Brayden's first time in the stroller!

There was a week in between when Katie's parents left and when Charlie's parents got here for a week.  Nothing too exciting happened - we just spent the days hanging out with our dog and son.  At 2-3 weeks old for the baby - that is a handful in itself.

The biggest thing was Brady's first walk.  We took him out in the stroller, which is a pretty cool set up. You put him in the car seat, which attaches to the stroller.

Katie walked Griffey, while Charlie walked Brady.  Griffey gets very excited for walks in general, and on this one he kept wanting to run ahead.  It was fun, though - our family of four making its way out into the world!  Below is a video we took - sorry it's a little bumpy!

Charlie's Trips to the Midwest - weekend of August 11th

The last few weeks I (Charlie) have made the trip to the Midwest a couple of times.  Both times I had reason to head to Chicago for work (more on that in the future).  But the big thing was - since we've had both of our parents up here to help with the baby, I was able to go back both weekends for special occasions for two friends.

The first was a weekend in early August, when Katie's parents were home.  After flying into Chicago, I drove down with another friend to Fishers, Indiana for a buddy's bachelor party.  The event was for Ryan, who is a friend from Chicago.  This wasn't anything too crazy - maybe we're getting older with kids and all, so the bachelor parties are quite different than they were a decade ago.  We did play a new game I'd never heard of called "flong", which is basically beer pong and flip cup combined.

I played my first round of golf this year - which was not pretty on my part.  Most fun, though, was the lake games.  We stayed at Ryan's mom's house because she lives on a beautiful lake up there.  They had a Saturn ball, which is fun to try to get up on from the water - it takes a little teamwork and some serious balancing.  I didn't get any pictures because I was too busy being in the water, but I found a picture from a website to give an idea below.

We did some kayaking - and of course found a way to create a drinking game out of kayak races (it's still a bachelor party - even if it's Fishers, IN!!!).  We also did a little bit of fishing.  I didn't catch anything - but at least the bachelor did.

I also got to see my good friend's new baby (1 month-plus older than Brayden) for the first time.  It was fun to get back to the Midwest for a few days and see a lot of my college friends.

Brayden & Griffey

I (Charlie) picked our dog Griffey up from "Aunt Patty's" a few hours after we first got home from the hospital and  Katie's parents arrived.  He was so excited to see me when I got him, and he really perked up as I got ready to bring him in.  He ran in... and saw some major changes in his house!  Grandparent Caricos were there - and visitor's always make him a bit nervous at first.  But the biggest change - there was a bassinet in the room, and Katie was holding an 8 lb baby!  You could tell right away, his excitement turned to caution, and Griffey didn't seem to know what to do with all this change and excitement!

Overall, he seems to like his little brother!  He's been a very good dog since Brayden came home; he barks less and loves to sit in the dog bed next to his mommy's chair when it's feeding time for the baby.  He is very quiet when the baby cries - we think he senses somethings wrong and knows that he should be helpful.  Occasionally we have to remind Griffey that Brady's toys and blankets are not doggie toys, but overall he's been a very good dog!

Brayden Meets Grandma and Grandpa Carico

Picking up where we left off - Brayden came home from the hospital two weeks ago last Friday (August 3rd).  When we first got home, we definitely felt a little like fish out of water.  We realized that having the pack-and-play (with the bassinet that will be the baby's crib for now) and changing table upstairs wasn't great logistically given that we'd spend most of the day downstairs - especially since for the first few days since Katie had to limit going up and down steps.  So the folding card table turned into a makeshift changing table downstairs.  And Charlie made trips to Babies 'R' Us two days in a row - the first to get a second bassinet, the second to get sheets for that same bassinet!

Brayden seems to like the Winnie the Pooh seat the best, though!

Katie's parents got here from Ohio a few hours after we got home from the hospital, and they both got to meet their new grandson when he was 3 days old!  I think they were over-joyed with how adorable he is and becoming grand-parents for the first time.  We definitely needed the help these first 2 weeks home from the hospital and Grandma and Grandpa Carico seemed more than happy to hold Brayden while Katie got to catch a little sleep.  Katie was very exhausted from the long labor and had to take it easy while getting around. Charlie had to go back to work, so they also helped out by going grocery shopping and fixing some meals and taking Griffey on walks, so Katie could put all her efforts towards getting recuperated and feeding Brayden.  We were so thankful to have the Carico's there to help us with Brayden these first two weeks.  I think Brayden really enjoyed meeting his Grandparent Carico's also, he went right to sleep every time Grandma Carico would hold him and sing - You are my Sunshine.   

Brayden comes home

OK, so we fell a bit behind on posting - so it's time to catch up.  Just a short post here to commemorate a big moment in the life of what was then a 2-day old baby.  After Brayden Mowry was born at 2 AM on Wednesday, August 1st, we stayed at Valley Hospital for the standard 2 nights.  Here's a quick look at the hospital room.  It was adequate, and it was good to have a few days where we could let the nurses take the baby and Katie could rest up after the labor.  But, as you can probably tell - it was pretty small, particularly when Charlie turned the chair out to sleep at night.  So after 2+ days, we were ready to go home!

So Friday morning just before lunchtime, we checked out and brought the baby home!

A family of Reds fans

Today the Reds play a double header.  Very exciting for the Mowry family here in New Jersey!  All 4 Reds fans just got done watching a game 1 victory over the Cubs; hopefully we see another one in the night cap!

Brayden Stephen Mowry - Welcome to the World!

Early yesterday morning, we welcomed Brayden Stephen Mowry.  The world's newest Reds fan was born at 2AM, weighing in at 8 lbs, 4 oz, measuring 21.25 inches long.

After getting to the hospital Monday evening, the doctors induced Katie Tuesday morning.  After 17 hours of labor, Brayden showed up just in time for last call at the local pub :)  The labor was difficult for Katie - but we figured that must be why they call it labor and not vacation.  She was very proud of herself, as she should be!  After 9 months of being pregnant, the prize at the end is totally worth it - a healthy, beautiful baby boy who is just beginning to learn the world he's entered.  He sure was stubborn about coming out - he was 10 days late!  But he seems to be enjoying the sights and sounds of his new surroundings.

We are at the hospital in recovery for the next few days (until Friday morning), getting acquainted with Brayden and learning the first steps of being parents.  Katie's parents are going to come up to help us out, and my parents are to follow later in the month.  We are taking the opportunity to rest and learn while here, but we can't wait to bring Brayden home so he can start his life - and meet his big brother Griffey!