Wow, I am WAY behind!

So much time has passed!! The holidays kept us super busy and blogging sort of fell to the bottom of my to-do list. The boys are absolutely wonderful. Here are some updates:

Brenden
Brenden is already in the 4yr old class at daycare even tho he's not 4 yet. They needed room in the 3's class so he, and 2 other boys, moved up early. I constantly get complimented on how smart Brenden is. I had a parent come up to me and ask me what my secret was because when she picked up her child she saw Brenden reading with the teacher. The teacher said that B was one of 3 kids in the 3yr class that knew all his ABC's (as well as his phonics!) He doesn't look anything like a little baby anymore. He is officially in big boy land. He still lets Mommy baby him though :)! He's finally catching up on his size I do believe. He's always been several months behind in his clothing sizes but he's actually outgrowing some 3T stuff and ready to move into his size 4's. We're having to really work with him lately because he sees Logan in the full throws of his terrible twos and so he thinks he can get away with the same behavior. So its definitely been challenging trying to remind him that being a big boy isn't just having mroe rules, it also means he gets to do big boy things (like play with his Leap Pad that he got for Christmas) that Logan cannot do. Some days he does better than others, but all in all he's an outstanding little boy.

Logan
Logan is 2... enough said lol. He is rotten anyway and 2 just makes it worse. Now I say rotten with a smile on my face because he's that "i'm trying to be cute and funny" rotten. He pushes his boundaries for sure and knows just when to smile and laugh to stay out of trouble. We are 99% purged of the Sassy. We have just been gradually tapering off to the point where he doesn't really ask for it anymore and we only whip it out if he's inconsolably upset. Every now and then he'll find one and plop it in his mouth and ends up taking it out all on his own because it gets in his way. I'm glad it hasn't been too terrible of a process. I feared it would be rough! He has great vocabulary skills. He talks in full sentences and has a great grasp of using verb tense, pronouns, etc. He LOVES to talk.. and talk... and talk lol. Brenden will say "Mama, Logan won't stop talking to me" lol. Join the club Brenden.... Its really cute to hear him talk like a big boy but be so tiny. He'll tell you stories and make things up. He'll talk about something he saw on TV like its happening in real life right now. We're always hearing how Swiper is not very nice for taking something. He loves to dance and smile... that boy smiles ALL the time. I love it.

They are both turning into big boys on me. I really miss my babies, but I do enjoy sleeping through the night finally :) I also like that they can both tell me what is wrong versus trying to guess. So I guess there are some things to be gained with age.

The boys got dance lessons at Daycare and did a dance recital this year for the holidays. It was too precious for words. I'll include some various pictures of them from the holiday season!

Halloween and a beautiful autumn

And once again I find myself doing a blogger catch-up! The boys keep me busy as well as work and housekeeping and my photography hobby.

The boys had a great halloween. Logan dressed up like a mad scientist and Brenden was the doctor. This was a pretty easy costume because Brenden is my sensitive caring child and Logan is my wild and crazy child.

The following photo even made the top "favorites" on the weekly I Heart Faces photo challenge for the week of Halloween:

The boys have been loving the cooler fall weather and all of the cool leaves to run and play in. We've had some amazing fall colors this year.

The boys continue to bring me joy every day. Logan's little personality is just erupting by the day. He sings and dances and tries to dish out some miniature atitude. Its hard to take him seriously when he's so darn cute. The kids loved going trick-or-treating. Brenden managed to charm the pants off of everybody and got more than his fair share of candy. He knows how to work those big brown eyes! Logan got a little scared of some of the costumes and decided he'd rather ride in the wagon and eat a "walley-pop" instead.

This has probably been the most trying time of parenthood for me too. The kids are both very strong willed, full of atitude and the need to be right. They fight constantly over things. Logan is a little bully! Brenden is so sensitive and Logan is so mischevious and its a horrible combination. Logan grabs B's stuff and takes of running and laughing his head off with little care that his big brother is in the background crying. So we're trying to not only toughen up Brenden but reel in Logan's crazy side. Its amazing how you can parent 2 children the exact same way and have them turn out complete opposites of each other!

Yesterday in Church Logan made the whole congregation laugh. They were doing a hymn after the offering and just as the hymn ended and the church observed a moment of silence Logan let out a booming "YAAAYYY!" for the choir's lovely song. Everybody died laughing. It was too precious!

We're trying to potty train Brenden through the night. He's perfectly trained during the day. We always put a pull up on him at night for safe keeping, but its becoming obvious that B is relying on that pull up to keep him from having to get out of bed at night to use the potty. Ah.. good ol' hind sight... always 20/20. Guess we know better than to let Logan off easy with the night time pull up when his time comes. Now B is wetting the bed and saying he doesn't want his underwear at night. I'm hoping we can work past this soon. I bought some training pants from Target. They were a gerber brand size 3T but I swear a 10yr old could wear them! They were huge and if anybody has ever met my son, you need a microscope to see his tushie! Its the tiniest thing ever! So I need to try ot find another brand or even a cloth diaper so he can feel himself get wet without soaking his entire bedding/pj's.



Two big boys

Once again I've gotten behind in my blogging. The boys keep me busy!

We've been loving this cool fall weather. It's so nice to let the boys run and play outside. We took them to a pumpkin patch and they loved it. Every day Logan asks if we are going to he pumpkin patch again. They had baby goats there to pet and feed and the boys loved that. They got free apple cider at the end and the managed to charm some free refills from the pouring lady.

Logan loves being in the 2 yr room at daycare. He loves that he can see brendens playground on the other side of the fence. He's getting his canine teeth right now and this is probably the grumpiest I've ever seen him. He cries every evening. It's so pitiful.

Brenden is reading really good lately. So proud of his enthusiasm to learn. As much as I hats video games I have to admit some educational games on my iPhone have taught him both reading and writing.

I'll post more photos later but here is what I have on my phone










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Catching up!

September started off with a wonderful family beach trip. The kids had a blast! (and the parents too!) My college best friend and her family joined us. I loved having our kids together to play. The boys did great. Logan was okay with the beach. He liked the sand and the tide pools. Brenden LOVED the beach. We couldn't ever just take a walk on the beach with normal clothes on because EVERY time he'd end up in the ocean splashing and giggling.

They both had fun collecting rocks and shells on the beach

Brenden had no fear of the water at all!

We spent a day at the aquarium in Fort Fisher. The kids liked looking at all of the fish.

On September 8th my little Logan turned 2 years old. I can't believe how big he is!! We brought cookies to the daycare and Thomas the tank engine hats.

Unfortunately Logan got sick with a tummy bug so we had to cancel his birthday party. We had a few cupcakes at home with just the main family. Logan mostly dipped his candles in the frosting and licked them.

Logan is your typical 2 year old. He's got some teeth coming in so he's pretty iritable. We're trying to also wean him off of his precious Sassy. We're trying to get him down to just bedtime use but with the teething thats been difficult. He's so independent and silly. Every morning when I get up he asks me if I had a good nap. Yesterday I stopped at the store on the way home from daycare and he immediately realized we were going the wrong way and said "where we goin' mama?"  I said the store. He said "the store? which store?" I said Target and he says "oh, Target!" Lol. i just thought that was pretty good conversation for a kid that just turned 2.

Brenden is growing up by the minute too. He's reading words and spelling. His teachers constantly brag on how smart he is. He has the cutest little conversations with us. He just rolls out of bed giggling and talking his head off.

The kids are taking dance class at daycare. Brenden is also taking Soccer lessons. They both seem to really enjoy both classes. Logan and Brenden are now in adjoining classrooms since Logan is 2 now. Their playgrounds are separated by a chain link fence and when they're on the playground at the same time they will chase each other up and down the fenceline. I find it so funny that they fight over everything at home but when they have a chance to have their own space they are reaching through a fence to play with each other.

Where has summer gone?

Summer has just flown by. I've been eager to see some of this heat move on but with September comes Logans birthday and I am NOT in a hurry for that to arrive! How is my baby almost 2?!?!?

Logan has recovered well from his surgery. He never for even a second acted like anything was wrong. He's a tough little guy anyway!

I took Brenden swimming the other day. It was his first time trying out a big pool as a big boy. He tends to get timid in situations like that so I prepared myself for him not wanting to swim. Much to my delight he was a brave little boy. He let me take him out with his water wings on and he would kick his legs. He jumped in the water several times and let me catch him. I know this seems lime normal kid stuff but Brenden has always lead a very cautious life when it comes to new and unfamiliar situations. So it makes me happy to see him put on a brave face and try big boy activities.







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Logan's Surgery

Today Logan had his second surgical procedure. This was for a hydrocele. A hydrocele form when the membrane that surrounds the testicles has a small hole in it allowing fluid from the abdomen collect in the scrotum. The fluid can become uncomfortable and the hole can be a risk if his intestine ever were to get kinked in the whole. So today they put him under and cut a small hole in his abdomen and repaired the membrane and drained the excess fluid.

We had to be at the dr at 8:15 and we went through all of the pre surgery consults. Then they gave him a medication to relax him. He went back to surgery and was done with it all after about 45 minutes. It seemed so much longer than that. The procedure went well. However he came out if anesthesia violently angry. You could tell he was so disoriented and miserable. He began kicking and thrashing so the nurse advised he be given a small dose of morphine to push him back to sleep. So they gave him a dose and no change. The dr said he could have another. Much to everyones surprise he continues to scream and thrash. So a third dose was given. Finally he fell asleep and stayed asleep a good hour at least. All I know is we didn't finally leave until after 1pm. He seemed better spirits but still groggy. I had to stop at the pharmacy on the way home to fill his prescription and before we made it to the pharmacy Logan threw up all over the back seat. Ugh!

He got home and drank 2 cups of juice and ate more cheerios than I could even count and was much better after that. Then I put on wiggles and I laid on the floor. I was so tired. Well I actually fell asleep and when I woke up Logan had put his bunny pillow on the floor beside me and went to sleep too. So sweet and thank goodness he didn't trash the house while I was asleep!

He's doing great. Doesn't show any sign of pain or discomfort. I'm having a tough time keeping him inactive. Hopefully he continues to make good progress.








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Our (not so) fun weekend

This wasn't the most fun of weekends. Brenden has been really showing his 3yr old 'firm' opinions and Logan had a bad tummy bug. Its been so hot lately the kids haven't gone outside as much and I know that was part of Brendens problem. He was just bored and frustrated with being stuck inside. We try not to let him watch TV all day long so we've had to get creative in finding things to do inside. We introduced him to the world of CandyLand and he LOVES that game. We've had to teach him about being a 'good sport' and playing by the rules and its okay if someone else wins. Of course we all like to win games. He gets so excited playing it but if he starts to lose or gets a bad card he tries to put it back in the deck lol. Overall its been a good experience for him and its also fun to do some big boy stuff with him.

Friday night Logan was completely drained of all energy which is totally not like him. Saturday he got up and had some diarrhea. He didn't eat much all day and proceeded to have runny diapers all day too. Logan loves to eat so refusing food must mean he feels really bad. We couldn't go anywhere Saturday because of Logans tummy. We tried playing outside for a little bit but Brenden and Logan both started saying it was too hot and they wanted to go inside.

Sunday Logan seemed much better. He made it all morning with no tummy episodes. He ate a little breakfast and had loads more energy. So we decided to take the kids to Ikea. Its so huge its the perfect spot to let the kids run off some energy. Brenden thinks its so fun to try out every couch and bed in the place. He hops on one and rolls around on it giggling. We went to the cafeteria for lunch. I love their cafeteria because its cheap and they have a little area with kids tables and a tv w/some sort of Disney movie playing. Yesterday it was Jungle book. So the kids sat down and we sat a grown up table nearby and all was good. Logan wasn't eating but drank all of the milk that came with his meal and wanted more. Sean went through line to get him more milk and he sat back down and drank some of that too. Then he walked up to Sean and just stared at him and UP came ALL of the milk. ARGH. I felt so bad for all the people eating around us. Most people were pretty empathetic towards Logan and helped us by getting napkins and such. Then he throws up again. Brenden is oblivious to all of this as he's watching Jungle Book still. So we had to clean Logan and get someone to clean up his mess. We checked out our merchandise and left. Logan took about a 3 hour nap when we got home and actually ate (and kept down) a slice of pizza for dinner.

This morning he seemed okay and is at school today. I checked him out on the webcam and he's been active and playing all day so far. Thats good. I just hate when the little guy gets sick like that. He clings to you like "make me feel better" and there's just nothing you can do but hug them and cuddle them :(

I wanted to add a few of the funny things Logan says lately. Hes talking mostly in full sentences now. He'll say "look at me!" when he's doing something. If he messes in his diaper and you ask him if he stinks he'll say "no, dada stinks" or he'll blame other kids when he's at daycare. Last night Brenden needed to go potty during dinner. We sent him upstairs to go. Now Brenden has a BAD habit of waiting until he's got to go BAD before going. Then he takes forever to go to the bathroom.. Turn light on, turn hall light on, take off shoes and socks, take off shorts and underwear, forget why he's up there and start playing with something, etc. We have to tell him a million times (as he does his pee pee dance) Brenden just GO.. FOCUS!! Well last night before we say anything Logan gets up from his little chair, walks over to teh stairs, points his little finger and says "Brenden! Get! Go potty!" lol. It was too funny. Little parent (and school calls him little teacher).

trying out the chairs

enjoying lunch... for a moment...

Brenden likes us to make up stories for him before bed. His favorite are stories of him in a race (and of course he wins the race). It just makes him light up and you can see him imagining winning the race and everybody pats him on the back and says "way to go Brenden!" He's got such a vivid imagination.