HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO... ...

ME! Yes, today is my 27th birthday and I am not quite sure how I feel about my new age. My sweet husband just keeps reminding me that I am just getting closer to 30 than 20. Thanks Jesse, in just a few months you'll be here too! My day is going pretty well so far. It all began at 4:30 waking up to my sick screaming baby. Jesse was kind enough to take her downstairs so I could get a few more hours of sleep (I can't sleep if she I hear her cry). Then he made me a fabulous breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and hashbrowns. After that, he left to go swimming with the scouts and I made my Birthday cake. I have never made my own cake before, but I really wanted to try making an ice-cream cake since I like cake more than ice-cream so we'll see how it turned out. Now Jesse is home and I think I might go to Old Navy to buy something for myself with a gift card from my brother and his wife. Then Jesse is taking me to lunch/dinner, and his family is coming over tonight for cake and a Rook tournament! I can't wait, I love that game and I hope Jesse and I win! Here are a few pictures of me in my younger years :)

And this is a picture of my birthday present! It's a Lazy Boy Rocker Recliner for Brynn's room. I love it! We went to the RC Willey Scratch and Dent outlet yesterday to look for a freezer, and found this instead. It's something I have really wanted for a while, but wasn't willing to spend the money on cause I had my $10 glider rocker that I found at a yard sale. But this was in the clearance section for a great price, with an extra 25% off, and my awesome husband let me get it for my Birthday! Thanks Jesse!!!!

Brynn's new tricks

Brynn has been waving for a couple months, but is now doing it all the time. It's so cute! She waves at everyone and everything. She will wave at anyone she sees, especially if you say hi or bye to her, and she has also waved at people on TV and cars that drive by. It is seriously one of my favorite things. And when she waves at me and says mama all at the same time... I just melt!

Another new things she has started recently is spitting, a.k.a raspberries. It is so funny, and we caught a little sample of both things on tape tonight. Enjoy!

Brynn's First Christmas

Brynn on her new little bench with some stocking stuffers from Grandpa's house
Brynn playing with all of her new toys
Brynn in her Christmas outfit... our little Santa!
Daddy reading Brynn one of her new books on Christmas morning

Brynn's first Christmas has come and gone so quickly! I know she had no idea what was going on, but Jesse and I sure did enjoy spoiling her this Christmas. We began the Christmas festivities by going to my sister's house in the afternoon to have our famous BBQ (like my grandma used to make) and open presents. I am so lucky to have my wonderful sister close by so that I could spend time with at least one member of my family. Then we headed to Jesse's Aunt Laurel's house that evening to spend some time with family there. After that, we headed to Jesse's dad's house to spend the night along with Janice and Matt (Jesse's sister and her husband), and of course Adrienne who lives there. Brynn woke all of us up at 4 am. She must have known that Santa came! We had to wait until 6:30 though to wake his dad up to open presents. Then we headed to Grandma Shelley's house for breakfast, went home to open presents at our house, went to Matt and Janice's house for more present exchanging, and then to Aunt Laurel's for Christmas dinner. Wow, I am getting exhausted just writing about our busy day! It really was so much fun though and I am so happy that we are surrounded by so much family. It was a very special day for us, and we look forward to more fun Christmas's with Brynn.

Merry Christmas from the Shelley Family!

This year has certainly been an eventful one for the Shelley family! It all began with Jesse starting a new job in January at Fetzers Architectural Woodwork. He started out working in the shop learning all of the skills of woodworking, and then got a new position working in the office there which is where he is currently at. Sitting at a desk all day is very different from what he is used to, but he works very hard at providing for our family and does a great job at that. He is also flying in his spare time (which he doesn’t have much of these days). He is working on getting a little side business started doing aerial photography. Then he can make a little extra money doing the two things he loves and is so good at; taking pictures and flying an airplane!

Laura completed her internship in the counseling office at Mountain View High School in the end of March. This completed her Masters degree from Utah State University in Psychology with licensure as a school guidance counselor. This was a huge accomplishment for her, and she officially graduated in May.

Also in May, we welcomed a beautiful baby girl into our family. Brynn Marie Shelley was born on May 6^th 2008 at 11:01 pm. She came three days past her due date after Laura was finally induced for having high blood pressure. Everything went so smoothly, and we were so excited to finally have this beautiful baby here. Later that month, Laura’s mom came out for a visit from Pennsylvania to see her first grandchild!

In July, we headed to Pennsylvania to show Brynn off to Laura’s family, and take her on her first big trip. She did so well on the airplane (must be a natural flyer like her dad). We had a great visit with Laura’s family and friends. Brynn got to go to her first amusement park (Hersheypark), where she even got to ride a couple rides! We also took Jesse’s sister Adrienne along and showed her some of the sites in good old Pennsylvania. Later that month, we headed up to Yellowstone for Jesse’s family reunion. It was so much fun to see Old Faithful and spend time with Jesse’s family. We always look forward to this summer trip!

In August, Laura returned to work part time at Utah Valley University. Who watched Brynn you might ask… well she went back to work with mom. The office turned into a little nursery and Brynn quickly became the most popular girl at UVU! Laura was so thankful to still be able to be with her almost all of the time. This lasted for a few months, and then Laura officially quit her Academic Advising job in mid October and took on a new role as a stay at home mom. It has definitely been a huge sacrifice and a big adjustment, but has been so worth it.

The main highlight of our year has obviously been Brynn. She is such an amazing little girl, and we feel so lucky to have her as a part of our family. She is now seven and a half months old, and has already developed such a fun and spunky personality. She loves to talk (saying dada and mama constantly), roll all over, play darts with dad, try new foods, and wave (especially at herself in the mirror). We can’t believe how quickly time has flown by since she has been born.

We are also so thankful at this Christmas season for our Savior Jesus Christ who gave us all the ultimate gift. We are also thankful for our family and friends for all of the love and support you have all given to us. May your holiday season be filled with joy!

With Love,

The Shelley Family

Swimming

We took Brynn swimming last night for the first time and discovered that she's a natural fish. She loved the water... especially kicking her legs and splashing.

Gingerbread Houses

Every year Jesse's family has the tradition of making gingerbread houses at his dad's house which are then distributed to friends and neighbors. His dad makes all of the gingerbread houses out of real gingerbread, and we just decorate them. It is always lots of fun! Well, this year, I had the brilliant (I say that very sarcastically) idea of making real gingerbread houses for our primary kids to decorate at our class party. Jesse and I stayed up until about 2 am making the gingerbread houses, so I hope the kids liked it! We had them over to decorate houses, and had a white elephant gift exchange. I just hope the kids had as much fun as we did!!!

Our Pennsylvania Trip

Here are some pictures of our trip to Pennsylvania. It was really great to see my family, and for them to be able to spend time with Brynn, but we both missed Jesse very much!! I feel like I was calling him every five minutes. I did have a little bit of bad luck on this trip too. Just to give you a little idea of my weekend... it all started out by getting my period (for the first time in a year and a half) right before it was time to board the plane. What are the chances of this happening the day I am flying alone with my 7 month old daughter! I was totally unprepared, and that just sucked! Then I got the stomach flu while I was there so I spent a day and a half just being really sick and not being able to keep anything down. Luckily my mom was there to help take care of me... thanks mom! On the way home, my suitcase was 3 pounds too heavy, so I had to carry a little extra to avoid paying an additional $90 fee. Then when we were trying to get on the plane, the flight attendant very rudely told me that my carry on was too full and that I couldn't get on the plane with it. She left me there holding Brynn, a car seat, diaper bag, and my carry on suitcase totally blocking the way of everyone else trying to board the plane. Luckily, we made it home in one piece!

On a happy note, I was able to spend time with my family, do lots of shopping (I found so many great deals... $.99 and $1.99 racks of cute kids clothes), and celebrate an early Christmas with my family. It was fun watching Brynn open presents. She just wanted to eat all of the wrapping paper! So thanks to my family for a fun trip in spite of my bad luck. And thanks to Jesse for fixing our roof, and surprising me by painting the basement while I was gone! Isn't he great?!!!

Here are some pictures of Brynn from the past few weeks that I have been meaning to get on the blog! She is growing up so fast, and we just love taking pictures of her!! We had a great Thanksgiving (besides the fact that Jesse got really sick that day). Brynn got to try some sweet potatoes (real ones, not the baby food kind) and mashed potatoes and was a happy girl all day. I think she mainly just enjoyed having her dad home from work! Now we are just looking forward to his Christmas break.

Daddy!

I love my little girl! She has started saying mama and dada, and associates it with Jesse and I. It is so fun. Well, she only really says mama when she's hungry, and says dada all the time, and lots of times will say it while pointing to Jesse. Here is the best part... she had 3 poopy diapers today (which is a lot for her in one day), and everytime we were taking her upstairs to change her diaper I would ask who she wanted to change it, mommy or daddy. Each time she said dada and pointed to Jesse :) Then she would look back at me and laugh hystarically as if to say, yeah mom, we got him good! She is getting to be so funny these days... there is never a dull moment in our house. Her is a little video clip of us trying to get her to say dada for you. She has also started talking to her toys when she is playing which just cracks me up!

Brynn's First Ear Infection

Brynn has been so hard to put to bed lately. She screams as soon as we put her in the crib (which is not like her), and wakes up multiple time at night screaming. I have been getting so frustrated because I just don't know what is wrong! I just assumed that she was teething and that there wasn't much I could do about it. Then last night Jesse and I noticed that she kept grabbing her ears and pulling on them. After talking to my neighbor about it today, I was determined it must be an ear infection so I scheduled a doctor's appointment. Sure enough, that's what it is! I am so glad we found out what is causing Brynn to be so miserable so that she can get better soon. And I am especially glad that we found out before taking her on an airplane next week... that could have been a terrible experience!

Swimming Anyone?

First of all, here is a picture of Brynn attempting to eat my hamburger on Friday... just thought that one was funny!

Now for the big news. I have never been one to enjoy wearing a bathing suit, and especially hate shopping for one! I don't think I have ever tried one on that looked really good, instead I just resort to buying which ever looks "least terrible". I try to avoid bathing suit shopping at all costs because it is usually a depressing experience for me! So on Saturday Jesse and I were out doing a little Christmas shopping, when I got a call from his sister telling me that this swim suit shop called Hapari was having a really good sale, but that they were closing in 15 minutes. Since I no longer fit into my bathing suit (that whole having a baby thing), I decided it wouldn't hut to go look. They had the nicest bathing suits there... very cute, and very modest which is hard to find. I actually found a bathing suit that didn't look terrible on me! I liked it so much that I even tried it on again after we got home to show Jesse. I am actually excited to go swimming now! Too bad it's November :) Hopefully Santa will get me that Rec Center pass I have been wanting so I can try out my new suit!


PS... For those of you who might be wondering, I am done babysitting!! Life is great!!

Oh terrible week, please end soon!!!

I am starting to realize that one of my biggest weaknesses is wanting to help everyone, and not being able to say no! Here's my story... about a month ago, a girl in one of my classes was asking if anyone would be willing to help out and babysit for her sister. She then continued by stating that she was a single mom, and just needed an extra babysitter one or maybe sometimes two days a week. After she said that her sister lived in American Fork, I told her that I could probably help out once a week since I am home now. I gave her my number, and told her to have her sister call me if she needed anyone.

About a month went by and I didn't hear anything so honestly kind of forgot about it and went on with my normal routine. Well this past Friday I got a phone call kind of like this "hi, this is so and so's sister calling about you babysitting for me. I am starting a new job on Monday and will just need you Monday to Friday from 8-5, will that be ok?" I was so shocked and didn't really have a chance to think about it so I just said "I guess so". That was pretty much it. I was not at all wanting to babysit everyday, for 45 hours a week! She also told me how much she would pay me, and although the extra money sounded nice... it wasn't very much for 9 hours of babysitting per day... would it be worth it?

My answer for you is NO. It is not worth it. I have felt so stressed and depressed all week. The only time I have left the house has been to go to class last night. I hate being stuck inside all day, and it is so hard to watch someone else's child that I don't even know. She is a very cute girl, but cries and screams anytime I hold Brynn, or walk away from her. After one day of watching her, I told her mom I could only watch her twice a week because it was way too much for me, and I think today I am going to have to tell her that I can't do it at all after next week because it is causing much more stress than I need right now. I just want this week to be over so I can have a weekend without babysitting! I think I am finally going to say no for one of the first times in my life, and I am already stressed about the mother's reaction and haven't even told her yet!

Now on a positive note... I found a really good deal on a plane ticket so I bought it! (After looking for weeks, and having Jesse tell me repeatedly to just buy one because family is more important than money)- thanks hunny :) So Brynn and I are going to Pennsylvania 2 weeks from today to see my family! I am so excited to see them, and sad that Jesse can't come on this trip. I think it will be good for me though, and I can't wait for my family to see Brynn! I am already stressing about the flights though, and how I am going to carry everything and travel with her on my own!

Another happy thing... Jesse and I just ordered a computer! At last! I can't wait for it to get here! We decided to be completely irresponsible and spend some of my extra vacation pay from work on a computer. I told Jesse that I couldn't stay home all day without a computer and access to the internet! So I should be able to post pictures more frequently once that gets here. And sorry there are no pictures this time. I honestly don't think I have taken any this week (that tells you how crazy things have been)!

Looking back at the past six months of my life

I have spent the majority of my morning sorting through baby clothes so that I can get all of Brynn's 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes boxed up and put into storage so that we have room for all of the bigger sizes. It is taking so much longer than expected because it seems like every little piece of clothing has a memory that goes along with it. I picked up the little green pair of newborn pants and remembered how they were so big on her when she was about a week old, and they looked like little grandpa pants because they came up to her chest! Well, I held them up to her today and they look like shorts because they barely come to her knees! As I told my brother yesterday, my little baby just isn't little anymore! Don't get me wrong, I love the stage she is currently in. She is so fun and full of spunky personality. I am just wondering where the past 6 months of my life have gone. There have been so many huge changes, and life is completely different than it was just a few weeks before Brynn arrived! At that time, I couldn't even begin to imagine what life would be like with a baby, and now I can't even begin to imagine what life would be like without her. Jesse and I have become so attached to her over these past 6 months and both love her so much! I am so thankful that I am able to stay home and spend the majority of my time with Brynn. That has definitely been the biggest sacrifice we have ever made, and it has been so worth it. It is hard when money is so tight, and amazing at the same time with how things just seem to work when we are living the way we are supposed to. So looking back, these past 6 months have been more amazing than words can describe! I have the greatest husband a girl could ask for, and the most beautiful daughter (I am just a little biased). I am just trying to savor every moment with her while she is young!!!

My husband bribed me and it worked!

I have been known to procrastinate and put things off until the very last moment possible. Especially when it comes to school work. Anytime I have a paper due, Jesse has learned that I stay up all night the night before it is due to write it. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I waited until today to start a paper that is due tomorrow morning. My cute husband told me today that if I finished my paper before he got home from work, we could go shopping in Park City at the outlets tomorrow. I am sure he was secretly hoping that I wouldn't finish so that he didn't have to shop with me (he hates it). But guess what hunny, my paper is done and we are shopping tomorrow! I can't wait to look for cute things for my nephew who will be here in march (my sister just found out she is having a boy). Wahoo!!!!!!!!!

Our Flying Baby!!!!

I love this mid-air shot! We have discovered that one one of Brynn's favorite this is being tossed in the air by Jesse. It just makes her laugh so much as you can see in the little video.

Happy Halloween!!!

Today was a very busy Halloween for our family! Brynn and I went to Crystal's house this morning to make some yummy caramel apples. I discovered last year that Crystal makes the best caramel apples, so I finally learned the tricks of the trade. Then we dressed Brynn and Ty up in their Halloween costumes and took some pictures. That was so much fun! They both looked so stinkin cute. As you can see, Ty was a monkey and Brynn was a chicken. Then we took the kids into the salon Crystal used to work at to show them off. After that, we headed to the hospital to visit Lori and her new baby Makayla (what a cutie).

Then Brynn and I headed to UVU to visit some of my work friends along with Aunt Mer, and again, to show off that cute chicken suit! After that we rushed home to eat dinner with dad, and left again to go visit some of Jesse's family and deliver apples. It was fun to have Brynn and her cousins together all dressed up for Halloween. We were kind of bummed that we didn't get to hand out candy at our house, but it was definitely fun to take Brynn around to see everyone.

Weekly Update

OK, it's been a while since I have really updated our blog with pictures and such and I feel like I am so behind! Life has been so busy, but great. This past weekend, we went to Chuck E Cheese's with some of Jesse's high school friends, and then hung out with Jesse's sister Janice and her hubby Matt on Saturday and found out that Janice is pregnant and due on Brynn's birthday (May 6th)!!! We are so excited and were so surprised. Now we will be getting a new niece or nephew from my sister in March, and another from Matt and Janice in May. Hopefully one of them will have a boy since we have all nieces so far.

Monday night we had Jesse's family over to carve pumpkins which has kind of become a little tradition to all do it at our house. It's always fun. Another tradition Jesse and I have is to blow our pumpkins up after Halloween which I am especially excited for (for those of you who know Jesse, this tradition should not come as a surprise at all). Unfortunitely, I can't post the pumkin pictures right now because the card reader for one of our cameras won't fit in this computer! So I will try to post them soon.

Tuesday night was our ward Halloween party, but I didn't take too many pictures at that. I will be sure to take lots of pictures of Brynn in her cute chicken costume tomorrow!

Here is Brynn on the little teeter totter ride at Chuck E Cheese. She loved it!Jesse and I at the Ward Halloween party
Brynn with her cousins, Rhianna and Avonlea

My new life as a stay at home mom without a computer!

It has been a little while since I have posted anything, so I decided to post some new pictures tonight. Until I realized that I didn't know where the card reader was for Jesse's camera, and noticed that he and Brynn were both sound asleep. So I decided to do some rambling instead since I have some quiet time which doesn't happen very often!

This has been my second week officially staying home, and I feel like I am never going to get the hang of things. This is such a new and different life for me! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being here with Brynn all day, but I feel like I am not getting anything accomplished. My first two days of being home were spent sitting here thinking about all of the things I should get done, and then not doing a single one of them. The next few days were spent hanging out with my good friend Michelle, so they went a lot better! Then I managed to get sick, and then pass it on to Brynn. So I still haven't gotten into any kind of routine. Maybe next week!

I have been missing work, mainly my co-workers and nice students (only the nice ones though). But most of all, I have been missing my computer! I had a lap-top for work, which Jesse and I used at home since we don't really have a computer (mine died a little while ago). Well, I obviously had to turn that in on my last day, which leaves us without a computer. I hate not having one, especially when I am home all day. So needless to say, a computer is on the priority list of something to save for, so let me know if you come across any good deals! Jesse's sister is letting us use her computer for a little while, so thanks Janice!

But on a happy note, Michelle and I have started walking again every morning which has been fabulous, and I love playing with my little Brynn all day! She is growing so fast, and is so much fun. She loves to laugh and eat anything we feed her. Tonight she tried carrots for the first time and loved them. Honestly, I will be surprised if we ever find a food that she doesn't like.

Thirsty Girl

We went to Wingers for dinner last night, and discovered that Brynn could drink out of a straw. It was so funny, I was glad I just happened to have the camera!

Goodbye Hair!!!

I am very proud to say that I lasted 5 months without getting the typical "mom haircut". But once Brynn started puling my hair and constantly putting it in her mouth, it just had to go! So crystal chopped it off for me... about 12 inches of it to be exact. We are donating it to Locks of Love so at least I know I did it for a good cause. Now I just have to adjust to short hair again. It's been a while. I love my new look though! Thanks Crystal!!

Tagged!

I was tagged by Melissa and Tiffini...here it goes!

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. American Idol
2. What I Like About You
3. Deal or No Deal
4. The Suzie Orman Show (love her)
And I honestly don't watch too much TV so I can't think of any more!

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. Wingers
3. Cafe Rio
4. Pita Pit
5. Chilis
6. Rita's (Not really a restaurant... but they have the best Italian Ice!)
7. Macaroni Grill
8. Zupas

8 Things that happened yesterday
1. Went for a walk with Michelle
2. Went shopping and got some free items with my coupons :)
3. Played with Brynn
4. I actually did my hair for once
5. Went to work for the last time!!
6. Went out to dinner at Wingers with Jesse and Brynn to celebrate my last day of work
7. Went to Lowes and Sears with Jesse looking for a miter saw
8. Stayed up late thinking about making Jam, and then never made it

8 Things I Look Forward to
1. Being a stay at home mom (which I now officially am :)
2. Brynn's first word
3. Christmas with our baby!
4. Finding out if my sister is having a boy or girl
5. Every weekend so I can spend more time with Jesse
6. Halloween so I can see Brynn in her chicken costume!
7. Spring
8. Getting a pass to the rec center so I can get in shape again

8 Things I love About Fall
1. The leaves changing color
2. Raspberries
3. Hoody weather
4. Carving pumpkins
5. Thanksgiving
6. A lower gas and electric bill :)
7. Baking Pies and Pumpkin Rolls
8. Trick or Treat night

8 Things on my wishlist
1. To be back down to my pre-pregnancy weight by Christmas
2. Re-do both of our bathrooms
3. a new car
4. To not have to worry about money or finances
5. To go on a vacation sometime in the near future
6. For Brynn to go to bed before 10:30
7. To can more food from my garden next year than I have this year
8. To have a clean house that lasts longer than one day :)

8 People I am tagging
1. Mckenna
2. Niki
3. Meredith
4. Lexi
5. Camille
6. Crystal
7. Lori
8. Megan

A much needed update

I have been meaning to update our blog everyday this past week and just haven't gotten around to it! We have been extremely busy as usual! This is finally my last week of work. My last day was supposed to be September 30, but I stayed a little longer to help with the hiring process of my replacement. Jesse and I cleaned out my office last week which was a pretty emotional experience for me. But it is definitely worth it to be able to stay home with my sweet little girl. Jesse and I just can't believe how quickly she is growing. She is so much fun, and is such an active little girl, always smiling and laughing. And Jesse has been busy working hard as usual. He made me an awesome dinner tonight (stir-fry), and is busy canning pickles right now. He is such a hard worker, and such an amazing husband and father! Brynn and I are two lucky girls!

Here are a few recent pictures. I love the one of Brynn and her cousin Rhianna reading together. I can tell these girls are going to be good pals, they just love each other.