Fun Day with the Family

Thursday was a cold and foggy morning here in Idaho. Joel had planned on pouring concrete for Grandma's shed but since the weather was bad, he decided to wait and do it on Friday. That meant he had a whole day to spend with us. It was a much needed fun day. We went shopping in the morning and then we went to Linder Farms. 

For lunch we went to Burger King. We even found one with a really nice playground for Brynlee to play in. Although, She wouldn't hardly go near it. We stayed there for a long time while Brynlee ate all of her food and I even tried to go in the playground with her. She told us she was too scared. I would not have expected her to be afraid of something like that.

 Eventually we went home and attempted to put Brynlee down for a nap but she didn't take one. By this time the weather was much nicer. It was still cold but the sun was out. We also found out that every thursdays is half price day at Linder Farms. We had never been before but it sounded like fun. We bundled up with kids, put the baby in the stroller, and had fun exploring. 

The first thing we did at the farm was to go see the animals. We bought them some food and then went in this big cage where they had sheep, goats, chickens, rabbits, and ducks. They had a big sign up there telling us not to pick up the animals but almost as soon as we were in there Brynlee caught one of their chickens. I made her put it down and we had fun feeding the sheep and the goats. Although those goats were pretty aggressive. Brynlee really wanted to feed one of the rabbits and the goat kept getting in the way and eating the food. She started crying and she hit that goat really good when it finished off the rest of the food. At least she got to pet the rabbit. 

After we fed the animals Brynlee went on this little swing ride. She almost fell asleep on it and she definitely didn't want to get off. She tried to push the lady away when she unbuckled her. Eventually we got her down and we went to discover what else there was to discover.

They had this neat little slide made out of straw bales and wooden pallets. Joel had to go check it out. Brynlee went with him and ended up flying down that slide and coming up with a mouthful of straw. She cried until she watched dad come down. Joel loved that thing. As soon as Brynlee saw how much fun he had she wanted to do it again. The second time she got even more straw in her face and she cried even louder. I think she still would have gone again if we would have let her.

 Brynlee found this giant bouncy obstacle course thing with a huge slide at the end and she was determined to try it. We weren't sure if she would actually do it all by herself. (Especially since she wouldn't go near the tunnels at Burger King) So we got permission to got with her. I went with her first and I had to help her a little. Although, she probable could have done it on her own it was fun to go with her. Brynlee wanted to go again so the second time Joel went with her while Annalyn just watched.

Brynlee wanted to go again but we opted to head to the corn maze. It was a nice little maze that didn't take us that long to make our way through. It was also fairly smooth for the stroller to go through. Brynlee had fun picking up the corn that was on the ground along the way. 

 When we finished with the corn maze we got Brynlee some cotton candy and then headed home. It was starting to get colder and darker. Brynlee loved that cotton candy. She picked out the purple bag but as soon as it was all eaten she threw a huge fit because "I don't like purple. I like the pink one." That is what happens when she doesn't get a nap. Overall it was a really fun day. I love watching Brynlee experience all of these fun new things and I am so glad that Joel got to come experience these things with us. It was a really fun day. 

Another Trip to the ER

Last saturday started out great. Joel babysat the kids for me while I went to a relief society activity. When I got home we went to visit Joel's parent's house and we had fun talking to them and eating dinner. We came home right before Brynlee's bedtime at 8 and Joel volunteered to give both of the kids a bath if I would get them dressed. As soon as Brynlee was ready for bed we went to kneel down for our family prayer. Brynlee started to be wild and do all kinds crazy acrobatic moves. She put her right arm down on the ground and swung around but then kind of fell so that all of her weight landed on her elbow. As soon as Brynlee started crying I was dreading what I hoped hadn't happened. She was holding her elbow so I was really afraid she had another nursemaid's elbow. Joel went ahead and said a prayer and then we talked about it and realized that the pain in Brynlee's arm wasn't going to go away on its own this time. We decided we had better go to the Emergency room.

My sweet girl stealing Annalyn's treats. 

I hurried and got my shoes on, we got the baby in her carseat, and then buckled Brynlee in the car seat and drove to the hospital. We were the only people in the waiting room when we got there and we didn't have to wait that long to see the doctor.

At this point Brynlee's wrist was all swollen. The doctor went to pop her arm back into place but then he started to worry that maybe it was broken so he ordered an x-ray. They brought the x-ray machine right into the room. They had Joel and the baby leave while I put on this cool apron thing. Moving Brynlee's arm for the x-ray was really painful for her. She cried while they did it but luckily they were fast. And they didn't take as long as I thought they might to get the results back to us. No broken bones. So the doctor was able to pop her elbow back into place. It only took about three seconds. We tried to get Brynlee to move her arm but she didn't want anything to do with that. Then the nurse brought her a sucker and Brynlee was able to reach for it with her hurt arm. She kind of looked at it, moved it again, and then took off the clip thing that was on her finger monitoring her vitals. She said "all done. Let's go home." Obviously she felt better right away and she was really mad when we made her wait for the doctor to fill out the paper work and release us. She got one more sucker for the road and then we were off. By then it was after 10. We hurried and took her home and put her in bed. It is crazy how she was in so much pain just minutes earlier and as soon as it is fixed she is as good as new. I just hope this doesn't happen again. I think three times is plenty. And they have all happened this year. I tried to get the doctor to teach us how to fix it but he didn't. They say it can happen lots of times but it should stop by the time they turn six. Until then we just have to be really careful with her arm.

When Josh Came to Visit

Last week my sister Alesha had a state soccer game in Idaho Falls. She broke her collarbone at the beginning of the season but she still got to play for the second half of the season. Right before the state game Alesha had to get the pin taken out of her collarbone because it was coming out. The doctor okayed her to play in the game but my parents were a little worried about having her play so far away from home. Last year she broke her ankle in the state game. My parents decided to go watch the game. The game was on a Thursday and a Friday and my brother Josh had school so while they were gone, Josh stayed with us. 

Josh came to stay with us on a Wednesday night. The good news was that Joel took the week off of work so he was around to help get Josh to school. It was fun to have him around but between school and baseball we barely saw him. We also ended up with my parent's little dog, Zadie at our house that night. When we went to check on them she was acting funny so we decided we had better take her with us. We did get to have dinner together and Brynlee had fun making a card for Josh. She glued a whole bunch of rocks and leaves to it.

We weren't sure when my parents would come home because it all depended upon if Alesha's team won their soccer game. Unfortunately they lost their game on Friday and the worse part was that Alesha broke her collarbone again, for the second time. As soon as the game was over my parents had to take her to the ER for another x-ray. Alesha rode the bus home so when Josh was done with school, and baseball, and after we had dinner; I met Alesha at the high school and drove them both home. Then I helped Alesha get settled. She was in a lot of pain. Poor Girl.

It was fun to have Josh around for a few days. Brynlee sure loved having someone to play with while he was around. Having Zadie around also made us realize that we really don't want a dog. She is pretty well behaved and she was fun to have around for a few days but she is lot of extra work. Brynlee kept trying to hold the dog and Zadie kept hiding from her and growling at her because Brynlee is rough. Brynlee also kept dragging the dog food all over the house for the dog to eat and she kept trying to eat it herself. Apparently it tastes good. Zadie also kept coming up to the baby and trying to lick her. Which Annalyn didn't seem to mind. She was fascinated with the dog. Oh well, it made for an exciting week and we were glad to help out. We just hope Alesha's collarbone heal quickly. 

Seven Months

This month was filled with lots of new things for little Annalyn. Now that she is moving around more she loves to get into all kinds of things. She rolls all over the place and she gets up on her knees and rocks. She can push herself forward but most of the time she just goes backwards. Usually she is content to just play on the floor with her toys but lately she wants to be held more and more. It seems like it is worse when I try to make dinner. I thought this phase was over. The worst part is that she only wants me. She will even cry when dad is holding her. When she sees me she just looks at me and whines. And boy does she have a good pair of lungs. As soon as I pick her up she is all smiles and babbles.

- Nighttime has also been miserable the last few nights. I can't even tell you how many times she wakes up at night. She screams until I come and get her. If I let her cry for too long she wakes up Brynlee. They don't share a room, she is just loud. If Joel comes in to get her she just keeps crying but as soon as she hears my voice she is fine. Usually she goes right back to sleep after she sees me. Although sometimes I have to sing her a song and stick the pacifier back in her mouth too. I wish I knew what the deal is because it is driving all of us crazy. She does have a cold so I think that is mainly what is wrong. I hope her cold goes away soon so she will sleep better because no one in our house is sleeping well.

-This month she drank out of a sippy cup for the first time. She loves water from my cup and tries to reach for it every time I have a drink but she didn't seem to like it from the sippy cup as well.

-She loves all of the fruits I have fed her so far as well as sweet potatoes. She is going to have a major sweet tooth. She doesn't like the rice cereal or green beans at all. I can get her to eat anything if I mix it with some fruit but other that that she spits out whatever she doesn't like.

-Annalyn sits like a pro and can easily go from sitting to her belly. She can then go back to a sitting position as long as she doesn't go all the way onto her stomach.

- My sister Heather gave Annalyn a lick of her sucker the other day and she went crazy for it. She cried everytime Heather took it out of her mouth so Heather kept giving her more. Anna would grab the end of that sucker really tight so we couldn't take it away.

-When I hold Annalyn she likes to pinch my arm in her fist again and again. It hurts so I am constantly trying to make her stop. She also tries to do it when I nurse her so I have to hold onto her hand. It is a lot worse when she has long fingernails so I have to cut them all the time.

-She loves to play with toys. Especially the ones Brynlee has. Brynlee and her have already gotten into several fights over different toys. Usually Brynlee yells at the baby calling her mean and telling her that she needs to go in time out. And to think it has only just begun.

- Annalyn also loves music. She tries to sing along with us when we sing.

- She is still usually a happy, active baby and we all love her. As long as I am holding her she will smile and "talk" with anyone around. She sure is cute and I just love her chubby little cheeks.

Potty Traning

I think I can officially say that for the last few weeks we have only had one kid in diapers at our house. I finally took the plunge and started potty training Brynlee. To be honest I should have done it a long time ago. I was just dreading having to deal with taking a toddler to the bathroom all the time. I felt like I wouldn't be able to go to as many places while we were potty training. It almost seemed like diapers were the easiest choice. 

We have had a little potty chair for Brynlee since before she was 18 months and she has used it lots of times. She also has worn pull-ups since before she was 2 so I figured the next step was panties. We bought several fun new pairs and she was excited to wear them. She was not excited to use the potty though. I kept talking to her about how we needed to use the potty chair and she would tell me she was going to go potty in her panties. I knew that until she decided to go on the potty chair there would be no success. We made a potty chart where she could earn sticker (my mom got a huge bag of stickers for only 10 cents at a garage sale) and I had a candy jar full of candy (it was all of the candy she got from the fourth of July parade.) She really wanted the candy but still refused to use that potty. Probably because it was my idea. I think we finally had a breakthrough when I talked to Brynlee about how she wore big girl panties from now on and I stopped putting pull-ups on her, even for a nap.  That is when Brynlee told me she would use the potty chair and she did. 

 

Since that day we have still had lots of accidents but most of the time she does really well. She is pretty independent and wants to do it all by herself. She did have an accident in the parking lot at my sister's soccer game and at the church in the gym when I went there to exercise. It was pretty embarrassing so I hope we are done with those experiences. Sometimes I wished I had put pull-ups on her when she has an accident in public but I am so glad we are done buying diapers for Brynlee. It is so much cheaper and now that Brynlee can go all by herself it is much more convient than having to change a diaper all the time. 

September

Is september really already over? This month was really busy for us. We had fun enjoying the last few days of warm weather before it started to get colder. We spent lots of time outside. Brynlee still wants to go swimming all the time even though it is to cold to go now. We picked lots of things out of our garden so we have been eating lots of fresh vegetables.

Joel had to work a lot this month. We hardly got to see him. They have him driving truck on the farm instead of welding right now. Joel almost got a job in Oregon but in the end the company decided to go with someone else who had more experience. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Hopefully something better will come along. Joel found a good deal for a welder and a trailer that he bought so maybe he can start to do some welding on the side and one day start his own business. Who knows what life will bring?

As for me, I started doing Zumba at the church a few morning each week. I never thought I would actually do something like that because I hate to dance but I have been trying to find a good way to exercise and I am not motivated enough to do it on my own. The girls are usually well behaved and it is fun to workout with other women. I would rather play soccer but it has been fun. I have also been taking the girls to the library once a week for a music and movement class and for story time. They both really like that. We have gone to watch by brother play baseball and my sister play soccer a few times and we spend lots of time playing at grandma's house.

Brynlee has gotten lots of questions about what happened to her head. She talks about the owie all the time. She still throws a huge fit when we take off the gauze but at least we are done with the medicine. Overall she takes it in stride. She still gets into all kinds of mischief. Just in the last week she poured salt on the grilled cheese sandwiches I made, she poured a can of baby formula out in Annalyn's bed, and she colored all over grandma's bed with a crayon. And that was just last week. She is also starting to get an atitude and she tries to tell me what to do.

Annalyn is also starting to get into everything lately. She can roll pretty well and she scoots to get what she wants. She really likes the food we eat and is constantly trying to put things in her mouth. She already cries when she doesn't get her way. Especially if Brynlee takes a toy from her; she cries so loud and she is not all that easy to distract. I am going to have lots of fun with them when they are older.

 Overall life is good and we are trying our best to enjoy each day.

Brynlee - 27 Months

I think it is just crazy how much Brynlee has changed in the last three months. I wasn't going to do another update for her but I decided I wanted to keep track of what Brynlee was like at this age and how she has changed.


Weight - 30lbs
Height - 2ft 11in
Shoe Size - 8 
Clothes size - Still  3T
Teeth: She is still working on four more molars in the back. 
Favorite Color - Red and orange
Favorite Foods - Anything sweet. Lately she keeps telling me that the food I make is not good. 
Favorite Movie - Cinderella, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Favorite Shape - Oval. The other day she found a huge oval plate in the cupboard and she was so excited. She tries to eat on it a lot. 
Common Phrases - Brynlee talks a lot these days.She has started to call me Melissa which Joel thought served me right but it doesn't really bother me. 
She also likes to call things silly. "Silly Mom" is something she says all the time. 
Sometimes she can get an attitude. The other day she got mad at me and she said "I am gonna spank your bum mom." Whenever she messes her pants she tells me she is ok. The other day I asked her if she was poopy and she told me no. When I asked it I could check she said "No don't check mom. You will be sad."
 When I ask her if she wants one of something her response is usually "I want two ones." 
She is always telling people they are mean.I hope this phase doesn't last long. 

Brynlee loves to play with barbies lately. She named all of her barbies Alesha and is constantly losing them and calling out, "where my Alesha go?"

Brynlee loves to stir things and pour water from one container to another. She can do it forever. She is also obsessed with baby formula and cereal. If I leave the box in her reach she will dump it out and play in it. 

She loves Youtube videos. She is also very proficient with the mouse and can pick the videos on her own. Although I can't leave her unsupervised on the computer or she rearranges all the icons on the computer. Not to mention it is so easy for her to click on shows I don't want her to watch. Before she mostly watched ABC videos and nursery rhymes with a little bit of Elmo and Mickey Mouse. Now she watches Teletubbies, lots of mickey mouse, and lately she has been watching lots of shows in different languages and cooking shows. She can watch someone bake a cake for like 15 minutes. She also likes videos with people coloring Easter eggs and shows with play doh.  

I love her curls. Her hair is really getting long.

The other day Brynlee came to me all panicked because she had "poop" on her finger. I hurried and got a wipe and went to wipe it off. I could tell it wasn't really poop when I looked at it. "Where did this poop come from" I asked. "My nose" Brynlee replied. I guess she didn't know what a booger was. 

Brynlee is really busy, super independent, and I am starting to see that she is also very shy. In big groups she just grabs onto my leg and wont talk at all. Although she is still crazy at the store and she doesn't mind grabbing a strangers hand to get them to help her. She is such a fun girl. She makes me so happy and keeps me laughing. I love her crazy personality.