3 & 6!!!

These guys are amazing. When playing together, I hear them being polite to one another and saying things like, “Jeff, you’re a nice brother.” Of course, they have their moments of fighting and tears, but for the most part, they are becoming aware of each other’s feelings and learning to control anger. When Ty is mad, he says “I’m mean at you!”
One day in February, he woke up and decided he was potty trained. He’s only had one accident since then. It’s a miracle! He thinks he’s 6 years old and keeps up with all the big boys.
Jeff turned 6! He’s reading and writing, obsessed with Jurassic Park and Legos. He asked to start reading Harry Potter and is very interested in it.

I

Jeff:

• "Wait, were french fries invented in French?"
• "The next time we go to where that boy was flossing, can we go back to the dinosaur museum?" (My friend's son in Dallas, he tried to teach me to floss-the dance)
• In the car, "So, Dad, what kind of car did you drive when you were like, in college? (Wow! At 5, I never thought of my parents life before us, or what kind of car they drove!)
• "Mom, Robbie wants to kiss Alex and I want to kiss Ashna." !!!
•  A man at our gas station asked for money while I was pumping gas...I gave him all I could, I never have cash..a dollar and some change. After I got back into the car, we prayed for him. Then J said, "Mom, we need to pray for you to get a job too.....YOU COULD BE A PALEONTOLOGIST!"
• About dinner that Jeff didn't want to eat, "Mom, you really thought I would like this?"
• "All of the dust from my tissues are from Doc's dust, like at the river." After spreading Dad's ashes, dust has come up a lot, "All the dust we see if from the dinosaurs," for example.
• "I saw a girl that looked like your Grammi in my dream last night. She was driving a dragon car and I was following her on my bike. She was happy." (Jeff remembers visiting Grammi for the last time, June 2017, before she passed away.)

Ty:

• Ty caught tiny frogs outside and as he was rolling them between his fingers, I was trying to get him to let them go and be free (so they would survive,) "No, I will not let them go. They will sleep in my bed tonight and go 'ribbit.'"
• You look beautiful, Mama.....and sometimes, "you look SO beautiful, Mama!" and sometimes, "I don't like yous hair."
• He cups my face with his hands or just pats my arm a lot
• "It's 2 and 5" quantity of just about everything from about November till February
• Repeated, "what the..." and "chicken butt" and now loves a reaction...grrrr
• Instead of saying something, he says, "mumpming." "I want to show you mumpming"
• What are you going to name your roly poly? "Tyler Brant Burris Jeffrey Daddy Polly"
• Jeff, "why is there a booger on me?" Ty, "Let me eat it." 
• "Daddy has a beard. You don't have a beard, but you drink beard!"
• He pees outside every chance he gets. He's pooped in the backyard too😡 Once he peed in his play veterinarian specimen cup. 🤢 He does love to play vet, “like Doc”
• Ty calls Lacey his sister, or sis. Once we said, Ty Lacey is not your sister, she is a dog, he said, "she's still my sister." 
• He calls things by short-Lacey is "Lace," or "sis," Robbie is "Rob," our robo-vac that we call Arvy (RV for robo-vac) is now "Arv"
• He had a major tantrum Monday morning while my hair was not completely dry..."I DON'T LIKE MY MOMMY'S HAIR!" screamed 237 times!

Notes for a While

I keep notes on my phone of all the funny, cute, interesting things and "ah-ha" moments. These have been accumulating for about 10 months now!

• Jeff, "If we videoed a picture, it would be still and that would be so silly
• "I just saw Calvin and the three chick monks on a billboard"
• "Do men get old?" "So, old men have birthdays?" (Sadly, he doesn't know many old men.)
• "I love you Mom. You're a great mom."
• Ty, "Jeff," Jeff, "yes?" "Jeff," "yes, Ty?" "Jeff," "yes Ty? Ty, do you need some advice?" 
• Ty, "I no know" with his shoulders too, (I don't know)
• "I'm not going to be like Scooby, I'm going to be like Belma" (Yay)
• I took them to McDonald's for the first time, "Hey, Mom, can we go there every today?" (meaning once a week, like every Wednesday or whatever day we went)
• "I never see snow in my life!" Isn't it good? "Yes, snow is awesome!" 
• "I see garlic" (garland)
• Ty, "ohtay" a LOT
• Ty got into one of my miscellaneous drawers and found my grandmother's perfume, (Red Door.) I saved it to remember her. He smelled like Mimi all day and I loved it!
•  Maybe you could cook dinner tonight, Jeff. "No, I only know how to cook wooden food."
• "What house did you live in when Doc was alive?" "How did Doc die?" "Did Gigi and Ken know each other when Doc was alive?" "Do you remember that girl Jen and Caroline?" (Ken's daughter in law and granddaughter that we had dinner with.) Figuring it all out.
• Twinges of sadness as I walk right passed the baby department in the grocery store now. I always wanted to shop in that section, spent 5 years visiting there each week and now no more. Ever. 
• Jeff, "Airplane is two words put together," then we brainstormed more compound words!
• As I listen to them play in the playroom, "Let me show you something," and "You don't steal from your partner," and "I'll reach it for you." SUCH a sweet big brother.
• Ty repeats what he wants, then says "yeah." (Oh, you want blueberries? "Blueberries, yeah." But when I misunderstand him and the thing I said sounds better, he thinks and repeats me...(Popsicle? ..."popsicle, yeah.)
• Ty, "Daddy here not. Daddy a wort"
• Jeff's teacher says she doesn't know if she's ever seen a student who has so much love for his mother, that he'll do anything to make me happy. That's a lot of pressure, but I feel the SAME way about him. AND I love to wear the jewelry he makes me!
• After listening to a story about his Dad, "Climbing out of and UNDER the house at so young was pretty daring!"
• It's never good when Jeff comes into the room saying, "Mom, you gotta see this!," with eyes wide. It usually means Ty took off his diaper or made some kind of crazy mess. One time, "Mom, you gotta see how strong I am! Come look!" He was so proud that he took all his drawers out of his dresser and turned it on his side.
• Getting Ty's attendtion, "Ty...T-Y!...TYLER BRANT B----S!"
• Jeff's friend Robbie pretends that Jeff and Ty are his brothers, or at least Jeff is, "My brother's name is Jeffrey and his brother's name is Ty."
• On the way to the beach, "I love you, Ty. Do you want to hold hands? When we get there, we'll let go."
• During pool play date and at home with Robbie, Robbie kept saying, "this is the best day ever, isn't it, Jeff?" They held hands are we so kind to eachother. 
• Ty, "I be fulfull," when climbing or doing something dangerous, (I'll be careful.)
• Ty's most common phrase when there is any kind of transition, getting dressed, leaving, diaper change, "Just for a minute! One minute!" or "No, GO! Just for a minute." 
• Jeff REALLY wanted "those sandwiches with pickles and meat again." Poor kid has only had patties at our house, not the whole hamburger!
• I thought they were asleep and went to take a shower. I heard noises in the bathroom and just thought Brant was getting ready for bed. I finish my shower, open the curtain and Ty is sitting on the floor with my makeup bag, makeup everywhere and chewing on my eyebrow brush! A similar situation happened during his nap at Lolly's house over the summer. He climbed out of the pack-n-play, took off his diaper and put ON my eyeliner and took a bite out of a blush stick.  Linda went to check on him, thank goodness before too much damage was done! 

Pumpkin Patch!

 

 

BUMPS!

 



• When putting Ty down in his crib, he reaches up to give me one extra hug, then says, "nigh, nigh," turns over to his stomach and goes to sleep!
• When going to Bo and Lainey's piano recital Jeff said, "We are going to Yaney and Bo's recycle"
• Jeff calls Netflix "Weflex"
• Ty pats or rubs me on the back each time I pick him up
• This fish is called a bass..."Just like the Bass Pro Shop!" (Connection made!!!)
• When a thread was on the back of Jeff's shirt, "Something's hanging off your back. Do you have a tail?" He said, "No, it's just sewing."
• While fishing, "I'll use my super technology gear!"
• We have been fishing a lot at Doc's river. One Saturday morning we sat down at the picnic table with our breakfast tacos and a cardinal was directly in front of us, welcoming us there
• "I don't like you to be fancy" when I actually got dressed for Mothers and Others morning at school.
• "Next time hide it right here!" pointing to his tummy when eating something yummy
• He learned the 50 states song in school. I asked him to sing just from Alabama to Idaho. With a big smile, "Alabama, Idaho!" (Skipping all the states in between...such a jokester.
• One night in the summer after reading, prayers, etc. we were talking about friends and Jeff said, "I really liked Miss Lima." His long-term sub was named Ms. Salima. So sweet.
• He encourages me saying, "Great job, Mom!" after grocery shopping, cooking, making things, putting things together...
• "Great job, Ty," after Ty finds his hidden treasures
• Jeff tells me often, "Mom, I really love you."
• "I love you more than 69 infinities and beyond"
• I passed Jeff in the hall after he and Dad brushed his teeth and I was leaving Ty's room. He gave me a quick kiss and "I love you," not the usual, "I want YOU to read to me!"
• Talking about character, I said, "I'd rather be around a nice person." Jeff said, "You are."
• I wore glasses Ty had never seen, (plastic, blue and black) and he laughed hysterically every time he looked at me for an entire day
• Jeff: "When I grow up I'll get married and I might even marry you!"
• If you and Dad watched a lot of Pokémon you'd see how cool it is. (I don't know why I let him watch that darn show this summer.)
• He asked me to make him a little mermaid stuffed toy. I purposefully didn't stuff her shells. Jeff said, "You should have stuffed these." and "I want these up." Such a dude.
• While playing outside, he asked randomly about how Doc fell and if anyone was there to catch him. He asked a lot of questions that day and I answered all of them. He's so curious and I love it, but it can be hard.
• The Monday after a Sunday School lesson called "God made people," about Adam and Eve, we were driving to school and he asked me about whether or not humans lived when dinosaurs lived. HARD ONE. Scientists do believe humans and dinos lived together...Adam and Eve were the first people God talked to/revealed himself to? Hard.
• We look a lot of information up on my phone...we learned about how fish gills/breathing work. Then he asked me if fish talk to each other...we learned that, they do! They use clicks and grunts. He is teaching me a lot with that inquisitive brain of his!!!
• Brant and Jeff put together Brant's aquarium. Jeff was SOOOOOO into it. He could not keep his hands or toys out of it. Finally, he did for a week and they got one fish. They added two more this past weekend. Their names as of today are Lightning McGreen, Pinky and Big Green.

 4 and Under Soccer Team (Jeff's second season)

My baby's new shoes are so big! 12 1/2!

Ty's Word List

    

 

Ty is ZOOMING along, learning new words every day. I was a little concerned because at his 18 month check up, he only knew 6-8 words but now, at 20 months, uses many more! This, being a "baby book" for them, I'm keeping track here!
At 18 mo:
Dada (first word)
Mama
Dog (dah)
Ball (bah)
Hat
Hot
Cat (cah)
Jeffrey (eye-eye)
Mo (More)
(also, monkey sounds, ooh ah and dog sound, nnn, nnn, nnn)

In addition, 20 month words:
No (nah, ...which is really cute)
Banana (nana)
Bye bye
Hello (hey-oh)
Nigh-nigh (goodnight)
Hi
Mine (mah, sounds like his more, slightly different)
Wa-wa (water and watermelon)
A-ooh (thank you)
Up
Shyesh (yes) Still mostly just does the huge nod
Woah
Wow
Animal sounds-Dog, (ar and nnn, nnn, nnn-from a book) monkey, cow, bear and lion growling sounds

He still uses a lot of guttural/back of throat noises instead of words.
He calls all the men we see "Dada" and all the women "Mama," I say, "is that your Daddy?" He laughs and nods yes and I say, "no, but it might be someone else's daddy/mama!"
Ty never meets a stranger, which is so opposite from Jeff. He loves to make friends and talk to people everywhere we go. Also, EVERYWHERE we go, many people comment on his beautiful hair.
He is SUCH a daredevil and tries to do exactly whatever Jeff is doing, much of the time getting hurt, but gets back up and tries again! He loves to swing high on the tire swing (saying, "Woah, woah!") and doesn't want to swing on the baby swing much anymore.
He loves to point out things we talk about in books or relate them to things he has done, (Kite, points outside, what is this, while I point andhe says, "nana," "Do you like to eat bananas?" Nods "yes"
Learning every day!!!

L-I-V-I-N

     I have not posted in way too long. Ty began crawling at 9 months. He has a funny little crawl I call the kickstand. He puts his left leg straight out and crawls mainly on his right leg, which gets very dirty and almost calloused! He is loving books and sometimes goes into his room to read a book by himself. He looks around for Jeff when he's at school and I swear he yelled his name the other day!
     Jeffrey is loving school. He began soccer this week, which is very entertaining. We had a wonderful Spring Break and I loved him being home! I'm looking forward to the summer. Over the break, we had his birthday party, went to the zoo, camped in the backyard, celebrated our tenth anniversary and just enjoyed not being on a schedule. I love his creative word play and think he is brilliant!

• "Sometimes I call it Ho Ho Home Depot"
• First one to see the pony in the neighborhood wins. Sometimes he says "PONES!"
• He calls Lambie, Lamster sometimes
• "Popsicles,...Tasty, but delicious!"
• When decorating for Ty's birthday party, "Great job, Mom!"
• and "That's a good idea!"
• If he wants something, he tells me there's one in the attic. (Like we can magically get whatever we want from the attic)
• During prayers, Jeff asked me, "so how did God make trees?" I said a few things the best I could, then, "So, like, does he have a wand?"
• Walking through a store..."Mom, I love Ty SOOOOOOO much." He hugs Ty a lot. Ty loves it.
• Jeff often begins play or conversation by saying, "So,"
• It warms my heart that whenever Jeff gets scared, his automatic instinct is to say, "Mom!" even if it doesn't really make sense
• I pointed out our identical car twin ONCE and he points it out every time after that and is CORRECT about it. We got a new car and he has seen IT'S identical car twin too!!!
• The magic of balloons continues...I kept the Valentine balloon treat going this year.
• We had a fire in the kitchen...I had to use the extinguisher for the first time! Didn't seem to bother the boys at all.
• After getting a new stuffed animal with Gram for his birthday treat I said, "I hope Skye likes her new home." He replied, "She ADORES it!"
• He pronounces sc words without the s sound at the beginning. At the doctor, they checked his eyes and he read the shapes to the nurses..."quare, circle circle round and round, apple, house!" and "I miss my friends at cool." He also says sv instead of sp..."svot" for spot.
• If he doesn't know the meaning of something I said, he'll say "what" and I repeat over and over. I have said never mind a few times, he says, "No, Mind, Mama!"
• "I saw a climb up dinosaur in Rolocado" (Colorado)
• "When Ty turns three, he will talk and I will be so impressed, I'll be like..." (Little O mouth)
• Ty went through a hat obsession. It was one of his first "words," ha

Sweet boys. I love being their mamma.

The Good Stuff

     Oh how I love my family. I am so incredibly proud of them all. Many people comment on how "calm" or "good" Jeff and Ty are. Jeff has been three for most of the year, but I see the light and he is all of the sudden becoming more cooperative. July-December was pretty rough though.
Funny little things:

• I yawned and Jeff said, "You're a tired pup."
• J peed on a tree not once, but twice at the dog park!
• He told me, "Don't take the map off the wall, I want you to know about the world. I know about the world, Africa, Asia, Mercury..." singing
• "When I grow up I'm going to be a great man and Ty is going to be a great man and we will go to work with Daddy." 
• While listening to Christmas music, "Is Santa a baby in this one?" (Santa Baby)
• He gave me a string/rope/shoestring and told me, "Hold on to this tow rope, I'm going to take you for a ride!"  
• Ty and I communicate in the car by making puckering sounds
• Ty started clicking his tongue at 9 months
• after seeing a toy commercial, J kept singing, "batawies aw macluded..."
• Alice visited one day and I said, "isn't Aza beautiful?" J looked at her with wide eyes and said, "Wooooah!"
• If J "falls" off the bed or pretend crashes, he say, "I'm ok," like Marshall on Paw Patrols
• I took him to the mall and got suckered into Build-a-Bear. It was such a fun thing to do! He made Marshall
• J pretends he has a watch on, looks at his wrist and tells us what time we will do what, for example, "when my watch says 89, that's when we'll go see Christmas lights."
• He also pretends to have a camera and goes around saying, "Say cheese," clicking the camera
• I just had one of the best goodnight kisses of my life. He came back into the living room and we gave each other 7 simultaneous kisses. I hope that becomes a thing! Love that boy.