Brandon Happy Day Pt.2

Well thanks to everyone who came over to see Brandon today and help celebrate his 1st birthday. Thanks also for all the wonderful gifts and cards that he received. Sorry there are not many pictures from today but I seemed to be rushing around a lot and didn't have time for pictures (poor excuse I know).

Here is Brandon in his new "story time chair" from Nanny, Grandad, Auntie Shahinah, Mark and Mia.

And here is the all important first birthday cake. Big thanks to Joshua and Mia for helping blow out the candles (about 5 times!!!).

Happy Birthday Son

A very big Happy Birthday wish to Brandon who today celebrated his 1st birthday.

Having just gone through Christmas and struggling to find room for all the new toys, we decided not too go over the top for Brandon. Well as you can see from below that soon went out of the window.

The all important first birthday cake.

And a special 1st birthday bib for the little dude to wear at his birthday meal.

So how do you celebrate your 1st birthday - well to start with you wake up with a big cheesy grin.

Then you crash out on Mum and Dad's bed with a pint of milk. Note the new top which Daddy bought Brandon which says "I am 1".

Then with the nappy cleaned and the stomach full - its time for some presents.

Joshua's reaction when he saw the pile of presents was classic. He switched straight into Xmas mode and said "Wow presents". Initially he tried to open one himself but we explained that they are Brandon's and with that Joshua handed Brandon his first birthday present. Joshua then sat there and helped Brandon open the presents - Brandon getting the wrapping paper, Joshua getting the toys!

Brandon's main present was this V-tech sit on / push along train with trailer and as you can see it just about seats both the boys (which is handy given how jealous Joshua can be!).

Joshua thoughtfully bought his little bro a load of new phat wheels cars as he knows how much Brandon enjoys playing with his garage and cars (or is this a cunning ploy to try and stop Brandon from playing with Joshua's cars by buying him his own ones!).

Back to the train and Joshua shows Brandon how everything works on it.

But who needs Joshua - the little dude soon had this one all figured out and was darting across the living room.

After a hard day at nursery it was out for dinner as a family. Unfortunately Moza was shut so we ended up in Frankie & Benny's where the two boys ate the restaurant out of garlic bread. Boy did them two make a mess with food and drink going everywhere - that poor waiter certainly earnt his money tonight.

After the meal it was back home to finish off opening the presents. Then another bottle of milk, wash, teeth and bed to charge up the batteries ready for a load more presents tomorrow.

Brandon likes his toy animals so we got him this really cool Noah's Ark which makes all the animal noises etc.

Tune in tomorrow for part II of Brandon's birthday update.

Those First Steps

Brandon's confidence with his walking and standing has improved exponentially over the last 24 hours. I had forgotten the joys of seeing one of your children learning to walk and trying to gain their balance whilst standing upright. Absolutely amazing. Today the little guy is managing to stand upright for around 10 seconds and can take around 5 steps. OK so he has not got complete control over his walking and it is more of a stumbling walk, but it is still one foot in front of the other and making distance forwards. Anyway here are some videos for you to enjoy....

Also today Brandon slept in his new bedroom for the first time. It was only for his lunch time nap but it is a good start to getting him used to his new room.

Something funny which we have learnt with Joshua is to practice what you preach. Over the months I have lost count of the number of drinks Joshua has spilt. So now when ever he picks up a cup we are always saying to him "use two hands!". Well he has turned it back on us now and when ever we pick up a drink we also have to use two hands otherwise he tells us off! I have lost count of the number of times I have heard "twos hands Daddy!".

Standing Room Only

4 days and counting.................and if you have forgotten what we are counting down - then you will feel the full raft of this little fellow!

Anyway other important matter - would the 2 people who voted on the poll that Brandon would not be walking by his birthday like to own up? Then if they could head off to the fridge and pull out a nice big slice of humble pie........... Check out the pictures below. The little guy can now stand for a few seconds unassisted and then does 2-3 stumbling steps into your arms.

And as if the walking wasn't bad enough - he can even climb up the stairs on his own now.

The latest with Joshua is that I have started teaching him the alphabet. He can now easily get the A,B,C,D and on the odd occasion the E. Once he has the E then I will add the next letter and so on......

Last Of The Mohicans

Only 9 days and counting.............

As everyone knows Brandon has much longer hair than Joshua which means one thing - extra long shampoo Mohican's at bathtime. Tina hates me doing this, but it has to be done. Unfortunately Brandon's hair is too long now and his mohican just flops over.

How about this for a sweet moment. A 2 year old feeding a near 1 year old!! Joshua insists on sitting in Daddies chair at the table and doing the first couple of spoon fulls for his little brother.

Brandon doesn't care, as long as the food gets from his plate to his mouth then he is happy.

For Christmas Joshua got some play-doh and now its almost part of the daily routine that you have to get this out along with various cookie cutters etc. As you can see from below both the boys are getting to grips with the play-doh.

10 Days & Counting

Only 10 days now until little Brandon's first birthday - Joshua has been getting in plenty of practice to help his little brother blow out the candles. Brandon's first birthday is something very exciting for us all to look forward too, however being 1 does have one major down side. Yes the dreaded NHS letter has arrived with Brandon's appointment for his 1 year old lot of jabs (poor fellow!).

If anyone needs ideas for Brandon's birthday then give me or Tina a call. If you are really stuck for an idea then given that he already has a tonne of toys from Xmas and loads of clothes you can always make a contribution to his Child Trust Fund.

Since Brandon is nearly 1 we have started to phase him off of formula milk and onto cows milk. Currently he is having a 50:50 mixture and seems to be downing the whole lot. Also the steriliser is now history - Brandon being 1 year old means the steriliser gets abandoned to the deepest darkest depths of the garage to free up some more space in the kitchen.

Now that the boys are both over the worst of their winter colds we have been getting them back into their weekly swimming routine. We try and make swimming fun and play around a lot in the pool, but Joshua is now at a stage where he also has to start learning to swim properly so we are taking some time out every now and then to get him floating and kicking his legs hard etc.etc.

I've Got A Feeling........

............and no I am not talking about the "Black Eyed Peas" song. As I Dad I have discovered one of the most amazing feelings ever. Its the feeling of being bowled over by excited kids when you return from a days work. Last night I opened the front door to first get steam rolled by Joshua who came charging up for a kiss and cuddle. This was very closely followed by Brandon who heard my voice and promptly started bouncing around before darting at break neck speed crawling from the lounge to the hallway to get a cuddle off of his Dad. What a feeling..........

Table For 1

As Brandon approaches his first birthday we decided it was time to move him from the high chair to a booster chair in order to join the rest of the family at the dinner table. We tried the new green seat for the first time today and Brandon was extremely good in it. But then there was food involved and Brandon tends not to worry about much else when food is around.

Handy Manny Joshua

Last night I was sitting in the living room doing some drawing with Joshua on his easel and in the background "Handy Manny" was on the TV. Not sure if any of you have seen "Handy Manny" or not but in short he is a Fix-It man who carries around his talking tool set. Anyway Joshua glanced up at the TV and noticed Handy Manny did the classic DIY trick of holding the pencil behind his ear. With this Joshua grabbed his pen and stuck it behind his ear whilst telling me "Handy Manny Does". How funny. Next thing I know he is sticking the pen behind my ear and telling me I am Handy Manny. Anyway check out the pics below and spot the resemblance between Joshua and Handy Manny.

Accident Report

Its a sure sign the Xmas break is over and its back to work - finding time for blog updates is difficult and they are likely to become a bit more rare. So what has happened with the boys since Xmas.........

Well Brandon started his first full day at nursery today. He has had phase in sessions for the last month and today Tina returned to work and therefore both boys were off to nursery. No surprises really that he has had his first accident report on day 1 after picking a fight with a table and losing!

Also over the last 2 weeks Brandon has had an ultrasound completed on his eye to confirm that it is a cyst which is not attached to the bone and is not malignant. So there is no urgency just yet but we now need to meet with the doctor and surgeon to discuss the next steps about when to get the cyst removed. Brandon is getting very very confident on his feet now and whilst he is not quite walking, he is certainly taking more risks in transitioning from leaning on one item to another.

Joshua seems to get smarter and smarter everyday and his development seems so rapid. Its amazing how much he has learnt and what he can do now. You talk to him just like any normal person and can quite happily have a conversation with him (even on the phone which now means I have to do the childish talk over the work phone with all the office mates listening -doh). He is also becoming very affectionate and has plenty of cuddles, kisses and hugs for Mum, Dad and Little Brother. Joshua still sleeps in his big boys bed very well and has still not figured out that he can get up at anytime and roam around his penthouse suite or play with his toys. In fact most mornings you wake him up, take him for a wee, and then he will usually say something like "back to bed now" - wonder where he gets that from????? The biggest news on Joshua is that today he wore proper boys pants for the first time and stayed dry in them all day until just after dinner when he did a poo.

Over Xmas we spent a lot of time completing Brandon's bedroom in the penthouse suite and he will soon be ready to join his bigger brother up there. At the moment we are still getting 1 or 2 bad nights a week with Brandon so we are holding fire on moving him up there just yet through fear of him waking Joshua up. As you can see from the pictures below it is looking like a proper bedroom now.