Thursday

Yay, Daddy's coming home tonight!! We are ready for him.

Just a few random videos of stuff we did this week. Brody is cruising from furniture to furniture, but not yet ready to let go and walk on his own. Here he is walking behind a push toy. Normally he wouldn't cry at such a fall, but this video was taken towards the end of the evening, near bed time.

Just a little play time this morning. He loves to put the phone up to his ear and talk.

Dylan loves to put puzzles together. He's easily putting together the 35 or 40 piece puzzles now, and is almost bored with them. Time to upgrade!

Two hours in my life

A nice picture, to remind me of my sweet boy child

7:15 a.m. - I ask Dylan if he'd like some Diego yogurt for breakfast. He grabs the cup of yogurt I've been feeding Brody off the table, and hurls it at me while yelling "No, I do NOT want Diego yogurt today!"

7:16 a.m. - Dylan goes to a time out in his bedroom. He is told to return to the kitchen when he is ready to be a nice boy.

7:25 a.m. - Dylan comes downstairs, has apparently determined he is ready to be a nice boy

8:00 a.m. - I risk taking a shower. I give strict rules that Dylan is not allowed to touch the Wii, the TV, DVD player or any other electronic device.

8:11 a.m. - I come downstairs in my robe and towel on my head, to find Dylan digging up a corner of the carpet with a barrel of monkeys monkey. 

8:25 a.m. - I collect Dylan's dirty laundry. I am overwhelmed by how it smells like a wet, urine covered hamster cage. Ugh. 

8:26 a.m. - I run back upstairs to get Brody

8:27 a.m. - I return downstairs to find the two baskets of dirty laundry are spread out all over the toy room. 

8:30 a.m. - I start to load one basket of laundry into the machine. Meanwhile, Brody is digging his hands into the cat food. 

8:30:30 a.m. - I carry Brody back to the toy room, and proceed to empty the laundry into the machine. I hear toys being dumped out in the toy room. Yes, the very same toys we picked up the evening before.

8:31 a.m. - Brody is yet again digging his hands into the cat food

8:32 a.m. - I leave the laundry room and carry Brody out with me. I set up the gate so Brody can't get to the cat food. While I'm at it, I also close the bathroom door so Brody can't climb the step stool and get to the sink.

 8:45 a.m. - Hair is dried, make-up is on, wrestle baby into his clothes for the day. 

8:50 a.m. - Choose clothes for Dylan, and go downstairs to hear his complaints about having to wear clothes. Threaten said child with taking his beloved trains away yet again, if he refuses to comply with my instructions.

9:05 a.m. - Stuff both children into their jackets, then one at a time, take them out to the van for loading. All the while, Brody is arching his back, yelling "ah, ah, ah" as he's yelling at me "YOU STOP THAT!". Dylan repeats his demand "I need a snack" about 18 times while this is happening.

9:10 a.m. - We're rolling backwards out of the garage and I hear "I want my music." I ignore request and proceed down the road listening to mommy music.

9:30 a.m. - Boys drop mommy off of at the looney bin and go to the party store to buy birthday supplies. They can do that you know, because Dylan is a big boy, and he can drive and take care of everything he and Brody need.

Not an option

No pictures to post for today, just some funny/cute stories.

This morning I asked Brody if he wanted a banana, and he said "nana"

Today at nap time, after putting Dylan back in bed for the third time,  I told Dylan to lay in his bed and be quiet. He shook his finger at me and said "That is not an option. You will not put me in my bed!"

On Friday night I took Dylan downtown to the hockey game. I dropped him off and he stayed with Brian. On the way to the game Dylan said to me "I forgot my hammy bell, let's go home quickly!" (His hammy bell is the cowbell).

Brian left this morning for L.A. for the week, so I'm sure I will have some interesting stories and/or pictures to post!

Busy Bee's

Remember this?

The voice on the table was creepy, but that's not why I returned it! It started sounding like a skipped record. I think Brody leaned on the same button one too many times, and already the computer chip was fried. In hindsight (such a great thing when the return policy extends thru February 1st), the table was a bit too immature for Brody. The box said 12+ months, but I agree with my friends' assessment, it' really a toy for 6-18 month olds. He would have been done with it in a few months anyway. 

In exchange, we brought home a cute little kids table and four colorful chairs.

We came home and assembled it right away. The boys sat together and had snack time. I don't think I've ever given Brody a bowl of his own, I usually just put a few snacks on his high chair tray. He is still getting the hang of this snack time thing. He felt the need to open the hatch and empty the entire bowl of cheerios. After his were gone, he watched Dylan pick up one or two at a time, and then started copying Dylan.

Brody's 12-month check up was this morning. He weighs 22 lbs, 9 oz, and is 29 3/4" tall. He was a very good boy, and smiled at Dr. Baptist and all three students that were in the exam room with us. They all remarked on what a happy baby he is.  Dr. Baptist has told me at every exam with Dylan or Brody, "This will be the last pleasant exam. The next age is when they start stranger anxiety." Or shyness, or fear, or... Yet we continue to have pleasant exams. 

We are headed to Wesley Willows this afternoon. The new building, called the Town Center at Willow Ridge is open and they are having an open house for the staff. Bill, the CEO, told me I'm included in that group, so we're going to pay a visit. I e-mailed him last week on a particularly bad day and told him I just might consider going back to work if I have enough days like that. 

I'm starting to work on our blog book from 2008. I should have that done within a month or so. We have lots of exciting events coming up that might slow down my progress. Next week we are visiting preschools for Dylan. Our public school system has a program that is free and they provide bus service, but there are a few hitches. One is that the child must exhibit a need for the preschool program. Like most mothers, I believe my child is a genius, and don't think he'll be accepted. The other hitch, is that the program is five days per week. Even if he is accepted, I'm not sure I want him to go five days a week. That's a big transition, and he has at minimum 16 years of education ahead of him, so why start so fast so early? In lieu of the public program, we have it narrowed down to two private programs. There were four in contention, but one place never called back, and another didn't know anything. Didn't know how much registration costs, how much tuition is, when registration starts, if they are having an open house, etc. I didn't get a good feeling about it, and it was my last choice geographically anyway. The two that remain are both good options. One is at the charming Methodist church on Main Street Roscoe, and the other program is going to be in a brand new building near our YMCA. We're visiting the current site of the second program to get a feel for the teacher and their curriculum.  There are some differences in monthly cost, class size, etc. I'm leaning towards the program at Peace Lutheran, the new building, but we'll see. We're visiting both next week and then we have to decide, as registration starts February 2nd at one of them! 

In the first week of February, we are going to the Wisconsin Dells. Brian and I decided to make this an annual tradition for the four of us, to celebrate the boys' birthdays. We are lucky enough to be going mid-week, so we're hoping to avoid major crowds. I'm so not excited to wear a bathing suit, but other than that huge little problem, we're going to have a lot of fun! 

Almost as soon as we return, we're having our family in town for the boys' joint birthday party. Of course they won't have to share birthday parties once they start inviting friends, but for now, it's the easiest way to get grandparents, auntie, uncle, etc. to both parties.

That's the news for today. I'd better go grab the mail, pay bills and get our bag packed before the boys wake up and we head off to Wesley Willows.

Train tracks, tents and an almost three year old

Dylan received Morgan's Mine from Santa. It is part of the Thomas the Train series. It is a cool mine that the trains go down and burst through an opening at the end. Dylan has been asking us to make him more tracks lately, and he wants us to use all his train stuff, including the Roundhouse, Morgan's Mine, Cranky the Crane and the drawbridge. Whew, let me tell you, trying to fit all those buildings plus track that goes to each one is no easy task! Brian and I are becoming master track builders.

Last week one day we put up Dylan's tent and tunnel and had Brody's tent at the other end of the tunnel. The boys had fun crawling around the tents. Dylan took his pants off to go to the bathroom, and refused to put them back on. Instead, he wanted to wear them on his head.

I'm not sure why, but the sight of a little toddler body wearing briefs is endlessly amusing to me. Especially when he has tube socks on that are pulled all the way up his shins. It's the look of a big boy on such a little person.

Our two year old is quickly adopting the behaviors of a three year old. Dylan is.....very very contrary. That's the only way I can think to nicely describe it. If I suggest pretzels for a snack, he'll say "NO, I want.....pretzels." If I ask what he wants to drink, he'll say "I don't want a drink....I want a....drink." He instantly disagrees with me, only to suggest the same idea himself. He'll grab my cell phone off the counter and when I ask him to put it back, he runs. When I tell him to eat his apple in the kitchen, he runs. I know it's all just learning to assert himself and feel like he's in control, but I have to admit, hour after hour, this behavior is frustrating. My friends told me this day would come, and warned me that three is worse than two, but somehow I didn't quite believe it! It's a whole new challenge.

The sweeter moments are becoming less frequent. If I caress his leg as we're reading a book, he'll move my hand. It seems the only time he asks to be held or cuddled is when he's trying to avoid nap or bed time! And those are the times I can't give in too much! Of course we still have our tender moments, they just aren't as frequent as they used to be. He's becoming a big boy...

In his words, he'll soon be three and then he'll be a big boy. A daddy. Yes, that's right. He thinks he's going to be so big when he's three that he'll be a daddy. We haven't been able to convince him otherwise.

Of course with the growing up comes a higher level of comprehension and discussion. He is very excited the monster trucks are coming to daddy's work. He wants to know if I'm going with he and daddy to the show. I told him I would probably stay home with Brody. After that, Dylan looked at me and very solemnly asked, "Mom, do you like monster trucks?" 

His imagination is growing too! One night when Oma was here, Brody was upstairs with Oma. We heard a bang, like a toy was dropped on the floor. I asked Dylan "What was that?" His reply is classic. "I think Oma tooted." Wow, that must be some gas Oma has!

At the end of the day, for now at least, he is still my baby. Tonight after daddy had put Dylan to bed, I went in to say goodnight. I rubbed Dylan's head a bit and nuzzled his ear. We talked about the day, and then I said goodnight. Later, Dylan had gotten out of bed and was sitting on the steps. I spotted him, and he said "Will you rub my ear?"

Birthday Weekend

Oma came to visit us this weekend. We always have a fun time when Oma visits. She loves to play with the boys, takes Dylan out in the snow, and in general is a big help to me. She even babysat so we could go out on a date night!

The big day of the weekend was of course, Brody's first birthday on Saturday. Grandma and Papa decided to come over for lunch on Saturday, so Brody had a nice crowd at his birthday lunch. After we ate, Brody got to dig in to a chocolate cupcake.

It seems he's always been interested in sweets and begs for a bite. This time he got to have his own cake and eat it too!

Right away he went in for the smash!

Wow, what a mess he made with just a cupcake. For his birthday party, I'm thinking of a vanilla cake! :)

After we finished cleaning him up, Brody got to open a few presents. He is so animated and truly seems to appreciate his gifts. And then Brody took his first ride alone on the Harley Rocker. I've always held onto him in the past, but this time he got to ride and rock all by himself. He was thrilled to be up there!

The rest of the weekend we just had fun hanging out with Oma. When Brody woke up from his afternoon nap today, he seemed to be looking around, wondering where Oma had gone!

One

Happy Birthday Brody!

Our little guy turns one today. We have enjoyed him so much; he is quite a character. So many things have changed about him in one year, yet other things have not changed since birth, or even before. While I was pregnant, he kicked non-stop, and the same is true today. His little legs are always moving and shaking. As a newborn, he was mostly happy, but quick to a temper. That is also true today.

Here are some other fun facts about Brody at one:

He collects socks and carries them around the house in his mouth

He loves to pull Opie's tail

He loves bath time

He adores Dylan. Almost anything Dylan does makes Brody smile or laugh

He drinks four bottles per day

He loves toys that amplify his voice (a microphone that echoes, a bowl or cup, anything that makes his voice sound loud)

He waves bye, bye

He discriminately says Mama and Dada, and we think he says "baby" although no one but us has heard it. He is starting to say hot and maybe cat. It sounds more like "ga."

He crawls at lightning speed, and cruises along the furniture. He isn't quite walking, but does lean from one object to the next. 

His nicknames include Bro, Bro-Bro, Brodes, Broderman, Little B, Baby B, Sweet B, Brodylicious....and on the list goes. 

I love this age. I wish I could hit a pause button on Brody for a while. He's at an age where he is exploring and discovering so much every day, yet still loves to be cuddled. He is so happy, usually has a smile for anyone, is content to people watch on outings and just enjoys life. He and his big brother are learning to play together, and we are sleeping through the night. The joys of a baby along with the good things about a toddler. We just love him so much!