Packing

On Saturday, while I was packing for Branson, Lucy was coloring and Michael said something about Silver Dollar City to Lucy. She jumped up and ran through the living saying "oh, I need to go pack." So that night, we couldn't find Lucy's toothbrush. Lucy said, I packed it already. We asked her what else she packed and she told us she packed her green blankie, lambie, Dora and her toothbrush. I guess that's all the girl really needs.

Curious George

We surprised Lucy by taking her on a date. When she woke up from her nap, I told her that she was going to go somewhere special with Mommy and Daddy while Brandt stayed with Grandpa and Grandma. She was so excited. So, we headed downtown to pick up Daddy from work and she was just giggling with excitement when he got in the car. When we parked, we told her that we were going to see a show and had her start guessing what show it was. She said "Bob and Larry" and then she guessed "Dora" and then she saw a picture of George and said "Curious George." She sat so nice watching the show. She leaned over to me and said "all they are doing is singing and dancing." I said "they are, do you like it?" She said "yes" and then watched some more. She also told me that George wasn't that big. She was right. It was fun to just spend some time alone with our Lucy.

Happy Birthday

Our baby boy is 1. We had family and a few friends come to our house for food and fun! Brandt loved his presents and his cake. I mean he LOVED the cake. He didn't poke at it like Lucy, he devoured it. We also had him dedicated that weekend since all the family was in town.

Brandt's new trick is going from sitting to standing up on his own. It's pretty cute to watch and he loves when we clap for him when he does it. He'll sit down and do it again. It was fun to watch him keep trying to stand up, he just kept practicing and falling down over and over again. When he got it, all 3 of us were watching, so he got quite the applause. I love how excited Lucy gets over his accomplishments also. Brandt also loves to tell you what an elephant says, a sheep, a lizard and a fish.

Almost 1

In 2 weeks my baby boy will turn 1. I can't believe it. He is learning things so quickly these past few weeks, like signing thank you after a meal and signing drink. He also started taking the phone and putting it on his shoulder. We tell him to say hello, and he babbles something that kind of sounds like hello. He also says hi. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence when he said it and was waving, but I've heard it several times now.

He's started cruising around the coffee table last Saturday. He loves to walk around if you hold him by his hands, and today he walked across his room with his walker. It's so funny to watch his little legs and feet as they try to find stability.

Brandt is such a sweet boy! He makes the funniest faces, like squinting his eyes, smiling big and tilting his head way back. He does his "ohhhh" face all of the time. When Daddy gets home from work, he gets excited along with Lucy. He loves to climb the stairs and go in the playroom. We have the ottoman blocking the stairs and he will stand at the ottoman fussing because he wants to go up. He is also kind of klutzy... he hits his head on things when he gets excited because he starts turning circles on the floor. He's a bit dramatic when he cries, you might think something is seriously wrong, but no, that's our drama king! I love everything about him and I am so thankful for my healthy little boy.

Just thinking...

Today in the car, Lucy out of the blue announced that she was just thinking about Jesus on the cross. I said, what were you thinking about that? She was very quiet for a moment and then said, that He had nails in His hands and in His feet and I think He cried. I said, I think He cried too because that must have hurt a lot. I said, does that make you feel special that He did all that for you. She told me, yes, because He died for my sins.

Lucy, how cool that at 3 you are putting this all together... I can't wait for the day when you want to ask Jesus in your heart! So exciting!!!

100

Today was a big day for you, Lucy. You did something that you have been practicing for a long time. You counted to 100 all by yourself. You would practice while driving in the car and say, Mama, what comes after 39... I'd say, 40 and you would say oh, right, and continue to 49 and then ask again. We are so proud of you because we can see how proud of yourself you are. We'd even hear you practicing in bed during rest time or sometimes before you fell asleep at night. You've got perseverance and we pray that you always will!

2 Peter 1:5-8 "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We love you little girl!!

Lucy Loves Her Daddy

On most days, Lucy will wake up and ask if Daddy has to go to work today. Usually, she handles the yes pretty well and I tell her how many days until Saturday. She understands that Daddy needs to work so that we have a house to live in and food to eat, etc... Well, the other day, when I told her that yes, Daddy has to work, she got very upset and she said "We have a lot of money, Daddy doesn't need to go to work." I told her that we would run out of money if Daddy wasn't working. So she told me "Well, I have A LOT of money in my piggy bank." I just laughed and hugged her because this sweet little girl was ready to hand over her piggy bank in order to keep Daddy home. She is going to be one happy girl these next 2 months because he has like 4 weeks of vacation to use up plus holidays... woohoo!!!

What's new

Brandt started crawling on September 13th while we were staying with my parents at their time share. He started out crawling like a little sweet pea, but has found his speed in the last month. Sometimes he tries to crawl so fast that his legs are going faster than his arms and he falls on his face. Whenever he gets to a hard surface, he pulls one leg up and scoots himself so he looks like he is riding a scooter. Last week, he started pulling himself up on everything and pulls everything down that he can reach. He especially loves remotes, or merotes, as Lucy calls them. Mike even gave him his very own, but he knows his doesn't work and wants nothing to do with the one he is allowed to have. Brandt has 5 teeth and I can see 3 more teeth trying to come in. In just a little over a month he will turn 1, it's hard to believe it.

Lucy made a new friend. My best friend from college came to visit and she has a daughter who is 4, and Lucy and her just had a great week playing together. They put on ballet recycles (recital) wearing their tutu's and reotards (leotard). They loved rides on Cracker's (Mike), the horse. They played house, colored, we went for walks, shopping, to the pumpkin patch, and just had a great time together. The girls only got in little "not sharing" arguments, otherwise they did great for being together for a week. It's good they love one another because they really don't have any other choice.

Big Cedar Lodge

My cousin was gracious enough to take us with them to Big Cedar Lodge. We had a great time on the lazy river, trying every pool, going on pony rides, getting canoes and hanging out. We didn't have a good time on the paddle boat. I thought all 4 of us could go on 1... didn't work so well because Lucy was on my lap so I couldn't paddle very well and we didn't have anywhere to put our bag, so I was balancing it between us. To top it off, Brandt was hot and in a life jacket... he was crying. So we didn't even make it past the marina before turning around and getting a canoe instead. That was much better, plus we took Brandt's shirt off from under his life jacket and I held him... he was a happy camper. We were planning on going to Silver Dollar City, but unfortunately the day we planned to go, was the first day all summer that they were closed. So we shopped and rode the Ducks. Lucy got to be captain of the duck for a while out on the water. Then she fell asleep on Daddy's lap.




This is Mr. Tankers driving in the car... cracks me up to turn around seeing him starring up at me! Such a cutie.

Things I learned in August

Mr. Tankers learned some new things in August. He learned to wave bye-bye... it's funny because Lucy used to wave like a princess and Brandt does it his own way, not like a princess. He learned to do "SO BIG" and to sign all done. He will do the milk pump sometimes for milk, but we are still working on that and drink. What a joy to teach and watch him learn how to communicate.

Mr. Tankers also learned that he likes food... ALL food! Doesn't matter what it is, he wants it. I am so thankful that I don't have picky eaters. It may change, but for now I am going to enjoy it.

Lucy learned that any number + zero = that number, and is learning how to write her numbers. We have "school" a few times a week during Brandt's morning nap. She loves to learn and mommy is usually the one who says it is time to quit, otherwise she would keep going. One day, she was learning to write her 3 and she could not get it and she kept working on it, and all of a sudden she did it. She even showed Daddy her workbook when he got home.

Darby

We were gone for a weekend, and when we came home we were surprised to see that Darby, our caterpillar, was now Darby, our butterfly. She was beautiful! Lucy was just so excited and amazed by the whole thing. She just kept starring at her and smiling. So, of course, we needed to let Darby go. So we took her outside, said good-bye to her and asked her to come visit, and Lucy set her free. We were hoping that she would settle on some of our flowers, but she had been trapped for too long and just wanted to fly, so she took off over the fence and was gone. Lucy would ask me every day after that if Darby was going to come and visit, and I would just say we could watch for her but I don't know. Well, the other day, we took a 5 mile walk with the kids, and I can't even tell you how many "Darby's" we saw. We just kept telling Lucy, "look, there's Darby," and she would yell "hi, Darby." She was so happy to see her Darby. We even saw Darby flying with a yellow butterfly and Lucy said, that's Darby's friend and gave her some name too. I was just thanking Jesus for sending all those "Darby's" on our walks because it made a 3 year old little girl so happy. He cares for our smallest needs... so cool!

2000 miles

My sister and I drove the kids up to Wisconsin for a week earlier this month. My Grandma had flown in earlier that day from Florida and she didn't know we were coming. My parents kept her up late playing skip-bo so we could surprise her. She was so confused when my Mom came walking in the kitchen carrying my nephew, Preston, at 11:30 at night. She said, who is that, is that Preston, where did you get Preston.... and then the rest of us came in. We had a great week. We went to the Farmer's Market and Lucy had cotton candy for the first time... what a mess!! We went to the Milwaukee County Zoo... I had forgotten what a great zoo it is and so beautiful!!! Two peacocks opened it's feathers for us, which was fun to see. We rode the train and saw a lot of animals that we don't have at our zoo. The kids wanted to go back the next day.

We also went up to our cottage in northern Wisconsin for a few days, and we all have so much fun up there. We fished, caught frogs, ran around in the woods and just enjoyed the solitude. My Grandma, who is almost 90, got in our boat and went fishing with my brother and nephew, Riley. I think it added a few years to her life because she was so excited about doing that. Once again, Lucy loved the frogs... she wanted to hold them all. She also surprised us by trying to take her own fish off the hook. The girl is brave... I don't even like to do that.

Lucy also went to her first bouncy house place. She had a ball! She headed to the huge slide first, which scared her so badly that it took a lot of convincing that it was okay to go down some of the other slides. My nephew, Preston, who is the same age as her, would be at the bottom of the slide yelling, "I'll catch you, Lucy." So she would come flying down the slide, knock him over and then they would laugh. So fun!

So, we drove 2000 miles that week. I am so thankful for great travelers. It might take us a few hours longer to get somewhere, but at least the kids love to travel, and look forward to the playgrounds at the rest stops. As for Brandt, he could care less about the playgrounds, but he is a great little sport in his car seat. It does help, that my nephews think he is just the greatest and they all wanted turns to sit next to him in the car. I love my family.

Funny things you say

The other day it was storming, so I turned on the t.v to see what the weather was saying and ESPN was on and they were showing the Packer game highlights from the weekend. So I watched it and then said, great, they won. All of a sudden Lucy comes right over to my face, grinning from ear to ear, and says "boo, Packers." Then she proceeds to laugh so hard. I said, what did you say... she says it again. So I tickled her until she said "go, Packers." Thankfully, she said "boo, Cowboys" that night when Mike got home, just to tease him a little too. It was so funny because it caught me so off guard... such personality.

Randomly, kind of like this blog, I will remember something we need to buy next time we go to the store, so I will ask Lucy to remind me to buy whatever. So the other day, she said next time we go to the store we need to get some pears. I said, you want pears, she said, yes, remind me that we need to get pears. The things they pick up on. So that night, her and Mike were sitting on the swing set eating Popsicles and Mike was asking her about her day and she was telling him and then all of a sudden she said, "and tomorrow we are going to go to Walmart and get some pears." I am thinking she really wants some pears.

I am finding that Brandt really loves to eat. It must be something about little boys that love food. He will scrunch his face up and close his eyes and make mmm sounds when I am feeding him solids. It's just so sweet and funny! I never want to forget these days

Caterpillars and stuff....

The other night, Lucy was doing something that she shouldn't, so Mike said, "Lucy, you shouldn't do that and if I have to tell you again, you are going to have to get a spanking." So she said, "well, then don't tell me again." I guess she has her Daddy's quick whit.


I love the way Lucy begins most of her sentences with "actually...." Is it a first-born trait to be all-knowing? She also started talking like a Wisconsinite while up in that beautiful state... she now ends her statements with "you know" or "hey."

We found a caterpillar out in the flower garden today, so we built a habitat for Darby. Lucy just sits and watches Darby waiting for her to turn into a butterfly. When she had to go to the bathroom she told me that maybe the caterpillar will turn into a butterfly while she goes pee. It didn't happen.

Dates to remember

July 6... Brandt got his first tooth

July 11...Brandt got his 2nd tooth

July 11... Brandt says "mama" and we will go on and on with mamamamama when he is tired or hungry. He knows who he wants! So precious to hear, thank you sweet boy.

July 15th... clapped

July 22nd... had cheerios and was signing more

Happy 4th

We took a trip to Kansas over the 4th. Mike was hoping to get to help his Dad cut wheat, but it kept raining. Our brother-in-law was cutting, so Lucy did get a chance to ride the combine...I would have loved to seen what was going on in that combine with Uncle Randy and Lucy... was she quietly sitting or asking questions. Lucy also had her first dinner out in the field, which was fun.

Grammy asked Lucy if she wanted a tea party. Lucy was very excited and said "with real water." Usually, we pretend to have tea and every now and then we will use water for a tea party. So Lucy was extra excited when she found out that we were wearing hats, drinking real tea with Grammy's pretty tea cups, and she got to wear some lipstick. We had a lot of fun!!

Here's my 4th of July babies! We went to a bbq in town at a ladies house who loves to feed people, then drove out to watch fireworks at the neighboring town 25 miles away. Lucy even got to use sparklers for the first time. I thought she would get scared once Mike lit it, but she didn't. Brave little girl.

Space Shuttle

I came up with the brilliant idea of playing space shuttle today while playing in her room, mostly, because I was tired from being up with both her and Brandt last night for some strange reason, and playing space shuttle involved lying down with our feet up on the bed because we were strapped in for take-off. A Mom's got to do what a Mom's got to do in order to lie down, right. Anyhow, so we started our countdown for blast-off, then took off. I looked over at her and said, wow, Lucy, did you feel those G's? She said, well, no, but I did feel the U's and the J's. I laughed so hard because not only was she funny, but she said it so matter of fact like she knew exactly what I was talking about and without missing a beat. Miss Lucy, you are hilarious and I love you so much!!!

Today Brandt is 7 months old and he showed off his age by sitting up all by himself.... such a big boy! He also said "dadadada" on Father's Day for the first time, so that was a pretty special gift... such a brilliant child we have :)

Bob and Larry

Last weekend, we took an overnight trip to Branson to go to Silver Dollar City because we have season passes and because it was kids fest. We went back and forth about going because the weather wasn't looking too promising, but when I found out that there was a Veggie Tales show we decided we were going to chance the weather. It ended up to be a pretty nice day after being drizzled on for just a little bit in the morning. The little veggie tales show was really cute and then she got to meet Bob and Larry. She just stood there staring up at them. She was star struck! We did manage to turn her around to get a picture, but later she told me that Bob and Larry were really big, so I guess she was just in shock of their size and not star struck after all :)

The last few weeks....

Every night before I go to bed I go upstairs to make sure the kids are covered, give them one more kiss and just stare at them a bit while they are sleeping. Well, this is how I found little man one night. It doesn't look too comfy, but I have found him like this more than once, so apparently, he likes it. Last night when I looked in on him, he looked so big. I came down a little teary eyed and told Mike that our little baby is getting so big so fast. I can't believe that a year ago I was still impatiently waiting to feel better and now he is almost 7 months old and a very LOUD squealer.... wow! He's happy though, but even Lucy sometimes says "shh, be quiet."


I put a baby einstein show on for Brandt while I was making dinner one night, and Lucy was playing house upstairs. Well, I looked in the living room and this is how I found her. I think this picture pretty much tells us how she feels about her baby brother. She is such a great big sister. She is always telling him how much she loves him. I sometimes even find her under his jungle gym with him talking in her high pitch voice that she only uses for him.



Brandt really is enjoying food, which you cannot tell at all from this picture. He woke up from a nap and was hungry, so I put him in his high chair to give him solids first, which did not please him, he was crying. Then, I gave him green beans, which did not please him even more. He was making the funniest faces and crying with each bite as he would push the green beans out of his mouth. We did finally give up on the green beans, but the next day we tried again and we had success... he ate them all without crying, spitting them out or making faces. His little eye brows get so red when he cries.

Here's Lucy and her cousin Gracie at a family wedding we went to a few weeks ago. They both got coordinating dresses from their Aunt Melissa for their birthday's. Aren't they so cute?

Brandt likes his toes... a lot! He'll put both big toes in his mouth at the same time and suck. It's pretty funny. I love his expression on this picture. He's a keeper!!

Last night the kids and I ran to Kohl's. Well, Lucy likes to get a book and look at it while I scope out deals. We didn't get a cart, so she was looking for a place to sit and look at her book. So we are passing the bedding department and they had a bench with a cushion and pillows on it, and she says "Mommy, I just found the perfect place to read my book." She said is so sweetly, it just cracked me up that we had to stop for a bit so she could climb up there and read her book.

Last week, Lucy and Mike were playing with star wars lego's. She was playing with one of the figurines that came with it. So Mike said, you have Obiwon (I think that's how Mike spelled it). She said "well, how old is your guy." We just started laughing and the she said, "I think he is 32." I think so too, Lucy :)

Egg on your face

It's official... I have a 6month old. We started solids on Sunday. I took the non-traditional approach and started him on egg yolk. Lucy never had a problem with digestion, in fact, I'm not sure the girl ever spit up. Mr. Tankers on the other hand has been spitting up since he was 2 weeks old. He is getting better as he gets older, but because of that I have done a lot of research and found that whole grains are one of the last things that their little bodies learn to digest easily. Babies bodies easily digest fats and proteins because that is basically what mama's milk is made up of. So Michael was very excited about that, in fact, he was all about making meat shakes for Brandt. I couldn't quite go there. I also read that you can start babies out on fruits, veggies and egg yolks, especially eggs from chickens that are free-range and feed mulit-grain and flax seed because the yolk will contain higher amounts of omega 3's. It's funny because I must have read this one article 5 times and kept praying about what would work for Mr. Tankers and then one day I just saw it and felt peace that egg yolk was the answer. So, Sunday afternoon we fed him egg yolk watered down with my milk. He made some funny faces all while smiling and really not sure what to do. He really didn't eat much, but the next day he ate a little more and I'm sure today he will do even better. He looks really proud of himself while eating, it's quite cute. I made a bunch of carrots and pears the other day also, so we will slowly start adding things in. I can't believe my baby is eating food... it's bittersweet because he's growing so quickly. He's making such loud noises and one of my favorite things is when he grabs my hair or my face with both hands and gives me the biggest open mouth kiss... so slobbery and so sweet! I love that Lucy will lie down next him and talk in a high pitch voice saying "I love you, oh yes, I do," or if he is fussing she will say, "it's okay, Brandt, it's okay." She always informs me of what he is doing in car... "mommy, brandt is sucking on his binky holder... mommy, brandt has his hand in his mouth." That boy is not going to get away with anything because big sissy will be informing me of everything.

As for Lucy, well, she is a ham. She is our entertainment. Michael's sister asked if Lucy could come spend 6 days with them, and when I told Mike, he said "hmm, I don't know if I like that idea. She might be fine, but I don't think I would be." How sweet is that! There's just something about a Daddy who will play house and have tea parties with his little girl. It's precious! So, needless to say, Lucy isn't going away this summer, maybe next year. Her birthday was on Easter, so it was quite the sugar-filled day. It was a soggy and cold birthday again, but we had a great time. Lucy found her Easter basket and had a piece of candy before even having breakfast. Then we had her birthday breakfast and we got ready for church. We went to church, came home and had 15 of us for Easter dinner, then the rest of the family came over for her party, and we had 15 kids and 16 adults. It was a busy house. I think birthday's are just as special for the Mommy as it is for the child because the day is just filled with so many memories. It was a very special Easter celebrating the gift of salvation and the gift of Lucy. Yes, I did cry quite a bit that day.

We go to the doctor at the end of the week for their check-ups and we will see just how big my babies have gotten.

Cheesing

Last night we were playing a game, and Mike was cheating and teasing me. So I was telling him to stop cheating and teasing me, and so when it was Lucy's turn she turned to Mike and said "stop cheesing me, Daddy." We laughed so hard. I tell you what, that girl says the funniest things. She also calls memory game "rememory game."

We do have a potty-trained little girl. My parents gave her a Elmo coloring book that had a potty chart in it. So the day after her birthday, we put the chart up on the pantry door and every time she went to the bathroom she would put a sticker on the chart. She has only had 2 accidents since then and that was 2 1/2 weeks ago. I think turning 3 helped also because she will say things like, if I potty in my pants then I will be 2 again. I try to explain that she will never be 2 again, but hey whatever works in her little mind is good with me.

As for our little Tankers, he is such a sweet baby. He was sleeping through the night until he discovered how to roll over. So at least once a night we have to go up and roll him back over. Thankfully, he goes right back to sleep. He does wake up cooing in the morning while looking at his mobile, it's just so sweet!! Just so I remember this... things that warm my heart right now about him... the way he likes to press his cheek up against mine, the way he eats my face whenever he gets hungry and just to give me kisses, they way he will stick all his fingers in his mouth except for the pointer finger which will be next to his nose, the way he kicks his legs and waves his arms when I come to pick him up, the way he squeals and laughs on his changing table, and the way he plays with his tongue. Mike also taught him how to give "five"... his hands are always moving, so while he was hitting Mike's hands, he kept saying give me 5 and now he just does it when Mike asks him. I remember this from Lucy, how it is so hard to watch them grow out of little clothes, but how much fun each stage is.

Pictures

Lucy catching snowflakes

Brandt at 4 months

Going to the cross

We spent 2 weeks in March at my parents house. Michael thought Brandt changed a lot during those 2 weeks. He really began talking loud, laughing and being so alert during that time. He had his 4 month appointment and he weighs 15lbs, and drum roll please... he is sleeping through the night. Ahhhh, it's been a long time!! We did the cry out last weekend and after 2 nights he slept through. Although, last night he was up because he was hurting from those stinking shots. Michael had to make a run to Walmart at 3am because our Tylenol had expired and our sample was used up. I am a tired one today, but thankful that Brandt seems to feel better. He sat in his exersaucer for the first time today... it was pretty cute! He slowly made his way around the whole circle. Such small milestones that make a mama so proud. So he continues to make us laugh at how hard and fast he kicks his legs, and how he manages to stick 3 fingers and his thumb in his mouth at one time. I think he is going to be a swimmer and a thumb sucker... we are constantly pulling his thumb out and sticking his binky in. I guess time will tell.

Miss Lucy is almost 3 and absolutely refuses to be potty trained. What can a Mommy do? I know it is something that she has to decide for herself now because she will randomly just go poop on the potty or stay dry for a few days in a row. Maybe when she turns 3 she will all of a sudden realize that she is a big girl and we will be done with it, but then again that most likely won't happen. She is excited about her birthday. If you ask her what Easter is, she says it is my birthday. So we have been trying to teach her about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and rising again on the 3rd day and going to heaven to prepare a place for her one day. So the other day, she came and asked me if we can go to Jesus on the cross and tell him that it is her birthday, too. I just laughed so hard and loved on her because it was just such a precious little thought. At least now when you ask her what Easter is she responds that it is the day that we are going to celebrate Jesus and her. It will be a fun and busy day!!

Pictures as promised

Here's Brandt raising the roof at 7 weeks old. He is showing you his moves that Daddy taught him.

2 months old

Mary and Jofus

I've been waiting to get the pictures off my camera so I could post about this because it shows Lucy's creativity. So, at Christmas time we talked a lot about the birth of baby Jesus and the kids acted out the christmas story. So since then, Lucy loves to play Mary, Jofus and baby Jesus. She brought a blanket to Michael one morning and said, Daddy can I be Mary. So he put the blanket on her and she asked him if he would be Jofus (we absolutely love to hear her say Joseph... makes us smile every time). Anyhow, she said, now we have to find a manger for baby Jesus. So she gets her baby Sophie doll and sticks it in the back of her sham on her pillow. Then she gets other stuffed animals to be the wise men, shephards and animals. They call me in Lucy's room then and this is what I find....

Love you

I talked to my Mom and Dad yesterday morning and they said to tell Lucy that we love her very much. So of course I did and she smiled. So at lunch time she wanted to pray, here was her prayer.... Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for mommy, daddy and baby brandt. Thank you for daddy's job and he can go to work, and thank you that Grandma and Grandpa called to say they love me. Amen. Isn't that sweet! When she goes to sleep she has to say nigh, nigh, love you and she will cry until you come back upstairs to say it to you if she thinks you didn't hear it. So go and tell your children you love them right now... it means the world to them.

So last night I had to take some toys away from Lucy. We had started where if she wets her pants we take away a toy and then she gets it back when she goes 3 times in the potty. It had been working great because she doesn't like having her toys taken away. Well, yesterday we were out, so she had a pull-up on. I asked her several times if she had to go to the bathroom and it was always no. Anyhow, when we got home she was very wet and she didn't want her underwear back on and never went in the potty until before bed. So, I took 2 very precious toys away... her coffee pot and tea set. I thought she would cry and be upset, but she looked at me and said "I'm not sad, Mommy. It's okay." Great... not that I want her to cry, but come on it's the tea set, be a little sad so I think we are headed in the right direction with potty-training. I told her today that if she wets her pants, there will be no Dora... so far so good :)

The cute things she says

Just some sweet things Lucy has said that I don't want to forget...

The other day Michael came home from work and Lucy ran up to him and said "I'm lucky you are home."

We were talking about beautiful things that God made and she looked at me and said "God made you beautiful, Mommy." Oh and does Mommy ever love to hear that!!!

Lucy loves to sing songs. So we will sing actual songs for a while and then she will say, "Mommy, do you know this song," in which, she will proceed to make a song up and then look at me with big eyes and say "Mommy sing with me."

I love the way Lucy talks in a high pitch voice to Brandt. She will ask him questions and then tell me that "Brandt says...." It's hilarious. He probably will be 3 before he talks because she will do all the talking for him.

She thinks that we can get everything at Sams Club. Lucy and Daddy came in from the backyard wondering where the bubbles were. I told them that they were all gone, so Lucy said, "Well, we need to go buy some more at Sams Club." If you ask her what her favorite stores are, she says Hobby Lobby and Sams Club.

I know that this list will only grow. Speaking of growing... Brandt just keeps growing and getting more stinkin cute each day! I really need to learn how to take pictures off my new camera so I can post some of my sweet boy.

Gum

Brandt will be 8 weeks tomorrow and is getting so big... he found his hands this week and loves to eat them and coo. He also loves when you bend over him and talk to him. He responds with his sweet sounds that just make me smile and laugh. Last night was a momentous night because he slept from midnight to 6:30. I was so shocked and happy to not feel exhausted getting up to feed him. I know it was the one night miracle because Lucy had it too, but it sure is unexpected and wonderful.

It was Mike's birthday last Thursday and Lucy was very excited about it. I asked her what she wanted to get Daddy for his birthday and she said, I don't know, let's call him and ask him what he wants. So we called him and he told her that he wanted some gum. So we went to the store and she picked him out some watermelon gum. We were also walking by the men's department and she saw a green shirt and said, we should get that for Daddy. The girl has good taste, so we bought it. I helped her wrap the gum in some paper we colored and when Mike walked in the door that night, she ran up to him and said, Daddy, do you want to open your up your watermelon gum and can I have a piece? At least she kept the shirt a surprise. On the way to the restaurant, she said, Daddy this is the best gum I've ever had. It's only the 3rd piece of gum she has ever had, so I do believe her that it was the best.

Christmas Time

I can't believe Brandt is 6 weeks old and Christmas is over... although you wouldn't know in our house because the tree is still up and will remain that way for a little longer because I really didn't get a chance to enjoy it before. I'm thinking I should just add some hearts and leave it up for Valentines Day, that would require too much work :)

We started celebrating Christmas when my Dad took our family on the Christmas Train. It was 20 degrees, but we bundled up and had a great time. Brandt was the warmest one of all and we even found a cozy corner in a building to nurse... he was a real trooper. A few days later we headed to Kansas to spend Christmas with Mike's family. Brandt was a great traveler... he only fussed when he got hungry. That was such a blessing!! There was 22 of us at his parents house for a few days, but it really wasn't that crazy of a household, of course, every 2 hours I headed back to a bedroom to feed Brandt, so maybe the frequent breaks made it seem less chaotic. Lucy had such a great time playing with her cousin, Gracie (they are 3 months apart). I think Gracie needed a break from Lucy sometimes, because Lucy would say, let's go play downstairs, Gracie and she would say no. My sister-in-law, Marilee, told me that once she heard Lucy calling Gracie to come downstairs and Gracie kept saying no, so finally Lucy said, Gracie you come downstairs or else you will get a spanking. Where did she ever hear that? But we had fun taking pictures of the girls in matching pj's, Christmas outfits and their fancy dresses. Michael enjoyed pheasant hunting and we all enjoyed staying up late eating sweets and playing cards. When we got home we celebrated Christmas with my family on New Year's Eve at our house. My brother and parents were here from Wisconsin and my Grandma flew in from Florida, so it was nice being together. The kids put on there annual production of Luke 2 and we even had a baby Jesus... one of these years we will have to make them memorize lines, but for now someone reads it while the kids walk around and look ever so cute in their hodge podge costumes. Sweet memories!!