Monday, January 31, 2011

Jack in the Tub





Why is Texas so Far Away?




Gamma Karen and Pappa George came to visit this weekend. We learned a few things.


It is fun to be one of the guys.
Gamma Karen takes sweet pictures.
That three days is a very short amount of time.

And that...

Texas is very far away.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Big Bertha

She's blue.



She's beautiful.



She's a jogging stroller and she's my new best freind. We took her out for her maiden voyage yesterday.



Her three wheels are the savior to my desperate cries for help with my two year old run away who occasionally calls me "Kewwey" after he says "G'bye! Have good day! Lub you!" (he recently dashed across the snowy, icy, slippery street to the neighbors house leaving me screaming behind him with my hands full).





We took her to the mall that has an indoor playground, and Jack snuggled down in her comfy seats and Brayden got to rest his tired legs after conquering the jungle gym. This spring and summers running seasons are looking pretty darn exciting!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Boys.

They look like angels.


They giggle and chatter like adorable little monkeys.



They fart like frat boys and burb like old men who can't tell that people in China can hear them.


At least at our house they do.

Do little girls do that?
I remember last winter, when Brayden's nose was a never ending faucet of yuck, how much he laughed when a bite of his pancake got stuck to his snotty face. And a Cheerio.


Today, Jack was getting burped and something so big and so loud came out of him that I would have looked around the room to find out who else could have possibly made that noise had he not started to choke and cough halfway through it.


We keep working on "excuse me", but we seem to have lost the fine art of covering your mouth when you cough or projectile sneeze on books, floors, mammas and brothers. We've got the word "yuck!" down pretty good though.


Yeesh!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Oh the Things a Two Year Old can Do.


He can identify a circle, square and star. One of his favorite past times is to color on the new easel he received for Christmas, and he can scrawl a very beautifully lopsided circle.


He loves to push his chair around the kitchen and "help" us cook or bake or play with bubbles in the sink. He can also push a taller chair, of which he can now climb to the top of, to reach anything on the table, counters and desks. Anything. Especially all of the things that used to be blessedly out of reach.


He can get into anything, including the fridge. Especially while Mommy is nursing Jack. A fridge lock seems to be in the near future. A store that sells patience and better hiding places would also be nice.


He can hop, skip, jump, throw, hit a baseball off a tee, put his dishes in the sink, move his step stool to turn lights off and on, fix things with his hammer and screwdriver and go to his room when he is told (even if he doesn't stay in there like he is supposed to).


He can pick out a book that talks about a tower of blocks from three Baby Einstein books that look identical to me. He points out a bunch of the shapes and talks about building a tower with his own blocks. It took me a long time to figure out where he got the word "tower" from.


He can go pee pee on the potty. Someday, we'll tell him to go "drain his weasel". Uncle Tim says that and it is hilarious. Right now, we might still have a weasel living in our house, so that would just be confusing.

He is pretty good at brushing his teeth, combing his hair and his favorite way to take a bath is a shower with his daddy (who he calls "daddy my daddy" or "buddy daddy").

He can ask for help instead of scream or whine and we are working on "have it please" instead of "mine". Sometimes a guy just means "ITS MINE", but sometimes he really means "Can I please have it", and that is what we are working on now.


He knows STOP! and GO! and we practice it at the grocery store when Mommy, Jack and Brayden all go together. He also helps put the produce in the bag and then wings it over the top rail of the cart. He does the same with bread, boxes and a few cans. It's one of the reasons Jack rides in the front pack.
Books with great pictures will hold has attention for about an hour (no parental help necessary). Sesame Street holds his attention so well that he won't blink for the same amount of time.
He is very gentle with his little brother and gives him smoochies from about two inches away (which is very much fine with his mommy).
He tells very dramatic stories with hand gestures, tells us to "Wait!" and Grizzly to "Stop!".
He makes us laugh and drives us crazy and we love being his parents.

Here's another one


Monday, January 17, 2011

Takes My Breath Away


We took Jack's picture today. We got so many cute ones, and I'll post more later. But this one couldn't wait!

Winter Time Fun


This is the lake at my mom and dad's house in the middle of the winter. Just before the lake is a pretty steep hill. Great for winter fun! It was both Jeremiah and Brayden's first time sledding.
Jack is just a tad young still! Grizzly came too.

Deandra, Mav, Linc and Nick were all there too.

Everyone had fun!


Brayden had a blast. It was pretty cold (about 4 degrees) and when you aren't running back up the hill, or carrying someone back up the hill, you just don't warm up. So he only got a few trips down the hill before we sent him back inside with Lincoln, Mav and Grammie. He was unsure the first time down, but wanted to go again and again after that. He said "I did it" and "more"!

Even after a wipe out!




Wednesday, January 12, 2011

2nd Birthdays and First Laughs

Brayden had a birthday recently. He turned two. Two years old! Holy Smokes!

We had a party the Sunday before to celebrate and all of the little neighbor buddies came over to celebrate along with any aunties and uncles that weren't being treated for whooping cough or barfing (that left Auntie Danielle and Grammie and Buppa).


Brayden's all time favorite new toy...His very own tool set!!
Now the grown up tools are safe in their hiding spots, thank goodness.
He hasn't put the hammer down for the entire week. The screwdriver has also been around most of the time too.
Before that, Brayden loved trains ("TWAINS!!" or "Where twains, Mamma? Where twains?"). So I thought it would be fun to make a birthday cake that looked like his beloved train. This is as close as I could come.
He was having a good time until everyone started signing to him. He couldn't quite figure that out...nor did he really like it. :)
At least, after it was over, he got to kick back and enjoy some cake!
And there were other cool presents, too!

In Jack news, at his 2 month well baby check, we found out he weighs 13 pounds!!! Last night, after Brayden went to bed, I laid Jack down on his blankie for some tummy time. I went into the kitchen to get some candy (of course) and when I came back he was on his back! Jeremiah had just come home a minute before that, so I asked him if he flipped Jack over. He said "no, why?" Because he just rolled over and we both missed it!!!!! Oh boy, here comes the second baby syndrome! In other major milestone news, he laughed for the first time (which I did manage to catch on video). It was such a beautiful little giggle-inspired by the freinds on his mobile. The same ones that Brayden loved so much when he was Jack's age.

The good news is, that it is like Jack has always been a part of our lives. Brayden worries over him constantly. "Jack, too, Mamma?" He is always asking if Jack will be going with us where ever we go, asks where Jack is and what Jack is doing. He sure does dote on his little brother!
To be fair, it's pretty hard not to! :)



Friday, January 7, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

sleeping

Last night, Jack slept.

And slept.

And slept.

Right through the night! WAHOO! 10:00p.m. to 5:30a.m.

Hallelujah!!!!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

'Moochie.

Yesterday afternoon, I tucked Brayden in for his nap, with a kiss, a hug and a tuck of the covers.

I was standing in the doorway, putting up his gate when he said "Mommy! I need a mooch!"

I said "You need a smoochie?"

"Yep."

"Okay Brayden. Here's your smooch!"

It made me laugh all day.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Smilin' Jack

Jack is such a smiley little guy. We don't have new of it pictures yet, because we never seem to have the camera ready when one of those slow breaks of sunshine crosses his face. But they are adorable. There are still smiles for gas, but now there are smiles for Brayden, for Mommy, for Daddy, for Grizzly, lunch, sleep, mobiles and mirrors. He is a happy, smiley handsome little fellow, and I can't wait to capture more pictures of him!