"Green Acres is the place to be..."

Farm liven' is the life for Brandt! He loves every minute of it! He's already caught on to the fact that if he asks grandpa, he gets to ride in the tractor everyday and feed every living animal on the place.

My dad put a seat belt in the little side seat, so he can strap the grandkids in and go. This is especially handy for the busiest one of all, which would be mine.

Brandt could sit and play in the tractor for hours even though he isn't going anywhere. We have to watch him pretty close cause he already knows how to turn on the key and then tries to shift gears and go.

Sure looks like he knows what he's doing, huh?

When my dad tried to take over the driver's seat again he had a battle on his hands. He heard the ever famous "go away, Brandt do it!! " from my adoreable little one.

Proof that my dad and brother really can work together without killing each other...sometimes. This time they had to put the fence back together thanks to a neighbor's bulls breaking through and getting in with ours. Brandt thought it was pretty fun to watch them fighting (the bulls that is, not my dad and Curtis).

He had fun playing with "T" and being thrown in the air.

Trying to get a better view of daddy and T riding the 4-wheeler through the field and splashing in the water. Brandt thought it was hilarious and is still talking about it. He especially thought it was funny when Bandit (the dog) was on the back of the wheeler trying to hold on and getting covered with water and mud.

Feeding the cows...

Visiting the horses...

Love that grin.

"Brandt do it!" My dad was trying to hold his hand, but no... he's holding his own hand. Not sure where he got that from, but he's been doing it for a few weeks. How do they come up with these things?
Getting grass to feed the bunnies. Notice in the far left corner my dad pulling more grass.
Feeding the "bop-bops" AKA hop-hops.
Loving on the kitty and then he fed it soon after. Before all was said and done he fed the horses, cows, bunnies, puppy (only one, my dad had to put poor Roo down :( ), kitties, and fish. My dad says he wears him out just trying to watch him cause he's so busy, and I'm pretty sure he's right, but also pretty sure he loves it. How blessed we are to live where we do and have the opportunities that we do. I love that Brandt can learn valueable lessons in caring for animals, being responsible, and working hard on a farm, not to mention appreciating the great outdoors. So, as far as Brandt and I are concerned, "Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside."

Brandt's Belated Birthday Party

Since Brandt was sick for his birthday, we decided to combine his party with mother's day a week later. While Bryce and Brandt were hanging out waiting for the party to get started, Brandt decided to get out one of his very favorite b-day presents from G&G Pugmire- tape. He loves the stuff, so they gave him 2 rolls of his very own.
He did a pretty good job of getting it wrapped all around himself.

This isn't a great pic, but it's clear down around his leg and ankle, and he's now trying to get it off and yelling "help mom, help mom."

This time he went to dad for help to get untangled.

Then he stood there willingly and let Bryce tape him all up again. Such a good helper dad is!

Finally it was time for pizza. Everyone was able to come exept Kelli, Kevin, and Rylie.

Of course, Amanda Jean was one of the most anticipated party guests for Brandt and he gave her plenty of loves when she got there. He even let her wear his cowboy hat and ride his bull.

We were even able to bring my grandparents home from Bear Lake Manor for the evening, and although I think it completely wore them out, it was nice to have them there.

Brandt decided to boycott his highchair for the night and proceeded to give assigned seats to bampa and mamaw- one on each side of him. Guess he deserves to be the boss for the day for his birthday, right?

I just missed it with the camera, but I think that my dad and Brandt had just been sticking their tongues out at each other, with a mouth full of food no less. So mature....

Brandt buddy started sneaking frosting before we could even get a picture of him with his Curious George cake (take 2- since he had one last w/e too).

He looked up at me like "who me? Did I do something wrong?"

Decided to let him blow out candles on his own piece of cake so we for sure wouldn't share any germs with great grandma and grandpa. He had it down a lot better than last week this time and didn't even have to have any help.

I think this one is actually out of order, but who has time to fix it :) He was trying to wait patiently to blow while we sang to him, but was still blowing, so Bryce held it away from him til we finished.

Who needs a fork to eat cake? Brandt's been on this kick lately where he acts like a puppy, including when it comes to eating. It may be messier, but I think it's so cute and hilarious.

Don't they look so grown up already sitting up to the table by each other eating birthday cake and ice cream? Just kills me that Amanda just turned one and Brandt two.

Ahh, there we go, finally the fork...

or not...

oh, and who needs napkins? Brandt just licks himself clean. Also hilarious! He actually cleaned up most of his drips with his own tongue; now that's talent!

Look at that adorable little messy face posing for me!!

All in all, we had a fun night! Brandt loved all the food, presents, and the family that came over to spend his day with him, and we appreciate all the support our family gives us. Sure wish that the Payne's could have been here, but I'm sure we'll catch up with them again soon. Still trying to adjust to the fact that my baby's 2! Oh how I love him!

Fencing Fun

It's that time of year when there's lots of outside work to be done on a farm, including fencing. Brandt thinks it's the best, even if he's just watching from the car, but this time he got to ride in the "tractor with bampa ban" AKA grandpa Van.
Bryce only looks like he's working hard...

This tractor has a little seat with a seat belt in it, so it works great for Brandt. He loves Van and he loves riding in the tractor, so he couldn't be happier!

I love this face! He always does this and says a really excited "oh" whenever he sees something he likes. I think when I caught this picture he was looking at either his dad or a baby calf. When the fencing was done, Van let him ride with him up to his house so he could go in and see "mamaw Ban" AKA Cindy. He loves going to their house and going up and down their stairs, playing on the keyboard, eating whatever goodies happen to be on the bar, and just being spoiled with their attention. Of course it didn't hurt that this time they gave him a Mr. Potato Head for his b-day, which he loves! The next morning when I took him to my mom's, he told me that bampa ban was going to come take him in the tractor again. I don't think he ever forgets things like that...

Happy Birthday Brandt Baby

Brandt turned 2 on Mon, May 4th. Poor little guy ended up being sick and throwing up for his birthday, but perked up enough by that night to at least be able to open presents.
As soon as he would open something he would take it over to show it off to "bampa and mamaw and T" before moving on to the next one.

He was so excited to get his Curious George movies, as were we, since that now means we can watch something other than the same few episodes we have saved on the DVR over and over and over and over...

And for the big finale...his very own guitar. Whenever he goes to the Hillier's he loves playing with Gabe's and really loves music, so we thought it's a good talent to encourage. That night he sobbed when I finally made him put it away so he could go to bed. He wanted to sleep with it. So, it ended up being a pretty good day, but can't wait to have the other part of his birthday when we do pizza and cake this weekend.

2 yr Well Child Check

Brandt loves Dr. Campbell and loves to have check ups. He's so good to sit and let him listen to his heart and look in his ears and everything. He does get bored in the little room and tries to escape, but as long as doc strategically places his chair in front of the door, Brandt's pretty much stuck. As usual, his weight is toward the top of the growth chart and his height is clear above it; imagine that!!! Overall, he's doing really well. How thankful I am for a happy, healthy little boy.

Birthday Sleepover

Brandt loves playing with his Well's cousins, and since it's been awhile since they've been over for a sleepover, we decided to have them come over the Friday before Brandt's birthday. He was so dang excited to see them!

Adrie was trying to give him horse rides, but notice that his feet hit the ground. Also, he's so heavy she doesn't usually make it very far with him, but they sure have fun trying.

Brandt made everyone watch Curious George while they were getting ready for bed.

He was excited to be able to sleep out in the living room with them and carried out some of his stuffed animals to spend the night with him.

This picture was at about 11:30 pm; notice that Brandt and Adrie were both still wide awake. Brandt decided he wanted to sleep in Adrie's sleeping bag, so she was nice and traded him and slept with his blankies instead. He actually spent most of the night on the floor above the other kids' heads. Then toward morning he crawled across the living room and kitchen to his room and then back out into the hallway and slept there for a little while (I don't think he was really awake when he moved). Then he came back in on the couch, where he insisted on watching "George" again til he fell asleep. Before morning came, he fell off the couch on his head and finished out the night sleeping on the floor above the kids, just where he started. What a funny kid!

Midnight; Kaylen's been sound asleep for over an hour, Brandt and Adrie are still wide awake.

About 12:20, Riley's been out since before Kaylen, and Brandt and Adrie finally, finally shut their tired little eyes.

I didn't really get pictures of Saturday, but they had a lot of fun playing, watching more "George" of course, and just hanging out. Riley and Adrie kept Brandt occupied long enough that Kaylen and I could make lunch and get Brandt's Curious George cake decorated.

We had to hide the cake from him until we took it over to the Thompson's that night cause he wanted to play with the stuff on top.

He was so tired from staying up way past his bed time and not getting a nap that he was a little bear all night. My first attempt at a picture got the above response.

Then he cheered up a little when he saw that we were going to light candles for him and started trying to blow them out before they were even lit.
He wasn't quite getting it well enough, so Riley was trying to help him.

He decided to give up on the candles and start sneaking the frosting instead. Finally we got them blown out and had some cake and ice cream and he opened presents. He was excited for his Tonka Loader from grandma and grandpa T. and for bubbles and animal cookies from Matt and Tiffany. The Well's family gave him a cute book and animal flashcards that are also puzzles matching baby animals to their moms. Of course, I neglected to get any pictures of the presents part...
Another picture for Kevin's benefit- ha-ha!! :) Adrie's dang cute in this one anyway. All in all it was a fun weekend and we can't wait to have them come over again soon.