9 Months and Loving Life

I feel like I haven't written very much about Tawny recently. Here it goes. She:

• has mastered the art of crawling and seems like she is ready to move on to walking. Currently her favorite past time is to pull herself to a stand, let go and see how long she can balance. She even took a few steps by herself yesterday. I'm not quite sure I'm ready for her to gain that much independence yet.


• loves to eat pretty much anything; chicken, crackers, veggies, fruit. You name it, she'll eat it. In fact, she'll try to eat a lot of things that shouldn't be eaten. I spend a good part of the day digging things out of her mouth. I can sweep three times a day and she'll still manage to find something.


• is the happiest baby and it is so infectious. When she smiles her entire face smiles. She squints her eyes, crinkles her nose and just grins all the time. It is hard to have a bay day when I have her around. I can't tell you how many times someone has told me,"You have the happiest baby. She is always smiling."


• does not like being left with people she doesn't know, especially if they are male. As long as mommy or daddy is there, she's fine, but she has a hard time when we leave. It makes it a little hard to go on a date or even to the doctor. But it's nice to know she loves me.


• absolutely adores her big brother. I never thought they would play together this early. They play all the time.


• is into everything. She makes messes faster than I can pick them up. Today, about ten seconds after we got home from church she was into the lid drawer in the kitchen. But she is so cute doing it and has so much fun I almost don't mind. Almost.

She took her hat off and was trying to put it back on
Watching Brayden play outside
And just so Brayden doesn't feel left out, here are some pics of him. He is sitting on my lap, asking why all the pics are of Tawny.

"Mommy, this is my favorite picture. It's sooooo coooool. Look at my big monster mouth!"

"You're Beautiful"

Brayden: "Mommy why is your face wet and so so red? Why?"
me: "Because I'm exercising."
Brayden "Why?"
Me: "Because I want to be skinny."
Brayden: "But you are skinny."
me: "I want to be more skinny."
Brayden: "You don't need to be more skinny. You're already one beautiful."
me: "Maybe I want to be more beautiful."
Brayden: "But you're one beautiful. You don't need to be three beautifuls. One beautiful is perfect."

So today I learned that according to Brayden "beautiful" is a unit of measurement. I also learned that my son thinks I am beautiful and perfect just the way I am. What a sweet little boy. What makes me feel really good is that he hasn't learned how to lie yet, even when it comes to self-preservation. Thanks for the morale boost bud. I love you.

Happy Birthday Brayden!

My little boy is now three! His birthday was Monday but we took him to Sea World last week since that's when Greg could get off. He loved it even more this time, if possible. He even touched some of the animals this time, the dolphins and sting rays. For those of you who don't believe me, we have picture proof. See dad, he's not a total wimp!On his birthday we had a little party at the park with a few friends. Then later that afternoon we opened presents and Greg and I took him to Chuck e Cheeses, which Brayden loves. Mom, since you weren't able to be there while he opened presents, here's a play-by-play of it all. Also, quick explanation on the crown. A while ago at church they made crowns that said "I am A Child of God". He loved this crown. He wore it every day for weeks (not exaggerating) until it just fell apart. It was heartbroken when we had to throw it away. So when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he immediately responded "A BIRTHDAY CROWN!!!" So that's what he got.
While he loved all the presents we got him, I have to admit his most favorite by far was the Thomas the Engine train set he got from Emma. They brought it over yesterday and he has played with it non-stop. He even took Thomas to bed with him last night, and started playing again as soon as he woke up.

Did you Know....

...kids can backwash into sippy cups? Please tell me how this is physically possible.

...it was possible to have so many rolls on your thighs? Why is it cute on her but not me, huh?

...my two year old is smarter than me?

...a good friend can make the difference between the best and the worst day?

...the pants in my closet are 5 different sizes and they have all fit me at one point in the last 2 years? (no, I will not tell you which ones currently fit)

...It's not healthy to eat cake for breakfast and cookies for lunch? At least, that's what Greg keeps telling me. I'm not sure he knows what he's talking about.

... it is impossible to get melted crayon out of the cup holder in your car?

...wasps can sting you multiple times and not die? Only honey bees die after they sting you once. Wasps stick around and come back for more...learned that the hard way...

...you can add vinegar, cream of tartar or lemon juice to milk as a substitution for buttermilk when baking? You may think it's random thing to know, but it might come in handy some day.

...I have the most well behaved kids and the most wonderful husband you could imagine? And yet sometimes I can barely handle it all. (Pretty sure that is my problem and not theirs)

What a Day!

We had our Mother-Daughter activity today for the youth group I work with at my church. As far as I can tell it went really well. We did a flower springtime thing and everything was really cute. The girls had made gifts for their moms, they played games and decorated picture frames. They all seemed to have really fun. I did the treats and I think they were pretty cute. Of course I forgot to take pics before it started, but you get the idea. For those of you that know me well, "cute", "crafty", and "girly" are not really words that describe me or my talents, so this activity really stretched my abilities. But I think I did a great job faking it, thanks to a friend who helped me out. Yipee....it's over!

Tulip Garden in the process of being eaten (it was much cuter when the other half of the cake was there)

Flower Cupcakes

Can't Sleep....

That title needs a little clarification. It's not that I can't physically fall asleep. Give me a pillow and 5 seconds and I would be out! The problem is a project for work that I haven't gotten around to finishing. I should just push through but I have to take a break. One more second of financial analysis and my brain might start leaking out my ears. It's not healthy to look at numbers for that long...

To bring a little cheer to my break, here are some funny Brayden conversations:

• (Brayden to Me) "Mommy, you're feet look funny, kinda short and broken and smashed. Just thought you should know."
• (me to Brayden) "what do you want for lunch?" (Brayden to Me) "Umm... chicken and cereal and ham and marshmallows and green beans and yogurt and peaches and grilled cheese and..umm... I think that's it. (pause) But just a little bit cause I need room in my belly for a snack" (Me to Brayden)"What you want for snack?" (Brayden to Me) "chips, and worms (gummi worms) and popcorn and fruit leather. And I need lots and lots of my snacks."
• (Me to Brayden) "What should we do when daddy gets home? (Brayden to Me) "Take him outside and push him in the pool!" (Me to Brayden) "Why?" (Brayden to Me) "Cause he's really stinky and needs lots and lots of water to be clean."

I guess that's enough of a break for now. Time to get back to it...

New Car, Asthma and Fun

So last week Greg's car took a turn for the worse. We knew it was coming. It was a Hyundai Elantra that my parents got me in high school. It has a bajillion miles on it and was falling apart before our very eyes. So we decided to get me a new car and he would get the car I drive now, which is still fairly new and nice. We wanted something bigger. I wanted an SUV like a Honda Pilot or something. He wanted a van. Guess who won?.....


He did! Not who you were expecting to win, was it? I made a promise to myself long ago that I would never have a van and here I am. The worst part is that I actually like it. I feel like I've betrayed myself. But in all seriousness I really like it. It's a 2008 Toyota Sienna. It's used, but had very few miles on it (about 2,000). We've only had it a week and I can't get over how convenient it is. How did I ever get by with my Camry?

Brayden had another asthma attack on Thursday. It was really windy on Wednesday. There was also a fire. I think those two things put together triggered it. We have a nebulizer at home and some pretty high dose medications, but they just weren't working. Luckily my mom was here to watch Tawny while Greg and I took Brayden over to Einsenhower. They monitored him until his oxygen level hit 94%, gave us more medications and sent him home. He's absolutely fine now. It's me that is having a hard time. I am constantly worried about him, checking to make sure he is okay. I can hardly sleep at night, because I'm so worried. It's hard to get a decent night sleep when I'm checking on him every 30 minutes. He'll be fine, right?

In spite of that, today is shaping up to be a pretty good day. I was cleaning the kitchen when I was distracted by a phone call. I came back a few minutes later and found Brayden and Tawny filling the dishwasher with toys. Brayden said it was a car wash and his cars were dirty. Tawny was just along for the ride. Who knew that dishwashers could be such a great toy? Brayden plays with it all the time. I'm so amazed he hasn't broken it.

Tawny is now crawling everywhere. It's so cute to watch her. Brayden is so excited and proud of here. I'm not sure which is cuter. Here's a few videos of the action.