Christmas Shopping

Imagine if everyone had this on their wishlist:

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Sydney's Glasses

So, we officially got Syd's glasses on Friday afternoon. I was a little nervous that it was going to be a long weekend of battling her over them, but my wonderful daughter amazed us by not complaining once. I think the trouble at first in the office is that they were teaching her the proper way to put them on, take them off, & put them away all by herself. She's just not quite ready for that yet, so as long as one of us do it for her all is good. Her favorite part of having glasses is putting them to bed each night in thier "suit case".

I tried to get some side shots so you could check out the decor on the sides of the arms. Miss Liz, our glass consultant, said that this new trend is all the rave.
I've been getting asked a lot how we knew she needed glasses at such a young age. It started more than a year ago that she would close one eye while she was eating, or sometimes when she was talking with someone sitting beside her. Or, I would catch her looking at her food cross eyed. Doc said she's farsighted & that she was having double vision when she focused up close. Her Rx is not a strong one, 1.5 in both eyes, but I guess it was enough that I don't see her crossing anymore. Doc also said that everyone is born farsighted, some more than others, and that this adjusts with age. He anticipated that she'd outgrow the need for glasses at around 9 or 10 years of age.
Brody got his first tooth yesterday. I haven't got a picture of this razor in his drooly mouth yet, but I'll try again tomorrow. He's obsessed with running his tongue over it and I can't get him to move it so I can see the tooth very often.

Fall is my favorite time of year in KC

I haven't blogged in a month, so this is a long one folks!

My kids at bedtime, all pj'd up. Brody fell over.....Syd was there to catch him.

How can you tell when Brody's tired???? He rubs his eyes.
And yawns real big.
A few weekends ago we went to Tanner's 3rd birthday party. He got every little kids dream....pony rides! Gabrielle is the little girl in the picture below with Syd. She & her older sister, Isabelle, go to church with us. Sydney always asks where the "dirls" are and calls them "Dabrielle & the other Dabrielle". They are both so sweet with her!

A feeble attempt at a group picture.
Brody with his cowboy hat & cowboy face on.

We went to RenFest again this year. I actually think we've gone every year that we've lived in KC. The last few years we struggled with mud, but the weather was perfect this year. Sydney is really into pretend play and she's usually a princess or a fairy. This day she was a fairy princess. Its so real in her little mind! When I put on her wings she said "Mommy, when do I get little so I can fly around?". How darling! She honestly thought the wings would be like magic and make her small like Tinker Bell so she could fly around. I had to let her down easy-don't want to crush that imagination.The unicorn princess/fairy (above) gave Syd a magic jewel. It was hot pink & she loved it. In fact, she carried it around for nearly a week until it was sadly misplaced. Before Syd could play in the fairy house with Addie Sue, she had to tuck it safely in her pocket.

The girls loved these cute little pod looking things. They would swing it around by the ropes holding it up. Since Sydney got wings her first RenFest, we decided that Brody needed a hat. Lucky for him, Aunt Meghan was there to treat him. Sydney thought he looked like royalty in his hat.A brother this cute deserves a kiss!Meghan took this picture from her phone while she was here. I feel awful that we didn't even get any pictures of her with the kids. I'm usually the picture taker, but my hands are so busy & full these days that I've let it slip a lot! Meghan, we'll get you with the kiddos at Thanksgiving!An early Halloween Treat. Jeff is the king of treats & sweets. Hardly a day goes by that he doesn't bring her something home from work.
Apparently I gave Brody a little of the "deer in the headlights" affect here.
Crown Center had a Pumpkin Patch festival thingie to raise money for TLC (http://www.kidstlc.org/). It was great fun. Syd made a ghost out of a Tootsie Roll Pop. The ghost decor lasted about 45 seconds, and the she asked if she could eat it.Syd, not so sure about the Blue Crayon.Lovin' the pony ride.This is how Brody enjoyed the festivities!You might not be able to tell in this shot as much, but my boys look just a like! Especially this day, since they both had on black.We picnic lunched it at Jeff's office afterwards. His building connects to Crown Center, so it worked out perfectly.Our pick:My skeleton man, just cause he's so cute....and I don't always get enough pictures of him since he sleeps through a lot.Jeff prides himself on pumpkin carving. We decided not to do a demonic pumpkin this year, since Syd's imagination often goes overboard and she gets scared. I'm not sure why she doesn't have pants on in this picture....probably because she'd gone potty by herself and decided that they weren't necessary as long as underware were on.

I wanted to get a shot of it lit at night, but I tried several settings on the camera so the flash didn't drown out the inside light....my attempts are below.


Yes, I'm still waiting to take a photography class!

Its so sad, but I think this might be the first time in 5 months that I've taken a picture with both my kids. We usually play a man-on-man defense between Jeff and me.

More....just because I love them so much. And, because I don't always get things documented elsewhere before I forget, I'll make a few notes here. Sydney got glasses on Friday. I haven't taken a picture of her in them yet (outside of the ones in my camera), but I will soon & get it posted. Her prescription isn't real strong, but she's farsighted enough that she was having trouble focusing. She was getting double vision on closer items, and it was most apparent at meal time when she had to close one eye to focus on her food. She has done a wonderful job of keeping them on. It makes Jeff and I a little sad because she looks like such a big girl in them. Anyway, more on that later!
Brody rolled over for the first time on Friday. He's only done it once, but it was still exciting. He was on our bed (in the middle, with pillows around the sides so he wouldn't fall off) and I was getting ready. I put him down on his tummy (like the picture below) and the next time I glanced over he was on his back! I cheered so much that I think I might have scared him a little. Later that night, after bathtime, he was naked in his towel & laying on the floor when he discovered his feet. A baby playing with their feet is one of my favorite things. He kept trying to put them in his mouth, but couldn't quite get them there yet.

American Prayer

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Brody at 4 months

Brody Parade:

5 days1 month 2 months
3 months

4 months Brody's stats:
Weight- 16lbs 4oz, 75%
Length- 26 3/4", 96%
Head- 17", 75%
He's tall & skinny! Hardly any of those baby rolls that are so hard to keep clean, but he does have those cute little dimples on his kuckles.

Checking out his ceiling fan

Sportin' a cowboy hat at Tanner's Birthday Party
Posin' with his sister

Big yawn...time for bed!

Brody diddies:

• He laughs hysterically when you cough
• Gets scared and cries when I sneeze, especially if I'm nursing him
• Takes a bottle like a champ, on the rare occasion he's given the opportunity (unlike his sister at this age)
• Drools like nobody's business. Sometimes he goes through 2 or 3 shirts a day because I just can't keep him dry
• Likes to have raspberries blown on his stomach
• Loves being naked
• Slams his feet down on the bed to make loud noise when he's in his bed by himself trying to fall asleep (Sydney did the same thing)
• Prefers sleeping with his head tilted to the right, hence the huge flat spot on this side of his head. I go in once or twice before I call it a night to push his head to the other side, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
• Can hold his rattle and get it into his mouth
• Typically goes to bed easily around 7 or 7:30, but likes to wake up at 2 am for some company. I don't feed him, but I can't let him make noise for too long or Sydney wakes up & then the day is crabby for everyone. So, usually Jeff or I check his diaper, sooth him, give him a binkie, and leave hoping he falls back asleep or stays quite enough for Syd to stay asleep. He goes right back to sleep, so I'm not sure why he's bothering to wake up at this time...although, maybe its for the reason below:
• HATES being dirty or wet in his nether region. I understand the not wanting to be soiled, but he doesn't even like being wet. He doesn't tolerate a used diaper for very long.
• Loves to stand up on your lap and look you in the eye. He usually tries to open mouth kiss while standing on your lap
• Thinks Sydney is the greatest thing in our house, only second to me sometimes (feeding times). I hope she's a good influence on him, because he already wants to follow her around and can't take his eyes off her