She's ONE!!

Oh my SWEET SWEET Brinley!! I can't believe she's one already!! She's getting so BIG!! It seems like just yesterday she was so small and would actually let me hold and snuggle her up a tiny bit. She has brought more happiness than I ever thought possible to our little family. Her eyes are so pure and her smile is sooo contagious, and her rolls and cheeks so squeezable....what not to love?!! I can't help but think about how she looked only a year ago... just a bundle of joy.


photo credit Whitni Parker Photography

We had a fun little celebration last Friday where we gave her some presents....


which she did not want....
And sang to her and blew out a candle.....


that she LOVED.

And gave her some carrot cake.....(I've been really wanting some lately)



which she did not like....

This is how she tells us she is "DONE!"

We tried so hard to get her to eat this little cake..but she wanted nothing to do with it. I thought if I could just get a little in her mouth she would taste the goodness and devour it. Nope. What? A kid of mine? Not like cake? hmmmm.. I blame the carrots...Brinley HATES vegetables. Always has. I thought if I grated them up extra small and coated them with sugar and all that other goodness she would eat them, no doubt. But any little bits of cake we got in her mouth were spit out seconds later. Kind of made the cake thing lame, but oh well. :) I guess I should have just frosted a block of cheese or something. She probably would have loved that. :)

So now that Brinley is one she spends her time doing this.....


getting into ALL my cupboards and drawers. I think she empties this drawer at least 5 times a day. I have mixed feeling about this. While its nice it offers some distraction while I make food...it gets a little old putting all the contents back in over and over again. And I have recently caught her doing THIS on more than one occasion....


The picture quality is bad, but that's a cup in her hand on its way into the trash. So that's fun. :)

Brinley also enjoys this now that she's one....

Facing forward! YAY.I always love this milestone. But I'm not sure how Kenzie feels about this. Any guesses?:)

BRINLEY'S FAVORITE THINGS:
Fruit
Cheese

Bread
(I really wish I could add more foods to this list)
The trash can
Running away whenever I change her diaper or clothes (such a funny girl)
Dad
Saying "DAAADD!!!"
Ducks
Her bed
Going outside
Kenzie--she's not happy after she wakes up till she sees her
SHOES--always carrying around someones shoes
Walking

NOT-SO-FAVORITE THINGS:
vegetables
milk
the carseat
sitting on laps
(basically being restrained by any means)


p.s. Kenzie decided that Brinley's birthday was also going to be "Cookie's" birthday (a.k.a Shamu) and insisted on getting some pictures of him as well. I think she was a little annoyed at all the pictures being taken of Brinley and not her. :) FUNNY GIRL.

Come Back!

photo courtesy of BellaRae photography

Come Back! We miss you! Don't you get cold just looking at this picture? Yet, so heart warming at the same time.

I love this girl. No really. I love her.

Here's why: there are actually hundreds of reasons...but here are just a few.

1. She's Beautiful..(but you already knew that...just look at that picture.)
2. She's smart.
3. She's funny.
4. She makes everyone feel like her BFF.
5. She spent her measly 1 week break from school, here--with us!!
6. She brought presents. :) (no seriously, thank you)

Thanks for spending your break with us and for a few fun filled days.

We had fun doing this....


Well, most of us that is...Brinley--not so sure.


And this....



And this....



And...oh wait.....no pool pictures. :)

We miss you!!

TRICKS

There's a few new tricks at our house.....

A couple weeks ago, Easter weekend actually, Brinley started walking! I've known all along she would do this kind of early because, lets be honest, she can't sit still for more than 2 seconds. But still, I'm a tad bit saddened because I'm realizing my baby's growing up. Only one more month and she's one! But I LOVE this stage. I love watching that proud look they get in their eyes. They know they are so totally cool. :) She isn't walking everywhere yet; usually only when she wants to go short distances.

We tried to get a couple pics on Easter, yes, with the corny Bunny ears and all to capture the moment. I know they're not very good pictures and are kind of blurry for some reason-- but oh well.




YAY for Brinley! :)

.......and not to be forgotten....here's Kenzie's new trick. This is her way of getting the attention back to her.....

YAY for Kenzie! :)

and sorry--hope no one's offended by the immodesty. :)

Sunny Days, Egg Hunts, & Half Marathons

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL over the last couple weeks and we've been having a great time being outside. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year when the weather PERFECTLY ranges from 75-85 degrees and all the trees and Texas bluebonnets and wildflowers are in bloom. Its been great for parks and especially EGG HUNTS!! These were taken our little city's egg hunt held at the city park. Isn't it awesome?! Last time we were there the lake was all dried up so it wasn't that great. But after a few months of rain...AMAZING. So its my new happy place. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Texas?!







The girls were also big fans of this beautiful lake. A little egg hunting then in to the water for a little swim. The idea was to just get their feet wet, but when they left they were soaking wet. This is becoming a common occurrence lately with all the lakes and rivers around. Guess I need to start keeping a change of clothes in the car.


Its hard to keep this little one contained. She is such an ACTIVE little girl. She has been taking a few steps on her own here and there around the house throughout the last week or so. She's actually been trying to do this for months but she usually would let go of something and act like she was going to walk, and then FACE PLANT it, but now she's actually stable enough to stay on her feet. :) I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet though! Hopefully she'll hold off a few more weeks before she's really moving!

Also, Last Saturday I was able to run a half marathon! It was so fun. I don't have any pictures as of yet because I didn't have my camera and they made it nearly impossible for spectators to come (only those willing to catch the shuttle at 5 am with us,.... meaning-- not my husband and 2 girls)...but it was a beautiful and "challenging" course...(lots and lots of hills). But again...all the wildflowers and trees were awesome. Although there were a few discomforts, a lack of porta-potties and an aggravated IT Band (knee) to name a couple, I finished about 5 minutes faster than my last one so I was happy and can't complain too much. There were a few other girls in my ward and another ward that ran it too, so it was all in all a really good time! SO-- I'm already trying to figure out when the next one will be.

BIRTHDAY GIRL

Happy Birthday Mckenzie!!!

Yes.I'm a couple weeks late posting this. But I know no one is surprised by that. :) But still I just wanted to wish this little girl a Happy Birthday. Can't believe she is 4!! Four seems so much older than three. But she is soo happy to be 4 now and tells everyone she sees. And everything new or different that she does is because "that's what 4 year olds do, right mom?" She definitely prides herself on being a big girl now.

Things I love about Mckenzie:

• The first thing she does when she wakes up every morning is make her bed. Amazing. I never have to ask. I don't even know if I taught her this. But she's good at it.

• She is also very good at cleaning up. If I ask her to clean up her toys, she'll generally do a really good job. Occasionally it takes a little persuasion, but more often she just does it and is happy about it.
• She will go to great lengths to make others smile and be happy.
• She LOVES Brinley. Loves, loves, loves.
  
• We have great conversations. She really THINKS about things and is actually pretty deep at times.
  
• She wears her heart on her sleeve. I have never had to wonder what she is thinking. Even before she could talk, she found a way to express herself. Good or bad..I love knowing whats on her mind.
  
• She is very sweet and loving. She is good at giving us hugs MULTIPLE times during the day, followed by a sweet "I love you" that melts your heart.
• She is very decisive and determined. She knows what she wants and WILL get it. This is probably my biggest challenge. Even though its a little hard to deal with now..I think its a good quality to have. :)
  
• She is very thoughtful. Loves to write us notes. She'll leave them on our bed for us if we are not home when she goes to bed.
• She's just excited about life. She has a smile that's bigger than life. I love how excited she gets about little things.
  

Mckenzie's favorite things (as of today--its changing all the time these days):
Parks (this one is contant), the color blue, singing, pretending there is a barn under our kitchen table, building forts and tents, playing make believe, reading the scriptures,(I probably have to categorize that as her favorite book right now too...she loves to read Book of Mormon stories), watching "Little Bear", all her cousins, water (baths, showers, swimming, playing in the sink,etc), preschool, writing and practicing her letters (she calls this doing her "work"), cooking, riding on things that move (powerwheels, bikes, swings), making others smile.

For her birthday we did a little Chef's party. It turned out to be a pretty good time. I was bit nervous that it would turn into complete chaos, but I think we kept things pretty well under control. All the kids got their own little chef hats and aprons and made their own pizzas, chocolate covered pretzels, fruit kabobs, trail mix, and cupcakes. I think everyone had a pretty good time.







This is one thing I will miss about age 3...

Goodbye Princess....
Recently, Mckenzie declared that she is NOT a princess anymore. She is just a kid. Just Kenzie. (her words) And though, I myself, am definitely not the princess type either, I did love watching how excited she got about all the princess stuff and how happy she was pretending to be a princess.
Happy Birthday again Mckenzie!! We love you! Can't wait to see what the next year brings!!

TEXAS SNOW DAY

It snowed! (a week ago actually, but I'm just now getting to it) I admittedly kind of like when it snows here because its usually a one time a year event, only lasts about 12 hours, and everything shuts down! It started snowing around 10am. The schools let out around lunch time and they even canceled YM/YWs. Look and see exactly how much we got. :) I LOVE Texas!




All you die hard winter people, please excuse the rain boots.


Isn't she a cute chubby snow baby?


Not quite enough snow for a snow angel, but she was so determined.


Pretty much the world's best snowman. :) This is how much snow was left around 5pm. Didn't last long.

PEACE and QUIET

Its 4:45pm and I am so happy. Usually this time of day the intensity is rising...gearing up for the five 'o'clock melt down. But not today. Everyone else is asleep. Its still, its quiet..I love it. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, but I also LOVE a quiet afternoon (or morning or night), mostly I just love a little bit of "me time". I know I will NOT be loving it at 8pm when I am trying to put the 3 year old to bed and she is not tired. But today I don't care. Its totally worth it.