My kids today: Brennen

• Brennen is now 14 months old.
• Brennen has loved pretty much every food we have ever put in his mouth (including fresh lemons), with the exception of bread. He has no taste for any kind of bread. Toast, garlic toast, biscuits, cheese sandwiches, crescent rolls... he either turns his nose immediately or occasionally will take a bite, then spit it right out. It is not an aversion to grain; he enjoys muffins, pancakes, rice, oatmeal, and pasta. I occasionally have to wonder how I created such a child because anybody in my family can tell you about my lifelong love of all things bread. I've often wished that bread could take up half of the food guide pyramid. Seriously, what child does not like bread?
• Brennen has recently developed the opinion that his adorable pearly whites were created for the sole purpose of taking bites out of others' flesh. He has some big-ole'-honkin' teeth too, which allow him to take big-ole'-honkin' bites. Oh, I'm just now remembering how we nipped this trend in the bud with Tayson - a drop of Tabasco on the tongue immediately every time he bit somebody! Hmmm, I better put Tabasco on my shopping list....
• Brennen feels a little bit of separation anxiety whenever one of his family members goes in the bathroom and shuts the door with him on the outside. He will lay on the floor by the bathroom door, whimper, and stick his fingers under the door as far as they can go. I have to say, it's pretty cute to be sitting on the potty and see four fat little sausage-resembling fingers wiggling under the door.
• Brennen has mastered the art of the temper-tantrum. This is new territory for Clint and I. Tayson, while not being a perfect child, has always been motivated by pleasing us. Brennen, on the other hand, demonstrates his theatric nature by doing any combination of the following: bouncing (toddler jumping) up and down while whining; throwing his head back and screaming; clenching his fists and his jaw while his eyes go all buggy; or laying down on the floor, burying his face in his hands, and kicking his feet against the floor (hopefull a video or two will be forthcoming). All because I won't let him play with my phone or some other such nonsense. (As a side note, I've let him play with my phone a few times, and afterwards, I've found several new 'phone numbers' saved, plus oddly-angled pictures of Brennen's toes, his nose, or the floor, etc saved. No more phone play.)
• Brennen loves to sit on the back of the couch and look out the window. Our big sofa is positioned just under our living room window, with a 3-4 inch gap between the couch and the wall. Brennen loves nothing more than to sit on the back of the sofa, with his feet dangling in that gap, and talk (insert yell) at whatever or whomever he sees outside.
• Brennen, when given the chance, enjoys sucking on toilet seats and garbage cans. This characteristic repulses his parents, so the bathroom door remains closed and the kitchen garbage can hides in a corner with a chair tipped on it's side acting as a barricade.