Claire and Brady sit'n in a tree

October is Down syndrome awareness month. Yep, we get a whole month. In order to celebrate individuals with DS there are several "Buddy Walks" in the area. Usually each city hosts their own walk. Lincoln had theirs last weekend and of course we just had to be there. Brady was dying to see Miss Claire. He has missed her so dearly.

The two greeted each other quite calmly. Neither was willing to "put themselves out there." With their increasing age, they must be putting up a few walls. After a brisk walk through Lincoln they were reved up and ready to play. Once we got back to Claire's place they were like two peas in a big girl bed. Yeah that's right, against parent consent the two of them were playing in her room....with the door closed! I caught the two of them testing out Claire's new big girl bed. Brady gave it a big thumbs up, which he ascertained by jumping on it and throwing all the pillows off. Claire just tolerated his behavior and chalked it up to immaturity.

This weekend it's Brady's walk and you bet your buns that the Mrs. Shannon to be will be there. Brady has been talking about it all week. He got a hair cut, manicure and hit the gym. He wants to be in tip top shape for his lady. Plus, for the first time ever he is going to give this Buddy Walk a real WALK! Yeah that's right folks....just in time Brady is now walking! OMG! You may catch him crawling every now and then, but most of the time he's giving life a big fat vertical kiss!!!

Mallory Stats

Now her chicken legs have been attacked by the state puff marshmallow man.

9 weeks ago she was barely 6lbs

When I said that Mallory would end up somewhere between fat and chubby I should have said "somewhere between Plus size and meatloaf." She weighed in at 12lbs 13.5oz and 23.5" long. The doctor was impressed with her amazing ability to over double her size in 9 short weeks. She is in the 93rd% for weight and 88th% for height. At this pace she will weigh more than Brady by 6 months. :)

In an effort to stay ahead of her, Brady has been slamming protein shakes, working out twice a day and requesting mac and cheese for his 3 squares a day.

I take pride in every one of her rolls. I have earned them all through the night and every other second she feels the need for a snack. The doctor even mentioned "over feeding." What? Never! This is the one time in her life that its totally cool to pack on the pounds. Work those rolls little girl, work it!

Misc

Something unusual happened at swim practice today....SWIMMING. Brady boy actually flapped his flippers and floated. Typically he grasps on for dear life and screams until the timer dings. Not today folks! He smiled and waved like he was the homecoming queen on a parade float. We'll make a fish out of him in no time!

Brady has been busy lately. He actually asked me for a blackberry so he could maximize his time and he feels a "mobile Internet device" will do the trick. Between naps, eating, schmoozing, swimming, music and pre pre school he feels he is loosing touch with his peeps. He hasn't updated his facebook status in HOURS! ps current status: napping or "man rest" as he calls it, napping is for babies.

Brady is literally steps away from walking full time. Right now he is only a part time walker. He is taking 10 steps, pivoting, squatting and balancing like a circ du soleil performer. He just has to decide that life on two wheels is the way to go, go, go!

This video is Brady showing us his incredibly large belly and his outty "bee bo" or belly button. He thinks it is fascinating and enjoys the giggles he gets when he shows anyone and everyone who will look. The large belly is due to the fact that Brady has developed a preference for Mac and Cheese with a side of Mac and Cheese. He is the ultimate picky eater. His daily menu consists of oatmeal, fruit, milk, mac and cheese, cereal bar and grapes. UGH! I never, ever thought I would allow my child to eat mac and cheese, but I have sunk deep into the dark side. I have been reading about "picky eaters" and what to do about it, but most of the literature says to go with it, model good eating habits and eventually they will come around. Obviously, a food pyramid built of fatty carbs is no way to go, but if anyone can pull off a pot belly, Brady can.

Mallory is now 2 months old. OMG! It's amazing how fast time goes when your child is healthy. When Brady was Mallory's age he was struggling to breath and we were racing back and forth to the ER. Now we just plug along and enjoy her beautiful smile. She has her 2 month well check today so I will post her stats soon. I'm pretty sure she is going to land somewhere between fat and chubby. Man this girl can eat (and not mac and cheese...yet)

Buddy Walk

Have you missed us? Brady really reamed me about keeping up with his blog. In order to appease my 2 year slave driver I am obliging him with this post. The 2010 Buddy Walk is October 9th, or as Mr. B would like to rename it: All gather and watch me swagger. Hmmmm it does have a nice ring to it.

The Buddy Walk is at the UNO track and will begin at NOON. Hopefully it will be a bit warmer than in years past. Brady's Brigade has been renamed "Brady's Tidal Wave" for one reason and one reason only.....coconut bras! Haha! We are replacing the cameo gear with Hawaiian attire. Wear your fav floral number and grass skirt. Show us who is the big kahuna!

Register and donate at: http://www.firstgiving.com/jennifershannon

You do not have to donate to walk with us. Your smiling hula faces are plenty for us. So make like a palm tree and BE THERE!

Schedule

It's swim time again! Hello coach wetsuit and good bye dry land! Much to Brady's dismay I have signed him up for another 9 week session the pool. As you can see from the above photos Brady hasn't forgotten what lurks beyond his vantage point. He started squirming and saying "no no no" from the minute we pulled up in the parking lot until his little toes hit the water. He even tried to drop a turkey in his swim pants thinking that "there's no way I'll have to swim with soiled roos." I officially squashed that dreamers plan, swatted away like a pesky mosquito. Ha! You will learn to swim my boy, you will learn!

Brady, Mallory and I have embarked on an ambitious fall schedule. We have something every single day of the week.

Monday- pre-pre school at Kindernook- details to come

Tuesday- Baby Maestro music class

Wednesday- Swim

Thursday- private speech

Friday- private PT

Saturday- Happy Hour- perfect way for a 2 year to shake off a stressful week

Sunday- Sunday school

Brady does extremely well when he is surrounded by his peers. He carefully studies their every move. In an effort to capitalize on this we have given him multiple opportunities to excel. So far he has been doing great. His only complaint is that there are only 2 girls in his pre pre school class. You all know he prefers the males to be the minority.

St. Pooptricks Day Part Deux

It's 8:00 and I'm ready to rock!

Well, well! It appears that St. Pooptricks Day appears twice on the calendar this year. Oh yes folks Brady Boy dropped a couple of floaters in the tub again. This time right in front of my very eyes. I thought he was displaying the undeniable signs that a #2 was on its way, but NOOOOO it couldn't be! It was and it did. Right there and right then! Due to my previous training in this matter I was cool, calm and collected. No screaming, no frantic call to Jeff or 911, just a quick ninja like removal of the contaminants and life was back to normal. I think Brady was disappointed in the anti-climatic nature of his business. I think he was looking for a bit more drama, a round of applause, a small cheering section, or at least some assemblance of chaos. Need I remind his that I am now more astute and nothing that he "drops" on me can phase my super nature? The proof is in the pudding (or should I say pooping hahahah) my dear child!

To balance out the number of poop posts I must update you on Brady's WALKING! Yes, walking! Brady is now picking up objects and walking with them. He also walks between furniture and will walk from me to Jeff. Our little turkey is walking about 25% of the time. He still prefers his jet propelled crawling, but is spending more and more time upright.

Since Mallory's arrival I have noticed the amazing difference in their strength/tone. Brady is like a marshmallow and Mallory is like a mini power lifter. She has been able to hold her head up since the second day of her life and it took Brady MONTHS to accomplish the same thing. I am amazed at her strength. It highlights how much harder Brady has to work at the gross motor skills. With Brady we have never taken a single step for granted. We understand the determination and dedication each step takes and with Mallory we are astounded how everything glides along with little effort or thought. It makes me admire our little tough guy even more!

A lot

Brady with his cousin Lauren
Brady has now shame about driving the mini

Brady being a bully

Who's a bully?

Much has been going on lately! MUCH! Hince the reason I haven't blogged for a weekish. These days a family nap has been more desirable than hitting the keyboard.

If you are short on time here is the summary- We have been to see Claire, drove 480 miles in our new mini van (yes mini van), locked the kids in said mini van, Brady has taken 8 steps.. a lot, got a black eye (Brady), gained 2lbs (Mallory), lost 2lbs (me), and lived to blog the tale.

The extended version for people who are bored at work:

Last week we went to see Claire. It turns out these two are turning up the heat. Our little darling snuck a kiss on the lips. Brady didn't mind and actually went back for more. I'm thinking we may need to move up the wedding before these two get real carried away.

On Thursday we bought a new mini van. Yes, it's true... I now find myself cozied behind the wheel of a new Honda Odessey. UGH! I never thought the day would come, but it slammed it's way into our garage like the big fat mom-mobile it is! Actually, it's a little peace of heaven, but I wear a wide brimmed hat and large shades when I'm behind the wheel. It's a stylish silver and it will NEVER have the little sticker cartoon people of my family in the back window, or a Husker sitcker OR a "I'm the proud parent of an honor roll student." That is where I draw the line people! It has enough cup holders to host a kegger and automatic doors that allow me to hold two kids a diaper bag, groceries and a latte all at the sametime.

So what else do you do with a family-mobile??? You pack that baby up and head to Bettendorf, IA to see Grandpa D! We headed east to visit the old man and attend a lovely 40th birthday party. Amazingly both littles were champions of the road courtious of the DVD system and 40 movies. We had a regular Shannon film festival minus all the edgy plot lines, nudity and subtitles...Brady hates subtitles. The long weekend went off without a hitch...until we hit West Des Moines IA for a quick refill of the 80 galloon chug a lug gas tank. Mallory was screaming her head off and desperate for a snack and Brady was enjoying himself as always.... until Jeff and I both jump out of the van, closed the doors and somehow mysteriously hit the LOCK button. Slam, slam....oh POOP! There we are standing like a couple of idiots desperately checking all the doors only to confirm that we did indeed lock our 5 week old baby and toddler INSIDE THE FREAK'N van. We quickly flagged down a stranger to use their cell phone (ours were both locked inside the van) to call 911. The police showed up with a smirk on their face, confirming that YES we may seem like reasonable, responsible parents, but indeed did lock their offsprings in the van. Turns out he couldn't pop the lock so we had to call a locksmith. This process was taking an ETERNITY in my mind, which equals 20 minutes in a calm, non-hormonal mother's mind. All was good and we got back on the road and returned to our regularly scheduled film festival!

Brady has been doing GREAT in the walking category. He can now take 6-8 steps with control and ease. He just has to decided that this is a better mode of transportation. We are waiting little man, we are waiting....

Mallory is doing fantastic as long as you don't see her from 8pm-10pm. This girl can crank it up. We are used to the mild manner of Mr. B. We now refer to her as the teradactyl or Benjamin Button. She is either shreaking like a dying animal or growning like an 80 year old man. Fortunately, she is absolutely darling and plumping up like a ripe tomato.

We have offically settled into being a family of 4. There is nothing better than holding a little Shannon in both of my arms.