Santa Train and Snow!

We had some rare snow come to NC a few days before Christmas. Brenden kept looking out the window saying "no no" (snow snow) and wanted so badly to go outside. He refused to wear gloves at first but later I was able to put some on him and tuck them under his jacket sleeves to keep him from taking them off. He loved just shuffling his feet and watching the tracks he'd make in the snow. It was cold and dark, but he enjoyed his winter experience.


Then our local park ran a "Santa Train." They put up lights all around the park and then had their train run slowly through the massive light display. Afterwards the kids got candy canes (well not mine! Too young for hard candy!) and got to sit on Santas lap. Brenden did great considering most other kids his age were screaming their heads off.


Logan all dressed up for the train.


My family!

BEAR!

Brenden has decided he wants to watch Bear in the Big Blue House all of the time now. I took this video of him trying to dance and sing with the theme song and then screaming "Ber! Ber!" over and over again. He's too silly!

Christmas Photos

What's even harder than getting one baby to pose for a picture? Getting TWO to pose at the same time!! I decided to skip the painful trip to the photo studio this year and just wing it with my camera. I think they turned out pretty well all things considered and cost me a WHOLE lot less. Just 4 bucks for a white fleece blanket background!

Here is Brenden giving Logan an kiss. He really does love his brother.

Here are one of the few shots we got of Brenden. He did not want to sit still- not that he ever does. I can't believe how much he looks like a little boy now. I miss my little baby!

Here is my smiley Logan. He really is such a happy baby. Its quite easy to get smiles out of this one!

Brenden decided he liked laying down for pictures like his brother rather than sitting up. So I finally got some good smiles this way.

And two happy kids at once! A Christmas Miracle!



One of the shots from the "gag reel" (this is why I prefer home photography!)

Brenden continues to watch the "your baby can read" DVD series. He's finally really learning to read words. Sean skipped through the book to show that he really does know the words, he just didn't memorize the book. Sorry for the poor lighting. Our family room gets terrible natural light! He forgets words from time to time - as you will see, but overall I think he does pretty good for not even 2 yet.

Where did November go?

How did I miss posting for the whole month of November!? I guess these boys really keep me busy, and when I have free time I am usually asleep!

The boys are doing great. Brenden is turning into a big boy more and more each day. He has so many words now and knows all his colors and shapes. He loves to run and jump. He likes trying to sing and dance with his DVD's and loves to draw/color/paint etc. He can draw circles really well now. He's got such a great personality. Today when we were at church service he kept yelling HI HI HI! really loud with the biggest smile on his face. Someone saw me trying to shush him and made a joke that the spirit was really moving him today :) This evening he had to stress me out by shoving 2 black beans WAY up his nose. I was sure I was going to be "that" parent in the ER asking a doctor to pull an object out of her kids nose. Luckily one big sneeze did the trick. I couldn't believe how much shot out of his nose when it finally came out! I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on him when he's eating. Why do toddlers shove stuff up their noses? It can't feel THAT good?


Logan is just coming more and more to life. He coos and smiles and moves his arms and legs all over. He can lift his head when he's on his tummy and today he was able to grasp a stuffed toy and got SO excited when he got a hold of it. His dark brown hair is all falling out and I can see this sandy blonde peach fuzz growing underneath. I have a feeling he'll have dirty blonde hair like Brenden does.



We've had a round of colds here. Sean is the only one germ-free. Neither of the two boys are terribly sick, just stuffy enough to not sleep well - so I am REALLY tired. Poor Logan just gets all stuffed up when he lays down at night. I'll be glad when everybody is healthy and sleeping well again!

Renaissance Festival

Well, first of all, Logan turned 2 months old! He's getting nice and chubby and growing like a weed. He was in the 50th percentile for both his weight and length (Brenden has always been in the 25th). I have a feeling one day Logan may catch up with his brother!

We took the boys to the Renaissance festival and we all had a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day. Low 70's - cool breeze - Carolina blue skys as far as the eyes could see - turkey legs - roasted cobs of corn - it was a great day!

Here's Logan chillin' out in the stroller. I have a white blanket over the top to keep the sun out but still let the light in.



Brenden loved "The Painted Lady" who had a bunch of paints and let the kids paint her dress and her blankets she was sitting on while she told stories. We literally had to drag him away kicking and screaming!
Brenden wanted to be painted too!

The Painted Lady loved her little painted boy!

Logan had fun in his seat enjoying the nice weather.

Brenden LOVED the joust. He could care less about the men on horses, but he loved getting to say "yay!!!" with the croud when the jousters would perform.

Here he is on DaVinci's flying machine. It was fun for Brenden but made Mommy GREEN! Man-operated rides are not for me apparently!


Here he is trying on a Robin Hood hat. I just love those big brown eyes!



It was a great family day for us!!

My growing boys

Logan has started cooing and smiling now and it just warms my heart each time I see it. Here he is showing his cutie grins...




Big brother Brenden still demands special one on one attention from Mama but how can I resist such a cute face?


MOST of the time Brenden really loves his brother (as long as he's not interfering with his Mama time!) I can't wait until Logan is big enough to start playing with Brenden.

Halloween

Just thought I'd share some Halloween pictures of the boys. Logan stayed home with Daddy but had his cute spider hat to wear for the day.



Brenden wore his peanut costume again this year. He just looks so cute in it and it still fit. Just like last year he was big hit. Teenagers told me the costume was "cool" and parents had to go fetch every member of the household to come to the door to see my little peanut. He got the rock star treatment all night!


Here he is examining his loot! There was very little in here that was toddler safe, but one smart parent had bags of pretzels (or as Brenden calls them "tetels") so he was able to eat those right away! Thanks smart parent!!



It ended up raining some but Brenden just started rubbing his hands together in it and saying "wash! wash!" He's too cute :) I can't wait until Logan can carry on the peanut tradition next year!

Fall!

We are finally getting some nice fall weather around here. I love my warm weather, but I must admit that the heat and bugs are not good for little toddlers to play in! Its been so fun to get out in the cool air and not have mosquitos everywhere!

Brenden decided to help us rake some leaves!

Ooooh. These things are pretty neat!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Here Mommy, you need a drink!

We finally got around to carving the pumpkin from the pumpkin patch we went to. Brenden enjoyed playing with the seeds and the pumpkin "guts." For some reason he insisted on wearing his coat during this activity!

Scooping the seeds with a spoon.

Helping Dada make the silly pumkin face.

Brenden is finally experiencing a little bit of "I'm not the baby anymore" reality and has been acting up a little. He's become VERY attached to mama and gets mad if Dada tries to do something he wants Mama to do for him. He wants to be held more and will hand me his sippy cup and make me hold it while he drinks out of is. He will do the same with food. He has started protesting daycare as well. He's fine about 5 min after I leave, but when I get there he refuses to go inside and clings to my leg the whole time. He's also getting 2 bottom teeth and has a cold. The poor kid has just had some rough days.

He's talking up a storm now. He repeats anything he hears and remembers lots of new words each day. If he throws something he'll say "good throw" afterward because that's what Dada always tells him. He's got most of his colors down. He still has trouble with red, yellow, and blue - in his eyes they are all "bwue!" but he knows purple, green, brown, black, white, and pink.

Logan is getting his chubby baby face now. He LOVES to eat. I don't remember Brenden feeding this frequently! I could swear he'd go 3 hours between feedings but I'm lucky if Logan will hold off for 2 hours at a time. I am constantly on standby for a feeding! However he will go 4-5 hours at night without a feeding which has been nice. He's more alert now. I'm getting the occasional smiles but its tough to catch them on film.

Here is a half-smile.

Here he is playing with his activity center. Do you think he looks overstimulated?!


And here are my two boys together. Logan looks happy to have his big brother near by!

One Month Checkup

Logan had his one month appointment last week. He is growing really well. He weighed 9lb 4oz and was 21in long. His weight was in the 45%, his length was in the 25%, and his head circumference was in the 50% (this surprised me!, his head seems so big compared to his body!) So all in all he's a little short, but the rest of him is average. He had his second HepB shot and did really well. He let out a little cry but settled down immediately. He's starting to smile now on occasion. I haven't been able to really catch it on film, but it won't be long now. He's hit and miss with his sleeping. Some nights he does great and others he wants to stay awake and wants Mommy to entertain him. I think his eyes are going to stay blue. Brenden's eyes were never this light, they were a very dark gray-blue at birth and continued to stay dark and have brownish hues to them. I think in some ways he looks so much like Brenden and in other ways he doesn't look like him at all. It just depends on his expression.




Brenden is a good big brother. He likes to act out whenever I am feeding Logan and Daddy is at work. I'm sure its his way of saying "hey, why aren't you paying attention to ME" so we have some challenging days, especially on weekends when I have both boys all day by myself. Thank GOD Brenden still takes a nap and I get a chance to refuel.

I've been looking high and low for a child sized broom for Brenden. He always tries to use the big one and it is too bulky for him and he ends up getting mad at it. I finally found this broom at WalMart. It was with the younger child toys, I figured it would be with the kitchen toys or the girls toys. Here he is cleaning up under his table after his lunch - Yes, he has his own table. He was constantly fighting the booster seat and was hardly ever eating his dinner so we got a child sized table and chair and it works like a charm! He just didn't like being restrained and forced to sit in a seat. With this table/chair he feels like he's more in control.