, Linda and Fraulein Maria. On Christmas Day we went down to Skip and Judy's house with all the San Diego relatives and Mom and her boyfriend Phil. Brie got lots of cute clothes and toys and is a very lucky little baby - she was the star of the show!! Her favorite toy was a little kitchen/fridge that she can cook on and do dishes and learn about food - her favorite subject!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Smart

I know it sounds cliche to say as a mother (because we're all biased) but Brie is really smart. She knows how to get her arms out of her car seat, she knows to look for a kitty if I say "Where is Mei Mei?" she knows how to turns pages in a book and most of all she knows when to "fake" cry when she wants something. So, watch out gullible grandma's and grandpa's! This little monkey is ready to persuade you into getting whatever she wants!

XOXO

My 1st Thanksgiving

And I ate......mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole and little baby pieces of stuffing!

low low low

The day you lower the crib mattress (to me) is the day that you concede from a goo-goo-gaa-gaa baby to OMG this kid is almost a toddler!

After watching Brie before her nap; roll over...grab the side rail and pull herself up and start peek over the rail; it was time!

Thanks Grandpa Mike :)

Ma-Ma

It's pretty safe to report that Brie has said "ma-ma" twice now! Once I heard it super clear and Maria didn't so I thought maybe I was crazy (or just tired from working all day) but today she said it again and Maria looked at me and confirmed what I heard. Its really gratifying to hear that because coming from a mom who works FT and sits in her office knowing she's missing out on SO much during the day; I often wonder if she'll start to favor my au pair over me because I am gone from 8-5....so hearing those precious little words is wonderful!

Pumpkin Patch

102+

This week Brie got her 1st real fever. Not sure if it was teething or just not feeling well but she was really good thru it all and Maria jumped into action and got her temperature down. Our 1st clue was that Brie wasn't as excited about her bottle or food as she normally is! A little infant Motrin and some tender loving care and Brie is ok!

Almost 7 mo

When people told me "it goes by quick" I never knew how right they were! This is beyond quick. I feel like I was just at Hoag ordering room service with a little burrito laying next to me sleeping. Now Brie is wanting to stand, sitting on her own and loving the sounds of her own voice. Luckily for me, she is totally ok with playing with herself and entertaining herself. Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night, look at the video monitor and she's up just sucking on her fingers hanging out...she'll fall back to sleep and it won't even phase her. She is almost grown out of her car seat (Snap & Go) and into a convertible one. I can't believe at 7 mo she's already such a big girl and I think that's a lot to do with genetics. After all Daddy was almost 10 lbs when born! Brie is a beautiful baby and I can already see the toddler emerging in her. I am sad to see my infant go but the little girl who is coming around the corner is going to be even better!

Sitting Up

Brie is starting to sit on her own! I think its hard for her to hold her big head up (she did inherit mom and dad's large cranium circumference) but she enjoys it and has a really proud look on her face when she does it. But one time mommy turned away for one second and Brie fell over - - - BOOM!

6 mo appt

100th percentile - Brie is 19 lbs and 27"! She is happy and healthy and we discovered she has 3 teeth. They are just poking through but the good thing is that she hasn't been super fussy just drooling a lot and always gnawing on things. The doctor is pleased with her overall and she was really good during her appt - even though it was during her regular morning nap. Cheers to Brie!!

Big B=Big Brie

Besides my eyelashes and my sleeping patterns; I think a lot of Brie is coming from her daddy. She's pretty mellow, even-tempered and she's just a big lovable baby. Everytime I look at her laying in her crib or on her changing table I think about how she's going to tower over me someday. She's got incredible strength in her legs like her daddy and she la-la-loves to eat. She is even starting to watch us eat people food with interest. Right now she's having some banana baby food mixed into her rice cereal 1x/day and she loves it!

My 1st Airplane trip!

Mommy took me to Lake Tahoe and I rode on my first airplane. It was only an hour flight so when I slept mommy had a gin and tonic :) The trip was good and I saw Uncle John and Aunt Mandy along with little JJ and Mitch. I slept really good in the high altitude in my pack and play and I went to meet my Godmother Nicole and her little baby boy Caiden at Sunnyside restaurant on the west shore of Tahoe. All in all a great trip! XOXO

My 1st rice cereal

Today I had my 1st bowl of rice cereal and I loved it! I ate the whole bowl. I did spit some out but overall I am pretty good at eating and swallowing my food!

she rolled over!

Today Brie rolled over! I am lucky that Maria videotaped it because I was at work but its such an exciting milestone for my little monkey! I love her so much!!!

4 mo check up

Brie is quite a healthy little baby. She's 95% in height and 95% in weight. We affectionately call her Chunky Monkey. She is currently getting better with her arms and grasping things and I'm trying to wean her of her swaddle. I am a big believer in swaddling!

This weekend we are getting together to celebrate Brie's daddy's 41st birthday. I think we'll always do something special on July 25th so she knows that her daddy loved to be his typical Leo self and be the center of attention on his birthday!

Father's Day Eve

As I look into baby Brie's eyes, I can't help but wonder how we will celebrate Fathers Day when she is old enough to understand someday. I hope that I can keep his spirit alive but I am fully aware that to Brie he might be just this mysterious person in a picture frame. I hope to find an annual tradition that she and I can do together; to remember him and what he loved. Whether its a trip to place some flowers at his headstone or a hike to "secret spot" where he loved to ride his mountain bike. Whatever we do, he'll be missed. Happy Father's Day Big B!

10 week check up

Brie got her 10 week check up today. Not an easy appointment since she received 4 shots! She did cry but calmed down a lot quicker than I thought (thanks to her lion pacifier!) and help from au pair Maria! She's been sleeping it off pretty much all day.

Her weight was 12.9 lbs (75%) and her length was 23.5" (75%)

She's been sleeping 6-7 hours a night and is still powering down 6 oz every 4 hours! YUM

CBS 2 Los Angeles feature

http://cbs2.com/featuredhealth/skin.cancer.melanoma.2.1671334.html

6 Week Dr's Appt

Brie is doing great!

Today she went to her 6 wk Dr's appt and she's in the 75% for height and 60% for weight. She weighed in at 10.5lbs! She is very alert and is able to follow people with her eyes and grab mama's hair (ouch!)

She was very relaxed at the appt and actually slept a little bit in the exam room. I am not sure if the next appt (10 weeks) will be so serene as Brie is going to get 4 sets of shots!

6 hours

Brie slept for 6 hours last night! From 11:30 to 5:30.....she's really filling out (a nice way of saying getting chunky!) and is a really good baby. Next week is her 6 week check up so we'll see what percentile she'll fall in. I am guessing she will be 9 pounds and Maria (her au pair) is guessing 10 lbs so we'll see. Either way she's happy, healthy and super cute!

New Photos!

Easter

Brie had a great 1st Easter - Saturday she was a total angel and went down to my dad's house for dinner. She ate and then quietly slept wedged in a boppy pillow in the guest room while mama ate and then on Sunday she went on her 1st big road trip to Rancho Santa Fe to see Grammie Judy and Grumpa Skipper....and even great-grandmother Madeline got to see Baby Brie! The day ended with an exciting 7.2 earthquake located about 100+ miles away in Mexico! Ole!!!

TV STAR!!!

Today the CBS affiliate came to our house to interview me about melanoma and meet Baby Brie. The story will (hopefully) focus on Brian's melanoma but it will also touch on the fertility journey I went on last June as well. At first I wasn't completely comfortable putting Brie on TV at such a young age but I talked to Brian's mom and she felt that she would help drive the story home for the viewers on how dangerous skin cancer is. A good portion of my interview focused on me not knowing the dangers of melanoma and how I thought Brian's Stage IV diagnosis was somehow curable. I think the general public needs to learn the severity of this cancer and I hope "our" story get through to as many people as possible.

New Photos!

1st Dr's Visit

Doctor says Brie looks great....she's 7 lbs 10oz which is above her birth weight and she's grown! She's now 20.5" from 19"....

Besides that she's sleeping and eating great. The doctor was pleased I have her on a set feeding schedule of every 4 hours. I didn't sense that my decision to formula feed was an issue at all and so far she's a great well-tempered baby who was napping in her crib on day #2 home from the hospital.

I don't know if me using the BabyPlus monitor when I was pregnant has anything to do with Brie being such a good baby but she's able to self-sooth herself, she doesn't have any colic (cross my fingers) and she's really alert, strong and healthy.

That's it from Camp Baby Hogan! XOXO

A Week Home from the Hospital

We've been home a week and Brie is doing great. She's eating every 4 hours and sleeping a lot during the day....and a little bit during the night! She likes to lay in her vibrating bouncy seat and the Boppy while mommy watches TV. She is freakishly strong! When Brie get burped she can already lift her head and when her diaper gets changed she pumps her strong legs as if she's mountain bike riding like her daddy used to! When she gets swaddled at night just getting her arms down to her side is sometimes a monumental task....so Miss Brie is one tough cookie!

Attached are some photos taken yesterday for your enjoyment!