The Brothers Bryant

Happy Easter!  I know this much is true:  beautiful spring days make for a very happy family.  I am currently relishing a moment of solitude and quiet, interrupted only by the rhythmic tapping of the baby swing on our uneven floor upstairs.  (Sigh)

We have had a fantastic few weeks fraught with rants (we do have a toddler), raves (I survived the grocery store with both kids), big lessons (baby sleep - see below), big successes (drinking from a cup - see below), and a whole lot of fun (see below). 

Davis is super smiley, which brings endless entertainment to all of us.  Peter and I are practicing making funny faces to make him laugh.  We're the ones who end up entertained!  He's still eating really well.  In fact, he weighs more now than Peter did at this age despite the extra pound that Peter had on him at birth.  Davis is well over 12 pounds with no signs of slowing down!  We are beginning to see a pattern in his sleep habits, which is so helpful given he's not sleeping through the night just yet.  He will sometimes go a 6 hour stretch, but it's from 6pm-12am... not so helpful to me!  We had a week or so that was uncharacteristically difficult.  After getting our wits back, we figured out that he was overtired.  I've been trying to ensure more structured nap times throughout the day, but it's so much harder to do that this time!  Peter's life sure doesn't stop for nap time. 

Peter is growing up before our very eyes.  Seriously.  He's grown an inch since Davis was born and he's looking more and more like a little boy.  In fact, before his recent haircut, he looked a whole lot like a little Geoffrey.

A few weeks ago, Peter began belting out the ABCDEFGs on our way home from school.  (Don't call them the ABCs... they're the ABCDEFGs!) He made up a song for me at bedtime one night (about how much he loves preschool - this former teacher died and went to heaven).  He is speaking in coherent sentences (verbs and all)!  He's using words I didn't know he knew.  He explains himself with different words when we don't understand what he's saying.  He drinks from a real cup.  He won't let me call Davis "Baby D" - "it's Baby Daviff, Mommy."  I cannot be referred to as Mama - it's Mommy.  I bade him "goodnight, cowboy" and he replied, "Goodnight cowgirl mommy.  I wuff oo."  He says his own prayers and very enthusiastically makes the sign of the cross, claps his hands together and says, "AMEN!"  He sat (mostly) still and quietly in church when the nursery was closed today.  He cried when we left church - he wanted more.  (That one is for his grandmothers and great-grandmother to brag about.)  All in three weeks, it's like he became a little person.  Again.  Incredible to witness. 

A friend of mine recently shared a story about research on building character in boys.  Boys need opportunities to explore and learn resourcefulness.  How to?  Send them outside for an hour every day.  Lately, friends, I'm building lots of character.  He's exploring and I am soaking up the Vitamin D. 

 Ladies and gentlemen, the source of parental nirvana and toddler bliss:

Seriously, if I had known how much Peter would love this play "home" then I would have had it out there during my first trimester last summer.  We have raced down those slides for hours; although he's toast until he learns not to drag his feet.  The tire swing makes him giddy and he learned today how to climb the rock wall, so he was super excited about that.  We are working on the big boy swing - leaning and pumping his legs.  In time...

and yes, Davis is enjoying his share of the loot! 

 

The late afternoon view from my perch

Note:  please excuse the battle scars in the Easter pictures.  Peter took a (face first) spill in the driveway yesterday but quickly collected himself and asked to go back outside.   It looks worse than it is... isn't that toddlerhood in general?!  Instead, note the precious Easter outfits made especially for them by Nanny.  They looked so precious!  The first picture above was the least blurry of the bunch - both boys were quite wiggly, but I have to include this one that was taken a single instant after the one on top of this entry. 

I'm outta here!

And of course, you need a close-up or two of DAB:

One week ago - 9 weeks old

We were fortunate to share Easter with the Bryants and simultaneously celebrate Reenie's birthday weekend.  Peter sang "Happy Boopy" to her several times, though he clams up in front of an audience. Davis, on the other hand, enjoys the audience.  ;) 

I can't wait to discover his little personality.  Having Peter and getting to know him has been the privilege of my life, and I'm so excited and blessed to do it again with this other precious little boy. 

I will be braving the highways this week with both boys.  We are headed to Louisiana for my first visit since November.  I'll either emerge victorious (think Wonder Woman who survived the grocery store with both boys) or I will collapse in a puddle on my mom's front porch.  Or maybe both.  Stay tuned.