New Super Hero!

Look......up in the booster seat........it's a bird........it's a plane........no, its...........

CEREAL BOY! Able to finish a bowl of oatmeal or cold cereal in a single bound (as long as he doesn't giggle so much that his mask/box slips off)!

Toy Box?

What do you do when you don't know which of your toys to play with first? That's an easy question - you just dump all the toys out of the toy bins and play in the empty bins!

Go Fish!

Brian's cousin Krista gave him this toy fishing pole and fish for Christmas. Technically, this is a bath tub toy but Brian absolutely loves playing with it. Any time he can sneak it out of the bath bin (like he did today), he wants to play with it.

The boys pulled a fast one on Mommy this morning. Brian said he wanted a snack and Mommy told him we would have lunch in just a few minutes. She went back into the bedroom to finish putting away some laundry but was concerned by the fact that they were being quiet - TOO quiet! She came into the kitchen to find that they had pulled a kitchen chair over so that they could reach the "snack cabinet". Brian had pulled out the box of animal crackers and poured several crackers into a bowl (he insists that his snacks are served in a bowl). There was no mess or spill, just two boys standing on a chair who took it upon themselves to get their own snack. I know I probably should have scolded them but they were so darn cute it was all I could do just not to laugh! Instead, I put the crackers away and we had lunch immediately!

Brian See......Brian Do!

Daddy snapped this picture of the tv as we were watching an episode of Caillou (Brian's favorite show) today, it's Caillou riding a dolphin. The moment Brian saw this, our little imitator ran to the sofa and did the exact same thing.......

......with Mommy!

New Tub Toys!

Brian is currently going through a stage where he doesn't like bath time. Since this is the same boy who always thought it was funny to have water poured over his head and was even starting to put his face into water, we are anxious for this stage to come to an end. The boys received a few new bath toys for Christmas and Mommy and Daddy were curious to see if they would help make bath time more enjoyable for Brian. They definitely helped but we still have a ways to go before Scuba Boy Brian is back in the tub!

Rock On!!!

Each time the boys are in South Dakota visiting Grandma and Grandpa, they love using their "little boy rocking chair". This year, Mommy and Daddy gave both Brian and Spencer a Christmas gift of their own "little boy rocking chair". The boys were polite and said thank you, but they also let us know it's still more fun to use the one at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They did say that these chairs would work out okay until our next trip to South Dakota though!

Christmas Day!

Brian and Spencer (as well as Mommy and Daddy) hosted Christmas dinner at our house today. Since the boys had a late night last night, they both got good naps in this morning. Before our guests arrived, we sat down in the living room to see what Santa had left under the tree. As we have mentioned before, Brian is a big fan of Caillou. Since it doesn't look like that is going to change any time soon, Mommy and Daddy decided that it would be nice to be able to read some Caillou books instead of just watching him on TV. It turns out that this was the first package he opened........and judging by the fact he wouldn't put it down, we thought it might be the only gift he would open!






After he realized that he can now read his Caillou books anytime, he moved on to some other gifts. He got some additional train cars that will hook onto his Thomas the Train. This picture is blurry because Brian was jumping up and down in excitement!













It's normally our cat Jem who climbs into bags, but today someone else thought it would be fun to crawl in and play hide and seek!













Brian and his family want to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

As is tradition, Christmas Eve for our family was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Shortly after everyone had dinner, the grand kid's opened up their stockings. (Okay, so according to NORAD Santa was still in Iceland at the time - but go with us on this one). In each grand kid's stocking there was a new pair of jammies that Grandma had made!






Spencer may not have been interested in opening gifts tonight, but Brian was all over it!





You always hear parents say things like how much they enjoy watching Christmas through their child's eyes. This is especially true with Brian. He was just as happy watching what everyone else was doing as when he opened a gift of his own!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Wonder Works!

Mommy and Daddy had a few things to do to prepare for Christmas so Aunt June, Krista and Erika came to the rescue. They took these two anxious faces with them to Wonder Works - a children's museum in Oak Park. We don't have any pictures from the experience but we have a hunch. They came home, had some lunch and went directly to bed for nice long naps which leads up to think they had a very good time!

Here I Come!!!!

Brian and Spencer enjoyed the evening by playing the "run and flop" game. To play this you go into the kitchen where you get on your mark, get set.........and as soon as you hear the word "GO" you shoot into the living room and flop onto a pile of pillows. As you can see, it's a lot of fun!

Elmo!

Brian has a pair of summer Elmo jammies that he constantly asks to wear. Grandma and Grandpa gave Brian an incredible gift while we were having our early Christmas in South Dakota. He got a brand new pair of winter Elmo jammies and he LOVES them!

Strike!

Some day when Brian is old enough to read this blog, I'm sure he will be horrified, for a NUMBER of reasons.........one being our constant talk of his becoming a left handed relief pitcher. In the event that he does take an interest in the sport though, he could be well on his way. He is showing very nice form when he throws a ball!

Dr. Seuss Is In!

Once again, Brian fell asleep with a good book. The only difference is that tonight he actually fell asleep reading in bed!

Tool of the Day!

Daddy and Brian are having some trouble deciding which tool they will be spotlighting this week. Mommy has been informed that they are close to a decision though so a post will be coming here very soon!

What Does This Do?

Brian found an old timer and had all kinds of fun with it! Who knew a knob with a bunch of numbers on it could be so entertaining?!?!

On Your Mark!

Brian and his brother have this thing where they put their sofa at the foot of the chair, climb up onto the chair and then request Mommy or Daddy to give them their "Ready......Set.......GO!" As soon as Brian hears "Go" he does a little run in place before jumping down onto the sofa!

Music Lessons

Daddy brought out his old coronet and Brian couldn't take his eyes (or hands) off it! Even though he hadn't played it in years, Daddy was still able to play a little tune for us!

As soon as Daddy put it down, Brian decided to.......blow his own horn!

Breakfast Is Served!

When we got home from church this morning, Brian and Daddy made breakfast. The original plan was for Daddy to make pancakes but when Brian announced "I help" (a phrase we hear a lot), Daddy instantly had an assistant chef.

Ice Cream!

Mommy and Daddy learned a valuable lesson when we went out to dinner last night. If you go to a buffet, don't choose a table with a direct view of the ice cream machine! It's very challenging to try and convince a two year old that he should eat dinner BEFORE he has ice cream when he is looking directly at the goods!

Numbers!

Brian is doing an amazing job with his counting. He counts to ten very clearly and can identify the numbers by sight as well. Since he loves helping in the kitchen, we put his knowledge to use by letting him push the numbers on the microwave to set the time.

Tool of the Day!

"Ooops! It looks like you caught me red handed drawing on the wall behind me! Perhaps I can convince you not to tell my parents in I keep you distracted - how about if I tell you about this Harbor Freight Dial Type 110 PSI model 90610 Tire Pressure Gauge!"

Hat's Off!

With our blustery weather of late, Daddy has had to break out his winter wear. If Daddy leaves for work while the boys are still having breakfast, he can't get out the door until Brian has a chance to try on his hat!

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Daddy took this picture shortly after Brian had gone to bed. Brian doesn't feel that it's always necessary to go to sleep right away. Sometimes he needs to get out of bed....browse through some books (in the dark).......and sometimes even fall asleep in some new bedroom locations!

Escape Alert!

We only put the gate up in front of Brian's room when he is in having some quiet time, nap time or at bed time. One day while Mommy was out in the kitchen when she thought Brian was taking a nap, you can imagine her surprise when she heard the words "Hi Mommy" coming from a small boy suddenly standing behind her! Once he had been placed back into his room, Mommy witnessed another of his brazen get aways. The gate is now secured in place in a different manner to avoid this problem (at least until he figures it out!)

Taste Testers

With Christmas right around the corner, Brian and his brother have taken it upon themselves to do test of a couple varieties of cookies. They want to find out what will be the best kinds to leave out for Santa.

Oh Christmas Tree

Mommy and Daddy put up our Christmas tree today. The lights are on it and so are all the ornaments. How long will they last? We will keep you posted!

Roarrrr!

It's really fun to see Brian start seeing for himself cause and effect. For example, even though he likes playing with his lion flashlight because it makes a cool roarrrrr sound, he now knows that it's also a working flashlight. While he lays on the floor, he points the light onto the ceiling. Today he shown the light on Spencer as he played across the room. I'm sure every parent thinks it, but we know for a fact that this boy is brilliant!

Tool of the Day!

As you probably noticed, Brian took a Tool of the Day break last Thursday so that he could celebrate Thanksgiving with his family, but he is back at it again today! While Brian and Daddy were visiting their friends Bob and Elaine at Floors and Walls a couple weeks ago, something immediately caught Brian's eye. This Big Joe PDC 20-100 Fork Lift belongs to Bob and Elaine but Brian has added one just like it onto his own Christmas wish list!

Lean On Me!

Now that Spencer is getting older and better able to play with Brian, they are pretty much inseparable. It is a lot of fun watching how well they play together, they really seem to like being around each other!

Thomas!

At our South Dakota Christmas, the boys received a starter Thomas the Train set. Brian in particular has enjoyed playing with train sets at the various museums we have gone to so we thought we would see if he is ready for a small one of his own. He is doing a pretty good job at not taking the track apart but he seems to like holding the train engines in his hand more than he likes watching them move around the track.

As you can see, sometimes his little brother can test his patience when they play together but it hasn't come to blows yet!

SNOW DAY!!!

We got home just in the nick of time because we received our first significant snowfall today! Spencer didn't have a big interest in it yet so while he was napping, Brian suited up into his boots and snow pants and headed outside.

Daddy pulled him on the sled for a few ....... well, seconds. It seems that Brian preferred to just play IN the snow, not ride ON it in a sled!

Travel Day Two

Home Sweet Home! The weather on our second day of travel was not very pleasant. After going through some rain, ice and finally snow.........we were all happy to be home again. After a few days away, there is just nothing like crawling into your own bed!


You may have noticed that there have been several pictures of Brian and his "bebe" (aka: pacifier). At home he only gets to use them when he is taking a nap or going to bed. We make exceptions during long car trip or an occasional other special occasion. For the most part though, he rarely asks for it during the day.

Travel Day

Even though it seems like we just got here, we had to start making our way back to Illinois today. We sure had fun and thank Grandma and Grandpa for making this another fantastic South Dakota trip! After stopping in Sioux Falls to have a quick lunch visit with Mommy's good friend Jannelle it was on to Great Grandma's house in Iowa. To spice up the drive a little for the boy's, we let them switch car seats for a while. They both seemed to like the change of venue. Brian said he even thought he was able to color better from his brother's seat!

A South Dakota Christmas!

Since we will be in Illinois for Christmas this year, we decided to celebrate Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house a little early. Uncle Seth, Aunt Ann, Nolan and Lauren came over, the tree was decorated, Grandma made a yummy dinner and.......there were even a few presents! The boys are having a ball playing in their Thomas tent. Brian immediately referred to the circles on the material as "stickers".













Brian enjoys reading so he was very excited to receive a couple new books!














Even though Christmas is so much more than just opening some presents, there truly is nothing like seeing and living the holidays through the eyes of a child!

Gobble Gobble!

Brian and his family celebrated Thanksgiving at Great Aunt Bev's house. While all the grown ups had their fill on turkey and all the trimmings, Brian and his cousin Nolan slipped off to a coffee table to do some drawing.

Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Seth needed to walk off some of their turkey so Brian agreed to take them to playground down the street.

Before we headed back to Grandpa and Grandma's house, we stopped in to see Great Grandma Irene. Even though it is only a short drive to her house, the activities of the day kicked in and Brian fell asleep.

It was sure great seeing everyone today and Brian and his family hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday too!

Peas in a Pod!

We mentioned before that Brian likes rocking in Grandma and Grandpa's little boy rocking chair. Well, Spencer shares a similar interest in this chair. Occasionally they would share it, but for the most part - one was usually pulling the other one out of it!

Let Them Eat Cake!

Grandma and Grandpa had a little party today to thank all the people who helped with Grandpa's successful campaign for re-election to the State Senate. Since we were in town, we crashed the party! We brought a little of the extra cake home with us - would anyone like to take a guess as to what kind of cake it was?