Bucket O' Treasures

Mom, this post is for you!

While my mom was here taking care of Grant when I was in the hospital, her and Grant spent lots of time walking the culdesac looking for "treasures." The idea of a "treasure" to Grant is a little different than what I would consider a treasure, but to each his own!! He would carry his little bucket and walk down the sidewalk looking for anything that caught his eye!! One of the funniest things he found was a piece of carpet padding from the neighbors old carpet that was being thrown out. He actually slept with this little piece of foam for a few nights!! Oh, its the little things in life that bring such joy!!

Here are the contents of Grant's "treasure" bucket: a penny, 2 pieces of carpet foam, a water bottle cap, a small aquarium plant, a piece of our recycling bucket, a black tube, orange tape, eyeglass ear thingy, a handful of rocks and nuts, a piece of weed-eater thread, a black cap to something, something to a sprinkler head, a piece of a pop-up book, a twist tie, and a few shreds of paper

Checking out all his treasures...he seems so proud of his collection!!

Mimi, Grant can't wait to come to your house and find some Kansas treasures!!

More Comparing...

I couldn't help myself!! I saw this photo opp and I had to do it!! I had this picture of Levi snuggling Grant when he was 6 weeks old. I saw Levi holding Wyatt the other night and it reminded me of this picture, so I had to snap it!! I just love how sweet they are!!

These are two more pictures I found that show brotherly-resemblance!! Grant was definitely much more expressive than Wyatt at this age. Grant started socially smiling at 3.5 weeks and Wyatt has yet to crack a smile, but I think he's on the verge! But one thing they have in common is a love for the Baby Einstein Playgym!! Holy cow- if this wasn't worth the money, I don't know what is!! Wyatt will lay there and watch the musical light-up star for 20-30 minutes!! He's starting to notice all the hanging toys too!

He might not be cracking a smile in this pic, but I definitely can read this expression:

"Whatcha lookin at Mama?"

Some Updates

• Wyatt is now 5 weeks and 2 days old. He weighs 8 lbs. and 12 oz. and is 20 inches long!! He is filling out and is starting to look a little on the chubby side, although he still can only wear a handful of his clothes! He is a pretty good sleeper, still sleeping most of the day. However, he is becoming kind of a dependent night sleeper- preferring to be held while I stand- not so fun!! Hopefully that will pass soon!! He is very alert and loves sitting up on my lap looking around at everything!!

• Grant is still in love with his baby brother, Ky. He is always giving him kisses, hugs, holding his hand, and playing with his little toes. Recently he has tried picking Wyatt up when he's laying on the floor, or trying to soothe him when he's crying by giving him a NUK or lovey!! He loves helping hold Wyatt's bottles when I feed him! Grant has had some ornery moments the past few days, and I'm trying to have an understanding heart, but sometimes my lack of patience gets the better of me! But at the end of the day, when I get a goodnight hug, kiss, and "Wuv you" it all feels ok!
  
  

• Levi is set to leave for deployment around May 21st. As of right now, they are scheduled to be home right before Christmas, which I hope actually happens!! It still doesn't seem real that he will be leaving for that long very soon!! I'm looking forward to spending most of that time in KS surrounded by friends and family, although it just won't be the same without my other-half!

A Glimpse

If this little angel isn't a glimpse into Heaven, I don't know what is!!!

Comparing

It's inevitable that comparisons will be made between Grant and Wyatt not just because they're brothers, but because they also have the same birthday! As I was looking through some old pictures, I found a few of Grant when he was a baby and it made me think of a few of Wyatt that look very similar! They are definitely their own little person, but the resemblance is definitely there!!

Grant- April 9, 2008

Wyatt- March 22, 2010

Grant- March 21, 2008

Wyatt- March 17, 2010

Grant- April 19, 2008

Wyatt- March 27, 2010

America's Next Baby Model

Wyatt was asked to be in a photo shoot for one of my friends here in Jacksonville who owns a baby boutique. The in-store photographer was amazing and had such unique props! She has asked Wyatt to be in another photo shoot for some in-store promotions, catalogs, etc! The best part was that we got some free prints!!!

If you're interested, here is the photographer's blog where she has alot of Wyatt's pictures posted!!

http://juliecate.com/blog/

Just scroll down and you'll see my handsome boy!!!

(ps. the pictures with the scale do not show his actual weight- he's not a 9 pound baby...yet!)

Growing Like a Weed

Wyatt had another drs. appt. on Friday for some severe diaper rash. He had been to the doctor 10 days earlier and in that amount of time he gained a whole pound, and half an inch!! So, as of April 9th, he was 7 lbs, 9 ozs and 20 in. long! It's hard to believe he's almost a month old already!! I guess his brother beats him out still by growing 3 pounds in the first month, but this little guy is growing like a weed before my very eyes!

Trip to the Beach

Well, it must be spring because we took our first trip to the beach on April 1st! It was a gorgeous day and Grant was definitely ready to sink his feet into some sand! Wyatt even enjoyed the beach too- well, maybe he didn't even know he was there, but he did seem peaceful!! Grant had a great time building sandcastles with Daddy, getting buckets full of water, and driving his dump truck through the sand! I'm not sure how many beach trips we'll be able to make this season, so I'm glad we went when we did!!

Wyatt hanging out on the beach! Grant helping Daddy build a castle! Loading up the dump truck!
More castles!

Checking out the water!

My Buddy

Grant likes Wyatt to lay by him when we read Grant his bedtime story- but he makes sure to tell us to take Wyatt with him when we leave the room!

Grant and Wyatt sure are good buddies already! I can't wait to see their relationship develop over the years! So far, Grant is very loving towards him and likes to give him hugs and kisses ALL THE TIME! There have been a few times when Grant asks to hold Wyatt and then 2 seconds later just as we sit Wyatt on his lap, he shouts, "No, no, no!" But that is to be expected!! Grant loves when Wyatt plays "I'm gonna get you" with him! I stand Wyatt up and pretend he's walking towards Grant saying, "Wyatt's gonna get you!" He laughs so hard, he gets tears in his eyes!

These two boys are going to bring so much joy and laughter into the house!!

"Wyatt's gonna get you!!!"
Nice brother!!

I'm a Big Kid Now!!

My baby is no longer a baby anymore!! Grant turned two a few weeks ago! We had his two-year old check-up this morning!! He hadn't been to the doctor since late October, so I was really anxious to see how big he really is!! Since we brought Wyatt home, I can't help but notice how BIG Grant seems, but I wasn't sure if it was just because Wyatt is so small, or if he really was just becoming a big kid!!

Here are his two-year old stats:

-Height: 35 inches (70th percentile)

-Weight: 28 lbs (45th percentile)

-Head Circumference: 49cm (75th percentile)

Some of Grant's favorites at the moment:

-Show: Max & Ruby, Little Einsteins

-Snack: Fruit Snacks, Cheez-its

-Food: French Fries (hardly a meal, I know!), Moe's Cheese Quesadilla

-Toy: shovels and buckets outside, cars, robots

-Game: playing Garage with his step-stool and cars, I Spy

-Book: Goodnight Sleepyhead, Cars Look & Find

He can count to ten, recognize most colors, say his ABC's up to letter H, take his clothes off (including diaper!!), sing along with a few songs, pee-pee in the potty a few times a day, and shower his baby brother with LOTS of hugs and kisses!! He is a funny guy with quite the imagination and he makes me smile continuously!!

I LOVE YOU BUDDY!!

Getting Bigger...sort of

Wyatt turned 2 weeks old today!! It's hard to believe its already been 2 weeks, not to mention the fact that my actual due date is still 11 days away!! But he's doing great and is making some growth, so we were happy to see that, even if it was only a tiny bit!! He was a good boy at the doctor! He was wide awake the entire time! He peed on the bed twice, and pooped on the bed twice!! I guess he wanted to show the doctor who was boss!!

Here are his two week stats (percentiles are according to babies born in the 36th week):

- Weight: 6 lbs, 11 ounces- 19th percentile (up 1 oz from his birth weight)

- Length: 19.75 inches- 46th percentile (up .25 in from his birth length)

- Head Circumference: 13 in- 30th percentile

So he's barely grown, but some growth is better than no growth! His jaundice levels also went down one point, so that was a plus!! And to top it off, he lost his belly button stump, so Grant won't be grossed out anymore!!

Brotherly Love!

Grant definitely loves his brother "Ky." He asks all the time where he is. When he wakes up from his nap and in the morning, he used to always ask about Daddy. Now its all Wyatt- he jumps out of bed and walks around the house until he finds him, then he showers him with hugs and kisses. He fake cries everytime Wyatt cries- I guess its his way of being sympathetic? He cracks up everytime Wyatt squeaks or makes cute baby noises! He is always hugging him, and kissing him, and showing him all his toys! It's so sweet! I think he'd carry him all over the house if we let him. I hope they continue to love each other as they get older!!

Oh yeah, and does anyone else think Grant looks like a GIANT next to Wyatt?? I still can't get over how big he is getting!!

Here's Wyatt!!!

Wyatt Daniel Broeckelman made his debut on Monday, March 15, 2010! He was born at 36 weeks and 4 days. He weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. and was 19.5 in long!

I went to my weekly doctors appointment that morning and my blood pressures were so outrageous, my doctor made the call- today was the day!! I tried to talk him into waiting until the next day because Monday was Grant's 2nd birthday and I wasn't quite sure I wanted them sharing a birthday. But my doctor said we shouldn't wait any longer. Things went so quickly from there. I went up to the Labor and Delivery floor at 11am and Wyatt was born by c-section at 3:59pm. He started crying right away and he had the sweetest little cry!!! I was happy to know he had no problems breathing. They took him to the newborn clinic to check him out and everything looked great!! The Naval Hospital does not have a nursery, so its 24/7 rooming in!! Later in the evening, he had a little trouble keeping his temperature up, so they had to take him back to the newborn clinic and run some labs. Poor little guy had to get an IV to put in some antibiotics. By 10pm, he was back in our room!! The only other complication he had was a little bit of jaundice. After about 12 hours under the bililights, he was given a clean bill of health! As for me, my blood pressures had not returned to normal, but they still let us leave the hospital Thursday evening, thank goodness!!! It's so nice to be home!!

Grant has loved being a big brother!! He has definitely been a little on the mischievous side since Mommy left for the hospital. But he definitely seems excited to have baby Wyatt at home! He loves giving him kisses, hugs, and showing him his toys. He won't call him Wyatt, he calls him "Ky" for some reason. When he wakes up in the morning, he comes out of his room and starts looking for "Ky." It's pretty sweet!! Having Wyatt at home has made Grant seem like a giant though!! I can't wait for a few more days to go by so I can pick him up and give him a big hug!!

I'm so excited to start this fun journey as a family of four!!

Chillin in his Boppy All my boys!

Mama and her little boys!

Checking things out!

Wearing his robot jammies that his big brother gave him!!

Brothers!!!

Hey Bright Eyes!!!

Showing his "O" face!!

Stay tuned for many (many many many) more pictures to come!!

Mr. Mom

Getting some potatoes ready for dinner!

Bed rest is definitely not as glamorous as it sounds. Sure, the thought of people waiting on you hand and foot- cooking, cleaning, shopping- it sounds nice!! But in reality, to a neat (ok, control) freak like me, its rough!! Last week, I was ordered to be on bed rest from here on out! My first thought was- HA!! Yeah, right- like that's possible with a 2 year old! My second thought was- Levi won't believe me. And my third thought was- hmmm, this could be enjoyable!! I was able to handle it the first few days. Then came the weekend and my house was a DISASTER!! Luckily, Levi appreciates a clean house as much as I do, so he vacuumed, dusted, mopped, cleaned the bathrooms, did the laundry, and fixed dinner! Oh yeah, and did I mention he tried his hand at potty-training (lets just say that experience involved an immediate load of laundry- including Grant's bed sheets!). But I loved his enthusiasm!!! He embraced his inner-Mr. Mom!!! Luckily this week, he was already planning to take leave, but I'm sure he's thought to himself at some point (or two) that he might rather be at work instead!! It's been hard for me to let go control- I want to pick up, organize, and clean the way I like them to be!! But I must say I've learned to let go...at least somewhat!! Thanks Levi for all your hard work- we love you!!!

Lots of quality time with Daddy has to involve fixing something with tools- yesterday it was mowers!! Wonder what tomorrow will bring??

For the Love of Robots

Grant is totally obsessed with Robots! It all started one day when I was getting ready to take a shower. I usually turn on the TV in my bedroom and he brings in a few toys to play with. Well, one day he didn't want to watch just any show on TV, he wanted to watch the Little Einsteins (surprise, surprise). Well, it wasn't time for Einsteins, it was time for Handy Manny. So I pulled up playhousedisney.com on the laptop in my room hoping to find an Einstein's episode. Sure enough- one episode: The Music Robot. I thought- ok, that'll be long enough to get a good shower in! I turned it on, and took a shower. He kept running into the bathroom saying, "Bot, bot, bot!" When I got out of the shower, in his own little way, he tried to tell me what the show was about! The rest of the day all he wanted to do was sit at my desk and watch that episode, over and over and over again!!!!! Sadly, it was down from the website the next day and onto a new episode. That was about 2 months ago! Well, finally this weekend on the Disney Channel, the Music Robot episode came on and I made sure to get it on the DVR! So we've probably watched it at least 10 times since then!! His favorite thing to do while watching the episode is to mimic exactly what the robot is doing! It totally cracks me up!! All day long, he'll do some weird dance and as he's doing it, he says, "Bot, bot, bot." He also likes to pretend to fly like the robot!!

Here's a little video of Grant dancing like the robot and "helping" the Einstein's find the Music Robot's missing battery.

Last week, at a trip to the teacher store, we were getting ready to check out and I noticed a little wooden robot toy on the counter. You would not believe the excitement when I showed him the robot!!! Of course, we had to get it!! Mr. Robot has been Grant's little tag-a-long friend ever since!!!

It's funny the things little kids become interested in all on their own! I'm not sure how long this robot phase will last, but it will definitely make for some great stories in his baby book!!

It's a Bird...It's a Plane

...its Super Grant!!!

Mimi sent Grant a super-fun Valentine's Day package last week, and inside was a new pillowcase she made just for Grant!! I put it in the laundry so it would smell fresh to put on his pillow. As I was pulling the laundry out of the dryer, Grant wanted to "help." As soon as he saw his pillowcase, he pulled it out of the pile and wrapped it around his neck saying, "cold," like it was supposed to be a scarf. Then he figured, hey- a cape is much better than a scarf!! After a few minutes of re-tying the cape around his neck, Daddy found a binder clip to keep his cape tied. He wore that thing ALL morning long!! We had to take it off for lunch/nap time, although he was not too happy about that! As soon as he woke up from his nap, the cape went back on! He would run back and forth between the living room and family room saying, "ZOOOOOOOM!!"

I think he's been watching a little too much Wonder Pets and Team Umizoomi!!!

Here is a little video of Grant "zooming" around the house!!

My Funny Valentine

I was trying to do a little photo-shoot of Grant in his adorable Valentine's Day shirt from his Aunt Summer!! Let's just say it turned out less than spectacular! Grant didn't want anything to do with the camera, but I did manage to get a few cute pictures regardless! He definitely is my funny valentine!!

I love you THIS much!!