Monday, January 10, 2011

The Behen kiddo's...15 months and 3 years


I'm so grateful that both of our kids seems to truly love each other. There is mild bickering that occurs, but it's not all that bad and I'm sure that will continue as they get older and likely worsen...but underlying all of that is genuine affection for each other that makes any parent smile. After growing up with 2 sisters whom I'm very close with, I've wondered how it was going to be having one of each and have hoped that they will remain close and be friends. At the end of the day it's your siblings that always stick by you...so these two had better take note!



all we are missing is daddy and Jayden...


dueling froggies...Claire has "surrogate frog" with her as the actual froggie blanket is staying at home...she accepts ''surrogate frog" only in the absense of the real one. If you want to test out her insane infant strength...just try taking the froggie...











Claire-15 months old

I can't our baby girl is now 15 months old...I had a hard enough time comprehending the age of 1. Despite being a little grumpy during her pictures we managed to get a few good shots in here thanks mostly to her older brother being a complete goofball. If she had gotten her way, her pacifier and froggie blanket would have been in every frame...but alas mommy won and the froggie only snuck into one shot (in another post with her brother.)

Our sweet little princess is starting to talk more and more and thinks she's ready to run, climb the walls and do forward rolls. Her most common words are "mama" "up" "more" "bed" "dog" "poopoo" and "mine." She also uses signs for a few words (more, please and milk), and walks over to give kisses on a whim. Todd claims she said "breakfast" on Saturday but he couldn't get her to do it again. She is quite the little dancer and just tonight stepped up onto a stool and started dancing away to (insert shudder here) rap music. She apparently loves the rhythm and loud beat. This kid has music and dancing in her blood as she has started to wave her hand up and down to the rhythm when she likes a song...and she's accurate. I'm expecting her first drum solo any day. In addition she has developed quite the set of vocal cords...and likes to yell when in the company of her brother just for fun. Mommy didn't think it was so fun when she was trying to help edit and select the pictures from the photo shoot. She is still quite mommy obsessed and has a very hard time if I'm in another room and she knows about it. Thankfully her last few months she has been consistently sleeping 12 hours at night and taking 2 naps a day...gives mommy a nice break. She has also been healthy which has been a tremendous stress reliever. We can now safely assume that her little body has recovered from mono which she got around the age of 10 months. The theory is that mono was the reason she kept getting sick and wasn't getting better as her immune system was being barraged every time she turned around. Now no longer in daycare, she's a healthy kiddo and we are all much happier and less stressed!

While it's hard to watch her grow up, it's fun at the same time and I appreciate her gaining independence. She is still a baby in so many ways and I plan to cherish every single moment of her sweet baby cuddles and wet sloppy kisses since here in a few years she won't want anything to do with that. It's also very sweet to watch how infatuated she is with her big brother...and he's turning into quite the protector, at least out in public, when she's not messing with his precious animals or dinosaurs.


This dress was one worn by both of my sisters and I when we were little. I'm so grateful that my mom held onto these for Claire to have the chance to wear...and mainly just for me to take pictures of!












This picture alone was worth the slight headache the 90 minute appt caused!
























Brenden-3 years old


It's hard to believe our little Christmas Eve miracle is now a "big" 3 year old. He's apparently not a "big" kid just yet as he's now in the 10-20th percentile for weight...but he is in the 50th percentile for height. He makes up for his small stature in pure attitude and vocabulary. According to his pediatrician he speaks better than most 6 year olds and has a larger vocabulary than most. Just ask Aunt Lindsay, he schooled her in animal knowledge, and she was really trying to stump him.

He was quite the little helper today getting pictures done and really helped eek out a few smiles from his little sister who was being a tad grumpy (not that she EVER makes a scowling face). Mommy still isn't ready to talk about what went down after the pictures were done and she was trying to help edit and select pictures...to make a long story short it was a 7:30 bedtime without any "shows." We would also like to apologize for the 70's looking hair in a few of these shots...thanks to the weather his curls were non-existent...so we opted for a hat in most of them!

Despite some serious 3 year old attitude, we are so in love with this little guy and are enjoying every moment of watching him grow into such a nice little boy and super adoring big brother.

Grandma and Grandpa Garrett, we hope you are able to view these pictures while you are away on your trip. We all miss you and hope you are having a fantastic time.