Brendan's favorite places to sit around the house

Brendan loves to sit in his room and play with his wooden alphabet. He takes them out of the container and puts them back in over and over.

He still loves to sit in this basket. He dumps all the toys out so he can sit inside.
He's also found that he can now climb on top of the dishwasher when it's open. I can't believe he's getting big enough to do these things. At first, it was funny but now we have to put him in his high chair to be able to open the dishwasher.
And last but not least, the pantry in our kitchen. Brendan fits perfectly on the bottom and the cereal boxes cushion his little butt so nicely. And he likes to shut the doors on himself so he can hide... which is another favorite thing of his. Hiding provides endless giggles for us.

I think Brendan is going to have many fun-filled days of fort building in his future!

His future's so bright, he's got to wear shades

Brendan will finally wear his sunglasses and we're so excited! In the past, he wouldn't tolerate them for longer than two seconds but now he's happy to sport his shades around the house.

A Post

That blurry little thing in the middle of the photo on the left is Brendan. For those of you new to this blog Brendan is the son of Valerie and Chris (for more details refer to previous posts or ask someone that knows more on the subject). Brendan is over one year old now. That means he can now be safely thrown about with reckless abandon. Brendan loves being tossed around on beds, couches, and other soft furniture. Although not pictured, Valerie had a turn being thrown around as well. I'm not sure which of the two loves it more. -

+36 I'm writing this post with Brendan is currently in the room with me. That's why strange markings such as the -+36 may appear. That is actually quite impressive that he typed that because it involved the use of the shift key. Brendan is already typing at a 3rd grade level. Now back to the post. This week Valerie surprised me by making some cherry chip cupcakes with cherry frosting. They were quite good and she doesn't really like them so that means I have to eat about 25 more of them. Brendan will help too. He's eaten 1/2 of one so far.

As for me, I've been working on my thesis, applying to hundreds of jobs and even going to an occasional interview. In one interview I was asked to sing the chorus of my favorite song that I had written. I was caught off guard and couldn't even remember the words to my own song at first. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Any interview that involves singing probably isn't a job I want anyway, unless it's a tryout for American Idol. Can you believe they kicked off Garrett?! So much wasted talent.

Moving on. Brendan now knows how to play the harmonica. But when he plays the notes wrong it makes him angry and he throws the harmonica down in a fit of rage. I think if he sticks with it he could really be the next Blues Traveler fat harmonica player.

So I think now would be a good opportunity to announce that I was given a job offer in South Carolina and Valerie and I have decided to accept it. We'll be moving in May. I'll be working for a diet pill company (Dexotrim Inc.) marketing pills and weight loss programs. It's mostly just a sales job, but with my background in music they told me there might be a possibility for jingle writing in the future. It looks like my education is finally paying off. We had some reservations about the move at first. Living in South Carolina will likely mean that Brendan will grow up with a Southern accent, but he will also learn southern hospitality which is good. Of course, moving there will mean that we will likely never see any of our friends or family for a fairly long time (the job only allows for three days of unpaid vacation during the first five years, but after that you can accrue up to five more days over the next five years). Fortunately we will have this blog, as well as the United States Post Office services to keep us in touch with people. We had a good run here in Provo, but it looks like it's coming to an abrupt end much like this post.

Farewell all...

...February Fools!!!!!!

Suckers. Of course, I realize that when/if I actually get a job that relocates us, it will be like The Boy Who Cried Wolf and no one will believe me. Oh well. End communication.

I really don't know what to title this post

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring and the weather yesterday was so nice, it gave me hope that spring will be coming soon! We spent some time outside yesterday afternoon and Brendan loved it. He started running as soon as we put him down! It was a good way for him to get out some of his extra energy and distract him from being sick. Yes, he's still sick. He now has a nasty little cough and quite a runny nose. Not fun at all but at least the nice weather was a distraction.

I was inspired by this post about thrift store books, so I headed out to the local DI with the family and found some great little treasures for Brendan for only 50 cents each!

I love the old school Sesame Street illustrations. It reminds me of when I was a wee one and I'm glad that Brendan can enjoy them now too.

My favorite has to be Bunnicula. We scored with this one! I remember reading this when I was young (it's probably still on the bookshelf in the basement!) and even though it's too advanced for Brendan, I know he'll love it when he's older. Seriously- can it get any better than a vampire bunny? I think not.

I've also had a great week for cooking. I'm not the world's greatest cook by any means, and I certainly have a difficult time finding much enthusiasm when it comes to making dinner- but this week I found some good recipes that were easy and tasted great. So I thought I would share.

Brendan actually loved this dinner of Speedy Chicken Stir-Fry. He's becoming a great eater all of a sudden. I think the transition from soft food to solid food was difficult because of the difference in textures and stronger flavors, but now he's a pro. He loved the zucchini and even the mushrooms- much to Chris' vexation.

When I saw this recipe, I HAD to make them. I remember eating these often at the Kozlowski's. Julie made them quite often for church activities or lessons. They tasted just as good as they did back then. Yummy! And with the refrigerated cookie dough, they are a snap.

These cookies were the perfect treat to snack on while Chris and I had a marathon of the Office Season 3 (spread out over several evenings after Brendan went to bed). I had forgotten how HILARIOUS this show is and I cannot wait for new episodes. Thanks to Chris' mom for the most perfect gift for Chris! She knows him too well!

Lots of Friends for Brendan

We usually put one of Brendan's bears in his crib while we get him settled down for the night, but tonight, Chris thought it would be fun to put ALL of his bears in. Brendan didn't seem to mind all the friends and enjoyed snuggling up to them while finishing off his bottle. Thanks go to Grandma and Grandpa L for an addition to his collection! Brendan loved his V-day gift!


Also a big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Near. Just in case all of Brendan's bear friends leave him, he can now buy all the friends he wants- since he's rich. Brendan doesn't know what to spend his money on but he loves to hold it- who doesn't love the feel of a crisp bill in their hand?! One thing is for sure, he'll be paying his tithing for the first time! He's very excited. Thanks to everyone for thinking of our little guy- he has the best grandparents!

Brendan's one tough guy

Brendan has this weird love of head-butting and I'm not really sure where it came from. I'll ask for kisses and instead I get head-butts. Whatever the reason, he loves it- as illustrated by the video below.

Sharing the love

A lot of pictures to share...

I think I may have the most adorable little boy in the world- as well as the funniest and smartest. We've had such a fun week, let me share some of our good times.

Brendan has started to say "woof-woof" which sounds more like "oof-oof" but it is still the most fulfilling thing. It all started from us reading "Walter the Farting Dog" (which I highly recommend) and I always point to the picture of Walter and woof. He's caught on to it and now he says it all the time. It's one of my many favorite things about Brendan.

He's also really great at climbing into things and sitting in them. I often find him in our laundry area sitting in one of the baskets with a toy in hand, happily playing. Or it's his little basket that we store all of his toys in. He loves to dump them all out just so he can sit in it. He's so wonderfully happy to play for a few moments on his own- it's awesome. As much as I love playing with him too, I actually feel like a normal mom who can get the dishes done and cook dinner and do the laundry now. He's happy and I'm happy. Perfect.





Brendan usually doesn't like things on his head but just recently he's decided that he likes to put on hats. If I put it on him, he pulls it off immediately but then proceeds to try to put it back on himself. He usually misses his head but every now and then he gets it.

I think this picture perfectly captures the craziness that is Brendan. He's a nut and he barely stands still long enough for us to take picutres. This hat is actually for 6-12 months but he has an incredibly small head for his age so it's now starting to fit him. And by incredibly small, I mean he's in the 3 percentile for head size.

Brendan and I were so happy about his hat fitting that we decided to do a little dance. I wish this were a video but unfortunately we can't catch the dancing on video yet. Hopefully soon since it is most definitely towards the top of my list of my favorite things. What a happy boy.

He has also learned another new trick. He likes to blow on his food before he takes a bite. It took me a few times to figure out what he was doing; I didn't even realize that I blew on his food that much. He's a very safe little boy.

And I even had time to sew a little bit too. I made some cute pj's for Spencer and Leila, and a cute little pillow for baby Marisa. It was very satisfying to finish these projects- the last time I made pj's, it was an absolute disaster. This time around I'm proud to show off my work!

And last but not least, a final picture of my sweet, happy boy. The bump on the forehead is from tripping on the sidewalk but he was so happy that the weather was nice enough to be outside, he didn't cry for long. Phew!