Big Month for Brinley

Last month was a month of many firsts for this girl! She accomplished a lot.

All in one month she learned to:

-Eat
Favorite things to eat: bananas and avacados. She DOES NOT like veggies(but will eat sweet potatoes if forced)...the only way to get any other veggies down her is to trick her. :)




-Sit
Life always seems easier once they get the hang of this.

-Crawl
Still mostly army style for now.




-Talk--first word--"Da da" ...yes she does say "da da" to a lot of things, but she almost always says it when she sees Russ. So we're counting it. :) If she's not saying that than she doing this, "AAAHH!" -in a happy tone, but it gets to be a little disruptive, especially when we're place like oh, say church...you can imagine I'm sure. She pretty much did this the whole meeting last Sunday--I think she was trying to join in with all the Christmas music being sung. :)aaaaahhhh!

She's growing up so fast I can't stand it. But at the same time its SO MUCH FUN to watch her and Kenzie interact the bigger she gets. They both love each other SO much. Right now they can't do much else besides yell and laugh at each other (meaning both yelling "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" and laughing their heads off.) And Kenzie likes to tackle or "hug" her every chance she gets. Its so much fun! And we're learning that Brinley is one tough cookie. :)

Getting Caught Up

I promised posts...so here we go. But how do you get caught up on 2 months worth?? I've decided I didn't want to bore myself or you with the ins and outs and ups and downs of the last couple months, but I've chosen 2 pics of each kiddo and a family shot that I wanted to remember about the last little while.

So here it is..the update.....

Its not a great Halloween pic but its what I want to remember about her first Halloween. She NEVER snuggles--but every time we put this warm, fuzzy costume on she dropped. And I LOVED it. So this is how she spent Halloween, in my arms.


And this is how I want to remember Brin's 4th and 5th month. SMILEY SMILEY. I just love her smile--so contagious.

Now onto Kenzie....


Kenzie was the happiest Snow White ever! She loved putting on that beautiful dress and she transformed heart and soul into a princess. And isn't this picture beautiful? My AMAZING sis-in-law Jess took family pics of us while she and Robbie were here in November. (which so fun) You can see a whole fairy tale about this girl on her blog at www.bellaraephotography.blogspot.com. She did an INCREDIBLE job on our pictures. We LOVE them!

And here is Kenzie un-edited. This poor girl was sick most of the last month it seems with pretty much anything and everything you can think of. This was taken one night after dinner after a week of being "shut-in"..we had to get out and go for a drive. So I said something like, "Go get a jacket," and she came out of her closet looking like this. "Kenz what's the back pack for, we're not getting out of the car." She said, "Mom, its keeping Shamu safe." I LOVE moments like this as a mom. I love seeing what makes them tick. And even though it can be so hard to have sick kiddies....I kind of like how they become so meek, and submissive, and snuggly. You gotta appreciate the good times I guess. :)


And here....sums up our life. (again--thanks for the pics Jess)...Its all about the girlies.

okay two more pictures..I just LOVE kissing this little girls cheeks!!


and how sweet is this daddy/daughter pic??

Melts my heart.

An Early Resolution

This post is mostly for me...consider it an early New Years Resolution.

I am going to be a better blogger.

I have spent the past hour blog stalking most of you and realized how fun it is to get caught up on all the fun things you are doing. It has re-kindled a like, not love, but like, for blogging. It can be fun. So for anyone who reads this..expect more posts to be coming soon. :) And my apologies for how lame I've been lately.

Dinner Talk

Here's how our mine and Kenzie's dinner conversation went the other day. She was pulling out some RANDOM stuff so I grabbed a piece of paper and started writing it down. It was just killing me because there was no transition and it left me in wonderment (wonderment? is that a word?) of how this little girl's brain works.

Kenz: My tummy feels frustrated.
Me: Frustrated? Why?
Kenz: because its hungry! (duh mom)
Me: Keep eating then.
Kenz: So my tummy won't be naughty?
Me: Yes? (still trying to think of how her tummy could be naughty)
Kenz: I think my tummy will feel better after I eat a strawberry.
Me: Eat chicken first-then you can have a strawberry.
Kenz: stands up on her chair...."I gotta give my legs a little stretch so they will feel a little better. Mom, my legs are feeling tired"
sits down eats a few bites
"Mom, you're having a cold."
Me: Cold what?
Kenz: A Cold sneeze. (I did not sneeze)
Me: WHAT??

I have to say this little Mckenzie is kind of funny sometimes. She is such a little girl now; I almost can't look at her without wondering where time has gone. She is very into imaginative play right now, which is really quite interesting to watch. She now has two little imaginary children. Their names are Big Qua and Little Qua... and I have NO IDEA where they or their names came from. :) She LOVES to play "mommy and daddy" .

She started a little co-op preschool this year and she's so funny because she calls one of the moms "Rainstorm". I love it--her last name really is Storm, but Kenzie just kind of added her twist to it. So its not Ms. Storm, or Sis. Storm--just Rainstorm. "Rainstorm will you help me tie my shoe?" We laugh every time--but hey whatever works. (Of course, we tried to explain what her real name is and of course, she could care less what anyone else has to say. )
She prides herself in being a "big kid" now. Its so cute. She loves that she is big enough to go to preschool now and loves being a big sister.

First day of Preschool.

Being a good big sister. Brin LOVES
her! (and yes, they do look like they're two different nationalities)

BRINLEY BRINLEY BRINLEY

taken at 2 months

So I realized I really haven't posted much about this sweet little girl with all that's been going on this summer. She is already 3 1/2 months!! Where does time go?! This little girl makes me so HAPPY. She just has such a funny little personality and makes me laugh. She started smiling at about 6 weeks and its been so fun to watch her personality develop since then.

Things I love about Brinley:

• Her little happy squeals. She doesn't really coo like most babies--she just squeals and blows bubbles.
• When she smiles, everyone smiles. Its impossible not to.
• Her big cheeks and HUGE double chin (really, whats not to love?)

• She sleeps good. I've decided that its harder to love your baby when they don't sleep. Luckily for us, my babies have slept good. Lots of LOVE. :)

taken 5 minutes ago

• She rolls already.
• She does sit ups. (more like crunches, but its quite amazing)

one of her first rolls, kenzie's good at helping her flip back over.

YES, its true. She started rolling just before her 3 month birthday. I don't think Mckenzie rolled till almost 5 months so this was quite a shock to us. But honestly, its because she does all these crunches. She is STRONG. I'll show you some pictures. She probably does AT LEAST 100 crunches each day. And its not just one here and there. She'll do sets of 10-15 in a row.


Talk about a BABY SIX PACK!! She has rolls everywhere else-LOTS of them, but not her stomach- the stomach is firm. I really did feel her stomach today while she was doing some sit ups and it was hard. Harder than mine. (not that that's saying much right now, but still) I think we might make a baby workout video. It would pretty much be awesome!


Even in her car seat--she is trying to sit up. She never just "chills". Always, trying to move and get somewhere. :)

I SO LOVE this little Brinley!

ADVENTURES and BIRTHDAYS

While we've kind of been in transition mode still, we've been trying to take advantage of Russ being home and have been exploring our new turf. The great thing about where we live now is there are tons of trees, hills, and thus more recreational type activities. Its been fun going on lots of little "adventures" as Kenz calls them. :)


This is a little place that we've found that is pretty much awesome. Its this little natural pool/lake in a little cove that you have to hike into. Its great because it has a beachy area with some shade, or you can hop in and swim when it gets too hot. When there is not a major drought, I guess there's usually a big waterfall that falls in the back of the little cove, which would make it even more sweet, but we've had fun going here a time or two.


This is Kenzie with her cousin Ben. She LOVES Ben. And by this I mean in love with him. :) She's so cute; she's always talking about him. And he is SO NICE and good to play tag and hide and seek with her. Such a GREAT cousin to have. I really think he might be her first crush. (which is kinda cute now, but we'll have to discuss this a little if it lingers as she gets older.)

You can't see very well in this picture but this is downtown under a bridge where every night at dusk MILLIONS of bats come out from under the bridge. Its CRAZY. I HATE bats. REALLY I HATE bats. But this is so crazy to see.




AND not to be forgotten, we celebrated RUSS'S BIRTHDAY on the 19th! Happy Birthday Russ!
I am so LUCKY to have such a great husband! He is such a HARD WORKER. I am always in AWE of the direction and VISION he has on life. He KNOWS what he wants, and if he wants something--he goes out and FINDS A WAY to get it. I actually really love that about him. It takes me a lot longer to make a decision and carry it out. He knows me so well and USUALLY what I need without me telling him. He has always had this ability which is another thing that drew me to him in our youth. :) AND he is a WONDERFUL DAD. And I mean WONDERFUL. I honestly couldn't find a fault there if I tried all night. He makes me LAUGH(which I also love), INSPIRES me, and makes me a BETTER PERSON. And he brings out a competitive edge in me--which is good because it gives me drive--but makes it ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to play games together without a fight. :) He makes me HAPPY and will do ANYTHING for me. Like I said I am SO LUCKY to have such an AMAZING husband.



We went to dinner at a place called the Hula Hut on Lake Austin for his birthday. Its such a fun place that overlooks the beautiful lake.

It was fun to have Bryan and Laurie over to help us celebrate! Its great to still have family nearby!!

A TOUR OF TEXAS

My family flew in for the week of Russ's graduation and it was jam packed full of fun! We went to San Antonio and drove around some areas where we used to live, went to the Riverwalk, went to Sea World, explored our new area here, and then up to Dallas for a Rangers game, graduation, Rodeo and more fun! It really was all SO FUN! We couldn't have fit more into one week! We unfortunately forgot our camera when we went to Dallas so I don't have pictures of some things.



Sea World was so FUN and so HOT! You can probably tell from our "glow".

Trying to COOL down.


At the end of the day, grandma SURPRISED the kiddies with their own little Shamu stuffed animals. Honestly, I've never seen kids more EXCITED about anything! It was so CUTE, the icing on the cake. They packed those things around everywhere with them the rest of the trip. ( And don't worry- Shamu still goes everywhere with us.)



Some pictures of us at the San Antonio temple. Its so BEAUTIFUL!


Brinley's SWEET moments with Grandpa!


Those water fountains outside the temple are for playing in right? :)


Lots of FUN, and a little TIRING. Looks relaxing doesn't it?

CONGRATS RUSS!!

Graduation was something we thought would NEVER come! CONGRATULATIONS again to you Russ! HOURS and HOURS of studying, literally HUNDREDS of tests, LONG nights, and lots HARD WORK. It all finally PAID OFF!! It was such a FUN day.

My mom, dad, and sister Lindsey flew in from Utah, and Russ's brother Brian and two boys drove up, and of course Jon and Lisa and boys came to CELEBRATE with us! Thanks to everyone for making the trip--it made for such a great day. We're so PROUD of you Russ! :)

So Hard To Say Goodbye!

It's so hard to say goodbye..to yesterday....NAME THAT TUNE. :) I was going to put this post to music..but lets be honest--only time for the basics when you're so far behind! :)



We celebrated PIONEER DAY by packing up and trekking about 3 hours south. YEP--we've moved. I was a little SAD and sentimental about this move. I usually LOVE moving, but this one kind of tugged on my strings a little. We have ABSOLUTELY LOVED the past 3 years, even though it had its HARD times--especially for Russ being in school and all--but I feel that we've GROWN a lot over the past few years and we've had a lot of FUN, and made some really GREAT FRIENDS. Its been so AMAZING living so close (literally, next door for 2 years) to my brother Jon and his wife Lisa and their little boys. They are such GOOD EXAMPLES and friends to us. AND its been such a DELIGHT to watch the little cousins grow up together and be such good friends as well. We will definitely look back on this phase of our lives with SWEET MEMORIES. We are, however, really EXCITED for this next chapter in our lives.

Jon and Lisa were so nice to throw a little farewell party for us at their pool. It was fun to see some friends one last time. And lucky for us--its only a 3 hour drive to go visit every now and again. :)

Kenz with her friends--Preston, Asher, Madi, and Riley
Just can't hold back the tears. :) (I'm sure in reality she is crying about something else-but its appropriate for this "goodbye picture".

Brinley's Blessing Day

Brinley was blessed on JULY 5, 2009. It was the sunday after we got back from our big Utah trek. It was such a SWEET day, and I think little Brinley looked like an ANGEL. We love this little girl SO MUCH! Russ did a BEAUTIFUL job and I think its a day we'll both REMEMBER FOREVER. It was nice to have my brother Jon and Russ's brother Jared stand in the circle. We LOVE having FAMILY close by!






I'm so bummed we didn't get a picture with Jon too. I had to teach primary right after and wasn't around to round up the troops. And you can see Brinley was a little put out to be waiting. :)

The Fourth of July!!

YEA for July 4th!! We were able to make it back to Texas just in time to celebrate Independence Day. We got to do ALL the traditional things--went to a little parade, went swimming and had a bbq, and then watched fireworks! It was FABULOUS! Sure do love this time of year!


Mckenzie with her 2 cousins, Jacob and Caleb, waiting with anticipation for the parade to start.

At the Parade. I admit to being one of the few left that LOVE a good parade! Last year I dragged my family 45 minutes away to a parade that titled itself "The best in North Texas". ANd I will agree it was probably the longest--but not necessarily the best. So this year we decided to stick with the local small town parade and was GREAT.


Had to post one more of these 3! They have SO much fun together! There is always so much excitement when they see each other...And YES it can get a little CRAZY when they're together but its SO WORTH IT to see these smiles that are AS BIG AS LIFE!


These 2 had a great time jumping off the wall at a nearby swimming pool on the 4th.

Nothing better than eating popsicles and watching fireworks! Really, life can't get much better can it?! It was such a FUN day!