The Burchfield Family: June 2011

Some Grandpa Time

A few pictures of the boys hanging outside Grandpa's house...oh how they love their Grandpa and hanging outside...best combination ever!

Mr. Daredevil...ready to jump without any warning. Dude has NO FEAR!

Look..."a car"

Helping Grandpa water the flowers...lots of fun until Ethan was told he couldn't get in the mud to play with the water.

Inside we we went to throw our tantrum {it's just so sad when you can't play in the mud with your clothes on}...once the remote was found all was well again!

Just a few pictures of my uncooperative picture takers...can't believe we are getting close to two years old. We are almost 20 months and I am just now getting to their 18 month update...better late than never right! The boys each got a post dedicated to everything about them at this age...scroll below to read.

Look mom...brother is being goofy as usual.

One making monkey sounds and one looking out the window.

And...just for the fun of it...here are my babies just about one year ago. Oh, how they grow so fast...I barely remember them being this little.

Happy Halfy Birthday Ethan and Evan!! {just a few months late}

Evan at 18 Months

Evan...my cutie patootie. I look at you and sometimes can hardly believe you are already a year and a half. When did you go from my chubber-bubber baby to an independent {and often stubborn} little kiddo?

From day one you have always been our little thinker...you have to have everything figured out. It's one of my favorite things about you. You could quietly play for hours without anyone bothering you {not that Ethan would ever let that happen}. You are also so very particular about everything...how you play, where things go, etc. I could watch you play all day...watching you line your cars up, sticking straws in a cup forever, focusing so intently on where puzzle pieces should go. You know which snack cup is yours and get mad if I accidentally hand you the wrong color. I have recently been giving you a few books in your crib at night and when I go to check on you, before going to bed myself, I usually find all of your books stacked neatly in the corner. According to you everything has it's "home" and you know exactly how you want it to be.

You are so sweet and loving, giving hugs and kisses to us and your brother but you can definitely be a little toot when you want to. You are crazy stubborn...it really sometimes amazes me when I see some of the tantrums you throw.

My favorite part about your age right now is watching you interact with Ethan. Y'all are hilarious together...chasing each other, tackling each other, mimicking what the other one does. Whatever you are doing or wherever you are the other one wants to be. I can already see the bond the two of you have and hope you always are as close as you are now.

I love you more than words could ever say and thank God everyday for letting me be your mommy. I couldn't imagine our family without you in it!

At 18 months...

You are...sweet...happy...quiet...shy...stubborn...curious...silly...funny

You are still our picky eater and it depends on the day what you like and don't like. Sometimes you gobble everything up and then other times you barely eat a thing at all. The only thing I am always 100% certain you will never stick your nose up to is bread of any kind.

Your favorite snacks are goldfish, ritz crackers and cereal bars.

You are certainly the quieter brother but have come quite a ways in the words you are starting to say. Words you are saying...mama, daddy, puppy, bye-bye, cracker, car, ball, spoon, uh-oh, cheese, flower, trash, juice, crash, cookie, Pappaw, Grandpa, Brad {a friend of ours}...I'm sure there are more but it's all I can remember at the moment.

You are great at signing please, help, more and finished and just recently you have figured out cookie.

You love to say "bye-bye flowers" whenever we are leaving a restaurant and walk by the flower beds.

You love to read all of your books. Some of your favorites right now are Two by Two...a book about Noah's Ark {you love pointing out all of the animals}, Jesus Loves Me, and a Cookie Monster book. You and Ethan read books so much that a few have broken and I have had to tape them back together. You were so concerned and worried the first time it happened...you just sat with both pieces of your book in your hands forever, showing me it was broken and needing to be fixed...so, so sad.

You can't sleep without your blankie and Baylor bear. You also can't go to sleep without your paci which you are quite attached to. You never cared about it as a baby and somehow over time the attachment has developed. I sometimes fear it is going to be harder to break you of it in the coming months than your brother.

You know all of your body parts but never like to point them out when we ask {with the exception of belly button}. Most of the time I see you across the room pointing out parts when I'm asking Ethan.

You LOVE music...hearing it, making it, and dancing to it {but only if people aren't watching you}. You still love your little music table and wave your arms and sway back and forth when the music is playing.

You LOVE...playing with your cars...puzzles...throwing and bouncing balls...reading books...chasing your puppies...blocks...bubbles

You are not too fond of...getting water in your eyes during baths or at the pool...diaper changes...getting dressed, especially putting your shoes on {it's like pulling teeth}...brushing your teeth

You love the vacuum cleaner, swiffer, and my chandelier duster and will push all three around the house pretending to clean. The first place you head to when coming downstairs is the laundry room to get the swiffer and chandelier duster.

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You LOVE puzzles. You could sit for hours by yourself dumping the pieces out and putting them back in their spots. You have mastered all of our puzzles and love when we get a new one for you to figure out.

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Along with puzzles, a couple of your other favorites are our mega blocks and little round stackers {don't know their name}. You are very particular about how they all get put together and stacked...mostly by color.

You love making the sheep, cow, monkey and lion sounds and do the sic 'em sign when we ask you what a bear says.

You are 24 lbs, 12 oz and 32 inches tall {at 18 month appointment}

Ethan at 18 months

Sweet Ethan...How are you halfway through your second year already. It seems like yesterday you were a cranky, colicky baby who made me constantly wonder when the spitting up was EVER going to end. Now in the blink of an eye you are an independent, silly kiddo who loves life and is always on the go.

In the past months you have turned into one of the silliest kids I know...and I'm not just saying that because I'm your mama...you really make me laugh everyday. You walk around with your blankie on your head, you drive your toy car into the wall while saying "crash," you hit your head against the wall on purpose and laugh hysterically, you turn around in circles until you get crazy dizzy and fall on the floor laughing non-stop, you fall down on command. You are HILARIOUS and it is one of my favorite things about you!

Your amaze me everyday with your sweetness. As crazy as you are you are also so loving to those around you. You give hugs and kisses all of the time and are always willing to give Evan a toy, blankie, paci, etc. whenever we ask. You are amazingly obedient and mindful no matter your mood. That isn't to say that you aren't a little toot at times...biting and hitting are a few things we are continually working on.

One of my favorite things right now is watching your relationship with Evan. I love that you have each other and I hope that you will continue to be the best of friends. You have your own little language that I can't even begin to understand and no one can make you laugh like Evan. I am so glad that God chose the two of you to be brothers and twins.

I love you more than you will ever know and am so thankful God decided to make you a part of our family...it wouldn't be the same without you!

At 18 months

You are...happy...crazy...fearless...sweet...silly...hilarious...goofy...loud

Your Favorite Snacks are...goldfish of any kind, ritz crackers, bananas, cheese, mandarin oranges {the ones that come in a can...you could eat all in one sitting}

You love fruit more than anything...bananas, grapes, oranges, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, strawberries, watermelon. You have never met one you didn't absolutely LOVE. When we eat at Cathy and Trey's house and there is fruit sitting out before dinner you will sit in a chair stuffing your face while all of the other kids play...now that's some serious LOVE going on!

You are OBSESSED with your cars and trucks and could play with them ALL. DAY. LONG. Not only do you love your toy cars but when we go anywhere we constantly hear "car, car, car" "truck, truck" from you as you point them out on the roads and in parking lots.

Words you are saying...mama, daddy, car, truck, cracker, ball, cheese, flower, banana, juice, trash, waffle, bubble, whoa, Jesus, caboose, cookie, shoe, flip flop, phone, yes, no, straw, water, Dash {Cathy and Trey's dog}, squash, shirt, go, ouch, chips, chair, downstairs, keys...and many, many more

You love saying "bye-bye flowers" whenever we leave restaurants and pass by the flower beds.

You are great at repeating pretty much anything we ask you to say and you always have something to say about everything...we may not always understand what you are saying but you definitely are always telling us what's what.

You sign please, help, more and finished...although, we rarely see "finished" since you could eat all day if we let you.

You LOVE animals and making animal sounds...your favorite ones are chicken and sheep. I have taught you how to say "sic 'em bears" and when we ask you what a bear says you put your hand up in the air.

You can't go to sleep without your blankie and your puppy {and your paci, which we are letting hang around until you turn 2}

You LOVE...reading books...throwing, bouncing and kicking balls...playing with your cars and trucks...bath time...bubbles...brushing your teeth...riding your toy car around the kitchen and family room

You HATE...diaper changes...getting dressed...being buckled into your car seat...and anything else that makes you stop for more than 2 seconds

You are a little monkey...climbing on anything and everything...your rocking chair, kitchen chairs, kitchen table, the stairs...it's amazing how you can pretty much get anywhere you want to be. With all of your climbing and fearlessness has come a few bumps and bruises...keeping this mama on her toes. My daily goal is to get us through the day without a bruise to the head. You are part of the "glue club" now and had your first boo-boo glued after you hit your head on the cat walk railing.

You love throwing away trash...your favorite part about getting a juice box is throwing away the straw wrapper before taking a drink.

You have become quite the helper...helping me shut doors, throwing things away, bringing something if I ask for it.

You have all of your body parts down...head, hair, nose, eyes, ears, hands, feet, toes...just this month you have also added shoulders, teeth and knees {one of your favorite songs is Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes}.

You are...26 lbs, 6 oz and 31 1/2 inches tall {at 18 month appointment}

Cheap Entertainment

The boys love straws...absolutely LOVE them. They love pulling them in and out of their juice boxes and I always get a few extras at restaurants for them to play with. Because I know it doesn't take a whole lot to entertain them I picked up a package of rainbow colored straws at HEB a couple of weeks ago, cut them to fit inside a few left over Parmesan cheese containers, and let the boys go to town.

Just as I knew he would, Evan sat quietly and carefully filled his jar with the straws.

Ethan definitely had fun with the straws but not exactly with putting them in the jar...a little too much time and effort required.

Snack and stealing brother's water were more his idea of fun.

Evan was just so proud of getting all his straws inside the jar.

Ethan's jar with one lonely straw inside.

Hamming it up for the camera instead.

Maybe I'll just get brother's jar instead...

Where Is Your...

Ethan may shake his head "no" when we ask him how old he is, but he is always willing and ready to point out his body parts...one of his favorite games to play.

Where are your ears?

Where is your nose?

Where are your eyes?

Where is your hair?

Where are your hands?

Where is your belly button?

The World is a Little Less Sweet

Thomas Minton Burchfield

June 13, 1922 - June 10, 2011

Last Friday Jeff's Pappaw passed away. He was one of the sweetest men I have ever known. From the moment I met him it was as if I had known him my whole life. I loved him and getting to be a part of his life and family for the last 12 years. He will be greatly missed...going to Houston to visit the fam won't quite be the same anymore without Pappaw there.

I know Jeff has a gazillion more memories of Pappaw but here are just a few things I want to remember...

He always knew what the weather was in San Diego and a visit with him never went by without him mentioning the weather my family was having.

He loved the Astros and I will always remember him sitting in his chair watching a game.

The summer that Jeff and I got married we stayed with Mammaw and Pappaw. Jeff clerked at two different law firms in downtown Houston and their house was much closer to downtown than Jeff's parents. Pappaw was always up super early to go to the coffee shop to eat and talk with his friends. He was usually returning when Jeff was leaving to go to work. On days that I went with Jeff so I could have the car for the day I would come back and do the daily crossword puzzle while Pappaw sat and read the newspaper...one of my favorite memories of hanging out with Pappaw.

He was a mechanic with Knapp Chevrolet for 41 years and still worked on cars at the house even after he retired. I went with him on many a trip to get car parts and he always bragged to the guys he knew at the store that I was his future granddaughter.

{Pappaw with Evan...Thanksgiving 2009. Evan's middle name is Thomas after Pappaw}

My favorite memory is him meeting Ethan and Evan...my all-time favorite picture is the one at the top from Father's Day last year...I will always cherish getting to have a picture with four generations of Burchfield men.
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We will miss Pappaw everyday and look forward to the day we get to see him again in Heaven.

Brothers 'Til the End

All for one and one for all

My brother and my friend

What fun we have

The time we share

Brothers 'til the end.

{author unknown}

My little copy-caters having fun with their blankies one afternoon last week.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub...

...Ethan's having fun in the tub!

Oh how this guy loves bath time, bubbles, water, and splashing. He comes running from whatever he is doing when I say "let's take a bath" and gets mad when it's time to get out.

Evan...happily looking on until he decides he is OK with jumping in.

Mad as a Hornet

Most of the time my posts are all sunshine and roses...life is great...my babies are getting so big I want time to slow down, etc...etc...etc. While all this is true, life isn't always sunshine and roses and I want to remember the not-so-awesome times too...I'm gonna miss those times too right?

As we are creeping toward being two, the boys are learning more and more that A...they have opinions about life and how it should go and B...they can vocalize these opinions {very loudly and often at the worst possible time}. Ethan is a pretty go-with-the-flow kind of guy. He definitely gets mad when he wants something or gets told no but he usually moves on with life pretty quickly. Evan on the other hand is our master tantrum thrower. At the ripe old age of 18 months he has it down perfectly.

Who knew that this sweet little one could turn on the evil so quickly. He was a perfect baby...we could take him anywhere for any amount of time. While Ethan was our fussy-hold me-entertain me baby, Evan was pretty chill. It goes a bit with his personality though...he likes things a certain way and if all is not going well then watch out. He gets mad when playing by himself if the puzzle pieces don't go exactly back in place how they are supposed to or if he is stacking things and they aren't perfectly how he thinks they should be.

I am perfectly fine letting him cry as long as he needs to...which can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. How he can roll around on the floor, kicking and screaming for that long is beyond me, but he does it with great ease. Ethan and I just keep playing or go to another room until he is ready to join us again.

The part I hate the most is when it happens in public...and it ALWAYS seems to be worse when we are out and about. It usually revolves around not wanting to be in a highchair, but can be anything from not wanting to hold our hand in the parking lot to wanting to drink our drinks and not theirs...I mean really...who told them they could have opinions. :) {and...just because Ethan is the go-with-the-flow child does not mean he can't hang with the best of them...he pulled the mother of all tantrums on my birthday, out to lunch with friends after church. The kind where people stare and roll their eyes...good times!}

There have been many a time when kids have been taken outside or to the car and my meals have been gotten to go. I love my kiddos...tantrums and all, but I'm praying that someday {maybe when they move out} they'll outgrow them! Here's to a little bit of wishful thinking!