Majority Rules

I am still learning how to be a parent to a set of wild boys. Afterall, I grew up in a house where boys were the MAJOR minority since my dad was the lone male among 4 women. I am living in my father's dream world - a place where the kids like to be rough and tough. They think everything was created to jump from and they are sure that most anything can withstand a good karate kick. They live for the moments to get their hands in the dirt (honestly, I think their fingernails have dirt in them more often than not). With each passing month Harper and Collier are solidifying their roles as partners in crime but most of all they are teaching me that boys ARE truly different than girls in almost every aspect.

This weekend, after what seemed like hours of running around the house evoking havoc on anything and anyone in their site, Collier decided he wanted to cash in and head upstairs. Harper was not about to allow the fun to end and took matters into his own hands. While Collier was climbing the stairs, Harper grabbed one of his legs and started dragging him back downstairs. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of this criminal act and quickly put an end to it. I explained to Harper that he cannot do this to his little brother because it could hurt him and Collier was not yet as durable as him. I ended the lecture with "How would you like someone to pull you down the stairs by one leg?"

Obviously this was a stupid question for a mother to ask a three year old boy who thrives on his father taking his legs out with a pillow when he is jumping on the bed. As soon as I finished my really dumb question, his eyes got as big as quarters and he said "Really... that sounds fun. Will you pull me down the stairs with one leg?"

I resisted my initial thought of trying to teach a lesson of empathy and decided "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". I grabbed Harper's leg and pulled him down the stairs as laughter exploded between both of them. I realized that being a prude is not going to go over well with these two little guys. Something tells me that I will probably learn more lessons in the years ahead than the boys. After all, I am the MAJOR minority in this situation.

Living in a Bubble

There are alot of great things about living in Utah but election day may be the exception. In case you haven't heard, Utah is the REDDEST state in the nation! So red, that neither of the candidates put much energy into campaigning here. The democrats feel like there is no chance in hell and the republicans know they have it in the bag so the presidential candidates figure they can just expend their energy somewhere else in this great nation.

I have been watching the national news over the last couple of weeks and anticipated standing in a very long line today to cast my ballot. But, as you can see in the photo below, I arrived at my voting location (a local LDS church) and wondered if I had missed election day. No lines and no clamor of last minute people convincing you to vote for a particular candidate. Had it not been for the "Vote Here" sign and the American flags, I might have turned around and headed home to double check my calendar. Either way I cast my vote and am crossing my fingers - although I realize that my vote is not going to impact Utah's final outcome.

Cujo - Part II

Well, I guess we are not going to get off easy with the second one. October has been a month of signing multiple "incident reports" at daycare with Collier. He has decided to follow in his brother's footsteps and handle misunderstandings orally. Matt and I experienced de ja vu this week when we had to sign 2 reports on the same day because Collier had decided to take his frustrations out on two different kids by injecting his fangs into their flesh - I must say the timing was impeccable for the holiday. Hind sight being 20/20, we should have dressed him up as a vampire rather than a dragon.

This time, Matt and I are much more relaxed than the first time around. We realize it is just a phase and "this too shall pass". I remember with Harper, we spent many long nights discussing whose genes he had inherited because he was taking his frustrations out on his friends in an aggressive manner. Now, we will hold our heads high even if parents refuse to give us eye contact because we are confident that it will work its self out in due time. We have dusted off our old trusty copy of the book "Teeth are Not for Biting" that we bought a couple of years ago and we have committed to donate it to the daycare after Collier begins the next phase of toddlerhood. We feel it is the least we can do in light of the two rabid children we have sent through the Intermountain Healthcare Development Center.

Don't Mess with Daddy

For those of you who know me well you will know that I am a dreamer - both literally and figuratively. From the literal sense, I am a very vivid dreamer at night and my dreams, more often than not, are an accurate reflection of things that are happening in my life at the present time. As I have gotten older, I have become more interested in dream interpretation and often take a mental note of my dreams to validate how I am feeling. Over the last month, I have been quite stressed with work and a few important decisions and it has been very evident in my dreams of the magnitude of this stress.

Matt, on the other hand, has been one that often never remembers his dreams when he awakes. So, it was a surprise the other morning when he told me that he had had a very bad dream. Upon inquisition, he said that in his dream he had been standing at the kitchen window when he saw a strange couple enter our front gate and grab Harper from the yard and rush away. He said that he had dashed out of the kitchen quickly and chased after them. I asked him how it ended and he said that he had awoken at that point but after replaying the dream in his mind over and over he had created his own ending and it ended with him chasing the car, beating the crap out of the guy, slamming his head against the steering wheel, whisking Harper out of the car and then punching the lady in the nose just to prove a point. I couldn't help to laugh at the thought of the amount of effort he had put into completing the story, but I also understood at that moment the power of a father's love....even in his dreams.

Little White Lie

Today, as Matt was trying to put pants on Harper before we ventured out in public, he noticed that Harper's underwear were just a wee bit wet. Before Matt could even ask him why he had dribbled in his draws and not gone to the little boy's room, Harper's quick wit went to work. The conversation went something like this:

Matt: Harper, your underwear feel a little bit wet. Why didn't you use the potty instead of your underwear?

Harper: Oh Daddy that's not pee - it's water from last night.

Heather (from another room and laughing out loud) - Water from last night? I don't think so.

Once again, Harper's quick witted mind goes to work. From another room, I see him walk to the kitchen and fill up a cup with water from the refrigerator. As I am walking into the room I can't believe my eyes. Harper is dumping the water down the front of his underwear. He obviously didn't see me behind him and he says:

"See mom, it wasn't pee - it really was water from last night."

I know that as a parent I am probably suppose to use this as an opportunity to teach him a very good life lesson about the importance of always telling the truth but I guess I will need to relinquish my mother of the year award because I lost it and started dying laughing. I think he gets a prize for creativity and another one for going a step further and putting himself and his privates through a rush of cold water with the intention of convincing us that his wet underwear were the result of water from over 24 hours ago. The three year old mind obviously hasn't perfected the concept of relational time. He has aced a lot of areas though - including the art of negotiation, manipulation and creative story telling.

I guess this is only preparation for the teenage years that seem so far away.

Girls Weekend

Yesterday, I made my way back across the country - coming off the tale-end of a much needed girl's weekend in Cleveland, OH where my youngest sister Ashley lives. My middle sister Lorie flew up from Tennessee and we all met for 3 1/2 days of non-stop fun. Matt graciously agreed to play single dad for a few days to offer me some get away time to recollect, rejuvenate and have the opportunity to act like I am 25 again.

Lots of things have changed since having kids and that is most evident when you hang out with your ultra cool, uber hip, just married, urban dwelling sister and her awesome husband. But even with all the changes there are some things that will always remain the same and those were very evident this weekend. Here is a run down:

Same Ol' Same Ol'

*The Collier girls are notorious for a good laugh. There isn't a time or place that is too sacred for a belly laugh that has the potential to wet your pants. Luckily we had many of these moments this weekend. I am pretty sure that there were at least five times that Lorie, who has the weakest bladder of the three, had to turn and run away with legs crossed to the closest ladies room. I could try and provide a few examples but from previous experience I find that we laugh at things that others don't necessarily think are funny - you know, it becomes like an inside joke that we repeat over and over and over. We laugh and no one else understands. Honestly, that is what makes it all the more fun!

*Being involved in a conversation with the three of us is a challenge in itself. We have the tendency to talk over each other and have 3 separate, distinct conversations going at one time. Most people who witness this often feel like their head is going to implode - outsiders are even more freaked out when they realize that we are active participants in all 3 of the conversation and are able keep up each other without much effort.

*The three of us can still do some real damage in a shopping mall. We have the capacity to shop from dawn to dusk on very little rest or food. Although we each contribute our fair share to the economy, we have just as much fun browsing and dreaming.

*Even with all of our "growing up" and engaging in "adult" lives, we are never too good to have a good old fashioned slumber party. Ashley has one bed in her apartment so we kicked her husband to the couch and the three of us slept 3 deep in her queen size bed.

We are looking forward to Girl's Weekend 2009 already. Next year we have promised to take photos since neither of us thought about snapping any still frames to savor the memories. Who knows maybe we will even get crazy and make matching t-shirts for next year's big event.

Puke on Demand

Have you ever met anyone with a sensitive gag reflux? You know those people that smell something weird and start gagging and then throw up? Or they eat something that is less than desirable and instead of inconspicuously removing it from their mouth, they just barf? Before having Collier I was convinced that people who claimed to have this issue were up in the night. I thought is was an exaggerated way of getting some attention. But, like my change of heart that occurred during my pregnancy regarding carpal tunnel, I have become a believer of "puking on demand" as well. I have become so close to the issue that I could start a support group or 12 step program.

First off, you must know that Collier is like a Hoover vacuum cleaner without any sort of bag filter. He takes in a great deal of things that are not necessarily edible. In addition, he also has asthma so he is preconditioned to bouts of excessive coughing. Those two activities alone are a land mine for someone who has a sensitive gag reflux. There is probably not a day that goes by that one of these activities goes a bit too far and we are chanting to Collier "stop gagging you are going to make yourself throw up." We have done this so often that we have even heard Harper coaching Collier from another room when he sees it coming. You just learn when you see certain facial expressions paired with disproportionate coughing to stand clear or you might become a victim to the after effect.

Interestingly enough, Collier now plays games with us and when we start our chanting of "please don't puke", he will intentionally make himself cough more and even throw in fake coughs for dramatic effect. He is learning early that having a twisted sense of humor can often put you in the spotlight - and trust me, our little Collier is starting to feel right at home in the spotlight!

Steering Wheel Plinko

A new thing has started to happen since Harper turned 3. He has always been a curious kid, but now his curiosity often leads him to test the limits of things and experiment with the concept of cause and effect. For instance, he will sometimes drop things to see what happens when they land - often full drinking cups of water or things that are made of glass - neither of which are easy to clean up.

Yesterday we were sitting in the parking lot waiting on something and we allowed the kids to get out of their car seats to move around a bit. Matt actually got out of the car to stretch so Harper made his way to the driver's seat.

Beyond his curiosity for how things work, he has also convinced himself that he knows how to drive. He has even found an old set of keys and a wallet that he has claimed as his own which makes him feel more grown up and for some reason he tries to rationalize that these two things will somehow make us think he is now ready to drive. A picture from school serves as his "driver's license". For those of you who are thinking, "oh dear I'm worried that they are encouraging his behavior" - no worries I promise we will never leave him alone in the car and we always lock the car doors when we get out (even when the cars are inside the garage). Trust me, I am fully aware that Harper's confidence level is such that trying to crank the car and back it out of the driveway is not beneath him.

Anyway, back to my original story. Harper was sitting in the driver's seat yesterday doing his normal "song and dance" of pretending that we are driving to Disney World. He then begins to get a couple of coins out of the ashtray for gas money. This is where the story gets a little foggy because I was obviously not paying as close of attention as I should have been. All of a sudden I hear a coin drop and it doesn't sound like it hits the ground. I look over and Harper is laughing and reaching for another coin so he can repeat his fun. I realized right way that he had dropped a coin in the steering wheel - he had managed to slide a penny in the crack where the horn cover meets the edge of the steering wheel. Luckily I was able to impede any additonal mishaps but we have been unfortunate in trying to release the coin and daddy is not happy with either of us.

Now when you turn the steering wheel it sounds like the game of Plinko from the Price is Right. Every turn is a clink, clink, clink of the penny moving from one side of the steering wheel to the other. Too bad that each turn doesn't produce the opportunity to win a prize. Something tells me that this is one that we are going to have to shell out some good money to repair rather than having the potential of winning a boat load of cash from Mr. Bob Barker himself.

America's Got Talent

Oh there is never a dull moment in the Brace household. These days Harper likes to sing and Collier likes to dance. This is a skill that neither of them have inherited from their sperm and egg donor. Maybe it is just a mother's pride, but I do think Harper can carry a tune and Collier has rhythm. Matt and I can only hope that one day we will be able to capatilize on our budding performers. If there is one career change that I am confident that I could wear the shoes comfortably, it is that of STAGE MOM! As pathetic as it sounds, I think I would make a good one. Enough about me and on with the videos of the 2020 American Idol winner and the 2022 Dancing with the Stars winner.

Harper's Video - he overheard me singing "Life is a Highway" remake by Rascal Flatts the other day - but I promise it was not in the shower.





Collier's Video - Matt's brother Jake bought this singing dog for the kids and you find Collier randomly in rooms by himself making the dog sing "I Feel Good" just so he can bust a move. You go boy!

Goodbye Summer!

With the passing of Labor Day, it feels that summer is coming to a quick close. As hard as it is to say goodbye, the ending of summer almost always brings a rekindled spirit and a need to get our internal flames burning to warm us for winter. I have not been as active in writing on the blog as I would have hoped during the summer, but trust me it is not because of lack of content. Like most of you, we have been crazy busy and can only wonder where all those beautiful warm days went - along with all of the outdoor summer house projects that we had planned. I hope the old saying that "good intentions pave the road to hell" is not necessarily true because trust me, I'm in real trouble if it turns out to be the gospel. The Brace summer has been consumed with potty training, teething, play dates, diapers full of sand, fingernails and toenails filled with dirt, bouts of illness, visits from family, new jobs (Matt), trips to the doctor, high gas prices and an over consumption of election news.

As a matter of update, Harper has fully recovered from his strep and scarlet fever and he has hit 3 years old head on. Here is a quick and dirty of the latest:

1. He is now potty trained and has moved to his new class at school. It just so happens that the next class is the Tigers which is his favorite animal mainly because they are ORANGE. So, this alone was his motivation for potty training. The deadline for being potty trained to move to the Tigers was the Tuesday after Labor Day. He made it by the skin of his teeth - and mainly because my mom was here for a whole week and really got to reinforce the message that he could either go to the Tigers if he decided to pee and poo on the potty or he could go to the slow Turtles if he wanted to continue to wear diapers. Harper is truly a child that can make miraculous things happen when he puts his mind to it. Honestly, I had my doubts but he has proven us all wrong....all in the name of Orange.

2. He still loves orange and the color practically rules every decision he makes everyday - from the clothes that he wears to the food that he eats. Mom, Lorie and Ashley have all visited this summer and I 'm sure they thought we were exaggerrating the fascination that he has with this color until they each spent a few days in the Brace household. Each of them have commented that they will never be able to look at anything orange without thinking that Harper would love owning it.

3. Harper is still wearing his Halloween costume from last year. It has now been 10 months and the costume is starting to feel the strain of a growing boy who still longs to be Tyrone from the Backyardigans. The butt of the costume has a gaping hole and there are at least 10 other tears in various places. As we begin thinking about this year's costume, I have no problem investing a little extra since we defintely got our money's worth out of this costume.




As for Collier, he has grown up over the summer. He took his first steps in May and has run ever since. His budding personality as a performer and daredevil - yet a kid who can melt your heart is more evident than ever. As a mater of update, here is what's new:

1. Collier loves dirt. He loves playing in it, he loves throwing it and most of all, he loves eating it. You can't turn your head for one second when we are outside because he heads straight for the garden. I'm surprised our vegetables have been able to thrive in Collier's presence. Not even a little fence has been able to keep him out. With his small frame, he found a way to crawl right through every time - at this point he can wiggle through the gate faster than Willow and Riley who are at least 1/2 his size.

2. Collier is a little tease at school. The teachers have been telling us that he likes to sneak and take people's blankies and binkies and taunt them when they want it back. We are also entering the much loathed time of biting that we experienced with Harper. We have already had to fill out several incident reports for both biting and hair pulling. From experience though, this too shall pass.

3. He is starting to say a good number of words - although he continually refers to anyone who in his presence as mama if he needs something. His favorite thing to say is "mine" and according to Codge, everything is his.

4. He knows no stranger and has to make sure anyone new knows every trick that he can do. He is by far, the performer of the family and really enjoys the spotlight. As you can see from the photos below, he can easily draw a laugh when he wants.





5. Earlier in the summer, he learned to hug and kiss and he loves sharing his affection - especially if he thinks it will avoid him getting into trouble. He has the concept of trading affection to avoid time out down to a science.

6. In addition to the performer, he has also proven to be the daredevil as well. What 16 month old do you know who has no fear of launching off the couch or bed with no one there to catch him. He can scale most anything in a matter of seconds. Both Matt and I have had to be more diligent than ever to not let him out of your sight. Harper has picked up on his bravery and has started convincing Collier to do things that he is too scared to do himself.

Harper and Collier are now playing together fairly well but recently they have started to fight over toys and have occasionally become a bit aggressive. Our pediatrician has advised that we should allow them to figure things out as much as possible - yet try to teach them that hurting one another is not acceptable. I have to say this one is hard because boys seem to go from disagreeing to slugging it out in a matter of 2 seconds. Collier doesn't seem to let age or size alter the way he tries to seek resolution. Getting a toy out of his hand is like trying to pry an object out of a vice grip. He is proving to be tough competition for his older brother. I keep saying to them "it is okay to disagree but it is not okay to hurt each other". For some reason it hasn't resonated yet but maybe repetition will bring understanding - at least that is what I am hoping.

I have several great stories from the summer that I am dying to share in the coming weeks as a matter of rekindling the blog. My short hiatus is over and I promise to get serious again about sharing the nuances of raising 2 VERY active boys. I assume that you guys enjoy reading it for one of two reasons - 1. You love to see that another mom is going through the very same things you are going through (or have been through) OR 2. You need a constant reminder of the importance of taking your birth control pills faithfully every day.

An Under the Weather Birthday for Harper

Yesterday Harper celebrated his third birthday really under the weather! We started the day at the pediatrician's office with a diagnosis of strep throat and scarlet fever. One thing we have learned about Harper over the last three years is he has a very high tolerance for pain and it is often hard to predict when he is sick enough to visit the doctor. He developed a fever on Thursday evening and missed school on Friday. After a consistent fever of 101 + through Friday night and an overall feeling of lethargy, we decided a visit to our pediatrician was inevitable. Mind you, through all of this, Harper was continuing to say he was feeling better and nothing was bothering him. The kid is as strong as an ox. After being told that his strep test came back positive, I asked Harper if his throat was hurting and he said, "nope I feel all better now."

We spent the rest of the day missing a few events we had planned since Harper would be very contagious until 24 hours of antibiotics. Luckily we had purchased a 52 inch flat screen LCD TV the day before so we enjoyed a full day of guilt free lazing around on the couch downstairs watching the Olympics.

Thanks to our friends Lisa and Mathew, they got Harper a birthday cake to enjoy and even brought over party hats and 3 orange birthday candles. Given the circumstances, it was a great birthday celebration.

Today, he woke up a new boy. It is amazing how quick the antibiotics took effect. Luckily his birthday party is next Saturday so he should be able to enjoy it with full energy.

My mom and sister are coming into to town to spend some time with us and also watch the kids while Matt and I spend our 10th anniversary away for a night.... I will try to write more later since there will be more hands to help with the wild ones and hopefully a bit more time to write.

A Budding Performer

Last night Matt and I took the kids to Red Butte for an outdoor concert to see Johnny Lang. We had a great time and the show was awesome. Outdoor concerts and young kids make for a great combination as an FYI. It is even better that kids under 3 get in free. To say the least, we are trying to pack in some good shows before the good times run out. Nothing like good food, good beer, good music and good weather on the same night. It almost makes you forget that you have a 1 year old and 3 year in tow. It's the closest to the "old life" that we will probably get for another 20 years.

During this concert we were able to confirm a tidbit that we have been anecdotally saying for the last several months. Although Collier is the spitting image of his father in looks, he is a carbon copy of his mother when it comes to personality! The child knows no stranger!! I honestly think that Collier was under the impression that the crowd who attended the concert last night were all there to see him perform rather than Johnny Lang. He roamed around our picnic area to every group in sight to make sure he had met everyone at least 5 or 6 times. He was even able to score some free food from several people. It is amazing to see that the only motivation he needs to perform is the endorsement of others that he truly is the one that they are focused on.

I can't help but fast forward 18 years and wonder why he has made the decision to enter the beer chugging contest for the third time- his only motivation to do so is his insatiable desire to hear the roar of the crowd say "Collier, Collier, Collier". I wish I could somehow imagine that it was a spelling bee contest but something tells me that the first scenario is closer to reality.

Seeing the World Through Orange Colored Glasses

You've probably heard the idiom -seeing the world through "rose colored glasses" - which essentially means that you think things are more pleasant than they really are. These days we are seeing things through "orange colored glasses" and things that are often mundane or boring are seen with a new level of excitement if they are seen through Harper's eyes that contain heavy orange lenses. His love of orange has gotten so extreme that anything remotely close to this hue is up for grabs. As long as its color resembles that of a pumpkin, Harper thinks he needs it because in his own words "[it] is owange and owange is my vewy favowite." Just to give you an idea of what we face on a daily basis, I am providing you a list of the most recent orange items that he shed tears over for us to buy him, steal him or take for him. Most of which he just had to shed tears for because we see no real need for them in the Brace household:

1. An orange vest that he saw a 100 year old crossing guard wear one early morning on the way to school. I didn't dare tell him that at one point early in my life I served on my elementary school safety patrol and wore one of those vests everyday to assist my fellow students cross the road to get to their respective departing transportation at the end of their school day. If I would have known what I know now I would have scarfed one of those vests and put it away in my hope chest for the orange-crazed son that I never knew I would have.
2. A roll of orange 50 foot climbing rope from REI. Oddly enough, he knew that it was a rope but he had no clue what it was used for.... nor did he care. Knowing Harper, he had probably created 1 million other uses in his mind for his anticipated orange rope - like lassoing Willow and Riley. Within 30 seconds he had also added an orange rock climbing helmet, orange carabiner and orange climbing harness to his list of must haves. I told him that he would have to scale the 40 foot climbing wall and then I would think about it. Luckily it was closed for the day - otherwise Matt may have needed to pick up a new hobby.
3. Marigolds from the nursery. I did break down and buy these because I needed flowers anyway. Plus, I thought it would be a good experience for him to begin taking care of something and watching the fruits of his labor after watering and caring for a flower. This lasted about 2 days and now I am watching the fruits of my own labor. I guess this is only the beginning because I'm sure any living thing that he begs for over the next 18 years, mom or dad will end up caring and nurturing in one way or another.
4. Any article of cloth to wear or sleep with - he has talked us into buying orange fleece pants, orange crocs, an orange baseball hat, a minimum of 10 orange t-shirts, orange socks, and an orange fleece blanket (not counting the 2 orange afghans that nanna has crocheted). If he could dress from head to toe in orange everyday of his life he would be one happy boy. It is too bad that we don't live in TN where orange clothes are as abundant as the Book of Mormon in Salt Lake. Outside of Knoxville, TN (the motherland of the TN Volunteers), orange tends to be a scarce color for the rest of the planet. I can only PLEAD with the fashion people of the world to make orange the new black.
5. Anything that Home Depot sells. He actually refers to Home Depot as his orange store. There is not a day that he wouldn't be just fine gracing the presence of this super chain. This often works out nicely for home projects and gardening. We most recently signed him up for the monthly kids building projects that they do on the first Saturday of the month. He loves it because they provided him with a free "mini me" Home Depot apron adorned with his name. For each of the projects he makes, he earns pins to display on his apron. So far, he has made a flower box (which we put his marigolds in that I have inherited) and a catamaran or ship. Too bad child labor laws are so strict- otherwise I would see if I couldn't arrange for a "send your child to work program" - especially if he could get us a decent discount on merchandise.

Even outside of his commercial interests, his teachers have come to appreciate his love of the color as well. Over the last several months every project he has come home with has varying shades of orange throughout - it doesn't matter if they are working on a St Patty's day project or an Easter project. I'm sure it works out nicely for everyone because while the rest of the class is busy choosing colors that are more appropriate for a given holiday Harper just goes with his old trusty Orange. I can't imagine Orange typically got used that often outside of Halloween prior to Harper's arrival.

So as you look around your everyday world try to notice all the orange that you see......... because those are all the items that Harper is begging us to bring home on a daily basis. Do you feel our pain??????



In case you are wondering, Harper's hair is orange. Thanks to my friend Cari who truly found an exciting home for her kid's old Halloween hair paint. A real life example of how "one man's trash can become another man's treasure"

Times they Are a Changin.....

Has it really been a month since my last post? I apologize but life in the Brace household has been going 150 mph and I nearly have whiplash from the speed of life!

Since my last post there have been a couple of big changes to report.

• First and foremost, Matt and I will be going a little more "green" and saving gas money at the same time. Starting June 30th we will begin commuting to work together. . . . to the very same building. Yes, you heard me right - we are going to be working for the same company. A couple of weeks ago Matt accepted a position with IntermountainHealthcare - my employer for the last 8 years. He will be working for the central Information Services team as a IS Security Analyst. This is going to be a great move for Matt and we are very excited. But, it will be an adjustment for us to make our commutes to work together everyday - although there is probably no better time than the current economical debacle we are in with $4.04 per gallon gas prices. Who knows maybe many blog postings will come out of our commute. First and foremost we are going to have to work on who has dibs on the radio - I like to listen to my country music stations to "rev" up my day. After all you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl. Matt always insists on listening to National Public Radio (NPR). Although it is very newsworthy and has intriguing stories, I often feel like I'm starting my day with an 80 year old man. I don't know why but it just has that feeling. Maybe we ran rock, paper, scissors to see who gets dibs.
• Harper is teaching us to see the world through a three year old's eyes. It is funny to see how his little mind processes information. For example the other day, I told him that I needed to clip his toenails because he had a jagged toenail. His mind interrupted that statement as him having "dragon toenails". He was so excited and kept looking at his toes wanting to know which one had a dragon toenail.
  
• His most recent phase is getting in trouble at school for saying "potty words". He told on himself the other night and said he had to sit in timeout for saying a potty word. In my most calm but nervous voice I said what "potty" word did you say. I was anticipating him to say some expletive that he might have overheard Matt or I say before we wisened up and started spelling potty words or saying them under our tongue. Instead, he said "I told Ms. Debbie that her shoes looked like poo poo". Then he started belly laughing because he was so proud of the testosterone that was spewing from his lips at that moment. Sure enough Ms. Debbie confirmed that his interpretation was exactly as she remembered it. So, we have been trying to work with him to understand that we do not say certain things that could get us sent to time out... at least in front of our teachers. After a week or so of coaching, I was disappointed that everything was going in one ear and out the other. On our commute home on Friday he was in a VERY VERY vile mood. Just down right cranky and grouchy over anything I said. I don't know what finally set him off, but he got really mad at me and said "MOM... You, you, you are a POTTY WORD". I nearly lost it because I felt like he had just called me a very bad thing and he simply said you are a "potty word". He one upped that one on Sunday and said that I was a "potty word that was flushed down the toilet." Wow- that one hit me below the belt. Luckily he hasn't figured out the "real" potty words to call me but I'm sure it is just around the corner.
  
• Collier is on the move. He has started walking everywhere in the last week or so and is a force to be reckoned with. I think once he gets the hang of his new activity we will have to install a GPS system under his skin to be able to keep track of him. We were lucky with Harper because he never liked to get too far out of our site - but Collier is a different story. It is not uncommon to turn your back for a minute and he is scaling a table, climbing on chairs or findy quirky places to hide. He is a child that is full of energy and adventure and knows no stranger. Matt took the kids to a baseball game on Saturday and Collier wanted to make sure that everyone noticed him. He got so excited that the Wendy's girl (you know Dave Thomas's gal...the official red-headed mascot" of the fast food chain) stopped and gave him eye contact along with a frosty voucher. Matt said he grinned from ear to ear and squealed with delight as if to say, thanks for stopping and talking to me lady....come back anytime. He is a real lady charmer even with the strange ones.

As you can see life is a little hectic around here but never a dull moment to be had. I will try to be better about writing more regular. I wish I could say that it has been boring and nothing too funny has happened but that is not the case. Instead, I have just let the days get away from me. Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Vacation and Child's Play

We have had a whirlwind last few days here in San Diego. Before leaving Salt Lake we purchased the 3 in 1 pass from Costco that allowed you to visit Sea World, San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Kingdom on an unlimited basis for five days straight..... and that is just what we have done. This is one of the reasons that I love travelling with Matt's parents - Colonel Bob keeps us on a strict agenda and he makes sure we see and do everything within a 50 mile radius that is on any "must see" list or AAA brochure. In five days we have managed to visit Sea World twice, the Animal Kingdom twice, the San Diego Zoo, have dinner in Old Town, breakfast with Elmo and Friends, a quick stint at the beach for a picnic and a dip in the ocean, take a quick pit stop to Torrey Pines golf course where the next PGA golf tournament will be held, take a drive through beautiful La Jolla and also take a quick driving tour of the large navy boats in the harbor. Whoa - my fingers hurt just writing all of that. I don't think I could have seen this much of San Diego in such a short time unless I would have gotten my own tour guide - or wait a minute, maybe I did have my own personal tour guide. Bob - I think you have found your retirement calling.

In those few short action packed days the kids have managed to see and do alot. The best thing about days of over stimulation and exhaustion is that they sleep like rocks during the night.

I think Matt's parents have been great sports for the duress that they have been exposed to over the 5 days with us. It has been a really long time since they have had two young boys in tow so I think they have gotten their workouts. Here are some of the things that change while vacationing with a 1 year and 3 year old:

• No longer do you just hop in the car and head to your destination. Instead, there are diaper bags to be packed full of snacks, drinks, diapers, sunscreen, hats, cameras, wipes, sippy cups, bottles and the kitchen sink. Don't forget the double stroller that takes up a third of the trunk space.
• Getting the kids buckled in their respective seats and ready to roll is another fun challenge. Harper is at the age where he likes the idea of procrastinating the buckling in process. He even tries to convince you that he is old enough to sit in the seat with a big boy seat belt. He uses the stalling techniques of "hold on second I need something", "let me look at this real quick", etc. etc. I usually try negotiation with food or toys to lure him in before buckling but I think at times Bob would have rather me cut the negotiation and get the show on the road.
  
• Now add in the magic words for opening and closing the van doors - "Ishkabibble" this and "Ishkabibble" that. God forbid you forget to let Harper "magically" open the doors - the process has to start from scratch and we would be another five minutes.
• Upon arrival, sunscreen has to be applied from head to toe. Our poor kids are almost albino with their translucent white skin and blond hair. We are really good friends with the 50+ sunscreen.
• Once in the gate, it becomes a battle of keeping them in the stroller. Information and stimulation overload plays on their curiosity. They really have a desire to see things from a little higher up. I have to choose wisely of when and where to let Harper run around - mostly thinking - "Do I or someone else have the energy to chase him at this moment in time all over this park".
• About every hour or so, it becomes an alternating "I need a snack", "I am thirsty", "I poo poo'd". Then there is the occasional cart with ice cream or some odd junk toy that they see and require more negotiation or quick running past to avoid spending another $20.
• Then there is the repetitive things that a 3 year old has the desire to do. Like seeing the same things over and over and over or saying the same things over and over and over. I don't think it is a shock to anyone at this point that Harper's favorite color is orange. This trip has only increased the intesity of his orange fetish. Who knew that the majority of the animals in the zoo have at least a hint of orange on their bodies. Maybe the zookeepers don't even know this, but Harper was able to locate any thing that was orange on any animal. When we were in the petting zoo, Harper took a particular liking to one of the deers and I ask him why he liked that one so much - he looked at me like I was crazy and said "he has an orange button on his ear and his mine". Oh excuse me. Speaking of repetitive things - I do have to throw in that I rode the carousel 8 times in a row today. Mostly alternating between Harper riding the tiger and the panda. My head was spinning by the time I was able to coax him off the ride.

To say the least, travelling with the youngsters requires a bit more effort and alot more planning. But, it sure is fun to experience these parks through their eyes. Matt's parents head to LA tomorrow and I am truly going to miss their help. I think we will spend a good portion of our day tomorrow at the pool relaxing - or should I say juggling two kids that don't know how to swim and one that can't walk.... maybe relaxing isn't the right word.

Happy Birthday Little Codge!

A year has surely flown so fast. It only seems like yesterday I was posting a blog of Collier's arrival! Oh "the days are long but the years are short."

To celebrate both Collier's birthday and Mother's Day (which happened to land on the same day this year) we decided to hijack Matt's work conference in beautiful San Diego. We were even able to convince Matt's parents to join us in our trip - so, I am hoping this will be the first of a series of blogs that I will post on our adventures. The first of which, I will dedicate to our little man's 1st birthday.

As a matter of update here are some basic stats:

* Collier has 3 1/2 teeth - two bottom ones and 1 full front tooth with another one noticeably poking through. This makes him slightly resemble Elmer Fudd. With his new teeth he is learning to crunch all kinds of food and occasionally sneaks a chomp on an arm or shoulder when you least it expect it.

* Although not officially walking, he did take his first few steps on his birthday in the hotel. Walking has not stopped him from getting around though. This child has no fear - and doesn't allow walking up right to slow him down. I would love to enter him into a speed crawling contest because nothing less than a cheetah could beat him. Although walking is yet to be perfected, he can climb most anything. You can't even turn your back for a second without him shimmying up some chair or wall. I often wonder if he might have invisible suction cups on his hands and feet. I am attaching a recent video from our bathroom at home. He is much braver and physically astute than the 12 months he has under his belt (or diaper in his case).



* He is officially off the boob and onto the bottle. I managed to accomplish this transition just 2 weeks shy of his first birthday. It was surprisingly a slow and somewhat painless process. Since he was an "all night" nurser, I was sure that it would be closer to his 12th birthday rather than his 1st. As a matter of accomplishment, I can't help but share that over the course of this year I produced well over 14,000 ounces of milk or about 114 gallons. In a matter of dollar signs I saved the Brace household approximately $1250 - given that the average cost of formula. Sadly enough that use to be about the equivalent of my annual shoe budget but those luxuries have gone by the way side.

A year has brought alot of change and a nice window for growth. At 22 lbs currently, he has nearly tripled his birth weight and gone from a vulnerable helpless infant to a strong and vivacious pre-toddler. His activity in my tummy was a very good predictor of his activity level in the real world. Since he has been able to move, he hasn't stopped! On most days, it seems he has the equivalent energy level of a team of work horses. With that energy, he has a smile that is just as big. His playful grin and big eyes seem to light up any room and he makes it a goal to have everyone in sight say something about him. My 3 favorite adjectives for him this year are: playful, energetic and gregarious.

Since we are out of town, we have scheduled his birthday party for May 23rd. But, his big day did not go without celebration. We headed to Old Town San Diego to a very authentic Mexican restaurant where he had one of his favorites – beans and rice. For dessert, he stuck his face in a delicious chocolate dessert and was serenaded by a Mexican singer. It was a great evening that wrapped up a great year for Collier! We are looking forward to many more birthdays and many more years of all the great things he will bring to our lives. Happy Birthday little man!

Has Anyone Seen The Clippers?

Lately Harper has become intrigued with clipping his fingernails. This switch has caught me a bit off guard because for the last year I would "sneak" and clip his nails while he was sleeping because he would never sit still long enough if he was conscious.

Now he is always wanting to clip his fingernails and toenails. He goes searching for little hangnails and nails that seem too long. Of course he tries to accomplish the task himself but usually ends up taking a chunk of skin off or cutting the nail in the most awkward design. (He does have an independent streak like his mother so he tends to learn by trial and error.)

Recently, he discovered the art of diversion around bedtime. On more than one occasion he has found it necessary to clip his nails to avoid going to sleep. This tactic worked the first few times but I am figuring out his procrastination method for avoiding the bedtime routine. Nail clipping has taken the place of cutting tags out of his shirt as the previous procrastination method. This only worked until every pj shirt he owned was tagless and the excuse no longer had meaning.

Today Harper used the need for nail clipping as an excuse to try and prolong the "getting ready" process prior to school. This invariably has a ripple effect on what time Matt and I get to work. He knows it gets under our skin but I'm pretty sure that is why he does it. Toddlers have a way of continuing behavior that pushes buttons. As he was talking about the need to have one or more of his nails clipped this morning, we were somehow distracted by something else and he obviously forgot about his need for pushing our buttons. (This is also a common toddler trait - they get side tracked pretty easy and can be diverted to something else if the "something else" seems more important at the time.)

To be honest I had forgotten about the episode as well until about 3pm today at work when I kept feeling something a little odd in my shirt. After make some minor readjustments that did not seem to work, I closed my office door and took a closer look. Much to my surprise, I had a pair of nail clippers tucked neatly between my undershirt and my bra. Obviously when I picked Harper up to take him to the car this morning, he no longer had the need for his clippers and deposited them in the closest place he could find..... right down the front of my shirt. What baffles me the most is that it took almost 8 hours before I even noticed they were there. This tells you the level of discomfort that you come to get use to as a parent and the odd things that you are likely to discover upon your person on any given day. I just had to giggle to myself and then I found a hangnail of my own to clip.

Self Esteem Deflator and TSS

Harper has now reached the age where curiosity meets understanding.  This has translated into my desire to be a little more modest with my getting dressed in front of him -not necessarily because I think it is wrong for him to see the opposite sex's bare body, but he will often stare longer than I am comfortable and ask questions that make me feel downright self conscious.  Several weeks ago he happened to walk in on me in the bathroom after a tinkle and I was trying to put myself back together quickly before his barrage of questions could start.  But, I obviously wasn't quick enough.  As he saw my stomach, he points his tiny finger and says "Mommy what wrong wif you tummy?" 

Knowing he was pointing at the lines that my pants had left all around my mid-section from a long day of wearing them, I tried to blow him off with a simple - "Oh nothing Harper".  But, he was too quick and responded with "Are you pants too tight?"  

All I could say was "yes buddy they are" - even though I really wanted to go into a long soliloquy that their tightness was brought on because of my pregnancies with 2 little boys that obviously don't understand the long term effect of my altruistic sacrifice.  Something also told me that he wouldn't comprehend that I was actually below my pre-pregnancy weight but the shape of my body was lost somewhere between the birth of he and his little brother.  Wow - it is amazing how a 2 1/2 year old can really make you want to lock the door and change your clothes in the complete dark.

In addition to my need to be personally modest, I am also having to protect personal items that seem to be intriguing to little boys but hard to explain at this age.  Over the last couple of months he has become intrigued with certain products that are necessary for women on a monthly basis.  We tend to find tampons and their wrappers throughout the house where he has launched them out of their applicators like rockets.  On one particular day Harper had sadly launched one out of its applicator right into his mouth (CLEAN OF COURSE).  From another room, I hear a VERY paniced Matt with the following exclamation: "OH MY GOD HARPER GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH - IT IS FULL OF TOXINS".  Although I agree it should be nowhere near his mouth, I could not help but laugh and ask Matt where in the world he had come up with that notion.  He looked at me and said "I thought they contained toxins."  I said "Matt, it is only a compressed piece of cotton - I think you might be referring to Toxic Shock Syndrome - which is something you get when you leave them inside of you for 100 years and get a serious infection that sometimes causes death."  He simply responded with "Oh".

I wonder if I messed up his whole thinking of what tampons actually do for women? - maybe he thought the "toxins" actually stop your menstrual flow rather than the power of mother nature. All along he probably thought this was a medically necessary device rather than a means to control the flow.  Boys....they have so much to learn and I now have 3 of them to teach!

Back Where I Come From

We have spent the last week visiting family in Virginia and Kentucky. We enjoy coming back to the small town that I grew up in - located in the south west corner of Virgina - bordering Kentucky and Tennesse. This tiny town in the middle of nowhere offers a nice change of pace for all of us and provides the kids the chance to experience a slice of life that requires more imagination and less technology. It is the kind of place where you can sit on the front porch and talk about nothing but feel like you have solved everything. I always find the difference between city life and country life to be most interesting. In the city, houses are so close together but your next door neighbor often seems so distant. But, in the country, houses are farther apart, yet its seems your neighbor is close enough to be considered family. It seems just by proximity, it should be just the opposite.

Many of you who are faithful readers of the blog often get to hear me talk about my hometown but will probably never have the chance to visit. Although life in Wise, VA is similar to many small towns in the country, it is so different than where I live now. For those of you who can't relate, I have created a Top 10 list of my most recent observations to try and create some clarity around its uniqueness.... here it goes:

Wise is the kind of place where......

10. The local gas station billboard lists the price of only 2 of the 3 grades of gasoline. The 3rd spot is saved for the price of cigarettes.

9. Bringing out your "out of state" ID requires a great deal of explaining of what you are doing in this "neck of the woods". While trying to buy a fishing license, the young girl behind the counter gives Matt a puzzled look and says in her cutest accent, "You must hate it here.". The most popular response (or question) to a Utah driver's license in this part of the country is "So, are you Mormon?" I think Mitt Romney has put a new face on Mormonism - before his run for presidency, people in the south had a whole different picture of what a "mormon" looked like. The only other comparison in their minds were the Amish. Afterall, my first question upon arriving to Salt Lake 13 years ago was "where can I go see the Mormons?" The nice lady who answered said "Not very far, you are looking at one now."

8. In a conversation with another female adult it doesn't take you long to realize that the constant referral to "Baby" is not to the infant you have in tow but instead to you.... the adult. It is not uncommon to be referred to as "Baby" as a term of endearment. Such as, "Baby how have you been." "Well, baby, you are looking good these days." It takes other familiar terms like 'honey" and "sweetie" to a whole new level.

7. While sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office you can easily make a new best friend with the stranger sitting next to you. Today while waiting to see a doctor for Collier's ear infection, a very nice lady decides to share with mom and I her labor and delivery stories of both of her children. I know that her water broke soon after walking home from her church's revival service (which she felt had gone on too long). I know that by the time she got to the hospital she had dilated to a 7 and it was too late to get an epidural. I know that her daughter's name is a combination of her name and her mother's name and the child's initials spell DEB which was her deceased sister's name. I know that she was born at 3:13am which was her mother's birthday (March 13th) and I know that the child was born on May 9th which was her other sister's 50th birthday. In her mind, none of these things were coincidences. I know that had the nurse not called our name, I would have known all of the details of her divorce and remarriage that she had just begun to speak of.

6. The Easter message at church makes reference to God seeing no difference between various levels of sins. According to the minister, taste testing grapes at the grocery store bears the same weight as murder. Wow, in that case, Charles Manson can't even hold a candle to the sins that I have committed during my many grocery store massacres. I can't even imagine what would happen to those people who decide to take a "doggy" bag from a buffet.

5. The sound of a shot gun blast turns out to be the neighbor having target practice off his front porch.

4. At one of the "premiere" hair salons in town, the head hair dresser dips skoal and spits into a large plastic tumbler while he cuts and colors his client's hair. No one in the joint seems to think this is out of place.

3. A cobb salad at the local Dari Barn contains fried cheese bits, fried okra, fried broccoli, and everything else fried they can find in the kitchen. "Cobb" seems to be a misused title for this salad because there is no hint of egg, blue cheese or any of the other similarities to cobb salads across the nation.

2. The sound of sirens sends a frenzy throughout the neighborhood. Neighbors begin calling other neighbors until the victim is identified and all information about their condition is collected in morbid detail. Sadly in this situation, a young guy has taken a shot gun out to the hen house to take out some pesty opossums that continue to hassle his chickens. Unfortunately upon his return to the house, it appears he tripped coming up the stairs and accidentally activates the trigger and blows a fatal hole through his abdomen. Even more sad is the young wife and children he leaves behind. Amazingly enough, it only takes one phone call and about 10 minutes to find out all of this detail.

1. Shopping at Wal-mart one of the employees makes a reminder call over the PA system with the following message, "Wal-mart shoppers we would like to remind you that Wal-mart is now a smoke free business. Please do not smoke inside of the store. If you need to do so, there are ashtrays just outside of the doorway. Thank you for shopping at Wal-mart" I think this was the kinder gentler way of reminding Randy to stop smoking on aisle 12 - like he does at every store. But, I don't think Randy gives a crap about the 18 year old on the PA system who is trying to take away his god-given right of lighting up anywhere he damn well pleases.

I hope it doesn't come off as "making fun of" Wise because that is not my intention. I could probably come up with an equally funny top 10 of Salt Lake, but I just don't think it would be as interesting. Even with all of its idiosyncrasies, it was a good place to grow up. It is still the place I call home and most of all, it is still a large source of my entertainment.

I have tons of pictures I will post when I get back to Salt Lake. Since I am writing this at midnight in a hotel in Louisville, KY I don't have the easiest access to download all of the great pictures. Although the kids had a great time we are crossing our fingers for a good flight because it seems we have all caught a nasty sinus cold at varying levels.

Help Wanted: Looking for Domestic Easter Bunny

Since we will be back in Virginia during Easter, we have asked the Easter Bunny to come one week early to our house.

We have been telling Harper all week that the Easter Bunny would be visiting this weekend. Today, during one of our "Easter Bunny" conversations, the following dialogue took place:

Harper: Mommy when is the Easter Bunny coming?

Mom: He will come tonight while you are in bed.

Harper: Where will he bring my Easter basket?

Mom: He will put it in the living room.

Harper: Will he go downstairs?

Mom: I don't know do you want him to?

Harper: Yes and I hope he cleans our house too.

Wow - what sort of impression does Harper have of his living quarters that he is hoping that a oversized, strange animal that delivers a basket full of eggs and toys also has time to do some tidying around the house? I agree though - I hope the Easter Bunny decides to clean before he hops on over to the next kids house to deliver their basket full of junk!

On another note, I couldn't resist posting this video of Collier. In lieu of his little legs not yet providing the strength to walk, he has found his own mode of transportation through creative resourcefulness. It reminds me of a little old man on a walker - but I guess there are more similarities than one would like to admit between the beginning of our lives and the latter part of our lives.

Return of the Samurai

While Collier was in the womb, I was sure that he was going to be the wildest little guy on the planet. In a previous blog posting, I compared his active movements to that of a samurai. Much to our surprise he has been the mildest little guy around for the last 9 months - both content and docile.

But, what seems like overnight, our little "samurai" is BACK!

He is a wiggle worm and a force to be reckoned with. He often seems to forget that he is 21 months younger than his brother and will try anything that Harper does (mind you, he can't even walk yet but that doesn't seem to stop him). He is brave and often reckless. He is determined and inpatient - yet has a smile and a laugh that can melt your heart.

I couldn't resist sharing some photos that might give you an idea of how it is to change the diaper of a little samurai. Just in case the pictures don't give you a complete mental picture of what we are facing right now, I'll provide some comparisons to let you know what it might be like:

Have you ever tried to bathe a cat?
Lasso a beetle? or
Catch a fish with your bare hands?

If you have, you might be able to comprehend diapering our little Collier.

Spring Cleaning and the Introduction of Buzz Lightyear

Do you ever look at something in your house and swear that tomorrow you will get it organized? Maybe it's your closet or your junk drawer or your desk? For the past month or so, I have been continuously saying that I am going to reorganize our kitchen cabinet that holds all of our rubbermaid storage containers and sports bottles and travel mugs and et cetera, et cetera. Well, kids have the darndest ability to boost your motivation. Tonight, Harper and Collier managed to put a sense of urgency on this goal - and I happened to get off easy since Matt agreed to clean up the mess.

For those of you with kids, you know that they are really good at a few things - making gigantic messes, changing your priorities in a flash, testing your patience, making gigantic messes, and taking ordinary items and having way more fun than the $50 toy that you bought them yesterday at Target - did I mention making gigantic messes??... You can either get really upset and give yourself a migraine or you can surrender and run get your camera and join in on the fun. Luckily, Matt and I agree on one thing - let's join in on the fun! As you can see from the pics from below, the kids managed to accomplish all of the things above.

In addition to the mess, Harper took the opportunity to display his esoteric imagination once again as the video so aptly shows. Who knew that a plastic pitcher could make a perfect space helmet and turn you from ordinary 2 1/2 year old boy to Buzz Lightyear in the middle of our kitchen floor. The one thing I worry about most is the level of fun Matt had throwing things at Harper's helmet on the other side of the camera - it was all in fun and I'm sure Matt was just trying to create a more accurate portrayal of outerspace by throwing flying asteroids and other "space" junk that only Buzz Lightyear would encounter. Either way, it was sure fun to watch.

Valentine's Day

Oh how this romantic holiday has changed. Just a quick picture to show you the craziness of the day - we couldn't even manage to get an "organized" photo of them together. But, it sums up the feeling of the day......Can you feel the love???

The Life of Riley

Prior to babies Willow and Riley truly had the life that any dog would envy. They wore Coach collars, went to doggy daycare on a regular basis, ate gourmet treats, had frequent baths that included yummy smelling shampoos and even had fancy doggy sweaters. But, with each passing day after the birth of Harper and Collier their lives have moved closer to that of street dogs than the fancy lap dogs they originally aspired to be.

I remember my mom always saying that Willow had the "Life of Riley" -a phrase made popular by a show with the same name in the 1950s which according to wikipedia suggests "an ideal life of prosperity and contentment, possibly living on someone else's money, time or work." (Now you all know how Riley got his name). These days, you can almost see the dogs daydreaming of those long forgotten days rather than the one they are being forced to live.

Willow, the alpha dog, who has been pushed down on the food chain, is constantly miffed by the kid's presence. In her own way, she rolls her eyes at their very existence. She shares a love/hate relationship with them - the love part deriving from any bit of food that she can snatch from their hands or that falls to the floor and the hate part being almost everything else. Harper and Willow fight like a true brother and sister. They growl at each other, fight over toys and cringe at each other's existence. In rare moments they are able to show a small amount of love for each other but those times are few and far between. This weekend they were having one of their "feuds" when Harper came running to me and said "Mommy I really don't like Willow" - I simply said "Honey that's okay, I think the feeling is mutual."

This experience has been so troubling for Riley that he is experiencing an identity crisis - he truly thinks he is a CAT! I swear the dog does not act like a dog. He can launch from floor to the top of any piece of furniture in once quick leap, he stretches with an arched back and outstretched toenails, he claws at your legs like you are a scratching pole, he paces in the narrow window sills looking for mice or other critters on the other side of the window and he yawns with an outstretched tongue that mimics his feline counterparts. We are just waiting for him to start hissing :). Just so you know that I'm not exaggerating, I am including a picture of him in the kitchen window.



With all their weirdness, the dogs are still loved the same even if they don't get the same level of royal treatment. But, I am happy to report that this weekend the dogs did come close to "old times" when they ended up with the best spot in the house to sleep. After a night of playing musical beds with the kids, the dogs woke up early Sunday morning to having the entire KING size bed all to themselves and they were stretched out as if they knew this was a special moment. For a split second I'm sure they were hoping (or dreaming) Matt and I were the only one's in the house and those loud, two legged short creatures were a foggy hallucination. It was almost "the life of Riley" once again..... but only until the kids woke up.

Harper's World

In Harper's world it is okay to wear a Halloween costume 92 days after the actual holiday....
In Harper's world it is okay to sleep in that same costume night after night....
In Harper's world it is okay to ask people to call you Tyrone because that is your favorite character on Backyardigans...
In Harper's world it is okay to wear your dad's underwear clipped together with a paper binder clip while admiring yourself in the bathroom mirror.... you only want to wear them because they are orange and you have made it very clear to EVERYONE that orange is your favorite color....
In Harper's world it is somehow okay to drink pop while you brush your teeth (as evident from the video)....
In Harper's world anything is possible....
Oh the life of a 2 1/2 year old.

Click on the following link to watch the video:









****Sorry for not being able to get the video/pics to work in portrait form. It is obviously an issue with this blog site and Mac computers. I will try to make sure I take my pics in landscape in the future. Just turn your head to the side :)

BB is Short for.......

The toothfairy has finally visited our house - not to pick up teeth, but instead to drop some off.  Collier has been toothless until yesterday.  For those with children, you will know that he is a "late bloomer" when it comes to getting his pearly whites.  

According to my very trusted babycenterdotcom,  "the vast majority of babies sprout their first teeth when they're between 4 and 7 months of age."  This is the first of two unique differences that I can't resist sharing with the group.  

Collier is almost 8 1/2 months old and we were just getting comfortable with the fact that we might be seeing his gummy grin for a very long time until he woke up yesterday morning.  Although we all know we are not suppose to compare our children, Harper got his first tooth somewhere around 5 months.  I only use it as a point of reference because by no means is Harper the definition of normal and as Dr. Briesacher always tells me, there is a "wide spectrum of what is normal for kids".  Also, since he is the second child we barely notice the absence of teeth until other people point it out.  If he were the first child, I am pretty confident that I would have already rushed Collier to see Dr. Briesacher about not having teeth and I would have exhausted the internet for my own diagnosis prior to arriving at the doctor's office. 

Honestly, I have probably been the most comfortable with the fact that Collier's teeth are delayed because I am still breastfeeding and teeth and booby aren't natural friends.

The second important piece of information that makes Collier's teething experience so unique is which tooth has decided to arrive.  Babycenterdotcom points out that "most babies get new teeth in this order:  First the bottom two middle ones, then the top two middle ones, then the ones along the sides and back."  Once again as a point of reference, this is precisely how Harper's teeth made their appearance - on time and in logical order.  Well Collier is blazing new trails, taking the road less travelled and following after his southern ancestory roots because his first tooth is his cuspid or canine tooth.  If you are not sure which tooth I am referring to, place your index finger on your big front tooth and count over two more teeth.  It is the sharp pointy one just on the cornerstone of your gumline.  For dogs or other wild animals, it is the "shredder" tooth.  For hillbillies, it is usually the one tooth that takes the longest to fall out when the mouth decides to purge the rest of its teeth for one reason or another.

I can't wait to share photos in the next few weeks when Colliers shredder tooth is more visible.  I guess I don't need to wait any longer to introduce meat :).  We can only hope that his front teeth are just waiting to make a presence.

As many of you will remember from early blog postings, we referred to Collier as BB before his arrival.  You probably thought it stood for baby brother, baby Brace, baby boy..... but we waited till now to let you know that it really stands for Billy Bob.