Today

I tried to make homemade ornaments with Brahm today. Didn't work. He didn't want to help cut them out or decorate them. I have half of them left so I'll try again tomorrow. I think he might be more excited if I start hanging them on the tree.

Here are some cute conversations we had today.

A: I want to go to the basement after nap.
M: A OK
A: A OK spells nap.
M: no, NAP spells nap.

A:Tomorrow is Saturday  Brahm will take a day off on Saturday.
M and D: what are you doing on your day off?
A: play. Play some more, lunch, play a little, take a nap, play.
M: sounds like a good day off to me.

Now I'm going to rock Anna to sleep and give Abraham a big hug when I check his covers.

Spelling

While playing with his letters puzzle...

M: what word do you want to spell next?
B: mixed vegetables

An update

I guess it is well past time for me to update the header of this blog. 

Abraham and Anna have had quite the adventures in the past 8 weeks.  Abraham has been learning what it means to be a big brother.  That means sharing Mommy and Daddy sometimes.  He does pretty good but once in awhile asks me to put Anna back in the playpen if he wants 1:1 time and I am busy. 

Abraham has been receiving occupational therapy once a week through the early intervention program.  He has a balance issue which has led to a delay in his gross motor development.  Even though he only has been receiving the service for about 7 weeks, we definitely see an improvement in his confidence and abilities. It's great to see!  His OT suggested we sign him up for gymnastics, so tomorrow is his first day.  I think Jeremy will be taking him most of the time, but it will be neat to see how much fun he has learning to jump and roll. 

Anna had her two month well visit a few days early.  She is now 11lbs and 23 inches long.  She is almost exactly where Abraham was at two months.  They are following the same growth curve too:  50% in weight and head circumference and 85% in height.  She amazed me this morning and fell asleep on her own for her nap in her pack and play while Brahm and I were playing around her.  Abraham NEVER did that.  Anna's sleep last night was pretty amazing too, but I can't say too much about it, since I attribute the length to her getting her shots yesterday. 

Brahm doesn't yet have an internal filter. We were putting him to bed and he wanted to look out the window. We told him it was dark and could look in the morning. He says " I'll look out when mommy and daddy leaves"

*walking up the driveway*

B: It's chilly outside.
M: It's not chilly, it's beautiful.
B: Anna is beautiful and Mommy is beautiful.


Jeremy is doing a good job teaching Brahm how to treat the women in his life.

This was a conversation I had with Abraham yesterday:

(Abraham holding Anna)
A: Anna is going home?
M: No, Anna lives here. She is home.
A: Anna is going to work?
M: no, Anna is too little to work.
A: Anna goes back to Daddy's work? (the hospital)

Big Brother!

Abraham is officially a big brother. Anna was born October 9 at 2:36pm. She weighed 7lbs 11oz and is 20 inches long.

I was schedule to be induced because of wanting a vbac and being over due. This worked in our favor because Jeremy's parents we able to have some warning about coming up to watch Brahm.

It turns out I didn't need much for the induction because I went into labor Monday night. After having contractions all night and little sleep we went to the hospital. I was given about 2 hours of pitocin but that's it. Well, besides my epidural. It kicked in right in time to push.

I'm so happy to have had a successful vbac. Not having a huge stomach incision is such a wonderful thing!

Anna looks a lot like Brahm and she is very similar with her facial expressions and not wanting to be swaddled. She's doing great latching on so if we can keep her awake, breastfeeding would be going wonderful!

Brahm loves looking at pictures while listening to rock and roll!

Brahm-isms

Do Better- I want you to do something different so read my mind and figure it out.
Example:Mommy do Ernie better. Translation-you don't sound like Ernie or Daddy when he pretends to be Ernie. Fix that.

Couple minutes-I want to keep doing what I'm doing.
Example: I'll get out of the bath in a couple minutes.
Translation-don't ask me again.

Want another hug and kiss: Daddy don't go to sleep. Play with me.

And

Love her: *hugs mommy* I love her.
No explanations needed.

Carson and Cora

Brahm was able to spend sometime with his oldest cousin Carson.  Carson came on Thursday and left yesterday afternoon. 

On Friday, we went to Ricketts Glen State Park to go hiking.  Brahm, Carson, and Jeremy hiked the waterfall trail while I read a book at the beach.  I'm not sure about Carson, but Brahm, Jeremy, and I had a pretty good time.  After the hike Brahm, Jeremy and I went in the water for a little bit.  The first time Jeremy took him hiking, Brahm didn't want to touch the water.  Ever since that day, we heard continuous regret from Brahm as he said, "Didn't want to put feet in the water at the beach."  This time, with Mom and Dad holding his hand, he was able to make that dream come true.  He also really started to enjoy the water when we showed him it was okay to splash there. 

On Saturday, Jeremy and I were able to go on a date to see the new Batman movie.  Before we planned to have Carson visit, we set up a day for Emily to come up and babysit.  Emmy's best friend Hannah was able to come to and bring Cora.  Brahm ended up sleeping most of the time we were gone, but when we returned with dinner, it looked the Brahm and Cora were having a pretty good time playing together. 

While Brahm would have loved to go to Knoebels with Cora, but it didn't work out this year.  Cora enjoyed Brahm's toy train ride in the basement and they had a fun time playing in the ballpit.

Brahm wanted to share with Cora his new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. 

We ended the night reading some stories.

Now, the kids were very happy and uninjured when we returned home.  I don't know how accurate the following picture is in regards to their babysitting, however, this is what the supervisors of our children did with Jeremy and I present.

Monday night we took Carson to Knoebels.  Brahm had a blast, as always.  He is really excited to go to Knoebels in a few weeks when Grammy and Grandpop will be there.  I hope Grandpop is getting his exercise in, because Brahm told me today he wants Grandpop to take him down the Big Slide.  So practice those steps Grandpop!

Carson's week ended by going to a Phillies game with Jeremy.  Brahm kept saying he wanted to go too.  Maybe next year.

New Room, Rose, and Grandmom and Pop Pop's house

Abraham had a pretty exciting week.  He was able to spend Monday with Caitlyn.  Tuesday, we met Grandmom and Pop Pop at Arby's for lunch.  Caitlyn went home with Grandmom and Pop Pop.  Brahm was sad to see Caitlyn go, but SUPER excited to meet his grandparents for lunch. 

Wednesday was a big day for Abraham.  It was the day we planned on moving him out of the nursery and into his Big Boy room and toddler bed full time.  He was napping in his Noah's Ark bed for several weeks.  Jeremy was confident that Brahm would be just fine at night.  I was pretty worried that the transition would not be as easy for Brahm as Jeremy thought.  Brahm has a habit of talking himself to sleep..for up to 1 hour (or more).  In the crib, it was no big deal, however, in a toddler bed, there is much more freedom to get in/out and play.  I'm happy to report that Jeremy was right.  Brahm is doing really well sleeping in his toddler bed.  His imaginary friend who visits him at night "the Yellow Man" also moved to his new room with him.  He mentions going back into his crib once in awhile, but we remind him he's too big, and it will be Anna's soon.

Thursday morning I had an eye doctor's appointment, so Jeremy took Brahm on one of his favorite activities: a backpack ride!  It ended up raining a little, but Brahm didn't seem to mind.  Jeremy has been walking to the park so Brahm can play a little.  Jeremy gets a lot of exercise since they usually leave after breakfast and don't come back until lunch.  The first time they went all the way to the park, I was trying to figure out how long they could be gone before I could start to worry. 

Here is a picture of Brahm playing on the dragon at the Toddler play area:

On Friday our friends Heather and Justin came up with their daughter Rose.  The plan was to go to Knoebels.  For most of the week, the weather looked beautiful, but it turned out to be rainy and wet.  Instead, we made lunch and Brahm practiced sharing his toys.  Rose liked to dump puzzles and toys, and Brahm liked to clean them up.  They were a good team.  With Brahm's enthusiasm for cleaning, sometimes I think I'm raising a little Danny Tanner.

  When Brahm woke up from his nap, he told me "Had a good a day with Rose."  Hopefully next time the weather will cooperate for a trip to Knoebel's.  Brahm keeps talking about all the rides Rose didn't get to ride on because it was too wet. 

It's good that we have our own ball pit to play on in the basement!

Saturday we went to Grandmom and Pop Pop's farm for a family picnic.  Brahm always likes to visit Grandmom and Pop Pop to play with Cole, Cameron, and the APPLES!  The apples didn't get much attention from Brahm this time because we were outside most of the day.  Brahm was able to spend a lot of time with Cole and his other younger cousin Kyle.  Brahm really likes to talk about Uncle Steve and Jessica and Baby Kyle. 

Brahm had a lot of fun and we thought he would be worn out from the day.  He made it to the top of the turnpike until he finally succumbed to sleep.  Luckily, his evening nap didn't mess up bedtime, because he fell asleep and slept in until 9!  Jeremy and I were also lucky enough to sleep in until 8. 

Tonight is Brahm's last night in the crib. Tomorrow, we are going to move him into his big boy room and toddler bed. I am quite emotional about it.

Our week with Caitlyn starts

Making Rainbow cupcakes

Brahm loves any flavor of doughnuts!

Building blocks with Daddy

"Try again!"

Pictures

Brahm loves to sweep!  He goes around saying, "Brahm sweeping, good job!"

Brahm is in love with hats right now.

Yay for clearance halloween costumes!  Brahm has a Mater costume.  He wears the hat.

He loves eating corn on the cob like a grown up!

Jeremy's coworker gave us a toybox.  Brahm began filling it with toys right away.



Movie time! 

"I had a great day."

This weekend Brahm was lucky to get to spend it with many people who love him.  Aunt Emily brought up his cousin Cameron on Friday night.  Emily stayed until Sunday and Cameron is going to spend over a week with us.  Over this weekend we learned that Abraham LOVES Cameron and he is going to learn how to share his toys. 

Aunt Emily and Cameron arrived right at bedtime Friday night.  Brahm's plan for Saturday morning was to watch Doodlebops with Aunt Emmy while eating Trix on the couch.  He woke up with only 15 minutes of Doodlebops left on TV, but his plan worked out!

For lunch Grammy and Grandpop came!  We ordered pizza and Grammy and Grandpop were able to read a few stories before naptime. 

Brahm very much did not want to go to sleep, because he wanted to go to Knoebels.  He has learned very early in life that visitors=trips to Knoebels!

Brahm also went on his favorites: "the cars" "the ball pit" "the firetrucks" and "the ostrich and tractor ride."  I even have pictures but blogger is being dumb about uploading them, so enjoy the ones I posted. 

Brahm is so funny about the rides though.  When you look at him on them, most of the time, he has no expression.  I have decided he has inherited this from his Uncle Glen.  Uncle Steve dubbed Uncle Glen "the little lost boy" because he never smiled for school pictures.  Uncle Steve would say Glen's picture would fit on the side of a milk carton. Brahm shares this trait.
  Despite the bored looks, he will talk about Knoebels for weeks.  Brahm has already started picking out rides he wants to go on with Rose and Cora when they visit. 

Tonight Cameron helped Jeremy and I put Brahm to bed.  He loved it!

When we asked if he wanted to give Cameron a Good Night hug, he attacked her with hugs and even gave her a kiss.  He loves his big cousin!

Fun Day with Daddy and Mommy

Today we took Abraham to Knoebels.  He has been there multiple times per year in his short two years, but this is the first time he went with just Mom and Dad.  Last night during his bath, Jeremy told Abraham that we might go to Knoebels tomorrow.  This morning, as soon as I went into his room to get him out of the crib, Brahm says, "Time to go to Brahm's Kia?"  I asked him where he was going, but he didn't tell me.  Then when I changed his diaper, he said, "Put diaper on, put fire truck 'jammies on, put socks and shoes on, go to Knoebels."  At least he wanted to be properly dressed.  The three hours we made him wait, were pretty torturous for him.

Here are some pictures of the fun:

Doesn't he look like a little germaphobe?

I sent this one to Pop Pop, apologizing for the wrong color.

Despite the serious faces, he did enjoy each ride.  I'm sure this trip will give him much to talk about until we can go back again.

Super sweet story

Brahm's first reaction to hearing he's having a little sister: "nope!"

But going downstairs after his nap today, he smiles and says "Mommy" looks at my belly and says "Anna".

Food

I'm not sure how we did it, but Brahm likes Reese's peanut butter cups AND celery. This will be hard to duplicate.

A Colorful Day

This weekend I decided to do some Easter activities with Brahm since Jeremy is working next weekend.  When I was shopping for Brahm's Easter Basket, we went past the egg dying kits and I decided to buy one.  I know Brahm probably wouldn't have cared if he didn't know what egg dying was for a few more years, but I thought it would be fun.  Yesterday, I boiled 8 eggs and figured that would be enough- to eat and to dye with a 2 year old.

Now, the directions to make colored water are pretty easy..except when it says add 1/2c warm water and 3 tbs vinegar to tablets (except pink and purple).  Um, excuse me, Egg Dying company, but how are you supposed to tell the difference between the purple tablet and the blue tablet? And the pink tablet and the orange tablet? (This one sounds easier than it is).  I guessed wrong with the pink, but it didn't seem to matter.  Next year, vinegar to all!

Watching eggs turn colors

They sure take a long "bath"

All Done!

I told Brahm that after his nap he could put stickers on his eggs.  So as soon as he woke up, he asked to add stickers.  He certainly doesn't forget what you tell him.

After the eggs were decorated, I decided to make cupcakes.  I found this recipe in my Cooking Light Magazine.  Nope, it's not healthy, it's an advertisement for Jello.

Tie Dye Fruity Cupcakes

Jeremy likes fruit and jello, Brahm and I like cupcakes, sounds yummy, right?

Brahm wanted to help.

He loved seeing the batter change colors!

Brahm told me what color to choose next

The finished product

Now, while I was removing the cupcakes from the pan, I tasted a Lime flavored crumb...it was horrible! Super fruity and super sweet.  I reread the recipe, yup, I put the whole 3oz box of jello in the batter, not half the box like ingredient list told me too.  Oops.  I didn't really care, because well, fruity cupcakes don't sound that great to me and Brahm had a lot of fun baking with me anyway.  After I cleaned up he asked me to "play baking" again.

Jeremy and Brahm tried the cupcakes for dessert to night.  Jeremy said there was nothing wrong with them, they were just super fruity.  Brahm devoured his.  I'll just let the boys eat them, I guess!