The Easter festivities (so far)

In preparation for Easter, we spent our FHE dying Easter eggs.

It was as hit!  Alayna remembered it from last year, and the second I told her what we were doing for family night, she started jumping up and down.

Here she is, coloring her egg before dying it.

Brylen was along for the ride.  She just was more interested in the crayons than anything else.

That, and playing with Daddy.  She loves giving him big grins.

Look at all those color options!

How beautiful are those eggs!?!

She's mighty proud.

And because no matter how many eggs they dye, it is never enough.   I caved and let her dye some more the next day.

Sickos

We've had sick germs at our house.  (The stomach flu, to be specific.)  And those germs sure are lingering (It's been a WEEK!).  If the kids don't regain their health soon, this mama is gonna go crazy!  

Somehow Dan and I have managed to stay healthy, but the poor girls have had a terrible time. 

And these pictures of Brylen prove it.  There is nothing worse than watching your kids be sick.  Especially babies.  They just don't understand what is going on and why mom keeps sticking that bowl in their face to catch all the...ahem, "yuckies" coming out of their mouth.  So sad!

Let's cross our fingers that we are in the clear.  Because this mom is in need of fresh, sick-free air.  I am going a little stir crazy here!

10 months

(This little troublemaker is actually 11 months old, but let's talk about her at 10 months.)

One day I was in the middle of emptying the dishwasher. When I turned around, I found this.  Let's just say she was being a good "helper".

She is the proud owner of two new teeth.  (Her top front.)   Her cute smile is somewhat showing them off in this picture.

And those teeth have been the cause of a fair amount of whining, drooling, 

And chewing on any and everything in sight.  She's not too busy chomping to give a cute smile.  Love it!

The preferred method of carrying things lately is in the mouth, not the hands.  Don't believe me?  Look at the evidence.  #1:

#2

#3

#4

Even at 10 months, she still loves jewelry.  (Even if it is so she can try and eat it.)  But we did manage to capture a picture of her wearing these lovely earrings.

A few other things about Brylen at 10 months:

-She is great at saying "No no no."  She thinks the heater we keep downstairs is called a "No no no",  because every time she starts crawling over to it, she says "no no no."

- She is a master crawler and can get anywhere she wants to go.  

-She eats most table food and isn't picky about any adult food.  But she is slightly more particular about baby food.  And if she sees regular food while eating baby food, she wants nothing more to do with the baby food.

-She is incredibly STUBBORN when it comes to drinking liquids!  We have tried formula and soy milk and she will.not.drink. more than a swallow (or two).  And she WILL NOT drink from any bottle!  Boy, she is stubborn!

- She is still VERY small for her age. She weights 13 lbs 6 oz. We have had to take her in for weight checks every few weeks to make sure she is progressing, but due to sickness, she has lost some weight a few different times.

-She has been sick SO much this winter!  Poor thing almost always has a cold.  (Which I am convinced is effecting her weight.  She just doesn't eat as good when she has a cold.)

-She pretty much is the cutest baby around!

What we've been busy doing-Adult version

Since the girls pretty much dominated the last post, it's only fair that Dan and I get our time to shine too.

Unfortunately, this post will not be filled with pictures like the last post.    Quite frankly, I have been TOO busy to pull out the camera.  I think I have only taken like six pictures in the last two weeks.

I have been busy with normal stay at home mom things.  Such as cleaning the house, making the meals, re-vamping our bugeting system, loving on two cute girls, and spending time with my handsome man (among other things).  But the majority of my time lately has been spent on my church calling as the Young Women President. (Yes, you read that right.  I know.  Who would have thought?)  And this church calling has been the cause of my absence in the blogging world.

Although I have had this new calling since the beginning of December, I am just now feeling like I am getting the swing of things and in a routine.  Initially when I received this calling I would have been lying if I said was not overwhelmed....a lot!  Being in the Young Women's and working with teenagers has been new for me.  I have not had a calling in the Young Women's since I was a Young woman.    But I am learning a TON and trying to take it a day at a time.  My eyes have been opened to the amount of TIME (and texting!) this calling requires, but I am really enjoying getting to know the girls and the leaders.

Dan has been working like crazy.  His work has been extremely busy. Can you say overtime?  (It's not a bad problem to have.)  And in his little spare time he has managed go get his new (to him) truck.  It's a 1977 Ford fixer upper.  Suffice it to say, he is in heaven!  While this is not everyone's dream truck, it sure is his.  There are just enough things that need to be fixed to make it a fun hobby for him, but not too many that it doesn't work. The perfect mix. I went with him to get it, and I will admit, I was surprised with how well it drives and with how much I really do like it.  It fits him perfectly.  I don't think I could imagine Dan in any other truck.  After all, he is a country boy at heart.  (Pictures to come soon.)

What we've been busy doing

Making messes.

Getting zoned out to baby signing time.

Eating heart pancakes for Valentine's day.

Drinking pink water instead of pink milk.  (Get a load of that hair!)

And enjoying that pancake.  (On a side note, Mommy got red tulips from her Valentine.)

Posing for a Valentine pic.

Posing again while wearing earrings from her Pretty Pretty Princess game that she got for Valentine's day from Grandma L.  If mommy would let her, she would wear them all the time.

Cheesing for the camera before eating her heart french toast on Valentine's Day eve.

Eating as many markers as she can get her hands on.

And drawing with homemade puff paint for play group.

Farewell green car

Hello Blogging friends.  Miss Me?  I took a slight break and I will explain more about that later.  But first, I have to document a big family moment.

Our beloved green car that has been a part of our family since the beginning,  (Well, even before the beginning.  It's been Dan's for the past 12+ plus years) is no longer ours. It's moved on to the next owner, who I am sure will love it just as much as we did (despite the fact that it has"skin cancer" as seen below).  Dan thinks it's time that he move on to manlier things.  (Which he is hopefully getting soon.)

And now the farewell pictures.

8 years

Another day cannot go by without me mentioning the fact that Dan and I have been married 8 years.  

 8 years!  

Time truly flies when you are having fun.  I can't imagine sharing the great, funny, trying, interesting, crazy times of our lives with anyone else.  Thank you Dan, for being my everything!  Marrying you was undoubtedly the best decision of my life.