Happy Valentines Day!

For Valentines Day, Brycen really got into the festivities this year. They had a pajama party at school and he picked out Valentines cards for his classmates.  He was excited because he wore his dinosaur pajamas that Grandma Blanchard made him for Christmas.  Brycen has many pairs of pajamas and he loves his pajamas.  He's got two pairs that have detachable capes (Superman and Spider Man), some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Diggers, dinosaurs from Grandma, and two pairs of zip-up footie dinosaur pajamas.

Brycen getting ready for school in his dinosaur pajamas

Brycen came home with a bag full of Valentine's cards and lots of sugary snacks. He had a lot of fun at school and told all about what kind of pajamas his friends had on. 

Rhyme Time

I've heard that many kids go through a phase where they like to rhyme. Well, Brycen is in that phase.  He takes a word like "Dad" and nearly goes through the alphabet (and many times makes up other words) that rhyme. He has such a fun time doing it too. 

Just last week, he told Burke and I that they learned to rhyme at school. Burke asked if Brycen taught the class. Brycen looked at him confused and said," no Dad." Well, we think he could have!

First wrestling meet

On Sunday, Brycen attended his first Iowa Wrestling meet.  We went to church that morning and the deal was, if he laid down for "quiet time" immediately after we came home from church, then we would go to the meet. 

He did real well and took a small nap much earlier than he normally goes down without any fuss. The meet was at 2:00 and we made it down a little early because the temperature was barely above zero and wanted to land a good parking spot. 

At first, he didn't say much and he just took the in the experience of Carver. We watched the wrestlers warm up on the May before the meet and took our seats. 

He asked a lot of questions and it was easy to see that he really followed what was taking place in the mat. After being there for a little bit he really warmed up and was cheering and yelling for the wrestlers down on the floor. He even started yelling things like, " You need to kick out when that guy is on top of you" and putting two fingers up saying "two" and "take down!" 

Of course he behaved so very well and enjoyed the experience watching the Hawkeyes. Now he practices these new moves on Dad at night...

Snow Day Projects

We had a snow day/cold weather day on January 27th.  It was a welcomed day off where Brycen & Mom got to stay home and work on "projects" as Brycen called them.

We'd had a night stand piece of furniture since shortly after we moved into the house that I've been meaning to paint for Brycen's room.  At Christmas time, Brycen and I went to Menards to pick up a paint color that he picked out - bright green!  He liked it because it was like John Deere green.  (Close to it.)

One of our projects that day was to prime and paint the little three-drawer stand.  Brycen had a foam brush and primed the drawer fronts all by himself.  He did extremely well and he continues to surprise me on how well he can be trusted with more of these tasks.

During Brycen's nap, I put on two coats of green paint and we let it sit for a few nights before putting it in his room.  He uses it for clothes like PJ's, socks, underwear.  The top drawer is his 'keepsake' drawer where he has his prized jar of cicada bugs, flash light, a few basketballs, and other knick-knack items.

We enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate that afternoon after his nap.  He is just like his Mom and loves the hot chocolate made with milk - YUM! 

At some point that day, I caught him digging food out of the pantry.  He said he was hungry and needed a snack.  Burke and I don't keep candy, fruit snacks, or other "kid" snacks around at all - never have so Brycen's idea of a snack is a rice cake, pretzels, clementine, raisins, and peanuts.  It's a healthier snack than I usually crave on a normal day!  

Weekend at Grandpa & Grandma Blanchard's

Two weekends ago, Brycen spent the night at Grandpa & Grandma Blanchard's house.  It gave Mom & Dad the opportunity to go to a Hawkeye wrestling meet, and run some errands, and attend the annual meeting at church.  Plus, Brycen just needed a little time to spend with grandparents. 

He had a great time scooping snow and told a fun story about how he and Grandma made a snowman.  He went to church with them on Sunday morning and was excited that he actually went up for the children's sermon by himself.  (Now if he'd only do that at our church!)  

Grandma sent him home with a few mints to share for after supper on Sunday night.  It was pretty chilly that day and the next day (Monday - Jan 27th) was a snow day for Kirkwood so Brycen & Mom were able to stay home all day and play! 

Brycen helping Gramps fill up the bird feeder

"Mowing" the snow

That's how God made it

A few weeks ago, Brycen was explaining something to me and I asked why? He replied with "that's how God made it."  It made me smile for a few reasons. 

One is because he is the KING of the why question and matter how complicated the answer, he wants to know why things are the way they are. 

The second is because I am so happy he goes to a daycare/school where the teachings and environment is Christian focused. He is learning at such a young age how God is all around us and part of our everyday lives. 

The last reason is because he is just so smart and sometimes even witty! He takes after smarts from me and the witty from Burke... haha. I'll see what Dad has to say about that. :)

Favorite Basketball Player

We have been watching a lot of Iowa Hawkeye Basketball lately and Brycen is loving it. He cheers on the hawks by saying stuff like, " Come on Hawkeyes, you can do it! And Let's go Hawkeyes!"  Burke really enjoys the time they spend snuggling on the couch watching the game together. 

A few weeks ago, Brycen picked up on the player Devin Marble as he made a big play. Immediately, it seemed that he had a favorite player. He keeps cheering for Marble, always calling him by both his first and last name. He said to Burke one night, " Dad, Devin Marble is both of our favorite player on the Hawkeyes."  He even knows when MRble is not on the court and recognizes his number.

He repeats sayingshe hears from. Burke and I like that was from downtown and WHAT?! It's absolutely hilarious to sit with him for. Game because he really does follow the flow of the game and the concept of basketball. 

He has had some experience going to Kirkwood basketball games. He pays close attention to the players, referees, and asks a lot of questions. He even told me one night as we were leaving a Kirkwood women's game that next time he thinks he would really like to go to a Hawkeye Basketball game . 

Little ears

Little minds and ears always seem to be smarter than we think.  Brycen continues to amaze us on what he picks up on and how he knows exactly on what type of situation to apply it.  He will sometimes say something and like any other toddler, if he gets a reaction out of it, he says it again.  We try real hard to tell him if things are naughty or bad words but sometimes he just argues with us saying they're not bad words.  Then says it again.

A few weeks ago, Otis was overly excited one night as we were opening up the box to our new vacuum and we were telling him to go away and get his bone.  Brycen all of a sudden says, Otis go play in the toilet.  Burke and I just look at each other and laugh because we know that he must have picked that up from Grandpa Blanchard.

The next morning while eating breakfast, I must have burped and said "excuse me."  Brycen was silent for a second and then said, Grandpa Blanchard says excuse me for being alive.  I just looked at him and laughed and of course he thought it was funny, and repeated it.

There are some expressions when we ask him where he learned it and he'll say something like, Grandpa Fara.  (When we know Grandpa Fara wouldn't have said it.)  So we know he's learning to tell lies and we're sure that he's picking up little expressions from other children his age at school.  Burke and I have always known we have to be careful what we say, but anymore we are extra careful on the words we choose because we never know when he'll choose to repeat them!

Deer Hunting with the Daly's

In January, we took our annual trip down to Fort Madison for the high power deer season.  Brycen was particularly excited about this weekend because he really wanted Dad to shoot a deer.  He saw a YouTube video of the "world's fastest deer skinning" and was amazed.  It's incredible how he's ALL BOY when it comes to hunting, trucks, farming, etc.

We arrived on Friday night and unfortunately, Brycen & Mackenzie were wired until about 10:30... plus Brycen woke up at 5:30 when Burke got up to go hunting.  Let's just say that he was a tired boy by lunchtime and took a well deserved nap.  (Me too!)  We had a pajama day most of the day and played all day with Mack and Addalie.  They did puzzles, played with trains, read books, cooked food, and had a blast just running around together.

 

Brycen's wish came true and Burke did get a deer just before dusk.  After ordering pizza for supper, the guys all went outside to the garage where they skinned the deer.  Brycen sat on top of the boat in the garage and watched eagerly.  He gave comments like, "you're doing a good job, be careful with the knife, and you're going too slow."

On Sunday morning, Brycen went back to sleep after Burke went out and slept until almost 7:30.  That could be pushing a record for him.  We had breakfast, played, and when the guys came back from hunting that morning we made our way back to Walford.

This was Otis's first time at the Daly house.  Addalie was a big fan and was often caught snuggling with Otis.

Brycen & Mack having a picnic in the corner of the room.  Their conversations are so interesting to listen to.  

Burke with Mack and Addalie.  Mackenzie often thinks that Burke is her boyfriend.  They have a special bond.

Twin Bed time

About a month ago, we converted Brycen's toddler bed back into a crib for his brother's room and he got a new (to him) twin bed.  Grandpa & Grandma Blanchard were nice enough to give Brycen one of their extra twin beds from their home.  He'd been sleeping on a twin bed at their house quite a few times when we were back for overnight stays and seemed to adjust well.  

We set up the bed while he was in the tub one night and he came out very excited  - - jumping around, falling on the ground, screaming, and laughing.  I wish I would have taken a video of it!  

Burke asked Brycen what type of blanket he wanted on his bed and of the choices, Brycen immediately said John Deere!  So, a few days later we ordered a John Deere comforter for his bed.  When it came in the mail he was so incredibly excited to see that it not only had tractors, but combines with both the bean and corn heads on it!  (Picture to come.)

For now, he's enjoying the snuggles that Dad & Mom can give him while reading books together at night and the knowledge that he has a big, big bed now.  He's fallen out of bed two or three times now in the middle of the night but it hasn't really phased him.  I think a few of those times he was intending to get out of bed anyhow and just lost his footing on the way down.  Regardless, he's been really great about going back to sleep.  

We've got some other furniture moving to do in his room with moving his dresser and the changing table over to his brother's room.  He will get a new dresser and a "night stand" dresser that we plan on painting green (like John Deere green) that he picked out.  He also got a new "Ok-to-wake" clock that turns green in the morning when he is able to get up out of bed for the day.  He does pretty well with it and is really excited to tell us that his clock is green.  The devise is neat because you can customize the times it changes colors.  It also is meant to teach him time by showing analog and digital modes along with speaking the time when you push a button. Here's hoping that he doesn't wake up until it's green from now on!