We're officially a sports family

Matt and I share a love for sports. We love the team work, the effort, the discipline, the excitement, the commitment...we love it all! We often talk about how our kids can do whatever they want in regards to extracurricular activities. We say, "we'll support our boys in anything; football, piano, karate, dance, etc".  We really will support them in anything they do, but if they always chose sports that would be great with us! I'm praying that is the case. ;)

That whole little sports rant is because Titus started his first organized sport this fall. He is playing soccer for the YMCA. You can imagine the excitement and fun this little 3 week biddy soccer league has brought to our little house on Charlotte Street. We are practicing soccer all the time, talking soccer often, and of course helping Coach Daddy with game strategy. (Matt nor I know much about soccer, but in my opinion soccer is a good starter sport. Hopefully someday it's football and baseball games.) I'm definitely that mom who brought my giant camera to every game and every practice to make sure I didn't miss anything. I was so proud of my little guy.

Happy 3rd Birthday Titus

Titus Lair

3 years old

Stats

Weight   32 lbs 6 oz (60%)

Height    38 1/2" (70%)

Skills

-you are speaking in full conversations
-you have strong opinions and share they will full sentences ;)
-you are a great helper with your little brother
-you sleep from around 7:30pm to 6:30 am (but you usually play in your room  until 7am)
-you nap from around 12-2 everyday
-playing with friends is one of your favorite activities
-kicking a soccer ball
-dribbling a basketball
-hitting a ball without a T

Struggles

-taking turns with friends
-behavior in general is hard at 3 ;)
-waking up in the middle of the night with bad dreams (occasionally) 

Letter from Mommy
My Sweet Little T,
    You're 3 years old! I can hardly believe it. You made me a mommy 3 years ago on July 9, 2010. What a special day! This past year has been a big year for you. You have grown up so much! You went from a toddler to a little boy. Now you can understand everything I say (for better or worse) and you can talk back with me. You're such a fun little boy. You play hard every day all day. You barely sit for a movie because you would rather be jumping on the furniture, kicking a ball, or playing with your race cars. We have playdates with friends several times a week and you love these times during our week. You and your friends play chase, ninja turtles, football, and run wild around all the parks in our neighborhood. On the outside you're rough, tough, and wild. Underneath all that toughness you are a sweet and tender boy. You love people very much and love to be a helper. When Bram gets hurt or becomes sad you cry right along with him, and when Bram laughs or plays you always join in.

 You bring so much joy to our lives. We pray for you everyday. We pray you become a man who knows God and Loves God with your whole heart. We pray that you are strong and courageous, gentle and loving. We pray that you come to know Jesus as your savior at a young age and that faith continues to grow stronger throughout your life.

You're an awesome boy. We love you.
Love you Big Boy,
Mommy

Happy Birthday Bram (better late than never)

Bram Mac

 1 Year Old

Stats 

Weight   22lbs 9 oz (50%)

Height    28 1/2" (10%)

Head Circ  18 1/2" (70%)

Skills

-cruising like a champ but not walking yet
-babbling constant sounds but no words yet
-clapping
-dancing
-recognizing familiar people when asked to find "mommy, etc"
-you are still a great eater!
-you did a great job moving from the bottle to sippy cup!

Struggles

-still not saying mama or dada specially in regards to us (Dr. Natasha said not to worry hopefully that will come in the next few weeks)
-sleep overall is really good. You don't take very long naps but you are happy when you're awake so that is great! 

Letter from Mommy
My Sweet Little Bram,
   Happy First Birthday! We had such a great time celebrating your b-day. On July 4th (the day after your 1 st b-day) we had our family all come over for a party. We cooked out steaks and veggies and had a big birthday cake! You loved your cake! I'm not surprised because you love all food! I'll post pictures from your party down below. Everyone always talks about what a sweet boy you are and how you can make anyone smile. Your temperament is so pleasant and you are always happy to make a new friend. You are starting to get sad whenever mommy has to leave you in child watch at the Y or at church but every time I come back to get you a smile is on your face again! You and Titus are starting to play together more. Titus loves to practice his football moves on you. You're a tough boy to handle a big brother like T. I hope you and Titus always have a good relationship where you can laugh, fight, cry, and joke together. Daddy and I pray for you everyday. We pray that you grow to be a strong, Godly man; who knows God and loves God.

We love you Brammy.
Love,
 Mommy

Bram Mac 11 Months

Bram Mac 11 Months

STATS
Not sure (no doctor visit this month)

SKILLS
- You love to clap
- You greet everyone with a wave
- cruising all over the place
- speedster going up the stairs (mommy has to keep a close eye on you!)
- You are loving big boy food and are only taking a bottle at bedtime (still getting milk in sippy cup the rest of the day)
-sleeping great at nap time and at night!

STRUGGLES
- You are not babbling that often, but you can babble DA DA and MA MA. You don't use those sounds to request your daddy or mommy yet (but I'm sure we will be there soon!)
-There are not many struggles right now! PTL

Dear Bram,
    The month of June has been so fun with you. You love the water! You splash like a wild man in the tub and at the pool. As soon as I turn on the water for you bath your feet start kicking like crazy. It is fun to watch you and your big brother interact more. Your eyes light up when Titus talks to you. Sometimes in the car if you are sad I will ask Titus to try and make you laugh! He starts making all sorts of funny faces and noises and low and behold it almost always turns your tears into giggles. Your laugh is contagious. You really get laughing hard whenever mommy or daddy tickles your tummy. I love it. Your laugh always brightens my day.

I love you son,
 Mommy

Bram Mac 10 Months

Happy 10 Months Handsome Boy.

STATS
Weight 18 lbs (estimate)
Height ?????
Head Circ ??????

SKILLS
-You are CRAWLING!
-You can hold your self up along a table or couch
- You are sleeping great!
- You have been sick once since getting your tubes and you didn't get an ear infection! Good news!

STRUGGLES
-You have been sick a few times this month (but didn't get an ear infection!) When you are sick you just want mommy to hold you. That part is pretty sweet.
-You are crawling and getting into everything! :)
-You will eat anything that comes in your path (scares mommy)

Dear Brammy,
  Sweet boy. I'm so proud of you. You have had a great month. You were such a big boy when you got your tubes a few weeks ago. You were so patient and happy. We arrived at the hospital at 6am and had to wait until 7:15 for your surgery to start. You played quietly with mommy and daddy during that time. Everyone at the hospital was smitten by your sweet smile and chubby checks. You greeted the surgeon, nurses, and other doctors with your adorable smile. They loved you. Your surgery went great. It took about 15 minutes for them to put in your tubes. Mommy was pretty nervous the entire time. I paced the waiting room and your daddy teared up when your status on the "waiting room board" said IN SURGERY. We went right back to see you as soon as the doctor would let us. You wanted to nurse right away and were very disoriented. We got you home and you took the longest nap of your life (about 4 hours) and then woke up like nothing had ever happened. Your ears haven't bothered you since. Praise God. You have been doing great gaining weight since your 9 month check up. You have been taking two bottles a day and nursing twice a day. It seems to be working well for both of us. You love "big boy" food as well. You like to eat avocados, cheese, yogurt, all fruit, hummus, and most veggies. We went on your first trip to the beach this month. Your favorite part was definitely the sand. We love you sweet Bram. Happy 10 months.
Love,
Mommy

Happy 9 Months Bram

Happy 9 Months to this handsome face...

STATS
Weight 17lbs 10 oz (10%)
Height 26 1/2 inches (10%)
Head Circ 17 1/2 inches (25%)

SKILLS
-You are getting really close to crawling! I can tell you want to move really bad but for now you are just rocking away on all fours
-You make everyone smile
-using your pincher grasp to pick up food (and everything else small!! It terrifies me!)
-You are FINALLY sleeping through the night and taking 2 good naps a day!

STRUGGLES
-I had some problems with nursing on one side, so I weaned one side and was trying to only nurse you on one side. My supply is not doing the best job keeping up. At your 9 month check up the doctor told us that your weight and height have not increased enough over the past 3 months; therefore, I have to start supplementing with formula. I was pretty bummed, but the most important thing is to do what is best for you! So We are going to start giving you two bottles of formula a day and I will nurse you twice a day as well.
-You are still getting ear infections quite often so we have an appointment to see the ENT, hopefully they will put in tubes to help you from getting so many ear infections.

Thankful continued...ALL PICTURES

This post is all pictures of our trip thus far...thankful for this time with our boys.

Happy 8 Months Bram Mac

Stats:

Length ????? 
Weight 17.1 (dropped a little weight)

Head Circ. ?????

Skills:

*starting pull up onto all fours
*getting really interested in food! The puree's are already a little boring, he wants big boy food! (Which terrifies mommy!)
*making all sorts of silly faces, showing different expressions! His sad face will rip your heart out! That little lip starts pouting and my heart starts breaking!
*starting to babble

Struggles:
*Still fighting those awful ear infections (going to see an ENT soon!)
*no teeth yet!

Dear Bram,
  Happy 8 months! I can't believe you are getting so old! We are having so much fun with you. We love you. Your smile brings us so much JOY.

 Love, Mommy

Thankful

Thanks to some good friends of ours and my parents we are officially on our FIRST family vacation...just the 4 of us. We spent the weekend at a good friends wedding in Santa Rosa, Florida and then drove 20 mins down the road to a condo that we get to stay in for a week for....FREE! (THANK YOU to some great friends, you know who you are!) :) Thankful is the only name I could think to give this post because all I can really say is how thankful we feel to get to have this time just the 4 of us. It has been so special to spend time with our boys. Time with our boys without work, schedules, friends, or anything else...just the 4 of us. We still have 2 days left and I already feel like we have grown so much closer through this time. It amazing how much better you get to know your littles when you have no other agenda except to spend time with them. I'm convinced we will do this every year until they won't go with us any more! It probably won't always be to Destin, Florida but we will make it a priority to get away with our kids and spend some QT every year...I don't care if it's to some random hotel with a pool in independence, MO, it's about getting time together. Here are some pics from our time thus far.

Watch out Destin, we are here. Our first family pic right before we hit the beach for the first time

 Is that Kenny Chesney or Matt Marasco? Nice hat babe...Matt got a horrible sunburn day 1 so he has been "guarding" his neck all week.

 Matt and T hit the bummer boats. I didn't want anything to do with those...you should have smelled the water. uggg. T loved it!

Matt let me take T on his first go cart ride. That was pretty awesome. I can remember riding go carts with my dad in Branson, MO so it brought back a lot of memories to be back in one of those with Tito. To be honest, I'm a horrible go cart driver and we go passed by EVERYONE. Thank goodness T had no idea. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. We yelled "go mommy" and "go Titus" the whole time.

Sweet Bram slept through the boats and the go carts. 

Happy 7 Months Bram

Happy 7 Months Bram Mac

Stats:

Length ????? 
Weight 17.8

Head Circ. ?????

Skills:

*Sitting up all by himself
*loves eating his big boy food!
*laughing at his big brother
*making some new sounds, they are kind of high pitched screams but they are adorable

Struggles:
*SICKNESS- poor guy is on his third ear infection!
*Still no teeth, so I don't know if he was actually teething last month or not?

Dear Bram,
  Happy 7 Months! You are such a joy. Your daddy and I always talk about how much fun you are to have around. You always have a big smile on your face! We love your laid back personality. Some of your favorite things to do right now are cuddling with mommy, laughing with daddy, and letting your big brother "tackle" you! Which is basically like an intense giant hug, but it still terrifies me when Titus does it, you just laugh! It's been a long and cold winter with lots of snow! We've spent time a lot of time playing inside with friends, hanging out in our basement, and walking around crown center. You love the indoor  playground at crown center. You love watching your big brother go crazy there! We love you so much sweet Bam Bam.

Love,
Mommy

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

The freezing temperatures outside, the warm coffee in my hand, and the blizzard going on outside my window have all inspired me to post some pictures from our last snow. Bram is taking a good long "it's too cold to do anything else but sleep" morning nap and Titus is snuggled up next to grandma Gigi watching The Lion King. Although it is way to cold to play in the snow right at this moment, hopefully this is in our near future...

"Lets go play DOMINATION (his name for wrestling) in the snow mommy"

SMILE like we aren't freezing our bums off!

DOMINATION

T looks a little unsure...

 "Yeah Okay this snow angel things looks cool"

 "Uhhhhhh nevermind"

"hey dad"