Lauren at 2

Bragging on Brenden

I realized that I've typed a lot of words about the wonderful things Lauren is doing, but haven't said much about Brenden and his recent accomplishments. He loves learning and relishes in new information, just like Lauren, although he does get upset when he doesn't understand something immediately. (Which is just like me. Poor guy.) It just took us a little longer to figure out how to explain things so that they make sense.

He knows all of his letters, upper and lower case, and the sounds that they make. He loves to have us read to him and is starting to read as well. He's also doing great with his handwriting and has figured out how to spell small words, his favorites being my name and his dad's name. He likes to draw, especially happy things (anything with a smiley face) and is starting to recognize shapes in objects, which is making it a lot easier for him. 

Brenden drew us all as "happy trees".
Clockwise from top left: Brenden, Lauren, Tim, me. :)

It's starting to get easier to calm him down, which is a huge relief. He's also become extremely protective of his sister and plays really well with her, at least when she's doing something he wants to do. Ha!

He's also learning a lot of new skills, like riding his bike (with training wheels, which was scary for him for some reason) and how to swing. He's also become a fantastic batter at t-ball, correct hitting stance and everything, although he still isn't a fan of not getting the ball every time its hit. We're working on it!

I am so very very proud of him and how far he has come in just this past year! I cannot believe he'll actually start pre-K in September. Where did my little butter ball baby go?!

We're Off To See the Wizard!

I don't get much one on one time with Brenden anymore, so when Lauren won tickets to see The Wizard of Oz in Bartlesville on Tuesday (Thank you everyone!) I was excited to take him to his very first musical. We talked about what we would see, how the wicked witch wasn't really wicked, she was just pretending, and that it was like watching a movie with real people.

In the days before the show if he wasn't acting right I would just say "Wizard of Oz..." and he would immediately straighten up. He was just as excited to go as I was! I will admit that I was a little nervous about how he would behave but I figured since the tickets were free and we got fantastic seats that it was worth a shot.

My handsome little man and me.

As soon as we walked in he was ready to find his seat. You would think I was handing him a $100 bill and not just a ticket. Waiting for the ropes to open almost had him jumping out of his shoes. When we finally got settled in, luckily next to some very nice people who did not seem at all concerned about sitting by a 4 year old, he was upset because the show hadn't started. Of course this gave him plenty of time to ask me about every little thing in the theater... "Why do we have assigned seats? Why does that little girl have a wand and I don't? What is up in the ceiling? Where is my wand? Why do the seats move when I stand up? Mommy, I need a wand. When is the show going to start? Where is my costume? I don't think I can watch this without a wand." And on and on...

It only took 5 minutes once the show started before he was hooked. During the very first song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", he looked at me with eyes as big as saucers and said in an awed whisper, "This is my favorite!"

There were a few iffy moments, like when the wicked witch was announced with a bright flash and loud bang (even I was startled!) or when a creepy new character walked on stage. I tried to let him know when something was coming on, like the lion or the tin man, so he wouldn't be surprised, and that helped a lot.

During intermission I had to promise him more than once that no one would take our seats if we got up. He was not ready to go yet! It took one of the nice guys sitting next to us telling him he would save our seats before he would agree to take a bathroom break. The entire way down the hall he skipped and sang, "We're off to see the Wizard! The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!" I could not stop smiling. :)

The show started at 7:30 pm so I knew he would be tired, but he was a trooper. Only once or twice he asked me if I had a pillow so he could lay down and when he said he was ready to go home he admitted it was only because he was scared of the witch.

I'm very happy that we made it through the entire show. He hugged my legs and beamed at me in between clapping and cheering for the actors taking their bows. He excitedly told my parents all about the mean witch and the funny little dog and the tornado and the Wizard and Dorothy and the lion. I never thought he was going to go to sleep!

It was a wonderful night and something I will never forget. I'll definitely be taking him to another play, hopefully soon.

And yes...I did get him that wand...

A Little Piece of My Own History

I think one of the hardest things for a family member to do after a loved one dies is to sort through their things. Every scrap of paper, every folded sock, every dusty box holds a different memory that can make you burst out laughing or break your heart all over again.

This past weekend, Tim and I took some time to go to my grandma Halter's house to pick up the curio cabinets and lawn furniture that my mom said were ours and to see if there was anything else we would like to keep. I mentioned to Tim, while sorting through the stacks of jewelry that my grandma owned, that it felt as though we were stealing. When I repeated this to my mom she said that a lot of the family had felt the same way. We know that grandma would want her things to stay with someone, but we also knew just how important every little thing was to her.

It wasn't difficult to find things that I wanted to keep. There was some beautiful cut crystal pieces that I loved, as well as a chair that I thought looked really cool. I was drawn to a metal jewelry box and gold mirror in the spare bedroom. Brenden became the new owner of a few cap guns and Lauren has a new Lissi doll. We found a few things for our kitchen and Tim was intrigued by the clock in the bedroom.

The Lissi doll with her "adoption" papers...all in German.

(Side note: The clock is actually one that my parents bought in Germany when we lived there in the early 1980's. My mom said that they had a friend whose family still lived on the communist side of Berlin and she was able to get them two different clocks. We aren't sure who the maker is, but I'm really glad that we have it now.)

Of course, there were also odds and ends that will always remind me of my grandparents. The trivet from the kitchen, as well as the tiny Tupperware cups that I always thought were so neat. A Tom Mix Museum sign and the hand painted Buddha that my grandma made long ago. A few old photographs, including one of my grandma that was made into a calendar, and the green hat with a white feather that is one of my favorite memories of my grandpa.

One of the last things that I convinced Tim to move was a side table from the den. I thought it would work really well in our eat in kitchen, which will now be more of a sitting room. (We never used that table. By the way, Justin it's waiting for you!) When I mentioned to my mom that we were bringing it home she was much more excited than I expected. Without knowing it, I had chosen a piece of furniture that my grandparents bought right after they moved into their house in Dewey, which was at least 50 years ago.

I feel very lucky to be trusted with these tiny pieces of my family's history. I feel blessed that every day I will be able to glance at that silly hat and smile. More than anything, I feel a sense of peace knowing that these things are with me.

This and That

There wasn't a HUGE event happening this week and nothing crazy notable happened, but I still wanted to remember a few things that went on. Much easier to do in list form.

• Brenden is doing wonderful with his potty training. We still have accidents, of course, but they are pretty rare. He's also doing great at night, usually waking up once between 4:30 am and 5:30 am for a quick trip and then sleeping until after 7 am. He loves to flush and tells the contents "bye!" He also has no problem using public restrooms as long as we take one shoe off and take one leg all the way out. (REMEMBER THIS, MOM! No more pee on the jeans, thank you very much.)
• He's obsessed with Diego, which isn't so bad. He's learning about new animals and maybe he'll pick up some Spanish, too. He has a Spider Man watch which is now his direct line to Diego. If you've ever seen the show, Diego has a watch that his sister calls him on so that's where he got that. He's also a huge fan of Rescue Pack, Diego's helpful backpack, and has decided his little bag is now his personal Rescue Pack. Hopefully he doesn't expect it to turn into a raft or bicycle or something. He would be a little disappointed. He spends most of his time in the car calling Diego to "help him" do...um...something. I haven't figured that part out.
• Riley is doing a ton better; finally wagging his tail and playing. The vet thinks that some laser treatment would do him good but I don't know much about it, yet. We're going to see how he does now that his pain medication is gone. Either way we have to get his skin problems under control. It's getting pretty annoying to all of us.
• Brenden has learned his last name and middle names, although he won't say his full name. The best part is hearing him say his middle names. "Micheal David!" complete with finger point, exactly like I say when he's in trouble. Hilarious!
• He's speaking much more clearly, although he still gets excited and resorts to babbling. He's a big fan of saying he's "tall" or telling me when something is "empty". His new phrase in the last few days has been, "Think, think, think. I have an idea!" He'll tap his temple with his index finger and then make the sign for having an idea. Oh my gosh, so funny. For some random reason he's also extremely fond of falling down or saying someone else has fallen down. The Olympics has given him a lot of chances to use that phrase. He's become a ham in front of the mirror which makes washing his hands a chore. I think we may need to cover it up for awhile.
• Apparently I've grown quite a bit in the last 2 weeks. Yesterday alone I heard the phrases "Wow! You're really looking pregnant!" and "You're really taking shape!" Um...may as well just say what you're thinking..."What's up, fatty!" I know that no one means anything rude. And seriously, I'm getting big. She sticks straight out in front, is a lot lower than Brenden ever was, and likes to lodge her feet and hands into my spine and push her back out. Not only does it cause me to look bigger, if not completely misshapen, but it also huuuuurts. I'm already losing sleep because of it so I'm ready to be done. Sigh...
• The best moment this week was watching him stretch and dance with the advanced girls at the dance studio. He actually did a few of the things right and made sure to tell the girls "Good job!" when they went to get a drink of water. He's going to be so sad when we aren't going back every week!

So those are my "things to remember" for this week. I know I'll appreciate it later since my brain retains information for about 10 minutes, if that. Yay for preggo brain!