Halloween 2010

***I just realized this post was still a draft and never published!! Better late than never I guess!

Halloween was a lot of fun this year because Brynn actually kind of understood what was going on! It was lots of fun to dress the kids up, and take them to parties and take Brynn Trick or Treating! I was kind of disappointed because it was pouring on trick or treat night, but I decided to take Brynn out trick or treating anyway. We drove to the first few houses, and then when the rain stopped, we walked around the neighborhood. It was so fun to watch the excitement on her face when people put candy in her basket! I think my favorite part was her comment to me after realizing that people would still give her candy even if she didn't say trick or treat. She said "I don't even say trick or treat, and they still give me candy! So I am not going to say trick or treat and that is my deal"! She cracks me up! I decided not to take Blake out because it was cold and rainy, so he stayed home to hand out candy with Jesse :)

Blake 6 month stats

I can't believe Blake is 6 months old already! And not only that, but my little Brynn will be 2 1/2 on Saturday!!! These kids are growing up WAY too fast! Blake can now sit up on his own for a minute or two at a time, and is finally starting to eat baby food (it took him a while to be interested)! I am also just about done nursing him which is making life so much easier! He continues to be such a happy baby and we just love having him in our family! And Brynn is such a good big sister! She love holding him and feeding him as you can see in the picture.

Here are his stats from his 6 month check up:

Weight: 16.62 lbs, 28.49%
Height: 26 in, 28.21%

Family Pictures

I have been wanting to take some family pictures ever since Blake was born (mainly just to put an updated picture on my piano). Since I am WAY too cheap to pay someone to take our pictures, we convinced my sister in law to come to a park with us yesterday and take some for us. I knew it would be almost impossible to get two small children to cooperate, but I think some of them turned out really cute. With a few of these pictures and Jesse's photoshop editing skills, I think we should be able to come up with something cute to use to replace the old picture on the piano :)

Zach and Amy's visit

My brother Zach and his wife Amy came out to visit us this past week and we had a blast hanging out with them! The kids loved playing with them, and Brynn especially loved having Aunt Amy tuck her in everyday for her nap and at bed time! We had a VERY busy week, and I am still trying to recover from it! Last Saturday, my sister Mer and I went to a session of General Conference with Zach and Amy which was amazing!

Then we met up for lunch with some friends from PA (the Palmers).

oOn Tuesday evening, Zach and Amy were able to go through the temple for the first time, and chose to go to the Salt Lake Temple. I felt so honored to be there, and to be able to be Amy's escort...what a special experience!
On Wed we headed to the Aquarium in Sandy. Brynn loved seeing all of the fish and the penguins, and especially loved the fact that Uncle Zach and Aunt Amy let her pick out a toy from the gift shop :)



Wed night we ate dinner at Cafe Rio (so yummy), and then headed to Mer and Jeff's house to play Beatles Rock band. And in between all of that, I was able to sneak to the hospital to visit my friend Lori and her new baby!
On Friday we spent most of the afternoon at Incredible Pizza up in Draper. We ate lots of food while watching the original Cheaper by the Dozen Movie in the Drive in room, and played lots of fun games! Jesse and I played a game of mini bowling and lazer tag, and he took Brynn on the go-karts (which she hated)! All in all, it was a very busy week, but so much fun! We miss Zach and Amy already, but are so excited to go stay with them over Thanksgiving!

Random pics...

My boys :)

Brynn has discovered how to climb into Blake's crib which is not a good thing!!!
Brynn standing next to the sunflowers she planted in the garden.

Blake's first hair cut

Blake had his first hair cut almost a month ago (on September 18th). Above is the before picture, and below is an after pic. I wish I would have taken some during...but of course I didn't think about that!!

Hello Solid Food!

I decided to start trying some solid foods with Blake a little over a month ago and it has been quite the journey!! He wasn't very interested in rice cereal, so I waited a few weeks and tried again. Still wasn't too interested so I tried some other more flavorful baby food. Some days he likes it, and other days he hates it. He would much rather chew on a pretzel or a nice biter biscuit! I think he will love they day when he can have "real" solid food! I have also slowly started to wean him to formula, and am hoping to be done nursing soon. He doesn't mind having a bottle at all which is great, he just has a really sensitive tummy so I am trying to find a formula that works well for him!

4 month stats

Blake had his 4 month check-up this Tuesday, and was incredibly happy (as usual) at the Dr.'s office. His doctor was so impressed with how smiley he was, and said he would love to keep him in the office all afternoon! Here are his stats:

Weight: 13 pounds 12 ounces- 17th percentile
Length: 25 inches- 39th percentile
Head Circumference: 16 inches- 8th percentile

I have tried feeding him some rice cereal and even a little applesauce over the past couple weeks, but he just isn't interested in solid food as early as his sister was! I am getting excited for that stage though, but I don't want to force him to grow up too fast!

Being a stay at home mom

Jesse and I were talking last night and it got me thinking about my life as a stay at home mom, and how much things have changed over the past two years. He was listening to Dr.Laura on the radio yesterday, and a women called in who was having a really hard time with staying home. Dr. Laura told her that it was really important for her to have girl friends around to do things with during the day, and to get dressed up at least one a week just for the heck of it (hair and nails done...the whole bit). It made me think about how having good friends to get together with has made such a huge difference for me! When I quit my job and started staying home, I became so depressed! Don't get me wrong, I was so happy to have the opportunity to stay home with our daughter, but I felt like I had lost my identity and social life. I had a very social job where I was friends with my co-workers, and was constantly meeting with and talking to students. I went from that to staying at home. Jesse wasn't home for me to talk to during the day...I was left with a little baby who depended on me for EVERYTHING, and she didn't talk back. It was so hard! I had also just finished my masters degree. Really, all that hard work towards an advanced degree and I was just going to stay home??!! The worst part was that I felt like I didn't have any friends around to do anything with, and it was winter so I didn't want to go anywhere with a little baby. But after a few months came the blessings. I had a new visiting teaching companion from church who was in the same situation. She had also just had a little girl, and quit her job to be a stay at home mom. We became friends, and our daughters became friends...and the rest is history! I can not even tell you how big of a difference having friends to get together with on a regular basis has made! I can tell that I am so much happier now than I was when I first quit my job! Don't get me wrong, I still miss working, but I know I will go back to work one day when the time is right! But for now, I will take on all the sacrifices that being a stay at home mom brings! I am so lucky to have a husband who is willing to work so hard at a job that is not what he dreams of doing so that I can stay home. Money is so tight on one income, but it is so worth all of the sacrifice! There have been so many weeks where after the bills are paid, there is no money left for groceries or some other necessity...but it always seems to work out! My crazy couponing and stocking the food storage is definitely paying off! Sorry for the rambling post today, I just felt like I should probably write more like this on my blog since I stink at keeping a journal right now!!

4 Months Old

I can't believe Blake is 4 months old already!! I feel like time is flying by so much faster than it did with Brynn!! Probably because life is so much crazier with two kids! He is such a good baby though! He is so happy and always seems to be smiling or laughing. The only times he cries is when he is tired or hungry. It is great!! And he already move so much! He scoots himself across the floor or crib, and spins around in circles while laying on his back. I am a little nervous if he continues to move this much in the future! He is such a sweet boy, and we are so happy he joined our family!!

Demolition Derby

This weekend we went to the Demolition Derby at the Utah County Fair! Jesse and I went to it by ourselves last year, and had so much fun that we decided we needed to go in a big group next time. So that is what we did! We even brought the kids and they both did great! Brynn was so excited to see the crashing cars :) Some would consider this a "white trash" event, but it is so entertaining!!! We can't wait until next year!

Yellowstone

This weekend we went to Yellowstone with the entire Shelley clan! We always look forward to this trip, and were especially looking forward to it since we haven't been on a rip since October!!! Unfortunately, we were unaware of how different traveling would be with two children! I am afraid the trip was more stressful than relaxing, but we still managed to have a good time with family. I just know what to expect next time!

One of the highlights of the trip for me was the drive up there. We usually drive straight up through Idaho, but decided to drive up through Wyoming this time for a change of scenery. It was so much prettier, and so worth the extra 45 minutes in the car. We drove through the Grand Tetons which I just loved!! Another highlight was something Brynn said at church. We went to a small sacrament meeting near Old Faithful. I got a paper cut from one of the hymn books, and hunched over with a hurt look on my face because it hurt so badly! Brynn looked over at me, and then said to Jesse, "Mommy's trying to poop!" That entertained all who heard!

I am happy to say that although Jesse and I are both exhausted, we did survive our first trip with 2 children! The mini van was so nice to have on this trip...especially with the built in DVD player for Brynn! Blake was also quite the little trooper. Now we will have to see how the big trip to PA goes in November!!