Brady and I had our first heart to heart talk about his arm last night. He understood so much more than I ever imagined a 33 month old could.

He was making fingerprints on the countertop with his greasy hand and said "Look Mom, paw prints".

Me: "Do you have hands or paws?" B: "Hand-I only have one hand". I no have other hand."

Me: "That's right, but you have a helper arm, don't you?"

B:"When I get big I get other hand."

Me: "No Honey, you will never have another hand like Mommy. You are special and don't need another hand. You are perfect and strong just the way you are."

B: " Please."

Me: "I know it's hard Buddy and I'm sorry. Someday you will learn to use your helper arm to do all kinds of things. That's why you have beeen meeting those nice ladies at school."

It pains me that at such a young age he is already so aware of his differences. We have been meeting with Occupational Therapists to evaluate where he is in comparison to his age group and to help him with adaptive tools. He is resisting a bit now, but our hope is that he will come around and start to utilize the grapsing tool his arm provides.

Brynn-6 Months

Her smile just melts me...she is a total Mommy's girl. She is starting to recognize people she sees frequently. When she gets excited she pants and kicks her legs. She devours her rice cereal-you can not feed her fast enough. Don't even think about cleaning up her chin while she eats or she will scream. She is starting to sit unsupported. She wants to touch everything-she steals the newspaper out of your hands, and tries to eat your food if you are holding her. She loves to pull Mommy's hair and touch faces. She likes her infant playtime class and responds with big smiles during song time. She is still only up about 2 hours at a time during the day before a 1 hour nap. Overall she is very content and has been an easy addition to our family.

I am far from in love with this picture, but it is the first successful attempt at getting a family picture since we were at the hospital with Brynn 5 1/2 months ago.

We tried Brynn with cereal this weekend. She took 2 spoonfuls, spit them out and then refused to open her mouth for more.

I hate to even jinx it, but we unofficially started potty training this week. He is still wandering around in diapers, but we are making frequent trips to the potty. He stays dry most the of the day, but hasn't managed a #2 yet. I am so proud of the progress he has made in only a few days.

How cute are her little cheeks?

ABC's with a little Twinkle Twinkle

Brady started school this week-Tuesdays he goes with me, Thursdays he goes alone. This morning I dropped him off and was missing him after 10 minutes. I picked him up and tried to piece together what they did. He rambled on about basketballs, his new friend Colton, his teacher Miss Carol, playdoh, and snack time. I hate not being there for every moment, but I guess that is part of them growing up. Ugh

Brynn-5 Months

Brynn turned 5 months this week and has grown so much. She is rolling, laughing, and smiling a lot. She is only waking up once per night and a napping schedule is starting to form. She loves her Infant ECFE class and her exersaucer. Her favorite things to do are pulling Mommy's hair and play peek-a-boo.

Brady 2.5

Brady turned 2.5 in July and it was right about that time he started wanting to do everything himself. In typical 2 year old style it has resulted in monster tantrums. He has a defiant streak that makes me want to pull my hair out. He eats only when hungry, refuses to nap when he doesn't think he needs one and often stays up in his crib until 9PM because he can. When he is ON, he is so sweet and polite. When he is hungry, tired, or frustrated it makes for some long days.

He has had a lot of firsts this summer-movie in a theater(Cars 2), first time bowling, first time in a bounce house, and first carnival.

He still loves trains, but also loves emergency vehicles and tow trucks. He tries to tow everything with his tow truck, and often gets frustrated when he can't get it to work. He pretends his trucks are talking to each other-"You need help?", "Ok, I help you.".

His favorite people are his cousins-he talks about them all day. He begs to go see them. If you ask him who his best friend is he often says Grandma.

He loves to sing. Favorites include-Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Take me out the ball game, and the ABC's. He recognizes songs he hears often on the radio and always asks me what they are called. His loves a song called "Dirt Road Anthem" and begs for me to turn it on.

He got a new prosthetic arm in August which I hope to do a post on soon.