Both the kids are napping. This NEVER happens. Ever. If I hadn't just finished buying and wrapping all Christmas gifts yesterday, I wouldn't be sitting here typing out this blog post! It feels so good to have that done and move on to relaxing and enjoying the remainder of the month! The next worry is making sure we get all of it brought to Idaho next weekend. But for now, I'm going to enjoy this time I have to sit and write about my two favorite little people!
Brycen
Brycen is starting to pick out colors. He knows blue, red, and green but sometimes mixes them up. He also knows pink and gets that one right every time. It helped that I had just had a manicure before Thanksgiving and had my nails painted pink. He'd point to them and say, "Pink!" Now that the polish is gone, he points to them and says, "Pink? A go?"
We've been teaching him to say please and thank you. They come out as "pease" and "dank you". Sometimes he's not sure what he's supposed to say when we ask, "What do you say?" At those moments it comes out as, "Peank you!" We're just glad he's learning manners. I filled in the last half of nursery on Sunday and I noticed Brycen saying "pease" a lot. When asking for more snack, when he wanted a turn to blow the bubbles...I was so proud! The other nursery leader even commented that saying how nice it was that he was saying please. Proud mom moment!
Brycen is starting to say "blanket" instead of "bit". That has been one of my favorite Brycen-isms! His blanket has been known as his "bit" since he learned to talk. He still says "bit" every now and then, but he's starting to say blanket a little more. And honestly, it makes me a little sad. He's growing up right before my eyes and I can't do a dang thing about it. But it's also so fun to see him learn and grow.
With all the Christmas wrapping and shopping, I've had a lot of stuff sprawled out over the living room floor. Brycen's latest thing is coming in the room and saying, "Moooom! (with the drawn out "mom") Budoon ofentyo mess!" Ok, not EXACTLY like that. But for those who know Brycen's little jibberish language, you know what that middle part sounds like! I laugh every time he comes in and tells me I've made a huge mess.
We've always laughed and laughed when Brycen talks about balloons. He has said "bn" instead. I can't even say it myself! He's a pro at saying it that way, that's for sure. And when he gets really excited it comes out as, "Bn! Bn! Bn!" We're worried about a vein in his head bursting when he says it that excitedly! Recently he's started saying "boon"- another one that makes me sad. But I'm glad that he's learning to say words correctly to so it's fun. I'm going to miss these little words and that little language of his when it's all gone!
Brycen LOVES popcorn. He calls it "cuhcorn". Whenever we make it, we have to use the same bowl every time. When we lived in our apartment, I didn't keep all my kitchen stuff inside. A lot of it was left in the storage unit. Apparently I only saved one bowl that could be used for popcorn because now that is the only bowl he wants to use.
He also loves the moon. Since we went to the cabin one last time in September, Brycen has been asking to go out and see the moon every night. It's not always out, but he sure loves looking for it. And when it is out, his face lights up and he smiles. It's so fun to watch his reaction. Good thing he's getting "Goodnight, Moon" for Christmas.
When he says words like mouse or house he puts a little "sh" sound at the end. They come out sounding like "moush" and "housh". It's really sweet sounding.
Speaking of sweet, he's a really sweet and sensitive kid when it comes to little things. Babies, baby animals, small toys or small objects of any kind...He'll say in a soft, sweet voice, "Oh, toot!" (Cute) Or he'll hold the item up close to his face and hug it, while moving his shoulders back and forth. Then the "Oh, toot!" comes. The other day he picked up a little cutie orange and held it close to him in this same way.
Brycen loves to help with the laundry. He doesn't terrorize the laundry basket full of clothes anymore. Now he likes to put the clothes from the washer into the dryer, and from the dryer into a basket. He also likes to help me cook and bake. I'll let him put ingredients in and lock the mixer. He's such a good little helper!
He likes to reach in pockets (whether they be yours, mine, or his) and say, "No coins!" If he does find a coin, his day has been made.
The latest shows he asks to watch are "Mickey" and "Olie Olie Olie Olie" ("Rolie Polie Olie"). That show is still on, can you believe it? I remember when that started. Pretty sure I was in high school. Now it's on Disney Junior Channel in the mornings. We introduced him to "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and "Pluto's Christmas Tree" and that's all he seems to want to watch since Sunday. I'm sure glad he likes the classics though!
Carter
Carter is 6 months old now. Crazy!! Where in the world is the time going? He's wearing size 3 diapers now and just started wearing 6-9 month clothes. He still wears some 3-6 months, but he's starting to burst out of them at the feet. Carter is one solid kiddo. My parents always laugh when they go to pick him up because they expect him to feel lighter, but he's just heavy! He weighs the same, if not more, than his cousin, Tayen, who was born at full-term and 2 1/2 months before Carter. Carter has just caught right up and it's wonderful! You wouldn't think he was born 2 months early and weighed 4lb at one time.
We started Carter on oatmeal and over the last couple of days he's really started getting the hang of it. He'll even open his mouth for more before I even have the spoon out to give him some. Yep, sounds like our kid! Likes his food. We've been trying oatmeal once a day, then we'll eventually get to giving him more then start him on fruits and veggies at 7 months.
Carter is such a sweet baby. He's always so happy! Even at 3am. We'll come in his room to get him out of his crib and he'll smile and kick like crazy. He's just so pleasant. He's still super impatient when it comes to getting a bottle, but he's always happy. Brycen was the same way and acted just like Carter does, as he only cries if something is wrong: hungry, needs a new diaper, tired, in pain, etc. We've been so blessed to have such sweet, easy-going babies. And he's really a good sleeper, too. It's all about routine, I'm telling you. He goes down for a morning nap and has two more naps in the day before going down for the night between 8:00 and 8:30. He's always done really well with his crib. The first time we put him in it he had a hard time. But when he cried, we'd just go in there and give him his binky. He was so tired, and having his binky put back in and a calming "shhhhh" combined with a little stroke on the head from Mom or Dad was all he needed. Brycen was the same way. And they've both been sleeping well and on their own ever since. These routines have really helped Brycen sleep on his own and in his own bed since he was a baby. It feels good to not have any issues there!
Carter's reflux issues are still...well, issues. I hate to think of how long we're all going to have to live with this. Poor Carter. I hate that he has to suffer every morning when it comes time to get medicine! He has 2 1/2mL's of liquid Prevacid. We give it to him through a dropper while he drinks his bottle (We're not supposed to, but the taste is awful!), then we have to wait 30 minutes for it to settle on his tummy so he can finish his bottle. Tyson and I have been teased a little in this area. Those watching see Carter cry for his bottle as we soothe him as much as possible, waiting the five more minutes till he can have his bottle. Some see it as a little ridiculous that we don't just give him the bottle five minutes early. It's amazing how much of a difference five minutes makes. I've tested out this theory and Carter just has that acid crap coming up all day if we don't wait at least 30 minutes. The nurses in the NICU even told us to wait 45 minutes to an hour, and I can see why! Today I thought he would be ok if I gave him his bottle 10 minutes early, since we took him off it for a day last week and he seems to be doing a little better. Another mistake that I've been paying the price for today. So yes, 5 minutes does make a difference! He does seem to be doing a little better, but he definitely still needs the medicine.
Carter is SO close to rolling over!! He'll get up on his right side, then rolls right back because he doesn't know where to go from there. We've been helping him go all the way over so he can get a feel for it. He's getting so close!!
He smiles ALL the time. All you have to do is look at him and he'll give you a massive, dimply grin. He's such a sweetheart.
Carter loves music, especially the piano. We've used the piano as a way to calm Carter down at night when he's having a hard time settling down from being so tired. I'll hold him while Tyson plays. Eventually Carter will fall asleep in my arms. On nights where one of us isn't home, we put Carter in his lamb chair and play. He usually falls asleep in his chair. I'm amazed at how much he loves the piano. Even in Relief Society when he's fussy, as soon as that piano starts he calms right down.
Just like Brycen, Carter gets the hiccups when he laughs. I don't know if this is a common thing for babies, but both my kids have done and continue to do this!
Brycen was given a little soft, blue, musical elephant when he was born. And he wanted nothing to do with it. He wouldn't even really snuggle up to it. By the time Carter was born, that elephant still looked brand new. We use it for him and he loves it. When he's fussy at night and needs help going back to sleep, we'll give him his binky, pull the little elephant tail to get the music going, and give the elephant to Carter. He'll pull it close to his face and snuggle right up to it.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The One Where Brycen "Crashed" My Computer
I'm not really sure why I want to document this story. The fact that my heart came alarmingly close to stopping is reason enough to not want to keep this incident close. However, I decided I want to have this story on hand so when he's older I can tell Brycen about that time he almost killed his mom.
Life has been incredibly busy lately. Besides being a full-time stay-at-home mom, I often find myself thinking, "Wait, I thought I graduated college." I feel like a college student with a life full of deadlines and due dates. I love keeping busy and having so much going on.
But if I'm being honest, sometimes I feel like I've bit off more than I can chew. My recipe blog has gone farther than I ever thought. Regularly posting recipes, as well as promotions and reviews for other companies, gets a little crazy sometimes. I love it though, so I can't complain. And that little bit of extra cash isn't so bad either! Amber and I recently finished one of the biggest projects I've ever taken on. Ever. That includes college stuff. We were both getting migraines from staring at the computer screen for so long. That project was completed yesterday, and when we were finished I didn't know what to do with myself. Then I remembered that I needed to start planning my very first relief society lesson ever, as well as decide what recipe I'm going to feature on Mom It Forward next week. And just when I thought I could start one of these new projects our furnace broke and I spent most of my day trying to keep the kids warm. What a disaster! It got down to 61 degrees in our house. Thank goodness we have a gas fireplace in our living room that we could camp out in front of till the repairman could come and replace the fuel valve. We were without heat from 7:00 last night till 3:00 this afternoon. It was a cold time for the Millers! Poor Brycen sure had the sniffles this morning.
Ok, I'm done complaining. I really am enjoying the hustle and bustle of life and trying to keep up with everything. And I wish I could say the above is all that I have to do. But whatever! It's fine and I'm pushing through it all.
Rewind back to Monday afternoon: Amber and I had been working on this big project for over two months and we were about to wrap it up. We were going through it making sure all the details were finished and there were no errors. (I can't go into details on what we were doing or I'll spill the beans on a Christmas gift!!) This project was seriously a beast, but quite a joy to work on. I can't wait till I can tell you about it. Amber and I had spent a lot of time on the phone that morning. The afternoon came and it was time for Brycen to lie down on my bed and wind down a little bit. He was watching a Disney Junior Channel show on my bed while I was working on the same project with Amber on the phone. I noticed my phone was about to die but ignored it. Eventually it completely died and I lost the call with Am. I went downstairs to my charger, plugged it in, and called her back. We talked for a few minutes before I had the feeling to go check on Brycen. The last time I was on the phone while it was charging he found my hair straightening serum and squirted almost all of it onto the carpet in my bedroom.
I got a little nervous as I kept Amber on the line and ran up the stairs to check on him. I walked in my room and didn't find him. I poked my head around the corner into the bathroom and didn't find him. Then my heart dropped as I realized where he most likely was: the office. Normally Brycen stays on the bed during wind down time and we don't have any issues. But today was different. And sure enough, I walked into the office to find Brycen standing by the desk chair looking right at my computer.
My entrance into the room made him jump and he immediately started to cry. He doesn't cry in moments like these unless he knows he's done something wrong. I looked at my computer to find a big grey square with jagged white edges covering the entire screen, and a black Sharpie with the lid off on the desk. The first words out of my mouth were, "Brycen Timothy, what did you do!" I didn't yell, but I was stern in my tone. He nervously looked at me with his hands clasped together. I approached the computer and went to move the mouse to see what he did. The mouse didn't move. The little arrow stayed in place and nothing was happening. Just that big grey square and a still mouse arrow were in view.
I started to feel myself panicking a little and decided to try shutting the computer off. When I turned it back on, that creepy grey square was still there. This brought me into a full-out panic. I had never seen this before and I was freaking out. I thought for sure my computer had crashed. I couldn't remember if I had closed out of the program used to work on this project, and if I hadn't, I was worried he deleted the project. Then thoughts of all my pictures and projects came to mind. This was the part where I started to sweat and pace. I tried calling Tyson but he didn't answer. I just wanted to cry, but I was panicking so bad I couldn't come up with any tears. As I kept trying all kinds of things to get the screen back to normal, I kept saying, "Brycen what did you do!" in that same stern voice. I didn't yell, which is common for me in situations where something crazy or horrible has happened. I do a lot of talking and a lot of, "Ok. Alright. Ok. Ok. Alright," while pacing.
Brycen looked at me with a concerned face. I didn't know what to do. Thoughts of taking my dear computer to a computer doctor came flashing in my brain, and then in that same vision the doctors told me there was nothing they could do to fix it. It was at this point I could feel the tears coming and my heart slowly stopping.
Then I looked up and saw something pop on the screen. It had to do with my wireless mouse and how it wasn't able to connect to my computer. The computer was "searching" for the mouse. Then it dawned on me that whenever my computer has done this in the past, it is because my mouse was turned off and the computer couldn't detect it. Sure enough, I turned the mouse over and the switch had been moved to turn it off. Then that scary grey image came up again. I moved the mouse to see if I could do anything about it when a small box appeared at the bottom that had two options: "Save image in iPhoto" or "Close". I hit "close" and watched that big scary square turn into the teeny tiny image of a grey card I had saved on my desktop. It looks like this:
On my desktop it is teeny tiny, and whenever I have opened it the size is still only about two inches wide on my computer screen. I had never seen it that big before and still have no idea what Brycen did to make it that big. But as it was stretched so large as such a small file, the edges of it got super pixelated, or "jagged":
Can you see those corners and how they're starting to look pixely? Imagine this image the size of a 21.5 inch iMac screen. Yeah. Dang scary. I thought for sure my computer had crashed and this is what it was now doing.
After I closed out of the picture, my desktop went right back to normal. The mouse was working fine and all was well. I turned to look at Brycen and he was looking up at me with that same concerned face, hands still clasped together. I bent down and gave him a hug, apologizing for getting upset. When I told him not to touch Mommy's computer, he hit me right in the face. Big shocker there, he always hits lately. I held his hands, looked him in the eyes, and softly talked to him about playing with my computer. He responded with his sweet little jibberish and gave me a hug.
Then he looked at me and started to cry. When I asked him what was wrong, he showed me his hands. He had drawn on them with the black Sharpie and didn't know what to do, thus the reason he was crying. I couldn't help but laugh at this point. I gave him a hug and told him he could take a bath and we'd scrub the black off his hands.
This experience taught me a couple of things. 1) I can't leave the office door open if Brycen is close by to come in while I'm not in there, and 2) I NEVER want to have to go through a computer crashing. What a disastrous moment that I never want to relive, and praying that I won't have to! I'm doing all kinds of back up now just in case something happens to my computer for real. But for now, this experience ended well and I'm incredibly grateful for it!
Life has been incredibly busy lately. Besides being a full-time stay-at-home mom, I often find myself thinking, "Wait, I thought I graduated college." I feel like a college student with a life full of deadlines and due dates. I love keeping busy and having so much going on.
But if I'm being honest, sometimes I feel like I've bit off more than I can chew. My recipe blog has gone farther than I ever thought. Regularly posting recipes, as well as promotions and reviews for other companies, gets a little crazy sometimes. I love it though, so I can't complain. And that little bit of extra cash isn't so bad either! Amber and I recently finished one of the biggest projects I've ever taken on. Ever. That includes college stuff. We were both getting migraines from staring at the computer screen for so long. That project was completed yesterday, and when we were finished I didn't know what to do with myself. Then I remembered that I needed to start planning my very first relief society lesson ever, as well as decide what recipe I'm going to feature on Mom It Forward next week. And just when I thought I could start one of these new projects our furnace broke and I spent most of my day trying to keep the kids warm. What a disaster! It got down to 61 degrees in our house. Thank goodness we have a gas fireplace in our living room that we could camp out in front of till the repairman could come and replace the fuel valve. We were without heat from 7:00 last night till 3:00 this afternoon. It was a cold time for the Millers! Poor Brycen sure had the sniffles this morning.
Ok, I'm done complaining. I really am enjoying the hustle and bustle of life and trying to keep up with everything. And I wish I could say the above is all that I have to do. But whatever! It's fine and I'm pushing through it all.
Rewind back to Monday afternoon: Amber and I had been working on this big project for over two months and we were about to wrap it up. We were going through it making sure all the details were finished and there were no errors. (I can't go into details on what we were doing or I'll spill the beans on a Christmas gift!!) This project was seriously a beast, but quite a joy to work on. I can't wait till I can tell you about it. Amber and I had spent a lot of time on the phone that morning. The afternoon came and it was time for Brycen to lie down on my bed and wind down a little bit. He was watching a Disney Junior Channel show on my bed while I was working on the same project with Amber on the phone. I noticed my phone was about to die but ignored it. Eventually it completely died and I lost the call with Am. I went downstairs to my charger, plugged it in, and called her back. We talked for a few minutes before I had the feeling to go check on Brycen. The last time I was on the phone while it was charging he found my hair straightening serum and squirted almost all of it onto the carpet in my bedroom.
I got a little nervous as I kept Amber on the line and ran up the stairs to check on him. I walked in my room and didn't find him. I poked my head around the corner into the bathroom and didn't find him. Then my heart dropped as I realized where he most likely was: the office. Normally Brycen stays on the bed during wind down time and we don't have any issues. But today was different. And sure enough, I walked into the office to find Brycen standing by the desk chair looking right at my computer.
My entrance into the room made him jump and he immediately started to cry. He doesn't cry in moments like these unless he knows he's done something wrong. I looked at my computer to find a big grey square with jagged white edges covering the entire screen, and a black Sharpie with the lid off on the desk. The first words out of my mouth were, "Brycen Timothy, what did you do!" I didn't yell, but I was stern in my tone. He nervously looked at me with his hands clasped together. I approached the computer and went to move the mouse to see what he did. The mouse didn't move. The little arrow stayed in place and nothing was happening. Just that big grey square and a still mouse arrow were in view.
I started to feel myself panicking a little and decided to try shutting the computer off. When I turned it back on, that creepy grey square was still there. This brought me into a full-out panic. I had never seen this before and I was freaking out. I thought for sure my computer had crashed. I couldn't remember if I had closed out of the program used to work on this project, and if I hadn't, I was worried he deleted the project. Then thoughts of all my pictures and projects came to mind. This was the part where I started to sweat and pace. I tried calling Tyson but he didn't answer. I just wanted to cry, but I was panicking so bad I couldn't come up with any tears. As I kept trying all kinds of things to get the screen back to normal, I kept saying, "Brycen what did you do!" in that same stern voice. I didn't yell, which is common for me in situations where something crazy or horrible has happened. I do a lot of talking and a lot of, "Ok. Alright. Ok. Ok. Alright," while pacing.
Brycen looked at me with a concerned face. I didn't know what to do. Thoughts of taking my dear computer to a computer doctor came flashing in my brain, and then in that same vision the doctors told me there was nothing they could do to fix it. It was at this point I could feel the tears coming and my heart slowly stopping.
Then I looked up and saw something pop on the screen. It had to do with my wireless mouse and how it wasn't able to connect to my computer. The computer was "searching" for the mouse. Then it dawned on me that whenever my computer has done this in the past, it is because my mouse was turned off and the computer couldn't detect it. Sure enough, I turned the mouse over and the switch had been moved to turn it off. Then that scary grey image came up again. I moved the mouse to see if I could do anything about it when a small box appeared at the bottom that had two options: "Save image in iPhoto" or "Close". I hit "close" and watched that big scary square turn into the teeny tiny image of a grey card I had saved on my desktop. It looks like this:
On my desktop it is teeny tiny, and whenever I have opened it the size is still only about two inches wide on my computer screen. I had never seen it that big before and still have no idea what Brycen did to make it that big. But as it was stretched so large as such a small file, the edges of it got super pixelated, or "jagged":
Can you see those corners and how they're starting to look pixely? Imagine this image the size of a 21.5 inch iMac screen. Yeah. Dang scary. I thought for sure my computer had crashed and this is what it was now doing.
After I closed out of the picture, my desktop went right back to normal. The mouse was working fine and all was well. I turned to look at Brycen and he was looking up at me with that same concerned face, hands still clasped together. I bent down and gave him a hug, apologizing for getting upset. When I told him not to touch Mommy's computer, he hit me right in the face. Big shocker there, he always hits lately. I held his hands, looked him in the eyes, and softly talked to him about playing with my computer. He responded with his sweet little jibberish and gave me a hug.
Then he looked at me and started to cry. When I asked him what was wrong, he showed me his hands. He had drawn on them with the black Sharpie and didn't know what to do, thus the reason he was crying. I couldn't help but laugh at this point. I gave him a hug and told him he could take a bath and we'd scrub the black off his hands.
This experience taught me a couple of things. 1) I can't leave the office door open if Brycen is close by to come in while I'm not in there, and 2) I NEVER want to have to go through a computer crashing. What a disastrous moment that I never want to relive, and praying that I won't have to! I'm doing all kinds of back up now just in case something happens to my computer for real. But for now, this experience ended well and I'm incredibly grateful for it!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Amber & Alli's Birthday Weekend
I was lucky enough to get to spend my birthday weekend with not only Tyson and the boys, but my mom, Amber, Amy, Britney, Boston, and Tayen as well! It was SO fun and I didn't want it to end. We didn't plan a lot for the weekend but managed to pack it full of shopping, good food, and lots of laughs. And you're darn right, we took a lot of pictures!
Amber, Mom, and Tayen came the afternoon of October 17th. It was fun to relax and visit. I can't remember for the life of me what we did for dinner that night. All the days seem to be running together!
The next day was our birthday and we did a little shopping and went to lunch at Warren's, then Amy and Britney arrived. We decided before things got too busy that we'd get pictures of all the kids in their Halloween costumes. Britney and Amber brought Boston and Tayen's costumes along so we could get a group photo. We brought them all out in my front yard and had a great time! It was hysterical.
Amber, Mom, and Tayen came the afternoon of October 17th. It was fun to relax and visit. I can't remember for the life of me what we did for dinner that night. All the days seem to be running together!
The next day was our birthday and we did a little shopping and went to lunch at Warren's, then Amy and Britney arrived. We decided before things got too busy that we'd get pictures of all the kids in their Halloween costumes. Britney and Amber brought Boston and Tayen's costumes along so we could get a group photo. We brought them all out in my front yard and had a great time! It was hysterical.
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| Farmer Brycen with his chicken, cow, and prize-winning pumpkin. And we didn't even plan it that way! |
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| Carter & Tayen |
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| Brycen & Carter |
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| Carter |
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| Tayen |
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| Boston |
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| Britney & Boston |
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| Amber & Tayen |
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| Me with my boys |
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| Brycen and Carter with Aunt Amy |
We found ourselves laughing A LOT during this whole photo shoot. It was funny enough having all these cute little kids dressed as little animals and such! But other things kept happening that kept us laughing our heads off. First, Tayen kept falling over (as seen above). And Boston kept escaping just as we'd get all the kids lined up. It was too funny!
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| Aunt Amy and Grandma with all the kiddos |
We thought we'd get a family photo. This was the best we could do.
Before all the picture fun, Tyson and I went to the hospital to visit a
friend who just had her baby. Little Lizzie was born on my birthday! It
was so fun going to visit her and her parents. Fun to share a birthday
with this sweet little one!
We had pizza for dinner, then we opened presents. Amber and I always seem to have pizza on our birthday, and it's been that way since we were kids for some reason. It just seems fitting on our birthday, for some reason! We got some really fun things for our birthday. Britney gave us these temple tiles with our anniversaries on them. Fun!
We had cake after opening presents. Tyson and I went and got an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cake. Yum!
Brycen loved helping us blow out the candles!
(Don't hide your enthusiasm, Carter!)
I love my twin!
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| Bossy |
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| Halloween jammies!! |
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| Tyson brought me some really pretty flowers for my birthday! |
The next day, we went over to the Carter's store and to Gordman's for some shopping. We also had lunch at Zupas. It was delicious!!
(Thanks for the use of these pictures, Brit!)
Britney got each one of the little boys a "I Love Mummy" onesie. They looked so cute in them!
Britney left later that afternoon to head down to see her family. It was so fun spending my birthday with her and Boston!!
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| Nook time with Grandma |
Tayen and Carter had baths later that night. Cute babies in towels!
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| Tayen getting artistic with his bottle |
On Saturday, Am helped us with our family pictures. She was a gem and put up with my crazy picture taking crap. Thanks for your help and your patience, Am! (You too, Mom and Amy!)
That night we had Billy's Chili with Sweet Cornbread for dinner. It was so good! Then we baked some Halloween cupcakes. Yum!
Brycen LOVED helping Amber decorate them.
He got to choose what sprinkles went on each one.
He got to choose what sprinkles went on each one.
(I love these fun things he gets to do with his aunts and uncles! Fun memories!)
That weekend was a blast!!
{Am and Brit, help yourself to any of these pictures!}
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
We hope you have a delightfully sugary and fun day!
Love,
Farmer Brycen and his chicken, cow, and prize-winning pumpkin
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
For Tonight You Are Mine
All mine in your loveliness baby, all mine.
All mine in your holiness baby divine.
Sing on herald angels in chorus sublime;
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.
In that moment this mother, who had just brought our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into the world, was swaddling her baby and holding him close, knowing that He was meant for something special but in that moment was all hers. I sang to Carter with that same loving feeling and felt the spirit of the Lord in the room with me. I sat there with Carter unable to fully comprehend the meaning of those words and how such a sweet chorus could have so much depth. This beautiful baby was a sweet and helpless little person. The moment was so amazing but so simple. That tiny child was the Savior-the most influential person to ever walk the earth-but that night He was Mary's baby.
I continued on to sing the first verse, then I began to feel the emotion of the second verse as I began to sing:
Away spectered future of sorrow and plight,
Away to the years that must follow tonight.
The pangs of Gethsamane, let them be dim,
The red drops on Calvary, not Lord, for Him.
I focused on these words and started to cry. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be holding my baby, knowing that he would one day save all mankind. I wondered what she knew as His mother. I wondered if she knew the details of how He would become our loving Savior who sacrificed everything for us in the way that He did. I think of her singing these words and how, in the moment, the terrible things that He would experience were something she wasn't going to focus on. In this song she knew they would happen, but for now He was her baby. As a mother, I can't imagine being in Mary's place. There is a reason she was chosen to be the mother of the Savior and she is truly inspiring. This was a role that only she could fill.
As I sat there rocking Carter, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming love for him which, in turn, made me feel an overwhelming love for my Savior and His atoning sacrifice. I don't know if it's because the holidays are fast approaching and I have Christmas on my mind. But tonight, that song brought a greater meaning, and I felt the spirit so strongly in Carter's room. It was wonderful and just what I needed. In one simple moment, I gained a greater appreciation for the atoning sacrifice the Savior made for us and how we can live with Him again. I'm grateful for such a sweet experience to remind me what this life is really about.
image via Our Contest Nest
Friday, October 5, 2012
"Toon" and a Half
Brycen is 2 1/2 today. (Or as he would say, "toon" and a half.) Where is the time going? I look at Carter and I feel like we were just there with Brycen. My babies are growing right up.
Every month we take Carter's picture in a diaper to show his growth. I did the same thing with Brycen in the same chair. And every month Brycen wants his picture taken too. So far we've only had two times at home where I've taken Carter's picture in the chair, but both times Brycen has wanted his picture taken too. He'll stand right in front of me and say, "Cheese!" So I point the camera down and snap a picture or two of him.
Brycen obviously likes walking around in just a t-shirt and diaper. Recently, however, we've realized we can't let him do that anymore because he keeps taking his diaper off. Last night he was lying down watching a show on our bed when we heard him jump off and run down the hall. Tyson went to the bottom of the stairs to find a diaper lying at the very top. Then a half-naked Brycen came running by. No more bottomless days for this toddler!
Brycen loves Carter. I always find him looking at him like this, whether Carter is getting his picture taken in the chair, or he's in his lamb chair or lying on the floor. He'll just go up to him, smile and him, and stare. It's so fun seeing him with Carter. It was definitely a struggle for Brycen when Carter first came home, but he's adjusted really well. He's very loving and pets his head. He also gets protective when Carter's sock falls off or he kicks his blanket off. He'll go pick up the sock or he'll go cover him back up with his blanket. He's a very good big brother.
Brycen can count to two. :) He says, "One...toon...one..."
He has been really interested in the moon lately. He'll walk around the house at different times of the day and call for it: "Moon! Moon!" When he doesn't see it he says, "Uh no moon? Uh no gone?" We explain to him that the moon only comes out when it's dark so we have to wait to see it. When it gets dark we wrap Brycen up in a blanket and take him outside to look for the moon. We live really close to the mountains so a lot of the time we can tell it's going to be showing up soon by the light we can see, but we have to wait. It's cool walking outside, looking up at the mountains, and seeing a bright beam of light shooting out behind the mountain's silhouette. We show that to Brycen and pump up the excitement that the moon is going to be out very soon. I love it when the moon is out and he sees it. A big grin comes to his face and he yells, "Moon!" Last night the moon didn't come from behind the mountain till pretty late and Brycen was already in bed. That's the only night this week that he's missed the moon. (I need to buy "Goodnight, Moon" for him! That was my favorite growing up.)
Every month we take Carter's picture in a diaper to show his growth. I did the same thing with Brycen in the same chair. And every month Brycen wants his picture taken too. So far we've only had two times at home where I've taken Carter's picture in the chair, but both times Brycen has wanted his picture taken too. He'll stand right in front of me and say, "Cheese!" So I point the camera down and snap a picture or two of him.
Brycen can count to two. :) He says, "One...toon...one..."
He has been really interested in the moon lately. He'll walk around the house at different times of the day and call for it: "Moon! Moon!" When he doesn't see it he says, "Uh no moon? Uh no gone?" We explain to him that the moon only comes out when it's dark so we have to wait to see it. When it gets dark we wrap Brycen up in a blanket and take him outside to look for the moon. We live really close to the mountains so a lot of the time we can tell it's going to be showing up soon by the light we can see, but we have to wait. It's cool walking outside, looking up at the mountains, and seeing a bright beam of light shooting out behind the mountain's silhouette. We show that to Brycen and pump up the excitement that the moon is going to be out very soon. I love it when the moon is out and he sees it. A big grin comes to his face and he yells, "Moon!" Last night the moon didn't come from behind the mountain till pretty late and Brycen was already in bed. That's the only night this week that he's missed the moon. (I need to buy "Goodnight, Moon" for him! That was my favorite growing up.)
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