The Juice Theif and His Mismatched Sidekick

This is Jacob new hobby...stealing Brandon's half gone juice box from him when he sets it down. He drinks all the rest that's left in it even! Jacob is a pro now at pulling himself up on things which is a big inconvenience to Brandon. We hear, "Jackie naughty!" or "No, Baby, no!" ALOT anymore. Jacob also LOVES to walk with his walker push toy!! He does pretty well with it, just tends to get a little too excited at times which then causes him to lose his balance and tumble.








I LOVE these pictures of Brandon, and I'm sure I will love them even more when he's older and brings his girlfriend over and I show her these pictures!! :) Brandon got a kids tool set from his Grandpa Bennett and Teresa for Christmas and it has a pair of goggles in it and he loves those things! He wears them all the time!! So this morning he came out of his room from playing wearing no pants, his snow boots, goggles, and a cap on backwards! It was priceless!! I grabbed the camera quick!! Other than that not to much has happened. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009 (where the heck has the year gone?!?)

Hair today...gum in it...cut off tommorrow

About a week before the hair cut...look at all that hair!

After the gum...After the hair cut :(

Well, we now have another funny story that we can tell at Brandon's high school graduation to embarrass him! :) This morning as I was feeding Jacob Brandon ran into his room (I assumed to drag another toy out into the living room). Well, he got really quite and would not come when I was calling to him, so I ventured into his room to investigate only to discover 5 pieces of chewed gum stuck in different areas of his hair!! I didn't know if I should laugh or cry at that point...so we went and tried to cut the gum out (which he screamed during) and that left 5 horribly bald spots on his head. So, I went and got Allen electric clippers (I know you wouldn't think Allen would own a pair judging on all the facial hair, right :)) and I shaved his head. Brandon has never been without this much hair, not even when he was born!! He keeps rubbing his bald head saying, " Mommy cut off." Well, all you can do is laugh it off and thank god it's only hair, it will grow back! Sorry, I didn't think to grab a before picture with all the gum.

Jacob on the other hand has officially gotten his fourth tooth!! (We are getting closer to those yummy foods that mommy, daddy, and brother eat!!) Jacob has got the biggest appetite that I have ever seen! The child is a bottomless pit I swear! He eats constantly!


Well, Merry Christmas everyone!! Have a safe and happy holidays!!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Just a short blog...we just wanted to send our love and best wishes out to everyone this Christmas!! I hope everyone has a wonderful and SAFE Christmas this year! With all of these bad storms that we have been getting please everyone be careful and buckle up!! On a different note, we did take the boys to see Santa this year at the mall and that was not such a pleasant experience for Brandon. He screamed and screamed and wouldn't go anywhere near good ol' Saint Nick; now Jacob on the other hand did go to him and sat on his lap just staring at him as if to say, "Who are you?" or "Wow I thought my dad had alot of facial hair!" :) Needless to say we didn't capture any photos of Brandon terrified or Jacobs uncertainity of Mr. Claus. Happy Holidays everyone!!

Hip HIp Hooray Potty Time Is On The Way

Hip Hip Hooray!! Brandon went potty in the potty chair all by himself!!! (Maybe we won't have an 11 year old in depends...that has been a recent fear) Brandon came up to me tonight and announced that he needed to go potty and he sat down and went!! We were both VERY excited!! I was also so proud of Brandon today I worked a 16 hour shift last night again and didn't get off until 6:30 am so you can imagine when the boys woke up at 8 am I was still quite tired but Brandon was so good all day! He helped me when I asked (and even sometimes when I didn't) and he was so well-behaved!! Brandon helps out with Jacob alot...keeping him entertained to getting him a clean diaper.
Jacob has gotten a top tooth so we are now up to 3 teeth!!! Yea!! Bring on the grown-up food!! Jacob is trying so hard to walk he will kind of two touch a couple of steps without holding on. But he still has not ventured up enough courage to take the plunge yet and take off! Our little boys are growing up and we are so proud of them!! Take care everyone and happy holidays!!

My Sugar Babies

Last night while I was at work Allen was watching the boys and he left the room for a moment to do something only to come back to two kids rolling around in sugar all over the kitchen floor! Apparently Brandon must have discovered the sugar bag located on the bottom shelf of the pantry and opened it, threw it all over him, Jacob, the floor, the counter...WHAT A MESS!! I'm sure Jacob loved it as well!! Ah...boys :) Jacob also took a couple of steps last night from Allen's legs to Brandon's bed!! YEA!! I'm sure he will be walking in no time!! Allen got a couple of hermit crabs (yep, I finally caved) over the weekend and Brandon is just fascinated with them. This morning when Brandon woke up he walked over to the cage and looks in on them and says, "Daddy got cab, mommy!" I of course agreed with him and said, "Yep daddy's got crabs!" So whenever you see Brandon make sure to ask him about his daddy having crabs. :) Allen has also taught Brandon to say "GO HAWKS!" Well, that is all for now. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Cell Phone

Not to much to post this time. The boys are growing up, and to quickly I might add! Jacob has his crawling and pulling himself up to standing down pat! I don't think that it will be too long before we have two boys on the prowl!! He has learned to patty cake now and he loves to watch his brother. Brandon usually keeps him very entertained! Jacob also got his firs haircut about a week ago (no more mullet) :) Brandon got his haircut last night and he was NOT a happy camper! The last couple times he had done really well when it came to sitting still for Michelle so she could cut his hair, but boy last night was awful! Hopefully he will get better with it because he will have many many more!! Brandon and Allen have developed this new routine of now reading some children stories before bedtime; which Brandon loves!! He is very much like his mommy and daddy in that aspect...he loves to read and be read to! He also loves to find my cell phone and pretend talk to people on it (such as grandma, grandpa and Uncle Jeremy). I usually try to make sure that it is locked so he can't actually call anyone, but he has snatched it before I have seen him a couple of times and called people (sorry). Below is a picture I got of him yesterday with my cell phone. Hope all is well with everyone and I will post more again later!

"The Iowa Darth Vader" and little Yoda too!!

Sorry I have been so neglectful on this blog. The boys are doing great! Jacob is eating once again (thank goodness) and he even has a few 8 ounce bottles from time to time...he is definitely a thousand times better than he was!! Thank you to everyone who visited him, kept Brandon and for all the calls and prayers we are so grateful to you all!! Well, since it has been awhile I thought I would rewind time a little and show you some pictures from Halloween...which was a BIG hit with Brandon (the boy loves his candy)! Brandon was Darth Vader this year; minus the light saber. I had vision of to many things getting swung at if he got one. But he did love his costume. Jacob, on the other hand, did not really like being a little Yoda...I think it was many those green ears that bothered him! I was able to capture this picture of Brandon sitting on a child size John Deere tractor in his Darth Vader suit, which I can only assume is what Darth Vader from Iowa would ride in!!

Last night as Allen was rounding up the boys for bed and getting ready to do some story time (which they both enjoy) he caught a couple of cute pictures! The one below is my favorite! I love Brandon's cheesy smile! Jacob loves to stand now!! He will even walk himself across the couch holding onto the couch! They are both just growing so fast!! I hope all is well with everyone!

Home Sweet Home

Well, I have GREAT news to post!! Jacob drank two four ounce bottles this morning and kept them down!!! And he actually grabbed for them and was excited about them!! Which is a HUDGE improvement!! I spoke with the doctor and Jacob will soon be discharged and we will be on our way home. I don't know if Jacob is too excited about this ( he just loves all this attention he gets from all these nurses-and they adore him as well); but boy, Allen and I are very excited!!! Thanks again to everyone!!

Hospital

Well as most of you know Jake is in the hospital. We started this sat. night. The e.r. Dr. didn't think that Jake was dehydrated so he sent us home. Sunday morning came and I got him up and realized he had not wet did diaper. Keisha called the hospital and the the Dr on call told her to bring him in right away. After a few hours of them trying to pump him full of IVs they decided to keep him over night to watch him. The fist night went really good after around 15 hrs he finally peed. And started to eat. Then around 1:00 am he would not eat, so i (Allen) went home to get his food. He took that and kept it down. Around 7:00 that mourning he only ate 1 once and through up all over me. He has not had any since and counties to push the bottle away. He has ate very little today, I think about 1 thing of yogurt. He has been acting like he is in a little bit of pain, but no one seems to think so. One of us will try to write in this as much as possible. Feel free to call anytime the phone does not bother him much, he just falls back asleep.(319-272-6829)-that's the room phone and we are in room 437. Keisha and I just wanted to tell everyone thanks for being here and helping out with Brandon (which he does not miss his mom or dad because he get to ride in "his" truck)

"Mr. Attitude"

Well, nothing to exciting has been happening recently since my last post. Except Brandon has developed this "Mr. Attitude" thing where he always has to have the last say, he is always right and mom and dad don't know anything! (We are excited for the teenage years, when it is bound to get worse). You will try to discipline him and he will usually look at you with this very serious face and say "NO!" or "STOP!" This morning as I was trying to round both of them into the car as it was pouring down rain, Brandon started to jump in the puddles (of course) and when I asked him to stop he first pretended that he couldn't hear me with this mischievous smile on his face. So I asked again and the crinkled his face up and goes, " No mommy, I'm ok!"

Tonight we tried to work with him some more with potty training and he went twice in the big boy toilet and he even wanted to put the elmo underwear back on rather then the diaper. Which I thought was a good sign...but sadly elmo got dirtied! He is so proud of his elmo underpants (as he is modeling off here). He did get to put a couple stickers on his potty chart :) VERY EXCITING!!!

Jacob's crawling has become second nature to him now. If you set him on the floor now he usually takes right off! (It's hard to keep the toys placed nicely in there totes anymore). He has gotten very good at pulling himself up to his knees (as you can see below) and he loves to stand! He is still very much a daddy's boy! They love to cuddle together at night and take a nap together (I snapped a shot of it tonight) it really is very cute, they even snore in unison sometimes! :) Also, Jacob is becoming to really enjoy his blankie now (and I took a picture for you grandma). Well, I hope all is well with everyone!

The Magical Blankie

A race car driver or maybe a drummer?? Brandon is thankfully getting better at sharing his toys with "Jakie" (as he calls him). Today Jacob started pulling himself up on things...maybe he will be an early walker?? If I remember right Brandon was around 11 months before he started to walk. But Jacob is really showing signs that he just wants to take off! It's remarkable how different your children can be! Jacob had another tooth pop through beside the other one...but to our disappointment it went back underneath the gum. Hopefully we will see some more come through. It would be nice to be able to let him eat the some of the same foods that we do because he wants to so badly.

We have also discovered Brandon's "magic blankie". The blue blanket that he totes around (I'm sure you all have seen it, it travels almost everywhere with him) that blanket calms Brandon down and helps him drift off into Brandon dreamland. Well tonight Allen was trying to get Jacob to wind down for his late afternoon nap and he just would not do it. So, I gave him Brandon's blanket and BAM! He was out! (Note the picture above). Even though his Great-Grandma Gage made him a very nice blankie that he can cuddle up with he still prefers his brothers. Brandon has also taken a liking to dumping his toys out all through out the living room and then climbing in the tote (as seen above)...thankfully he is getting more helpful with the cleaning up aspect afterwards!!

I also wanted to let everyone know that Allen figured out how to but videos on here!! So, those pictures on the main page are videos that you can click on and watch for your enjoyment! Right now there is one of Jacob crawling, Brandon playing video games like his daddy and one of Brandon using the spoon for the first time! Enjoy!! Hope all is well!

Busy Busy Week

Jacob has had a VERY busy and exciting week. First he learned to crawl and then tonight I noticed he FINALLY got his first tooth!!! YA!!!! I was getting worried we were going to have to feed him baby food forever. :) Well as promised I am going to post some pictures up. (The middle picture made us think of Grandma Sheryl...Brandon was attempting to read to Jacob even though Jacob was more interested in eating the book :) We should be so proud!!) (The last picture made us think of Great Grandma Gage it is Jacob "flying" and trying so hard to do so!!) There are many more new exciting pictures as well I will have Allen put them up on Flicker soon. Brandon is doing great...really expanding his vocabulary and Jacob crawling is really keeping him on his toes :) Hope everyone is well.

3.2.1. we have take off

well Jake moves quite fast in the crawling dept. hes already on his hands and knees. He is very happy about this because he can now go anywhere he wants and get toys on his own. But that last thing, the getting his own toys does not go over well with Brandon. Brandon get very upset and tell Jake "sit baby sit" all the while Jake just sits there and smiles at him. He also started with the da which makes me very happy. Im trying to figure out how to load a video on here and will put one up someday.

Potty training nightmare

We tried to work on potty training this weekend with Brandon...it did not go the best. We went out and got him these cute big boy Elmo underwear and he was SO excited to wear them and even more excited when he had them on; but needless to say he peed on the living room floor right after he went in the big boy potty! So, we decided yesterday (Sunday) that we were going to try a different approach and we told him that we were all out of diapers and that he had to go on the big boy potty and then we put him in some long pants and tucked the pant leg into his socks and shoes so if he peed he wouldn't like it...WRONG!!! He did pee in his pants and it did travel down the leg into the shoes but all he did was say yucky and walk funny! Later that night he peed all down my grandma's hallway of her house (sorry again grandma). Allen and I just don't know what to do...any suggestions??? I wish kids just came potty trained!! :)
On a happier note, Jacob crawled for the first time on Saturday!!! He also now says "Mama"! He is still very much a daddy's boy but yet his first word was mama! I hope all is well for everyone...I will try to post again soon and put some pictures up.

"Have a good day mom!"

Today as I was leaving from dropping the boys off at daycare Brandon turned to me, waved and said, "Have a good day mom." I stood there for a moment, my jaw hanging open, thinking; "Where did my little boy go to?" "When did he get such a vocabulary...he is only 2!" As I was driving home I was pondering...if I get this emotional about "have a good day mom" what am I going to be like when he starts school or gets his first girlfriend or even when he moves away from home...*sigh* Everyone tells you when you first have your child that they grow up too fast and I guess that never really hit home until this morning. It's inevitable and as a mother you want them to grow and learn of course, but at the same time you think where did my little boy go?
Well, enough with my ramblings, the boys are both doing great. Jacob is trying so hard to crawl. He even took a couple of steps forward with his hands the other night!! I don't think it will be long and he will be off! Then nothing will be safe with two children on the war path!! (So, sorry to anyone that maybe visiting our home, I'm sure it will be disastrous with toy clutter as soon as both boys can move around!) Hope all is well with everyone!

Disagreements and Star Wars

Well not much has happened since the last post. Except innocent Brandon (as seen in the picture here) got into another fight at daycare yesterday...over whose mommy was cooler (over course it is his :-)) I feel sorry for the babysitter some days. Brandon and that 3 yr old boy clash, they always have.

Jacob however is doing great and the babysitter says he is a saint there! He has pulled himself up to all fours a few times and rocked back and forth so I'm sure it won't be long before he is crawling all over and getting into things!! We got both of their halloween costumes last weekend and Allen finally got his wish after years of begging...Star Wars. Brandon will be Darth Vader and Jacob Yoda. We just have the lightsabers left to get. I hope everyone is well and shall post again soon!

Tractors and trucks and Jacob can sit up

Well, there is not a whole lot to post. The boys are doing great...getting bigger by the day. Brandon is such a typical boy always watching the big trucks and tractors and asking about them. While at Ashley's birthday party last weekend he was quite upset at the fact that Grandpa Dan was on his tractors at home and Brandon was stuck in a LONG car ride!! They both had a lot of fun when we arrived at the McGovern household. Jacob especially loved the kitty. He was quite entranced and amazed by him (although I don't believe the kitty had the same feelings).

Jacob has still not gotten any teeth...bummer. They say the longer they wait the better their teeth are though. Some nights he just seems like he is in such pain from them. We did let him try his first bitter biscuit, which was a BIG hit!! He was quite upset after it was all gone...poor little guy! Grandma Sheryl also discovered that ice cream is also quite a big hit! He is trying very very hard to crawl, he can pick up his upper body it's just lower body that he can't quite coordinate yet! He does scoot and somedays he will remember that he knows how to army crawl! He sits up very well now...until he gets to excited then he tends to topple over! A couple times Jacob had been sitting on the floor playing with a couple of his toys when Brandon thought that he needed some more and took the toy tote over to him dumped it right in front of Jacob (as shown in the picture below). Jacob loved this!!!

Another day...Another shot...

Well, today Jacob had his 6 month check up (even though he is a little over 7 months now). The doctor said he needs to eat more solid foods because his weight is only in the 25% at 17.5 pounds. His height was the 90% at 27 1/2 inches. His head was 90% as well, at 45 1/2 inches! Big melon!! Jacob is doing great overall! Growing too quickly! He has the rolling over thing down pat! He can now do it front to back as well as back to front. He loves to roll!! He is trying so very very hard to crawl but he doesn't quite grasp the concept...yet...but I'm sure he will soon. And he is drooling now more than ever. I just wish those pesky teeth would just pop through for him! It seems so painful :( He got three shots as well today :( I hate that! The nurses have you hold the top part of you child down, as if it isn't hard enough to watch your baby go through that, while they stab that sharp pointy needle in the fatty tissue of their leg! It always makes me tear up hearing them screaming and you having to keep holding them down. I think it breaks any parents heart.

Brandon is great as well. He is just a ball FULL of energy! Somedays I wish I had just 1/2 his energy...boy I would get things done fast :) He just learned where his toes are, so now he pretty much knows the whole body!! YAY!! He is a very smart boy! He will now also tell you that he is "2"! While he does that he holds up both hands (we haven't quite learned how to hold just 2 fingers up). Time flies I remember when he was Jacob's age just trying to crawl away and now he can RUN!! It's amazing how time flies!

A Relaxing Saturday

Well, here it is noon and I am still in my pj's just relaxing, I have done some laundry however. Brandon went to go stay with Grandma Sheryl at the farm overnight last night. You forget just how much and how fast you can get things done without a two year old behind you tearing it back up! Don't get me wrong I do miss him but it is also nice...I can actually hear myself think! I'm sure Brandon is having more fun at Grandma's than he does with us anyways. Grandma has kitties, cows, a big yard and of course the GATOR!! I'm sure he is getting lots of hugs and kisses and spoiled, but that's what grandparents are for, right? And I'm sure he is keeping them on their toes.

Much to Allen's enjoyment Hawkeye football started today!! He is already trying to get Jacob interested in those Hawkeyes, but you have to start out a future Hawkeye quaterback out early, right? Mediacom signed an agreement with the big ten network so we now can enjoy EVERY game this year!

Jacob is finally starting to get rid of that croup thank goodness! He is really starting to teeth. Anything and everything now heads start for the mouth for him to chew on. YUM!! I think he really missed his brother overnight because he was up twice in the night just crying, and normally he sleeps through the night. Brandon will be home in a few hours and everything will be back to normal and Jacob will have his entertainer back. I fear for the times to come when Brandon will teach and provoke Jacob to do naughty things.

Back to Normal

Well, after one long week of two very sick little boys things are slowly starting to get back to normal. Brandon is back to his daring "Mr. attitude" self. One of new favorite things to say back to us when we ask him to do something is to point his finger at us and say "No mama!" or "No dada!". It makes you wonder somedays why we were so anxious for them to start walking and talking. Brandon has also learned a new trick...standing on the edge of the couch and jumping off! He hurt himself one night doing this so we thought maybe he wouldn't continue doing it. Boy were we ever wrong; he just laid pillows on the floor before he jumped (he missed the pillows when he landed though). He is too smart for his own good somedays!
Jacob still has a cough and a runny nose , but no fever!! YAY!! He is starting to scoot around alot more and get into Brandon's things alot, much to Brandons displeasure. He does make sure to tell Jacob when he is doing something he shouldn't of course! He is sitting up alot better as well. They are both growing like weeds, Brandon is up to 32 pounds now and Jacob is almost 18 pounds!! They grow too quickly!!
They both have really taking a liking to the Winnie the Pooh cartoon (more so Brandon than Jacob). So, if anyone is wondering about Christmas gifts (I know it's still early) Winnie the Pooh, Handy Manny and Little Einsteins are their favorite cartoons, some mornings thats the only way we get through the melt downs is those cartoons. Aah, the terrible twos!!

Two Sick Little Boys

On Monday I took Brandon to the doctor for what I thought was just a little pink eye, only to find out that he had a bad case of croup! They gave him a shot to not cause his throat to swell shut, as it can with croup. Later that night I noticed that Jacob was wheezing alot, so Tuesday morning he went to the doctor and got the same shot. It is now Thursday and Jacob is back to normal but Brandon is still running fevers occasionally. He is getting better though! It's funny how little sleep a mom with two sick little boys can run on. Hopefully they are feeling better by saturday because Allen and I really want to take them to the Reid reunion and see everyone.

A day at the park

Last Thursday Allen and I decided to take the boys for a picnic in the Park. Well, needless to say Brandon wasn't really up for the picnic part; he just wanted to run and play! He loved it!! Allen pushed him on the swings while Brandon screamed with excitement. Then on to the slides...which he thought was great! He was such a big boy going down the big slides all by himself. It made me realize my baby is growing up and becoming independent. Where does the time go? Brandon was also a big help with Jacob by pushing him around in his stroller. Jacob loved being outside and got excited by his brother running around! We will defiantly have to do this again! All that fresh air and running around made them sleep all through the night!!

COMMING SOON