Just Call Me Linus

 I gave Grant my old teddy bear last year because I thought he was ready to take care of him, I mean play with him. He's always liked having Cuddles in his bed, but lately he's become very attached to him. He even took him to Sea World with us, and I don't mean just to the hotel, but he ride in the stroller with Grant AT Sea World! Well, the last few days, he's been at arms reach from Grant pretty much all day. He'll wake up in the morning and bring Cuddles and Blue Blanket out to the couch and cover Cuddles up. Then, when Grant is done eating breakfast, he'll tell me he wants to snuggle with Cuddles, which means he wants me to cover them up on the couch. And he'll lay like that and watch a show for a little bit. Then when he's off playing, he'll drag Cuddles over to where he's playing and show him what toys he's using. 

The other night after dinner, Grant put Cuddles in his booster chair at the kitchen table and asked me if I could make Cuddles some dinner. I told him that he could make him some dinner with his play food, so he whipped up a meal for Cuddles- a lemon, an egg, and a waffle- and brought it to Cuddles. Then Grant sat down in Daddy's chair and they shared a nice meal together! It was so cute!

I never really pegged Grant for getting attached to a stuffed animal or anything. He's got a bunch of lovies, a bunch of stuffed animals and always has. But lately, he's all about Cuddles and Blue Blanket. Guess I'll just have to start calling him Linus.

Apples and Oranges

Other than sharing a birthday and a last name, Wyatt and Grant are pretty much total opposites. I don't know why it surprises me so much because my sister and I are total opposites. But it's neat to see these little people have such strong personalities at such a young age!! I just love watching each of them develop into their own person!!

Grant was always a very easy baby. He was so calm, ALWAYS happy, hardly ever cried. He only slept in his bed, but was super easy to put to sleep. He was very independent, always kept himself busy. He liked all baby foods but HATED the transition to table food- still does! He was a mommy's boy, but never had separation anxiety and could always play in a room without me! He'd wake up all smiles, ready to play, even at 3am! He could fall off the couch and not ever cry! He was so tough! He loved his pacifier. He grew really fast, wearing 12 month clothes by age 7 months! He was a pretty chubby thing! 

Grant at 4 weeks

Grant at 9 months

As a 2.5 year old, he is VERY independent, always smiley, and keeps himself busy all the time. He could live off air if we let him- meal time is definitely our worse time! He still feels no pain and only cries because he's a 2.5 year old!! Although he has quite the opinion and definitely thinks everyone should work around his own agenda, he's still a pretty easy kid. We have our battles, without a doubt, but I think as far as two year olds go, we're pretty lucky! 

Grant at 2.5

Wyatt has been a very particular baby from day one. He preferred a particular bottle, liked to be swaddled, had to sleep on a certain side, needed special formula, liked to be held a certain way, fed a certain way, cried at the drop of a hat. He loved ALL baby food. He was usually happy, although when he wasn't, you'd definitely know!! He hated pacifiers. He was so tiny, not growing into his 0-3 month clothes til he hit 3 months old.

Wyatt at 2 weeks

 As a 9 month old, he still battles with the bottle, has to be put to sleep a certain way, still cries at the drop of a hat. He cries at the tiniest bump, prefers to be in my arms 24/7 then sit on the floor and play. He has LOVED the transition to table food and eats at least twice as much as his brother!!  He still wakes up crying 95% of the time, even from naps. He still is usually happy, but he likes to make it known when he's not!! He's still tiny, only wearing 6-9 month clothes. 

Wyatt at 9 months

But, Grant and Wyatt both have smiles that melt my heart, giggles that could make the grumpiest person laugh, and sweet souls that make me proud to be their mom! I love everything about both their personalities and I treasure seeing what new and unique personality traits they show me each day!! 

I guess its a good thing I like both apples AND oranges!!

Wyatt at 9 Months

Wyatt's 9 month (and 13 days) stats:

- Weight: 18 lbs. 1 oz (10-15th percentile)

- Length: 27.5 in (10-15th percentile)

- Head: 17 in (25-50th percentile)

He is a cruising machine!! He pulls on everything and walks along all the furniture, cabinets, beds, etc! He tries to stand on his own and one time stood by himself for about 5 seconds. But he can usually be found speed crawling around the house! He is so fast!! He loves everything to do with his big brother, but unfortunately Big Brother doesn't share the same feelings. Luckily, Wyatt is resilient!
He is an eating machine!! He hasn't had baby food in about 2 months, and he eats at least twice as much as Grant at every meal. I haven't found a food Wyatt won't eat, which is awesome since Grant still lives off air. His pediatrician even said we can make the switch to whole milk since he's getting all his main nutrition through food now, so that's exciting!! He still has a love/hate relationship with the bottle, so hopefully he can learn to use a cup soon so we can just get rid of the bottle altogether.
We are still waiting for the time that Wyatt sleeps through the night. He's had a few nights here and there, but nothing consistent. So the cry-it-out battle (round 3) begins tonight!!
Wyatt is truly a joy and a total mommy's boy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the fact that he wants me to hold him all day long, or that he follows me everywhere around the house, or hangs on my legs as I'm doing anything, or he cries when I leave the room or walk past him without acknowledging him, or leans his head into mine everytime I'm laying on floor playing with him!! His smile brings one to my face a million times a day and I could not be more thankful for God giving me such a special little boy!
Mommy loves you Little One!!

Merry Christmas!

So this post is a little out of order and a little late, but better late than never!!  These pictures capture a glimpse of our first Christmas as just a family of four. We stayed in Florida this year, which was the first time ever not being in Kansas with all of our family. It was sad not being there, but it was really nice being at our own house and not have to worry about traveling!  Somehow, these pictures got put in the wrong order (and I'm not patient enough to drag them all over), so we'll go backwards, starting with Christmas night!

 After weeks of trying, I finally got a decent picture of both boys in front of the tree! Not Christmas card perfect by any means, but that's how my boys roll!

 Grant wore underwear most of Christmas day with hardly any accidents! He got these cool Diego underwears in his stocking and he was so excited to put them on! Note: he's not potty trained, so don't get too excited!

 Wyatt slept through most of Christmas morning since he woke up way before Grant and was already down for a nap when Grant woke up, but it was kind of nice since Grant got a chance to open all his presents without his little bother, I mean brother, pestering him. Wyatt just kind of sat back and enjoyed watching us open his presents when he finally did wake up. He was definitely more interested in eating the paper than what was inside!

 He also REALLY liked checking out Grant's presents. Here he sits amongst the huge pile, hoping his big brother wouldn't notice him!

 They played pretty well together...for a second anyway!

 I love the concentration on Grant's face as he opens this present! He worked very hard on each present!

 Santa brought him this cool Emergency Rescue Vehicle set he'd been asking for!! He couldn't wait for me to pull out all the pieces. He plays with this CONSTANTLY!

 Santa also brought this really cool parking garage, which was also a huge hit. Grant never asked for this, but somehow Santa knew he would like it!

 Our house, Christmas Eve night after Santa came!

 Each of the boys got to open 2 presents Christmas Eve. Here is Wyatt opening one of his!

 Here is his other present. As you can see, he's clearly more interested in the paper! But the Little People airplane has become a big hit with Grant and Wyatt!

 Here is Grant opening his presents Christmas Eve. Mommy and Daddy also bought Grant a rescue vehicle set. We didn't know about the really cool one Santa picked out until after we already bought this one! But they go great together!!

Here is Grant's other Christmas Eve present- a policeman set with an actual police badge! He was excited because one of the figures is a robber!

Overall, it was a different kind of Christmas, but an enjoyable one. We didn't have a place to go or a thing to do, but we had a great time!! We cooked lots of yummy food, baked lots of yummy treats, and played lots and lots of toys!! What more could a kid (and parents!) ask for?!?

Everything I Need to Know I Learned on our Sea World Trip

1. This Broeckelman family is not quite ready for overnight stays at a hotel.

2. A portable fan is a NECESSITY when staying at a hotel. A hair dryer on the cold setting will do in a pinch.

3. Always bring children suppositories...and adult Extra Strength Tylenol.

4. The Polar Express movie can be easily summarized in 15 minutes and it WILL scare Grant to death.

5. My boys will eventually take a nap in the stroller, but for no longer than 20 minutes.

6. Room service is definitely the way to go!!

7. It is perfectly acceptable to go to bed at 8:30pm the night before you go to Sea World.

8. Buy the largest plastic cup, while more expensive upfront, you can get unlimited cheap refills!

9. Bring a portable DVD player and a Redbox movie to the hotel, because there will be nothing else to do after the kids go to sleep, if you don't fall asleep before they do. And hotel moves cost $13.99.

10. There is nothing wrong with putting the baby to sleep in the pack-n-play in the bathroom.

11. The double stroller is definitely the way to travel!

12. No matter how many times you look at the map of Sea World, you still can't figure out how to get anywhere.

13. See the Blue Horizons Dolphin Show twice! It is the BEST part of Sea World!

14. Grant LOVES Sea World and I LOVE to see Grant happy!

 The Blue Horizons Dolphin Show- the BEST thing at Sea World!!

 Grant absolutely LOVES the dolphin show!!

 Wyatt just likes to eat no matter what he's doing!

 BOTH boys actually took a nap in the stroller, at different times. I was a doubter that either of them would take a nap at all that day, but they both squeaked in a 20 minute nap a piece!

Grant made a "Fill Your Own Tube" of Sea Creatures for $9.99. Normally, you can buy a pre-filled tube of Sea Creatures for $6.99 and you get about 12 sea creatures. Well, with all our power, we crammed in 25 sea creatures into our tube!! Deal?? I think so!!

Seeing Santa

 In between stomach flu bouts, we took the boys to visit Santa. I expected fits from both, but surprisingly there were no tears. Grant walked right up to Santa and said, "I want emergency rescue vehicle set and Alien Army." Hopefully Santa knows what Alien Army is because I sure don't. Wyatt looked at Santa wondering what the heck was going on, and although he didn't smile, he didn't cry either! I'd say it was a successful trip!

Super Bunny

Grant's TV obsession for the past few months has been Max & Ruby. One of Max's favorite things to do is wear a cape and pretend to be his favorite superhero, Super Bunny!! Grant can often be seen wearing a cape pretending to be Super Bunny! He usually sports his cape while wearing many other accessories, such as: goggles, gloves, helmet, backpack, boots, or all of the above. He is quite the character!

Weekend Do-Over??

So after weeks of anticipation, the weekend my parents came to visit finally came...and so did the stomach flu!!!!!!! Oh, it was awful!! They arrived late Wednesday night. Grant got it Thursday afternoon, my mom got it Friday evening, my dad got it Saturday morning, and Levi got it Sunday morning.  (So far, I have survived....) So it wasn't quite the weekend we were all waiting for- but we still made the most of it!!! 

 Grant baked cookies with Mimi- one of his very favorite activities!! Mimi brought her cookie press and we had loads of sprinkles on hand!! 

 The boys each opened one present the first night. Grant was VERY excited to get a set of Magneatos!

 Wyatt was very excited to get a ball pounder- Grant was excited about this one too!

 We visited Santa!

 Wyatt and PawPaw crawled around the deck chasing lizards!

 Wyatt checked out the picnic table- he thought he was a big boy!! He looks like one too!

 It took Wyatt a few days to start feeling better from his stomach bug/double ear infection/massive cold, so by Saturday, he was finally having a good time playing around!! One of his favorite activities was crawling around the couch!

 On Friday, I took my mom to see The Nutcracker. It was something we used to do years back, so we were both excited to see that!! Of course, that had to be the time the stomach bug hit my mom, but she was a trooper and managed to enjoy most of the show!! 

 Saturday morning we opened all the presents and stockings!! Grant was very proud of himself for doing his pattern blocks all by himself!!

Wyatt loved ripping into the paper, although he was more interested in eating the paper then actually seeing what was inside!!

Sickness aside, we had a wonderful weekend!! Of course, it was too short and there was so many things I wish we would've done!! I wish there was a thing as a weekend do-over!

Who Knew...

...that peas, carrots, and noodles could make this big of a mess!!! I really need to get into the habit of using a bib on Wyatt...I never had to use one with Grant because he never ate anything messy!! 

Messy or not- the smile never fades!