4th of July

This 4th of July was a lot of fun. Last year Brynlee was only three weeks old on the 4th of July so we were excited for her to be able to participate more in the activities. We spent the day in Idaho Falls watching the parade and the fireworks. Brynlee loved the parade. Especially getting all of the candy. She was waving at everyone, clapping her hands, and trying to open all of her candy so she could eat it. 

After the parade we went and ate some lunch and then we went home so Brynlee could take a nap. Joel and Brynlee both took a nap in the middle of the living room floor. 

Then we drove back to Idaho Falls for the fireworks display. Brynlee was entranced by all of the people and especially the dogs. We had a hard time getting her to sit still. Joel and I took turns walking around with her. Once the fireworks started, Brynlee just stared. She started pointing and saying "Ahhh." She cuddled right up in her dad's arms and could have stayed there all night. It was a really neat fireworks display. We left a little before they were over so we could make it home before there was a ton of traffic. It was a really fun night and I am glad we went. Brynlee loved it.

Sno Cones

The Firework were right by the Idaho Falls Temple

Last Weeekend

Last week my aunt and her three kids were in Boise. Since they live in Texas we don't get to see them very often so we drove to Boise for a visit. We had planned on going camping but my dad ended up having to work on Saturday; so instead we camped in my grandma's backyard. It was fun because all of my family was there. Right before we got there my sister Heather ran into a barbed wire fence on my brother's dirt bike. She ended up spending the night at the ER getting 46 stitches in her arm. Despite this, she still stayed the night and slept in a tent. Brynlee slept fairly well in the tent but she woke up a few times just because it was cold outside.

 The next day Joel brought over a four wheeler and the train his dad built. All of the kids loved riding in it. At first we went in the field around grandma's house but it was really bumpy. Instead we went up the road to an empty subdivision with no houses and Joel drove around there. Brynlee didn't want to get out. She even fell asleep in my arms while I was holding her. We did have a neighbor complain and a policeman came out, but he said he didn't have a problem with us riding it. Luckily he was nice. We also roasted marshmallows and hotdogs around the campfire, played lots of games and did a puzzle. It was a great weekend spent with lots of family. 

We love Grandpa

My parents were both really excited when they found out they would be grandparents. As soon as my dad found out I was pregnant my dad started singing "The Grandpa Song" to me and he sings it to Brynlee every time she is around him. He made up "The Daddy Song" when I was a baby and he just changed the words for Brynlee. Here is a short video of my dad singing the song to her right after she was born. 

Brynlee likes to talk on the phone and last Wednesday Brynlee handed me the phone and clearly said grandpa. I figured she must want to talk to him but he didn't answer. We left him a message and Brynlee said Grandpa on his answering machine. Needless to say my dad called the next day crying, "I just got the best message in the world." I guess the song works because she hasn't said anyone else's name. My dad was really excited and I think he played the message for everyone who would listen. Brynlee has been blessed with several wonderful grandparents and she loves them a lot. 

  

Turning One

It is hard to believe it was only a year ago that we brought a helpless little newborn home from the hospital. Now Brynlee has grown into an independent toddler. She has learned so much and grown a lot and we love her so much. Here are just a few things that Brynlee can do.

She can clap, wave, and she points at everything
She can walk everywhere without help
She can stand up without holding onto anything
She can throw a really good temper tantrum
She can say mama, dada (this is still her favorite word), whoa, ba (for ball), book, look, hello, hot, and ahhh (when something feels soft)
She has one tooth on the bottom
She has only a little bit of hair on top of her head but there is quite a bit on the back.
She has slimed down a lot from when she was much tinier. At her two month check-up she was in the 93% for weight and she was above the 95% for height. At her one year check-up she was 20.1 lbs which is in the 33% and she is 29.5 in. which is the 65%.

Brynlee is growing so big, learning new things everyday and we love her so much. 

Weddings and Birthday Parties

On Saturday my sister Heather was married in Boise. This meant we made another trip to see family so we could be at the wedding. Saturday was a beautiful day, Heather looked beautiful and the decorations and food were great. Overall it was a good wedding and we are happy to welcome Randy into the family.

Brynlee loved this swing so much, she even fell asleep in there.

Since we were in Boise, surrounded by my family and Joel's family; we decided it was a great time to celebrate Brynlee's first birthday. Her birthday was only two days away. On Sunday, we all met at my grandma's house for cake and ice cream. Joel made the cake all by himself and I think he did a great job at decorating it. It also tasted really good. I know Brynlee liked it because she ate all of her cake and all of the ice cream. We had to have the cake before dinner which was kind of odd, but no one there complained and Brynlee still ate some of her dinner after the cake.


 Brynlee also got a ton of presents from all of the family that was there. She had no problem opening the gifts. In fact, as we were taking them over to grandma's house, she got a hold of one and opened it in the car. When we got there the paper was shredded all over the back seat. Overall it was a great birthday and a fun weekend. As soon as we finished dinner we had to go back home to Rexburg. Brynlee had lots of new toys to play with in the car and she slept part of the way so it was a good trip. I just can't believe she is already a year old.

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Here is Brynlee showing off all of her presents. Her grandpa (my dad) got Brynlee a tackle box full of all the fishing gear a person could need. He got her a fishing pole the day she was born so naturally she needed a tackle box for her first birthday.

Tooth

Brynlee finally has her first tooth. I first caught a glimpse of it a few weeks ago, the same day Joel was miserable because he had a sore tooth. Joel had to get a crown on his tooth.  Luckily his tooth feels much better now, but for a while he was tempted to pull it out himself. I was never in a hurry for Brynlee to get her teeth but I am glad she has at least one before her first birthday, which is coming up in less than two weeks.

If you look closely you can see the tooth on the bottom. 

Walking

Here is a short video of Brynlee walking to me and to my brother Brian. (Joel took the video) She has gotten really brave and will walk short distances without warning. She is getting so big. 

We went to the Zoo

The weather was actually nice on Saturday so we took advantage of it by going to the zoo in Idaho Falls. Brynlee has started to make some of the animal sounds and spends hours looking at pictures of animals in her books so I thought she would like it. At the zoo, Brynlee pointed at all of the animals she saw and she even growled at a few of them. I think she could have stayed there all day.

First steps and Applesauce

About five days ago Brynlee took her first steps. She has been able to walk well holding onto things for a while and just barely started to be brave and stand alone for a few seconds. She is still real wobbly so I was shocked when she was standing against my bed and just walked right to me. She took about two steps and landed right in my arms. So far she has only gone three steps at the most and most of the time she falls over after one step, but she is well on her way to learning to walk.

On another note, Brynlee loves to eat. A few days ago I put some applesauce in a bowl and tried to feed it to Brynlee. I put the bowl to close to her and she stuck her hand in the bowl. I left to get a paper towel and she managed to reach the bowl.

In no time Brynlee figured out how to eat the applesauce right out of the bowl.

Yeah, she loves applesauce.

Brynlee's path of destruction

Now that Brynlee can speed crawl I spend my days cleaning up messes like this....

                                                                  
                                                            Or like this one

 Good thing I love this girl so much because she really keeps me on my toes. I just can't seem to keep my house clean at all any more. She can have an entire drawer emptied in seconds. Then she just moves to the next room and the entire time she is just as happy as can be.