Dear Brennan,

Happy Happy Birthday to you my big three year old! How is it even possible that you're already three?!? You got to ring in your birthday this weekend with a huge snowstorm! We got at least two feet of snow at our house! So glad it didn't snow like that three years ago when you were born! We will be having a Mickey Mouse birthday party on Saturday to celebrate your big day!

I won't have your official weight and height stats until Wednesday when you go to the doctor, but you've definitely been growing and are right at if not over 30 pounds now. After I came home from the hospital with Bryce, you looked huge to me. I'm not sure if you really had a growth spurt or if you just looked so much bigger when compared to your little brother.

You have been an excellent big brother so far. So much better than I could have ever imagined. You are still doing well at playing independently when I need to feed Bryce. You are more willing to try something again if you can't get it the first time, but still get frustrated easily at times too. You get concerned if he's crying and always want to know where he is. Sometimes you like to play on the playmat with him.

You've always liked puzzles, but are absolutely loving them right now. 25 piece puzzles are easy for you now. You are also a pro at the iPad and probably use it way too much, but it's been a lifesaver when I need to feed Bryce. You love any letter or number game I find for you, but your new favorite game is Flow. It's not even a kid's game, but you're so good at it. Just like always, you blow me away with how smart you are. You speak in full paragraphs now and talk and talk all day. People at church say you have your own little language because they can't always understand you, but your words are getting clearer all the time. You use past tense words a lot now; sometimes correctly and sometimes incorrectly. I think it's cute when you say, "Where'd Daddy went?"

You are doing great learning how to write your letters. You've always been able to trace them on the iPad, but now you can write some completely on your own since we started Raising Rock Stars Preschool. You also recite several Bible verses now. You like doing arts and crafts, especially painting. You also have a new interest in helping me in the kitchen. You like to stand on a kitchen chair and help me cook and you always help me when I give Bryce a bath.

You have really been enjoying playing basketball with our indoor hoop. You've gotten really good at shooting and if you miss you'll either say "air ball" or "brick". Daddy taught you those words. You definitely have more energy now than you used to. You love to run up and down the hall and love to crash onto the floor on purpose. Daddy tends to get you really hyper when he gets home from work, which is good so you can get some of that energy out. You still only want Mommy to give you a bath and put you to bed, but we are working on letting Daddy help out more. It wears Mommy out to get you all ready for bed and then have to go feed Bryce and get him ready for bed.

Even with baby Bryce being here now, your bedtime routine is pretty much the same. You get a bath and sometimes have a little more time to play after that. After you potty and brush your teeth, you get to read two stories and sometimes a short third one. (You've gotten really good at delaying bedtime with stories because you know Mommy loves that you love books). We also read your Bible each night, then pray, I sing you "Jesus Loves Me" and another song I made up that I have to sing each now, and then you go to bed. You are still waking up wet in the mornings, but you're almost always dry at naptime now, so that's good. You sleep great at night still and take a 2 hour nap each day.

You love movies and watch them too much during meals. I've mentioned before it's a habit we need to break, but it's so nice to have you happily occupied during meals. Your current favorites are Lilo and Stitch, Up, and Toy Story 2 and 3. You watch them intently and know the name of every character. You have also learned Mommy and Daddy's first names and have called us by those a few times.

You continue to excel at school. You love your teachers and you've made some good friends there too. Your teacher continually tells me what a smart boy you are. I think you'll definitely be a good student in school!

As sweet as you are, you certainly have your frustrating moments. You still like the word "no" a lot and can drag your feet when I ask you to do something quickly with the best of them. We constantly talk about obeying Mommy and Daddy. However, even in the frustrating moments, I love you so very much. You really are a sweetheart and love people. You love giving hugs and are just super friendly. And even though you're three now and a big brother, you'll always be my baby. Love you bunches!

Love,
Mommy

After Brennan wakes up from nap, I'll try to get a giraffe picture, but for now here's a picture from this morning! He's excited to be 3!

Happy Sunday

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I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengths Me

Brennan worked on the letter "I" this week and learned Philippians 4:13. I didn't take a picture of the actual board this week, but here are some photos of what we did.

We did the jump to the words games again this week. We had "I" words and our sight word of the week was "can", so I'd say, "I can jump to the word ____" and he'd jump right to it. He got pretty excited about as you can see.

I didn't get a picture of him writing his letter I's, but he had fun coloring his strong man to go along with the bible verse. I was so proud of him for using a good grip on the marker completely on his own. He's getting so big!

This is just a shot of him playing his new favorite iPad game, Flow. It's not a kid's game. It's a problem solving and logic game and he's fantastic at it. Blows my mind!

We also did a Simon Says type of activity where I would say, "I can jump/spin/clap, etc" and he'd follow the directions. Again, this was a huge hit! Please excuse his super red upper lip, he's been battling a cold all week.

As a gross motor activity, we used these little pipes Kyle bought at Home Depot and made the letters we have learned so far with Raising Rock Stars Preschool. Brennan liked this activity and asked to do it again.

And this was our fun song this week. Catchy I think!

Dear Bryce,

Today you are one month old. Again I both feel like the time has flown by, but that you have also been a part of our family forever. You just seem to fit right in. I weighed you this morning and you are 9 pounds 5 ounces, so you're growing big and strong! You are mostly wearing newborn size clothes and typically wear footie pjs all the time, but can now fit into a few 0-3 month sleepers too. We went ahead and moved you to size one diapers, but I feel like they look huge on you. Your umbilical cord stump fell off on day 8. I HATE that thing! We had professional pictures taken that day too and they turned out so great! You checked out perfect at your 2 week appointment.

We definitely don't have a schedule yet, but do have somewhat of a routine. During the day you are usually awake for 45-60 minutes (including eating at the beginning of that time) and then you'll take a 1.5 - 2 hour nap. Sometimes you nap in your crib and sometimes in the bouncer or swing. You're becoming more content during your waketime and are willing to play on your playmat or be in your bouncer instead of only in Mommy's arms. Your eyes light up and you almost get a smile on your face when Mommy talks to you or sings to you when you're awake.

You seem to love your car seat. You hate initially being strapped into it, but once it's in the car and we start moving, you fall right to sleep. Then you'll sleep the whole time we are out and about. It's been super cold the past month, so we don't get out everyday, but you've already been to the commissary, Target, McDonalds, church, the library, and mall. And we take Brennan to school every Tuesday and Thursday morning. You also like your bouncy seat and swing and will fall asleep in both of those. You don't seem to mind tummy time for at least a few minutes and you're able to turn your head from side to side. Your little legs just kick and kick when you're on your tummy like you're trying to crawl already. You have also started to make little noises and coos this past week. It's pretty cute! You get a bath about every third day right now and like the tubby for the most part.

You started off as a very easy baby, but this past week you've become much fussier. I'm afraid you have some tummy issues and Mommy might have to change up her diet some. I don't think I've eaten anything new, so I'm not sure why these issues seem to have started this week, but sometimes you'll scream and curl up your legs like you're in pain. I think you get a lot of air when you're eating and I know my letdown is fast and strong and you seem to have difficulty adjusting to it. It makes Mommy sad to think that you might be in pain, so I'm hopeful these issues don't last long.

The other frustration we have is that you get the hiccups a lot after eating. If we don't hold you upright with your head on our shoulder while you have the hiccups, then you projectile spit up, which is a big mess. Sometimes having to hold you upright makes it hard to get things done or to help your big brother. Speaking of your brother, he really seems to adore you. I pray you two will be great friends.

Your bedtime varies quite a bit right now. You aren't sleeping super long stretches at night. Sometimes you'll give me a 4.5 hour stretch, but most of the time it's closer to 3 hours between your feedings. I moved you to your crib on day 16 and you've been fine there. I hear you wake up for nighttime feedings, feed you on one side, change your diaper, and then feed you on the other. Then you get swaddled back up and I'll rock you for just a few minutes before laying you back in bed. Thankfully you usually go back to sleep easily. You aren't really a fan of the binky yet. Sometimes you'll take it if we're holding you, but most of the time it seems to make you gag. We don't really have a set waketime right now either. I'm hoping for 7ish so I can feed you and then get Brennan up at 7:30, but some mornings you'll wake at 6:30 to eat and seem tired still so I'll put you back to bed and you'll sleep until 8ish. I think I've just forgotten how inconsistent newborns are!

Everyone who sees you always comments about what a "pretty" baby you are. I guess handsome is a more manly word, but you are very cute and have such good skin. Your eyes are still blue and I'm wondering if they will stay way. Even though it's only been a month, I already love being your Momma so much!


Love,
Momma

I was undecided how I wanted to do Bryce's monthly pictures. I thought I should do something different than I did with Brennan and I don't expect Kyle to be home most of the time to help me with the pictures, so I decided to go with sitting him in the glider with a different giraffe for now. Not sure that's what it'll be every month and I don't like the angle of this picture, but it works for now. I do like how he's looking at the camera.

Bryce at one month

And one extra picture just for fun! Again I love his eye contact with the camera!

If you want to see what Brennan was up to at one month, click here!

Best of Friends

I took these pictures on Saturday when Brennan wanted to lay on the playmat with Bryce. I really do hope these boys become the best of friends.

Brennan wanted to hold Bryce's hand...

...and poke him in the nose.

Then he wanted to play "whack the bird"...

...and get up close and personal with his little brother.

This one was actually taken on Friday. Love these two!

Happy Sunday

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Honor Your Father and Mother

Brennan worked on the letter "H" this week. He easily learned how to write the letter and was able to recite the verse in his version: "Honor your daddy and mommy" early in the week and the actual version by the week's end.

Here are a few of the activities I was able to capture on camera:

I decided to make some of our activities more physical this week. I spread out the "H" word cards on a blanket and Brennan hopped to the word I asked him to. He loved this activity.

And a video. We were able to involve Bryce too!

We also hopped to our three sight words we've learned so far with Raising Rock Stars Preschool. It's been neat watching Brennan recognize these words in stories we're reading.

This week he was excited to trace with a marker. I let him trace the "getting ready" page with his regular grip he normally chooses.

When he moved onto the the actual "H" tracing page, I had him use a correct grip. He wasn't too excited about it, but did try for me, so that was good. 

This toilet paper roll painting activity is all over Pinterest and with this being "H" week and Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought it would be perfect to try this week. I wasn't sure what B would think of it, but he LOVED it. After he stamped lots of red hearts he asked to do some green ones too.