7 Months already??

How can my baby girl be 7 months old? The time is going so quickly, but Braylin and I had the talk last night that no matter how old she is, she will always be my baby girl.

Such a big girl sitting up in the chair. No, she is not crawling or rolling over much, but she can sit on her own. She loves to sit on the floor and play with her toys.
These pictures are completely out of order, but it will have to do! We went to Sunriver last weekend for a church staff retreat, and Braylin saw snow for the first time. She didn't go out in it, but she saw it!
I let her "paint" with yogurt. She didn't love it like I thought she would. She wasn't even interested in licking her fingers. It might have just been too cold.
This pic has nothing to do with Braylin, but we had some friends come visit from Minnesota, and the boys all got to go to the Duck game ...on halloween...when they worked USC. They had a blast!
Okay, so I am not the best at taking pictures. Fortunately Jess and Amanda are, so I borrowed these from Facebook. THANKS you two!
This was Braylin's halloween outfit. Jess made her the cute onesie and Amanda made the tutu. She looked so cute! (Y'all really need to start a business!)
We went to Hendrick park (which is beautiful) Braylin took this picture from her stroller. (Well, she was asleep in her stroller, but she stayed nice and still to keep the camera in focus.)

From left to right: Adam, Amanda, Me, Joel, Jess and Aaron
Playing in her jumperoo. (she loves it!)


Sweet Dad and Bray!
3 Men and a Baby. (The girls kept saying that all weekend when it was the boys turn to watch her.)
More snow (by the Willamette Pass on our way home.)
Family pic before Joel went to the game.
They are just too cute!!
On top of the butte overlooking Eugene.
So the not so happy part of the month... Braylin and I both got really sick. I ended up taking her to the dr. because she had such a high fever. We are not sure if it was the swine flu, but the dr wanted us to treat her for it just in case. She was so pitiful. She would fall asleep everywhere. It was sweet because she would fall asleep when I held her (which never happens) so it was good snuggle time. She did get better quickly, and we are so thankful for all the prayers for her.

I can't believe we are headed into month 8. It is going to be a good one. We are gearing up for the holidays. We have our tree decorated (pics to come) are headed to LA in 1 week for shopping/ early thanksgiving, and then the madness will begin. No promises on another blog anytime soon, but I will try my best to document the next month.

6 Months and Beyond

Braylin turned 6 months on our Texas/Arkansas trip. Before we left she had her 6th month check-up and shots. Her stats are:

Height: 29 inches (Still the 99th percentile)

Weight: 17lbs 12oz (84th percentile)

The picture below is waiting for her shots. She was a trooper!

Uncle Jay taught Braylin how to 2-step at Texas Roadhouse.

For those of you who don't know, our family has a tradition of making vietnamese egg rolls. The whole fam was together so we had to teach Braylin how to make them. She was a big helper rolling egg rolls!
When digging through stuff at Papaw's, we found pictures of him holding us while frying egg rolls, so we are carrying on the tradition with her frying egg rolls with Poppy!
Amy let us borrow her walker, and boy did it come in handy. Bray girl loved it!
After seeing the Duty side of the family, we drove to Arkansas to see the Kindberg family.

Uncle Jake with Braylin outside of Grandma Kindberg's house
We had some family photos taken at a waterfall without water.
Granny and Pop Pop with Braylin
Our little Cuddle Bug with Granny.
It's not always fun and games. This is her seriously sad face. She was starving and tired of that car seat!
Snuggling with Aunt Sarah
Getting love from Aunt Jessica and Uncle Josh (Josh, you can stop whining about not being on the blog now!)
I cannot believe that she is already half of a year old. Watching her grow and develop is so much fun. It is crazy seeing new things she does even daily. She is really really working on sitting alone. She is great at grabbing things (especially glasses off your face). She has gotten really good about putting her own pacifier in as well as making new sounds, talking and singing. We have taken this girl everywhere and she is so amazing to be content wherever we are. We have been so incredibly blessed with a mild tempered angel girl. It has been such a joy watching family and friends truly love her. We are blessed beyond belief with love and support that has been showered on our family.

In Honor of Papaw and Memom

I have thought of what this blog might say for over a week now. Nothing seems good enough, so I am just going to type and whatever happens, happens. The past 2 weeks have been a crazy whirlwind. Joel and I left after church 2 Sundays ago to drive to Jill's in LA to do some shopping for our store. We got there at 4am (Braylin is such a trooper!) slept until 10, then went to LA to start the fun. About 3 hours in to our shopping, Jill got a phone call that was quite unexpected. My dad had called to say that Papaw had suddenly died. It was a blessing that Jill, Kevin, Joel, Braylin and I were all together. We were able to rush back to Jill's, get packed, find flights and head out at 6am to Texas.

Papaw was the absolute greatest grandfather you could ask for. Growing up with grandparents living across the street is a bigger blessing than I could even imagine. The love and support that was in our daily lives is immeasurable. Papaw loved to take us out on the boat, to come to all of our basketball games and concerts and musicals. Everyone who knew us, knew Memom and Papaw, because they were such a big part of our lives. Memom and Papaw loved us and all of the people we loved so much. They just wanted to be involved in our lives....even taping Rangers games we went to just in case we were on TV. We miss both of them so much, but could not be happier that they are together in the presence of God.

I am so thankful that Paps was able to meet little Braylin. I wish she would have gotten to know him more as I know he would have been the best great grandfather! I also wish she would have gotten to meet Memom, but we will share many memories and stories of their lives. Their legacy of love will not be forgotten.

Papaw loved to sing...it didn't matter where he was. He was singing to Braylin when this picture was taken. She really enjoy it!

Braylin was in incredible traveler. We drove 15 hours, flew to Texas, flew back to LA, then drove another 15 hours. That's a lot of miles to take such a little girl on. She was great though! This is Braylin and daddy on the plane.
This is Braylin in the car ride home from LA. She is holding her favorite giraffe (Thanks Gammy Susan!)
Our little bird girl! Nanna found a way to keep Braylin happy at restaurants. We have used this trick many times since. Water in a straw is such a treat!!
It was a along week for all of us. Poppy was so generous in helping Braylin get to sleep :) (Everyone wanted that job!!)
Braylin loves sitting in a bumbo (especially when she gets food!)
Braylin got her first wings. She doesn't seem happy about it, but I got the picture!
Braylin has been doing these monster like faces. It starts as a smile and ends up like this. It is not attractive but really funny. (I have about 74 of these shots...it was a long car ride, and I couldn't help myself.)

It has been a long hard 2 weeks, but God is so good giving peace and comfort. His timing is perfect (Paps always said this) and I am so thankful that Braylin was able to give such happiness, love, kisses and snuggles during this time.

The Fab 5!

Can Braylin already be 5 months? It has been the sweetest, cuddliest, craziest 5 months of our lives. It's amazing how quickly things can change. I feel like once I have things under control and a system down, something changes. She is eating more rice cereal, she is waking up in the middle of the night again. I guess that's just Braylin growing up. This little social butterfly loves to talk (more like screeching at a pitch Mariah Carey would envy) at 2am. The funny thing is, she isn't fussy, she just wants attention and someone to talk to. I know I will look back and miss these days. (It's just hard to savor the moments at 2am!)

Braylin has decided she is going to be a thumb sucker. (It's easier to put in her mouth than the paci once she has knocked it out.) She keeps her hand sideways though...its her own gangsta style. She is always chewing on something. She has 2 teeth, and I have a feeling more are right around the corner. Braylin now loves to give kisses. I have given up an wearing most make-up. She drools all over my face giving me kisses that it just gets taken off anyway.

We celebrated her 5 month birthday at cheesecake factory. (Or so we told Braylin) I am convinced Braylin loves avocado egg rolls because I craved them when I was pregnant. (Let's be honest though, I crave them not pregnant too. If you have never had them, you are missing out on a gift from above!)
Braylin with Mom and Dad at Cheesecake Factory.

Our big blue eyed beauty.
We had a campout with the youth group. Being so social wore Braylin out early. We ended up going home for an early bedtime.
Happy 5 Month Birthday Little Girl! You are more fun than we ever thought possible. We love that just about anything will make you smile. There is nothing better on earth than to see you smile and hear your sweet laugh.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a tooth!

FINALLY! It seems like sweet Braylin has been teething for months, and we finally have a result from all the trauma. (She wasn't too terribly bad, but I'm not looking forward to tooth number 2!)  1 tooth down...

Now that Braylin is over 4 months old, we are actually getting into somewhat of a routine. The store is becoming more manageable to aid in this new routine, and it is wonderful. Of course we are still working more like I would like, but that's owning a business for you.  (To all of you who want to own a business for the flexible hours...just work for the man. You'll save yourself a lot of time, trouble and headaches!) Braylin has already gotten tired of the store (we all have to work too much!).  She will fuss and whine, and after trying everything to make her happy, the moment we stroll into the mall, she is fine.  I guess she is bored of our stuff and needs a change of scenery.

 Braylin love loves her rice cereal. She is now eating it twice a day, but I think she'd love to have it more often. (She may look like daddy, but she gets her love of food from her mama!) We also may have a muscle woman on our hands. Braylin has always loved her swing, but her new game is to try to sit up and lean as far forward as she can. She is strapped in, but I am still nervous that she is going to roll out of the front of it. (I'll try to post a pic of that later.)

We have been trying to add in as many end of summer events for the youth group as we possible can. We had a cookout swim party last week. Braylin had so much fun in the swing. (As you can see in the pic below) We are having a campout this weekend (You don't have to wish me luck. Braylin and I will be sleeping inside. I'm not so outdoorsy.)  Hopefully I will get some great pics to post for next week. 

Braylin sleeps best in our bed. I hope this is not going to be a habit. As crazy as things have been for us, it's easier for me to just let her sleep in our bed sometimes.  I'll deal with the ramifications of that later...

4 Months and Fantastic!

Well, we made it to month 4. It seems like it has flown by, but in a way it seems like forever ago when we came home from the hospital.  Weighing in at 15 pounds 8 ounces and being 27 1/2 inches, Braylin is at the top of her class (in the percentile ranges at least!) Braylin loves to grab her feet and suck on her toes (the proof is in the scratches around her ankles. No matter how short I cut her nails, she still manages to scratch herself.) We had a major heat wave this summer. (Hence the naked pictures. We don't normally parade her around without clothing, but not having A/C can be a doozy!) Bray is a drooling machine, but STILL no sign of any teeth. 

Thank goodness for the pack-n-play. This is what we use at the store to keep Braylin entertained and contained. She LOVES her giraffe friends. 

Isn't she the prettiest thing you have ever seen? 

Braylin wants to stand or sit up constantly, so with some giftcards we got her a jumperoo.  She is getting the hang of it, but isn't actually jumping yet. 

                                                                Silly mom and Bray
She's a BIG girl now! Daddy fed her rice cereal for the first time. She kept leaning in for more. She would take a bite then try to shove her foot in her mouth too. Rice cereal between the toes...yummy!    
I included more pictures of the store for those of you who aren't here. We are finally getting into a routine, so it's not as overwhelming as it has been.