SITTING MAN...

Our little man is doing pretty darn good for only 6 months! :) 

POOL FUN...

Yesterday we took the kids to the pool.  The weather was sunny and super warm and we had a great time!  We have a pool at our house however, the start up is expensive so we're saving that money and using a local pool instead.  The really nice thing about this community, is not only do they have a baby pool...but they also have a zero entry pool which Bailey gets a kick out of.

Boo had a lot of fun.  She still uses her vest (although she will jump in to me without the vest and go under the water to get rings).  We may spend the money to have some lessons with a woman that is "famous" for getting kids to swim in a week.  For Bailey, she needs to learn how NOT to sink.  I can't really figure out how to explain it to her, I tell her to kick and move her arms but bless her heart if she still doesn't sink like a rock.  I know that it will be like so many things, one day it will just "click" and then she'll be a fish...no doubt!

Brandon did really well.  This was his first time and while I'm not sure that he "loved it", he didn't cry...even when we put him in the baby float.  He was very busy watching all the people around him.  The first time someone accidentally splashed him, it caught him off guard but the next couple of times it didn't really seem to bother him.  My goal is to get them to the pool once a week this summer.  I'm hopeful that by the end of summer Bailey will be swimming and Brandon will be playing and having fun in the water.  Oh...and the picture at the very bottom, don't you just LOVE those thighs!!! :)

END OF THE YEAR...

Yesterday's was Boo's last day of preschool!  She is "officially" now a kindergartner. I can't believe it!  How can my baby girl already be such a big girl!?  My closest friend just had her third beautiful baby yesterday and, as I held him this morning, I was not only struck by (of course just how beautiful he was) but the fact that Brandon is growing much, much too quickly (I mean really, was he ever that small?) and that these first five years with Boo have just flown by.  My mom use to sing me this song..."turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four, turn around and you're a young girl walking out the door".  Well...I've decided to stop turning and to sleep with one eye open because this beautiful girl of mine is growing up much too quickly for this mommy.

Pictures below are from her school's performance last night.  First she did her ballet show and then she sang with her class.  I did take some video which I'll try to get online this weekend.

Oh and....Happy Birthday Popo :)   We love you...

DAYS LIKE THESE...

We've had some beautiful weather lately...sunny and warm (but not hot) with low humidity.  It's been great! Weather is wish I could live in pretty much all year round. During days like these, I like to spend as much time as possible outside; lucky for me, my children like it outside just as much as I do.  One of my favorite things to do is to grab one of our outside chairs and sit down and watch Bailey play.  Her imagination and use of the simplest things is wonderful to watch.  Right now, Brandon is isolated to my lap (which is fine with mama...I'm enjoying my time with my squishy little man sitting on my lap :)...but I know next Spring/Summer will be a much different picture!  Speaking of pictures...mass picture alert below :)

6 MONTHS!...

Our beautiful boy is 6 MONTHS OLD today!  I cannot believe it.  Actually...I can't remember life before our two miracles, but still...6 months old already!  I say it often but, he truly is a wonderful, sweet, baby boy.  He laughs all the time and he loves to sing.  He cracks up when Mickey Mouse Clubhouse comes on TV and if he hears the song from Jake and The Neverland Pirates, he'll stop to listen.  He's hair is really starting to fill out and his eyes are still blue (mine are brown and Tom's are blue so...who knows?!)  He's now getting really good at sitting up and everything goes into his mouth.  The cute thing about everything going into his mouth, is he looks like a baby bird.  He'll focus in on something (be it a toy, his burp cloth or my finger) and he opens his mouth and then dives for it :)  It's so incredibly funny!

Brandon is now eating baby food which just brings out more of the cute baby bird in him as he sits there with his mouth wide open, just waiting for you to put the food it :)  Too, TOO cute!!  On the food...so far he's had peas, peas with brown rice, sweet potato (his least favorite), squash, winter squash, apple mixed with squash (his favorite), pears (second favorite), apples and apples with blueberries.  All of these from a jar.  I've also given him very tiny pieces of banana which the first couple of times made him choke a little so I thought he wasn't quite ready for them but....turns out he just needed to try it another time or two; now he's got it down :)

Over the past month, he lost the last newborn attribute that he was still holding onto...which was gasping when then wind hits his face.  I noticed this when we were walking into the art show at Bailey's school last month and it was windy outside...that he didn't gasp.  Have to say...made me a little sad.

Newest thing, besides getting really good at sitting, is he now thinks it's really funny when he splashes in the bathtub :)  I don't remember Boo ever doing this...but then again, I'm not sure that I really encouraged her to get water in her face.  With Brandon (because swim lessons were such a big deal with Boo) I am determined to make him very comfortable in the water so...I'll hold him and let him sit in his little tub and he splashes all over and cracks up :)  No teeth yet but (as you'll see in the photos below), we've got some really great drool going on!  He's ped's appointment is on Tuesday, so I'll provide stats then but I'm guessing he's between 17-18 lbs and close to 27 inches.  He fits size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.  He can still fit in his infant carrier but that only goes to 22 lbs so we may only get 9 months out of it (which really bums me out because I LOVE the snap-n-go stroller...man that was a great invention!).

So there you have it!  Our second miracle, our wonderful, beautiful, perfect little baby boy is 6 months old today.  It amazes me that you can love your children more each day but man...if that isn't exactly what happens.

GOOD CLEAN FUN...

Bailey loves a good bath :)  She'll easily spend 30 minutes plus playing in the tub...until her fingers and toes are all "prunie" she tells me :)  At least we know she'll be a clean kid!

OUR CUTIES...

Okay...our kids are just cute!  Man I love them!  From Boo putting on her spontaneous performances (this one is especially cute as you can see the concentration in her face) to our little man discovering that not only can he drink from a water bottle (he actually sucks it down!), but he likes the water bottle...which you'll see as he goes after the bottle once he's done drinking :) Cute...cute...cute!!!  Can you tell I'm a proud mama? :)   Both of these videos were taken in the past week.  Don't forget to turn on your speakers!

OH HAPPY DAY...

Today is a wonderful day; it's a day that I prayed for, for many...many years.  Today is Mother's Day and I'm the Mommy.  What a wonderful, wonderful gift!  My two miracles bless me each and every day.  Their smiles, their love, their innocents, their joy...the feeling that I get, knowing that I am their mom, it is such a humbling and precious gift. Walking down the road of Motherhood, makes me value my own mother even more.  I've always loved her and needed her...but I don't know that I really valued her as a woman, until I became a mother.  And considering that she started this journey at half the age I was when Bailey was born well...it blows me away.  When I get Boo dressed, when I comb her hair or put on her shoes or when I'm rocking Brandon...I often times think of my mom and what she must have felt like when she combed my hair or rocked my brothers. I've always known that my mother loved me, but I never knew just how much until I became a mom.  What a blessing.  What a happy, happy day...

ps.  last picture below....no, he can't stand all on his own.  He's actually leaning against the sofa!  Good trick though, eh? :)

MOTHER'S TEA...

Today at Bailey's school, it was the mommy's turn to go and have a fun event.  They called it the, "Mother's Tea"...which is funny, because there was no tea served:)   We had a fun time sitting with our children, eating sugar (cake, cookies, etc) and looking as some special mommy-crafts that the kids made.  Bailey is fighting a cold and I had actually kept her home yesterday but, I didn't have the heart to keep her out today.  She We were really looking forward to it;  it really was a great morning...cold and all :)

FAMILY PHOTO....

Here's another timed photo...we had to take 4 of them, before we got one with Brandon at least looking at the camera :)  It's a funny process.  We don't have a remote so I have to set the time, hit the button and then run to the couch and sit down quickly (all while holding Brandon) before the flash goes off.  I'm sure he was trying to figure out just what the heck was going on! :)

NEWEST TRICK...

Brandon has a new trick!  He/we are quite proud :)  I put two videos on...just for a little more "face" time :)  Enjoy!

TROPHY TIME...

Last night was the closing ceremony for softball.  The season is officially over and we're bummed!  It was a GREAT season.  The games were starting to get pretty darn warm toward the end but, still, a lot of fun.  At the ceremony, each player received a trophy.  Bailey remembered this from last year and was super excited to go.  She was even more excited when she saw that the trophy this year, was different than last year's trophy :)  Way to go Boo!  You did GREAT :)

MOMMA'S GONNA....

...Squeeze you!  This is what I'm always telling my children and, with these photos, I'm sure you can see why! :)