A whole lot of updates...

This week has been rather eventful which we intended because Brad is home on his break from school until the end of August when he will start up again and go basically straight through until next August. We are trying to take advantage of this precious time with Dad without driving him crazy!

We took a trip to Dallas to see the sights that are fun for an 18 month old and a 5 month old. I was very impressed with how good the kids were on the drive. Thank goodness for books!!!


We saw where Brad grew up and visited a family from his childhood and I heard what kind of a teenager he really was!!



Then we got to go to the aquarium! I don't know why it's called an aquarium...there were lots of fish but just as many birds too. Brylie liked to see all the different birds, watch baby penguins eat, pet a colorful bird, get nervous walking through the shark and sting ray tunnel and get hot and sweaty amongst all the other tourists. The double stroller was a bad idea.


We also went to the Galleria mall in Dallas that is the biggest mall I have been to aside from one in Seattle. I can't believe how many store are in that 3 story building. Most of them were places like "Armani" or "Coache" or"Louis Vuitton" you know, stores that we shop at all the time. I looked all over but couldn't find Payless. I guess I'll just have to go back to Walmart. Anyway, we tired the kids out by walking through every floor and letting Brylie walk herself a good 80% of the way. Although she didn't really watch where she walked, she made more people smile than a clown at a birthday party.

Our last and probably most exciting stop was the Rangers game! A big thanks to Dad for getting us awesome seats...maybe too awesome for the kids cuz we were so close when it came to fast fly balls and we spend most of the time walking with tired children but made it until about the 8th inning and then finished the game in the car on the way home! GO RANGERS! It was a very fun day!! I hope we have more as memorable in this short break even if it's just for my sake!

Brylie is such a good big sister! She asked to hold Brody so we decided to take a few pictures! Here she is kissing Brody's head. She just loves her brother and he loves her. I love to see him watch her play...it's as if he's longing to be playing there beside her.


Brylie went swimming for a short 15 minutes...I was afraid she would get sunburned in this blazing hotness of Texas. She got pretty tired of the heat too but she had fun splashing Dozer.






Brody liked to watch her too...but he preferred to watch from inside where it was cool and where he could chew on his favorite toys.

Got milk?

Unfortunately, in an attempt to free our dear Brody of his colic and us of his screaming, I have gone off dairy. And if any of you really know me well or even not very well, you know how much I love a good glass of milk. It is quite sad actually! But the fact that it has worked after only a few weeks makes it worth it. I can tell a difference and one night I had a Hot Fudge Sundae and the next day, Brody let me know and his poop was green which is a sign of too much lactose in his diet. I knew right away that my love for dairy would have to take the back burner until I'm done nursing.

In other news, I have decided to lighten my load by getting rid of a good and longtime friend...my hair! And all I can say is "HALELUJIA!!" and it's about time. I have been debating it for a long time but the last string was when I caught Brody with a handful of hair in his mouth. I seem to find hair everywhere and can't vacuum enough. But I was always so fearful because of several past experiences where I cut my hair and hated it and internally vowed to never chop the hair again. I always said I wanted to be the grandma with long gray hair. Well, I do have a small gray streak but I'm not gonna wait until I'm a grandma...I waited way too long to be a mom making the wait for grandmotherhood too far away. I'd rather have my sanity! So here's the new do. It's way easier and I like it! I was going to wait to tell people but I fear I will slip and divulge the info accidentally while on the phone and spoil the surprise I was anticipating at our August trip to Oregon. Oh well! Whatever!

Growing up so fast...

Our darling baby girl, Brylie, is getting so big so quickly. I'm sad that she's getting older (even though it means Brody is getting older and maybe will grow out of his colic...yes, I think he's just colicy and not cold. Nuts!!) and I fear that I will wake up and she'll be 12 years old and in that stage where they hate their parents. There are so many little things she does that ages her like pooping on the potty (only happened once but still!!), going to bed very well, usually falling asleep when we are saying prayers with her, waking up in the morning ornery (I think that comes with age!), talking more and more (her latest is "oh jeez!"), and becoming more aware of us leaving and worrying we won't take her with us. There are always going to be little things that make me mad but I'm so glad for the 100 things that make me smile and laugh for every one of the bad. Kids are truly a blessing and even though I complain about Brody's colic, there is not a single day that I don't repeatedly thank Heavenly Father that he is in my life. I am constantly surprised by how much love I feel for these 2! When I first got married, I was so overwhelmed at how much I loved Brad. I remember actually worrying about when I had kids because I had heard the love is even more for them. I've found that to be true but there are some other things I found out too. When Brylie was born, not only did I love her more than I knew how to deal with, my love for Brad had increased to the nth degree too. And then when Brody was born, my love for Brylie increased as well as my love for Brad. I've heard a lot of moms worry that a 2nd child will take away from the love you have for your 1st but like my mother-in-law told me once the new babies always bring with them love. She didn't mention love enough for the baby plus some for the other kids and the husband too. Just another reminder that Heavenly Father knows what He's doing and will do it if we let Him. Please bless I can get over myself and let Him!!

Baby Trivia...

We have been really stumped with Brody and his crying for almost 5 months now. It will get better for a while and then get worse without explanation. There have been many times that I'm at my wits end and have to let Brody figure it out in his crib. Trust me, I'm doing him a favor!! But I think that last night I had a break through! There have been 3 occasions where we have been at church and he has been screaming without explanation or end and within a few seconds of going outside into the hot humid weather, he stops. But immediately after coming indoors, the crying will start again. So again, into the heat and it stops. He will usually fall asleep after a very short time there (like seconds) which leads me to this conclusion. Correct me if you think I'm wrong or if you have another idea as we are at a loss and grasping at straws here. I think he's cold. Because we are in hot Texas, and I am always hot, I just assumed adding a blanket will make him more hot not thinking that he could be cold. I don't consider the A/C being on everywhere we go. So last night I put 2 blankets on him in the crib so when he kicked off the 1st one, there will still be a 2nd and he slept better. I tend however to make these conclusions after just one night of good behavior only to realize it was a good phase of his life and there are plenty of bad ones ahead.

Again, if you have any suggestions or ideas, I am up for it!

Two mobile kids!?!

So this last week Brody has decided to be Mr. Mobile and is giving us an idea on how fast he will learn and grow! Yes, he is now rolling over and he also scoots himself while laying on his back or on his stomach. I thought he hated being on his belly because he couldn't hold his head up for very long but he now is pretty good at it. He is also very interested in toys which Brylie loves to give to him. She is very helpful and tries to give him his binky in his mouth quite forcefully. In fact, I think Brody's new trick has developed in an attempt to get away from his sister who has started trying to pick him up. Yikes!!!

He has been quite a little pill this last week by crying bloody murder when he's mad! I've learned that if he's tired, put him to sleep before Mr Hyde or Dr Jekyl (whichever one is the devil's friend)comes out because he is not fun! I had a funeral to help with last week and Brody would not let me help when it was critical...leaving only 3 ladies to clean up! I was so ticked especially by the fact that when I would walk outside into the humid heat, he would stop. But the minute we stepped indoors, he would cry again. I finally had to leave. He also seems to get madder when I try to give him the binky and he doesn't want it. It's as if I can hear in his crying, "How dare you give me the binky!?!" Please bless he gets nicer or I think our family numbers will only increase with more pets! On the other hand, Brylie is such a dollface!! I just love her! She learns so quickly and has picked up the voice changes you do when you talk to a baby, for instance, I will often say "hi Doze" to our dog Dozer in a slightly higher pitched voice and she will copy me and say "hi Doze" in her high pitched voice...it is darling!!! After we realized what she was doing, we started saying other things for her to copy! It has been quite fun and entertaining. She will also come over to me and cuddle and say "baby" because when she won't let me cuddle her I will hold her and say, "my baby" while rocking her playfully. I quite enjoy it! Another thing she is doing is CLIMBING everywhere! She can move the dining room chairs out from under the table and climb on them only she is very unstable going from the climbing up position to the sitting position and I have had a "practice" heart attack several times. Speaking of heart attacks, I had another "practice" one when I gave her a carrot to try now that she has molars and she ate the whole thing and then didn't swallow any of it so she had this huge mouthful of half chewed carrot and then she realized if she coughed a little, it would get my attention (you can imagine a "practice" heart attack reaction) because I worried she was choking so she would cough and then refuse when I would almost beg her to spit the chewed carrot into my hand or onto her tray! I had to leave the room so my heart attack "practice" course would end. I don't know how many practices you get before the real thing happens. And I don't want to find out! But it may happen the rate we're going and with Brody now mobile! Despite my "practice" everythings, I absolutely love these kids and the time I get to spend with them. It's been hard to have Brad gone as much as he has been and I hear that it will only get worse but I think I can handle it as long as I have these guys here (and I can continue to handle them!)!! Wish you were here to join in our fun. Until then, we'll keep you posted!

P.S. our intruder, was only a wolf spider...come to find out, I'm not an entomologist like I thought! Thank goodness!!!

Our intruder...

AS many of you know, Brad is in law school which is quite time consuming to say the least. Often, we go to bed without seeing him and wake up to a kiss goodbye in the morning. This has only gotten worse and more frequent as we approach finals. Well, this afternoon , I was getting ready to change Brody's diaper and saw something in the carpet...this happened to be a spider...if you don't know my history with spiders, click here for a quick updater. This time, I had the wipes right there so I grabbed one and squashed the little rascal. Then I looked at what I had squished. Now I don't usually like to look at my kill but for some reason I did and I am almost certain that it was a brown recluse spiders...in our house! And I have to be the calm and collected one while Brad is not here. I hope the bug killer we got takes care of these spiders as well as the other 69,572 we have living in our house or I might become a fan of the Orkin man. In case you don't know what a brown recluse looks like, here's one.

Do a little dance...and laugh a little...

So I let Brylie watch Blue's Clues on the television because she loves it and I think she likes it only because that's the only show she watches...go figure. So here is a cute video of her singing/dancing to the song in it. I think it's so cute!!



Here is a video of Brody laughing. This is the first time I got a real "guffaw" out of him and he only did it once which I plan to work on. His smile is so infectious and Brad just loves his "smiling eyes".

Brylie/Brody Comparison

I was just talking to my dad on the phone and he asked me if Brylie was as vocal as Brody was in our last post. I remember posting a video of her talking about as loudly if not more loud but just not as long. She seems to want to get attention right away and he waits until he has the attention and then talks in length. It's fun for me to see the videos and realize how similar they are. Time seems to dull the memory and this was a fun period of reminiscing. First watch the video below of Brody talking and then click here to see Brylie as a chatter box.

Sir Chatsalot

AKA Brody! These days, Brody is talking so often and we were in the car for a short visit to Dallas on Friday for a doctors appointment and Brylie and Brody were chatting back and forth in their sibling language. It was the cutest thing and all Brad and I could do was look at each other and smile. Oh how we love these kids and they just keep getting more fun every day! Here is Brody chatting for the grandparents! I'll translate...(Hey grammie, pops, grandpa, and grandma, I love you and can't wait to see you in August when we come visit. I might be able to lift my head off this ground for more than 1 second by then and maybe even sit up by myself. I am eating a lot so that I can wrestle the grandpas next summer and win. I just love my sister and I can't wait until we can play together and torture the dog. It looks like so much fun but I just can't figure out how to move like that yet. My mom and dad are the best and are so nice in carrying me around everywhere. I just love them too. Tell Abby, Mac, Lisa and Melissa hi for me! Love Brody)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Well, what can we say to help you fully understand what a great father Brad is? While he is very quiet when it comes to his emotions, he does a very good job expressing his love to our kids. I remember a time when he struggled to okay my desire to get Brylie a toddler bed because he said "I don't want her to grow up". He is so much more patient than I am with the kids and cherishes his time with them even more now that it is very limited. He gets sad if studying kept him so late that he didn't get to see them for the day at all and when he runs errands, he either takes one of them or makes it a family affair. All of his decisions are based on what is best for the family and for every big decision, he has planned it out in his mind how it will run the smoothest. And it usually does. There isn't more I would ask from a husband when it comes to being a father! He is so great and on behalf of Brylie and Brody I just wanted to say, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!!! We love you soooooooooooo much!

Our busy life...

Even though we don't go out and do a whole lot (the Texas heat would kill us) I feel like we are so busy. I've taken on giving piano lessons (which I absolutely love!!!) and we have play dates occasionally as well as scheduled walks with friends and cleaning, dinner, etc. You know the regular drill. I've tried to capture some of our busy-ness in a few photos. Enjoy!!



Also, I woke up to these this morning with a little note from Brad! What a sweetheart! He is so thoughtful! I'm so glad he's mine. I love you, honey!

'Good Morning' at the Gunnells

Mornings at our house start around 7:00 when Dad rolls out of bed to get ready for school. He usually wakes Mom up around 7:30 with a kiss goodbye. Sometime between then and 8:00 the kidlets wake up and our day officially begins. We have a pretty good routine with room for special outings but those are few and far between to keep Mom sane. After feeding Brody, this is about how the morning goes. I love our kids! Enjoy the movie!

Growing like mad...

Just to give everyone an idea of how fast Brody is growing and how big he is to date I have taken a picture of a shirt Brad's mom saved from when Brad was a baby. The size is then shown and then Brody in the shirt. He won't be wearing it again. He is also growing out of the 3-6 month onesies. What will we do with all these cute clothes he never wore? Did I mention he weighs about 16 lbs at 3 months old?

Definitely the right middle name...

Today I got an email of a picture of my dad around the same age as Brody is. I cannot believe the resemblance!! I could see some of my dad when I looked at Brody but I also have seen my dad staring back at me in the mirror at times (very shocking!!). This picture threw me off because I thought it was weird that my Grandma Allen would send me a picture of my baby...and one that I hadn't seen before until I read the email the picture came with. Then it all made sense and I realized that Brody received the right middle name...Allen. I'm so glad he resembles such a wonderful person and example in my life! And he has the name to remind him of his potential!! Love you, Grandpa Allen!

Listen to this voice...

So I had mentioned that Brody was cooing. Here's the video for all you fans...

Texas has big spiders...and I have bad aim

So it may be 2 in the morning as I write this while I wait for Brody to go to sleep. And I think that at this time of the night the spiders come out to play. As I was peacefully nursing Brody in the office where we have put the rocking chair so that I can nurse Brody during the night where I won't wake the lucky ones in the family who don't have to get up several times, I saw a dark spot in the carpet a few feet away...that moved. I tried to follow it as it was quite fast and in an attempt to turn on the light to see what I was dealing with, I lost its whereabouts. Now I'm still trying to nurse Brody, mind you, but all this movement has peaked his curiousity and now he thinks it's 2 pm. When I can't find the quick moving "thing" I return to my rocking chair and resume to nurse in an attempt to make Brody tired and fall asleep when I look on the other side of the room where I was just sitting to change Brody's diaper and see another creepy crawling "thing" moving. I have no shoe to kill this evil creature but I see Brody's nicely folded diaper lying quite close to both me and the small beetle-bug so I grab the it and smash the diaper onto the bug several times while twisting. And everytime I lift the diaper off the ground to wind up, I notice there is no damage being done. Dang thing!! So I just leave the diaper on top of the thing and resume my nursing but by now Brody is wide awake and ready for a day without naps. And then to my horror, I see the other creeping "thing" crawling quickly over to where I just was trying to kill his friend Mr. Beetle-bug. So this time I decide to get it once and for all. I turn on the light and look and see an enormous wolf spider waiting to counter my movement. So I grab the diaper only to get scared at the very much alive beetle it sheltered and drop it. I pick it up and throw it with all force at the spider which easily dodges my bullet. Bad aim! Shoot!!! I pick it up and throw it again only to miss again and now the spider is behind the speaker at the computer. The very computer I sit at to write this post. So here I sit, feet up on my tippy toes, holding the very much awake Brody, feeling creepy crawling all over my body, seeing countless false dark spots on the carpet and I swear there is something crawling on the blinds at the window making noises. This may be a long stay in Texas! Oh and did I mention that Brad admitted to me that in his younger days living in Texas he used to catch pet tarantulas!?!

We are growing...

And by growing I mean in size not in numbers! *smirk smirk* Look at these kids! We were at Sam's Club today with the cart with double kid seats and I was thinking that in a few months, both Brylie and Brody will be able to sit together and bug each other. And I was so excited for the future. Don't get me wrong, I love where we are at because things are more fun everyday but it's fun to get excited for what's to come also.

Brylie is saying more and more words...and they are more and more understandable too. She makes so many friends at the store or where ever we go with her "hi" and "bye". It's so cute! And she is also so friendly that after someone responds to her "hi", she gives them the biggest cheesy smile ever! She is the weak spot of every old lady we come in contact with.

Brody is growing so quickly! It's almost daily that I can actually see him getting bigger!! He is very smiley and is trying to talk more and more. I am learning how his temperament is which is kind of fun but not all at the same time. His colic is definitely more temperament than gas. For instance, I was holding him the other day and when I didn't have both hands on him holding him, he cried but when they were both on him, he was calm. He kind of freaks himself out which is very "cassidy-like". He is very much like his mom. And Brylie is very much like her dad. How perfect!!

I promised...

...some of you pictures of our van... ......and I thought I would also share the milestone of a TODDLER bed!!! This has been a great step for us but very hard as our baby is growing up. She has only fallen out once and goes to sleep pretty well on her own. We have substituted some of her nap times with quiet time in her room playing since we can't control if she gets out of bed or not without tying her in bed which we thought was a little too "silence of the lambs" for our parenting style. She seems to be doing great with it and loves to sit on her bed when we all go in her room. So this means that the crib can become Brody ready and that's my next step. I think this will be a little hard for me because I will have to allow him to possibly wake Brylie up when he wakes up to eat in the middle of the night. I haven't been that brave yet. But I'm thinking this is the week. If anyone has any advice, I would gladly listen.

Five Years Ago Today...

Can you believe it? I am almost blown away at how fast these last 5 years have gone. Maybe because I have loved every minute of it? Time flies when you're having a good time, eh? Looking back at the last 5 years, there isn't anything I'd change. I'm so grateful for Brad and for all our tough times that have brought our relationship to where it is today. I love being with our little family. I worried a little at moving away from everyone in our families for fear that I needed them to survive but in all reality, all I need is Brad, Brylie and Brody. Not that we don't love having the rest of our families too, you all know how important you are to us, but it's good to recognize that. It's also neat to be able to look back and see how all the paths you deemed as crooked are actually straight just facing a direction you weren't aiming at. That's how we get places we never thought were possible. I just want everyone to know, especially my husband Brad, just how much I have cherished these last 5 years! They give me comfort and excitement as I look forward to the endless road ahead.
Happy Anniversary honey!! I love you!

I'm hot...

...and I'm talking about temperature here. I think I must always do my hair curly here because even if I try to straighten it, it will go curly. Here is a picture. I knew the humidity would get to me and I even prepared myself, I thought. It's just very hard to see born and raised Texans "shiny" and think, "they probably consider this normal" as I sweat profusely, my makeup running off me as I walk through the air conditioned mall with my sweaty baby. Now Brody's complexion is "shiny" to match his "shiny" personality. Speaking of his personality, he has been getting so much better as far as his colic goes. It seems to be less and less each day and he is letting me do more and more. Although he has impeccable timing! Whenever we have some kind of plans, that is the time when he will be fussy. I hate to look forward to when he's older because I know it will be here before I know it and I will long for these days but I do look forward to the days when his "shiny" personality frequents him as often as his "shiny" complexion.