Life

Got some cute pictures on my phone. Better document them!! 

They "played" in Maya's crib for 30 minutes. Every time I asked Maya if she wanted out, she said no. In the next picture she is making Brianna wave "hello"!

We were gifted a double Bob Revolution stroller by my mother in law. I have been intimidated to take it for a run, but decided to give it a shot today. I loved it and I'm really excited to put running back into my exercise routine! These last few baby pounds are being pretty stubborn. Brianna was really content in it and fell asleep just before we got home. 

I painted my fingernails today! First time in forever. I love how feminine it makes me feel, even if they are already chipping. Darn activities that require my hands!

When we got back from our run I watered our new trees, and there was some run-off that Maya discovered. I decided to let her play in it a little, even though it meant a muddy baby and soaking wet pants and diaper. She had a blast. 

And then afterwards we did this, and she got to spend the rest of the evening in just a diaper. Please overlook the fact that there is a paring knife and pizza cutter within her reach. Oooops. (Never mind the fact that she also sucked on a highlighter today while I was making her lunch. Don't worry, poison control said she's fine.)

Estes Park Day!

I got to take my girls to Estes Park with my grandma, mom, and Holly. It was a great day that miraculously started with Maya sleeping in until 10:15 AM. So unheard of!! But it was a blessing because she had been up a lot in the night, and if she hadn't slept in she would have been no fun. No fun at all. It was also convenient that I didn't have to worry about messing up her nap because she wouldn't need one. Tender mercies. 

We started our day at Grumpy Gringo's, the Mexican restaurant we eat at every time we go to Estes Park. 

Maya enjoyed smelling candles. 

We all got delicious cookies! A nice woman passing by exclaimed, "Now that's a picture!" So I threw my phone at her and made her take one. 

We watched a man demonstrate glass blowing. Maya sat through the whole thing. 

And of course sweet Brianna was just along for the ride. She did great hanging out with us. 

Maya found this purple sparkly infinity scarf at the beginning of the day. Actually, she picked something out to hold in pretty much every store we went into. But this was the only item that she threw a fit about having to leave behind. So at the end of the day my grandma slipped back into the shop and got it for her. Maya was thrilled. 

Estes Park has always been a special place for me, and I so look forward to these trips every summer. 

Brianna - 2 Months

Brianna is now 2 months old! Amazing how time flies. She is such a sweet little baby.

She now weighs 10 lbs 5 oz and is in the 50th percentile. It is starting to seem likely that she is going to end up being bigger than Maya was/is.

Her hair is so fun! We get compliments on it whenever we go out. She's thisclose to needing a bang trim, and still has no bald spots.

She is such a happy baby. She almost never cries, and when she does it is one of three things: "I'm hungry", "I'm tired", or simply "Put me down!" She has a bit more of an independent streak, which I love. She is happy to lay in the bassinet and watch me cook, eat, do the dishes, etc. She is always smiling, cooing, and looking around.

She is starting to sleep in longer stretches at night. She goes to bed around 8 PM, wakes up once during the night (lately around 2:15 AM), and then is usually up for the day around 6:30 AM. At her doctor appointment yesterday I was given the go ahead to start sleep training/night weaning her since she's old enough and gaining weight sufficiently. That will be starting as soon as her bad reaction from the immunizations gets better (poor thing has never cried or whimpered this much!).

This is her room. I love it. It is very... princess-y. :)

Maya was playing peek-a-boo with Brianna. These two are going to have a blast together someday!

Texas Trip 2014

The last week of August was spent in hot and humid Galveston, TX. It was a reunion of sorts, with a main focus on celebrating Grandma Lois' 90th birthday. Our flight there was a dream. I sat and read my book with a sleeping baby, and Ryan sat many rows in front of me with a toddler that occupied her time with coloring and reading books.

We were so excited to take Maya to the beach. And we were not disappointed! She loved the water and the sand. Our first day there she got to spend a couple of hours playing outside.

Brianna was loved and held a lot. Her Uncle Joel really seemed to love holding her.

I thought it was neat that my toenails matched the color of the wet sand!

I got to take Brianna in the ocean! Well, sort of. She slept through the whole experience.

Ryan spent the most time with Maya when she was in the ocean. I only took her out once, but that's okay. I trust Ryan's grip better than mine!

She loved having the waves splash into her!

And of course she knew to hang on for dear life!!

I waited patiently for their safe return. :)

Fun family beach photo! I would definitely say the sun was hot and bright that day.

The last day we were there it rained alllll day. It finally cleared up in the late afternoon, and we were able to take some family photos. I love this candid shot!

Our lovely hosts, Kent and Lalo. They were kind enough to rent a large beach house for us to all stay in. It was fun to get to stay right on the beach. In fact, we never left the house until the dinner celebration for Lois' birthday on the last evening.

I love spending time at the beach with Ryan! 

Here is the whole gang. All of the extended family on Ryan's dad's side. It was a good crowd!

That night we went to dinner at a close by restaurant. The food was pretty good, and afterwards Lois was presented with a birthday cake and we all sang to her. I think she was a little confused, because, as she reminded us, her birthday is August 3rd, not August 28th! She was a good sport though. :)

Brianna was quite content in Grandma's arms. She must have felt safe there.

When we got back to the house Maya climbed up on this chair and wanted to hold Brianna. Perfect photo-op! This is the best one.

The others are:

That night Maya woke up crying around 10:30 PM because she couldn't breathe. A cold had set in. She was also wheezing and had a croupy cough. Thank goodness Brianna stayed asleep, but it was sad to hear Maya struggling so much. She finally fell asleep at 12:15 AM. Needless to say, the return flight home the next morning was much less of a good type of dream, but we managed. 

It was a fun vacation, and I'm so glad that we were able to go!

Brianna's Blessing

On September 7, 2014, Ryan gave Brianna a name and a blessing. We had many guests in our home to celebrate this occasion. Brianna wore the same dress that Maya did. In fact, when we found out we were having another girl, one of my first thoughts was that we would get to use that blessing dress again! I love it and think it's beautiful.

Brianna's middle name, Joyce, is for my wonderful grandma Joycelyn. She is a very dear woman to me, and much of my best childhood memories involve her. Every summer for many years she hosted a Grandma's Week - bringing all of her grandchildren together to spend time at the cabin she and Grandpa built in the mountains (so so fun), along with other activities. She was always so welcoming to our family in her home. She makes AMAZING chocolates! She has helped the holiday season become very special to me. When I was younger she had an elaborate Christmas display in her home, and I cherished seeing it every year. She is setting it up one last time after many years of not having it up, per my request, so you can bet we are going to her house for Christmas this year! She is the happiest person I have ever met, always smiling and laughing. She is a breast cancer survivor, and even throughout her battle she was making jokes about her experience and always finding a way to be positive. I have always known that she loves and cares for me, even when I was a snotty teenager who might have said rude things sometimes. I could go on and on, but overall, she's one of the sweetest people I know and I wanted to honor her by giving Brianna her name. 

Ryan gave her a very sweet blessing. The most touching part to me was when he told her that she will be a peacemaker in our home. I truly believe that she will exemplify that role.

4 generations on my mom's side!

I so love her perfect and sweet spirit. I feel undeserving to have received another wonderfully easy baby. (I've been knocking on wood like it's going out of style!)

4 generations on my dad's side! I love you, Sessie!!

Maya slept until after the blessing and pictures were done, which was somewhat convenient. After the blessing we had a late lunch and socialized for a couple of hours. It was a great celebration, and I'm grateful to everybody who was able to attend!