Where has summer gone?

Holy Cow! Summer is almost over! This makes me a tad sad. I love summer! But, since I did say summer is almost over, I should add that Football started. That's right, we are currently in the 2nd week of Camp, and 2-a-days begin August 1st. So, you're question may be, "How is the basement coming along"? The answer, SLOW! Yesterday, some of the framing started to go up and boy oh boy am I glad I wasn't home for most of it! Its L.O.U.D! And Jack's whereabouts, well, he's spending a few days with his Nana & Papa in Coldwater!

So, in the lovliness of creating this post - we're having "Summer Hours" at work and we don't start seeing patients until 1:00 today, so, I'm enjoying my 1 cup of allowed coffee, putting off a little longer cleaning the house! Well, I do have sheets in the wash =)!

As for the joys of cleaning the house this week! We're having guests this weekend! For Jack's 2nd Birthday. Can you believe he's turning 2? I certainly cannot!

So, July...JULY! Its a lovely, long, and hot month! Mark and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary! How? Well, spending a day at Wifflemania! A yearly wiffle ball tournament. But, don't fret, Mark and I did celebrate, this past Monday (since Jack was gone)! We went to Furniture Fair to buy some end tables for the living room! (I purchased a gift certificate from Cincysavers (like Groupon) which was to expire in August! Now, I need new lamps...;-)!) I digress, furniture shopping always takes way too long...those sales guys are almost as bad as car sales folks and want to spend time shooting the breeze with their customers. Well, I'm not a shoot the breeze girl! We then celebrated at Bravo! Obviously! (For those of you who aren't familiar with the history behind Bravo: our first date occurred at Bravo and thus our rehearsal dinner!) It was deeeeelicious! And my few sips of Mark's wine, to die for =)! Our date ended with a quick trip to Toys 'R Us to shop for Jack and Avery's 2nd Birthdays. (Slightly unsuccessfully might I add!) If I had been asked 6 years ago, how I thought I'd spend out anniversary, I never, in a million years, would have thought furniture shopping and toy shopping! Welcome to married-parenthood =)! I love it!!!!!

Wowy Zowy that was long winded!

As for the rest of the month...we celebrated the 4th of July, introducing Jack to sparklers! Of course he wanted to hold it himself. Yikes!

Not only is Dad letting Jack hold the sparkler himself, note his post Canada trashy-stashy! Its gone now ;-)!

We did some swimming!

He really was having fun! He gave me the "cheese face" - but I wasn't quick enough!

And lots of playing (as long as it wasn't too hot outside)!

It only took 7 months for him to sit on this willingly!

Boys...

I'm pretty sure, I wasn't prepared to live in a house where boys have taken over! Dad didn't do much to mold me into any sort of "tom boy", and I'm certainly not the athletic daughter! I can't catch, with or without a mitt, don't know the first thing about holding a bat, and throw like a girl!

Balls in Cars! A boys dream!

I'm sure I requested years ago that Mom NEVER throw away my Cabbage Patch Kids! Elizabeth and I loved playing with "Karen" at Grandma's house. So, she too, has held on to Aggie, Minnie, Lester, Anita, and Annette (in their order of adoption), along with some of their most loved belongings. And I promised myself that I'd keep any Homecoming, Prom, and bridesmaid dresses for my little girls to play with!

Well, not long after discovering that #2 is yet another boy, I made a call to AmVets for a pick up. Bridemaid dresses, so long! And as for Mom, well, she's still going to hold onto my favorite Kids from the Cabbage Patch because, well, boys can play with dolls too!

I honestly, can't see myself playing tea party, or spending hours sitting on the floor stuffing Barbie's sticky plastic body into outfits that need another millimeter of material! And let me also add that I occasionally feel like barfing when I see all the matchy-matchy flowery pink and purple clothes for girls. Jeans and t's are awesome! And I've learned to make some pretty fantastic car noises! Plus, lets face it, crashing cars is pretty fun and kind of a stress reliever ;-)!

And thankfully, I still throw and catch better than Jack does!

Cars, Trucks, and Trains have taken over the house!

Changes...

For a girl who isn't comfortable with change...there is a lot of it going around!

Perhaps I shall start with a preface to this extra creative blog! My girl friend Amy, has started an absolutely adorable blog http://www.countingmykisses.com/ which I love reading! Not only do I love reading about 2 of the cutest little girls on the planet, but Amy is a phenomenal writer who is following her dream of becoming a children's author! This is the beginning of her journey! So to my few fellow readers...become a follower of her page (publishers like to see lots of followers...and, when she publishes her first book, I'll be sure to get you an original autograph!)! So anyway, in my generally weekly readings of her blog, I'm so inspired by her creativity, that I'm deciding to give it a whirl! (We'll see how long it lasts ;-)!) And please, just don't read the two blogs back-to-back! Its obviously who the better blogger is (and its not yours truly) =)!

So, back to change! Yes, changes are happening!

For starters, I got ants in my pants and painted Jack's big boy room while Mark was in Canada! And, the transition out of the crib happened this weekend. As much as I thought I was ready for this change, Mark had to push me to do it! I knew that in order for Jack to sleep in his knew room (which he ooooo's and wow's over a million times a day), we needed to move all of his books and stuffed animals over. I didn't think he'd understand that it is HIS room if we were going to change him, read to him, and settle down in the nursery. So, on Friday night, while he was running up and down the upstairs hallway, in his diaper, squealing with delight, Mark and I moved books, diapers, stuffed animals, and his rocking chair! And, much to my surprise, Jack slept in his big boy bed all night!!!! Well, atleast I think he did! I did peek on him at 5:30am and he was on the floor! And last night, I did hear a thud and then crying around 2:30am and after a few minutes of consoling and rocking, we were both back in our own beds! I am impressed that my Big Boy is handling this transition so well!

Saturday morning's alarm!

Talking about trucks and cars!

Change number 2 moves me to the bedroom next door! Jack's old room; Roman's new room! I decided to go through the bins of baby clothes to help determine what I need to buy! In true Kensinger fashion, this is obviously MONTHS in advance! But, what can I say...there'd be no reason to go through everything if #2 was a girl. Personally, I was shocked to count the number of sleep-n-plays we have (13 if you're curious)! Obviously Jack didn't wear all of these, even once! Atleast Roman will get use out of them! I think there are only a few things I need to get to get us started, but, Cousin Ben is sending us his hand-me-downs to! So maybe, I won't need anything! The only new baby purchase I've made, aside from bottles and nipples, which were on sale with a coupon (aka practically free), is Roman's "blank"! (Translation, blanket.) Oh yeah, I also bought R-O-M-A-N letters for the wall!

The pile of little clothes!

(I have no idea what size the socks are, but, if Roman is like Jack, he'll have giant feet!)

A months supply of diapers =)

The small box is leftover from Jack; the big box was a Sam's Club purchase (to get a $10 gift card)!

Change 3 takes us down 2 flights of stairs to the basement! The goal is, to have it done by the time Roman arrives! My "dream" is to have a playroom for the boys! There are already way too many toys...its only going to get worse!

Basement Part 1: Taking down cabinets!

(Please note, I wouldn't open those cabinets for fear of mice living there!)

Helping Dad!

And then there's this change as well! The growing belly!

20 weeks! (and numerous attempts later, this is one of the best pictures ;-)!)

The Big (er tiny) Reveal!

We're having another boucning baby

BOY!

Roman James

aka RJ

maybe...Roman's Daddy needs to meet him first!

That's right...more cars, trucks, balls, and all things boy are coming my way!

Most importantly, Baby Boy #2 is healthy!

Heart, Head, and Spine all look good! (And the other stuff they look at!)

And momma's blood pressure is still normal!

(I was less than thrilled with the increase of weight on the scale...but it didn't stop me from enjoying ice cream and cheetos for dessert! I couldn't decide what I wanted!)

But, Mr. Roman is quite the active one...I think he was napping when the ultrasound began

But by the end, he was all over the place!

And, by the time the Dr went to find his heartbeat on the doppler...she had to move it, a lot!

I think, aside from patience, I need to start praying for energy!

I did decide that having another boy will save the bank =)!

And, allow me to make many guilt free trips to the salon!

Or Mall!

Or girls nights!

I sure hope Jack loves his little brother

as much as Mark loves his little brother!

And I hope Roman loves his big brother

as much as I love my big sister!

Summer Funner

Summer has always been one of my favorite seasons (you'll catch me saying this about all of them...since they all have their perks)! As you know, I'm always up for catching some rays and that's also my way of catching a few zzzz's or enjoying a summer read while some little person is safely contained in his crib, hopefully snoozing as well! And, in the Bruns Household, summer means spending LOTS of time outside! The only way to keep Jack inside is by keeping his pajamas on or turning on a movie! Playing with trucks and blocks just isn't as much fun when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping! So, we have been spending A LOT of time chasing balls down the driveway, chasing a toddler down the driveway, blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk, taking walks, swinging as high as we can, mowing, running through the sprinkler, getting sand in places sand doesn't belong, and eating ice cream!

Helping Dad "bow"!

I hope Mom doesn't want any of this!

Climbing at the Zoo!

Monkeying around...at the Zoo!



Elizabeth, JB, and Ben also made their annual trip home! Unfortunately Elizabeth had a blonde moment when booking their flights because they came home the same weekend Mark was leaving for a 10 day fishing expedition in Canada! The big boys did played their usual rounds of golf while us ladies tended to the babes! Mom skirted us out the door one afternoon to enjoy some sisterly bonding...shopping! The boys seemed to enjoy each other's company - when they were actually awake together (Ben's 2 naps and Jack's 1 nap never overlapped), and there were only a few squabbles over sharing toys!

The boys and their matching jammies!

Ben! ("Sweeping" with a putter!)

Aunt Erin & Ben!

Aunt Elizabeth & Jack!

And Jack stayed in Columbus for a few extra days with "(G)Mamaw" and "Pop"! (I didn't want to play single mom while Mark was away!) They apparently lasted 5 minutes at Story Time at the Library, made a trip to the zoo, and daily trips to the neighborhood park! I know Gramma was exhausted...especially when she had both boys! And, I know Jack had lots of fun because he keeps asking about Pop (I wonder what bad behaviors he taught him ;-)!) and he was looking for "Mamaw" today! (Don't worry folks, I intend to make sure we get it to become Grandma or Gramma...we're not in Greenfield ;-)!) And, he even recognizes them in pictures now!

I am truly amazed, every day, how much he is learning and growing! Like I said...after a few days in Columbus he was referring to Mom and Dad by a proper Grandparent name! (So much for Lolly and Poppy ;-)!) And he came home saying more words...Mickey and Buzz! And I know his Gramma didn't let him watch nearly as much TV as we do! He's even learned some shapes and a color! Blue! Go figure! Could this child be anymore BOY??? The past couple of nights, our stories before bedtime were less stories, more pointing things out and telling ME what they are (along with any noises they may make)!

We're also trying to help him understand that he's going to be a big brother! Sometimes he points to my belly when we ask where the baby is, sometimes he points to Mark (yeah...that's momma's biggest baby of all), and most of the time, he points to himself! I just laugh and tell him he'll always be my baby! Yes, I am going to be that Mom that goes over to his house, climbs a ladder and crawls to his bed and rocks him back and forth, back and forth, and as I rock him, I'll say, "I'll love you for ever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be"! However, in the mean time, I'm referring to him as my "Big One"! Hopefully, he picks up on it and doesn't feel as though his baby status is being replaced!


And, the Mark in him (stinker) is starting to develop! I don't know how many times a day I need a bucket for his lip or am able to stop a fake tantrum with some tickles! He also says "EWE" whenever we change his diaper or take off his shoes! We've started using time out, which he occasionally needs twice before his actions stop and counting to 3, which, has only worked once, but he knows on 3, the game is over! I'm just hoping the Terrible Two's made their appearance early and we won't have too many battles! Wishful thinking, I'm sure =)

And so it begins...

The ever so slight flutter, kick, and punch is growing stronger! As I lounge on the couch watching the tube, I realized that this evenings kicks are strong enough that a hand on the outside of my belly would be able to feel the movements of #2 along with me. And, tonight, just as it was the first time Jack really kicked is bittersweet. Mark is on a fishing trip with his Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle and if my memory is correct, he was out of town when Jack really got me for the first time too. So, I sit here with tears in my eyes (darn hormones) eating animal crackers (that I bought for Jack...turns out I've eaten more) enjoying the kicks of the little one!

And, I really should enjoy the sweet little movements because in a few months, the little one won't have much space to move!

Does Everyone Know What Time It Is?

And no, Binford Tools isn't presenting Tim, the tool-man Taylor! It's May...not only is the end of the school year on countdown, it means, its the month of Erin! Hey, if Mark gets "Month of Mark" during October, just because his birthday falls on the 7th then that means I get May...Mother's Day and my birthday! Whoopwhoop =)!

So yes, first things first, Mother's Day! I didn't get any extravagant gifts like diamonds, but we did spend some time at Lowe's in the Garden Center buying a few more perrenials and quite a few annuals! (Not to mention, another trip to another Garden Center that I love, because I didn't realize just how many flowers I need!) Hopefully, my thumb turns a little more green this year and I don't underwater anything! (Although, considering how much rain we've had, I'm not sure that's possible!) I honestly don't even remember how we spent Mother's Day, other than I wanted to sleep in and didn't ;-)

Learning to golf at Lolly & Poppy's!

And, my birthday was a delight! The girls at work decorated the evening before, since Dr. Frey sent me home early! And, not only did they buy a delicious cake, but picked up a Killer Brownie from Dorothy Lane! SO DELICIOUS =) Unfortunately Mark and I didn't have a hot date (babysitters are expensive), but we did get carry-out from Carraba's and I did stop by the Coach outlet for a new purse! And, on Friday night, I had an evening away from the boys and out with the girls!

Well, enough about me! Jack is...well...turning into a moody teenage girl ;-)! Clearly that's the only thing I have to compare his behavior too...moody! Whew! I think the Terrible Two's have struck! One minute he's playing and laughing,the next he's screaming, hitting, and crying. But, aside from the tantrums, he's a little boy that makes us laugh =) He gets ridiculously excited when we let him watch Mickey Mouse Club House, has developed a love of CapriSun (just fabulous),

and thinks everything in the sky is a "pane"! He's also learned to climb on his gym to go down the slide (cheers from this lady) and would rather sit at the table than in his high chair.

Sitting at the table post Saturday and Sunday face-plants!

He's also quite quirky...he FLIPS out if we take his shoes off without asking permission first and he no longer likes to be nakie-baby. Well, pre-bath that is. There have been a few occasions that I'm too slow to hang his towel and put his toothbrush in its holder before reaching his room...to find him with a shocked "uhoh" look on his face, sitting in a puddle in his rocking chair. Jack also has quite a bit of Kensinger in him. The clutzy part, that is. This past weekend was a tad rough for him...on Saturday he stopped a fall with his face. And on Sunday he took off on his car and ran into the neighbors retaining wall and bounced off with his face. Of course, these battle wounds don't include the normal scrapes he gets on his knees and elbows! I think the kid runs like his Lolly (not picking up his feet) and he obviously hasn't learned to drop whatever items are in his hands to help ease his fall. Then again, he is my child...he did attempt to lean on an open sliding glass door at Mom & Dad's and fell onto the concrete porch! (Without a whimper! Even when his Poppy laughed at him!) Maybe he is a bit tougher than his Mom and Aunt Elizabeth who cried harder when we were laughed at!

I love to "bow"!

And, in other Brunsy Bunch news...we traded in the Mustang today for a better family car!

It was a sad day for Mark, especially since he didn't get the F150 he's dreaming of!

Last drive in the 'Stang

But, we need a car that fits 2 car seats in the back because this bunch is growing! Around Thanksgiving, #2 will make his/her appearance!

14 weeks