Princess Brynlee

Happy Birthday to our Baby Girl, Brynny, Baby Blue Eyes, Bryn Bear- January 19th. This has been an amazing year, & we couldn't have asked for a more perfect daughter. She is the happiest little thing around and will guarantee to brighten anyone's day within seconds of seeing her. She has the sweetest spirit, she's our smiling and laughing fool, and is even recently starting to take after her dad in her frequent outburst in babbling song. We love her so much and are so insanely blessed to have her in our family!

She had a great time at her little family party, and I just thought this pic of her in the chair was so dang cute. If I was talented enough to erase the rest of us from it I would have.

She LOVED her cake and ate every last morsel, obviously we're related!

We Love you Brynlee!!!

Here a Birthday, there a birthday

Happy Birthday to our amazing, young, stylish, talented and beautiful Grandma Karen! (On January 14th.) We're so blessed to live so close and to be able to spend so much time with you. Carson & Brynlee absolutely adore you and so do we! We love you so much!!!




I'm not sure there has ever been a more hip Grandma. We look forward to many adventures for many years to come and lots of rollerblading :)






I had to include a pic of my first fondant cake- so fun to make. I'm totally into cakes now. I guess 3 birthdays in January kind of forces that on you!

What a Steal!

Let me preface by saying that I do realize I am the biggest nerd dedicating a post to my obsession with coupons, and an even bigger nerd that I actually came home and lined up my purchases to take a picture- all in the name of showcasing my little couponing addiction. That being said, I'm quite proud of my cheap shopping trip! All the pictured items costed me...drum roll please- a whopping $5.20. Not only that, the 2 cartons of cottage cheese made up $3 of those dollars. Gotta Love the Grocery Game. Now if that's not bargain shopping I don't know what is!

Potty Training Blues

Okay, if there are any potty training experts out there, i'm in serious need of some tips. I've always heard to wait and train your kids until they're ready, and it will be ten times easier- so i've waited, and waited, and waited and then waited a little more..you get the picture! Carson is gonna be 3 next week and I'm SOOOO over changing his nasty diapers, but the kid does not want ANYTHING to do with his toilet! If there was potty training school, i'd send him. Well I decided that January was our month and I would buckle down and get serious. Yeah it lasted all of 2 days! He's had exactly one little tinkle in the toilet...THAT'S IT, ONE (accompanied by lots of dancing and celebrating i might add)!!!! One tinkle and probably about 7 hours of sitting on it- accompanied by lots of stories, books, eating and singing to pass the time. On very rare occassion he enjoys his time on the can- see pic above, but most of the time he hates it-see pic below, and I don't have a clue why??? He just hates even the suggestion of sitting on the toilet. It doesn't help that he apparently has a mega bladder, I don't know anyone else who will sit on it for 2 hours- yes 2 hours- while i'm pumping him with any and all fluids the whole time, but not a drop of anything. I must say, a dream for a road trip companion, but a nightmare for potty training. After our 1-2 hour attempts of sitting on it, i'll put his diapers (one time underwear, but that didn't go well:( ) back on and he does his business immediately. Now I know accidents happen, but after you've been on the toilet for 2 hrs....seriously, that's just flat out boycotting my training. So, i'm currently on vacation from training. I KNOW he can be ready, and he is totally excited about his big boy underwear, but he just can't seem to get over his strong dislike of his little toilet...Any ideas???

Goodbye 2007

2007 has come to an end, but not without all the craziness that always seems to come with the month of December! So here goes my attempt to sum up all we've been up to these last few weeks with some completely out of order pictures!
Christmas was truly magical this year. It just seems to get better and better when your kids start to get old enough to love the festivities as much as you do. All the traffic jams, driving 10 minutes and following unsuspecting shoppers to their car just to get a parking spot, waiting in lines, and scrambling literally until 4 o'clock on Christmas eve, was all so worth it! Actually, I'm not sure if it would really feel like christmas without it all the last minute chaos. Every year I swear I will be more organized, but I think this year i've finally resigned myself to the fact that that will never happen. Oh well, I kind of like the insanely crowded malls, filled with christmas music, and the justification it gives me to shop much more often. Now onto the unorganized picture with some highlights!


Brynlee and Carson LOVED the horse they got- Brynlee also got the cutest little rocking chair that she thinks is way big enough to climb up on herself- apparently it hasn't bothered her that she seems to fall off everytime. Live and learn!
We took a trip to Sea World and I just liked this pic :)
Loved having the family all together, and the boys got in plenty of male bonding with food and football. Although christmas day is always spent trying to be with both of our families as much as possible since both mine and Matt's families live so close...it was a little favored to the Andersons this Christmas since it will be last for 4 years that we'll all be here :(
Gingerbread houses with the Halveys...apparently Lori actually let her kid help decorate,... I would have let Carson had he not be too busy shoving his face with candy.
Driving to L.A in my parents 15 passenger van- just take a couple advil before you board and hopefully the headache won't hit too hard in the world's bumpiest ride. I LOVE nathan's face...kinda creepy!
Browns annual party with the annual nativity featuring the world's oldest, but most cooperative baby Jesus. Brynlee was already in bed. I have to say this was followed by a hilarious program mostly put on by the kids!
The whole family together minus Shane, at the Hotel Del Coronado.
After many many attempts to get a cute pic in the xmas outfits, I gave up on having the kids look at the camera. I guess if you're not all looking then no one look!

I'm already missing the sounds and smells of Christmas. Life finally got back to a normal pace yesterday, and i'm a little sad about it. Luckily I'm still enjoying the christmas decor, although I have a feeling Matt's going to make taking it down our project this weekend. At least I have Carson to sing Jingle Bells to me at least 5 times a day. Last year he asked to listen to it until March when I finally cut him off, so I suspect that he'll be singing it until next Christmas now that he knows the whole song.

We've had such an amazing holiday and an even more amazing 2007. We have been so blessed in our lives, and love being able to recap the year and spend so much time with family. Life seems to move way too fast which means the little kiddies are growing up too fast also. Here's to an even better 2008 without any resolutions except to stay happy and healthy- I think I can keep those!

Gotta Love Santa...As Long as he's Fake

Carson is sooo not interested in talking to or sitting on Santa's lap at all this year...he always resorts to "mom, you just tell him what I want."
So, the other day when I napped Carson at my mom's house in a room full of Christmas decorations, (knowing very well this could be quite a distraction for such a curious boy, but heaven forbid I delay precious napping time to move it) he spent over an hour talking with his new buddy, and apparently his favorite kind of Santa, a fake one! Here's to baby monitors and the comedy they can bring from time to time:

You have to read Carson's dialogue in a semi-demanding voice, (he was not afraid of this santa) but still sweet...it makes it much better :)

"Santa Where is your mouth? It's okay don't be scared. Santa GET ME OUT! Listen to me. Santa I need a firetruck. Please don't say no, I need one. Don't be scared Santa, listen to me. I need a bike too. If you don't have one you need to buy one. It's okay, don't say no. I can drive it. Santa Get me Out. ring ring ring, hey santa did you hear it. Santa I can not open my diaper it has poop in it, hey mom change my diaper santa says. Oh no, oh no, are you all right? SANTA. get me out. Stop doing that, he doesn't like it. Santa I need to call my mom back. Please or I will be sad. Brynlee is waking up I better be quiet too."

Back in Action...Almost!

I don't know what it is about being forced to stay home with sick kids, that makes me so unproductive. You'd think that with all that time staying home I could do one of the 50 kajillion projects that need to be done, but instead I don't. Most of the time i'm tending to my sad little munchkins who probably don't even understand why they feel so yucky, and the rest of the time I feel sorry for myself, and kick myself at the thought of all I have to do and the fact that I have still barely started my christmas shopping. A vicious cycle! I think we are finally on the home stretch of fighting bugs for over two weeks, and about ready to hit the town. I have to admit the bad case of cabin fever that we have all been suffering has caused me (probably against my better judgement) to pre-maturely go out once or twice the last couple of weeks, only to have one of the kids catch something new...or just get a little worse. Anyways, after Fevers, Croup, Head Colds, Bronchitis, and a little throwing up here and there, I think we're finally all non-contagious. Maybe not 100% healthy, but non-contagious...I'll take what I can get!