2nd Annual Thornburg/Harman Visit

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

June Pics

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!