Happenings

I'm trying to work in a mid-month post!  I actually have the time since I'm awake, but the boys are still sleeping. 

We have been having SO much fun around here now that the weather is nice and we can be outside a lot.  The boys both LOVE it outside and would stay out there 100% of the time if we let them.  It is often a fiasco when we bring them inside.  Logan is pretty "go with the flow" so he doesn't mind too much - Braden often throws a fit.  

Now we have to keep the entertained!  We have been doing fun things.  We went to Traders Point Creamery yesterday to see the cows, which obviously Braden LOVED.  Today, we are heading to the zoo, so I'll have to post about that later. 

Braden is so conversational now - he speaks in 'almost sentences' but is really good about making you understand what he wants.  Logan is on the verge of walking - I say that he will be walking in less than a month.  Still no teeth....

For now, here are some photos and a video.

Mommy and her boys on Mother's Day

Braden smelling the flowers Mommy planted

Braden LOVES Kevin's riding mower.  He constantly says 'Daddy's Tractor',
and he loves to sit on it.  When it' off of course!

Don't worry Dad - we can handle this!

I just LOVE that smile!

Logan loves his swing

And Braden loves his too!

The cow is not too sure about this stroller thing....

Braden kept 'mooing' at the cows.  They did not moo back...

Getting him to look at the camera was tough - he just wanted to see the cows.

Braden loves to play with the hose, and thinks it is so funny when Rocco comes close!

Only One More Month Until Braden Turns Two!

Is it really possible that my little baby is almost two years old???  He is getting SO big and has turned into a little kid overnight.

• He is a good sleeping again - finally!
• He goes to by between 7:30 and 8pm and gets up around 7:30am.  He went through a phase where he needed some milk in the middle of the night, but thankfully he is not doing that anymore.  At least one of our kiddos is sleeping well at night :)
• He takes one nap a day
• He is on a very good and consistent schedule:
• Wakes up at 7:30am, has breakfast.
• We usually play, go for a walk, color, etc.
• Lunch at 11:30am
• Nap from 12:30 until 3:30ish (sometimes a bit shorter)
• More play time!
• Dinner around 6:15pm
• Bath and in bed between 7:30pm and 8pm
• He is talking so much and is super smart.  He puts 3-4 word sentences together and is very good about communicating what he wants - or doesn't want :)
• He is good about counting to 10, and is starting to learn his ABCs
• He can identify the first three letters of his name, B, R, A
• He wants to do everything himself.  If you ask him if he wants you to help, he says "No!  Self!"  Meaning, no, i want to do it myself.  Then eventually he gets frustrated and says Mommy, help.
• He occasionally wants to sit on his potty, though it's still not consistent at all.  We aren't forcing the issue, but encourage him to sit there if he wants to.  
• He loves to be outside.  It is always a major fight when we have to come back inside. He also gets really bummed out when it's raining.
• He loves to help Mommy and Daddy with just about anything.  One of his favorite things it to help bring the groceries in from the car.
• He loves Logan, but really does not love sharing his toys.
• He loves to give hugs and kisses, hop up and down, have someone chase him through the house, play with his friends, and look for ducks outside
• Some of his current sayings:
• It's raining!  Oh no!  It's raining!  Oh man...
• It's my Daddy.  It's my Mommy.  It's my Bubby.
• Bye bye poopy (when we flush the diaper contents down the toilet).  Or, if we are flushing the contents of Logan's diaper, he says 'It's Bubby's poop'.
• Mere ducks! (when he is standing on couch using his 'duck call')
• Mommy sit here!  Bubby too.
• Bubby's tired (every time Logan cries)
• No.  I don't wanna. (we hear this A LOT)
• I know there are many more sayings, but of course, I don't write them down and I can't remember now.

He is tons of fun! 

I love to swing!

I got some cool new shades - and despite what you might think, this IS how you wear them :)

Now I always want to wear my shades - even in the car shopping cart at Kroger

Hanging out in my fort with my Daddy!  And look, my hair is OUT OF CONTROL!

I love playing with Bubby

Braden and Logan hold hands in the stroller on walks every single time.  It is so adorable.

Logan is Nine Months Old!

Yep, nine months old!  

Stats

• Weight: 17 pounds 2 ounces.  This puts him in the 5th to 10th percentile - totally normal for him!
• Height: 27 1/8 inches
• Head circumference: 44.5cm

Eating/Sleeping Habits 

This is not our favorite thing to talk about.... we are still struggling, but I hope we are getting there!

• He has actually transitioned to two naps a day, so that's great!  He naps around 9:30 or 10am and then again around 2 or 2:30pm.  The length of the nap varies from day to day - sometimes 30 minutes and other times it's two hours!
• He is usually in bed by 8:30pm and then is up for the day around 7am.  However.... he usually wakes up about 1:30am and needs his paci to go back to sleep.  Then he wakes up at 4am to have a bottle.  So yes, we are still up twice a night with him.  Ugh.  
• Mommy is having a very hard time letting him cry and get back to sleep on his own.  We let him cry for like an hour last night, and I just couldn't do it any longer.  He is the happiest kid and rarely cries, so it is the most awful thing in the world to listen to him scream.
• He is nursing or having a bottle 4 times a day, and has a total intake of around 18-24oz.
• He is still on breast milk only.  We tried to transition him on to the hypoallergenic formula, but he adamantly refuses to drink it when there is more formula than breast milk in the bottle.  So, it's not worth the hassle and he is back to strictly breast milk.  Mommy will have to deal with pumping at work for awhile longer (hey, it's been 9 months, so what's a few more?) and our wallets will be much fuller since we won't be paying the crazy cost of the hypoallergenic formula. 
• He eats 3 times a day and is generally a good eater.
• He is starting to snack now on things like puffs and Mum Mums.  He is slowly getting the concept of finger feeding, though table food is not his favorite thing yet.
• He is starting to use a sippy cup now.

Developmental Updates

• He is now crawling really fast!
• He pulls himself up on things and is now walking along them (like the couch) to get to what he wants
• He has been more daring in the past few days and will let go of what he was holding onto.  He doesn't stand for very long before falling over, but he's trying really hard!
• He laughs all the time - mostly at his brother who he thinks is the funniest little kid ever
• He gets really excited when he sees Mommy or Daddy and crawls over to them really fast!
• He is starting to get upset when he can't see us.  I left the room for 5 seconds yesterday and he started crying and crawling after me.
• STILL no teeth!  He has been chewing/gnawing on things for like 5 months now and I keep waiting to see teeth pop through, but still nothing.  He has been drooling way more than ever the past few days, so I think we are getting close.
• He is a talker!  He can say da, ba, and ma.  He really gets going sometimes!
• He understands 'no' but doesn't obey that yet.  But, when you tell him no, he will stop and look at you, smile, and then go right back to doing what he is not supposed to be doing!
• He likes to play peek-a-boo, swing, play with balls, play with everything his brother has which causes quite the issue, and loves going for walks.