Thanksgiving Adventures

We traveled to Florida this past week to celebrate Thanksgiving with John's family. This was my first trip back there since we moved away over 2.5 years ago, so I was a little apprehensive about returning. I was quickly reminded of how thankful I am to not be living there anymore! Despite the warm temperatures (I'm a northern girl; it feels slightly weird to eat Thanksgiving dinner while wearing shorts!) and crazy drivers, we truly enjoyed our visit and the boys experienced some good quality time with their grandparents. Brennan warmed up to them very quickly and asked regularly where "dammy" (grandma) was, including asking as soon as we arrived home again!





One of the challenges with traveling means that sleep can be a bit disrupted. That was definitely the theme for our kiddos during the week. Brennan was so tired by Tuesday evening that it made mealtime a bit interesting! Only one other time has he fallen asleep during dinner due to extreme tiredness--and we were glad to get this time on video. Even though he was exhausted, he continued to "sleep eat" because he really wanted his waffle! (And, yes, we made sure he finished chewing his food and put him to bed before he fell out of the chair)

Owen turned seven months old yesterday. We celebrated by finishing our drive back home. I can't say it enough: we are super thankful for this little guy! He charmed everyone he met on our trip, smiled at everyone, and was thrilled to get held and loved on by his relatives. He's also been perfecting his sitting up skills, which means more interacting and playing with Brennan. What a joy Owen is to us!

A Weight-y Issue

At Owen's six-month check-up, we learned that he had gained virtually no weight since his four-month appointment. A disappointment, to be sure, as well as a matter for some concern. Since solids were still a challenge for him, it began to look like a milk supply issue. We immediately began supplementing with formula, but that presented it's own challenges. First, it was simply getting him to take a bottle. Then, between nursing, supplementing, and attempting solids, it seemed like I was constantly trying to get him to eat, which took up all his awake time and left him no time to play. Then came the somewhat difficult decision to stop nursing him. Thankfully, both Owen and I have adapted well to our new feeding arrangements. He takes a bottle like a champ and has finally decided that opening his mouth for solids might actually mean that he'll be rewarded with something tasty.

We headed in for a weight check this morning. Boy, were we surprised! After about 2.5 weeks, he's gained nearly 1.5 pounds--putting him at 15 lbs., 7.5 oz.! We are so thankful that he's gaining weight well and really thriving on his formula and solids.

Country Boys

Since I love country music, we listen to a LOT of country music throughout our day. Brennan really enjoys it and has a blast dancing to the tunes. His current favorite: "That's How Country Boys Roll" by Billy Currington. I got some of his moves on video (but, alas, when the camera comes out, the silly behavior starts), and even Owen showed some of his excitement.

Upright

Now that he's six months old, Owen definitely shows much more interest in being upright and engaging more in "conversation" with the rest of his family members on a little more level playing field. We've been working with him a bit on sitting up without assistance and last night was the first night he achieved more than just a few seconds. We loved catching this milestone on video!

Box Art

Thanks to Amazon Mom and a special promo code in my "Parents" magazine, I placed my first online order for diapers. While it might not be practical (or as cost-effective) to do that on a regular basis, it was really nice to have them dropped right on my doorstep. For Brennan, the best part was the huge box the diapers were shipped in. Its been a place to park his vehicles, and now it's becoming a huge work of art. Who knew what many functions a box could have!

Halloween!

We went to a Fall Festival last night at the West End Assembly of God, which is right down the street from us. It was a pretty significant production and A LOT of fun. I think this could join apple-picking at Carter Mountain Orchard as an October staple. Special thanks goes to Pete and Vallie Woods for lending us super-cute costumes for the night.

Our costume-resistant boy finally relented and discovered that it can be quite fun to be a tiger (or a Tigger) for a day.


Owen went as a Hershey kiss (sweet, round and yummy -- just like him!) -- not a princess, as one or two people thought.


Brennan was more participatory than usual and actually played many of the games, which earned him his choice of candy from a tub. He was especially good at dropping the clothespin in the bucket, tossing the bean bag, and throwing the football (I wish scouts from UR had been there). He wasn't especially good at limiting himself to one or two pieces at a time.

We gathered at 6:30 for a big treasure hunt, where candy was hidden in straw across a patch of ground cordoned off by hay bales. Brennan waited with anticipation, but when the rush was on he stayed rooted to the hay bale he was sitting on. He came away with a foot-long piece of straw, which probably made him the big winner in his mind. More lucrative was the trip to the Henrico police department table, flanked by a cruiser and unmarked Dodge Charger with blue lights blinking and flashing. One of the officers beckoned Brennan forward and then dropped a fist full of candy into his pumpkin bucket. Just like that the night's bounty increased by about 50%!

And a good thing too, because this boy likes his chocolate bars. A Snickers bar has served as both a late-night snack and an after breakfast dessert since we returned home.

On that pace it's a good thing we have another Fall Festival tonight at Staples Mill Road Baptist Church!

Half a Year

Has it really been six months already? Hard to remember what life was like before Owen entered our world. He is probably the most happy baby on the planet--sleeps like a champ, rarely fusses. We are definitely blessed! He has gotten much more comfortable in his exersaucer and doorway jumper. Solids are still a challenge with him, but I'm hopeful that a little more practice will get him eager to move on to some yummy items! He loves to smile and laugh at his brother. It's fun to listen him discover the many different and fun noises that he makes, complete with random happy shrieks. Happy half-birthday to our little man!

Last Meal

If I had to choose a last meal, I think it would be this chicken pot pie. Seriously, try this. You won't regret it! The best part is that it makes two pies, so you can freeze one for later or give the other one away.

Old Fashioned Deep Dish Chicken/Beef Pot Pie

Filling

½ cup butter

2 pckg 10oz each frozen mixed veggies

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups chix or beef broth

2 chix or beef bouillon cubes

4 cups cooked chix or beef cut into 1 inch cubes

½ cup flour

2 cups frozen hash browns

1 tsp thyme leaves

¼ tsp garlic powder

Pastry

1 pckg 15oz refrigerated pie crust

1 egg beaten

2 tsp dried parsley

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat, stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for two minutes; gradually add milk, chicken broth and bouillon cubes (breaking up as you stir). Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Stir in chicken, set aside.

Cook mixed veggies according to package directions, drain.

Cook hash browns in boiling water for 6 minutes or until tender, drain. Add veggies, hash browns, thyme and garlic powder to chix/beef mixture.

Divide evenly between two 9 inch deep-dish pie pans. Place pie crust on top of each pie. Fold excess pastry over the top of each pie and press with a fork against edge of pan. Brush crust with egg; sprinkle with parsley leaves. Make sure to slice slits in tip of pastry to let steam escape.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until filling starts to bubble and pastry is golden brown.

Same

Same outfit, same Bumbo. Off the charts cuteness!

Brennan at 4 months

Owen at 5 months

Long Time

Wow, it's been a long time since our blog has been updated! Sometimes, life gets a little hectic and crazy and blogging takes a backseat! And it's sad to say that I'm currently using the excuse of updating the blog to postpone cleaning my house. Oh, well.

I attempted this morning to get some photos of the boys in their "Big Brother/Little Brother" shirts. It mostly worked. Brennan has entered the defiant phase which makes it very difficult to get him to cooperate with anything, including posing for photos (which he used to like). Ah, the joys of an almost three-year-old!

Brennan has also been busting loose with TONS of words lately. We've lost count of how many words he's saying these days. Some of his favorites are "dada home" and "stop sign." He's also recently said his name for the first time and he loves to repeat words that we say. Last night's funny repetition was "dirty butt"--I was changing a messy diaper at the time! He's also started calling for objects when we ask him to look for something. For example, we were at a friend's house and he was outside playing. He came back outside and didn't have his shoes on. We immediately went outside to try to find his shoes (especially since it was starting to get dark), and I asked him to help me look for them. He started wandering around the yard calling "Shoes! Shoes!" All the while, his shoes were by the front door (and yes, I did put shoes on him before he went outside, but he somehow came back in and took them off without me seeing him). He does this with a number of objects--his cup, his toy stop sign from his train set, the moon. We can't wait to hear what he's going to say next!

Twins Love

Playoffs begin today. May this be the year. We're showing our love in this house today! Don't let us down, Twins!

Hot Stuff

Brennan recently developed a fascination with Daddy's sunglasses. He loves to wear them and finds it especially fun to push them up on his head. It appeared time for him to have his own sunglasses.

Welcome October

After a long, hot summer, fall has finally arrived. I couldn't be happier about; I'm definitely ready for a reprieve from the heat and the humidity. October ushered in the temperatures I've been craving, as well as letting us indulge in some fun fall activities, a couple new and one yearly tradition.

Friday night, we visited Tom Leonard's Farmer's Market where they were hosting a Friday night movie in the pumpkin patch. Friday's feature was "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", so we thought it would be fun to introduce Brennan to this classic. Bundled up in our jackets (except for Brennan, who is a bit reluctant to shed the cloak of summer), sipping on hot chocolate and cider, and munching on popcorn, we settled in to our hay bale seats and geared up for the movie. It was a great family activity, hopefully one that will be repeated in future Octobers.

Saturday morning, we indulged in our yearly tradition of apple picking. Off to Carter Mountain Orchard we went to get our fill of all things apple. Brennan was more interested in it this year, and it was fun to introduce Owen to this tradition, even though he spent most of his time in the stroller or in the sling. Twenty pounds of apples later, we said good-bye to the orchard for another year with visions of pies and purees for Owen dancing in our heads.

To cap off our Saturday, we ventured out to the Republican Roundup, hosted by our congressman, Eric Cantor. There was free food (always love free food) and activities for the kids, plus the requisite speech from Mr. Cantor himself. We enjoyed running into some friends of our from playgroup and getting some good time with them, which easily transitioned to a quick ice cream run afterward for a fun dessert outing.

A ride on the little fire truck was all we could convince him to try!

Free Cold Stone Tonight Only!

Today (9/30) from 5 to 8 pm get a free 3 oz Kate’s Creation at Cold Stone Creamery. This creation includes caramel apple ice cream mixed with chocolate shavings, graham cracker pie crust and apple pie filling! A donation to Make-A-Wish is suggested but not required. Be sure to check it out and support a great cause!

Jumping Boy

I've been putting Owen in his doorway jumper and exersaucer a bit more lately to help him exercise his legs a bit. He doesn't really like it all that well, but today was the first day he actually seemed relatively happy in the jumper. I'm looking forward to the day when he really gets to be "jumping boy" in it!

Five Months

Owen turned five months old yesterday. The time is just flying by with him! I can't say enough about how much joy this precious little boy has brought into our lives. Last night, John and I got to have some rare time with just us and him and we certainly enjoyed getting some quality time with this little guy!

Owen's Likes:
Smiling and laughing at Brennan
Smiling in general
Wiggling
Rolling from side to side
Playing with the fish on his activity gym
Playing with his hair while he nurses
Being kissed and hugged

Owen's Dislikes:
Being in his exersaucer for any length of time
Solid food

Arts Around the Lake

We headed to the University of Richmond after church today to check out the Arts Around the Lake show. We were a little puzzled when we arrived because we got down to the lake and there were no exhibits. Despite the perfect weather outside, we discovered the show was relocated to the basketball stadium because a chance of rain was in the forecast. Off we went to take a quick peek at some of the art exhibits before heading back home in time for lunch and naps. UR is such a beautiful campus that we definitely enjoyed our walk there. Brennan was in little boy heaven with leaves, pine needles, and trees galore.

We also got to check out the brand new football stadium that just opened this year. We've enjoyed getting to see UR play each year that we've been here, but don't think we'll be able to make it to a game this year. So it was fun to get to see the stadium, even though it wasn't game day and charged with energy.

Tiny Tastes

After holding off until almost five months, Owen started his journey toward solid food. It was a little sad for me--it means my baby is growing up! But I am excited about making his baby food and introducing him to all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables. He actually ate very little of the cereal (can't blame him; rice cereal is pretty bland!), but I'm hoping he'll get used to things after a few days. Then, it will be on to all the fun things waiting in the wings for him!

Art

Playgroup yesterday afternoon was all about art. Our host had boards lined up in her backyard for kids to paint on, many different colors of paint to choose from, stencils to use. It was quite the set-up! After a pretty spectacular meltdown from Brennan when it came time to actually put the paint shirt on, he seemed to really get into the project and enjoy creating the kind of masterpiece only a 2.5 year old can create.

A work in progress

The finished project--a great keepsake for him!

Hats

Grandma Downer recently returned from a trip to Panama, and she sent the boys some fun baseball hats. There was definitely some hat-love going on in our house last night! I even think Brennan may have slept in his hat last night!