Before the snow...

Well our big snow storm weekend turned out to be a total bust.  Other than a few flurries on Friday afternoon, we didn't get any type of accumulation.  The snow pants went back in the basement for now.  And, to my surprise, school is canceled this morning due to inclement weather... apparently it was sleeting in the wee hours of the morning, but now it's just raining, so I'm unclear why school is completely canceled!  Normally school delays mean delays at the kid's club at the gym, so that is off the table for this morning... the only thing standing between me and cleaning bathrooms is this blog post, so I'm going to milk it!  These shots are from a week ago.  Brennan and Tyler have been driving around a lot together and Brian and I were jogging along to keep pace with them!  We recently drove by a Ford dealership and Brennan told me that's where his truck must have came from, since he recognized the Ford symbol.

I've been teaching Brennan a little bit about field hockey and he's been very interested in hitting the ball back and forth with me.  He's working on holding the stick properly and has started to get a few good hits in.  He's also practicing stopping the ball properly.  I have him using my indoor stick, which is lighter and easier for him to control.

Brennan tried riding his scooter down the backyard slope, but wasn't having much success.  However, Tyler also wanted to give it a try.  Kerry and Philip got Brennan a razor scooter for Christmas, so this may be perfect timing for the three wheel scooter to move to Tyler while Brennan graduates to the two wheeler.

The Pecorinos got me a new entryway bench for Christmas (Brian bought me the hanging shelf) and Tyler has been quite amused by this new feature in the house!  Our entryway is looking much more organized than the mess of shoes and jackets that were constantly scattered around the coat rack.

The boys have been watching the Madagascar movies all week.  They love their cuddle-uppets blankets.  Those blankets have gotten far more use than I imagined when I put them on their Christmas wish list!  Tyler is adorable and makes a woof sound whenever he sees the puppy on the blanket (or any dog!)  He can also tell you what a cow says and will say meow and quack if you ask him to!  He really tries to repeat any sound you ask him to say.

Brennan has been enjoying seeing the moon in the daytime, which we've been seeing quite a bit of lately!

Tyler's First Snow

Technically, this wasn't the first time Tyler had laid his eyes on snow, but it was the first time he went out in it!  Loudoun County schools were on a two hour delay this morning, which translates to a 1.25 hour delay at Brennan's preschool.  We used our extra hour to go outside and play after breakfast.  There is a promise of more snow in the forecast, but I couldn't risk all the snow melting before Brennan got a chance to play.  It was a good decision because there has already been a significant amount that has already melted!  It took us almost 20 minutes to get geared up.  Even I got new boots and snow pants for Christmas, so I was excited to use them!  Tyler hated his snow boots.  He couldn't take one step without falling over.  He had pretty much rolled/crawled from the stoop and was just laying there crying out for Mom!

We gave the sled a shot and the boys went down the slope in the backyard together.  The first run, they ran straight into the playhouse and Brennan got a little cut on his nose and Tyler hit his eyebrow.  Thankfully, neither were seriously hurt and we were able to keep playing.

I ended up changing Tyler out of his snow boots and into his Timberland's (a gift that Brennan got from Uncle Pete when he was Tyler's age!)  Tyler was happy to be able to walk again!  And, he was much more comfortable in the toboggan sled, which doesn't slide as fast when the snow is shallow and has a nice toddler seat, which gives him back support.  My dad made the toboggan seat for Debby when she was little and it's still in good use today!

Tyler enjoyed exploring the playhouse while Brennan went down our neighbor's slide.  He could catch some serious speed with his snow pants!  Hoping we'll get a better snowfall before the weekend is out so we can head to a real hill for sledding!

Tyler's 18 Month Stats

I took Tyler to the pediatrician yesterday for his 18 month check-up.  He weighed 25 pounds (45%) and was 34.5 inches tall (95%.)  His growth has been charting right along the expected curve.  The doctor was pleased with Tyler's development as well.  His comprehension for spoken language is really flourishing.  He can understand and obey (or disregard) commands.  If you ask him a question, he answers yes (yea) and no (usually a head shake.)  He often talks in baby jargon, but does say a handful of words (yea, hi, bye, thank you, blue ball, woof, meow, moo, go, banana, water.)  He is very physically active and loves to ride the toy horse, jump on the trampoline, climb on chairs/tables, etc.  He loves to play with water and will drag kitchen chairs over to the sink to try to reach the faucet.  He loves playing hide-and-seek/peek a boo.  He does hand movements to kids songs and LOVES to dance!  He also is very interested in instruments.  The photo above captures Tyler perfectly - in a costume, with the guitar!  He's also falling in line with some good household habits.  We always wash our hands when we come in the house.  Brennan does it automatically now without my asking and Tyler is also quite accustomed to this.  As soon as we come in the door, he stands right at the powder room sink.  Setting boundaries/discipline is the big thing we need to start working on.  When he doesn't get his way, Tyler screams and throws serious temper tantrums (all-out laying on the floor, screaming while kicking his arms and legs.)  He has also started hitting and throwing toys.  This weekend, Brian and I had our first stand off with him.  He threw his entire pancake on the floor and we made him stay to clean it up.  He was screaming, trying to get away and we just kept telling him he had to throw out the pancake before he could leave.  It only took 15 minutes and then he decided to do what we asked and was on his way.  I remember when we first did that with Brennan - it took 45 minutes.  Despite the growing pains, Tyler is a fun, energetic little guy and I'm looking forward to him developing more words!

Family Photo Shoot

At the end of September, we did a photo session with a photographer friend from church.  I had been keeping the session a secret because we were making Christmas gifts out of the photos.  But, at last, here are some favorite shots!  And, I've posted a slide show of all the pics on the side.

 

 

 

Brennan's 1st Ice Skating Experience

We came home from NY a day earlier than initially planned, which worked out to be a blessing.  It gave Brian two days at home before returning to work, which we really needed.  It also freed up a little time for me to take Brennan ice skating, something he's been asking to do since last winter!  He and I headed over to the skating rink at the Reston town Center.  I rented Brennan skates with a double blade and we hit the ice!  The first two laps were tough.  He was clinging to the wall and couldn't keep his balance.  Every time he fell, which was often, I had to physically pull him up with all my strength. I didn't think we were going to stay for long!

But, on the third lap, he started following my instructions to put his weight into his thighs, keep his knees bent and his ankles straight.  He soon moved off the wall and started shuffling over the ice.  When he fell, he figured out how to get up on his own, without grabbing me or the wall.

I wouldn't say he ever got to gliding, but he gained a lot of confidence in his shuffling and asked me to get off the ice and just watch him from the side.

He came over to the wall where I was standing and asked me to take his picture!

After skating, we had lunch at Panera, which was also a first for Brennan.  He enjoyed a hot chocolate, which he call choco-latte.  We snapped a picture by the tree in the town center before heading home.  Brennan can't wait to go skating again!

The Christmas Recap

Brennan got an early start on Christmas morning.  He was up around 3:30 AM and when we told him to go back to bed, he ran downstairs and started opening gifts without us.  I came down and found two gifts already opened.  I convinced him to go back to sleep on the couch for a couple more hours, but we still got a pretty early start and we made it through his stocking before Tyler even woke up!  Santa did bring Brennan the two toothbrushes he asked for (one electric/sonic-type and one spinning.)  He was very excited and brushed his teeth two times in a row - once with each brush!

And, he was very excited about the one toy he really asked for - Switch & Go Dinos.  He got Brach the Brachiosaurus, Span the Spinosaurus and Tonn the Stegosaurus.

Brennan had picked out a sock monkey for Tyler and was very excited to give his brother a present.  Brennan helped box and wrap the gift, as well as write Tyler's name on the gift tag.  It was really sweet.

Overall, Tyler didn't care that much about opening his gifts and was much more excited about eating whipped cream with strawberries on top of waffles!  Tyler is a big fruit eater, but he also loves whipped cream and if he spots a can of Reddi-Whip, forget it, he freaks out until you squirt some into his mouth.  It's really funny.

We drove up to NY on Christmas Day afternoon and spent a couple of days at the Pecorinos.  Gary and Caryl watched the boys for us while we went into NYC for the day with my family to see Nice Work If You Can Get It on Broadway, which starred Matthew Brodderick.  The show was a satire on the 1920s and was very entertaining.

We visited my grandparents and Brennan asked Poppy to show him his saxophone.  Poppy played a few songs for us and also let Brennan give the sax a try.  Brennan got a couple of honks out of it!  Tyler was very curious about the instrument, but mostly just tried biting down on the reed and mouthpiece.

Tyler and Brennan were also quite curious about the exercise bike in my grandparent's basement and played on that for quite a bit.

We had a fun visit with Uncle Philip and Aunt Kerry.  Kerry gave Brennan a tour of the police station and got an officer to show Brennan the police car.  We had a fun afternoon/evening together and the boys got to play with the dogs, which is always a treat!

After spending a couple of nights at my parents, getting in a visit with extended family and the Dubins, we came home on Sunday night and spent a couple of days trying to get the house in order!  We are still working on completely recovering from the trip, but at least the Christmas decorations are completely put away!  Here's one last shot of little T in his adorable Abominable Snowman hat!  Brennan got a matching one.