My Girl!

One of Brian's favorite things about Sunday is knowing that he will get to see his girl Elizabeth at church! This picture was taken last week, but Brian was absolutely thrilled today when Elizabeth and her family came in and sat down right behind us! This meant he could spin around and gaze at her throughout the whole service! Elizabeth, will be available for prom night in about...........17 years or so???

Let's All Go to the Zoo!

Brian has been to the Brookfield Zoo a few times, but this was his first visit with his little brother! It was also the first time that he got to ride on the Carousel, which proved to be HUGE fun for both him and Mommy! As you can see, Brian opted to have the Tiger be his trusty mount for the adventure!

Is that our boy Brian or a Fire Salamander I see? Whoever it is, he certainly has a cute smile!

A beautiful day at the zoo, plus some face painting equals............one tired little boy!

*****Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for giving Mommy and Daddy the gift of a zoo membership for our birthdays! We will gets LOTS of use out of it in the upcoming year! Thank you once again!!!!!!

Gym Shoes!

Some call them tennies, sneakers, gummers and we have even heard them referred to as shoe ball cover tops! Today, Brian added a new pair of shoes to his foot wear collection! Velcro closures are a little too easy for him to remove and his big boy white lace up shoes are not everyday kind of shoes so........take a look at his new lace up gym shoes!

He has been wearing them most of today and hasn't tried to untie or pull them off once! With that said, we are guessing that in addition to them being very cute, they are also very comfortable!

Tool of the Day!

Ladies and gentlemen..........Brian's Bosch Model 601 5000 RPM Double Insulated Angle Grinder! This weeks tool selection was made because Brian used it recently and hasn't had a chance to put it away yet. Daddy was working on a project and needed some rebar cut. Being the trained professional that he is, Brian immediately grabbed his Angle Grinder and had them cut in no time! I'm sure it goes without saying, but just in case........when working with this tool, always remember to wear your safety glasses (and shoes would be good too!)

If Life Hands You Lemons......

Brian was on his best behavior at our dinner out with Grandpa tonight. He sat nicely in his high chair and even after having his own dinner, managed to leave only a very minimal mess behind for the bus boy's to clean up! When he was done eating, he notices the bowl of lemons on the table. One thought came to mind. "I wonder what those bright colored things over there are....whatever they are, I bet they would taste good!"

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the picture I was TRYING to get would have been worth a several thousand words! At first he just played with it and then - he tasted it. In addition to making this face, his whole body did a little quiver!

At that point, he decided it was time to share this little lesson with Grandpa! "Grandpa, I don't know what these little yellow things are, but they are very nice to look at and to hold onto, but I'm here to tell you, DON'T put them in your mouth!"

Beep-Beep!

There is nothing better than going for a stroller ride! Brian has always loved riding in his single passenger stroller and he still has the opportunity for some solo rides from time to time in the old stroller. However, he is really enjoying driving this new big rig! With his own steering wheel up front, he gets to call all the shots (at least, that's the way he sees it!)

The only downside to being in a rig this big is that you have to yell if you want to be heard by the people behind you!

The Three Musketeer's

Brian woke up this morning to find his Grandpa here - what a terrific surprise that was! After chatting over breakfast, Brian asked Grandpa if he would read one of his favorite books to him and his little brother.....and what Grandpa could say no to that?!?!

After a hard day of playtime, Brian enjoyed kicking back with his sippy cup, his little brother and his Grandpa! They make quite a trio don't they?

Another Box!

He has played in large cardboard box's, a diaper box and now.......his toy box! Are you sensing a trend here? When he isn't playing with them, Mommy and Daddy try to keep Brian's smaller toys corralled in this little wicker basket. Today there was a specific toy that Brian wanted that was at the bottom of the basket, so he went in after it - quite literally!

Thinking Outside The Box!

And the thoughts that Brian had while standing outside that box sounded something like this: "Hey, what a cool box, I think the only think that might be more fun is if I were sitting in it!"

Bubbles!

Brian was having a great time - first watching and then catching the bubbles that Daddy blew! His goal appeared to be to eat them as soon as he caught them though. He caught several, so apparently the taste of the soap must not have bothered him too much!

Tool of the Day!

Brian would like to show you his newest tool.....the Ridged 1/2 inch Hammer Drill! He had one of these in his tool collection, but Daddy borrowed it recently and he broke it! I know what you are thinking.......I shouldn't let him borrow any more of my stuff. But, in his defense, Daddy did know the cardinal rule of tool borrowing. That rule states: "If you borrow it and break it - you bought it!" So Daddy replaced the broken tool with this shiny new one and all is right with the world again! Thank you Daddy......you can feel free to borrow my tools again anytime!

Prest-o Chang-o!

This is the changing table that Daddy built before Brian was born. In the past year, Brian logged quite a bit of time on that table - the key word being ON the table. Since our big boy has pretty much outgrown it, it has been moved into his baby brothers room. Now when Spencer is logging his time on the changing table, Brian gets to explore the rest of it! He has found that it's great fun getting to play with the turtle night light, the various tubes of lotion and all the bath tub toys that are stored on the lower shelves!

Storytime!

There's nothing like settling down with a good book! Until recently, Brian felt that phrase actually meant settling down to CHEW on a good book. We are happy to report that over the past few weeks, Brian has starting to have enough patience to sit nicely while being read to! So, over the weekend, Brian and Grandma listened intently while Great Grandma Irene read a book! Just so everyone knows.....Brian gives this book, "Barnyard Dance", an excellent review and highly recommends it to one and all!

Beans!

For some additional backyard fun during Brian's birthday party - Daddy built a bean bag toss game. Brian's cousin Nolan gave him some tips......

......and then Brian went to town!

Spencer's Baptism!

Brian's baby brother Spencer was baptised today! It was a fun day for all of us since so many of our friends and family where able to be with us to help us celebrate the happy day! This was the first opportunity we have had to get a picture of Brian with ALL his cousins (and his little brother too.) In the back row we have Erika (5), Krista (7) and Nolan (5) and in the front row, Haley (2), Spencer (almost 4 weeks) and Brian(1). Have you ever seen a better looking group of kids???

My 1st Birthday Party!

Even though Brian's 1st birthday was August 28th, we celebrated the big event with a backyard party today! In addition to all the family and friends who were able to attend, we were especially happy to have all of Brian's cousins, both sets of his grandparents and both of his great grandmothers in attendance with us! Talk about the makings for a great party huh? Grandma D made the cake, including his very own "smash cake" and Brian saw to it that the cake lived up to it's name!

Even though he was running on fumes and in need of a nap, Brian sucked it up and dove into the wrapping paper to open his gifts!

Brian would like to thank everyone again for their very generous gifts. He will have lots of fun putting them all to good use!

Holy cow.....I don't think I've ever seen a watermelon this big before! This must be one that Grandma and Grandpa brought with them from South Dakota. Mommy told me that they grow yummy ones there. I wonder what a guy could do with a melon this size?

..........when in doubt, just jump on and ride it! After all, maybe if I'm ON it, Daddy won't get any ideas to put me IN it like he did with that crazy pumpkin last Halloween!

Tool Of The Day!

Doing some soffit work? Then you will probably need to bend some aluminum! And what better way to do that than by pulling out your W - 15 Port-O-Brake aluminum bender! Daddy uses Brian's quite often and says it has been a real life saver for him when he's been working with aluminum. As always, safety is still very important to Brian so he does want to point out that at no time should you use equipment like this barefoot. Since Brian was just SHOWING you this tool and not actually WORKING with it today, he did not put on shoes........but then again, he is a trained professional. If you are a novice user, please remember to put on your "shoe ball covers"!

Under The Big Top!

Brian's family, including several from South Dakota, will all be here this weekend. One of the reasons for this get together is to celebrate (even though technically a tiny bit late) Brian's first birthday! Since the party will be taking place in the back yard, Brian suggested that Daddy set up the tent tonight to make sure it would fit where he was planning on putting it up. With Brian's supervision, the tent went up without a hitch!

Pincushion Boy!

Brian and Mommy made the dreaded trip to get all the immunization shots a one year old boy needs. He received 5 shots (or "pokes" as the nurse refers to them) today. The only good thing I can say about getting all these shots at once is that he now only needs one more shot. In 6 months we will go back for that dose and once he has it, he won't need any additional immunization shots until he goes to Kindergarten! I don't know if that's much consolation to Brian right now, but trooper that he is, he handled the whole ordeal wonderfully. I think it is harder for Mommy to watch him go through this than it was for him! He cried briefly while it was happening, and who could blame him for that, but those tears dried up as soon as we left the office.

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty!

The postman had a big box with him when he came to our house today. Inside was a surprise for both Brian and his little brother Spencer. Mommy's cousin sent them each a stuffed animal pillow! Brian was all over his as soon as it came out of the box! He set it on the kitchen floor and laid right down on it. I think its fair to say......he really likes it! Thank you very much Cindy, Jerry and Andy!

Church Picnic

Brian, his Mommy, Daddy and baby brother enjoyed the beautiful day today by attending our church picnic! Grandma and Grandpa were in charge of running the Bingo game but even that didn't help Mommy and Daddy's luck. Even though they lost every game, they still said they had fun! Little brother Spencer spent most of the afternoon sleeping (nothing new there). Brian however, was thrilled to be able to spend the majority of the day with his girlfriend Elizabeth. Granted, she is a little bit older than him (she is in the 8th grade), but they are quite fond of each other! There were several other ladies around Brian most of the time.....





.....but we think his heart belongs only to Elizabeth and that huge smile of his pretty much confirms it!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday to you.....

Happy Birthday to you....

Happy Birthday dear Daddy....

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Before Grandma had to head back to South Dakota, we all went out for dinner. Brian waited patiently while everyone finished their dinner. Apparently he saw Grandma tell the waitress we were celebrating a variety of birthdays and knew that a yummy ice cream treat was on the way! His patience paid off and Brian got his share of the ice cream too!

Nap Time

Brian continues to be a very good little nap-taker. Generally, about 2 hours after he wakes up in the morning, he takes a nap for an hour - give or take. About an hour or so after he has lunch, he is ready to lay down again. Sure some naps last longer than others and on occasion, he may miss one completely, after all, nothing is written in stone. Rarely does he fight the whole sleep time process though. Once he is in his crib, he usually just grabs his blanket, rolls over onto his tummy, sticks his bottom up into the air and then drifts off to sleep!

Tool Of The Day!

Brian has taken advantage of the nice weather lately by taking his toys on the road......well, not on the road per say, more like on the front patio. Recently, in one of their father/son conversations, Brian voiced his concern about the condition of the patio. "Daddy? Don't you think this patio could use a good pressure wash? And after that, it would only make sense to reseal it too don't you think?" When they went out to take a closer look together, sure enough, Daddy agreed with Brian!




So Brian rolled out his Generac 2300 PSI Pressure Washer and put Daddy to work! After it had been washed and sealed, Brian told his Daddy that it looked so nice that people may think he had built a new one!

For No Particular Reason......

Sometimes there's nothing better than just a random cute picture. Our "subject" shown here is normally always ready with a smile when the camera comes out.........so here's today's candid cute shot!

Your Grounded Young Man!

Can you guess what is really happening in this picture?

A) "So you took Daddy's truck out for a joy ride and got into an accident huh? Well you are grounded young man!"

B) "You were in an accident? I certainly hope you were wearing clean underwear!"

C) Daddy went to Home Depot to pick up some things for a job he was working on and came out to find that he was the victim of a hit and run accident.

Correct answer - C

Labor Day Pool Time!

Our Labor Day was celebrated by having a BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa D's house! Before dinner was served, Daddy and Brian had enough time to enjoy some time in the pool. Brian started out floating on one of the inflatable boats he generally rides. After that, he adventured on with a pair of inflatable "muscles". As you can see by his face.........he loved it!

Never let it be said that Daddy lacks imagination when it comes to where we can take Brian's picture! Normally this compartment of the Cool Float would house ice to keep the beverages in the holders chilled while floating in the pool. Today however, the compartment housed a certain little boy. He didn't need any ice though, he is cool enough on his own!

Double Trouble!

Mommy's been enjoying all the additional help from Grandma and Daddy while she gets into the swing of taking care of two small boys. She's not exactly sure how she will feed two at once like this in the future, but hopefully she will figure something out! Brian is continuing to make great strides learning to drink his milk from his sippy cup, but before bedtime he still gets to use the bottle so that we know that he is going to bed with a full tummy.

***We will try not to make a habit of using the same picture on both Brian and his brother Spencer's blogs - but this one was just too good to pass up!

One Token Please

Mommy and Daddy took Brian to Chuck E Cheese today while Grandma was home babysitting little brother Spencer. You may be asking yourselves why we would be taking a one year old to a place like Chuck E Cheese but there really was a reason behind it. That will be a story for another days blog post though. While we were there, Brian went on a couple of the kiddy rides which as you can see, he enjoyed very much!