Fun Pictures.

Darth Maul impersonation.

Doing Pilates with Mom, he actually loves it! Wish Mom could say the same, shortly after taking this picture, he insisted on using me as his mat.

Loves talking on the phone. All day long, "Hello? Hello?" He's thrilled when someone is actually on the other end.

??

Will never understand cats.

"Yes, I'll take a cone the size of my head, please".

At least he's a good sharer.

Slightly vertically challenged but it doesn't stop him.

well...until he runs into things and has to back up. He's not a big fan.

Tis the season.

These are not poisonous berries, in case you were wondering.

Brycen swallowed one of these berries today. Daddy rushed him in, instructed Mommy to clean out his mouth and then scrambled to find out if the berries were poisonous. Good news, Brycen is still with us and hopefully the berry is not. He has had THREE dirty diapers since and has made plenty attempts to gas us out in the process.

Eyeballs

So...every morning Brycen watches me do sort of a routine to get ready and part of it includes putting in my eyeballs (as Bryce calls it; aka, my contacts). I've been doing it for so long now that I don't even stop to think about what it might look like to someone else who is not as familiar with it.

Here's Brycen's interpretation of what I do.

He filled up my contact case with water (which makes sense since the solution is clear and he is always asleep at night when I take my contacts out so he is not familiar with any other clear liquid) and then he dipped his finger in, held his finger up (I check my contact in the light to make sure it's right side up), put his finger to his eye, and rubbed it in a little bit (to make sure the contact is in just right)....and then of course, ended the video wanting to do it to me.

He has the process down perfectly except the small fact that he is missing the whole point to why I do it in the first place. haha. Oh well, so fun to watch and I'm always amazed at how observant he is. And for it, Brycen might just have the cleanest eyelids around. :)

Time Flies.

We had family pictures taken last October/November for when Brycen turned 6 months old so I figured it would be fun to do the same this year for when Brycen turns 18 months old. We cheated and did it a little early while the weather was SO nice. So technically, Brycen is only 17.5 months old in these pictures ;) And even though the high for this particular day was is the 70s, it being before Day Light Savings ends, it has been getting lighter later and later in the morning and at 9am, we could still see our breath. Slightly chilly but it really wasn't too bad. Brycen was in a terrific mood despite the red nose he wore the entire time.

The bench was broken long before we sat on it. I know what you were thinking! ;)

Brycen enjoys being a pest and knows exactly what we want when we pull out the camera. So he holds out as long as he can and is trying SO hard not to smile. haha.

"UHHH!"He thinks he is already getting too old for kisses.

His little red nose!

LOVE Fall!

LOVE his smile.

I love when he walks between us.

More Fall colors!!

I LOVE this one, even though it kinda looks like Brycen is trying to sneak up on us. haha

It's amazing to see the difference from last year to this year. Last year, he sat and laid in the leaves because he couldn't walk and look at him now!

Even though my face is in a shadow, this is one of my favorites!

My friend, Heidi, did our pictures last year and this year and we love her. She does an amazing job. http://photobyheidi.blogspot.com/

Just for fun, here are some pictures from last year. Despite his stubbornness, it was still SO much easier to get Brycen to smile this year (Heidi's comment) and actually, to get his attention in the first place.

Crazy how one year makes such a difference!

Eating a leaf...

Yup, definitely don't miss that stage!

1.5 teeth (the second JUST came in). He now has 12.

And in other ways, he is just the same:

Still got that same, double chin :)

That little red nose.

Wonderful smile.

Hm...so I guess he hasn't been a fan of the kissing thing for awhile now...

BUT, he did once upon a time.

3 months old, can you believe it?! Crazy how time flies.

Election 2010

After waiting 30 minutes outside, in the cold...

and it was worth it because not only did I get a sticker, I got to voice my opinion, and I came out to this:

Slightly blurry but I'm sure you get the idea :)

Wanted: Translator

Brycen is adorable. He is an amazing listener and understands almost everything. And he says some English words and phrases and can repeat anything after me but when it comes to this:

I'm not sure how to respond. He looks me right in the eye...and does it when either he is telling me a story (I'm guessing) or when he is really frustrated and is trying to get something across to me. I can usually figure things out when he is pointing and showing me what he wants but when he just stands there and does his tongue language.. help!

Sometimes I ask him to repeat it, and he always will as many times as I ask and other times, I pretend to understand and say, "Oh, really??" And like he did in the video, he loves when I understand and says, "Yeah!" I can sometimes just get away with that but other times when he is trying to get me to do something and I tell him I understand, he says, "Yeah!" and then stands there expecting something...and when I don't do something or walk away...he slightly flips out....and starts talking even faster because now, he's mad. Hence, the NEED for a translator.

It's sad because Brycen during different times of the day when I crave adult conversation, need to vent, or just want to tell a story; Bryce will completely freeze what he is doing and listen. He nods his head and says, "Yeah!" And he can do almost anything I ask him because he understands SO well. I just wish I could say the same thing about me...

Any advice?? Uncle Mike, Mom said you had a language of your own as well...:)

P.S. Did you notice my attempt to distract him in the video...he said, "Hi!"

Always, SO cute!!

A few of Brycen's favorite things...

1. Cheering on the teams that need...let's just say, a little extra cheering this football season... (Go BYU!) :)

2. Going to Dog n Suds! Our favorite drive-in restaurant. Kind of like Sonic but better :) Sadly, it's seasonal and this was the last weekend it was open. We usually sit outside at the picnic tables but it is getting colder so we partied in the car.

They have the BEST rootbeer!

3. Playing with adults, they listen so much better than kids. One of Bryce's co-workers, Cameron, came over and Brycen immediately put him to work. Cameron built, Brycen destroyed.

Brycen directing Cameron on where to go next.

4. Walks to DQ. When it's a 5 minute walk...we end up going there...often.

Twice in one week? maybe :)

We may or may not be slightly addicted to these things.

Cherry Dillybars are basically amazing!

if you couldn't tell...

5. Going to the park with Daddy.

6. Older girls that will play with him.

Amy (age 3) is so sweet to him. "Brycen sit right here, you need to put your hands on the wheel, hold on tight!"

Brycen doesn't quite understand how the car works so if you try to push him forward, his feet get slightly caught. So.. backward, it is.

After they played with the bike and car, Amy asked me to take them on a ride in the wagon. Even though we have been neighbors for over a year and I have been in Nursery with her; she rarely talks to me or anyone actually, except really good friends or family. But during that wagon ride, she continuously talked to Brycen pointing out animals to him, telling him about preschool, her toys,etc. Brycen just sat and listened, never said a word and never complained. Brycen is an amazing listener but he also could've still been slightly shocked that Amy was playing/talking with him (since usually it's her older sister that does) but either way, it was so cute and he now adores her.-So...somehow I turned on the underlining (and color) and can't turn it off--driving me a bit CRAZY!!

Love this picture of him!

7. Watching the older girls play. Gotta love Fall.