Brotherly Love

I can not say whether this Brotherly Love extends both ways, but Brandon sure does love and adore his little brother! Grant I suspect tolerates his older brother right now, but hopefully they will become fast friends as they get older. I love how happy Brandon is when he gets to hold his little brother.

I need to video tape my swaddling methods because I have learned they are very funny (or perhaps a little disturbing. :) ) but for whatever reason both of my boys love to be wrapped up tight - VERY TIGHT! Brandon has outgrown the tight swaddling but it was still fun to pretend to be a baby again. :)

Brandon loves to show off his little brother to everyone, and must be close by at all times. He is also careful to make sure that Grant is never left out of anything; anytime I mention something about Brandon, Brandon will always add "and Grant" for example if I say "mommy loves Brandon" I hear "and Grant?!", or Brandon is such a big boy! - and Grant?!, or does Brandon want to play with McKell - and Grant?!. I hope this desire to always include his younger brother continues to be fun and important as they get older.

I love these boys!!!

WELCOME BABY GRANT!!

Baby Grant entered our little family on Tuesday morning at 8:31. He was 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. He has the same dark hair and funny cowlick as his brother Brandon.Jared was a great daddy from the get go! Grant's first bathThis delivery was so much better than it was with Brandon. After he was delivered I was able to see him and give him kisses before they took him away for the bath and more testing. With Brandon sadly I did not get to see him until a few hours latter because I was in shock - literally. As soon as Grant was done with his tests and bath I was able to hold him and feed him - I am so happy this delivery was so much better!!!!!Dr. Berg! Yeah for having a great family doctor!! For the past month Brandon has been telling us "Dr. Berg, Baby Grant, Out mommies tummy, Now!" I love that Brandon knows the doctor who delivered him and his brother and that he gets to visit with him often!Brandon spent the week at Grandma Julie's and Grandpa Ron's house sharing a room with Aunt Lindsey while I was in the hospital! Thanks so much mom and dad for helping us out!!!! They brought Brandon up Tuesday night to see his little brother. It was love at first sight! Brandon loves his little brother, and Jared and I were surprised by the gentle side Brandon showed to his brother.Grandma Julie and Grandpa RonAunt Lindsey with her third nephew - she is such a darling aunt!!!!Aunt Natalie - also a great Aunt!Baby Grant gave Brandon some more Thomas TrainsOur new family!Baby Grant all bundled up to go home!

Top Five Reasons For Not Blogging

It has been well over a month since my last post - I hate getting behind but I feel I have some good reasons or at least some interesting excuses.

#5 The Holidays -

We enjoyed every minute of our very long holiday break - Jared was able to get a lot of time off so we spent nearly two weeks enjoying each others company and the company of friends and family. Brandon was of course spoiled by all who love him. His favorite toys were; the large tunnel and tent system from Grandma Julie and Grandpa Ron, many new trains and track for his Thomas the Train set from Grandma Dee Ann and Grandpa Wyn, and lots of new plastic animals from me and Jared. Jared and I also enjoyed many new fun gifts and money to pay for them from Parents and Grandparents. We were richly blessed! Feeding the ducks was deffinatly a highlight to our trip in Idaho Falls! Brandon would have spent hours chasing the ducks and feeding regardless of how cold it was.

#4 Having Too Much Fun Playing with Brandon

Brandon and I have kept busy playing in the snow, watching fun movies, visiting family and friends, and going on outings to the library, aquarium, and store (it really is a lot of fun). I love spending time with him - his personality surprises me every day, and the speed with which young children learn astounds me!!!

Brandon surprised me when we were waiting in the parking lot at Toys R Us while Jared went to hunt for some "CARS" toy cars. From the back seat I hear "T" it took me a few minutes to realize what he was pointing at then I replied "yes Brandon that is a T. Shortly after "O" , and then "S" I was not at all surprised that he skipped Y I have never taught that one to him but only a few seconds later he said "Y". Imagine my surprise! He may not have had them in order but he still knew those letters, I was so proud! Unfortunately I can not take all the credit Super Why and Word World are some great TV shows that help with the letters, and he loves them!!! I never thought I would say it - but HOORAY FOR TV!

#3 I am in my ninth month of pregnancy - enough said!!

This pregnancy has been much more difficult than it was with Brandon. I have been far more tired, had many more strange and lasting sicknesses (which I wont go into) and general discomforts. But I only have two more days to go. We have scheduled the C-section for Tuesday morning bright and early at 6:00am. We can hardly wait to welcome our second little boy into our family!

#2 Transitions

In an effort to make room for baby we have moved Brandon from his crib into a big boy bed and a new room. The transition was surprisingly easy and pleasant. Brandon had lots of fun helping me assemble his bed and get his room ready. He really did help me build the bed, he even started on one of the steps without my assistance and did it right - yes is was easy, but I can still be proud right! :) Brandon loves his room so much he never misses a chance to show off his new room and new bed to all visitors. I must admit I am also very pleased with the turn out of his new room - it was done with a budget, and so I tried my hand at painting for the art and it actually looks nice - Hooray! He looks so cute all snuggled in. He likes his room so much he will actually play in it for more that five minutes without me - this is huge! He and his friend looked so cute reading books in his bed with his cars table! I love it!!Because Brandon transitioned into the only other room in our house we had to move the office into our bedroom - Yuck We spent a few weeks with a much too big roll top, then we sold the roll top and used a card table, and now finally I am writing to you from our new desk which brings us to Excuse #1 for not blogging.

#1 NESTING

This instinct always hits hard for me the last month and this month has been no exception. Just this week I have: scrubbed the kitchen floors (they changed colors), scrubbed the stove, oven, microwave, and fridge, organized the kitchen and laundry cupboards, organized the closet in the guest bathroom, washed the sheets for our bedroom, cleaned the major windows inside and out, cleaned the fish tank, and best of all assembled a very complicated desk all by myself - in Brandon words -"I do it!" Yes I am proud of myself - probably too proud- but I have never attempted something like this before. I still have many more things that I hope to finish like; cleaning both bathrooms, giving Maggie a bath, installing safety latches, dusting EVERYTHING, and updating my blog - yes check! ;)

Now I would like to say that I will not neglect my blog again but with another baby on the way who knows? I will for sure post pictures and stats of baby when all is said and done - till then I enjoy reading all of your blogs and hearing all of the good and bad that is happening in your life!

It makes me happy!

I was sure that last year would be the last year I would be able to put up my two favorite decorations. I love my Dickens Village and my Nativity but with a toddler around I didn't dare put them out. Then we got this lovely entertainment center and I have a perfect place for both of them - It just make me so happy. I know that is silly but it is just so pretty to look at. I love sitting on the couch with my cup of hot cocoa, listening to Christmas music and looking at the village and nativity - it is so cozy!I love that the light on the entertainment center is just above baby Jesus like a star - cheesy I know but I like it.I could spend hours looking at the beautiful details of the Christmas village. My favorite piece however is the newly wed couple in the horse drawn sleigh. Jared and I went on a carriage ride around Temple Square the day we were married (that was in May but I still think it is special!)I love the smell and of course the taste of Gingerbread cookies! These little guys make me very happy. I have already made two batches and I am sure two more will be made before the end of the month. They are so tasty!!!! YUM!

I thought you might like the recipe:

Cream together 1C. shortening and 1C. sugar in a mixer.

Add 1C. dark molasses, 2T. Vinegar, and 1tsp. Vanilla then mix together

In a separate bowl mix 6C. flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. soda, 4 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and 1.4 tsp nutmeg.

Add flour mixture to the first mixture alternating with 1/2 C. hot water.

Chill for 1 hour. Bake for 7-8 min. at 350*

ENJOY!!! I love this recipe because it makes soft chewy cookies instead of the crunchy ginger snap kind of cookies.

What are your favorite Christmas recipes, and what little seemingly silly things are making you happy this season?

Grandpa Bowman turns 100!!

Jared's Grandpa Bowman turned 100 on the 12th of this month. What an amazing milestone and accomplishment!

This is part of what was printed in the local newspaper:

"Charles Taggart Bowman will celebrate his 100th birthday Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. Chuck was born Dec. 12, 1909, in a humble home in South Weber, Utah.. His mother Amanda Taggart and her husband, William James Bowman had 10 children. Finances were always a problem, but the family pulled together and worked hard at many different jobs. tow winters were spent in two cabin tents and food was often obtained by hunting and fishing. Chuck worked as a farm laborer, milk collection driver, apprentice cheese maker and semi truck driver. When he "retired," he went to work for BMC West as a custodian and fix-it man, where he earned the Employee of the Year award. He has been an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and has seen this church grow from 377.279 members and four temples to a world wide membership of more that 14 million and 130 temples. He lives with his wife of 67 years, Rodonna Bringhurst Bowman. He has three children, Maureen, Garde and Wyn. He also has 19 grandchildren. 44 great-grandchildren and 39 great-great-grandchildren."

It is so amazing to me everything Grandpa Bowman has lived through and seen. To think about all that has happened in the 100 years he has been alive. Makes me wonder if I ever live to be that age, or even close to it, what will I witness in my life? What amazing advances in medicine, technology, church, and government will I see?

We celebrated his birthday by having an open house with all his family and friends in attendance. People traveled from California, Utah, and Wyoming to Idaho for the big day. This is Grandpa with his wife and three children.This is Grandpa opening up an album of letters and pictures from all of his children and grandchildren - it was so fun to look at this book and see all of Jared's cousins and family that I had never met. We sure love Grandpa Bowman and the influence for good he has had in our lives. I am so happy that Brandon has been able to know this great man. I am also so happy that Brandon shares Grandpa's name. He, Grandpa Bowman, Grandpa Wyn, and Jared all share the name of Charles. I think that is pretty special! This is the four generations of Charles Bowman's Aren't they handsome! :)I love this picture of Grandpa and Brandon. When Brandon was younger Grandpa would take him for rides in his motor chair, it would make Brandon so happy. :)
Happy Birthday Grandpa Bowman!!!

Thanksgiving Sleepover

Each year Jared and I rotate who's family we will spend Thanksgiving with, that year we will spend Christmas with the other family. Well this year it was my families turn for Thanksgiving. We had originally planned on spending the weekend at my in-laws cabin, so when that did not happen we decided instead to have a big family sleep over at my parents house. Thanksgiving dinner was at Aunt Kris' house - she is so super talented at decorating and making dinner special I LOVE it!! I also really enjoy watching everyone working in the kitchen together to get the food ready - so fun!Brandon and Chandler did surprisingly well eating in their chairs on the floor. They shared and tray and probably all of their food - but they had a good time.Friday morning Jared braved Black Friday while the rest of us slept and then went on a walk to the church to play. That night we went to dinner and then rode on tracks. The only reason for that many people to ride tracks was so that Brandon and Chandler could ride the train. They both really enjoyed it - but it was very crowded and a bit chaotic!We rode tracks to the Temple Square lights. I love the way the lights and nativities are displayed every year, so Beautiful! Even Brandon enjoyed being wrapped in his stroller and blanket to see them! On Saturday we enjoyed playing board games, and watching the Utah/BYU game - it was a house divided Jared and I walked away feeling pretty sad about the outcome of the game but everyone else seemed to be very happy. :) Then we decorated the tree. I love seeing all of the sentimental ornaments come out. I look forward to some day having a tree filled with special ornaments from children and friends like my mom has. My mom even had special ornaments just for Brandon and Chandler to decorate with. They sure had fun! All in all it was a very fun weekend!