8 Months Chubby

Colby reaching the 8 month mile marker was an especially fabulous day because it was my last day of work for the 2013-14 school year!  As you can see from the above photo, he was clearly as excited as me- as judged by the routine "grab".  I can't believe that starts so early!

But besides his premature display of manliness, he is also becoming a skilled cruiser and will, occasionally, try to stand up without hanging on to other things, though he's not very successful at that quite yet.  He has also figured out how to open cupboards and drawers...augh!  Luckily, we store kid-safe stuff at his level and they're things that we can just toss back when it's time to clean up.  Like we have to do EVERY.  SINGLE. DAY.

Caught in the act!

He is also eating constantly, and usually wants whatever we're eating.  The nice thing, is that he's able to have so many more foods.  His favorites include: soft pieces of popcorn, mashed strawberries, and bananas.  And I think the only thing the boy likes more than food, is sleep.  So, it makes sense that the only other thing that he could love more, is to do both!

My little sister, Molly, graduated from high school last month and so we headed out to Sioux City for her grad party one weekend.  There were so many family members that I hadn't seen in forever, and I was excited for them to meet Colby. I can't believe another sibling has graduated!  That leaves 3 to go, and we'll have two of those in the next 2 years.

The graduate after Baccalaureate mass.

Colby and Aunt Kristen

Cailyn enjoying her first ever s'mores at a backyard bonfire at Papa and Grandma's house.

 The last week of May was the first week of West Marshal baseball games.  7 varsity games.  7!  That's a helluvalot of games in case you didn't know.  Jerod thought they had the most scheduled until talking to the East Marshall coach who informed him that they had 8 scheduled.  I imagine they were digging deep into the pitching arsenal by about the 5th one.

Two kids and two games makes for a long night.  Cailyn is so mobile, and thankfully there are other kids around for her to play with, but she's just-barely-almost 3, so I can't trust her to take care of herself safely quite yet.  I've had a lot of help though, recently.  Our friend, Leah, is at the games most nights and helps me tag team the two of them.  It's great practice for the mama-to-be.  :)

Colby gearing down for his nightly nap at a game.

The kids had a fun couple of days with their Grandma Deb and Great Grandpa Charlie.  Deb was finished with school a lot earlier than we were, and Grandpa's doctor thought it would be good for him to get away from the farm for a little while.  I'm always happy to have extra help, and this was a perfect way for Cailyn and Colby to get to know him a little better.

Cailyn has been up to her usual antics.  She is a sassy pants!  Timeout seems to be one of her favorite pastimes.  (I'm definitely kidding there.  She LOATHES time out, but has become very familiar with the corner by the front door none-the-less.)  There are always quirky things coming out of her mouth.  Read: we were eating lunch the other day and she was complaining that her pork chop was "too long salty" and that she didn't want to eat it- to which I told her that was all I was going to cook and it wasn't too salty, and then I hear, "Are you kidding me, mom?" and the look on her face was straight vinegar.  After I informed her that I was, in fact, not kidding her she replied with, "Ugh!"  Seriously.

Fortunately for her, she's our baby and we love her unconditionally, sometimes it's just a matter of starting again another day.  She also does sweet things, like ask for snuggles, shake her booty when she dances, and chase her brother because he squeals and loves it.

Prior to this picture she was putting her bottom right on top of the sprinkler, then she would dance and sing, "I peed my pants, I peed my pants, I peed my pants!" 

Sparklers at home when Papa and Grandma Wyant came up to visit.

I can only imagine the trouble these two will get into together as they get older.  Oh, the stories they will tell us someday, when it's been too long for us to get angry!

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7 months old and 3 weeks until break begins!

"White Mamba" is a crawling machine!  Just the other night we saw him pull himself up for the first time on an overturned storage tote, and two days later he's beginning to cruise along things.  Looks like we may have another early walker!  My summer at baseball games is going to be exhausting, to say the least.

Seriously people, he went from rolling over to creeping to crawling to pulling himself up, in just a few weeks.  Who does that?!  Besides his mobility, Colby is downing half containers of baby food a few times a day, and still taking in 4 bottles a day, too.  He's plump and we love it!

On Easter I took Colby in the backyard get some nice outdoor photos (because apparently nothing makes a better backdrop than crab grass).  He was NOT having it. 

It wasn't immediate, but as soon  as I set him down he looked around at the grass, then looked at me, then tried to push the grass off of his skin, then looked back at me, and did this song and dance until finally tears emerged.

 Speaking of Easter....it was nice and relaxing.  I totally botched the mashed potatoes- which I didn't realize was possible- but, there were plenty of other sides thanks to Jerod's wonderful mother who came to visit along with his dad and few of his brothers.  The Easter bunny hid eggs for Cailyn while we were at church.  He forgot about them when he left her Easter basket overnight, whoops!

Next year should be interesting since Colby will be able to search for Easter eggs, too.  And by interesting I don't mean interesting, I mean a bloodbath.

Now that Colby is mobile, Cailyn is learning about the importance of picking up her things.  His favorite Cailyn toys include puzzle pieces always or whatever Cailyn happens to be playing with on the floor and leave for a moment to do anything else.  That's when he pounces!

However, she will share dress-up items with him at all times.  Lucky Colby.

Some beautiful weather allowed for lots of time to play.  We're thinking we need to invest in some kind of swing set for the backyard.  Between Colby napping and her beginning to give up her nap, plus having friends over with their kids, I'm certain it would be used enough!

I love that Cailyn gave Colby his first push in a swing, which also happens to be the swing she first swung in two years ago.

Also, in case you didn't hear- Jerod turned the big 3-0 this past Monday.  He never likes to have attention drawn to him unnecessarily, so we just had monkey bread for breakfast (one of his favorites) and we'll be searching for the perfect recliner for him as a joint birthday and Father's Day gift.

Have a great rest of the month- it's almost time to start weekly Summer Vacation posts!  That's both terrifying and satisfying to say as I have WAY too much assessment work to get done in the next couple weeks of work to wish it away too readily.  I'm peeking forward though, and the summer is going to be fantastic!

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Half a Year Old

So much has happened in the last month for Colby!  He was baptized, participated in his first benefit walk, cut his bottom two teeth, and is now a roller and a creeper!  (Wow, infancy is the only time you ever want to refer to your son as that, am I right??) 


The walk was to benefit a little girl in Grandma Deb's school district who has Rhett's syndrome.  I don't know a lot about this particular syndrome, but you can find out more HERE.

Our team for the benefit walk, Team Brown!  We were made up of: Jerod's mom, Deb, his brothers: Beau, Nick, and Tanner, (plus Heath from afar on the East coast), his Grandpa Charles, and Beau's girlfriend, Taylor.  And our little family, of course!

Those of you who know Jerod also know that this was definitely not his first choice of Saturday morning activities, but his Grinch heart grew a few sizes that day and we walked a couple miles as a family, and for a wonderful cause.

Colby's first ink, courtesy of Taylor.

Uncle Tanner is already teaching Colby the Brown boy way-to-not-smile for pictures...and also how to protect your eyes from those pesky florescent lights.

Our parents had been hinting that it was probably time to have our bubba boy graced by the Holy Spirit, and they were right.  Time just got away from us, but we got 'er done at the end of March.  We even borrowed Jerod's christening outfit from when he was a baby, I love using family heirlooms!  It just barely fit Colby, but worked perfectly for the 20 minutes he needed to wear it.

Papa Mark was there to do the honors, that's so special to me that he has now performed sacraments for his eldest daughter's family three times.

Godparents: Aunt Amanda and Uncle Nick

The snow is gone, which means it's time for Legion baseball games.  Colby took in his first few innings of baseball last weekend and his eyes were on the game at all times.  It must be genetic.  And it's still pretty early, but I've noticed he usually picks up most things with his left hand first....but, we'll see...

Iowa State made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, so the kids and I donned what little Cyclone clothing Jerod allows them to own (it would be none accept for the generosity of grandmas and aunts).

Six months means time for pictures again!  He has been incredibly cooperative and smiley for this round of pictures, which makes up for his lack of enthusiasm at 3 months.  :)

Has this movie changed your life?

We L-O-V-E, love it!  I love the messages of not needing a guy to define you as a person and of unconditional love.  Cailyn loves to sing all the songs, and has learned most of the words which is both hilarious and adorable when we hear her belting out tunes while playing, reading, or just sitting on the potty!

This would Cailyn stepping on the ground to "freeze" it.  She would then "ice skate" on the Twister mat in her socks. Haha!

Colby is big enough to sit in the stroller without being in the carseat and loved walking to the playground to run some steam off his big sister.  (Pay no attention to the dust all over the tray- it's been a long winter.)

She is a regular old spider monkey on this climber now, the only left to master are the monkey bars and hanging rings!

Notice Cailyn sharing her love for her brother by giving him a nice kiss (at my request), and then notice where Colby's eyes are.  Love of ice cream before he can even eat it!

As they get older, we appreciate this sight even more:

Such angels when their eyes are closed and they're resting.  Except Cailyn, I'm pretty sure I can always see her dreaming up whatever fun she's going to have next when she wakes up... :)

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5 Months and Beautiful Weather

Who's about 20 pounds, starting to eat solid foods, and loves to jibber jabber and squeal all night?

THIS GUY!

He's a solid napper, usually logging a 4 (sometimes 5) hour nap every morning into the afternoon. 

He has discovered his feet.  Well- actually, he first discovered his *ahem*, "boyhood", and was grabbing at it so hard we thought he might rip it off!  So, I redirected his hands to his feet, which, incidentally, is also very handy for diaper changes.

He loves watching TV with his daddy, especially basketball.  Which will work out perfectly for him since Jerod's spring break is over the first two days of March Madness.  Colby can cheer on Iowa State while I'm stuck at work!

His chunky legs are getting stronger everyday.  Clearly he's not ready for standing, he just loves to bounce up and down on his legs.

 

 He's SO CLOSE to rolling over!  See that fist in his mouth?  When he starts rolling over his arm is always down, and he kind of muscles up to try to bring his shoulders around.  But, as soon as he does that his fist flings up and he gets completely distracted!  

We've also had some beautiful weather here, thank the Lord!  Who knew 40 degrees could feel like a heat wave?!  The warmer temps have melted most of the snow and we took to the playground and our back patio for some fresh air.  Colby loved looking around and watching Cailyn play, Cailyn loved running around, and we loved that she was able to do so.  She's testing boundaries.  All.  The.  Time.  I know she needs to do it so she can figure out rules and how the world works- but man, oh man!  I love her.  I just wish she hadn't inherited so much of my stubborn self!

See the expressions in the last two photos?  Definitely descriptive of both of their personalities.  Colby is very easy going, and Cailyn is ornery.  Both loveable, both adorable, but so different.  I suppose variety is the spice of life, right?  In any case, I can't get enough of them and I'm looking forward for the weather to continue it's warming trend so we can visit the park and go for walks more often.  Exhausted kids are so much easier to put down for bed!

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120-ish Days Young

No, I'm not one of those moms who refers to her child's age in days and months until they're beginning kindergarten- not that there's anything wrong with that.  I just wanted to break up the monthly blog-post-title monotony.  Another month gone by and I can  hardly stand how quickly my babies are growing.  I'm glad for Colby taking time to hit his milestones, or as soon as I blinked I would miss them.  Like his latest: discovery of the hands!  I'm talking full on fist-in-mouth at almost all points of the day unless he is eating, crying, or gnawing on his monkey jingler thingermajig.

Aaaaannnnd......we pulled out the stationary activity seat, ta-da!  Mostly, he just hangs out when he's in it, but I saw him nab that leaf doodad just yesterday and have at it- which is pretty funny since that's the first thing Cailyn was interested in, too.  He's still taking bottles only.  We tried a little oatmeal mixed with some breast milk the other day, but he had zero interest and made a disgusted face.  I'm not going to push it, we'll try again in a week or two and see what he thinks then.

He withstands more and more tummy time and is beginning to roll from tummy to back when we're not looking.  Seriously!  We'll lay him down for tummy time and look back a minute later and there he is staring up at his toys from his back!  We have yet to witness it firsthand though...

 

 

At his last doctor's appointment he was weighing in at 15.7 lbs and was 24.5 inches in length.  To put it bluntly he is short and stocky.  So different from Cailyn who always seemed to be in the 80th percentile and bigger than most kiddos her age.  Oh well, I suppose he could just have a growth spurt further ahead of him than she did.

Speaking of Cailyn- she continues to blossom herself, inside and out.  She is very much her own person- check out her favorite outfit: the previous night's jammies layered with every princess dress and tutu she owns!  The other day I caught her donning a Rapunzel dress and tiara, but racing monster trucks into the wall.  That would very much be our baby girl.  A girly girl who isn't afraid to get a little down and dirty. 

It's so exciting to be able to do more activities with her, especially cooking!  Anytime I'm cooking she will run into the kitchen and say, "I wanna help!"  Then, pull a chair right up to the counter and dig in, whether she's welcome to or not.  I can only hope this helpful attitude continues as she ages. :)

Little woman is also super duper interested in jigsaw puzzles, and, I'd have to say, she's pretty good at them.  She received one for Christmas from her Great Aunt, but the pieces were just a bit too fragile and many of them broke.  We found a couple 24 piece puzzles with chunkier pieces and she puts them together at least once per day.  

Our local preschool is enrolling for 3 year old preschool already, and she would qualify to attend in the Fall.  It's only two mornings each week, but I think we're leaning toward keeping her out for another year and starting her when she's 4.  The tricky thing with her is she one of those summer birthdays.  Do we think she'd be academically ready?  Absolutely, but socially and emotionally?  We're not sure.  We'll see, but I don't want to push her in to something just because she can do it, I want to make sure she's ready, you know?

Our babies are growing up way too fast.  I can see Colby's teeth buds under his gums, getting ready to cut in the next couple months.  Cailyn has more and more to say and is testing boundaries all the time.  And we're just trying to stay on top of it all, trying to soak it all up.  I just want to remember moments like this:

 

Always and forever.

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