Brandon Happenings

The last couple of days I've been staying home with Brandon while Zenna went to Provo for a massage therapy workshop. I took work off and was the caretaker until tonight. It's fun spending the days with Brandon and this way I don't miss out on what he does during the day. Just yesterday I was doing laundry, and he climbed up on the washer and wanted to help put the clothes in. That's how he is with any chore that mom and dad is doing. He wants to help in whatever way he can. If I'm cleaning windows, he wants to clean windows. If I'm sweeping the floor, he gets out his small broom and sweeps. Here's a video of him cleaning the toilet:

Brandon is at the point where he's starting to form words and phrases. It was just last week I decided to write down his vocabulary so we know when he says certain words. The count right now is about 55 words, although I'm sure I've missed some that Zenna also hears from him. The longest phrase I've heard so far is "One more bite".

A couple weekends ago Zenna's brother & family came down and we drove to Salt Lake for Disney on Ice. Brandon loved it, and afterward we went ot Liberty Park. Here are some pictures from the day:

Since then, we've gone to the junk yard or Smith & Edwards for a variety of reasons, and Brandon loves these places. He was crawling in & out of cars and finding good junk at Smith & Edwards. He was having just as much fun as his daddy.

Brandon turned 22 months just a few days ago, it's hard to believe he's almost 2 years old! Zenna and I have some ideas on what we'll do, since it'll be here sooner than later.

A Growing Boy

Who knew March would be here so quick! Brandon is already 21 months old... I think I need to write at least once a week to make sure we don't miss things he does. Just last week, he was saying "mama" meaning "grandma" while "ma" means "mom", and "da" means "dad". He's been starting to throw soccer balls and bouncy balls, and it is the most fun he can have. A few weeks ago he was just throwing it up above his head, but now he can aim and actually toss it into your lap. This week I also noticed that he finally said "up" when he wants to be picked up. If we don't pick him up, it won't stop him though from climbing. Just last Sunday, he climbed up on top of the washer and started to clean the cabinet above it. We grabbed the camera quick and snapped a few pictures below:

One thing Brandon's trying to do more and more is roll his eyes. We get the feeling that he's trying to toy with us when he does this, or it may be a side effect of the realization that he's getting plenty of attention. I know that for about 3 weeks now, he keeps taking his tricycle to the threshold of the stair case, and teasing us that he's going to roll down the 4 steps. He only scoots away when we threaten to remove him. Back in January though, he did roll down those 4 steps with his fire truck landing on top of him. That scared him enough I think that he hasn't attempted it again. He has begun to love the books he's got and every day he asks one of us to read a book to him. Usually, if grandma is in the recliner, he just runs up to her with a book and jumps up so she can read to him. He definitely likes to jump into the story and jabber along.

In other news, it's been 2 nigths (started on March 4th) since Brandon has been sleeping in his crib, and we think it's time to start making the transition. We tucked him in and held his hand until he fell asleep. He woke up just once each night, and Zenna is getting closer to getting a full night's worth of uninterrupted sleep. To end this post, what better way to part than a picture of him enjoying an ice cream cone!