Good sleeper, or...?

Here's Brennan from yesterday -- hanging out with Daddy on the third floor.  

Nice and innocent, right?  Well, he's decided lately that he wants to be a little devil in the middle of the night.  For the longest time, we had it pretty easy.  Brennan was sleeping through the night at around 4 months old (really through the whole night, not 11pm to 5am, but 7pm to 7am).  He stayed pretty consistent until just about a month ago, when he decided he wanted to start waking up a 2 or 3am for a late night snack.  It's partly out fault for facilitating it, but when you're in a daze at 3am, it's much easier to give him a bottle and put him back down then it is to outlast his fussing and begging for "Daddy."

A couple nights ago, Daddy had had enough.  He had given Brennan a bottle around 2, and Brennan woke back up at 5:30, which in our house, still counts as the middle of the night and is too early to wake up.  So I went in there and snuggled with him on his chair, and we both fell asleep there until 7:30.  Very enjoyable for one morning, but nothing I want to make a habit of.

Then came last night.  Usually, even when Brennan has been getting up at 2 or 3 am, he has a bottle,  goes right back down, and sleeps until 6:30 or 7.  Last night, after having a bottle at 2, Brennan woke up again at 3, very unhappy, and inconsolable.  So I sat there with him while he more or less tantrumed for 15 minutes in my arms, then eventually, he stopped, instead deciding it was playtime.  He started giggling and grabbing my nose and hair.  Not amused or in the mood to play, I put him back down, and fortunately, he did not protest, instead falling back asleep til 7.

Overall, these haven't been awful nights -- last night, when I was probably awake for 20 minutes with him, was among the worst.  But after we get past his birthday, we're definitely going to make an effort to stop this midnight snack and/or play habit.  Wish us luck!

Weathering the storm...

While Papa is at work, Daddy and Brennan are staying inside today because it's stormy out (just rain -- no snow, fortunately).  Here's Brennan, lounging around and snacking on a bottle before his nap:

With his first birthday approaching, Brennan is on his last week or so of bottles.  He's actually been becoming less interested in the bottles and much more interested in whatever we're eating, so we think it will be an easy transition off the formula.  And he's gotten a lot better at his sippy cup too, so we don't think he'll miss the bottle itself either.  

What's been going on the last few months...

Well, there's plenty that has gone on.  I'll just have to address the last few months' events one at a time.  First, Brennan likes happy meals!

Update: I'm told that Brennan finished his hamburger (this picture was taken today), and then he was pretty mad when it was all gone, so he demanded another one.  Our son loves to eat!