Hot Choc-eeze

Our first week back in Minnesota after being in Iowa, Brecken was out of daycare the whole week because of fevers/ wheezing.  His second week back in Iowa, and on only his second day back at daycare, he was rushed to the ER because of a "blue lip" situation :(  Getting a call from anyone saying that my son is turning blue anywhere on his body is not a call I'd like to take again!  Throughout the two week period, he has been on a combination of oral steroids, antibiotics and breathing treatments, all of which we have been anxious to stop....  Brecken on steroids equated to a child we had never met in terms of temperament, patience that had yet to be tested in this capacity, and naps that were nonexistent amongst the jittery energy the medicines left his body with.  Ehhh.  We are down to only breathing treatments right now, so I am happy to say that we have our son back for the most part.  

With Brecken's breathing treatments, we have been associating them with a "moo-ie" (movie) to encourage him to sit through the treatment without interruption.  Our theory is working and he actually enjoys his breathing treatment- Especially because he gets to watch The Cat and the Hat while sitting through it. How sad is it that he can hold his own????

In other parts of Brecken's world, he sings the ABC's all the time. While his 20-month old version would certainly not pass any Kindergarten assessment tests by any stretch of the imagination, he enjoys practicing and we are proud.  He seems to have a daily request for "Patty Cake Patty Cake" and loves when we "ROLL it and PAT it... :)   "He also loves to practice zipping things and as long as someone starts it for him, he can successfully zip his coat and shirts up all by himself.... And back down again!  This turns into a fun game, even when we don't want it to.  Brecken is big into his pockets right now and makes announcements when anything is being put into said pockets...

• "Hi-yo my pocket."  (I am putting my cell phone into my pocket)
• "Gub pocket."  (My glove is in my pocket)
• "Nose yucky pocket."  (I am going to put my kleenex into my pocket)

I wouldn't say that we're overly excited about his next accomplishment, but Brecken can officially reach the light switches and turn the lights on.... and off.... and on.... and off.  When we ask him not to do it, he laughs at us and continues.  In the morning when he wakes up now, he sings the ABC's (only able to be recognized by tune) a few times, then gets himself out of bed to turn the lights on, then grabs books to take back to bed and read to himself.  If we leave him in there long enough to continue with his quiet time, we will hear his toy box open and his musical toys begin to play.  At night when we put him to bed, he sometimes gets up to turn his light back on for a few extra minutes of book reading.  That little stinker.... We've told the neighbors if they see the lights flicker on and off it doesn't mean a sign of distress..... Other than the distress of Eric and I as we try to get Brecken to listen as we say "LEAVE THE LIGHTS ALONE," everything is perfectly fine :)

Brecken tested out his crib for the first time in 4 months and within seconds of being set in there, he swung his leg over the rail and began to hoist himself over.  Again, confirming that he truly needs to be in his big boy bed and the crib wouldn't work for him anymore.

Brecken is talking all the time...  And I do mean ALL the time!  He knows that on weekends, Daddy drinks "Cot-tee" (coffee) and Mommy drinks "Hot-chee" (hot tea).  He springs new words on us all the time, with the newest one being "yucky."  If he picks something out of his nose, he hands it to us while saying "yucky."  If he eats something he doesn't like, he reports "yucky" while dramatically spooning it back off of his tongue.... We now officially need to start talking about manners before he pulls his "yucky" thing when we are guests in someone's house!!  If he is being silly about not wanting a kiss from Mommy, he rubs it off while saying "yucky."  We had gotten him a book at Christmas called Yummy Yucky and I think that is what inspired his current favorite word.

Last weekend, Brecken was kind enough to help Eric with the taxes....

Who knew that Daddy's calculator also doubles as a cell phone??  We had no idea!

Hanging out with cousins Michael & Julia....

Sitting on the lady bug together :)

After playing in the snow on Monday, we decided it would be best to come in for hot chocolate (which Brecken so lovingly refers to as "hot choc-eeze."  We also had some "mosh-moes" (marshmallows) and "cookies!"

Minnesota is definitely a winter wonderland!

In closing, I would like to share a photo that I found when going through my pictures tonight...... Here is a photo of the whole Gott Walker clan together at Underwater World in the Mall of America.  What a great day!!