A Blast From The Backyard

Today was a soggy rainy day so we didn't get to play in the yard. We do however have an unposted picture from a couple days ago when we were out playing in the yard! As you may have guessed, Brian is like a stick magnet. If there is a stick in the yard - he will be able to find it!

Are These Eyes Blue Or What???

Brian is ready for his close up! He is developing a clear understanding of what it means to say "cheese" when having his picture taken. Both Brian and his brother have always been polite. They are quick with the "thank you's" and "your el-come's". All of the sudden Brian has been adding to his polite phrases. Here's and example:

Mommy: Brian is this your sippy cup?

Brian: (taking the cup) Yes Mommy, thank you so much!

Allllllll Better!!!!

What a difference a day makes! Brian woke up this morning a new man. He even requested a bowl of Kix cereal for breakfast. "It's my favorite!" he said. His temperature was back to normal and to watch him play today........you would have never guessed that this was the same boy who spent all evening curled up on the couch yesterday! When Daddy stretched out on the floor today, Brian and his brother took turns going for rides on him! It's good to see that sparkle back in our little boy's eyes again!

I Don't Feel So Good

Today started out like any other Saturday. Brian hasn't had much of an appetite for the past couple days, but that happens from time to time. This afternoon the boys were down stairs playing with Daddy. It is NOT normal for Brian to be more interested in just sitting on the couch and snuggling with Daddy than in running around and playing. It didn't take long to realize that he had a fever. Brian spent the rest of the day laying down and snuggling with either Mommy or Daddy. His temperature did get up to 104 but with the help of some children's Tylenol, he was able to get a good night's rest. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Me And My Daddy!

Our family has established a fairly consistent routine for our Friday evenings. Mommy gets the night off and we go out for dinner. Once our tummies were full and the top layer of ice cream had been cleaned off Brian's face, he and Daddy posed for a quick photo!

Tool of the Day!

Daddy needed some tile for a job that he is going to be working on. As soon as Brian heard what Daddy needed, he suggested that they take a drive over to Brian's favorite flooring supply store - Floors and Walls!

While they were there, Brian also pointed out a few nice little tools he would like to add to his personal collection.........like this Black & Decker Workmate 225 Portable Project Center and Vise!

Vroom Vroom!

Daddy and Brian went on a trip to the auto parts store today. Daddy only needed to pick up one thing so once he had it, they made their way to the cash register. On the way, Brian noticed this go cart and he wasted NO time crawling into it! Daddy didn't have the digital camera with him but he did have his trusty cell phone camera so - here's a picture of our little race car driver!

Mega Brian

They don't get played with every day, but when the boys do decide to pull out the wagon of Mega Blocks - look out! To the untrained eye, it might look like they have more fun just dumping the blocks out all over the floor, but once they are done laughing about how funny that was, the block building begins!

Ahoy Mates!

Since the boys wanted to play with today's newspaper, Daddy joined in on the fun and make everyone paper hats!

The kitchen looked like a room full of pirates when it was all said and done! Brian picked right up on his cue when Mommy and Daddy asked him if he could say "Argggg"!

Ahhhhhhh Springtime!

The boys took advantage of this lovely spring day by spending most of the afternoon out in the backyard. Uncle Kevin and Aunt June gave the boys a back yard picnic table for their birthdays last year but we hadn't put it together until.........today! If today is any indication, they will get a LOT of use out of it!




Of course......there is nothing better than playing with the box it came in though!

Watch Your Mouth Mommy!

It is nearly impossible for us to get a picture of Brian and Spencer together. By "together" I mean, both of them looking at the camera at the same time, or both of them smiling, etc. The other night the impossible happened and Mommy was so surprised when she was able to snap this picture she exclaimed "Holy Crap!" BIG mistake! Apparently Mommy forgot that Brian is a mini recorder because for the next few minutes he walked around saying "holy crap.......holy crap.......holy crap!" After a few minutes he moved onto something else and he hasn't said this little phrase since but Mommy learned a valuable lesson!

These Boots Were Made For Walkin'!

Mommy must have forgotten to latch the closet doors in Brian's bedroom before the boys went into his room to play this morning. Brian pulled out this pair of boots which he promptly put on (granted they were on the wrong feet, but he did it all by himself!) As you can see, he was pretty proud of his accomplishment!

Tool of the Day!

Here is Brian Thomas with his Goldblatt 7 1/4" tile wet saw.

Sorry to those of you keeping track we don't know the model number on this one. It is 23 years old.

Wondering how Brian owns a tool made 21 years before he was born?

Wait till next week when Brian shows you his Time Machine!

If The "Slippler" Fits!

For Christmas this year, Grandma made all of her grand kids a cute pair of pajamas. Brian's started out as footed-jammies but the footie's just didn't work out for him so Grandma reworked them. He now has a pair of jammies and a pair of slippers. Brian thinks his jammies are great but he LOVES his "slipplers"! Not only does he insist on wearing them nearly every evening - he wears them to bed too!

The Luck of The O' Brian!

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! Brian may not be Irish, but as the saying goes.......every one's a little Irish on St Patrick's Day so he played outside like a little leprechaun and that's no blarney!

Swing Into Spring!

We had a beautiful day today and our back yard is drying up to the point where the boys could go out and play in it for the first time this year! Brian remembered exactly where the swing set was.

With each push Daddy gave him the giggles and laughs got bigger and bigger!

Say Cheese!

Thanks to this blog, Brian has gotten very comfortable with either his Mommy or Daddy shoving a digital camera in his face on a regular basis in order to capture whatever moment is happening. Apparently, now in addition to "staring" in these photos, he is also interested in "directing"! As soon as the camera comes out and he knows a picture or two has been taken, Brian runs over saying "I want to see"!

Now he is doing his own photo shoots with his toy camera. First he takes your picture (yes, he does still hold the camera backwards but it's still cute!) Then he turns it around and says "look Mommy, it's a good one!"

Monkey See......Brian Do!

When Daddy relaxes on the couch, he likes to kick back and put his feet up on the ottoman. Brian figured that if Daddy found it relaxing, it must be - so he tried it out too!

The Week In Review

Between Mommy and Daddy going to a play downtown on Wednesday and Aunt June being in the hospital to have her gall bladder removed yesterday, the boys have had the pleasure of some additional play time in with their cousins this week! Here's a couple additional pictures from the past couple days.

We are happy to report that Aunt June came through her procedure in fine shape and should be released from the hospital tomorrow!

Tool of the Day!

We had a broken basement window at our house this week. Some people might be inclined to call in a glass company to fix a problem like this. But Brian wanted to remind everyone that with the right tools, you can do home repairs for problems just like this one on your own!

By utilizing the Malco D-25 putty chaser, an Ace 1 1/2 inch flexable putty knife, a Burnz-omatic model 2207 blowtorch with a 3 pound propane canister, and 1 - 9 oz tube of Flo-guard window glazing, Brian had the window fixed before he sat down for breakfast!

Do I Smell Birthday Cake?

QUESTION: If Mommy, Daddy, Spencer and Brian were all in the same room.........what would they have in common with Ronald Reagan and Uncle Corey?

ANSWER: Mommy, Daddy, Spencer and Brian would have a combined total of 40 fingers and 40 toes, Ronald Reagan was our countries 40th president and Uncle Corey turns 40 years old today!!!!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Corey! We wish we could be there to help you celebrate in person!

Left Click

Since Brian is already interested in using the computer, Daddy got an old one hooked up that is just for the him (and Spencer when he is a little older) to use. It isn't connected to the Internet but it does have a disk drive that we put educational games in. He doesn't need a keyboard to play the games, just the mouse and he has proven to be a real natural with that! He primarily uses his left hand and he has picked up on how to move the mouse and left click it very quickly!

Extra Extra!

Brian got his Monday morning off to a start with a bowl of his favorite cereal, a sippy cup of ice cold milk and...........

.........the Chicago Sun Times newspaper!

There's No Place Like.......Haley's!

Brian's parents took a huge step today when they attended an open house at a potential pre-school for their little boy. Preschool classes start for children who are 3 and 4 years old and since Brian will turn 3 this August, they are getting curious as to what is available. While Mommy and Daddy were off doing that, Brian and Spencer got a special treat. They got to go to Uncle Colin and Aunt Karyn's house and play with their cousin Haley! In addition to all the fun they had just playing with their cousin, the boys also experienced something new........cheese popcorn! Yummy! Brian doesn't always agree with what Mommy and Daddy say is bedtime. It is a common sight to see this smiling face looking out over the gate in his doorway moments after Brian has been tucked in for the night. Most nights, he crawls back into his bed on his own however he has been known to fall asleep exactly where you see him in this picture! After all of today's activities, Brian only stood at his gate for a few minutes before admitting that he was exhausted and that he really needed to get himself back into his bed! Thanks again Uncle Colin, Aunt Karyn and Haley - we had a great time and are anxious to get together and play again very soon!

Responsibility Talk

"Daddy, I think it's time that I take on some additional responsibilities around the house. I was thinking that yard work would be a good place for me to start. I will need a couple of supplies though........like, this little riding mower. Look, it's even on sale! Can I have it Daddy? Can I, can I???"

Ho Ho Ho!!!

What kind of a house will $1.7 million dollars get you in Naperville Illinois? In our opinion, a pretty nice one! Daddy is doing a job in a luxury home that is still under construction. Brian, Spencer and Mommy were all curious as to what a house that expensive looks like so - we dropped by for a quick visit!

When Brian saw this fireplace, he had just one question.........."Will Santa be able to get in here?" After looking it over though, he felt comfortable that good ol' St. Nick would be able to visit whatever family decides to call this house their new home.

When Brian wasn't investigating all of the rooms throughout the house, he was climbing the three flights of spiral staircases! He got in a great workout here so by the time he got home, he was completely in favor of taking a nice long nap!

Tool of the Day!

Is the chair rail you are installing straight? Do you need to verify that a window frame is level? Curious as to if you could stably rest a sippy cup on your little brothers head? You can do any or all of these things with the help of a Stanley 7200 6-foot Mahogany Level!

(FYI: the little brother in question does not have a head stable enough to rest a sippy cup on.)

Load n' Reload!

The boys decided to play with their Mega Blocks and wagon after dinner tonight. First, the blocks all needed to be dumped all over the living room floor. Next, Spencer decided Brian needed to tow him around the room. After a few changes in who got to ride and who had to pull, they decided to do some building with the blocks.

After a few towers had been built and it was getting close to bedtime, it was time to do some cleanup. Brian has been showing a little more interest in following the suggestions of "now that we are done playing with them, lets help put the toys away." Tonight, to Mommy's great delight.......BOTH boys wanted to help put the blocks back into the wagon! Of course, a few minutes later, Spencer dumped them all over the floor again but hey.......its a step in the right direction!

My Lady's Birthday

When Brian saw what happened to Spencer today, he decided to approach Elizabeth's birthday differently......he decided to get all decked out and recite a poem to her. Unfortunately, the only poem he has memorized is Ring Around the Rosy and since he just found out its actually a rhyme all about the plague, it hardly seemed appropriate!

So instead, Brian decided to take Elizabeth (and all of you) on a stroll down memory lane.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!!!!!

Hello Doctor!

Today was "well being check up day" for the boys so we paid our pediatrician a visit this morning. Brian's 2 1/2 year check up was more of a developmental checkup. Mommy had to fill out a form answering a bunch of questions so that the doctor could evaluate where his development is. As anticipated, he is right on track and continues to be a blossoming and healthy little boy! Brian got to be weighed and measured on the "big boy stand up scale" which he was very excited about. Up to this point he has always had to sit on the baby scale so this was a big deal! Since his last appointment six months ago Brian's weight has gone from 26.8 pounds to 28.2 pounds which means he is still in the 25th percentile for weight. He has grown 2 inches in the past 6 months and is now 36 inches tall, which bumps him up into the 50th percentile for height.

Let's Party!

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house today to celebrate a couple of February birthdays. Krista turned 9 last Tuesday and Grandpa's birthday was yesterday and that could only mean one thing......we were all in desperate need of some cake and ice cream!

We all know how difficult it is for kids to sit back and watch the birthday kids open their gifts but Brian did a great job. I'm sure that the fact he missed his nap today and was about to drop from exhaustion had nothing to do with it!

The boys hand selected their card for Grandpa and he approved of their choice! Grandma's dinner was fabulous as always and good times were had by all. Happy Birthday again Krista and Grandpa!