he's not so little anymore..

oh, he's still my baby, and always will be mama's boy, but our one-year-old is definitely a toddler now. He's on day 2 of NO bottle, just sippy cups. He is cruising, standing for 30 seconds +, taking 1-2 steps at a time, and climbing like crazy. Onto couches, chairs, step stools, you name it. He insists on having silverware of some kind when he eats, and if something has a button, he will press it. He knows Mommy's buttons to press, too. I'm going to work on finding a pediatrician so we can get all the official stats... he is definitely a big, strong boy! :)

Happy birthday, Brandon!!!

an ordinary 1st birthday

11:04 a.m.
Birthday cake #1 is cooling. Big sis is playing baseball with the happy birthday balloon and "'1" candle, exclaiming "batter-up!" while she plays. Birthday boy loudly protests the imposed naptime from his crib, and Mommy is going to take a shower.

quotable quotes

Bear, age 3 years,10 months:

• "I don't want to take a nap. I want to stay crabby ALL day."

• Bear:"Where are the cheerios?"

Mom: "On the counter."
Bear: "Did you put them on the counter so I can't reach them?"

our troopers

Bear and her Buddy have been such troopers during the moving process. Poor bear wanted so badly to sleep in her new room tonight, but she had to sleep on the couch instead. It's interesting to try to look at things through childrens' eyes. Once he got past the sense of chaos from the unloading of the moving truck, Brandon took it upon himself to explore every square inch of our new place. Hannah mostly entertained herself, quoting her favorite videos, singing, throwing snap-bead-toys up in the air and saying, "heads up!" She also helped carry some light things up to our apartment from the car.
I've realized that we will have to teach her about safety in our new community. Not because it seems unsafe, but because an apartment community is just different with all the people in close proximity. No yards, even small ones, to separate. But on the bright side, she is looking forward to learning to swim in the pool, and we have a playground in walking distance!

who's who?

Bear: Mommy, get up, you can't stay in bed all day.
(about 7:53 a.m.)

a new 1st

Tonight was Brandon's first time obviously recognizing a voice through the telephone. Grandma T. had called and was on speaker phone, and his face LIT UP. He also babbled to her. It was SO cute. Then big sis got out of the bath tub, and they were practically fighting eachother for the phone.

There are so many firsts that you don't record, I had to jot this one down somewhere so I would not forget. It was so sweet.

On a similar note. I really think he's starting to understand and voluntarily use "yes" and "no" head nods from time to time.... I wonder how long it will be until he SAYS "no"?

time flies...

Where have 11 months gone? I did not realize how much Brandon has grown until we met our newest family member this weekend. Ella Grey is so cute, so tiny...

Hannah loved to hold her. Brandon seemed to think his new cousin is a baby doll, and quickly gained the new nickname Bam-Bam. We decided not to let him get too close to her after that.

So much has happened in the kids' lives this summer... a week in WI to visit great Gramma, a week in Memphis, packing up our house and moving in with GranWendy and Grandad until we move... location yet to be disclosed. They have been troopers. Other than a setback in sleeping habits, especially for the not-so-little-anymore boy, they seem to take every change in stride. We are so thankful to all our friends and family who have helped in this transition.

Brandon weighed in around 19.5 lbs at 9 months, and I'll guess he is around 21 lbs now (11 months). He is strong, has mastered climbing up stairs and is beginning to figure out how to lay down and scoot down them. He eats anything and everything... Great Gram even said he eats too much, and anyone who knows her knows that's not a common thing out of her mouth.

Hannah measured 38 1/2" tall a month ago at great gram's. I have no idea how much she weighs. 35 lbs, maybe? She is growing up... no longer a toddler, that's for sure. She likes writing the letter "H," but resists learning to write the rest of her name. I think it's safe to say she's been fully potty trained for 4-6 months... except for an occasional leak when she gets too busy.

The kids love to wrestle eachother, play with eachother, etc.

Brandon woke me up at 4 for a bottle, I could not sleep, but I am feeling sleepy now, so maybe it will be less than a month before my next post.

then and now:

August 28th, 2008:
July 25, 2009:
July 26th, 2009:


Welcome to the world, Cousin Ella!
Congratulations, Aunt Sara and Uncle Grant- we love our new cousin. She is "soo cute and adorable!"

he swears we don't feed him

but the stats say otherwise. Buddy weighed in at a healthy 18 lbs 12 oz at his 9 month check up.

NEvertheless, he has become quite the beggar. If we're eating something, he wants to try it. Great Gramma actually said he eats too much when we were at her house last week. He'll down some food and then a bottle, or vice versa. WE pretty much always have to stop his meal.

LEftovers found on the floor? No problem. And now we can add a new food item to his list of tastings. Purina cat food.


We'Re at tech mom's this week, and tonight J discovered the sink in the upstairs bathroom had overflowed. The bucket under the sink had some water in it, and the clock Tech Dad made that had been placed there during the recarpeting also got wet. The new carpet was wet. So while Bear watche her cartoon, Buddy was left momentarily unattended. Oops. Don't pretend it's never happened to you.

When I came backdownstairs, he was playing with catfood in the kitchen and water was splashed on the floor. And sure enough, his breath confirmed my fear.

My question is... does it taste like chicken?

photo catch up

Buddy is crawling like a pro on all fours.

simple things fascinate kids...

playing with barbie. i mean, princess alexa.

wrestling

Hannah has mastered writing the letter H. She doesn't really seem that interested in writing her name, and I have not pushed her. Brandon is curious about those markers....

Hannah took this pic of mommy and buddy. With Mommy's camera.

sporting her shorter 'do! The back is definitely less curly than the front/sides... more wavy. sigh. It's a lot easier to brush at this length, though any care does not seem to last long.

it's ben a while..

Sorry. Those close to me have kept up on Facebook, so I don't feel TOO guilty. Updates:

• the kids have a new cousin: Benjamin! Woo hoo!!!! Congrats Adam and Amy!!!
• Brandon is 9 months old. Already. Cruising the furniture, sometimes pushing his walker, pulling himself up on everything, opening cabinets and drawers he has no business getting into because he's a baby and that's what they do, he's heavy, but i haven't weighed him since his 6 month check up at 7 months, he has 4 teeth... 2 on top, 2 on bottom, i really don't feel like dragging him to the doctor unless he's sick. Do I have to bring him in for a 9 month well baby check?
• Hannah is 3 years 7 months. She and I got haircuts yesterday... both somewhat drastic, though mine is similar to past styles. Hers is chin-length, probably 6-8 inches were cut off the back. She informed the beauticians that she did not need a face wax and Brandon did not need a haircut. And she ordered me to go first. That actually worked out well, because Brandon lost patience as our stylist finished my hair, so Hannah fed him puffs to appease him until I could give him his bottle. She is such a great helper!!! She's also adjusting pretty well to mommy's new-found efforts to keep the house presentable. She even thanked me for cleaning our house when she returned from two days with Aunt Becca, Uncle Brett, and Cousin Juliana last week! Ha!
  

balance beam- no problem!

My friend Amanda e-mailed this photo that she took of Bear at gymnastics this morning. I also took a couple, which I will upload later. Her expression cracks me up- she looks bored.

standing!

Buddy has been trying to pull himself up on furniture for at least the past week. I set him down to play in the living room yesterday morning, and a couple of minutes later, I returned to find this:
It wasn't a fluke, either. I found him standing in his crib after naptime. Daddy lowered the mattress to the bottom setting before bedtime. Yes, our boy has mastered standing on his own two feet... with support from objects.

Big sis made sure Buddy had plenty of bath toys

2 teeth!

watch out, world, here comes our little man!

He's mastered the army crawl... He slides on his belly, gets wherever he needs to go... I can't wait til he figures out that he'll go faster with he tummy off the ground. Ok, yes I can....

God bless the older gentleman at Costco...

he's the first person in a LONG time who has asked me if Bear's curls are natural. This was as she handed him my receipt for verification and then returned it to me. He was charmed like a soldier watching Shirley Temple in one of her movies.

I'm beginning to think of Costco as a necessary evil. There are certain things that ARE worth buying there, especially with coupons. But the cost per package is usually high enough that it's $100+ a visit (way + today)..... and that always give Daddy receipt shock. On the bright side, we won't run ot of wipes or diapers anytime soon (I don't normally buy them there, but they had a $9 off coupon that made it worth it.)

almost...

he's almost crawling! he kicks his little legs and waves his little arms, pushes himself up on those cute little arms and kicks those cute legs some more, shaking his little tush and grunting his quiet little baby boy grunt... then he decides to roll over and reach for the trash can instead of the toy he had been aiming for.... oh, wait... now he's doing the running man crawl (in place) and squeaking trying to get to the power cords. time to intervene...

stylin'

Our little girl has her own unique sense of style. Sometimes, she is girly; other times, not so much. She's a good mix. Well, her hair has been increasingly difficult to brush, so today I decided to take her to the local less expensive salon for a cut. It turned out to be another trim, and she seemed a little nervous having a man cut her hair while the lady who cut it last time helped another customer. Plus, it was busy, unlike her first haircut, when we had the place all to ourself.

while we were gone, a neighbor dropped off this cute gift for her


and earlier in the day:

My friend Kirsten and I slinging our baby boys!
She and her family just adopted her sweet boy from Ethiopia. He has the sweetest smile and cutest curls! And a very proud big brother, too!
Someday Buddy will hate that I put pink bunny ears on him. But sis didn't want them at the moment, and Daddy certainly would not wear them!

sis decided to wear her ears after all. and the rainboots came in handy in the wet backyard where the egg hunt took place.

spring comes in like a lion..

has a whole new meaning in this house.

This post contains a bit TMI, so if you are easily grossed out or offended, stop here and come back later....

Whether it's the formula feeding or some genetic cause, my babies are not typically "loose."
Well, after a bottle and some jarred apricots/apples/pear mix, that changed quite quickly. Buddy was playing on a blanket, and as I approached him, I could smell something... very quickly, I was glad I had not taken up that blanket off the floor....

"oh, no, mommy... it's a disaster!!!!" big sis exclaimed,
along with, "Eeww, Buddy stinks. That is SOOO gross!" She is such a girl!

actually, in spite of the fact that we were getting ready to go to an easter egg hunt, we actually had plenty of time built in. so "disaster" was a bit melodramatic. Nasty mess, yes, disaster, no.

"what's the big deal, dad?"

Hubby took care of the bathing duties while I tackled the laundry.... I was soo tempted to just trash the outfit, but it's only the 2nd or 3rd time it was worn, and I couldn't throw out his cute overalls. So into the prewash cycle they went, shortly followed by all the other items that needed some TLC...

The house didn't even stink when we returned from the egg hunt and Costco.