Bath (Shower) Night!

There have been some rough spots in bath night with Brian over the past few weeks. He has been in a stage where he doesn't like having his hair washed so we have had to use some creativity to get it done. Since we discovered Brian's growing curiosity with taking a shower, it has made for a great bribe.

Both boys get some time to play with their tub toys before getting their baths and having their hair washed. Once they are both squeaky clean and Spencer has decided that he has had enough, he gets out and Brian gets to take a shower! Tonight he was busy "eating" the water!

Now that Brian is all cleaned up, he is ready to go to a birthday party celebration tomorrow! Tune in tomorrow for more details on that event!

The Card Game!

We have already discussed the fact that Brian loves watching movies and/or videos on the computer. Now that we have located some computer games from his favorite public TV shows, he has moved on and he is now an official "computer user"! There are a few games that Mommy or Daddy have to help him with (since you need to click and drag on the computer mouse at the same time.) However, there are a few games that he can - and does - do all by himself! In this picture Mommy is watching him play a game of Memory. If you don't remember that one, there are a dozen cards upside down on the computer screen. He clicks on them two at a time trying to find the two cards that are the same. He may not completely understand the concept of the game, but he figured out how to move the cursor and left click on the mouse within minutes!

Tool of the Day!

Earlier today Daddy and Brian were busy discussing which tool they wanted to spotlight this week. As they were talking, the rain came down outside, and it came down, and it came down some more! We got a LOT of rain and unfortunately, some of it ended up in our basement. How ironic that this weeks tool of the day also happened to be a tool that was very useful in the clean up effort! We were very fortunate in that we suffered very little damage. In fact, there is only one room in the basement that has carpeting. Unfortunately, that room did get wet but with our Model 17761 - 16 gallon wet vac, Daddy and Brian were able to get it cleaned up in no time!

Gravity - Shmavity

To the untrained eye, you may think that Brian is wearing a pair of snow boots. You would be incorrect though - he is wearing a pair of "gravity boots"!

Sometimes Daddy lifts Brian upside down and with his feet towards the ceiling he can "walk on the ceiling". Brian wanted to do this tonight but Daddy told him he couldn't walk on the ceiling without a pair of gravity boots. Brian thought about that for a moment, then ran over and grabbed this pair of snow boots! Not only did he insist on wearing them for the rest of the evening, Daddy had to convince him that it would be a good idea to take them off before going to bed!

Anyone Having A Birthday Today???

If you turned 9 years old today, and you are Brian's cousin, and your name is Krista.......then say cheese! (Yes, his camera is facing backwards but it doesn't seem to bother him! Brian and Daddy found this toy camera last weekend when they were out shopping and it has been a favorite with Brian ever since!)

Happy Birthday Krista!

This Horse Needs New Batteries!

There is nothing better than riding the "Daddy Horse" around the living room! Unfortunately, sometimes this horse needs to take a well deserved break. That doesn't mean that two little boys still won't TRY to continue riding it though!

Left......It's The New Right!

If you believe all the experts who write books about child development, they say that it isn't determined if a child will be left or right handed until they are something like - I don't know - 5 or 6 years old. I don't know for sure because I don't have the time to read those books anymore! All we do know is that at the age of 2 1/2, it is hard to imagine Brian being anything but a lefty! He favors his left hand for everything from eating to drawing to playing. Apparently he is really taking his Grandfathers direction to grow up to be a left handed relief pitcher for the Chicago White Sox very seriously!

Play It Again!

Brian has been having a ball with the Valentines Card Grandma and Grandpa sent the boys. It's one of the Hallmark cards that lets the sender record their own personalized message. So, Brian has been running around the house opening and closing the card while he announces "It's Grandma and Grandpa!"

A Little to the Left....

While Brian was having some "quiet time" in his room the other day, Mommy peeked in to see what he was up to. He was straightening out his baptism banner that hangs on his wall.

The only problem with this is that to do it, he needed to climb up and then balance himself on top of a rocking chair! We are happy to report that Brian has very good balance because he suffered no injuries from this particular incident. Mommy, on the other hand, grew another gray hair but she is accepting that that's just the way its going to be for at least the next 16+ years!

Tool Of The Day!

Brian : "O.K. Spencer this week we have the Werner Model 150B 26" aluminum step ladder!"

Spencer : Gee, I wonder if we could use this to get the crackers?"


Do the boy's get the crackers?

Does someone wind up with stitches?

For the exciting conclusion to today's episode tune in to Spencer's blog!!

Entertainment!

It doesn't happen before every meal but from time to time, the boys enjoy some entertainment with their meal. Daddy can provide a variety of exciting entertainment options. His soft shoe (done while wearing soft shoes) is excellent. He is also quite talented in doing tap but what the boys love is when he brings out the potatoes!

Seeing Daddy juggle potatoes always gets applause from Brian!

Do You Have The Remote?

With Aunt June out of town and Uncle Kevin at a work meeting tonight, the boys got the opportunity to play with their cousins Krista and Erika today! After some serious playing, Brian asked Krista to read him a book. When she had finished it, they kicked back to relax and watch an episode of Caillou. How cute do they look??????

More Computer.......Please?????

That has been a phrase Mommy and Daddy have been hearing a lot of lately. While we had been anticipating Brian to take an interest in the computer at some point, we had no idea it would happen when he was only 2 1/2 years old! Ever since Daddy showed him the PBS kids website called SproutOnline.com last weekend, he can't get enough of it! We have been pleasantly surprised that so far, he seems willing to just point at the computer screen and he has been leaving the buttons alone.

www.Brian

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house this afternoon and the boys were excited to see that their cousins Krista and Erika were already there. Last night Brian discovered the wonders of the website http://www.sproutonline.com/ and his world is forever changed! He was very anxious to show it to Krista too!

Will You Be Mine?

In honor of Valentines Day, Mommy made a batch of holiday appropriate cupcakes. Kids seem to be born with the same understanding of how to eat a cupcake. First you lick off all of the frosting, then you nibble your way down into the actual cake part. Being able to schmear it all over your hands and face is just an added bonus!

Where's Brian???

Brian has been known to fall asleep in some strange places. We have found him curled up in the recliner in his room, on or partially on his Big Bird bed and on the floor in the doorway of his room. The other night though, he found a new spot to curl up for the night. When Mommy peeked in to check on him he was nowhere to be found......that is, until she saw a foot sticking out from under his bed! He had his blankets and bebe's with him and was fast asleep when Daddy slid him out and laid him back into his bed!

Tool Of The Day!

Brian: "So you see Spence, what you have here is a Senco Duraspin model DS200 14.4 volt cordless drywall screw shooter."

Spencer: "Yeah, but how is that gonna help us get the crackers out of the cabinet?"

Spring Shower

Last night after dinner, the boys took a bath. That in itself is nothing unusual. However, when Spencer had finished up and Mommy was getting him into his jammies, Brian wanted to try something new. Brian wanted to take a shower! Since he was already squeaky clean, Daddy just helped him practice going under the spray of water. He isn't ready to stand under it for any length of time yet, but he enjoyed this part of it!

Hello!

Brian has such a fun imagination! He had an entire conversation while he was playing with this phone. Since Mommy and Daddy could only hear Brian's side of the conversation, we asked him who he was talking to. "Grandma and Grandpa" was his reply!

Medical Assistant

When we were in South Dakota, Spencer latched onto an Elmo doll at Grandma and Grandpa's house. There was no way he was leaving without it so - we now have temporary custody of Elmo. Shortly after we got home, Elmo was in need of some surgery because his batteries died. Daddy assisted Brian in removing the plate on Elmo's back........

....... Brian installed the new batteries........

........and he handed Elmo over to a very happy little brother!

Played Out!

Brian is now an official "one nap a day" boy. When he was put into his room for his nap today, he wanted to get a few more minutes in playing with the kitchen/toy food. There is no doubt that he was tired........he was so tired in fact that he collapsed into his nap right next to the toy kitchen!

Order Up!

The boys love playing with the toy kitchen that we are borrowing from Uncle Kevin and Aunt June. Now, thanks to another generous grant from "The Uncle Kevin and Aunt June Toy Lending Program", the boys now have some food to cook up in that kitchen! Brian was very excited to fix a plate up for Daddy. For some reason, Brian looks much more excited about this stick of celery then his Daddy does. Brian does a pretty good job at identifying the various foods. Peas are peas, grapes are grapes, watermelon is a lemon, the slice of pie is either pie or pizza, and the croissant is.......a caterpillar? I guess we have to work on that one a little more!

Surprise!!!!

Mommy told the boys that they were in store for a big surprise today! Grandma was coming over today and she brought someone very special with her.........Haley!!!!! While Grandma worked away in the office doing bookwork for Daddy, the boys enjoyed getting to play with their cousin! Mommy snapped this picture while the three of them were playing with the train set. Haley was busy getting the engines and cars in place on the track, Spencer was thinking of ways to destroy the track and apparently, Brian was reading the directions! Thanks for coming over today Haley - we hope we can do it again very soon!

Tool of the Day!

Ever come home only to find that your sink is draining slow? It's a problem that many people have probably experienced. Do you call a plumber? You could, or...........you could do what Brian does! You can always just pull out your HFT Model 23-407 115V 50 foot 1/2 inch electric power rod! With this tool, after a few minutes your drain will be like brand new!

SD Memories

Traveling is fun but there is nothing like coming home and falling sleeping in your own bed again! While Brian was telling Daddy all about his trip, he shared a few more stories of our adventure!

Brian and Grandpa played with this cash register when we were here last November and it's just as much fun now!

Grandma has some great musical instruments at her house. These are toys that are lots of fun to play with and toys that Mommy and Daddy are especially happy to know get to stay AT Grandma and Grandpa's house!

When Brian saw this Mister Microphone toy, all of his Lawrence Welk viewing fell right into place! He knew exactly how to handle the mic and wasted no time getting to it!

Road Trip - Day 9!

Staying with Uncle Dave and Aunt Karrie is great for a number of reasons. Number one, they are just really cool people! Number two, they make you feel right at home and not like a house guest. And number three, Aunt Karrie makes a mean breakfast in the morning! We feasted on pancakes before hitting the road this morning and they were yummy with a capital YUM! Thank you again for everything Dave and Karrie, we are looking forward to seeing you again very soon!





Our first stop on the final leg of trip home was in Cedar Rapids. We stopped at a Burger King with a play land for lunch but unfortunately, the play land wasn't very "Brian and Spencer friendly". We were about a block away from a nice mall though and they had a terrific toddler area. It was very similar to the one in Sioux Falls and the boys - as you can see, had a ball in it!

Aside from one stressful situation (for Mommy only) at lunch yesterday, Mommy's first long distance trip with just the boys went very well. I don't plan to do it again next week or anything, but it is good to know that it can be done with relative ease!

Road Trip - Day 8!

We have so much fun whenever we are at Grandma and Grandpa's that our time in South Dakota just seems to fly by. If Daddy wasn't back in Illinois, and if we didn't miss him so much, who knows how long our visit here would last! So, after lots of hug and kisses were given out, we loaded up into the RSV and started on our drive east. By the time we were in Sioux Falls, it was lunch time. After a "challenging" dining experience, it was obvious to Mommy (as well as anyone who had been sitting any where near us at McDonald's) that Brian needed to run off some steam. Fortunately we were right across the street from the mall and they have a play area that we were thrilled to see was very toddler friendly!

Some play time was exactly what the boys needed and by the time we were back on the road and on our way to Mason City Iowa, Mommy had two tired little travelers strapped into their car seats! As we discovered on our stay with Uncle Dave and Aunt Karrie on our way to South Dakota, they have some GREAT toys! This time Brian started out cooking up some tasty treats with the play food. From there he moved on to building some Lego structures with Uncle Dave.

Aunt Karrie helped Brian make a card that he is taking home to give to Daddy!

Road Trip - Day 7!

Over the past few days, Brian has really gotten a handle on his alphabet! We keep a couple travel sized "Magna Doodle" toys in the diaper bag. We went out for lunch after church today. While we were waiting for our meals to come, Brian asked to do "Letters!" Grandpa draws a letter on the Magna Doodle and Brian then identifies it. He has been getting nearly every one correct!

Back at the house, Grandma pulled out a bag of little wind up toys. Brian thought these were amazing and couldn't wait to show Great Grandma how they all worked!

So........down to Great Grandma's apartment we went! Gram seemed equally amazed!

Brian lost interest in the Super Bowl shortly after the National Anthem was sung so we flipped over to the Animal Planets "Puppy Bowl 4". What a game that was!