Two Years Old

My little girl turned two years old on Thursday. She has grown so much in the last two years. Every day she seems a little bit older to me. She is constantly picking up on new words and learning new things. She has lots of personality. She is super sweet and also very strong willed. I love her lots and I am so glad she is mine. 

Here are some things that Brynlee likes to do. She loves to help fix things and line things up. Especially clothes  and shoes. She also likes to help clean and to play with the baby stuff. She likes to eat. She especially loves all things sweet and cheese. She loves to make messes and get into trouble. The last picture on here is of Brynlee covering her legs in toothpaste.

Brynlee has brought so much joy to my life in the past two years. I love her so much. 

Owie Eye

On Friday night Joel came home complaining that he had something in his eye. I looked at it but I couldn't see anything. He was up a lot that night in pain but he said it felt better in the morning. That night it was hurting again.

On Sunday he woke up and went to a 7am meeting for church and come home in a lot of pain. He didn't think there was any way he could go to church. He hurried to the doctor's quick care clinic. The whole time Joel was gone Brynlee kept asking where dad was. When I told her he was at the doctor's office she started to insist that she had an owie in her eye too and that she needed to go to the doctor. She really wanted to go with dad.

At the doctor's office Joel got a piece of a hot burnt ember pulled out of his eye. He welds at work and I guess a spark got in despite the glasses he was wearing. Before we were married Joel had to have something pulled out of his eye twice. This is the third time this has happened but this time he was wearing glasses. The doctor gave Joel some medicine and an eye patch to wear that was really just some gauze that Joel taped to his face. By the time Joel got home it was time to go to church. Joel was in too much pain to go so I ended up with both kids by myself. Luckily we survived. I had the lady behind us watch the baby for me when I had to take Brynlee out in the hall. The hardest part was getting Brynlee to leave to go home because I was trying to carry the bags and the baby when Brynlee decided to run from me. I had to carry her, the baby, and everything else out to the car but we managed. I am just glad I don't have to go to church by myself very often.

As soon as we got home from church Brynlee was mesmerized by Joel's eye that was all wrapped up. She ran to the bathroom and came out with a big wad of toilet paper that she held onto her eye for most of the afternoon. She wanted to be just like dad. She kept insisting that her eye had an owie and that she needed to go to the doctor. Joel took the eye patch off the next day and it is feeling much better. Brynlee, on the other hand, keeps talking about the owie in her eye. The toilet paper has been used more than once for Brynlee's eye patch. She even gave me some toilet paper to put on my eye and she has given several of her dolls an eye patch. I love my silly girl.

Brynlee with her "hurt" eye. If you look close you can see that the doll in the background has a patch on her eye. Joel wouln't let me take a picture of his eye patch. 

Water Park

My sister Heather and I have been anxiously awaiting the end of the school year. We love going to the park and doing things together but she babysits a little boy during the week. Between the two of us we have four kids under the age of two so it isn't easy to do things. Heather has really wanted to go to this little water park she heard about so as soon as my sister Alesha was out of school we had her come with us to help watch kids. 

Brynlee loved the water and could have stayed all day. She kept trying to splash the other kids though. She would just walk up to them and splash them in the face. I tried to keep her away from the kids we didn't know. It was really hot so my sisters and I took turns sitting in the shade holding Annalyn. I didn't want her to get burnt. It was a fun day at the water park. I guess it was also opening day because while we were there Brynlee got her picture taken and put in the newspaper. I can't wait to get to do more fun things with my sisters this summer.

This is the picture of Brynlee that was in the newspaper.
http://www.idahopress.com/gallery/featured/opening-day-at-the-pool/collection_ab5971ea-ac55-11e1-93a8-001a4bcf887a.html/?mode=gallery

Two Months

This little baby is two months old and has already brought so much joy and happiness to our family. We think she is the greatest. She is 13lbs 6.5oz (84%) and almost 24 in long (91%). Her pediatrician was amazed at how strong she is. She sleeps great at night. She is holding her head up well and is starting to reach for things and has become very good at grabbing my hair.

Annalyn was born with a little bald spot on the back of her head. (I guess it is a birth mark that wont go away) But now she is starting to lose some of her hair in the back so her bald spot is getting much bigger. I just hope she doesn't lose all of her hair.

Annalyn loves to lay on her back and kick her legs and she loves it even more when I stop and talk to her. She likes to be held and she loves to eat. She likes to ride in the car. She loves baths and being carried in the front pack. Annalyn doesn't like it when Brynlee tries to sit on her but for the most part she is pretty tolerant of all of the kisses and pokes she gets from her big sister. She doesn't like to be on her tummy for very long or to be left alone for a long amount of time. Annalyn has a great smile that constantly melts my heart and we are grateful she came to our family.

Family Resemblance

baby Brynlee

Annalyn

    Sometimes when I look at my kids I really wonder who they look like the most? Me or Joel? Does Annalyn look like Brynlee did when she was a baby? I think they look similar but I also think they both have some of my looks and some of Joel's looks. Joel and I don't have a lot of baby pictures. What do you think?

Baby Joel

Baby Melissa

Melissa

All in a Day

Last Tuesday was a crazy day at our house. It was a day that made me really look at my blessings ard realize how blessed I am. The day started out with Brynlee waking up several times during the night ready to get up and play. She kept turning on the light, banging on the door and yelling "Mom I want to get up." Joel and I both took some turns putting her back in her bed. The baby slept until 6 in the morning so after I fed her I hurried and jumped in the shower before Brynlee woke up. Since she was up so much during the night though, she slept in until I woke her up at 9. She almost never sleeps in that late. I would have just let her sleep but I had to go visiting teaching.

After I got everyone dressed, feed, and out of the house; a process which takes forever now that I have two kids, we left to go visiting teaching. The lady that I go with was unable to come at the last minute so I hurriedly prepared a quick lesson and we had a good visit with the first lady I visited.

There was a dog in the front yard of the house when we got there so when we were leaving Brynlee wanted to play with the dog but she wasn't around. She was crying as we were leaving because we told her she couldn't see the dog this time. I was carrying the baby in her car seat and I had the diaper bag and I was holding Brynlee's hand. Brynlee tried to run off to find the dog and she tripped and fell down the step while I was still holding her hand. I didn't want her to run away from me. After she fell I pulled her up and carried her to the car and buckled her in her car seat. She was crying the whole time this happened. As I was buckling her I realized that she was now crying because she was hurt. She was holding her elbow and she couldn't move it without an extreme amount of pain. I immediately realized what was wrong because this has happened before. It is called a nursemaid's elbow and it is basically a dislocated elbow.

The first time this happened Joel was getting Brynlee out of the car seat and pulled her arm just the right way so that her elbow dislocated. Brynlee was crying for a long time after this and we didn't know what was wrong. We thought maybe her arm was broken. Joel and I looked up some information on the computer and decided she probably had a dislocated elbow. It happens really easily in children under the age of five. Sometimes the elbow will pop back into place on its own but usually a doctor needs to pop it back in. We took Brynlee to the ER, waited forever to see the doctor, and in less then two seconds the doctor had popped Brynlee's elbow back in. Immediately she felt better and was running wild all over the place. It took way too long for them to let us go home.

As soon as Brynlee hurt her arm the second time I figured I had better get her to the doctor's office quickly. I had another visiting teaching appointment so I hurried over to this ladies house and called Joel on the way to see if he could find the number for the doctor. I told the lady I visit teach what had happened, left her with a two minute lesson, She gave Brynlee some fruit snacks for the ride to the doctor's office, and then we left to the Quick Care Clinic. The baby was asleep during all of this and I was hoping she would sleep a little longer because it was getting close to time to feed her. She doesn't like to wait to be fed. My dad called while I was driving over there and when I told him what happened he offered to meet me. I figured this would be helpful if I had to feed the baby.

Once I got to the quick care clinic it took me forever to find a place to park. I could tell there would be a long wait. I got the baby and the bag out of the car and then I unbuckled Brynlee's seat only to have her climb out and swing her arm. Just 20 minutes ago she couldn't do this without a lot of pain and tears. "Does your elbow still hurt?" I asked her. "Ya elbow ert" she said while she pointed to her left elbow. The elbow that she hurt was the right one. I guess that the elbow must have popped back in on its own. I figured at this point there was nothing the doctor could do and there was no way I was going to wait forever to talk to a doctor if there was nothing for them to do. I got Brynlee and the baby buckled back in the car and told my dad not to come. Then I drove home.

As soon as we got in the door the baby was crying and ready to be fed. After I fed the baby, changed her diaper twice, and changed her clothes the second time, I fixed Brynlee and I some lunch. Brynlee knocked the whole plate of food on the floor and I could only save some of the food. I got her some more food that she hardly ate. Then I put her down for a nap and worked on folding some laundry. When she woke up we played, worked on some dinner,  and waited for Joel to come home. He was late coming home so we ate without him. We worked out in the garden a little bit that evening until it was time to give Brynlee a bath and put her in bed.

After Brynlee was in bed I told Joel about this van the lady I visit teach was trying to sell. They only wanted $500 for it. Joel was really disappointed that I didn't know what kind of a van it was so he called them, went and looked at it and came home with the keys and the title. The next day he had his brother help him bring home the van. Now we are the proud owners of nice little mini van. I am not sure if I am ready to drive a mini van yet but it might be a while before we can actually drive it because it has some motor problems. Joel is going to have to rebuild the engine and he doesn't have a lot of free time. I think he is really excited to work on it though so we might be driving a mini van sooner than I think.


That night when I was feeding the baby, I just really had to stop and reflect on everything that had happened that day and I felt truly grateful that things went the way they did. Things could have been a lot worse. I am so glad I didn't have to wait at the doctor's office forever. I am glad the lady I visit was kind and helpful and that my dad was so willing to come and help me. Luckily both of my girls are safe and I can just say it was just one of those crazy days that happen every once in a while.

Life Lately

Lately life has been really busy in our home. Joel has had to work a lot on the farm. I can never be sure when he will be home and he is not even working near as much as they want him too. Joel's calling as the young men's first counselor also keeps Joel really busy. He spent most of the weekend at a campout with the boys. He has also started to work on building a shed for my grandma in her backyard during any of his spare time. He has also been trying to help with the girls and the garden, keep the lawn mowed, and work on a four wheeler that is torn apart and lying in pieces in our garage. He is one busy guy.

 As for me, I have mainly been busy trying to keep up with two kids. And they really do keep me busy. My days are full of picking up the house, feeding the baby, and trying to keep Brynlee entertained and happy. Many times at the end of the day I feel exhausted and yet it doesn't feel like I accomplished a whole lot. My house is almost always messy these days. Such is the life of a mom I suppose. Despite the challenges I love my family and I wouldn't trade this job for anything. I feel so blessed to be a stay at home mom. 

Brynlee has been busy making messes and learning new things everyday. She is still as busy and strong willed as ever. She loves to play outside and usually comes back inside covered in dirt. She also loves necklaces, bracelets, and all things sparkly and girly. She calls them a "pretty." I can't believe she will be two next month. We love living close to family. Now that my dad isn't working all of the time he comes over sometimes and takes Brynlee to hang out with him. She loves it and cries every times he leaves. She still likes being a big sister most of the time. She recently decided she is old enough to carry the baby. The first time she tried to pick the baby up I was in the same room with her and Brynlee was dragging Annalyn by the feet. The next time I thought Brynlee was preoccupied with her toys so I left them in the same room for a few seconds to fix lunch. When I came back Brynlee was holding the baby under the armpits and dragging her feet across the floor. Poor Annalyn was just looking up at Brynlee with this look that said, "Are you sure you know what you are doing?" As soon as I said Brynlee's name she let go of the baby and her head landed on the carpet. It scared me half to death but luckily she was ok. Now I don't dare leave the baby unsupervised for even a second. 

As for little Annalyn, well, she is officially 2 months old as of last Sunday and she is getting big and chubby. She likes to eat. She is usually a great baby but she has her fussy periods. There have been days when she cries almost every time I try to put her down but usually she is pretty happy. She loves to be held and she likes to lay flat on her back where she can kick her legs. I love her big blue eyes and the way she looks at me and smiles. She is a great baby. 

Pigtails

Brynlee's hair has been long enough for a little pony tail on the top for the while but she almost never wants me to fix her hair. The other day I finally got Brynlee to sit still long enough so I could fix her hair and she kept it in the whole day. 

Since then Brynlee has let me do her hair a few more times and we even managed to put pigtails in. We can even put all of her hair into pigtails. She doesn't always keep them in the whole day and they look pretty crazy after her nap but I am glad her hair is finally long enough to fix. My little baby is growing up and I sure do love her. 

Sisters

Before I had Annalyn, Brynlee used to avoid talking about the baby. If someone would ask her if she was going to have a baby sister, it would not be unusual for her to tell them no. I was kind of worried that she would be really jealous of the new baby and not handle things well. She has really surprised me. She wants to be right by Annalyn all of the time and is always asking to hold her or trying to give her kisses. She is such a good big sister and I have really seen her grow up so much in the last month and a half. 

Brynlee loves to help me with the baby. Whenever the baby cries she runs to her. She will rock her or try to stick shove the pacifier in her mouth. (If the baby doesn't take it Brynlee will usually put it in her mouth.) When I change the baby's diapers she likes to grab a wipe and try to help. She likes to do tummy time with the baby and she is good at singing her songs. 

Brynlee also loves to play with her baby sister. I have found lots of dolls, little people, and play dough wrapped up with Annalyn in her blankets. The other day Brynlee was playing with her kitchen set and she was cooking and feeding Annalyn. She even gave her a pretty bracelet to wear. I can't wait until they are really old enough to play together without constant supervision from mom.  

I think Brynlee and Annalyn are going to grow up to be great friends. Annalyn may have to deal with being picked on a little bit but I am sure she with enjoy playing with Brynlee when she is older. 

I feel very blessed to have such great daughters. I love them so much.