I Pledge Allegiance

Brennan is obsessed with flags. Any flag will do, but he is especially fond of American flags. I don't really know how his obsession started. Three days a week he comes with me for a jog and there are many houses in our neighborhood that have flags displayed. As we run, he points out every single flag he sees. He can't say the word flag yet, so he just points and screams, "Aaah!" until I acknowledge that he has found yet another flag. He has a keen eye for them too. He can see them even when they are hidden by bushes. He can see them while riding in his car seat too. It's quite hilarious.

Kyle is off work right now, so the three of us decided to head out yesterday for a special breakfast at a local restaurant called Kitchen Little. Just as the name implies, the restaurant is extremely small. When we arrived, there were no tables, so we sat at the counter. Directly in front of us was a dry erase board listing the day's specials. Tucked behind the board in each of the upper corners were small American flags. It didn't take long for Brennan to spot them and start freaking out!

I say freaking out, but he wasn't mad. He was just really really excited and starting pointing and screaming, "Aaah! Aaah! Aaah!" It was slightly embarrassing since we were in such a small restaurant surrounded by mostly senior citizens trying to enjoy a nice, quiet breakfast. Kyle and I tried to distract him. We tried to get him to eat some food I brought with us and calm down about the flags. When the manager came over to take our order I told him the reason B was acting like a crazy person and he was kind enough to take the two flags down and let Brennan play with them. It made Brennan's day!

He was content for a little while and even started eating some food. However, it didn't take too long before he spotted a little wooden pencil holder next to the cash register that had a certain little red, white, and blue emblem painted on it. Within seconds of spotting that flag, he looked back into the kitchen and saw a flag sticker on the side of the coffee maker. So the rest of our breakfast pretty much consisted of Brennan waving the two small American flags, handing those flags to Dada so he could place them in a nearby coffee mug, pointing and screaming at the pencil holder flag and the flag sticker, then pointing at and wanting the two flags back from the coffee mug. Somehow Kyle and I managed to eat some breakfast in there too.

He is so funny. I don't know why he is so obsessed with flags, but it certainly made for an eventful breakfast!

Can't leave you without a picture...

Quarterly Top 5 Photos

Once again I am linking up my very amateur photos with some amazing photos from some amazing ladies. That's right, it's time for me to reveal my Quarterly Top Five Photos! Most moms of 19 month olds can't get their kiddos to stay still long enough to take a picture, but since B STILL isn't walking, I don't have this issue.  I always have fun looking back through the last three months of photos and selecting my five favorites! So, here ya go! My top five in no particular order.

Please excuse the extremely poor lighting, but I just crack up whenever I look at this picture. He only gets a binky when he's napping or sleeping (or occasionally when Momma gives in during the day). As you can see, all he wants to do with them now is chew on them. I also love this picture because you can see how dominate his cowlick is.

This summer Brennan really liked playing by our neighbor's wood pile. I like this picture because he's doing "So big!", but only with one arm. And I have to agree with his shirt; he is a great catch!

Our dog Ringo jumps all over people when they come over. He's an 80 pound lap dog and can be quite a menace. However, when it comes to Brennan, he is so gentle and cuddly!

I take these pictures every single month on the 11th (B's monthly bday). This was his 19 month shot and I absolutely love it. I like how you can see his teeth so well and see that he hadn't cut his canine teeth yet.

I was so happy when I captured this one. Brennan loves all things water, so bath time is one of his favorite times of the day. My favorite part here is the action of the water. 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the pics of Brennan. I just love my little guy so much! He is so much fun and so super smart! 

Now it's your turn. Head over to either Amber's Articles, Click it Up a Notch, or Nap Time Montag and link up with your five favorite photos from July-September! You could even win some awesome prizes!

Tot School in Florida - 19 Months - Alphabet Box Letter F

This week's alphabet box focused on the letter 'F'. It was excellent timing because we spent the week on vacation in Florida! This Tot School post is actually just a post about our trip! I did take some 'F' items with us, so Brennan could be exposed to the letter. His 'F' box contained:

• Leapfrog 'F' magnet
• Baby Einstein 'Ff' book
• Go Fish card game
• frog toy
• fox stuffed animal
• The Foot Book
• F is for Fish
• Fun With Numbers

We arrived in Pompano Beach, Florida last Sunday. My parents, sister, and brother-in-law had arrived the day before. We checked into our super nice 4-bedroom suite. My parents are timeshare owners and treated us to this vacation! Not only did we stay for free, my mom was super generous in other ways too. The first night at dinner, we each drew an envelope with someone's name in it. During the week we had to buy a gift for that person. Included in the envelope was $20 to use on the gift! At that same dinner, my mom gave each couple a $100 Visa gift card to spend on ourselves with the directions, "Buy something you wouldn't normally spend your own money on." We spent ours on clothes for Brennan, which in our defense we usually don't buy him many clothes, so I think we still followed her directions. Later in the week my mom put $50 towards jet ski rentals for the guys. I know you're reading this mom, so thank you so very much for this vacation!

Check out Brennan's loot!

We had a wonderful trip! Brennan was a super traveler. He loved everyone even though he sees my family so infrequently. I think Skyping with my sister and looking at lots of pictures helped him recognize everyone. He was great about letting anyone hold him. Anyone could put him to bed or down for nap and anyone could get him up when he woke. He really was so easy going and that made the week that much better.

Our resort had an amazing pool (it actually had three). We swam at least once a day and Brennan LOVED it. He has always loved the water. The pool had fountains that he really liked, but his favorite was the water slide. He was too little to go down it, but loved watching others (especially Momma) go down. When the slide was turned off, he loved to sit at the bottom of it and let us toss a ball up the slide. It would roll back down and he'd catch it. We did this MANY times!

Our resort wasn't on the beach, but we did go to the beach twice. Brennan loved the ocean too! He liked being held out in the water and didn't mind waves splashing him at all. He also like walking in the sand. We even got to have fun watching Dada jet ski too!

We didn't even have to leave the room to have fun though. He loved snuggles with Momma and Dada. And really loved playing peak-a-boo with people behind the couch! Nightly bathtime was always a hit, but I didn't get any pictures of him there.

On Saturday, we had to say goodbye to my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. They were headed back to Kentucky. But not before we took our annual family vacation pictures the night before.

Since Kyle, Brennan, and I had Saturday to ourselves, we decided to drive to Miami and go to Jungle Island. It's basically a zoo, but has a ton of birds you can touch and feed and even squirrel monkeys walking around this one area right within reach. Brennan really liked the petting farm! There are a ton of pictures here because my family hasn't seen these yet.

All in all, it was an amazing week! And mom, it's time to start planning next year's vacation!

Dear Brennan,

My sweet baby boy, you are nineteen months old today! And yes, you are still my BABY boy. Time just isn't slowing down at all! You are wearing 18-24 months and some 2T clothes. I just went through a bunch of your clothes and found SO many 2T pants! I love hand-me-downs! You are wearing size 4 diapers.

I am a little sad to say that you are still not a full-fledged walker yet. You can certainly do it, but will rarely choose to do so. We have to literally give you a little push sometimes and then you'll take a few steps. You are getting better at standing on your own and I think that is key in you feeling comfortable with walking. I am happy to say that you now like walking with push toys. You used to hate it! Now you'll do it multiple times a day. The other week we walked into the library and you saw a little shopping cart they have for kids to push around and you went straight for it and started pushing it all by yourself. I've tried to get you to do that for so long. I guess you were just finally ready to do it! I just know you're going to be shocked when you realize how much more you can do because you can walk! You did just realize you can scoot on your bottom, so you've been moving around like that some. The doctor is going to check you out at 21 months to see your gross motor progress.

After you turned 18 months, you started talking a lot more. Some things might not be clear to everyone, but since I'm around you all the time, I know exactly what you're saying. I'm sure I'll leave some things out, but here is what you can say now: dog, Dada, Momma, duck, boom, ball, Elmo, boom boom (what you call the computer for some reason), book, bowl, moon, up, down, zap and bird. There are a few words I've only heard you say one time: diaper, chicken, and clock. You have also started to try to say more people's names, which I think is so cute. When we go play with your friend Emma, you repeat "mmm" over and over again.

You love airplanes. You can see or hear one before Momma or Dada do. You'll point up in the sky and then when it disappears from sight, you raise your hands up as if to say, "Where'd it go?" You also point out every flag you see. The American flag is your favorite. You love seeing flags when we take walks around the block. You also point out all the birds, squirrels, and dogs. I'm glad there's so much to keep you entertained while you're in your stroller because Momma has started the Couch to 5K program, so we go jogging together three days/week. You are also obsessed with balls right now. You almost always have at least one in your hands.

You continue to love watching "The Wiggles". The only other show that will hold your attention more than a few minutes is "Super Why". Momma likes "Super Why" and sometimes I get sad when you don't want to finish an episode because I want to know what the super letters are going to spell! When you want to watch "The Wiggles" you will wiggle your legs. During "Super Why", you'll point your finger like Super Why does when he zaps words. You are seriously the cutest thing ever!

You still have twelve teeth. I keep thinking your canines will come in soon because you are back to chewing on stuff a lot. Most of the time you are a good eater. You love grapes right now. You'd eat nothing but grapes if I let you. You have gotten much better at using a spoon, but still usually eat with your fingers.

You're still a good sleeper. You usually wake up somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30. Recently your nap has gotten a little shorter. I was kind of bummed about that at first, but you're waking up from it happy, so that's the most important thing. I love when I go into your room when you are waking up. You still have never pulled yourself to standing in your crib, so you are always just laying down or rolling all around in it when I come in. As soon as I open the door, you start giggling. When I come over to your crib, you know you have to leave your binkies in the bed, so you put them in the corner. Then you reach out your hands because you want to use my fingers to help you stand up. Once you're standing, you like to hold my hands and jump up and down a few times. You don't really jump, but just bend your knees. Then on a count of three I pick you up. You immediately give me a huge hug! You keep hugging me as we walk over to the glider and keep hugging me while we sit there. After a few more seconds of hugging, you sit up and give me a kiss, and then you want your sippy of milk. I love little moments like that!

You continue to be a very good baby. You do get mad sometimes and will squirm and arch your back like crazy if we carry you while you're mad. You certainly wear me out because you need my finger to walk around, so there is very little sitting still for Momma. You are extremely ticklish and have such an amazing laugh. Today, on your nineteen month birthday, you will get to see your GaGa, GeGe, Lala, and C-Dub. I know they are all very excited to see you! I hope you know how much Momma and Dada and everyone else loves you!

Love,
Mommy

Brennan back at 18 months

Brennan yesterday - one day shy of 19 months

Tot School - 18 . 5 Months - Alphabet Box Letter E

I was definitely kind of a slacker with our alphabet box this time. We were supposed to concentrate on the letter 'E' the week before last, but Hurricane Irene left us without power for five days. We were so blessed to be able to stay at a friend's house, but that meant no 'E' box. So, we kept the same box around this past week. I still didn't focus on it too terribly much and I'm pretty sure Brennan doesn't recognize a print 'E' yet, but we'll keep working on it. Here's what was in our box (sorry I didn't take a picture of it):

• Leapfrog 'E' magnet
• Baby Einstein 'Ee' book
• 'E' coloring page
• Elmo's Clap Your Hands book
• Elmo's Music
• Ernie and Bert Can...Can You?
• elephant stuffed animal
• elephant puzzle piece
• Elmo musical toy

I love how excited he gets as he's digging through the box!

I tried to get back into Tot School mode after being away from the house. We managed to do a few things this week. 

I bought Brennan a new Melissa and Doug puzzle. He loves the ABCs and is constantly pointing to letters, so I thought the alphabet puzzle would be a big hit. It's really difficult for him, so I am excited to see him get better at it.

This idea came from Amber at Amber's Articles. I put mine together in about 2 minutes as B was waking up from nap one day. I think I could've made a much better one if I had taken more time. I put various objects in a muffin tin, covered each hole with a piece of paper sealed with one piece of tape, and let B explore. I didn't take a picture with everything in the tin before I covered it up, but here are the items I used:

• Goldfish crackers
• Lucky Charms cereal
• coins
• flip top from a drink
• key
• ball with bell inside (cat toy)
• crayons
• playdough
• broken piece of sidewalk chalk
• velcro
• pom poms
• uncooked pasta

Very happy to see a Lucky Charm marshmallow in there!

Sharing a Goldfish with Momma; such a sweet boy!

He did well with the activity. It made me laugh because as he started emptying the tin, he would transfer things around; he still loves transferring!

His favorite thing from the muffin tin was definitely the cat toy. He played with that little ball the rest of the day and even took it in the bath that night. The next day we were gone in the morning, but after nap, he started asking for the ball again. He came up with this next activity completely on his own. 

We were in our master bedroom and he actually had two of the cat toy balls. He was standing at the foot of our bed and dropped the balls over the top of the footboard and they fell down between it and the mattress. It  sort of reminded me of Plinko from "The Price is Right". He would then use his finger to bring the ball all the way to the bottom. I'd have to help him get them back out, but he did this over and over and over again. And since they are cat toys, the cats were close by hoping to play too! Please ignore the scratches on our bed from those same cats!

Say, "Cheese!"

This coming week we are going to be working on the letter 'F'. It's very appropriate for 'F' to be this week. You'll have to come back next week to see why!

Make sure you head over to Carisa's blog to see lots of great Tot School ideas!