wildcat baby

This Tuesday (like most) we went to Grady's basketball game. and also that day we made a trip to hobby lobby which resulted in what is pictured below...

A super adorable baby Wildcat! we are still recovering from the massive amounts of excess tutu glitter. Go wildcats!

until next time,
Brit

amazing

I usually don't get very exciting emails...but today I got one from Jeremy's sister that had a link to this video! This 8 month old baby was born deaf, and this is him hearing his Mommy's voice for the very first time.

Amazing! I love how instantly the little boy is so happy to be hearing the love coming from his Mommy's voice. It doesn't take him any time at all to process what he is hearing, that's his mamma and he knows it!

Thanks Heather!

until next time,

Brit

sitting pretty

In the last couple days Rylee has totally figured out this sitting on your bottom with no support thing! It seems like just last week she was struggling to sit for a few seconds without toppling over and face planting...and now she's a pro. She learned how to do it overnight!

Aren't babies just amazing?! I love love love watching Rylee try and fail (I don't really enjoy watching her fail...I enjoy watching her learn.) and figure things out. It fascinates me to watch as her little brain works to problem solve and sort through all of the new and exciting information she is taking in and observing. Learning is the best!

until next time,
Brit

life savers

The teething process hasn't been too difficult on us, yet. The last few days though her teeth haven't been very nice to her. and her sleeping habits have not been very nice to me. We are all covered in slobber and she is chewing, more like gnawing on anything in her reach...toes included.

These two items have been my favorite and her preferred items of chewing:

(from here)

(from here)

I love the first one because it is made from maple, and that's it. Nothing else foreign or strange that I can't pronounce. The second one is great because instead of her grabbing at my shirt or my hair she has this super cute fabric necklace to grab onto and chomp away at.

We are 2 teeth down...and how many to go?!

until next time,
Brit

The Big 6!

Rylee is half of a year old! Ridiculous that she is halfway to her first birthday already. Our little 6 month old is pretty spectacular.

On Wednesday nights we cook dinner for the youth group and have them over to eat before Church. We have class in our living room and afterwards everyone comes over for dessert. So for dessert tonight I made strawberry birthday cake - We were planning on singing to Rylee, but she fell asleep. So we ate cake in honor of her birthday without her.

Rylee's new trick.

Our little dare devil!

It is so incredible to watch her play and learn and come into being this awesome little human being with such a wonderful and individual personality. As much as we are relishing each and every moment of having her it is just unbelievable how fast time seems to go...

During the day it seems that I am always anxious and looking forward to her next big accomplishment, and her next big milestone but once nighttime hits and as we stare at her sleeping so peacefully I wish for time to just slow down.

I can only imagine my thoughts 6 months from now. Happy Birthday Rylee Joyce!

until next time
Brit

two tiny teeth

no more toothless grins, this baby has teeth! two pretty teeth! The first one popped out a couple days after Christmas, and the other wasn't far behind coming through a few days ago. our little girl is growing up fast.

until next time,
Brit

rodeo

Last Saturday we went to the PRCA rodeo. I was unsure of how Rylee would react to everything, the loud noises, it being way past her bed time, sitting in one spot for a couple of hours, but she loved it all!

It was unbelievably fun to watch her get so excited to be there. She loved the horses, and every time they would go by she would watch intently then burst into laughter. She was talkative and cheerful the entire time. In the last event everything started to catch up with her, and she just laid her head down on Jeremy's chest and fell right to sleep. no fuss.

We had a great time at the rodeo,and it made it all the better to watch Rylee having such a good time there too. I have a feeling there will be a lot more of this in our future...someday maybe in our back yard.

until next time,
Brit

meal planning

Since moving out to a home 30 miles from the grocery store we have been incorporating meal planning into our weekly grocery shopping...it has had big time benefits for us (when I don't forget the grocery list on the counter)

I follow this blog which helps to keep me on track and also provide new ideas for meals and stay away from monotony. Last week she had an awesome giveaway from this awesome etsy shop for this amazing meal planning tool! I didn't win...but I think I may have to invest in one for our kitchen.

Just frame the print, then use dry erase markers to fill in your weekly meals! There's a spot for items you need from the grocery store + a spot to fill in the stuff you already have in your pantry, clever!

Happy meal planning!

until next time,
Brit

precious.

until next time,
Brit

New Year

Can you believe it is 2011?! I am looking forward to this year and all of the exciting adventures to come! It is hard to tell what amazing things God has planned for us, but I am looking forward to what is to come! and of course I am challenging myself to a few things....

1. Read a new book once a month
2. Run a road race once a month
3. Try a new recipe for dinner every week
4. have a weekly memory verse
5. Go on a date once a month
6. Hold myself accountable for my years goals

This year we will celebrate Rylee's first birthday, our 4th wedding anniversary, we will be turning 23 and 26 and will have been working with this church body for 4 years. What an exciting year it will be! I can't wait to share with you all our adventures of 2011! Happy New Year!

until next time,

Brit

a Christmas picture story

Rylee picked up on present opening real quick...with just a little bit of help from Dad.

Rylee was really excited about all of the new books she got for Christmas. She jumped into them right away.



Our family on our very first Christmas together.



The best gift of all.



Opening presents can wear a kid out.




She got all dressed up for Christmas... what better excuse to get to wear a tutu?!



She learned how to do many new things on Christmas...hanging upside down is exhibited here.

then she learned how to cook a turkey all the way.

After our dinner we went on a family walk, a perfect way to end the day.

Christmas is so much more fun with a baby. We had a great time getting to be with family and introducing Rylee to all sorts of new family Christmas traditions.

until next time,
Brit

I think I found it!

I'm not the biggest on sentiment really...that's Jeremy's job in our house, and he can handle it for both of us. However, I remember every Christmas morning my mom had this awesome yummy blueberry baked breakfast for us - she would prepare it on Christmas eve, and then pop it in the oven while her and dad were getting their coffee and me and my sisters were bursting at the seems to start tearing into our presents...after we had all eaten months worth of stocking chocolate and were swimming in pieces of wrapping paper that yummy blueberry breakfast was ready to come out of the oven. I don't remember the meal too vividly but I do remember that we would all sit together and talk and laugh while eating our Christmas breakfast. I can't say that breakfast was ever my favorite part of the day but, sitting around the table with our family is imprinted in my mind as one of the best parts of our Christmas'.

After mom died all of her recipes and cookbooks seemed to disappear...someone out there knew they were getting gold. I have thought about that breakfast every single Christmas since she's been gone...isn't it funny how something so special can mean so little until its gone?

Since mom baking breakfast was never too much of a concern for me on Christmas I never paid much attention to the ingredients involved, so I have been at a loss for finding this amazing recipe anywhere...until now. After talking to my sister we were able to piece together several of the main ingredients & and with some creative search bar wording I think I have found it! Or at least something close...it will never be her recipe.

With Rylee we are really focused on trying to emphasize the good parts of Christmas...rather than the highlight beings piles of presents and mountains of tissue and gift wrap we want to make sure she understands the gift of sharing and giving and enjoys her time with the people around her.  This year Rylee was so sweet and picked a boy who was probably not going to get anything for Christmas. So we took her shopping and she got him a new outfit and some other fun things. We hope to make this a yearly tradition.

I am planning an attempt to make moms Christmas breakfast this year...I don't think it will ever be as good as hers, that's impossible, but that's not really my intent either. Hope you have a Happy Christmas! Here's to cherishing everything & everyone!  

until next time,
Brit

oh Christmas tree you look so yummy

This Christmas is super duper special for us because it is our first with Rylee. We have all sorts of great Christmas decor, ornaments, and lights that we have been so excited to get out (thanks to a husband who worked at Michaels for the last 3 years discount!) All of that great Christmas fun is all locked away in a storage unit in Lubbock - our tree, our stockings, everything.

Rather than creating time to make a trip to get all of our decorations we decided to do without - or rather do with what we have. A friend let us borrow a small pre-lit Christmas tree, and we made all of the ornaments to go on it.

We made sugar cookie ornaments, melted candy canes into the shape of cookie cutters, and made strings of popcorn and cheerios.

Our tree looks good enough to eat...and you could if you wanted to! So excited for our first family Christmas!

until next time,
Brit

5 months old!

Rylee turned 5 months old on Sunday! And today was her doctors appointment. The first part of the doctor visits are the best because we get to brag about how smart she is, how healthy she is, and how much she is growing (which is A LOT!)

Rylee Stats:

1. weight: 17 lbs. 90th percentile
2. height: 27 1/4 inches. above 97th percentile
3. head circumference: 17 inches.- 75th percentile

the last part of the appointment is the worst - shots. She had to get two big shots today, she's a tough little cookie but there were still too many tears for me. Nothing too bad that cuddling and a nap won't fix...for me and her.

monthly comparison

all dressed up fer her birthday

 

until next time,

Brit

dinner time

We have started the adventure of introducing Rylee to solid foods. For the last month or so we have been slowly introducing mushy avocado and mushy banana...yum! I am planning on making all of Rylee's food for her, I have all sorts of fun mushy food recipes I am excited to try out! For now we are still practicing the art of swallowing.



It has been so much fun to start really including Rylee in our family dinner time. Family time is the best.

until next time,

Brit

ticklish

We found Rylee's ticklish spot!

hehe. the end of the video is Jer sayin' "uh oh, uh oh" .... we had left food cooking on the stove. Rylee is way more fun to play with than cooking(or burning) dinner.

until next time,
Brit

Family Photos

Well she did it again! Brandi Marshall is one fabulous lady, and one amazing photographer if I haven't said it before - she photographed our maternity pictures, Rylee's newborn shots, some of Jer's artwork, and most recently did some family photos for us.

We always have such a great time with her and her family when we take pictures, this time was no exception. It was a wonderfully warm fall evening and because Brandi also just had a new baby we were able to take feeding breaks to keep everyone happy!

 

As always she did a wonderful job capturing some great moments for us!

until next time,

Brit

our little fishy

We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Gainesville. It was wonderful to spend the day eating way too much & visiting with everyone.

While we were there we took Rylee swimming at the pool in our hotel - we were unsure of how well she would like it, but our hopes were high because bath time is her favorite. Jer got into the pool with Ry while I stayed on the sidelines and snapped a bazillion photos of her first time swimming. The water was super warm & we were the only ones there.

She loved being in the water! It was fun to splash around with her and let her show off her super cute swim suit. Love our little fishy.

until next time,

Brit

Highlights

I've neglected to sit down at the computer for the last couple weeks to do anything but update our checkbook & pay bills...(and maybe order a few Christmas presents :) )

Here are some of the highlights of our life lately:

1. Rylee has mastered the roll over
2. Enjoyed the visit of several very beloved house guests
3. Our house is now completely bricked
4. Christmas shopping for Rylee - Funnest thing ever.
5. ate lots of sushi
6. The beginning of paying back student loans - barf
7. Bought a pumpkin roll to help a sweet boy raise money for medical camp - YUM
8. Rylee has been introduced to mushy avocados
9. and most recently broke my iPhone.

Thats our life as of now!

until next time,

Brit

playing hookie.

Last week we were able to get away for a couple days to visit my family and go to the boys regional cross country meet in Arlington.

Rylee and Grandpa Mike

 

 Rylee and Great Grandma Joyce

Start of the girls race

It was great to visit with family and get a good dose of cross country.

until next time,

Brit