The circus and a lay off

We went to the circus the other day. Jeff and I couldn't match Brady's level of excitement...no one can. He maintained his applause through the set changes, restroom breaks and the incredibly boring dog act. He was so pumped to be there that his hands were sore and his voice was hoarse. Our boy has spirit, yes he does. Mallory took a clown down in an effort to wrestle a bear and ride a pony. She loves anything on 4 legs.

In other news, Mallory fired her stylist. See the evidence below:

Board Meeting

Today, Brady called to order his annual board meeting. In attendance was Mallory, Bigsby, Steve the sock monkey and bear. I was not invited and I have been stripped of my voting rights. Something about being to old and boring. I'm not progressive enough for Brady's team of forward thinkers. Huh!

They covered some ground breaking stuff today. Brady's trying to pass a few new ordinances around the house. His primary focuses are elimination of his bedtime and 24 hour access to the pantry. Mallory and friends were in accordance with the pantry raid, but firmly disagree with the bedtime bit. They all know how crazy B-man gets without proper rest. None one wants to deal with that bear cat, so the strict 7:30 bedtime stays. As the self proclaimed president of the board, Brady vetoed everyone and celebrated with an indoor bubble party. Nothing like a few bubbles to smooth the rift.

Brady would like to take a moment to welcome our newest member to the board....Mr. Brogan Scot. Since he is only 3 days old his active role won't take place for a few months. Until then, Brady has messengered him the bylaws for his review. The 400 page document makes perfect nap/bedtime reading.

Spell

Today, we experienced our first "breath holding spell." Neither Jeff nor I witnessed what triggered the dramatics, but we both saw the result. Jeff was holding Mallory and she was obviously very upset. She usually does the whole silent cry thing followed by blowing your ear drum with the loudest screech. Well, today the silence lasted a bit longer than usual followed by slumping over in Jeff's arms. We all about passed out. I quickly grabbed her and gave her a reviving tousle. I have never been so excited to hear her scream. That seriously made my heart stop. Brady has never been one for drama, so this is new.  I'm not a big fan.

Dr. Brady has offered to teach her a few coping mechanisms that keep everyones blood pressure at a nice even level 1. eat cookies 2. rake the sand in the zen garden 3. go to your happy place 4. have a stiff drink (to clarify that our children don't drink Brady is referring to apple juice sans water). Hopefully one of these homeopathic remedies will keep our girl alert through the tough times.

Happy Valentines Day

Talking is currently Brady's biggest challenge, but I think St. Valentine must have inspired him. Our boy is speaking the love language, as in, we love everything he has to say.  It's like Cupid's arrow hit a bulls eye in Brady's speech target. We are not only getting words, but sentences!! Well, 1 sentence..."I want the balls." WHOAAAA! A four word sentence! We are thankful for every word(s) that Brady says. I love hearing his raspy voice. 

Now that Mallory is spouting off new words everyday (even shit...nice) I am hopeful that Brady will follow her lead. Speech continues to be our focus and will be for a long while. After this weeks verbal explosion I am recharged and excited to see what else is in his vocal box. 

T-rouble

The other morning Brady was trying to send me a message. It was a bit encrypted so I can only assume the following: 1. He is low on some mineral only present in potting soil 2. We need to spend more time outside where digging up plant life is acceptable 3. He was testing the flying velocity of potting soil vs. Nerf balls 4. He thought the living room would look nice with an accent of deep dark brown soil. 

To say the least I was not happy with his choice of morning activity. Where was I you ask? Upstairs with Mallory for 9.2 minutes. Our boy works fast. He was like a cat in a litter box. Dig, dig, throw, throw!!! You can see the disappointment in his face that I had the nerve to interrupt such a marvelous time. He now calls me party pooper instead of Mom. 

It took me 40 minutes to clean up the mess and I even had to buy more potting soil. Mr. B has been under close supervision for the past few days. In coordination with the weather, Brady is on thin ice. 

Winter

Winter knocked on the door this weekend and we welcomed it in. I was just commenting on the fact that little Mallory hasn't had the chance to dip her sweet boots in a snow drift this year. Well, Saturday she had her fat opportunity. The most beautiful snow fell and fell and fell. Perfect piles accumulated, the kind that every kid drools over. Our squirts were pounding on the front door begging to be "released" into snowflake heaven. I of course bundled them up as if they were heading into the Arctic circle. At one point Malllory fell and the scene from A Christmas Story played in my head. She was rolling around like Ralphie. I'm still laughing.

Mallory had her 18 month well check today. She is in the 95th percentile for height and 66th percentile for weight. She is our bean pole. All is healthy except for a couple of clogged ear tubes. Darn it! These Dr. visits are getting a bit rough. Our girl gets a bit vocal about her dislike of all things medical. She about landed a quick south paw on Dr. H. It's like steroid Brady took her aside and taught her a few moves.

On a rather wonderful note, I found my engagement ring and wedding band. AHHHHH!! Sweet goodness. They were in my closet in the pouch of my hoodie. WHAT??? So weird. I am beyond excited and haven't taken them off since. i have apologized to the kids for mentally blaming them for throwing them away. They have accepted my apology, but have demanded a large serving of ice cream. Done!

Photo Please

 In the old days the minute Brady heard the camera turn on it ignited his inner super model. Pout and pose, pout and pose. He couldn't wait for every moment to be captured in frame. Now, that he is older and frankly, too cool for school, the same on button turns him into "full throttle." A camera can turn a normally calm and collected toddler into an angry bird on crack with a side of red bull. I can't capture a civilized photo of  B man to save my life. So bear with me as we say good bye to our glorious print ads of the past and dive head first into Brady, the crazy mega pixel.

Mallory on the other hand basically sets the scene, checks her hair, plumps her lips, hires a stylist and ensures the lighting is complimenting her best side. Which, if you ask her, is the right and the left. I'm sure in time, she will join Brady on the dark side and I'll be dodging footballs and curse words just to snap a few fleeting moments.