Brantley: 2 years, 1 month

Brantley,

When we found out we were having a boy over 2 years ago, everyone told me “Boys love their mamas.” I didn’t fully understand what that meant at the time but I’m starting to get it… you are becoming SUCH a Mama’s boy. You cry whenever I have to leave and beg for me to stay. You’re also starting to figure out that when people have their shoes on that means they’re staying home so you’ll tell us “Mama, shoes off” or “Daddy, shoes on” to make sense of whether people are coming or going. And if I put my shoes on in the mornings you know I’m getting ready to leave and you’ll usually tell me to take them off.

The other day I came home from work and apparently you had missed me so much you cried for 15 minutes straight after I came home and because we had plans that evening, we had a babysitter arrive just a little while later. You seemed so heartbroken that I was leaving you again and our babysitter said you seemed sad and you were very cuddly all night long which is NOT like our little boy.

At the end of July we celebrated our second favorite holiday of the year. Obviously, Christmas takes the first place position for the Roberson family but Christmas in July comes in at a close second! You were a lot more interested in decorating the tree this year and you absolutely loved picking out our new ornament from the Christmas Mouse store at the oceanfront. We probably could’ve stayed in there all day and let you wander around the store for hours if it weren’t for nap times (which we were thankful for because then we could watch our favorite Christmas movies while you slept!)

You’ve now been introduced to Ocean Breeze! You call it “the big pool” and even though the waterpark is enormous and has tons of different areas to play in, we’ve only seen the kids area which seems to keep you entertained until you nearly pass out on the way home.

At first you were petrified to go down the slides and insisted on Daddy holding you all the way down but each time you splashed at the bottom you yelled “More!” and up the sidewalk you went pulling Daddy behind you to do it again and again. By the end of each day you would finally feel confident enough to go down the slide sitting in front of Daddy and you would talk about the orange, purple, and green slides for days. You’re still hesitant about the huge waterfall that splashes down in the middle of the pool every few minutes but once we explained to you that first you’ll hear the “ding! ding! ding!” as a warning before the waterfall happens, you started easing up a little. At home, throughout the day, we’ll hear you saying “ding! ding! ding! Woosh!” as you’re replaying the whole scenario in your head.

At the beginning of August, we made the drive to West Virginia for your second family reunion! Even when we didn’t have planned events during the weekend, we loved spending time with family at the lodge. Your uncle Knate flew in with his longtime friend Jill and we had a great time hanging out in Nana and Papa’s room. Once you realized you could run back and forth between our room and theirs through the connecting doors, you spent most of your waking hours running and we just laughed and laughed because you were so excited about such a simple discovery.

We visited the Pioneer Farm while we were there, which is one of our favorite places to go. Your great great grandmother was born here and it is still a functioning farm where a family lives and grows their own food with horses, cows, goats, sheep, and chickens in the yard. The family who lives there now has put in months of work to replace rotten boards, put a new roof on the barn, and are constantly adding new animals to the farm so when visitors come they can get the full experience of what this beautiful farm once was.

While we were in West Virginia, we had a memorial service for your PaPa as we laid his ashes near his stillborn baby boy at the family’s mountain top cemetery on Bower’s Ridge. It was a beautiful time with so many of our extended family present. There were tears shed because of what was said about Papa but most of all, our family members wept as they watched you pick flowers from the mountain side and place them one at a time on PaPa’s gravestone. At one point, I tried to hold you but you insisted “More flowers PaPa!” and I broke down in tears. I don’t know how, but somehow your little toddler heart understands the most difficult parts of life in probably to most simple and beautiful way.

Memories from this month of your life:

You started calling me Mommy instead of Mama and repeat “Mommy up!” over and over during your naps to ask for me to come get you up out of bed.
During our walks around the neighborhood, you started learning the names of new things like “stop sign” and “fire hydrant” and now we have to look at them EVERY TIME we go on a walk.
You insist on mowing the grass whenever Daddy does, which is quite adorable.
Nana and Papa bought you a balance bike for Christmas and this month you finally grew tall enough to reach the ground with your feet and also developed the confidence to try it out again and with success! Daddy helped you the first few times and had to assist with the turn-around when you got to the end of the driveway but eventually you were all on your own and we just put our hands on your back to make sure you felt safe.
We got to spend a lot of time with your Uncle Knate when he was in town after the family reunion and you’re still not entirely sure what to think of him. He constantly tries to make you laugh in hopes that he’ll win you over with his humor but you’re tough to crack.
Daddy took you to the Aquarium this month for a Daddy-Son date. Obviously you loved the huge fish tanks but your favorite part was touching the horseshoe crabs.
We started using time out this month more frequently since you seem to understand that concept now and one day you threw a toy then put yourself in time out. I would say it’s working.
Perhaps the most memorable moment from this month was one evening when you pooped in the tub… oh yeah. You were playing in the tub crouched down dumping water in and out of your cups while I was standing in the hallway talking to your Daddy. I turned back toward the bathroom and all of a sudden you started yelling at me “Mama out! Mama out!” and I realized you had pooped in the tub and you were embarrassed. Your little face was so panicked it just broke my heart. After I got you out of the bathtub all you wanted was to be held. For weeks afterward you were petrified to take a bath, crying throughout the whole experience and we have to constantly reassure you that you’re ok. One day maybe we’ll laugh about it but even just thinking about your poor little face and how ashamed you were makes my heart break all over again for you.