Crazy Hair

Brian has been on my case about cutting Tyler's hair, since it's growing over his ears.  I just can't wrap my head around trying to cut his hair yet.  Brian would have like buzz it and I'm just not ready for that.  At dinner last night, he had run his saucy fingers through the sides and they were sticking straight out.  It was adorable.  I agree it's getting a little long, but I think it's cute for a baby.

By contrast, by the time Brennan was 11 months old, he really had wild hair.  Tyler had lost all of his hair after he was born, but Brennan only lost the sides. The top of Brennan's hair had gotten so long by his first birthday.  I kept it out of his face pretty well, but the photo below is one of many from when Debby was down helping Brian while I was away on a business trip.  She couldn't get it to stay out of his face and the photos from her visit were hilarious.  At least Tyler doesn't have hair in his eyes.

This morning, Brennan tackled the Lincoln Log set he received for Christmas for the first time.  I guided him through the directions, but he did 95% of the construction on his own.  It was fun to work with him on it and I think it might be good for strengthening his fine motor skills.  Additional Lincoln Log sets might be on the birthday wish list!

Preschool Graduation

On Friday, Brennan's preschool had its Graduation Ceremony.  It started with an opening prayer by Pastor Randy and then a slide show covering the entire school year.  The non-graduating classes (the 3 year old and 2.5 year old classes) first came into the room to sing a song about moving up at preschool and then the graduates entered the room.  They all sang a few songs together before the graduates performed on their own and received their diplomas. After learning my lesson at the Christmas Program, I came prepared with a tripod this time, which was especially helpful, since Brian wasn't with me and I had to keep Tyler in check.

Brennan was having trouble with the thought of saying good-bye to his teachers.  We had some tears at home on Friday morning before heading to school, but he did okay at drop off and seemed fine when I arrived for the ceremony.  I was able to get a nice shot of him with Mrs. Bradish and Mrs. Teuscher.  I have been very happy with the preschool program and look forward to the 4 day 4's class next year.

The video clip below captures the songs that the children sang together.  The row of 8 students, including Brennan, are the kids in his class.

Playdates

Over the last few weeks, we've had a lot of playdates.  Brennan had his first playdate at a friend's house without me staying to supervise.  It was a friend from school, Carter, and his mom picked the boys up after school and took them back to her house.  All went well and we had Carter to our house the following week.  It was a rainy day, so we couldn't enjoy the yard, but the boys played out on the deck and I let them "paint" on the glass table with chocolate pudding.

This week, Tyler and I visited Shana to meet baby Talia, who was born at the end of April.  We'll get together in another week or so with Brennan and Specncer, so the boys can play together.  Then on Thursday, we headed into Alexandria to visit with the Tenutas.  Jackie just had her third baby, a little girl named Grace, that we met for the first time.  Little Ryan is getting big and was keeping up with the older boys pretty well.

Even Tyler tried to get in on the action.  Ryan was very curious about Tyler.  It's too bad these friends are moving to Philly at the end of June.  Brennan is going to miss playing with AJ, who we usually see once or twice a month.  We are going to sneak two more visits in with them before they go.

Mother's Day

We had a busy Mother's Day weekend.  It started on Friday morning with a Mother's Tea at Brennan's preschool.

Each child in Brennan's class made a picture frame for their mom.  The teacher had interviewed each student and wrote their reply on the photo.  Brennan's photo says, "Mom likes all the colors.  She loves to eat tacos and pick strawberries.  Yellow dandelion puffs make her happy.  I love my Mommy!"

Brian's parents were here for a night on their way back to NY from a road trip to Florida.  We participated in our neighborhood yard sale on Saturday morning and then I took Brennan to a Zumbatonic (zumba for kids) event that a friend of mine was hosting.  On Sunday, I dressed the boys in coordinating outfits and we headed to church.  My mother-in-law bought these outfits for the boys with Easter in mind, but the weather had cooled down in April, so they didn't get to use them at the time.  Everyone at church thought they looked very cute together.

For Mother's Day, Brennan and Tyler gave me a personalized flower pot.  Brian got me a fantastic canopy that we can use for Brennan's upcoming birthday party, among other summer events in the neighborhood.  It was a great weekend!

Brennan and Tyler, Side by Side

Here is a side by side of Tyler and Brennan wearing Brennan's first Easter outfit.  Brennan is 9 months old in the picture and Tyler is 10 months old.  I think the boys looks very different, but I often have people telling me they think they look alike.  Comparing them at about the same age makes me see the differences even more!

Not far from Home

Just as my back started feeling much better, Tyler started getting sick, so we have hardly ventured far from home for another week.  By the end of the day on Monday, he was running a 103 degree fever that lasted through Tuesday.  We saw the doctor and she thought it could be roseola, hand foot and mouth disease or just a stomach virus.  Since he never got the rash that comes with roseola or the sores that come with hand foot and mouth disease, it looks like it was just a stomach virus.  He's been fever free for over a day now.  And, we will finally do some food shopping today (we've been living on what's in the house all week!)  Here is the little guy looking much happier to be feeling better. 

We cleared the train tracks from our "train" table in the toy room to allow us to use the able to play games and put puzzles together.  Tyler likes to push cars across the table surface while Brennan and I play.  Brennan is getting good at playing a few games according to the real game rules now (we were previously using modified rules to make it easier for him to understand.)  He love Chutes and Ladders and is working on controlling his emotions when he loses!  He's getting better at the Memory games and we are working on playing Go Fish correctly.

We did manage to get outside for a little bit to enjoy the weather.  Brennan wanted to take a walk in the two cars.  The car he is in below drives Fred Flinstone style.  However, he is really too big and couldn't really move his legs well enough to effectively go far, so we had to call it quits on that idea.

My sister, Debby, is getting married on August 25 and the boys are in the wedding.  I decided to buy tuxedos for them online, since the cost of buying two would be less than renting one!  Brennan was so excited to try his on.  He has been telling everyone about his tuxedo!

We are hoping Tyler will be walking in time for Debby's wedding.  I know it's wishful thinking that he'll go straight down the isle, but hey, we can dream!  He is a fast crawler, which I've read can sometimes delay walking, but he pulls up on everything and is starting to take steps when we hold his hands and cruise a little more often.  We may soon have a little toddler on our hands!