Where Has August Gone!?!

This month is flying by!  I can't believe we are so close to the beginning of September.  This has been a busy month with church callings and such but I don't have much to show for it.  What I have are just a few pictures, most of them taken this past week.  It's sad really.

Let's start with a few photos from a week or so ago.  Ben has really taken to playing in the kitchen, sometimes when I'm in there cooking, and sometimes just randomly.  I love it when he plays like that while I cook.  Because if he isn't content playing he wants to be held. He is starting to want to be held a lot more.  I don't always love that.  Especially when I'm cooking.


But, he realized he could put these bowls on his head.  It was hilarious!  He'd put it on and take it off and laugh and laugh.  So cute.  He laughs a lot and I think it's adorable every time.  He laughs at almost anything Isaac does or that Isaac thinks is funny.  Man does this kid LOVE his big brother.

Speaking of big brother...We've had a pretty up and down sort of week.  We started up potty training again.  Isaac had a rough start (and I was determined not to lose it on him so I was completely frustrated and low patience in every other aspect of my life) but he's doing much better now.  We are still not totally accident free every day, more like somewhere between one or three accidents a day, but progress is progress.  I however, have learned something about myself.  I'm not a good mother for potty training.  It makes me crazy.  Not so much the messes (yes, I don't like cleaning up pee and poo as much as the next person) but I hate the constant talking about potty things and cheering for every successful potty trip.  It's exhausting being that enthusiastic all day long.  It's just not me.  And I'm a stress case (go figure).  I stress about taking him places.  I stress about eventually weaning him off the potty treats (I've asked him what we will do when the potty treat bag is empty and he either says we'll get more or he'll go back to diapers.  I'm pretty sure neither of those things are happening and I don't look forward to the backlash from this all too smart toddler.  I fear he's going to revert back to accidents all the time.  I'm just not sure how to help him be more intrinsically motivated.  Thoughts?)  This potty training business is not for me!  It is making me think two children is enough.

And, to top it off, Isaac decided to get a little exploratory with his scissors this week.  Ben's hair took a little snip but Isaac's took more than a little.  I was feeding Ben and didn't notice what Isaac was doing until the damage was done.  It's awesome.

Before the shave:

And after...

In case you can't tell, he was definitely not rewarded with a sucker.  He is listening to music on the ipod.  Sometimes when I need him to chill out and calm down I let him listen to a little music.  It works for a few minutes at least.  He keeps asking to use scissors.  I tell him to feel his hair and gently remind him he is banned from scissors for a while.

My Isaac boy can be so creative.  He lined all his clean underwear up to make a train.  Ben wanted to play too but most of the time the response is a loud "No Ben!  Stay away from my (insert toy of the minute here)!  Noooooo!"  Perhaps that is why Ben is extra needy this week.  He has not received the attention he normally does and he wants to constantly be held.  I think this potty training is hard on all of us.

I have seen some very encouraging things this week too.  I hear a lot more "okay" and "that's a good idea" from Isaac than I ever used to.  I'm hoping it's a trend that continues.  Maybe he's moving out of the "terrible twos" with all the "No's" and into a more agreeable phase.  A mom can hope right?

He still has plenty of sass though.  He told me tonight that he didn't want to have me help him with bedtime routine because I wasn't his "best friend."  I was his "mad friend" because I make him have an early bedtime.  He wanted daddy to do it because daddy was his 'best friend."  PS...he was already an hour PAST bedtime due to our ward party.  IT certainly wasn't and "early bedtime."  Mad friend indeed!  Silly boy.  I'll probably always be his "mad friend" since I have to enforce rules and discipline all day long.

Good thing these boys are so cute.  Some days it's the only thing that saves 'em!  

8 Months

This Ben boy just doesn't stop growing.


Or moving...

Taking monthly photos of him has kind of become a bit of a joke.  I'll give it the best I can but this month, that wasn't a lot.

 

He is still a very happy boy, even when he is sick.  He gets a lot more needy at night though.  We've had a couple rough ones recently to be sure!  But, overall he is a good sleeper.  He takes two good naps (usually) and sleeps through the night (sometimes).  We no longer feed him during the night though.

 

He loves exploring and pulling up on things.  He has recently discovered all the goodness that the kitchen holds.  Cupboards full of new toys to explore.  A whole new world!  It's so fun watching him learn something new and then try and see my reaction.  He's so smiley and proud.

Notice how he never once looked at me.  I was tyring to get his attention but lately I can not compete with his fun brother Isaac.  Ben LOVES him.  He is over the moon when he actually gets to play with Isaac.  The other day Isaac had made a "train" out of my cookie sheets and pizza pans.  He was in a passenger car and let Ben be in another one.  I've never seen Ben so pleased.  He wants nothing more than to do what Isaac does.  Too bad Isaac is still only 2 and it mostly doesn't end well.  Someday, boys, someday.

 

Ben does pretty well at eating too.  He likes to eat cheerios and puffs and is getting really good at picking them up off the tray and getting them to his mouth.  He is beginning to dislike his rice and oatmeal baby cereal again.  I have to mix it with other fruits and veggies to get him to eat it.  Oh well.  I have a feeling this boy is going to be a different sort of eater than we are used to in this house.  We lucked out with Isaac who has been so easy going about food.  I sense Ben will be a picky eater.  I'm not sure how to manage that but I guess I'll learn.

 

 

I love Ben's hair.  I think the color is so pretty and he is just getting more and more of it.  And I love that it's starting to have a little bit of curl to it.

 

  

He recently learned to walk pushing the walking toy we have.  He cruises along the furniture at a pretty good clip too.  I hope it takes a little bit of time before he's walking on his own.  Slow down in the mobility department for pete's sake!

And here are the super funny attempts at a brotherly shot.  I think it may have ended in tears for both boys.

Certainly for Ben.

Isaac's hugs are a bit rough sometimes.  But I love seeing their relationship develop and seeing Isaac view Ben a little more as a playmate.  I love these cuties!

Happy 8 Months Ben.  Thanks for coming to our family.  Can't imagine life without him.  He is so happy and fun!  We have been blessed with happy boys!

County Fair

Sickness has hit our home.  It's just a cold, nothing major (thankfully), but everyone is a little more cranky and needy.  So we are hunkering down today, taking it very easy.  Isaac's watching TV and Ben is napping so I'm going to take a minute and share some pictures of a few days ago.

I'm pretty sure heading the county fair made Isaac's day.  It might have been the highlight of his 2 year old existence.


We came last year so we knew they had diggers.  While Isaac liked them last year, this year it was even better.  His face was lit up the whole time.  I love watching that.

 

 

And I was surprised how much Ben liked the big diggers too.  Are these boys born with a love for big trucks and diggers?  Where do they get it?

 

Isaac would barely slow down long enough for me to capture photos.  He was running from one machine to the next.

 

 

And then he saw the amusement park rides.  Maybe next year...

 

He especially loved the diggers with levers.  He's all about the levers these days.  Whenever we draw diggers he wants "the one with levers."

He can't wait to visit Grandma and Grandpa Brunson's forest next year and ride their tractor.  It's red like this one, but a little smaller.  At least that's what I'm told.

 

 

Ben was actually giggling with excitement while sitting in this seat.  He would dive for the different switches and such.  Jacob and I were standing close by to snatch him before he plummeted to the ground.

They have a ton of different bouncing structures and slides, most of them too big for a boy Isaac's size, but he loved the ones we let him on.

So did Ben.

And, a few more tractors before heading to see the animals. 

I didn't get any pictures of the animals but both boys loved seeing them.  We saw sheep, pigs, chickens and roosters.  The roosters were a little loud and Isaac said he was "a little scared" but not a lot.

 It was a successful trip to the fair indeed.

Check It Out

If you haven't checked out the Brunson Family blog latey, you should.  Jacob has done a good job adding pictures he takes with his phone.  So, it's a different prespective than you might get from me.  There are some pretty cute pictures.  Check it out!

http://www.brunsonfamily.us

Silly Isaac

More evidence that Isaac (or toddlers in general) are funny:

I love when kids are learning how to say new words and just can't quite get them right.  Isaac says "I'm busy" for "I'm dizzy."  Scriptures are spictures.  Exciting is eskiting.  Toglether for together.  And I'm sure many more, but those are some of my favorites.

I've said "uh-oh spaghetti o" once or twice and Isaac caught on to it.  Actually, he thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard and kept asking me to repeat it.  So I would.  Eventually he was going around the house saying "oopsie skabettio."  Jacob loves that one.

He started speaking Spanish the other day.  At least he said he was.  He would mumble and jabber nonsense and then proudly announce that he had just spoken Spanish.

He came downstairs one morning and started calling Ben "Benjamilla."  I thought it was so cute that he was making up a nickname for his brother.  It was also a pretty funny one.  It hasn't stuck though.  I'm sure Ben will be grateful for that in years to come.  It might be cute now but if his brother was still calling him that at 10 or 12 I'm sure it would be a bone of contention.

And finally, a real gem of a story.  Isaac doesn't like to wear his clothes if they get wet at all.  And believe me they do.  He is constantly changing shirts especially.  The other day he had removed his shirt and I was too lazy to go get him another one and he was refusing to do it as well.  So, shirtless he was.  He began running around the house and rubbing his arms against his bare skin as they pumped along side.  He must have thought it felt really cool because he then told me to run like that.  I imitated his form and he said "No, mommy.  Take your shirt off."  I replied "I'll leave it on thanks."  And he insisted "I don't want you to be modest!"  Like it said, it must have been an awesome sensation to just throw modesty out the window completely.

Silly Isaac.

Sometimes I Forget About My Other Camera

Or: A really random photo dump.

Starting with Isaac's photography skills.  I sometimes let him play with my little camera while I am taking those monthly photos of Ben on my bigger camera.  He's getting a little better.  Yes, this is better.


These are photos of his "ramp."  I spend a lot of time building ramps.  Basically roads made out of blocks for his cars to go on.  Good times.

 

 

Ben's cute behind.

Ben's toys.

A few weeks ago I took Isaac to a transportation themed activity.  The shops in a neighboring town put on these little carnivals every other week during the summer and it's all free.  I thought it would be easy to manage with my two kids by myself but I had a bit of a struggle.  Primarily because it was Ben's nap time so I was hoping he'd fall asleep in the stroller and I could then do what I needed with Isaac.  But, the crowd was huge and I was uncomfortable leaving Ben in the stroller, even a few feet away, while I put Isaac on rides and such.  So Ben never slept and Isaac was limited in the things he could do.  Maybe I'll have more luck next year. 

He rode in a little train.

LOVED getting in the fire engine.

He wanted to know what all the levers were for and kept asking the fireman but he couldn't hear him and was talking to other people.  I tried getting his attention too but gave up.

 

He also got to go into a school bus, which he thought was great, see an ambulance and police cars, and we all took a ride on a horse drawn wagon.  It was a fun few hours.

Here is Isaac's helmet head.  I love when his hair gets all curly.  He sweats A LOT. 

So does Ben.  So he wakes up with awesome bed head.

It goes a little curly too.  And this particular day it was totally flipped out on the one side.  Awesome!

 

Ben has discovered more territory and loves the new found freedom.  It includes the stairs, the organ, and the shoes by the entry way.  Isaac enjoys trying to push Ben out of the way.  We are still working on being kind.  It's a struggle.

 

This summer we have also spent some time learning to be mobile in other ways.

I picked this scooter up at a thrift store just a few days ago and he is already a master at it.  He loves it and is pretty speedy.

 

He's also getting better at riding his tricycle.  We were gifted two tricycles.  I still need to donate the other one to good will or whatever.  I think this one in the picture is the keeper.

It has a bell and streamers in the handlebars after all.

And Ben learned to wave in Utah.  He also uses his whole arm like that to indicate he wants picked up or out the door or whatever.  Sometimes he gets both arms in on the action.  He also recently learned to clap.  He's quite pleased with himself.

These boys of mine can be so cute!  Isaac was making Ben laugh, full on belly style, by splashing him from the tub today.  It was so funny and a little heart warming.  I like seeing them get along instead of making each other cry.  I hope they can learn to be good friends.