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.