Brooks Update

Little grandson Brooks is doing great and just turned 9 months old.  Thought it was about time to share some thoughts about him and some pictures.

He's an amazing little guy and has won our hearts quickly.  We are thoroughly enjoying our time as grandparents and love being able to spend some large amounts of time with him.

Back in February, we were there in the hospital when he arrived.

In fact, we parked the Roadrunner in Virginia Beach there in Dec and stayed until the first part of April.  We got to spend time with the expectant mother and father and help out once he arrived.

Wow - He's a game changer!  Over the years it has been fun watching our friends turn into grandparents.  It has been a time of growth and lots of fun.  I remember 'older people' changing into grandparents and 'catch it'.  You know -- talk lots and lots about him, go shopping for him, coddle and hold him, change the diapers, go for walks, talk with him, etc etc.

Over time we had forgotten what it was like to be around the little ones.  Often times it is a mystery exactly what he needs/wants and how to make him comfortable or quit crying.  And it is a lot of hard work.  --- All the obvious things you'd expect to hear.

On top of that - it is pure JOY being a grandparent.

The wonder of this little creature and he grows and changes.  I think he is on a 3 day growth cycle.  I stare and him and swear he has changed right before my eyes in the last 3 days.  And it happens again and again.  What a WONDER.

It strikes me how universal this idea of a grandchild is.  No matter where you live (assuming the basics are taken care of) it doesn't matter about titles or socio/economic status -- these babies bring JOY!

In the early days of Brooks arrival, we got to spend time over at his place but he slept a lot. We went with Kelly on walks around the neighborhood and held him and enjoyed that stage during his first six weeks.

We left him in April and saw him again in August.

From 6 weeks to 6 months is huge! Despite seeing him on FaceTime now and then, we were surprised how much he had changed.

He was learning to crawl in August and now is almost walking.  He has the bumps and bruises to show for his efforts.  And he eats well.  Don't think I have ever seen one that loves to eat like him.  He doesn't care for the diaper change because he sometime has diaper rash.

I think it is from all the different kinds of food he is eating these days.  Here he is working on the finger food.  After he chows down on the spoon fed stuff he loves to feed himself.

Right now he is the friendliest little guy I've seen.  He doesn't cling, is fine around people and has a knack for music.  It is awesome to watch him be mesmerized by Rockabye Lullabies on Pandora.

He has his own pan and wooden spoon that he keeps the beat with.  And he has a little piano he bangs away on.

But mostly he stands by the padded coffee table in front of the TV watching and listening to Pandora as he jumps and down to the beat of the music.  He holds on with one had and raises the other when he's really cooking...  too cute!

He also likes his jumping seat.  It has a few things for him to grab and play with but mostly he gets to jump up and down.

 Here he is in the garage helping mom get the laundry done.

And he still likes to go on walks.  Here he and I had a long walk around the block a few times.  He was supposed to go down for his late afternoon nap but decided against it.

 So I opted to take him out and get some exercise and finally he nodded off for about 30 minutes.

A big highlight of the day for him is when daddy comes home from work and he gets to hang out some before dinner.

One of his favorite toys is his little car that grandma is pushing.  He really feels like a big boy when he gets on this thing.

I could show you about 900 more pictures, but will close for now.  Brooks is one amazing little guy and it is a JOY to be around him.

This is a family shot of Jon and Kelly and Brooks in a hammock while on a weekend trip to the Shenandoahs recently.  Nice family.  We LOVE them!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!