Life...

When life isn't quite as fair as we think it should be, we feel truly lucky that we have Brecken's smile to remind us daily just how blessed we are. I have been saying this for months, but he has had such significant changes in such a short period of time, that it is hard to keep up! He is growing and changing each and every day and it is a blast to watch.

Two months ago, our nightly routine was for Brecken to have a meltdown each day starting around 4:45. I would be in the kitchen cooking dinner and he would be clinging to my legs, crying over my every move, and completely unable to entertain himself despite the fact that he could successfully do it at any other time of the day. This brought great stress on my part and Eric typically walked in the door to TWO family members almost in tears :( We recently moved a small (Brecken sized) table and chairs into our kitchen and I set it up with a bowl, spoon, cup, plate, and little shopping basket. This has been LIFE CHANGING! He absolutely LOVES to play kitchen. When I'm cooking, I'll talk to him about what I am stirring and he can now sit at his chair and stir his spoon in his little bowl. When I pour something from a measuring cup, I look over to see him "pouring" from his cup. I love it! And what I love most is that nightly temper tantrums have been eliminated from our daily routines. Hallelujah!!

For the most part, if Brecken can put something into a bag, take out of a box, stack, build, organize or sort, he is SET. He seems to stay focused on the same thing for several minutes at a time and continues to be an over-analyzer like both of us. He studies everything and is very calculated in his actions. He also still loves his books and has his favorites that we read hundreds of times each week :)

He is big into copying things around him right now, which I find fascinating (and scary at the same time, as I now have to be careful!). Brecken remains true to his strong talking abilities-There is hardly ever a quiet moment! He says "beeee beeeee" (beep beep) when he's on his ride-on toys, "nanana" (banana) whenever he sees the bowl where bananas usually live in our kitchen, and is even saying full sentences with "bye bye mama!" Remember, a sentence = "a group of words that gives a complete thoughts" so by those standards, he talks in sentences! Hahaha! He tries to say a lot of words that we have yet to figure out and my only logic is that English is not his first language. I swear he somehow picked up Swahili or some other language. Whatever it is, he clearly understands EXACTLY what he is communicating to us and it is our problem in not being able to make it out. We are trying!!

When asked, he can point to his nose, eye, ear, mouth, teeth, tongue, hair, shirt, pants, socks, and piggies (toes). He is still obsessed with his shoes and always seems to know where they are in the house. If someone mentions "shoe" in a conversation, he will get up and immediately go to the location where his are stored. He also says "moo", "baa", and a grunting sound for cows, sheep, and pigs, respectively. He usually does the pig sound for ducks, birds, goats, and all other animals he sees in stories that he doesn't know the correct sound for as well, so still some work to be done in sorting them all out:)

B is doing great at daycare! His excitement starts as soon as we pull in the driveway! He starts shrieking with excitement as we pull in, tries jumping out of the car seat while I'm unbuckling him, smiles while he knocks on the door himself, and typically wiggles out of my arms the second we're inside to let the playing begin. He went through a few days where he wasn't into the "give mommy a goodbye kiss" routine, but thankfully, he has given into that :) He now will give me a quick kiss, then turns away and says "bye bye" while waving and smiling. With that, I am on my way, knowing that he is well loved in someone else's care and having more fun than he ever thinks he has with me!!! Ms. Lisa will be starting her maternity leave in the upcoming weeks, and Brecken will be very sad to not be with her and her girls each day. He will get to spend a week with each of his grandmas though and 3 weeks at a Kindercare where he will make new friends and play with new toys! He is well into his routine with Ms. Lisa and I am hoping that his many transitions in the upcoming month will go just as smoothly. He will be excited to get back to Ms. Lisa and her family in November.

Oh, and Brecken went poop in the potty today! He has been waking up from naps and occasionally even in the morning completely DRY, which I know is a sign that kids could potentially be ready to work on potty training. He also pulls on his diapers sometimes when he has something in it, and when we ask if he needs a diaper change, he promptly goes back to his room and stands where we keep our diapers. Since he gives the very clear indications of doing his business (red face, grunting, no movement), we decided to put him on the toilet and read a few books this morning. Lo and behold there was a small present for us when Brecken got up!!!! Crazy! Back in the day, it seemed like kids potty trained earlier and today it seems like doctors give 18 months as a ball park just to start trying. He seems so little to me, but we'll continue to follow his cues and see where that gets us. There is absolutely no pressure or pushing on our end for now, just testing things out :)

Again, we are blessed to have this beautiful little boy in our lives. I can't remember what life was like before him, but I know that it is waaaaaaaay better now :)

A few videos...

Brecken speaking his Swahili.... Perhaps someone can translate for us??

Mr. Handyman....

Playing in kitchen...