ROOOAAAAR!

Brady got his face painted at PDO today!



It was such an amazing job and Brady LOVED it! We had to go to the doctor for his check up and he even got shots. He generally does not cry, but this time I just told him that tears would mess up his tiger face...it worked! He is such a great kid!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

For Brady's birthday we wanted to take them some place new and decided on the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (the "new zoo" as the boys now call it). It is in Colorado Springs and sites right on the mountains. It was such a neat zoo!




You can feed the giraffe's there. Brady was a little scared, for good reason though, those tongues are LONG and they are hungry! But, Jackson fed them!





Charlotte was there too!



We got a couple family shots:




Jackson climbed on rocks:



Brady rode the carousel:




The saw lots of animals and generally had a great time!





We will certainly be going back!

Happy 3 Years, Brady!

Brady,

Where do I even begin. You are now three years old and growing into such a little dude. You are the sweetest, silliest, goofiest, best little boy in the world.

Stats:
Height: 36.5 (25%)
Weight: (50%)
Head: 50%

You are still a bit of a little guy, but your big personality more than makes up for it!

As I sit here and think about what I want to memorialize about who you are right now, I think of excitement, playfulness, and love. You are so happy and smiley, so giving and empathetic, and just so generally sweet that it's impossible not to smile when you're around. You are just silly. You make funny faces, say funny things, and just generally keep everyone around you smiling and laughing.

You talk non-stop, using new words and complex phrases in a way that surprises us daily. You are very good at expressing your feelings and telling us what you do and do not want. You are also very good at using your words with Jackson and listening to your friend's words.

You share your brother's love of animals and know so many random facts about these animals already. Last night, out of nowhere, you look at me and said "Mommy, racoons eat crayfish." It cracked me up.

You are a great little brother and a great big brother- you fit just perfectly in the middle. You are almost always sweet to Jackson, you generally give him what he asks for. But, you are not a pushover, you have begun to assert yourself more and more! You and Jackson also play well together most of the time. On our car ride home from the zoo on your birthday, you and Jackson played an entire round of the animal guessing game without us even helping!

You are also sweet to your baby sister! You will get her toys. Just the other day, Charlotte was in my room crying and you came upstairs with your singing birthday card and said "Mommy how can I make Charlotte happy?" Then, you played the card for her over and over because it made her laugh. You did not even get mad when she took your card and tried to eat it.

You do great in your big boy bed and sleep great most of the time. You used to sleep until late in the morning and you don't really do that anymore. And, you will get up in the middle of the night to potty and then you go right back to bed. You have been day time potty trained for a long time, but you are also completely diaper free at night. You have been pretty good at this for about 2 months!

You are a little timid and do not take the same risks that your brother takes. You LOVE to swim, but hate to actually put your head under the water. I am hoping that changes with some swim lessons. You love your tumbling class and enjoying going with your friends. You still love music and love to have dance parties with everyone!

You love Megan, your nanny, and Avery- your buddy that shares Megan. You also love playing with Hank and EJ. You do great at PDO and your teachers are always telling me how special you are!

Your twos were not bad at all and I am hoping for more of the same with your threes!

Brady, your are a true blessing to our family. We all love you so much. I cannot wait to see you grow and develop this next year!

Love,
Mommy

Little Bunny

Sweet, Sweet girl.

Jackson and Charlotte

Seriously, he cannot get enough of her!

Happy 8 Months, Charlotte!

I completely forgot to get her 7 month photos and did not do an update. So, we will just say she had a great month-like always!!

Charlotte,

You are now 8 months old! I can't believe you have only been with this family for that long and at the same time I cannot picture this family without you!



You are still the sweetest, happiest little girl! You can sit up all by yourself, and have really been doing that since you were 6 months old. You also now have two teeth! You got your first tooth about two weeks ago, and your second is coming through now!



You are down to two naps a day. You are still a great night sleeper as well. You go down early, around 6:30 and then sleep from until about 7:00! You love to lay in your crib and talk and play with your bear. When we come in a peak over your crib you give us the biggest smiles! It might be one of my favorite times of the day!



You still have four liquid feedings, and now have mostly formula. I nurse you at night, but we are weaning off of that as well. You also eat three solid meals a day. You are a good eater...except at dinner. You have had enough of the day at that point! You love sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peaches, blueberries, apples and pears! You are not a big fan of green beans and peas...but who is! We will keep trying new things.



You love your brothers and they love you. You are the happiest in mommy's arms, but will go to anyone that will talk to you and smile at you! You have the sweetest little laugh and we all work hard to make you use it!



You also love your bath time and love to play in the tub! You love your toys, especially a stackable toy that sings. And you are starting to lunge to get to the toy you want. You also play with many non-traditional baby toys, such as snakes and elephants. But, that is what happens when you have older brothers!



You are not crawling yet, but probably will be soon. Mommy like s that you are stationary and will enjoy it for the time being! You are already growing too fast!



You are such a doll and we are all so blessed that you are ours! We love you to the moon and back!

Another Snow Storm

Denver got another huge snow storm and we were stuck inside for the day. A couple of the kids friends came to play and they all had a great time. They spent half the morning outside in the snow!

I only remembered to get my camera out at the end. But, I captured Brady playing in the snow and climbing the "snow hill" in our front yard that was left by the plows.

Ski Lessons

Jackson has started ski lessons:



He takes them at a small mountain resort, Echo Mountain, and takes them with his buddy Jack. Here they are waiting to hit the slopes on their second lesson and with their instructor, Ms. Julie:




Jackson is doing great. He listens well and tries everything. They are working on parallel skiing. After his second lesson, Ms. Julie said " I have never seen a kid eat more snow than Jackson." Yep, that's my boy!!




They are only two hours at a time, which I think is perfect for a four year old. He has progressed a ton, even in two weeks. It won't take long and he will be a better skier than me!

One Mister, With his Sister

Jackson loves to be with Charlotte, LOVES it. He hardly every leaves her alone. The other night I looked over and Jackson had made Charlotte a little bed to lay in, pillow and all!