Brendan hasn't figured out how to scoot himself just yet but he loves to sit on his little car and play with all the fun knobs and compartments. He'll entertain himself for quite a while, which gives me and Chris some much needed rest. Unfortunately, most of the time we use the extra minutes to pick up his other toys he's scattered around our house. He's quite the mischeivious little guy but oh so fun. Thanks Grandma Near! Brendan loves his birthday present so much!
I love this little tiger. He was mine when I was young and his name is Ra-Ra. I put him up on Brendan's shelf that holds all the fun little things I've collected for him that I don't want him to be able to ruin just yet. But Brendan loves him and is always staring at him way up on his shelf... so I usually break down and let him run around with Ra-Ra. All the while, I'm super nervous that the battery is going to die... again.
Here's the story. My dad bought me the tiger after I'm sure what was endless nagging while we were at WalMart or some other similar store. I loved that tiger (I confess, I still do), especially because when you squeeze him, he roars. How cool is that!?! Well, I squeezed him to my heart's content and one day he stopped roaring. There is no way to put in a fresh battery unless you want to snip open his adorable furry tummy and try to rig it somehow. I was heart broken.
Then one stormy Illinois night, my sister and I were sitting watching tv when there was a flash of lightening and a rumble of thunder. At the same time, we heard a strange roaring noise from the other room. It was Ra-Ra. He mysteriously started roaring again and ever since then I've been very stingy with him. I don't like him to be squeezed for fear of that battery finally giving up.
Well, Brendan has changed all that. He'll probably wear that tiger dead but maybe another storm will come along and magically bring him back to life.
PS- this is a TRUE story as far as I can remember. Ask my sis.
He was really excited and kept standing up and then falling down. He just couldn't control himself around the puppy and he kept squealing with delight.
Then he found the tv and that stole his attention. He has a thing for buttons on tv's. He can't resist. So he spent several minutes turning Angela and Jandon's tv on and off. Over and over again. He also enjoyed the game where I yell "No, Brendan" and get up to stop him but he acts like he's walking away so I sit back down, which gives him enough time to turn back to the tv and turn it back on and off. We play that lots.
It's so fun to see him wiggle his little butt when our cell phones ring or I'm playing music in the kitchen. Right now we are especially loving the Beatles Number One album. We both have fun dancing to those songs. :)
2- Brendan's new ball.
We were lucky to get this green ball- Target's selection of cheap plastic balls consisted of about 100 pink and purple balls and 1 green ball. Bad selection but I'm guessing they're still on low inventory from Christmas? That's my only explanation. But he loves the thing. It makes him laugh without fail. It's sooooo fun to watch.
3- Eating!
Brendan is eating a lot better. I think he may be past the "I'll chew this to get out the flavor and then spit it out" stage. I'm crossing my fingers anyways. He's done really well with spaghetti, any kind of pasta, bananas, toast with a little honey, graham crackers, and Spaghetti O's (maybe not the most nutritional but if he's eating it, I'll take it!).
He's also using a spoon, but I use the word "using" in a very loose way. He likes to hold it and dip it into his bowl, and then proceeds to swirl it around and eventually he'll stick it in his mouth. Sometimes food manages to get stuck to the spoon and makes it's way to his mouth but more often than not, he makes a real mess. But he's learning and taking initiative, and that's really cool to me.
So the Near's are having a ball with our little boy and loving every moment of it. We hope all of you are having as much fun!
My latest find on eBay. I seem to be going through a robot phase for some odd reason. Don't know what it is but I stumbled upon him and I had to have him. I can't even express how much I love this little guy- he's the perfect addition to Brendan's room! I had to let the two get acquainted and it was love at first sight. 
Here Brendan is trying to figure out what this robot does exactly.
He also had to pass the taste test. The final verdict...
Brendan has such a good time with them. He's never been one to shy away from more attention.
The real star of the week was Mary. It was an incredible experience to all be gathered together for her blessing and she looked too adorable in her outfit.
She really is such a good natured, calm baby. Maybe next time, I'll be lucky enough to have a baby like her... maybe.
Brendan had the time of his life, seriously. He's never known such freedom- and he got to eat whatever he wanted, which was apparent by the 5 poops he was taking a day. I think he may have gained a few pounds with me this holiday season.
We did get a chance to celebrate his birthday a little early so we could all be there for the action. Except, there wasn't much action. He wasn't really in the celebrating mood, much to my astonishment and disappointment. But at least we got some cute pictures:
We had to work pretty hard to get him this messy and you can kind of tell by his face that he's not too happy. But at least my cat, Sam, made his happy.
