Happy Holidays!

Here are a few pictures of our holiday! We ended up going home early because Brynn was having some serious issues with her asthma but it was still so nice to see the family and have a little R&R.
These first of these pictures are of the light festival that happens on the river in Natchitoches where my parents live. People come from all over to see this thing! The little town seriously gets over 100,000 visitors during the Christmas season just to see the lights.

This is Miss Kaye playing with her baby dolls Christmas morning, she's such a good little mommy.

Brynn is a VERY spoiled little princess. This is her first set of wheels, a barbi jeep that she got from Santa, (thanks Grandma Carla!!!) She loves this thing and she got the hang of it pretty fast. She just has no idea that you have to take your foot off the pedal to stop and she puts her hands on the steering wheel but doesn't turn so she crashes quite often.

More Brynn and the jeep! I love that she buckles the baby into the front seat. So funny.

Sitting with Grandma Jillyn & Grandpa Dwight on Christmas Eve!

The Christmas Eve toast with my fam. We have done this for as long as I can remember. Everyone goes around the table and says something they are grateful for that happened during the year. My mom is a traditions freak which is so nice. I am so excited to have my own traditions with Brynn.

All of my family, (minus Dani & Cody, we missed you guys!) This is the Christmas Eve PJ picture for 2008. My dad is the Stake President so the guys on the left are the two missionaries assigned to their area. My mom bought them PJ's too. They are such cute guys.

Brynlee & Me

So the day I got hope from Utah, Tim received a call that his grandma on his dad's side had passed away from complications from colon cancer and Alzheimer's disease. The circumstances obviously weren't the best but because it was our turn with my family this year it worked out nicely that he was able to head back to Utah and spend the weekend before Christmas with his family.
On a lighter note, it has been so great to spend some time with my girl all by myself! We have so much fun together and I really couldn't believe how much she had changed in just the 5 days that I was gone! Here are a few of the things we got to do:
Mommy & Me pedicures WITH stickers on her big toes. She loves these things and is becoming completely high maintenance.

She has played this game for probably over a year. She lays her stuffed animals all over the floor then covers each of them with a blanket and sits in her chair and sings and stares at them all. I'm pretty sure she does it because it's what the teachers at her school do at nap time. I'm just glad she got over making us lay on the ground face down so she could cover us up and make us lay there until nap time was over.

I realised I didn't have one picture of Brynn by the tree so I had to get a few. The girl is classic entertainment and I love how much better her teeth are looking since we took those binkies away!!!

Look out world!

Look out world!! Michele Ann and myself will be arriving in Salt Lake tomorrow for a little girl time and some R & R. Hallelujah!! ( This is of course if my flight isn't cancelled due to the freezing rain that is supposed to be in Jackson tomorrow morning. Since when is there freezing rain down south?? Just my luck while traveling!)

Where does the time go??

I have been a complete slacker lately when it comes to blogging. I even took my camera with me to my moms for 5 days for Thanksgiving and didn't take one picture! Sad. So here are a few pictures of what we have been up to.
These are my new slippers from Victorias Secret and I love, love, love them!
My sweet mom bought this big girl bed for Brynn as an early Christmas present, (or a half birthday present if you ask me:) We wrapped her crib pad around the top because the first time she slept in it she got her leg stuck in between the bars. So far so good with this one! I'm trying not to jinx it though like last time.
The tree!!!! Christmas is my most favorite time of year and if I had my way I'd decorate after Halloween. The tree is my favorite part and mine is always beyond dead by the time Christmas actually gets here but I don't mind because then I get to vaccume up all the yummy smelling pine needles.

Brynn and I with Santa! I have no idea why the picture is so grainy but you get the idea. This is much better than last years picture of her screaming. Aunt Dani had the fabulous idea of having her sit on my lap instead of directly on Santa's and it worked like a charm. Love this girl.

While Tim and I were walking around looking for christmas present ideas Brynn decided to occupy herself with the stickers she got in her happy meal and this is what she came up with. She's so creative.

It's Official

We are binkie free!!!!!! Yes you heard me right. We have been trying to filter them out for a while so she was only having them at nap and bedtime but when I picked her up from school Monday she had one in her mouth and I had had it. We got home and I had her throw them in the garbage, keeping one for emergencys of course, and she has done really well at night! Knock on wood. Nap time has been a different story but she goes to sleep eventually. I have no idea why I haven't done this sooner.

Poor Girl

This looks like the face of a girl that has pneumonia right??

After a day of doctor visits and chest x-rays it was confirmed that Brynn's cough she's had for 6 weeks has turned into pneumonia. Gotta love school! We have been to the doctor every 2 weeks since September because the girl can't seem to kick this cough she has and every time we go it has turned into something different. First it was just a cough, then it was from tonsillitis, she was diagnosed with having asthma, and now the icing on the cake, pneumonia AND an ear infection. I convinced her the x-ray was a big camera and sat up there just grinning away. You'd never know anything was wrong with her. It was harder on me than it was on her because they made her wear an admittance bracelet! I know we were only there for a little while but no mom wants to see one of those on their baby.

Then & Now

A few people have wanted to know if Brynn looks like I did when I was little. The first picture is me at age 3, the second one is Brynn at 2 1/2. As for the comparison I'll let you be the judge! I personally think Brynn is much cuter but I do see the resemblance!

My Little Punkin

What is this face????

Brynn and her new buddy Adam! Tim and I both took a liking to this little kid. Don't you love his scarecrow costume??

Daddy and Brynn! He ended up carrying her more than she walked.I have to warn you that I was a terrible picture taker this holiday. One of the little boys we were with had his face painted and Brynn was terrified so she wouldn't stand by the rest of the kids for a group picture. They were all adorable though! This was Brynn's first real Halloween trick-or-treat experience and I think she had a great time. We went to my friend Shanna's house and went trick-or-treating around her neighborhood. They go all out, I had never seen anything like it and there were so many people! We all had a great time. Thanks to Shanna for being the hostess with the mostest!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Today is Miss Michele Ann Hunter's birthday and lucky for her I happened to have access to a scanner today! :) She is the ripe old age of 27 and it's hard to believe I have known her for half of her lifetime, crazy. We have been through pretty much everything together: hook-ups, break-ups, stalkers, long distance relationships, weirdos in the armed forces, boyfriends in jail, (yeah we know how to pick 'em), living together, almost burning down our apartment, and being so broke that we had to chose between food for 3 days and going out on friday night and we always chose going out. We might not have always had our priorities straight but we always have eachother. She is one person I can say I trust 100% and she is the closest thing I've ever had to a big sister. They don't get much better than this girl.

This is us at Club Manhatten. If you haven't been I highly recommend you go. We were friday night regulars and we knew how to have too much of a good time. One thing that always amazed me was that it would close around 2:00am but we never seemed to be home before 4. To this day I have no idea what happened in that time because I know we weren't at Del Taco for the whole 2 hours. :)

This is where we could frequently be found on Sundays. Napping. We were professional nappers back in the day. And we would watch some of our favorite movies, Bring it On or The Sweetest Thing. We must've seen them a thousand times. They say that living with someone can make or break a friendship and it definitely made ours. To this day I don't think we have ever fought and honestly I don't think we ever would.

I hope you have a great day Slut and I wish I could be with you to celebrate! Thanks for being the bestest friend I could ask for, you're fabulous. :) Love and miss you way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pumpkins, Dora & The Bag

This is the bag. It's a Jessica Simpson quilted croc shoulder bag on Victoria'sSecret.com and I lub it mucho! Hint hint to anyone wanting to buy me a gift in the near future. :)

This is Brynn with the Dora doll my friend Amanda bought her. She loves this thing and drags it around the house all day. I always wondered what would be Brynn's show; Barney, Sesame Street, Sponge Bob, it's official her show is Dora. We have at least 6 saved on our Ti-vo and the movies and a back pack like Dora's. It's so funny to watch her get all excited about it. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that she's only 2!

We finally got around to carving our pumpkins and I think I did a pretty good job! The spider one was pretty tricky but worth it whe Brynn wanted to sleep with the pumpkin in her bed. I love this kid.

100 Things...

I've seen this on a few other blogs and I am challenging myself to do it so here we go:

1. I hate wet counter tops. After I wipe them off I have to go back and dry them.

2. I won't let Tim make the bed. I like it to be made a certain way.

3. I am never happy with my hair. I always wish it were darker, lighter or longer.

4. I love to tan even though it's terrible for my skin.

5. I am extremely passive. It takes quite a bit to get me worked up.

6. I pay no attention to details.

7. I hate sitting at home and I will think of any excuse possible to get out of the house.

8. I don't have a favorite color. It changes depending on my mood.

9. I love to sing in the car.

10. I loved being pregnant.

11. I never thought I wanted to have a lot of kids but having Brynn has definitely made me rethink that.

12. I do and always have loved babies. When I was little I would sneak out of sacrament meeting to help calm the babies in the foyer.

13. I have freakishly huge man hands. My wedding ring is a size 9 1/2. Trippy I know.

14. I hate my broad shoulders.

15. I have accepted that any shape I want, including a waist, I will have to pay for.

16. I am convinced Brynn is a genius because I took Lipil when I was pregnant.

17. I wish my sisters and I were closer.

18. Michele Ann Hunter is my bestest friend in the whole wide world and I never get to see her enough.

19. I was a stay at home mom for 18 months and I hated it.

20. I love to work and I love what I do.

21. No matter how hard I try, patience is not a trait I seem to posses.

22. I hate when people miss a belt loop or wear black shoes with a brown belt.

23. I like my eyes.

24. I only weigh 6lbs less than I did at my 6 wk check up after Brynn was born.

25. I wish I were motivated to work out more.

26. I believe in soul mates and that there is one person for everyone.

27. No matter how much money I had I wouldn't want a big house unless I had enough kids to fill it. Who wants a bunch of empty space??

28. I loved growing up in a big family.

29. I want to be living in Utah again eventually.

30. I have the best mother-in-law ever!

31. I have always wanted a big sister.

32. I don't think it's possible to truly be in love in high school.

33. Tim thinks I like football more than I really do.

34. I hate Kobe Bryant.

35. I feel more comfortable around guys than I do around girls.

36. The first time Tim and I went out we had to go to the 10:00pm movie because Michele and I were watching the University of Washington vs. Washington State game and it went into triple overtime.

37. I forgive too easy and I never forget. Which is probably worse than me never forgiving you in the first place.

38.My mom is my hero.

39. There are qualities in each of my sisters that I wish I had.

40. My biggest fear is not marrying my soul mate.

41. I am so addicted to celebrity gossip that I have breaking E-News updates texted to my phone.

42. I want to make a meal from scratch that only I know the recipe to.

43. I don't care how hot it gets during the day but it has to be cool, meaning below 50, at night.

44. I hate humidity unless I'm on vacation.

45. I love really high heels.

46. I am a jeans and t-shirt girl but I love to get dressed up.

47. I am addicted to gummy bears.

48. I try to drink a gallon of water a day.

49. Tim is in charge of buying Brynns toys and I buy the clothes.

50. I like to golf. My game was at it's best when I was 9 months pregnant.

51. I fell down the stairs 3 days before I went into labor.

52. I have thought numerous times about writing a book.

53. When my sister Madison was hit by a car I had a weird vision of it before it happened.

54. I wish I were closer to my dad's side of the family.

55. I wish I were more active in the church.

56. It's hard for me to take someone seriously if they have bad teeth.

57. I always wanted to get married on a beach.

58. I have taken it upon myself to be Tim's fashion consultant. He's from Price Utah, he doesn't know any better.

59. I didn't go to college but I often think about going to get my degree in Psychology.

60. Lazy people that expect everything to be handed to them drive me crazy!

61. I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up.

62. I am still a big daddy's girl.

63. I don't wash my hair every day.

64. I am a text-aholic.

65. I wouldn't watch any TV if it weren't for our Tivo. We bought it when I was pregnant because I kept falling asleep during my favorite shows.

66. I think Brynn likes the smell of cigarette smoke and it's quite disturbing.

67. When I fake smile I stick my tongue out a little.

68. I can live on very little sleep for about 5 days at a time.

69. I spend way too much on things to make my house smell good.

70. I have to have my personal space pretty much all the time.

71. I love cars and I used to subscribe to Car& Driver.

72. I have no plans for getting pregnant any time soon but I am convinced that we don't make boys and I already have my next girl name picked out.

73. I won't wear a blue shirt with blue jeans.

74. I love being a mom.

75. I have a slightly new obsession with the mango-orange-banana Vivanno's at Starbucks.

76. I was 7wks early when I was born and I still weighed 6lbs2oz. I would've been a ridiculously huge baby if I would've gone full term!

77. Once Michele and I put two frozen pizzas in the oven and fell asleep we almost burnt down our apartment.

78. I don't have a favorite food. There are a lot of things I like but I don't think I could pick a favorite.

79. I am a terrible decision maker.

80. I procrastinate everything until the last minute.

81. I do not have a creative bone in my body. Lets hope Brynn has her Aunt Paula's artistic ability.

82. I don't mind doing laundry but I hate folding it so it ends up in the dryer being "re-fluffed" all week.

83. I hate socks unless I'm working out or wearing boots. Tim says I must have been an Indian in another life.

84. I hate cats.

85. I love the mountains. I always have, but I love them even more now that I've had to visit Utah to see them the past 2 years.

86. I love to go on long drives all by myself. I used to drive up Parley's Canyon and down Emigration Canyon frequently to clear my head.

87. I love cake but I hate frosting.

88. I never thought I was claustrophobic until I went snorkeling in Honduras, it was horrifying.

89. I am not a republican or a democrat.

90. I used to chew the feet off my barbie dolls and cut their hair, so weird. A therapist would have a hay day with that.

91. I bite my nails uncontrollably.

92. I love to read but I am very particular about the books that I'll read and I wish I had more time to do it.

93. I gave myself pedicures when I was pregnant until the day before my water started leaking.

94. When I drive in bad weather I have to listen to my music really loud or talk on my phone so that I'm distracted or I will think way too much about what I'm doing.

95. I had always been a night owl until I had a baby, now I'm lucky if I stay up past 10.

96. I love Brynn more and more the older she gets. I don't know if it's because we can communicate better now or what but we did not get along when she was little.

97. I don't like hot baths or hot tubs because I hate being hot.

98. I am very good at being alone as long as I have Brynn but I don't depend on anyone else for anything.

99. I am the most unorganized person ever. I have good intentions I just can't seem to get everything together.

100. I can't buy my Christmas presents until a few days before Christmas because I get too excited and want to tell you everything you will be getting. I was the little kid that wouldn't go to sleep until I went downstairs to peak at all of the Santa presents.

This was exhausting but I loved it and would definitely do it again. I highly recommend it but you better block out your evening because it takes a while! Enjoy!

September/Family Pictures

Tims mom, Aunt Paula and sister Taylor came to visit last week and we had so much fun! Brynn was rediculously spoiled, as usual, and so were we. Tim's mom brought her camera and took a few family pics of us at the park. We went to some great restaurants, did some shopping and had an overall dandy time. We miss his family so much!!

Brynn & Aunt Taylor, it was so much fun having her around! She couldn't do anything without Brynn wanting to tag along, just like last christmas.

Brynn with her Build-a-Bear elephant in it's Ariel halloween costume! Thanks Grandma Carla!

Strike a pose...

RACE FOR THE CURE

Over three days this coming November, I will be walking 60 miles in the Breast Cancer 3-day walk being held in Phoenix, AZ. This walk will be much more than 'just a walk' - it will be raising money to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. I will be walking with my friend Michele, her Aunt Becky that was diagnosed with breast cancer in November of last year, along with other friends from high school and their moms. It is sure to be something we will never forget.

According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, nearly 40,000 American women will die from this disease, and more than 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. I have 5 younger sisters that mean the world to me and even though we don't have a history of breast cancer in our family, the chance is still there that one of us could be diagnosed. Only 5-10 percent of breast cancers are due to heredity, the majority of women with breast cancer have no known significant family history or other known risk factors. That's why I have chosen to walk 60 miles, to do something bold about breast cancer.

I know this is totally a random post but I am really excited to do it AND an extra bonus will be seeing my bestie Michele and her cute mom and aunt. Fun had by all!