5 Months Already and Mothers Day

I can't believe how Brynlee has changed in just a months time

So what exactly have we been up too?

Ben has been working really hard in his training class.  He won't really tell anyone because he doesn't want to brag but I certainly will gladly brag about him! He beat his company's record for the length of time to graduate from their training program during assessment.  The record was 8 and he beat it by 2 in just 6 days!  He's a rock star and has people fighting over him to get them on their sales team.  Plus the fact that he is crushing their goals also means that we get larger commissions as well! Pretty much things are looking great at this new job and he works with a bunch of really awesome people.  I have been just having a good time with Brynlee and have been working hard making our house a home and decorating and cleaning.  It actually keeps me pretty occupied.

Brynlee has been changing on a daily basis.  It amazes me the things that she can learn in just a few months.  She is now 27 inches long and weighs 14.5 lbs.  Here are some of her favorite things to do

• Has rolling over from both sides down packed.  She's a professional and still loves her tummy time.
• Loves to sleep with her Hippo and we take it pretty much anywhere.  She'll snuggle her face into it or try to eat the hippos head.  It's just adorable

• Lunges forward and can pull her body a little bit at a time to try to crawl.  It's really funny she just buries her head into the floor, sticks her butt in the air, and goes.  Sometimes she get's rug burn so I try to always have a blanket under her.
• Absolutely loves being thrown in the air! I'm way to nervous I'm going to drop her so Ben always does it and it's fun to hear her giggle and squeal

• Supports herself sitting up with her hands.  Not super long but still impressive! 

• She can take the binky out of her month- and when she tries to put it back in it goes in the opposite direction

• Loves reading with her momma! Every night before bed time we always read one simple board book  and then we read a real story like a Dr. Seuss book, Good Night Moon, or On the Night You Were Born, or If the Savior Stood beside me.  Afterwards we read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and then we sing a couple Primary Songs and say a prayer.  It's a really great way to end the day! 

• She thinks Peek-A-Boo is the funniest thing in the whole world but only with me.  Ben and others have tired to do it and she'll just stares that them but when I do it she cracks up so hard! It's the funniest thing

And just a few more because I think she is absolutely adorable

My first Mothers day was on May 13 and it was really special.  I am so happy to have Brynlee as my daughter and that I have an awesome husband who is so helpful and is an awesome example of what a father should be.  I was extremely spoiled this Mother's Day with a few presents and some breakfast burritos before Church.  I told Ben that next year I really don't need anything but a good nights sleep.  I got this perfume, handbag, and the most beautiful necklaces.  It has a small vintage heart on it that looks weathered with a small pearl and a really small pendent with Brynlee's name hand stamped on it.  After we got home from Church we had crockpot cream cheese chicken with noodles and a salad it was delicious! We then went and took a walk around the Falls and just had a relaxing evening.  It was a perfect Mother's Day.  I really reflected on what I can do to be a better wife and mother and how I can be an example for our children and help them stay on the right path.  

   

We have been having so much fun this last month with our little family.  Pretty much every Sunday and Saturday we take a walk around the falls and we feed the ducks and geese that are there.  Ben even was able to have a goose come right up and eat out of his hands.  Fortunately Brynlee was not at all interested in the geese and was supper content in the stroller                                             

Am I the Only One?!

So we have our first set of family pictures set for May 26th, and I am only slightly getting stressed out about it.  Since I haven't lost anywhere near as much weight as I had wanted to by then I am feeling 1) totally self conscious, 2) embarrassed about my post baby belly and 3) uncomfortable in front of a camera.

We haven't taken actual professional pictures since the just over 2 years we have been married- so it's a pretty big deal for these to look good and for me to feel good in them.  We decided to take them up at the gardens at BYU-Idaho because the flowers should be in bloom, there aren't many people there on a Saturday, and it's right next to the wheat fields ( I wanted a couple there too, if possible).

So since I can't magically make 20 lbs just fly off my waistline I have been searching and searching and searching for the perfect outfit to hide all the flaws.  There's positives and negatives to shopping.  Positives- I love looking at clothes and finding ones that fit and flatter.  Negatives- spending money and realizing that I am not longer a svelte size 4 and more like....actually I'd rather not mention ;)

Ben has been pretty understandable about the whole thing and agreed to let me get my hair done that morning (because I absolutely hate curling my own hair- it takes me like 3 hours, so having someone else !) and to also get my nails done.  What a guy right?!  I think he also knows that if I feel better I'll be happier and therefore look better, and then he doesn't have to hear me complaining for the next years about our pictures.  Some people probably think that family pictures are no big deal- but they are really important to me! My family never took pictures growing up and I really wish we had, so with our family I want to make sure that we have pictures and writings to go along with our memories.

So I have like 3 different outfits that I like, but none that I love and feel totally hot in...so I'm still searching but we have Brynlee's and Ben's clothes picked out...Of course Brynlee is going to be the cutest one out of all of us! She is definitely adorable and a total ham in front of a camera- she's a really smiley baby but when she see's a camera or a cell phone she get's really serious most of the time.

I've found a few family pictures that I have really liked and want to do something similar to it.  I don't want a million just posed pictures (just a few), I like things to be natural as well and just having fun.  But if we could get a good one of ALL of us smiling (and me not looking like I have three chins) then I would be in heaven.  I love bright colors, and when people aren't matchy-matchy and I just hope that I can stop stressing out about them and just enjoy a fun afternoon with our little family.  If anyone has any tips with taking family pictures with a 5 month old- please share! I can't be the only person who gets stressed out over family pictures right?

    

Museum of Idaho

So we decided after Brynlee was born that we were going to make the most out of our valuable Saturdays.  Since Ben and I have gotten married he has basically worked every Saturday, so now that he has weekends off it is such a nice treat to be able to plan things to do.

This week we went and checked out the Dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Idaho.  It's a really small museum but it was pretty cheap and the exhibits were interesting.  I love dinosaurs and sharks so I really wanted to go before they ended the exhibit next week.  It was a fun time for us.  Like always Brynlee feel asleep within like 15 minutes! Afterwards we wanted some Mexican food to celebrated Cinco de Mayo.  We went to Sol Rio and it was delicious!! My burrito was seriously like a foot long and 4 inches wide, I couldn't believe how big it was so I had enough for like 3 meals.  Then we headed home so Ben could do about 6 hours of homework :) I love Saturdays! Next week...Farmers Market! I'm so happy that we can spend time together as a family doing something enjoyable, and Brynlee loves to be around people anyways so that's a plus.