19 Months

Whew!  Time is flying....I don't know where it all goes, but it certainly doesn't go to updating the blog! I mean to post more, but I just get busy and forget.

Back on October 11, Brooks turned 19 months!  He is such a funny, happy little guy!  His bright, blue eyes melt your heart in an instant, and his contagious laugh just gives you warm fuzzies.  He is a complete cuddle bug, too :)  He loves to gives hugs and kisses to all of us :)  He LOVES Reives and can't wait to pick him up from preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  He always runs up to him and gives him a huge hug....be still my heart!  Most of the time, Brooks shows his sweet side, but he is definitely in the throes of toddlerhood, so he has many moments of being irritated, frustrated, and annoyed by who knows what???  He is becoming more and more independent, and he definitely wants to do everything Reives does, and he doesn't understand why sometimes he can't do the same things.  He loves to just roam around and look at things, climb on things, and discover things.  He also loves the great outdoors.  For some reason, when I picture a college aged Brooks, I picture the outdoorsy type who likes to hike, wear Chacos, and keep his hair long.  Who knows, but he definitely seems to love the outdoors and nature....alot!  Brooks is still a climber and has a dare devil side for sure :)  I feel like I can't turn my head when we go to the park or he might dive off of the top stair or something.

Other things about Brooks at 19 months:

-This month he has really starting running alot more and not just walking
-His vocabulary is constantly increasing, and he can pretty much communicate what he wants
-Brooks is a super great napper...he generally takes long naps (2.5-3 hours)
-Still not too much of a morning person
-Has his top, two eye teeth and is working on the bottom ones
-Wears 24 month clothes
-Not sure how much he weighs now, but he is SOLID and HEAVY
-Still a complete Mama's boy
-Loves to blow kisses

Cute pics of Brooks at 19 months:

18 Months

When Reives turned 3, Brooks turned 1 1/2!!  This little guy is quickly showing us his quirky, little personality.  Brooks has always been super laid back, and he still is for the most part, although he is super clingy to Mama right now.  Brooks seems to be more of a homebody than Reives is.  He enjoys being at home and playing with his toys.  His favorite toys are still trucks, tractors, trains, etc.  He also likes balls.  He is really starting to interact with Reives, and gets so excited when we pick Reives up from preschool.  I sure do love my one on one time with Brooks while Reives is at school.  He is a great buddy to run errands with, and it is fun being able to play with just him sometimes.  Brooks talks alot and says alot of words.  He puts two and even three words together at times.  He talks gibberish at times, but most of the time, we can understand the words he says.  He definitely cracks us up alot of times, especially during meals.  It is so hard to describe why he makes all of us laugh, but he just does!  Brooks is not a morning person like his brother Reives.  He is usually a bit grumpy in the mornings until he has some milk and breakfast!  We just love this little guy to pieces, and we are so thankful God chose him to be a part of our family :)

Other things:

-still a very picky eater
-LOVES milk
-loves his paci and "rags"
-loves books (brings us books, saying "a book")
-loves to swing and play at the playground
-is starting to like "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"
-loves junk food (crackers, chips, cookies, pizza, etc.)....uh oh
-calls every number "8"
-fills in words when we sing songs
-prefers Mama to anyone else :)

THREE

Reives is 3!!!  This is so hard for me to believe!  For the past few months, it seems that I have heard alot of moms talk about "the terrible 3's" as opposed to "the terrible 2's."  All I can say is, "Oh Boy!"  It is so hard to put Reives and his precious, little personality into words.  He is just a "too darn cute" little guy who has tons of energy, questions, and smiles :)  He is not really shy but not super outgoing either,  and he likes to be "on the go" as opposed to staying at home.  He can be cautious at times and is definitely still sensitive to loud noises.  He is very smart (not biased here), but he truly does seem to pick up on things very easily.  He is a thinker for sure (like his Daddy), and he seems to enjoy learning new things.  Reives definitely has more of a strong willed personality, and he is definitely one to test the limits.  But, he is also very caring, sweet, and thoughtful.  He has started randomly thanking us for things, and it just melts my heart.  Things like, "Thank you Mama, for taking me to the park."  He is a sweet big brother, and he has started trying to hold Brooks's hand around the house and helping him do things.  He also loves to try to wrestle with Brooks, which does not always go over so well.  This little boy brings us so much joy!  Being his Mama is an amazing privilege, and I love his sweet, little heart.  I love spending time with him and being able to teach him new things.  My favorite things to teach him are about God and the Bible, and he is so very interested.  He loves to look at his Bible, and he asks us to read it to him alot.  I hope he will always love God's Word!

Other things:

-still sleeps in diapers at night and for nap
-has given up his paci for nights but still uses it for napping
-still sleeps in his crib (and loves it)
-still loves to eat
-drinks no milk
-favorite flavor is grape stuff
-says a "y" sound for "l's"  (yemonade, yeyow, etc.)
-loves books, legos, playing outside, riding his tricycle
-favorite cartoons are "Super Why," "Dora," and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"
-is starting to play simple games (matching games, etc.)

The Party!!

Yes, it is hard to believe, we have a three year old!!!  Reives was so excited about his birthday this year.  For weeks, he talked about his "dump truck and tractor" birthday party.  He was very interested in who was coming, and he had several friends that were on his personal list to invite :)  He had an absolute blast at his birthday party!  We had a great crowd of friends and family who gathered to celebrate Reives's big day, including my cousin, Kathryn, who was in town from Indiana.  Reives got some very fun and special gifts, and when playing with a toy, he always asks, "Who gave me this?"

Here are some pics from the big party:

 The big birthday boy!!

 Grandaddy and Brooks (his mini me)

 Reives greeting Nana and Papa (so special)

 R's cake decorated by Nana and Grammie (he was obsessed with the cake!)  For the first 15 minutes of the party, he stood and looked at his cake...it was so funny!

 One of my favorites :)

 We asked each child to bring a dump truck or tractor to play with.  They all had a big time!

 About to sing "Happy Birthday," but we had to sing it quietly, upon Reives's request.  (He is not big on loud noises.)

 Blowing out his candles

 Me and my birthday boy

 Opening presents

 Gigi and G Pa got Reives this bicycle dump truck!  He LOVES it!

 Can't you tell?

 Brooks and Carrie

 Jaymie riding the dump truck

Family pic from the party!  The boys were thrilled about the picture (as you can tell)!!

My Preschooler

September 3rd was a big milestone in the Glendye household.  Our Little R started preschool!  Now, we are very blessed that Trey's mom is the director of a wonderful preschool here in town.  So, he always has someone to keep a very close eye on him :)  Reives was very excited about his first day of school!  He goes two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays), and he seems to love going to school and is starting to make some new friends!  Here are some pics to document his big day!  He getting to be such a big boy!!

 Little brother wanted in on the action :)  (Brooks now insists on carrying his bookbag in the car, even though he doesn't go to school yet!)

 Gigi snapped a picture of Reives on his first day!

Had to include this picture!  Growing up, my mom always took my sister and I out for ice cream after our first day of school.  On the afternoon of Reives's first day, I had to take Brooks to the dr. because of an ear infection.  Trey decided to take Reives for ice cream while I was at the dr. with Brooks.  (He didn't even remember about my first day ice cream tradition)!  I thought it was pretty cool :)

Our HOME

I am so so behind on the blog...I am really going to try to get caught up in the next few days...so, here is a start!

We closed on our new house in July!  You can refer back to my May post "Moving and Faith" about searching for a house, facing the unknown, having faith etc.  Anyways, I hated that I never wrote a post of God's faithfulness in providing a house!  So, here it is:

There was a Saturday in June when Trey and I went and looked a few houses.  They were mainly located in the particular area of town that we thought God wanted us to be in and that we thought we wanted to be in.  But, after looking at these houses, Trey and I were so discouraged on the way home.  We had seen over 40 houses in the past 6 weeks, and we were just plain exhausted of the process and so frustrated that we had not found what we were looking for.  We had made two offers on homes, that obviously hadn't worked out, and we just couldn't see that we were ever going to find a house in a safe neighborhood, that didn't need a ton of work, that was in our price range.  I was on the verge of tears on the way home, and I think Trey was just plain mad at the whole situation.  We were living with my parents, which was working out great, but we knew they needed to start a kitchen renovation and that we would have to have another plan very soon.

That afternoon, I went house searching on the internet (for the gazilionth) time and found a house that had been dropped in price....one that hadn't come up on my searches before.  Although it was out of our range, I thought it could be worth looking at.  So, we talked with our realtor and she showed it to us the very next day.  It was "love at first sight!"  We absolutely loved everything about it (well, except for the price!)  The very next day, we decided to put an offer in, that was significantly lower than asking price.  We just figured that if they accepted or countered within our range, we would see it as an open door.  If they could not go as low as our top number, then God was closing the door.  Well, after one counter, they accepted our offer!  We were floored!  So, we closed on the house at the end of June, and we moved in the middle of July!

I think back over how discouraging and frustrating the whole process was at times, and how we just kept clinging to the Lord and His faithful promises, which was not always easy.  At the time, His timing seemed late and delayed, according to our thinking.  But looking back, we see so clearly why His timing was different and oh, so much better!  This house had been on the market for 2 years and was overpriced.  The couple who we bought it from, had just found a house in Atlanta, and they were finally ready to sell their house at the very time we saw it!  What a clear picture of God's perfect will.  We praise Him for His faithfulness to our family in so many ways.  We are thankful for the house He provided, but we are especially thankful for Him proving His faithfulness to our family once again.  I clung to this verse throughout this whole process, and I love that this journey has come full circle, and He has fulfilled what He said.

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Genesis 28:15

Our God is so faithful!

Some pics for those who don't live here and have asked....(don't have pics of the boys rooms, but will post some soon)

 Office

 Laundry Room

 Half bath

 Dining Room

Living Room (or empty room boys play in)

Family Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Outside

17 Months

One of these days, I am going to post about our new house.  I keep meaning to, but it just happened happened.  The past 3 weeks have been rough as we have had about three different viruses being passed around between us.  No fun!  I sure hope we are all on the mend...

Anyways, a few days ago, on the 11th, our little Brooks hit the 17 month mark!  Seriously, he is not my little baby anymore, which makes me so sad.  He is still a Mama's boy, though, so I get plenty of snuggles from my little man.  Brooks has such a funny personality.  He is still super laid back, but he is definitely starting to show his feisty side.  He still loves tractors, trucks, cars, trains, etc.  He could stand at the train table for an hour and just push those trains around and around :)  He LOVES toys, and he is generally pretty good at playing and entertaining himself.  He also loves books and constantly comes up to us with a book in hand and says, "A book."  He is talking more and more, and he has put up to 3 words together a few times.  He is still such a picky eater, and his diet consists of fruit, milk, and sometimes ham and cheese. Oh, and of course snacks, crackers, cookies, etc.  He pretty much goes for the junk food!  He loves his big brother, Reives.  In fact, when Reives went to music camp this week, Brooks was not sure what to do.  He kept looking around and a few times he said, "Reis."  So cute that they are such good buddies already!  Brooks loves to play outside.  His favorite thing to play with outside is a cup and the water faucet, but he also loves to push trucks around, play with balls, etc.  He has also become obsessed with his little pocket Bible that he got for his baby dedication.  He likes to carry it around the house and say, "Bible."  So sweet :)  I hope he'll always love to carry around and look at his Bible :)

Other things about Brooks:

-He just had another ear infection after a long 5 months without one :(
-Takes one nap
-Loves to wave "bye bye" and blow kisses
-his hair is getting longer and it curls up in the humidity...trying to avoid cutting it
-his feet are finally starting to look like a normal size instead of teeny tiny
-still very attached to his rags and paci for sleeping
-likes to join in on the words "Bible" and "So" when we sing "Jesus Loves Me"
-likes to climb, and has a bit of a dare devilish side
-loves his Mama and prefers her to anyone when she is around (savoring every moment)
-is starting to be interested in puzzles
-when we count with Reives and say "one," Brooks always chimes in with "two"

Pics of Brooks at 17 Months:

And a little pic of my big 17 month old and his big bro: