Belly Surfing Brennan!

Brennan is really changing so much, so very quickly. He will be five months old soon and at his 4 month well baby appointment he weighed 20lbs and was 27 1/2 inches long. He can now roll from his back to his stomach and Samuel and I call him rolly polly Brennan. The name is two-fold: one he likes to roll all over the place when you put him down and two he is a chub. Samuel will touch his cheeks and say, "you chubby Brennan." Brennan also loves to "belly surf." He gets both of his arms and legs off the ground and just rocks himself on his belly. He is belly surfing.

I really believe it won't be long before he is crawling because he inches himself around already and turns around while on his stomach. Just like his big brother, he loves to be naked! If you put him on the floor and strip him down, he is very happy and content for quite a while. I wonder where they get this from? :) I think they are on to something though...

Did someone say drool? Well, as you can see by the picture above Brennan is drooling non-stop and if not drooling he is spitting up. Poor baby has reflux, but the doctor thinks by at least 9 months it should get better!?! 9 months...I was hoping like maybe 6 months. The drool on the other hand is because he is teething. Brennan is constantly chewing on something and he even takes his pacifier from his mouth and will chew on it instead of sucking.

Welcome back excer-saucer! Samuel loved this thing and it seems that Brennan enjoys it also, which is nice for mama. It is always handy to have some place safe and entertaining to put the baby when I need both hands free. I like it because it not only entertains, provides development of various muscles, but it also prevents baby from being stepped on or sustaining any other form of injury that a toddler could inflict on baby purposely or by accident.

This brings me to Samuel's new found interest in his baby brother. I absolutely love seeing Samuel interact more and more with Brennan. He will talk to him and tell him that he loves him. When Brennan starts to babble Samuel says, "he talkin' mama." Samuel wants to know where Brennan is if he can't see him. He also has been asking if Brennan can play, usually on his cushions that he is building mountains and houses and boats out of. The other day we made a little "casuta" house out of the cushions. All three of us were crammed under our little roof reading a book. Samuel got the biggest kick out of Brennan being in there with him. However, along with all this lovin' comes some danger...yikes! Samuel likes to touch Brennan's face and chubby cheeks. He likes to hug him and try and pick him up. Last night while watching American Idol (I know I know, I'm a horrible mom), Samuel was playing with Brennan's fingers putting them in his mouth. All is well until Brennan starts screaming crying. I look at his finger and there on his chubby finger are two distinct teeth indentations. Samuel had bit him. After his time out we talked about how what he did was mean and how he hurt his brother. That night during prayer, when I thank God for Jesus who died on the cross to forgive us for all the bad things we do, Samuel said, "I bit Brennan, that was mean." I told him yes it was but that God forgives us and that He loves us even when we do mean things.

There you have it...a mini update on Brennan's new accomplishments and also a little about Samuel the big brother!

Christmas Medley

Christmas has come and gone and we are already well into the new year of 2009; so I thought I better get a move on and write a little bit of this and that about Christmas. After all it was Brennan's first Christmas and it would be a shame not to blog about it, thus immortalizing it forever in the "cyber realm." So, here it goes a little hodgepodge of Christmas 2008.

Part I: Christmas Roaming

Christmas this year we roamed from one place to another and it was great to be able to see everyone at some point this year even if it wasn't on Christmas day.

It all began with an 80th birthday bash for Grandma Elizabeth Faye D. We celebrated the life of this wonderful woman and then celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ with the family after her party. It was great to see those family members that we don't often get to spend time with throughout the year.

The next jaunt on this Christmas journey took us to Scott's brother John's place, where we spent a couple nights hanging out with Nana Carrie, Great Granny Mary, Uncle Dude, and Kristin and her folks. The kids enjoyed hanging out with everyone getting to read books, stay up late, make Christmas cookies, and eating breakfast out a nice little mom and pops place. Lola and Samuel shared a pancake the "size of your head," but Scott helped them finish it. Samuel also loved hearing these old men sing a Christmas carol with the banjo as accompaniment. He looked a little scared because they encircled him and there wasn't much room to move in the place anyway. But I asked him if he liked hearing the banjo and he said yes. He loves musical instruments and at the time was stuck on the banjo.

Christmas eve was spent at Mema and Poppie's house with my sisters and nieces. We had a great time eating chili and ham! Scott, Samuel, Brennan, and I went with my mom to her church for Christmas eve service. It was nice to spend Christmas eve with my mom; it has been a long time since I've done that. During the mini sermon the pastor was focusing on Jesus being God with us, so he used the word Immanuel. As soon as he said Immanuel, Samuel says quite loudly, "Oh, he said Immanuel!" There was chuckling all around us. Samuel had been learning from our advent book the story of Jesus' birth and we had taught him what Immanuel means. He was pretty excited that the pastor knew it also :) That night at our house we read the advent book with Samuel and Nana Carrie. Scott was reading it and Samuel was laying on his shoulder not even looking at the pages. As Scott was reading he would stop every once in a while and Samuel would fill in the blank. For example, Scott would read, "and the angel said..." and Samuel would say, "do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy!." By the end of the story though Samuel had fallen asleep.

Christmas morning we had homemade cinnamon rolls (courtesy of my wonderful baker husband). We bid a Christmas farewell to Nana and we were off to the farm and then to my Aunt Carol's to see the Spelbring side of the family. At Aunt Carol's Samuel gave Grandma Spelbring her Christmas present, which was saying the funny poem that Grandpa Spelbring taught all of us grandkids (Gean Gean made a machine...). She got the biggest kick out of it.

That night Scott, Samuel, and I camped out on the living room floor and fell asleep to the beautiful hue of Christmas lights.

Up to this point I have barely mentioned Brennan, and well it was HIS first Christmas...Brennan was pretty unmoved by it all. Who can blame him he was only 4 months old. Next year he will get into it more. He was loved on, ooed and aahed over, probably spit up a number of times, and well slept. Sorry Brennan baby, more about you next Christmas!

Final destination on our Christmas tour was Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Tina's place. Lola came home the next day and then we were off. Everyone hung out and ate ginger snaps or wait was that just John and Scott who ate the ginger snaps? Just kidding...we all gloried in the savory goodness of ginger snaps thanks to Tina. Samuel and Lola were so excited about sleeping in sleeping bags and making "mountains" with the foam flip chairs that Grandpa Chuck gave them to sleep on. Samuel fell asleep on Uncle John's lap watching the movie the "Elf." It was too cute. When we left our van was full and the foam chairs were in the back of the van, one on each side of Lola. Which brings me to the second part of this Christmas Medley.

Part II: Christmas Presents: New, Used, or Belonging to Someone else

First I must begin with a disclaimer to all those who purchased and gave our children wonderful Christmas gifts. This in no way diminishes the joy they have found in their presents it is only a funny way one mom, Me, has viewed the capricious fancies of small children.

During our Christmas roaming I noticed that Samuel and Lola loved all of the toys they received. Opening the gifts with great acclamations of joy and surprise. Not wanting to open another gift because they wanted to immediately play with the toy they just opened . They were definitely excited about each new toy and remembered what they had received. A couple of times in the car they would ask about such and such toy just to make sure it was in the car with us. One toy Samuel was so excited about, a plastic guitar, didn't even work but he carried it around with him and enjoyed it anyway. However, for all the joy and excitement these new toys brought I found my children returning to what I like to call used toys, using the word "toy" very loosely.

Samuel at one point was playing with the Boppy pillow using it as a hoola hoop or something else. At John's house the kids had great fun with an old parachute that Scott brought home from one of his schools. Scott and John made a tent with it in his downstairs and they loved it. Or my favorite is the foam cushions. This "toy" could technically be considered used and new, but all the same it has been the most loved and well used toy this Christmas. Remember the previous said foam chairs that came home with us from Grandpa Chuck's? Well, once they arrived at our house they were fired from their job as a chair and promoted to being mountains, boats, bridges or whatever else a 2 and 3 year old can imagine. A day does not go by that Samuel and Lola do not have them thrown all over the living room jumping and diving onto them. It is great fun and with minimal injuries up to this point. If new or used toys don't fit your fancy try something belong to someone else.

Samuel and Lola have both been very interested in Brennan's new baby toys. On many occasions I have seen them playing with his stacking stars, finger puppets, and glow worm. Also, they both really enjoy fighting over each other's toys. :) Siblings... At John's house Scott opened his gift from Mandy and found a neat soccer jersey. He didn't have long to even admire it because Samuel wanted to wear it. He kept it on for some time. Too cute!

Well this brings to and end my Christmas Medley. Hope you all enjoyed the pictures at least, if not my ramblings also.