Brendan and Megan

As the addition of baby #3 quickly approaches (any day now!), I find that I’ve been taking more time to truly appreciate and/or shake my head at Brendan and Megan’s actions and individual personalities.  Both of my children are so incredibly different.  And, as I use this blog as a kind of quick scrap-book for the future, I find I want to write a bit about each of my children, before my attention is split in yet another direction. 

Brendan (4 years, 9 months)

Right now, Brendan is such an interesting mix of big boy and sweet boy.  Daily, I can see the struggle going on in him.  He wants to be the big boy and do big boy things, hang out with Dad, and spend time with his friends, but, (thankfully) he also seems to need lots of mini-reassurances (quick hugs and cuddles) from mom.  It's one of those bittersweet parent things...it makes me so happy and proud to see him growing up, but it also is a little sad and nostalgic to know that he's doing so. 

One of the amazing things about Brendan is how incredibly intuitive he is sometimes with me and my moods.  If he senses that I'm stressed out he comes over, gives me a huge hug and a kiss, and tells me that he loves me...then goes on his merry way.  I constantly tease my husband that after only a couple years, my son knows how to calm me down better than he does (after 10+ years together.)

Brendan is also used to, and dependant on, Brad and I doing things for him (we'll consider it a first-time-parents mistake that we learned, and learned well.)  For example, Brendan doesn't hesitate to wake us up at night to pull up his blankets for him (he says I tuck it around his face in a special way he can't do himself) or take him potty (he scared of the dark...even with the bathroom light on) or zip his jacket (which is my fault because I can't stand when it takes us fifteen minutes to get out the door!) or to constantly play with him (I attribute that to me constantly playing with him when he was the only child.)  Brendan is amazingly smart and can pick up on things quickly, but sometimes it's just that push (from us) that's lacking a bit to encourage more self-sufficiency.  We've been doing some talking with him about how this is going to change once another baby is here.

Brendan's bedtime routine: get in p.j.'s (in which he always protests about having the change his socks, then he looks at the bottom of them and finally changes them...every night this happens!), read books, brush teeth, needs his two blankets (Brad’s old one and his sports one) folded down by mom, hooks his arm around Snuggles and Charlie with their blanket, demands one parent on computer and one in living room (we're breaking him of this currently), finds several excuses to come out and tell me he can't sleep, gives extra hugs and kisses, goes to the bathroom, and finally settles down enough to fall asleep.

Loves: Trouble, Uno, and anything electronic (Wii, Xbox, cell phone games, laptop games, etc.), playing outside: sports, playset, gardening, mowing.

Megan (2 years, 6 months)

Megan is my sweet and sassy little girl.  One of my favorite things she does right now is she comes in and kisses the baby (my tummy) good morning.  And when she gives hugs, she rubs your back at the same time.  She loves reading to herself and her soft puppy or babies.  She loves to swing, play babies, dress up, repeat anything her brother says and does, rock with mom, and did I mention reading?  (Mom says, "Hooray!  A reading buddy!")
The girl knows how to throw a tantrum and get loud if she's upset or isn't getting her way (although she shares incredibly well and can be quite easy-going.)  Typically, she gets most upset when she's overtired or hungry (hmmm...sounds familiar...) and usually just needs a reassuring hug from me and a kleenex (don't ever try to wipe away her tears with your hand!)  She's much more self-sufficient than her brother and I'm very interested to see how baby #3 affects that, and how she grows into her personality as she gets older.  She's also very cute when she pouts.  If you say anything harsh to her, she drops her head, sticks her lip out, and heads to her room for about 30 seconds of pouting.  Then she comes back, wants a hug, and is on her way.

Megan's bedtime routine: get in p.j.'s, read books, be first to brush teeth, wants only soft puppy in bed, covered in three blankets (flower, lion, rainbow) then wants drink of water, reads one book to puppy in the semi-darkness, gets comfy, goes right to sleep.

Loves: playing outside, making pretend food for you, and swinging (but typically doesn’t want to get dirty, unless she's searching for worms in the garden with Brendan.)  She's currently potty-training, and has the daytime down.  Next step will be transitioning her to undies during the night, but I'm not in a huge rush, with #3 around the corner.