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.