Who's that baby? Part 2

Everyday, I see Brennan and Samuel changing so much and I look back at pictures of Samuel as a baby and even Brennan when he was newborn and am amazed at how much they have changed. I am also struck by how similar they look; I mean Brennan really looks like Samuel when he was a baby. I definitely see differences also, but am completely amazed at how these two brothers really do look alike. During my pregnancy I often wondered if this baby (Brennan) would look like Samuel or different. I mean my sisters and I have some similarities, but I wouldn't say we look alike. So, who is that baby? Can you tell which one is Brennan and which one is Samuel?

As I look at their similarities in appearance I can't help but wonder if their personalities will bare any resemblances to one another or not. I can already tell you that Brennan is a very different baby than Samuel was, but a lot of that may have to do with him being our second born, but 3rd child in the house. One major difference is that Brennan nurses only when he is hungry. He doesn't nurse for comfort or to fall asleep; he nurses when he is hungry. Samuel on the other hand would nurse, and nurse, and nurse some more if I would let him. He nursed for comfort, he nursed when he was hungry, he nursed when he was sleepy, I think he even nursed when he was bored. Brennan also will play by himself for longer periods of time than Samuel ever did. Yet, once again...Samuel and I were alone together all day long and well, I had the time to just sit and play with him. Brennan, poor guy, has to play by himself sometimes while I tend to the other two!

With all that said, they are both wonderful boys...each unique and beautiful in many different ways. Samuel is really so sweet. He is starting this new thing where he will come up to me and say, "I love you too!" without me saying I love you first. It is great...He still loves books and loves to rhyme. His knew favorite is a tribute to my grandpa Spelbring who taught me it a long time ago. It goes like this, "Gean Gean made a machine. Joe Joe made it go. Art Art let a fart and blew it all apart. Boof!" I know my grandpa is smiling in heaven when he hears Samuel's sweet voice saying this funny little ditty. I will have to get it on video soon. Don't worry though; he also loves the tradition nursery rhymes from Mother Goose.

Brennan is growing like a weed. It's hard to believe he is 4 months old already. He loves to grab things and is really good at getting them in his mouth. During tummy time he is almost inch worming. He will get up on his knees a bit, which makes me nervous...crawling I think is just around the corner for him, Yikes! He loves to watch Samuel and Lola and often they are the ones that make him smile. Samuel the other day came up to him while I was holding him and gave him a hug. When he pulled away he said, "EEww, vomit!" Brennan had a little wet spit up on his bib and Samuel had laid his cheek on it while giving him a hug. It was too funny.

Well, hope you have fun trying to figure out Who's that baby?

Who's that Baby?

Brennan loves to look at the baby in the mirror. He doesn't quite know yet that this baby is him! He sure loves to smile and flirt with that baby. Anyway, hope you get a kick out of Brennan laughing and smiling at the baby in the mirror.

Before I was a Mom

My mom sent me this "poem" in a forward, and well I really liked it...thought I would share for all those moms out there. That goes out to all the moms in Romania taking care of all those beautiful children who do not have their biological parents to take care of them...I love you gals :)



Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night. Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy. Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Samuel...In the Night Kitchen

"Did you ever hear of Mickey, how he heard a racket in the night and shouted "Quiet down there!" and fell through the dark, out of his clothes past the moon and his mama and papa sleeping tight, into the light of the night kitchen?"

excerpt from "In the Night Kitchen"

Samuel, Brennan, and I went to the library a couple of weeks back and along with us came the kitchen whisk. Now, if you know Samuel some of his favorite play toys are kitchen utensils. For example tonight he was playing with the whisk, a little tea basket for brewing tea, and an empty plastic jug. It is funny because he actually asked for the "thingy to make ceai" (the thing to make tea) to play with. It was up in the cabinet out of sight. Well, the librarian saw Samuel and his whisk and thought he might enjoy a book called, "In the Night Kitchen" written by Maurice Sendak. I was surprised that she chose this book because the week before we had borrowed, "Where the Wild Things Are," which is another one of his books and Samuel really liked it. She
"warned" me that there was nudity in the book. I could have laughed out loud...she doesn't know that our Samuel loves to be naked, and not just naked, "butt naked" according to him :)

This book has become a hit in our home. Lola and Samuel both love it! Scott and I think it is too cute...I was surprised to read that it has been a controversial book over the years, with librarians going to the extremes of drawing underwear on little Mickey's bear butt! It is funny because in many ways Samuel is our Mickey. He loves to be naked and he loves the kitchen. If he had his way he would be naked all day. The day after Thanksgiving he was supposed to be taking a nap and I open the door only to find Samuel with a bare behind and his underwear thrown on the floor. I almost started laughing, maybe I did...(John, Kristen, Carrie, did I laugh?) Anyway, it is often a struggle to get him to wear clothes.

Here is our "Mickey" naked with whisk and jug in hand, cheesing it up!

If you want to see some more go to this link...
In the Night Kitchen - Google Book Search

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it's hard for me to believe that already Brennan has experienced so many firsts...first Halloween, first snow (which was yesterday, so pretty), first smile, and now his first Thanksgiving. He is getting so big and his personality is starting to shine through. He is such an easy going baby for the most part, except he is such a fidgety nurser...he will only nurse if he is hungry and even then it isn't always a relaxing experience. Samuel would nurse and nurse and nurse and nurse some more if I would have let him :) Brennan loves to be cuddled and he will just look up at me with the sweetest little smile. When placed on his belly he will turn his body, sometimes in a half of a circle turn by moving his arms and upper body. Believe it or not, he was getting up on his knees; he is strong. Anyway, our Thanksgiving weekend has been a bit hectic since Lola and Samuel have been pretty sick, but we still managed to see some family and eat a lot of turkey and pumpkin pie, Yummy! Here are a few picks of our Brennan Marian's first Thanksgiving!

Brennan with his cousin Erin...she is soo good with all the little kids!

Brennan with Great Granny Mary

Brennan with Kristen, uncle John's favorite gal :)


Brennan with his Mema!