August update!

Well, we are settled into the house now. The only areas left to organize and clean up are the garage and basement. We love the space we have and the room we have to move. The layout of the house is working great! It is amazing how more space and everyones separate rooms really helps one relax and enjoy their surroundings more. We have been needing our own rooms for a long time. We killed one bush out front and had to remove it. We hosted a neighborhood ice cream social to get to know everyone and then participated in the neighborhood yard sale last week. It has been busy. Ben is now a week into his schooling to be trained in IT computer stuff. He will be done in 4 months and then off to finally find work in what he has always wanted to try. I am the preschool teacher at church and enjoying having family to depend on. Here are some updates and stories on the kids:

Brayden is potty training. I have been so frustrated by the whole process. We have been so off and on and he just doesn’t seem to want to stop playing to tell me he feels like going so I tried a different tactic. The first day it was hard to get into the habit, but we are on day 4 and doing well. I just take him to the bathroom straight away when he wakes up and every hour throughout the day. We even ventured out to one activity everyday and he held it until we got home. I am hoping that by taking him every hour it will become habit and he will get used to going that when he starts to feel it he will start to ask to go on his own. He has had a few moment where he starts to go and stops himself. That is when I hear a little, “Sorry mom!” He still tries to hide under Daddy’s desk to go #2. I know I need to take him when I find him in there. So, it is a big step for us and it is feeling right. Any hints are welcome!

He is going through a tough boundary time again right now and figuring out what is expected of him and how to be polite. He has become quite the screamer when he is frustrated and we are having hitting and pushing issues. I see why some people have told me that 3’s are harder than 2’s. He really likes to challenge us and see if we are going to follow through. For us I think the behavior has mostly to do with sharing Mommy’s time and attention. He still asks from time to time, “Can you put her (Brynn) back in your tummy!” Actually, with the whole potty training thing, I told Bray this is what 3 yr olds do - learn to go on the potty. He said, “I want to be 2 again Mommy!”

We are learning our ABC - who they are, what the capital and lowercase look like and what sound they make. It has been a nice focusing activity. We know A and B now.

Bray does not like to get cleaned up at night. He fights his bath, especially the washing hair and face like everything. Any suggestions? It seems we have to bribe him every time just to get in. Showers and bubbles don’t even work.

He seems to getting more and more nervous/active energy. He needs outlets for romping around and being rough.

He loves catching fire flies.

He went through a short spell were he was not napping and we are back to them. He likes to nap on the floor with a blanket and his pillow. He plays with Daddy’s old micro-machines until he falls off to dream land. I always catch him asleep with a car or two still in his hands when I go in to check on him. It always takes him a good 1/2 hour or more to get to sleep. The other new sleep habit is that we must leave the light on until he is out. He does not like the shadows a night light leaves around the room.

He will go without and wants to go without socks in the house now. He will also where his crocks without socks. I think the heat beat him down. It is officially hot here. We have enjoyed the weather so far, but the last week is got steamy and almost 100 degree days.

The kids love, love, love to swim. Auntie Bap and Uncle Him have a pool in Liberty. Brayden is loving jumping into our arms from the side and he is starting to learn to plug his nose and go under water. We went to a church lake party in Blue Springs last night and Bray even got in the lake with Papa for about 15- minutes. It was so great.

I felt so great when we arrived at the lake party. All the church kids were yelling “Hey Brayden!” The adults were telling him it was so great to see him and talking away to him. That is why I have needed a church family for him. He has another support system and people to unconditionally love him.

He is really getting used to the church kids. On Sunday he seemed to have a fun time talking with them and making them laugh while playing with play-dough. He has been pretty quiet until now. Then, I was so proud of him for playing the bells right during practice. A few weeks ago he just put his bells over his ears while playing up front at church (it was loud). Other times he has just rung and rung them, not paying attention to his color and his turn. Well, this time he had them quiet on his shoulders when not playing and watched for his color and played only on his turn. We’ll see how it goes during the real thing up front next Sunday, but it was so awesome to see him responding to directions and doing something as a group.

We are starting to pick up words and say things Mommy does not like sometimes. I guess that is the name of the game. I had a church girl come babysit one morning and she told Brynn her drool was “Nasty.” Now Bray thinks it is funny to call Brynn “Nasty!”

He is also asking so many questions about super heros and villains that we have trouble thinking of nice words to describe things and we think we are using an appropriate word to talk say about how swords cut things like a knife and then he is pretending he is a bad guys and say, “I’m going to cut you!” It is very hard to watch what we are saying. I suppose it is just a boy thing to want to be the bad guy and pick up on all the mean words. We got the whole bad guy idea because living a big city I wanted to talk to him about strangers and referred to them as bad guys. In then end I guess I am happy we are teaching him these things in a some what sheltered way and not other little boys. He still has no interest in gun play, but sword and lazer swords are the best, although he does not hit with them.

I do know where a lot of mean words come from, his books. we read him books I would read first graders now and with that comes a lot of stories that teach things I don not want him learning about yet like bullies and such, but we just try to altar the stories a bit as we read.

This morning we were playing little Einstein's and Bray said, “June, I am very impressed with your flying!” He comes up with the biggest words some times.

After coming in from outside Brayden sat down and took off his shoes. He proceeded to tell Ben, “I had to take my shoes off because you wouldn’t help me.”

When Bray gets frustrated with something he yells, “ It’s not working!”

He was playing with he blocks a busted out with, “It’s the leaning tower of Pisa!” He learns so much from his Little Einstein's movies.

He said to me the other day, “Mom, I’m going to be a man soon!” With potty training I have told him that he is a big 3 yr old and 3 yr olds learn to go potty. With that he continues to respond with, “I want to be 2 yrs old again!” “What did I get to go at 2 yrs old?” It think I already said that.

Auntie Jen was with Bray and told him that some little boys name was Luke. He said, “Is he Luke Skywalker?”

In the bath Bray has a toy Pelican that can open its mouth. The other night he began to sing, “There was an old Pelican who swallowed some bubbles. I don’t know why he swallowed some bubbles. Perhaps he’ll dye.” Just like the story, but with his words. I think he is so cleaver. He does stuff like that all the time. I wish I can a pad with me all the time to write them down all the time, but at least I can share the few I do manage to get down.

The biggest news of all...Brayden had his first sleep over at Noni and Papa’s July 25th and did a wonderful job. He went right to sleep as soon as lights were out and did not wake till 7:30am.


Brynn


*What a girl. She loves stuffed animals and all of Braydens sining animals. He talks and squeals at them. Actually she has this excited screech she makes. It is so noisy and startling.
*She wiggle her wrists and watches them twirl.
*She loves to shake noisy toys and rattles
*She loves to bang forks and spoons on the table.
*She went through a stage just a few weeks ago where she was always spitting and razzing her tongue. Now she has moved to a Broooommmm sound.
*She is not much for sitting still. She whines if you hold her too long. She just wants down and to find her way into things. I call her “Miss Independent!” She can be fussing up a storm in someone's arms and you put her in the play pen and she will talk and squeal for 15 minutes happily.
*She learned to sit up from a crawl stance on June 5th.
*Officially began crawling steadily July 19th.
*She is pulling up on everything and starting to scale. She can stand by herself for a second. She and Brayden are night and day. It is amazing how different they can be.
*Brynn is amazing. She learned to crawl and two days later started talking. She said “Na,Na” first on July 21. On July 22 she said, “Bu, Bu” “Da, Da” and “Ma, Ma.” Children are supposed to concentrate on one thing at a time. She does it all. She is a doer. Now she is saying “Ma, Ma - MMMMOM!” and “Da, Da - DDDAD!” with meaning. That just started yesterday Aug. 3rd. She says, “Hi Dad” in the sweetest voice you ever heard. When she says it to Brayden he thinks it is funny that she calls him Dad.
*She loves, loves, loves real animals. At the church lake party they had really nice dog. He wanted to chase him everywhere and touch him all the time. She even said, “Doggy!” I could not believe, but she is saying things that sound like real words. After I said, “tissue” she said it. I love seeing all the learning and wheels turning. She said, “Hi, Jen” clear as a bell to Jennifer the other day. She says, “EWwww” when you give her something interesting to play with and is beginning to just gabber all day.
*She loves to play with door stops and her them twang.
*She loves to sleep on her tummy, but when she is the slightest bit awake I find her crawling around her crib with her eyes have closed. I remember this stage with Brayden.
*It is obvious she understands many words: Look, her name, stop, no, don’t, night- night, kisses, where is he, Brayden, Mom, Dad, Noni, Jen, milk, book, bath, walk.
*She gives very slobbery kisses when you ask for them. She kisses her animals and kisses her reflection in the mirror.
*She loves to take baths and splash, splash, splash in the water. She loves chewing and splashing a wet sponge.
*She is a protester. WOW! You would think I hurt her with the way she belly aches some times. She cries when she drops something, when you take something away, when you have to take something out her mouth, when you are done reading a book and put it away (you have to be ready with a new one before you put the old one down). I do think it is pretty funny. I probably laugh at her too much.
*She is so ticklish.
*She loves to try to share her food and toys with us. She thinks it is funny when you eat her fingers and toes.
*She enjoys playing the coughing game. She will fake cough and then it is the other persons turn and so on and so forth.
*She still only has 2 bottom teeth.
*She lays her head down on someone when she is tired.
*Loves to feel and squish things in he hands.


Well, I know there is so much more, but that is all I can think of now. Hope you enjoy!