WHAT'S THAT?....

Boo was never one to ask "why" over and over again, as some babies do however... I can see Brandon doing that in the near future :0)

For the past couple of weeks his "newest" thing is to hear something (car horn, dishwasher running, sissy dropping a toy...so many things really) and ask, "What's that?".  It's super cute and sometimes super funny as he'll get this really curious look on his face as though he honestly wants to know, just what the heck is that? :0)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!...

Happy Birthday Babe.  Had a great day celebrating you...first at the aquarium, then lunch at Maggiano's, then at home tonight with some birthday cake.  We are so thankful for you and all that you do for our family. Here's to another 45 years!  Love you...

So tired after our busy day...
that he couldn't even manage to sit up and watch tv :0)

D&B (Daddy and Brandon)...

These two are quite the pair:  loud, messy, fans of all things Costco (aka "samples"), huge talkers... and both are really great at melting my heart.  Pictures below were taken in May and the video was in June (funny thing on the video, is Brandon had already been "talking" with Daddy for several minutes before I thought to grab the camera...like I said, quite the pair these two :0)

JUST BECAUSE...

Boo is just plain silly.  From silly comments to silly songs, the girl makes me smile.  One day I'll have to record her performing one of her rap songs.  Some of those bring me to tears as she figures out (or should I say makes-up) some of the rhyming words :0)

Next I'll try to record one of her dramatic fit-throwing episodes.  While those are definitely not silly, in some ways they can be pretty darn funny because really...how can someone be that dramatic? I keep telling her we need to put her on tv or in the movies; at least that way she could earn some college money from all her drama (which is) better than most soap opera actors!  :0)

21 MONTHS...

Brandon Elijah is now 21 months old and I am so incredibly thankful for him.  He brings us so much joy.  I'll try not to gush too much about our little man but, then again, this is my blog so I guess I can go on as much as I'd like :0)

Brandon is a silly and wild little man.  He loves to play (but is not a huge fan of sharing :0).  He climbs on EVERYTHING.  Eats just about anything.  Recognizes several letters of the alphabet and can count up to 10 in his cute little baby voice.  He loves reading books, playing outside and going to the park.  He loves to wave at people and he will chase other kids (especially little girls), just to make sure they notice that he's saying hello :0)  This past month, Brandon added a couple more two word sentences to his vocabulary.  Now he says "bye-bye" to people and then adds "take care" :0).  He also says "train tracks" (with much emphasis as he loves to watch trains...it's so cute). Tonight, as I was changing his diaper he grabbed the diaper cream from me; I told him it was diaper cream and he repeated back "dye-dye cream".  Love it!  So awesome to see him change from a sweet squishy baby, to this sweet little boy!   When I pick him up to put him down (to sleep) and we're walking down the hall, he will put his head on my shoulder (his tummy is to my chest), hold his blanket with his left hand and and then drop his right hand down to his side so he can reach out and grab the fingers of my right hand (which is supporting his bum).  I love that.  He still holds out at his hand to walk with me and when it's time to read a book, you better be ready because he'll grab the book and then back up and fall (he's expecting your lap to be there).  Love that too. If the tv is on and any music with a beat starts playing (especially the music on Disney Jr) he grabs his guitar and plays away.  He will watch youtube after youtube video of acousitc guitar players and if this continues I think Uncle Josh may be right...we may need to get him his own little guitar.  Oh...and I'm pretty sure Brandon will be left handed.  I've tried "fighting" this, only because I don't know how to teach someone to write with their left hand but...try as I might, he still seems to prefer using that left hand :0)  The last picture at the bottom, that's Brandon's "hat".  He's played with my tupperware in the kitchen since 7 or 8 months old, and this one particular container (no others) he started putting on his head around 12 months old, so I've always called it "his hat". Super cute!

Happy 21 months my little man.  Simply adore you.

He's saying "cheese"...while eating cheese :0)

Hey...what happened to my snack??

Wait...what's that I hear?   Is that a Jake song??

Where'd he go??

Of course...he ran to get his guitar (aka racquet)

Time to rock out with Jake's crew!

Man they're a great band :0)

Hate it when the music stop...

I think I'll just wait here for the next song...

Maybe I'll grab my hat while I wait :0)

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE...

No, not babies... lost teeth :0)   Boo lost another tooth this morning; this time on the top.  This one bled a little and that freaked her out some but, she got over it pretty quickly when she remembered that the tooth fairy would "pay" a visit tonight :0)

SWEET...SWEET...SWEET...

Sometimes, my two little miracles can be sooo sweet together.  Don't get me wrong, most of the time they are great, but usually it's running around the house, sometimes fighting over toys, getting in each other's way type of "great" :0)

Then there are times, like the other day, when I hear Boo talking with Brandon in this sweet, soft voice and I come around the corner to see her sitting down with her baby brother, going through a photo album and reminding him of their most recent visit with YiaYia and Popo.

So, so sweet.

1ST GRADE...

As with every milestone in our miracle girl's life...I cannot believe we're already to this one.  1st grade already!  Dang!  Today was our first official day of homeschool.  I'm both excited and anxious about the process.  Thrilled that we will be in control of what she learns, but a little stressed that I have to teach it to her :0)   Lucky for me, Boo is a very smart little girl and she is quick to learn :0)

He's to a great "1st" year sweet girl!

Looking so grown up!

I asked her smile, showing her teeth  :0)

GETTING READY...

for the teacups at Disney....they both LOVED it!  Brandon had sissy twist him 10 or more times.  He couldn't get enough! :0)

THIS ONE...

is for Uncle Josh (the first rocker in our family :0).   Every time Brandon hears music on Disney Junior (especially the "band" from Jake and the Neverland pirate...which, coincidentally, the singer kind-of reminds me of Josh :0), he gets this cute "Aha" look on his face...and then he runs to grab his "guitar" (aka toy badminton racquet) and joins in. Love it!

The first video below looks like it's on it's side, but hit the play button and it turns the right way.  I wish I had the camera (this was taken on my cell phone) up and ready at all times...because these videos were after a couple of songs so he was starting to get tired.  When the music first comes on, he's really dancing and playing...it's super cute! :0)

ZOO PART 2...

Animals, rides and water fun!  That sums up our day at the zoo last week.  Lots of great animals to look at, several neat rides and activities to climb on....and we ended the trip in the new splash fountain (unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of that).  All in all...perfect way to start the day!

This trip was super cute, as it was the first time that Brandon
really started to notice the animals.  He got genuinely excited over
seeing the zebras and giraffes! :0)

Boo's first try at rock climbing!

She made it about 1/3 of the way up, and then decided that
was high enough :)  Solid effort girl!

 

Brandon's first trip on the train.  He LOVES trains, but was
a bit apprehensive at first (because it was a little loud).  He
ended up loving the ride! :0)

GOING TO THE BIRDS...

We got a chance to take a family trip to the zoo this past week...the kids had a blast.  Bailey LOVES the zoo.  She really enjoys any chance to learn about animals.  This time around, we got lucky and the birds in the Parakeet exhibit were very hungry.  Bailey even braved it and allowed a couple of birds to jump onto her stick.  Brandon, of course, thought this was too cool.  He really wanted to "love on" those birds :0)

As per our normal routine, we got there first thing to try and beat both the crowds and the heat.  School is getting ready to start back here in Georgia, and I guess everyone was out trying to do that one last thing because the zoo was busier than normal...but it still wasn't too bad and we had a great day!

More pictures to come next post!

 

Brandon wanted to give the birdie some "love" :0)

Such a big girl!