Bear's FOUR!!!

We had a good weekend for Bear's birthday. Caslon and Camera Guy and the sweetest little girl born since mine came to celebrate with us. Daddy came home from "school." The theme was Disney Princess. Early arriving gifts from others as well as gifts from Mommy and Daddy were wrapped in pink princess paper. Balloons abounded, and the cake was, of course, Princess themed (From Publix).

This is the first year that Hannah really anticipated her birthday. Since the arrival of her tutu a couple of weeks ago, she has been asking about when her party would be, who would be coming, etc. It was hard because so many people we love could not be with us due to distance, one friend who we hoped could come got sick, and the others came off of a CRAZY week and could not make it, either. Thankfully, when it came down to it, Bear seemed to enjoy the time we had, and it was great to just hang out and relax with family.

Now all about my girl. She's a good mix. While she is obsessed with all things princess, Barbie, fairy, and my little pony related she also like watching old she-ra videos and has such a vivid imagination. Her hair is darkening and her curls fall in looser waves than they used to. She keeps asking me when she will get freckles, and pointing to non-existent ones that she thinks are on her arm. She wants a dog, but seems to know not to push the issue too much. In the last couple of weeks she has wanted to pay for things by herself at the store, so I think it might be time to start working on an allowance and teaching her about earning. She is sweet, a great big sister, and super-sensitive. If I am talking on the phone and she hears an emotion in my voice, she asks what is wrong. She asks if I am angry,sad or frustrated when she senses it.

I cannot believe my baby is growing into such a sweet girl so quickly.

Bear speaks

Bear: "Mommy, you did good job making this yummy fruit salad."
Mommy: "Why, thank you. It wasn't very hard. I just popped open the can and there it was."

Overheard, a few minutes later: "She just popped open the can and there it was."

Watch out world! (and watch your stuff)

Buddy is walking. Almost running. And he likes to hide things. As I type this, he's trying to hide his jammie-clad self and a clean diaper which he confiscated out of his cainet behind a small wicker chest. I suspect the chest will not survive the attack, as little pieces keep cracking off. My camera is down in the car, Bear is in the bathrub, and I am trying to understand his fascination with cramming himself into tight places. He also retrieved a sock he had hidden back there. This morning I found a toy train in the top of the diaper champ, along with wipes he thought needed to be thrown away. In the past 5 minutes, I have picked him up and moved him no less than 10 times. He's behaving almost like a puppy who has found its spot to mark... but he is dressed, so I don't have to worry about cleaning up that kind of mess this time. Ok, to his play saucer he goes. If you keep up with me on facebook, you know this attempt to corral the kid won't last long. He has figured out how to climb out. He grips around the top and under the edges with his fists. Kicks his legs back and tries to shimmy his legs up through the seat. Then he either shakes the saucer til it tips over and he climbs out sideways, or manages to straddle one leg over the side and then the other without tipping it. Except right now he's tired and getting frustrated instead of remaining determined. (Yes, I do believe it's time to clean up the saucer and put it into storage.) I smile at him from across and he cries in protest. I do believe it's time to finish off that sippy cup and go to bed, son.

new words

Brandon- My friend Cheri took the kiddos down to her church's nursery tonight during their revival service so I could listen to the preacher. Brandon was characteristically fussy after being taken from his Mommy, so she took him for a walk outside. Apparently when he saw Frosty the white kitty, he tried to say "cat" but doesn't quite have the hard "c" sound. Still, she has 4 kids of her own and knows when a kid knows what he's saying. He's saying "ba" for a lot of things. "bye", "bottle (sippy cup), and "bath", to name a few. and he's beginning to use a couple of signs. Waving his hands= all done. He tried to sign "please" after I modeled it for him today. He waves bye, even though I think his palm is usually toward himself, and that can mean "Bye" to someone or "I want to go bye-bye."

Hannah- I told her Bear she was "exasperating" me tonight as I tried to get her to brush her teeth, etc.... "What does "sassassperating" mean, Mom?"

they're growing too fast

I haven't taken Brandon in for his 1 year check-up yet, and he's 13 months. He's big. And walking more every day. And climbing to the point that he scares me, but I don't want to confine him into the saucer ALL the time. However, I might have to if he does not stop being such a dare devil. I really am getting scared that he might hurt himself by climbing, and falling and cracking his skull. When he heard Daddy's voice through the phone, he said "da-da." He LOVES the phone... puts it up next to his ear and grins. He also loves talking to his Grandparents. Every once in a while I get a reminder that he's still a baby. He woke up at 10:30 last night for some milk, which was followed by snuggle time on Mommy's shoulder. I don't mind the wake-up at that time, especially since he tends to sleep in until 8 am most days now.

Hannah is growing up, too, obviously. I can't believe her 4th birthday is approaching sooo quickly. She's handing daddy's mid-week absence for training so well. We're almost 1/4 of the way done! She does ask about him, and sometimes when she misses him a lot, she tears up but won't talk to him, but she's doing well. She tries to watch out for little bro, most of the time, except when she wants to wrestle him or hug his neck. (Sometimes she forgets that she's not gentle enough.) She resumed gymnastics this week, and really seemed to like it. She loves old She-Ra videos and her all things princess (disney or Barbie) and Fairytopia. She asks about our old friends and our old house, but she also loves having a playground in walking distance as well as a swimming pool and balcony. She has taken to sleeping in Mommy's bed while Daddy is away, which would not be so bad except she hogs it. I love cuddling, but don't like feeling pushed out of my own bed. One of her favorite nightime phrases is ," Mommy, I NEED you!!!"

you can't keep a good man down

watch out, world!!!

Brandon took 8 steps last night! He's taken 1-3 steps on several occasions.

*****
I asked Hannah to clean up her potato heads. I began helping her, to reduce the whine factor. Brandon immediately followed suit, picking up the pieces and putting them into the case.

****
overheard during play-doh time: "This is a necklace because it's for wearing around your neck." (Hannah made jewelry out of her play-doh.)

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.