Happy Birthday Brenden!

Okay - before I get into Brenden's birthday I'd like to start out with a few pictures of Logan on his first exersaucer adventure. He thought it was the coolest thing ever! I thought he'd be too wobbly but he held his torso up really well!


"Ooooh! this is SO cool!"

Saturday my little Brenden turned TWO! I can't believe it. I can still remember having my c-section and the doctor lifting my tiny baby over the drape and the flood of emotion that overcame me. It seems like it was just yesterday!

We tried to get him to hold up 2 fingers, but he insisted on being 4 instead!

We had a party for him at Cici's pizza. It was perfect. We got a private dining room with a tv on the wall so the kids could run around like crazy and watch the Wiggles too. We blew up a few balloons and threw those on the floor and the kids LOVED them!

And then there was yummy pizza buffet for everyone. I loved not having to cook or do dishes!

We searched high and low for a Wiggles cake, but couldn't find one anywhere. I couldn't even find Wiggles party decorations anywhere. CRAZY considering how many kids LOVE them! Maybe I should start a business ;)

We settled on a cake with Wiggles colors and put some toys we had at home on top. It worked out great.

Brenden has never blown out a candle before, but he rose to the occasion and blew out his birthday candle!

"Yay!!!"


"mmmmm! Cake!"


We had a great day and were so thankful for all of his little friends who came to celebrate with us. It was a perfect birthday! Logan was great and hardly made a peep. Its like he knew it was his brother's special day. I love my boys!

How is this even the same baby??!!

I swear, Logan has changed SO MUCH since he was born. I look at him and some days swear that he's been switched with another baby!

When he was born, he was a tiny thing covered in stick-straight dark brown hair that stuck straight up in the air most of the time.



As he got older he lost a lot of hair in the front and it made him look like a balding man!


But even at some of it fell out there still seemed to be SO much left behind and his big head of hair was part of his identity.


But look at him now!! If I put the first and last pictures side by side nobody would guess they were the same baby. His dark hair has fallen out and this soft sandy blond hair has come in its place. The hair has a slight wave to it when it gets wet. He no longer looks like a balding old man :) The rest of his face has filled out so much and the proportions have totally changed.

Anyway - I just wanted to show everyone (and myself) just how much my little boy has changed in 4 short months.

Finallly - Christmas photos :)

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of our wonderful Christmas.

Here is a picture of Logan in his cute sock monkey shirt. Unfortunately he had a blow-out diaper on the way to daycare so the shirt only got worn for about an hour before it had to come off!



The boys had a nice Christmas. Brenden wasn't really into the gift thing as much as I wanted him to be, but I guess thats a good thing. He got bored with opening presents and ended up wanting to just play with toys he already owned!

Here is his favorite gift. These are great blocks that are super-sturdy for a rough toddler boy. He likes making big towers and then knocking them down.

Here is the gift I THOUGHT would be his favorite! I think he'll like it more in the spring when we can take it to the park. He didn't think riding it in the kitchen was much fun.

Oh no! ANOTHER Wiggles video!!

Mr "tato" head!



Helping Logan open his gifts


Logan likes his toys!


The boys are doing wonderful and growing up like crazy. Logan is going to be long because he's outgrowing many of his clothes already just in length.

The year ended on a sad note with the loss of one of my online mama friends - Annie - to melanoma. It continues to weigh heavy on my heart. She was a young, vibrant, healthy mother of 3 and suddenly this terrible disease leaves a husband without a wife, 3 kids without a mom, and so many without a friend.

New Years day we drove up to WV to visit my college friend Erin and have our kids FINALLY meet. It was a good time and made me miss my WV friends. It took us WAY too long to get together for a visit, we will be better about it from now on!

I can't believe my Brenden will turn 2 in less than 2 weeks. Right now he's battling a flu, but hopefully will recover by next Saturday when we have his birthday party. We are doing a pizza party at Cici's. It should be lots of fun!

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!