Such a big girl!!!

I was just reminiscing the short life of Brylie as I watch Brody grow and develop. I watched the video we took of her when she was 1 hour old and saw how much she has changed and grown. It's funny how babies get big so fast! Suddenly you have a little girl or boy too big to be called baby anymore and it all seemed to happen right before your eyes except you feel like you missed it and a little jipped because it happened so fast...that time will never be coming back. Thank goodness for home videos and pictures that seem to take us back to the times we can't bring back again.

Such a big boy!!!

I couldn't reminisce about Brylie without thinking of our little guy Brody since they are so close in age and look a lot alike. He has grown up so very fast as well and I find myself a little sad when I don't see the "small" baby anymore. He is still considered a "baby" but with his hair coming in thick and his skills improving every day, there's not doubt that that name will soon be striped from him and replaced by little boy faster than I can realize. Again, thank goodness for home video and pictures that can bring back a glimpse of what we so often feel we missed.

...but it's so nice to be home.

We had the fortunate opportunity to take advantage of Brad's time off school and join the cooler side of the country while we visited our parents in Portland, OR. We have looked forward to this trip since May when we booked the plane tickets. We had a wonderful trip despite horrible plane rides to and from Oregon. Both Brody and Brylie were naughty at some point during the flight. When we made it to Portland, Brad said "he was exhausted from wrestling the gorilla" (AKA Brylie) and this is coming from a wrestler. Lucky for me, Brody was easier to manage (I also have the calm down juice readily available)

The first half of our vacation was spent at the Gunnells with Grammie, Pops, Melissa and Lisa. We spent the first day or so reacquainting the kids with everyone which took all of 29 seconds. Brad and I straight away went on a much needed "date" without the kids. We got to see The Dark Knight which we thoroughly enjoyed! What a nice getaway! Then we took the kids to a petting farm, the fountains, downtown Portland and shopping at the outlet mall. There is so much to fill in the gaps...I couldn't possibly name all we did, hopefully the pictures shows you just how much fun we had!


The second half of our trip was spent at the Allens with Grandma, Grandpa and Abby. Again the reacquainting took the same short 29 seconds and then the kids were set. We took the kids to the zoo, swimming at 'the compound', the beach, and the Tillamook cheese factory. Of course, we can't cover our entire trip but will rely on the pictures to help you understand why we love visiting family.

Thanks for such a WONDERFUL trip everyone! We love you all!!!

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".