Silly girl

Not only does Brynley look like Rob, but she has his sense of humor too. She makes me laugh daily!

Christmas cookies

About a week ago, we made Christmas cookies. What I learned is that I have a lot more to learn in the cookie making department! Somehow my Mom made it look so easy. My cookies turned out completely misshapen and you couldn't tell a star from a tree from a heart. I think my biggest mistake was not rolling the dough thin enough. I also used a pre-made mix so maybe that contributed to my problem.

I rolled, cut, and baked the cookies the night before and the next morning Brynley and I decorated them together. This was a good plan since she lost interest after just two cookies and ran off into the living room to eat her creations.

Holiday party

On the evening of 12/14, I took the kids to my work holiday party. Brynley was surprisingly shy at first, but it didn't take long for her to come out of her shell. She sang her ABCs to anyone who would listen, ate too many cookies, and cheered as loud as the adults during the gift wrapping competition.

Roman enjoyed being passed around and receiving lots of love and attention from all the women I work with!

Here's a couple pictures I took before the party:

6 months old

Roman is 6 months old!

We went for his six month checkup and I undressed him for his exam. After the nurse left the room, Brynley decided that she needed to take all her clothes off as well. When the pedicatrician walked in, I had my two sweethearts - one in a diaper and one in underwear - but otherwise naked, sitting on his exam table. The first thing Dr. Jakum said was, "Oh...big sister had to get undressed since brother is undressed!" I had to laugh...I love that I don't have to explain it to him. Not only does he deal with kids all day, but he has kids of his own so he's seen it all!

The appointment continued in that manner...everything Roman got, Brynley needed. Weigh-in...check. Listen to your heart with a stethoscope...check. Until the shots. Roman was all on his own for those. It breaks my heart when my kids get shots and I don't think that will ever get any easier!

Roman weighed 15lbs 2oz and was 25" long. Brynley was 25lbs.

Some pictures of my handsome man at 6 months old:








This next one is my favorite. Rob gave me a new camera for an early Christmas present. I still have a lot to learn, but I love this camera and can't wait to practice my photography skills. I have the perfect subjects to photograph too! Love it!

December

December already?!?! Since I'm so far behind on blog posts (and seem to falling further behind daily!), I have decided to write a post about the here and now! I still hope to catch up on pictures and posts; I might even backdate them to the correct month.
I have to post about December because I don't ever want to forget:

• Brynley calls Santa Claus "Kissy Claus".


• She is in complete awe over any Christmas lights that she sees.


• She loves to sing "itsy bitsy spider" before bedtime. We wiggle our fingers, 'get our spiders ready' and sing together.


• She is great at uppercase letters and now she is picking up on lowercase letters and putting these together to form words.


• She loves to sing, dance, jump!


• She loves her baby brother and pronounces his name "Whoa-man!"


• As I was putting Bryn's coat on tonight, she turned her face towards the ceiling and said, "Zip it to my neck!!!"


• Roman rolls all over the place.


• He sleeps from 7 or 8pm until usually 4 or 5am, then back to bed until 7.


• He loves to eat and just started eating sweet potatoes yesterday.


• He ate eight cubes of food in one sitting the other night...that's a lot!


• He thinks his sister is very funny and amusing...unless she is waking him up.


• Every time he smiles, I see my Dad's face.

And what is a post without pictures? These were taken on December 1st & 2nd with my new camera. (I have a lot to learn still!)

New York

In August, the whole family headed up to upstate New York for our annual family visit. We stayed with my Aunt Sue, Uncle Bill, & Grandma and got to spend time with all of my beloved cousins! Here are some pictures of our adventure:


The weather was so warm during our visit. One day, Brynley saw this bucket of water sitting outside of my aunt & uncle's garage. My uncle actually uses the bucket to empty out the dehumidifier he keeps in the basement. When Bryn saw it, she said, "Swimming pool!" and insisted on taking a dip....naked, of course! The whole family got quite a laugh over this "New York Swimming Pool" and Bryn played in it for quite some time.

Bryn, Roman, and three of their cousins. The twins were born two days before Roman.

Brynley and her great-grandmother:

My cousin Tara, Bryn, & Jovan:





Jill sharing her "bling" with B:


Rob saying, "Look, we got two more!!"








Bryn supervising Carter's lawn mowing repairs. She followed him around the yard for quite awhile and it kind of drove him crazy. haha



Roman and great-grandma: