May Madness

May was another fun and crazy month for our family. We started out the month by celebrating May Day with Brynlee's cousins. Brynlee had fun playing with Madison and we made a card to give Grandma Hirtle. The next day Brynlee ended up getting pink eye so we stayed in the house for a few days. I thought everyone else avoided getting it until Annalyn woke up from her nap at the beginning of church. Hopefully we didn't expose anyone there to pink eye. I would not have taken her if I knew she had it. Luckily my mom still didn't mind taking her because because Joel and I both had to teach lessons. My mom just made sure no one else touched her.

During the month of May; I got my wisdom teeth out, celebrated Mother's Day, Joel went camping, and we watched Alesha graduate from high school. We went to play at the park, we played in the sprinkler, and we celebrated Memorial day and had lots of fun spending time with family. My cousin and her family came down for Alesha's graduation but they only got to stay for a few days. While they were here we spent lots of time at Grandma's house hanging out with them. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows on the fire and had fun playing games. My brother Brian and his wife Heather came down for the weekend and we had a memorial day barbecue with them at Grandma Verna's house. It was lots of fun.

Annalyn has finally taken off this month and boy is she into everything. I feel like she skipped walking and went right to running. I thought she was busy before but lately she is real handful. Although for the last week she has been super clingy. I can hardly put her down. I think she is teething and going through a growth spurt. She has also taken two naps a day that last two hours each. Normally her morning nap is no longer than an hour. I get lots of things done when she is sleeping so I can't complain but I just hope she is not so whiney and clingy for long.

Brynlee is as busy and as funny as ever. Oh, that girl makes me laugh. It seems like she is constantly going on some adventure in her mind. She loves to play with me and is constantly turning me into a princess and telling me that she is my best friend ever. She has been playing Zombies with my cousin Ryder a lot lately so lately she has been pretending to be a "Lombie" all the time at home. She turns three next month and she is super excited for her birthday. She has been waiting for it for months. She wants a pink and blue Cinderella party.

Joel is still as busy as ever with projects and work. They started hay harvest so there are lots of long hours at work. He comes home at five whenever he can so at least this jobs isn't near as time consuming as when he was a mechanic on the farm. He has also been busy keeping the lawn mowed and putting in the garden. He is almost done working on fixing our van and he has been helping the neighbor fix a truck.

As for me; I have still been doing Zumba as much as possible, taking care of my busy girls, and trying to keep my house from getting destroyed. My goal for the next month is to get rid of all the clutter and to deep clean everything. I started making Brynlee do chores every morning this month and it is really helping. I finished Annalyn's baby book, now I just need to order it and pay for it.

May was really a good month. I can't wait for the summer. Brynlee had been so anxious to play outside in the water more and go swimming in our little pool so I can't wait until we can. Not to mention, now my parents are done working and my siblings are done with school.

Alesha's Graduation

My little sister Alesha graduated from high school last Thursday. Where did the time go? I still remember when she was just starting kindergarten. I am glad we live close so that we could go to her graduation ceremony. Joel had to work and my aunt offered to watch Brynlee so really it was just Annalyn and I that went to the graduation ceremony with the rest of my family. Brynlee was happy to stay and play with my cousin Ryder. Annalyn sat with my parents for a long time since they kept giving her jelly beans and she really liked my cousin Sheila. I have never seen her go to someone that easily. The best part was watching Alesha get her diploma. Afterwards we went to grandma's house and had a barbecue with the family. Joel got to come to that.

Alesha we sure are proud of you! Way to go. She is going to start school at BYU-Idaho in the Fall. We plan on spending lots of time with her this summer before she heads off. We had lots of fun this weekend spending time with all of the family. My cousin Sheila and her family came all the way up from Nevada so it was good to see them. We don't get to see them as much as we would like. 

(We told my dad to be serious. He tried really hard.)

I love my family and I sure am glad we get to live close and celebrate things like this with them. 

Food Frenzy

It is no secret that little miss Annalyn likes to eat. This girl is constantly eating. 

Annalyn has a serious sweet tooth. But lately her favorite treats are rocks and dirt that she finds outside.  Every time we go outside she heads straight for the rocks and she stuffs as many of them in her mouth as she can before I stop her. She also likes to eat, grass, flowers, and pencil erasers. If I have to stick my fingers in her mouth to get something out of there she bites me really hard. 

Lately Annalyn really loves hanging out with Brynlee because Brynlee is good at helping her get things. Brynlee is frequently helping her little sister get food. We were at my mom's house the other day and Annalyn found a sucker and took it right to Brynlee. Brynlee was more than glad to open it for her. I am constantly finding Annalyn eating things that Brynlee helped her get. Things like the container of cream cheese, popcorn, chocolate chips, and the block of cheese.

Can you see all of the little bite marks in that block of cheese?

Lately Annalyn has learned how to climb on the kitchen chairs and on the kitchen table. Really she can climb on almost anything and she is getting into all kinds of food all on her own. I can tell I am in trouble.  One day I had the table set and we were waiting for Joel to get home so we could eat. Annalyn climbed on top of the table and started to help herself to the food. She also loves to climb in the bathroom and get her toothbrush every time Brynlee leaves the bathroom door open. The other day Brynlee left her plate of food on the table and I found Annalyn sitting up at the table eating Brynlee's leftover ketchup while using Brynlee's toothbrush as a spoon. 

This girl is staring to be a real handful but I sure do love her.

Wisdom Teeth and Mother's Day

Last Tuesday I got my wisdom teeth out. Luckily, I only had the two bottom ones. Before they came in I went to three different dentists that all said they would come in fine and that I could just leave them in. They finally started to break through when I was first pregnant with Brynlee. And then they just seemed to stop coming up. They were still halfway covered with the gum. They would start to hurt every few months or so and I thought it was just because they were coming up some more. Really they were done coming up and they just kept getting infected. A trip to the dentist confirmed this. Why didn't those other dentists tell me this was possible back when I had insurance? The dentist told me the only way to stop the pain was to pull out the teeth. Joel and I kept thinking Joel would get a job with good insurance and then it would be cheaper. A few weeks ago I decided I was done with the pain and ready to get these things out.

I finally set up an appointment to get my wisdom teeth out. The dentist I went to was really good at explaining everything to me and she gave me all of my possible options. I could have just had the gum cut off from the top of the teeth but she said the wisdom teeth are usually the first ones to get cavities and have problems because they are back so far in the mouth. They are also harder to get out the longer you wait so it is better to do it when you are young. That convinced me to just get the things out. Joel took Tuesday off of work and drove me to the dentist. He didn't want me to drive home by myself afterwards, even though they only numbed my mouth so I could have drove just fine. He watched the kids and I called him to get me when everything was over. They numbed my mouth really good until the whole bottom of my mouth felt super swollen and then they gave me some headphones with some music to listen to. The music helped a lot. It was kind of a surreal experience. They started on my left side and ended up having to cut some of the bone to get the tooth out. I could smell the smoke from the tool they used. As soon as they got that tooth out they stitched me up. The next tooth had a really curved root but the gum wasn't as tight around it so the tooth came out fairly easily without much cutting. It was done much faster. I was stitched up and ready to leave in exactly an hour. Everything went really well. They were worried about how close my roots were to the gums but it really wasn't a problem. They gave me a prescription to pick up and we got that right away and then we went home.

My mouth was really numb at that point. Joel decided to pick up some groceries. He left Annalyn home napping and took Brynlee with him. It would have been a great plan if he didn't have to spent two hours fixing his truck. Not to mention Annalyn only took a 30 minute nap. And she was really whiney and fussy when she woke up. She wanted me to hold her but she would not hold still. She kept hitting my sore mouth. At first I still couldn't feel anything but eventually I started to feel the pain. And boy did it hurt. Joel brought me home a smoothie but I really wasn't in a mood to eat. The medicine I took made  me really drowsy. Joel took the kids outside so I could rest. He was truly a lifesaver. I am so glad he was able and willing to take care of them for me.

The next day Joel took both of the kids to the store with him and then he went to help Grandma with her garden. This was the first time Joel has ever taken both of the girls anywhere by himself. Unless you count the trip to pick me up from the dentist. It was the first time I have been home by myself in years and it was so nice. I love my kids so much but it was so nice to have the freedom to do whatever I wanted. I actually felt pretty good that morning and I got several of the projects done that I wanted to do. But then I started to feel the pain and sickness. I am glad I didn't have to take care of kids at that point. I just laid down and rested. I even got to watch a show. Joel was gone for most of the day. When he came back I told him how nice it was to have this break and he told me he thought doing it once every three years was plenty. In Brynlee's words she was"naughty and not listening to daddy." I guess there were a few meltdowns in the store. Joel had Grandma watch the girls the whole time he fixed her garden so he can't really complain too much. He didn't even have to make dinner because my sister in law brought over a really nice meal and Joel's mom made some dessert. I am really grateful for so many people who were so willing to help up out.

On Thursday Joel had to go back to work. My mouth was still super sore and I had to take lots of medicine to get me thought the day, but I survived. I pretty much lived on scrambled eggs, smoothies, and noodles the first few days. Joel helped me get the kids in bed and then he went to help my dad refinish the hardwood floors in their old house. I went to bed right away and then he didn't come home until late. He slept in late the next day and only worked for a few hours. He played with the kids and got ready for his camping trip that he had to go on. He made us dinner and took good care of us before he left. After he left I got the kids to bed and enjoyed some more time alone. Joel came home from camping around three the next day. Brynlee and Annalyn were into all kinds of mischief until then so I was looking forward to having him come home. He really is a great dad.
Sunday was Mother's Day. Last year for Mother's Day Joel told me he was going to make me breakfast in bed. We always made my mom breakfast in bed so I was really looking forward to it. Brynlee woke up really early that morning and I made Joel get up with her. (I had just gone back to bed after feeding Annalyn.) I woke up a few hours later to the sound of Brynlee banging on my door. She had spent the last few hours running around the house making lots of messes while Joel slept in her bed. Her bedroom door was also shut so she couldn't get in there. We had to go to church so there was no time for Joel to make me breakfast in bed. All year I tried to get Joel to bring me breakfast in bed to make up for it not doing it but he refused. He kept telling me I would have to wait until next year.

Now that Mother's Day was finally here, I really wanted breakfast in bed. I was determined to have my mouth feeling completely better by then but it was still really sore. I still had a bruise on my face that morning. Joel is always exhausted after a campout so I was worried about him waking up in time. Luckily we don't have church until 1pm so I figured he would have enough time to make me breakfast. Brynlee woke him up at 6am and Joel got up right away, although it was somewhat reluctantly, and he made me some breakfast and brought me some nice presents. The food was soft so I could eat it and I was really grateful that he did it. Getting up early on a Sunday is not easy for Joel. Of course, once I was awake, Joel fell asleep in the middle of the living room with the fan on and he slept until he had to get up for church. It wasn't exactly the nice relaxing morning I was looking forward to but Joel did take care of me and look after me all week so I couldn't really complain. I do love being a mom and being with my girls. After church we went to my grandma's house for dinner. Joel did a lot to help out my mom and my grandma that day.

Today my mouth feels much better. I can eat almost everything I want. I am glad I got my wisdom teeth out and it wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be. Especially since Joel did so much to help me out. I love my family and I am grateful for all of their support through this ordeal. I really appreciate how hard Joel works so that I can stay home and enjoy being a mom to my little girls. I am glad I get to stay home and watch them grow up.

Our April Adventures

This month was full of fun adventures. Joel and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary with a date out for dinner and a movie. We were a little bit worried about getting to go because a little before we were supposed to go out; Annalyn started to get a fever. My brother Brian and his wife Heather still agreed to come but I was worried about how Annalyn would do. She already cries a lot when I leave. Luckily she went to sleep right away and Brynlee loves Brian and Heather so I didn't have to worry about her. Joel surprised me earlier that day by hiding several small gifts with a note on them all around the house. It was lots of fun to get to find them all. Joel and I haven't gone to dinner and a movie in a long time. It has been over a year so it was a lot of fun to go out. I love that guy a lot.

Annalyn had a fever for three days after that and she felt miserable. At one point her fever was 104 degrees and I was really worried. She was so sick and I had already given her some medicine. I gave her a bath and then I just wrapped her up in a towel and the fever finally started to go down. I almost took her to the ER. That night was miserable but the next day she seemed to feel a little better. Her fever only got up to 102. First thing Monday morning I called the pediatrician's office. Annalyn only had a low grade fever during the night and she didn't have one that day since she was on tylenol but I figured we should make sure she didn't have an ear infection or something. Anna's doctor wasn't in and the person I talked to on the phone told me it sounded like she might me teething. Really? I didn't know teething could cause a 104 degree fever and she has never even had a low grade fever while she was teething. Luckily Annalyn felt better by the end of the day and she didn't have a fever anymore. She still keeps getting rashes on her cheeks and I can't figure out what they are caused from but other than that she was healthy for the rest of the month.

We had several nice days this month and we went outside as much as possible. The rest of the time it was really windy and cold. We set up some blankets outside one day and had a fun little picnic snack with marshmallows and cheeze-its. It was lots of fun until one of our chickens kept trying to steal all of the food. She started to get really brave and take the cheese-its right out of Annalyn's hand. I ran her off but it only kept her away for so long. They really need to stay in their pin.

 

At the beginning of this month our distant neighbor's rooster kept coming over and chasing all of our hens. Not that they seemed to mind. All of the crowing was annoying and he was a big old ugly bird. Joel and I kept trying to chase him away but he would just come right back. A few days after his arrival, one of our chickens started to sit on some of the eggs. After that the rooster stopped coming around. We figured she was going to hatch some babies. She started out with six eggs but every time she would get up to eat, more chickens would lay eggs in her nest. She ended up with way too many eggs under there. We were all excited for some baby chicks. It takes 21 days for chicken eggs to hatch. We waited 24. I looked up how to check for babies and discovered that there was not a single baby in any of those eggs. I kind of felt bad for that poor chicken. Brynlee had a lot of fun throwing all of the eggs and watching them crack. We were all a little bit disappointed.

This month we helped my parents move out most of their things and start to clean their house. They decided to build a house and they will be moving close to us. It looks like will even be in the same ward at church. I am excited to be closer to them. Joel spent some time working on getting our garden ready and leveling our driveway. I watched some of Brynlee's cousins and she had a lot of fun playing dress-up with Madison. She also got to have her first play date with her friend Josie. Her friend came over here and played for a few hours one day and then Brynlee got to play at her house one day while I went to get some groceries. She had lots of fun. Annalyn started to take off with walking and is getting lots better. At the end of this month, I woke up one morning and my back hurt so bad I could hardly bend it. I have no idea what I did to it but it still hurts. It feels much better than it did earlier. It was really painful to hold my baby and I couldn't pick her up really at all that day. I also went to the dentist earlier this month and set up an appointment to get my wisdom teeth out. Despite all of the little trials and inconveniences we are all happy and loving life.

Playing in the Rain

Not that long ago, Brynlee and I were helping my dad clean up some stuff in the storage shed when Brynlee found this little umbrella that someone had decorated. My dad told Brynlee she could have it and she has been in love with that thing ever since. She couldn't wait for it to rain so she could use it outside. Yesterday it rained a lot. When we came home from doing Zumba at the church there was only a slight mist of rain. Which I thought was perfect for Brynlee to play in. She had so much fun playing outside with that umbrella. I just had to take some pictures of her. 

Annalyn really wanted to play outside but I made her stay in the house. Brynlee wasn't very happy when I made her come inside either. I love lazy rainy days. I know the farmers need the rain. I love watching my girls have fun and explore new things. I don't think you can get much cuter than these two.

Annalyn's 13 Month Update

I wasn't going to keep doing these updates every month but it seems like Annalyn has made so much progress this month that I just had to document it. It is amazing to me how much she is learning and growing. She can now walk pretty well but she still prefers to crawl. Most of the time she starts off by walking, then she falls down and walks on her knees for a little while. If she wants to get somewhere quickly, she just crawls. But she can walk all the way across the room and back. Most of the time she has something in each hand that she is trying to carry with her. She loves stuffed animals.

Annalyn now has five teeth. Two on the bottom and three on the top. They are really sharp too. Every time we go outside she tries to eat rocks and she bits me when I have to fish them out of her mouth. She still loves to eat but she is getting pickier about what she consumes. She likes whole milk but it tastes much better from Brynlee's sippy cup. I tell you. Even if she has the same thing in her cup she goes for Brynlee's and tries to take it from her. She was spitting up a lot when I first started giving her whole milk. Which was really weird because she almost never spits up. She can handle it now. I just had to take it slow with her.

Annalyn's favorite word is "Bah." She says it every time she hears the chickens outside, or when she wants to go outside. She loves those chickens. She really wants to catch them. She has been bitten by one twice but it hasn't stopped her from trying to chase them. Annalyn can also make the sound for a pig and a dog. She says "ba" for ball and "mo" for more. She can also sign please and she is starting to do it on demand. She will sometimes sign all done. I was taking her inside one day and she started crying and clearly said "no." She hasn't said it since which is fine. I don't think I want her using that word yet.  I love watching her learn new words. Her smile just lights up the room and makes my day.

Five Years of Marriage

Today Joel and I are going to celebrate our fifth anniversary. Can you believe we have been married that long? Here are some of the things we have accomplished in the last five years.

• We have moved 8 times. 
• We have lived in 2 third floor apartments.
• We made 1 trip to Canada together.
• We went to the Oregon coast together. 
• We have lived with Joel's brother and with his parents.
• We lived with Melissa's grandma and her aunt for seven weeks. 
• We made several trips from Boise to Rexburg and back again. 
• Melissa taught 1 first grade class and substitute taught for another. 
• Joel did 2 internships.
• Joel earned 1 bachelors degree in construction management. 
• Joel has worked on the farm as a mechanic, a welder, and a truck driver.
• We survived 2 pregnancies.
• We became the parents of two beautiful baby girls. 
• We have changed countless diaper, wiped numerous tears, and spent many hours cuddling with our wonderful girls. 
• We have survived lots of arguments and disagreements and we have learned to forgive each other. 
• We have enjoyed many dates and long conversations into the night. 

Joel really is my best friend. I am so grateful for everything that he does. He is a great dad and such a hard worker. I am glad I get to spend eternity with him. I have loved the last five years and I look forward to many more with him by my side.