Mimi's Blocks

It has been a rough start to the New Year for Bryce (and his roommates)... Bryce and Jeremy came down with a case of food poisoning on New Year's Day and spent the rest of the weekend unsuccessfully holding down food. Mimi has caught a nasty cold and Bryce has now developed a cold and cough. Apparently his stomach and GI tract are not back to normal either because he got sick again today. I have done more laundry than I care to think about for the last week! Kids should not be allowed to get sick like this until they understand the concept of running for a toilet, trashcan or bucket!
In an effort to keep Bryce entertained, we pulled out "Mimi's blocks" today. We told Bryce that these blocks only come out on special occasions, like when he or Mimi don't feel well, etc. Bryce had a blast - particularly with the blocks shaped like animals and with the ramps or bridges for his cars and trucks!

Best in Show

Bryce gets such a kick out of watching himself on his blog or in his videos. He gives a running commentary of everything that is happening and sometimes gets upset when the Bryce in the video doesn't do what the Bryce now wants him to do.

Swimming Sea Lion

Bryce loves bath time! His latest "trick" is to swim on his tummy in the tub and then jump up to the tub edge and bark like a sea lion. The sea lions at the zoo have been very active and loud the last few times we have been there, and it has definitely made an impression on Bryce!

Bryce, the Builder

Bryce loves to wear his Bob the Builder tool belt (and tools) from Aunt Nikki and Uncle Andy around the house. Here he is on the phone with Aunt Nikki telling her all about his work. The belt buckle plays several sayings and even sings a little chant. "Bob the Builder...Can we fix it?...Bob the Builder...Yes, we can!" Bryce loves to play the chant over and over again, but when you ask him if we can fix it, he always says "no."

Meeting Danny...

Today, we all took a trip into Manhattan to visit/meet Danny. Bryce was really excited to see Nikki and wanted her to play. We did our best to explain that Nikki wouldn't be able to play because she just had a baby...and that we weren't going to her house, but to the hospital. We're not really sure that any of that information sunk in.Ultimately, Bryce was pretty unimpressed with the "new baby", but loved getting to go up and down the hallway and to look out the window at the boats on the Hudson River!Eventually, we got a little smile from Bryce! We asked Bryce if he wanted to give Danny a kiss on his head, but he declined. His reason was that "he's a little baby and Bryce isn't a little baby anymore!"

A New Cousin!

Bryce has a new cousin! Daniel Garrett Benson was born at 12:37pm today. He weighs 7 lbs and is 19.5" long. Most importantly, he is adorable and he and his mom (my sister) are doing fine!

While all of this was going on, Bryce was playing at the Children's Museum. We took him on his new tricycle (which he calls a motorcycle). Bryce was responsible for the steering, which took a while to master. We had to keep yelling out, "turn left...turn right!" Thankfully, he does know his right from his left, so our commands kept him from crashing into anything. I only stayed at the Museum for a little while, in order to go to the hospital to meet Danny, but managed to see Bryce and Jeremy drive a sleigh and then go grocery shopping. Bryce particularly liked the conveyor belt!

A Very Merry Christmas!

We all had a very Merry Christmas and hope you all had the same! Bryce was kind to us and didn't wake us up any earlier than usual! I have a feeling that won't last...now that he has a better concept of who Santa is and what his coming means...Here is Santa's deposit before Bryce was allowed in!

Bryce went straight for the tricycle. He is still a little small for it, and being in footed pajamas made it even more difficult for him to ride. So, we took a little break to get him dressed and then...
...he was a riding machine! It was hard to convince him to go back to the tree to see what else Santa might have brought him.
This will probably act as Bryce's thank you notes, so "Thank you, Macky!" Bryce really loved his new Anamalz!
"Thank you Uncle Derek, Aunt Carrie, Alanna and Trevor" for Bryce's new laptop. Bryce really loves to dance to the music that plays during the different activities!
"Thank you Aunt Nikki and Uncle Andy!" Bryce is quite the handyman around the house, now!
Of course, Daddy couldn't let Bryce be the only handyman around here!
Bryce and Aunt Nikki reading one of Bryce's new books!
Here's our little model!
We barely remembered to take a family photo in front of the tree. Bryce wasn't particularly interested in having a picture taken - especially when we tried to take him out of his tricycle!
An equally quick Christmas photo shoot with Mimi (and the 3 mice)!