Mother's Day

Mommy's little man

Mimi's boy

Gigi's buddy

Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day (and the second anniversary of me finding out I was going to be a mommy) with my family. Barry and I drove back from South Boston, Virginia, where we had been for a wedding (more on that later) to cookout with everyone and spend time with some of the special moms in our lives--Gigi and Mimi! It was a wonderful day, and I was so relaxed from my spa day on Saturday. Thanks for spoiling me, boys! Branner and I are so lucky and blessed to have amazing mothers/grandmothers/great-grandmothers like my mom and Mimi in our lives. We love you, Gigi and Mimi!!! Happy Mother's Day to all of our mommy friends!

Crayons and Coloring

Branner has a new hobby--creating beautiful masterpieces (OK, scribbling on paper with crayons and trying to eat them). Fun!

Fun with Bubbles!

This week, we have been blowing bubbles in the afternoons, and Branner LOVES it! He likes to chase them...

Find them in the grass...

Pop them...

Play in the solution and make "art" on the driveway with it...

And, to just walk around with the wand!

I bought a bubble gun at Target today; more bubble fun to come!

Bathtime Bonanza!

Bathtime at the Kirby house is SO FUN...

Just ask Branner! The look of sheer delight on his face in these pictures perfectly captures his love for a good, fun bath.

There are fun toys to play with,

and murky Aveeno water to soak in!

It's the perfect way to unwind after a busy day!

Naptime is the New Happy Hour

Current Read: Naptime is the New Happy Hour and Other Ways Toddlers Turn Your Life Upside Down by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. Hilarious!!!!!! Highly recommend it for those out there with toddlers! Also check out her book, Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay. Love her!

The Eczema Experience

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Since last June, we have been trying to clear up Branner's eczema. We have consulted with his pediatrician's office and an allergist on multiple occasions. We have tried several different prescription drugs. We have applied countless lotions to find the best and our favorite. For the record, we like Eucerin's Aquafor and CeraVe. In our experience with this, all of the prescriptions we have tried have worked...for a little while. After a few weeks or months, though, the scaly red patches have been coming back. We thought we had hit the eczema jackpot with the last prescription--an oil--from our pediatrician, but it stopped working after a couple of months.

Our next step? To see a dermatologist. I just went in for a mole scan (and anti-aging consult--hey, I'm almost 30) at Darst Dermatology, and now Branner has become a patient there, too. We are on a two week regimen of Triamcinolone Acetonide cream and will use Elidel cream from here on out. Dr. Darst is confident that this approach will finally rid B of his problem--which he called, "The worst case of eczema we've ever seen on a Caucasian child," once and for all. Cross your fingers for us!

15 Month Pics

I just got the pics from Branner's 15 month shoot back, and I am SO HAPPY with them. Not that I'm surprised, because Angie at AC Studios always does a wonderful job (and brings great props/bribes)! Click here if you're interested in seeing them!

Editor's note: I was just looking through again, and I totally look pregnant in some of the early family shots even though I definitely am NOT. Lesson learned on wearing a flowy top in pics!!!!