All About Sunny

Sunny is officially 4 months old!!!  Sadly we have lost count of all the weird nicknames we have for her. Here a few to get you started: Sun Sun, Sun Beam, Sunny Bunny, Georgina (why or how? I have no idea....), and Sonseed (if you haven't looked up their hit song "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" on YouTube - I HIGHLY suggest you do it - it doesn't get any more 70's than that! ZAP!)

Anyway, regardless of her odd nicknames she is a very happy baby - especially after a good night's rest. She'll wake up and immediately give you the most big, cheesiest smile. She has been smiling for about 2 months now and just recently started giggling at things we say, although most of the time she just looks like a laughing baby on "mute" - she'll look like she's laughing but no sound actually manages to make it out. Towards the evenings though (usually before bed - perfect timing as usual), she'll start to do her baby babble. She and Matt have had some very interesting "conversations"...mostly about political issues...  ;-)

Sunny can officially hold her head up on her own and loves sitting up, especially in her Bumbo seat. She is also starting to like baby music and lights. As she is developing her hand-eye coordination she is really starting to explore the different textures of objects - grass seems to catch her attention the most at the moment. And I have to be very thankful that she is very easy to put to sleep. Just give her a bottle or rock her for a couple minutes, and and she is out like a light...now whether or not she stays asleep - well, that is a whole different story....

And let me tell you - this girl can EAT! And she will definitely make it known when she is hungry...it's like she can sense when food is near...Needless to say she is definitely turning into a little chunko. We're going to attempt to start her on solid foods this week and we'll see how she does.

Other than that - She is getting bigger by the day, and her sweet personality is really starting to shine through. We love her very much and feel very blessed to have her as part of our family.

All About Aaron

As per request, we are including pics of the kiddos (separate post though), as well as what they have been up to these past couple of months.

We'll start with Aaron:

So for those that do not know, he is now 3 1/2 years old and growing so fast that his shoes are having trouble keeping up. He still loves numbers, counting, reading, and spelling - It amazes me how fast this kid learns. As far as food, this kid still loves bacon - just like his daddy. Strawberries are still his favorite fruit and he LOVES Sour Patch Kids candy and Hershey's Kisses. And although we already mentioned it in the previous post, I must shout from the rooftops that, "HE IS POTTY TRAINED!" woo hoo!

Also, he has recently started singing and dancing (to the beat of his own drum, apparently...his form of "dancing" is....interesting....It mostly consists of looking at all of his 10 fingers open and shut until he decides to jump into a dramatic pose with his legs bent and his arms outstretched - then he pauses in his pose for a moment, and does it all over again.) And imagine if you will, a chipmunk voice walking around the room singing the lyrics, "Now isn't it funny how numbers help me count! Help me count! Help me count! Now STOP! Ohhhhhh!" (and repeat). We'll have to catch that on video soon.....

He has also taken up bowling...who knew bowling alleys had teeny tiny bowling shoes?? (He needed the smallest they had).   Here he is during his very first trip to a bowling alley, and once he figured out the loud crashes (pins falling) we NOT fireworks - he loved every minute of it.

Ready to go....

6lb ball ready for launch....

going.....

Gone.......So how'd he do, you ask?.....

Well, have you ever been out-bowled by a toddler? I have! lol. Maybe I should try the bumpers next time!

 Yeah, as you can see, Aaron's final score was at the top, followed by mine, and then Matt's. He did awesome for his first time and we are definitely going back for their family night!

Also, every Monday he has been going to "School" (it's just reading/singing/ and craft time at the library, but that was the closest thing I could liken it to so that he would understand where we were going every Monday morning)  I started taking him there to bring him out of his "shy shell" and it seems to be working. He absolutely loves it and is excited every time we go.

Teacher Denise reading everyone a story

Craft Time

Today's theme was on owls...I swear that is not a vampire bat. But even if it was, I would love it just the same! =)

We absolutely love this little guy, and it is so bittersweet watching him grow up. It seems like just yesterday he was just a helpless little lump of a baby (and I mean that in the best way)...and now he is a little boy - already itching to explore the world on his own. We cherish the moments we have with him at this age.

So Aaron, when you get old enough to read this: Although you have your moments where you can be an insane handful - We are still so proud of you and we love you very much. We wouldn't trade you for the world!  =)

Aaron's Chore Chart

This is a new thing we recently implemented into our daily routine as we were slowly finding that Aaron started "acting out" a bit a couple months after Sunny was born. Maybe a tiny bit of jealousy had kicked it, but nonetheless we found that tantrums and whining were becoming a regular thing, and that the "time-out corner" was becoming a popular spot. So a few days before an F.H.E. (Family Home Evening) of ours, Matt and I decided that Aaron was receiving too much attention when he was doing the "wrong" things. So to remedy that, I created this age-appropriate chore chart for him to acknowledge when he does the "right things." So during an F.H.E. we presented the chart to Aaron and explained how the chart works.

Being that he LOVES colors, he was totally excited about the color-coded sticks/pockets. We put the chart on the wall at his level, and we explained that every time he does one of the things listed on the pockets which includes (things that are relevant to him): Putting his toys away, sharing (with his sister, or anyone else), getting dressed (or letting mommy/daddy dress him without hassle), being patient (which essentially means no whining or tantrums), being polite, and going to the potty - he can take the colored stick and put it in the "Rainbow Pocket." Once he gets 5 of any color sticks, he gets a small treat.

Something that we don't use often, but is still there - next to the "Rainbow Pocket" there is a "Best Bee-havior" pocket where, if mommy and daddy catch him doing something especially good, or he has been a good boy all day, he can get a "Best Bee-havior" stick. If he get's three of those, he gets to put his "Star" up and he gets a "Big Prize" - which can be extra TV time, or just a small toy from the Dollar Tree, but he doesn't know that. ;-) .

And so he doesn't get "rewarded" for every time he does something good, we only let him "get a stick" some of the time. (His excitement for the chore chart was apparent when he kept removing toys from his toy box, then putting them back and asking for a stick - only to be found 5 minutes later removing toys from his toy box and putting them back, and again, asking for a stick. lol)  Luckily our "stick limit" doesn't seem to deter him from wanting to do good things.

Overall, it has been a month since we have had the chore chart, and it was what really helped in Aaron's potty-training process (He noticed that he would consistently get every color stick except the purple one, and when he figured out it was for going "Potty" in the potty chair, that one purple popsicle stick served as one form of his motivation. Recently a majority of the sticks he has been getting are purple). Also, it has really made an improvement on his behavior - ours too. We have become more patient with Aaron and have learned to be more proud of the small things he does. And to sum it up for Aaron, he still doesn't do everything we ask him when we ask him too (he is a toddler, after all), and he still has occasional trips to the "time-out corner" - he isn't a perfect little angel by any means, but on the same note, we are not perfect parents either (if there is such a thing), but you can clearly tell that he feels more appreciated which is so important with our new addition to the family (Sunny) who currently demands so much of our attention. So I'd say that so far it has been a success! :-)  

My New Art Blog!

Hey friends and family! I just wanted to share the exciting news that my new art blog is up and running:  The Feather Artist at - www.TheFeatherArtist.com. On this blog I am going to be posting painting/drawing tips and art supply reviews regularly. I also have a YouTube channel set up in which I will be doing painting tutorials and additional art supply reviews. I haven't posted any videos yet, but they are coming soon.

Again, the website is completely new and only has 2 posts currently. But if you know anyone who is interested in art or is looking to get painting advice/tips, please refer them to my site. Thanks a lot! I appreciate it! Hope you all enjoy my blog! =)

Again, it is:
www.TheFeatherArtist.com

You can also visit my official website at www.FeatherArtByBrandyDavis.com
I am also on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks! - Brandy