Girls are so confusing

These snippets are examples of why Brady finds girls so confusing. He offers a comforting hug and he gets a slap in the face. He finds it in his heart to forgive her and tries to offer a truce and he gets screamed at. GIRLS! He promptly told me that he would like to exchange Mallory for a male version, insisting Mallory is from Venus and he is only excepting siblings from Mars.

We are off to Mallory's 4 month well check. Let's see if we can jump into the 99th percentile this time! Shoot'n for the stars with our little meatloaf! Stats to be posted soon.

Birthday Monsters

Today Jeff is 34 and Mallory is 4 months! What a day to celebrate. Brady has arranged a montage of celebratory shenanigans. Beginning with a streak through the house sporting nothing more than his birthday suit. He figured Dad is getting to old to go streaking and Mallory's gross motor skills aren't refined enough to do any sort of running.

A birthday suit must be worn on such a glorious day, so he figured he'd take one for the team. Thank you B-man, thank you! Brady is always generous with the hugs, but today is an exception. He is layering them on his old man like this could be his last day on earth. I had to remind him that 34 is no where near "the end" and that dear old Dad has at least 60 more birthdays to go before he "goes." He thanked me for the good news...with a hug. Mallory was also on the receiving end of the hug marathon. Her hugs land somewhere between the WWF and sweet brotherly love. Brady has yet adjust his 2 year old strength when it comes to his sibling. Lastly, since Brady's funds are tight and we cut up his credit card he had to get creative this year. His gift to Dad? Self potty training....no way, Play Dough self portrait...already done, he went with a stylistic rendition of Thunder Road (Bruce, man, Bruce). I've never seen a 2 year old play the guitar and sing with so much conviction and heart. Happy Birthday Mr. Shannon and Happy mini birthday to the little M.R.S. We love you both!

Gobble Gobble

Happy Turkey Day folks! I desperately searched for the infamous turkey onesie so I could recreate the image for Mallory. I am pretty certain Brady hid it in order to insure he would never have to see it again and to also spare his sweet sister from my Holiday ensemble addiction. In order to prevent my children from future therapy sessions I settled for seasonally colored coordinated numbers. They looked lovely in hues of the harvest! It seems silly to wrap my kids in clothes driven by a seasonal color palette, but I love it. There is nothing better than warm brown cords, a camel cable knit sweater and chocolate suede boots. Mallory's only requirement is that the pants have a little give in the waistband. My little meatloaf is sporting a muffin top like no other. Now looking back at this picture of Brady, I'm thinking someone could have also used a bit of elastic around the middle.

In honor of Thanksgiving Brady would like to make note of all that he is thankful for:

1. Apple pie

2. A Holiday that encourages over eating and naps

3. The NFL, mainly the cheerleaders

4. Mom (of course)

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Claire update- she's doing GREAT! The botox worked and she is a "go, go, go'n" just fine. The biopsy for the Hershsprungs came back NEGATIVE! YEAH! and the botox relaxed things enough that her bum has healed. Our girl and her very relieved and exhausted parents have found comfort again.

Time

With two kids it is a bit tough getting places on time. There always seems to be one more thing to put in the bag, or someone drops a load in their pants. SOMETHING always seems to pop/poop up. Some of those things demand a photo. Some moments are way more important than promptness. Often Brady creates little moments that make time stand still and say "hey we'll get there...right after you recognize how adorable I am." That happened this morning. I slapped his new stocking cap on his tiny little melon and gasped! Warning...clock stopping adorableness ahead! So I quickly snapped a few pics, changed a diaper, grabbed a coffee, ran back upstairs to snatch up a swim diaper, ran downstairs, ran back upstairs to swipe the swim towel off the dry rack and ran out the door. We greeted coach wetsuit at exactly 8:17 (2 minutes late) and cannon balled a crazy cute moment in time.

Claire update- Brady's lady has surgery tomorrow. Keep those prayers a'come'n. She is doing great. The surgery is troubleshoot the nightmare of her BM issues. They will also be taking a biopsy of her colon to rule out Hershbergs disease, a disease common in kids with DS. Claire will also be getting her first botox shot. You all know that she is Brady's OLDER lady, but the botox isn't for her 3 year old crows feet, it's for her bum. This will hopefully relax things downtown and make it easier to go, go, go. Ah the wonders of Botox. We are hopeful that the Doctors will find the answers they are looking for and our sweet little girl will find some comfort very soon!

Brady and Mal

People always say that Mallory looks like Brady, but I have never seen the resemblance. These pictures are of both kids at about the same age, give or take a few days. Mallory's resemblance is still up in the air. I don't think she looks like any of us yet. Brady of course thinks she has his charming personality, but in the looks department, she's her own formula.

These days Mallory has been demanding a more upright vantage point. I've relocated her from the Boppy lounger to the exersaucer and jump-a-roo. I think it's so she can keep an eye on Mr. B. She's got to establish some kind of defense strategy when it comes to Brady's toy launching. It's a regular D-day when he gets his hands on a bucket of balls. INCOMING! He calls it "sharing," I call it "time out."

These two are carrying on like real siblings. Brady will give her a quick smack and then 10 minutes later offer the most heart warming hug. After Mallory bores with the various dangling toys on her exersaucer she passes the time by staring at her big brother. The way her cheeks crinkel when she sees him is sweeter than sugar.

Brady's Lady

Brady's lady, Claire Bear, needs some love and support. Typically it's not kosher to post about other people's business, but his first lady is going through a rough patch. She is having a bit of trouble going #2, which is leading the Doctors down a crazy diagnostic path. This is of course extremely stressful for Brady's in-laws (future in-laws). At times like these I/we feel helpless, but I know the most comforting and helpful thing we can all do is say a couple of prayers. In Omaha we have wonderful Doctors and surgeons right at our fingertips and they are diligently figuring out a plan for Miss Claire. In the meantime, Brady is hoping that a load of love letters, a large peperoni pizza, 3 hugs and a big fat kiss will be the perfect medicine.

Speechless

Ahhhhh isn's she cute!

I don't have a lot to say today so a barrage of pictures will have to suffice. Brady claims that his beauty makes most people speechless, today he is correct! 1 point Brady.

Par-tay

"careful woman, I could burn my nose hairs"

"Just a quick sip while no one is looking"

It's official, Grammie Lou is 49...again. We enjoyed a day of celebration in her honor with a massage, pedi's, a Mexican fiesta and cocktails. Brady was in a festive spirit and really livened things up. He bounced around techno style on the porch, slammed a few shots, went streak'n and sang a little ditty. He even brought his own pink flask. I documented his attempts to conceal his consumption! Busted! He was thrilled such a glorious occasion could be enjoyed for 1 extra hour. I politely reminded him that the time change occurs WELL past his bedtime and he calmly informed me that the contents of his pink flask were indeed RedBull and to step off! He was making it until 2 a.m. no matter the cost. Fortunately the sugar crash from the cake rocked his little world and he was out by 8:04!

Today Brady is beginning his Olympic career at the Young Athletes Program. I'm not sure what to expect, but I am positive if it involves climbing, jumping, running, crawling or anything remotely physical he will be in hog heaven. I'm pretty sure he is going to try and get "rough housing" to be the next new Olympic sport.

Friday

Today we are enjoying a day of nothingness, just the pure joy of staying in our "jam-bows" until noon. I think the kids are enjoying the fact that we aren't rushing out the door or running from one appointment to another. It's an idle day where the to do list is recycled and we throw our feet up to enjoy the 300th viewing of Over the Hedge. Brady has issued a snow day so Mama's school is closed for the day. He's eating up the idea of a 3 day weekend. I haven't the heart to tell him that Mama's school operates 360 days a year. Holidays are only granted for birthdays, Mother's day (of course), Christmas, New Years and Flag Day. I'll save that announcement for tomorrow.

It's Grammie Lou's 60th birthday tomorrow, but if you ask her she will be enjoying her 49th birthday yet again. 49 is a good number and should be celebrated year after year. Brady is pumped to party down and has planned a special birthday dance for her. It involves a tail feather, a couple shoulder shakes and a sprinkler. He's pulling out all the stops for such a glorious event. Thank god he has settled on a dance because the commemorative tattoo wasn't going to fly with me. Happy Birthday Grammie Lou!! Thank you for all you do for our family. We love you!

ps- sorry for the sideways picture. I fixed it in picasa, but it doesn't translate when uploaded to blogger. Just tilt your head. She's cute vertically and horizontally.

Mama School

I have enrolled Brady in "Mama's school." Where and what is Mama's school you ask? Well, it's my classroom of one taught by me, myself and I. I'm sure Brady envisioned his teacher being a bit younger, probably a lot hotter and definitely not related, but he will have to settle with dear old Mama.

I have set up a "curriculum" to focus on four specific areas: 1. Fine motor skills 2. Speech 3. Gross motor skills 4. General social skills

This set up allows Brady to develop simple things like sitting in a chair and expanding his attention span. He is incredibly interested in the world around him so the idea of having to sit in a chair and focus on a task is challenging. Brady will be going to pre school in the fall so I thought it was time to rehearse some of the common classroom routines. This way when Brady hits the classroom for real it won't be such an adjustment....hopefully.

Here is a sample of what we do:

Sing welcome song!

1. Open with reading a book. I make Brady turn the pages and allow him to point and "chat" about the pictures

2. Fine motor drill- lacing beads, stacking 1" blocks, popping bubbles (combine this with speech exercise by saying "pop" every time he pops a bubble).

3. Art- drawing on paper with a crayon or marker. Practice taking the cap off and on of the marker. Emphasize NOT eating the crayon! UGH!

4. Gross Motor- climb in large box and throw balls EVERYWHERE!

5. Speech- run through flash cards from DownsEd See and Learn program

Sing closing song.

I vary the exercises depending on Brady's mood. We always finish each task on a positive note. I follow his lead because I want to ensure that "learning" is a good experience.

So far he likes school. Last night he ran to his table, sat down, said "Mama" and pointed to the books. It was pretty cool.

For help I've asked my EI team for some direction. I've also contacted the district for a list of expectations for Kindergartners.

I guess the teacher in me is still alive and kicking.

Halloweenies

So maybe the Dino didn't dance with the banana, but he certainly offered her a roundhouse kick to the mellon followed by an apologetic hug. Brady is still struggling with Mallory's purpose. He can't play with her, she doesn't talk, she doesn't want a bite of his grilled cheese and she sure does spend a lot of time with mama! He has given her exactly 2 months to pump up the fun factor or it's "out to the curb with her." I have assured him Mallory will comply with his request and good times will ensue.

For Halloween Brady didn't hit the streets this year. He preferred to be the official greeter at the Shannon homestead. He was certainly more welcoming to the fairytale princesses than the bloodied faced scary men. As far as he was concerned they all deserved knuckle sandwiches and protested every time they got their sugary treat.

Next year Brady will give up his post and scavenger the neighborhood grabbing fists full of high fructose corn syrup and gobbling up all the wonders Halloweenies has to offer. He might even realize Mallory's purpose...wing (wo)man. Double the fun, double the candy!