A Memorable Memorial Day!

We had such an amazing Memorial Day weekend! What made it amazing was not just the fact that Ben got a day off work which equals extra help with Braelyn, but we were able to get tons of stuff done plus have lots of family and friend time. The weekend started with reorganizing boxes of baby clothes getting ready for girl #2, probably Ben's least fond memory of the weekend. Afterwards we geared up for a long day of mattress shopping. We planned on being out for hours with Braelyn going from store to store. If I wasn't pregnant I probably would have prefaced this adventure with a Xanax. Just kidding! One store and twenty minutes later we scored on a mattress for a smoking deal thanks to my bartering skills. Hallelujah to some peaceful nights of rest for the next few weeks!

Monday was the real party. We headed up to Anthem to spend the day with our friends. We met at the park and enjoyed a picnic, a train ride and some great gossip . . . uh, I mean conversation. =) I'm so glad that we still have friends up in Anthem so we can take advantage of all the fun things to do up there.

People always think that Braelyn gets her olive skin from her daddy. I would think the same thing! Lucky ducks.

She loved looking out the windows of the caboose. She was waving to all the kids as we passed.

All the kiddos together. They had such a blast playing the day away!

Of course we had to indulge in some frozen treats and merry go round rides.

It may have taken a while, but eventually the popsicle was no more! Well the majority of it was gone and the rest was all over her face, hands, arms and clothes. Well worth the mess!

Happy Memorial Day!

May Happenings!

Another month has gone by?! Are you sure about that?! I swear these last few weeks have come and gone before I can even blink an eye. I guess that's a good thing, though. When most pregnant women are complaining about how long it takes to cook a baby, I feel like she'll be here in no time. Of course I'm not too far into that dreaded third trimester so I shouldn't speak so soon.

Even though the days feel like seconds, we still manage to get quite a bit done while the blazing sun is out. Here are a few of our "May happenings" that have made this a memorable month thus far.

The most amazing thing that happened this month was our birth mother's graduation. It was so special to be able to see her walk across the stage to receive her associates degree. And best of all, she's going to ASU for her bachelors so we'll have her here in good old Phoenix for at least another few years.

The happy graduate and proud supporters. Don't be deceived by Braelyn's devilish face. She really did clap and cheer when Jana's name was called!

We're still going to the pool, well, daily! Hey, it's hot here!

Best buds! Only because dad gets down and dirty by getting all wet and crazy. Mom likes to slowly get into the pool.

Can you say just a little tan???

We finally got the rooms all switched so Braelyn has a new room and the nursery is all ready to go.

She LOVES having her princess tent all to herself in her "big girl room".

I was asked to make cupcakes for a church activity a few weeks ago. I made 180 mini cupcakes in three different flavors and they were a HIT! I have to admit they were pretty yummy.

The beginnings of the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. Yes, those are mini Reese's cups cooked into the middle. Is there anything better than that?!

Lemon drop cupcakes.

All three. The last one was a snicker doodle cupcake with mini homemade snicker doodles on top.

Braelyn approved, especially of the chocolate peanut butter one!

We are so lucky to have a temple being built only five minutes away. Braelyn always spots the temple off the side of the freeway. Even before I can see it she's yelling, "Mommy look at the temple! They're building it so fast!" I love that she knows what temples are.

This is a pre-Angel Moroni picture. Now that the angel is on top of the steeple, Braelyn gets even more excited to drive past.

105 degrees?! Who cares! That doesn't stop us from getting out and going on our morning runs or walks, depending on how motivated I'm feeling that day. I'll have to say I'm pretty darn proud of myself. I'm almost 29 weeks pregnant and still running about 4 miles three times a week. Wahoo!

Her sweet smile . . .

. . . and her crazy face!

We attempted a trip to Ikea because we heard they have a free babysitting center as long as your child is potty trained. Well apparently there is a height requirement as well and we failed that part. So what did we do?

Got Ikea frozen yogurt! And boy was it delicious!

In the midst of the hot weather we've had one rainy day. We had to take advantage so on went the flip flops and the puddle splashing begun!


Being pregnant has its cravings. Mmmm! Homemade cookies sure hit the spot. The problem is I couldn't decide what flavor I wanted. Problem solved . . .

. . . make all three! Reese's pieces and peanut butter cup, white chocolate macadamia, and classic chocolate chip. Sad thing is, once they were all finished I only really ate a bite of each. The craving had passed. Oh well, I have plenty in the freezer for next time!

Dress up is a big hit now.

Thanks Grandma Kaye for my cute Snow White outfit! This girl lives in her princess high heels. In fact this afternoon she insisted on doing some yoga. As soon as I had the mats and music ready, she came running out of her playroom with a beanie, bracelets and her high heels on all ready to go. Now that's how you do yoga!

Along with the daily pool trips, we try to fit in a few splash pads here and there. Braelyn isn't always a huge fan of the water.

But she sure does know how to get the most out of a toy bucket!

Life is definitely crazy busy, but that's the way I like it. Bring on some more fun and activities. I like the challenge and it makes the waiting for baby girl #2 so much easier. Here we come summer!

Brave Little Girl!

Our sweet little Braelyn Boo had to have surgery last week to have a cyst on her head removed. We've been the typical procrastinating parents waiting almost a year and a half to get it done. Don't judge quite yet; it wasn't life threatening or anything. =) I just hate the idea of kids going under anesthesia. It's nerve racking. At least she had already been through it before with getting tubes in her ears, so I knew she should be okay.

We prepared her for surgery day by telling her that she was going to take a nap at the doctor's and the doctor was going to fix her bump. Once she was all prepped and ready for surgery the nurse came in to walk her away. I thought she was going to freak out. I told her the nurse was going to show her her new bed. She looked up at me with a smile and said, "Oh! Okay!" Then she grabbed the nurse's hand and skipped away.

The real heart breaker was AFTER surgery. When they brought me back to her she was waking up from the anesthesia. She couldn't even open her eyes and I think she was hungry and thirsty. She was just crying and holding me so tight. Yes, me, Mrs. Unemotional, got all teary eyed trying to calm her down.

Alas, this didn't last too long. As soon as we got back to the house she was back to her normal self . . . nonstop talking and nonstop energy. After inhaling a bag of popcorn and watching her new Chipmunks movie (courtesy of Grandpa Cal), she couldn't be contained. The nurses said she would be groggy and laying in bed most of the day. Um, think again. Between chasing her out the front door and down the street to constant explanations of why we couldn't go to the park, I had a regular old Braelyn on my hands. No relaxing day for us!

Probably the only two moments she was not running around:

Needless to say, I am so proud of my little pooper. Hopefully we won't be seeing another doctor anytime soon!

Vegas Baby!

So every year around this time we get the perk of meeting up with Ben's parents in Vegas. His dad works in the movie industry and attends a huge film festival each year with popcorn and candy bliss. Although this year Ben couldn't take time off work for the festival part, we did meet up the weekend before for lots of food, fun and sun!

First things first, I totally wore Braelyn out before our road trip by taking her to the neighborhood pool. My plan worked! She slept for two solid hours. Boo yeah!

And when she awoke, we entertained her with the biggest Rice Krispies Treat we could find at the gas station. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Once in Vegas we had to check out the beautiful arboretum at the Belagio hotel. Once again, they really impressed!

Smelling the flowers.

This girl LOVED being with her grandparents! They sure do spoil her rotten!

The second night we were there Ben's parents send us out on a date night to see Elvis Cirque de Soleil. It was amazing just like the other shows we've seen.

This was the best shot we could get. Oh well. I promise we were there!

Quick question: Is there anything wrong with stripping your child down to their underwear in public to eat an ice cream cone . . .

. . . or to sit by the side of the pool after dinner? Please say no because that's exactly what we did!

We did actually put our swimsuits on the next day and played in the pool. It was a blast! Braelyn sure has turned into a little fishy . . . well one that doesn't like to get her hair wet. Maybe she gets that from her mama!

And finally on our trip back home we ran into this disaster. A semi crashed and was on fire in the middle of the only road back home. But alas, the firemen came to the rescue and we were on the road again! What a wonderful time in Vegas. Until next year!

Summertime . . . I Mean HOT April Fun!

Yes, I know that it isn't quite summertime yet, but have you looked at the temperature?! Holy moly it's almost 100 and it's only mid April. Now I'm the first to say that I LOVE summers here in Arizona. Just stick me in a swimsuit and throw me in the pool. I'm happy. But, four months is long enough. We don't need to start that quite yet! We haven't gone to the pool yet, but we've found lots of other fun things to do.

We finally busted out the apron Grandma Melene gave Braelyn and I've been teaching her some mad baking skills. Cupcakes, cookies, and banana bread are our favorites!

I snagged a great deal on a bowling Groupon which Braelyn loves. I love the cute shoes she gets to wear!

We go out for frozen yogurt at least every other week after mom's boring shopping trips.

Can you tell she loves it?

Nah!

We've been to the Mesa Children's Museum where Braelyn discovered the hand or head puppets.

We still hit up the parks in the mornings and late afternoons. From the moment this kid wakes up in the morning or after naps she's asking, "Can we go to the park?!" Her new thing is to either push her toy stroller with her baby doll or ride her scooter. Either way we're looking at at least 30 minutes to get to the park which is a block away. Patience!

We opened up the Christmas Playdough from Grandma Kaye.

Braelyn is obsessed. Me, not so much. I HATE Playdough!

But I love my kid so I do it anyway!

I've been hiking a lot with a good friend of mine. One Saturday I actually talked Ben into going with Braelyn and me.

We're pros!

She loved having her daddy come with us.

And of course we go to the zoo all the time. I've definitely gotten my money's worth and sanity's worth out of my season pass.

Brushing the stinky ugly goats. If only she knew better and I could avoid the petting zoo part. Oh well.

Playing at her favorite farm playground with her bestie Drew!

Riding in the safari car in the "Jungle of Uco".

Loving the splash pad at the zoo! The first time we busted out her swimsuit this year. Now she wants to put it on everyday.

I love this picture! She was having so much fun jumping and splashing in the little stream. What a cutie!

So I guess it looks like it's gonna be a looooong summer, but at least we're making the best of it thus far. Bring on the sun and bring on the water! We're ready!

Oh and last but not least, we're just watching this baby GROW. Braelyn loves hugging and kissing my belly. Every time I pick her up she says, "I be careful with mommy's baby." She'll be such a good big sister. Besides our name dilemma, everything is going swell.

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks, which means only 16 weeks left!