Hugs!

He had been just laying there, laying on daddy watching TV, cheek to cheek.  Of course I couldn’t get my camera going fast enough to capture that.  But he did humor us with another hug.

Again

He fell asleep on the couch…again.  I think he’s growing, because he’s not been eating much the last few days and falling asleep on the couch at naptime without me having to say “time to get into bed”.  I have been busy in the sewing room the last week, and today was no exception.  After an extended time with no interruptions, I figured I better go check on him since it was so quiet.  And this is how I found him.  He barley woke up when I picked him up and took him to bed. 

Worn Out

He had to have been desperatly tired to have fallen asleep on his own, on the couch, with the tv on.  He never does that.  I usually have to force him to go to his bed and make sure the door is closed before he will shut his eyes.  But he was late getting down to his nap and the little turkey woke up before 5 am!  He’s usually super sneeky and quite and I don’t hear him get up in the morning, but this morning he was playing with one of his dump trucks and making a little noise.  I peeked open my eyes and knew it was still really early since there was no trace of the sun on the horizon.  I didn’t have my contacts in, but the clock said 4-something (close to 5).  I picked him up and said it was too early and brought him back to bed with me…where he squirmed for an hour.  I don’t know if he went back to sleep or not, but I eventually did and didn’t hear him get up the second time. 

He’s sleeping in “my spot”.  Every morning we sit here snuggled up together under the quilt.  Usually I’m on the iPad (reading) and he’s cuddled up next to me watching some cartoon or another (usually Little Bear).  If I happen to get up, he always makes sure to stay just to the side of the heating pad (that’s what that is on the couch back) and pat’s the couch cushion and tells me to sit when I come back.  I’m sure the heat of the pad helped him to fall asleep.  He was just too precious.

Enjoying The New Bed Pillows

I made some covers for some pillows for our bed…of course Brice had to try them out right away!

Huma

His newest buddy to watch him eat is Huma.  He always brings her out in the morning and says to me “She watch you eat.” because it’s what I always tell him.  We are working on knowing when to say “you” and “me” and also “he” and “she”.  Right now everything is “he”, but he’s getting better. 

Very Tired

He was so tired, he fell asleep reading his dinosaur book in the car.

“Mama, I Play Moosic!”

Ryder came out last night for the weekend and wanted to play some Rock Band on the xBox.  Well, of course Brice wanted to play, too.  As soon as he saw Ryder grab the guitar, he starts yelling that he wants the drums.  He wouldn’t stop until Aaron finally pulled them out for him.  And as soon as he had the drum sticks in his hands, he got busy playing.  He kept  telling us: I play mooosic!  And as you can tell from the photos, he was very serious and concentrated about it, too!

Daddy + TV

He was so sweet, he wanted to cuddle with his daddy and watch TV.  He was very adamant about it - “No, Daddy, like this…” and he would cuddle up next to him.

He’s telling me “Say smile, Mommy!”  So I had to tell him “Smile!”

And he got the “rah-rah” back in his mouth quick as could be.  You can always tell when he’s tired, that darn thing is in his mouth.  Oh well, better than a thumb, I always say.

Showing Off

   At the start of our road trip this summer, we met with a few of my friends from blogs.  I took these photos of Brice when we met with Amanda.  He had to show off the fact that he could put BOTH his “rah-rah’s” in his mouth at one time.  Such a funny little guy. 

We also got to meet with Mary and her littlest (at the time), Henry.  Such a sweet little boy!  Mary was at the end of her pregnancy when we stopped, but has just had her little boy!  I’m lucky enough that Mary comes up to Portland quite often on her way to visit her parents.  So I will get to see lots of Mary.  Yea!  Can’t wait to see the new baby!

P.S. Rah-rah is short for pacifier…in some weird, toddler sort of way.  He has called it that for as long as he could speak, and I still can’t figure out how he got “rah-rah” from pacifier.  We just go with it.

Not Cooperating at Arches NP

This is my son not cooperating for photos at Arches National Park.  No big surprise.  He decided he was going to act like a two year old on this trip.  I’m sure it had a lot to do with being in the car a lot – but we did actually take him on a few hikes this trip.  So it could have been worse.  And really, we stopped about every two hours for him to get out and run around.  It really makes me rethink car trips with him sometimes. 

Farewell + Happy Birthday

We did eventually have to say goodbye to the family.  Here is Elizabeth giving Brice a goodbye hug.  This is a little late, but the youngest of my sisters had a birthday August 25th – she’s 13 now!  My how time fly’s.  I remember being almost 18, with a newborn sister.  It never occurred to me that the gulf between our ages would ever be an issue, and I really don’t think it is.  She may be 13, but I sure don’t feel 30 – especially when I'm around them all.  Elizabeth, the social butterfly of the group of us, loves make-up, basketball and visiting with her friends.  And of course she loves Brice! 

Sisters + Fish Lips

Making sure the next generation knows how to make fish lips.  A family tradition.  On a side note, I can’t remember the last time I saw any of my sisters NOT wearing Converse shoes. 

Talkin’ – Talkin’

Talkin’ on the phone – wonder what parent he gets that from??  Hmm…any ideas, honey?

“I Go See Doctor!”

“Yeah, yeah, mom – I go see doctor!”  That’s what he kept telling me after I told him we were going to see the doctor this morning for his (late) two year well check.  I took him to see my favorite family physician and couldn’t be more pleased with her as Brice’s “doctor” as well (she’s really a physician's assistant).  Everything checked out great!  She said he looked like a very healthy and happy little boy.  He is very tall for his age, and of course very skinny – but that’s no different than his dad and I when we were his age.  While he is something like 11th percentile for weight, he’s 97th percentile for his height!  I think he might be even taller than his Uncle David one day! 

He did pretty good at the visit.  He was a little whinny and uncooperative – but nothing new for two.  I kept telling him his reward when we were done and back home was to play with Big Buzz.  Of course as soon as we were home, he reminded me.  So out Big Buzz came.  He did SO good with him!  Usually he whines the whole time because he’s so big and he has a hard time playing with him an wants us to play with him.  So of course we usually tell him we’re not interested in playing with Buzz, that he should play with him, and then the whining starts.  So we don’t bring him out much.  But after today, with how good he did, I think we will be able to start playing with him a little more.  He got some more Big Buzz time tonight and once again did very well.  He even told us when he was done playing with him and we put him “nigh-night”.  I hope this means we’ll start to grow past a little of the whining phase – cause I'm REALLY tire of it. 

Family

It’s funny how much Elizabeth looks like me…

Brice + Cousin Jason

As I mentioned a post or two back, the rest of the gang came to town shortly after Andrea.  My dad, stepmom and youngest sister of the bunch – the oldest of my little sisters is on bedrest at home, due to deliver her second in October!  But, despite the fact that Bethany could not join us, Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Val brought Jason with them!  I was so happy to get to visit with him and see how much he had grown since we last saw him.  Brice was especially happy now that he could “play” with him this time.  He is very active, crawling all over and just about to walk!  He loved seeing Jason everyday and still mentions his “Cousin Jason”.  We look forward to our next visit with him.  I wish that we lived closer so that it was more than just twice a year.