May 2009

I can't believe May is already over and that little Brendan is almost 1 year old! Time really does fly! Brendan hasn't changed too much this month. He is definitely "talking" a lot more and squirmy as ever - getting into everything and constantly exploring. Here he is in his cute hat that his grandma bought for him. I used to think it looked goofy, but Eddie loves it. It's the only hat Brendan will leave on his head, and now that it's sunny, that works for me! ( :

I wouldn't say Brendan loves being in water, but he tolerates it! We bought this water table for him (yay Craiglist!) and take him to the swimming pool often. He always seems confused rather than interested but we are hoping he'll turn into a Water Baby one of these days! Yes, he stands up all the time but he can't do it without holding on to something. He walks while holding on to the couch, so maybe unsupported walking is coming soon!

Man, does this kid love to eat! No one could ever call Brendan a fussy eater, which makes things easy for Eddie and I. Here he is eating avocado which he loves to smear all over himself - usually some makes it into his mouth as well. And don't you dare eat in front of him if he doesn't get to eat! Whenever there is food around, he comes right over going "Mmmmm! Mmmmm!" and then usually freaks out. We think he learned this trick from Sam. It's really pretty funny but makes eating in restaurants pretty impossible.!

As if May wasn't crazy enough with 4 weddings and 1 charity event, Eddie and I decided to put our house up for sale to try and capitalize on the low interest rates and low housing prices in order to upgrade to a bigger model. We plan to stay in the North Dallas area, but we expect that our house will take quite awhile to sell seeing as how it looks like a million other houses in Frisco. Work for Eddie is still a daily beating as companies have not started to rehire. We did manage to sneak away for a weekend to Charleston, SC to see our Army friend Dave Uthlaut get married and spend time with our good friend Erik. All in all, it was a crazy month and I'm looking forward to a more relaxing June!

April 2009

It's hard to believe we took Brendan's 9 month pictures this month! He is growing up so quickly! He loves the camera and is the biggest ham!

During his Ninth Month, he has grown an additional tooth on the top to go with his snaggletooth, waves "Hello" and "Good-Bye," tries to clap, and says things like "Ba Ba" and "Ma Ma" which might be the cutest thing I have ever heard in my life! He has also figured out how to crawl behind the couch and open up cabinets, reminding us how behind we are on the babyproofing of the house! Enjoy the pics - I think they're some of his best!

March 2009

It's so funny how fickle babies can be! At my friend Leah's house, Brendan absolutely loved playing in the ball pit. So, of course, I went out and bought a bag of balls (which aren't cheap by the way!). When we got home and put Brendan in the pit, this was his reaction

He was completely frozen and stayed in this position for like 30 seconds. It was hilarious! Now he just crawls out of the ball pit as fast as he can.

Brendan hasn't really changed too much this month. He continues to crawl and pull up on everything in sight. His new favorite activities are tearing apart magazines and attempting to eat the pages, watching the dogs fight and laughing hysterically, wrestling with Eddie, and making a sound that sounds like a roar. It's pretty cute.

Also, he is getting one of his top teeth; however, it's a side tooth, not one of the front ones. It looks pretty funny. I think we are going to start having to call him Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel (watch The Simpsons!)

Super Baby! Here's Brendan imitating the super heroes who are all over his bedroom! He loves to reach for things that are far away from him such as the toys in the bathtub and the water in the toilet. Ew.

Two words every mother should know: CRAIG'S LIST! That is where I get most of Brendan's gear including the jogging stroller seen here! Unfortunately, the desire to jog is not available to purchase on Craig's List, but it makes for some nice walks to the park! ( :

Everyone begs for food in our house! Ha ha! Poor Sam was bestowed with the shock collar this month, though our sweet little dimwit Beagle doesn't seem to figure out the correllation. Ahh....he truly is like Lenny from Of Mice and Men, and he ate my copy of that book this month. There's irony for ya.

In other Commender family news, Eddie's job totally sucks right now as corporate recruiting is rather difficult when there are no jobs to recruit for. He is hanging in there, but it's not very much fun for him to go to work each day. At least he has happy little Brendan and his always cheerful wife to come home to. I'm here as well. ( :

Business is going well for me and I am very busy working on the charity gala that I am coordinating. If you'd like more information, visit www.soundsoftheseason.org.

TTYL

February 2009

Brendan's Favorite Activity = Standing Up On Everything! Here he is trying to get the dog's chew toys to chew on himself!

Such a happy little guy! He smiles all day long. We are very lucky!

We had to retire this chair when Brendan flipped himself over and started crawling away with it still attached!

A rare photo of Brendan & me after a bath - Eddie is the official bath giver! ( :

Playing with Daddy sure is tiring! Awwww!

In other Commender family news, I just got back from being in Warsaw, Poland for 5 days to referee the Men's World Cup of judo, which was very exciting. I barely got to see any of the city, but it seemed pretty interesting! Eddie has been busy with work as well as a volleyball league that he joined. Business for me is still going well, and you can view my latest events at www.significanteventsoftexas.com/tag/weddings

January 2009

Happy New Year! It's amazing how much Brendan changes in such little time. In the last month he has started crawling, pulling up to standing, and cutting teeth! Of course, this means that he is back to waking up at night to alert us of his new skills, but it's pretty cute to see him standing up in his crib! Eddie had to lower the mattress because one day Brendan looked like he was about to climb over the top. So, now I guess I really have to pay attention to him....( :

Look at those teeth! They are sharp!

A crawling machine!

So excited to stand!

2008 Year in Review

Hello, Friends & Family! Thanks for visiting our blog!

2008 has definitely been a year we will never forget and one of the best and most important in our lives! Of course, we are referring to the fact that our little Brendan was born this year. He arrived on July 1 at 12:16 a.m. after nine months that felt like an eternity! He was 8 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long.

Brendan is a really wonderful baby! He has the sweetest personality and is so happy all the time. He smiles and laughs all day long and is really a joy to be around. He has changed so much from the day we brought him home from the hospital that we can't even believe he is the same baby looking back at the pictures! He is now 5 1/2 months old, and we think he will start crawling any day now. He is adored by his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, so he is a very lucky kid, and we feel lucky to have him as well. Here are a few pictures from the last 5 months:

Nash & Sam, our two Beagles, have adjusted to Brendan very well, though they are definitely a lot more neglected than they used to be! One advantage to having them is that they have developed an affinity for Brendan's spit-up and have become the inadvertant clean up crew! In fact, every time he burps now, they come running, so I guess Pavlov was right about that Classical Conditioning stuff!

Eddie and I are still very involved with judo both here in Texas and around the world. In fact, in November we traveled to Finland where I refereed at the Finnish Open which was a very interesting experience. We took a little time while we were in that part of the world to visit St. Petersburg, Russia and enjoyed seeing all of the amazing architecture and learning a little bit more about Russian history. I've always wanted to see Russia, so this was a great experience that I would not have had if it wasn't for judo!

Eddie continues to do well with his job as a recruiter for the Lucas Group. Though the economy has slowed things down a bit, we are confident that things will turn around for the better. I am no longer teaching and can't say that I miss it too much! While taking care of Brendan is definitely my full time job, my business - Significant Events of Texas - has become very much "full time" as well. I joke that Brendan is my good luck charm, because right after he was born, things with the business got very busy and, thankfully, have stayed that way. You can view my recent events at www.significanteventsoftexas.com.

I plan to update this blog on a monthly basis with new pictures of Brendan so keep checking! We wish the very best to you and your family this Holiday Season!

Love,

Eddie, Meredith, & Brendan