I have been working on this update for a while now. So here we go. Brinley's first Christmas was so much fun. I was more in the Christmas spirit than I have been for years. It is so much fun to have a little one and see the joy in their eyes at Christmas. We did the traditional Christmas eve pajamas although Brinley isn't too big on pajamas. She hates anything tight on her wrists or ankles. I have found some cute shorts pajamas in the last little while and she is much more amenable to those. Anyway, here are some pictures of Christmas. Brinley was absolutely spoiled by everyone!

She loves her rocking chair!




She has so much fun on her slide. She ran straight to it on Christmas Morning.



Brave girl!

Ready...set...

GO!

Brinley has become quite independent lately. She wants to feed herself. I usually just let her have at it. I try to sneak some Mommy assisted bites in as well so I know she at least gets a little bit. Here she is in action.

Oatmeal, yum!

What's that? I have a little something on my face? How embarrassing.

Brinley got a bounce house for her birthday, among many other things (thanks again to everyone who spoiled her!) Here she is trying it out.

We had a ballerina party for our little ballerina for her birthday. We were so glad to have so much family there. Thanks to all the great friends who came out as well. Brinley had 3 of her 5 great-grandmother's there, 2 of her 4 great-grandfathers, both of her grandmas, and 2 of her 3 grandpas. Whew, that is a lot of grandparents. I was so glad everyone was there. I want Brinley to always understand how many people love her. So thank you again. Brinley did so great even with a house full of people. We got her a cake just for her and let her dig in to it. Those of you who don't know, I don't let Brinley have any sugar, ever. I didn't even let her have fruit until she was 11 months old. She has a sweettooth gene that is strong on both sides and we are doing our best to combat it. It paid off. She played with her cake for a few minutes and then said "all done." It was a great moment. Here are a few pictures.

More to come late on her actual birthday and a pediatrician's visit update. Thanks everyone!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

My baby is 1 today. I can't believe it. I am amazed at how much she has grown and learned in the past year. I am the proudest mama in the world. I love you baby Brinley. I am so happy to have you in our lives. You are one special, loved little girl.

Wow, it has been a while

I have not blogged in so long. I always have good intentions but I never quite make it. We have been busy. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Richfield. Brinley was a little overwhelmed by all the people but she warmed up after a while. We got to hang out with the Berry's and watch Devan play basketball over Thanksgiving weekend and Brinley just adores her cousin Brooklyn. We had such a good time hanging out with family. December was busy. We drove down to Richfield for the Christmas party and the light parade. Brinley loved running around and seeing all the people. She did not like Santa. Am I a bad mom for letting this happen?

The morning we got back from Richfield I got really sick. I will spare you the details but I got sicker than I have ever been in my entire life. So sick in the short 3 hour span that I was up by myself that I was literally scared I was going to die. Aaron ended up calling an ambulance and I went to the hospital where they loaded me up with all sorts of drugs and got me feeling good enough to go home. It turns out I somehow contracted C. Diff. A nasty bug that I never should have gotten. It has been a slow recovery but I am so excited for Christmas.

Brinley is growing up so fast. She is already 11 months old. She loves Sesame Street and can point out the characters. She has been watching Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and loves to pretend she is dancing when Big Bird dances. She picks up on so much that she amazes me. She has such a sweet, happy personality and I feel so lucky to be her mommy.

I will do my best to blog more. Until Then Merry Christmas to all my loved ones!

How lucky am I? What a handsome man!

Thank you to my wonderful sister for taking and editing our family photos. Love you!

Thank you Thank you

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for Brinley. She got 2nd place in the contest! You guys are awesome.

Please Vote for Brinley!

Our little Brinley is in a costume contest for our local radio station 97.1. Please follow this link and vote for her

http://www.971zht.com/pages/halloween/cuties09/

She is entry 009 in the 0-2 category, the adorable little giraffe. Please vote!

Halloween is coming!

We took Brinley to Gardner's Village to get some pics of her in her new costume. Enjoy!

Sorry, No Pictures

Life is so busy, I keep thinking I will have time to blog and then the time gets away from me. Brinley is growing up so fast. She is walking everywhere. She can now walk faster than she can crawl. We took advantage of my last 7 days off and Brinley, my mom, and I went to Idaho to see the Berry clan. We didn't tell anyone that Brinley and I were coming. It was a nice surprise. We had a great time hanging out with everyone. Brinley loved being around all the kids but was a little fussy because she got a cold. We are all battling her cold now, she shares everything.

While we were in Idaho she started saying Mama. It melts my heart. She can now say Mama, Dada, Hi, and girl. She will wave hello and goodbye and she has a great sense of humor. She will be nine months old next week and I can't believe how fast the time has flown. She is the sweetest little girl.

Since I last blogged I also had a birthday. It was the big 3-0. I had to work for most of the day but when I got home my whole house was spotless, and decorated for my birthday. Aaron had invited Brandey and Codey over to surprise me and he had cooked a complete meal. Besides all the food, he made brownies and fresh bread. Brandey brought guacamole and her mom's home made chocolate chip cookies. All my favorites. It was an awesome day. Thanks to everyone.

I have an awesome husband. We left him home to work while we took off to Idaho and when I got home he had repainted our great room and kitchen. He also made us a new coffee table. The house looks amazing, it was a wonderful surprise. Aaron is so great. Poor guy doesn't really get thanked enough or appreciated enough. He is such a great dad to Brinley and husband to me. He takes the brunt of my grumpiness which is most of the time these days. So Aaron, I love you and thank you.

Oh and I guess I lied about the pictures, here are some from my phone.

More to come when I have some time.