Happy Birthday, Briggs!

To our sweet little bug on his first birthday:

Briggs-I cannot believe you are already a year!  I thought Ben’s first year flew by, but that was nothing compared to how quickly your year has come and gone.  You are, without a doubt, the sweetest, calmest, most easy going child we could ever have imagined.  You are truly amazing.  You have the sweetest laugh and a megawatt smile.  You have the deepest blue eyes with mile long eye lashes that make your mommy very jealous.  You’re getting really good at standing on your own now and like to use the bathtub as your favorite place to practice (and give your mommy a huge scare).  You still aren’t walking and no matter how hard I try, you will only say “dada.”  You were a little tough the first 3 months, but the past 9 have seriously been a breeze.  You love your brother and I’m pretty sure you’re in awe of what he does.  You love to follow him around and play with what he’s playing with.  When Daddy gets home you go bonkers and can’t get in his arms fast enough.  You like to reach out for certain friends to hold you, but most of all-you love your momma.  You are a momma’s boy for sure.  Your nickname should be koala bear instead of bug because you are always on my hip.  I’m not going to lie though-I absolutely love it.  Unlike with Ben I’ve had the privilege of being with you just about 24/7 for the past 365 days.  You light up my world and when you and Ben are laughing together it’s almost more than I can handle.  I was so worried before you arrived that I wouldn’t love you as much as I loved Ben.  God does amazing things to our hearts.  I can’t imagine our house without our little brown haired, blue eyed bug crawling around making funny noises.  Daddy and I spent lots of time talking about what you would look like when you arrived.  About a million times Daddy would say, “he’ll look just like Ben.”  Um ya, about that!  You came out on your own terms, on your own time and from that moment showed us that you are not just Ben’s brother, but you are your own adorable little self from your looks to your personality.  I am so excited to see what amazing things you do this next year (and the 100 after).  We love you so much sweet boy.  Thank you for being the perfect fit for our family.

Love,

Mommy

Happy Birthday, Briggs!

yummy cake!!!

Ben had school today, but I didn’t want Briggs’ day to pass by without something fun so I scheduled a playdate at our favorite McDonalds and we had about 10 other moms and their kiddos join us for some pancakes and playtime (birthday parties are next week).  We took over the play area! Briggs is trying to climb the stairs of the piano slide in this picture.

Last week we had Briggs’ one year pictures taken.  I love so many, I just don’t know which one is my favorite!

this is probably my favorite

My Ben

Since it’s about to be all about baby brother’s big day, I thought I’d devote this post to our first little booger.  Ben-you are an amazing little guy.  I’ve never known someone who makes me want to pull out all my hair one second and then snuggle and kiss you the next.  You are stubborn, strong willed and hysterically funny.  Here are some tidbits about my favorite 2 year old:

~You are obsessed with anything cars.  And I mean obsessed.  Trucks, cars, trains…anything with a motor.  Cars are definitely your favorite.  You can spend hours lining up your cars and racing them over and over on anything.  You also line them up in rows.  Today I walked by the stairs and you had placed two cars on the outside of each stair as high as you can reach.  And the cars from the movie Cars take the cake.  Whenever we go anywhere you say, “maybe they’ll have Mater.”

~You love to help fix things and build.  Whenever we get any tool out, you run to your workbench and grab a bunch to help.  It’s so cute.  But you’re not a fan of the saws we have.  As soon as they turn on you freak out.

~You’ve got your mama’s sweet tooth and could eat sugar all day.  We have had many meltdowns lately trying to explain that we don’t eat candy for breakfast. 

~You hate to get water in your eyes.  Washing your hair is a beating, even with a washcloth covering your face.  You also don’t like water anywhere on your face.

~You currently enjoy roaring like a dragon or dinosaur.  Some of your friends don’t really appreciate you doing this in their faces.

~You say everything is your “favorite!” and get really excited.

~If you don’t want to eat something you tell us it’s too spicy and push it aside.

~You could run all day if we let you.  You have boundless energy that it tires me to watch you.

~You LOVE the Sprouts network.  I mean LOVE it!  A channel devoted to preschoolers 24/7-ya we kind of like it too :) You love Sporticus from Lazy Town, Caliou and Bearenstein Bears.

~We’ve had a lot of rain lately and you ran into school the other day and told Mrs. Wilkins that “we have weather” outside.  Pretty cute.

~You like making messes, but hate to be dirty or sticky.

~You do not like singing unless it is on your terms.  Many times if we start singing you tell us to stop.

~You’ve got some funky toe nails like your momma-sorry babe

~You don’t really like your picture taken and put up a pretty big fight like your daddy.

~Your favorite part of brushing your teeth is pretending to gurgle and spit like daddy does.

~You sleep ALL OVER your bed.  Your head is rarely anywhere near your pillow when you wake up.  Sometimes you fall out of bed because of this.

~We’ve had lots of birthday parties lately and you LOVE birthdays, but think they’re all for you.  You think that the gift we give a friend is just a gift for you to play with at that friend’s house. 

~You hate to flip over or spin with your feet off the floor.

~you like puzzles and drawing on the apps on our phones

~If you get in trouble now you try to counter with, “but mom I was trying to give you a hug”-this scares the crap out of me that you’re pulling this at 2!

~Thanks to watching Shrek once you picked up the word stupid and know you’re not supposed to say, but think it’s fun to say or whisper.

~You adore Cameron, an older sister of one of our playgroup friends.  You ‘talk’ to her on the phone and always ask if we’ll see her at playdates.  The few times we do see her if she’s off of school or it’s the afternoon you light up.  You spent the entire time at the park last week following her around.

~Favorite foods: muffins, fruit snacks, cheese its, goldfish, pirate’s booty, cheese (and anything with sugar)

~You are a great big brother.  Yes you have many times where you’re not the nicest or won’t share, but you look out for Briggs.  You hug and kiss him all the time lately.  You help change his diapers and love to go wake him up from naps.  You’re really good at being quiet when he sleeps for the most part. 

Ben, we love you so much.  You crack us up and have the funniest sense of humor.  You keep us on our toes and give the best back rubs.  We love, love, love you little man!

gymnastics and other ramblings

Have I mentioned before that we have the world’s best Grammy?  We do, we REALLY do.  And for a million reasons we do.  One of which is her generosity and love for these two kids of ours.  I mentioned to her that I needed to find a way to get Ben in gymnastics on the phone one day and then a few days later there was a check in our mailbox with gymnastics in the memo line!  Love her!  We’ve had 4 weeks of gymnastics and it’s a HIT!  Because Ben goes to a ‘mommy and me’ class, Briggs can’t be on the floor with us so we go Thursday nights when Daddy can hang with the little guy.  When we started, the teacher told me to expect Ben NOT to do anything the other kids were doing and just run around and try everything.  She had that kid pegged!  Each week he’s gotten a little better at joining the class, but still spends most of the time bouncing off the walls.  I think the rings are his favorite, but the giant wall of mirrors is a big hit as well.  He doesn’t like to flip over, but loves rolling on his side like a log.  3 of the 4 times B has come, too and sits with Briggs in the ‘viewing’ area.  Sometimes you can hear Briggs singing when the music is turned down so Coach Susan can give us directions . 

 

He loves these two trampolines!

His favorite mirror!

B wasn’t with us this night, but he sits in that viewing area (or puts Briggs on his shoulders and walks to the windows where you can see the older kids practice down below) while Mommy and Ben play.

The one thing he does SO well is listen when she tells them to come to the red chairs!

We want to try to take the boys out to a quick dinner after gymnastics each time if we’re all together, but only managed that once so far.

Thanks Grammy for the sweet gift!  Ben will know who to thank when he puts that gold medal around his neck in 20 years.

 

I was going to do two posts, but I’m lazy (hence the lack of posts lately) so here’s the other ramblings…

Today we met B for a picnic lunch at the park.  After he left to go back to work the boys played.  Ben is scared of the swings, but Briggs LOVES them and loves having his big brother push him even more!

While Mommy suffered through round 3 of a stomach virus, Briggs enjoyed some whole milk!

He fell asleep like this the other night!  This was another ‘I’m not going to nap’ day.

This baby can eat.  For dinner last night he ate 1/4 of a chicken breast (and would have had more, but when we got to it, it was too overcooked so it got trashed), 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich (in place of the chicken), scalloped potatoes, pasta, puffs, yogurt melts and an oreo to top it off.  I’m sure he would have kept eating if we had let him. 

I took this picture of Ben napping (!!!) with his eyes open!

The boys found B’s XBox controllers upstairs.  I can see all 3 of them playing games together in the near future.

there just aren’t words…

He fell asleep on the curve of the couch with half his body hanging off and his nose buried in the crack.

~love~

Since the plague has camped it’s sweet little self in our house, Ben’s been loving his doctor kit.  Drs. Ben and Briggs gave Daddy a thorough examination

He was so proud he got all these cars lined up on the ramp.

Someone is super excited to help his big bro ‘drive’ at the grocery store now (and even more excited to share a cookie in the bakery dept)

11 Months!

 

No!  Nope!  Not Possible!  Are you really only a ‘baby’ for another month?  Weren’t you JUST born?  Sweet Briggs you are amazing.  We are so in love with you and adore your sweet personality! 

You still smile ALL.THE.TIME!  And you look just like your daddy!  You are so laid back and go with the flow.  And your plug…your little buddy.

You are wearing 12 months clothes most of the time, but still wear 9 month sized depending on the weather (Ben had lots of cold weather 9 month clothes).  And as of last week you’re wearing size 5 shoes.

Your stinkin’ teeth!  You are up to 5 now and we have felt every single one.  We did not have this issue with Ben like we do with you and because of that you got your first taste of whiskey because nothing else was helping.  You currently have one more trying to poke it’s way through.

You love taking baths.  We ditched the round seat because you kept finding ways to get out of it or try to tip it over.  You like sitting on your own much better.  You’ve also spent quite a few baths lately exploring your boy parts.  You find it fascinating!

You are a ladies’ man!  Our friend Sydnee is in love with you and you love her.  You enjoy our playdates and seeing your friends.  You and Camille like to steal each other’s pacifiers and eat the bigger kids food.

You can EAT!  You won’t touch baby food anymore and will eat just about anything we put in front of you (even if it’s a little spicy).  You also eat HUGE amounts of food when you do eat.  You’re still nursing.  Mommy’s had the stomach bug and has been pretty dehydrated and not making milk.  We tried to give you whole milk in a sippy cup and you wanted NOTHING of it.  I’m very worried about how you’ll do being weaned next month (or now if that’s how mother nature rolls). 

Thanks to all the recent doctor visits, I know that you weigh 22 lbs.  And Mommy finally moved you out of your infant carrier and into a big boy carseat.  Ben’s not a huge fan of you having one and has told me “Briggs doesn’t like that seat, he wants his orange one back.”

Mommy is still #1, but you light up when Daddy walks in the house.  You love playing with him and love playing with your big brother even more.  You’re always grabbing his toys and putting them in your mouth.  You generally take 2 naps during the day and sleep about 12 hours waking up once during that time.

You crawled before your brother, but Ben was walking by 11 months.  I am pretty confident you will hit your bday and not be walking.  You just don’t care.  You love to crawl and pull up on everything, but have no desire to walk holding my hands.  And why should you when you know Mommy will hold you all day long!

Along with not walking, you’re not into talking.  You love to sing and babble and throw out “dada” whenever I say “mama”, but that’s it.  I am convinced you have a speech delay and need speech therapy.  Daddy says you’re just fine (but we both agree you’re perfect).

Sweet Love Bug, you have no idea how much you’re loved!  You have an enchanting smile and the deepest blue eyes that suck everyone in.  We just love, love, love you!!!

Ben’s mini vacation

Last weekend (and by last I mean the one prior this past one), Boots and Gramma came to see the boys and stay the night (it wouldn’t be a visit if they weren’t in and out in less than 24 hours ).  B and I got to go enjoy a kidless dinner for a change!  Then Sunday after Boots finished his 101 chores we gave him, they stole Ben and took him back to Austin for a few days.  To say he had fun would be an understatement.  He was spoiled and just played and played.  The kid loves those two.  He got to enjoy his first lemonade at the park with Nicholas and got his own ice cream cone, too!  Thanks to modern technology and Aunt Tina, I got to stay up to date with pictures.  Def helps make the time away easier.  Ben was an angel there…figures.  We met Gramma about half way on Wednesday and Ben started sobbing when I put him in my car and not Gramma’s.  Thanks Gramma and Boots for all the fun!  Ben misses you two so much and can’t wait to go back.

 

At Gramma’s we eat a dorito in style

Train fun

Nice look kid!

Watching the Goodnight Show in bed with Boots

I found a Lightning McQueen phone the night before he left and put it in his car bag with some new toys.  Mommy must talk on the phone A LOT because he would spend time calling me throughout his visit and using his phone to take pictures!

Helping Aunt Tina put together his Car Wash toy he snagged while down there

He loves this toy!

Serious driver at Toys R Us

What’s this you see?  Ben asleep in his own room ALONE?  Too bad that didn’t happen when he came back home.

Briggs was more than happy to see his big brother.  He really missed him (maybe we did, too).  It was SO quiet around here without him!  Crazy quiet!

Now Briggs must have wanted Ben to know that just because he’s home, Briggs is still the center of attention.  I was changing Ben’s diaper Wed evening and Briggs crawled in.  I saw a coin in his mouth so I scooped him up to grab it.  As I stick my finger in his mouth he swallows and the coin is GONE!  B had just walked in and I grabbed Briggs and raced to Acute Kids.  After two hours and this sweet little picture:

(there are bones under all that fat)

They found NOTHING!  I know they thought I was a complete nut, but I kept telling them that I saw something.  So they send us home and as I’m getting into bed I find this coin on the floor next to where I scooped up Briggs!

I’m NOT losing it!  How he found a Canadian dollar coin I’ll never know.  Grams calls him a slot machine now   Glad my baby was clear, but it would have been nice to find that damn coin before we left.

And now the reason this post is SOOOO late.  Friday morning we were getting dressed for a playdate and Ben was super fussy and whiny.  As I not so nicely asked him what was wrong he walks over and give me a hug and throws up all over me.  Thanks kid!  So he was sick Friday, Mommy Saturday and Daddy caught the bug Sunday.  Being two years old affords you the ability to fight that stomach bug in 12 hours while those of us in our 30’s took a few more days.  Very happy he beat it so quickly and our Love Bug was spared.  The Mahrers don’t want it to get warm out, but man are we tired of all these illnesses!!!  YUCK!