The Thomas' Train: May need padded walls

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Saturday, August 23, 2014

Brayden at 2 1/2 years

Brayden

Age: 2 1/2 years
Height: 33 1/2 inches
Weight: 26 lbs
Clothes: 24 months and 2T
Diapers/Potty Training: size 4/not anytime soon (and I'm not nearly as stressed about this as I was with Landen)
Shoes: Toddler 8 wide

Brayden is probably one of the funniest children I have ever encountered. He is HILARIOUS and slightly odd... but totally in a good way!

There are things that he says and does of which all anyone can do is laugh or just sit totally perplexed in how to respond.

Brayden dances. to anything without prompt. even if the music is only in his head. especially when he thinks no one is looking. and by dance I mean, full on dancing... sometimes baby booty dancing, sometimes thug-walk dancing, sometimes reggae-sway dancing, and sometimes ring-around-the-rosy we all fall down dancing.
Brayden isn't interested in suggestions. If he is doing something and we tell him to do something else, he very calmly, without missing a beat or changing his tone simply said, "um... no" or "no want to" and then goes about his business.
He has ABSOLUTELY no sense of fear, in certain areas of his life... he's more than happy to free fall off just about anything regardless of what he may be landing on, he will run full on into a floor to ceiling window if he thinks there's a chance to "sky dive", he will climb to the top of ANYTHING without so much as a second thought, he will jump into a pool/ocean without fear of drowning or attempting to tread water with no one near him (despite being unable to swim) and then laugh as we race to get him.... but then there are a few things that scary the mess out of him, like car alarms, weird ring tones, rolling backwards in our wagon, the blender
He blames his dirty diapers on his stuffed animals.
He doesn't care AT ALL if he gets a spanking, but if we put him in time-out, it is torcher!
Brayden is really good at telling us when he's done something he shouldn't have done, then following it up with, "I sorry, mommy" or "that's not good. it make me sad, too, mommy" to which it is very difficult to get upset at.
If we're having a serious conversation with him, or getting on to him, sometimes he'll reach up and squoosh our cheeks/nose/mouth together to make us have funny faces or he'll put a stuffed animal in front of our face (1-2 cm) from our nose and keep it there while we talk (it's hard to stay mad at Pooh Bear)
When it's time to leave the library, sometimes he'll just stop. When I tell him to come along, he'll respond with, "I thinking, mommy. I think at the library." or something of equal caliber.
When Declen is screaming in the car, Brayden will say/scream, "mommy, Mommy, MOMMY, MOMMMMEEEEEE! I GOTTA TELL YOU SUMPIN! DECLEN'S CRYING!!!"

There are things that he says and does that only make sense to him and he has no desire to change.

He eats food starting from the middle... i.e. stand a sandwich up so that the white part is flat in front of your face and the crust is like a box around your face, push sandwich against your face so that your nose is sticking into the middle of the white part of the bread and attempt to eat a hole through the center.
He dissects his food and eats one thing at a time, as in things that aren't supposed to be taken apart, are taken apart and eaten separately.
He has to sleep with his stuffed animal friends (pronounced /FWEE-ends/) and by with, I mean ON TOP of them, with the blanket on top of him COMPLETELY covering his face and all.
If we ask him whether he pooped or peed in his diaper we almost always get an answer of, "I pee de poopoo" or "I poop de peepee" and there is no rhyme or reason to this answer
The beach is his "sandbox"
Eye lashes are called "eye splashes"
If Declen is crying, Brayden WILL shove a paci in his mouth, regardless of whether there is already one in there! It's really cute, minus the slight element of force.
He will take his shoes off if he is sitting down for any amount of time and is likely to throw them somewhere (especially if the place he is sitting happens to be a shopping cart in a crowded store)

Then there are things that get flipped and lead to mass confusion throughout our home.

on/off
opened/closed - screaming that baby is crying and the gate (at the top of the stairs) is opened while I'm in the bath, when actually the baby is crying because the gate is (THANK GOODNESS) still closed!
upstairs/downstairs
in/out
forward/back
here/there
mommy/daddy
nana/memaw
hot/cold
mine/yours
and then he also flipflops the nouns and adjectives so instead of it being a hot day, it's a day hot. Most things aren't that big of a deal, but occasionally we end up with some pretty hilarious statements especially with his toddlish pronunciation of things.

"it's a tv big mommy" = it's a big tv, mommy
"no, that's butter my baby" = no, that's my baby brother

Other funny things

Ever since the night of the missing belly button, if we ask where his belly button is, he will say, "I dunno." then search to make sure it's still intact.
When he can't find something, it's because "it's hiding"
At night he'll ask me to either turn the dark off, or turn the light off (both of which actually mean turn a light ON)
Brayden sings random songs... sometimes he will actually sing a real song with the right tune and right words, other times it come out like it did this morning: "Helicopter in the car, they are weak but he is strong yes Jesus loves me, helicopter e-i-e-i-o, the bible tells me so, Jesus loves me l-m-n-o-p, now I know my abc's!"
He'll say, "I gotta tell you sumpin..." when he doesn't want to go to sleep, then fish around to find something to actually say which usually ends up being something about one of his FWEE-ends or he'll say, "I love ___" which more often than not is either "Brayden" or "me" in the blank (sometimes it's another family member or inanimate object like a toothbrush or flower)
If you ask him what he dreamed about or will dream about when he goes to sleep, his answer is, "elephants, birdies, and a baby choochoo main (train)."
When he wakes up in the mornings, which is ALWAYS ridiculously early, he will come in my room and say, "I rest with you, mommy" and crawl up in the bed to cuddle with me."
He is very particular about what food he eats, but anything NOT intended for human consumption is fair game... rocks, sidewalk chalk, crayons, erasers, sticks, grass, my moms artificial plant, playdough, cat food, dog food, dirt, medicine, cardboard, stickers, labels, tags, envelopes, birdseed, dvd box, a page out of the Bible, styrofoam, and something off the floor at our pediatrician's' office (that one about killed me).
He knows his name starts with the letter "B" so any time he sees the letter "B" he calls out, "THAT'S MY B!"

Friday, August 1, 2014

Summer Time Photo Dump.... (seriously over due)

Posting on a blog (or anything on the internet) is REALLY difficult when we don't have a working computer at home in addition to no internet... this is NOT a forever situation, and I am determined that I will get back to regular posting. SOON!

Photo Dump BOMBARDMENT

Here we go...

May 2014: Brayden had his first haircut(age 2 years 3 months),
June 2014: Landen turned 4! On his actual birthday we went out to Johnny Rockets and ate dinner. He had a Super Hero party and (among other things) received train tickets, we rode the train to Tuscaloosa (but didn't take any pictures once we arrived there), Declen turned 7 months old and decided to sit up on his own
July 2014: We went to Oak Mountain State Park for the Fourth of July and went fishing (for the first time ever for the kids) and Landen caught two tiny fish, Keith and I celebrated our 5th anniversary and took a spontaneous family vacation to Panama City Beach (as in, "I wanna do something" "Like what?" "um... lets go to the beach" "OK..." and we made reservations as we packed). It was our first EVER vacation!! IT WAS AWESOME and we took like three pictures the whole time.... yeah. We got to go out fishing/boating/island hopping with my cousin who owns Salt Shaker Charters and that was AMAZING! Our car keys are in the Gulf of Mexico down there, so if you find them, please return them! Keith turned 28! We went to dinner at a mexican restaurant and took pictures outside and with the sombraro on his head :). Declen turned 8 months old and decided to belly crawl. He's currently learning to crawl on hands and knees, but sometimes just ends up either planking or with his bottom straight up in the air! He feeds himself all the time... eating just about anything he can get his hands on (except ham. he hates it!), and finally, Declen has 2 teeth! WOOHOO!

Enjoy the pictures!

Baked beans

My life... everyday!

we dress alike at the park so I can find them

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

New Career: Stay At Home Mom

So it's been almost 2 months since I swapped job titles. I can honestly say that what I perceived of life at home and what it is actually like.... is COMPLETELY different!

Okay, so yeah there are SOME similarities in what I had envisioned... we're at home, I'm there, the kids are there, the cats are there, I'm actually able to spend time with my kids for the first time, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. See, I thought we'd have all this time to do things,

In my head: we would do "preschool" in the morning with Landen while the baby slept and Brayden played on his own... WRONG.
In reality: The baby DOESN'T sleep (unless he is being held and usually only when I'm standing up holding him). Brayden doesn't just play on his own... he "helps" Landen/mommy/baby in all sorts of creative/destructive ways.
In my head: we would actually be able to keep the house clean
In reality: it's messier than it has ever been. EVER.
In my head: I would have all this time to cook a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner... and we could all eat together at the table at the same time and learn manners
In reality: If I get around to eating, the kids eat my food, but I usually don't get to eat until WAY after lunch if ever. We are eating an insane amount of hot dogs, PB&J's, grilled cheese sandwiches, and spoonfuls of peanut butter. And if I can keep them from climbing on/under the table or throwing food during the meal, I think I need an award!
In my head: the kids would be on a schedule and each transition from nap to playtime to school time to meal time, etc would go smoothly
In reality: Ha! Not.even.close.
In my head: I was concerned that I might get bored being at home all day.
In reality: I'm doing good to get a bathroom break! (though it is bitter sweet because that's when all the "fun" takes place)

Things have been challenging, frustrating, overwhelming, etc. BUT these have also been some of the most enjoyable 2 months of my entire life!

As it turns out, my kids are actually really precious during the day! They ARE kids though and I have to remind myself of that, regularly because I seem to want them to be perfect at all times and that just doesn't happen. For their entire lives up to now, I've only seen them at the end of the day when they're exhausted and acting their worst or on the weekends when their routine is off or when they are sick.

I love my kids and my new job! I'm busier than I have ever been in my life, but it is definitely worth it!

PICTURES!!