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.

Check Out Time!

On Sunday, it was time to check out of our hotel room and head for home. If you haven't spent any time with Brian recently you may not be aware of the fact that he is a professional "button pusher". If there is something out there with a button on it....big or small, Brian will find it! While Mommy and Daddy got us packed up to go, Brian spent some time playing with the room telephone before he found the alarm clock on the other side of the bed!

Mall Of America!

Since baby brother Spencer was feeling under the weather, he and Mommy stayed at the hotel while Daddy and Brian went on an adventure to the Mall of America. Shopping wasn't on their agenda, but the amusement park in the mall was! Brian watched his older cousins go on a lot of rides, but he did take a spin on the carousel which was huge fun!


*****the photo of this outing will be posted here soon.

Where's The Fire?

Brian is getting old enough to really enjoy some of our family outings (unlike his little brother who still sleeps through most of them.) Today we went to the Minnesota Children's Museum and I believe it is fair to say that fun was had by all! There were several areas designed specifically for toddlers Brian's age and he had a ball playing in them! After playing some dress up, we waited to see if he would have any interest in climbing this rope. With a little encouragement from Grandma and Grandpa.....

......he had climbed up to the top in no time!

Gobble Gobble!

Last year Brian spent his first Thanksgiving in South Dakota. This year he spent the holiday at Uncle Corey's house in Minneapolis! Considering how Daddy was feeling yesterday, one of the things we are all thankful for this year is our health! As of this morning - everyone is feeling much better so off to Minnesota we went! After the drive from Illinois to Minnesota, we were all anxious to sit down to turkey and all the fixings! Once back in the hotel room, Brian enjoyed one of his favorite Baby Einstein movies on the computer. He wanted to sit in a "big people" chair to watch it so for his safety, Daddy strapped him in with a pair of his pajama pants!

A little later, Grandma and Grandpa stopped by our room. There's nothing better than some snuggle time before going to bed!

Holding Pattern

The stomach flu bug that invaded our house (and Brian) earlier this week has claimed another victim. Just as Brian is getting over it, poor Daddy got it. Needless to say, our Thanksgiving travel plans have been altered a bit. If Daddy is feeling better tomorrow morning, and assuming there have been no new flu victims in our family, we wanted to be packed and ready to go. Brian is in charge of stocking the cooler. Mommy and Daddy will need to take a peek inside it before leaving because there is a good chance that Brian will fill it with nothing but string cheese!

No More Calls Please.....We Have A Winner!

Brian has a thing for phones! He has a very nice toy cell phone, but we think he realizes that it is only a toy! If the cordless house phone or Mommy or Daddy's cell phones are left within his reach......he will be off in a corner pushing buttons faster than you can say "Brian, you know you are not allowed to make any more long distance calls Mister!"

Breakfast!

Daddy and Brian have a morning ritual.......sitting down to have breakfast together, just the two of them. Daddy makes the best oatmeal in the whole wide world! Brian is also learning how to operate the spoon all on his own! Granted, he still has some work to do before he has the skill completely mastered, but he is making a lot of headway!

***Midday update. As of this afternoon, Brian appears to have picked up a stomach flu bug somewhere. I would think it would be such a scary feeling for a child - being sick and not understand why - but he is handling the whole situation great! In fact, he is probably handling it better than his parents are! What a feeling of parental helplessness it is to watch your child be sick and know there is nothing you can do except hold him.

Two By Two....

One of Brian's favorite toys at the moment is his Little Peoples Noah's Ark. As you can see, the top comes off which makes it much easier to take all the animals out.....then put them back in....then take them out again.......

As with all kids, an empty box is always a wonderful toy too! This "car" which is sponsored by Pampers, works as a great spot to sort out all the animals.....two by two of course!

Shingles To Your Right.......Roofing Nails To Your Left!

Daddy and Brian went to Home Depot this afternoon to pick up some more shingles. Daddy will be re-shingling the remainder of the garage as soon as time and weather permits. Brian went along just in case Daddy had any questions as to which shingles would be the best to use for this job.

Having only a few teeth so far, Brian's menu options are somewhat limited. But I ask you - who can pass up gnawing on a Pringles potato chip?

Tool Of The Day!

Okay folks, pull up a bucket and strap on your gloves (even if they are too big and need to be clamped onto your jacket) it's time to do some welding! Brian recommends using the Linde Model 2024A 230 Amp Arc Welder! This particular piece of equipment was a gift to my Daddy from his Grandpa. I didn't get to meet my Great Grandpa, but I know I would have loved him as much as my Daddy did!

A Boy - A Daddy - And A Box

How many fathers and sons can you fit into a cardboard box? Lets find out!

Apparently only 1 father and 1 son will comfortably fit!

****Update on yesterdays flu shot. Brian had a restless night and woke up a few times. As of this morning, he didn't show any signs of soreness and was his normal good natured smiling self!

No Flu Bugs Here Please!

At our pediatrician's request, Brian got a flu shot today. Since he is so young, he will get two half dose shots instead of a single adult size dose. The down side to this is that we have to go back next month for another shot. The good news though is that Brian is a very brave boy when getting shots. He had a little baby Tylenol after today's shot to help with the soreness, and he may be a little uncomfortable tomorrow, but so far he is handling it all wonderfully! We snapped this picture in the waiting room while he was using Daddy's phone. We may see some long distance charges to China on our next phone bill but its so much more fun to play with a REAL phone instead of a toy one!

Can Brian Come Out To Play???

Mommy took this picture a few days ago right before we left on an outside adventure. It was a day when we actually needed to wear a winter jacket! It was an absolutely beautiful day here today - in the 60's!

Reward Time!

Brian had an appointment to have his "1 year old" studio pictures taken today. Mommy and Daddy are about two and a half months late in getting this done, but the pictures turned out so incredible that they will be well worth the wait! Even though Brian was short a nap today, he was such a good boy. He was full of laughs, smiles and as you all know, he knows exactly how to mug for the camera! We won't be able to pick the pictures up until after Thanksgiving, but we are looking forward to sharing them with you all when we can! As a reward for being such a good boy, we stopped off for some ice cream before going home!

Another Tooth?

This is a face we have seen quite a bit of lately. We haven't seen evidence of any new teeth yet, but given all of the recent finger chewing and drooling coming from one little boy, we are sure that another tooth must be getting ready to pop through soon!

To Rake or not to Rake. That is the Question

Brian Thomas was contemplating " should I use this rake and help my Daddy clean up the yard .....or should I play with that truck?"

Needless to say, being the good little boy that he is , Brian raked the yard.

Tool Of The Day!

Brian's choice for this weeks tool is the Chan-e-lock 8 inch End Nippers. They are very useful if you need to pull some nails, cut some wire, or pull out your teeth! Wait......scratch that last part......don't pull out your own teeth!

Professor Brian

Mommy and Daddy tell me all the time that they think I'm very smart, so I thought that if I wore a pair of glasses I might look even smarter! Which look do you like better.........3-D glasses?

.....or Daddy's glasses?

Super Crouper!

This past Sunday, Brian woke up with a nasty cough. It was the kind of cough that made us think that our little boy was part Brian and part barking seal! Due to the combination of his wheezy breathing, his upset tummy and his disinterest in drinking anything, we had a visit with the doctor today. She confirmed that he has croup. Croup is one of those things that I have heard of but haven't bothered to learn much about.......probably because I had no need to, until today that is! So, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, croup is a viral infection that causes swelling in the windpipe. It usually appears after your child has had a cold and generally lasts for 3 - 5 days. According to our doctor (and probably every parent who has ever gone through this), the best remedy to help your little person breath more comfortable is to sit with them in a steam filled room for 10 - 15 minutes. After that, get them bundled up and go outside for a few minutes. Apparently breathing in the cold night air helps to decrease the swelling in their windpipe. Last but not least, Brian falls to sleep with the gentle hum of a vaporizer going in his room. Daddy took this picture as he and Brian took their steam together tonight!

Peek A Boo!

Where's Brian??????

There he is!!!!!! Peek-a-boo is huge at our house right now. Clearly, whoever invented this game is pure genius as Brian finds it absolutely hysterical!

Home Again!

What could top off this weekend's trip? Lets ask young Mc Brian! Mmmmm....he does enjoy a good french fry from time to time.

We Got Trouble In River City....

....trouble that starts with "T" that rhymes with "B" which stands for Brian! We arrived in Clear Lake Iowa for our weekend adventure! If you look back through the archives of this blog, the picture we took of Brian on his first "yard work trip" is posted. If you click on "2006" on the far left side of your screen, scroll down and you will see how much this big boy has grown in a year! Since Brian was only serving in the roll of supervisor last year, this year he jumped in with both feet......literally!

Road Trip!

One weekend each fall, Daddy goes to Iowa to do the fall cleanup in his Grandmother's yard. Original members of this raking team were Grandma and Grandpa D, Uncle Corey and Daddy. Over the past couple years a few additional people have been added into the mix. This was Mommy's third trip, Brian's second and Spencer's first! It's a 6 hour drive to get to their Great Grandma Dorothy's house and even with two wonderful little travel boys, we still made a pit stop mid way to stretch our legs. The restaurant we pulled into had a wonderful play area for kids and Brian enjoyed every minute he spent in it!

Tool Of The Day!

Real men use glue guns! Of course, they have to be really powerful ones like this Craftsmen 80508 120AC Glue Gun! You may be surprised by the number of times it comes in very handy to have one of these in your shop. They heat up fast, adhere to most surfaces and don't take up much space. If you don't already have one, Brian highly recommends getting one for your shop!