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!

Family Pictures!

So, I was in desperate need of family pictures since it has been over a year. I was absolutely dreading it due to the fact that Braelyn is almost impossible to get to stay still and smile. I asked my sister if she would give it a shot (as if she doesn't have enough on her plate). Braelyn knows her well and I thought that might help. She is really good at photography but doesn't do it professionally. She was so sweet to put so much time and energy into it! I was absolutely thrilled with all the cute pictures we got! Thanks a million Tammy, your the best!

Braelyn's melt down at the end of shooting!


Finally free to Run!

Mom Group

So, almost two years ago, I met Lindsey in the bow aisle of Quilted Bear. We started talking about bows and she was so sweet to invite me to a group of Mom's that get together with their new babies, coincidentaly all born the same month (and year). We have had so much fun through nursing, crawling, walking, talking and everything in between. I have been so blessed to be a part of such a fun group of girls. Thanks for everything girls!!!!

After swimming July 2009

At the treehouse museum - October 2008

Swimming at Heidi's In-laws - June 2008

January 2008 - 5 months old

Summer Fun!

What is summer without an ice cream cone on a hot day! Last night Mom and I took Braelyn to the park. When we got home we decided to have some cones! I love summer!

Just for Fun

So, I tried to do something different with Braelyn's hair the other day. I always wanted a little girl so I could do her hair and dress her cute. Braelyn doesn't think getting her hair done is so much fun. It is quite a fight to just get one little pony on the top. This day I was determined. It doesn't look perfect (because of her wiggling), but it was a valiant effort. I was so excited she actually had 4 different rubber bands in her hair, that I had to snap some pictures. I had fun trying to get her to smile and juggling the camera. She has so many cute expressions, I was thrilled to capture a few!

4th of July!

We had such an awesome 4th of July! My Dad was in town from St George and stayed at our house. We started out our day with our traditional red, white and blue pancakes! They turned out so yummy! We then went to the nature park and walked around the pond and fed the ducks. Braelyn loves doing this. Then we hung out at home preparing for our BBQ. At 5:00 the rest of my family came over for the BBQ. We had such a great time. We put up the kiddie pool and slip-n-slide and the kids (10 grand kids total) had a blast! We also played lasco golf, dodge ball, and soccer. We ended the evening with some fireworks in the front yard. Braelyn was pretty scared of the loud ones, so we thought it was better not to go to the city fireworks display. Thanks to all of my family for making this a memorable holiday and all your help with the yummy food!

They didn't turn out quite as pretty as I'd hoped.

It is impossible to get a picture with

all three of us smiling. Oh well.

Swimming time!

They were standing right over the sprayers and were

more interested in that than the picture.

Great Family!

Bubbles! Can keep them entertained for hours!

Braelyn was interested yet cautious of the sparklers.

Grandma enjoying cuddles from Braelyn.

She still isn't sure about all of this.