3.5 and almost 1.5 years old

Brennan is just over a week away from being one and a half.  Mom and Dad think he's much more a boy than a baby at this point.  He likes to try and run everywhere he goes, and he has the injuries to prove it. Although I continue to try, he's not as easy to take advantage of anymore.  Sometimes he still falls for my tricks and takes the toy I wave in front of him when I want the one he has, but he's starting to stand up for himself once in a while.  I'm teaching him everything, which is really easy because he pretty much copies everything I do.  Mom and Dad are a little concerned about the power I've realized and keep reminding me to be careful what I do since Brennie will certainly try it too.  He is learning lots of new words and wants to know what everything is.  I'm pretty proud of the little guy.

School is one of my favorite places to be.  I come home singing all kinds of songs and telling elaborate stories about my friends.  Mom and Dad get excited when I show them all the letters I know how to write, but it's not so hard for me so I don't see what the big deal is.  I'm getting good at playing in the sandbox without getting buckets of sand in my hair, so Mom's pretty happy about that.  I have decided to be a witch for Halloween, and B will be a turkey because of the gobble gobble sound he is good at making.  Life has been good to us, despite not allowing much time for blogging.  Mommy promises that she'll be done with her classes soon and then I'll be able to get on the computer to update my blog more regularly again.  

Daddy is running the Chicago marathon next weekend.  We are all very excited for him (and Brennie and I hope he keeps training because it's so much fun to be run to school in the morning).  Good luck Daddy!  Run fast!

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I LOVE to dance.

These are some of Brennie's very first steps.  He walks all over the place now.

Watching Brennan figure out how to eat independently is always entertaining.

Growing so fast!

 I'm not sure why grown-ups get so sad when they talk about kids growing up.  I think it's pretty awesome.  Brennan is one now, and that makes him a lot more fun to play with.  He started walking the week of his birthday, and he thinks he can go anywhere!  I'm doing really well at school.  My teacher is impressed with all the interesting things I say and do (like bringing all of my friends with me on an imaginary bus trip to Arizona, and then having to escape a puma).  Our family had a real trip to Arizona, which was a whole lot of fun, but mom and dad didn't do a great job taking pictures.  Life is pretty good.  B-man and I are really looking forward to this summer and some quality time in T.C.  

B had a lot of fun with his birthday cupcake. 

Nama made Brennie a cool farm cake when she and Papa came down the next weekend.

I am very good at sharing and I like to help B enjoy the outdoors.

He's a wild man on the slides.  He can't get enough of them and usually dives down head first. 

He doesn't even like to wait for me so we can race. 

I'm teaching B all about how to have fun on the swings.  He can't go as high as me, though.

I make the pusher give me underdogs until they're too tired and can't do any more.  

We celebrated Lexi's birthday, and took a special Mother's Day photo with Grandma.

Even though B is a big boy now, he still really likes his paci and snuggly at bedtime.  

Last weekend it was warm enough to play in the water.  

I showed Brennan how to use all of our pool toys.

Getting ready to go play tennis!

Mommy and Daddy tried to have me practice my volleys, but my attention span was pretty short.  

B thought it was fun to chase down the balls.

He's just waiting for his turn on the court.

I'm trying to play baseball like the kid next door.

Brennie likes chasing this big, purple ball, too.

That's it for today!  I'll try to be better about updating my blog, but as you can see, I'm a busy girl. XOXO

Life is pretty good as a three-year-old

Just a few recent photos:

 

 Brennie and I are best buds.

 Can you believe I'm three?

 They give you special ice cream at Benihana when you are three.  I liked that.

 

 I am Daddy's big helper.  I'm very good at washing bottles.

Brennan has made bath time a lot more fun, but he doesn't listen to Mommy when she tells him to sit down.  He just stands right back up and tries to knock everything into the tub.

Since B is almost one, Grandpa thought it was time to have him watch the game at the bar, just like a big boy.



Updates (long overdue)

Greetings!  A lot has happened since my last post, and too many pictures to upload!  So I'll just stick with what's new lately.  Let's start with a little of what is going on with B-man.  So, little brother is almost 10 months old now.  He only weighs about 7 lbs less than I do, 'cuz this guy just eats and eats and eats.  Even when he makes a face because something tastes yucky, he still eats it (unless it's green beans, in which case he spits).  All of our teachers at school think he is just the sweetest thing going - which gets a little old after a while if you ask me.  I've been teaching Brennie lots of new tricks.  He can wave and clap just like me.  He crawls all over and follows me if I leave the room.  He still mostly relies on his army crawl, but he'll go a little ways up on his hands and knees too.  He can sit up on his on, and pulls to a stand the moment he grabs something.  Brennan's favorite thing, though, is to stand or walk around with our help.  He thinks he is very clever and he likes to let go of our hands or the furniture to see how long he can balance.  His record is probably about 10 seconds.  B is starting to babble almost as much as me - almost.  His favorite thing to say is "eh-duh," and although he says it about pretty much anything, I think he's actually saying my name because I'm his very favorite.  He's really a big boy, and we're very proud of him. 

Here is a little sample of B's army crawl:

So on to me.  I turn 3 next month!!!  I haven't had any accidents in weeks (knock on wood).  I love helping Mommy with Brennan and taking care of my babies too.  I have a new car seat that I'm very excited about because it means I'm a big girl.  I spend a lot of my time "cooking," doing puzzles, playing with my babies, and reading books - that is, when I'm not at school.  I've been practicing my writing and drawing a lot.  I know all of my letters and have learned how to make several of them.  I talk about my cousins a lot and wish that I could see them more.  It's been too cold to spend much time outside, but sometimes Daddy lets me help him shovel the driveway.  I'm pretty good at it if I can keep my thumbs in the thumb part of my mittens.  Right now my favorite things are sandwich hugs between Mommy and Daddy, bossing Brody around, writing, dancing with Daddy while we cook dinner, teaching Brennie how to do things, singing, telling Mommy and Daddy which kids had time-outs at school, and trying to manipulate Mommy into staying with me longer at bedtime. 

Here's a video of my latest achievement.  Enjoy!

The Man in the Red Suit

Well, fans, I imagine you're all wondering about my first, much anticipated meeting with Santa Claus.  I don't know if I even need to go into detail, because I think the picture pretty nearly says it all.  Take a look.

That's right.  Brennan on one side and the other knee free.  I just couldn't do it.  I was truly excited to see this man.  I had been practicing my, "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!" (A silly thing to say, really, but I didn't want the big man to be sounding foolish all alone).  I also knew exactly what I would ask him to bring me for Christmas.  I flung off my coat and jumped into line.  Perhaps if it hadn't been for the little girl in front of me screaming bloody murder as her parents haphazardly handed her over to this stranger, I wouldn't have thought twice.  But the truth is, I cowered.  I clung.  I wailed.  Can you really trust a man whose face you can barely see?  I think not.  Thankfully, Mom and Dad recognized that this was not a battle they should try to fight, and Brennie visited with Santa solo.  

That Brennan, that show-off.  When he reaches the mature age of 2 and 3/4, like me, I doubt he'll be so careless.  He went right to Santa and gave a good pull on his beard to make sure he wasn't an impostor.  Twinkling eyes - check.  Merry dimples - check.  Cheeks like roses - check.  Cherry nose - check.  I guess this guy was the real deal, because Brennan started grinning and laughing.

So, I suppose I'll be writing a letter to Santa this year instead.  Perhaps he'll forgive my behavior when he sees the treats I'm going to leave out for him and his reindeer.  Merry Christmas to all, and catch ya in the new year!

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