Diem-23 months

Age:23 months

Diem has been such a sweetheart, per usual. She is the most polite 1 year old ever. She only says "Yes, please" and "No, thank you." The funniest thing that she says is when she yells "No thank you, Mommy!!!" at the top of her lungs, when she is upset. How can you not laugh? She also loves to scream "Mommy!" or "Daddy!" when she points at something.When we flew to Texas last month, Diem would yell our names EVERY time she saw an airplane out of the airport window. (Our flight was delayed/canceled for over 5 hours, so you can imagine how many planes we saw.)
Diem is enjoying spending time with Brennan. They play and laugh all day! I love seeing her chase him and laugh so hard that she falls down.
Diem is still such a little copy cat. She does everything that Brennan does. I love when someone squats down, to talk to her, or show her something and she squats down, too.

Brennan's 4th birthday

Brennan had a wonderful, Batman-themed fourth birthday party! 

Brennan-46-47-48 months

Age: 46-48 months

Height: 3'5" (66th percentile)

Weight: 39lbs (75th percentile)

Brennan is FOUR! We can't believe it! These last three months, Brennan has been so pleasant. I love having my fun-loving boy as my sidekick all day! 

Brennan has been doing a lot of summer activities. He has swim class on Mondays, gymnastics on Tuesdays, and soccer on Wednesdays. He really loves soccer, because he gets to show off his speed. He loves to run and loves when people comment on how fast he is. His favorite game to play during soccer is "sharky minnow" which is a fun version of tag. 

Brennan's vocabulary is incredible. The way he puts sentences together amazes us daily. I always smile, when he uses words like "actually" and "definitely." He still enjoys reading anytime we suggest it. We still try to get to the library every week. Ryan reads us all two books every night before bed. Brennan gets to select the books. He usually picks the same two books every night for a straight week or so. Keep in mind that we usually check out 50 books a week from the library, but I guess he's a creature of habit. 

It is just not possible for us to love our little four year old more than we do! As Brennan says, "I love you to the moon and back...24-69" (He thinks that's a really big number.) 

Outtakes:

Diem-22 months

 Age: 22 months

Diem is turning into a little billy goat! She enjoys climbing to the highest point that she can. She climbs onto the bar stools at our breakfast bar and onto the counter. She climbs onto every large toy or box that she sees. She loves to hang her toes over the edge of whatever object that she is on and say, "whoa, whoooa!" My parents say that I did the same thing at Diem's age.
Diem just started to say "Mommy" on her own recently, and now she loves saying, "Hi Mommy" every chance that she gets. She will repeat just about anything that you ask her to, except "Brennan." I could go through 100 words, and she will always attempt them, but as soon as I say, "Say Brennan" her response is always, "No" with a little smirk on her face.
We love Diem's facial expression when she's trying not to smile. She tries pushing her upper lip down over her teeth, but the rest of her face is still smiling.

outtakes:

Diem-21 months

Age: 21 months

Diem is OBSESSED with her baby dolls! She loves holding them  (all at once) while going about her day. She gets so excited when she sees one laying around. She yells "bay-BEEEE!" and has pure joy in her eyes. Some of the new things that she is saying are "Uppie" which I realized is actually "up please." and "jack-key" which is jacket. We often have turkeys passing through our backyard, so Diem loves to run to the window and say "tur-KEY!" I always thought she was being funny, when there wasn't really a turkey, but now I figured out that she thinks robins are called turkeys. We are in the thick of the "no" stage. She used to say it so sweetly "no-no", but now it is a sharp "NO!" with her chin on her shoulder. It is still adorable to us :)
Diem enjoys acting afraid. It cracks us up. Brennan is going through a stage where he pretends there are ghosts and monsters in the other room and Diem plays right along. She raises her eyebrows and gasps. (The outtake photos capture this. She was reacting to the thunder and lightening outside.) I love that she has such a sense of humor.
She is such a copy cat. Everything Brennan does, she does right with him. If he lays on the floor and acts like he's sleeping, you better believe that her little body will lay right next to him. If I itch my nose, she itches hers. Every weird noise Brennan makes, she imitates.

Outtakes:

Diem- 20 months

Age: 20 months

Diem is so talkative. I love hearing her say new words everyday. Brennan spends most of their meal times, asking Diem to say different words. She will attempt pretty much any request that Brennan makes.
I find that Diem likes to hide things. She puts Hot Wheels in my drawers, in my closet, and toys in our kitchen cabinets. I love finding little surprises from her!
Diem got her first skinned knee this month. She tripped while running on our driveway, during a hot day. She didn't cry, but just pointed at her knee and said, "Eh! Eh!"

Outtakes:

Brennan-43-44-45 months

 Age: 45 months

Brennan has such a great sense of humor. His latest is playing tricks on people. He says random things like, "Mommy, look at that elephant!" While we are driving down the road. Then he'll say in a proud voice, "Tricked ya!" He also always asks, "Are you tricking me?" if he doesn't believe something you tell him.
Brennan is incredibly observant. Every night I quiz him on things that he should know, such as the ABC's, counting to 20, his address, and how to spell his first and last name. Sometimes I'll ask him what color eyes people have, and he literally has never gotten one wrong. I ask about every person that he knows! I asked him what his grandpa's name is a couple of months ago, not thinking that he would have any idea. (I don't think he's even heard anyone call him "Carl") he hummed and that about it and then said, "Rose?" which is what my mom calls my dad ("Rose"nquist) I couldn't believe that he picked up on that!
Brennan loves playing pretend with his cars and toys. Sometimes he gets a little embarrassed and says, "I am just pretending." He has a wonderful imagination and is very polite while playing. I hear him say," Excuse me," "Please," and "no thank you" in his animated play voice.
Brennan loves using words of affirmation. He says, "You're the best." "You are my favorite." "I love you to the moon and back...20 times." and "I need you." all day long, every day! The other day I heard him say to himself, "Aw, that Mommy is so sweet to me." I'm not sure what he was thinking about, but it melted my heart.

Outtakes:

Diem-19 months

 Age: 19 months

Diem is such a girly girl. She is obsessed with her shoes and coat. She wants to have them on at all times. I washed her coat the other day, and she pulled it out of the bottom of the laundry basket the moment she spotted it. She cries when I try to take her shoes off, when it is time for bed! She also walks around with a small metal basket, that she received as part of an Easter gift, on the crook of her arm, as if it is her little purse. She fills it up with toys and then empties it out. She loves to have pig-tails put into her hair, and she "models" new outfits by turning her body.
Diem had a random molar pop through last month! She only has two front teeth on the top, two front teeth on the bottom, and then a molar on the bottom! If she doesn't get more teeth in the next month or two, we will have to visit the dentist.


Outtakes:

Diem-18 months

 Age: 18 months
Height: 31.25" (30th percentile)
Weight: 23lbs. 5oz (59th percentile)
Head: 45.5cm (29th percentile)

I've taken 44 monthly photos of Brennan and 18 monthly photos of Diem, and this was by far the hardest I have had to work to get a semi-decent picture! Diem is always on the go and refused to sit still for 3 seconds, for me to snap a clear photo.
This month, Diem has been repeating words like crazy! She attempts to repeat almost everything that I ask her to. She says "up" "close" and "please" now. She has learned how to nod her head, which she loves to do. It's such a nice change from the constant shake of her head.
She pats her diaper when she's going potty, so I have a feeling that she will be potty trained sooner than Brennan was.
She still resists giving hugs and kisses, except when Brennan requests them! (Which is the sweetest sight!) She can throw, catch, and kick balls. I think it's so funny how she holds a toy basketball on her hip, with the inside of her elbow, like she's a pro-player. She still loves to dance at any mention of the word, and she has wonderful rhythm.

 Outtakes:

Diem- 17 months

 Age: 17 month

Diem is really a toddler now! She is moving faster on her feet, and she's saying more words! She is walking all the time now, no more crawling. She is almost starting to do a little run. We love how she side steps to get around an obstacle on the floor. We also think it is so funny how her left arm swings back and forth when she's walking, like she's on a mission.
Diem says hi, bye, daddy, yes, and Xander (Gaga, just like Brennan says.) Diem is more caring to Xander, than Brennan ever was. She talks to him and lovingly pats his back. The other day I heard her saying, "Hi hi hi!" When I looked over, she was squatting down, holding her hands out to Xander. When he walked up to her, she put her nose to his and rubbed his cheeks. It was adorable.
Diem's top two front teeth are just starting to poke through. I'm not ready for her to lose her baby gummy smile, even though it is about time!
Diem likes to "wash" her hair with her food. If she gets food on her hands (which is at almost EVERY meal) she rubs her hair with her dirty hands. I'm not sure why she associates that with washing her hair, but she does love to imitate us. She "cleans" spills with a paper towel and tries to use the remote for the TV.
Diem is hot or cold with Brennan. Brennan is sweet to her almost all of the time. Diem can have a bit of an attitude toward Brennan. She often pushes his loving hand away and swats at his face. Brennan always asks, "Why does Diem do that?" We just say that she hasn't learned how to be a nice baby girl yet. She does have some sweet moments with him, though. If he is sent to time-out for not listening, she often follows him and pats his legs or rests her head on his chair. Brennan says with a smile, "Diem made me feel better!" One time Brennan hurt himself and I was giving him a hug on the floor, when Diem walked up and put her arms around him as well, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Outtakes:

Brennan-40-41-42 months

Age: 42 months
We converted Brennan's crib to a full size bed in November. Unfortunately, he was sick with a cold when we did it. So, he slept in bed with us and couldn't be fully excited about it. Once he was feeling better, he was very open to sleeping in his new bed. I was putting it off for as long as I could, because I felt like that was the last thing keeping him my little baby. I have so many fond memories of him in his crib. Such as, the first time he was sitting up when I went to get him in the morning, the first time that he was standing, and the first time that he reached his arms up to me. I can vividly recall the smile on his face every time that I would open his bedroom door and the sound of his new voice, saying, "Peace in the Middle East." every time I'd put him to bed. We had a nightly routine, where Ryan would read Brennan two books, then I'd rock Brennan in his glider while we talked about the day. I knew once his crib was gone, so would be the rocking. I tried to take in each moment of those final nights and breath in the smell of his hair against my lips and the feel of his little body in my arms, because I knew our routine would be changing. It is so bittersweet, but Brennan loves his new bed. He fell out of his bed one time. Ryan heard the "bang" and ran up to Brennan's room, before Brennan even knew what happened! He didn't even cry and fell right back asleep after Ryan scooped him up and tucked him back in! Brennan is so sweet, that he doesn't get out of his bed, until one of us goes into his room. Not even one time has he gotten out of bed! He lays down for naps and bedtime just as agreeably as he did with his crib! The transition has gone 100 times better than I expected.
Brennan is so expressive with his hands now. He holds his hands out, with his palms up, when asking a question. He also points his finger, and moves it side to side, when talking about something negatively. He likes to say, "Is that a good idea?" and "Is that a good plan?" as he raises his eyebrows and opens his palms upwards.
Brennan's speech is really good. He shocks us with the thousands of words that he uses. He can pronounce almost every word correctly. He does have some Brennan-isms though. For Xander he says "Ga Ga," for remote he says "moking-a-troll," and for oatmeal he says "opal-meal."

Outtakes: