Brock's turn to play!

The other day Brock decided it was his turn to play a little Xbox 360. With Ryszard recovering from surgery he's been playing a lot of this at all hours of the night and day, and Brock has been looking on patiently buying his time to get a little play action. A few days ago he climbed up into the chair and took his place in front of the screen. {Don't worry he didn't play long, only a few minutes and then he was off to his books, but it was very cute to see him sitting there playing just like daddy!}

Christmas Fun.

Merry Christmas! Brock decided to sleep in until almost 9:00am today, so we had a very relaxed morning. He was very fun to watch as he first ran right to daddy {who was by the tree waiting with video camera in hand to capture Brock's "excitement". After we pointed out the presents he immediately climbed up on some to get a closer look at the tree. Uncle Adrian had sent a special ornament for Brock that we opened last night and placed on the tree.
. Santa playing Basketball.
Brock loves it and wants to hold it constantly. {Thank you Uncle Adrian!} I think it has officially become his favorite!
We were finally able to convince him to open a gift and that is what he did. He opened his one gift and then became completely entranced with that one. We should have just stopped there. Slowly we got him to open each gift throughout the day. I thought it was funny that he didn't have a single reaction to anything. He just slowly tore at the paper piece by piece by piece and sometimes only a few tares and he was back to his previous opened gift. I'm thinking next year we will scale down a bit! My favorite gift Brock received has to be the car road blanket and cars he got from Nana. Brock loves cars and this blanket had everything! An airport, police station, fire station, school, and a basketball court {which Brock found right away.} I have a goal to make Brock a homemade gift every year and this year my gift to him was an I spy quilt and rag letters. Among some of his gifts were a V Tech Laptop, Chuck the talking truck, a Teddy Bear, a ton of Tonka cars and trucks, and a ride on CAT Dump Truck. Needless to say they are now way too many toys in the room, but he's been playing all day. Brock also received a few movies this year and we sat him down with lunch to watch his first movie: "CARS". I think he only watched a good 20-30 minutes before wanting to be back with his toys, which is fine with me. I'd rather he not become a couch potato just yet!

All in all it was a very fun Christmas. Brock is loving his new toys and I'm thinking I can put some of his others away for a little bit. {Most of you know I'm not big on toys, but Daddy is, and feels the need to spoil his little boy} What can us mothers do???

New Discovery

So I think I actually found a fruit that Brock does not like. At first I thought him leaving it on his tray was because he was full, but after a few more tries I think he has decided not to like cantaloupe. I can't really blame him I hated this fruit as a child and only recently started liking it. I think I will still give him little pieces when I have them, but I'd really like to avoid another cantaloupe piece in my eye.

More Treats Please!

The other day Brock was particularly cranking and I had to fight with him to go down for a nap, {he really needed one and was fighting it, and I wanted to take one myself.} So I bribed him with a treat. A cranberry treat. I had just picked some craisins at the store and decided to give them a whirl for naptime. "Brock" I said, "if you come with me to take a nap I will give you a special treat" he quickly ran into the bedroom and climbed up on the rocking chair. Mind you Brock hasn't been given candy at all, {at least by me} so I'm not sure what he was expecting. I grabbed a little box of crasins and took my place with Brock on my lap. "Are you ready for your treat?"
Happy little head shaking up in down. I gave him one to try. Not sure how he would like it. His response was wonderful. Brock simple closed his eyes and chewed away, after he swallowed his little treat he looked up at me with the biggest grin and signed "More please!" {we use sign language for some of our words} He was too cute. I gave him a few more and he had the same response. So now Crasins are our special treat. He eats them right up and begs for more. I tell you dried fruit in a box is genius!

1 month to go...

{give or take a few days} and baby Nicholas will be in our arms.

"When Joseph went to Bethlehem"

This is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs. For two reasons: It's simple easy to follow and has a great message of what a truly wonderful man Joseph was. Also the man who wrote the song was one of my favorite primary teachers growing up.
A few days ago I found out that he passed away. I wish I could say it was the pregnancy that made me cry when I heard the news, but truthfully he was one of those people who really touch your heart. Before he and his wife went on a second mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They wrote their testimonies in a Book of Mormon and gave everyone in the class one. I don't know if anyone else kept theirs but mine is tucked safely in my cedar chest and I pull it out often to read. I still find it amazing how their simple testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and their love for the book, still touches my heart today after all these years.

Brock's 18 month stats...

Today Brock and I went to his 18 month well baby check up. For the very first time, Brock was clingy and not wanting to cooperate. He wouldn't sit still to get measured, he kept shaking the measuring tape off his head, and he would not let go of my neck. But after a struggle and some tears we got all the measurements. To my surprise he still hasn't hit the 30 pound mark, {although he feels it}. So Brock's official stats are:28 lbs 12.5 oz. and 35 inches long. This past week we also moved Brock into a big boy car seat. {I want to use his convertible car seat when baby Nicholas arrives.}
Brock is continuing keep us on our toes. He loves to play basketball, read his books, and climb in and out of the crib to get his puppy Pepper. I plan on transitioning him to a regular bed soon.

Thanksgiving Day

We had a great Thanksgiving! Ryszard's Aunt Louise came up from Pennsylvania to visit. Brock had just woken up from a nap when she arrived so he was very well rested and excited. I was very happy to have an extra pair of eyes/ hands to keep an eye on him as we finished our dinner prep. I also invited a couple from our ward the Tam's over. They have a new little love {only 3 weeks old}, and I thought it'd be a nice way to give them some time out of the house, some good food, and friendly conversation , without having to worry about all the work. They are also moving pretty soon, so it may be the last time we are able to really spend some time together. {I was able to steal the baby for a few moments, what can I say I love holding newborn babies} plus Brock was in love with the baby too. He was very gentle and that makes me a little more at ease with having our little one due in just few months. Dinner was good, Brock has now discovered how to get out of his chair all on his own, so when he is done, he's done! although I went pretty simple on my menu this year I was still exhausted at the end of the day, but that didn't stop me from devouring my homemade pumpkin pie. {There were only a few pieces left this morning and I did show restraint and waited until 11:15 to finish it completely. In my defense, I only eat pumpkin pie once a year {thanksgiving} and this year I will blame it completely on the baby! }
We also invited our good friends the Mathieu's over for dessert last night too. So we had quite the houseful. and loved it! Brock had plenty of energy and quickly went down for the night when the time came. Our "Turkey Day" turned out pretty great!
Now I've got to figure out what to have for dinner. You can only eat so much turkey in 2 days time right, well maybe not!

The "Big Book"

You know the one, full of games and toys for children to carefully decide what to put on their Christmas list. Well it came in the paper a few weeks ago and we placed Brock at the table to let him look through it.
He was entranced for a full 20 minutes,
just looking at page after page of fun delightful things.
He was very fond of the Basketball toys {go figure} .

Pomegranates

It's that time of year when my favorite fruit is in season. I absolutely love pomegranates. The tangy tartness and that yummy seed crunch. I love it! I remember when i was little getting a pomegranate and working very carefully peeling the pomegranate trying hard not to make any of them squirt, because as you know they stain very easily. I'd place every piece into a bowl and
scooping each one into my mouth. YUM!
Thankfully after sometime I have found a better way to peel a pomegranate. But the taste is still the same! Yesterday I gave Brock his first taste of this delicious fruit. And I'm happy to announce that he LOVES it. I thought I would have some for a few days, but we quickly ate it all up. We had some with breakfast, for snack, for lunch, for snack, and then again at dinner. Looks like I will be making a trip to the grocery store for some more yummy goodness!

30 weeks down....

10 more to go. {give or take}
I am really excited to welcome baby Nicholas and I think with the 3 major holidays coming up it will go by faster than expected. Brock is constantly giving my baby belly kisses and hugs. I'm thinking he can't wait either. I'm a little nervous about what we are going to do with Brock while I'm in the hospital actually having the baby, and a little more nervous about having 2 boys on my hands, but Brock had some good practice with cousin Tyler a few months ago, and I really think he will be a great big brother!
Here's hoping we get all the things done that need to be.

No Words.....

Crayola Fun

For the past 2 years I have been stocking up on craft supplies For when Brock gets older and is ready to let his creativity run wild. I recently let him try out the toddler markers I got him, but those were not working very well. Then I remembered about these "slick stix" by crayola that I got a while back. Needless to say he loved them, and wanted to color everything. They work really well and the best part is I didn't have to wrestle them away when he put them in his mouth, unlike regular crayons. I think we will have a lot of coloring days in the near future!

Happy Halloween

Brock and I spent our Halloween day at the mall with the puppies! Brock loves puppies and couldn't get enough. since I wasn't about to take him Trick -or- Treating tonight I thought It was the perfect way to have fun, and not have to worry about giving my 1 year old candy!


Although when we did get home we did have a few trick or treaters and Brock thought it would be fun to try and give them some of his books. Silly boy he doesn't yet know that kids want candy not books. Puppies are much more fun on Halloween I think and Brock had a blast!

There is less than...

12 weeks until Baby Nicholas is due to arrive. Although I've had a lot of comments recently from others aka my Doctor, the nursing staff and even some other patients, that they think he will be making his arrival earlier than expected. And I have to admit I kind of agree with them.
Baby is very active, way more so than Brock was, and Brock was pretty active too.

In the Jungle....

The Lion plays tonight!A few nights ago Brock and I attended a Halloween trunk or treat party. We ended up leaving early because, well one I was tired of trying to keep up with this quick little guy, and two I just felt that the music was a little to loud for my liking, and for Brock's little ears. But doesn't he make the cutest little lion ever? He was not liking his costume at first but I think he warmed up to it by the end. I also put him in his pj's before we left so I wouldn't have to worry about waking a sleeping lion. Needless to say after all the running around we did, my little Lion was fast asleep less than a minute after being buckled into the car.

With Humble Heart...

A beloved Doctor passed away this morning. A Doctor that has changed thousands of lives and will continue to change a thousand more. This beloved doctor I speak of is Dr. Ignacio Ponseti,
father of the Ponseti Method, {a non-surgical method to correct the birth defect clubfoot}. He was 95 years old and actively seeing patients up until 9 months ago.
Our love and deepest sympathy goes out to his family during this time.
Our family will forever be grateful for the work this amazing man has done.

Today's Adventure...

was taking Brock along with our friends Stephanie and Braeden to a Children's Museum in Westfield, MA. Brock and Braeden had a lot of fun, Stephanie and I had fun chasing them everywhere! My favorite part was this spaceship exhibit. In this section of the museum they had all sorts of fun things to do with space balls!

my favorite part was when the space balls would fall from above all around Brock.
I think he liked that too!
Here's little astronaut Brock!

there was also a little Grocery store, and bank as well as a dentist and doctor's office, But the boys enjoyed the grocery store and spaceship the most!

Clubfoot update...

Today Brock had an appointment with Dr. Mack at Shriner's to take a look at the progress of his feet. I am happy to announce that they continue to look great. Dr. Mack wanted to see Brock walk and once Brock was given permission to roam around there was no holding him back, I ended up chasing him down 3 hallways out of 2 patients' rooms and across the waiting room. Oh the Joy! We ended up getting a new pair of shoes for his brace and Brock surprised me when he actually said his doctors name! MACK! So cute. Our next appointment will be in April but I'm sure we will need some new shoes before then. What can I say this little Boy is growing fast!

A look at baby Nicholas

Today Brock decided he wanted to see baby. All morning long he could be found lifting up my shirt and placing his head inside. When I asked him what he was doing he just smiled, When I asked him if he was trying to look at baby he smiled and signed please. {If only it worked that way} I then told Brock he had to wait a little bit longer to see baby. Brock then smiled, kissed my baby belly and gave me a big hug. Too precious!

Halloween Ideas?

So I've been trying to find some inspiration as to what Brock is going to be for Halloween this year. I really want Halloween to be a family affair this year, where we all dress up. I was thinking punk rock stars. considering the hair style Brock has been sporting lately, but want some other ides to run by Ryszard to see what he would feel most comfortable dressing up as. Does anyone have any fun ides they would like to share with me?

First Official Babysitter!

Today was the day. Brock had his first official babysitter. Now don't get me wrong it's not like I take Brock everywhere I go, but when I do things on my own without him, he is usually left with a family member. Today I had a few pregnancy related errand/ appointments that I felt were going to be just too much for Brock to handle and I'd be a bit frazzled trying to keep him happy and contained! Ryszard was busy with work, so I called up my friend Courtney a few days ago and she was very willing to help me out with watching Brock. Brock did very well and was very happy. I am so glad I was able to find someone close to home, that Brock knew and that I would feel comfortable leaving him with. Thanks again Courtney! As for Brock, I don't think he missed me one bit! He is currently trying to open Daddy's scripture case which is my cue to get off the computer and read to him.

Football Anyone?

Yesterday Brock and I went to watch Ryszard play flag football. Brock was dying to get out of his stroller and the minute I let him out he ran right to the extra footballs lying on the side lines.
Basketball is still his first choice but looks like football may be his next favorite.

Baby Shower Fun

My signature Baby Shower gift is to make a diaper cake. Since I was throwing a shower For Courtney,I decided to use my signature gift as part of the decor, and instead of one big cake I made 2 mini cakes and one medium sized. Just wanted to share these cake creations with you!

Could It Be????

I've been determined to get Brock off the bottle. Not that I think he's too old for a bottle, but with a new baby on the way I don't want Brock to think we are taking his stuff and giving it to the baby, {although we kind of are}. Anyway at the beginning of the week I told Ryszard that this is Brock's last week for using the bottle, and then they are going down stairs until baby Nicholas needs them. So Monday morning I gave Brock a sippy cup with his breakfast. No problem! Then lunch came and he was still going strong with his cup. Snack time went the same, and when dinner/ night time came around I said to Ryszard to give him his cup and if he doesn't take it then he could give Brock a bottle. Brock went to sleep that night just fine. Without a Bottle! {YEAH!} Tuesday went just as well. And now here it is Wednesday afternoon and still no bottle is being used, or begged for. I think we just might be "Off The Bottle"

Baby Kicks

Last night while Brock was leaning against my tummy I started feeling a few little kicks from Nicholas. Brock then got up played a little and came right back to lean up against my tummy again. Little kicks soon continued, Brock then looked at me as if I was kicking him. When I told him "it was baby in Mommy's tummy" he just smiled gave my tummy a kiss and then layed back down. Those little kicks kept coming and Brock just smiled away!

Just Realized...

I'm a little more than half way through my pregnancy! I feel like it has been going by really fast and yet there is still so much to do. Granted we have a lot of clothes and basic necessities for baby, but considering baby Nicholas will be a winter baby and Brock was a summer baby, there are still a few things left on the shopping list. Including a new car set for Brock so Nicholas can have his current one. I'd sure like to get those few things done and out of the way.
Only17 Weeks left to go, {give or take}!

My Hubby Loves Me!

After working a very long day and taking even longer to get home, Ryszard hid a little treasure under my pillow! That right I am now the proud owner of a new Cannon PowerShot digital Elph! Oh I am soooo excited! What oh what will my first picture be of ????

Kodak Moments

I got in the habit of carrying a camera with me wherever I go about 8 years ago, {Just before I bacame a nanny.} Knowing that theres always "Kodak Moments" all around us I had no intention on missing them. Lately I have been a little sad. My loved and trusted camera has decided that it's flash is no longer needed. So lately all of my "Kodak Moments" have been way to dark to even share with anyone, sadly they have been erased and lost forever. {Like this morning, while watching A Baby Story on TLC. Brock went up to the TV to give the newborn baby a hug.}
I guess I could just use Ryszard's camera right? But then it's about 3 times the size of my little love, and doesn't fit nice and snug in the little side pocket of my bag like my current one does. We were recently at Best Buy and I saw this:

{in my new favorite color.}
It is almost exactly like the one I have now which is great, but just look at that pretty blue color. Oh, I love it! Plus it's a 10.0 megapixel camera, {my current one is only 3.2} can you just imagine the pretty pictures I could get?
Anyway so until I decided to actually start using my Hubby's camera or get a new one, I may not be posting any new pictures. {I'm hoping that this little beauty will find it's way into my diaper bag very soon.}

Now You Know

So now that you have found baby's name I guess it's time for me to give you a little back ground on how we cam up with it. Before I was even pregnant with Brock, actually I think it was before we were even married Ryszard and I had a conversation about names for our kids. We came up with 2 names that we both agreed on right away Nicholas Hayden being one of them. After we found out that I was pregnant with Brock, Ryszard and I both decided that neither of the names we had picked out was right for our first baby boy. After some time we finally settled on Brock Logan. everyone thought it was different but we felt it perfect for Brock, and seriously can you even imagine Brock having any other name?? Anyway when we found out I was expecting baby #2 we had already had boys name picked out so we weren't worried about that but we both had our own opinion on a name if baby happened to be a girl. We now have 2 names picked out for a girl, {if later down the road we are so blessed with one.} Now as most of you know I was really wanting a girl. mostly I think because of all the fun handmade things I could make and do with a little girl. I truly am excited for another boy. I am already thinking about how fast Nicholas will learn things seeing as he will have Brock to keep up with! Ryszard and I really love the name we have choosen for our second baby boy.
Nicholas Hayden Milewski! Has a great ring to it don't ya think!

Just So You Know...

I have placed baby number 2's name on the blog. It's not really hidden but for the first 5 people to find it and leave a comment I will send a fun little gift to you in honor of baby !

In Case You Have Forgotton..

Just what we are still fighting for .
Thank you to all our troops and their families for the sacrafices you continue to make in honor of our FREEDOM.

I was going to....

put up some random pictures of Brock and then realized with this new computer, we haven't installed our camera programs yet, so sadly I am out of luck and you will have to wait even longer to see some pics of my precious Brock, oh what to do in the mean time???

Never mind Ryszard helped me figure this computer thing out so here are some random pictures from the past few weeks.
Brock and Elly {hand in hand!}
Brock looking out the window {like always!}
{Hanging out at the airport!}

and Brock's new battle scar! {He learned how to climb from cousin Riley and took a little spill right onto the carpet resulting in a rug burn. Ouch!}

Brock is going to have....

a little BROTHER!
Ryszard and I already have his name picked out! But I'll save that for a later post!


Ultrasound Results:
Ryszard and I are not big fans of the doctor we went to see today,but he's a specialist with level 2 ultrasounds. The reason for a level 2 ultrasound is to give us a more in depth look at our baby's development. Because Brock was born with bilateral clubfoot Ryszard and I wanted to see if baby #2 would also have clubfoot. Turns out that baby's feet look GREAT! Which means no clubfoot, at least not that we could see. Baby's heart looks wonderful and baby is growing well. We are excited to have another little boy.

Baby Boy or Baby Girl?

Today Brock, Ryszard, and I have a fun excursion planned! Another look at baby! Ryszard was able to give me a sweet blessing this morning in preparation for today's event. We are really excited to find out if Brock will have a little brother or sister. Hopefully baby will be in a good position for us! I will let you know what happens soon, just 3 hours to go!!!!

15 Month Stats

Today Brock and I went to the pediatrician for his 15 month well baby check up and vaccination visit. Brock has gained 3 pounds since his last visit, {that's a pound a month!}
So his official measurements are:
2 feet 9.5 inches {or 33.5 inches} tall,
27 pounds 7.5 ounces,
his head circumference is 47.5 cm.
All measurements are above the 95% range. We are so proud of our Big Boy!

His current favorite foods are:
Spinach, Butternut Squash, Steak, Lobster and Cheese.

My Favorite!

So I was finally able to look through the pictures my friend Amy took and I found my Favorite!
Brock started making this face when we got to Utah and I LOVE it! He's so stinkin' cute! Here are some other fun pics: