The Month of June

I have been terrible at writing in my journal lately so I figured I would just write about what we did this last month on my blog. Last month was full of lots of fun stuff. My aunt and her family came up from Texas for a visit and they got to stay for a few weeks. It was lots of fun just to talk and catch up with their lives. While they were here we spent one day up camping with them. They rented a whole campground up in the mountains and stayed for two nights. We slept in a tent last year with Brynlee and none of us got any sleep so instead we just stayed for the day and went home to sleep in our own beds. We went fishing, did some crafts, made s'mores, went for a hike, and enjoyed the day outside. 

 We also celebrated Brynlee's second birthday and Father's Day in June. We made Joel breakfast in bed for Father's Day but I think the thing he enjoyed the most was getting to sleep in. He really is a great father. 

We also went to the pool to go swimming and we spent a day at the zoo. Brynlee loves the water but the pool was so crowded we could barely swim. I couldn't find my camera at the zoo so I don't have any pictures but Brynlee loved seeing all of the animals. Our favorite thing was walking with all of the butterflies. The only bad part about going to the zoo was that Annalyn absolutely refused to take the bottle I brought for her and she was screaming to be fed. The last few times I gave her a bottle she took it without any problems. I just had to find a bench and nurse her. 

The rest of June was spent playing outside, taking care of our chickens, and trying to stay cool. Brynlee and Joel both got the stomach flu and were sick for several days but luckily the baby and I didn't get it. Although I think the baby may have had a minor case of the virus.

Brynlee holding her favorite chicken.  She likes the white one the best

Dad taking care of sick kids

June was a fun month!

Me and Annalyn at Brynlee's birthday party

Playing with the kitens at Grandma Hirtle's house

Nice shades Annalyn!

Three Months

Lately it seems like my little baby has just grown overnight. She has already outgrown all of her 0-3 month clothes. And she is really strong. She loves to hold onto my hands and stand on my lap. She also loves to suck on her fist. She usually tries to put the whole thing in her mouth but sometimes she just sticks out her tongue and licks her fingers. 

Annalyn is usually a very happy and easygoing baby. She is starting to interact with us more by smiling and cooing. She still loves to be on her back the best, especially when there are things around to look at. She also likes to be in the sitting position because she loves to look at what is going on around her. We are all so grateful she is part of our family. We love her more everyday. 

Birthday Party

For Brynlee's second birthday we invited some family over to our house. Joel grilled hamburgers and hot dogs while the kids played outside and the adults talked. Joel put up a tire swing in our tree and we inherited a swing set and a wagon so there was lots to do. 

Before the party Brynlee and I made a fish pinata and filled it with candy. We never did finish decorating it but the kids still had fun breaking it open. It actually lasted for a while. Everyone that wanted to got a chance to try and break it. Brynlee gave the pinata some light taps and then quickly handed the stick to the next person. I thought she would be all over the candy because she tried to eat it all week but she took her time collecting it. She ate all of the candy she got before the party was even over. 

 After the pinata we did cake and ice cream and then we watched Brynlee open her presents. 

During the party Joel and his dad took turns pulling the train with the four wheeler. Normally Brynlee loves to ride in it but this time she decided she would rather drive so instead she rode on the four wheeler. 

 A few weeks ago Joel's sister Joanna asked Joel if he wanted some chicken. So before the party started she brought over 10 little chicks. Joel built them a cage and we had to put them in there pretty quickly because they were getting attacked by all of the kids. The kids loved the chickens. Brynlee was not afraid of them at all. So far they are all still alive so we are the proud owners of 10 little chickens. We have no idea how to raise chickens so this will be an adventure. Overall it was a fun day and I think Brynlee had a great birthday party. 

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