Go Cardinals!

On Friday night we went to our first Cardinals game! Kenny's company gave them all tickets and I will have to say that is the best way to watch a baseball game. We were up in one of the party rooms and they had a lot of free food and drinks. They also gave Kenny (and all the other employees) a jersey and hat! The seats were all padded and comfy and we just loved it. We went with our friends from our ward, Jared and Terra Reed. Somebody must have known that Terra and I would get along so well because we seem to get put together a lot. We are visiting teaching companions, and she's the counselor over Enrichment, and I'm the Enrichment leader so we work together a lot for that, and our husbands work for the same company! It's pretty cool. We had Tyler stay there at their house with the babysitter (they have 4 kids) and we carpooled with them down to Busch Stadium in St. Louis. We had such a good time!


Terra and Jared

We won! I tried to get the billboard saying "home run" but it didn't quite catch it.

Brynlee's first MLB game. We realized later that Tyler went to his first MLB game when he was 6 months old too, only it was the Astros. Funny coincidence.

Brynlee even fell asleep on Terra during the game and took a little nap. She had just woken up here. Thanks guys for a wonderful time! I realized once we moved here that fate wants me to be a Cardinals fan. :) You see I have only ever played 1 year of baseball. It was some little league team in Houston when I was young; a team with both boys and girls (my sister Kim was on the team with me). I was not very good at all. But the point is, we were the cardinals!! Cool huh.

Saturday night we had a ward picnic and had a great time there too! There are so many fun people in our ward and we love getting to know them all better. I love Saturdays because it means I get to go running all by myself without pushing the kids and it was so nice. We also got a lot of yard work done which I'm glad about.

I love the weekends because Kenny will pay me compliments without even knowing it. He forgets what it's like to be around the kids a lot (obviously because he's at work all the time) so he will say things like "I don't know how you do this all day." or, "How do you get anything done with these two? I think it's a miracle you get anything at all done!" hahaha. I just have to laugh. Makes me feel like I'm doing an OK job.

Bryn had her 6 month check up this past week (a couple weeks late I know) and she's doing great! She's just above the 75th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference so she's very proportional :).

We're looking forward to another great week!

Rocking Chair

Here's my newest project that I've been working on the past few days! I found this stinkin cute rocking chair at the flea market for 10 bucks. I felt so handy buying an electric sander all on my own and putting it to work. Once that was completed I got a stain called "Early American" which I may or may not have bought just because of the title :). Anyway, I can't decide if I want it in the kids' room, or in the play room. I love it.

Do as I say, not as I do

I hate bugs and spiders. I really do. Any kind of insect, spider, or "bug" (that term seems to cover them all) is no friend of mine. The problem is, I have a 2 1/2 year old son. I don't want him to grow up to be a wuss like me. Any time I go "Ah!" and let out a little scream, Tyler looks up and casually says, "a bug, mom?" Kenny laughed so hard the first time he heard him do that, because it was obvious he had done it a lot. Which in turn means I must scream every time I see bugs or spiders. (You can also gather from this that we have A LOT of them around here!) It's not like I'm a 100% wuss, I do kill them myself. But like I was saying, I don't want Tyler to be like me because then he'll be made fun of the rest of his life. Little boys are supposed to be fascinated with and interested in bugs, not scared like me. So I checked out a book at the library called I Love Bugs and I read it to him every night until it was due back. I try not to scream when I see a spider crawling in our house. Also, if we're at the park and there's a big bee or wasp flying around I tell him that he's ok, and that it won't get him. (Have I crossed the line there and made myself a liar? I don't know.) I'm just hoping that Ty will pick up the things I say about bugs, not the things I do; otherwise he's doomed!

It's possible that I apply this rule to parenting far too often. For example, swimming at the lake. I am really not a fan of yucky lake water and swimming/walking where I have no idea what's under my feet or swimming around me. I don't let Ty in on that secret though. I tell him that it's fun and he's just fine, etc. Or when he drops food outside and I tell him it's still good to eat. I totally wouldn't eat it. And if he yells at me I make him go sit in his room for a 2 minute timeout, but nobody makes me sit in timeout when I yell. Perhaps I should change my hypocritical ways...but not with the bugs.

Remember Who You Are

This morning after breakfast, Tyler wanted me to help him down off of the chair. He has given up the high chair because it is now Brynlee's to use, and our chairs and table are pretty tall. I told him that he was a big boy and that he could get down by himself. And he did.

He does that a lot lately--asks me to help him when he's very capable. Like with opening doors, going down a big flight of stairs, undressing, and getting off the tall chairs. But all I have to do, is patiently remind him that he is a big, strong boy and he can do it. That little reminder gives him the confidence to accomplish the task.

I think I'm the same way, because sometimes I just need a little reminder of who I am. I forget that I am a daughter of God, and what that really means. When I do remember, I am able to do so much more, and it gives me the confidence to accomplish what I need to. Remember who you are.

Mom Update

Last post I said my mom was in a car accident and that she was totally fine. Well it turns out the horrible headaches she was having was actually her brain bleeding. Yesterday morning (after not sleeping the entire night) my dad and another man from the ward gave her a blessing. Then she went into the doctor, after looking at her for a while, an ambulance took her downtown to another hospital in Houston that has a good neurological something or other unit. They ran a bunch of tests and scans and kept her overnight. Last night my dad texted us all after another CAT scan and said that she was doing much better and they could hardly see any more blood which is great.

This experience has made me more grateful for the health and accident-free lives we lead every day, and I realize how much I take that for granted. I know people all over have to deal with different injuries or sicknesses, or help their family members go through it and we are so blessed. She could have been so much more injured than she was, and it really is a miracle.
I also love that my dad is a worthy priesthood holder and can immediately call upon the Lord's power whenever it is needed. They are very encouraged that my mom will be just fine, and I am so so glad. It's hard to be away from her and my family while they go through all of this, but I'm sure they'll be taken care of.

Whitey Tighties

Oh I love these kids. I changed both of their diapers and didn't put their bottoms back on. Then we were sitting on the couch and realized they both had white shirts and diapers on so we hurried and snapped a few shots and I love them.

We've had a good week. I had a big super saturday activity for enrichment, combined with another ward. We've done a lot to prepare for it, and now it's over and I'm glad. It went pretty well. Brynlee did great with Kenny too, which I was worried about since she's been so difficult this past week. She does have 3 new teeth on the top though and she is so cute. She's got a little flirty personality. She always tilts her head to the side and flashes a sweet smile at everybody.

My mom got in a car wreck this morning on her way to stake conference. The van is destroyed but she is miraculously totally fine (minus a little whip lash and headache) and I'm so thankful she wasn't hurt, or killed. But it really made me think about life and how quickly it could be taken. It only takes one time of going out on the road. You never know when something's going to happen, and it's pretty crazy how fragile our time is here on this earth. Some lady just ran a red light and that's all it takes. One person's small decision could lead to a tragedy for so many people. Just got me thinkin.

Anyway, not a whole lot to say. Life is good.

I would suggest not coming over here

...lest you catch some of the bad luck we've been having lately. Ever since we got back things have been breaking down on us. Our disposal isn't working, the A/C went out (but that was only gone for a day before we got it fixed thankfully), our garage door is partially broken. (It will go up when you push the button, but not down), Ty ran into our full length mirror and broke the outside trim on it, our kitchen light flickers on and off randomly, and that's all I can think of for now. I'm just hoping the roof stays in tact.

On top of all these fun things, Brynlee is teething like a mad woman. I definitely deserve the bad mother of the year award. I had no idea. I wasn't expecting more teeth for a few more months, I guess because that's how Tyler did it. She just barely got her two bottom ones in and now she's got 4 on the top!!! 3 of the 4 have just started to poke through. I feel bad because I was just thinking that she was just having some super attachment to mom disorders. I was frustrated that she wouldn't sleep through the night, or sleep for very long at all, and she even hated when Kenny took her. I finally saw those teeth yesterday and immediately gave her some motrin. Poor little girl. She grinds them together all the time like she's trying to figure out these new hard things in her mouth. I am glad they're all coming in close together though. Teething is no fun so we might as well just knock it out all in a few weeks right? Let's get it over with.

Despite these things, Tyler continues to go about happy and carefree. He has started making up songs about everything! He'll just start singing about what he wants to eat, the toys he's playing with, just everything. He's so much like Kenny it's amazing.