Who They Are Now--18 Months

Brinkley and Braxton are 18 months old and time has gone by way too quickly. There are times when I wish they would grow up faster, like when biting each other was a daily occurrence, or when the bowl full of spaghetti I'm trying to feed them gets batted out of my hand and falls to the floor staining the rug and covering everything within 5 feet with red sauce. But then there are other times, when they fall and come running to me to comfort them, or when they want to snuggle or when they say a new word or learn and new concept that I wish time would just stand still and that I could have my precious babies forever. Days are tough and challenging, but this is my beautiful, chaotic life and I do love it. I love being a mom--I lose my patience too easily and the house can get a little too messy, but I'm doing the best I can and I know that they know that I love them.

Brinkley Jada

She is so funny. She gives the silliest looks and still loves to babble at you/tell you off. She loves to be read to and is great at playing independently. She has always been super-limber and recently decided to escape from her crib by simply hoisting her leg over the bar at the top. She typically just hangs out on the top bar, but last week decided to complete the escape--she now has a black eye. She LOVES to climb and not just out of her crib...chairs, sofas, gates, toys, high chairs, whatever gets in her path, she'll just climb over it. She's fearless. She still isn't very friendly to strangers and looks like a curmudgeon next to her overly-friendly brother. But once she warms up to you, she melts your heart. I wish she would smile more, but it makes you appreciate the big smiles when they come because they aren't around very often. She's so sweet and loving to her new baby brother, she'll kiss him 100 times a day, yet when I ask for a kiss I usually get one like 10% of the time. She hates her hair being done and doesn't seem to mind if it covers her face, if I had it my way she'd have a new hair-do daily, but I like her abundance of independence--I really do. She does however, love playing with my hair. She is still a major TV watcher, doesn't matter what's on she'll become a zombie. She still LOVES music and dancing and when she drinks her sippy cup with milk before naps/bedtime she plays with her hair with her right hand--she' done this most of her life, I just don't think I've mentioned it before. She loves saying, "baby" and she and Brax both now have teddy bears they sleep with and call, "Baby." She's feisty and usually gets her way, we're both so stubborn, but somehow, it's usually me who gives in. She loves to sing the Alphabet song and her faves are, "A, B, C," she sings it like the Jackson Five song, and she loves singing "Q, R, S." She counts to three and and is as sassy as they come. I love her dearly.

Braxton Reese

Braxton is like an enigma to me, he completely ignores me when I say no, especially to opening drawers in the kitchen and messing with the blinds and dishwasher. He almost laughs at me when I get mad at him. On the other hand he's the sweetest thing ever, smiles and waves at strangers, goes to find his sippy cup of water and will bring Brinkley hers too, because he thinks she may be thirsty too...he's does this all by himself. He great at sharing, yet, can all of the sudden decide he wants something and becomes "Mr. Greedy!" He's super-sensitive and when he gets upset and cries, he closes one eye (his left) and narrows his mouth, he looks just like Popeye the Sailor Man or a pirate, we're not sure. He loves his teddy bear, "Baby," and many times when I check on him during one of his naps, he's asleep and still cuddling with the bear it's just too funny. He has a recent obsession with picking at things, he's removed the tiny plastic pieces the act as a bumpers on all the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, he has also removed some of the logo off of the big screen TV and of course there are no more letters of his name left on his wall. He loves trucks, cars, balls and dinosaurs. He is growing out of his picky eating stage, but still will not touch eggs, no matter how you disguise them. He loves to run when he thinks he's in trouble and loves hiding under the dining room table and under the chairs, he loves blankets and arranging things so that he can climb on top of them to reach something else, hence the removal of the TV logo. He is just a pure joy to be around, I love how happy he can be and his beautiful smile that he'll flash at me from across the room. He too loves his little brother and I know he'll be a great example to him throughout his life. I love Braxton so much, it makes all the chaos he creates worth it.