As soon as Brendon saw me come in the door, he yelled, "Watch me! Watch me!" When I got to the top of the stairs, he asked, "Did you bring the camera?" So I told him to sit down and let me take his picture. Then he could take mine.

Next Brendon said, "Take a picture of the clock!"  Then he took a photo of me holding the clock. I won't bore you with a lot of photos of me.  Brendon took dozens of them, and I am going to hang them on the refrigerator to keep me on my Weight Watchers eating plan.

Brendon hopped up on the window sill and asked his Grammaw Roberta, "Can I play (with the logs)?" She was on the telephone, so he waited patiently for her to finish her call.

When Grammaw Roberta gave her permission to play with the logs, Gramma Joy put the box down on the floor, and Brendon slid open the lid. He had a little trouble getting it off because he pushed down on it.  When the lid got to the end of the track, it was in a bind.  So Gramma helped him take off the lid.

"Gramma, watch me," said Brendon.  He didn't build cabins with the logs.  He used them to bang together.  He used them as drumsticks and pounded on the box.  Sometimes he moved the sticks so fast they were a blur.

"Look! I am a dog," said Brendon.  He liked picking up the logs with his mouth, but they got all wet and slobbery.  Grammaw Roberta said to quit it before he choked on one of them.

Brendon decided to dump ALL the logs out of the box.  When Gramma Joy started building a cabin, Brendon knocked it down.

"Gramma, look what I found!"  Brendon was very excited to find other toys in the log box.  He found an action figure and a red ladder.

Brendon scattered the logs and some rolled under the baby bed.  Soon there were logs everywhere.

"Gramma, take my picture," said Brendon, and he held the red ladder up to his face.  Silly, boy!  Click on the photo to see a larger version.  You can see his little eyes on each side of the rungs of the ladder.

"Okay, Brendon," said Gramma Joy, "You can take my picture playing with the logs."  He did a really nice job taking the photo, don't you think?

"Gramma, take a picture of this!"  Brendon said when it was my turn to use the camera.  He's a little ham, isn't he?

Wow! There surely are a lot of logs scattered all over the floor.  Brendon picked up some of the logs, but he still missed the ones that rolled under the baby bed.

Brendon is getting tired, and it's time to pick up the toys.  He surely is a sweetie.  He picked up one log at a time and put it in the box.  If Grandmaw Roberta didn't help, we wouldn't be finished yet.

Brendon used the box as a bulldozer to shove the logs into a pile.  Then he kept right on pushing until he shoved the logs down the stairs.

By that time, we had filled my media card with pictures.  After I deleted a few more photos of myself, Brendon wanted me to take a picture of his Sponge Bob shirt.

Brendon puts on his cool sunglasses when it is time to get ready to pick up Shenella and Harley from school.

Brendon and Gramma had a fun day playing with the logs.  When it was time to leave, Brendon wanted to ride in Gramma Joy's car, but he was just as excited to get in the car with Grammaw Roberta.

Photos posted by Hello

Brendon got some new Sponge Bob Square Pants pajamas. Even though it was afternoon when I got to Champlin's, he didn't want to take them off and get dressed. As soon as I got out the camera, he wanted to take a photo. I said, "First let me take a picture of your pajamas and then you can take a picture." He backed up against the coffee table and posed for me.

Then he rushed over to me and wrestled the camera out of my hands. He held the camera up to his eye, only he had it facing him instead of me. He said, "Say cheeeese." Then he snaps the photo. He loves setting off the flash. He doesn't care if he is pointing at anything in particular when he takes pictures. So I have half a dozen photos of his cheek, his feet, the carpet, his toys, and whatever happened to be in front of him when he snapped the photo. The pictures are so precious that I don't have the heart to erase them.

Brendon had just eaten some red Jello so that's why his face has red blotches on it. The pajamas were a little big, so he kept having to pull them up so he wouldn't trip on the pajama legs.

Harley and Shenella were home because it was Christmas vacation. They wanted to take photos, too. Shenella took a photo of Harley, Brendon, and me. Then it was Harley's turn, and he took a photo of Brendon and I playing. He also took photos of his toys and a miniature winter scene he had.

Harley is Pam's nephew. He is about six years old and in first grade. Shenella is Pam's sister, and she is about nine years old.

Grandmaw Roberta was downstairs rearranging some furniture so we played upstairs. Brendon wanted to go out in the garage. He showed me his new tractor that he got for Christmas.

Brendon started getting tired because it was time for a nap. He picked out a video and told me, "Watch". Then I read Harley and him a story while Brendon sat on my lap. He fell asleep in my arms. His body is much bigger now, but he was cuddled up on my chest just like he did when he was a newborn. I wish I had a picture of that.

After awhile, he crawled off my lap and laid down beside me on the couch. I left before he woke up because I didn't want to drive home in the dark. I felt bad that he went to sleep with me there but woke up with me gone. I hate doing that.

I arrived about noon. Grandmaw Roberta and Brendon were the only people home. Roberta was not feeling well. So Brendon and I played quietly, well, as quietly as a two-year-old can play. He wanted to jump around. I would sit on one side of the room. He would dash across the floor and jump into my arms and I would raise him over my head. He thought this game was fun! The only problem is that sometimes he would fling himself at me when I wasn't looking.

I took a photo of Brendon and then I let him take a picture. He held the camera backwards and got a real-close up of his cheek. He loves making the camera flash. So the battery ran down quickly. I dug in my purse and retrieved another set of fresh batteries. Brendon is watching me open the compartment and replace the batteries. He took a bunch more photos of his cheek, and then I shut off the camera. He noticed something was wrong with the camera when he pushed the button and nothing happened. So he found my purse and dug out the batteries and brought them to me. He must have figured the batteries needed replacing and that's why it wouldn't flash. Then he figured out how to turn on the camera. So much for saving the batteries. I still managed to take lots of photos.

While he was digging in my purse, he found a pen. So he wrote me a note in my dayplanner. He also found a tube of lipstick. I had a hard time convincing him that he didn't want to put it all over his face. He practically emptied my purse, and then he put everything back.

Brendon was very thirsty. He drank two cups of Bob the Builder. He has a sippy cup that looks like Bob the Builder, and the lid is Bob's hard hat. I heated him some ravioli, but I think he was too full of milk to be hungry because he didn't eat any of it.

Then he wanted a drink of water. Roberta's refrigerator is the kind that has ice and water in the door. Brendon reached up on the counter and got this teeny plastic snack container. Then he filled it with water. He can climb the stairs foot over foot without even holding onto the handrail. What amazed me is that he carried it up the stairs to the family room without spilling it. Then he went across the room without spilling it. Then he dumped it over on the coffee table.

When it was time for me to go home, Brendon wanted to go with me. Roberta suggested that he climb up on their window seat and watch me go. When I got outside, he was pressed against the glass, his eyes following me to the car. I waved and he waved at me. I waved again and again.

As I backed out of the driveway and drove down the lane, I could see him watching me. I wish I could have taken him home with me.

After the movie was over, Brendon would pick something up and say, "Mine." So Pam put Brendon on her lap and was snuggling and playing with him, and she said, "Mine," to Brendon. Brendon hugged her back and said, "Mine" to his mother. Then he surprised me by jumping off her lap and coming over to me. He grabbed my arm and said, "Mine."

Brendon and I went out to the car to get some fresh batteries for the camera. Then he kicked the football around a little. He is really coordinated for such a little guy. He is two years and one month old today.

Cara, Pam's sister, took Brendon's photo sitting on my lap, and then Brendon took her photo. He surely loves cameras. When Pam came home from work, Brendon walked on her back, and I took several photos of them playing on the floor.

When it was time for me to go home, Brendon followed me to the door. I had to shut it with him just on the other side. I could hear him crying as I left. It breaks my heart that I don't get to see him enough that he knows that I will be back.

I often wonder how my presence in his life affects him. I saw him almost every day the first year of his life except when we or Pam were on vacation. Now I barely see him once a month. I have to make the effort to go out to North Pole because Pam doesn't come around to visit us. She must be really tired after work, and I know she works a lot of days in a row. I really miss having her around.

Brendon was asleep when we got there. They brought him outside before he was fully awake and put him in Keith's lap. He looked surprised. Keith hadn't seen Brendon since April. So I wonder if Brendon even remembered us. He didn't act like we were strangers.

Brendon kicked around a soccer ball. He could run and kick it. If he keeps that up, he will be quite the soccer player.

Harley had a puppy that he was walking around on a leash. Brendon wanted to pet and hold that puppy so much. He really loves the dogs.

Brendon has a two-wheeler bike with training wheels. He can ride it all by himself. He has to wear a helmet while he rides the bike, but sometimes he likes to play with the helmet on his head without riding the bike.

I'd give him his dishes to wash, a plastic cup, plate, and bowl. Then I could wash my dishes. I thought he would mostly want to fill the cup and bowl with water and pour them out. I was wrong. He would insist I give him the sponge to wash his plate and cup. Then I would say, "My turn" and he would give it back. I could wash one thing, and then it was time for me to say, "Your turn (something Pam has taught him since he was a tiny baby)".

The whole time I would be washing my dishes, he would want to stick his fingers in the water. He would look up into my eyes with such wonderment. I could only imagine all the activity going on in that little brain of his. I would rinse the dishes in hot water; so I would warn him, "Hot." He would repeat, "Hot" and keep his fingers out of the water.

When we were finished washing the dishes, both of us were so wet that we'd have to change our clothes. It didn't matter. We had a wonderful time.