The Brown Bunch

Enchilada Pot Pie Casserole

2012-02-01T16:12:00.001-05:00

I came up with this creation when trying to use leftover ingredients before going to Utah for a month and we thought it was surprisingly good. So, I made it again yesterday and it was even better! So, I thought I'd share.

Here's howI did it this time:

1 can green enchilada sauce

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can mixed veggies ( I recommend one with potatoes)

2 chicken breasts cut up and cooked

1 container biscuits

1-2 Cups grated cheddar cheese

Cook the chicken and season as you like. I used salt and sage. Cut up the biscuits into fourths (or eighths if you want smaller chunks). Combine all ingredients in a 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. It should be golden brown on the top.

Zander's Blessing

2012-01-25T17:23:00.002-05:00

I decided this deserved a post of its own. Because we're members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a blessing ordinance for babies. We waited to perform Zander's special blessing until we got to Utah so that family and home friends could participate. He was too big for Preston's old outfit that Brayden wore, so we bought a new one. And boy did he look adorable!! The blessing was beautiful! I am the worst at taking notes of blessings. I don't even think about it until they're starting and do I have paper and pen? Nope. So, it's all in the memory. Correction - whatever's in the memory is all I got :) And I had a Brayden distracting me for a small part of it :( But, I heard a lot about love. About us loving him and him loving his Savior and life. I know there was a ton more, but love was the theme that I noticed. And it's a perfect one for our Zander Charles Brown. He is a happy, loving baby! We were lucky to have lots of people come to support us and Zander and it was a really fun experience having it at home instead of in the chapel!

handsome boy before the blessing

All the priesthood holders who participated

The mortensens with Zander

Proud Mum mum

The Bakers with Zander

Our little Family

Christmas

2012-01-25T17:06:00.000-05:00

Only two catch-up posts left! One after this. Hope you enjoy!

I know Christmas is long gone, but I still wanted to post about the great time we had. I'm lumping our whole vacation into "Christmas" because, well, that's the reason we were gone. I got to spend a whole month with family, which was great.

I left on Dec. 10 and flew to San Diego for a little girls (and kids) getaway with my sister, Mom, and Grammy. We spent about a week there. Mostly going on walks, relaxing, some hot tubbing, one day at the beach (but not the water. . . too cold), and we even tried the pool. Pool was not a good idea. Brayden had goose bumps while he swam and then he whined after getting out because he was frozen so we had him dry off in the sauna. But he was a trooper. I was the lucky, sacrificing mother who got to get in with Brayden and you better believe I went strait to the hot tub while my mom took Brayden to the sauna. I met them in there. Brayden, Zander and Makaila loved being with their Grandy and Grammy and got some good bonding time.

After that, we all went to Utah and I met up with Preston and the rest of our families. Things of note that we did:
- Zander got his special name and blessing in my parents home
- I got to see my little brother for the first time in 2 1/2 years! (he was serving a mission in the New York, New York South mission.)
- We played lots of new boardgames
- I got to go to the temple with my sister (so much closer! and no need for baby swap!)
- I saw a ton of high school friends! I need to better at staying in touch!
- We met our newest little niece and nephew - they're 3 yr old foster twins that Preston's sister has.
- We saw Preston's grandma for what we both feel like will be the last time.
- Went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert
- Stayed up til 3:30am playing with cousins and aunts/uncles on New Year's Eve. We had 9 am church the next morning.
- And last but not least, we opened presents! More than we expected (again). We planned on checking 2 suitcases. We needed 4. :) Such generous family.

Here's the good stuff- pictures!

Flying out to San Diego

Did I mention my Mom came to help me out? THANKS MOM!!

Brayden's battle wound from the elevator... now I understand why kids should't touch the doors. In Brayden's defense (and partly mine as the responsible adult), he wasn't actually trying to touch the door. The door opened for an older couple that was with us and the husband was trying to keep Brayden from exiting too early, so he put his hand in front of Brayden to block his path. Next thing ya know, Brayden was crying and his finger was jammed pretty good in the door. But, he was very brave!

A boat parade of Christmas lights!

Brayden and Grammy watching the boats

Bathtime with Grandy

A makeshift baby seat. Brayden would push him around in there :)

Swimming outdoors in 60 degree weather. Cold.

Cute cousins

Brayden likes fitting in small spaces. He seriously asked me to put him in there. He opened the cupboard, pointed and said "up?"

Once there was a snowman named Zander

Old roommates!

This is the Up house replica. Right in the neighborhood of my old roommate, Ka.

Before haircut

After haircut

Christmas morning at the Brown's! (we did Christmas two days in a row, so this was technically Christmas Eve morn)

7am - can you tell?

Zander with his great-Grandma C. Possibly the only time he will ever meet her.

Our fun Christmassy family. Brayden's shirt is a little elf :)

Meet Zander Clause

Christmas Dinner

Brayden's new favorite place. . . in the dog kennel. Jack liked it because Brayden would let him out when no one was looking :)

Long story, but the short explaination is that this is performing artist Colby Rampton and his wife after a private performance thanks to my little brother Dan (also in the pic). Preston stayed home with his fam while he can. But, one of "our songs" (our favorite one) is done by a group Colby used to be in - Loose Change. It's called the dragon song. Look it up. My fav.

Smiles with Aunt Beck

New Year's fun for the kids before bedtime. We (not the kids) stayed up 'til 4.

Brayden's Two-day

2012-01-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

Hehe. I thought the title was clever :) It was over a month ago, but Brayden turned 2!!! It was a disappointment to me because I happen to think birthdays are a big deal and we had a couple things we HAD to do on his birthday and Preston still had work, etc. So, we didn't really do too much. But he got a special traditional birthday breakfast (the waffles/pancakes with pie filling and ice cream topping) and blew out the candle on a doughnut. Yup, no cake. We planned on doing the whole cake shebang in Utah, but that never happened. At least he's only two and will never remember :) We also had the ward party that night, so he kinda had a party and got to see friends.

The best thing about the day: singing "Happy Birthday" to wake him up and seeing his big grin.

The worst thing: we now have to pay for his plane tickets. . . going home just got a lot tougher :)

Here's some pics to document the fun day. I do have to clarify that it still was a fun day. I just wanted to do more special things :) hehe.

Some of his breakfast. And a silly face.

I think this is a great picture!

Pre-ward party

bundled as a snowman

Fishing at the ward

Getting pictures with the props

Play Time

2012-01-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we played hard, me and the boys. We traded toy bins, which was extra exciting since there's new Christmas toys in all of them! There was a little Choo choo train that Zander got that spits balls out the top and Brayden was loving it for the longest time. When I finally had the good sense to let Zander be involved, Brayden loved it even more. He wanted Zander to keep putting the balls in the train. It was awesome. Reminder to me that families that play together, stay together. Plus, I got my first pics of the boys together that I like! (it only took 5 months :) )

And while we're at it, here's some more pics of the best boys from the past week.

Flying a kite on MLK day

I was actually surprised that Brayden didn't let go of the kite at all.
He just kept walking with it.

Zander loves to grab his toes these days.

Cute feet and a good grip

And the play mat goes to the mouth. . . just like everything Zander gets a hold of.

I'm the luckiest Momma, if you ask me. Speaking of Moms. . . HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! It was yesterday, but it still counts :) I wish we could've celebrated with you! And this concludes another attempt to catch up on the blog.

2011 in Review

2012-01-13T13:29:00.001-05:00

This year I'm trying out an idea that I got on pinterest - writing down funny/momentous things that happen during the year and putting them into our "2012 jar." But, I was remembering how much has happened this last year that I thought maybe I should try and pick my brain for a few things from 2011. Here's some I've come up with:

-Brayden got a tiny cast on (and then off of course)
-We got a free pretzel at Disney World just because we asked for one (we were actually jokin around, but we didn't turn it down!)
-We found a full on cockroach baked into a grilled chicken that my mom bought us from somewhere (I figure I shouldn't spread bad things around about the actual place. . . especially because we like it a lot!) They asked to keep the cockroach, but sent us with the old chicken and a whole new one as well. We cut around where the cockroach had been and still ate it :)
-Brayden moved into a toddler bed
-Zander was born!
-Preston's parents came to visit

Yeah, I couldn't think of a ton of the really good details, but there's a couple :) Can't wait for next year when it'll all be written down so I can share some good stuff!!

Family Pictures

2012-01-08T14:05:00.001-05:00

I fell off the the edge of the blogging world, but have returned with some great pictures. While in Utah we got pictures with Preston's family and my family as well. I don't have the CD from the Brown's yet, but here's some from the Doxey shoot.

Also, since the last post:

Brayden turned 2! (not gonna lie. . . he got a little gipped this year. We were gonna celebrate in Utah, but it never happened. We did do a few special things on his actual birthday though)
Zander has rolled over a couple more times
we had CHRISTMAS!!!
Spent 3 weeks in Utah
Me and the kiddos had a girls getaway in San Diego with my Mom, Sister and Grammy.

Growing up, sickness round 3 and travels

2011-11-30T15:34:00.001-05:00

so much for the new blogging plan, but I do still like the idea. I've just been busy. With what? Well. . .

1. My boys, who are growing up so fast!

2. My SICK boys who have a 3rd round of the stinkin common cold. I don't know how much more of this I can handle. If you have sick children, please keep them away!! No offense.

3. We've been on the go constantly. After we were in Orlando with Preston's parents, we went back to Orlando (where we went to the pool) for a conference Preston went to. 3 days after that, we took a flight to Columbus Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with my sister's family and her in-laws. Now we're home for another week and a half before heading off to Utah for nearly a month!

That's the nutshell of what we've been up to, but here's some more details for whoever may be interested.

BRAYDEN

watching some birds from our porch in Orlando.

snuggling tigger

Brayden's biggest update is his growing vocabulary. He said "no" for the first time while we were in Orlando for the conference and now he says it regularly. It's still in the cute phase. Besides that, here's a list of my favorite words he says:
Up
Down (da-oon)
Please (dees)
Me (while he points at someone else :) )
food (foof)
phone (voof)
Flower (fuf fuf)
Butterfly (buf fuf)
Bye (bah-ee)
Amen (men)
Sadie (Dee)
Binky/Blanky (hard to type. . . closest to guk)
Ah oh
Oops (ops)
All done (nan nan)
Nap
Out
Juice
Milk (uk)
Train
Truck
Bus
Dad (dada)
Mom (mum mum)
Bless (dess)
Yellow (yeyow)
Black (bak)
Green (een)
pink (gik)
Blue (boo with a slight s sound at the end)
and the word that he uses for anything he can't actually say (Dus)

In addition to his words (which may not be a good representation of how clear he does say a lot of things) he can identify any letter of the alphabet and make basically all of their sounds. X is funny because he makes a K sound and then an S sound. Z is also funny because he ends up spitting while he does it. R sounds more like a growl for now. L is still not quite there, but otherwise he'll tell you all the sounds! He can also pick out numbers 1-10 and count to 5 (sometimes). His favorite way of counting is 1, 2, 3, 2.

Brayden's also getting better at timeout. More like I'm getting more consistent with it :) He gets to sit where his laundry basket goes and stay there for 2 minutes (or until we say he's done) and then go give a hug and say sorry for whatever the case may be (usually hitting). He's got the routine down now. Earlier today he hit at Zander and I gave him my best intimidating look and said "did you just hit Zander?" We happened to be in his room, so he just walked to the laundry basket, moved it and sat down. hehe. He doesn't even cry while he sits there and he gave up binky when I told him to.

Brayden turns 2 next Friday and I still can't believe it!!

ZANDER

holding his head up at tummy time

our big cheeser

very handsome

Zander rolled over on Thanksgiving but not again since. He was close yesterday. He holds his head up very high while on his tummy and has gotten even more giggly. Although not many people seem to witness it but me. . . I guess I'm just funny looking :)

Yesterday there was a point that I was holding both boys and Zander laughed. I pointed it out to Brayden so he looked at Zander and laughed, which made Zander laugh at Brayden. It went back and forth a couple times. Those are the best mommy moments! My pay days :)

Zander's sleeping reverted back to waking up once or twice every night after he got sick the first time and is still crazy. I just don't have the heart to make him cry it out while he's sick, but you better believe that we will sleep train him when I know he's better. I just need my sleep. And I do believe that they need their sleep and it's good for them to get on an all night schedule. So, it's not all selfish.

We'll take both boys to the doctor next week and have some stats to report.

SICKIES
The first round of the cold was hardest on me, but went away fairly quickly for everyone else. The next round was the longest lasting cold I've ever heard of. Brayden was full on sick for a week and a half and then it started to die down a bit and finally went away. Zander only sounded sick for a couple of days and Preston and I were more mildly sick than Brayden but for the same amount of time. Then Preston picked something new up and just spread that to Brayden the day after Thanksgiving. Once Brayden got it, everyone else did too. He's not so good at containing germs yet. We felt bad for Kim, Trip, Makaila and Chris and Kathy who all got it too. This time, Brayden has a pretty nasty nose, but I feel worst for Zander who can't breath laying down and thus can't sleep well. We've propped him up on a pillow which helps, but he won't sleep that long on his back for some reason. He's starting to get better as of today. YAY! I think we've had our fair share of sick, so maybe now we can enjoy our Christmas holiday with staying healthy.

TRAVELS
I already talked some about the trip to Disney. But then we went back to Orlando for the conference. It was fun, but I did have that lonely single-mom feeling a couple days. Preston was busy at the conference all day long. He left before we woke up every day and came home late every night. One night he didn't get home until 11:30. It wasn't exactly like I imagined the trip going. . . but I did make the most of it and was much happier being stranded there than here at home! I got to see Angela Durtschi, who moved out of the ward in May. She came to the conference with her husband and brought me lunch one day. So nice! Then I went to the pool with the boys (pictures in previous post). And Friday Preston took a half day off to go to Animal Kingdom with us. It was lots of fun! We needed a little more time, but it was fun. I was slightly annoyed that Preston told me about a dinner that he wanted to go to that night about 2 hours before we'd have to leave for it, but only because I was looking forward to the evening together. It wasn't nearly as bad as him telling me Saturday afternoon that we needed to leave soon because we had a house guest for the weekend. Apparently he knew about it a while in advance but just forgot to mention it until he was almost at our house. We were hanging out with one of our friends from BYU who was at the conference as well, so we actually didn't get out until late and got home at midnight. Poor Nate was here since about 3 or 4. I love my Preston, but he really has issues with sharing schedules.

Our trip to Ohio was different than I imagined as well. I think that Trip and Chris spent as much (or more) time in the kitchen as they did hangin out with us. Which made for some very yummy dinners and desserts, but not as much games and talking as I had imagined. Don't get me wrong, we had lots of fun and would definitely go again! Plus, I got to meet my new niece Makaila! Even when I have a baby of my own, holding her was so much fun! She has "scary eyes" because their so big all the time. She's just taking in the world around her. She's also slightly bigger than Zander who is 2 weeks older! I think Zander's growth has slowed down a bit, but he's still a good sized boy. Makaila's quite the big cute girl! Makaila was blessed in an LDS sacrament meeting while we were there, so Preston got to help out with that. It was good to be there! We got home about 3 am on Monday and jumped right back into life.

Ah, that feels good to just get everything written down. I've been building up on stressful "to-do's" and was having quite a hard time today, but I feel much better and am now ready to go tackle a few more things!

Pool Fun

2011-11-17T15:32:00.001-05:00

Brayden's a water boy. He could play in water all day long. So, I wanted to take him to the pool while we're in this great resort in Orlando. I'll admit I was pretty nervous to take both boys by myself though. Brayden can't swim and Zander can't even sit up. So, they'd both need a lot of help. I finally decided to just at least go walk by and see what the pool area was like and if I thought I could handle it. It was a huge success! As soon as we got there I knew Brayden would just love it so much, so we went to the bathroom and changed into swimsuits. That's when I discovered I had forgotten the swim diapers. Oops. Sort of important. I decided I'd just let him play in the fountain area with a normal diaper and maybe we'd go back later for the pool. Brayden loved it and was so good. Eventually more kids came and started getting in the pool and of course Brayden kept saying "pool" (more like "ool") so I went in the gift shop to ask about buying a diaper. They wanted $3.50 for ONE DIAPER!!! Heck no! We made the 10 minute walk back to the room, ate apple sauce and made the trek back with all our gear. Of course Zander was hot in the stroller but cold in the water (I didn't get him all the way in cuz he gasped just with wet feet) so I had to either hold him or go back and forth between pool and stroller the whole time. It worked out though and Brayden was being a great listener when I'd tell him to stay close or just sit and splash for a minute. The pool was 0 entry and only went up to 3 ft. So, it was perfect for him. Plus, I tried out some arm floaties that my mom picked up for us for $.50 last time she was here. He didn't like them at all until I showed him how they made him float and then he started doing his goofy giggle every time he'd sit and float. It was darling. I even got him to float on his stomach and kick his legs. He'll be a swimmer in no time :) Zander did well with the water after the initial cold shock on his feet, but I would have loved to take him out swimming a little more to see if he likes the water as much as Brayden always has. Another time I guess. Anyway, here's a few pictures of our fun morning/afternoon. Gotta love the pool!!

Stepping on the water hole waiting for water to come out.

walking into the water, belly first. He did this a lot.

Zander was a champ in the stroller the whole time Brayden played in the fountain.

back for some real pool fun!

OK, so not a great picture, but he was so cute in his little suit and rash guard so I tried. It's hard to find time to take pictures when you have two kids at a pool!

PS- HAPPY THREE MONTHS ZANDER!!!! I can't believe my baby is 3 months old already!

New Blogging Regime

2011-11-13T21:18:00.001-05:00

I've been having a hard time keeping up on blogging lately, which has been a bummer because I haven't been real good at taking pictures of my cute kiddos who are growing so fast! The blog is half the reason I take pictures. So, I've decided that since I can't blog every day about the happenings of our lives that I will start blogging on a weekly basis. Sundays for now. And here we are at the first "weekly blog post."

So, here's our week (and a half) in review:

- Had our ward trunk-or-treat

- Carved our second pumpkin

- Met Preston's parents in Orlando for Halloween and a week of Disney/Universal (the Harry Potter stuff is AWESOME!)

- Brought Preston's parents to our see our home and town

- Played games for the first time since Zander was born

- Played at the park

- Did 5 loads of laundry

- Brayden decided to have a mess in the bathtub.

Yep, it's been a good week. We loved having Preston's family here. They took us to trick or treat at a place called Old Town in Orlando and that was pretty fun. We got a late start so a lot of places were out of candy, but Brayden certainly doesn't need much. Brayden was dressed as a spider, Preston and I were the web and little Zander was a fly caught in the web :) Hehe. Most people had to ask about Zander, but oh well. It was still a fun idea.

Mom and Dad treated us to Disney World and Universal Studios and since we're Florida residence we upgraded to weekday season passes to both places for only $35 total. We're pretty excited! Brayden loved both places and I'm excited to take him back. He's been to Disney 4 times now since he was 6 months old and it's been really interesting to see him become more interested in everything! This time I did something I always thought was crazy . . . waited in line to see Pooh and Tigger. But, as soon as Brayden saw them walking he took off running after them and I just had to wait the 15 minutes to get his picture with them :) I hope that we don't have to do it every time, but just to see that look of pure joy it's totally worth the wait. Now I can understand why there's a long line for characters. Brayden's favorite rides were the carousels, all the rides like Dumbo that go up and around, Pooh, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, The Cat in the Hat. He didn't like Snow White, a Magic Show, Poseidon's fury, or the Olivander's wand shop. They had loud noises that were scary to him I guess. The magic show was just boring for him I think. Oh, and he wasn't too sure about the Pirate's of the Carribean. He seemed to like the drop ok, but it's the dark scary stuff he didn't know about. But, as we pointed things out to him he seemed to do ok and enjoy it in the end. He did really want to ride space mountain and cried when he couldn't get on :)

We haven't used our time to play any games since having Zander for obvious reasons, but we did finally head over to some friends and played a little and then we got to play some with Mom and Dad. I think we're about to the point that we can get back into playing more often.

Zander is either growing or has decided to get into a habit of eating in the middle of the night again. And he still has issues with actually falling asleep and staying asleep at night. Poor guy. We may have to take matters into our own hands soon. I've discovered that I do get ornery when woken up multiple times every night.

Brayden was in the bath Sunday morning and after I washed him off I had to look up a recipe for dinner because I had to get it in the crock pot. So I came to the next room and looked at the ingredients. Right when I was finishing I heard a little whine from Brayden and I told him I was coming right back. By the time I got there I saw a little floaty and there were three logs on the bottom of the tub. Super gross. So, I hurried and pulled Brayden out, got him dressed, tucked him in some covers because our house was 60 degrees that morning (we're trying to save on utilities by not turning the heat on yet and it was a cold weekend) and went and had to put the mess in the toilet and disinfect the bathtub. This was Brayden's first offense with having a mess in the tub and I sure hope it's the last. I was actually impressed that Brayden stayed in his covers the whole time I was cleaning. He wanted a hat for his wet hair, so he had a little beach hat on for quite a while after that. It was pretty cute.

PICTURES TO COME.... I wrote this up on Sunday and then haven't gotten around to loading pics. Now we're on our way to Orlando yet again for Preston's conference and maybe another day at Disney :) But, that's for the next post!

2 Months

2011-10-27T13:29:00.001-04:00

Just got back from the doctor and have some stats to report.

Height: 23.75" (83%)

Weight: 12lbs 12oz (76%)

Head: 39.7 cm (18%)

Obviously growing well. We give him a bottle every night and lately he's been drinking 6-7 oz before bed! I don't know how he fits it in there, but it sure helps him sleep. He sleeps 8 hours every night. Last night it was 9.5! Our struggle is with getting him in bed... He won't fall asleep until 10 or 11. We've tried just laying him down but if he doesn't cry right off he squirms so much that he spits up a bunch of milk and then cries and we have to clean up. I guess that's partly why he eats so much- we keep feeding him until he finally falls asleep.

As for me, I'm back down to 108- pre-pregnancy weight. But, I feel far from pre-pregnancy body. And my plan for fixing that? Nada. I'm relying solely on my boys to get/keep me in shape. I think it's working so far :)

Oh, and we're all doing much better with the sickies!

Sick Days

2011-10-16T13:24:00.002-04:00

Oh how I wish that parenthood had sick days. And I mean not having to do our work so that we can get better. I started feeling like maybe I was sick on Thursday and by Friday it was for sure. Saturday my voice sounded awful and my nose was a faucet, and today I'm home from church with my two boys (who are probably also getting over being sick).

I remember what sick days used to be like - staying in bed sleeping all day until Mom would bring me something to eat or drink and then going back to sleep. Today, my sick day is a bit different - grab a tissue on my way to pull cereal out for Brayden, listen to him whine about something, grab another tissue on my way to nurse Zander, set the baby down to help Brayden down from the table just to realize I forgot a tissue and am going to drip everywhere, hurry to get a crying Zander who wants to be held, help Brayden up on my lap too while I let him play on the iPod, finally lay Zander down with a binky, read to Brayden for a few minutes, finally change his diaper and put clothes on him, lay Brayden down for a nap, sit down at the computer and get distracted with blogging. Oh, and then hear Zander start fussing again. I guess that means I need to go.

No rest for the weary any more. Kids, enjoy your sick days while you can! I just look forward to my bath after kids go to bed.

PS- I'm really sorry if Brayden was sick before I got sick and I was around your kids. I didn't realize his slightly runny nose meant anything other than the seasonal change. Oops. Luckily, he hasn't seemed to be coughing or getting any worse, so I'm still hoping it's nothing. Zander on the other hand has had a hard time sleeping and started getting some thick spit up, so my best guess is that he is sick. But, he's been pretty sweet.

Walking in the Dark

2011-10-14T16:09:00.001-04:00

You know those moments that you feel like you really can't see where you're going or how to get there? I'm having one of those moments right now. I usually wouldn't post something about our personal finances, but I am.

The bottom line is that Preston's making $1000 less per month from now on than he did for his first year and we were basically making what we spent then. Now, we have an extra child and even after redoing the budget we are spending $850 more than we make EVERY MONTH! I calculated that to mean that if we live off of our savings and loan money (which we wanted to pay off and can since we refinanced) then we'd be running out of money in 14 months. We should be here at least 19 more months. I know the obvious reaction would be "why did you have another kid?" or "didn't you see this coming?" and all I can say is that we did know he'd be making less, but not exactly how much and we also knew that having a baby would add more financial burden. But I'd do that again if I had the choice.

The truth is, we've been slacking on our finances for over a year now! I'm sure it was the adversary sneaking into our lives. We used to be so diligent in tracking every little receipt on a self-designed excel sheet that was very effective for a while. But, just before we moved to Florida our system was becoming less effective for us. Too much busy work. We thought once we moved we'd try and start over and change things how they need to be. Since then, we'll take a look at the statements every now and then, see how much is in the bank, etc. But we haven't been good with budgeting like we used to be. We just mentally track what we think we've spent. And we all know how well that doesn't work. So, I had no clue what this income change would mean. Now that I've sat down to get back into things, I see we're in trouble.

The good news: we know we're where we need to be and that Preston is in the program that he needs to be.

The bad news: we still need money to survive and now need to figure out either a job for me or just living off of student loans (which I know is normal for many of you!).

That's why I feel so in the dark of how everything's going to work. How will we survive until graduation? I don't know. I wish I could see even a little light, but I can't. For now, I just have to have faith that the light will come and that we get to tighten up our spending. I sense more mac and cheese dinners. . . at least it tastes good :)

Again, I don't know why I felt to post about something so personal. Maybe someone knows of a good job opportunity. Maybe its for my own way of getting stress out. Whatever the reason, here it is. We're in trouble. The phrase that comes to mind. . . "Come what may, and love it." A good reminder that there's so much to love about life whatever the circumstances!

Catch up through pictures

2011-10-11T14:49:00.001-04:00

Brayden was obsessed with this swing we got at a consignment
sale a few weeks ago. He doesnt get in much anymore.

cute scrunched sleeping face

big smile! I love how his eyes close when he smiles so big.

Playing with Anna

I just like these overalls

Brayden's always been a lip sucker. When he was first
born we said he had ducky lips because he would
suck his bottom lip so that his top lip would stick out
like a duck bill. Just one of those cute Braydenisms.

Zander watching conference with us on the couch.

The swing that is a true tender mercy! Zander does not like to get laid down, but he'll usually be content and even sleep here during the day. Back saver.

I gave in to Brayden one morning and let him go play with Sadie outside. As you can see, she runs so much during the day that our grassy backyard has a huge mud hole in the middle. Brayden loves dirt, so of course that's where he would go play too.

The little muddy feet. Good thing it all came out in the wash!

Our new DVD case in an attempt to keep Brayden out! He's ruined a couple of his DVDs because they get so scratched from him dropping them, etc.

My cute boy with no clothes because we were doing Thrush treatment that stains everything. We got away with NO STAINS other than an old T-shirt I would wear during the days that he used the Gentian violet stuff.

Here's his purple mouth. (I'm not sure if the Thrush is really gone yet. I'm so bad at being able to see if it's abnormally white or not. . . He goes to the doctor in a couple weeks and I'll ask. Otherwise we'll have to start again I guess.)

A little froggy buddy in our backyard. Right next to the weeds. . .

The biggest dragonfly I've ever seen was sitting on our window the other day.

He was huge!

This is Preston's Christmas gift. I'm not a fan of early Christmas gifts, but I know this is what he wants. I found a new one on craigslist for a great price and decided I'd better just pick it up now. He still hasn't found it, so no spilling the beans! I'm just waiting for him to decide to mow the lawn again and I'll try and have the camera ready :)

Brayden chose a huge serving spoon to use one day. It was great.

We're getting in the Halloween spirit. Just decorated and picked out pumpkins. Yesterday Zander wore his cute dracula onsie. It's a little big, but I think it's a 3-6 month size, so it should be.

Brayden tried on his costume. You'll have to wait and see the whole thing because I'm fixing it up a little. I think we'll all be pretty cute in not-so-"cute" costumes. Brayden is a spider, Zander is going to be a fly and Preston and I will be the web. We'll all be the Web of Love :) hehe. But, really it'll be mostly funny when we're holding both boys.

My mom got us a double stroller which came yesterday!

Brayden liked helping set it up :D
Really he was stuck and asking me to help him out,
but I decided to snap a picture first. Awful, right?

Sleep

2011-10-11T09:29:00.001-04:00

I have been really lucky to have only felt exhausted of sleep a couple times since Zander was born. Once right after our road trip to Missouri and once last week. Not sure why last week, but there were a couple long nights in a row.

Get this, Preston offers to take care of Zander Saturday night so I can rest. Zander doesn't even wake up until Preston has to get ready for his meeting at 730! He slept for 8 and a half hours! Because we stayed up late watching BUY football so I was still pretty tired and Preston didn't actually have to wake up during the night, he agreed to take him again Sunday night. Zander slept all night again! I couldn't ask Preston to watch him again because I was feeling much better, so last night I was ready for Zan man to wake up several times just because I was in charge. But he slept all night once more!

Yeah, our nearly 2 month old is training himself to sleep all night. I'm the luckiest mommy. He's actually been cluster feeding himself for almost a month now so that the bedtime process of getting him fed and asleep takes about 2 hours every night. Starting at 530 ish every night he begins eating all the time. Literally All. The. Time. Then we get him ready for bed about 7 or 8 and start the bottle feeding. In about 2 hours he'll eat around 8 to 10 ounces. And that's after all his breastfeeding. No wonder he can last all night.

I'm really hoping that he keeps sleeping for 8 hours at night. I love sleep.

Here's to hoping!

Precious Moment

2011-10-03T15:56:00.001-04:00

I was trying to get a nap in after my last blog post, but unfortunately took a little too long trying to read all the updated blogs I've missed so I only got a 10 minute power nap.

Anyway, 10 minutes ago Brayden was on his bed sleeping. I just glanced at the video monitor when I started nursing Zander and noticed that Brayden wasn't there anymore. Odd. I hadn't heard anything. So I turned the volume up and listened closely to hear his sweet little voice saying the name of the letter A over and over again and then a B thrown in at the end. He was looking at a book that daddy was reading with him and they had pointed out letters together (which Brayden is getting VERY good at). So cute. Then he went to his door and said "please" because he wanted to come out. Love it. Well, now that Zander's done I best go get my sweet B.

Conference Weekend

2011-10-03T13:56:00.001-04:00

General Conference is awesome! For some reason this conference didn't seem to speak directly to me like usual. I figure its either because I'm becoming so perfect that there can't possibly be more to work on or I must not have listened as intently. We can all agree on the latter.
I will be the first to admit that I only heard half of Saturday's first session between Brayden and Zander and I missed a whole talk in the second session cleaning up a nice blowout from Zander. It's very different with children and will keep being different the older they get. And It's also different in the eastern time zone. The sessions are from noon-2, 4-6, and priesthood from 8-10. It feels like we have the whole morning together then conference then bedtime.
Even so, we tried to make it a special experience and talked to Brayden about listening to the prophet. I think he can recognize him.
We went to the church for the very last session so Preston could meet a friend there, so I spent the session in the mothers room with the Boys as a courtesy to those watching... Brayden hasn't figured out reverent voice yet and gets pretty crazy at bedtime.
Anyway, I did hear some great talks and look forward to listening to it again. Hope you liked it too!

Dear Zander,

2011-09-30T15:10:00.003-04:00

I don't have anything bad to say about you yet. You are perfect and precious. I adore every bit of you. I don't always appreciate our time together in the middle of the night, but I know that's special too and I'm working on loving it.

I can't believe how much you smile and laugh. You laughed when you were 1 week old and have continued ever since. You've started smiling at me when I talk to you or move your legs around and that smile of yours melts my heart. You have these cute little dimples over your lips and they make me smile. When you smile really big you get what we refer to as your magoo eyes. We coined the term when you were only a few minutes old because your eyes were slightly swollen and puffy. Now you smile so big your eyes puff up and look closed. I love it.

Your sad faces and sounds are also cute, but only for so long and then we always hope we can fix the problem soon. You don't actually cry very much. Mostly you whimper and whine like a puppy.

Now about your eating habits. I would really love if you could always sit and eat a full meal before falling asleep. You've gotten much better, but you're still more into snacking. Especially in the evening. You started cluster feeding yourself with lots of snacks to get ready for the night. The only thing is that you take a long time to fall asleep. Our bedtime process usually starts when we put Brayden to bed and you're still up for at least an hour and a half. It makes it very hard to get chores done. But, soon we'll start helping you sleep through the night and maybe that will help.

You are a very sensitive soul. You don't like Daddy's teasing and don't have much patience for discomfort. I have a feeling that you'll often be picked on by Brayden because of this. Hopefully it'll make you stronger or better in some way though.

Well little man, I love you. You are special and unique just like your name. I look forward to many more great weeks and months together.

Love always and forever,

Mommy

Dear Brayden,

2011-09-30T15:10:00.001-04:00

The kicking and hitting needs to stop. You are much to sweet for it and you know we don't like it. I think we've been more than patient with you, but if you keep it up we're going to have to get more tough in our discipline. You won't like it, I won't like it, so let's just not go there ok?

Now that we've got that settled, thank you for stepping up into the role of big brother. You have surprised me with the patience you've had while I care for Zander. I don't think there's anything better than seeing you smile at your brother and pat his head. I love seeing you try and make him happy by giving him him binky. He doesn't love it like you did (and still do), but I can tell that you think it's what he wants. You even shared your cherished blanky once! Which reminds me, why do you take his blankets off whenever you get the chance? Very silly.

You are a very handsome boy, Brayden. Several different people have told me that
I've got to get you into modeling. Maybe if I knew how I would. But, even better is your darling personality and love for life. It makes me smile every time you yell "truck!" when we drive by one. You always look for the moon and stars at night and sometimes spot the moon in the day. Everything is exciting and wondrous to you.

You do have a slightly devious side and are starting to tease Sadie with food that you don't want her to get. It's kind of cute except that you throw a tantrum if she does get the food when you don't want her to. I sense that teasing will soon be exercised on Zander and I hope that you will know when to stop.

All I can say is I love you. The ups and downs, the good and bad, the smiles and frowns. Sometimes I don't think I know how to be your parent and teach you everything (particularly what not to do) but then I realize that I want to be your Mommy and that it's the best job in the world. The harder it is, the more rewarding. And you're very good at rewarding me with precious moments every day.

Thank you Brayden for being who you are. I love you.

Love always and forever,
Mommy

1 Month Stats

2011-09-30T11:56:00.001-04:00

Zander went to the doctor on the 22nd and he's lookin good and healthy. We may have another yeast infection, but the doctor only saw white on his tongue and not on the gums so he didn't think much of it. BUT, I'm pretty sure I've got yeast or something because there's still some pain when nursing. So, maybe we'll just treat the both of us and hope it helps! However, even with having yeast again this time, it's so much better than nursing the first time. It hurts a bit, but nowhere near as much as it did with Brayden. And I'm not going to let it go on for 7 months like I did last time. We'll get to the bottom of it! Anyway, here's the stats of our Zander man.

Height: 22.25" (75%)
Weight: 10lbs 4oz (60%)
Head: 37cm (25%)

A Great Day to be Alive!

2011-09-20T15:57:00.000-04:00

And to be born. Like I was 24 years ago. I love birthdays and today has been great. We had a crepe breakfast with blueberry pie filling, ice cream, bananas, raspberries, cool whip, nutella and honey. So yummy that I ate some for lunch too! hehe.

I got to open one present so far (which, unfortunately I already "spoiled" in my own little way as Preston will ensure you I always do). Preston bought me a groupon for flirty aprons because we used to see them in the mall and I always thought they were cute, but never wanted to spend $30 on an apron. When I saw the groupon I told him about it and he said we could look at it and then the time was counting down and we never did look at it, so I decided to buy one for myself since obviously Preston had forgotten. Of course he didn't actually forget but thought he'd try to surprise me. Oops. Well, now I have a fun gift for someone else or two cute aprons. . . we'll see.

Now I've had some time with the boys napping, and I just have to say that I love that they will both usually nap at the same time! Sweet! Anyway, I pulled out this birthday gift that I bought myself with the birthday money I knew would be coming. I'm still figuring out how to use all it's functions, but it's pretty neat and will be fun to play with especially with photo editing and stuff. I got the Bamboo Fun on an amazon lightning/gold box deal and it was really reduced or I never would have considered it. Usually it's $200, but I paid $79. Still more than I like to spend, but sometimes I give in and splurge a little :) At least I'm enjoying it so far!

In about an hour we'll pick Preston up from school and head to Hungry Howie's for a cheap pizza and then over to Chuckie Cheese for some birthday fun! I haven't been there in at least 13 years, but it used to be my favorite birthday spot when I was little, so we're gonna enjoy it again! Plus, it'll be fun for Brayden I think. And when he can appreciate it more maybe we'll go for him! We have a coupon for 95 tokens for $15 and then we'll buy a dessert pizza there. Yum yum. I can't wait! It'll be fun!

Oh, and Preston has a couple more gifts for me as well as the wonderful gift of having my mom here today! She got here on Saturday and will stay until next Tuesday. It's nice to get a little break from holding Zander Man all day long. That's birthday gift enough. But, she's also going to take Zander in her room all night and let us sleep. Minus pumping time because I just can't make it all night comfortably :)

Well, there's my birthday update! Hope you've had a good day too! It really is a great day to be alive!

Little Brother

2011-09-16T14:38:00.000-04:00

Here's a few pictures of our little Zan Man. He's been a good baby, but really doesn't sleep that much during the day. He does great at night though, unless he has bubbles that won't come out. Which, unfortunately, is more often than we'd like. He's looking more and more like Brayden as he gets older, but still has his own look too. We love him so much!

He's such a smiler and has been laughing on occasion since he was 1 week old. Happy little boy :) I'm pretty sure he stays up during the day due mostly to his noisy big brother. But, he seems happy enough. I guess he doesn't need as much sleep as some babies.

1 WEEK

This kid can hold his head up for several minutes now! So strong!

4 WEEKS- yesterday

first real bath. he didnt cry at all.

learning from big brother

a little smile. he has another smile that is to die for!

I love that he's smiling in this one!

Today during some tummy time Zander started fussing, so I helped him roll over and roll back to his tummy. Next thing I know, Brayden's right next to him rolling around :) what a good teacher.

Big Brother

2011-09-16T13:44:00.000-04:00

Brayden's still being a champion big brother. Here's a few pictures to see what he's up to! Some of these are from the week before Zan Man was born.

Football

2011-09-16T13:05:00.001-04:00

And so it begins. Another season of college football. I just have to preface this by saying that I do enjoy sitting and watching the games with Preston. That being said, I don't often get to sit and watch anything these days unless the boys are asleep. Preston was teasing me about how I used care about football and now I don't seem to want to watch ever. Just to prove him wrong (even though he's right) I made sure to dress the kids in football attire and even made football shaped pancakes for breakfast. So, even though football is no longer my ideal way to spend free time and our only together time as a family, here's to the start of another great season!

Brayden helping with Saturday chores (in his BYU jersey)

yeah, some of the pancakes look more footballish than others.

Haha. . . ironic?

2011-09-08T13:05:00.001-04:00

I just realized that I just posted 2 things today - one birth, and one death. Maybe I'm the only one who finds that funny. But, "if you were in my head, you'd be laughing too!"

In loving memory. . .

2011-09-08T13:02:00.001-04:00

of Ronald Brown. Preston's grandpa passed away Tuesday night. He took a couple of bad falls over the weekend apparently. We were lucky to be able to visit them last Thanksgiving in Missouri and spend some time with him. I think we're going to take our first long road trip with 2 kids tomorrow and head up there for the funeral. A sad reason to get together with family, but still a good opportunity to support them!

Cousin Makaila

2011-09-08T12:57:00.002-04:00

Congrats to My sister and her husband on their new baby girl! She was born last Saturday (September 3rd) and is a cutie! I don't have a picture I can put up yet, but hopefully there will be one soon!

Makaila Bean Baker
7 lbs 12 oz
20.9 inches

Just for the record, Brayden and Zander's only 2 cousins are both named Makaila, but spelled differently. Preston's sister's daughter is spelled Mikayla. I just hope that they figure out that all cousins aren't named the same thing. Hehe. Good thing it's a great name!

A bunch of pictures I loaded forever ago and didn't publish for some reason :)

2011-09-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Waiting to be taken back to triage. I'm trying to make a funny face, but it wasn't dramatic enough so I just look weird :) Hey, I'm in labor!

Brayden wanted to try out Zander's bed

Long toes!

What do you think?

2011-09-01T14:57:00.000-04:00

Here's some baby pictures of Preston & I and Brayden & Zander. I think it's pretty apparent that one child looks much like Daddy and one looks much like Mommy. What do you think?

Preston - not sure how old.
Maybe 5 months?

Angie - 1 Month

Brayden - almost 8 months
(this was actually the
day we moved to Florida)

Zander - 1 week old

I used to think Brayden was a pretty good mix of both of us, but the bigger he gets, the more like Preston he looks. When he was born, Preston and I both agreed that he had my nose, my chin, my mouth, my fingers, my toes. Some of that is still true, but after seeing Zander I'd categorize their traits like this:

BRAYDEN

eyes: Preston

ears: Preston

hairline: Preston

hair: Angie

forehead: Preston

nose: Preston

mouth: Angie

chin: Angie

skin: Preston (I wish all our kids had Preston's skin!)

toes: Angie

fingers: not sure

bootie: Angie

ZANDER

eyes: Angie

ears: Angie

hairline: Angie

hair: Angie (we think)

forhead: Angie

nose: Angie

mouth: Angie

chin: Angie

skin: Angie

toes: Angie

fingers: Angie

bootie: Preston (at least there's something!)

Obviously Zander isn't a perfect clone of me, so there's definitely Preston mixed into those traits. Now the trick is figuring out what. . . But, looks can be deceiving. So far I'd say Zander has more of Preston's personality. We'll see what we think as he gets older!!

Tux Photo Shoot

2011-08-30T15:33:00.003-04:00

When Brayden was 6 weeks old we took him to the Target portrait studio where I was working and got some great pictures of him. Half the pictures were of him in a build-a-bear tux and we have one hanging on our wall. I thought it'd be fun to hang a matching picture of Zander, but since he's bigger than Brayden was I thought I better get one asap. Of course I didn't want to pay for them, so I did my own. I think there's at least a couple good ones. I haven't done any editing yet, so hopefully they'll look even better :)

Brayden's picture on the wall

This is probably the winner for a spot
on the wall after some cropping.

Newborn sleepy face

Looking at the roses

That's the monkey (Bubba) that
Preston proposed with,
which is where the tux came from.
also in need of cropping

And a couple pictures of the brothers just for kicks.

Chunker

2011-08-29T13:46:00.000-04:00

We're back from the hospital now and all seems well. While we were there they weighed Zander each day to make sure he was gaining weight. I was amazed at the results! The first day they weighed him at 8 lbs 6 oz. The next day he was 8 lbs 7 oz. Remember how he was born 8 lbs 1 oz? Yeah, they usually give babies 2 weeks to get back to their birth weight. We have a little chunker on our hands. Just for fun, here's Brayden at two months and Zander in the same outfit at 12 days. It looks a little baggy on him because we have it unsnapped at the bottom due to his circumcision surgery this morning. But you can still see the difference!

Brayden - 2 months

Zander - 12 days

Here's some things I've learned about Zander in his first week and a half of life.

- Music is not nearly as calming to him as it was to Brayden.

- He loves head rubs and not only calms down, but often gets big smiles.

- He's a believing spirit. I don't know how I know that, I just do. This is a special "close to heaven" time and I just know that's one of his gifts. He gets it from me :) hehe.

- He doesn't often find the need to cry. He just whimpers like a puppy when he's hungry and grunts a bit when he has bubbles or diaper gifts to leave.

- He's a very patient baby, but cries at pain more quickly than Brayden ever did. Brayden may be small, but he's a tough kiddo. Zander may be bigger, but I'm not convinced that he'll be tougher.

Just as an example of the boy's differences in personality, when they breastfeed the react much differently to my abundant milk supply. When the milk started spraying for Brayden, he would raise his little eyebrows and start gulping as fast as he could. Zander simply lets go and then wants to come back on. Very different philosophies on life. Or breastfeeding at least :) "when the milk goes faster, gulp faster" vs. " when the milk goes faster, step away."

Anyway, we love our boys and all their differences and similarities.

Zander's Birth Story

2011-08-27T17:09:00.000-04:00

the fine print: This is more of a journal entry while the experience is still sort of fresh. so I intend to have lots of details (not the gory ones).

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I was getting very anxious for Zander to come and was basically to the point of deciding that Mom would miss seeing my new born boy. Of course, right as I was on the brink of losing hope, everything came through. Isn't that how it always works? I started having contractions again on Tuesday night (the 16th) and we talked about having us all stay up all night since sleep seemed to stop the contractions. But, I said I'd rather try and get as many good night sleeps as I could before he came. It was just another night of restless, uncomfortable pregnancy sleep and when I woke up at about 8 because I could hear Brayden waking, I decided to stay in bed because I was still pretty tired. My dad was up with Brayden anyway. So, I stayed in bed until 9 when I started feeling sore in my stomach. Thinking that it was because I had just been laying on my back and the baby was pressuring my insides, I sat up and began reading my scriptures so I could finish our Young Women challenge of reading the whole Book of Mormon during summer break (which I did!). Preston got in the shower and I planned on doing the same as soon as he was done. But, as I was reading, I realized that my stomach pain wasn't going away. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I knew that if it was real labor pain then I needed to hurry or else I may have a baby at home because I deliver so quickly. So, I took a quick shower and mentioned casually to Preston that he should make sure everything was in the hospital bag and that I was having some pain. I asked him to let my mom know so she could be ready just in case it continued. By the time I was dressed and ready to go, I knew it was probably real, but I had to start my mind game of acting like there was no pain so that I somehow wouldn't feel anything. It's weird, but that's my way of coping I guess. So, how do you act like there's no pain and yet tell everyone that I need to go to the hospital? Again, I used the casual tone of "Well, I still feel some pain. It's about every 5 minutes now so I guess maybe we should go." The next 45 minutes or so were spent gathering last minute things, eating breakfast (which Preston convinced me was a good idea even though it didn't sound good to my crampy stomach), waking my Mom up because she didn't hear the text that Preston sent her and saying goodbye to our Brayden.

When we all said goodbye to Brayden, he walked to the garage door and tried to open it. He wanted to come with us and had to be distracted by my Dad so that we could slip out the door. At that point, Brayden was my little baby. He still seemed like a baby to me and I really couldn't comprehend the change that a new little guy would have on that perspective.

As we were driving out of the neighborhood and entering Monroe, we had a conversation that went like this:

Preston: how far apart are your contractions now?
Me: 3-4 minutes
Preston: I've always wanted to do this...
VRRROOOOMMM. He put the pedal to the metal and started weaving through cars. He ended up having to slow down for traffic, but assured me that if I was even further along then he would be running red lights and driving in the turn lanes to pass people.

We got to the hospital at about 11:00 am (2 hours after contractions started). Even though I had already filled out the pre-registration forms as directed by one of the midwives, they said that they didn't have them because I filled them out in the main building. They took me 20 minutes to fill out!! Super lame. Luckily, Preston worked on them while I signed all the consent forms, etc. He finished them much faster than I did the first time, so that was good. We sat down to wait to be taken back to triage where they'd make sure I was in real labor before getting us a delivery room. After waiting for at least 10 minutes, Preston went to the desk and explained that I have very quick labors and that my contractions were down to every 3 minutes. I'm sure they get that a lot, so they weren't very convinced. Especially because I work so hard to hide my pain, so it doesn't look like much to anyone else. Anyway, 5 minutes later they finally came and took me back, gave me a gown to wear and then gave us a bed (closed off by a curtain. . . not so private). I could only have 1 visitor with me in triage, so my Mom was left out in the waiting room. between me changing and them making us wait for another 10-15 minutes before having anyone come check me, my Mom was getting concerned and kept asking how she'd know if I was going to a delivery room. They weren't exactly sure because we hadn't worked out to contact her. So, she was getting a little worried.

Meanwhile, I was getting some pretty intense labor pain waiting for them to come tell me how dilated I was. The nurse that came in had questions first about if I was dilated at my last appointment, etc. I told her that the previous Friday I was at a 3-3.5. She was very nonchalant and said that she'd check to see if I was in real labor because "real labor will be doing something" aka, making me more dilated. I didn't particularly appreciate the lack of belief that I was at an 8 in pain and quit sure it was real. But, again, I'm sure they get that a lot. Anyway, my "told you so" moment came when she checked me and changed tones to say "oh, you're at an 8 with a very bulging sac (meaning the baby was very low)." Ha. Thank you. Can I get a room now? Please?

They wheeled me to a delivery room and my Mom met us there. She explained that she was getting worried because it had been so long and then she heard nurses saying "we've got an 8 that needs a room!" and knew that must be me. My sweet mother had also taken it on herself to call the doctor's office to make sure they knew I was here and would need a midwife soon, but they gave her the typical responses we'd been getting that "the hospital will call when she needs to come."

I was waiting for the midwife for several minutes wondering why she wasn't here yet. Unfortunately it was my least favorite midwife (Jane) on call that day, but I still like her alright. Anyway, by the time she got there it was about 11:40. I felt like I was going to explode every time a contraction came on. But, I hadn't planned on an epidural this time because it goes so fast. I was kind of wishing I had, but I knew it wouldn't be long and I could do it. I still wasn't hardly showing any pain and I remember them commenting several times about how I didn't look like I was to a 9 because I was still smiling. Anyway, the midwife said that she could break my water or I could wait it out and my mom said that it would probably break on it's own. But, after 2 or 3 more intense contractions I finally just asked her to break it. I expected the pushing sensation to occur immediately, but it didn't . Jane told me that I could start pushing with contractions any time now, but I said I would wait for the urge to push because it was so easy with Brayden when I did that. Jane left the room (still can't remember why, but I was really wishing she'd come back because I changed my mind and wanted to push!). She came back after what seemed like 30 minutes (probably only 5) and I told her I was going to push. With each contraction, I started pushing just wanting it to be over. On the third contraction I pushed the hardest I could and knew that it was working because of all the pressure I could feel. I expected that once the head made it out, she'd pull the rest of him out because that's how it was with Brayden. But, when I thought I was done pushing I was in a lot of pain still and could feel a baby stuck down there. At this point I was so ready to be done that I remember saying "isn't he out yet??" without even deciding to say anything. It was like I could hear my voice, but I didn't even know I was saying anything. It was a weird feeling. Anyway, they answered my question with a no so I gave one last painful push as hard as I could and then I heard it. Crying. The most wonderful sound at that point in time. It was seriously like the movies. I remember seeing him and soaking in how handsome he was and knowing that he was mine. They let me hold him for a really long time. I don't think that Preston held him until he was about 1-2 hours old. Then they weighed and measured him. He was a big boy! Well, comparatively at least :)

He was 8 pounds 1 ounce and measured 20 and a half inches. His head was 13.5 cm.

I have loved that little boy so much since the first second I held him! He has been a huge blessing to our family and is a sweet little angel.

Brayden loved him from the first time he saw him too! By the time we checked out of the hospital, Brayden knew which elevator buttons to push and just where to go for our room. As soon as he'd get there, he'd look in the bassinet thing and if Zander wasn't there he'd find him with either me or Preston and get a huge grin! When he wants to hold him, he sticks his little hands out with his palms up :) He hasn't had a hard time with sharing Mommy yet either! I'm so proud of my two boys!

The only part of this delivery that I wasn't completely prepared for (even though my mom warned me) was the after birth contractions. Apparently you don't get them with your first child, but they get worse with every following child. Something to look forward to :) Every time I would nurse my little angel, my stomach would ache with contractions. I finally swallowed my pride and asked for pain killers on the second day there. I couldn't fall asleep without them! But, they wore off after a few days, thank goodness.

My last thoughts about the birth of our new boy are concerning Brayden and how he really has become a big brother all the sudden. Besides the fact that I now feel like he weighs a ton and looks huge to me, he has started acting grown up too. He always enjoyed being a helper whenever I would ask, but now he seems to know that there's someone else that needs attention. He's become more cuddly at times and very patient. He really is a sweetheart. He loves his Baby Zander and often gives him big hugs whether he's in my arms or the car seat. It's pretty cute.

I feel incredibly blessed to have the best and cutest little boys in the world. It's amazing how similar and yet how very different they are in looks and personality. I am so in love with all my boys!!

I'm still back in the hospital, so I only have the pictures I happened to load onto the laptop, but here they are!

Welcome home Elder Doxey!

2011-08-26T16:10:00.001-04:00

My brother got home from his mission about 5 minutes ago! I just talked with him in the phone and it was so fun! Sounds like he grew while he was out because that's what everyone told me. Can't wait to see you Dan!

This is a record...3 posts in about 30 minutes :)

4 years and counting

2011-08-26T16:08:00.000-04:00

I still can't believe It's been 4 whole years, but yesterday was our anniversary! And the great part is that we're still in love! Maybe even more than 4 years ago. We had a friend volunteer to take Brayden in the morning so we went out to breakfast and then asked some other friends to watch Brayden while we went to dinner. We went to Olive Garden because It's our special occasion restaurant. And they have their never ending pasta bowl right now! Yum! It was a great day spent with my wonderful family! Hopefully next year will be extra special for our 5th anniversary!

Back in the hospital

2011-08-26T15:58:00.000-04:00

Well, we're back in the hospital with Zander. He had a fever this morning of 100.6. An hour later at the doctor'a it was only 99.5 and now its down to 98.2. So, I'm not really sure there's much to worry about (thanks to many prayers and a priesthood blessing) but they have to do all sorts of tests to make sure its nothing serious with infants this young. We'll be here for 48 hours, so it looks like I'll have a little time to post a few things. Just no pictures :)

2011-08-24T13:54:00.000-04:00

This is my attempt to see how to make a blog post. Ang does so amazing with it, and I realized, I've never even tried. So cheers to blog posts. P.S. Isn't that kid so cute? Good thing he takes after his mum.

Zander Charles Brown

2011-08-20T15:18:00.000-04:00

Our sweet Baby Z arrived on Wednesday August 17 at 12:15pm.

STATS:

8 lbs 1 oz

20 1/2 inches

The birth story and lots of pictures will follow. It's just a little busy around here for now. Everyone's doing great and we're starting our new adventure.

Following up from last time, Zander man made it just in time for my mom to see him before she had to go. She left about an hour after we brought him home :)

False Alarm

2011-08-16T21:55:00.000-04:00

Sunday's regular contractions were not the real deal evidently. I decided to just go to bed at 11:30 because we weren't sure if they'd keep progressing or not, but the contractions went to sleep too I guess. Every time I would wake up I'd notice a contraction, but just like every other night. In the morning they were far apart and irregular again. So, unfortunately there's still no baby.

Now I just need to vent for a bit because I have so many crazy emotions going on right now. I feel so anxious for Baby Z to be here with me, I feel really sad that my mom is probably going to miss it and maybe my Dad too, and mostly I'm starting to get really afraid (like, more scared than I've been in a long time) that I will literally be all by myself when he makes his debut. Preston's had the last week and a half off of school and work, but has to go back on Monday next week which will start his busy schedule and my Dad leaves on Monday too. So, if this kiddo doesn't come in the next few days and decides to be right on time or late then I'll be coming home to a house that will be filled with me trying to recover, Brayden needing attention and a new little baby needing basically everything. Last week would have been PERFECT timing. At least on my watch. I don't want to sound like I will have zero help from Preston because he is a wonderful helper and husband. But, he has to do what he has to do. Which would be working and school.

Besides all those feelings that make me wish the baby would come already, I'm really loving the anticipation of how and when the baby will come and I want to have it naturally without being induced like I was with Brayden. I never got to start my own labor with him and I'm excited for it to happen. I also still feel so strongly that my Heavenly Father is well aware of me and my situation and that the babe will come at the perfect time in the grand scheme of things. It's just nice when that time table lines up with mine. But, to be quite honest, other than not having any help, I don't care if the baby is late even. I would never ever had guessed he would be, but it won't bother me. I just hope that I handle everything well. I know I can do anything and everything required of me because the Lord truly will provide a way. But, it doesn't mean that I can do it easily or that I won't mess up and try too hard to rely on myself or focus on what I'm not doing right. I think that's what's striking the most fear into me is that I'm starting to realize that at this point, my Mom basically won't be here to help even if I start labor now and Preston and my Dad will only be able to help through the weekend. So it's looking like what's "best" is going to be a growing experience for me and not as easy as I was planning.

OK, enough venting. Yes, I'm scared and excited at the same time but I know everything will work out. Thanks for listening. . . I just need to get it out sometimes.

PS- more regular contractions going on as we speak. About 8 minutes apart. But, I'm really not getting hopes up. Just keeping track.

Labor?

2011-08-14T23:05:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been having contractions for a week and a half now, but today they've been pretty regular. They started off every 30 minutes or so and have progressed to every 10 minutes or just less. This might be it! But, I'm not gonna get my hopes up because I did that already and it was very disappointing. Especially because these contractions are painless, so I still can't decide if they're real or not. I seriously must have done something right to he blessed with pretty easy pregnancies and labors. But, maybe I should wait until he's born to decide how easy it is :) I hope the next post is a birth announcement! He just wanted to wait for my dad to get here to watch Brayden for us I guess. My dad flew in today at 530 this evening. Any time now little man!

Just another update. . . no baby yet

2011-08-12T13:49:00.000-04:00

First of all, I loaded the pictures onto the last post so you can see the painted room, my belly and Brayden with his baby doll.

Second, I had my doctor's appointment today and I'm now dilated to a 3-3.5. Yay! I've been having painless contractions for a little over a week now pretty regularly, and I guess they've been effective. I got to meet with my favorite midwife today (they're all great, but I just like her best) and she recommended raspberry herb tea. She said that the Amish community she used to work with swore by it. I've been trying all sorts of natural foods, walks, and heel massages already. So, on our way home, we stopped and got some herb tea and a fresh pineapple, which was also on our list of things to try. That was my lunch and I guess we'll see if anything comes of it. I have been having a few more contractions than normal since then, but still just the painless ones. Which, I'm not complaining about.

We'll just keep having fun as a family, but I'm getting pretty excited about our little guy! I'm crossing my fingers that it goes just as quickly as Brayden's delivery!

Until then, today will be a me day. I painted my nails, I'm going to soak in a warm bath and I get to be with my amazing little boy (who still has a slight fever from his shot poor guy) and my great husband and Mom. So, life is good!

Boy's Room Makeover and Waiting for Little Brother

2011-08-11T21:17:00.001-04:00

Well, we picked up the paint and supplies and got the boys room all painted on Monday. Today we finally finished putting everything on the walls and finished up. So, here's the before and after pictures!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

THE PROCESS:

Ahh. . . my hand got paint on it!!

Brayden hates his hands being dirty if you can't tell.

So, of course, Daddy thought it'd be a good idea to give him some more and put some on his tummy too.

Very sad and painty

We're playing the waiting game for our little Zander to join us. I prayed this morning that he would come today, but if not that it would be soon. Of course I got the reassurance that he'll come when he needs to come and it will be good timing whether it seems like it to me or not. I just really don't want my Mom to miss him and she leaves on Tuesday! But, I'll survive. At least we've gotten lots done with her around and had lots of fun. Especially Brayden. He's in heaven with his Grandy.

We took him to pick out a baby doll and found a cute boy doll that he liked (because he's having a brother). He LOVES his baby. He feeds him every day, takes him on stroller rides around the house, and even put him down for a nap with him today. It's pretty cute. It may sound weird since he's a boy, but I think it's wonderful prep for his brother! He even protected his baby from me today when I suggested he get a diaper change. I'm pretty sure it's because he doesn't like getting his own diaper changed. Hehe.

Lastly, Brayden had his 18 month appointment (2 months late. . . ) and his stats are as follows:
Height: 33" (40%)
Weight: 22 lbs (7%)
Head: ? (4%)

He's a little guy. But, they said he seems healthy and on track with his growth, so no worries. I can't imagine carrying him around if he were much bigger anyway!

Well, we're all doing well and just anticipating new changes to come! I guess I'll have another update after my doctor appointment tomorrow :D

Catch Up

2011-08-08T15:09:00.001-04:00

I know it's been a while, so I'm just going to do a quick post about everything that's been happening.

BABY SHOWER

Some awesome friends from my ward threw me a great shower a couple weeks ago and I got lots of diapers, wipes, bathing essentials, a few receiving blankets (which, if you can believe, I never had any with Brayden), and some of the fun stuff like clothes and a cute stuffed animal. Here's the picture I managed after most people already left.

The fabulous diaper cake Marquesas made

FASHION SHOW

I'm now in charge of one Young Women's activity every other month for personal progress. For July, we had a modesty fashion show and it was really fun! I think I needed to have a lot more people for the actual modeling part and cut down on the talking portion, but overall I can't complain about how it turned out. Here's a group shot of the lovely models we got! Next I think we'll do something about patriarchal blessings. We'll see.

BRAYDEN

Brayden won't be an only child for long. He's getting so grown up! He's really trying to say more and more words. He'll actually repeat things when I ask him to and I'm tuning my ear to his language. He can ask for juice (which basically means any kind of drink), answer yes or no questions with either a yes or shaking the head, he recognizes several letters of the alphabet and can make their sound. It's so cute when he sees an "M" because he'll point at it or pick it up and say "Mmmm" and then often times end with saying "Mum mum," which of course is his name for me and what "M" stands for. So cute. He still loves his songs with actions (favorites - wheels on the bus, if you're happy and you know it, the wise man and the foolish man, head shoulders knees and toes, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, and popcorn popping).

We go to the park every Wednesday to play with some other families and a couple weeks ago it started raining while we were there. Of course, there's nothing better than splashing in fresh rain puddles, so all the kids got soaked, but it was fun :) I snapped a few pictures, so I thought I'd put them up.

Kicking in the puddle

Playing ring around the rosie

Cute picture with Brayden and Anna both looking! Really, they're getting ready to play ring around the rosie again and wondering where Ava went. But, I just like that they're standing there holding hands ;)

And before I post about Little Brother, I just have to add that tonight we're doing our "baby prep" Family Home Evening and after having a short message we're going to take Brayden to the toy store and let him pick out a baby doll that will be his baby and we'll bring him home and let him practice whatever he wants. . . putting on a diaper, feeding it a bottle, rocking the bassinet, wrapping it up, etc. We'll see how it goes, but I'm excited.

ROOM MAKEOVER

We decided that we want to paint the boy's room. So, over the weekend we picked out some color samples and we got the pain today. We're going to paint it before FHE and then let it start drying while we're out. Hopefully it's all dry and put back together before the baby comes, but it's a fun little-ish project to get done! I'll post the before and after pictures later (when we actually have after pictures).

MOM IS HERE

Mumsy switched her plane ticket to come on Saturday instead of tomorrow, so she's here and helping out with our project. It worked out nicely because she flew in to Orlando and we were able to do one last temple trip before the baby comes. We were planning on being in Orlando anyway, but it's definitely cheaper, so it was nice for her too. It's still weird knowing that she's here to help me out with my newborn! Unfortunately she has to leave earlier than originally planned too, so we only have her for a couple weeks.

LITTLE BROTHER

One of the reasons Mumsy came out early is because I've been saying that I thought our babe would come the 2nd week of August (which has just begun) and at my appointment Friday they told me I'm dilated to a 2.5-3 and what they call "ripe and ready to go." The midwife told me that I may not need my appointment this week, but it's set up just in case. I've been having braxton hicks contractions since last Wednesday and I'm pulling for the boy to come Wednesday or Thursday. We think it would be awesome to have him born on the 11th because Brayden was born on the 9th of '09, so this one could be born the 11th of '11. But, really whenever will be great. I got a calendar at my shower that everyone put their guesses on for when the baby will come and what his stats will be. We've added some family guesses to it too. If you want to guess, just leave it in a comment and I'll add it on there!

The baby bump from today - 38 weeks, 2 days

Lastly about this little brother is that we have unofficially decided that his name will be Zander Charles Brown. It's been a hard decision because it gets mixed reactions. Even from us when we first heard it. But, believe me, we've taken that all into account and made it a matter of prayer, pondering, and family discussion and we just feel like that's what fits this guy. Well, the Zander part at least. The middle name, Charles, is also Preston's middle name and we liked the mix. The other option (one of them) was Zander Graham Brown. Graham being my dad's name. But, it was a little to close to Alexander Graham Bell :) Anyway, now you're all prepped to either be disappointed in the name or excited about it. Either way, we like it and think he'll like it too. Plus, with a lot of names out there right now, Zander won't seem too weird :) We do have our backup name (Conner) if we change our minds last minute.

35 Weeks

2011-07-21T14:15:00.000-04:00

Here's the baby bump. It's getting pretty big and difficult to move. But, other than the normal pregnancy effects, I feel really good! Can't wait to meet my new little buddy.

Babies are Everywhere!

2011-07-18T15:10:00.000-04:00

It must be baby season. There are at least 13 of my friends that recently had or are soon having babies! Whoa! So far, there are 7 boys and 5 girls and 1 unknown. Anyway, I've been working on some little sewing projects for all the mommies, and here's a few of the boy burpcloth sets I have. I already sent a whole bunch of things to my sister, who's having a little girl right around the same time I'm due!! But, I forgot to get pictures of all those things. Bummer. Anyway, I'm getting better at this sewing stuff. Still have a long way to go!

For all you expectant Mothers or those who have their precious little ones already, I'm so happy for all of you!! Hopefully I can get you a little something before your babies come!

Growth Spurt?

2011-07-12T12:45:00.001-04:00

Brayden most definitely had a growth spurt that is sadly coming to an end. He would sleep for 13-14 hours at night and still take a 3 hour nap! He seriously slept in until about 9:30 or 10 most days last week. It was really nice! But, he's been waking up at 8:15 the last two days. It could be worse. Much worse.

He's gone through a speech growth spurt too! All of the sudden he went from gibberish to repeating all sorts of words that we say! He consistently says a few words and then will repeat words that we say all the time. It's still pretty hard to understand, but for a Mommy who hears him all day I can understand a lot!

Here's a list of words that he's all the sudden saying:
- Hot (Otts - he says this whenever something comes out of the microwave or he sees steam)
- More (Ma)
- Yes (this one's pretty clear. And I'm happy to report that he doesn't say no yet! He likes shaking his head too much)
- Stars
- Truck (Guck)

There's so many more, but nothing's coming to mind. Of course. He has this one word that I can't figure out, but he uses it so much! It sounds like ocks. No clue. Hopefully soon I'll figure it out.

I also have to quickly share his animal sounds! He is the CUTEST!
Dog- Oof
Cow- Mmmm
Elephant- much like a cow, but with a slightly different sound, like Vvvv
Alligator - Ta ta (with his hands making a chomping motion)
Monkey- Ah ah (in the highest pitch voice you could imagine!)
Lion - a low grunting noise.
Sheep - a a a a

The monkey and lion are the best! He's so cute when he does them! We tried to get a video and failed miserably. He was much to distracted. We'll try again.

Here's the video just for kicks. He does a couple good ones, but we were talking with Preston's family over Skype and he could see their dogs. So when Preston asks him to make the dog sound he just keeps pointing at them. It sounds like he says "there it is" :) So, it's not his best animal sounds, but you can hear some cute ones still.

That's all for now!

So Much to Blog, So Unmotivated

2011-07-07T20:15:00.000-04:00

I really do have tons of things to blog about, but I just haven't taken the time yet. I've been getting lots of other things done, which is probably good. So, just wait patiently while I decide to post about our lives. Things to look forward to: more pics from when my family visited, Independence Day, Brayden's 2nd successful haircut by me (today actually), and my pregnancy update. I'm 33 weeks! And I have this sneaky suspicion that Baby Brother is going to be pretty early. . . . Mother's intuition? We'll find out I guess.

I have another appointment tomorrow, so maybe after that I'll have something to post about. Hopefully not too much though! :)

Family Visits

2011-06-23T23:50:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday my brother, Steve, flew into Orlando and we went to pick him up. Of course, we can't go to Orlando without visiting the temple, so Steve got to catch up with Brayden while we went in the best place on Earth. My mom and Dad arrived in Tallahassee the next morning after breakfast (we were supposed to meet up in Orlando, but it got complicated). B loved seeing everyone and was especially fascinated by his uncle Steven. I don't know what it is, but ever since he was a baby, he just looks at Steve and laughs. The first day he followed Steven around and wanted to be a part of all his activities.

We went to the beach on Saturday and that was lots of fun too! Aunt Beck sent some beach gear for Brayden that he liked trying on at home, but of course wouldn't keep on at the beach. The water was so warm at the beach! At least 80 degrees! I could definitely get used to that! However, I don't think I'll want to go in August. . . it'll be much too hot!

Brayden has been wonderful at taking his naps and sleeping at night even with noise and people around. We are so lucky! He has loved having everyone here! He had to warm up to his Grampy Doxey, but once he did he's had some good play time with him. As always, he LOVES his Grandy. I can't blame him. She spoils him :) Overall, he's been a happy camper and let his cuteness shine out. With his silliness every now and then too. It's amazing how much more fun he has when there's always something going on! It makes me more excited to have more kids to provide entertainment!

Anyway, we have loved having our family here! They've spoiled us all! They even rented a car that we could all fit in because we couldn't all fit in our little car. So, we didn't have to use hardly any gas while they were here and we got to enjoy the nice DVD player in the car. Brayden points to the TV every time we get in :D Of course, he won't be able to get too used to that because we won't have one of those for a very long time. If ever. But, it's been lots of fun!

We said goodbye to Steve and Grandy today, but then their flight was canceled, so we get them one more night. They're on a 7:30am flight though, so we'll pretty much say our goodbyes (again) tonight. Dad sticks around until Saturday. We'll miss you guys! It's been so fun! And I'm just glad to know that I'll have more visitor's soon for Baby Brother.

Enjoy the pictures!

Grandy & Gramps bring yummy berries!

trying on his new gear

ready to go. Blanky and all.

He wore Grampy's reading glasses around for a little while and kept walking funny because they were hard to see through. He would stare at his feet and take really slow steps. Sometimes he'd run into something that you could tell he saw but didn't think it was that close. It was too cute to stop for a while, but my concern for his eyes won out in the end and we got him to take them off.

We saw a bunch of sting rays in the water. It was kind of creepy, but we swam anyway. We figured as long as we didn't step on them they wouldn't hurt us.

checking for sting rays before going in the deep.

Family Picture

Wholesome Recreational Activities

2011-06-14T13:50:00.000-04:00

Playing in the Rain

First of all, just notice his shirt. . . he picked it out and asked me to put it on over the shirt he was already wearing. He truly loves his cars. Thanks Causey's for donating the T-shirt! There's plenty of growing space!

The rain had died down by this point, but the water was up to his shins at the beginning!

Family Bath

we were all squeezed in the the tub for a few minutes and Brayden loved it! He wanted to sit on my lap the whole time. Of course, Brayden was the only truly nakey body. hehe. Just had to throw that out there.

Cleaning

This was the first time I had the thought to pull out our mini vacuum while I used the big one. Brayden has claimed it as his own and helps me vacuum!

Baking

I just can't get enough of my boys! We have so much fun together! I wish that every day were Saturday so we could always have Daddy around!!

18 Months

2011-06-11T21:47:00.001-04:00

I hope you're ready for pictures! I had the camera out all day on Thursday because Brayden turned 18 months and I felt that it was worth documenting. Even with some narrowing down there are so many pictures! But, I'm sure all of you who don't get to see Brayden in person can appreciate it at least.

Here's a few things about Brayden at 18 months:

He talks all day long, but we still don't understand hardly anything
His favorite toy is Mommy's cell phone and iPod (and you should see him navigate those things!)
He loves most fruits, but doesn't care for many veggies. Favorite fruit is blueberries for sure and favorite veggie is broccoli.
He has regressed to whining at diaper changes and kicking until the diaper is off. He's a generally happy boy, but doesn't smile and giggle at just anything. You'll see in the pictures that he's mostly very serious for the camera.
On occasion he will close his door, get his binky and blanket and put himself down for a nap. Of course I always go in to say goodnight, but it's pretty cute.
He's a sweaty little boy! It only takes a minutes or two in our Florida heat until he's sweating all over.
He loves to do actions to songs. His regular favorites are "If you're happy and you know it," "The wheels on the bus," "Itsy bitsy spider," "Shake your sillies out," "Head shoulders knees and toes," and finally he will always smile when we sing "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam" while tossing him up.
He reads scripture stories each night and then "kneels" at his bed for prayers.
He kisses his picture of Jesus goodnight anytime we lift him up to the wall.
He gives the best kisses with a smack sound and all.
He loves Sadie dog and follows her around when she's inside.
He always wants to help hold Sadie's leash during walks.
He's found a new interest in baby gear. He's wanted to sit in the bouncer and insisted on pulling out the walker so he could walk in it.
He still cries when Mommy holds little babies, but is doing very well with letting kids his age share her attention.
He knows where Baby Brother is and will pat my belly.
He wants to stand up in his bathtub a lot these days and has started to aim his squirting toys to try and squirt me.
He has a little toilet that works as a stool as well, so whenever we go to brush his teeth, he tries to pick it up and move it. Sometimes successfully, but usually with help.
He is fascinated with toilets and watching us go to the bathroom and then helping us flush, but he doesn't have the desire to try it out yet.
He has never tried splashing in the toilet, which I am very grateful for! We've had one toy that got dunked once, but it's been a while.
He can recognize all his standard animals that he sees and can point them out when we ask.
He knows a lot of shapes, but struggles with his colors.
He loves when strangers give him attention.
Cars is his favorite movie and now whenever I mention cars (whether I'm talking about his toys or anything else) he gets way too excited and brings me the movie so he can watch.

I think that's a pretty good list for now. There's so much to tell about him! He's growing up so fast! As soon as he starts talking so I can understand he will seem so old! I think he'll be a great big brother! But, he'll have a little hard time with sharing Mom's attention in the beginning. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Breakfast. I pulled out some cheerios and oatmeal and asked which one he wanted. He looked at both then pointed at the cupboard and picked out Oops All Berries. He got his Daddy's sweat tooth for cereal.

drinking ALL the milk out of the bowl.

More please!

Playing with the iPod on his bed.

Giving Sadie a hug while she asks to go outside

"Le me get that for you Sadie"

Walking Sadie girl

Playing with a balloon

Climbing on the rocking footstool and trying to move it back and forth. He's fearless.

Time for binky!

Getting blanky too.

Sitting with Daddy after his nap. They were cute and matching!

A face we see a lot these days. He's had teeth poppin out like crazy and there's more coming! He likes to chew his lip and tongue though.

Like father, like son. I also love his little squat :D

Smile for Dad

Finding Mommy's teeth

Finding the nose

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands. . .

. . . if you're happy and you know it clap your hands. . .

. . . if you're happy and you know it then you're face will surely show it!

Turning on his Animal Scramble game.

Tagging the animals

Getting his back massage

Playing with Sadie

Sadie won. . .

Daddy came to help tug of war with Sadie

Brayden and Daddy won that time.

Being sad because Mommy said no more iPod

But, Daddy comes and tickles him and "roughs around" to make him happy.

He loves his Daddy

Kisses!

Next age milestone: 2 YEARS!!!!

29 Weeks

2011-06-03T13:59:00.000-04:00

I love taking pictures and I love being in pictures, but it's tough to do both simultaneously. I got a couple decent pics to share though. I still can't decide my favorite way to edit photos (or what program is best from my options), so bare with the variety.

My fashion boy

2011-06-03T13:55:00.001-04:00

What can I say, he loves shoes! And yes, he definitely gets that from me.

Harp Lessons

2011-06-03T13:52:00.000-04:00

Besides the ever learning Brayden, I started teaching harp again! I have a 7 year old student who just started this week and I think it went really well! I'm excited for these lessons to keep me "harping."

Memorial Weekend

2011-06-02T14:08:00.000-04:00

SATURDAY
It was so fun to have Preston home for the first weekend in 3 weeks! We got spoiled with the long weekend too. Saturday we ran some "fun errands" as a family to get some play sand for Brayden's new donated raised sand box. It was on sale at Lowe's for $2.66/ 50lb bag! Awesome. Then we went to Walmart to pick out a training potty for Brayden. He loves lifting the lid and if I catch him working hard (if you know what I mean) then I'll ask if he wants to sit on his potty. He definitely understands because he walks to the bathroom and lifts the lid up and points at it, but he doesn't really want to use it yet. We tried sitting him on the big toilet after he had messed his diaper just while we wiped him, but he shook his head no at the first and didn't want to stay long. We're certainly not in a rush, but we felt strongly that we needed to have it around to at least introduce the idea. I would love to have him potty train early since I'll have another set of diapers to buy and change soon. But, all in good time.

After Brayden's nap we took him and Sadie to the Tom Brown park and thought we'd check out the dog park there. But, first we made a stop at the animal shelter just to let Brayden see the animals. He LOVED the cats! They were mostly uninterested in his little fingers poking in the cages, but he did get a couple cats to come over for rubs and they loved it almost as much as Brayden. He then found a cage with a bunch of mice and possibly other rodents, but I didn't look too well. Also loved it. People around him were laughing and smiling because he just stood there on his tippy toes so his fingers could be in the cage and laughed his cutest laugh every time a little mouse would sniff his finger or brush by them. This kid loves animals! The dog area was so fun at the beginning because Brayden was just going from cage to cage having the time of his life seeing all the different dogs, but then a worker took a dog out and barking exploded in the area, which made Brayden a little nervous. We took a cute little german shepherd puppy outside to a fenced area thinking Brayden would like to be with a little dog out there, but other than trying to pick the pup up to carry him to the water bowl, he wasn't very interested. I guess he gets his fix of dogs from Sadie. We might have to go back this week because we were told that there are 8 week old border collie puppies that are going to be available to see. I want to see them :D hehe. Anyway, I'm so long winded. . . sorry. We did make it to the dog park where Sadie got mauled by 6 bigger dogs who wanted to sniff her and check her out, she wet herself all over me when I picked her up and then right as she was starting to enjoy herself it started pouring. As in, we were soaked by the time we got to the car. Welcome to Florida. We'll be going back to the dog park to really try it out! Oh, and I can't forget that we stopped at Joann's to see their flannel sale for the weekend and picked up some fabric for burp cloths. So many friends are having babies! I have 6 people I'm going to make them for! Fun fun.

SUNDAY
It was a fairly usual Sunday. The nursery leaders reported that Brayden has gotten attached to a sister in our ward who runs a nursery every Tuesday night while I'm at Young Women's. She happened to be helping in nursery at church and evidently Sister Mauer couldn't hold any other child or Brayden would have a meltdown. Oh, my sweet little man. Hehe. We also got invited over to dinner that night and had the most amazing pancakes ever! I'm going to try the recipe soon. Thanks Tena!

MONDAY
We had plans to go to Wakulla Springs to swim with a few other people from the ward. Unfortunately everyone had retreated from the heat in to the gift shop by the time we got there except for one couple and the Holdaways who got there about the time we did. So, we didn't actually get to see any of them other than to say goodbye, but we had fun with the Hargrett's and Holdaways! Brayden dragged Kendal and Chris into the water with him while we changed into our suits and was fearless of the cold water! It was really surprisingly chili! But, he had a great time! I have a few pictures, but I still need to get used to my zoom lens for my nice camera because it won't take the pictures sometimes when I would try to. I don't know if that's because people were getting closer or what. I need to play around with it more. But, I got a couple decent ones :D

We had a great time! I wish we could have more days with Daddy around, but life is what it is. He's working hard and we're proud of him. I'm truly blessed with the most wonderful family!

Oh, and I must mention the best part of the Memorial Day was singing all the patriotic songs we could find on the iPod together on our way to the Springs. Good memories. We love America!

Baby Brother Update

2011-05-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

Went to the doctor again. Got my RhoGAM shot. Passed my glucose test. Still HIV negative (phew. . .I was worried :D ). Weight is 118 for a total gain of 10 pounds so far. Start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now. Everything is going great!

Here's the thing. . . I keep having these thoughts that my baby will come early. Like, a month early. I wish I knew if they were inspirational feelings or just thought. Whatever it is, it makes me really excited to think that I could have a fresh new baby in just a couple of months! Whether he's early or not, I am getting really excited for my new little man! Scared out of my mind, but overjoyed at the thought as well!

I am so excited for Brayden to be an older brother. I am so excited to hold another precious newborn. I am so excited to have another shot at raising a little boy and teaching him about life. I am so excited to see my own growth with this new addition. And yet, I'm nervous that all these things won't go well. Mostly, I'm holding on to the excitement and pushing the fear aside. I don't know why, but this pregnancy has zoomed by. I've hardly remembered I'm pregnant all the time and now he's almost here! So, I'm just catching up on all the exciting anticipation I've been missing out on I guess.

Baby's doing great! He kicks around a ton. Brayden moved a lot, but he had a lot of slow movements that you could watch. This little guy is always full of quick punches and kicks. We watched my belly for 10 minutes last night just seeing him make his sudden movements. I love him already!

Name update. . . well, there isn't one yet. But, here's the ongoing list of options:

Zander
Connor
Tyson
Taylor
Quinn
Cody

We really don't know about our favorite name yet. Something about Zander just draws us in, but we know it's bordering weird and Preston's family has already informed us that they will call him something else. So, there's some strikes against it, but I still just really like it at the same time. It would grow on you I'm sure. But, the other names are all good too and not so weird. TELL ME WHAT YOU LIKE AND DON'T LIKE! Seriously, we love feedback! Good and bad!

Lemons Galore

2011-05-21T21:18:00.001-04:00

A guy from our ward informed Preston of a place and time to be for all the lettuce and lemons that you want for free. I haven't exactly figured out the story behind why, but I guess it happens every year. We got WAY more than we could ever use! We only fit a few bags of them in the fridge, but we had 3 boxes in the garage still! We even gave some away to neighbors and Preston took some to school for friends. Then I got sick and they stayed in the garage to rot in the heat (it's been 95 the last couple days!). I finally got around to going through all the lemons and washing all the good ones. Here they are. Can you believe I have a fruit drawer full of them already?? Wow. . . tomorrow I'll start some major juicing and possibly make some more lemon bars. Yum.

Maclay Gardens

2011-05-21T14:17:00.001-04:00

There's a state park close by us here called the Alfred B. Maclay Gardens and we've never gone, but I got an email from a ward friend informing everyone that it's free admission on May 21st. So, I figured, why not? It was great! We played at the playground, we went swimming in the lake there and then we walked around the gardens for a few minutes. We didn't get very far because Brayden was very busy and tired, but he had fun and it was nice to get out and have something to do! I'm sure we'll go back with Preston eventually. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures since I was mostly involved with Brayden, but I managed a couple.

As soon as we finished at the playground, Brayden headed to the water. As soon as I mentioned swimming, he grabbed my hand and tried several times to go straight down to the water before we even got to the swim area. But, he didn't complain when I carried him away from the water to change at least.

Brayden's favorite part on the walk were the water fountains they had. Especially because of the brick block. He also decided that he needed to walk on the small little edge wall that was there. No fear.

The view of the lake from one of the sitting areas on the garden path.

I'm also excited to talk to my mom!! I know that sounds weird, but she's been traveling with my grandparents for the past 3 weeks, so I haven't been able to communicate other than getting a couple of emails from her. But, she gets to Malaysia tonight (my time) so she said she'd call and we can video chat right before Brayden goes to bed :) Yay! Fun fun.

Hope you have a good weekend too!!

B's HAIRCUT

2011-05-18T22:17:00.002-04:00

There are haircuts all around! Of course you already got a look at my fabulous new do, but I also decided it was time for Brayden's hair to get a cut because when it was wet, the front went down to his eyes (what happened. . . he used to be practically bald!). So he got a cut on Monday. Preston asked me for a haircut before he left so he got one on Tuesday. Lots of haircuts. Anyway, I have pictures of Brayden's handsome new look. Of course, I have had to do a little fixing as I see a piece that's too long or something. It's tough cutting a toddler's hair. . . I had to hide the scissors so he wouldn't run away. I let him play with my iPod and sat there stroking his hair as I often do and every now and then I would SNIP. He'd look around at me with curiosity and a look that obviously knew that I was up to something. When I showed him the hair that was cut off he got his icky face and tried to brush it away. I thought it would be cool to have a picture of him holding it :) Instead I have all these:

BEFORE AFTER

Still playing on the iTouch

It's not much, but here's the cut off hair.

Gone Again

2011-05-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

Well, we dropped Preston off at the airport today and won't see him until late Monday night. But, for some reason, I'm doing much better this time around than when he left last weekend. I guess because this trip has been planned for months. His best friend, Rob, is getting married on Friday and he just couldn't miss it. But, we didn't think it was a good financial decision for me to join him. Although I would have loved to be there. It also helped me be ok with it knowing that my family's all out of town right now, so I wouldn't be able to see them anyway. Anyway, now that's Brayden's in bed and I'm getting ready to go to bed is my time to miss my love, but I'm still holding up alright. We'll see how i'm doing by the end of the 5 days :)

Oh, but the plane tickets were much cheaper out of Panama City Airport, so we drove the 2 hours there and Brayden and I went and found a beach afterwards which was really fun. Beautiful white sand and the clearest water! We'll probably go back Monday when Preston comes home. My only dilemma is what to do after the beach because Preston doesn't arrive until 9. We'll see. No pictures from today though. I left the camera battery in the charger. . . oops. Monday there will be pictures!

Little Chef

2011-05-14T13:32:00.000-04:00

This was just too cute not to post. Brayden in his new apron helping make lemon bread.

The end mess.

We Miss you Daddy, but we're still having fun! And eating yummy bread :D

Brayden's Update

2011-05-13T16:02:00.000-04:00

Two big things have happened with Brayden.

First, NURSERY!! Hallelujah! It's been tough with Preston teaching Elder's Quorum sometimes and me teaching Young Women because Brayden's always in the way it seems like. No offense meant to him, but 11:00 church is practically his naptime and he needs people to entertain him. Very tough when you're teaching. So, you can imagine how nice it was for Mother's Day to teach a lesson not interrupted by my little sweet B. He's only 17 months, but we have wonderful nursery leaders who welcomed him in anyway! And they said he did great! A couple crying moments, but mostly good.

Second, a BIG BOY BED! Yep, that's right, as of yesterday Brayden has a toddler bed. I wasn't going to use it yet because he still seems like he needs a crib. He's kind of a crazy sleeper. But, when he got a huge grin and ran to the bed when we came home last night, we just had to try it out and see how he'd do. And he slept in the bed! Well, he did end up on the floor at some point. Poor kiddo. He actually came walking out once because we hadn't closed the door tightly, but we went and laid him down again. He cried. We sang to him again. He cried for minute when we left. Then we could just hear him moving around and playing, so we weren't sure if he'd make it back on the bed. When he had been quiet for about 45 minutes, we went in and found him like this:

Looks like he was just so tired he barely made it on the bed :) We did move him onto the pillow though.

I tried unsuccessfully to have nap time in the big boy bed too, but when I checked on him, his bed had open books on it and he was on the floor. So into the crib he went :) But, I'm thinking it will be good to start the transition now so that our crib will be free when we need it with Little Brother. Any suggestions for the transition? I haven't looked into anything. It just sort of happened. Which reminds me that I owe a special thanks to the Smiths for their bed and mattress! I was just going to take the mattress since we have wood to build a bed, but when I saw their bed I couldn't resist. It matches our crib set!!! It's perfect! Thanks so much!! Anyone want a homemade toddler bed? We'll be happy to pass on our supplies! Or, I could even make it for you (it would be a great Personal Progress project for me!).

Missing Preston Already. . .

2011-05-13T15:42:00.000-04:00

Preston got an e-mail from our stake President a few days ago saying that our stake was assigned to go to Georgia for some Tornado clean-up and whatever they're in need of. There was a false alarm similar to this a couple weeks ago and our stake was possibly going to Alabama, but they ended up not needing us. So, not only have I hardly seen or interacted with Preston in the last few days because he's had to be emailing and calling people constantly in his spare time to get everything set up (the joys of being Elder's Quorum President) but now he's one his way to help out for the weekend.

Even though I truly do know that he's where he needs to be and doing what Heavenly Father wants him to be, I just miss him. I feel so weak sometimes. I know I can handle Brayden and the home by myself, but it still seems so hard. I've already been dreading next week because he leaves to go to Utah for his best friend's wedding (which is so exciting!), but to find out last minute that he's gone this weekend too is just hard on me. I blame pregnancy hormones for my tears. But seriously, I feel like I don't even know what to do to pass the time. Hello. . . I have Brayden to myself all day anyway, so what's the big deal? Anyway, I just had to vent those feelings and I'm already feeling better. If you happen to read this in the next hour before you leave (or ever for that matter), I miss you so much Preston! You're amazing! I guess it's a good reminder of how much you do for me when I don't have you here.

For all the readers that do read this, I promise I'm happy and I'll be fine. Sometimes we go through those lonely moments, but I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family!

One last random thought. . . isn't it weird to have to cook dinner for yourself and a toddler? I had already planned my meals, so I have soup in the crockpot and rolls rising, but it feels kind of pointless to cook. Anyway, just a thought. Pretty sure we'll eat leftovers tomorrow. And Sunday :D Hehe. HAPPY WEEKEND! Hope you're not lonely too, but if you are, let's get together or talk!

Disney World Highlights

2011-05-10T12:59:00.002-04:00

Preston finished up his semester and had a week off last week, so we spent a few days in Orlando. It was tons of fun! Our good friends, the Durtschi's, came with us and it worked great! Between fast passes and kid swaps, we were able to do all the "big rides" and the kid rides that we wanted. The longest line we waited in was no more than 20 minutes!

Brayden also hit a milestone of riding the carousel all by himself! He rode with Daddy once, we stood next to him once and then we let him sit on his own while we were on our own horses too. He felt so big :D He also loved the teacups, which we didn't do last time we went. He was screaming and smiling the whole time.

See how wet he is? But we didn't change him because
it was so hot out! I wished I got soaked :D

Waiting for the car stunt show. I thought Brayden would love it, but I think he got scared a couple of times.

During one of the stunt scenes. Judging from my face, it was a pretty good one :)
I tried to pretend that it was extra cool so that Brayden wouldn't be afraid.
But, he still had his whiney face on.

Brayden found this at a gift shop and started carrying it away.
He loves stuffed animals and the bigger the better.

The backstage ride. Soon there were flames and a whole wall of water and
Brayden didn't want to be by the edge any more so he came over to sit by me.

The Durtschi's. The boys love Star Wars!

Tyler got to do Jedi training!

Ready for the Toy Story ride!

My boys.

Family picture

Big Kids :D

First carousel ride. I guess my belly must be getting bigger because Brayden decided he'd rather ride on Daddy's lap!

Teacups!

My favorite part was when Preston put his hands in the air and then Brayden did it at the end. Something about those little arms that barely reach above his head when they're stretched out just couldn't be cuter! Especially when he's got a big grin on his face. When it stopped, he tried to turn the wheel to make it go.

Winnie the Pooh

Last carousel ride. It was the end of the day and we had just pulled out binky and blanky, but he still looked proud to be a big boy on his own horse when he was riding!

Brayden loved the pool! He kept walking until the water was up to his chin and then he still didn't want to be held.

He also found a new love of climbing out of the pool and then coming back in. He loved "jumping" from the edge if we were holding his hands.

Drab to Fab. . . or something like that

2011-04-30T21:14:00.003-04:00

I got a new summer haircut today! It's been getting so hot and it feels much better to not have so much hair. Plus, it was just time for a change. So here it is - the before and after.

BEFORE:

Don't mind the fact that I didn't take time to do my hair today. . .

AFTER:

It looks even better (if you can imagine!) without that silly line from a clip going through my hair.

And the Baby Bump just for kicks. (24 Weeks!)

The Cast is Off!

2011-04-29T14:46:00.000-04:00

I took Brayden in yesterday to get his cast cut off! The X-ray looked good and they said to be a little careful (no soccer matches. . . darn) but that he should be fine walking around on it and everything. He also mentioned that it would probably take a day or two for Brayden to get back to normal with walking, but after holding my hand to the car he was ready to take off on his own! There's no slowing him down! He's very resilient and I just love him. He also got a much needed bath after 2 1/2 weeks with no soaping him up.

On a different note, I went into the doctor's yesterday too and they said everything looks fine (as usual) and sent me on my way. So, yay for another healthy baby boy so far! He moves all the time and I can feel how big he's getting! My ribs aren't ready, but they'll manage I'm sure :D

The Rest of the Easter Pics

2011-04-27T13:32:00.003-04:00

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

The Easter gifts from Mumsy (we really didn't do anything for Brayden this year besides the egg hunt on Saturday. . . next year I guess)

reading books with Daddy in the morning

Trying out his new Crocodile Dentist game. He wanted it to snap on him! When a tooth wouldn't make it shut, he'd try to force it closed :D

Ooh.... looks good.

Handsome boy half dressed.

He wrapped the monkey around his neck with it's velcro hands. He LOVES this monkey and will walk around with it hanging off of him at home too.

Easter Outfit!

EASTER

2011-04-25T14:27:00.001-04:00

Our cute coordinated Easter outfits :) Unfortunately Brayden was just ready to go home after church, so this was the best we could do!

Happy Easter!! We had a ton of fun this weekend! We hosted an Easter party on Saturday with an egg hunt, food and homemade pinata! It turned out so fun! I'll add those pictures later because I forgot to get them from the memory card and Preston took the camera to school today.

But, Sunday we got to go to another Easter egg hunt and dinner that was also a blast! Thanks Amy and Mikael for inviting us! I do have those pictures, so enjoy!

Brayden LOVED the dogs. We left him by the door while we went and got food and he was laughing the cutest laughs every time one of the three dogs would come up to the door. He would squeal and giggle. SO CUTE!

Starting the egg hunting

He got the concept of pick the egg up, put it in the basket.

But, he also got the concept of open the egg and eat candy. Here's B trying to get Daddy to open his egg while Daddy tries to get B to put it in the basket. Battle of the wills - Brayden won and got to eat a skittle.

a hidden orange egg that we MIGHT have helped point out.

Toss it in the basket

pull another egg out to see what candy is in there. I ate half and Brayden ate half :D

MORE CANDY!!!

Our cute, gimp legged, chocolate faced Easter boy!

Pleeeeeaaase!

Another dog in a truck that Brayden couldn't resist. He liked the dogs much better than the eggs :D

Playing chase with Amy and her dad. He wore them both out and still asked for more.

Petting the frog that we found. I picked it up so Brayden could see it and for some reason it seemed like a good idea to put it on Brayden's head. He loves putting things on his head. It was right as he was reaching up to get it off that I realized the frog had no other way down than to fall. Oops. But, Brayden loved it and the frog seemed ok after. He started hopping away :D

Our Recent Adventures

2011-04-21T12:52:00.000-04:00

St. Patrick's Day - Fun Station

Can you guess what Brayden's favorite game was? Yep - the Car Racing games. We didn't even have to really play. . . he just liked sitting there watching the video it played.

We played at least 3 free games of basketball because their machines just kept saying it was ready to start.

Mini Golfing!

Mission San Louis

The Park

The Florida History Museum (in Grandma's Attic. . . Brayden's favorite part)

Award's Ceremony

Preston getting recognized for his teaching scholarship

Retirement Party at WAKULLA SPRINGS

teaching Brayden checkers :D

On the Boat waiting for the tour

Osprey Nest in the top of the tree

hugs for Daddy

Our first Alligator spotting since we moved here!

Turtles

More birds

A face-off to claim the territory. The one on the left is the biggest gator in Wakulla Springs right now. I think they said he's like 7 feet or something. The craziest thing is that there are 400-600 gators in a 3 mile radius here!! And yet we go swimming. . . ?

The clear water (with the reflection of some clouds)