Spring has finally arrived!

I truly think that the weather makes a difference in how we all feel.  I can tell that Brycen is extremely excited to be playing outside again.  So much that when we get home from Jean's house we usually have to play for about 20-30 minutes before stepping foot in the house. 

It's been beautiful out the last couple of days and we've had fun playing with his outside toys again... his car, bike, golf set, basketballs, and of course his favorite pushing toy, the mower!  We've also had a fun time playing with the neighbor girls for a little bit too. 

Today, Brycen is home playing all day with Grandma Jo!  It sounded like they were going to the park, maybe for a bike ride, and other fun outdoor activities to soak in the spring weather.  He will have so much fun spending some special time with her.

This weekend we are heading back to the farm to see Grandpa and Grandpa Fara, Uncle Eric & Katy, Uncle Steve, Aunt Leigh and cousins Logan and Skylar.  Brycen has been talking ALL WEEK about seeing Grandpa Fara's cows, baby calves, their dog Pearl, and all of the other animals on the farm.  It will be a rushed weekend with many things to do and people to see but I'm looking forward to him spending time with family. Sunday. When we were leaving Jean's house on Thursday afternoon, he ran out the door saying that he was going to see Grandpa Fara and his baby calves!!  I'd say that he's excited.  :)

New do!

Hair cut night in the Blanchard house!!! Our new do is a Mohawk! (For a while...)

2 Year Check-up Appointment

On Monday, Brycen had his 2 year Doctor's appointment for a check-up.  The last two appointments (1 year and 18 months) he had been in the 99th percentile for both height and weight.  Brycen is a big boy for his age, yet I thought this growth has slowed since last fall so I was unsure where he would fall for height/weight for this appointment. 

Not to our surprise, Dr. Reinertson (Brycen calls him Dr. Mark) said he was yet again in the 99th percentile for weight and height.  Brycen was being difficult (very shy) when they asked to have him stand on the scale so we just went with the weight documented 2 weeks earlier... 36 pounds.  His height was 37". 

Grandma Jo had mentioned she heard somewhere that when a child is 2 years old, you can double their height and that is what they will be when finished growing.  If that is true, Brycen will be 6'2".  This sounds about right when looking at the Blanchard and Fara family heights for the men.  Burke, Perry and Ross are all around 6'1-2 and my brothers Steve (6'1") and Eric (6'4") are both tall as well. 

He did real well with Dr. Mark.  He let him check all over including his ears, eyes, teeth and mouth.  By the time he was finished, Brycen was actually talking to him and comfortable in the room.  The good news is that Brycen does not have to have any shots until he is 5 years old.  (I was dreading him getting shots at this appointment.)  The bad news is that he had to have blood drawn for a blood screening.  This was not fun.  He didn't mind the finger-poking so much but when the nurse squeezed his little finger to draw enough blood for the test Brycen let her have it by crying and yelling, "it huuuuurts!"  She put a circus band aid on the finger to help stop the bleeding.  This was his first experience with a band aid and I realized we should probably buy some "cool" band aid's for home. 

The nurse tried to win him over by letting him pick out a sticker, but he actually said no to her.  "No want it."  He soon stopped crying as we went back out to the lobby to check out and his attention was drawn to a little girl a little older than he was throwing a fit in the lobby.  His did continue to ask to take the band aid off and pout as he would put pressure on his finger to pull it off but I convinced him to keep it on until supper somehow. 

All was good at the end of the day and we are happy that Brycen is a healthy and very happy boy!

2 year pictures!

Saturday, Brycen took his 2 year pictures.  Both Burke and I went along to be able to tag-team keeping him happy and "going along" with what the photographer needed to get a shot. 

Overall he did a great job, but the process was slightly at this stage as he follows directions well but he is pretty shy and leery of others. 

Here are a few shots to share...

  

Birthday Money

Quick blog about the money that Brycen got for his birthday. When Brycen opened his birthday cards the other day, he was excited to find money in a few envelopes.
Daddy and Brycen share a few special things together and one of them is putting money in his two different piggy banks. Brycen immediately wanted to put the money in his Hawkeye piggy bank. While they were upstairs, Burke asked Brycen what he wanted to spend his birthday money on... His response was blueberries and strawberries. A true response from the little boy that loves every fruit there is!

Today Burke asked Brycen again and his response changed to a bike, but he already has one and we took it out for a stroll today. (Picture below)

Spring Break

This week Brycen and I had both Thursday and Friday together. I really wish that it was more seasonal weather for "spring break" but we made due with the 30 degree weather last week... At least it was sunny both days.
Thursday was probably boring for Brycen as I spent most of the day leaning, organizing and taking pictures of the house. Friday was more fun with free time at the Cedar Rapids Science Center, visiting Daddy at his work, and lots of fun playing outside in the sunshine.
Here are a few pictures...

Birthday extravaganza

On Tuesday, our little man turned two years old! It was a very busy weekend and week too. Over the weekend, we had the Blanchard party at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Brycen got a lot of one on one time with his aunt, uncles and grandparents. He was pretty spoiled and loved every minute of it.

Highlights were getting to spend all day with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ross, riding on his bike, a new tool bench, and being able to play with Uncle Perry, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Ross, Grandma Jo, and Grandpa.

He had just as much fun at Jean's house on Tuesday for his birthday. She had balloons for everyone, made cupcakes, and even gave him a gift. She truly made it his day. He took all of his super hero capes to her house to share and had fun playing with his friends.

Here are a few pictures to share...

To finish up the week he got to spend all day on Thursday and Friday with mom. More to come in a later post about our adventures!