15 Months!

On Sunday Brynnlee will be 15 months, but we had her doctors appointment on Monday due to the doctor being out of town next week. She was 27 1/2 pounds and 32 1/2 inches long. The doctor was impressed with her and her skills, but he did seem shocked at her weight until he noticed she's tall. She is in the 95% for her height, weight and head circumference. In other words, she is a healthy kiddo! Normally she does really well at the doctor up until the shots. Monday was another story. She didn't want doctor Reddy to hold or touch her. She cried when he tried to listen to her heart. I felt horrible, but this is the age whe she will start to have stranger anxiety. After the visit from the doctor she had two shots :( As usual she cried, but was over it quickly! Once the visit was over Jeff headed home with her, while I headed back to work.

Christmas is coming up quickly. Less then a week and a half to go! I am so excited and really hope that Brynnlee has fun! We (ok I) went a little overboard! I bought her a 6 volt Barbie Jeep power wheels! I was so excited, and can't wait till she sees it. I know that she won't be able to use it right now, but I am so excited for the summer! The day after Christmas we are leaving to head up north. Maybe there will be snow there? Brynnlee hasn't had a chance to play in the snow!

Halloween, Frankenmuth and looking forward to Christmas!

Halloween was fun! This year she was up and running! By the time bedtime arrived she was one tired little girl. She enjoyed playing with Maddie (who was a cat) and the spiderwebs. Melissa took a video of Brynnlee winding around in the webs and falling because she was trapped. It was so cute, but really tough to keep her away from the webs. Well it was really hard to keep up with her in general. She wanted to be outside, but it was a bit too chilly to hang outside. They put a firetruck outside with the smoke machine and strobe light on it. Brynnlee loved watching it and wanted to play in the smoke.

This past weekend was exhausting! It was Jeff's last weekend off for the year. Friday I worked, after work we went to my parents for a taco dinner to celebrate Katelynne's birthday. Saturday was a big day! We were up early on our way to Frankenmuth. First thing we did was stop at Coney Island for breakfast. Once we arrived at Frankenmuth we went to Bronners first. Brynnlee was amazed at all the lights and everything moving. She stared at everything! We all loved watching her soak everything in! This year we went simple for her ornament. We bought two dark blue ornaments; one for our house and one for Nana & Papa's tree. We also bought our second family ornament. It is a pontoon boat :) Doesn't have the top like ours, but we were pretty excited about the choice! We left Bronners and went to walk the town. We stopped in a few shops, headed to the River Place stores and also to the Cass River Park. In 2007 we took a picture of Nick, Katie and myself. It was almost 4 years ago to the date, and we were there that weekend for Katie's birthday as well. We recreated the picture, it as fun to see how much we have changed.

After we finished walking around, my family headed to Zehnders for dinner while Jeff and I took Brynnlee to Novi for her second snow show. She was a handful again this year, but she did well. We didn't buy much, just a few stickers and hyfax for Jeff's snowmobile. Brynnlee was able to sit on a snowmobile, she loved it of course. We are in trouble when she gets older!

By the time we got home all three of us were exhausted. Brynnlee ate dinner and shortly after she went to bed. Poor thing was exhausted, and had barely napped all day. Jeff wanted to stay up late because starting tonight he has to work 14 nights straight. Neither one of us lasted long, and we fell asleep with the t.v. on. Jeff was up early this morning for a meeting at the fire department. Brynnlee and I took advantage of the time change and slept in a little. We spent the majority of the day lounging around the house. I was able to get a few things done, but enjoyed a pretty quiet day. Tomorrow will be a long day at work, then off Tuesday to help with the election. Tuesday Brynnlee will be at my parents almost all day long. I wish our schedules would change. I have hope that it will get better.

I'm off to shower and head to bed. I need to starting making a change with my arrival time to work. Performance reviews are coming up, and I'm a little nervous. It is was it is, but I am looking for something more adequate to my career goal.

Just a quick post

I only have a quick second, but I wanted to just post how wonderful Brynnlee is! Right now she is watching Toy Story 3, one of her favorites! She watches and plays while I can get a few things done, its amazing! We are headed to lunch today with Grandma Betty, Brittany, and who knows else. Then to the grocery store to pick up a few things for tonight. Ryan is home for the weekend and we are having a bonfire at our house for him. Monday is Halloween, Brynnlee is going to be a ladybug. My mom is watching her that day and will be the one to get her dressed (good luck)! Then she's bringing her to the fire hall for the Halloween even they hold every year. Typically I do the planning, shopping and they set up and clean up!

I'm off to shower and get ready for the day! Brynnlee and I are going to eat, shop and then clean for tonight!

Work, photography, and so much more!

First of all...Monday after work Brynnlee and I went to the Deerfield cemetery. I introduced Brynnlee to her great-grandmother. There were a few tears shed, but I did my best to hold it together. I was able to catch a few photos to remember their first of many visits. Brynnlee wanted to run and play. I'm glad she was in a good mood for the first visit.

Work is insane right now. On top of working full time for one job, I am working part-time for my other job. The second job is keeping my on my toes right now. We have meetings every week, the election is coming up in a week and a half, and of course I am falling behind in my basic filing. I wish there were two more hours in the day. By the time I get home from picking up Brynnlee after work, I have to work on dinner, then of course housework and somewhere I have to fit in working for my second job. Hopefully after a very stressful meeting tonight it will slow down. As winter is fast approaching I hope that it slows down!

I am slowly trying to learn photography and photo editing. If the second job slows down as much as I hope, I will enroll in a class at the New York Institute of Photography. It seems like a lot to juggle, but I can work at my own pace for the class. Which is exactly what I need. I've been dragging my feet, and should've enrolled a long time ago. I am researching lens and other equipment that will be next in line to purchase. I have a lens in mind, a lens hood and external flash. Time will tell exactly what I need.

I am also trying to encourage Jeff to enroll in college courses. He is struggling with work right now. There are a lot of changes going on, and he seems to be getting the brunt of it all. I am hoping to encourage him to complete his Associates within the next year or so. Of course my dream is that I obtain a teaching position and that he is able to complete his degree and look for a job in either teaching or public safety (he isn't quite sure which one he wants to commit to).

Until this day we keep plugging away at life. We can't let the drama with the workplace tear us down. We already let it affect us too much.

I'm off to pick up Applebee's carside to go for dinner, then milk for Brynnlee and home to prep for the meeting. I'm not looking foward to tonight, but I am ready to end this phase!

6 year anniversary

Today’s date is October 20th. This day six years ago I was battling my inner demons dealing with my grandmother’s sickness. It was something I couldn’t accept, and still to this day struggle to accept the illness that took her life. I am almost certain that on this day six years ago my eyes filled with tears as I left my grandmother’s house. Seeing her in that condition was heart breaking. The tough southern women that she was shouldn’t be lying on a hospital bed waiting for death to come. Deep down I knew that her time was coming, but I wasn’t willing to admit it. I had some remnant of hope that a cure was be found, and she would bounce back to the spunky bowler that she was earlier in the year. By this time my grandmother had stopped taking medications and receiving chemotherapy and was under the care of Hospice; which to me was and still is the ultimate sign of death and the feeling of loss. As soon as it was referred by the hospital that my grandmother go home and be under the care of an in home Hospice nurse I felt my life shift. I knew that for the first time in years I would lose someone close to me, and for the first time ever it would be a family member. Back when I was in high school I lost a good friend to cystic fibrosis. Sadly her life was taken too early, and every now and then I visit her grave and remember that smile that is forever embedded into my brain.

It’s hard for me to recall and track the stages that my grandmother went through. The vast majority of the few months are blocked out and I won’t allow my brain to search for those memories as it brings so many tears that I can not stop.

In December of 2004 I moved to Kalamazoo to live with my then boyfriend Jeff, his sister and her boyfriend. The girl who said she would never leave got up the nerve to go and now will never move again away from her family. A few days after Christmas I pulled out of my driveway in tears watching my mother cry and wave from the back door. The first few days, weeks and even months were so hard for me. I battled so hard with the concept of leaving home. My siblings were still young and I missed their antics, but I also missed my parents Ozzy the large, lazy cat that still has my heart! The car was loaded down with my personal items, Christmas gifts and a few hundred dollars worth of food and kitchen items that my grandma Betty purchased. Somehow I knew it was a mistake, but I couldn’t shake the feeling.

I was in Kalamazoo for a few months when my grandma was diagnosed with bronchitis for the first of many times. Something kept telling me to go home. In April of 2005 we moved back home and into Jeff’s parents house. Shortly after we moved home my grandma developed bronchitis for about the fourth time that year. It wasn’t much longer after this point that she was diagnosed with cancer. Here is where it gets fuzzy for me. I believe the cancer started out in her lungs, and then moved to various parts of her brain. This caused her to lose her vision. She had chemo, took pills, attended physical therapy and was still as sassy as ever, but it wasn’t helping. I stopped listening to the family and doctors. I heard what they were saying, but I didn’t...if that makes any sense at all. It was almost in one ear and out the other. I knew all the signs were not showing any positive changes. I knew that she was getting worse. I knew that my grandma would never physically be there for my wedding, children and for those infamous talks at her coffee table, but I still had this glorious hope that everything would change and be amazing once again.

There are a lot of things in life that others would regret doing. Of course I have so many things that I regret saying, but I always tell others that I don’t regret anything in life. But I lie. I regret listening to others when I was younger instead of forming my own opinions. I regret being afraid of my grandmother’s house, for it smelled of musty old well water. I regret not spending time with her, listening to her stories and smelling that wonderful cheaply made Avon perfume that she wore. I regret giggling at her Christmas earrings, tacky sweatshirts and her cell phone. Ok maybe not the cell hone that was reminiscent of the Zack Morris days, you know Saved By the Bell. If not, think of the millionaires who used to carry the big brick cell phones, that was her phone. Each of those things means so much to me today. I own a pair or two of her holiday earrings today and I am proud to be their owner. They are so special to me that they remain in a drawer in my jewelry box; I wouldn’t want to ruin them by wearing them ;) I am thankful that my sister brought me these earrings from my grandmother’s house. They were tossed aside by all the other family members because they didn’t hold any monetary value. I didn’t need or want anything valuable. I wanted my grandma; I wanted things that would remind me of her face, smile and eyes. I am also the very proud owner of grandma’s stinky nasty bowling towel; which since has been washed. Don’t tell her that though, she might roll over in her grave. Washing a bowling towel is one of those things that you just don’t do! I also am the owner of her bowling ball. I know what your thinking, why would you want a bowling ball? My answer? I have no idea why. I couldn’t stand to see it be tossed away. If it wasn’t for bowling on the same league with her I wouldn’t have known my grandmother at all. I passed along the shoes to my cousin, who would also bowl on occasions. The bowling ball was purchased for my grandmother twenty years prior at a garage sale by my aunt’s ex husband. I don’t remember what she said he paid, but it wasn’t much. Of course it was someone else’s bowling ball before then so it was drilled for someone else, but that didn’t stop her from bowling her butt off (some days).

The above paragraphs sums up my grandmother without making me sob at work. She was an amazing woman, and I regret not getting to know her better. I do have some wonderful memories of her that I cherish. I wish Brynnlee could have memories of her too. They would’ve loved each other. I wish she could’ve been there for my wedding, for my college graduation and every Sunday during winter to bowl with. I want to end my blog post with a few stories of my grandma.

While she was home recovering from bronchitis my grandma called to ask if I could bring a few things over to her. She wanted me to stop into Family Dollar in Blissfield and pick up a six pack of coke and hair spray. Not just hair spray, a cheap can of hair spray. And of course I had to go to Family Dollar specifically because she used to work there. I took the items to her house and she begged me to take the money. After a slight argument and then a threat from her I gladly pocketed the money while she answered the ancient dinosaur of a cell phone. It took me years to delete her phone number out of my phone. And in fact my old email still has emails that she wrote to me years ago. Which reminds me to print those out and hold onto them. I just took a brief break and read the emails. Oh and I love and miss grandma so much. They just remind me of her and I miss seeing her trying to use the computer! What would she have done in this age of technology? A touch screen phone instead of the dinosaur?

When my grandma was down in Toledo at the hospital I would visit her a few times a week after work or school. On this particular day I drove from Eastern Michigan University to Toledo to visit my grandma at Flower Hospital. Before leaving Ypsilanti I stopped and picked up a bouquet of flowers for my grandma. When I reached the hospital numerous family members were there, but my Aunt Karen greeted me at the door of the hospital. I thought it was odd, but assumed she needed a break. On the elevator ride to grandma’s room she told me that a tumor was putting pressure on her brain. This pressure was causing her to lose her vision. At the time they believed she could see shadows, but nothing other then that. I took a few minutes to sob in the hallway and then gathered myself to see the situation first hand. Sadly she didn’t get enjoy the colors of the flower arrangement that I had picked out. When I walked in the room I told her I was there and that I brought flowers. That is when she looked in the opposite direction and said the flowers were beautiful. This is when they tears started to fall, but after she wanted to smell them is when the waterworks started. She had a hard time lining her nose up to the flowers to smell them, and even though I was holding them I wasn’t much help at the moment. I remember her smile and her telling me they was beautiful and they that they smelled good. After that the visit was a blur because I cried almost the whole time. That is when I started to lose faith. Knowing that the tumor was spreading was hard to swallow.

Another day that sticks in my mind was when she made the move from her room in Flower Hospital to a room in Lake Park; which was located next to the hospital. Uncle Kevin and I were both there the day of her move. We packed up her items and loaded them onto her bed with her; please note that she wasn’t happy about this! Before we the second room was ready she asked Uncle Kevin to go buy her lunch. She was tired of hospital food; which I didn’t understand until I had my daughter. It was like pulling teeth to get her to make a decision on what she wanted for lunch. Finally she decided she wanted Burger King and chicken nuggets. Uncle Kevin left to get lunch, during this time I asked my grandma how she was feeling and of course she felt great. We talked a lot about how she was proud of me and she knew that I would make something of myself one day. It was a really nice time sitting next to her and listening to how proud she was of me, and I still had so much life left to make her more proud! Uncle Kevin came back with chicken fries, french fries and a coke for grandma. He forgot to ask before she left if she wanted sauce, so he grabbed a few different kinds. We would hand her the chicken or fry and hold the sauce for her to dip. It was so adorable to see her sitting on the edge of the bed swinging her feet like she was an innocent child. At this time she didn’t have any hair, and wasn’t wearing a wig that day. To keep the humor alive Uncle Kevin and I had to mess with her a little bit. We would move our hands around and make it difficult for her to find the sauce. A little mean? Yes, but she laughed.

After she moved to Lake Park she became grumpy. She wasn’t very happy with this location, and I have to said I can understand...it smelled like pee. The nurses and food were just the same. Grandma still didn’t enjoy the food, but she might’ve liked it more if she picked out the food herself. Aunt Karen picked it out for her. This of course meant the menu was based around what Aunt Karen liked. One day she ordered her tuna casserole...really? Grandma didn’t like tuna and she stuck out her tongue and refused to eat. The tray sat there for a little bit, and time and time again we asked if she wanted anything, still she refused. I took advantage of the situation and ate her dessert  Of course grandma then realized that there was more on the tray to eat. I told her no, and then politely asked the nurse to bring her a different meal (so I am a nice grandchild). After a few days in Lake Park grandma had a fit one morning. She claimed that it was so loud at night and she could barely sleep with the party going on in her room. When they asked her what she was talking about she said that someone kept turning her television on and off all night. Then they would turn it up loud and all these black people would come in her room (now mind you she used the inappropriate term that she grew up knowing in the south). Of course we giggled at the story and were concerned, so we called the nurse in. A few minutes later a very large black, female nurse came in; which added to our confusion. Could grandma be telling the truth? While the nurse was walking in the room my grandma was using that inappropriate term repeatedly. The rest of us in the room went paler then usual and quiet as a mouse. After meeting with the nurse she explained that grandma was seeing shadows, so everyone was black to her she just wouldn’t admit it. The loud noise going on and off throughout the night was the neighbor across the hall. She turned her television on and off all night and kept it loud enough to wake the dead.

Granted these memories aren't the only ones that I have of my grandma, but they certainly do stick out in my mind.

Almost a month since my last post

I wish I had a better excuse, but I haven't been posting lately because I am lazy! We went on a 6 day vacation in the woods and it was so nice. We rented a cabin in Munising near the Buckhorn, on Hovey lake. It was a wonderful log cabin that had been built by hand. We paid about $650, but it was so awesome to spend each night relaxing and eating what we wanted for dinner. Although its not something we will do often, I hope to do it again. Nana and Papa are the proud owners of a new dog (well more Nana, then Papa...but he does like the new one). I called the dogs Rags II, Papa calls her Rags, and Nana calls her Fiona (her given name). However no one calls her by her official given name: Princess Fiona. And we won't even discuss what Jeff calls her ;) Princess Fiona aka Rags II was spayed a few weeks before we arrived. Due to the possibility that should she would be under the weather, Papa requested that we leave the dogs at home. With Gretta's condition we decided that wasn't a good option, and that we would rent a place where the dogs could go with us. I would gladly rent from Sawmill Cabin again!

After renting the cabins we had to change our plans. We had rented a hotel room in the Keewenaw Peninsula. After renting the cabin, we canceled the room. No sense in staying the night in one place, but paying for two. We planned to do a day trip, but the drive was too far and we opted to save that trip for another time. One day we will eventually get there. Much like my other posts lately I am going to summarize our trip and hope that I am able to add more information and pictures later on.

On Thursday the 6th I had a township meeting. Afterwards I finished up some work, packed and worked some more. Jeff woke up around 4 and started to pack. I was still awake working on things. Shortly afterwards we were on the road and headed to the U.P. I slept part of the way up and so did Brynnlee. She did much better in the car this trip. We found out that she loves the movie Night at the Museum. She watched that movie about 10 times during the trip, and each time it was like the first time she watched it.

We drove US 2 to 13 and went the back way to the cabin (which was the shortest distance to where we were located). It was early but we checked into the cabin and unloaded the truck. We headed into town to pick up some groceries and visit with Nana & Papa. After wards we headed to eat lunch at the cabin on the deck. We enjoyed a few sandwiches and chips and the lovely view of Hovey Lake.

In the following days we visited Marquette (we climbed Mt. Marquette...boy that was tough for me), drove to Grand Marais (we played on the beach, had lunch, stopped at Sable Falls, Kingston Lake and so much more, but the view from the new rest stop was breathtaking. We also visited School Forest. We learned that there were houses way in the back, and had a nice conversation with a husband and wife who own a cabin that they built. They shared stories of the area; including the story about how the shore line is getting closer to their home. In a few short years they will have waterfront property. Neighbors have moved their homes, and one neighbor even lost their home to the Lake. Evidence of this was the cables that went from the ground, down the slope and almost into the lake!), Pete's Lake, one last boat trip on Lake Superior, Munising Falls, Scott Falls, and Wagner Falls. We stopped often for me to take photos and enjoy the sights. While in Marquette we had lunch at the Vierling brewery. Their menu was different, but we had a good meal. We also visited with Mike and Jessica and Justin and Kara. The following day (our final full day there) Justin and Kara came out with the boys and spent the day at the cabin with us. Brynnlee loves playing and watching the boys. We spent the evening playing cards and enjoying a few drinks after all the kids went to sleep. After three games of euchre the girls lost to the boys, this was shortly after the Tigers lost game 3 to the Rangers (a few days later they lost the series and were out for the season).

Wildlife...I am going to have a fight with the wildlife in the U.P. I'm not asking for a close encounter, but I would love to see something really awesome. We did see a few healthy looking deer, male and female grouse and an eagle that was flying over Pete's Lake. I was hoping to see a bear or something. We did hear coyote one night after going to bed, their yip made me laugh...but I know they are tougher then they sound. After visiting Marquette we came home after dark. Jeff went to go unlock the door and we heard low and mean sounding growling. I swear it was a bear, but we didn't see anything (of course I didn't try to investigate either). Jeff left the truck door wide open while he unlocked the door! Thankfully we rushed inside and were unharmed ;). Later that night Jeff heard some more noises, he went to investigate hoping to see something cool...instead he saw three very large raccoons violating the trash can!

Hopefully I can add more details later. We had a nice trip. The next one in planned for November. I might sit this trip out, but I'm not sure. I have the whole week of Thanksgiving off. We contemplated going up north for the first part, then back home for Thanksgiving. I might stay home to work on township stuff. I am falling behind and desperately need to catch up! It is also a toss up if Brynnlee is going with Jeff or stay with me. I hate to leave her for a few days! The week that we left to go up north I went a whole day without seeing her. Thats not normal for me, there are many days that Jeff doesn't see her with his schedule. I didn't like it, but there wasn't anything that I could do. I had work all day, then meeting at night. Of course prepping in between and a late meeting meant that I was tired and missing my little Bug!

I am about to leave work, so thats all for today. I feel productive though! Hopefully I have more chances to write!

First Birthday!

Brynnlee's first birthday party was last weekend! It was on her birthday; Sunday from 4-6. We planned a red/black ladybug theme. I had fun planning and definately restrained from going overboard. We had close family over for a backyard bbq. The tables were covered in red and black tablecloths. We purchased red and black napkins and plates, The napkins were white with ladybugs on them. A coworker of mine made the cake; which was amazing and adorable. We have Michelle Marie Photgraphy come to take photos and share the day with us. Most of the family was able to make it to the party. We wish that everyone was able to be there for her big day. She ate cake, opened presents and visited with her friend Maddie. The day went great. Everyone enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, cole slaw, potato salad, fruit and meatballs for dinner. We opened all the wonderful gifts and ate amazing cake. After everyone left we did a quick clean and spent the rest of the night on the couch while Brynnlee played with her new goodies!

How could I say goodbye when I never said hello...

I wanted to save this poem for various reasons.

I'm just a precious little one who didn't make it there.
I went straight to be with Jesus, but I'm waiting for you here.
Many dwelling here where I live,waited years to enter in.
Struggled through a world of sorrow,a world marred with pain and sin.
Thank you for the life you gave me, it was brief but don't complain.
I have all Heaven's Glory, suffered none of earth's great pain.
Thank you for the name you gave me. I'd have loved to bring it fame.
But if I'd lingered in earth's shadows, I would have suffered just the same.
So sweet family-don't you sorrow. Wipe those tears and chase the gloom.
I went straight to Jesus arms from my loving Mother's womb

Almost two months since the last post!

Shame on me! I haven't been keep up on the blog. My spare time is spent with Brynnlee. I love watching her any time that I can. I will quickly fill in the past two months and hope that I can explain in more detail soon!

In August we went to the U.P. for another trip. We spent some time on the boat, Derek and Kathy came up, and Brian and Jessica and Mike came down from Marquette to visit. We had awesome boat rides and spent a lot of money in repairs. The trip was another great one to add to the books!

The night we arrived in Munising we stopped at camp to drop off Pat who rode with us. Brynnlee took her first steps that night! It was 4 quick steps, almost like running. Today she is easily taking 10 steps, standing up, squatting down and back up and so much more. She points at everything and asks "what's that" and "who's that". I love being able to tell her what everything is. Right now she easily can also say mom and dad, but she has also said monkey and dance (plus many more babbles that are possibly words)!

Brynnlee is an awesome kid! She is an angel for my mom when she watches her and does great with people. We had a dinner tonight with some of the firefighters. She laughed and played with everyone. Melissa and Joe had Maddie there, it was so much fun to watch the two girls play. They were a little rough together, but hopefully we can get them together more often! At the end of the night Brynnlee was done and ready for bed. She is a child of habit. She needs her crib, her monkey and darkness. If she isn't able to lay on her belly she can't fall asleep. I remember waking up every few hours panicking about whether she was still on her back and breathing ok. I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders once she hit 10 months. I feel like my infant is gone and a toddler has replaced her.

Having a toddler isn't a bad thing, but I do miss my little bug!

Next weekend is her FIRST birthday already! I can't believe how fast she has grown! This past year has been a roller coaster....one amazing fast roller coaster. I wish there was more time in each day to spend with her, more money in our bank account so that we didn't have to work and could stay home and spend all day with her. It is so awesome to just watch her learn and grow. She is so smart and catches on to things quickly! She's such a smart cookie.

I know this blog was a hodge podge of info. Everything was thrown together...and took almost an hour to write. I never have free time, and when I do its never to sit and write in the blog. Soon I hope that I will have free time and will be able to write on a consistant basis! Until then, be patient please. I'm trying my best!

Summer is flying by!

Here we are almost mid July. Brynnlee is almost 10 months old! She is still walking along the furniture and taking a step here and there, but nothing serious! She has also starting dancing at any and all music she hears. In fact last night she was dancing to the ringtone on my phone! Also last night she started to give kisses! She will lean in to kiss her stuffed animal or you. Be careful though, she is drooling a lot due to her one year molars.
I need to update with some details from our trip over the 4th, but it was awesome! We had fun. There was a lot of time spent with family, time on the boat and some time together. We are heading back up on the 29th for a shorter trip with Derek and Kathy. Hopefully the boat is all fixed and ready to head out into open water!
Back to work I go, I don't have much time these days to write. Hopefully one night this week I will have a chance to add details about the trip.

First Kids Meal :)

I forgot to add...

On Saturday Brynnlee got her first kids meal! My mom, sister, Brynnlee and I went to Toledo and had Bob Evans for lunch. I ordered Brynnlee the egg, toast and sausage meal. She ate a good portion of it, but a lot fell on the floor too! She's a great eater! Almost anything you put in front of her she will eat! She loves blueberries, melon, cucumbers and yogurt...among many other things. It has encouraged me to try to eat better, of course it hasn't helped me to lose any weight...but its nice knowing that it has helped me to feel a little better.

Tonight I have to finish packing, then a half day of work tomorrow and hopefully we will be on the road by 2pm! I also hope that there isn't much traffic and the boat tows nicely.

We are boat owners!

Last Thursday we headed to Milan after I got out of work. We bought a pontoon trailer and headed to Onsted to get our boat. We bought an older, but huge, pontoon boat from Chuck and Debbie Schmidt. It hadn't been in the water for a few years. The boat was difficult to get from the land onto the trailer. After about 2 hours and lots of rain, and cuss words. The boat was loaded onto the trailer and ready to be powerwashed. Jeff wasn't going to be able to finish power washing that night and had to leave the boat for the next day. The second day he finished power washing the boat and brought it home. It was like a child in a candy store! The following night I attempted to clean two of the seats. After about an hour I was about 3/4 of the way done. It will take a lot of scrubbing to clean it to my specification, but its good enough for now. Derek DeCatur came over to help check out the motor and ensure the boat would run well. He said that we got another good deal on the boat and that it would be running great for the 4th!
On Thursday we are heading to Munising for the 4th. Plans have changed a million times, so I'm not sure what is in store. We are definitely taking the boat out to view the Pictures Rocks shoreline. We also have Brynnlee's baptism on Saturday and of course the 4th festivities on Monday. On Monday night we might take the boat out into the bay to view the fireworks. We figured it would be better on Brynnlee's ears. I'm so excited to have a week away from work.

Catching up...

I know its been touch and go with my blogs. I really wanted to keep up with the posting so that Brynnlee had a record of the events in her young life. I'm going to try to catch back up and brief the past few weeks!
Brynnlee now has 8 teeth! She has the top and bottom front four teeth. On June 23rd she had her 9 month check up. She weighed 22 pounds, 7 ounces and was 29 1/2 inches long. That puts her in the 95% for both height and weight. Dr. Reddy said she is doing great and is a healthy baby. He also mentioned that her 1 year molars are already coming in and her soft spot is almost closed; which normally closes between 15-18 months. So she is ahead on some things!
The first step is coming quickly! She needs to gain confidence to make the first step. Brynnlee will stand up on the coffee table and lean towards me. Before she takes the step she will either fall forward into my arms or drop to the ground and crawl.
Nighttime is getting a little better. She still fights her sleep terribly, but I have been putting her to bed awake. She cries, but by the time I take her humidifier downstairs to fill it and bring it back up she is asleep. I guess she just doesn't want to be held anymore :(
On Sunday we had Brittany's graduation party. Jeff and I went at seperate times because he had to work that night, but I was still trying to get ready. Brynnlee had a lot of fun, and was ready to pass out. I put her in her car seat and put the car in drive; she istantly fell asleep!
Brynnlee is now 9 months old. She is wearing 9-12 month clothing (and some 12-18 month) and size 4 diapers. Its bittersweet to see how much she is growing. Last night she was playing with a blanket that was made for her. She kept watching the pattern (of Humpty Dumpty). She would lean over and pick at the blanket, then smile at the big sun. She loves colors and cartoon pictures. She also watched the show So You Think You Can Dance with me. She loves the movement, music and colors. When they clap for the contestants she laughs and starts clapping.
Its so much fun watching the look on her faced as she concentrates. She lights up with joy at the simple things in life. Like when we put her in her car seat in Jeff's truck. She gets so excited because the portable cd player is in there. She will get so excited when you press play, but when the opening Disney screen comes on she lights up! Now she is doing this thing when she gets so excited...its almost like she is snorting and laughing at the same time.
Everyday I fall more in love with her and her beautiful face. I can't imagine our life without her. She can make any day good and her smile can make any problem go away. She touches everyone life in one way or another.
I'm so proud of her and her growth. She is crawling as fast as lightening and most days I love it, but some days its tough keeping up with her. I told a coworker today that I can't wait until Bug can crawl, and truthfully I can. I want her to grow, but just not so quickly. I feel like her life is flying by and everything is changing so fast. With us working two jobs I feel like I can't keep up with her every move. Some days I can't wait for my layoff to come. It will be tough not working; both financially and mentally. I know the time will allow me to focus on Brynnlee, the township work and housework. I am so excited to finally work on having a organized life and house. Until then I am just plugging along!

First camping trip was a success!

Friday night we arrived to the campsite much later then we wanted to. Between traffic, construction and stopping for dinner we arrived around 10pm. Luckly the group next to us was exceptionally nice. The father and his two sons helped Jeff put up the tent while I watched Brynnlee. That night we sat around their bonfire. Brynnlee fell asleep late and Jeff stayed up later to enjoy a few drinks with the neighboring group.
Saturday morning we woke up and had pancakes and sausage for breakfast. We then walked the stroller around to the wavy side of the park. After playing with the dogs we decided to take a break and head into town. We decided we needed a break after crying. It was painful to watch Gretta on the beach. She wanted to play with the ball, but she wasn't able to see it. We cried for awhile, then walked to beach and cried some more. I promised Gretta I would find a way to help her and I intend on keeping that promise. After getting back to the campsite we piled into the truck and went to town. We picked up Subway for lunch and headed to a park to watch the water while we ate our meal. AFterwards we headed to the docks. We walked and watched the people, little ducks and read boat names. A few boats we have seen before, but there were some new one. We needed some items from Walmart, so Jeff dropped me off at the door to get the things while he napped with Brynnlee in the truck. We went back to the campground and spent some time on the bay side of the park. Gretta still wanted to play, but we made sure to walk her into the water. She needs to learn to enjoy the water and not always be trying to play with a ball. We sat Brynnlee on the shore line and let her crawl into the water. She played and laughed. I walked Gretta out into the water to have her try to just enjoy the water. Jeff followed with Remington and Brynnlee. We all walked into the bay and just enjoyed the calmness of the water. After enjoying the beach we headed back to the campsite to cook dinner. We had grilled hotdogs, chips, coleslaw and macaroni salad. It was a good dinner and Brynnlee enjoyed eating it all...well she made some funny faces at the coleslaw. After dinner we took Brynnlee and the dogs for a walk around the campground. We also let Brynnlee play on the swings. She laughed and I took a million pictures. We finished our walk back to the site, Brynnlee fell asleep and everyone commmented on how great the dogs were, and how cute Brynnlee is. We spent the rest of the night relaxing at the campsite. I tried to get Brynnlee to fall asleep, but she had a hard time becuase she likes to sleep tucked into the corner of her crib. I was laying on the air mattress with her and she just kept crawling in circles because she couldn't find a corner. After trying to get her to sleep for a few minutes I gave up because the group of kids camping on the other side of us were so loud that they kept waking her up. Instead I brought her back outside and she sat with Jeff until she fell asleep. It got very cold that night, and Brynnlee actually ended up waking up. Jeff brought her into bed with us because he knew that she was cold. A few hours later I woke up and the dogs and Brynnlee were both cuddling with me, but Jeff was sleeping on the floor of the tent. The rest of us must have taken up too much space!
On Sunday morning we woke up and had pancakes and sausage for breakfast again. We slowly started to pack up our things and get ready for the ride home. After the dogs were in the back and Brynnlee was watching Baby Einstein in her car seat we said our goodbyes to the neighbors and hit the road. The plan was to head into Ubly (in the thumb) to view a wind turbine farm for my township job. We spent about an hour driving, looking, taking photos and talking to a farmer. It was so nice of Jeff to go with me even though it was Father's day. The ride home was exhausting, neither of us wanted to drive. We stopped in Whitmore Lake for the worst coffee ever, and then finished out the ride.
We had a lot of fun, but the trip was also filled with tears. We will make it through this phase, but I just hope that we can help Gretta in some way. She is an amazing dog and deserves to see again.

Laid off

On June 6th I found out that I was being laid off from early head start at the end of September when our current grant year ends. When I took this job last February I knew there was a possibility that I could be laid off. I was ok with that decision if it meant allowing the children to receive services. However I don't feel like that is the reason why I was laid off. During the grant team committee meetings they never discussed my job, but the director announced that my job and another job would be eliminated. I'm disappointed at how it is all happening, but my opinion doesn't count ;) They are offering a fulltime and parttime position that are both basically the same as my job, but less money and the one they want me to apply for is less hours. I wish I could be using my degree, but I think I may accept the layoff and go back to school for my masters degree. It all depends on what I am offered. I supposed I'll have to report back in September and update what my final decision will be.

Going camping...

Today is both a good and bad day. We are on our way to Tawas Point campground for the weekend. This will be Brynnlees first time camping, and we are taking the tent. It should be interesting, but a lot of fun. Jeff and I haven't been camping in almost two years. I'm ready to spend spend sometime in the water and around the campfire.

It will be a sad weekend because Gretta has recently lost most of her vision. It started over memorial day weekend. We noticed that she was unable to keep track of the ball when we threw it. Of course we knew she would lose some vision due to her cloudy eyes. However last night it was much worse. She was tripping over things, and when I tossed a treat to her it just hit her head and fell to the ground. She even had a hard time sniffing it out. Sadly we knew something was wrong and this morning Jeff took her to the vets office. They kept her all day and tested her sugar every hour. The last three hours of the day her sugar was over 600. Now we need to up her dose of insulin from 20 to 25 units twice a day. We also need to change her food to a natural/holistic food. Which on top of the vet bills, insulin and needles will be expensive. It's worth it, but its so hard to see her walk into things and be so unsteady on her feet. She has been the greatest dog and its such a shame that she developed diabetes. I wish there was more that we could do, I feel so helpless.

Graduations, Weddings and Clapping!

On June 3rd my cousin Brittney graduated from high school. Jeff had to work, so Brynnlee and I went and met the rest of the family there. Brynnlee laughed and danced while the band played. She was so loud that it distracted the students from paying attention to the ceremony. Instead they would glance over to see what she was doing. It was so funny and cute! Afterwards we went to pick up Applebee's for dinner and headed home to meet Jeff for dinner.
This past weekend we headed to Youngstown Ohio for Pat & Jen's wedding. Jeff was in the wedding, but had to work both Friday and Sunday. We left the house around 7am and made it to Youngstown at 10:30. Jeff, Ken and Pat went to have lunch and a few beers before the wedding. Brynnlee and I went shopping, then to the hotel room we booked for Pat and Jen. Brent and Leslie met us there to help watch Brynnlee while I showered and prepped for the wedding. We set up the room with rose petals, snacks and tulle. We then headed to their ceremony which took place in a old church located in Boardman Park. The church was warm, but the stained glass was gorgeous to look at. After the ceremony they had a break for photos, so Brynnlee and I went shopping again! We headed to Target to buy a few things, but of course Babies R Us was next door...so we had to stop in there as well. We then headed to the reception hall for dinner and dancing. They hired a wedding singer who played a wide assortment of songs. Brynnlee loved it and clapped the whole time! She ate her snacks and a good portion of my dinner as well. She looked amazing in her outfit, and everyone complimented us on how beautiful she was and how well behaved. Towards the end of the night she was done though. We chanegd her diaper, changed her into pjs and Jeff walked around saying his goodbyes. During this time she fell asleep in his arms. She was so tired, but she loved the music, playing with Ken and seeing everyone. All the attention was on her and she was so excited.
Brynnlee has learned a few new things! She has learned how to point and clap. Its so cute and I love it so much. Next she will be talking and walking. I love watching her grow, learn and am constantly amazed at her! She makes me giggle daily!
Yesterday we went to a surprise birthday party for one of the firefighters. Maddie and Brynnlee hugged on each other and talked! It was hilarious! They played with plastic cups and hung out in their strollers. Brynnlee did amazing this weekend. I couldn't ask for a better baby! We are so very lucky to have her!
Oh and last Thursday was our 4 year anniversary. Jeff and I headed to Nagoya, a Japanese restaurant in Perrysburg. We had a lot of fun and definately need to have a grown up dinner again soon. We were lost without Brynnlee, so after dinner we went to pick her up and spent the rest of the evening at home with her.

Memorial Day Vacation

Early Friday morning we headed north for a long weekend. I started the drive around 8am and Jeff tried to sleep a little, but within 2 hours he was ready to take over the wheel. Of course before he took over I took the wrong exit. Luckily it just took up downtown Clare; which was fine because we needed gas. Jeff took over and we started back on our way to Munising. We decided to stop for lunch in Mackinac City and grab food to go from the Dixie Saloon. From there we sat on the beach and ate lunch while watching traffic cross the bridge. Brynnlee even ate her lunch on the beach  The dogs played in the water a little, and of course they both pooped! They sure know the most inappropriate times to use the restroom. After lunch we took one more look at the beautiful sight, used the bathroom and hopped back in the truck. Once in the U.P. we decided to take a different route. We followed 2 down to the first section of 94. Only once before this trip have we traveled that route and we decided we needed to take that route more often. Nana & Papa were excited to us, but more excited to see Brynnlee! They were amazed at how much she was crawling and how quick she is. We spent the rest of Friday relaxing around the house. We were both tired from the long week and took advantage of the rainy day.
On Saturday we headed to Laughing Whitefish Falls when the weather cleared. The mosquitoes were horrible the entire walk to the falls and back. We viewed the falls at the top and I walked to the bottom by myself. Jeff stayed up top with the dogs and Brynnlee. Once at the bottom I turned on my camera to take pictures, but my camera battery died before I could take one picture of the falls! And of course I left my charger at home for the first time EVER! I walked all the back up the stairs complaining because I couldn’t believe that I did that! That morning I woke up with a head cold, so the walk up the stairs and back to the car was awful. It took me about an hour to recover from the walk. That night we headed to Marquette after dinner to visit with Justin and Kara. We stayed for about 3 hours before Brynnlee decided it was time to go home. We had a lot of fun and laughter. Justin held Brynnlee, but it didn’t go very well because she is starting to have stranger anxiety. She cried and he smiled the whole time, Jeff even took a picture with his phone. Both Sunday and Monday we took a walk down to the bay and docks. Each night we sat on the beach and watched the water for a little bit. Sunday night Jeff walked Brynnlee to the shore and dipped her toes in the water. She didn’t like the cold, but she loves the water. After he picked her up she refused to put her feet down, she just kept pulling her feet up. On Monday night we stopped at the playground and let Brynnlee swing and slide (with Jeff’s help of course). I left my camera charger at home, so I had to use my small camera; which didn’t hold a charge for long. I took a few pictures and even a video of her swinging. She loves it so much, we definitely need a swing set for our yard. On Tuesday we headed to Sand Point Beach because the weather was the best it has been all weekend. Brynnlee sat on the beach and played with a bucket and shovel. She watched Jeff and the dogs play. Jeff walked Brynnlee out into the water with the dogs. She laughed and got so excited, but she wasn’t ready to put her toes back in Lake Superior! After a few hours at the beach we went back to say our good-byes to Nana and Papa. Its always sad to go, but I love to be back at home. We started off late and we had to stop in Harrison to drop a golf cart off to my parent’s cabin. Papa decided he wasn’t going to use his anymore and wanted to pass it along to someone who could use it. The ride home was pretty windy, especially on the bridge. I was a little nervous crossing because the trailer was bouncing everywhere and we had to drive on the lane that has grating due to construction. We got home late that night; I headed straight to bed since I had to get up early for work. I’m looking forward to our trip over the 4th of July. I hope was have a chance to camp a few nights. I really miss camping and being outdoors. I would also love to have a few days of vacation where it’s just the three of us. I love visiting family, but its time that we have a few hours of family time.

Weekly emails

When I found out I was pregnant I signed up for weekly emails to track how Brynnlee was growing. Each week I would anxiously await the arrival of the email, quickly read and then forward it on to Jeff to read. There were times where I didn’t have time to forward the email and Jeff would politely remind me to send them to him. Once Brynnlee was born the prenatal emails changed to update me on the growth of my precious baby. I was able to read about the skills she would quickly learn and what to expect. I always said she was slightly advanced because the emails always seemed to describe what she was already doing, so it made it difficult to read about what to anticipate. I just received the 35 week update and it is right on target!

Here are two parts of the mail that are very true at the moment:
“By week 35, they may understand the word "No" when you say it, but they may not always listen.”

“By week 35, your baby has also probably figured out how to get into anything and everything. Even though they are still a few months away from walking, they might already be crawling, butt scooting, and maybe even climbing their way into trouble.”

Reading these two statements makes me realize that we need to do some more baby proofing. I am working on moving a lot of the township files from the house to the office; which is a difficult task to do with an 8 months old who wants to crawl all over you and play with your papers. Once these things are removed we will be able to put her toys in the awesome toy box we had made. We asked Tyler to make a toy box and within a few days it was ready and we love it! Currently it sits in our living room and I am sure it will stay there for about 6 months or so. Once she is old enough to use the stairs with assistance I would like to leave the majority of her toys upstairs in the toy box and on a few things downstairs. Until then we have a basket of toys in the living room that we play with daily. Brynnlee loves playing on the floor and crawl all over us.

Last night after she napped she was a completely different child. She laughed and laughed when I tried taking pictures of her. It was so great to see her in such a great mood.

Oh and she still has the bruise!

She still has the bruise on her cheek! Its faint, but it is still there!

8 MONTHS!!!

Oh boy...Brynnlee is 8 months and 5 days old today! She amazes me everyday! Today Jeff was put back on shift at work. It was supposed to be till the end of this year, but it might end this week? His schedule is always being switched and messed with. Its unfortunate because I have to turn in my request for non contract days this Friday! I wish I had more time to see what is going to happen with Jeff's schedule. Unless we hear something by Friday I am going to do my best to plan some days/short vacations.
Brynnlee is doing awesome with sleeping in her crib! She is still sleeping through most nights. Every now and then she wakes up for a bottom. Jeff is a great dad and gets up with her. I sleep too deep and have problems hearing her during the night. On nights like tonight when Jeff is gone at work I toss and turn all night because I am worried about not waking up to her cries.
Today we have the first big scare with Brynnlee. She started choking and I was unable to remove the object. Thankfully Jeff was home and he started patting her back while I reached for the object. It was a piece of wood from the plywood that was once our kitchen floor. She recovered quickly, but I was shaken up! As soon as she fell asleep I vacuumed the floor.
Brynnlee either has a cold or a ear infection. Her nose is running like a faucet and she keeps tugging on her ear. Tonight she was awfully cranky and took a two hour nap! I was able to get a lot of township work sorted and filed. I still have a lot more to do, and with a meeting tomorrow night and vacation this weekend it looks like work will have to wait until next week!
She is getting even better with crawling. The best part is when she crawls right to me and puts her arms up to be picked up. I love knowing that she needs and wants me! Today when Jeff left for work she followed him to the door and sat next to it crying when he left. Its so sad to see, but its also so great to see because she is learning so much!
I always said Brynnlee didn't act like a newborn when she was one. I felt like she was stronger, more active and showed more emotions then a newborn. The same remains true today. She is a VERY active 8 month old. She loves to crawl on us and tumble everywhere.
This weekend we are heading up north for Memorial Day...soon our 4th of July vacation will be here! I am so excited! If Jeff remains on this schedule then our trip will be reduced by a few days :( Nonetheless I am excited for the trip to get here. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for both trips and we can enjoy time outside.
Gretta is doing well with her diabetes. I took her back to the vet last Thursday to have her sugar level tested. She was still over 500, normal range is 60-150 for dogs. We upped her dose to 20 units twice a day (it was 15). She seems to feel better and acts a lot more like the Gretta we once new! I can't wait to see her play more this summer and hopefully the diabetes is something we can control and she lives a long healthy life! Remington is also doing good. I think she is allergic to something because she is constantly licking her paws and panting. The air conditioner is on and she has water, but she was still panting so she had a bath tonight.
Well I am off to bed, hopefully I can wake up on time tomorrow! Its very hard for me to get up early enough to drop Brynnlee off to my mom in the morning. I am hoping that I can write blogs more often. Things have been hectic and I want downtime, but I have to remember the importance of this blog! I want Brynnlee to have a running record of her life. I wish I had time and energy to write daily, but maybe one day I will get close to that goal! Until then I am still proud of myself for making this blog for her!

On your mark, get set...GO!

I'm sitting her listening to Brynnlee put herself to sleep. She isn't very happy about it, but I am trying to let her put herself to sleep at night. Its going to be tough, but she fights me when I try to put her to sleep.
Its been 2 weeks since I have written last and so many things have changed since then. She is now crawling ALL over the place! This weekend we had to put up the baby gate for the first time. Its becoming tough to entertain her and contain her in one area. She often climbs on things, which of course has led to bumps and bruises! She officially had her first of both about a week ago. She ended up getting a bump from bumping her head on the desk at my parents house. She also got a bruise on her cheek from climbing over the bottom ledge of her high chair. Her knee got caught up and she feel over the leg. She hit her cheek on the floor and there is a faint bruise. A few days after these two accidents she ended up with a bruise on her ear from bumping into the door frame. Needless to say my mom went and bought protective covers for the door frame, desk and fireplace. The night before Mother's Day she fell while climbing on the coffee table and buumped her nose. She ended up getting the cutest little scratch on her nose. We are finding it so hard to keep up with her. She wants to constantly be moving and on the go. Anything and everything in her reach will be touched, moved and possibly damaged! We are learning to put some things out of reach, but we are also trying to tell her no and remove her from the area. She loves to play with the dvd player, but of course thats an off limits item. The other day she pushed the on button on the dvd player. It scared her when the dvd started playing, she even started crying!
Well I have to get back to work. Hopefully I will get a chance to write more tomorrow! Time is slipping away!

Life is busy!

I'm sitting home working tonight while Brynnlee is relaxing in her exasaucer. I have been glancing over while working and just in amazement! One of the toys on her exasaucer has a mirror on it. Now that she is bigger she has to slouch down to see herself in the mirror. It is so funny to see how she is learning! She knows that in order to see her reflection she has to move down. Once she sees herself she babbles and coos to herself. Tonight she is a little cranky due to her top tooth, it is just starting to break the skin...making tooth #6! She faught me tonight when I tried to get to sleep. Instead I gave her tylenol and let her snack on a few puffs. She started to feel better and mmore then 2 hours later she is still awake! On Sunday (May 1) we moved her up to her crib for both naps and bedtime. So far she is doing pretty well. She has woken up each night, but its just for a bottle and then she goes back to sleep. We need to move her mattress down a level because she can pull herself up and into the standing position. I'm afraid she will fall out of the crib! Yesterday I was home on my lunch break and sat Brynnlee on the recliner. She rolled over and fell off the chair. I felt horrible! She was fine, but I was still a worried mom.
Back to work I go. Brynnlee refuses to sleep, so she is in the pack in play while I continue to work.

31 Weeks, 4 Days

Time is just flying by! Brynnlee is getting so big quickly! Tomorrow she will get her second flu shot; hopefully it doesn’t bother her. I don’t want her to be cranky on Jeff’s birthday!

Last night I went to bed and accidentally woke Brynnlee up. I heard her rustling and making noise, but the noise seemed weird. So I picked up my phone and used the light from my screen to check on her. I’m glad I did because she was sitting on her knees and holding onto the edge of her pack n play staring at me. Needless to say I instantly moved the mattress down to the lower level. I tried to lay her back down, but she was wide awake. We played for a bit and then I tried again and soon after she fell asleep.

Jeff went back to his 2-10 shift last night, well he is working 2-12 this week. He will no longer have holidays off, and will need to put in vacation time if he wants them off. He has 4 week of vacation this year because he won an extra week vacation at work for being on the fire department. And next week he will get 4 weeks because in October he will have worked there for 7 years. I know that he hates working at Northstar, but it has definitely helped us tremendously. I am hoping that soon he can find another job that he is happy in. I know that it’s not what he wants to do, but the economy hasn’t helped the situation at all. I just keep praying and hoping that I can find a teaching job, and that Jeff can work part-time and work on his education. It’s frustrating to know that neither of us likes our jobs, but I do appreciate that we have jobs and are able to keep above water.

This past weekend we went up to Munising to spend Easter with Nana & Papa. The first two days were rainy and gloomy, but the last two days lightened up. It was hard to leave on Monday because the weather was gorgeous. We headed to Sand Point and spent some time on the beach. Brynnlee played in the sand and watched the dogs play in the water. Jeff and I sat with her and were just amazed watching her. She just enjoyed playing and enjoying the view. It was awesome to share the beautiful sights with her. The dogs had a lot of fun as well. Jeff threw their ball and they chased it down the beach and even into the lake. Our puppies are crazy, but we love them! Gretta has a little concerned though. She has been losing weight, but while we were away we fed her bread daily and of course both dogs ate a million of Papa’s homemade dog treats! She seems to have gained a little weight back, but I am taking her to the vet tomorrow to have her checked. I’m hoping that a basic check will show nothing wrong! We did have a problem with her eating diapers for awhile. Finally we learned to remember to throw diapers away instantly and to make sure the garbage is locked up when we are gone and during the night. I’m afraid the materials in the diaper made her sick. She’s not quite the dog she was a month ago, she is no longer jumping up to put her paws on our shoulders. I’m wondering if that’s just because she is almost 7 years, or maybe is she is getting arthritis. Hopefully we will have some positive answers soon. After playing on the beach we headed to Munising Falls. Part of the waterfall was still frozen, and it was so neat to see. We haven’t been to the falls together in April before.

30 Weeks and 2 days!

Brynnlee is now 30 weeks old! And today she turned 7 months! Such a great milestone! She is babbling up a storm, she even babbled da da in the truck the other day. Jeff was so excited when he heard it. This weekend was a big weekend for little bug! On Saturday we celebrated Grandma Betty's birthday. We spent the morning with Aunt Katie and went to Adrian shopping. That night we went to the Hoffman house for the birthday celebration. She saw Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma Betty, Great Grandpa Rick, Rhonda, David, Brittany, Baily, Katie and Nick. All night she was in a good mood and everyone enjoyed seeing her. On Sunday my mom, Katie, Brynnlee and I ventured to Toledo to look for a new carseat for my car. We found a great deal at Babies R Us and spent $60.00 for both carseats! It was an awesome deal and we are so excited because the two seats are basically identical, just different colors and fabrics.

This weekend we are heading up north to visit with Nana & Papa. I'm excited for some family time, because it is much needed. We are also meeting with Pastor to discuss Brynnlee's baptism. I'm really hoping she agrees to holding the baptism outside and using the lake water. Thats one thing I have wanted since day one. It would be so special to have it in Lake Superior. If she doesn't agree it will be upseting, but Jeff says the church is beautiful, so it will still be very nice. I am on the lookout for a simple white dress for her to wear. The week of July 4th is coming up quickly! I need to start prepping for things. I also need to start thinking about her birthday and what I am planning on doing. It maybe early, but if I don't start thinking now it will never get done.

Brynnlee is such a ham these days. She is giggling, laughing, rolling and playing. It is so much fun to watch her tumble and play.

Crawling!

Brynnlee started crawling tonight! (at 29 weeks and 3 days) She took about 3 "steps" and then reached the toy she was tring to find. I'm so amazed by her! She isn't even 7 months and she is starting to crawl! Tomorrow night I am going to work with her crawling so that Jeff and I can both enjoy her crawling! I didn't expect her to do anything tonight, I was just trying to get her interested in being on her belly and reaching for toys. Luckly I was able to catch the first crawl on the camcorder on my camera. I'm hoping to get a camcorder soon so that the quality of videos I take gets a little better. Here is the video of little bug starting to crawl!


She has also started to pull her hair! She grabs the longer hairs in the back and tugs away, but it doesn't seem to hurt her! She has this really long hair that goes halfway down her forehead. I love it and call it her bangs! There may only be one, but its adorable. After she has a bath her hair is so fuzzy and soft. I love it!

Melissa and Joe brought Maddie over for a visit on Sunday. Maddie and Brynnlee had fun sitting together and playing with each other. They talked, played with wooden spoons and kept stealing whatever the other one was playing with. I can't wait until the two of them are able to run and play in the grass.

Also on Sunday Brynnlee was able to sit in the grass for the first time. She didn't quite know what to think. I was able to get some awesome pictures of her! She pulled on the grass and tried to eat the leaves. Little bug got a sunburn when we went to the park that afternoon. We headed to Heritage Park and walked the trails with the dogs. We definately need to get a jogging stroller, a coworker of Jeff's is giving us one. Hopefully its in good condition and we won't need to buy another one!

Jeff has tomorrow and Thursday off of work, but has to work the weekend. I might head to a mom 2 mom sale in Adrian in search of some toys. Tyler is going to make Brynnlee a toy box. I'm so excited to see the completed toy box, hopefully I can also talk him into making her a bookshelf. She is going to need one soon, the one I have won't hold her books its too short.

Well back to work I go! I have a lot of township work to finish tonight. I am hoping to get more done on Thursday when Jeff is home and can watch Brynnlee. The township job saved us doing a rough time, but I will be glad when my term is over. Since I have a full time job its too much work for me to handle. I am having trouble trying to keep up and get things done. I had high hopes when I took the job and for a short time I was able to commit myself, but its slowly slipping away. I am hoping to spend a few days this summer doing an overhaul on the materials in order to clean up the mess that I was given back in 2008. Its about time to crack down again and get work done. I'm so thankful that Jeff supported me to run for office, it was fun and like I said the job has been so helpful, but its about time to leave the position. I would love to have the extra time to spend learning how to take photos and edit them.

29 weeks today!

Brynnlee is 29 weeks today and she is growing! She is so close to crawling and has started to try to pull herself up.

Her new thing is pulling her hair! She grabs ahold of her longer hairs on the back of head and pulls. So far she hasn't pulled hard enough to make her cry, but I'm waiting for the day.

Her top two teeth are coming in, but they aren't the ones in the middle. They are her lateral incisors that are on each side of the middle teeth. Some times teething is bothering her and we have to give her tylenol, but for the most part she has been doing well. They are slowing poking through, but making progress.

Jeff didn't have to work this weekend, so today we stayed at home and cleaned house. We were able to put away all the winter decorations, I made more baby food and we were able to get some basic cleaning done.

I hoping that tomorrow is a decent day and that we are able to get outside. I would love to go take a walk with Jeff and Brynnlee, or maybe go have dinner. This is going to be Jeff's long week at work, and he has to work the weekend.

28 Weeks and 5 days!

Brynnlee is doing awesome! On the 3rd we had her 6 month pictures taken. So far I have seen two of the pictures and they are adorable. I'm excited to see the rest, but I am more excited to learn to take pictures that well, and to edit them also. I'm trying, but just am not quite comfortable with my skills yet. My plan is to start learning more about the functions of my camera, and to purchase photo editing software. In fact, yesterday I decided on the name of my photography business...Ladybug Photography. It pays tribute to Brynnlee; who is my main subject :) I started a blog just for the business. I want to keep track of the beginning and how I am learning, plus it will give me a place to post some pictures and to keep track of ideas to use in the future. Until then I am hoping to get pictures done every couple of months until she turns 1, then family portraits once a year after that. With the tripod I can take some myself, but I know it will be much easier to get everyone's attention if a professional can take the reins! Until I keep plugging along and learn when I can find time. I am really hoping for a weekend class or something to help me!

Brynnlee is growing two more teeth, I thought for sure they would be in by now, but they are taking a little longer then her first two. At her doctors appointment on the 26th he mentioned that they would be in within a week. Well here we are about 10 days later and they are still trying to poke through her gums. I'm sure its painful, and poor Brynnlee hasn't quite been herself the past few days. Every now and then we give her tylenol to help ease the pain, but so far she has been doing awesome.

Crawling is coming fast, and I am not sure if we are ready for it! Right now she is rocking back and forth and will scoot backwards. If you leave her on the floor for 5 minutes she scoots and rolls and will be in a completely different place when you come back. I love to just watch her tumble and flip! She is doing much better with tummy time now that she is able to roll herself back. She will get up on her knees and rock so hard that she will tumble forward or sideways. Its so much fun to how much she has grown. Six months ago she just laid there, wanted to be held and fell asleep pretty easily. Now she refuses to sit still, pushes us away and doesn't nap! There are some times that she wants to be cuddled, but little bug is becoming independent. I think within a few weeks she will be crawling all over the place. She is still as happy as ever. She loves the morning, even when we have to get up early. Currently Jeff is working from 6 at night to 6 in the morning. In order to let him sleep I drop off Brynnlee to my mom's house most mornings. As soon as I pick her up she wakes right up smiling and ready for the day. I just love seeing her smile in the morning, it helps me prepare for the day! Today is one of the days that I dislike. I have to work all day, have a meeting tonight and Jeff works tonight so Brynnlee will be spending a lot of time at my parent's house today. I wish that I didn't have the meetings and could just stay home and enjoy family time. This weekend will be nice though. Jeff will sleep in tomorrow morning, but after that he is done until Monday night. Of course I have to work tomorrow, but I am looking forward to the weekend. I was hoping the weather would be nice and warm so that we could head to the west coast for a day, sadly it looks like it is going to be chilly. We will probably stay home, clean house and maybe organize and paint Brynnlee's room. I can't wait for warm weather so that we can get out of the house of weekend's off. I'm looking forward to doing day trips this summer. I am all out of vacation days until July, so the trip up north at Easter and Memorial Day are it for me. Jeff wants to take Brynnlee on a trip because he has extra time. I understand, but it breaks my heart that we can't do the trips all together. Hopefully I will be able to find another job that allows for more time off. I really miss working at my old job, it allowed for me to take anytime I want basically!

I'm looking forward to many things this year. Brynnlee's first birthday, traveling, warm weather, playing with the dogs, learning my camera and maybe I can sneak in some reading. I seem to have lost the time for the little things right now. Keeping a positive outlook and remembering what it coming will help me tremendously. Its a sad time in life, but I have my family to get me through. Things are already looking brighter and I am so ready to enjoy life!

Remembering the funny things!

I was just thinking back to when Brynnlee was a newborn. It was such a stressful, busy and fun time! I remember diaper changes during the first two weeks of her life. There were many times that either Jeff or I, or both, were either pooped, peed or puked on during a diaper change. When we were changing her diaper she would begin pooping, or peeing on us. One day we were lucky and got all three! It was a process that seemed to take forever, now we are both pros at diaper changes. We are also getting pretty good at changing clothes too! Things get easier at time goes on!

First wedding, reflections on the past and updates…

I will start this blog with the present and work through to the past. On Saturday, March 19th, Brynnlee and I attending my cousin Tommy’s wedding. Jeff had to work and was unable to make the wedding, so my sister came in his place to help me. I am so thankful she came, without her my arms would have gone numb! I’m glad that we were able to make it to the wedding, but I wish that Jeff could have made it. We were planning on staying in a hotel, but to save money I drove home that night. It was tiring, and I didn’t make it home until 3…but Brynnlee and I were able to sleep in our own beds. Plus the dogs were able to go outside and we saved the carpet from being peed on. Of course the next night Remington peed on the carpet! Katie, Brynnlee and I made it to the wedding just in time to see Kelli walk down the aisle. We slipped to the back row and enjoyed the ceremony. Brynnlee laughed, giggled and even screamed throughout the ceremony. It was so funny, and slightly embarrassing. After the ceremony we headed to the reception. Brynnlee met her aunts Karen, Karla, and Kelly. She also met her cousins Chelsea, Jared and Amy. Kris, Larry, Jamie, Ruben and the kids also visited with Brynnlee. It was a lot of fun to watch Brynnlee interact with family and to the setting. She enjoyed the music and loved watching the other kids on the dance floor. Uncle Larry took her on the dance floor and danced with her for a few minutes. She laughed and laughed watching him dance and be crazy. Brynnlee wore a cute spring dress. It was white satin material with pink and green dots and a green bow in the back. Through the night Brynnlee was amazing! She slept part of the car ride there, but was wide awake until we left at 8:30. When she started to rub her eyes and get fussy we left. About 2 minutes into the car ride she was asleep and slept until we dropped Katie off at the cabin. Brynnlee visited with my parents and Nick. The she had a wardrobe change, a bottle and we were back on the road. The trip home was long, boring and very tiring! Brynnlee slept through the entire trip. I had to stop a few times to gather my thoughts and wake up a little more, but overall I did really well. While driving through St Johns the car in front of me hit a deer. I saw the car slow down and instantly I knew what had happened. I slowed down and kept on eye on the wounded deer. As I passed the poor thing looked me straight in the eye as it struggled to try to stand. Unfortunately I don’t think the little guy made it, he looked wounded. We continued on our path, we had another slight encounter with deer and almost hit a raccoon. Other then that the ride was filled with phone calls to Jeff and constantly changing the radio stations!
I’m glad that some of the family was able to meet Brynnlee. Although I know they will never be a part of her life like they were in mine, I was glad they met her. Sadly some days I wish the family could reconcile the past and move on. Grandma Bonnie would be so upset at how the family has acted and the way things have turned out. Brynnlee doesn’t need to know specifics. All she needs to know is that they are family, but we are not close and will never be close again. I remember a lot of good times with my aunts, uncle and cousins, but these memories are in the past. Brynnlee will have our immediate families, and that’s about it. I hope as she gets older she understand the reason why we are sheltering her from the majority of our families.
Today Brynnlee is 26 weeks and 6 days old. I continue to be amazed by her growth. She loves to stand and play with her toys. Everyday she gets tummy time, and each day she continues to rock and get on her knees. It’s getting closer every minute. Her hair is continuing to grow, in fact it starting to touch her ears again! I think she is going to be fair haired like her mommy, I just hope she doesn’t get the crazy curls that I had. She loves to play with a finger puppet that we have. She laughs and giggles when I hide it and pop it back up to scare her. It’s so funny to watch her expressions! She is also starting to understand when toys fall. If she is in her exasaucer and drops a toy over the edge, she will lean over to look. Brynnlee has a slight case of separation anxiety. She fusses when one of us is holding her and she sees the other one leave the room. It’s much worse when we are home alone with her and leave the room. She gets very upset until I return; even then sometimes I have to pick her up to calm her down.
Last night I was feeding her dinner when the neighbor knocked on the door asking for cupcake holders. I gave her some and returned to finish feeding Brynnlee. Instead she had a hold of the bowl and was practically licking the inside clean. Of course the dogs were next to the high chair licking the food that splattered on the floor. When I laughed she looked at me confused! Oh how I love that little girl. She still has just the two bottom teeth. I keep waiting for more to come, but it may be awhile. Until then I crack up every time I see the huge smile and her two teeth staring back at me!
Today I am struggling with work. I am frustrated with my job and my boss. I enjoy the setting and the majority of my coworkers. It makes me so mad to know that I left a job I loved and with great people to this. I feel like they take advantage of me and my position. Sadly our program might not last past September. In a way I am hoping that we don’t receive our funding and that I am laid off. That is so terrible to say because I know so many people need jobs, but I am so frustrated. I feel like I never have a life outside of work. If it’s not my fulltime job, then it’s my part-time job, or the housework, or Jeff is gone…etc. I keep waiting for life to slow down, but I have a feeling it’s going to keep up. I’m in it for the long haul! So I just keep moving along. Anytime life gets me down I just remember the smiling face that is waiting for me when I get home!

Happy 1/2 birthday little bug!!!!!

Today our little girl turned six months!!! She is amazing and I am so excited for many more celebrations and birthdays to come. Jeff had to work tonight but he talked to her on the phone before bed. I took her on a walk and then read her a story. It was amazing because she didn't fight her sleep and she fell asleep curled up with me. I miss my cuddly newborn.

St. Patrick's Day

It's been a long time since I have posted a picture! So here is one from the brief photo shoot that I did on my lunch break!




Ok, so I had to put more then one! I just adore this little girl. She lights up my entire world when she smiles!

Today is her first St. Patricks day! Although we aren't Irish I had to buy her a onesie to celebrate the day! My plan is to keep all my favorite onesies, and all the holiday ones, and have someone make a small quilt or quilted book out of them. This weekend we are moving her 3-6 month clothing back upstairs and bringing her 6-9 month clothing dowstairs. Its sad when I have to change her sizes, but I can't wait till the warm weather when she can wear cute little dresses :)

Learning as we go

Although I know no one reads the blog I still try to write often. Between the blog, the journal and the calendars I will have things to show/tell Brynnlee about her past.
The past six months have been a blessing. It has been filled with both smiles and tears; which I am thankful for both. In the beginning mom and dad were stretched to the max. There were times where nothing would soothe Brynnlee, and we would give up. The tears would flow, but in the end we learned that sometimes there isn't anything we can do but there for her. We learned to be patient, understanding and flexible. There are times where we are frustrated, but all we have to do is make her smile and it melts all of the other problems away. Though there have been tough times/days, there have been many more amazing days with Brynnlee. We enjoy showing her new things and taking her new places. Many families these days don't have the ability to vacation with their family, we consider ourselves lucky. We haven't always been this way, but we make sure to provide a good life for our family. Anything Bug needs, she will get!
Everyday we learn something new. Sometimes its about Brynnlee, sometimes its new tips or tricks and other days we learn something new about each other. It's amazing! In the beginning I was confident, I knew having a baby around would be different, but I didn't really how much! Jeff leaned on me often because I have more experience with little ones. It felt awesome to be needed, but after awhile I realized that I didn't have all the answers. A lot of the time my answers were just guesses. It took me a few months to break down and just say I don't know, your guess is as good as mine. I felt like a failure, but I simply learned that I just don't know it all...in fact no one knows it all. Its all trial and error when it comes to children. They make their own schedule, they let you know when they aren't happy...you can't do these things for them.
Parenting styles...oh boy. There isn't a definition to our parenting style. I guess you could say we are pretty go with the flow. We are laid back, but at the same time we will expect a lot from her. Of course now its too soon to lay down the law, but we are trying to use the word no when she is doing something we know we won't like in the future. For example; when we change her diaper we tell her no when she tosses and turns. Although it doesn't help, we are trying to introduce her to the word now. We want Brynnlee to be the child that others are jealous of. I don't want her to be the crazy children running insanly through the stores :)
So long story short, we are learning as we go. We try our best, but we know that we aren't always right and there will be times were we are completely wrong...but that is ok with me because we try our best.

Things I love...

Here is a list of some things I love about Brynnlee:
1. Her smile, even when its a partial smile
2. Making her smile
3. Watching her grow
4. Watching her laugh and play
5. Her amazement with her hands and feet
6. Her amazement with our hands and feet
7. Seeing her sit on her own
8. Watching her hair grow and change colors
9. Hiccups, sneezing and yawning (I LOVE the yawns)
10. Watching Baby Einstein with her
11. Seeing her face light up when I walk in the room
12. Seeing her face light up when Jeff comes home from work
13. Feeding her a new food
14. Watching her gag and shudder when a new food is introduced (I know it sounds mean, but it is so cute)
15. Getting compliments on how cute she is
16. Putting bows in her hair
17. Taking pictures of her
18. Watching her roll around the floor
19. Watching her start to tuck her knees under her body, which means she is getting ready to crawl
20. Playing in the pool with Brynnlee
21. Watching Jeff's amazement, he stares at her with the most content and loving look
22. Waking up with Brynnlee next to me. Jeff is working nights right now, the other night she woke up in the middle of the night. I laid her next to me to drink her bottle. She fell asleep on her boppy pillow and I fell asleep next to her. It was great to see her smile first thing in the morning.
23. Listening to her coo in the morning. She lays in her pack and play and makes tons of funny noises...in fact most days I want to pick her up, but just sit and listen to her babble.
24. Watching Brynnlee bounce up and down in her exasaucer
25. Playing with Brynnlee and her activity table. I help her stand up and she is able to push the buttons and listen to the music. She loves to bounce up and down, it looks like she is trying to dance. I purchased the table at a second hand sale because I wasn't sure if she would like it, but the $10 was well spent! I also bought her a leap frog playstation that grows with her. It sits two ways, so she can sit and play with it, or stand and play with it. Its not quite as interesting as the table, but she still loves it.
26. Showing Brynnlee "Ellie", when she is upset Ellie can help her to feel better.
27. Watching Brynnlee show off in front of others.
28. Showing Brynnlee off to others :)
29. When she watches someone and the laughs hysterically as though they did something funny.
30. I love her laugh.
31. I love when she laughs at nothing!
32. Watching her reach for and pet the animals.

This list is not all inclusive, and I will continue to add to it as time goes on. There are so many things I love about Brynnlee and my family!

25 Weeks tomorrow

Tomorrow Brynnlee is 25 weeks old. She is growing, sitting up, playing, and eating great! Soon she will be crawling, talking and walking. Currently she will start flailing her legs and arms when on her belly. She wants to start moving, but she can't figure it out. Every now and then she starts to draw up her legs and does a slight rock on her knees. Its coming...and much sooner then I expected. One week from today Brynnlee will be 6 months old. I remember bringing her home from the hospital, celebrating her turning one month and now I am realized that her first birthday is right around the corner. Which reminds me, I have started to think of themes :) Since we call her bug, I am thinking of a ladybug theme. Nothing too crazy, probably just a bbq at our house (or maybe my parents because they have more space). Though it may be much for a first birthday, I am excited to look at invites and plan a cake!
This weekend Jeff went up north with Derek DeCatur and Janice. The boys are planning on doing some snowmobiling and prepping Papa's golf cart for the summer. Janice is planning on staying at a hotel to relax by the pool. Nana will be receiving recognition at church this weekend for all her years of service. I wish Brynnlee and I could be there to celebrate with her, but unfortunately my schedule wouldn't allow for time off. Instead Brynnlee and I are relaxing at home tonight and heading to a mom 2 mom sale tomorrow morning. We are in search of a hiking backpack (which finding a used one is rare) and a jogging stroller. Then relaxing the rest of tomorrow and cleaning house tomorrow night. Then sunday we will be ordering pizza and waiting for Jeff to get home.
Since we are nearing Brynnlee's 6 month mark we will need to get her pictures done again. I am trying to get them done every 2 months. She will also have a doctors appointment on the 28th. More shots will be coming at this appointment.
Last night she tried chicken, and she actually ate it well. My mom had her all day yesterday due to Jeff leaving and a meeting I had to attend. She dislikes turkey, so I assumed she wouldn't like chicken. I was proved wrong! Tonight she will have chicken again and probably some carrots. I am looking forward to spending all day
with her tomorrow, but it will be tricky with the sale and feeding her tomorrow.
After last weekend Jeff and I have been thinking about how much Brynnlee is growing and how we want to spend time with her. It has made me reflect on a few things. Many days it brings tears to my eyes to think about the fact that Brynnlee will never know my Grandma Bonnie and Jeff's Grandpa Bernie. It breaks my heart that two wonderful people will not be able to meet the most important person in our lives. My Grandma Bonnie would have loved to meet and hold Brynnlee. She would have been at the hospital loving on her, unfortunately the majority of my dad's side of the family didn't bother to come meet Brynnlee. In some ways it bothers me, but its their own choice. They will never get to know the amazing little girl that I love. The same stays true for Jeff's dad's side of the family. Grandma Meyer is the only one who we see frequently, but we do also see his aunt and cousin often. Other then those family members she won't know the Meyer side of the family. Like I said, some days this really bothers me. I remember back when I was little how "happy" my family was, the main reason it seemed happy was because I was young and naive. But I wish our families were all truly happy and healthy, sadly that is not the case though. It makes me grateful for the family that we do have. I know that Brynnlee has people who love her and will always be there for her. It makes me so proud to know that Brynnlee has loving people surrounding her in life. However I can hear Grandma Bonnie telling me how proud she is. There is one day that always sticks in my head. It is when grandma told me how proud she was of me. I was the only grandchild who reached their full potential. I was working, marrying a wonderful man, planning on a career and excited (but waiting) for a child. Its the lifestyle she wished for all of us, but few of us planned our life that way. I'm glad that we did, because we are providing an amazing life for our little girl.
Ok enough reflecting, I'm at work and can't cry! On a funny note Brynnlee popped a spring out of her exasaucer the other day! I was able to put it back in, which i'm so happy because if she couldn't sit in it I would go insane! She is always on the move and I would get so exhausted if I held her the entire time!
Well I better get back to work! The only time I find time (and motivation) to update is when I am at work. I;m thinking sometime in late April or early May will be a good day for a bbq and meet and greet for Brynnlee! Hopefully I can start planning a day soon.

Snorting, vacations and other fun times!

This weekend we took Brynnlee to Traverse City. It has been a long time since mom or dad have been to Traverse City and the trip was quick. We headed out mid morning on Saturday (the 5th) for a friend's birthday. We checked into our gorgeous hotel and immediately went swimming. It was a lot of fun to see Brynnlee play and splash around. Jeff and I had a blast holding onto her and playing, but I think before our next trip to the pool we will buy a small raft for her to sit in. After we spent some time at the birthday party we went back to the pool. This time Brynnlee had more fun and splashed even more! After the pool we headed back to the room and spent some family time together. Brynnlee fell asleep after her bottle and slept part of the night on the pull out couch. After a few hours she was unhappy and Jeff put her in bed with us. She enjoyed sleeping in the king size bed and without the dogs. In the morning we all enjoyed breakfast in bed, Jeff and I enjoyed waffles (mine had an amazing cherry sauce) while Brynnlee had her bottle. After breakfast we lounged on the couch and played with Brynnlee. She started laughing so hard that she snorted! After family time it was a rush to clean up and pack. Check out was at 11, but we finally made it at 11:10! Our hotel was amazing and I would gladly go back! Jeff reserved us a room on the 3rd floor with a king size bed, pull out sofa and private balcony. The bathroom had tiled floors and walls, and the counter tops were granite. The view was breathtaking, and I can't wait to take the drive in the summer. We are planning to go back to visit for a few days. The drive was gorgeous, and the night before we ventured up it had snowed. The pine trees were covered in snow, it was picture perfect.
On our way home we made a stop in Grand Rapids, it was out of the way...but worth it! Jeff surprised me by setting up lunch with an old college friend and his girlfriend. We spent a few hours at the diner catching up with them. I wish they lived closer to us! They loved holding and playing with Brynnlee.
We were blessed to be able to introduce Brynnlee to different sets of friends. Both enjoyed seeing her and it was comforting to be able to have a social life that included Brynnlee. Of course we gave up going out for drinks after the party, but spending time with Brynnlee and Jeff in the pool was more then worth it. This weekend was short, but so much fun. On our way home we stopped at Stu and Janice's to pick up the dogs, who we wish could have gone with us.
Once we were home we grabbed Applebee's car side to go for dinner. After we had dinner and did some basic cleaning we spent the rest of the evening on the couch waiting for Desperate Housewives to come on.
Poor Brynnlee didn't sleep well last night, she usually has trouble the first night back at home. Hopefully tonight we will be back on track.
Brynnlee has another doctor appointment later this month. I am excited to see how much she has grown. She is eating solids 3 times a day; cereal for breakfast, fruit for lunch and veggie for dinner. We are starting to feed her meat with her veggies at night. She is not a fan of turkey. She shudders and gags when I feed it to her. I have to remember that it takes 40 tries before a child decides they like a food or not. So I have to stick with it. She loves butternut squash, peas, sweet potatoes, pears and applesauce. She has also tried; peaches, bananas, carrots and green beans. She despises green beans. My mom bought mango to try, when they sliced it up I let Brynnlee suck on part of it. She loved mango, those are next on the list to make for baby food. I also bought plums and avocados to make. She had a little taste of avocados, they were alright.

Things are going great, we are fixing up my car and trying to save some money to buy his grandparents house in December. We are working hard, and it will pay off. The fate of my job will be decided shortly. I am anticipating a layoff, but not quite sure at this point. We have heard that Head Start has received their funding, but we have not heard about Early Head Start. I am anticipating the worst; which means they can put me into another position, or lay me off. I would be content with a layoff :) I would continue to look for a teaching position, but would love the time at home with Brynnlee. I never imagined that I would want to be a stay at home mom, but part of me wishes that I could be. We may know more information tonight because the Head Start budget is being proposed to the Adrian School board. I am riding the tide because I need the income, whether its from working or unemployment. There are a million different outcomes and I am just trying to be patient and not be upset when the decision is made. Until then I am just trying to be polite and do my job. I'm hoping that they don't give me more duties for the same amount of money! Some days its hard enough to fit everything in the day.
Jeff is heading back to the u.p. this weekend, next weekend is my cousins wedding, then I think we are taking a break for a few weeks. We have been running around a lot, and its starting to catch up on us and our house! We need to dedicate some time to clean and paint Brynnlee's room. Other then that life is as crazy as ever!