Little Bro

I have fallen into the poor second child syndrome.. where the second one just doesn't get documented.  Brody..I'm sorry!  It doesn't mean I love you any less than your big brother..it's just that time escapes us a tad quicker than it used to..if that is possible!

Brody.. 8 + months old and you have been pulling yourself up onto the furniture and anything else for that matter.  You are one happy baby.  You love your puffs, oatmeal with fruit in it and most vegetables too.  At 8 months you were weened from nursing.  It wasn't you.  It was me.  I wanted the summer free of nursing and that damn pump I took with me to work everyday.  You made the transition seamlessly and for that I am grateful.  Don't ask your brother how long I nursed him, it was only because of his ear infections. 

You're first sound "eh!".  It's cute to say that to you and you respond with it.  I wouldn't say it's your first word..just your first exclamation maybe?  You are a rambler these days and Mommy and Daddy are both pushing for "mama or dada" to be your first "word".  You have the cutest little voice and we love to hear you ramble on! 

You have those blue eyes that we never thought either of our children would have.  You can thank your Papa for those!  We get compliments all the time on how cute your big brother and you are and how beautiful your eyes are! 

For the most part you are a good sleeper - you nap twice a day most days and you are one tired boy come 7pm.  If you could skip that one bottle in the middle of the night, we would greatly appreciate it!  But..you are cute, so waking up to you isn't too bad.  But the 5 am wakeups?  You'd probably be a lot cuter at about 6 or 7am if we have to push it.  It's not every morning that you are up that early, thankfully. 

You love your bouncer and you kind of like your exersaucer still, if you have plenty of toys to play with.  Forget the baby toys though, you are a fan of your brothers toys!  Boulder, Optomis Prime and the rest of the Rescue Bott toys that Jake loves, you love as well.  He is a great big brother and loves to get on the floor and play with  you.  You both still light up when you see each other.  Sitting outside in your walker is one of your favorite activities!  You love to watch your brother run the yard and to watch him in his pool or playing.  We have gone to the spray park a few times this summer and a couple of beach visits..you love the water!  The sand too!

Just a few days shy of your ninth month you are standing solo without holding on to anything.  From very early on, it was apparent that you had very strong legs!  The pedi noted at one of your very first appointments that you had the legs of an athlete!  Let's see how right she is! 

You've brought more joy to our home than we could ever imagine!!

Five

Dear Jake,

You're FIVE!  You've been looking forward to this birthday for some time now! Being your Mommy, I want to keep you this age forever. You haven't been to real school yet, you still believe in the world and see things through a lense that I wish I still had!  When you ask every morning " can we cuddle for a little bit" it melts my heart. I told Daddy thought my pregnancy with you that I wanted a cuddle bug and boy did I get one!  You love to hug and kiss and I see that you truly care about those around you. Asking the neighbor last week " how was your party yesterday" or Daddy daily " how was your day today, Daddy". Or telling everyone that walked into your fifth birthday party " thanks for coming to my party".... You've got a big heart. When you're away from your little brother you can't wait to get home and get back to him. He lights up when he sees you, the love is apparent already. Driving in the car, Brody loves facing you and watching whatever his big bro is doing. 

You're smart, super funny and you certainly have a mind of your own!  While I will admit I have a hard time with the fact that you'll be getting on that school bus in two months, i know you are ready. You seek to learn new things and you impress us daily. You're adding, problem solving, you're counting by tens and you can tell a fantastic story but looking at pages of a book!  I'm eager to see you take on kindergarten!  

Your favorite color is still yellow and you plan to marry Sidney one day but live with us still. You want to be an animal rescuer some days, an astronaut there's.  You love Mike the Knight, Octonauts, Dora at times and anything Angry Bird. 

Last week I asked you where the time has gone.. Where did five years go? You responded "aaaallll the way to kindergarten!"  You're right buddy!