Braelyn's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my baby is already 2!!! Time really does fly when your having fun! Braelyn had so much fun at her little birthday party. She had all of her cousins come over for the fun! She was so funny when she was opening presents, she had such a scowl on her face, she just couldn't understand why she couldn't open up all these fun new toys and play with them right away. We feel so blessed to have this little angel in our lives! We can't even remember life without her. I can't wait for the next 20 years and all the amazing memories it will bring!




Birthday Girl!

The Flower cake!

She needed a little help getting the candles blown out

Mmm.. That's good cake!

Her favorite part of the party.. Ring Around the Rosies!


She Really didn't want to take a group picture!

Braelyn and Daddy with the new xylophone.

Braelyn on her new Trike!

This puppy was a big hit. No pants due to potty training!

Illinois Trip!

Jon and Braelyn

Braelyn, Nate, and Jon

Check out the huge lilypads in the water!

PaPa, Grandma and Braelyn


Our little family!

Crown of thorns. Look at the stem!

August 6th, Jake, Braelyn and I flew out to Illinois to see his family! We were (or I should say, I was) so worried about how Braelyn would do on the plane. To my surprise, she was an angel both ways! We got so lucky and got the only extra seat for her to sit in, rather than having her on our lap. Jake took the extra seat, and Braelyn and I sat together. Jake and I traded off about half way both times. It was so nice! As we were landing on the flight home, Braelyn was quite excited and said really loud "Woooow!" Everyone laughed and thought she was pretty cute! We flew into St Louis Missouri. Jake's parents met us there and we stayed the night in a really nice hotel! The next day, we went to the St Louis Botanical Gardens. It was so neat! There was so much to see and it was so beautiful and peaceful there. Then we headed for Quincy. Over the next few days, we went swimming, did some shopping, did lots of eating, and hung out with friends and family! Nate and Jon, Jake's nephews, had so much fun playing with Braelyn. They were so sweet to her. Braelyn also became very attached to Grandma and PaPa. She is still saying "Grandma, PaPa, ByeBye." She has found a picture of them and has been carrying it around for days. The last day, Carol took me to a holistic spa. It was so cool! It was a string of sitting in the aromatherapy hot tub, reflexology, massage, and a foot detox. It was so relaxing, just what I needed. Thanks so much Carol and Donny for such a great trip, we had a blast!