Baby and Birthday

Shad's birthday was on Friday! We spent the morning at the baby doctor. We had our ultrasound scheduled for quite sometime to find out what we where having on Shad's birthday. After our little ER scare we found out it is a boy so that spoiled his birthday surprise, but he did get to see his son again. We were also able to find out he is very healthy and I am on track for January 26th. What a relief to know that our baby boy is healthy!! I always stress until I find out everything is okay.
After the baby appointment Shad just wanted to go home and relax. His blood pressure medicine was giving him chest pain. He didn't feel well that day so we lounged around. I made him a chocolate whipped cream cake, steak, potatoes, salad and cornbread. Brinley and I had our pictures taken and framed to give to Shad for his b-day. All in all Shad had a really good day! I am so glad he was born, is my husband and the wonderful father to our children. We love you honey!!!

Thursday night uncle Lafe came and watched Brinley while Shad and I went to the temple and out to dinner. It was a really nice night and it was fun to celebrate his birthday a day early.







I have tried to get the ultrasound pics scanned in, but it isn't working so I will have to get them up later. Just a note on the pictures our baby boy has the exact same profile that Brinley did and they had the same "poses" (their arm across their head). Which is kind of crazy!!! I will tried to put Brinley's and her brother's pictures side by side so you can see what I mean!

Brinley Turned 2!!!

It is crazy to think that Shad and I are parents of a 2 year old. It just seemed like yesterday she was born. It is weird to think that this time last year I had a one year old! I decided to throw her a pool party since her b-day was on a Thursday and because it has been hot...perfect for swimming! I made her a butterfly cake and butterfly, ladybug and bee cupcakes. I am so sad that I didn't get pictures of the good bees or the butterflys. Her party turned out great. We had 25 kids and 10 adults. It was quite the party!! Shad's grandparents came down to get grandpa's teeth worked on so they were here for the event. Grandma and Grandpa were amazing at helping me get all the food ready and the yard ready to go for the party. Shad had to work most of the day so it worked out great to have his grandparents help!!! Thanks again! Brinley LOVED having grandma around. She played for hours with her. Here are some fun things I would like to remember about her at this age:

-She can say more words than I can count and use them in sentences to say what she wants. She usually will say a full sentence and not just one or two words.
-She loves puzzles. She got a new shapes puzzle from Shad and I for her birthday and she already knows where the shapes go and can correctly identify each one except for rectangle.
-She loves ABC's she can sing most of the song with help and she knows over half of her letters.
-Her temper is very short. She gets mad if things don't go her way in about .2 seconds.
-I have been letting her pick out her outfit each day. She prefers to wear a dress over pants or shorts. She loves dresses!
-We could call her a fish because she loves water so much. I have to be careful to not let her know that we will be going swimming on any particular day otherwise she will not stop asking to go and she won't take a nap.
-She has a very caring personality. She becomes upset if someone gets hurt or cries. She has a couple baby dolls that she loves to rock, kiss and take for walks.
-When ever she sees a picture of a temple she says. temple. temple . She also thinks that churches are temples. I have been teaching her the song, " I love to see the temple" and she will sing some of the words.
-Her prayers go like this, "Heavenly Father, nice day, amen"!
-Not all of her teeth are in. She still is teething and I hope they will all be in soon poor thing!
-She gives great big hugs which I LOVE!!! We love you Brin and are so glad you are our sweet, beautiful and precious daughter!!!

Happenings

I have been a slacker at keeping this blog updated. I don't even really use our camera lately. I guess I still don't have a whole lot of energy. Here are a couple pics of Brinley and the car she bought. A lady is coming to test drive it tonight. I will laugh if she buys it. It will be one of the fastest inventory sales Shad has had lately.

I don't know if I ever posted much about the cat we had. Yes, had we took it to a farm in Springville on Pioneer Day. It turned out to be a mean cat. He actually attacked me. My knuckle has a scar where he bit me and he has snapped at Brinley. I don't think any of us really miss him which is sad. Brinley hasn't even noticed he is gone. I wish he was a nicer cat. I had a lot of cats growing up and we never had one mean like him.

Pioneer Day was pretty uneventful except for getting rid of the cat. It was really nice having Shad home for most of the day. Brinley and I went to the farmer's market while Shad went to work for a little bit. There was a lot of neat booths, but I was really disappointed with the selection and amount of fresh produce. We did buy some really yummy strawberries, peaches and raspberries. I also found some really nice roasters to roast hot dogs and marshmallows on. I am excited to go again this Saturday.

My garden has really started to take off. Now that the cat isn't digging up all of my plants. He dug up all my cucumbers twice, half of my corn, most of my herbs and half of my onions. I am glad that we have been able to pick and eat some tomatoes and sunburst squash. I LOVE eating all the fresh produce during the summer time. It is sooo good!

Shad has a new car buyer...........

That is right, Brinley! She bought her first car on Thursday. Shad was watching the auction while laying in bed (his back was really hurting). I thought that I would put Brinley down for a nap and take one myself. I fell asleep and apparently Brin wasn't ready for a nap so Shad had her laying next to him watching the auction. He dozed off and woke up to...SOLD to Integrity Motors!!! He opened his eyes to find that Brinley bought a 2005 Nissan Altima, red, low miles and in good condition. The funny part is that she bought it for a good deal and it was the only purchase of the day!!! We are just waiting to get the car here so we can see really how good or bad of deal it is!! I don't think I know of another 23 month old who has spent $7600 all on her own! WOW!! Shad and I are still both in shock! We are just grateful it wasn't worse!!

Another first for Brin she got stung by a bee this week! Poor thing didn't know what to do. She handled it really well and didn't even really cry. She also turned 23 months this past Monday. Time flies! She has grown so much and we love her so very much! A few fun things she can do: She can count to 10 and only misses a couple numbers, she knows the letters K, W, A and can point them out. Anytime she sees letters she says, "Mom, ABC's!". She can point out the numbers 6 and 8. She was playing with the phone yesterday and she pushed the 8 and said 8. She says full sentences of what is happening, what she wants and what she is feeling. When we are around anyone who is crying she will say. Crying, they are sad. She loves to learn so I have my hands full!!!

By the way, I don't know if you can see all the lipstick Brinley has on her lips and around her mouth in the pictures. She found my lipstick and had a blast!

July Happenings

I was pretty excited about the fourth of July. I think that fireworks are my favorite holiday related activity!! Shad and I have been looking forward to having Brinley see the "big ones" for the first time! Last year we just did a few little ones in the road for her. I don't know if I posted about this before, but when I was pregnant with Brinley (about 3-4 months) I started having a lot of pain in my lower back all the way down to my knees. I would tell my OB about it, but he kept telling me it was part of pregnancy. After two years of pain and not being able to really walk, run or pretty much do anything I went to see a chiropractor. I found out that my right hip was about an inch above my left hip. The difference caused my SI joint to be "locked". It is the joint that helps you walk, run, bike ect.. It was in that position for so long that it is now diseased (has arthritis in it). So, I have to be careful with what I do. It took about a month to get my hips back to where they should be, a very painful experience. So, back to the fourth. I was outside weeding when I stood up and I couldn't walk. I was in an extreme amount of pain. I was able to get it to subside enough so we could go see the fireworks. Brinley was scared by the loud "BOOM" at first, but after she got use to the sound she LOVES them. She kept saying BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM! She was so tired by the time we got done that she crashed on the way home and nothing would wake her. I tried taking her to see the hot air balloons on Monday. I was still in a lot of pain so we just went to Shad's office. It turned out to be a pretty cool experience. One of the hot air balloons had to land right next to Shad's office. Here are some pictures of it. Now anytime we go to Shad's work Brinley says, balloons? I had to wait to go get my hip put back in until Tuesday. I went to another chiropractor because the one I usually go to office was closed. The one I went to couldn't get it back in place. Wednesday morning I went back into my regular chiropractor and he was able to get it in!!! Yeah, he said it was 1/2 inch out of place. I am not looking forward to my his spreading during this pregnancy. Wednesday night I was feeling pretty good. I decided I would grill some chicken, make pasta and some salad. Little did I know either the bag of salad or the tomatoes would cause Shad and I to be up puking all that night and sick all the next day! Brinley only ate the chicken and pasta and she didn't get sick, which I am sooooo grateful for! She was so good all day on Thursday. She even took two naps!! Poor Shad was so sick. He and I took turns watching Brinley while the other one slept. It actually worked out really well. I am just grateful we are both feeling much better!

Proof there is only one!

We have had a lot of grief, well mainly Shad has that we are going to have twins. I had a visit to my midwife today and also an ultrasound. She tried to pick up the heart beat with a doppler with no luck. I was a bit scared to say the least when she did the first ultrasound. She couldn't find a baby. She had me go into the ultrasound room where they have a better machine. The tech found the baby, yes single baby...what a relief!!! I guess I have a tipped uterus so it makes it hard to do an ultrasound. It was AMAZING to see such a little baby move. Our little one was kicking its legs. I loved it. It was hard to believe it was actually happening. Brinley kept saying baby and pointing at the baby on the screen and then she would say cute, cute! It melted me. Here is the first picture of our next addition!!! Some fun and not so fun things I want to remember about my first trimester:

-I started showing very early
-I have been really tired all day and mostly sick at night
-I will eat pretty much anything
-I crave candy especially those sour punch straws!! Yum!!!
-I love vanilla or Carmel praline ice cream
-Pizza is another one of my favorites (I didn't really like it before)
-I crave fruit except for green grapes...go figure

We will be finding out we are having in a few months!

All About....

BRINLEY

I am a little late posting. I like to post each month about Brinley so I can remember her accomplishments and developments. Otherwise, I know I will forget.

1. Favorite Food: lately it has been chicken, strawberries and cookies (specifically mini nilla wafers). She has been a picky eater and likes the same foods Shad does.

2. Favorite Show: Barney of course! She won't watch anything else. I am glad she is not a big TV watcher.

3. Favorite Toy: A ball (any size). Today I dropped her off at the care center where I workout and she didn't want to stay. After they gave her a ball she was good to go, even with some tears still running down her face. She also loves dolls, her puzzles, blocks and loves to color circles (she even says circle when she draws one).

4. Favorite Book: Any book....she loves books! If she doesn't have a ball she has a book. I have had to limit her with the flap books because she has been tearing out the pieces you open to look underneath.

5. Favorite Characters: Barney :), Elmo and Winnie the Pooh

6. Favorite Songs: "No One" by Alicia Keys is her top favorite and I am not kidding. She will say no one, no one, no one until I play it and then she dances her little heart out. The funny thing is I use to sing it to her when I was prego! Some of her other favorites: Rock a bye baby, If your happy and you know it, Patty cake, Row row row your boat, Head shoulders knees and toes, Winnie the Pooh song, I love you song on Barney, Twinkle twinkle little star, The itsy bitsy spider, I am trying to be like Jesus, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam (she jumps when you say beam) and Mister Sun.

7. Favorite animal: Her kitten, Bruzer! She also loves dogs and lately she loves Elephants. She will point out pictures of them and say Elephant.

8. Favorite thing to do: Be outside. She loves to be outside running (run, run, run is what she says) on the deck or anywhere. I found her out in the dirt yesterday after we got home. I think that playing in or with water comes in at a very close second. She loves to swim, bath or play with anything that has water in or coming out of it.

9. Favorite Moment: When she says lav you (love you) to Shad and I with a big kiss!!!

10. Favorite words: No, no, no :), happy, hi, barney, book, outside, plane in the sky (she loves them), run run run and help me. She can say way over 100 words and can put words together correctly. It amazes me that she is only 20 months old and is able to do all she does!!! We love you Brin!!!!!

Hospital, Gun, Chillin' and Chocolate

What does the hospital, a gun, chilling and chocolate have in common....us!

Last week Shad's nose and throat kept bleeding (from the cold he has). There was a lot of blood coming out of his nose off and on for a few days. He went back into the doctor and the doctor sent him over to the ER. They cauterized a few places to get him to stop bleeding. He has stop bleeding, but is still very sick :( I just pray that he will start feeling better soon!

Shad has a Russian M91 rifle that needed some help, to say the least. His dad knows a lot about guns and offered to clean and restore the gun for Shad. His dad completed the restoration and sent the gun back down to us this past week. All I can say is that it looks AMAZING! I know it means alot to Shad to have had his dad restore this gun. It will be something we will keep and cherish as a family heirloom (THANKS DAD IT IS PERFECT!!).




After being stuck inside for most of March I was able to get out for about four hours yesterday and go on a shopping spree!! Yeah for me :) I think Shad regretted sending me out on my own with money to spend...hehe. I actually have a hard time spending money unless it is something I know we will use. I can't stand clutter or hoarding anything. We decided to buy a new patio set and a couple of chairs for our front porch. Since Shad is still ill I went out and brought it all home. With the little energy he had he helped me set it all up and then took a well deserved rest!



The last few days I have been getting ready for Easter. I have the Easter baskets out and all the candy to go in them. Brinley has been fascinated by them and insists on carrying them around. This morning while I was finishing my lesson for church I let her carry around the baskets with candy in them. She liked carrying the baskets and didn't even seem to notice there was candy. A few minutes went by and she was sitting in the hallway not making much noise. I instantly became concerned and went to find out why she was so quiet. I found her with a chocolate ring around her mouth. A big smile on her face, but no wrapper to be found (they are chocolate eggs wrapped in foil). I made her open her mouth...taadaa there was the foil. She had some how managed to eat almost all the chocolate, but none of the wrapper! Gotta love those shinning mommy moments :)

19 months old and sad news..again!!

This past Friday Brinley was official 19 months old. Another month has come and gone. It is amazing how much she has changed in such a short time. She can say over 100 words. It has been fun to watch her put words into sentences that make sense. She sings and loves to dance. On Friday night her and I were "dancin'" as she calls it, for over an hour! We were both tired and sweaty afterwards :) She will run, run, run and thinks it is so funny to go fast. She has come down with another cold this past week. Is seems like every time she cuts a tooth she gets sick. Poor thing has been miserable. At her last appointment she weighed in at 22.75 pounds (27 percentile) and was 32 inches long (62 percentile). She is our little string bean!! We love you Brin!

For some reason when it rains it pours. Our "sister from another mother" is in the hospital right now. She is not conscious and we don't know what the future will hold for her. She was taken to the hospital yesterday after she collapsed and has been there since. Her dad died about a year and a half ago. She has a husband and two young children. Please keep them in your prayers!!! There were times in my life where I didn't understand the importance of being spiritually strong. In the last two years with all of the deaths and tragedies we have experienced I couldn't imagine where we would be if we didn't believe in God or have a testimony of Jesus Christ. It has helped us to grow in ways we couldn't imagine and I am so thankful for it!

Joys of Parenting and Life

Lately Brinley has been so stinkin' cute. She says please (peeze) and thank you (tank you) for most things she asks for. Yesterday morning I am not sure what dropped, but she immediatly said, "uh oh" and then, "it's okay". It melted my heart that she understands when accidents happen it's okay. She doesn't get upset or cry she picks it up or cleans it up and moves on!! She has finally been getting more teeth. She will have six on top soon and hopefully the third one on the bottom will finally pop through. Poor thing has been in a lot of pain with her molars, ouch!

Here is an update on everything else going on. I have started to feel a lot better with my joint and with everything else. I am starting to feel 20 again instead of 80. Shad on the other hand has been in more pain poor guy :( Back problems just never seem to go away.

Our prayers go out to our sweet Aunt Helen. She lost her husband this weekend. He committed suicide which makes the situation harder to deal with. I have realized that there really is a time and season for all things. It breaks my heart to see people lose there faith in that God will never give us more than we can handle. Life can be extremely challenging, but I have faith that God will never leave us alone even in our darkest hour. As a parent I see more how God works and our perception of him. I am grateful for all the life experiences, good and bad, God has blessed us with and saved us from!

Aunt Helen and Brinley

February Happenings

Well, the last couple weeks have been busy and not so busy at the same time. I had some family come into town last week and spend the night. My uncle has been struggling with brain cancer for years and is at the end of his fight. His wife and children came down to take their oldest daughter into the MTC. It was really good to spend time with them, but also difficult because they had to leave my uncle in his condition. He is still hanging in there, but we will see what the next week or so brings.
Shad has been keeping busy with his business. We are grateful it is still doing so well. For now we have decided to stay here in Provo. We still have our house up for sale. We had an offer come in, but we rejected it. They wanted to have us move faster than we could. It will be nice someday to have more land, but for now our little yard will have to do :)
My brother comes home from his mission next week. Brinley has had a rash from a virus (we found out last night when we took her in to the after hours doctor) and is cutting teeth. I hope we are healthy and feeling good to go out and see him! I can't believe it has been two years! I am sure I will post our V-day events this coming weekend!

Picture of Brin's Rash:

Lovin' the Snow

Yesterday while I was taking a nap Shad bundled Brinley up and took her for a ride on the four wheeler around our neighborhood. I woke up to this adorable sight.......

If your happy and you know it show your teeth!!!



The "bunny suit" is just a wee bit small for her :)