14 month pictures

I added a few extra pictures to the 14 month shots since it has been a while. Billy didn't want to take pictures, so I have some other ones up from days after the first ones.

Billy's vocabulary is pretty crazy. He can say "daddy, mommy, kaylee, sissy, baby, ball, car, hi, hey" and a few other ones.

Bekah doesn't like to speak as much as she likes to use her signs. She does love to babble though.

Bekah has all of her molars in and Billy is working on his but none have popped through.

Both kids are very active. They enjoy sitting and looking at books, blowing their little toy horn, and pushing and pulling things. Anything that makes music or noise is a hit around the house. They enjoy the time that they spend with friends once a week at Mommy and Daddy's small group. They are the youngest kids there, but love to play with everyone.

Today we brought home our second art work project from church. They colored a pretty picture. I'm surprised that Billy didn't eat the crayon this time around. :)

We are looking forward to the holiday season and can't wait to see family.

Emotional

Looking at Bekah and Billy this morning, I started to think about how blessed we are. I was thinking back to three years ago. Bill and I were praying for children, and didn't really know what our future held for us. We had no idea that our journey to parenthood would be such a long one(yet very short compared to some of our friends).

Two years ago, we were deciding to go to a fertility specialist in Charlotte. It was a big step for us, and I'm very thankful that we took that step. It was a leap of faith focused on what God wanted for our future. We knew that the path of fertility drs wouldn't guarantee our family, but knew it was Gods plan for us to pursue it.

One year ago I was very overwhelmed with being a new mom. I wanted to make sure that I was making all of the right decisions and caring for my children the best that I could. They were so small and couldn't tell us what was bothering them. I hated seeing them struggle with their reflux.

Back to this morning, Bekah was dressed up in a new dress and tights that had ruffles on the butt. She looked like a princess. I told her how beautiful she looked and she just beamed at me. Bill and I always tell her how beautiful she is inside and out. Once I got Billy dressed, I told him how handsome he looked, he just nodded and walked off. I just sat there on the floor watching them walk around the living room. We don't have babies anymore, we have toddlers. Walking is so easy for them and they want to be more and more independent. They are learning baby signs so that we can communicate better with them and understand more of what they want/need. They sign "more" and "all done" very well. That helps so much at meal time so that we know what they want. It prevents us wasting food to find out if they are all done or want more. Plus, I don't have to wonder if they were still hungry.

I had to post pictures from today because I was just in awe of how beautiful they looked. All the thanks goes to the Lord on our blessings. I was still thinking about all of this when we were at church, and then to top the emotional cake, the kids made their first craft in Sunday School. I know they didn't do much to make it, but it was very special for me. Their teacher even put their names and date on it for me. Right now I have them posted on the fridge, it is one of those moments that really makes me feel like a mom.

So blessed.

Lookin' Cute

This past week it has been quite cold. Today we dressed up the kids in their "warm" clothes for church. They looked so cute that we had to get pictures. They actually sat very well for the pictures. That was a first. :)

Playing at the park.

A few weeks ago, we had a wonderful day plying at the park. Unfortunately the play area was closed, but the kids were very content on playing in the grass. Billy decided that he wanted to walk on the path and got his first skinned knee

13 Months Old

Ever since I returned to work, we have been dealing with something at the drs with the kids. I feel so bad for them. They have had a battery of tests, and just when we thought we were getting some answers, now they have had a upper respiratory virus. They are on about day 9 and doing much better. They have had very stuffy noses, can't sleep, won't eat much of anything and have even had snot come out of their eyes. YUCK!

Our first rounds of visits to the dr were from weeks of diarrhea. We are pretty sure that the kids have a sensitivity to milk. At this point we aren't ruling it an allergy. The dr suggested we put them back on their formula for two weeks and then try milk again. If we have problems, go back on the formula and then we would talk about allergy testing. I guess it isn't very common at this age to do testing. We are currently on the formula and will try milk again next weekend.

I also had to take Bekah to the dr for a very high temperature. Now it is pretty easy to see that it was her respiratory virus that they both have. Bekah got a pretty good sized goose egg on her head on Thursday when she fell against the chair. You can see her bruise in all of the pictures.

Just as I got my camera out to take the 13 month pictures, Billy fell against the gate and busted his lip. So now you get to see what it is really like with two toddlers. Bumps, bruises and all.

Both kids never stop to amaze us. Billy says "hi guy" all the time. He picked that up from daddy saying Hi Guys when he sees the kids, I'm guilty of doing the same. Bekah very clearly says "hi dad" There are quite a few mamas around the house and a few kaylees too. The best is asking them where their bellies are and they lift up their shirt to show you. TOO CUTE!

Well, Bekah is sitting on the desk as I type this and getting into everything, so I must go and get her some "real" toys to play with.

Love and miss you all!

~The Brands

Big Kids

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get everything updated. It isn't easy to find an hour or so to work on posts with two growing kids. Make sure that you see all of the new posts. There are quite a few of them.

I'm proud to say that we no longer are using bottles. We started Labor Day weekend. That Friday night was the last time our "babies" had bottles. I would have gotten rid of them sooner, but they had a bad reaction to Milk, so I wanted to give them some time and get their tummy's stable before I tried switching them over. We had been doing mostly sippy cups, but not all the time.

The week before labor day was difficult for the kids. They were sick, running mild temps and just not happy. It was also the time that I introduced new foods and milk with out lactose. After a week and a half of nasty diapers, I put them back on formula and only gave them foods that I knew didn't bother them. We still used the cups while using formula (big kids, so proud).

Tomorrow I'm going to introduce the lactose free milk back in. I hope that it doesn't bother them and that they weren't having a reaction to the milk.

Billy is starting to put two word sentences together. This is a very early development. He says "hi daddy", "hi Kaylee" "hey daddy" "hey Kaylee" I guess you can tell who his favorites are. He does say mama sometimes, but not as often. He is also saying uh-oh and knows how to use it correctly too. Billy is "talking" all the time.

Bekah is working on her talking too. She says daddy, mama, and tons of babble. One of her favorite things right now is to place a ball or small toy in your hand, get all excited about it and then take it back out of your hand. She is doing great, because she doesn't drop it into your hand, she places it there. She repeats this over and over and gets very excited.

Both kids have mastered climbing onto the couch, and getting down by laying on their bellies and sliding backwards until their feet hit the floor. Billy mastered it on his own, I showed Bekah a few times and now she has it down.

One thing that is difficult for Bill and I is their bed time. We used to put them down at 8 or 8:30, then it went to 8, 7:30 and then stayed at 7 for a while. Now they are to the point that they are pretty much ready at 6:30 or 7. I already hate how little time we get with them, now they are wanting to go to bed even earlier. Even though they are going to bed earlier, they are still getting up at the same time or even later.

Bekah loves it when you put new or "pretty" clothes on her. Her "pretty" clothes are just things that mommy tells her that are pretty, she lights up and is very excited. She also loves shoes. We bought them their first pairs of shoes at payless. Today when we were at the mall, I was looking for some new black dress shoes (didn't find any), when Bill was playing with the kids, Bekah looked down at her shoes pointed at them and then pointed to the ones on the shelves. The little stinker knew what kind of store we were in.

I wish the kids would leave things on their heads. They look so cute wearing hats, sunglasses and Bekah looks cute in head bands. Oh well, maybe when they get a little older.

Well, for now, I need to go to bed. God Bless and love you all.

1st Birthday Party ~ NC

We celebrated their first birthday at our house on their birthday. We started out the day by going to church and then came home and napped. After lunch we had a small party with Bob, Erica, Meloney, Ben, Matthew and Mandy. Even my dad joined the party by webcam. The kids were so excited to see him, but didn't understand that they couldn't touch him.

As usuall, the kids were spoiled and had a blast. Their cake eating was much more fun to watch since they had their "practice" run in Michigan. Billy ended up turning the bath water a blue shade.

We had a wonderful time. Happy first birthday Bekah and Billy!

August 23rd 2009

Happy Birthday Bekah and Billy! Mommy and Daddy can't believe that you are one now. You are doing so many fun things that just crack us up. I don't know where the past year has gone.

Bekah is walking like a champ now. As soon as she got back home she stared walking more and more. She likes to wrinkle up her nose and try to make pig sounds. Her laugh/giggle, makes the entire room light up. She eats like a champ and eats everything you put in front of her.

Billy has mastered walking. He doesn't even hesitate anymore, he is just off. He likes to sit with daddy and watch tv, but most of all likes to steal the remote or phones. He shakes his head "no" when anyone around says "no". He is eating more and more these days, he isn't as picky as he first was.

Both kids now have 6 teeth and are eating solids. Baby food is a thing of the past. Now they can't walk under the desk anymore, and it was quite the learning experience when they found that out.

At their 1yr check up Bekah weighed 20lb 1oz and was 29 1/2in long. Billy weighed in at 21lb and 1oz and was 30 in long. Bekah is closing the gap in on the weight. It is funny looking at them because it looks like there is more than 1 pound separating them, but there isn't.

Binder Park Zoo

Our first trip to the zoo!

We started the day out by visiting our friends at Kalamazoo Missionary Church. The kids did great in the nursery and we were able to talk with people we hadn't seen in quite a while.

After church with my Dad and Deb, we met up with Bill's Dad, Jackie and Dottie at Fazoli's in Battle Creek for lunch. The kids helped me eat my meal and had a blast.

We headed off to the zoo. The kids had a lot of fun, but tired out pretty quick, especially Bekah. Bill and I bought them stuffed animals from their first zoo visit.

Here are some pictures that were taken in Ohio and Michigan.

As most of you may already know, we tried to see as many people as possible. Unfortunately that didn't mean that we were able to see everyone. We did our best, but it wasn't easy traveling with two toddlers.

The trip home was much easier with daddy able to help out in the car. :) I'm thankful that I made the trip up there on my own, I know I can do it, but dont' know if I will ever do it alone again.

August 1st

Bekah and Billy's 1st Birthday Party in Michigan.

Bill's dad picked Bill up at the airport while the rest of us got ready for the birthday party. Dottie out did herself as usual, there was so much food we could have fed an army. Everything was delicious and beautiful. Jackie helped so much too getting everything ready.

The party was so much fun! Kids were able to meet family that they hadn't seen before, we were able to see tons of people and just had an overall great day.