Hiiiiiii!

Holy cow, it's been a long time! I'm so busy, blah blah blah. But seriously, we moved, I have a long commute, I'm pooped when I get home. Then it's the weekend and I blink and it's over. There's too much to cover so I'll give you the Cliff's Notes:

We officially moved into our new house on August 21st. We LOVE it. It's roomy and fun and best of all -- it's all ours. The roof that we had to patch, the septic pump we had to replace, the electric panel we had to replace -- all ours! No one ever said owning a home was cheap!

Brendan is getting smarter by the second. He says a lot of ridiculously funny things, like:

Mommy be nice to the song! (whenever I sing)
I love big boobies!
Where's your penis Mommy?
Where'd my (boogie, penis, insert random noun here) go? Oh, there he is!

And he's very complimentary too. He'll tell me great counting, or dancing or whatever I'm doing at the moment. Great job Mommy! Good manners too, lots of pleases and thank yous (or just enthusiastic "thanks!").

There are so many other ones that I just can't remember at the moment. I really have to get better at writing them down.

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. Mom stayed over the night before so she could get up nice and early to help me cook. Everything turned out perfectly; no one had food poisoning so that's promising.

We skipped sitting on Santa's lap this year. B is a little suspicious of strangers, especially big ones in funny red suits. Santa may bring him toys under the Christmas tree if he promises to sneak in and out quietly. But in-person visits? No thanks! Mima and Papa hosted and had a nice crowd, including Nana and Uncle Scotch and Aunt Lauren. And of course everyone spoiled him rotten. Doesn't hurt to be the only grandchild!

B is starting a new daycare next week. I have such anxiety over the transition, not to mention saying goodbye to his beloved Chrissy that's watched him since he was a little ball of 12-week-old mush. That's going to be a really hard goodbye. :*( She's been so wonderful to him and he has a very special place in her heart; she's already said how her heart is breaking at seeing him go. Ack, I'm getting upset just writing about it.

The new place will be great, it's a preschool right around the corner from us so it will chop off about 20 minutes from my currently 1.5 hour commute. He'll meet more children his age that live in the area and that he will eventually go to school with. All great things. But he's really awful in new situations. Kenny and I were both super shy growing up and B takes after us big-time in that respect. I have the drop-off so of course I have the hard job of seeing him get upset when I leave him in this new place. Kenny gets to be the hero and pick him up at the end of the day. I just keep reminding myself that I don't remember anything from when I was 2.5. So he'll be just fine. Me? Might take a while to recover.

I'll be back soon... I promise. With pictures!

Houses and ducks and tantrums, oh my!

We are officially homeowners! We closed on the house on the 29th and then B and I left for Maine with the family the next day. The big move will be on the 21st so the next two weeks will be a blur of packing and getting everything ready.

Mima, Papa, Keith, Shannon, Lauren, B and I stayed in one cabin in Maine and then our extended family stayed in another cabin up the lake a bit. It was great to see everyone; we hadn't seen some of our family in almost 10 years!

Brendan was super toddler on the five-hour car ride up but things took a turn for the worse pretty much as soon as we got there. I had a stage five clinger on my hands the entire nine days we were there. Would not go to anyone but me; had no interest in going in any of the boats; insisted on being pushed in the stroller or carried if we went for a walk or to the beach. To make things even more awesome, he developed a fever for two days and threw up all over himself and the pack n' play during one of his naps. Thankfully Mima stayed composed and led the cleaning crusade. Once his fever broke he was covered in a rash so it was pretty clear that he had roseola.

Now that we're home again he's back to his usual charming self. Tonight he insisted on sitting on the potty not once, but three times in a ten-minute span. He has yet to actually do anything other than sit on it. I bought it just after he turned two to see if he had any interest. We aren't going to actively start until he shows more readiness signs but it's fun to pretend for now. He has this bit of a quirky thing where he must be completely naked when he goes on the potty. I've tried in vain to convince him that he can keep his shirt on but it's clearly a pointless battle.

Anyway, once he gets on there he insists on some quality reading material. As it happens, we have a magazine rack next to the toilet so he'll ask for a "sassine" (magazine) after he hoists himself up on the potty. And wouldn't you know, the only magazines available for perusing happen to be Maxim. So here's my naked toddler sitting on the toilet looking at women in their lingerie, pointing out their belly buttons and various other body parts, asking where their clothes are. To which I answer, "hmmmm, I don't know." Brilliant! Methinks someday that answer won't be good enough. I'll let Daddy handle it when we get there.

Here are some pics of the house and our trip. Enjoy!

The house!


Living room


Dining room


Kitchen


Family room


Car ride up to Maine - YGG!


The beautiful view from the dock


The cabin


Colors! (Brendan's way of saying "coloring")


Aunt Lauren fixing puppy's broken arm


Peaceful moment with Mommy


"Unkew Keef" sizing up the canoe


Tantrum #274


A very brave duck


Mima and Papa


Tantrum #568


The very adorable Sam, Elena and Megan


The family (minus Kenny, Betsy and Paul)


Tantrum #942


A very serious game of roofball


A rare sighting of happy Brendan!



Brendan is 2 years, 1 month and 11 days old today!

A whole lotta goings on going on

My lack of blogging is not due to a lack of stuff to talk about. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kenny and I are in the process of buying our first house (our first house!!), so between that, being very busy at work and trying to squeeze in family time it's been too nuts to find the time to write.

We're scheduled to close on the house on the 29th and then Brendan and I are leaving on the 30th for a weeklong trip to Maine with Mima, Papa, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon. We're going up for a family reunion on my mom's side and seeing folks we haven't seen in many, many years. We're all super excited! Daddy is saving his vacation time for our big move so unfortunately he won't be able to come with us. :(

We had Brendan's birthday party at Mima and Papa's house two weeks ago with family and some friends. I still can't believe my little man is two years old already.

His two-year check-up was yesterday; he's up to 35.5" tall and weighs 28lb 7oz. So back to the 75th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight.

B started the visit in very good spirits. He played with some toys and read me a few books while we waited to be called in. When we were called back he led the way, then decided that maybe he remembered this place and maybe he didn't want to be here after all when he saw we were going into one of the exam rooms. "Up, Mama." I picked him up and he clung to me for dear life. It's not easy getting a lanky two-year old undressed while he suctions his body to yours and pleads with you not to let go.

I wanted nothing more than to just scoop him up and run out of there but I figured one of us had to act like an adult and since technically, I'm that person, I played the role of the Stepfordesque Mommy and smiled while I told him in my most pleasant voice that everything was going to be all right. After crying and saying "no, no, no" and looking at me with crazy eyes while he was measured and weighed, he finally calmed down and got distracted by books and a few toys that someone had blessedly left in the room.

Now, I very clearly remembered the doctor saying at his 18-month appointment that he wouldn't be getting any vaccines at this appointment. So you can imagine my surprise when she said that someone (who obviously has no children) made the decision that toddlers should get an extra dose of a particular vaccine. Ugh. In walks the nurse who tells me to lay him down and HOLD HIS HANDS OVER HIS HEAD like some sidekick in a torture routine while she sticks his meaty little thigh. Brendan cried and cried and cried.

Next up: down to the lab for bloodwork. In all honestly, I considered calling it quits at this point. Then I had a little pep talk with myself where I told me to man up and get this over with. So down to the lab we went. He had calmed down at that point and was flirting with all the lovely ladies in the lab while we waited. They called us in and I was told to have him sit on my lap, then BLOCK HIM IN WITH MY LEGS AND HOLD HIS ARM OUT SO THEY CAN STICK A NEEDLE IN HIS ARM AS THICK AS A BANANA AND DRAW TWO VIALS OF BLOOD. Yes, I'm shouting. Yes, it's necessary.

Thankfully his veins drain faster than his Mama's. Screams and cries and Mama's heart breaks but I kept my Stepford grin on and mustered up all the pleasantness I had left to hold him and tell him that the torture was done and everything was going to be all right. He cried all the way out to the car then passed out.

I told Daddy the next check-up is all him. Mama's done.

Here are some pics from B's birthday party. I haven't taken a whole lot of pictures lately but am going to try to remember to bring the camera this weekend.

Wearing his adorable shirt that Auntie Jilly found on etsy.com


Blowing out the candles with Uncle Scotch







Brendan is 2 years, 2 weeks and 3 days old today!

A Letter to My Son on His Second Birthday (a few days late)

Brendan,
How is it possible that my baby is two years old?? In some ways it feels like just yesterday that I first held you in my arms, so tiny and new. And in others, it feels like you've been a part of my life for so much longer.

You're an observant little fellow, watching and absorbing everything around you. It's not unusual to see you following behind people, closing doors and drawers, lining up everyone's shoes by the doorway, singing the "clean-up" song while you put your toys away in just the right spot. Your little displays of OCD make Mommy's heart melt.

You're still a VERY picky eater—the list of foods that you'll eat without a fight is a short one: yogurt, macaroni & cheese, pizza, pasta, crackers and cinnamon graham goldfish. Meat is not your friend. And vegetables might as well be dog food.

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. And for some reason you sound like you spent most of your young life growing up in the Bronx. Water is pronounced wahtuh; cars are cwahs. Every truck is a fire truck (fy tuck), but nothing excites you more than a train (choo choo tain).

You're very polite, always ready with a "peas" and "tank you"
(sometimes just "tanks") and you hug like a champ (complete with pats on the back) and give the best little kisses. But you're not afraid to boss us around when the feeling hits. Mommy and Daddy don't sit for more than a few minutes before you wander over demanding that we "come on" and "sit down" to help you build train tracks or play with cars.

Brendan, you are an amazing little being, so full of life and love, and I'm so proud to be your mother. I cannot think of anything more rewarding than the joy of watching you grow into the amazing young man I know you'll become.

Love,
Mommy


Brendan is 2 years and 3 days old today!

Deezus!

Despite the fact that Brendan is still super picky with what he'll eat, he's somehow managing to grow like a weed. We haven't had him measured since his 18-month appointment and it's damn near impossible to get him to stand still long enough to measure him but I think he's grown at least 1.5" since then.

His vocabulary is also growing by leaps and bounds. His newest thing is saying Jesus all the time. I know I should hang my head in shame over the fact that my child uses the Lord's name in vain and whatnot, but I find it kind of funny that even though his Daddy says lots of fun 4-letter words (the kind that rhyme with truck and pit) he picks up the word Jesus.

I have a habit of saying it as a replacement for other, less toddler-friendly words (like the kind that rhymes with grassbowl). For instance, when I'm driving in the middle lane of a three-lane highway and some driver merges onto the highway and immediately MUST move into the middle lane. Even though THERE IS NO ONE IN FRONT OF THEM FOR MILES and they have to CUT ME OFF to perform this manuever. So out comes, "JESUS!!!" instead of... well, other things that wouldn't be very nice. I never realized just how much I say this until he started repeating me. Thankfully he says it "Deezus" so I doubt most other people know what he's saying.

Brendan is still delightful as a daisy when he wakes up in the morning (and he still wakes up by 6am most days, waaahhh!). On one recent morning when it happened to be my morning to sleep in, I heard him saying "Mommy, Moooommmmmy, up peas (please)." So I opened one eye and said "Tell Daddy to get up." And he whispered, "Daddy's beeping (sleeping)." Why he recognizes that Daddy is sleeping but it doesn't matter that Mommy's eyes are closed is beyond me.

I say this about every age, but this age is sooooo much fun. I'm going to miss this baby talk stuff when he's speaking in full sentences with perfect pronunciation while giving his valedictorian speech at Harvard. At the tender age of five. Because my kid is a genius. Move over Doogie Howser.

Blowing bubbles with Nana (sometimes known as "Nina" although I'm not sure why)








In an attempt to get him to eat more, I thought I'd use fancy food presentation. In a fancy ice cube tray. Left to right: red grapes, cucumbers, swiss cheese, cheddar cheese and pizza, all cut up into bite size pieces. He ate the pizza and grapes. It was a valiant, if not particularly successful effort.


Walking around one of Mima's gardens (Mima is G'ma Annie's new name that B just came up with)






Taking a sip of "wattuz" (waters)










Trying on Daddy's work "shyooz" (shoes)





Brendan is 23 months and 3 days old today!

A (sort of) relaxing vacation

We just got back from a week in FL visiting family. It had been a year since Grandpa Billy, Grandma Sharon and Aunt Nicole got to see B; he's changed a bit since then. Grandmama Annie and Grandpapa Charlie came down too, to see my brother Keith graduate college with his mechanical engineering degree. Such a proud moment to see that, especially since he graduated with the highest honors. Go Keith!!

On our first morning I woke up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the thought of being on vacation (vacation!!) and relaxing in the sun. B, on the other hand, wasn't feeling quite as chipper. He popped up in his crib and asked for his shoes. I asked why he needed his shoes and he answered "home." Awwww.

Two important and mind-blowing things I learned on this trip: 1. My son doesn't like the beach; 2. My son doesn't like the pool. ::bursts into tears:: Inconceivable! He has 50% of my genetic makeup for goodness sake. Papa Charlie got B in the pool on one of the days for a few minutes but that's about the extent of it. The rest of the time I was chasing him around the perimiter of the pool. He kept wanting to sit on the top step of the pool and would run around screaming "I sit, I sit!" Only it sounded more like "I sh_t, I sh_t!"

We had some touch and go moments, but Gabba got us through. I brought several DVDs for Brendan, along with a portable DVD player that Nana Darlene bought for him last year. Sir only wanted to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and we only had one YGG DVD so we watched the same 4 episodes over and over and over and over. Jack Black you're a funnny dude, but I can only watch you prance around in orange spandex so many times.

We had dinner with Grandpa Billy and Grandma Sharon most nights. Grandpa entertained B with his Donald Duck impression and cooked him some delicious homemade pizza, one of the very few foods B will eat (beetza). B also got to play the piano for the first time, which he absolutely loved. He's a virtuoso, people!

We flew home today and of course the airline lost our luggage and car seat, which is totally awesome. Kenny called and found out that it's arrived at the local airport so he's on his way to pick it up. Thanks be to Jesus because we're talking about B's favorite blankie and stuffed puppy, the baby monitor that I still can't live without and my makeup bag (gah!!). Oh, and a $300 car seat. Apparently Delta has some newb's working at the Atlanta airport who skipped the chapter about how to handle luggage during a layover because about 1/3 of the people that landed with us left the airport sans luggage.

Anywho, it was a much-needed vacation and it was wonderful to see everyone again. Now it's back to reality. Oy.

Watching YGG


Collecting shells with Grandmama


Starting to grow weary of the whole beach thing


...and we're back in the stroller. Papa's behind the wheel.


I'll miss you, beach.


Suspicious-looking fin. Just popped up to say allo! No swimming in the ocean for Momby.


Sunrise


Please, help me! They want me to go in the pool!


Even the swanky choo choo bathing suit couldn't get him in the water.


Oh look, YGG!



Brendan is 22 months and 1 day old today!