New babies, old friends, good times!

"Hi mommy, why is that camera always in my face?"

"Orange goo? A spoon? What do I do with this, mommy?"

(first time ever eating carrots!)

"Look at me and my feet! Practicing to do the splits!

And I think my foot tastes just as good as the carrots!"

"say cheese!"

"This is my naturally curly hair! (like my mom's!)

Took a bath, mommy got the gel, & wha la!"

"I like to play with my food!"

(2nd time eating carrots, tues. night)

This week has been an exciting one so far, and it's only Tues.! Well, Sunday was a joyous day, as both Kelli and Tiffany were able to bring home their babies from the hospital! Hurray! So Brightlie and I stopped by Kelli's house on Monday afternoon to visit baby Maddox! He is so cute, and 9 whole lbs! Brightlie enjoyed getting attention from Kelli's mom, Aunt Lisa. Then, today B and I went to see the twins! Tiffany's babies, Kate and Ellie, are adorable, and so tiny! About 1/3 of Brightlie's weight. :) I am so happy that Brightlie has new cousins to play with! It will be so fun when they are all a lil older, running around, causing trouble... I can't wait! Congrats Tiff & Kelli- we hope to visit again soon!

On a "Brightlie" note, she is getting to be such a big girl! Can you believe it, she is 20 weeks old! Almost 5 months! Well, the doc said I could start introducing baby rice cereal around 4 months, and if she was doing well with that, then I could start introducing baby food around 5 or 6 months, since B is so healthy, happy, and growing! So, yesterday I introduced B to her first veggie- Carrots!!! She did so good, and she was so happy! GO BRIGHTLIE! I'm glad she enjoyed them- and hopefully she takes after her daddy and is NOT a picky eater (like mommy).

Another fun experiment was gelling B's hair! She has very curly hair when it is wet, just like mine, so I finally decided that we needed a pic of it! So, we gelled her hair and it looked too cute! Paul loved it, and is pleased her hair isn't straight and flat- just wait til it gets a little longer.... it'll be adorable! (or so we hope!) We love her so much, and are enjoying every new adventure, even though it's kinda sad to see her growing up so fast! Below is a short clip of her 1st jar food eating adventure!

Happy girl!!!

Just some quick pics of lil Brightlie- her newest toy- her feet! She is flexible, for sure! I see dance in her future- hurray!!! Such a happy girl-I took this pic while she was in her carseat- say "I love the camera mommy"!

Saturday fun!

So, today was a fun, but very busy Saturday! The day began with both me and "Queen B" (Anyone watch Gossip girl?) anyways . . Brightlie, wearing brand new outfits, which meant that the day was sure to go well. Today was my best friend's baby shower- Hurray for Tiffany and her twin girls! We had fun watching her open all her gifts, she sure got a lot! My friend Ashley enjoyed holding B, and then also held our friend Christy's lil girl Anna, so it was like having twins! Maybe she is practicing for the future . . . haha. Then Brightlie and I headed over to Hendrix Jr. High where my girls were having their HDC (Hendrix Dance Co.) party! We made T-shirts, watched the new disney movie Princess & the Frog, ate lots of good food (Native New Yorker Wings, Oreganos Pizza and Pizukki Cookie, chips and salsa, and more!) I enjoyed spending time with the girls and I think they had a blast too! Busy day, but lots of fun!

Doctor's Appt. - 4 months

*Kristi's craft

*Clothes for the princess

*Brightlie trying out a spoon for the 1st time!

So today Brightlie got to go to the Doctor's office for her 4 month old check up! I can't believe how time flies when you're having fun - And boy do we have fun with her! She is mommy's lil angel, and daddy's lil princess. We LOVE her SOOOOOOO much! The doctor report was an A+. He said she is at the 55% range for her weight (14 lbs. 2 oz.) and was above in her height as well, being 25 in. long! Way to go, growing girl! (The sad part was that she had to get several shots, so she has been kinda sad the rest of today.) Anyways, the doctor said we should start introducing rice cereal into her daily routine, so we tried it tonight. . . but it didn't go so well. There was choking, coughing, crying (lots of it), confusion, funny stares, and rice/formula everywhere! I think it's gonna take her a little while to learn what to do with a spoon. She didn't like spoon feeding AT ALL, but I'm sure in no time she will be much better and happier at meal time. :)

(ps. if you watch the video, please don't think we are bad parents!)

The rest of the day was spent shopping (Paul loves me) at AZ Mills mall & Babies R Us. Paul got 2 new shirts (buy one get one free at Aero) I got a new shirt ($5 only!) at Forever 21 & a cute pair of modest jean shorts. The princess got new clothes from Carter's & Oskosh, and some baby food (stocking up now for when she hits 6 months!) And I also got a bunch of stuff from Hobby Lobby, and made a fun lil craft (inspired by Leigh Root) out of canvas boards and material. It will eventually be hung up on my wall. Anyways, that's about it- What a long, crazy fun day!

More pics. . . Spring Break

More pics of our Spring Break family vacation!

Lil Brightlie / Me Paul & Aunt Dawn / Brightlie & Karson

Me &

Jenny with Brightlie / Clay enjoying holding (napping with) Brightlie

Short video of our ride home, passing the huge new bridge at the Hoover Dam!

Brightlie's 1st Vacation!

* Paul & I on the ATV!!! (my first time with Paul)

* Brightlie admiring the boys board game Risk

*The guys all chillin- handsome huh?!

*Karson, Caden, & Brightlie- the lil cousins

* Reidhead's at St. George Temple- so pretty!

So for Spring Break, Paul surprised me by announcing that we should up and go to Utah to hang out with his cousin Clay (and his wife Jenny whom I love!) at Aunt Dawn's house in St. George. I have been dying to see Jenny & Clay and their 2 boys! Their seond baby boy was born a month before brightlie, and we haven;t gotten together to see each others kids yet, since Clay is going to school in Montana. So, we packed up quick and left, arriving Sat. to enjoy a few days in the cooler weather. :) It was so much fun! We got to hangout with a bunch of the cousins, enjoy each other's kids, and just chat with the extended fam! Luckily Aunt Dawn & Uncle Tim have a big, nice house, that accommodates everyone! So it was kinda like a huge sleepover! (except that around 2am when everyone finally crashed, we each got to enjoy sleeping our own rooms in their large basement. Each room has its own queen/king bed, dresser, closet, the works!) We rode ATVs, watched movies, laughed, played games, ate food, and just had fun relaxing! It was also nice to stop in at Paul's oldest brother's house (Weston) and then also at his older sister's house (Noelle) while we were up there, since we don't see them very often. Oh, and of course Paul's bro/ best friend Austin was up there and spent a lot of time at Aunt Dawn's too, so we all got to party! Oh, on Sunday we stopped by the St. George Tample- it is gorgeous!!! That was pretty special. And lastly, Jenny and I had fun shopping all morning today, which was a good way to end the trip! We had so much fun, we will have to visit again real soon! Thanks so much Aunt Dawn & Uncle Tim!!! Love you!

Fun with Anna

Today brightlie got to spend the day with her friend Anna! (Christy Christensen's daughter) Yes, the 2 of them are best friends, only being about 48 hours apart in birthdays :) This is a short video of Brightlie trying out Anna's jump-about thingy! Fun huh?!

Brightlie SAT UP!!! (kinda)

So today Paul & I saw a very fun and exciting moment in Brightlie's 'growing up' phase - Turning 4 months old this week (she's growing so fast) Paul & I almost had a heart attack today when she tried ( and accomplished) to sit up on her own! We are chillin, watching TV and I casually notice that Brightlie is straining her neck forward, which she has been doing for the past week. No big deal right? That is, until I suddenly see her whole body lurch forward!!! She is all of a sudden sitting upright! It scared me so bad, I thought she was going to go to far and 'face plant'. So Paul and I jump down on the ground, and are stunned to see her looking around, all happy and content, just sitting up in her lil bouncer thingy. She is so spontaneous. It is so fun to see her trying new things, and learning to explore the world! My little girl is growing up! Time for baby number 2?! JUST KIDDING! Brightlie has me pretty busy at the moment, trying to master this whole "mommy" thing. Maybe I'll have an announcement in 2 years or so. . . :) Then again, I told Paul that Brightlie is so great that I am perfectly content with just her! I mean, just look at her awesome, incredibly cute ward robe! Guess Paul will need to be making bank and be out of school so I can afford shopping for baby #2, cuz Brightlie takes up all our money at the moment. I can't help but spoil (I mean Love) her!!! So, anyways, I am very proud of her. However, I continued to sit by her for a while, just in case she was about to take a face dive into the floor, but she never did. She just sat there looking at me and daddy, and the tv. Such a good little baby!

another one of "those" days

"Uh oh, mommy is crying more than me! Maybe mommy needs a new outfit?"

Ever have one of those days? You know the type that make you burst into tears because you can't decide between screaming into your pillow or screaming at the next unfortunate person who dares to cross your path? Well, that is how I've felt between yesterday and today. Mostly yesterday. Monday's always seem like 'bummer-beginning-of-a-new-week' kind of days. Well, first I left to work late. Not the best start. Then, realized on my way to work that my car was glowing (well, actually just the bright yellow 'out of gas' light came on). Great, even later than already late. Showed up just in time for my class. Got to deal with 2 of my dancers freaking out at each other about a facebook/myspace scandal, etc. Oh, the drama of Jr. High. It wasn't that hard when we went to school, was it? That issue wasn't so bad, until one of my lil 7th graders is walking the opposite direction of the lunch room after class... Talked to her and found out that she had no money, she was too embarrassed to call mom on such short notice, so I bought her lunch (that was actually the ok part of my day, poor girl was in tears). Get home only to find that my babysitter canceled. Yep, who could not love Brightlie!? I mean, she is so cute! (Proud mom speaking) Well, this is the second sitter to cancel on me in 2 weeks. I'm pretty annoyed- It's not like I can just quit my job. (ps.- it's not due to Brightlie that they cancel, in case you wondered). So, I come home, cry my eyes out, call into work to get Tues. off, not to mention I have to attend a funeral on Tues. anyways, and (sigh) I have finally had it. Forget making dinner, cuz I am pretty sure I ordered pizza. I played with Brightlie, took a relaxing shower, and watched a movie with Paul. What a day. And on top of all that, I just got offered my dream job tonight . . . yep, I was offered a full-time position at a HIGH SCHOOL teaching dance, all day every day, at a school that is well known for their amazing dance company talent. This is the job I have wanted since I first decided to go to ASU for 4 years to become a dance teacher! But, I have to decline because Paul and I decided that I should be a stay at home mom. Don't get me wrong, I love Brightlie to pieces. But, this kind of opportunity doesn't happen everyday, especially for such a young teacher to be handed this type of position. So, to sum it all up, yesterday was a really crummy day, and p.s. today wasn't a whole lot better. This week isn't starting off so great. . . good thing it's spring break soon.

My crafty adventure . . .

So, I have been dying to buy Brightlie one of those adorable tutus that are so freakin cute! :) However, I am not willing to pay $50.00 for one, which seems to be the general boutique price. So, I decided to try to make one on my own. It wasn't hard, but it didn't come out quite as great as I had hoped . . .So i figure I will keep trying. For $5.00 total, you can't beat it!