Brycen's big announcement!

Brycen is excited to announce he will be a big brother in March!

We had a gal from Kirkwood make us a cake with the sealed envelope from our ultrasound tech. We had tried this with Brycen but our plan backfired... We're wiser now. 

Our gender reveal cake:

Burke , Brycen and Mom cut open the cake on Wednesday, Nov. 6th!

It's a boy! 

We've made it!

Brycen has completed quite the potty training journey!  He first started going on the potty last year in September at just 1 1/2 years old.  Of course, we knew this was just a fluke, but he continued to go daily, sometimes multiple times per day for months afterwards when we would sit him on his potty seat.  At first, we thought he would be a breeze and he'd be completely potty trained by 2 years old! What an accomplishment... then reality set in.

We had multiple potty books and at first had fun reading while sitting in the bathroom. Well, he was never quite ready on his own terms.  There was a time between February and April that going potty was a point of contention and he refused to go.  It was frustrating for us, but we knew he was still young yet.

During the summer, he had the opportunity to see Addie and Peyton going potty at Jean's house all of the time and he would often go as well, but was never to the point where he told us before he needed to go.  From the beginning, we rewarded Brycen with stickers and we had gone through multiple sticker boards for his hundreds of stickers.  We would bring the potty seat with us on trips to Grandparent's houses and he would go at routine times.  He got in the habit of always going after every meal and before bath time.

The big change came when two different events happened- new school and moving to the new house.  Brycen was still in cloth diapers when he started his new school but I am sure his attitude changed a little bit in his new environment.  He noticed all of the other kids in his classroom lining up for potty time and going to the bathroom multiple times each day and I'm sure he wanted to be classified as a big kid like those who wore underwear, too.

When we moved to our new house, we finally had time to commit to Brycen's potty training efforts.  Before we were split between two homes on the weekends and our new house didn't have plumbing until days before we moved in.  It was difficult to provide consistency at that time.  After we moved in, we started setting the timer on the microwave for every hour and made a habit of going when the timer went off.  When we were doing this we let him wear his underwear and he loved it!  There were times where we by-passed the sticker and rewarded him with candy corn and he caught on pretty quickly.

I'd say within two weeks of the timer and reminding him to go after a length of time he was potty trained.  We've taken long car rides, been to church, and out in public shopping or at a restaurant multiple times without any accidents.  That is of today, November 5th.  :)  We still use pull-ups at night, not necessarily because he's had accidents (only one) but because we have a package of them to use and it provides a safety net.

We're proud of Brycen!

Trick or Treat!

This year Brycen really enjoyed Halloween and had a funtime getting into the whole holiday. This year he went as Superman because he is very interested in all of his capes and super heros. 

We carved pumpkins to make a jack-I-lantern one night. 

The finished product.

Showing off all of his candy!

He was so proud!

It's a bird, it's a plane, no... it's Superman!

We went trick-or-treating at our old neighborhood in Swisher. It was familiar and fun to see old friends and neighbors. Most of all, it was a short trip on a very cold night!

Brycen liked picking the design when we drew the face but didn't like to pull out the cold slimy seeds...

The Wrestling Show

For about 4 months at least, Brycen and Burke have had fun wrestling after Brycen's bath.  Just recently Brycen has started calling it "The Wrestling Show."  The normal routine is after Brycen's bath and when he's finished brushing his teeth, he yells for Dad asking if he wants to wrestle... or sometimes just saying it's time for the wrestling show.  

This show takes place on Mom & Dad's bed always starts with a hand shake and consists of many take-downs, reversals, escapes, among other wrestling moves.  Over the summer, when Burke was working late at the house, Brycen really missed this time with Dad but that soon was forgotten after we moved and Dad was home for the nightly event.  

Recently, they have been wrestling occasionally on the spare bed and Brycen has told Burke to be "the great sleeping bear" from one of his favorite Bernstein Bears books.  While Burke is pretending to sleep, Brycen will climb the bed and attempt to crawl over the great sleeping bear.  It's then that Burke wakes up and they start all over again.  No matter the nightly routine, Brycen likes to have his last burst of energy right before settling down for bedtime books and stories.  

Pumpkin Patch!

The first weekend of October, Brycen spent the weekend with Grandpa and Grandma Blanchard while Daddy went to a Hawkeye football game and Mom worked at Kirkwood's Family Day.  We took Brycen over to their house on Friday night and Brycen immediately went over to the kitchen set that Dan & Jo have and started cooking.

After supper, Brycen had a slight meltdown when he realized that Mom & Dad were leaving.  It had been at least 5 weeks since he'd had a night away from us and a lot of change had happened in those weeks.  After some long good-bye's he was fine a few minutes after we had left.

Even though the weather was less than desirable, it being cold, cloudy and a light drizzle in the early morning, Brycen had fun being outside.  They fed apples to the horses and cows right away in the morning and it was a good thing that he had his rain boots packed!

Later on, they drove to a pumpkin patch in Grinnell.  Brycen had so much fun going on a hay rack ride, jumping on a large trampoline and seeing animals.  They also stopped at another farm to pick out pumpkins.  Brycen came home with all sorts of stories about what they did and he was very proud of the two large pumpkins, painted pumpkin, smaller pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn that he strategically placed on the front porch.

I think Grandpa and Grandma had just as much fun as Brycen and will cherish the memories forever!

Being 2 1/2

In September, Brycen was officially 2 and a half years old... already!  I thought I'd do a quick blog post about him being 2 1/2 years old.  :)

- Brycen continues to amaze Burke and I with what comes out of his mouth (in a good way).  His vocabulary is amazing and his ability to use words in the correct context is so much fun.  Jolene even made a comment recently saying conversations with Brycen can be compared to having a conversation with a 40 year old man.

- Brycen is decisive (always has been) but now that he is going through more aggressive stages, the mind games and word twists are harder and harder to pull off.

- We no longer have to have matching clothes every day.  (Whew!)  For a while there, it was difficult to dress him because he'd be convinced things didn't match.  He's more concerned if the shirts fit comfortably over his head when putting them on and taking them off.

- Brycen is still a mama's boy. At 9 months old, someone told me that it would wear off... and at 2 years old I was told that it was just a phase... I think he's stuck in this "phase."  He truly loves his Daddy but whenever times are tough or he gets the slightest bit emotional- it's Mom that he wants.  This is very apparent at bedtime when reading books.

- Brycen loves to wrestle his Daddy!  He's started calling it "The Wrestling Show" after bath time.  He has been doing this for about 6 months now, but it's an expectation every night.

- Brycen wears all 3T clothes, size 8 shoes, and wears baseball caps that nearly fit on my head.  He has been weighing between 37-39 pounds for about 5 months or so now but continues to stretch out.  Since his 2 year checkup in March, he's grown over 2 inches!

- Brycen's favorite books are The Truck Book, I-Spy books, Mouse Soup, Tractor Power & What's New on the Farm, and The Spooky Old Tree.  We try to keep our bedtime routine short, but it usually lasts at least 20 minutes.  It involves about 3 books (depending on length), a prayer, and a story or two.  It always ends with "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."

- His favorite toys are his many tractors, wagons, sprayer, combine, and other farm machinery.  He plays with these daily.  He still likes his dinosaurs that hid under his bed, but they're a distant second to the farm equipment.  He loves riding his bike, digging in the garden or dirt, helping Daddy with work around the house, sweeping, and helping Mom with laundry.

- Brycen is now potty trained! Yay!

- His favorite foods are still fruits, that has not changed.  He enjoyed the late summer harvest of pears and apples from Grandpa and Grandma Blanchard's trees.  He eats a lot of mandarin oranges, tortillas, bananas, and toast.  His favorite meat is a pork chop.  Especially Fareway meat counter's smoked chops- he could almost eat an entire chop to himself if we let him.  He still won't eat things that don't look physically appealing to him (rice, some veggies, hamburger meat).  His most recent cravings have been chocolate milk and candy corn.

- He has been drinking out of normal cups for a few months now.  We've put away all but one "sippy" cup to clear room in the cupboards.

- He goes to bed around 8:30 pm and wakes up around 6:30am.  He naps usually between 12:30-2:30, depending on when he goes down for a nap it could be later but it is usually about 2 hours.

- Brycen knows left from right, and is starting to recognize more numbers.  He understands his traffic lights, turn signals, the difference between an interstate and a highway (in his mind) and which side of the road we drive on.  He's learned that he can get up after the first number on the clock says "6."

- Brycen has really started to grasp feelings, too.  He understands how things make him feel and does a very good job communicating his feelings now.

- Brycen loves his super hero capes!  He's caught on to Spider Man, Batman, and Superman just by the hype that Burke and I give them.  He's got a Spiderman tooth brush and shoes, Batman hat, pajamas, and shirt, and he has Superman capes, pajamas and will be Superman for Halloween.

- He's a smart, loving, caring little boy!

The BIG Move!

The time had finally come and we were ready to move.  It came down to Friday's (September 20th) electrical inspection and even at 5:45 pm when Alliant Energy turned our gas heat connection on.  We were set to go, and Brycen was having fun packing up his things to move.  Since we first started framing the new house, Brycen knew exactly which room was his.  It became even more exciting when the first coat of paint went on and he was special enough to have a blue wall in his room.

As shelving went up in the closets, and carpet was laid earlier in the week, we started taking more and more each day.  We kept telling Brycen how he would get to take a nap in his new room on Saturday afternoon.  Grandpa Fara drove over on Friday night and was there in the morning when Brycen woke up.  He was EXCITED!  We started packing up the two trailers, three pickups, and two Highlanders that morning.  Brycen got to help with a few things in his room and had fun directing traffic.  We had already moved quite a few of his toys to the new house and had them in a corner of the basement so he could play out of the way.

Once lunchtime came, we had the bedrooms set up and Grandma Blanchard was able to stay at the house while Brycen took his nap in the comfort of his bed in his new room.  By Saturday night, we had most of our possessions at the new house stuffed in the garage and corners of the basement.  We were blessed to have wonderful helpers!  Waking up on Sunday morning was a new experience getting used to the train whistles in Walford.  No one told us about those!  Brycen luckily slept through them until a little after six.  We took another trip over to Swisher and gathered the rest of our things and spent the rest of Sunday settling in.

Otis spent two nights with us at the new house before going to Grandpa and Grandma Blanchard's house for a while.  We needed to have black dirt delivered in order to have the lawn seeded.  He spent about a week in Belle Plaine before going to Chris Riddle's in Grinnell for two weeks.

Burke and I took the entire next week off when transitioning, which was a very smart move.  There were two days where Burke and I were able to go to Brycen's school together and Brycen really liked that.  We closed on our house in Swisher on Friday, September 27th and ended the week when we both picked Brycen up early from school.

Brycen had very few moments where he missed our home in Swisher.  There were about three or four times where he had cried because he missed his old home and neighbors.  He was always full of questions why we have a new house and why we don't live in Swisher anymore.  Overall, Brycen took moving very well.  By the time our move day finally came, he had spent countless hours on weekends and week nights at our new home.

It was early on when he decided he needed to bring his tool bench and all his tools over to help Daddy, Grandpa, and Aaron.  Grandma Blanchard was a big help when she brought two tubs full of old tractors and other trucks to have in the basement to play with.  The tractors had many hours outside in the dirt while we were putting in the underground fence and building the screen porch.

Now Brycen likes to listen for the trains that go through town and race toward his room or the front door in order to see them.  He loves his new room and all the places that he now keeps his toys.  Although he doesn't get downstairs very often, he has spent many hours in the basement playing with tractors and other toys.  He's got full rein of the basement and enjoys the very long run of open space to ride in his car or take a stroll on his bike.

Another challenge is keeping Brycen concentrated on his supper rather than distracted by everything else.  We now eat at the kitchen table for supper every night and we pull up to the bar-height counter for breakfast every morning.  There is something about the lower height of the chair that tempts Brycen to get out, but he does alright.

We couldn't be more proud of the little guy going through so many changes at one time.  He had his last day at Jean's house, said good-bye to friends he'd known his whole life, started a new daycare, and moved to a new house within three weeks.  We're lucky to have such a good little guy who really "gets it" and asks a lot of questions.

Making a smooth transition

Someone had once told me (I think Jean) that the first two weeks were the hardest on a child's transition to a new daycare/environment.  This was very true in Brycen's case.  Every morning at the times I would drop him off, he would have an absolute break-down about being left there and ask if he could be picked up early.  There were a few days in his second week that I was able to pick him up early and he really enjoyed that.  

In the start of his third week, his attitude completely changed... like turning a light switch!  I had dropped him off, got a few hugs and a kiss and he walked away with no tears.  It was such a welcome change for his teachers, me, and mostly Brycen.  I think his anxiety of going to a new school was starting to fade and he was even starting to talk more about school when he was at home.  I received a lot of good comments from his teachers saying that he was a very nice boy, well mannered, and comments about his intelligence and vocabulary.  

I knew that once Brycen opened up and started getting comfortable in his classroom he would start to show his true colors and personality.  He started to have friends at school and in a short period of time he learned all of the names of the kids in his class and their parents that he saw drop them off and pick them up.  I am amazed when we pull up in the parking lot and he can tell me who's mom or dad is getting in the car.  

We have kept the tradition to eat two mangoes on the way to school each day.  Luckily for Brycen as we started to see the bottom of the bag, Grandpa Fara was coming that same weekend to bring him a new bag of mangoes.  Needless to say, Brycen was very excited to see Grandpa and his special delivery.  

The third week at HC marked our very last week living in our home in Swisher.  We had grown to love watching Brad and Sara head for the school bus every morning before we left and all the fun times they had playing at the end of the day.  The last weeks we lived in Swisher were very busy and we often were spending time at the new house in Walford before coming home to Swisher, limiting our daylight hours with Brad and Sara.  

There was so much fun each and every day in our short little 12 minute commute to jean's house!  It was a challenge to see if we could find the cows just before the Swisher corner, we had fun watching for planes to land at the Cedar Rapids airport as we drove by, nearly every day we saw the horses on highway 965, it was a race to see who could point out the wind turbine at Kirkwood, the diggers/dump truck/"maintaders" at the county maintenance shed.  Brycen learned all about stop lights while we were driving to see if we can catch the green light on Wright Brother's Blvd, and it was fun watching the construction going up by McDonalds.  Nearly every day we would see some geese by the pond on 965 and we had fun learning to count by seeing how many school bus's we could see when driving through College Community's campus. (Sometimes too many to count!)  

Lucky for us, there are just as many construction vehicles and even more horses on the drive to Cedar Rapids on Highway 151.  :)

Starting Harvest Christian Week 1

Brycen started Harvest Christian Daycare on Tuesday, September 3rd.  We made the decision to send him to this facility because of many positive reasons: its Christian environment, location, convenient hours (6:30am-6pm), and the fact that Brycen can stay at Harvest Christian up until the day he starts at College Community Schools.  They have a preschool, before and after school program, and even bus students to the College Community Schools every morning/afternoon.

The environment is quite the change for Brycen because he has been so blessed to have Jean's attention in such a small group setting with only two other girls.  He has quite a few kids who are in his class of 2 year olds.  His teachers are Miss Joyce, Miss Kim, and the third often rotates between Mr. Christian and Miss Mary.

Since we learned that Brycen would be leaving Jean's house, the other two girls we were staring "school" so naturally that is what we were calling Brycen's new daycare.  (It's stuck ever since.)  Brycen had visited his school once but not during the daytime where it was full of children in his class and had not had the opportunity to meet his teachers yet.

The first day: Brycen had not quite grasped the new concept that he was going to school and not to Jean's house, so when we loaded up to leave that Tuesday morning (much earlier than normal due to the longer commute) he was a little shaken.  It was all I could do to tell him that if he didn't cry he could have some mangoes that Grandpa Fara had given him and I had cleverly placed in the car for bribery.  He ate his mangoes when we got close to school and we got ready to walk in.

Once we arrived at his classroom, he (and I) were completely overwhelmed!  In the mornings, the class of 2 year old and three year old children are all in the same room during 'drop off' time.  There were about 20 little kids in his classroom playing with toys, singing, screaming, running around, etc.  I am sure you can imagine a chaotic classroom of wee little ones.

Brycen had his hat on (of course) and he grasped me with all he had and started crying.  He wanted to go with me and he didn't want me to leave him there, etc.  He kept asking why I had to go and at the very end I told him that he would be okay and he will have a good day.  He looked at me and said are you sure?  It was hard to keep the tears back!

After about three or four minutes of multiple hugs, squeezes and kisses I attempted to leave the room.  He ran after me saying, "One more hug, Mommy!"  What helped is that his teacher, Miss Joyce, noticed it was going to be a rough transition for him and started to read a very familiar book "One Monkey too many" to the class and he joined in.

When I came to pick him up he was very happy to see me and said he had a good day.  His teachers said he calmed down after about five minutes and was very shy throughout the day.  I was amazed at how he was able to tell me all about his day and he had already picked up many of the other kids' names in his class so quickly.

The drop-off times did not get easier as the week went on, in fact the process to leave his classroom started to be drawn out with him crying and his need for just "one more hug." But each day he was always happy, smiling and seemed to have a good day.  He was doing well at nap time.  He sleeps on a mat with his same blanket that he had always had from Jean's house.  The center turns down the lights and plays soft music during nap time but it's not expected to be completely quiet during this time.

Brycen was eating well too, naturally.  Brycen and I have always had breakfast together... since he was about 10 months old and started eating eggs with me.  At Jean's she would also feed the kids in the morning and he has forever been used to eating two breakfasts.  This did not change at HC, he would be fed breakfast in the morning, a mid-morning snack, lunch, and a snack after nap time.  He rarely has a report that he ate "most" of his food, it's nearly always checked in the box that states "ate all."

On Friday morning of the first week, Brycen woke in the early morning hours crying.  He asked over and over if it was a school day and I did my best to avoid answering the question and try to get him to go back to sleep, but he was persistent.  I told him that yes, it was a school day but it was still night time and we needed to go back to sleep.

He insisted that I stay with him and not leave him in his room.  I caved in and grabbed a blanket to curl up on the floor next to his bed.  A few minutes later, he would check on me in a panic asking "will you pick me up early?"  I had no idea where he thought of that, but I promised him that I would that day.  He didn't go back to sleep, but kept checking on me every other minute at the verge of crying with a little hyperventilation and asking if I would pick him up early.  Luckily, I knew that it was a strong possibility that I could sneak out a few minutes early that day and even though Brycen cannot tell time, he would love to know that I kept my promise.

His drop-offs for the next week were all the same, very dramatic and even the car ride to school was torture for him.  To make the car ride a little easier, every morning we would pick one of Grandma Blanchard's apples in a baggie and he would eat that on the way in the car.  We broke our rule of not eating food in the car, but under the circumstances it was alright.