Celebrating God's Gifts

Well my sweetie is officially two years old. I think almost daily of what an incredible gift she is from God. There are many ups and downs in child-raising, but I cannot imagine my life without her. I am often reminded that God gives us His gifts to bring our attention to Him as a good Giver. I pray that my heart does not become so full of my sweet daughter that I forget to worship my God first and foremost. I find that I revel is so many of His gifts to me as His child that I regularly need to be reminded to enjoy Him most, not just His gifts.

Anyways, we had a sweet day. Brynne is in love with Elmo right now, and our friends Kristen and Sue put together the perfect cupcakes! We had a little party with our Wednesday Small Group. It was so fun. If you get a chance, check out the video on my facebook page. Brynne was hilarious to watch as she blew out her candles.

One tradition I want to have for every birthday is her birthday plate. This plate was given to Brynne when she was born by Rob's extended family. She enjoyed having me read the notes from each person (over and over).

I wanted to end with just a few things we giggle at all the time:

*I always say "be right back" when leaving the room. Lately when I'm hanging with Brynne and she wants some alone time she will say to me "right back, Mommy?"...which means can you go ahead and leave for a little bit

*Brynne is totally OCD. Blame Rob for that definitely. Either way, if a door is open, a drawer askew, feet dirty, a speck of dirt on the floor - you name it - it must be taken care of. Immediately. Lately when she takes her shoes off she will ask for a wipe and then proceed to clean her feet. Okay, the clean freak part of her is probably from me.

*She still says "hold you mommy" if she wants me to pick her up. I love that.

*Brynne loves her crib. We are hoping to transition to a toddler bed soon. But it cracks me up that she will often ask for "cribby play time". This is something I made up when I needed to get something done and for her not to get into anything. I think I brainwashed her into thinking that being in her crib was actually fun.

*One thing I am not giggling about is potty training, however I know this trial will pass eventually :)

Wisconsin Favorites

Unfortunately our trip to get here was a very, very stinky one. It was my worst experience flying in a long, long, long time. All I'm going to say about it is if you get to the airport and the agent tells you first thing that there may be a delay along the way, turn around and go home.

However, we are here and enjoying the glories of the farm. My dad planted four new apple trees today.

We enjoyed a trip to Crystal Falls for breakfast and antiquing. I loved this drink dispenser and am still regretting I cannot get it in my suitcase.

On our walk along the water we discovered these little bird houses. I thought they were so fun.

Brynnie loves swings almost more than anything else. Nana and Papa were sweet enough to have one available!

We will let you know about our other adventures along the way...

All Things Girlie

Well, my sweetie (now almost 2 by the way!) loves living the girlie life. I don't consider myself super girlie, but maybe these things just happen naturally :) Brynne loves her shoes. She definitely already has an opinion about what she wants to wear and rejoices at finding cute shoes when we are out shopping. It cracks me up.

We had our first true haircut yesterday. I'm trying to have her grow it out, but it definitely needed some shaping up. She sat perfectly still the whole time. I'm not sure if she was just motivated by me telling her it would make her hair really pretty....? I had to giggle about how serious she was about the experience.
And perhaps her favorite of all is painted toenails. Although she calls them "nosetails". She is thrilled at the prospect of me doing her nails. I have to say, they are pretty cute in pink.

Well, I'm sure I'll have more to share as we hit big number 2. We fly out for Wisconsin to see my parents tomorrow, so I will also let you know about our adventures with Nana and Papa. I also hope to share a belly picture soon as I am now almost 26 weeks along! It seems a little bit more difficult to find time to dwell on our new little girl with a very busy toddler around. I'm sure I'll figure it all out eventually.

Can he really be old enough?

I don't know how many of you have a younger brother, but I really couldn't believe it two weeks ago when I watched mine tie the knot. I know I'm biased, but it was a fabulous wedding. I loved the focus on the gospel. I loved the vows they wrote to each other. I loved their park theme. I loved that they both played music and sang during the last song. I loved how beautiful they both looked. I loved that we ate brownies and ice cream at the reception. And I loved watching them run away through a huge line of sparklers.

I always enjoy weddings, but there is nothing like seeing your sweet little brother (not so little any more) get married. Unfortunately I did not get great pictures, but there are some wonderful ones on facebook. If you are friends with me, there is also a sweet compilation video on my wall (just in case you are interested).