Brown Eyed Girls Boutique Giveaway!

Brown Eyed Girls Boutique is having a headband giveaway at aadreams.blogspot.com! Run on over and enter to win one of the cutest headbands I've ever seen.

InfantSEE

For the longest time our pediatrician told us to go in and have Brycen's eyes checked. I finally took him in yesterday, and it was a really good experience. The program is called "InfantSEE" and it's a check-up for babies age 6-12 months. Brycen sat on my lap while I sat in the chair and Dr. Porter checked his eyes. I had no idea how a baby could possibly get their eyes checked without being able to talk. But I was amazed at how well she was able to get the job done. She was really funny and sang a lot of songs. She had all sorts of bright and lit-up toys for Brycen to focus on while she did the checking.

Results: Brycen's vision is "excellent". She wants to see him again when he's two, but otherwise his vision is awesome. Yay! One more thing that we don't have to worry about right now. PS The InfantSEE program is free if you take your baby in between ages 6-12 months. You don't even have to pay a copay. So run on in to the Family Vision Center on Channing in Idaho Falls and see Dr. Porter!

The Stacy Pasley Blanket

When I was 17 my friend Stacy made me a blanket for Christmas. She made one for all of our friends and they were all so different and cute. I used mine the rest of high school, brought it with me to college, and now I use it as a married person. We use it so much that Tyson specifies what blanket he wants by saying "the Stacy Pasley blanket." Tyson and I use it on our bed. Then Brycen was born and he grew to love it. We would bunch it up on our bed for him to sleep on during naps. He slept in his crib at night, then during the day his nap times would consist of the Stacy Pasley blanket for padding and one of his many other blankets he's received during his life.

Over the last few weeks Brycen hasn't slept very well at night AT ALL. We've been assuming it's from teething. He started waking up about every 3 hours, then 2, then somehow he got to waking up about every 1 1/2 hours. It has been miserable. At first Tyson and I would bring him into our room from his room, bunch up the Stacy Pasley blanket on the bed, then put Brycen on it. Then one night before bed Brycen had just had a bath and he was having a bottle on our bed. We went in our room to get him to put him in his crib and he was wide awake, and soaking wet. He had spilled his bottle all over himself and the Stacy Pasley blanket. I put it in the laundry room and Tyson went downstairs to find an old comforter I used when I was younger. We bunched it on the bed, changed Brycen's clothes, and Brycen went to sleep on the comforter.

This was when Brycen started waking up more often. He'd be in his bed, cry, we'd bring him in our room and calm him down with a bottle, he'd sleep there for a while, then wake up crying. We'd put him back in his bed, he'd wake up again...over and over and over till we decided to stay awake. And this has happened over the last week.

Then yesterday I decided to try something new with Brycen's routine. I thought it would be a good idea to cut one of Brycen's naps out of the day to get him more tired at night. When bed time came he started out on our bed to get him to sleep. Then the thought came to my mind: What if we used the Stacy Pasley blanket in his crib? I had washed it but never put it back on our bed. So I bunched the blanket up at the end of Brycen's crib. Tyson went in to put Brycen to bed and he cried. But only for about a minute. Pretty soon he was silent. We went in to check on him and he was snuggled up to the Stacy Pasley blanket. That was about 9 pm. He didn't wake up till 8:00 this morning. He didn't cry once. We even went in his room to check on him. It was a miracle! I put Brycen down in his crib for his morning nap (first time in months) and he went right to sleep on the Stacy Pasley blanket.

Stacer, I'm sure you had no idea when you made me that blanket that it would play such a large role in my life and be such a blessing for me and also for my baby. Brycen thanks you! And so do Tyson and I! You're a great friend and always will be. :)

Brycen taking his morning nap with the Stacy Pasley blanket

(It's the black, white, and blue one underneath him.)

And of course Bear is there too. :)

Some Thoughts

Sometimes a person just needs to speak what's on their mind. That's pretty much what I'm doing for this post. And it's really not a big deal, I just wanted to get some thoughts out there.

I don't understand why people feel the need to justify purchases. I've noticed that when people buy something for themselves that probably wasn't the cheapest thing they end up saying something like this (and I'm totally making this up): "We just got ourselves iphones and they're really cool" followed by "but we got a really good deal on them, so we didn't pay as much as they originally cost." The situation is that these people got new iphones. Great! That is pretty cool. It's the part after the announcement of their new phones that bugs-the part where they justify getting the phone and make sure they let people know that they didn't spend as much money as one would think.

So the question is, why do some of us feel like we have to explain why we bought something? Or why do we feel like we shouldn't have bought something, worried about what others are going to think? And maybe that was a bad example, but I've recently found myself stuck in a situation like this when I got Tyson a new point-and-shoot camera. I felt like with the person I was talking to I needed to make it known that the camera was on sale and he needed a new one. I'm totally guilty. But why should I be ashamed of what I've just bought?

The way I see it is that we all have the freedom to do what we want with our money. If I want to go buy a new TV then I'm going to go buy a new TV. Even if that means I'm going to put the purchase on my Best Buy card. It doesn't matter. And I shouldn't care what others think when I do buy that TV.

Which brings me to my next point: It's great to make all the purchases we want and all, but it's probably not the best idea to tell people you can't pay for things then go buy an iMac computer. That's when people buying stuff really bugs. Or if a person says they can't pay for a certain thing (like a bill or a Mother's Day gift) because they don't have money, but they have no problem dropping $500 on something else. That's when it looks bad. Obviously they have money. Which is great! Embrace that. They just need to admit that they don't want to spend the money on things like Mother's Day. And there's nothing wrong with that. Some people just don't like giving gifts. It's better to admit it than to play the poor or frugal card. It's just annoying and it looks bad. Plus people have been feeling bad for these "poor" people and try to help them out, then the "poor" people go buy something expensive and unnecessary. It's a little insulting.

But there are also those that obviously don't have money, and they won't accept help or some of their bills being paid. I think that is admirable.

Anyway, now that I've spoken my mind I'm just waiting for the torches and picket signs (hopefully that won't happen!). I just want people to realize that it's ok to spend money. There's nothing wrong with spending money if you have it or can pay off a card later. People should be proud of their new purchases. And admit that they have the ability to pay for stuff! It's exciting to buy new stuff, and it's totally ok to be happy for yourself. Even if others give you crap for buying it.

My Funny Valentines

I have two valentines this year: Tyson and Brycen. I asked them both, they both said yes. :)

Tyson and I got Brycen a stuffed Mickey and a heart-shaped sucker for Valentine's Day. He loved them both!

He really loves that sucker. When he's eating something we know he likes it by the sounds he makes. And he was making them for sure!

I told Tyson he didn't need to get me anything this year because he had bought me two pairs of shoes off nomorerack.com and I didn't need anything. Tyson got a new point-and-shoot Nikon camera. And he surprised me with my very first ipod. I'm really excited! I'm spoiled, I admit it:

Brycen got a little spoiled himself! You'd think it was his birthday. He spent Saturday evening with Tyson's parents while Tyson and I went to dinner at Carino's. (Amber was our server. The service was excellent and the food was great too!) Brycen ended up coming home with all sorts of goodies from Grandma and Grandpa Miller:

• a pez dispenser
• gummy hearts
• mini Snickers
• a t-shirt for summer
• and a new sippy cup
  
  The box of Florence's chocolate (my favorite) was for Tyson and I from his parents. We were really excited about that! Those things are dangerous.
  

Brycen's cousins Easton, Cooper, and Kate were also over to Tyson's parents' house that night. They decorated sugar cookies while they were there. Brycen had a blast with all the kids! He doesn't get to play with other kids very often so he was really loving it.

What We've Been Up To

Brycen hasn't slept well at night for the last couple of weeks. Tyson and I haven't slept much during that time. Last night was probably the worst. We think it has something to do with him cutting teeth. But he also woke up pretty stuffy last night. But with all that, he is an excellent napper. It doesn't take him long to fall asleep at all when it comes time to take a nap. The other day he was taking a nap on my bed and his eye lashes looked super long. And that little mouth is so sweet. I had to take a picture:



Brycen loves Bear. He takes naps with Bear and Bear also helps him calm down when he's upset. Brycen hasn't used a binky since he was four months old, and not because we kept it from him. He just never wanted it. He would spit it out every time we gave it to him, even when he was fussy. But if we give him Bear, he just sucks on his ear or arm to calm himself down. He loves that Bear:

We have a blanket that my parents gave us for Christmas last year. Brycen loves that thing! He will be on the floor and just roll around in it. He also likes to bite on it, which I think also has something to do with teething. He loves that thing:

Brycen has been known to watch classic episodes of "Rugrats" these days:

And he's still enjoying "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" as well:

Another stuffed animal Brycen really likes is his turtle, Timmy. My mom got this for him around Thanksgiving and he loves it:

Brycen is SO close to crawling! He just can't seem to get the last leg out from underneath himself. Check out his awesome pose:

He has a fascination with big toes these days. He's been known to suck on his own big toe every now and again. Or sometimes he'll just stare at it:

Or he'll try to suck on mine. (I know, so gross. I happened to have the camera in my hand when he went for it, so I grabbed a quick picture!):

Brycen has had some major long hairs going over his ears. The other night Tyson decided to give Brycen's hair a trim. I told him to wait for my sister Amy to cut it, but he couldn't wait. So now there's a big chunk of hair missing on the side of Brycen's head:

I've been working on a craft lately that has taken me over a month to do. It is really cute, but super time-consuming (as many of my friends and family have experienced!) Tomorrow is Valentine's day and I'm still not done with it. We'll see if I can get it up before February is over:

Piano lessons are going really well. I still just have the three students, but a fourth will be starting soon. I have more openings if anybody happens to have an interest in their child or children taking piano!

The recipe blog has been keeping me busy, but it's so much fun! I didn't realize how much fun I'd have with it. And how many visitors I get every day. It's pretty cool how people all over the world have visited:

And lately I've been a little lazy with diapers. Sometimes during the day when I don't feel like going out to the trash can I just toss them on the steps in the garage. Most of the time they don't stay on the steps and they roll all over. It really isn't tough to get to the trash, I just get a little lazy with it sometimes ha ha:

Brycen Notes

Ever since Brycen was born I've been filling up his book with little details about his life. And now the thing is overflowing and I'm running out of writing space. So this post is pretty much a run over from his baby book:

• Brycen does not like green beans. I bought a bunch and have fed them to him anyway just so I don't have to waste them. Today I fed him the last container for lunch and it was pretty entertaining. He was wincing a little with every bite, and about half way through his meal he started gagging on every bite. I couldn't help but laugh. He'd gag and his eyes would water, then he'd open his mouth for more. He was being pretty sweet about eating his lunch, even though he really didn't care for it. Poor kid. I'm so mean. But all the green beans are gone and out of the house. So no more green beans for Brycen! At least not blended up green beans. He'll be eating his beans when he's older for sure!
• Yesterday (Feb. 3) Tyson discovered that Brycen is cutting his first tooth. Brycen kept trying to bite on Tyson's finger and Tyson could feel it. I'm so excited for the little guy! He'll be a toddler before we know it. I'm just glad he lasted this long without teeth. They'll probably start popping up like weeds pretty soon.
• During the day Brycen watches "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and "Rugrats". And he really likes the Imagination Movers and Warehouse Mouse when they come on for a few minutes in between shows and during commercial breaks on Playhouse Disney.
• He's going to start crawling any day now, I can tell. He gets up on his knees a lot but doesn't go anywhere. Pretty soon he's going to figure it out and won't stop going!
• At the beginning of the week I noticed that Brycen was on his back by the chair in our living room. I was in the kitchen and thought to myself that I would go sit him back up in just a minute. He wasn't upset or anything so I knew he was fine. When I walked over to sit him back up he had gotten over to the railing by our stairs, which is clear across the room. He had rolled the whole way over. I assume that he did so because he rolled the whole way back. It was so funny! And I'd never seen him roll from his back to his tummy so that was exciting for me.
• Brycen loves to eat puffs. He has apple cinnamon puffs and sweet potato puffs right now. He also loves those little Gerber yogurt bites.
• We had a choking scare with Brycen the other night. He was in his highchair eating a Gerber cookie and he tried swallowing a bigger piece that had broken off. His face started changing colors and Tyson had to reach his fingers in his throat to pull it out. It really scared me. I decided I'm not going to give him one of those cookies till he's just a bit older. They dissolve really well, but not fast enough if he was to get a piece stuck in his throat like that again. Scary experience! {Shiver}

Happy Birthday to My Dad!

I love having birthday parties. Especially when they're for parents. Parents do so much constantly for their kids, there's never enough we can do to repay them. My dad rules. He is pretty much the most positive person I know. After his business caught fire and he gathered our family together he said, "It could have been worse." Dad, you're the best and we love you! Thank you for always being the greatest example ever. And happy birthday yesterday!

We started the partay the week before when my mom gave her gift to my dad. Jazz tickets for two, woo hoo!



The party continued the next Sunday (January 30th) with the official birthday dessert and more gifts.



My parents' children pride themselves on finding the best birthday cards for my dad. We've been known to find some pretty hilarious cards. And this year was no different.

paparazzi

Adam

Another good card

Wondering where the cake is that he's blowing the candle out on?

It was this little guy! I made individual mini bundt cakes for birthday cake this year and they were really yummy. And perfect size! For me, anyway. The boys all had two, they were tiny.

Brycen and family

Brycen loves his aunts and uncles!

Calling All Angels 2

Dear friends and family,

My friends Neal and Angie Guymon need some help with a project. On May 30, 2009, their dear son, Jayden, returned home to Heavenly Father after coming to this world earlier than planned. Last year Angie and Neal conducted a project to collect blankets made by family and friends that they could donate to a local hospital. They are both from Idaho Falls and currently live in California, but they ended up donating the blankets to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. They are doing this same project in honor of Jayden's second birthday this year. Please watch this video, and if you are interested in making a blanket for their cause please do! I know Angie's family and I would love to collect any blankets you make to give to Angie and her family. Of course, if you know her family as well then you don't need to give them to me. Even if you don't make a blanket, please share this video. As a mother that once had a baby in the NICU, those blankets really are something that those parents cherish. Especially knowing that loving hands made them. Thanks for your help! :)

The One with the "Rocks"

Yesterday morning I went in Brycen's room to get him out of his crib. As I went to change his diaper I noticed four rocks sitting on the dresser part of his changing table. I was totally confused so I just left them there to ask Tyson about them. He was the last one in there to use the changing table so I figured he'd know. My mom came over later that day and Brycen needed his bum changed. So we went in his room and I showed her the rocks. I picked them up and was showing them to her, trying to figure out how they got there.

Tyson got home at about 6:30 last night. We ate dinner and visited. Then later I remembered about the rocks and I took him in the bedroom. I picked them up to show him and ask him where they came from. He just started laughing and said, "Those aren't rocks. That's poop." I was so grossed out. I asked him why there was poop just sitting there and he explained that they probably rolled out of Brycen's diaper when Tyson was changing him during the night, and he just didn't see them. (Brycen has had some constipation so some of his poop has looked like marbles.)

I've learned my lesson: NEVER touch rocks. They may be poop.
Or something like that ha ha.