Daddy's Girl

So for the last week Brynlee has been following Joel everywhere. She is like a little puppy. She begs for his food and tries to get him to pick her up. If he goes into a different room, she follows him. If he shuts the door or doesn't let her come with him this happens...

Yeah, she screams. I love watching them together but before she always wanted me. Lately dad has been the one she wants when she is sleepy. As long as dad is home she wants him. So far "da da" is also the only word she can say. I hear it all day. When I try to get her to say "ma ma" she just laughs and says "da da" even louder. She thinks she is just so funny.

I tried to find out from Joel why our daughter has been so attached to him lately and we decided it is because they have one thing very much in common. They both love to eat 

And dad is good at sharing whatever he is eating with his daughter. No wonder she wants to be with him all of the time.

9 Months old

On Monday Brynlee turned nine months old. I can't believe how fast time went. She is getting so big and learning new things everyday. She is still tall for her age. She is 28.5 in. which is the 82% but she has slimed down a lot. At 18.8 lbs. she is in the 51%. We love her so much.

Standing Up

Brynlee and I were in the living room playing when it first happened. She crawled over to our entertainment center, pulled on the handle and then had a nice ledge where she quickly pulled herself right up to stand. I was really excited so I clapped for her. She just turned around, looked at me, and smiled like it was no big deal.

After Brynlee was up there she tried to push every button on the TV and the DVD player. Then she walked along the whole shelf and tried to open our glass door. She got so excited that she forgot to hold on and fell flat on her head. Luckily I was there to catch her. I sat her on the floor and she crawled right back to the entertainment center again (She has become a really fast crawler, It didn't take her long.) and she stood right back up. I am pretty sure I am in big trouble now. She thinks she can walk but falls without help. I can no longer leave her alone for even a second.

Just an Ordinary Day

Here is what happens at our home on an ordinary day. A normal day for us has started around 6:30 in the morning the last few weeks. First I get Brynlee out of bed. Then We all eat breakfast and then Joel has to leave for school. 

I take a shower and then give Brynlee a bath. This is her favorite part of the morning. After getting dressed Brynlee and I play for a while. Brynlee takes a very short morning nap.

Then it is lunchtime. Brynlee loves to feed herself. After lunch, Brynlee and I play together some more.

Brynlee usually takes another short nap in the afternoon.

Brynlee plays with mom some more after her nap until dad gets home.

We eat dinner and then mom and Brynlee hang out while dad does his homework. 

Eventually dad gets to spends some time with us.

Then it is time for bed. Goodnight everyone.

My baby is Crawling FORWARD!

Brynlee has been crawling backwards for the last two months. A few days ago she finally figured out how to crawl forwards. This is a huge accomplishment for her because she would get so frustrated when I would put a toy in front of her and she could not get it.

When Brynlee was six months old we moved to a much smaller apartment in Rexburg. This is where she finally started to roll over and where she learned to scoot backwards. She became quite fast at this but our living room is small and she was constantly getting stuck under the chair. She couldn't figure out how to go forwards and this made her really mad.

About a month ago Brynlee figured out how to push herself backwards on her hands and knees and three weeks ago she learned how to push herself into a sitting position. Just a few days ago she finally started crawling. I was starting to think she was just going to skip this milestone and go straight to walking. So far she crawls forward a little bit, sit up and plays with something for a long time, then crawl a little more, stops and sits. She has not yet crawled for a long stretch; there are too many things to explore that are close to her.

So for now, my main concern is that she picks up every little speck off of the carpet and eats it. Even after vacuuming and inspecting the carpets; Brynlee can still find something to put in her mouth. She keeps me busy and I imagine she will be crawling all over the place in the next few days. I have learned that she will take her time and do things when she is ready for them, and that is just fine with me.

The Past Eight Months

I can't believe It was only eight and 1/2 months ago when Joel and I first became parents. Time has gone so fast and so far we have loved every minute of it. Brynlee is a happy baby who is very alert. Even as a tiny baby Brynlee has wanted to be able to sit up and see everything that is going on around her. I can't believe how much she has grown. She is learning new things every day.

 Here are some pictures and some fact about what Brynlee has been up to these last 8 months.

Brynlee was born in June 2010. During her first month of life she got to meet almost all of her family. She even got to meet lots of her dad's family that I had never met before at the Hirtle family reunion. She gained back all of the weight she lost, she got to experience the fourth of July parade and the fireworks. She was blessed by her dad on the Fourth of July at our church building. 

In July Brynlee turned One month old. She started to smile and she even started to roll from her 
tummy to her belly. We went on a trip to McCall and went huckleberry picking. Brynlee got her first 
cold and she slept through the night for the first time.

 
In August Brynlee turned two months. Brynlee rolled from her back to her belly and started to sit 
propped up. At her two month check up she weighed 13lbs 9 1/2 oz (93%) and she was 24 5/8in. (95%). We moved Brynlee into her own room and she got to meet my brother Brian when he returned home from his mission.

In September Brynlee turned three months. Harvest started on the farm so dad had to work really 
late. Brynlee started to really work on sitting up all by herself. We went to several of my sister Alesha's 
soccer games and hung out with family.

In October Brynlee turned four months old. She weighted 16lbs 5oz (90%) and was 26 7/8in. (99%)
. She screamed when she got her shots. She started to stand with help and she got her first taste of rice 
cereal. She started to sit up without any support and she started to scream just for fun. She also got to 
celebrate her first Halloween, although, we just stayed home that night.

In November Brynlee turned five months. She started to scoot backwards on her belly and she 
had her first babysitter; my mom. She got to eat her first veggie; carrots and we celebrated Thanksgiving.

In December Brynlee turned six months. She weighed 17lbs 2oz (82%) and she was 28 in (95%). 
We celebrated Christmas and Brynlee had a lot of fun opening up all of her presents. Brynlee ate her 
first fruit and we celebrated New Years Eve. We moved to Rexburg, Idaho and Joel started school at 
BYU-Idaho. Brynlee started to roll all over the place.

In January Brynlee turned seven months. She got to try her first finger foods and she drank from a 
sippy cup. She learned how to blow raspberries and started to do it all the time. She said her first word, 
"dada" and she got her first ear infection. She learned to give high-fives, wave, and give kisses.

In February Brynlee turned eight months old. She learned how to go from her belly to a sitting position 
and how to pull herself up to stand.

We sure do love this baby and we feel so blessed to be her parents.