Grab a blanket and a couple of toddlers!
The funniest part happens right before I start pulling. When Jonathan sees Brenden on the blanket and me holding one end, he walks over and flops facedown on the other end. He has figured out a stable position for blanket riding. =)
Here’s a great video of Brenden singing his ABCs.
SETTING: me and Brenden in the boys’ bathroom at toothbrushing time:
Me: Do you want big boy toothpaste (with fluoride) or little boy toothpaste (without)?
Brenden: Little boy toothpaste. But I want to hold the big boy toothpaste.
[Brenden stands on a stool by the sink and brushes his teeth for a bit before handing the toothbrush to me.]
Me: OK, Brenden, my turn. Turn around, please. Show me how clean your teeth are.
[Brenden turns around. I crouch to his level. He immediately throws his arms open and gives me a big hug.]
Brenden: Daddy!
Me: Thank you for the nice hug. Now, let’s brush your teeth.
[Brushing, then an unfortunate kick]
Me: Brenden, please don’t kick me there.
Brenden: OK. (muffled)
[More brushing. Brenden rubs my head]
Brenden: Daddy, I like your fuzzy hair.
Me: Thank you.
[Brenden opens the cap on the big boy toothpaste and sniffs and snorts.]
Brenden: Mmm…it smells good.
Me: Do you want to add some?
Brenden: No, not yet. Later.
Me: (sigh)
[Brushing]
Me: OK, all done. Good job.
[Brenden runs out the door, makes a hard right toward his room. I rinse the brush and wait for the loud sound of him colliding with his doorframe after missing the turn, but apparently he has learned his lesson from last time. I replace the toothbrush.]
Being a dad can be really fun.
Brenden figured out a new way to entertain himself during dull moments in his room. Since his drawer locks didn’t work well anymore, he could pull out most of his clothes and scatter them around the room. Then he realized that he could also pull out the drawers themselves, pick them up, carry them around, and even drop them. By Wednesday, he had managed to break two of his four drawers by dropping them. Granted, this was a cheapo Wal-Mart dresser with poor build quality, so it didn’t take much to destroy them. Finally, after I decided the second drawer was beyond repair, we made a pilgrimage to IKEA, our favorite home furnishing store with a surprisingly good restaurant. Here are the results:
Old and Busted
New Hotness
I like this picture. A lot.
We took Brenden to the park one afternoon and played for a while. When it was time to go, Brenden pulled his semi-frequent stunt of sitting down instead of walking with us. Since nothing was going on around him, we just kept walking and waited for him to change his mind. Eventually he did, but not before I grabbed this picture. Do you see him?
On Saturday we invited the family over and celebrated Jonathan’s first birthday. It’s so weird to think that just a year ago, we had brought him home and were adjusting to life with two little guys.
Jonathan had a great time at his party. Jenny made tasty chili and cupcakes and used a circus theme for the decorations. He got lots of love and attention from his family and enjoyed every minute. Jonathan also LOVED his first cupcake and actually did a pretty good job eating it for a while:
By the end, what didn’t end up in his belly had become a colorful blanket of Funfetti crumbs all over his tray, bib, and chair. He didn’t mind, though.
Brenden knows how to sing the birthday song, as you can partially hear in the first video. Afterward I captured a closeup of him singing it.