Disney Live!

We went to Disney Live yesterday. It was a cute show and Brynn loved it. Baylen was super excited to see Mickey and Minnie, along with the rest of the Disney characters he recognized. He was interested the first 45 mint. of the show but after intermission, he was cashed out and fell asleep. I don't know how he did b/c it was pretty loud. Bee's fav. part was Cinderella, and MInnie, of course. She begged for Minnie ears and other stuff at the souvenir stand, but that stuff is soooo expensive. Luckily, I had a pair of Minnie Ears I bought at DL a few years ago when DJ and I went and I told her she could have them when we got home. So, I pulled them out on Sun. and she was THRILLED! She was wearing them around and it was super cute. Thank God I saved them. And Dj always knocks me for saving stuff like that...haha I knew those ears would come in handy.

Big Boy Bed

Baylen had his crib converted into a big boy bed today. we'll see how long he stays in bed and if he sleeps fine. Here's to crossing our fingers.

P.S. Notice how swollen and red his cheeks look...poor man is starting to deal with his 2-yr. molars. :(

Happiest Toddler on the Block

Seriously, I have heard of this book and finally decided to pick it up? WHy? Because my son has been ornery. He's been throwing fits. He's crying a lot. He is stubborn. He doesn't listen. He does the opposite of what you ask him or tell him to do. He breaks nearly everything he touches. He flies in and flies out. When he's happy, he's happy but when he's upset, you will definitely know it b/c it's loud and in your face. He's And my patience was wearing very thin. I was immediately drawn after the first few pages into reading. Dr. Karp then begins discussing how toddlers can be classified into three different temperament groups: easy (40% of children), (Timid), and Challenging (10% of children). He described Baylen EXACTLY when talking about challenging temperaments. I couldn't believe it, there it was staring back at me: what I've been waiting to hear. Reading it made me smile and gigle. That is exactly who Mister Mister is: busy, when he up, he's way up, but when he's down, he's wayyy down; stubborn; persistant; emotional; destructive (almost always not intentional); flies in and flies out of places; everyone has to hear him/her; really cares about others; likes all the attention on them: likes people to laugh at him/her; language was limited as a 1-2 yr. old; rough; has to touch everything; impulsive; and the list goes on. It was interesting because although this book presents just one opinion, Karp said that parents of all three kinds of children are good parents, but parents of challenging children are saints. haha I don't know about that, but it sure is kind of him to say that! ;)

Now I'm getting to the good part of the book. Why? Because Dr. Karp has solidified my belief that our son is not the norm. And he's not. So it makes me feel better knowing I was not crazy. I'll continue to read the rest of the book to discover any tips we haven't tried already. I'm not by any means saying that he's a bad child. He's not. He's a good boy--passionate, funny, smart, goofy, and knows what he wants. He is who he is and I want to make sure we are doing everything we can to support his journey successfully as he transitions into a little boy.

Flashback to the 80's

means playing with an 80's toy that is SO cool: The Lite Brite. Which by the way, is not near as cool as the old school one used to be. And, in 2010, apparently it takes deep concentration to place the lights in exactly the right spot.

Brynnisms Part II

song comes on radio: "Poker Face"

Me: "Brynn, you like this song, it's Poker Face!"

Bee: "Yeah, I love it!" (sings chorus)

Bee: "Pah pah pah pah poker faceeee!"

Bee: "Momma, Gramma Ruth loves this song too, remember? You showed me on your computer!"

LOL (she is remembering a post Grandma Ruth posted on Family website about watching Lady Gaga on the Oprah Show a couple of weeks ago and now she thinks G'ma LOVES Lady Gaga too. hahaha) I don't know how Brynn remembers stuff like that...but she does

Top 10 Reasons...

My Grandma Ruth is Cool:

1. She tans in the summer at our pool & swims
2. She drives fast
3. She loves shopping
4. She is crafty and makes us a Christmas ornament every year and has since 1984
5. She knows who Lady Gaga is
6. She loves Iowa State (and Iowa too) and always tries to convince us to like both teams and gives us "the look" when we say NEVER!!! haha
7. She loves her dog, Jag
8. She sends emails, reads this blog, and surfs the Internet
9. She's been on our town's library board for years
10. She plays the Wii!

This Guy...

This is my brother, Daniel. He is graduating from high school this year. He is going to be 18 in less than a month. I can't believe he's this old already. Baylen loves Daniel--they are good buddies.