Happy Birthday Tim!!!!

Twenty-nine years ago today one of the most wonderful, caring, sweetest, most amazing people I have ever met was born. He was, and still is, a joy and a source of pride for his family.

Little baby Tim!

Kisses from his momma!

Almost six years ago we happened to met at the bar where I was working. Obviously I thought he was cute, made sure he knew it, and managed to flirt my way into him asking for my number.
Almost 5 years ago we ran to the Colorado Springs courthouse for, what has to be, the shortest, cheapest, least frilly wedding you could imagine. $16...I'm sure my dad really wishes that was all we wanted! :)

A little over 3 years ago we finally exchanged our vows in front of our family and friends. It was one of the happiest day of my life.


Two years ago we welcomed our very first child, a little boy, who is lucky enough to have the best daddy in the entire world.

I love my daddy!

Eight weeks ago we found out we were going to have another little baby. He has pampered me, put up with my weird cravings, and listened to me complain for days on end about my morning sickness. Not once has he made me feel like I was complaining too much, or just needed to "suck it up." He's picked up the slack while I've been so tired that I can barely lift my head.

Lucky doesn't begin to explain how we all feel about him. I just hope that he knows just how much everyone in his life appreciates him and loves him.

Happy Birthday, Tim!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Birthday Brenden!!!

To my sweet, funny, most amazing first born little boy: 
I still cannot believe that you are 2 years old. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on our porch at the house in Colorado, worried that you would never make your entrance into the world. Just 2 days later you arrived and our lives were forever changed.
                                                   Hello world!

You greeted the world with your eyes wide open, seeming to want to soak in the world that was so new to you. Your daddy was instantly crazy about you and you brought out a side of him I didn't know existed. Suddenly he knew how to change diapers, how to burp you, how to hold you without looking like he was afraid. He was instantly a "daddy" and he was, and still is, an amazing one.

Daddy and his mini-me.

Your grandparents were wrapped around your little finger from the moment they walked into the room. They ooohed and ahhhed and proclaimed you were the most perfect baby ever, which of course, you were. That first week it was hard to get a chance to hold you unless you were hungry.

Sweet, sleeping baby.

You were a very calm baby. You cried when you were dirty, hungry or tired and nothing more. Even when you started teething, the only symptom you had was drooling. Lots and lots of drooling. But oh my...did you eat. In the first few weeks you gained weight like a champ, going from long and skinny to covered in tons of chubby folds. I think half the weight went to your cheeks. People would stop us while we were out and most of their comments included "Those cheeks!"                     I don't think they could get any more pinchable!

The only thing you really hated was tummy time. You would scream and scream until we saved you. At every well baby check up we were scolded for not doing it enough, but I'm sure those doctors wouldn't have been able to let you be that upset for very long, either. That didn't stop you from hitting your milestones. You learned how to sit unsupported at 4 months. (Thanks for the help, Anthony!) You could stand, holding onto the couch, at 5 months. You rolled from your tummy to your back at 5 1/2 months. You pulled up at 8 months, a full month and a half before you began crawling, which was the only thing that took a little longer. Of course, at 23 lbs you had a LOT to move around. And then, the day of your 1st birthday party, 3 days before you turned 1, you started walking and never looked back.

I didn't realize how much I liked that outfit! :)

Watch me go!

The most amazing and funny thing about you is your personality. You have never met a stranger and have no problems walking up to anyone, young or old, and saying "hi!" You have been handed cell phones and lap tops by people who could not resist your charm. Women will stop us in a store, even follow us from the parking lot, to tell us how cute you are. Men have stopped, especially when you were a baby, amazed at how big you were. "He'll be a linebacker for sure!"

They may not be completely off. You are crazy about all sports. Football, golf, baseball, tennis...you love them all. You have a set of mini golf clubs and can already swing better than I can. One look at your baseball tee and you knew what to do. "Down, set, hut!" is one of your favorite games. You are going to be an honor roll jock! :)

Batter up!

Your intelligence amazes us every day. We only have to show you how to do something once and you will always remember it. You refused to use a spoon or fork until you figured out how to hold it like an adult, which only took a few tries. You picked up on baby sign language very quickly and by 9 months you could sign AND say "more," "please," and "thank you." At 2 years old you know several words, phrases, shapes, letters, and numbers. You enjoy reading and get so excited when you learn something new and we cheer for you.

:)

You have more love to give in your tiny little body than I ever thought was possible. You have love not just for your family, but for our friends, random people in the Walmart check out line, blonde haired little girls, and any and all animals. Most especially our dogs, Romeo and Riley, although I'm pretty sure Riley is your favorite. You actually learned to say "Riley" long before you learned to say many other words.

You and your Riley.

Every day I am so thankful to have you in my life. You are constantly making me laugh. You are constantly making me proud. To say I am lucky to be your mommy would be an understatement. My entire world would not be complete without you.

My favorite little man.

I love you so much and I am looking forward to every new skill, smile and achievement in the years to come. Thank you for being my wonderful little boy.

Love, Mommy

Morning sickness...yeah right.

Try ALL DAY SICKNESS. Most days I'm doing well if I can just make sure Brenden is fed, changed when he's dirty, and doesn't throw anything at the TV. Getting on the computer? HA! That would require sitting up straight and actually moving muscles. I do get to read my emails and other things on my cell phone but that's about as much as I can do with the energy I have.

I've also been dealing with a corpus luteum cyst, which was VERY painful. I actually ended up going to the ER on Labor Day, which was not fun. I was there for 7 hours, from 10:30 pm to 5:30 am, and was surrounded by people who thought they had the swine flu. The doctor that released me had no clue what was going on but the ultrasound technician was AWESOME. She showed me the baby, the heartbeat (166 bpm...fabulous!), and even printed out pictures for me. It was just a fuzzy little peanut but it was there! She also showed me the cyst, which was about the size of a marble (bigger than the baby!) and she said it looked like it had ruptured. It's felt better since then, but I'm still sore. Not sure if it's still from the cyst or if it's from lifting my 34 lb toddler and pulling muscles.

So much else has gone on! I still need to blog about our fabulous time in Chicago. We'll be moving soon...to a cul de sac!!!! :) Brenden has been changing like crazy. He's grown. He's learned new things. His personality changes daily.

Just a quick bragging session. Tim posted a video (that I took with my phone, while driving...shhh don't tell!) of Brenden counting. He will randomly start counting throughout the day, sometimes even counting backwards. We love it! He also recognizes the numbers when he sees them on TV or in a book, which I think is super cool. We're working on his alphabet, both being able to recognize letters and saying them. We've tried using flashcards, which is how we taught him his numbers, but for some reason it wasn't working with letters. I found a mat that I had bought a few months back with the entire alphabet on it that is supposed to be for coloring. Somehow that was the trick. In 2 days he went from looking at us like we were crazy when we asked what "A" was to knowing more than half of the letters. His favorites being "F," "L," "M," and "W."

Like most kids his age, he is picking up new words every day. Some are extremely clear, like "apple" and "juice." Others sound so similar that we have to ask him to point to what he wants, like "poptart" and "football," which somehow sound exactly alike. :)

My most favorite thing that he can do is point to where the baby is and say "Hi baby!" I'm really looking forward to when the baby starts kicking really well to see if he'll feel it. I bet he freaks out just like my friends Anne-Marie and Andi did when Brenden kicked them! :)

Hopefully I'll be feeling a little more like myself in the next few weeks. We have a lot going on...like Brenden turning 2!!! Where did the last 2 years go?!?