Sunday, December 12, 2010

Winter is here...



I realize I say this each time, but I can't believe another month has past. We've had a busy couple weeks! The Harmans took a trip to Mich to see cousin Aubrey and Uncle Phil/Auntie Kylie. The next weekend we drove to Ohio for the Wood Family Thanksgiving. Traveling has been better than expected with the addition of a new dvd player and multiple showings of the 'Toy Story' (Thank you Gpa/Gma Wood!). We were pulling into our neighborhood from our Michigan trip and Brett wakes up saying that we need to drive back to Uncle Phil's because he didn't get to watch Spongebob Squarepants yet! Apparently he did not mind the 5 hour trek.
The kids have all changed a ton again! Colin is sitting up and is now fighting back for toys:). Grace is climbing and is talking more and more. Brett is showing emerging pretend play and is constantly telling me what his toys are doing. After our Mich trip, his trucks kept 'stopping for gas and getting snacks...'. Bailey took her first step at 10 1/2 months (2 weeks before Brett:) and in Ohio at Thanksgiving she decided one step at a time was for the birds and upped the ante to full blown walking. So if you are keeping track..that's 3 walkers now. Someone is always going in a different direction. Thank God for gates.

Other Brett/Bailey updates
I found Bailey reading Daddy's Wrestling Magazine. A happy daddy did it make.

Brett changed the ABC song to say 'next time won't you wrestle wrestle me'

As I cleaned up dishes, Brett ran by, smacking my behind saying ‘Good dinner mommy, good dinner’

Bailey grabs our toy microphone and sings daily. It's adorable.

Brett requested hotdogs for breakfast about 15 times one morning.

Bailey has learned how to headbutt...Daddy is so proud.

Brett called himself a silly caboose one morning instead of silly goose.

Bailey growls constantly. As we've been Christmas shopping, she makes a point to growl at people passing by. And then she blows them a kiss.

Brett is big into football and frequently practicing…he yelled at me when I was in the kitchen ‘Watch out, you’re on the football field!’

Aubrey and Auntie Kylie visited Chicago for an American Girl weekend. After shopping downtown, Bailey and I had a number of blocks in the cold rain to get back to our car (and may I add way past her naptime). She was annoyed to say the least and Mommy didn’t have a coat…so we ran…down Michigan Ave…in the rain. She was kicking and flailing her arms in delight as I dodged the thousands of shoppers with bags and a baby in the stroller. She laughed pretty heartily and apparently amused dozens of people as they smiled and waved at us passing by.

As Brett becomes more vocal, we are noticing a little bit of push back or opposition if you will. Grandpa Wood thinks it's pretty funny and reminds me to write them down to show Brett later. For example:
Brett was dragging his feet on a walk, standing in the middle of the sidewalk as others were trying to get by. I said, 'Brett watch out please.' He said, 'No YOU watch out'

I was struggling with Brett complying... I said 'you listen to Mommy right?'
He responded, 'not right'

In Ohio, I asked Brett to come to change his clothes. He responded 'No thank you, Brett's busy.'

There was a chip in the paint that Brett was hammering his screwdriver into. I
said, 'Brett did you put that hole in the wall?'. He said, 'No, you did that'

Brett climbs all the time. He was attempting to scale the couch armrest, to get to the table, to reach the top of the bookshelf...not a good move from a mom standpoint. I was just saying Brett get down and he flips off landing square on his head and is quickly screaming in pain. I picked him up and said I'm sorry you got hurt but that's why mommy didn't want you to climb on the table. I return to the kitchen to catch him right back on the table and very carefully maneuvering his leg down to the ABC train making it back to the floor. He yells, 'Brett did it! Brett did it! Did not fall and hit head!' I guess you gotta appreciate his perseverance.

We are noticing more affection between the siblings. If Bailey is upset or sad, I can tell Brett to dance or jump around and it will make her laugh. Brett is Bailey's biggest fan as she's mastering walking. He's always clapping and saying, 'Mommy look! Her's walking! Yay Bailey!' In the kitchen, she was stumbling around, Brett told her 'Bailey you MUST be careful!'.

And my favorite, today during an early morning family snuggle time, Brett says 'Bailey's the best Bailey ever! I love her!'

Winter is here!

Halloween

Friday, October 29, 2010

Typical Harmans Yelling at Dinner

Much belated...for Auntie Kylie

Oct is over, really?

I’m not sure where to start with all the funny stories from the last month! I realize I procrastinated posting long enough that I have way too many pictures to share. Harman daycare is still under way and is truly entertaining and draining at the same time! We are starting to see a solid schedule emerging and the kids are all adapting well! With the 4 being so young, they are changing and growing so fast! Little Grace turned 1 and is walking! Colin is more and more alert and interacting with the other kids. Brett is discovering that the girls are now tall enough (and coordinated enough) to reach ‘his’ toys that once were safe up on the couch. We are stressing and encouraging the rules of sharing daily:) Bailey is crawling now with speed and is standing unassisted quite a bit.

There are days when it seems it’s just too easy, and everything (everyone) works out perfectly (everyone naps, eats well, loves storytime and plays nicely)…and then there are moments when Brett is screaming at the top of his lungs Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I’m in the middle of changing Colin with a potential sprayer exposed, Bailey falls back and knocks her head on the floor (screaming), and Grace is making a fast dash to the gate. But it’s those seconds that make it sincerely enjoyable. You can’t script scenes like that; it’s the wonderful joys of life:)

More Harman kids updates/stories…
Brett was pushing the little shopping cart saying to himself “Brett go to grocery store, get hotdogs, bananas and strawberries” so I asked him what he was going to get for mommy. He smiled and said “Mommy’s coffee”. Good, smart boy!

Bailey has become great at independent play and can really entertain herself for a good amount of time…but she notices right away if I’m not holding or taking care of someone else. She’ll crawl right up and laugh while she gives a great big hug.

At breakfast Brett was trying to say something and I wasn’t catching it…so he explained further….”Shape, like square, rectangle…Grace’s cup is octagon”. Silly mommy said “oh honey an octagon has 8 sides, it probably only has 4 or 6, right?”…we counted and he was right.

Bailey now says Dada, Momma, Baba (for Brett), Ticka Ticka (for tickle), Buh bye (but only to Colin’s mom), and I swear I heard a touchdown in there once or twice as well. She growls for bears and lions, waves hi and bye, and says “oooo yay” when really excited.

Mommy stands corrected. When the majority of your actual conversations are with a 2-year-old, it’s easy to think you are always right or at least what you say is all they know…until lately.
-Brett told me the moon was an oval not a circle (that night it was not a full moon and it did kind of look like an oval)
-I told him to check out the tow truck passing us, “mommy, not a tow truck. It’s a flatbed truck towing a car”. There is a difference and he was right.
-Saw flashing lights coming towards us and told him to look for the ambulance…he said, “Not ambulance, red fire truck”. It was dark and it was far away there was no way he could tell that…sure enough it was a red rescue FIRE TRUCK.
-We were in the car at a red light and the car ahead of us moved forward. “mommy, move up there”
-After his nap, I was changing Brett’s diaper and his saw the remains of the crackers I was eating so I told him he could finish them….he says “Brett eat 2 crackers”. I said “yep, there are 2 left”. He says “mommy ate 4 crackers”. (1.) how did he know there were 6 total in the package? (2.) how does a 2-year-old correctly use deductive reasoning to come to the conclusion that since there should be 6 total, his mother must have already had 4….and (3.) why does he need to call his mother out like that?

I asked Brett what the favorite part of the day was…he said playing blocks with Bailey:)

On a really windy day, Brett said the sound was the sky crying.

While the other 3 little ones are napping, I sometimes reward Brett by allowing him to pick a show to watch. It gives him something to look forward to and it keeps him quiet while the others are sleeping. The other day, he cocks his head to the side, and says “Mommy, Brett watch ONE Chuggington?”, holding his little finger up. Sure Brett we can watch one show. He says “But not Mommy’s dancing show”…apparently he was not a fan of us taking turns where Mommy got to watch Dancing with the Stars. I said, “Brett you make Mommy laugh.” He said, “Thanks Mommy, Thanks”

Bailey was standing and fell, hitting her mouth on a toy on the way down. As I’m holding a crying Bailey, she pushes me away and I see she’s clapping through tears….the toy was still playing “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands”

Brett daily tells me he has to do something like Daddy...wear tennis shoes like daddy, put hood up like daddy, say 'go blue' like daddy....that's fine Brett, then you can cry like daddy when they lose.

I hear a huge thud and raucous upstairs while Brett and Bailey are still napping. My heart drops and I run up to see who fell out of bed…come to find Bailey laughing and jumping in her crib while Brett is standing in the middle of her room reading books to her. I told him (1.) you are not supposed to get out of bed during nap without telling mommy, (2.) can you stay right there so mommy can get the camera??

Tough being a Mich fan in this house!

Late Oct

Early Oct

Pics from Phone

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

School is in Session!

‘Harman home daycare’ has been under way for a month now and I would like to announce that we have all survived and are adjusting to the many changes. Some days are more challenging than others, just like being a parent of 2 little ones, but overall things are going well. To give you a taste of what a typical day looks like with a 2 year old (Brett), 11 month old (Grace), 8 month old (Bailey) and a 3 month old (Colin)…
Average – 16-18 diapers at least!
13 cups or bottles
6 meals
8-9 naps (unfortunately none taken by me)
2 Storytimes...the goal anyway(they currently all LOVE Brown Bear, Brown Bear)
Typically multiple changes of clothes (I actually fit in this one, there is usually spit up or some other ‘liquid’ on me for one reason or another)
And 2 very large needed cups of coffee...I never thought I would say that.
I was thinking other day of how many options we need or have to accommodate or ‘secure’ all of these peanuts and to shed light we have: 2 beds, 3 pack n’plays, 2 high chairs, 2 booster seats, a swing/bouncer, jumperoo, bumbo seat, 2 single strollers, 1 double stroller, 1 radio flyer…oh and the newest addition, the QUAD stroller. Yes, that is an actual stroller MADE to strap in and push 4 children at one time. It is a beast. And a necessary, blessed contraption at that. It is a used stroller and it is extremely heavy to maneuver but it is SO nice to be able to get out of the house, even if it is for a little while. Really, in consideration of our schedule (meals and naps) the most opportune time to get out of the house is b/w 8-9 am. And that’s kind of it. So I have been making a huge effort to do so and take advantage of the fresh air. The first day that we got out of the house (after 20 min of preparing and getting all 4 strapped in) the kids literally went silent for 5-10 minutes. It was amazing.
For Brett and Bailey updates…
Brett has been doing great with all the changes, he has had to grow up a lot and help me with the other ones. Sometimes he’s cool with this…other times, he resists, in a way that 2 year olds do. We’ve actually had to change his typical time-out routine since it was too close to other kids sleeping and I didn’t want his screaming to upset anyone. If he misbehaves now, we ‘take a break’ and this is done in the room with me. He has to count to 10 so that I can hear him, take 2 deep breaths, tell me why he needed a break and then apologize to me and typically his sister for whatever he did. I’ve been really impressed how well this has worked and has been incredibly easier than his original time out.
Bailey is growing up way too fast now. I really think by watching 2 kids older than her, she has taken it upon herself be like them. She will NOT be left behind. As soon as Grace started here, Bailey has been determined to do whatever she is dong. She is crawling, belly off the floor. She is standing. She is pulling up on toys/furniture. She is climbing on/over anything she can find. And she has the funniest little personality coming out. We started with some finger foods (Cheerios, bread, etc) and now most times, she refuses to eat pureed baby food (much to my disappointment since I just made a bunch more). Bailey yells, laughs, gets worked up with the other kids and can even be a little sassy if she is in the mood for it. She cheers and claps when one of the other kids comes back after a nap. She also has become the biggest cuddler, loves to give kisses and hugs and has become a ‘little mama’ to the baby we are watching. Whenever Colin is around, Bailey has to crawl over to check on him, hold his hand and occasionally take his binky and blanket to snuggle with (we are working on the last 2).
Brett’s funny sayings…
Every train stop on the way to Auntie Zora’s house yelling…’Zooooorrrra, where ARE you?’
‘Choochoo loud…baby (Bailey) scared. Uh oh, choochoo say sorry.’
When the batteries were out in his toy ‘OH NO MOMMY, don’t work! Call 911!’
‘See you tomorrow…after night night.’
When Colin came in, ‘Hi there buddy’
When he pinched me, ‘Hurt Mommy’s arm…’ (put a cracker in my mouth) ‘here, feel better’
Rob threw a football at Brett when Brett was not looking ‘Not nice Daddy, not nice’
Told him it was a special morning because we had coffee cake for breakfast, he started singing happy birthday to you. Realized he’s never had cake without it being for someone’s birthday.
Brett also has picked up singing…ABC’s, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider and what seems to be his favorite…Row Row Row your boat. Literally 5-6x a day, I’ll catch him mid-song…’Merrily, merrily merrily, merrily, life bum bum bum DREAM!’
Brett had a blast going to one of Rob's wrestling events, he ran around and threw himself on the mat yelling 'WRESTLE WRESTLE'. I actually heard him yesterday when I was in the kitchen saying 'Wrestle Babies' (Me) "BRETT, NO!"
We've been trying to get ready for Halloween and talking to Brett about what he wants to dress up as. We have a catalog and he was pretty set and determined on a firefighter. But just in the last couple of days, he's told me he wants to dress up like daddy. Rob's response...I mean, why wouldn't we let him be what he wants?!?

Saturday, August 21, 2010

A lover and a fighter

A wonderful summer comes to an end...

There’s much to update, as my dear husband so kindly reminds me. Ironically, I was ‘encouraged’ to do so while he is off on another man date with Pat. That’s right, I said it. Rob’s on a man date, to a Slayer concert no less. Brett was actually upset that he was not allowed to go. He was chasing them out the door, grabbing his shoes saying “Brett go Uncle Pat Pat’s music!” Meanwhile I’m stuck with a 2 year old for the rest of the night asking to go to a heavy metal concert and confused as to why that would be an inappropriate place for a toddler.
We were blessed with the opportunity to have a kids free weekend for our birthday/anniversary celebration last month. Both Johnson Great Aunts and Grandma Nancy stayed with Brett and Bailey so that Rob and I could enjoy some time with each other. It was great to have a break but couldn’t avoid waking up at 6am like usual. Brett certainly appreciated the extra attention and asked for days where Bobbie and Barbie went.
We had a quick couple days in Ohio. We went down to Cincinnati to see my old college roommates and their new additions (Baby Sawyer Bradshaw and Alexandra Brenkus), then up to MG for a few days with the Wood grandparents. Poor Bailey was sick for the majority of the time, come to find out she had THREE teeth coming in (total count up to 5!) and an ear infection to top it off. She did great considering she had a high fever for days. Sorry I didn't get many pictures of that trip, camera was dead.
Other Harman updates:
Rob is back to school, he started the beginning of Aug….and has been without A.C. in 90+ degree weather…but remains quite positive.
Bailey has ‘graduated’ from her DOC band so she is officially done with it. She looks great.
Brett has a fantastic memory and has no shame selling out his father. (“Brett, what did daddy give you for breakfast?” “cookies” “Oh really?”)
Bailey is officially on the move. She’s not technically crawling since her belly doesn’t come off the ground except for the occasional ‘yoga plank’ but she does scoot with purpose and gets to where she wants to go.
Bailey has a good grip…ask Brett and his poor hair that she pulled out.
I’m attempting to make Bailey’s baby food …we’ve accomplished bananas, avocado, sweet potato, and papaya. Next we’re adding butternut squash, plums, apples and pears. I just made sweet potato and butternut squash pancakes for Brett...who am I?
My 7 month old daughter and my 2 year old son can wear the same diaper size….
We’ll be adding 2 more kids to the Harman house this year…NO, not our own! I’m watching two other little ones. So soon there will be Brett and 3 under 12 months…it’s going to be busy. And that’s a lot of diapers.
Brett made me rewind the morning news 3x so he could see the fire trucks and ambulances on an accident report.
Bailey LOVES music. Now that she’s sitting up, she’ll bounce and dance with anything that is on. She is a particular fan of the ABC’s and Itsy Bitsy Spider.
The terrible 2’s have hit and time outs are typically experienced multiple times a day… but now Brett puts himself in time out. He squeezed Bailey making her cry (his most frequent transgression), he said “Whoops, Brett time out, go sit down” and walked out of the room.
Bailey’s legs got stuck in her crib (please refer back to diaper size)…enough so that I actually had a hard time getting her out. Time for the bumpers!
Rob was trying to get Brett to say “Go Blue”…he responded by yelling “NO, Go Buckeyes!” Happy Mama and Happy Football Season

Summer trips

Thornburg/Harman Visit

We’ve had a lot of fun this summer. Our 2nd annual Thornburg/Harman visit was a blast! Brett Thornbug (4) and Brett Harman (2) were hilarious and exhausted by the end of the weekend. We took all 3 kids on the train downtown to the Children’s museum at Navy Pier. The actual commute was tiring for the adults in 90 degree weather but the Bretts were thrilled to experience a train ride, bus ride AND got to play at the museum. We enjoyed wonderful BBQ food from Smoque. And then the boys had ‘no girls’ breakfast on the McCann yacht. Our Brett was basically hyperventilating from so many transportation opportunities. Dustin and Rob, I’m sure will say their highlight was hearing that without any provocation, the Bretts without talking, grabbed the boxing gloves and holding pads and started ‘practice’ in the morning after breakfast. It went about 3 exchanges and then Harman realized he wasn’t as big as he thought he was. Game over. He also refused to be called “little Brett”. I told him coming down from a nap that he could be ‘little Brett’ and Brett Thornburg could be ‘Big Brett’ so it wouldn’t be so confusing. He immediately argued saying, “no, Big Brett too” pointing to himself. Fair enough. Can't wait for next year's reunion!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Summer time at the Harman house

I apologize firstly for my delay in posting. Rob, as he was off for a solo movie night, told me this evening to stop playing with my phone and to utilize my time effectively to update our blog (verbatim). So to my dear husband, who is eager to read the blog but reluctant to put forth any effort to help, this is for you.
Much has happened in June so I will try my best to summarize without missing too many things. Rob is off for the summer (YAY). But with his school changing to a year-round schedule next year, he really only has a couple more weeks off (BOO). Brett and Bailey have really appreciated the extra time with their father and I too, enjoy the family bonding but am finding it difficult to have one more person to clean up after: ) Case in point, we still have not unpacked from vacation, which we returned from over a week ago. Our suitcases and laundry have over taken the front room and we just keep finding other more entertaining things to do.
This year for vacation we made a trip to Michigan with my parents, and brother’s family for a week at Traverse City. It was a new area for us and I think we really enjoyed it. We were in a great condo on the beach and were able to take advantage of the pool/gym at the hotel beside us…not that Rob and I entered the gym, but the pool was nice! Brett LOVED the beach and could have spent every day there! He really knew how to work Papa into playing with him…i.e. chase the bucket after Brett threw it into the water. It was precious. Weeks ago, Brett was reading one of his library books about transportation (need I mention again, he is SUCH a boy), we get to a page that asks how would you like to travel? Brett says ‘ride boat’. So of course we called grandma and grandpa Wood for Brett to say “papa, ride boat!” Sure enough, Uncle Phil pulled through and rented a boat for us one afternoon and Brett was certainly the happiest one aboard. He was even allowed to drive…he still talks about it.
To inform anyone we haven’t discussed with, Bailey has to wear a DOC band on her head to help shape her development. Her doctor noticed very early on that she preferred to lay her head to one side and even with modifications and changes in routine by us, it wasn’t getting better. She is one stubborn lady. So after a month of appts and insurance calls she received this band (basically resembles a wrestling headgear, fitting for our house). We were quick to decorate and personalize since it was pretty bland and unattractive but that was more for our sake. She adapted quickly since she wears it 23 hours a day. We noticed a change within a week and she is almost done with her treatment. Her therapist says she is doing great and should be done in a couple of weeks. I’ve seen these bands before and didn’t realize what exactly they did, and for Bailey it’s just to help guide the growth of her head to be more symmetrical. It has nothing to do with cognitive development, purely aesthetics. Since there are more pictures of her this month with it on, I thought I should share.
Other quick new things with Brett and Bailey:
Brett now sleeps in a BIG BOY bed. Hasn’t got out once.
Bailey rolls all over the place and will be crawling soon!
Brett talks NON-stop. I’ve even notice some talking in his sleep which kills me to hear what he’s thinking about when he’s dreaming. After the boat ride day , he was saying “go, GO, GO!”
Bailey has just started baby food…bananas (ok), peas (good), sweet potatoes (not a fan). Totally opposite of what Brett liked
Brett seems to have a good arm…and why Rob encourages this sort of practice in the house is still beyond me.
Bailey started talking! Of course her first words were ‘da da’. Obviously she is warming up Rob for when she asks to take the credit card to go shopping. She is learning fast:) She currently has him in the palm of her chubby little hand
Brett loves climbing and going in the 'sky'
For months Brett always wanted to know where people were going when they left...sometimes we would say they had to go home, or to lunch or to bed. But now it's his answer for everything. I was changing his diaper the other day and he said "Bye bye poop. go home, eat, night night!" And then he laughed hysterically.
Bailey had her 6 month appt – she is in the 90% for weight and 75% for height. Her doc said she looked great!
During breakfast one morning Brett said “iying (crying)”
(ME) who’s crying?
(Brett) Fruit loop
(ME)Why is your fruit loop crying?
(Brett) Broke…Bump head…UH oh

I'm so glad he's sensitive to how others feel:)

Rob returned from said movie with McFlurries…all is forgiven. For now

Vacation to Traverse City MI

Monday, June 7, 2010

Brett's Birthday and Party!

May 2010

For Brett’s birthday on May 24th, he spent the day with his ladies (mommy and Bailey)! Brett got a new haircut and new Nikes that look just like Daddy’s. Every time we put them on, he says Daddy’s shoes. We went to have lunch at Brett’s favorite restaurant, The ChooChoo. Brett was sooo excited. Every time the train came by, he would yell and point Bailey’s head in the right direction and tell her to look. We have some wonderful pictures of a very happy boy from that morning. Brett ended the day with playing with Daddy, and opening up his first Thomas the Train set. It was a good day.
Brett’s Truck Bday party weekend was quite the success! He had lots of friends and family to share the day with him. He got so many new trucks that he actually has tried sharing them with Bailey. A great step, I think. The Wood family all made the trip and I know Brett and his mommy certainly appreciated and enjoyed their company. Brett can say all their names now so it was very sad when they left and he asked where EACH one of them went? Brett did a great job at his 2 year appt. The doctor was asking different developmental questions; can he name 8 body parts, is he putting 2-3 words together, etc. She asked if he could jump with both feet off the ground… Brett proceeded to jump off the stool. The doctor said, ‘that would be a yes’. Brett is measuring 35 inches tall and 27lbs. He jumped up to the 75% for height and just under 50% for weight. If anyone is keeping track, add 27 to Bailey’s 16, and you have me carrying 43 pounds of babies at some point during each day. Brett surprises me and makes me laugh with the new things that he is saying. Lately if he is making a sentence negative, he just throws a ‘no’ at the end. So yesterday he told me “Be-Ta (Brett) night night NO!” I was running around forgetting things left and right the other day, and Brett said “silly mommy”. He loves talking to his trucks and counts them and calls them by name and color. On the way to his bday festivities, we passed a Black Police SUV pulling over a Cement Mixer Truck. I think he yelled it 15 times! He’s also become pretty perceptive. The other morning Bailey started getting cranky and Brett said “Baby tired, night night”. I looked at the clock and he was right, it was time for her nap.
Bailey has turned a corner! She is such a happy, smiling baby now. I was a little worried for Brett’s birthday party that I would be stuck holding her the entire time, but I don’t think I had her at all. It was such a relief! She was passed around the whole day and was perfectly content. She took a little longer than Brett to roll over, but once she did it, she had it down. She rolls back and forth and is never in the same spot that I lay her anymore. We started cereal with her a week ago, she all the sudden seemed interested in grabbing our spoons and food so we thought it was time. She picked up on it rather quickly. The first feeding, she started fussing so I thought maybe she didn’t like it or was having a hard time, but then I realized I just wasn’t going fast enough for her!
Brett seems fascinated with Bailey’s development. He gets so excited for her to do new things. His new thing is to ‘carry her on his shoulders’ like Daddy does with him. She thinks it’s hilarious and he gets so proud of himself!

Bailey's 5 Months! Brett Turns 2!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

We got a tooth!


As soon as I thought we were getting into a routine, Bailey started teething. I knew the drooling was getting out of control but realized when she was 'chewing' on my finger that a tooth had already popped through. No wonder we are back to getting up at 4am!

Brett still loves his sister dearly and we continue to work on 'gentle' ways of showing it. We thought he was kissing her hand and after she started screaming, we realized he was biting her. "Brett! Did you just bite Bailey?" "YEAH!" Apparently something else we need to work on.

Brett figured out this month how to climb into Bailey's crib...we asked him how he got in there so he showed us how he scaled the bars, pulled himself up, and then flipped over, falling head first into the mattress. Thankfully he has not done this while Bailey was IN the crib. I'm sure she would not appreciate her brother jumping on her when she's asleep. I guess she is learning quickly what it's like having an older brother.

We've been working on new words every day with Brett, saying names of family members and things we see. We were doing patty-cake the other day, Brett thinks it's hilarious to do "ROOOOLLLL it" with his hands. He was giving me names of people to make cakes for. We did our cousins Asha (yaya) and Aubrey (AH-Bee), Uncle Chris (kiss) and then Obama. So because Brett insisted, we made a cake for the president.

The other afternoon we were cooking dinner and waiting for daddy to come home. Bailey was in her bouncy chair and Brett was running around. Bailey had kicked off her shoe and somehow got it into her mouth to chew on and I laughed saying "Oh Bailey we don't eat our shoes" I turned back to the stove but not before catching Brett smacking her saying "NO SHOE MOUTH!" People warned us how hard it would be having 2 kids this close in age and they were right. We are definitely admitting we were naive, but no one could prepare you for how funny it is.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Is it really May already?

I'm struggling to grasp the fact that it's May and in this month Bailey is 4 months old and Brett will be turning 2! Where does the time go?
Bailey had her 4 month appt and her doc said clearly she has no issues with growing! Bailey is now over 16lbs and in the 95th percentile for weight for girls her age....yes I said 95. She is still sleeping well through the night and the long crying fits are not nearly as often. She smiles and laughs but it's usually at Brett. Last night Brett and I were reading and Bailey thought it was hilarious for us to "Nay" like a horse. We got out Brett's old jumperoo and she seems to be a big fan of it!
Brett is almost 2. I feel like we just had his first birthday. While I'm in denial about how old he is, he is growing and changing daily! It's funny as he is becoming more verbal, I'm seeing how much he really does understand and take in. He used to growl (for truck) and shrug his shoulders meaning "where is his truck?". Now he is saying "white truck go?" I worked on colors with him for like a day or two and now his favorite thing is to name what color everything is. It's quite cute. He loves going to the library and looking at books. It's so nice that the library is 1/2 a block away, we go for evening walks there 3-4 times a week. I visited a friend for lunch last week at an elementary school. Not only was the room full of kid-size furniture and bright colors but Brett saw a fire truck (twice!), a school bus (multiple times), a white van, and then we were stopped by a train on the way home with 84 cars. He was yelling and pointing so much he was exhausted by the time we got home. Brett was in heaven!

May flowers!

Wow, has it really been almost 2 years since I’ve updated the Harman blog?! Rob has been not so subtly dropping hints that I have neglected ...