Baby Brother

Ok, Ok, it has been a while! And, almost everyone knows by now, that Brennan will be gaining a brother this Spring (April 7...maybe). It has been hard to remember how soon that will be, and, if you noticed how long it has been since I last blogged...I have been a little busy.

The pregnancy has been great, almost as easy as the last one...except for the part where I have to take care of a toddler! But, really, I forget sometimes. Although, now, it is more glaringly obvious (note my belly pic from weeks ago).

Toddler Days....

Brennan is truly the little toddler, now! Active as ever, full of personality, and knows just what he wants. As these recent days are marked by some of the cutest memories: singing ABC's, getting in hitting stance with the baseball bat, saying all kinds of words (bubbles, whats that, bowl, please, and many more), cheers-ing, dancing to the beat, playing hide'n'go seek, going down the big slide all by himself, to name a few....Brennan also has his moments of 'expressing' himself ;). Brennan has gotten himself into a few 'time-outs' for aggressive behavior and has experienced natural consequences for being the dare-devil that he is (as if that stopped him, anyways!). What a BOY!! He is pretty good about telling us what he wants, whether it is sign language (he knows a few, mostly 'more'), words, sounds or pointing...but patience hopefully is around the corner (ya, right!).

Growing up!

Yes, I know it has been a while. I am down to the 'every-other-month' blog, no more monthlies. And, lucky for you, I am maxed out at work and can't do one other thing besides blog about my son!! He is so funny now. He is talking it up and starting some obsessions, bananas and toothbrushes are his latest! He says, nana, gentle, bye-bye, gigi, medicine, moon, all done, and probably others I have not understood. And for those multi-syllabic words like 'medicine' and 'gentle' they are only clear enough to the care-givers ear :) Brennan is starting to interact with the kids at daycare more, hugging them and even plopping himself on the 3 year old's laps! He climbs (time to take him out of the crib), runs and re-arranges furniture just how he likes it. He is also an eater. 1/2 banana is NOT enough, must be a whole. He wants to try all of our food and is working on using a spoon...it is like a battle zone when he gets finished serving himself. Thanks to all the eating he has put on quite the belly, and is growing out of the 12 month clothes.

These last months, Brennan went to Arizona for Spring Training. He was a great little traveler, even when he got really sick with a fever. We had a layover both ways and that always made it a long day! Easter was a lot of fun, we went to family friends and had a hunt for the two 1-year old babies. Baby Charlie got the Golden Egg ;(. We have had many trips with the bike trailer to the park for some fun on warm days. Can't wait for summer!!!

more party pics

First Birthday Party!

After a bit of preparation, family arriving into town, and a pre-party nap, the moment arrived for celebrating Brennan's big birthday! March 6 (a few days early) we celebrated Brennan's 1st birthday. Both sets of Grandparents, Auntie KK, and 30 guests joined us for the mid-day celebration. Good food, a bounce house, cupcakes, TONS of presents, lots of smiles AND 60 degree weather in early March made for a fun-packed day. When it came to the cake-eating moment Brennan was VERY apprehensive, but after one taste of that sugary frosting, he was ALL in!! When it came to present opening, Brennan had a lot of little helpers. Thanks to them we did not have to sit there for 3 hours opening gifts, they reduced it to about an hour...thank goodness ;). To say Brennan is now spoiled is an understatement. And, although it was a perfect day, there were of course those things that made it even more memorable, like: Brennan falling out the back door at the beginning of the party, and 1/2 of our family getting the violent stomach flu we had earlier in the week!

The Coast

We had a great weekend, spending time near Depot Bay with a group of 5 couples. Three of the couples have babies under 1, so it made for an exciting weekend! We rented a house that was perfect for everyone and had access to the beach. Despite the tsunami warning and a flu bug that spread to almost everyone, we had a relaxing time with some great memories.

Brennan and the other babies sure loved the beach. Brennan really wanted to sample a taste of the sand, and so he did...multiple times. And, Cj wondered why he had sand in his diaper even though we had not been to the beach ;)

The Park

When Brennan was born last spring, I could hardly wait until he was old enough to take to a park and PLAY. Well, that time has come! And with the weather just warm enough and no snow on the ground we took Brennan down to the Farewell Bend Park for some playtime. He loved climbing the rocks and, particularly, picking up the bark chips and attempting to eat them!