Smartie Pants

Life is so much fun now that Brick's talking regularly. His personality is really flourishing. We're delighted to realize that Brick has quite the sense of humor, whether he intends to be funny or not.

Several weeks ago Brick was asking (read demanding) some grapes. Bryan was calmly trying to explain to him that we didn't have any grapes. Brick's response? "Go buy some."

While visiting the mall the other day, I indulged Brick with a ride on one of those coin operated ride-on things. In the same area, there were several other ride-ons, so after his ride I let him play around on them for awhile. He pushed all the buttons trying to make the car go. I suggested the car was "broken." Too smart for his own good, Brick pointed at the change machine and said "Mommy, monies. Car go."

And finally, today I was holding Calla when I noticed she was "leaking." "Uh oh," I said, "Calla's poopy." To which Brick matter-of-factly replied, "Change her." Well, duh.

If at first you don't succeed ...

I have tried and tried and tried to get a shot of the kids together that I just love. Well, today I was successful! I caught Brick just after his nap, so he was still a little too drowsy to protest and was willing to cooperate in exchange for some candy conversation hearts.

Now the only question is B&W or color?

Hardly a baby anymore

2 years in the making

As promised, I have plenty of pictures to share from Brick's birthday celebration. Be ready for picture overload.

We kicked off the fun with a morning with Elmo and Friends courtesy of Sesame Street Live. Brick really enjoyed the show. He managed to down almost an entire large popcorn, learn the phrase "Get outta here!" (thanks to Oscar the Grouch) and didn't ask for a single souvenir, not even one of the hundreds of Elmo balloons they brought out ever so cleverly during the intermission.



Like most boys his age, Brick is completely enthralled by trains. The following day, we had plans to take a trip on the Hill Country Flyer. But we didn't start our day without enjoying some doughnuts first.









Gramps and Nonna brought Brick a bike for his birthday. As soon as he saw it, he jumped up and down and yelled, "Brick's bike! Brick's bike!" He doesn't totally know how to ride it just yet, but that didn't stop him from enjoying it. Doesn't that face just scream "I'm 2!"





All weekend, Brick could not wait to have some birthday cake. If you asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he would simply reply "Cake." I was totally impressed that he knew what to do with the candles. He hardly let Bryan set the cake down before he started blowing out the candles.





The celebration even continued through the week when a box of presents arrived from "Sock" (Bryan's mom). Along with Candyland, Brick got a fun water sprinkler. And even though it was maybe 60-degrees out, he persisted, "Outside. Water, please." Gonna have to wait just a few more weeks for that one, kiddo.

I tried

In yet another attempt to get a nice photo of Brick and Calla together, I drew inspiration from other photographers and attempted to get an overhead shot of the kids. If you can believe it, this is the best shot of the bunch.

Sleepy Calla

There's no doubt about it. Our girl loves to sleep. I'm not complaining, especially since it gives me an excellence opportunity to practice my photography.

2 by 2

Both Brick and Calla had appointments with the doctor this morning. Brick had his 2-year-old checkup, while Calla had a 2-month-old visit. Both children are doing wonderfully. The doctor was quite impressed by Brick's vocabulary and his willingness to cooperate. He barely even flinched when the nurse gave him his shots. Calla on the other hand, screamed like I've never heard her scream before. She's recuperating just fine now.

Here are some stats on the kids:

Brick
Height: 35.25 inches (70th percentile)
Weight: 31.3 pounds (84th percentile)
Head Circumference: 49.9 cm (79th percentile)

Calla
Height: 23.0 inches (55th percentile)
Weight: 11.6 pounds (52th percentile)
Head Circumference: 38.4 cm (23th percentile)

We used to always joke about Brick's big head. At all of his previous visits, his height and weight would be about average, while his head circumference was typically in the 80th or 90th percentile. It looks like the rest of his body has finally caught up with his head.

I promised to have some pictures from Brick's birthday soon. Just have to find some free time to edit them!

Fun at the park

Gramps and Nonna are in town this week to celebrate Brick's birthday. Today, we visited the park. Brick figured out pretty quickly that Gramps is really just a big kid and insisted that he play on the playground with him.



Then Gramps showed Brick how to spin on the swings. Gramps would wind up the swing and let it go, while Brick threw his head back and enjoyed the ride.







Finally, Brick got a shoulder ride around the park. I think it's obvious from the look on his face that this may have been his favorite activity yet. All in all, it was quite an enjoyable outing for Brick.

Isn't She Lovely?

Don't be fooled

I know Brick may look all sweet and googley-eyed for his sister, but truth be told, he's had a spout of jealousy lately. He's only very sweet to her like his when he wants to be. The rest of the day, I'm usually fighting off his attempts to swat at her or, better yet, sit on her.

Skater Girl

This cap was a gift from our good friend Tanya. It came with the most adorable pair of matching Vans. Calla's almost outgrown the cap, so I'm glad a snagged a shot of her in it in time.

Dinnertime ritual

Brick's attention span is definitely improving. He'll sit at the kitchen table (in a big boy chair, nonetheless) and color long enough for me to prepare dinner without interruption. Okay, with minimal interruption.



And this was Calla at dinnertime. We spent the morning at our friend Lyndsay's house. Calla was volunteered to be Lyndsay's test model (check out Lyndsay's blog for some BEAUTIFUL photos of Calla). I guess all that "work" wore Calla out because she slept solid through the whole afternoon. She certainly wasn't bothered by my little photo shoot.

Eye Contact

Here's looking at you, kid

I got some great shots of Calla today. Unlike her big brother, she's more than happy to provide me with some good eye contact and is a totally cooperative subject.





I promise that eventually I'll get over the uncanny resemblance between our kids. But until then, I couldn't resist doing a side-by-side comparison. The photo on the left is Brick at about 6 weeks old. On the right is Calla at 7 weeks old. If you can look past the crummy photography and the bad lighting in the photo of Brick, you would almost think you were looking at the same kid.

Pee-eww

We had a funny little moment with Brick this evening. He's definitely reached the age where you have to watch what you say because he repeats EVERYTHING. Well, Bryan and I were having a conversation during which Bryan said, "That sucks." Suddenly we heard Brick blabbering "That sucks. That sucks. That sucks." He must have said it about 20 times. After I managed to compose myself, I corrected him and asked him to say, "That stinks." instead. To which he repeated, "That stinks. Pee-eww."