Brooks at two

 

 

 

I seriously can't believe our little guy has been with us for 2 years! I still have not bought the poor kid a baby book so I'm so glad I've done a decent job with these updates.

Stats| He is finally getting back on the chart for weight, coming in at 24 pounds (10%) and 33.5 inches (25%) for his height.  He's basically the size of a one year old so he still seems like such a baby to me. I think all the doctor role play at home has made my kids love the doctor.  Our pediatrician had an intern following her around and she goes "I'm going to let you take a look at this one cause you won't find many 2 year olds that are this good." They laid him down to measure him and when they were done he said "one more." Then we ended with 2 shots that had him in tears so we'll see if he likes that place when we go back again. 

 

Sleeping| When he's in his crib he's an awesome sleeper, when we are out of town he usually sleeps with me and neither of us get any sleep.  He's usually in his crib for the night around 7:45pm and wakes up around 7am and naps from about 12:30-2:30. He'll yell for me when he wakes up but when we go in there, he doesn't want out of his crib.  He wants to lay and snuggle with his blanket until we force him out.  We are on day 3 of no binky and it hasn't been too terrible.  He got to put them inside of a monkey at build a bear and now Binky the monkey sleeps with him.  Not going to lie, I wanted to cave the first night and give him one of the 6 binkies I still have hidden.  He was yelling "mama! Binky!" and it was pulling at my heart. But after 1.5 hours, he finally fell asleep.  He cries a little bit throughout the night and there have been some tears still at nap and bedtime but we're on the homestretch and his teeth will thank me. 

Eating| He's a big meal time eater and not much of a snacker.  He'll rarely turn food down but he usually has no interest in an afternoon snack.  The perfect meal in his eyes would be lasagna, corn on the cobb and mandarin oranges. And "nandy" for dessert.  He's got a strong sweet tooth and if he hears the word candy, he will not shut up till he gets some.  The only kind of milk we can get him to drink are those danimal yogurt drinks.

Language| I have slow talkers but I believe Brooks is even less of a talker, than Collins was at this age.  I brought it up at his well visit and anytime the doctor asked him something, Collins answered for him.  So we believe that's playing a huge role.  I'm counting his words for a few days and if it falls way below 50 words, we'll get him evaluated.  I'm anxious to see if his speech picks up more now that Collins is in school a couple mornings a week and it will just be him and I.  I feel like I'm playing Pictionary with him throughout the day cause he'll use body actions to communicate.  For example, if you ask him wear he got his stamp from, the answer is gymnastics but he'll do a somersault.  I'm sure his vocabulary will bloom just like Collins' did. 

 

Playing| He is all boy with his toy choices.  He loves all sports, baseball being his favorite.  We haven't braved a Royals game with him yet but hopefully in the next month or two.  Whenever he watches them on TV, he says "splash!" because he loves watching the Salvy splash at the end of the game.  He is the happiest outside and is obsessed with his motorized motorcycle nana got him for his birthday.  He took gymnastics over the summer and loved it. He listened surprisingly well and did a great job.  He was also a fish at the pool this summer and was jumping in by himself by the end of the summer.  Despite their hourly fights, him and Collins get along pretty well.  He's going to make a good daddy one day as much as he plays babies with her. 

 

 

 Brooks, your onrery, sweet, funny, cute, happy and smart all rolled up into a little body.  You are a big mommies boy and fill my heart so full.  I wasn't sure if I could handle a boy but you have showed me that I was wrong and that your exactly what our family needed.  We love you like crazy and hope that two isn't too terrible.

 

As always, thank you The Studio for capturing our family. 

 

Out of the mouth of Collins'

Hey! Anyone still read this blog? I've been wanting to sit down and blog again but usually when the kids sleep, I just want to sit in quiet and stalk Instagram and snapchat. Brooks turns two next week (waaaahhhhh) so his post will be coming but for now, it's all about Collins. She was 3.5 in May and up until that point, she was pretty sweet. Now? Girlfriend has some att-a-tude. I'll be glad when the threenager phase ends. It will, right?

At 3.5 years, Collins...

• believes she is Brooks' mom.  She can change his diaper and takes his plate to him at every meal.  I'm constantly telling her to leave him alone and stop picking him up.  He almost weighs as much as her!
• speaking of weight, I think she has broke 30lbs.  Our home scale says she's 30.5 pounds
• for the most part, still naps and sleeps about 12 hours at night.
• prefers showers
• starts preschool at the end of the month.  I'm going to cry my eyes out
• hates hamburger.  Not ground up or any thing.
• gave soccer a try over Spring and loved it. We give her a 2 sport at a time limit so we rotate between dance, gymnastics and soccer. I'm anxious to give t-ball a try.
• still baby doll obsessed.  It's pretty much the only thing she plays and she wants a reborn baby for her birthday.  Look up reborn baby on Youtube, they look crazy real. 
• still obsessed with Youtube kids too.
• wants to wear a dress every day
• Jumps into the pool and swims to the side

I'll have more about her come November when she turns FOUR! How is that even possible?!

Aside from the bossiness, she is hilarious. I wish I remembered to write her quotes down more often but here are a few I've noted.

I've maybe told her a time or 2 that she's being bossy

Collins- "you bein bossy!" 

Sarah- "No, actually, YOU are."

Collins- "No, you ah!"

Hyvee called to get directions for a delivery. 

Me- "we have a surprise coming!"

Collins- "Really?! What?! A baby?!"

(If only it was that easy. And no, there is no baby on the way).

"Me not bein naughty today. Brooksie being so naughty. Him hittin and not keepin him hand to himself."

We got a caterpillar kit and they eventually turned into butterflies. While they were in their cocoons, I made a do not touch sign because it's a very fragile stage and cousins were coming over. My brother came over and moved the cage a little bit to look at them...
 "that sign say no touch."  

It weel (real)? You sewious? You kidding me?" 

"Brooksie hit me."

Me- "I'm sure it was an accident."

"No, it was fo weel."

"Are we having blankets in a cow tonight?" -Refering to pigs in a blanket 

"I don't wike time out. So don't tell me no, just let me do whatever I want to do."

Derek's mom- "Do you guys want I.C.E.C.R.E.A.M?"
Collins- "Did she say ice cream cause that's what that sounded like?"

So there's Collins in a quick nutshell.  She is still my little sidekick and she is sweet 90% of the time but I think it will be good for the both of us that she's starting preschool this month.  Me and Brooks are going to enjoy a couple hours of less noise :)

Brooks at 18 months

He's nearly 19 months but you know what they say, better late than never! And since I haven't even bought him a baby book, I better get an update on the good ole blog.

This will not come as a surprise but little man weighed in at 21 pounds 3oz (3%) and 31 inches (21%). We just don't make large kids. I will say though, he was diagnosed with RSV at this appointment so his eating had been horrible. He weighed 22 pounds the week before when we went to doc for ear infection. You got it, RSV and ear infection all in a weeks time. Before Christmas, he had never been sick (other then a cold) since Christmas (Eve to be exact) he's had croupe, fevers and a sore throat on top of what I already mentioned. Needless to say, we are ready for warmer weather.

Despite his low weight, he can eat like a teenager. He goes through picky stages but he's a pretty great eater. Usually eating 2 helping at every meal. Breakfast foods are his love language and since Collins isn't a big breakfast eater, he gets to polish off her food too. He only likes to drink water. Juice is effy and milk is a big fat NO. We've tried every flavor under the sun and he refuses. So he gets lots of yogurt, cheese and a vitamin. Still wearing 12-18 month clothes. 

Some of his vocabulary includes oh no, no no no (think he hears no very often?), sish (sis), amba (amber), mamy (Amy), tuck (truck) etc. I'm horrible at writing down words he's said but needless to say, he does a decent job repeating any word you ask him too. Only if he wants to though. He could care less about learning his body parts.  He probably knows them but he's sort of a punk. He for sure knows where his belly button is and want's to see everybody's after he shows his.

He loves balls and throws a fit every time we come in from playing outside. We just got our yard fenced so he may spend 99% of Spring and Summer out there. I'll toss him food and water every now and then. He is becoming quite independent and wants to help with meal prep, cleaning, laundry, etc. Kind of nice, kind of annoying. Speaking of nice, he is not always that. He knows how to push buttons and can really get on his sisters' nerves. He is for sure a mam's boy and pretty much wants to be attached to me 80% of the day.  We recently went to an indoor pool and he was hesitant at first but warmed right up.  I think he's going to be a fish like his sister this summer. He likes blues clues, dancing and trying to do everything Collins does.  He dislikes me leaving, the 4:30-5:30pm hour and his sister always being in his face. 

 

Sleeping is his strong point. He sleeps from about 7:30pm-7:30am and takes a 2-3 hour nap.  We haven't braved taking the binky away yet but we try to only give it to him when he's sleeping.  He also loves to cuddle a blanket when he sleeps and prefers his crib. I kind of dread going out of town cause he doesn't always sleep good in a pack n play. 

Brooks, you run wild all day and wear your mommy out.  But at the end of the day, when your fast asleep in your crib, I miss your little guts.  Love you so so much. 

 

 

 

 

 

A day in our life

The 3 topics that I love to go back through my blog and read are:
1. Weekly pregnancy updates
2. Kids' monthly updates
3. A day in our life

So, I'll have an update on Brooks later this month when he turns 18 months but for now, you get a day in our life.

This was Wednesday, February 3.  Collins is 3 and Brooks is 17 months. Derek works a lot from home and we try not to bother him to much. HA!

 

7:03am I hear Collins coming out of her room and into ours.  Her clock turns green at 7am so she's got the a-ok.  She snuggles in bed with us for a bit and then I jump in the shower. I need some coffee before I tackle getting ready so the 3 of us head downstairs and Collins makes our coffee.

 

 

 

 7:40am Brooks is up.  As soon as he gets a clean diaper and comes downstairs, he points to his highchair and demands breakfast.  They eat some mini muffins and pears and hang out with Derek while I go finish getting ready.  He brings them upstairs when they're done eating and we get them dressed and ready for the day. 

 

8:45am Stephanie and Avery come over for a playdate and Derek goes to workout.  The kiddos play everywhere but the playroom, have a snack and then Steph and Avery head back home. 

 

10:00am I get the bean box out for the kids and Brooks lands himself in time out for the first time because he won't stop throwing beans and toys.  He didn't enjoy it but he actually sat there until his time was up! That activity lasted all of 4 min so we go to the unfinished basement for what I like to call recess! Derek gets home and does some work and I watch the kids ride their bikes-- aka fight over bikes.   We have 5 different bikes down there but they always have to fight over the same one.

 

Caught him in action

 

 Time out mister!

 

11:25am Time to feed the kids.   Today's menu consists of hot dogs, yogurt, veggies straws and grapes.  Derek and I sit and eat lunch with them. They both eat good so they get a couple m&ms. After lunch gets cleaned up, Derek is back to working on his laptop and me and the kids play in the playroom and turn some music on and dance. 

 

12:20 nap time! Collins gets to play on my phone for 10 min while I change Brooks' diaper and get him down for nap.  Then I take her up and get her in bed.  She doesn't usually fall asleep but has to stay in there for an hour until her clock turns green.  She's been pretty grumpy and emotional this morning so I don't give her the option of getting off her bed and playing when her star pillow turns off.  She actually listens and falls asleep.  I catch up on Facebook and Instagram and then I get the meatloaf prepped for dinner.

 

2:15pm Collins wakes up and Brooks wakes up shortly behind her.  We play for a couple minutes and then I set them up with a snack and leave them with Derek while I go to the gym.  Derek has an unusually slow work day on this day, he doesn't normally take over the kids in the afternoon.  And I very rarely go to the gym.  Cats out of the bag :)

 

Who knows what they do while I'm gone.  Probably wrestle with daddy and tear the house apart.  I run by the store after the gym to get all the things I forgot on my weekly grocery run.  I swear, mommy brain is a real thing. 

 

 Gym music.  I heart T Swift

 

4:15pm I get home and Derek has the meatloaf going in the oven.  I make the sauce to pour on top of it and get that on there and back in the oven.  Kids are whiny so I let Brooks paint while Collins plays with some stamps.  This is what I like to call the witching hour.  Hurry up dinner!

 

Strong work

 

 

5:30pm My mom makes a surprise visit and we all sit down to eat dinner.  It actually works out perfect that she comes over because we have someone coming over to discuss finishing our basement.  I rotate between talking with the guy and Derek and helping my mom wrangle the kids. 

Brooks didn't have a super long nap so he's pretty cranky.

 

6:30pm Leave Derek to talk basement decisions, mom leaves and I take the kids up for bath and pajamas.

 

7:15pm Collins gets time on her iPad and sitting with daddy and I take Brooks up to brush his teeth, read a book and go to bed.  Derek's getting Collins her bedtime snack when I come downstairs so we both sit with her while she has a cereal bar.  Since it's Derek's turn to put her to bed, she wants to sit with me after snack and be held super tight so daddy can't take her up to bed.  She had a nap so she gets to stay up a little later and play more on her iPad while we watch TV. 

 

Looking entirely too old

 

 

8:00pm Derek takes her up to brush her teeth, read 2 books and bed for her.  I jump in the shower for what I intended to be a quick rinse from the gym but realize too late that I got my hair wet! I had already showered that day (all the moms will understand how upsetting this was)! I'm forced to blow dry my hair when I get out of the shower and then go downstairs to watch TV/get on my phone with Derek.

 

9:05pm Head up to bed.  Derek watches TV in our room while I mess around on my phone.  I'm usually already asleep by the time Derek turns the TV off about 10 and goes to bed.  And that's our day!