Spring Break

Brennan started his Spring Break on Friday. I worked Friday, but I am off this week until Friday. I let Brennan plan the week out and he didn't have too many requests except to have a couple of friends sleep over. I did have one request and that was to take Brooks to the open gym near our house. I rarely get to take him and he always has so much fun.

I think he was tired today because while he did play and seemed to have fun, he wasn't his usual happy self. Not to mention, after we got home and he ate lunch-he took a 2.5 hour nap. I honestly don't think he has ever done that for me. Ever. So I got a lot done, mainly cleaned the playroom in the basement which was a wreck. It still needs some things cleaned out, but I hate to get rid of anything in case there's something Brooks would end up being into. Even Brennan was into Ben 10 a couple of years ago and hasn't been interested for quite some time until recently. I had been telling him I thought last time I organized down there that I saved his watches and when we went down there I found a whole bag of Omnitrix watches-he was thrilled!

He does look tired, doesn't he? Haha. He was a little more lively than this:)

While I was cleaning the playroom I also found Brennan's Mickey ears from Disney. We are planning  a Disney cruise in the fall (I think we're keeping it a secret from Brennan, so if you see him don't say anything). When I saw the Mickey ears I was so excited because I had forgotten about them and Brooks will be able to wear them on our trip. A feeling came back to me for a moment though, of the times when I would clean out his playroom before we had Brooks and I would be so sad wondering if we would ever get to use Brennan's toys for another child. I am so incredibly thankful for this sweet little man. He has brought me so much love, joy, laughter and healing. 

Giving the alligator kisses..he melts my heart♥

One of my besties, Jill, was in town from Georgia this past week so we try to get together as much as we can when she's home♥

Brennan is having Brody and Grady over to spend the night, but we all went to hang out with friends tonight and everyone had a good time:)

This is from Saturday, but we got to hang out with friends this weekend, too! Some of the kids in this picture are the same, but some are different. We're so lucky to have lots of friends! The kids always have so much fun. 

Easter 2016

I am extremely slightly embarrassed that it has been so long since I've posted. I was thinking a few months...6 months. Better late than never though, which is why I'm here. I do think often about posting, specifically about what Brooks is up to because these stages are fleeting. He is really so much fun. I am going to post just about him at this age, 16 months, but in a different post. We had a really fun weekend celebrating Easter so I am going to stick to that for now. Part of the pain of blogging is I typically have most of my pictures and video on my phone and it is a PIA to get stuff off of there. These pictures are from my big camera, which sadly I don't use much anymore. I think I will more now that the weather is getting nice again.

Brennan dyed our eggs this year. He is really so independent these days. Of course he is 8 years old, so he should be, but I am really proud of him. He is so helpful with Brooks and a lot of times because he is older and Brooks requires a lot of attention, Brennan doesn't always get what he wants right away. This is a change for him since he was an only child his whole life. His personality is such that he goes with the flow and handles change very well. He's still my super sweet boy.

We did an Easter egg hunt Saturday near my aunts house. We were going there for dinner and I wanted to take the boys to see the bunny and for a hunt so it worked out perfect. My cousin, Jack, came with us:)

This was Brooks' first hunt. He just started walking about a month ago so it's so fun to watch him toddle around. He isn't a big fan of the grass yet, but we took it slow and we definitely weren't in the race for the most eggs:)

I think we ended up with about 5 eggs;)

 After the hunt, we headed to my aunt and uncles for dinner. The weather was gorgeous, it could not have been more perfect. 

I didn't take many pictures there and I'm not really sure why. The kids were busy playing and at the neighbors house for a while and I was chasing Brooks, but I did get this picture. Brooks wouldn't cooperate so this was the best one. But my grandpa was super cute, he looked at Brooks' shoes and commented how they wear the same type of shoes-the kind that velcro;) 

I had to post this sweet boy.

I love Brennan's smile in the picture below-you can see his big teeth and the teeth that are missing. He looks so big to me here. I was standing next to him today and had to ask him when he grew all of the sudden, he's getting so tall. 

I like Brooks' smile in this picture, partly for the same reason-you can see all of his teeth:) Well, not all I guess-his are coming in slightly out of usual order so he has 2 on top in the back just coming in. So that makes 8 total. 

I didn't care for any of our family pictures at first, I am laughing in this one-my aunt said something hilarious, but slightly inappropriate (the kids didn't get it), but I'm not posting it on here haha. Anyway, Brooks isn't smiling, the lighting is off, but in the end it's our Easter family picture so it's perfect:)

We did set up the tripod when we visited Reese and Scotlyn today. We took some spring decorations out, too. It was so windy today. You wouldn't know it by the picture, but the flower pinwheels were spinning at a rapid rate almost non-stop, almost so much that it was a little uncomfortable if you touched it:) I love tulips, they're probably my favorite flower and these were like pinwheels so they were spinning, too. I love how colorful it makes everything look.  

 I didn't get a picture, but there is a huge orchard right around the cemetery and behind that fence are the peach trees. They are in full bloom and when we pulled up it was like a sea of pink right around Reese and Scotlyn. It was a really beautiful sight. I will have to stop back by to get a picture. I would like to go back alone anyway, I felt very rushed and that makes me anxious. I already feel like I don't give enough of my time to Reese and Scotlyn and I've said before that I don't feel like I have to be at the cemetery to grieve, but there is something about being there alone with the gift of time that allows me to stop and take a breath and focus on them without distraction. 

Brennan really wanted to play photographer so he snapped a couple of pictures. I had to get one of him in action, he looked so cute♥

Here's his shot:)

After I tried to get some pictures of the boys, tried meaning trying to get Brooks to smile. I snapped about 20 pictures with Casey and I both trying to get him to smile and this was the best I could get. 

After Brennan got up, I sat Brooks right next to their stone and shot a quick video of him. He was so precious. It was like he knew they were right there♥ It melts my heart every time I watch it.

First thing this morning, Brennan was up at 6:50, it most likely would have been earlier, but I told him not to get up before 7. That sounds mean, but he went to bed late-pretty late for him. He gets up at 5:30am on a regular basis and on holidays it's like 3-4am, no joke. He could sleep longer, but as soon as his eyes open, he thinks he needs to get out of bed. If I give him a time, then he will go back to sleep. Plus, like any kid (and myself) he's cranky when he doesn't get enough sleep. And I knew Brooks wouldn't be up as early as him. Brennan was up way before Brooks so I let him open his basket, but I made him wait for Brooks to hunt eggs. 

Brennan was excited about his goodies. He loved his shoes. The boy is obsessed with tennis shoes, he is always asking for a new pair. I got a steal on these plus I had a gift card so it was a no brainer. Everything else I found on clearance at Target or the Dollar Store. Except the Cardinals shirt, but he needs shirts for summer so I most likely would have gotten that anyway. He also got neon markers, mechanical pencils, and a laser, 

Totally forgot I ordered this, haha. We went out to the mailbox this morning and I opened an envelope and found it inside. I was like "Shit, what do I do now?" So when he wasn't looking I slipped it into the bottom of his basket and acted like he missed it. It was his new favorite prize...it's a Blastoise EX Pokemon card in case it doesn't look familiar;)

Brooks finally woke up and opened his goodies, played, ate breakfast..it was killing Brennan, he was ready to go hunt eggs-I mean he had been up almost 2 hours at this point. Haha. Brooks got a push toy, these little suction cup balls his physical therapist brought one day. You throw them at the window and they stick. Both boys love them. Target has them in the party supply isle. He got 2 books, Mickey shades, a wind up hopping bunny, bubbles, and a beach ball to practice kicking-another PT idea. Honestly, it was a little like Christmas, but I really didn't spend a lot and most of it was useful things. Not sure why I'm trying to justify.

OMG, I LOVE THIS KID!

These boys are amazing. The end.

After we played for a little bit, the hunt was on. I'm thinking next year Brennan may not be interested, but who knows. I love that he is still into it. The joy and excitement, magic and wonder of the holidays for my kids never gets old to me. I love every minute.

Luckily, this guy will give me many more years of magical holidays.

The Easter bunny didn't bring any candy-not in baskets, not in eggs, none. It was all prizes and money. No one was disappointed and I surely don't regret it. They got so much candy yesterday and I knew they would be getting more at my mom's so that made the decision easy. Today, Brennan said "Wouldn't it be cool if we could print money" Haha, Casey had a conversation with him about how that's illegal and he better never try it-ha!

We had Easter dinner at my mom's today. Sadly, again I didn't take pictures. Luckily, we did manage to get this picture together:)

Oh my goodness, this was so precious. As my grandma and grandpa were leaving my mom's today, Brooks was blowing kisses to my grandpa. My grandpa really got a kick out of it. It's a little hard to tell, but that's what's happening here and it was super sweet♥

So that was our Easter, probably in more detail than anyone cares to know. When I blog, I like to include the details, you know-the little things in life that are actually the big things:)