Spring is almost here

Busy, busy week. BHP had lots of activities and enjoyed the wonderful 60 degree weather in February. He has been testing boundaries and momma and papa (and Grandma Val) are trying hard to maintain consistency. We have morning and evening briefings on what he did and how we handled it so that the other can do the same. This morning he was running laps around the house at 6:15 - we commented that we were just glad he was happy and not crabby! Food wise he is doing well - not a big meat eater - so Brenner is getting his protein from scrambled eggs, yogurt, tofu, and peanut butter. He is always wanting "cracker" which means anything carb based. So now we call oat bran flake cereal "cracker" and he doesn't seem to mind. Ah we think we are so tricky.
Brenner at the public library. Doesn't he look like he is raising his hand to answer a question? How intelligent! Ha - we know Grandma just got him while flapping his arms.

BHP loves sharing apples with.....well anyone who is eating. Cute little guilty look, isn't it.

Perhaps Brenner wants to be an exterminator when he grows up. He spent the afternoon digging in mole hills in our yard. Of course, Emi is a pro and helped out when she could.

Run, Brenner, run! He loves the outdoors so much. The spring peepers are going like crazy and the birds are starting to sing. Brenner also likes watching the bird feeders for the little winged ones.

Brenner is getting much better with feeding himself. Sometimes he gets really ticked off if something drops off his spoon to his tray - we may have a little neat freak on our hands....yet he didn't mind the dirt from the mole hill!

Such a fun age

Brenner is so much fun these days - it seems like every hour he does something to make you laugh. But......he is also having these screaming tantrum when he doesn't get his way - can the terrible twos hit at 15 months? He will actually lay down on the floor then kick and scream - this is not so much fun and causes some headaches (and loss of hearing) for momma and papa. It seems the worst when he wakes up from a nap - Mr. Grouchy Pants!
The other night at dinner he fell asleep in his booster chair - it was so funny. He was weaving to and fro but never put his head down.

Aunt Theresa and Uncle Chuck sent BHP a Valentine's Day card. In it, Aunt Theresa wrote that she thought the bright colors would attract Brenner so that he could destroy it. As instructed, that is what he did - tore poor superman into little pieces - but he did throw the pieces into the trash when he was done! Guess that means it is time for a recycling lesson :)

Momma has given BHP Ted E. Bear, from when she was about 5 years old and cried on Aunt Lynnie's birthday until she got a gift too. Brenner was funny carrying Ted around and hugging Emi - talk about a bear hug!

The purple people eater!!!! Really it is just his blueberry ("bee") tongue.

On Valentine's Day - we went to visit our friends Kim, Tim, and Baby Grant. Brenner can't wait until Grant is old enough to rough house. Brenner was not too happy when either momma or papa held Grant...wonder what this means for a future sibling? Anyway, we went to the Runge Nature Center which Brenner loved. There was a viewing area where you could see big turkeys feeding and lots of birds. Brenner was so interested in them he wouldn't even look at the camera.

Brenner at the nature center looking at the fish which he thought were quite neat. He was also impressed with a stuffed mountain lion.

Mr. Ornery

We made it to our 15 month checkup today - and Brenner could be known as the 10th percentile kid EXCEPT that he is now 25th percentile on height and head circumference! He weighed 21 lbs 0 oz and was 30 1/4 inches tall - that is almost 2 inches taller than his first birthday! Momma was once again reminded how little BHP looks like her - the first thing Dr. S said was "wow, Brenner, you look more and more like your daddy every time I see you". He hammed it up for her and of course we were proud :) Brenner is definitely living up to his namesake - stubborn, impatient, loving, and full of laughter - even at some one elses expense - here comes my next story. Grandma Val is the most wonderful babysitter in the world - we are very lucky - but that isn't to say we don't have out disagreements about things when it comes to Brenner. Momma is a control nut (also very much like Brenner's namesake) so this can cause some tension - but we love each other and we both know it! So the story, Grandma Val has taught Brenner that he has to give her a kiss if he wants something. The other day we were sitting around the table and Grandma was using this tactic while giving BHP apple slices. Well on his request for his third apple slice, he leaned in a bit Grandma on the lip - hard....momma tried to hide her laughing but it was hard. No blood, apologetic hugs were exchanged and the apple was finished.
Check out his form! Not too bad, right?!

Ah - BHP getting in trouble for messing with the humidifier. Oh what a fun game it is.

We have finally learned to crawl up on furniture by ourselves!

Here is some new wall art in BHP's room - isn't it neat? It is vinyl that comes off without damaging the wall. This one says "Explore, Dream, Discover". The gal can be found at PopVinylStudio on Etsy. She will custom make orders - even with your kiddos name. Super neat and inexpensive! Thanks, Michelle for the gift certificate!

Goof ball

We have been a bit stir crazy with the cold winter weather and momma and papa's busy schedules. Matt started night classes for his teaching certification - it is going well so far! Go Matt! Momma had a conference last week and was not home at her normal time -so BHP wanted extra time with them - past his bedtime. Hopefully this week will be better. He is chatting constantly - he is really into what animals say. Aunt Theresa- he loves the "I'm such a silly baby" book -especially since it has his favorite thing - balls. It is torture if we are getting in the car and he sees the basketball in the garage because then all we hear for miles and miles is "ball, ball, ball, ball"!
Wild man on the loose! Granted this isn't his cutest picture but it cracked me up. He was running laps in the house the other night. He takes after Paw Paw Roger - notice the tongue handing out!

Pucker up, Papa! Brenner loves giving and blowing kisses. They are usually accompanied by a "mmhh".

Ah, yes, the infamous basketball. Our driveway slopes a bit and while he was picking it up he rolled over and landed on his head where he remained stuck for a few seconds. Of course I didn't have the camera then!

Grandma Val takes Brenner to activities at the public library - which is so great because it gets him out with other kids. Looks like we may have a performer on our hands!

Play date with Jack who is a couple days younger than BHP. I have NEVER seen Brenner just go up to someone and snuggle up - but he did with Kim. It was too cute. I think he did it just to be ornery as it made Jack a little upset!