More Presents For Me???

On New Years Eve, Mommy and Daddy once again hosted a get together with some of our good friends. During the evening, there were a few belated Christmas gifts that were exchanged - some of which were for Brian Thomas. He is really getting into the whole tearing paper thing now which makes it very entertaining to watch! I always thought kids hated getting clothes, but as you can see by his face - he is looking forward to wearing his new bib's! Thank you to Uncle Ralph, Aunt Karen, Beth, Jamie, Uncle Freddie, Aunt Karen, Anthony and Christopher for the wonderful gifts! They will all be worn in the very near future!

Brian got to stay up a little later than normal, but unlike his little brother, he was in bed fast asleep long before midnight.

We Missed You Too!

Since it had been over a week since Grandma and Grandpa had seen a certain couple of little boys, they came over for a visit this afternoon. Brian and his little brother missed seeing them too and had fun catching up and showing them their new toys!

Home At Last!

It was wonderful to celebrate Christmas back in South Dakota this year! We left yesterday and drove as far as Clear Lake Iowa (thank you Great Grandma Dorothy for letting us stay at your house again!). We finished the last leg of our journey home today and after a long trip, it's sure nice to be home! No matter how much fun you have had, there is just something about curling up in your own bed! So on that note, Brian and his family would like to wish everyone once more, a very Merry Christmas and.......to everyone a good night!

Tool Of The Day!

Due to yesterdays events, the tool of the day was delayed until today. Grandpa is in the process of tearing down the house next to theirs. He is doing it all himself so he is always willing to take any suggestions and pointers that Brian has.

Upon taking a closer look, Brian asked Grandpa what kind of a tool he was using to remove the nails from the lumber.

Grandpa not only told him, but he showed him as well! Brian agreed with Grandpa's choice of the Number 64 Rex Cresent Bridgeport Nail Puller. (Brian's approval of his use of this tool was no doubt a great relief for Grandpa to hear!) After looking over the demo work Grandpa has done to date, he told him that he was doing a great job! Sure it might have been easier to strike a match and stand back, but its sure a lot more fun to pull it apart by hand piece by piece!

Houston, We Have A Problem!

Today started out like any other day, but boy were we in for an adventure! While visiting the nice ladies at the office where Grandpa used to work, Brian took a little tumble. He whacked his head against the corner of a door which resulted in a few tears, a lot of blood, a whopper of a lump on his forehead and a nice sized gash to go along with it.

As is getting to be the norm with this kid, Brian has proven once again that he is a brave little boy! Once the initial scare wore off and we had him cleaned up - Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, and Spencer all accompanied Brian on a trip to the doctors office! Once there, it was determined that he could use a few stitches so the games began! A gel was put onto the gash and Brian played with their toys for the 10-15 minutes it took for the gel to completely numb the the area on his forehead. Our nurse suggested that we "swaddle" him in a blanket like we used to when he was a baby. This would keep his arms and legs still and allow the doctor to do his work. Her suggestion worked great and aside from the fact that he got pretty warm by the time we were finishing up....he didn't flinch when Dr Sherwood put four stitches in his head! Dr Sherwood (and his nurse Melissa) were wonderful and made sure all 3 of us got though the experience and were all smiling when it was over. While we were here, he told us about a man who had brought his son in the day before for stitch's, and "he even brought his camera along!" We wouldn't have asked on our own, but once he brought it up, Mommy and Daddy didn't miss the opportunity and said....."well if you don't mind.....we have a camera along too!" Our thanks to Dr Sherwood, the nurses and the entire staff at the clinic. You made our visit a very pleasant one!

After it was all said and done, Brian was still up for going out for dinner. Maybe it was because he was really hungry, or maybe it was to show off the cool band aids he was sporting. Either way, one thing was certain. Due to his bravery, he had been promised one thing once we got back home - ICE CREAM!

Merry Christmas - Again!

The nice thing about the holidays is that every time you go to someone else's house to visit different people, you get to celebrate all over again! Today we went to Great Uncle Jim and Great Aunt Maxine's house. Great Grandma Irene was there......

....and so were two cowboys by the names of Barret and Brayden! These two cowpokes are the twin boy's of Mommy's cousin who we don't get to see very often so we were very happy to be able to play with them today!

Merry Christmas!

Having been around last year, Brian is experienced with the holidays and has been told the true meaning of Christmas. But that doesn't make it any less fun to open a couple presents too! So, before we went to church this morning, Brian ran downstairs to see if Santa had come and sure enough.....he had! Grandpa helped him open a present and......

....was delighted to see that he got a phone that lights up and talks! Eventually we hope that he will appreciate that when the phone speaks, it says numbers and the alphabet, but for the moment.....it makes noise and that is WONDERFUL!


About 3:00 in the afternoon, we thought it would be an interesting experiment to clip a pedometer onto Brian to see how many steps he takes in an average day. We only had it on him until 6:00 that evening but in just 3 hours time, he had logged 4774 steps!

Cousin Nolan

Brian got to spend Christmas Eve with his cousin Nolan (and Nolan's parents too!) Nolan has always been very good at playing with Brian, as well as sharing his toys with him and today was no exception!

Once the gifts were unwrapped, Nolan even let Brian play with some of his NEW toys! Thank you to Uncle Seth, Aunt Ann and Nolan for making us a yummy dinner and letting us spend Christmas with you!

A Cousin Christmas

Ole from Mommy's cousin Kathy's house!

Brian had a great time playing with Dusty and Cody here today!

The quote of the day....in fact, perhaps it's the quote for the year came when Cody and Brian were playing alone together. Cody pulled Mommy aside and said "I believe that Brian has used the restroom in his pants." After hearing this, Daddy went to investigate Brian's diaper and sure enough, Cody had hit the nail right on the head!

Sauce!

We split our trip to South Dakota into two days. On our second day we stopped for lunch and Brian discovered something new........ketchup!

PLAYLAND!!!!

We started our trip to South Dakota for Christmas today. On our way, we stopped at a McDonalds to try out their playland. Mommy and Daddy are on a quest to find the best McDonald playlands and we rate the La Crosse, WI location as a great one to visit!

Tool Of The Day!

In honor of the Christmas holiday, today's tool of the day is.......the ornament. The TOOL ornament that is! Brian and Spencer were given these very cool tool ornaments by our good friends (and loyal blog viewers) Karen and Wayne. Brian would like to remind everyone that as long as you have a few tools around, it's never too late to deck the halls or trim the tree in style! Thank you again Karen and Wayne, we LOVE the ornaments!

Wrap It Up!

Brian didn't assist in much of the gift wrapping this year, but he was very interested in playing the empty wrapping paper rolls!

The Cat Whisperer

Jem the kitty has found a new favorite napping spot. She likes to curl up under the Christmas tree which just happens to be close to a heat vent too! Since we put the tree up, aside from playing with a couple of the ornaments, Brian has done a really good job (knock wood) of leaving the tree itself alone. From time to time he will feel the need to go have a chat with Jem though!

Flu Shot Part 2

Brian got his second (and final) dose of his 2007 flu shot today and was he ever a brave little boy! He was on hand to give moral support to little brother Spencer who got all of his 4 month immunization shots first. Once that was taken care of, Brian rolled up his sleeve and got his "poke" from the nurse. He watched her every move - flinched when he got the shot and pulled his arm away the second it was over......but other than that, he had NO reaction! He didn't cry or fuss or anything! Even the nurse was impressed at how well he reacted to getting a shot!


Since today's blog entry is a medical update, I thought I would include an update on Walter the wonder dog too. He had a small mass growing on his side that we had removed shortly after Thanksgiving. This picture was taken a couple days ago after his stitch's were removed. The tests came back that the mass was not malignant so aside from his needing to grow some hair back in the shaved spot, he is healing nicely and back to being Brian's playmate/pillow!

Baby Needs A New Pair Of.......

.......SNOW BOOTS!!!!!!!!! Mommy has been looking for a pair of snow boots for Brian for a while now but everything she found was too big. This weekend, she finally found a pair and none too soon! Since we got our first real significant snowfall this weekend, young Brian was anxious to strap on those boots and head out to play in it! Before he went outside though, he was willing to take a moment to pose first!

Going Into The City!

Today was the day we made our annual holiday pilgrimage into the city. Also making the trip were Uncle Kevin, Aunt June, Krista and Erika as well as our good friends Uncle Ralph, Aunt Karen, Beth and Jamie. Since Brian was only 3 months old when we went on this adventure last year, the trip this time was much more exciting for him......starting with the train ride! We sat on the upper level of the train so we had a great view the whole way!

Once we get downtown, we go to Macy's department store to look at the windows. Each year they are decorated in a different theme and this year it was "The Nutcracker". Daddy and Brian stopped to pose at one of the windows. There was a light snow falling for most of the day, but it wasn't as crowded as it has been in previous years and it wasn't as cold this year either! Just like last year, we all had a great time and Brian is already looking forward to next year!

Techno Boy!

Brian is a quick little boy who only has to see you do something a few times before he starts imitating it. Case in point, Daddy's hands free cell phone attachment known as his blue tooth. Brian has seen it hooked to Daddy's ear so when he got his hands on it this morning.......he knew just where to put it!

Tool Of The Day!

"Daddy, stop screwing around!" This is a phrase that's not uncommon for you to hear from time to time around our household. In fact, it made Brian think of a small but very useful tool......the Craftsman 4118 Stubby Phillips Screwdriver! Sometimes a guy needs to get some work done in a small space. Pull out this little tool - it's sure to not let you down!

Chef-Boy-R-Brian

Brian helped Daddy make some corn bread tonight. As you all know, safety is very important to Brian and since he knew they would be using the "hot box", he made sure everyone in the kitchen had on their hot pads!

I'm A Big Boy!

A few weeks ago, Mommy and Daddy took Brian to have his official "One Year Old" pictures taken. It probably goes without saying, but they turned out incredible! Brian laughed from the moment the photographer started with him until she finished! At one point, she even asked if she could baby sit him sometime! (Okay, so they are probably trained to say things like that, but it still had the desired effect on Brian's parents!) When she finished taking Brian's pictures, we took a few of him with his baby brother Spencer.......they turned out wonderful too! We will post some of the other poses in the future and we hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do!

Biker Boy!

Brian had a very pleasant surprise when he woke up yesterday morning to find that Grandma and Grandpa H were here! They came to watch his little brother Spencer play the Baby Jesus in the Boars Head Festival. Since Grandma and Grandpa came to watch Brian play the Baby Jesus in last years Boars Head Festival, he was happy they could come see Spencer too. Before they had to fly back to South Dakota this afternoon, Brian wanted to show them how well he can ride his big boy bike! Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa.......I'll see you in a couple weeks when I get to have my first Christmas in South Dakota!

Brian-in-a-Box!

While Brian was watching his favorite tv program the other night, (The Lawrence Welk Show), Mommy snuck around the corner and snapped this picture of him. Apparently he was on a dance break at the time because normally when he watches this program, he dances along with the music and claps his hands at the end of each song too. It's the cutest thing to watch him do!

Bars!

We have posted pictures before of some of the more interesting sleeping positions Brian gets himself into at night. When Mommy and Daddy checked in on him before they went to bed tonight, this sleep pose was one for the record book! It's hard to believe that this could be even remotely comfortable, but apparently it was! Just to make sure he didn't hurt himself if he rolled over, we did unhooked him from the slats of his crib immediately after taking this picture.

Ornaments!

When Mommy and Daddy put up the Christmas tree this year, they knew that Brian would probably be curious to check it out. With that in mind, they opted to only put a few ornaments on it - all of which are "Brian friendly". For the first few days, he was drawn to any/all of the ornaments he could reach. Now that it has been up for about a week, he doesn't seem to pay it much attention anymore. For the most part, he is content to just play with his toys in front of it but on occasion.....he does still feel the need to grab an ornament or two.

Tool of the Day!

Due to his Thanksgiving travels and taking care of Daddy when he had two wisdom teeth removed last week, Brian has been on a short tool break. But, he is back with his Tool of the Day segments and apparently, not a moment too soon! Daddy just had a BIG plumbing problem. Hearing this, Brian rushed into the garage and grabbed his 30 inch monkey wrench because when you have a BIG problem, the best way to fix it is usually with a BIG tool! For any of you novice carpenters out there, you may not want to rush in with a tool that is bigger than you are, however for trained professionals like Brian, this is the only way to go!

Outdoor Decorations!

Brian heard on the news that it was suppose to snow last night. With that in mind, he gave Daddy a call in the afternoon and suggested that in order to stay ahead of the weather, he might want to put up the outdoor Christmas lights as soon as he got home from work. Daddy was in complete agreement and did just as Brian had suggested. Once the lights were all up, Brian got all bundled up and went outside to look it all over. He was very satisfied with Daddy's work and gave his efforts a big thumbs up!

A Real Boy!

Brian put Daddy's hat and vest on this morning - apparently thinking he was going along to work with him today!

Unfortunately, when he found out that he had to stay home.....there was much unhappiness in the village!

**Since all the pictures we post here are of a happy smiling boy, we have heard from a few people who wonder if Brian ever has moments when he ISN'T smiling! Yes folks, he is a real boy who does feel the need to cry from time to time. In fact, he has quite a little temper! Fortunately, his melt down moments don't usually last too long. Once he is distracted by a toy, he forgets all about whatever it was that had him so upset to begin with!

Decorations!

Even with a very curious 15 month old here, Mommy and Daddy have decided to put up some Christmas decorations and ...."see how it goes". As far as Brian is concerned, every time he wakes up, something has changed! When he woke up this morning, there was a tree in the living room! When he work up from his morning nap, the tree had lights on it! When he woke up from his afternoon nap....he got up close and personal with Santa! At this point, Brian has been satisfied to just look at the tree and its lights. That could all change when we try putting a few ornaments on it though!

Feeding Time!

We get Walter's dog food in bulk and Brian has decided that a 40 lb bag of kibble is great fun! You can climb on and play king of the mountain and....

.....if you get worn out, you can always just lay down and take a nap on it!

Stick A Fork In Me!

Brian started loosing interest in tonight's dinner shortly after he started eating it. Normally he feeds himself using his fingers, but tonight we gave him a child size fork to try and suddenly......dinner became much more interesting! I think we can safely say that Brian is becoming a very independent young man!

Play Date!

Brian's friend Sean (and his Mommy Kelly) invited a bunch of Mommies and their kids over for an afternoon play date today! Mommy counted about 14 other kids there and they ranged in age from 2 months to about 18 months. It was fun to see how well all the kids played, interacted and shared toys together. Before we left, Sean and Brian wandered over to the toy kitchen. I think they wanted to give their Mommy's some suggestions as to what they each want for dinner! Both Brian and Mommy wanted to say thank you again to Sean and his Mommy for inviting us to come over to play and we are looking forward to getting together again soon!

Cookie Monster!

Since Daddy is taking some time to recuperate from yesterdays dentist appointment, Brian got to enjoy some snuggle time on the couch with him today! He was also happy to do a taste test on the chocolate chip cookies that Mommy made today!

I'm 15 Month's Old!

Mommy and my little brother went with me to see my doctor today for my 15 month "well being" checkup. The doctor told Mommy that I am growing big and strong just like I'm supose to! My weight hasn't changed much from my 12 month appt. My weight went from 21 lbs 2 oz to 21 lbs 13 oz. I did grow 2 whole inches in the past 3 months though! When we were done talking to the doctor, we picked up Daddy and went to have some real fun! My little brother and I got to spend the afternoon at Great Aunt Ronnie and Great Uncle Glenn's house! I'm not sure why Mommy and Daddy didn't stay so that they could play with us too. I'm sure it would have been much more fun for them. But, they went to visit a man called a dentist instead. Can you believe they wanted to go see him even though they knew that this guy planned to pull two of Daddy's teeth out of his mouth???? That sounds just plain crazy to me! Later in the afternoon, we got another playmate when Christopher got home from school! Christopher's Daddy and our Daddy are cousins. He's a couple years older than us and he's really cool! Thank you again for letting us come over and play at your house today Aunt Ronnie and Uncle Glenn!

Housekeeping!

Brian decided to help Mommy do some vacuuming today. Normally when Mommy vacuums, Brian is in his pack and play where he can supervise, but not "help". Today he got to be down in the thick of things for more of a hands on experience.

It didn't take him long to figure out where the power button was. As far as buttons go, this one was a little more difficult to push, but fun none the less!

Be Brave!

Walter needed to go to the vet today. Brian didn't want him to be scared so he invited him up onto the seat next to him so that he could hold his paw on the way........

...and while we were waiting for the doctor to see us (and when Mommy wasn't looking), Brian also shared his graham cracker with him.