4 MONTH STATS....

Brandon turned 4 months back on the 19th, but I didn't take him to the ped's office until this past Wednesday (the 28th). The doctor was very impressed with him. She said he was sitting well, had great neck strength (that enlarged muscle is gone by the way, PRAISE GOD!!), she was thrilled to hear that he was already rolling over and happy with his eating a little cereal. She laughed when she saw the rolls on him and commented that he obviously likes his food :)

Our growing boy has now doubled his birth weight (actually a little past). He weighed in at a healthy 15.5 lbs and 24.5 inches. This puts him in the 50% for both his weight and his height. His sister hadn't even hit 14lbs or 24 inches at this point. Brandon is all boy :)

This little man is still happy as can be. Give him enough rest and food and he's very content. His newest "trick" is laying on his back and lifting his legs up in the air so he can grab his toes. It's super, super cute because he always looks so proud of himself when he does this :) I think he gets more handsome by the day. I've actually (caution...proud mama moment) had people stop me in stores to tell me how pretty he is. Combine that with his smile and wet open mouth kisses and I just can't get enough of him. He truly is a blessing.

Note the feet. He LOVES sitting this way :)

ROAD WORK....

Saturday, we got home from Bailey's softball game and it was time for "quiet time" (we call it that but...she's not always all that quiet :).

Typically Boo spends about 45 minutes in her room and then she's done and ready to come out. But then there are days like this past Saturday, when she's in there so long, that I have to go listen to make sure she hasn't fallen asleep.

On this day, she wasn't asleep, instead she was having a lot of fun using her imagination (I love it when she does this, it's sooo cool to watch! :). She came out of her room and had Tom and I (and baby brother of course) follow her back so she could show us what she had made. She had made a road out of these tiny plastic screws from a kit that she has. She was so proud and so were we.....it was pretty darn cool :)

She didn't want to take her uniform off :)

SILLY SISSY...

Brandon loves his sister; equally...Boo adores her baby brother. They already have such a special relationship.

BOWLING PARTY....

I was clearing out the point-n-shoot I carry in our bag when I came across the photos below. These photos were taken a few weeks ago; Boo was at a birthday party at a local bowling alley. It was her first try with "real" bowling (she has bowled on the wii before :). She really liked it! Had they not already had the kid-ramps set up, I think she probably would have tried pushing the ball down the alley herself but...the ramp did work pretty well. Truth be told, I should probably use one of these myself! :)

Big hit of the afternoon...waiting for your ball to return! :)

DESIRES OF MY HEART...

One year ago today, I got this....

Man, what a day that was. Some of you know this story, a few of you do not. Tom and I had been working with the RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) that helped us conceive Bailey. We had done an IUI in February that was unsuccessful and had tried another (our last attempt we had decided) the first week in March of 2011. March 18th of last year was a Friday. That Tuesday, I was absolutely positive that I was not pregnant. I remember that day like it was yesterday and almost with as much emotion. I had dropped Bailey off at preschool and was sitting in the parking lot of the Walmart off the East-West Connector. Not to give too much detail but...my cycle had started and I knew the IUI had not worked. First I called Tom and then I called my closest friend. With Tom and I shared with him how angry I felt. Angry that we had waited so long to start trying again and that at (almost 40) I had missed the window....that ever so precious fertility window that women often don't talk about. You would think that because we needed assistance to get pregnant with Boo, that we would have been more prepared to start trying for baby #2 a little sooner but...I guess we just weren't. So I talked with Tom and then I called Glenna and in tears told her I would need her help in a few weeks, to put on a garage sale so I could sell all the baby stuff I had been holding onto. Needless to say...it was a pretty crappy day.

Fast forward to Friday and that cycle that I thought was starting well...it never really took shape. I remember thinking on Wednesday, "hmmm....that's strange", then the same thing on Thursday, "hmmm...strange again". I didn't tell Tom or G any of this. I told myself that I'd give my body until Friday and then I'd take a test. Well...I took not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR tests and each of them came out positive. I was blown away. Blown away by the miracle, the gift of this precious life and blown away by God's great grace in allowing me to be surprised.

So...here I sit, one year later and what a year it has been. From sitting on the bathroom floor at 6am waiting for those few (but oh so long) test minutes to pass, to sitting here now...watching the video monitor as our precious second miracle baby sleeps...I am amazed at what God has given me, for He has truly given me the desires of my heart.

SPRING TRAINING...

The first day of Spring is Tuesday and that can only mean one thing.... Tball season! Bailey played Tball with Upward Sports last year and it was such a positive experience that we had to encourage her to try it again this year. This organization is perfect for Boo because it's not competitive based. Sure, they want the kids to put forth effort and do a good job, but what they really want them to do, is to learn about Jesus (there is a short devotional at each practice) and to have a lot of fun. We were thrilled when Bailey said a quick and happy "YES" when we asked her if she wanted to play again this year. She's shy so it's hard for her to put herself out there and try new things but, she can also be competitive so we try and capitalize on that when we can...in hopes that it will build her self esteem.

The game is technically called softball, although they do play off the tee at first. Later they'll pitch and they're given 3 or 4 swings before moving to the tee so it's a great opportunity to develop skills in a safe/friendly environment.

It was really fun watching Boo today. A big difference from last year! While she was still shy and stood back some, she also showed some hustle (she actually went after the grounders and ran around the bases :). We are really excited to see how this season turns out! Oh...and on a special note, Bailey's coach is the husband of her (Kindergarten) teacher next year. Ms. Lana will be helping her husband so Bailey will get to know her in a more relaxed setting. I think this will help the transition to the new class (without her school BFF Reese who is going to a different school) a little easier. Praise God for that bonus!

Getting ready to field...

Rushing to fight for the grounder...

Happy with her ball collection...way to go Boo!

Running home in victory :)

YOU LOOKING AT ME?...

Brandon, and the little frog on his bouncer, have a very special relationship. They play this game of "chicken"...waiting to see who will blink first. Can you guess who wins? :)

LITTLE PHOTOGRAPHER...

Bailey is such a great little girl. She is so full of joy! It's amazing actually...even if she's gotten into trouble or things are necessarily going her way...she still can be so silly, so joyful. I pray that quality never leaves her.

A while back we gave Boo our old point-n-shoot digital. We have hundreds of pictures that she's taken, downloaded on our computer. Some of them are really quite funny. Actually, most of them are! The ones below she took on Saturday. I didn't know she had taken them...all I knew is she came to me in the afternoon and asked me to take some pictures of her and brother, which is how we got the picture at the bottom of this post. The picture I took happened after we ran some errands, which means it happened after she took her photos. Notice with her pictures they took place inside our home and then continued inside the car :) Most of the time I don't even know she's got her camera, let alone taking pictures (which would account for the one I found of me sleeping...yeah, I'm not posting that one:).

Such a fun, silly, wonderfully joyful little girl...

Every once in a while he finds his thumb! Oh...

and that's a tag on his face, not spit :)

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE....

Our little man is wonderful. He is beautiful, happy and smiles a lot...except when he's hungry. When he's hungry, he's MAD and I better hurry up and feed him or this is what happens:

Even angry, he's pretty darn cute :)

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A MOTHER WHEN...

These have been just some of my personal "defining moments". The ones that told me... I must be a mommy.

You know you're a mother when:

You hold out your hand to catch your child's throw up because, better your hand then her sheets.

You're so tired and then you realize that it takes less energy to get up off the floor in your baby's bedroom, then to get out of your own bed and walk across the hall so...you sleep on the floor.

You're drying your hair and realize that you're humming "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"...to yourself. Worse than that, you're humming it as though it's a ballad. No joke.

You're laughing at an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and then look around to find that you're the only one in the room watching the show.

You accidentally eat baby cereal (again, no joke)

You're in the car for 30 minutes before you realize that the CD for Jake and the Never Land Pirates is playing...and you're all alone.

You hear a child throwing a fit in the market...and then you look down to find that it's YOUR child throwing the fit.

You discover that even with your infant in one hand and a load of laundry in the other, that you can still turn the light switch off....with your foot.

You now know that before, when you didn't have children, and you said you were tired...that you were a foolish, foolish person.

You go in to use the bathroom and you're not alone...ever.

You know you're a mother when....you look at your babies and realize that you can barely breathe because you never knew you could love someone that much.

DAD'S DESSERT

This past week, Bailey's school had "Dad's dessert" for the 4 year old classes. The dads (or uncle, grandfather, family friend...etc) got to come in and sit down with their kids and eat some wonderful sweets. Moms also get a chance to do this (next month I think) but, we get tea. Really? The men get sweets and the women get tea? Yeah, how's that fair? :)

Anyway... :) As you can see below, both Bailey and daddy had a great time. Bailey tried pie and wasn't a huge fan (she takes after her mommy there) but she found a brownie which she loved (once again channeling mommy :)

Boo was doubly happy about the morning because she got the sit next to one of her best buds (Reese) and her daddy, who happens to be a friend of Tom's so, it worked out all around :)

TALKING AWAY....

Brandon's talking has really started to pick up. It is sooo, sooo cute! He'll sit in his bouncy chair and talk with his friends in his cute deep voice:) Below are two videos from this morning. Enjoy!