Sweet Maisy

Maisy has experienced so many "firsts" and I've done an awful job of documenting them. She will be ONE next month! My goodness time goes way too fast with the second child. Maisy has the sweetest disposition- never demanding. She loves to give hugs and cuddle and be nursed to sleep. Brogan makes her laugh like no one's business and she loves to torment him by playing with his toys. She has eight teeth and uses them to eat anything she can find on the floor (including playdough, Brogan's poptart crumbs, and crayons.) Here are just a few pictures of those "firsts"...

First Halloween (in Brogan's first halloween costume)


First Thanksgiving (in Brogan's first thanksgiving onesie)


First Disney trip! (November 2010)


First Christmas!


First Cabbage Patch Doll!


First Ponytail :)


First Superbowl Party


First Valentines Day


First Pigtails! (February 2011)

Brogan's ABCs

Because there is SO much I've failed to blog about in the past 5 months, I'm going to try to get caught up by "borrowing" my friend Shanda's cute idea.

The ABC's according to Brogan:

A- Alex and Anna Claire (his friends)
B- Baby (what he usually calls Maisy), Buzz Lightyear, Baths
C- Cars (the movie), Curious George, Church
D- Daddy, Dancing
E- Elf (the movie)
F- Fruit snacks
G- GiGi and Grandad
H- Hates having his Hair washed
I- Ice cream
J- "Jesus Loves Me", Jimmie Johnson #48
K- Ketchup
L- Lovies, Larry the Cucumber and all his silly songs
M- Maisy, Mommy, Milk
N- being Naked (such a male haha)
O- "Our God" by Chris Tomlin, Organizing his toys and movies Over and Over
P- PapPap and PuhPuh, Puzzles, Mr. Potato Heads, Pizza, Popcorn, Poptarts
Q- asking lots and lots of Questions
R- Running away when it's time to get dressed..
S- Stevie, School- he LOVES it!, Spiderman and Superman
T- Tacos, Tarheels
U- Underweight (still 25lbs...but cute as can be) :)
V- Vacuuming (weird, right?), Vinegar and salt on cucumbers (like his mommy)
W- Woody and all the Toy Story characters
X- being X-tra silly- lots of personality!
Y- Yogurt
Z- story and song of Zacchaeus

And here is is...my wild little man

My baby girl

...is SIX months old! Well, actually she'll be 7 months in less than two weeks. Time has flown by so much faster with Maisy than it did with Brogan. People have told me it's normal, but it still makes me so sad. My little May-May (can you tell I love nicknames?) is just the most happy, content, easy-going baby I've ever met. She smiles all the time and only cries when she's ready to eat or she's ready for bed. I am so in love with her and the sweet personality God gave her. A few facts about Miss Maisy:
-she usually goes to sleep for the night around 8pm and gets up to nurse once
-we (okay, me) are working on switching her to her own room. She's still in the pack 'n play in our room and she's definitely ready for her bigger crib. Buuuttt, it's so hard to let go :( I'm working on it!!
-She has a green frog lovey that used to be Brogan's. I still want to buy her a pink lovey though
-Maisy loves her paci! She sucks the thing like Maggie Simpson :)
-She weighs 17.something lbs.
-She thinks Brogan is the funniest person in the whole world
-Maisy has 2 bottom teeth
-When she wants to be picked up, she lifts her chubby arms up in the air towards me
-She's still working on eating solid foods. Her little tongue is still getting used to the new textures. She seems to like sweet potatoes and bananas the best so far.
-We switched Maisy's car seat to the convertible seat. This means, no infant seat to carry her into the stores. She's been sitting in the front of grocery carts, but she's still a little wobbly :)

Dear Brogan,

It's so hard to believe that you are now a 2 year old. It really does seem like just a few months ago, I got to hold you for the first time. I fell madly in love with you the very second I saw you. From the day you were born, you have kept me on my toes 24/7. You weren't the easiest baby and definitely high-maintenance but oh you're such a momma's boy...and I love it. Now, you are gaining independence, wanting to do things for yourself. It's a little difficult for me to let go- I catch myself doing things for you that I know you are capable of doing- just because I want to keep thinking you're my little baby. You are so incredible. I love to just sit and watch you play. Your mind goes a million miles a minute and you move from one activity to the next. You are a jumping bean and a dare-devil. You are an artist and a master at puzzles. You enjoy making me vacuum and read the same books over and over. I love all these things about you- even though most days I go to bed exhausted :)

Here are a few other things that I love about you:
-the way you say "noooo" (cute now, maybe not later haha)
-how you suck your teeth when you're concentrating on puzzles
-when you accomplish anything, you say, "There, I did it!" in your cute little way
-every time I change your diaper, you yell "wee-wee!" :)
-you stick your tongue out when you "jaw jaw" (draw)
-the way you say my name to get my attention when you're about to do something you know is a no-no...and then smile at me
-you call Maisy, "my beh-beh" (baby) and want to kiss her goodnight before bed
-you are an awesome sleeper (knock on wood!!)
-when anyone around you laughs, you join in with a (very) fake laugh
-you'd rather eat broccoli than macaroni and cheese (unlike mommy and daddy!)
-how you'll sit and line things up- cars, markers, crayons, etc.
-the way you say "choooo choooo" when you play with your trains
-you like to sing and dance to Barney and Elmo

One year old Brogan

Two year old Brogan

I'm back...hopefully :)

So much has happened since I last posted. Brogan and Maisy are growing up way too fast and it seems like the only time I have to sit down and type is at night after they have gone to bed. And that's when the couch, TV, and popcorn call my name :) I hope to be better, but no promises! Survivor and Grey's Anatomy are pretty tough to compete with haha

Here's a silly picture for the heck of it :P

Can you tell?

Brogan and Maisy's baby pictures look so much alike! Can you tell who's who?
FYI- Tadd guessed wrong!! haha :)






Give up? The top picture is Maisy and the bottom is of Brogan. Two cutie patooties!!

Life is Crazy...

...but good! Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. Finding the time to get on the computer is a challenge. Brogan and Maisy are both doing great...I can't believe how much faster time is flying with two kids. It's like I blink and another week has come and gone.

Brogan will be TWO YEARS OLD on the 28th of this month. That is just mind-blowing. People told me that I would notice how big he was once Maisy got here and they were right! I never noticed how his legs and feet hang off his changing pad. I never noticed how big his hands have gotten. And I never noticed how much he looks like a boy and not a baby. He is starting to really talk now too! He FINALLY started saying my name regularly and WOW does he say it all.the.time!!! Sometimes it's "Momma", other times it's "Mommy", and once in a while he throws in a French accent and says "ma-MA". He is very observant and listens to adult conversations. When I'm telling Tadd something Brogan has done, he starts doing it then. He's also started calling Tadd by his first name. It's hilarious. He'll ask me, "Weh da-da?" and I'll say work or church. Then he'll yell, "Taaaa!" (Tadd). If I ask him what my name is, he says "Beck-Beck". :) Brogan is getting better about being gentle with Maisy. He likes to put her passy in her mouth, give her high 5, and kiss her head. Right now, he loves popcicles, poptarts, finding bugs to squish, looking for American flags ("fag-fag") while we're in the car or on a walk, coloring on his easel ("jaw-jaw"), watching for hummingbirds out the playroom window, and dancing/singing to the Veggie Tales theme song.

Little Maisy turned TWO MONTHS OLD today. God surely knew what type of baby we needed this second time around. Brogan has ALWAYS been high maintenance and full of energy. We love him and his personality so much, but I would lose my mind if I had two "Brogans" running around the house :) So, instead of another wild child, God blessed us with a chilled-out baby girl~ (thank you Lord!) Maisy LOVES to be cuddled. Up until this week, she has slept on my chest all night. I adore the bonding that comes with co-sleeping, but DANG I hate sleeping on my back. This week, Maisy has slept in her bassinet for most of the night, waking up 2-3 times to nurse. Last night she slept six hours straight- woohoo! She is becoming more alert, noticing things around the room. She seems to enjoy being outside, taking baths, and being cuddled next to me in the Moby Wrap.

Here is a typical night in the Grandstaff house...lots of cuddles and giggles :)
(sorry it's so dark!)

Brogan sings VeggieTales from Becki Grandstaff on Vimeo.