Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day we went over to my parents house, along wth my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin.  Curt (Lindsey's fiance') also came in for the long weekend.  My dad grilled burgers and hot dogs and we had a big washers tournament.  We had a great time celebrating the beginning of summer!

Memorial Day is also a time to think about those who pay the price for our freedom, and for those who have passed on before us.  Almost every year I have gone with my parents to Cameron's grave on Memorial Day.  (When I was 3 my parents had a little boy, Cameron.  He died from SIDS when he was 4 months old).  I always felt sad when we went to his grave, but after being pregnant and having Brynn it has just taken on a whole new meaning.  I cannot imagine going through what my parents went through losing a child.  I am amazed at the strength God gave them to go on.       

Sisters with their guys...I couldn't have asked for Lindsey to meet and find a better guy.  We love Curt so much and can't wait for him to officially be in our family...next July!

Granny and Brynn

Brynn getting a little burp action from Pawpaw

Look at my big eyes!

Hanging out in the backyard...Granny, Brynn, Jared, and Aunt Tina (or T-Nonni to Camden, Ebby Lee, and Nixon)

And let the washers tournament begin!  My very organized and "Type A" mother actually googled and printed an "11-person, double elimination" bracket.  We played every man for himself (instead of with partners) for the first tournament.  Even though the bracket gave me a bye the first round, I still got eliminated after my first two matches.  HA!  Guess washers just isn't my thing.

Ryan and Uncle Bruce...they were the best two out there!  (And I had to play Uncle Bruce for my first round!)

Linz and Dad
Ryan barely beat Uncle Bruce to capture the Memorial Day washers title!  =)  Wow...are we a dorky family or what!  Then my parents beat Lindsey and Curt for the doubles title.  Again...I was out after the first round (sorry Ryan!)  Camden splashed around in the sprinkler and Brynn had fun taking lots of naps!  Happy Memorial Day!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Craft Night with the Girls!

When I was little I remember my mom going to church for "craft nights."   I specifically remember this wooden Rudolph craft that she made around Christmas (it was extremely nerdy, but at the time I thought it was so cool! HA!) Fast forward 15 or more years and I have this great idea to get some friends together and have a "craft night."  My sister-in-law and several friends are so crafty and artsy, and I enjoy being creative, I just need some help.  =)  So we decided to have a girls "craft night" at Sarah's house and all make this wreath that she had on her front door.  The wreath is covered with those flower "rosettes" so part of the craft was learning how to make those.  This was exciting because those are really popular on headbands and bows for little girls (and they sell for big money on Etsy) and now I can make them for Brynn all by myself!  

Well...craft night was a success!  We had a BLAST, but we can definitely already tell who are the "real" crafters of the bunch...and let me tell you, I'M NOT ONE OF THEM! HA!  Heather, Jen, and I are definitely the needy ones of the group!  In less than an hour, I SEVERELY burned my left middle finger with the hot glue gun, got paint on Sarah's table cloth, and painted the wrong side of the letter for my wreath.  (No joke...I'm bringing safety goggles and a first aid kit to the next craft night).  We also blew a fuse in Jason and Sarah's house, but Jason fixed it right away.  =)  Despite all the mishaps, we laughed like crazy, ate like crazy, and CRAFTED like crazy!  And now we all have super cute wreaths on our front doors.  =)   

All the girls around Sarah's table

Thanks Jason for taking such a great picture of me...HA!  Look how serious I look...little do I know I am painting the WRONG side of the letter...and I'm the kindergarten teacher in the group???

Jen,  me, and Kelly

Ansley had fun watching all of her mommy's friends get crafty!

Heather and I show off our final products...we are the least crafty of the group so we have decided we will be in charge of "puff paint t-shirt and hair scrunchie" night.  =)

Not everyone was finished quite yet, but we had to take a group shot. 
Who would have thought 15 years ago that a nerdy wooden Rudolph would be the catalyst for a super fun girl's craft night??  Maybe someday Brynn will look back on her mom's craft club and want to start her own.  I'll just have to tell her to make sure to bring band-aids and a first aid kit!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Cutie Pie!

Brynn has been smiling so much lately! We have been singing this little "clap your hands" song and she loves it.  Ryan and I swear she was almost laughing out loud the other day.  It was adorable!  Here are just a couple pics from the past week.

Ryan put her in this little robe after her bath.  I just want to kiss that little face all the time!

She was falling asleep while I was burping her.  Can we just stay like this forever?

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Crazy Hair!

I think Brynn is starting to develop that "bald spot" on the back of her head that most babies usually get.  She has such long hair already that in the back it has seriously started making what I have termed "baby dreds".  I actually cut 3 tiny little "hairballs" off the back of her head because they were becoming so ratty.  Ryan wasn't very happy about me cutting her hair! HA!  See the picture below...it is before I cut those little hairballs off!


She is really starting to fill out!  I couldn't believe at her doctor's appointment how much she had grown...what a BIG GIRL!  Here she is the other night during a diaper change.  I wish I would have taken a picture of her before we changed her...the diaper must have not been on tight enough because the poop literally went all up her back!  =)  (I just didn't think she would appreciate that picture in 10 years).  The craziest part was that she didn't even care...this is what she looked like during the entire diaper change...happy and content as can be.  I would have been screaming bloody murder if I had that much yellow goo all up my back. 


Such a big sweet girl!


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Happy 2 months Brynn!

Wow...on Sunday, May 22 Brynn turned 2 months old!  I can't believe she has been our little girl for 2 whole months (and longer in the womb!)  It is crazy to think about what our life was like before her.  Today she turned 9 weeks old, and we had her 2 month doctor appointment.  Here are some special notes about Brynn's second month...

Brynn weighed 11 pounds, 13 oz. and was in the 75% for weight (gained 5 pounds, 2 oz. since birth).
She measured 23.5 inches and was in the 90% for height (grown 4 inches since birth).
Her head circumference was the 50%.

She is wearing size 1 diapers.

She has been sleeping through the night since the middle of week 7.  She goes down about 10:30 or 11 and we wake her up at 7 to nurse and start the day. 

I think she went through a growth spurt within the last week (and may still be going through it).  She was waking up early from all of her naps and wanting to eat so we were feeding her every 2 1/2 hours during the day instead of every 3.  That went on for about 3 days, and then she went back to a 3 hour cycle. 

She is really starting to smile and coo and make cute little noises.  She loves to look at the little animals on her mobile and will almost always smile and watch them circle around.  She LOVES her activities mat and likes to watch the music and lights.

I feel like she is such a good, content little baby.  Unless she needs to burp or eat she is so content.  She will just lay there and look around, sometimes smile or make cute little noises. 

Brynn's Typical Day at 2 months old - A typical day according to our schedule goes something like this.  I wake her up at 7 and she nurses until about 7:45.  We change her and then do some type of "waketime" activity.  If Ryan is home we give her a bath, or we may go downstairs and we play on her activities mat.  I might fold laundry.  We read a little story and I hold her and talk to her.  I put her down for a nap around 8:20ish.  She goes right down.  I have between then and 10 to take a shower, eat breakfast, pump, do my Bible study, etc.  Then at 10 I wake her up to nurse.  We continue this 3 hour cycle all day.  The first 45-50 minutes I nurse, then she is awake and we do some type of "waketime" activity for about 30 or more minutes, and then the last hour and a half of the cycle she naps.  During her awake time we might go for a stroll, do errands, read, play on her mat, lay in the mobile, etc.  We lay her down for all of her naps swaddled and while she is awake.  She goes right down for most of her naps...it is amazing how she already knows that when we put her in her crib she is supposed to go to sleep.  She rarely fusses when we put her in her crib.  So she eats at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, and then she always wakes up early after this last nap...usually about 9:15 or 9:30 and I go ahead and nurse around 9:30.  This last time I nurse with the lights and TV off.  I just read a book with my book light.  I let her eat several minutes longer at this feeding, and then Ryan burps her for awhile and swaddles her and puts her down for the night.  So...this is her general day.  Obviously every day is different, and as she has gotten older I feel more comfortable going out and doing errands, eating lunch out, etc.   

Brynn - We LOVE YOU SO MUCH and can't imagine our lives without you.  We LOVE to cuddle and hold you, read you stories, look at you and play with you, etc.  We can't wait to see how you will continue to grow and change.  You are such a gift from God!

Brynn at 3 days old...getting ready to come home from the hospital (this picture makes me want to cry...I think she looks so precious, but it also reminds me of the sheer terror I remember feeling when we took this picture.  I was excited, but scared to death leaving the hospital).

Brynn at 1 month

The big girl at 2 months!


Monday, May 23, 2011

Memphis Weekend

This past weekend we took our first weekend getaway without little Brynn.  It was so nice to get away for a refreshing couple of days, but of course we missed her like crazy.  It's funny how we were excited for the time away, but when it actually came time to get on the road we were like "ohh...we miss her already!"  But I am so glad we went.  I knew she would do great with her gradmas and we would enjoy some adult time away.  We went with Jason and Sarah, who we always have a blast with.

Brynn is helping me pack for Pamaw's and Grandma's house.  She spent the first night at Pamaw's (with Ansley) and then spent the next night with my mom.
The boys race was in Tunica and we stayed at the race sponsored hotel...Harrah's Hotel and Casino.  Too bad Memphis has been flooded because the casino was closed and I was thinking I might hit it big! HA!  When we got there Friday night Sarah and I went up to the room (this was like at 11:30) and I couldn't get the key to work.  I kept trying and finally gave it to Sarah.  The door opened on the FIRST try!  However...it opened from the person on the INSIDE!  HAHA!  There was someone in our room!  Seriously...we went to the right room, or at least the room number they gave us, but it was already occupied!  =)  Then when we finally got into a new room our TV didn't work.  I HAD to start pumping and when I did, guess who knocks on the door?  The TV repairman.  I didn't have time to take my entire breast pumping kit into the bathroom, so there I am sitting on the hotel bed while Mr. Repairman comes in and fixes the TV.  Of course everyone is silent and all you can hear is the "whaaa whaa" of the pump.  Sarah thought it was so funny that she started videoing it (I did have my cover on).  Ryan tells the man "sorry for the weird sound, my wife is breast pumping over there!"  Good thing I'm not too modest...but it was really awkward and funny! 

Saturday we had so much fun shopping, eating, shopping some more, etc. We decided we would eat at the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Memphis that Jason looked up on his phone.  We were already in Memphis at a big mall, so we were only about 25 minutes away.  When we finally drove in and parked in downtown Memphis Jason says "uh, guys, that was Cheesecake Corner, there isn't a Cheesecake Factory here!"  =)  We walked around FOREVER before the boys practically made us go in a restaurant.  So we went in and even ordered our drinks before Sarah and I said this place looked like the twilight zone (seriously animal heads everywhere and musty smells) and we had to leave.  The boys wanted to kill us.  FINALLY...3 hours after we started looking for a place to eat we made it to Macaroni Grill! =)  This may sound like we were all annoyed with each other, but it was seriously the most hilarious 3 hours.  Well, at least Sarah and I thought so.

Sunday the boys had their triathalon.  This race was an "olympic length" race, which means they had to swim 1500 meters (100 m. short of a mile), bike 25 miles and run 6.2 miles.  Sarah and I got up bright and early to watch them start.  It poured rain the whole time, but we still had fun watching them.  My camera battery died before I could even take ONE picture, so head over to Sarah's blog to see some pictures of the boys race.  They both did such a good job!  We are proud of you boys!  There was even a professional divison and we got to watch the pros race after they were finished.  It was really cool...those people are STUDS!

We had such a good weekend away and are thankful to both grandma's for taking care of Brynn.  It was so fun to see her cute little face when we got home.   

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Blog makeover!

As you can see, our blog is actually starting to look a little more like a REAL blog!  My friend Ashley is helping me design it...I'm not even trying to learn how to do it myself because it seems so complicated.  Anyway - we are still working on some things, but I just want to give Ashley a BIG THANK YOU for helping me! 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

8 week sleeping update

Brynn turned 8 weeks yesterday!  Everytime a new week flips over I think to myself "oh my gosh...this time so many weeks ago I was at the hospital having contractions or pushing, etc."  It is so crazy!  Brynn has officially been sleeping through the night for about a week now!  I nurse about 9:15 or 9:30 for the last time each night (with the lights off and the tv off...this is something that majorly helped with her falling asleep better).  I just read with my book light while I'm nursing. =)  I finish nursing and we put her down about 10:30 and she has been going down REALLY well and then I wake her up at 7 the next morning!  YAYYYY!  I know some of you probably think I'm crazy for waking up my child at 7 in the morning instead of letting her sleep longer but I think doing this schedule thing has really helped her sleep through the night (and I don't mind getting up at 7 since I've had an entire night of sleep).  We are so thankful for Babywise (for anyone who doesn't know Babywise is a book that talks about helping your child sleep and putting them on kind of a daily schedule of eat, waketime, and then sleep)...it has worked so well for us...I know other things work wonderfully for other people, but I think you just have to do what works well for you, and this has definitely been IT for us. =)

On another note...my sister and Dad left for China today!  The summer before I graduated college and got married my dad took me on a trip to Europe...just dad and daughter time.  It was a BLAST and something I will cherish for a lifetime.  This was my sister's turn to go.  She picked to go to China and they are going with a tour group.  We are praying for safe travel and a great trip for them.  I can't wait to hear all about it when they get back! 

And finally...what post would be complete without some pictures of little Brynn!

We went to run some errands and stopped by Ryan's work, so I put her in this little outfit.  How cute!  And of course Ryan loved showing her off! 

One of the "milestones" that Dr. Hoffman wanted her to "accomplish" =) before her 2 month checkup was be tracking with her eyes.  Our swing has a mobile and Brynn loves to watch the little animals go around and around.  It is so cool to see her begin to do these things!  (And also notice the cute outfit...good thing I got a picture because 5 minutes later I heard some loud tooting and realized that she had pooped all up the FRONT of this outfit!  Thank you Dreft detergent for getting poop stains off of cute clothes!)

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Saturday means PARTY day!

Whew!  Saturday was a BUSY day!  We had a birthday party, 2 graduation parties, and my dad's retirement dinner...and we had so much fun celebrating with friends and family.

Our day started by giving Brynn a bath...gotta look cute for her boyfriend's birthday party!

Erin's little boy Frankie turned 1!  The party was so cute and the decorations were adorable...he even had a matching bib and hat embroidered with his name.

Brynn wore the cutest little Ralph Lauren party dress (thanks Aunt Erika and Ebby Lee!)

Aunt Kelly and Uncle Jared were at the party...Kelly had a LOT of fun snuggling with little Brynn!

In the afternoon we went to 2 graduation parties.  Ryan teaches the senior boys class in our church's youth department, so this has been a busy couple of weeks with all of them having graduation parties.  Then that night Pamaw watched Brynn so Ryan and I could go to my dad's retirement dinner.  He worked 32 years delivering packages for UPS and I am so proud of him and excited for him in this new phase of life.


HAPPY RETIREMENT DAD!

This cake had the best icing ever!  It tasted like the can of chocolate frosting you buy at the store...not like normal chocolate icing.

My parents at the retirement dinner.

Some of dad's friends from work...They don't have anything fancy...just get together at a restaurant, eat together, and tell funny/special stories about the person who is retiring.  I liked hearing people talk about how my dad always had a good attitude and a smile on his face, even when the job was tough and the weather was bad (delivering packages in the pouring rain or ice or 100 degrees would NOT be fun)!  Something I am so glad to have learned from my dad is to make the best of any situation, try to have a good attitude, and work hard.  I LOVE YOU DAD!

Dad with our special retirement gift to him.

My dad LOVES football and works as the "Chain Gang" crew chief for the SEMO Redhawks football team (that is the group that measures the yards and keeps up with the down markers).  We got him an autographed Redhawks Football helmet.  SEMO had their best year this past season and their coach (who signed the helmet) was the National Coach of the Year for SEMO's division.  He was SO EXCITED about it!

Dad you are a stud!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Good job Linz!

Congrats to my sister!  She is officially done with finals and her junior year of college at Mizzou!!!  That is just so crazy...I feel like I should just now be finished with my junior year.  She is in Mizzou's nursing program and works so hard!  I am so proud of her and all of the things she is learning.  And of course the fact that she can actually stick someone with a needle and not pass out is just amazing to me.  She will be home tonight and I can't wait!  WE LOVE YOU LINDSEY AND ARE SO PROUD OF YOU! 


SISTERS!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Newborn pics...FINALLY!

When Brynn was 10 days old we had her newborn pictures taken.  We finally got the pictures and I wanted to share a few!  These are actually a lot of the ones we DIDN'T order...the ones we did order (which I think are much cuter) are on files so big that it won't let me upload them...it keeps saying "security error".  The girl who took the pics just put a few extras on the DVD that are much smaller resolution just so we can use them to share on social network sites...but they aren't any of the best ones.  I wish I could show you those...but oh well.  ENJOY! 

We did order this one as a family picture...but I feel like I look kind of dorky! HA!

It is so crazy to look back at these...she looks so different already!

I like this one, but we ordered some that are closer up to her face.

I like this one, but the little blanket is covering her eye.  Look how modest she is...doesn't want wanyone to see any private areas!  Good girl!

Such a sweet daddy!
 

Monday, May 9, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!  This was my very first year being a mom.  I now realize why my mom always wanted a day just to celebrate her and for us to serve her, give her a relaxing day of peace and quiet, and affirm the job she was doing.  She was the most wonderful example of how to be a Godly mom and I hope that someday Brynn looks up to me the way I look up to my mom. 

I told Ryan I wanted Mother's Day to be a week long celebration! HAHA!  I do feel like I had a "weekend celebration."  Saturday Pamaw kept Brynn (and Ansley) and Sarah and I and some girls went to see the movie "Something Borrowed."  Then Sarah and I had sushi at Saffron and just relaxed.  It was so nice!  Then that night my parents offered to keep Brynn so Ryan and I could have our first night minus baby.  I was so excited!  I don't even think we knew what to do with ourselves...it was just so nice to not worry about listening to the baby monitor and know we had 8 hours of SLEEP!  I was even surprised with a ring...it has Brynn's birthstones on it!

The next morning (Sunday...Mother's Day) my parents brought Brynn back over at 7 so I could feed her.  They said she went right to sleep and my mom only had to get up around 5ish to give her a quick bottle before she went back down until 7.  Now..why can't little Missy sleep that good here at home?  HA!  Oh well, I'm glad she did well for them, maybe that means more sleepovers at Grandma's in the future?  =)  We were going to take Brynn to the church nursery for the FIRST TIME, (so I could enjoy going to our LifeGroup class and listen to the sermon instead of constantly looking over at her in her carseat and worrying that would start crying in the middle of the service.)  Anyway - we got her all ready for church and had some time to take some pictures.  I'm really glad we took some pictures before church, because after I nursed her (our church has a GREAT nursing room) she had a blowout and when I changed her she started peeing all over the place...so much so that the pee went all over her adorable outfit, got in her hair, etc.  So...we went from an adorable outfit to an old onesie...but oh well.  =)

Ready to go to church

This was all before I peed all over myself and my hair =) 

Want to see what Brynn got me for Mother's Day??  The biggest smiles we have seen from her so far...and she did them for the camera!  YAY! 






She did a really good job at the church nursery and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed actually going to church again, getting to go to our LifeGroup class, etc.  Brother Mark had a really good sermon about God equipping mom's and encouraging all the moms.  It was so good to hear.  Because there are times I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, there are times I worry I'm doing things wrong, there are times I get frustrated or lonely when I'm here all day and we can't just run out to the mall for 2 hours, etc.  Although life is great and we love being new parents, I don't want to give a false impression that everything is perfect.  Being new parents is CHALLENGING!  I want to say that because when I read another mom's blog and they say how hard it is, it just makes me feel better and encouraged, and comforted to know that other new moms are going through the same thing.  Being a mom is amazing and incredible and I can't believe God has blessed us with the gift of Brynn, but it is also the hardest job I've ever had.  Okay...enough of that.  I hope that makes sense.  Anyway - church was awesome and then we celebrated at Outback!!  Delicious!  That night we went over to my parents house because they were having a big barbeque for all the college kids (my parents and Ryan's parents lead the college group at church) before finals week.  It was REALLY FUN...and Ryan even won the washers tournament! =) 

Hope everyone had a GREAT Mother's Day!  I know this little face made my day!

    

Saturday, May 7, 2011

A Day of Firsts


On Friday I went to my first workout class since Brynn was born.  (Actually, it was my first workout class in a LONG TIME!)  Before I got pregnant I thought I'd be this awesome pregnant woman who could run a marathon and would want to work out with the best of them.  But when pregnancy hit, I felt too sick and tired to do much working out other than a good walk (And let me tell you...my walking speed wasn't very fast.  70 year olds passed me on the track!)  Since Brynn had passed the 6 week mark I was able to take her to the "daycare" at they gym.  Plus...I didn't realize I had to be cleared by my doctor at my 6 week appointment to work out...I had actually tried to go to a class when she was about 4 weeks old (on a day Ryan could watch her) but the class instructor literally wouldn't let me work out and told me to walk the track until I was cleared...I felt like such a moron!  So...Brynn had her first official hour at "Healthpoint Fitness Daycare!"  HAHA!  She pretty much slept the whole time since it was during her nap, but my mom was asking her about "all the new friends she made at healthpoint nursery school!"  HAHA!

First Day of Healthpoint Daycare! 
(Aren't these little pants adorable...one of my kindergarten students and his family got this outfit for me and at the time I thought it was HUGE...I can't believe she is big enough to fit in it now!)
 Then Friday night the boys had a church league softball game.  This year several of our friends are playing!  YAY!  It should be fun to hang out with the girls on Friday nights while we watch our boys play. 

Sarah and Ansley

Brynn braved the chilly temps to watch her first softball game, but Daddy lost...haha!  Actually, our team won the first game, but lost the second game (the one we watched) by the 20 run rule!  How does that happen?  I was actually thankful because we dropped both pacifiers on the dirt floor and got a little fussy by the end of the game...
 


COUSINS!
Ansley had enough of us trying to get her to smile for the camera...we had to promise her a snack to get this smile.  She went from pout face to this 1 second smile back to pout face...and then lit up when Sarah got out the crackers!  I wish we had it on tape! 

Jason, Ryan, and Matt

Jason (trying to be the "cool kid"), Ryan, Jordan, and Mark
It was a fun day of FIRSTS!