Little Helper

Brennan loves to be a "helper" for Mommy and Daddy! For example, he likes to put his toys "back", hand us our towels in the bathroom, throw away trash, and put clothes in the dryer. We're hoping to find a way to continue this behavior!

20 Months!

Our little miracle is 20 months old! He is such a blessing!

~Brennan is talking up a storm. He repeats almost everything and uses many multiple word phrases independently.
~He names many friends and family members independently.
Mama = Grandma
Papa = Grandpa
Adda = Aunt Renata
Za-son = Uncle Jason
Tomin = Tobin
Zac = Zac
Anna = Eliana
Um = Miriam
A-Deena = Aunt Adrianna
Uncle Well = Uncle Will
Vava = Ava
Kin = Corrine
Ees = Elise
Uncle Matt = Uncle Matt
Jenn = Jenn
Ma-zin = Madison
Zu-zan = Susan
Zaza = Sara
Passon = Paxton
~"Ok" is heard frequently. He'll sometimes say it after falling down. He says it most when asking for something; "Oranges? Ok!" We assume this stems from us repeating his requests, and then complying with an "ok"
~He enjoys singing the alphabet and will sing the entire song, using many approximations and mumbling of letters. When asked to identify letters from his foam bath letters, he'll consistently give the name of a letter.
~Tracy, Brennan's babysitter, has established a great routine that has eliminated his morning Mommy-itis. When we arrive in the morning, he watches a few nursery rhymes on the computer, which is in the front room. He frequently asks for "E-E" (5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed) or "Twinkle Star" (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star). Mom is old news and I barely get a goodbye wave. At times, he'll start asking for a song as soon as we pull into the driveway.
~His love of books continues and he'll easily sit through several long books (full length Dr Suess) in a row. He also likes to read them to himself. When looking at Fox in Socks, he's been heard saying: "Fox. Sock. Knox. Box"...flip a few pages..."Whose socks? Sue's socks"
~Brennan regularly asks for things by using "please" We're working on "thank you" and "you're welcome." He'll repeat "thank you" when prompted and say "el-come" when asked what you say when someone thanks you. A few days ago, he greeted me in the morning with an enthusiastic "Good morning!" when I got him out of bed. We love that he's using his manners!
~He likes to eat his food with a spoon/fork and off of a plate. When down with his meal, he's started to put his utensil on his plate and hand it (right side up!) to us. When asking for more, he'll lift his plate (right side up!) and ask for more. He continues to like dipping his food into mustard/ketchup/ranch/sauce.
~He uses his name regularly. Sometimes he'll use it when asking for something by pointing to the object and stating "Bennan!" He also uses it when giving turns for something: "Mommy bite! Daddy bite! Bennan bite!"
~He'll 'count' to 13, occasionally skipping 9 or 10. He'll usually start counting when asked or when asked "how many ____?"
~He continues to like Sesame Street characters and now also likes naming Disney characters. "Mickey Mouse", "Minnie Mouse", "Pu-to", "Voo-fy", and "Don-dald" are his favorites.
~Although he can definitely make a mess, he also likes to put his toys "back"
~He enjoys listening to music. He frequently asks for his "songs" in the car, will help to sing some nursery rhymes, and sings others independently. He can recognize many songs within the first few beats.

Master Bathroom Remodel

Our major house project this summer was remodeling our master bathroom. Due to water under the floor, this home improvement project moved to the top of the list. We love our new, updated bathroom! Special thanks to Adam's Dad, who traveled to Sandusky many weekends over the summer to help.

Before:



After: