Where does time go?

I can't believe another month as past since my last post. Life continues on and changes are a daily occurrence at our house. It's like I can just see the information going into Brynlee's head and watch her process every detail. She turned 10 months on the 10th and is getting so animated lately. She loves to ham it up for everybody and is such a sweet girl :)

10 months old!

We have been at the Dr. a lot lately as the influenza bug hit our house. I got it first and then Brynlee went down. Thankfully Kyle and Hayden were spared the horror. (It really was horrible. The worst sick I have EVER been).  Hayden did have a cough for about 3 weeks and Kyle had to take a couple days off work to help take care of the girls while I was down. I am just thankful that he stays pretty healthy throughout the year.  Right now both girls are dealing with ear infections and I have a sinus infection. BUT...then we are DONE. No more being sick for the rest of the year!

Because we have been at the Dr. so much I know that Brynlee is 28 in long and weighs 17 lbs 12 oz. Such a big girl! After dealing with sickness for so long she is finally getting back into a good sleep routine. She is up around 8 in the morning, takes a couple hour nap, lunch, nap again around 2 or 2:30 and then does really well for the rest of evening. I think we are safely past the crabby every night stage :) She crawls around everywhere and gets into everything. And of course everything goes in her mouth. She is way worse about that then Hayden ever was. I can't even let her have cardboard books without watching her or she will eat them!

Busy little bee!

Night night

B is starting to interact more and more all the time. She claps her hands every time you say "Yay!" and gets a HUGE smile on her face. She is super ticklish and laughs and laughs even if you get close to tickling her. She loves her sister but gets irritated quickly if Hayden tries to hold her. There is no restraining that girl! Just recently she has started sitting still for a couple minutes to read a book but gets mad if you don't let her go when she is ready. Her favorite word is DAAAAAA-DAAAAAA! Which she says constantly and loudly, lol.  Kyle thinks it's funny that she rarely says mama, but I can play it to my advantage once in a while. Like when she's hollering for him in the morning instead of me :) Despite saying dada all the time she really is a mama's girl. She can be quite the pill for Kyle when they are alone together, but as soon as I get home she's all smiles again. I can't say that bothers me all that much :) She likes to "share" her crackers and if you say "mmmmm, that looks good" she'll offer you a (soggy) bite then grins a huge grin, giggles and takes a bite her herself. Man, I love that girl! We are in copy-cat mode right now as Brynlee will copy pretty much any sound you make with your mouth and then give you the biggest smile when she does it. It just melts your heart :) She will also give kisses if you ask her. BIG, wide, open mouth kisses right on the cheek. And of course gives that gorgeous smile when you make a big deal about it.


We are making quite a few strides in the signing department. Brynlee does "drink" really well but it could mean she wants anything from food to water or to nurse. Although, usually she does pretty well about signing "milk" when she wants to nurse. She doesn't do "eat" really, but will do "more" by clapping her hand and will do "sleep" if you do it first.  Sometimes she will wave her hands around like she is trying to sign something and when I try guessing what it is she wants she'll laugh when I get it right. It's so cute!

Recently I tried taking Brynlee off her Zantac, but after a couple weeks it really started to take it's toll, so I put her back on. My next task is to try a few diary items now that she is healthy again. I have heard that some people who are lactose intolerant can still have yogurt sometimes so we tried that this afternoon. She ate an entire container of plain yogurt. I really hope it sits well because she really liked it. Once I see how that goes I'll try a few more dairy items myself and see how she reacts before trying to give her any more dairy items. The Dr. said at her 9 month check up that I can try dairy free milk options at a year and slowly incorporate regular milk to see how she does. I am praying that she grows out it completely!

One thing that doesn't seem to suffer at all, in spite of no dairy, is her appetite.  The crazy girl eats ALL the time. I feed her until it seems like she should be getting full and then she usually eats several crackers. And then still wants to nurse! I suppose it's a good thing though...she's got to eat so she doesn't waste away with all her crawling around all over the place. Since she started crawling she never stops moving! At this point there's pretty much nothing she won't eat. Just yesterday she ate peas with minced red peppers, mushrooms and ham.

My little piglet :)

Hayden is getting bigger as well. And while I don't see huge changes every month like I do with Brynlee, I do see her learn more and more all the time. We are over half done with our journey through the alphabet in school and she LOVES learning. I can see a huge change in her ability to make the letters themselves since the beginning of the year and she is slowly getting the hang of sounds and what sounds words start with. She likes to color, use her scissors, and glue. Any time she can do all 3 is a happy day! Almost every time she colors she will ask me to color with her. I am beginning to think that her "love language" is quality time. Just like her mother :) Even at 3 she still loves to cuddle and do anything we can together. Color, watch a movie, have a picnic, play outside, read books. I have even started reading longer, mini chapter books to her and she will sit quietly and listen for a long time. Just as long as she can sit next to me and suck her thumb :)  That's another conversation though...

Story time before bed

She is a bit of a mini-me and likes to do things like mommy. Put on make-up, wear a towel on her head after bath time, wear "lip stick", put on smelly lotion, match clothes. Pretty much anything she can to be like mom :) Its flattering but also eye opening as I see her do and say things just like I do. A walking, talking mirror is what she really is! I love her bunches and am excited to see her growing more :)

When we went to the Dr. with Hayden she weighed in at 31 lbs and was 39.25" tall. She is in the 66th percentile in height and 30th percentile in weight. The Dr. said that's just perfect :)  She has grown 5 inches since we moved to Cleghorn a year and a half ago. She just wont stop growing! I think both her and Brynlee are in the middle of a growth spurt because I can't keep either one of them fed. You would think I was starving the poor things.

Track starts up for Kyle next week and I am trying to enjoy the time I have with him after school during this
couple week break between basketball and track. I am REALLY trying to have a positive attitude about track this year (his first year coaching this sport) since it means that he won't be working full time this summer. I have BIG plans for this summer :)

We are mobile!

Yup, today,Thursday, January 10, 2013, on her 9 month birthday, Brynlee Rae started crawling. And within MINUTES (seriously, not an exaggeration) she was into EVERYTHING. The object of desire that started it all was Hayden's toy keyboard. Which Hayden, naturally, did not want her to have. Of course that made it all the more desirable and shoving the thing several feet away was not going to stop her. There she went, off to get the keyboard. I was so excited to see her crawl that I completely disregarded Hayden's upset cries and told her it was fine and Brynlee could have it if she wanted to. I know, totally mean mom.

Bryn at 9  months old

I am sure some are wondering why I was excited to see her crawling. Most moms I have talked to have to suppress the desire to knock their children over when they start crawling or walking. But, if you have been in our house for the past several weeks you would be excited too. Brynlee has been on the verge of crawling for a little over a month now. She will go to her tummy and then SCREAM because she can't go anywhere. So that means mom spends all her time chauffeuring her around the house to keep her quiet. So yes, I was excited! But, my excitement lasted about 10 minutes. It took about that long for Brynlee to get into the computer power cords, find the dogs toys, tear up a Menards add and generally reach havoc on my living room. What can I say? When she learns something new, she REALLY learns :)

My little Beanie is growing and changing every day. It seems like just the last couple days I have a completely different child on my hands. Lately, her sleeping-all-night times out number her up-every-hour times so that's been awesome. She still takes great naps every morning and every afternoon and the occasional evening cat nap as well. Although, if we have something going on in the morning she does fine without a nap and takes an extra long afternoon one. Brynlee recognizes several signs including: milk, more, all done, sleep, no, eat and drink. And the exciting part is she has started signing drink (she's pretty pleased with herself and does it quite often cuz mom gets so excited) and just today did all done and milk. Such a smart girl! Also, just today, (a big deal this whole turning 9 months thing!) she broke through tooth number 4. The "fang" on the other side :) She still loves to play peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake, but nobody makes her laugh the way her sister does. Just today I couldn't help but smile as they played together in the dining room. Hayden was hiding under the table and Brynlee was laughing hysterically! Warms a momma's heart :) I didn't even get upset with Hayden for messing around under the table when she should have been eating her lunch.

The infamous fang tooth!

Our 9 month check up is next week and I am looking forward to seeing how much she has grown physically. I am guessing she weighs somewhere around 18 lbs and getting much longer as I have had to put away several outfits that are now too short.

Speaking of playing together, I am really hoping that Hayden learns quickly to put her stuff up or keep it in her room or I am going to have one upset 3 year old on my hands. She does so well with Brynlee now and I hope that continues even if she gets into her things. A learning experience for all three of us I guess.

Hayden is getting so grown up too. On New Year's Eve we spent the day together as a family, shopping and eating out for lunch. As we were getting ready to go I was having to push back tears as I watched Hayden standing in the kitchen. She had on a long sleeve shirt, skirt with leggings and boots. Super cute but didn't stop there. Her long hair was up and she had a watch on and her own purse for shopping complete with cell phone, lipstick and debit card. Seriously, it was like she was 3 going on 17! What happened to my little girl! Later in the car I voiced that exact opinion and she answered in a very matter of fact tone, "Moooom, I am your little girl, but I am growing up!" *Stunned look on my face* Waaaahhhhh! That's what I wanted to do, break down and cry right there in the car. But I didn't; I held it together. Just barely.

I guess I have a bit of a double standard when it comes to growing up. With Brynlee, I get so excited to see her at the next stage of learning and growing, but with Hayden, I just want it all to STOP!  I love the age she is right now. The age where I am her best friend; where she still likes to cuddle up and read books; the age when things are still exciting and new and I am the first person she wants to share it with.  I don't want this age of trusting everything I say without question to end; I don't want her to ever be too old to "snuggle on the couch, eat an orange out of a bowl, and watch a movie." And yes, that is a direct quote. The ages of 2 and 3 get such a bad rap but it's my favorite. There are those that love the baby stage and there are even those that love the "empty nest" stage. Me...give me a 3 year old any day :)

December update

We are coming up on Christmas and my girls are growing faster than ever! I missed last month so of course have lots of updates. Brynlee turned 8 months on Dec 10 and is getting so big! Not sure on height and weight, her next appointment is in Jan.  She is wearing 9 month clothes now and just this week I switched her cloth diapers to the largest setting. When she wears disposable diapers she is in size 3. She still eats a big bowl of cereal every morning and nurses. For lunch she eats some baby food and whatever else I have around for her to eat. Today she had mashed potatoes and green beans :) I started skipping her 1pm nursing and I just nurse her whenever she gets up from her nap and then she eats supper with us and nurses again before bed. She was so insistent on nursing I was starting to worry about weaning her when the time came. Sometimes I stick an extra nursing time in there but I figure as long as she satisfied I won't push it. The girl LOVES food! In addition to all the typical "first veggies" we have added peaches, bananas, applesauce, and avocado.  I plan on introducing pears and apricots next :) She also likes to eat whatever we eat so I try to share what I can. I have a baby food grinder so she got vegetable soup last time we had that. She also likes pasta. I started giving her cheerios to work on her coordination a little bit. She doesn't do well at using her pincher fingers and getting things in her mouth. Right now she grabs things with her fists but then drops it when she tries to get it into her mouth.  We have a ways to go with that but, practice makes perfect!

7 months old

8 months old

Brynlee isn't as into the excersaucer anymore and would much rather be mobile. She does pretty well sitting on the floor as long as things are within reach. Just this afternoon she sat on the living room floor with toys for over an hour and played. But, that doesn't happen too often. Usually she gets tired of being on the floor and wants me to help her walk around. She doesn't seems to have much of a desire to crawl but walking, on the other hand, is REALLY fun!  When she is on her tummy she can get around pretty well by swiveling around and scooting but still doesn't go far. I am hoping it stays that way until after Christmas. Only a couple weeks left! 

Tooth number 3 finally made it's debut last weekend after weeks of misery! The crazy part is that it's not one of the top middle teeth...its the tooth NEXT to the middle teeth! Totally weird...she's got a little fang poor baby lol. The one on the other side is trying to come in too and then hopefully the middle ones won't be too far behind. The song, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" comes to mind, hehe :)

In all honesty, football has been the biggest time eater and the most excitement for our family the past couple months. Football was the reason I didn't get any updates done last month :S  In my last post I mentioned that we would be playing the number one team in the state. We ended up beating Newell-Fonda in the biggest game of the year!  On November 8th we went to the UNI Dome for the first time in school history and totally domimated! We won that game, went back to the dome the next week and won MMC's first State Title. It was the craziest 3 weeks ever but completely amazing. I wouldn't have traded the stress and the two, 6 hour round trips to the Dome for anything :)

Hanging out at the hotel pool

Both Hayden and Brynlee got to go with us and we stayed in a hotel both times. Brynlee got to go swimming for the first time and she LOVED it! It was so cute seeing her splash and play :)  She was so at ease and had no problems laying on her back or splashing around. Hayden has always been a little fish and had a great time playing in the water with several of the cheerleaders and stat girls who were at the same hotel.

Hayden showing the crowd the award!

MMC was presented with an award during the Championship game for getting first place in the district; and because Kyle was with the team the girls and I were able to accept the award on his behalf.  It was so exciting to go out with both of them during halftime and accept the award in front of the whole crowd (it was on tv too!). I held up the certificate when it was given to me and of course the crowd cheered...but that was nothing compared to what Hayden did as we walked off the field. I gave her the certificate and she walked off the field with the paper held high over her head the whole way. The crowd just went nuts! Something about a cute little 3 year old and such a high honor as "first place" sure does something to people :) It was so fun hearing the supportive cheers down on the field. I guess I got a little taste of what the team gets to experience :)

Hayden and her favorite "football boy" Isaiah

Hayden loves attention from anybody that will give it to her but she has a special place for "daddy's football boys".  She constantly talks about them and knows a lot of them by name. And the even better part is how good they are with her. They all know who she is and are so patient with her and her incessant questions and talking. I know that she may not remember going to the dome when she gets older but I know that she will always remember the football boys and the fun she had with them. Hopefully for many years to come :)

Kyle with the championship trophy and banner

The whole family with the trophy :)

The football season may have ended over a month ago but there was lots more to take care of and wrap up for Kyle.  The awards banquet was a couple weeks ago and went really well. Lots of awards and lots to celebrate for the Eagles.  And....drum roll please!...Last week Kyle was named State Coach of the Year! I am so proud of him and all he was able to accomplish over the season. His assistant coach also got Assistant Coach of the Year for the district as well. The coaches and kids all deserved every honor they received.  Now Kyle's time is taken up with talking to college coaches wanting kids to come play for them and planning his spring around the conferences and clinics he has been asked to speak at. Again, SO PROUD OF HIM!!! :)

Hayden is getting excited for Christmas. She has been asking for a "big baby" for months now. A friend of hers has a large baby doll that she loves to play with when she goes over there.  I had been looking online and in some local stores with no luck.  So, after a city wide search of Des Moines, I FINALLY found the doll she wanted. It was a HUGE load off my mind. I felt bad, it wasn't like she wanted anything super expensive, she just wanted a doll! But, I found it and all is well. I don't have to have a disappointed little girl on Christmas :) We have a busy week ahead getting ready for all our Christmas travels. We will celebrate our family Christmas on Friday and then leave Sat morning for NE for Christmas on Kyle's side. After that we head back to IA for a couple Christmas's with my family. All together we will be gone for about a week. Praying the girls (and me!) survive so long away from home. We don't do well away from our own beds for long :(

We are so super blessed this holiday season and have so much to be thankful for. After next month's post I am sure the blessings list will be even longer after spending Christmas with all our family and friends. I pray that your holidays are bright and you are able to enjoy time with your own families :) Merry Christmas!

6 months, haircuts and Eagle Football!

The months go by way too fast for this! It seems like I hardly get done updating one month and it's on to the next. Brynlee is well on her way to being 7 months old and I am just now getting the 6 month stuff done.

We had her 6 month appointment on Oct 15. I knew she was growing but had no idea how much! Brynlee is now 16 lbs 15oz and 26 1/2" long. She has gained 3 lbs and 2 in since her 4 month appointment and went from being in the 50th percentile all around to the 50th in weight and 60th in height. She had her 6 month vaccinations and unfortunately didn't do as well with them as last time. Her poor leg (the one that got 2 pokes) was soooo sore. It got really red and rashy looking, the skin was hard and then bruised after a couple days. And she was so sensitive poor thing.  She is not scheduled for any shots at her 9 month appt but then is supposed to get 6 at a year! Yeah, I think it's safe to say that that's not happening. I have always had a problem with how many shots they give poor little bodies at one time. When shots start out numbering limbs that's not ok. I already talked to the nurse about it though and she understood and was willing to work with me. We will just spread them out more over a couple months.

Brynlee popped her first tooth through the end of Sept and a week later got tooth number two. Two shiny toofers on the bottom :) As a nursing mom I am VERY thankful that she doesn't bite!  No sign of any teeth on top and I am perfectly ok with that :)  She is still on the medium setting for her cloth diapers and in size 2 disposables when she wears them. Most days Brynlee will take a couple hour morning nap around 10 and then another 2-3 hour nap around 2pm. And most days I can get her down for a short 30-45 min nap in the evening. It's just an all around better night if I can get her to take that last nap :) She's down for the night usually by 9:30 or 10 and sleeps until (hopefully) 8. She will often wake up earlier but just needs the pacifier or tucked in better and she'll go back to sleep. She has been VERY constipated lately and was NOT doing well at night at all. Up every hour at the very least, sometimes more. It was a looooong week at our house. Thankfully, I have wonderful chiropractor who is great with kids and he fixed her right up. She's back to sleeping all night. If I do have to get up its just because she's kicked all the covers off and is cold or something like that. One night I went in there and her head was on the opposite end of the bed and she was on her tummy with no covers. Crazy girl :)

Overall B is a very happy girl and LOVES to have attention but does pretty well playing by herself too. She gives the biggest smiles whenever we talk to her and laughs at her sister when she plays with her. Brynlee loves her exersaucer still and will sit in there for an hour or more just playing and taking everything in.  She started sitting up really well just before she turned 6 months and likes to sit on the floor and play as well. Everything goes in her mouth right now so I am NOT looking forward to when she starts moving around and can reach all of Hayden's little tiny toys. We definitely have some baby proofing to do around here. She loves to play peekaboo and pat-a-cake and claps her hands. It's so cute! Sometimes I think she may try to wave once in a while but not totally for sure.

Brynlee has a pretty good appetite these days and LOVES food of all kinds.  She eats cereal every morning between 8-8:30 and I nurse her around 9. She also gets some kind of veggie usually twice a day. So far she has had green beans, peas, carrots, squash and sweet potatoes. She's not as excited about the peas but still eats them pretty well. She really likes squash. Just another way she's completely different from her sister. I tried over and over for over a month to feed Hayden squash and I got the most horrible looks and lots of shivers!  I have been making my own baby food again this time around and I love having peas and green beans from my garden to throw in the food processor.  I am nursing just as often (every 4 hours starting at 9am) but she seems to be eating less at a time now that she is eating solids. She is VERY insistent on nursing and I have a feeling she is going to be harder to wean than Hayden. Even if she's just stuffed herself with cereal or veggies she is very upset until I nurse her.  She barley takes any milk that I can tell but just wants it anyway. Hopefully it's not a problem in another 6 months...I REALLY wanna get back to eating ice cream and drinking milk on a regular basis!

Hayden manning the camera while Brynlee eats veggies

Our family went to the local Pumpkin Patch in Marcus the first Sunday in Oct. The girls had a pretty good time. We got lots of fun pictures and made lots of memories :) Hayden had some excitement this month too. She got her first hair cut! She was so excited. She's been asking to have her hair cut for some time now but mom wasn't quite ready yet.  After I finally made the appointment for her she got nervous and didn't want to do it anymore. She was worried she wouldn't be able to twirl her hair anymore, hahaha :) For those of you who don't see my child in person much, she sucks her thumb and twirls her hair...A LOT. It kinda goes together. After I told her I would make sure there was plenty left to twirl she was ok with it and did great :) I guess if the thumb sucking ever gets REALLY bad and I am desperate I can just threaten to cut her hair really short so she can't twirl it anymore, ha! Hopefully it won't come to that. 

Family picture at The Pumpkin Patch!

First hair cut!

Tomorrow is Halloween and Hayden is excited about that too. She LOVES candy! I had great aspirations for family costumes but a couple weeks ago I realized that it just wasn't going to happen. I had the brilliant idea to be s'mores. Kyle and I would be the graham crackers, Hayden would be a Hershey bar and Brynlee would be the marshmallow. So cute right?! But...you kinda have to go to the work of making it and that just wasn't happening.  So, no costumes for Kyle and I and the girls are wearing things they already have. Hayden has a princess dress so she is going as a princess. Which she is thrilled about. And I have a full bodysuit for Brynlee that has little bear ears on the hood and a tail. I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest of a baby wearing one with a little TY tag on the ear. I thought, "Perfect! My little Beany Baby can be a Bean Baby for Halloween!"  Some things just fit so perfectly : )

Kyle with the district trophy :)

Yellow hair!!!!

On an exciting note...our football team is doing AWESOME so the MMC football season still continues. That means practice still every night and on weekends. The Eagles got first place in the district and along with that honor came...yellow hair for the coach! Gotta admit, I did a double take the first couple times I saw him after it turned yellow. But it's fun that he can do that for the boys. And they love coach in yellow hair too :)  Our next game is Friday against the number one team in the STATE (not just the district) and it would be incredible if we won! If we do win Friday, MMC heads to the dome for the first time in school history :) I do miss my husband and it does make the season extra long, but I don't in ANYWAY wish for the season to be over. They are doing so well and it has brought the team and community together in a powerful way. I know that it's just high school football, but I do think God cares and I can't help but feel like He is involved and has His hand in the whole situation. I see people coming and supporting our boys and I also see a oneness in the team that I never thought possible. It's so exciting to see! No matter what happens Friday, they have had an amazing year and I am so proud of Kyle and team :) Go Eagles!

First time for everything

There really is a FIRST TIME for everything and last week we had LOTS of them!

Brynlee is 5 months old

Brynlee's FIRST day as a 5 month old was Monday! The little stinker is trying to get her FIRST tooth I think and also got her FIRST cold this week :( Poor thing can hardly breath and has been keeping both Kyle and I up a lot in the night. Thankfully she has been doing better the last couple days and last night I only got up with her 3 times.  Brynlee likes to squeeze and give "kisses".  She'll grab my face with both of her hands and pull as hard as she can and give me big open mouthed kisses.  It's sweet when she's not scratching my face and neck all to pieces, haha.  I got out all of Hayden's old fall/winter clothes this week and Brynlee is in 6 month stuff already. I think she'll be in them for a while but still...my little baby is growing up! B also got to try out the Johnny Jump Up this week. She seems to like it so I think when she gets a little bigger she'll really get into the jumping part of it :)  

Brynlee's baby dedication

Brynlee celebrated another FIRST...we had a baby dedication for her at church last Sunday. Pastor Larry did a great job of challenging us as parents to raise her in the Lord as well as challenging the congregation to help hold us accountable in that promise to the Lord.  We are very thankful for our church and so humbled to have the job of raising such beautiful little girls. It is our prayer that we serve the Lord and follow Him 100% when it comes to training our children in the way they should go.


 

My big girl on the first day of Preschool!

Tuesday was a FIRST for Hayden. Her FIRST day of preschool! I am doing a few things with her at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have only 2 days done so far but she is loving it and mom/teacher is hoping it stays that way :) It has been a learning experience for both of us and I hope I grow in my teaching as much as she grows in learning. She has been practicing the "A" sound and trying to draw them. She can trace but likes to finger paint letters instead (go figure, lol).  She drew pictures of things that start with "a" and also worked on following directions with coloring, and finding smallest/largest items. She does really well but has a hard time following instructions. She would much rather do her own thing than have me tell her which color to use, or what shape to color, etc. That's where the learning part comes in for both of us. She learns that you have to follow directions once in a while and I learn that it's ok not to be a neat freak and perfectionist when you're 3! In all honesty though, I love her independent spirit.  She is so creative and would much rather make up her own story when she "reads" or make up words to a song about whatever is on her mind than sing a "real" one.  She thinks outside the box and doesn't let others interpret her world. A personality like that can do great things for the Lord if trained in the right way. I pray God helps me train her right even when her personality can be so different from mine and I don't always understand where she's coming from. Sometimes I don't know what to do, but He does; so I pray...a lot :)  My goal is to do a letter a week for 26 weeks as well as go over numbers. We will do lots of coloring with crayons, colored pencils, chalk, paint. She gets to use scissors, glue, do worksheets, sing songs and all the other fun preschool stuff.  We even do "home ec" and she gets to help me open cans and mix ingredients together. I am not doing a lot of structured time with her just because she is only 3 and we do a lot together when she's not "in school".  She still has another year after this one before she will start Kindergarten. 

A-ligator and a-pple. She is wearing an apron that used to be mine when I was little :)

We also had our FIRST day of MOPS on Wednesday and Hayden was so excited to go play with her friends! Towards the end of last year right before Brynlee was born she started getting really clingy and didn't want to go, so when she went with such excitement last week I was so happy.  A friend took her down to her class and she went without a second glance back.  I gotta say, I love MOPS so much and miss it terribly over the summer. It's such a blessing and rejuvenates my spirit every month when I go. I love being able to get together with other moms and spend time with other adults that are in the the same stage of life as I am. And not having to deal with kids for a couple hours is also an added blessing :)  Brynlee did great and slept in the nursery the whole time and when I got Hayden afterwards she was all wound up and had to tell me about everybody she saw and everything she did. One of the MOPPET workers told me that Hayden is her little song helper. She always stands up front and sings and does all the actions with her. Love that girl! :)

Wednesday was a busy day for us because Hayden had her FIRST day of Cubbies too! We got the verses she was supposed to have ready for the first day in the mail and had been working on them every day before nap and bed time and she was READY!  You were supposed to be able to say the first 3 verses and the Cubbies motto before you could get your book and bag. I was thinking, "Three verses AND the motto? She's never going to get her book!"  Oh me of little faith! Hayden had them down no problem and got her first Cubbies book and bag on the first night. I was so proud of her! I am also helping with the Cubbies for the FIRST time this year. I have helped in other areas of Awana for many years and even subbed once for Cubbies, but this is the first year to be a Cubbies leader. I was a little nervous at first. I have a hard time handling all the chaos of 3/4 year olds but everything went really smoothly. Hopefully every week will be like that! (Ha, riiiiiiiiight! But I can dream.) 

Friday brought another FIRST for the MMC football team. The Eagles won their FIRST homecoming game in a decade! It was the FIRST homecoming win for the seniors and obviously Kyle's FIRST homecoming win as head coach.  It was against a huge rival, Remsen-Union, and the game was definitely charged. It was a hard fought battle, but in the end the Eagles won 31-22.  I love experiencing all these firsts with Kyle and the team. I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished with the team this year. God has blessed him so much and I love seeing him so excited :)

Homecoming 2012!

I just can't believe how time is passing by so quickly. My little baby girl is 5 months old already;Hayden is 3 and going to Cubbies and doing preschool; my husband is a head football coach. I never would have guessed even a year ago when we moved here where our family would be right now and what we would be experiencing in our lives. I feel so blessed every month (ish) when I update my blog and remember all that God has done for us. I am so thankful I started this blog (self absorbed as it is) so that I, and even my family members, can go back years from now and see all the things that we went through and experienced. Gotta love this kind of technology :)

Brynlee's 4 (and a half) month stats

This is way past due since it's now September 2 and Brynlee will be 5 months next Monday...but better late than never!

She is growing up sooo fast! Her 4 month check up was on Aug. 13. Shots went well (she was a champ!) and she is growing and gaining weight well. She is in the 50th percentile, weighs 13lbs 14oz and is 24 1/2" long. I changed her cloth diapers to the medium setting and she wears size 2 in disposables now. Compared to Hayden at the same age Brynlee is about 1 1/2 lbs lighter and 1 1/2 " shorter. She seems so big but compared to Hayden she is a petite little thing!

Milestones: rolled over just shy of 4 months on Aug 7. Went front to back :) She also rolled from back to front in her crib on Aug 30.  First laughed on Aug. 10. (Even got video, it's soooo cute!) Had her first taste of cereal on Aug. 15 (got a video of that too) and she did great! She now eats cereal most mornings and every night before bed.

Fun events: We went to the Marcus fair the day Brynlee turned 4 months. She got to enjoy a parade and see her sister ride on some rides for the first time. Last year Hayden was a little short to ride most of them so she was pretty pumped this year :) Football started the end of August! We have had 2 games so far and Brynlee has done great! She is awake most of the time and squirms, squeals and jumps through the whole thing.  It's like she knows something exciting is going on. A little plug for my hubby: MMC is 2-0!!!  The boys have done great! I am so proud of Kyle, the whole coaching staff and the team :)

Our daily routine: Brynlee wakes up somewhere between 8:30 and 10am. If she wakes up early, I feed her cereal and then nurse her around 9. If she wakes up late I usually just nurse her.  She goes down for a nap around 10 or 10:30 and wakes up for "lunch" at 1. Another nap at about 2 and sleeps until 4:30 or 5, nurses again and is usually up for the rest of the evening.  Once in a while I can get her to take a short half hour nap after supper but I can't always count on it. Evening is also her crabby time, she gets tired but won't sleep so she just cries. It's not too bad though and I can usually distract her by going outside or playing with her.

B is still on Zantac and is doing great with it. I tried taking her off of it for a couple days and decided not to do that EVER again. The doc says we'll try again around 18 months :) I have finally figured out the whole dairy thing I think. I stay away from straight milk and and NO ice cream. I can have milk in things, SOME cheese and I even get to eat a candy bar once in a while :) My next step is to try some cream soups in things and see how that goes over. That will, thankfully, reintroduce a LOT of foods that are off limits right now. Thank the Lord for doctors/nurses who know what they are doing. I am sooo thankful that Brynlee has meds that help her! She is a very happy, smiley baby :)

Brynlee likes her exersaucer, bouncy and Bumbo seat. We rotate between the 3 of those throughout most of the day.  Playing with her feet is also a big past time :)  Who knew feet could be so much fun??  She is a BIG mama's girl and if something is wrong only mom can make it better. On the one hand that's kinda fun and flattering but on the other hand it would be really nice if daddy would work too :S  She is also a pretty big homebody and likes to stay in her routine.  She is very timid around people at first and gets nervous quickly. Once she warms up she does fine but she wants to see everybody and take everything in in the comfort of mom's arms :) Peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake are her favorite games to play. She is VERY ticklish and squeals and laughs when you kiss/blow on her neck.  Although Brynlee has slept through the night once in a while since she was a couple months old she has been consistently sleeping through the night for the past 2 weeks!  Once in a while I will have to get up and put the pacifier back in her mouth but most of the time I don't have to do that even! Love it! :)

Hayden and Brynlee get along REALLY well. Hayden loves her so much and says so all the time. She likes to hold her and play with her and Brynlee likes watching her big sister.  She always has a big smile for her whenever she sees her. As a mom, that completely warms my heart. I hope it stays that way forever! I am so proud of Hayden and how grown up she is. I couldn't ask her to be a better big sister :)

4 months old!

Hanging out with grandma during the fair parade

Cuddling with sister

It's hard to play with her feet when she has cloth diapers on so when I change her diaper I let her play for a while :)

The Great Cloth Adventure

Cloth Diapers.  Those two words were enough to send shivers down my spine and make me throw up a little bit in my mouth.  Over the last several years I had heard about people using cloth diapers again and everybody said they were so wonderful.  Words like "easy", "cute", and "fashionable" were being thrown around. Gotta say, I was a little skeptical and had no problem telling people they were crazy for even wanting to try.  The picture that came to mind when I thought about cloth diapers was smelly wet "towels", plastic pants and safety pins.  Nothing easy, cute or fashionable about that. Yuck!

Then, I moved to Cleghorn. I started going to a MOPS group at our church and one of the months there was a presentation done by some of the moms on cloth diapers. I got one surprise after another. The first of which, was how many mom were doing it! I found out there were several moms in MOPS that used cloth diapers and several more that were planning on using them. The other thing I was surprised by was how cute, yes, cute they were! There were pretty girly colors and fun designs! Another thing that surprised me was that not a single diaper on display was stained. They were all nice and white! The moms doing the presentation talked about how they NEVER had blow outs or diaper rashes.  That was what surprised me the most. After dealing with Hayden and her blow outs, sheet changes and multiple outfits a day I couldn't imagine anything holding that girl in. But, even after a beautiful presentation, I still wasn't a believer.

Several months passed and I started getting to know a lot of the other moms that used cloth diapers.  Kellie, a HUGE advocate of cloth diapering, was working on me pretty good.  I got all kinds of information from her; got to see the diapers up close and personal, breakdown on cost savings, "green" benefits.  Then I started talking to Kyle.  "Do you think this is something we should think about?"  "What if I spend the money on the diapers and hate it?"  "Would you use them or would I change all the diapers from now on?" I went from being completely grossed out and never even considering cloth, to thinking it may not be a bad idea.

I have to admit for all you "green" people out there, that is not my primary concern. I love our  planet and I believe that God wants us to take care of it, but I also believe that this world will be long gone before disposable diapers cause the destruction of mankind. The main reason I was thinking about it was the cost. I had finally gotten Hayden out of diapers and really liked not buying them any more.  Plus, if they really were as good as everybody said then maybe I would really like them.

So, I took the plunge. After LOTS of talks with Kellie I finally decided to go with Flips. A few weeks before Brynlee was born I bought 7 covers and 18 inserts for less than $200.  I got the special laundry soap that was cloth diaper approved and had all kinds of fun looking at my crisp white inserts and bright colored covers when they arrived.

After Brynlee was born I waited for quite a while to put them on her.  They looked so huge! Technically I think you can start using the one size diapers (meaning they are adjustable and fit children all through their diapering years) at about 8 lbs but Brynlee was born that big and I still thought they seemed really big for her.  And plus, when they are first born they pretty much poop in every diaper and don't ever go very much. I just felt like it was a waste of laundry. I used the nb diapers I had and went through one package of size 1 diapers before I put them on her just 1 day shy of 8 weeks.  What a cute little bum!

After using them for 2 months now I have to admit...I kinda like it! At first I was a little indifferent.  I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either.  I went through the diaper changing motions and just DID it. There is a such thing as disposable inserts for cloth diapers that I thought I would never use but I actually ended up using those when I went on a long day trip out of town.  They worked great! I made a couple other out of town trips including vacation in Okoboji and used disposable diapers.  For the Okoboji trip, it just made sense to use disposable. We were outside most of the time, on the beach, it was OOBER hot.  Cloth diapers would have been hot, I would have had to change her more often and it would be a pain since we were in a stroller or car most of the time.  But...I was surprised at how much I missed using the cloth! I went through more clothes because (as all you moms know) poop likes to shoot right out the back of diapers.  Plus it was just plain weird not seeing her little bum in a bright pink diaper :) 

Granted there are some things I do like about disposable diapers. 1) Wearing clothes that are actually in her size and not out growing everything so quickly (cloth diapers are bulky so you have to wear larger clothes a lot of them time). 2) How little her bum is and how I can just curl her little body around mine when I hold her...cloth diapers don't allow as much flexibility in the hips. 3) Baby powder...I LOVE the smell of baby powder! You can't use any powders or rash creams with cloth diapers because it messes up the absorbancy. 4) Sticking her toes up by her face and her mouth. Ok, so typing that out seems a little odd but I KNOW I am not the only one that does it! I love playing with Brynlee's feet and the flexibility of little babies as they suck on their toes or put their feet in their ear.  It's not so easy when she has a big diaper on.  Those feet just don't quite make it up to her face as easily as with a disposable diaper.  Anyway, as you can see...the things I miss are quite trivial and no big deal at all. Totally worth the sacrifice if it means fewer poop stained clothes and not buying diapers any more. Yay for saving money!

A little note on the diaper styles. As I said, I have Flips and I LOVE them.  I also have a few BumGenius which I don't love so much. The BumGenius diapers have a pocket and you stick the insert inside, whereas the Flips don't have a pocket and you just lay the insert inside.  Brynlee tends to get wet around the waist and legs where it leaks out on the fabric. With the Flips, the insert doesn't even touch the elastic around the legs so we don't have that problem. Those are the only 2 styles I have tries so far but I think it's safe to say that I won't be trying any more with pockets :)

That is the latest on my most recent adventure. So I guess the moral of the story is...Never say never!