The Amazing Brynnlee

I had to put my new camcorder to use. Look what I caught Brynnlee doing. Isn't she amazing?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is always a special time of year. What a wonderful time to think about the Savior. This year we had even more to be thankful for. This year I understood more what Mary must have felt on that beautiful day. Brynnlee doesn't know what Christmas is yet, but Kevin and I were excited to spend this time of the year with her. With each though of the Savior, I promised to make sure she will really understand what Christmas means.

Christmas Eve is my favorite part of Christmas. I guess it is the anticipation of waiting for the big day. When we were younger, my mom and dad would always take us to a movie to calm us down. Then we would head home for shrimp and fried rice. My parents would always let us open one present--always pajamas. We still keep this tradition alive. Each Christmas Eve we have a shrimp dinner followed by the opening of our Christmas pajamas. I love getting my pajamas. My nieces Hallie and Hannah are so funny and impatient on Christmas Eve because they want to open all of their presents that night. Because we don't spend Christmas day at my parents, I have all of them open the presents from Kevin and me. This year I made my mom something to hang pictures on. I was really excited for Hannah to open her gift. I gave her over 600 pages of construction paper. The girl loves to create! She was in shock. It is so fun to give just the right present to someone!

I love waking up on Christmas morning. I still get excited like Santa just left me a bunch of presents. Usually I make Kevin wake up early, and he hates it. This year Brynnlee woke him up, so he couldn't be mad! We went through our stockings and looked at the presents we got eachother. Brynnlee played with the new toy my mom and dad gave her. She loved it! Christmas day is started with a huge helping of gingerbread pancakes. My favorite.

We ended the day at the Kevin's parents where we had more fun with family. Our niece and nephews opened their presents. That is my favorite part--especially when they love what you gave. It is always fun to open the stockings here because Kevin's mom puts a lot of love into it. She always adds personal touches to make it fun. Even Brynnlee got some stocking treats! I was excited for Cathy to open the present I gave her. Like my mom, I made it and added our family pictures. I think she likes it. She already has it hanging in her home.

We hope that your Christmas was as magical as ours!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' Over!

One of Brynnlee's favorite things to do is lie on her back and talk to Mom and Dad. For the last two or three weeks she has been rolling on to her side. We were surprised. Our little girl was about to roll over onto her belly. But then we were frantic. What if we missed it? We needed a camcorder immediately to film this moment. Our camcorder arrived last night. I was so excited to learn how to use it to get Brynnlee in action. Of course you can't use it right when you get it. It needed to be charged, and I needed to learn how to use it. Thankfully Brynnlee was in bed--no more attempts at rolling over for the night. I was prepared to get up early in the morning and wait for her big moment. Well Brynnlee had other ideas. What was it 2:30 AM? She decided she was hungry and playful. After finally getting her back to bed at about 3:30, I was in no condition to wake up early. Kevin was nice enough to get her the next time. Suddenly I hear, "Lindsay, your daughter just rolled over!" I jumped out of bed, and there she was, lying on her tummy. I was so mad that Kevin had seen it and I hadn't. It turns out I had nothing to be mad about. Kevin had missed it too! He was watching SportsCenter when it happened. But don't worry minutes later she did it again. Now you ask, did I get this moment on video. Of course not, I didn't know how to work it. I did however take some pictures of her doing it again. I can't believe my 3 1/2 month baby just rolled over!

Goblins and Ghosts and....Ballerinas?

Okay so Brynnlee was not going to go Trick or Treating at two months old. She didn't even know it was Halloween. But I had to do it. I had to dress her up. I decided to make her first Halloween costume. What is every little girl's dream? To be a ballerina. So I made her a tutu found, a leotard to go with it, and of course dug up some ballet slippers. Her outfit was complete. She was so adorable. It made my Halloween!

Oh How We Are Blessed

I know that I will never remember my blessing day, but there is one I will never forget. October 26, 2008 was the day of Brynnlee's blessing. It was such an emotional moment for me as Kevin took her to give her the blessing. As he started to speak, I began to cry. I never thought this moment would be come. There stood my husband, surrounded by family and friends, giving our baby her blessing. It was a wonderful moment for the both of us. Kevin's and my siblings came. Brynnlee's little cousins were there too.

After church was over, we headed up to Ed and Cathy's for a little luncheon. Cathy was very generous with her home and time. We all had a great time eating and the families getting to know eachother.

She's here....Finally!

After spending a wonderful summer resting, relaxing, and swimming in the pool, I had to go back to work. I was 37 weeks pregnant when school started. It was hard and hot. I think the students were worried every day that I showed up to teach.

On September 3, I had a doctor's appointment. I told my fellow teachers that I had to find a way to get out of coming to work. I was only joking a little. I went to the doctor, and he told me it was time. I was told to show up at the hospital September 4 for the arrival of my baby.

I was crazy scared all day September 4. I didn't know what to do or what to expect. I was full of energy. I cleaned every thing in sight. I wanted a perfectly clean apartment to bring a baby home to.

We showed up to the hospital that night at 6:30. It was a long night. I didn't sleep much. The next morning the doctor came in to get things started. He broke my water at about 8:00 AM. I thought it would be a short time before I would see my little baby girl. Boy was I wrong!

Brynnlee was born at 8:09 PM Friday, September 5th. What a relief it was to hear Kevin say her name and to finally know we really had a girl. She was 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long. Her head was covered with dark, curly hair. She was beautiful! Unfortunately she was born with a broken collar bone. At least it was the only thing wrong.

We stayed in the hospital until Sunday, and they allowed us to take her home. I still remember that car ride home. Kevin and I were so afraid. We couldn't believe we had a little baby in the back seat.

We Weren't Expecting This!

On December 30, 2007, we learned that we were expecting our first baby. What a surprise this was for us. We didn't know when or if this blessing would come. We had actually been working on adopting a baby through LDS Family Services. You know what people say--try to adopt and you'll have your own. I never thought this would be true for us!

Kevin didn't believe me when I first told him. I didn't believe it myself. I still remember standing in the kitchen on that Sunday afternoon and telling him. I took at least six more pregnancy tests througout the week including a blood test at the hospital. I thought it was too good to be true.

On April 23, 2008, we learned that we were having a girl. I was a little torn. I had been thinking I was having a girl, but I always wanted to have a boy first. But my feelings changed when I saw how excited Kevin was. We had already picked out the crib and dresser we wanted, but right after the doctor's appointment, we started looking for bedding and all the other cute girl things we would need.



Getting ready for the baby to arrive was a lot of fun. I had three showers thrown for me. The first was planned by my mother-in-law Cathy and my sister-in-law Lisa. It was a great shower. A lot of friends came and gave me terrific gifts. My mom and sisters were there to party with me. Vickie, Cathy's sister, came all the way from Las Vegas for a visit. My Grammy, Aunt Erica, and cousin Samantha all came too. One of the most special guest there was Amy Romney. She was visiting her family in Utah and was able to attend. I hadn't seen her in years. It was a great time.


The next shower was planned by my friends from Tremonton, Amy Garfield and Keri Beth Morris. It was in Tremonton, and I have to admit not many attended. It was still a great time, and in my opinion a very important party. My best friend Tesha came all the way up from St. George, and in the end the shower was for her. This shower was the path to Tesha adopting her little boy Kale.

My last shower was thrown by Dorthea Brundage and Brooke Ashcroft. This was attended by the wonderful sisters in my ward. Dorthea and Brooke did such a great job of plannig this shower. It was supposed to be held a week before my due date, but in the end I brought Brynnlee with me. She was the hit of the shower!