Brennan's 1 Year Portraits

I just got back Brennan's 1 year portraits a few days ago, and figured that I would share a few of my favorites. The rest are on my smugmug.

Check Out the Comparison

I finally got Brennan's 1 year portraits back and completed the 1 year comparison of Brennan and Colin.
What do you think?
Brennan & Colin's 1 year comparison

Post

I'm planning to post tomorrow!

Look forward to pictures (Brennan's 1 year portraits and others), milestones, jabber, God's plans, surprises and more. Oh, and maybe even a new template if I'm feeling really motivated!

Sweet dreams!

Allergy Test Results

I was told that Brennan's allergy test results would take 7-21 business days, but I got the results this evening! The nurse from the pediatrician called me right before the office closed.
Before i go over the results, I'll explain the test and possible results pretty quick.
The blood allergy test was called a RAST Test.
They draw blood and expose the blood to specific allergens.
They score the reaction on a scale of 1-6.
1, 2 & 3 are mild reactions. Not something the doctor is concerned about. He wouldn't prescribe an epipen for these allergies or even call them an 'allergy'. Basically, you would just be 'sensitive' to the item, and would either avoid it for a while or re-introduce.
Level 4, 5 & 6 are sever reactions. The doctor would consider them allergies and would prescribe an epi-pen.
Brennan's results came in and he did not score any 4, 5 or 6's! Yay! Praise God. Food allergies are definitely not something that I wanted to have to deal with. They didn't tell me if he scored in the lower numbers, but I'm sure that he did...b/c I witnessed reactions to food on 4 different occasions. As of right now, I am just going to re-introduce the food to him in small amounts and see how he does!

ANOTHER Tooth

Brennan cut his 8th tooth today. That definitely explains all the fussiness! It's on the bottom. So now he has 4 in a row on the top and on the bottom. His smile is just getting cuter and cuter with the addition of teeth!

Colin Bakes!

Colin loves to help me cook! Every night he asks to help me make dinner. We may have a little chef on our hands.
I decided to make a Key Lime Pie for dessert tonight, and of course Colin wanted to help me make it. He donned his apron, stood on a chair and played the role of 'Super Mixer'! He did great, and was so proud of himself.
When Miguel got home from work all he kept talking about was how he 'baked a pie for Papi'!

Brennan's First Blood Draw

My little Brennan had to have his blood drawn yesterday for allergy testing. The phlebotomist had to stick him twice because she blew his little vein the first time. I must say that Brennan is a Powerhouse! He handled it like a champ. He barely cried...and the little bit that he did, I think it was b/c we were holding him down. I snapped a picture this morning with his band-aids on. Adorable!

Brennan's 1 Year Check -Up

Brennan had a good 1 year check-up. He saw the doctor this morning. Brennan weighs 19 lbs. 2 oz. (10%), and is 30 inches long (75%). He's so skinny! The pediatrician is happy with Brennan's progress. I brought up my concern about his possible food allergies, and the pedi. decided to run a RAST test...which is a blood test for determining allergies. He's says that it's a good starting point for determining. I took Brennan to have blood drawn after the appointment, but I'll post about that later. Brennan got 4 shots. Poor baby, but he handled them like a champ. He barely cried, and was done by the time that I picked him up! Miguel calls him 'Powerhouse'. One of the shots was his flu shot. We got one of the few doses left at the pedi.'s office. Brennan's next appointment is when he is 15 months old.

This past year with Brennan has had it's up & downs as he is definitely been our more difficult child, but it's also been amazing. Brennan is so loving. He just loves Colin to pieces and calls for him 'Ca' all the time! He is a good eater and a playful child. He is still doing the army crawling, but he is starting to pull up now. He points, claps, signs, and says a few words.

Brennan's Birthday Party

Well, we celebrated Brennan's 1st birthday party today. It turned out nice, but not as planned. I had planned to have the entire party in our backyard. It was a sports themed party. Lots of people showed up in fan gear! We rented a bounce house for the kids to play in, had sports balls all over the place, had a soccer goal & basketball hoop for the kids to play with. Right as the bounce house guy showed up to deliver it...it started drizzling and it was pretty cold out. So, I made the decision to cancel the bounce house and have the party inside...only problem...our house was too small for the number of people that were coming. We made the best of it. I decorated the house with all of the decorations that I purchased, spread the balls around the house, and made the food (hot dogs and nachos...what you eat at a sporting event) in the kitchen and let the kids run the house!

Brennan enjoyed his cake, but had a reaction to an ingredient. We had to give him benadryl.

The kids all enjoyed the pinata.

Brennan was a little overwhelmed when it came time to open the presents, so I did most of them while he *watched*.

Brennan with the birthday girl. Aly & Brennan were born only a day apart!

My boys together just after everyone left!

Colin's 1st Movie Experience

Miguel took Colin to the movies for the first time today! The saw Toy Story 2 in 3D. Colin was so excited. I packed Cheerios & raisins for Colin and that's all he could talk about all day long was how was going to go watch a movie and eat Cheerios and raisins!

Miguel said that by the end of the movie he had fallen asleep. When Colin got home he told me all about Woody & Jesse and his raisins and Cheerios!

1 Year Comparison

Colin - TOP Brennan - BOTTOM

Hmmm, so skin tone is definitely different. Colin was more yellow-y, and Brennan is pinker. I think that their eyes are very similar. Brennan has 7 teeth in this picture, and Colin had NONE!
I love my beautiful boys!

Happy Birthday Brennan

Brennan's birth picture. He was 2 weeks old

Brennan at 1 month. What a sleeping angel.

Brennan st 2 months. He despised bath time!

Brennan at 3 months. He has such a cute personality!

4 months old. He's so serious.

5 months old. What a chunky monkey!

6 months old. I love this picture!

Brennan at 7 months old. He's finally starting to look like he does now.

8 months old. Still serious!

Brennan at 9 months. He has the cutest expressions!

10 months old. You can see his teeth here!

11 months old. He's finally starting to enjoy his baths!

Brennan is 1 year old! Happy birthday!

We are waiting for his portraits to come back.

Oh my, how this year has flown. My baby Brennan is 1 today. Where has the time gone? I feel like I was just carrying him around in my belly yesterday. It's too soon. Time needs to stop ticking away.

I am extremely blessed by this little boy, and really couldn't imagine my life without him. He is so loving and just wants to be in your arms all the time.

Happy birthday to my precious little angel. May God bless you with many, many more.

Pulling Up

Miguel and I were sitting down watching tv this evening, and Brennan was playing with his baby piano on the floor. A few minutes later I was pushing his hand away from my drink that I had sitting on the couch next to me. Then I wondered how he was able to reach the drink, and noticed that he was standing! It sure has taken Brennan a long time to start pulling up, but now he's trying on everything! I was able to capture a picture of his first time!

It's Calling Me...

Yes, my blog is calling me. I hear the faint whisper daily, begging me to post. I plan to post soon. Very soon. I've got a bunch of stuff that's been keeping me busy and keeping me away from my blog...but all things that I want to blog about. So, keep your eyes open for a bunch of updates...again.

***UPDATED 10/8***
I've updated a months worth of posts. I think I got everything, but I'll add more if I remember anything else. Enjoy!

Austin & Austin City Limits Music Festival

We got back from Austin last night. We had a good trip, but ended it 1 day early. I'll get to that later...

We left for Austin Thursday afternoon. Patty in tow in the back seat. Patty was really fun during the road trip...she slept. I thought it was hilarious. We'd be talking and then all of a sudden she would be quiet and I'd look back and she'd be sleeping! We stopped at McDonald's for dinner in Waco and tried the Angus Burger for the first time (Patty's recommendation). It was decent, but their diet coke was gross!!! It tasted like mildew.
We arrived in Austin around 8:00 or so, checked into our hotel. We all rested for a little bit, showered, got dressed and decided to hit up a few bars on 6th street.First Miguel picked a bar that had some live country-ish music. It was pretty neat. After that bar, Patty picked a dueling piano bar. That one was a ton of fun. Next it was my turn to pick, but I didn't feel like it, so Miguel picked out a hip hip type bar. Totally my style! Anyway all the girls there were wearing the same dress. Not literally, but they were all wearing the same exact style. It got old after the first 20 girls. We had a fun night!Friday was the only day that we got tickets to the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Patty had tickets for all 3 days. We arrived at around 10:30 Friday morning. The place was huge...and pretty empty. We moved from stage to stage (8 total) to see the different bands. We got to see Coheed & Cambria, which was really the only band that I was totally excited to see, but I was super disappointed at the mix. The sound mix was just terrible. We stayed all the way until the final act of the evening and then left. The weather was absolutely beautiful...sunny & over 90.
Let's just say that sitting out in the sun all day turned me a little red...


After that we went back to to hotel, cleaned up, and headed back to the piano bar on 6th street to meet up with Patty's friend that flew in from Florida for the festival.
Saturday morning we had some Starbucks and visited a couple music stores; in one of which Miguel met the new love of his life. It was love at first sight...a Nash Telecaster. He didn't get it though. We met up with Matt & Pam for lunch on Saturday. They had tickets for Sunday.
We ended up leaving Austin on Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday b/c Brennan was running fever...which was probably a blessing in disguise. The rest of the weekend was humid, and wet. It didn't stop raining at all, and Patty sent me pictures of them at the festival...in mud up past their ankles. Yuck! We are planning on buying tickets for next year sometime soon!

2 More Teeth

We decided to come back from Austin early b/c Brennan had been running fever since Wednesday night. Low grade, nothing to worry about...but, still, fever for a few days. When we picked him up his smile looked a little different, and I realized that he had cut 2 more teeth. One on top, and one on bottom. His tooth count now totals 7! What a cute smile he has!

State Fair of Texas

Patty flew in today (yay!) and we decided to go to the State Fair. I've never been (obviously the boys haven't either), and Patty was pretty excited about going too! We walked around, checked out a country western store, and ate some really gross nachos. We had fun while we were there, but I must say that I was rather disappointed in it. Everyone hypes it up sooo much. I expected it to be huge, and it really wasn't. The food wasn't any good and The people were rude. Colin had a blast. He was looking around in awe. He picked a ride to ride, and really enjoyed that. Brennan fell asleep!

Patty's Arriving Tomorrow!

Patty is arriving tomorrow to visit us for a few days. I'm so excited! I say this every time, but she is my favorite cousin, and probably one of my closest family members. I love her dearly, and am so blessed to get to see her two times this year!

My New Haircut

I decided to go short this time! I got my haircut today. I like it, even though it isn't exactly what I asked for. As soon as I get pictures of it, I'll post some.

***Updated 10/7***
Here are a few shots of the new haircut!

2 Birthday Parties Today!

Boy were we busy today! 2 birthday parties is really draining!

First, we went to Burleson to celebrate Dominic Wilson's 1st birthday! The boys had a blast playing with Dominic & Elora. We ate a caterpillar cake!
We left Dominic's party a little early to head on over to Whitney's birthday party. This year Whitney had a cool fondue party. Everyone brought a little something to dip. First, we dipped bread, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and other veggies into a cheddar cheese sauce or my favorite, creamy parmesan sauce. After all of that was done, we dipped strawberries, bananas, apples, cheesecake, pretzels and more into a chocolate dip, chocolate peanut butter, or chocolate caramel. It was sooooo yummy! Of course I had to leave early to go to work :-(

Mom's Birthday Party

My moms birthday was actually yesterday, but I had to work so I had a small party for her at my house tonight. Some friends and family came over. We visited, chatted, opened presents, & ate cake. Yummy!

Elora's Belated 3rd Birthday Party

Colin & Elora's birthdays are only 2 days apart, but due to illness upon illness in the Wilson home, Elora's birthday party had to be re-scheduled a few times. She was finally able to celebrate it today! We drove to Burleson and had a fun time singing happy birthday and eating a ladybug cake!

The Ugly Cake

Yes, I made the cake. The ugly cake. I'm so disappointed on how it turned out. I really thought it would look better. I'll try again...and it WILL be better next time!

A New Hobby?!?

I've wanted to do it for a while now...at least a few years, but I could never find the time. Heck, I still don't have the time, but I've decided to give it a whirl. I'm gonna start cake decorating. I've already made the cakes, but I have to work tonight, so I'm going to decorate them tomorrow.

My first cake is going to be a devil's food cake with a homemade vanilla buttercream frosting. Then I'm gonna cover the cake in fondant and put some decorations on it.

I'll post pictures of the progress tomorrow!

11 Month Comparison

Colin - TOP Brennan - BOTTOM

11 Months Old

Little brennan is 11 months old today. He's such a big boy! The 1st birthday party extravaganza planning is underway. I'm really excited about it, but sad that my baby really isn't a baby anymore.

Brennan is sitting up like a champ now, army crawling all over the place, feeding himself finger foods, using sign language, learning and speaking new words every day, and the best part...he's turned into such a loving baby!

Brennan has done a complete 360 from what he was even just a few months ago. He was a crying all the time un-snuggly child and now he loves to cuddle and enjoys playing solo! The power of movement!

He's got 5 teeth (2 lower, 3 upper). He loves music, just like Colin. Whenever he hears music (especially at church), he just starts 'dancing' (bouncing up and down), and his smiles beams.

He's been waking up at night off and on for a little bit now, so I'm wondering if he's teething again or growing. Next month will be a much longer post, and include his doctors visit!

Potty Training Update

So, we have been working on getting Colin potty trained since his doctor's visit last week. We've had some really really good days, some okay days, and some terrible days. It seems like when Colin is good, he's really really good.

Today is a good day. No 'accidents' yet.

Brennan

Brennan, Brennan, Brennan.

He's doing something new each day. I LOVE it!

Brennan has been 'signing' the word 'more' for a while now. He didn't quite have it right, and heck, it's still not perfect...but he is just doing it so much cuter now! I LOVE it! He also signs 'milk' and he's almost got 'food' & 'all done or finished'. I definitely think that signing helped Colin communicate with us earlier, and I believe that it helped with his advanced speech later on. So, I am diligently teaching Brennan as well. It's going well!

Brennan also has been getting up onto his knees and rocking. maybe he'll crawl the traditional way soon. Who knows?!? He's really 'perfected' the army crawl and is quite fast.

So, Brennan has been a little slow in the sitting up department. He sits if you sit him up, but he had never gone from laying down into a sitting position on his own. 2 evenings ago, as Miguel and I were eating dinner, Brennan crawled over to me and was trying so hard to sit up. After a few seconds of trying, he finally figured out how to do it, and sat himself up!!! When I went into his room to get him after a nap today, I found him sitting up in his bed. So, he's finally getting it, and we won't have to call ECI for help.

I can't believe that in 1 month he will be 1 year old. Where in the world has the time gone? It's not fair. I'm gonna go cry now.

Big Boy Colin

Yup, Colin is a big boy. I mean that in every sense...

Colin had his 3 year check up this morning. Besides the screaming due to the fear of the doctor listening to his heartbeat and the nurse giving him a shot...it went well!

Back to the big boy part...Colin weight 32 pounds 2 ounces. That puts him in the 50-75%. Now get this...he is 39 inches tall. He is in the 90-95%. He is SUPER tall! The doctor was saying that from 2-3 years old kids will usually only gain 2-3 pounds...Colin gained 3 pounds 2 ounces. He also said that most kids will grown about 2 inches...and my Colin grew 4!!!

There weren't any immunizations to receive today...he won't get anymore until he turns 4...but, I did opt for the flu shot this visit. Colin didn't handle that so well. They have a nasal spray that the child can breathe in, but with Colin being so shy and scared, I figured the shot was much quicker. He was fine as soon as it was over.

The doctor commented on how well developed Colin's speech is. He said that aside from him having stranger anxiety, he appears to be a 'fun & sociable child'.

Our next task to tackle (though we've started, but haven't been very firm) is potty training. At this point, Colin will NOT poop in his diaper anymore. He goes on the potty. He'll pee in the potty is I remind him, but he doesn't take the initiative to pee in the potty on his own. It's definitely time to buckle down though. in fact, I put him in underwear this morning, so we will see how he does today...so far, so good.

Thoughts

So, I've been thinking lately *insert jokes here*, and my thoughts have come back to God a lot lately.

I call myself a Christian. I go to church every week. I sing praise & worship songs at church. I listen to Christian music in my car during the week. I serve in a hospitality ministry at church. I pray daily (I'll get back to that later). So, I claim to be a Christian, but am I?

Actions speak louder than words. I also curse like a truck driver (not in front of the kids). I say mean and hurtful things. I don't make it a priority to 'spend time with God' daily. My prayers (what little there is) are selfish. I am quick to anger...and even quicker to hold a grudge.

I think I've determined that I'm a 'Christian' on the weekends. What a crappy realization. I don't have God in my life. I let Him in on Sabbath, and I politely ask Him to leave come Monday morning so I can live my life.

I need to work on me. I need to work on my attitude, my beliefs, my thoughts. I need to invite God into my life to change me...to make me a better person. I yearn to be a better person...no, I need to be a better person.

I think it's going to be a rough journey, b/c I want God to open my eyes to everyone and everything around me. If that person/place/thing isn't going to help me in my walk with God, I want to have my eyes opened to that.

I need this. For me. For my boys. For my family.

Please pray for me.

Colin's Birthday Post

So I just got Colin's 3 year portraits back and I was finally able to upload Colin's birthday post. Check it out!

Colin has his 3 year check up on Friday morning, so look for a post about his developmental and growth progress!

I'll just share another picture of Colin here!