Currently Living Happily Ever After

Lauren's One Year Photos

2010-09-30T12:57:00.003-05:00

So really she is 13 1/2 months in these, but hey she looks the same as she did a month in a half ago. I made the tutu and the headband. Taking pictures of a child who can walk, and doesn't like to hold still is a little tricky. We took quite a few but these are just 3 of my favorites. Enjoy looking at her cuteness!

Lost Tooth

2010-09-25T09:50:00.003-05:00

Kenna lost her first tooth on Thursday. She is so excited. She pulled it out herself! As soon as it was inspected by Dad she ran to the mirror to "check it out". Then immediately called Grandma and Grandpa to tell them.

I would like to also congratulate Brad on being able to show great self restraint and let her pull it herself.

Bryn goes to the Dentist.

2010-09-10T18:53:00.002-05:00

Bryn had an appointment the other day with the Dentist. She was very excited to go. They love Dad's office. She was a little confused at first when I told her we were going to the Dentist, she kept saying we are going to have Dad do it Mom. It was hard for her to understand that Brad has more than one role in life.

I thought she would be nervous as the last time we went to the Dentist she was. She was anything but scared. I guess since Brad looks in their mouths on almost a daily basis this made it no big deal. She now refers to him as Dr. Dad Murray (so cute).

Just as a side note: as I was waiting I noticed his diploma on the wall and framed. It made me smile. I had only seen it in a folder, it looks so much more impressive when it is matted and framed.

Bryn's 1t Day

2010-09-10T18:33:00.006-05:00

Bryn started Preschool this week. Her first day was Tuesday. She was so excited. She goes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 2 pm. She loves having somewhere to go. I was sad as she didn't want me to take her to school she wanted Dad to take her in his silver car. So he did. I am not sure what was more exciting to her, her backpack or taking a lunch in a lunch box. She had a good day and is enjoying her new friends. Mom and Lauren are enjoying our alone time on those days.

I love how in this picture her backpack is about the same size as her.

Didn't I Just Take This Photo Yesterday?

2010-08-26T17:45:00.004-05:00

This is a picture of Kenna in Yellowstone about a month before we moved to Philadelphia so she is 20 months old here. (see how "bear actually looks like a bear, you should see him now but that is another post). Kenna started First Grade this week. Are you thinking to yourself 1st grade, um shouldn't she be in kindergarten? Well yes she is only 5, but I did an online cyber charter school last year in Pa for Kindergarten. Therefore she was able to be registered for 1st grade here in TX even though she isn't six yet. Now mind you I have been stressing out a bit by this. I wasn't sure she was ready for 1st grade and I was giving myself ulcers over it All the thought of is she going to struggle, she will be so much younger than everyone (you have to be 6 by Sept 1st to enroll in 1st grade normally), what if she doesn't do well and they move her back is she going to be made fun of. Basically if I could think of it I stressed over it. However, after talking to the Assistant Principal and the Lead 1st grad teacher we all decided to enroll her in 1st grade and see how she does. Well she is doing GREAT! She is having no problem with the curriculum in fact she is ahead a little from the others and has stated a few times that she is bored. She likes going to school and having homework. I am relieved and enjoy hearing about her days, Bryn is bored without Kenna at home and I have had to find was to entertain her that doesn't involve pestering Lauren.Here is a picture of her on her first day. I think no matter how big she gets I will still think of her in terms of the above photo

If I wanted your advice I would have asked!

2010-08-26T16:46:00.002-05:00

I got my fair share of unsolicited advice on parenting today. If people are trying to make their quota; don't suggest anything to me this month, wait until next. Otherwise you will have a more socially inappropriate response than was your intrusion was on my parenting.

Incident number 1) At story time this morning with Bryn. 10:45 hits and Lauren is reading to nurse, so she comes over and tugs a little on my shirt. Now I understand that nursing in public may bother some so when we are out I use my Hooter Hider (yes that is what it is called). A stranger next to me asked how old my baby was. I replied she just turned one. I then received an ear-full from this woman on how if my "child" (a one year old is still a baby thank you) tugs on my shirt than she is too old to still nurse. I was shocked and found myself justifying to stranger as to why I am nursing (had heart surgery, a lot of environmental changes etc.). Left library angry at this woman and mad at myself for feeling like I had to justify my actions to her.

Incident number 2) This afternoon I had to go to Target for a few things. I had a choice to make before I left my house. Option one take unhappy Bryn to Target and have a miserable shopping experience. Option two take Bonjor Butterfly (Bryn dressed as a butterfly she calls herself bonjor butterfly) with me to Target and have a wonderful experience. I chose to take BonJor Butterfly with me. Most people got a kick out of a 3 year old dressed as a butterfly sitting in a cart and singing her heart out. However one Nosie Nelly ( the clerk) had to question if I was teaching her to be socially appropriate by allowing her to go to the store dressed as a butterfly. Determined not to walk out of the store mad at myself, I asked the girl if she had any kids, her response was no (of course). I then told her that one day she may and she will learn that sometimes the little things aren't worth a big fight. The mother behind me said "well put".

Happy Birthday Lauren

2010-08-07T14:09:00.016-05:00

Today was Lauren's birthday. I think this had been thefastest, and the most stressful one of my life. In one year this little onehad beenthrough more than most. She has proven to be a tough and determined littlegirl. She is so quick to please and always has a smile.She loves purses, shoes, and jewelry. If it is round she tries to putit over her head like a necklace. She sure had been a fun addition. We are grateful for her, and for all the of the blessings that have come with her. Here is a little photo of her life. Starting with day one.

Texas

2010-07-14T10:22:00.002-05:00

We are here in Texas and loving it. We are adjusting well. It took us a few days longer than we thought to find a house but we finally found one in Grand Prairie that is perfect for us. The girls and I have been able to go and do some fun things.They have great kid stuff here. When I finally find the camera cord I will download some pictures of our adventures on the way out.

Post OP day 3

2010-05-08T11:09:00.002-05:00

We are still in the CICU (cardiac intensive care unit). She has all of the pacers and tubes out and is down to one I.V. site. Poor little peanut is not liking the morphine. It is causing it usual symptom, itching, constipation, and upset stomach. She didn't eat at all yesterday or today so far. Anything she does swallow comes up moments afterwords. They told us that she will limit her mobility herself, if it hurts she won't do it. I have not seen her hold so still for so long since she was a newborn. Because she has all of her pacers and extra I.V.'s out they are hoping to move her out of intensive care and to the main cardiac care unit. She is however doing well considering what she went through 2 days ago. Thanks for all of your prayers and help.

Post OP. Day 2

2010-05-07T11:20:00.003-05:00

As you can see she is doing much better. She got her chest tube out today and her Arterial line was removed as well. This has given her a bit more mobility so she is less anxious. She has opened her eyes a few times today, but only for a few minutes. They are still keeping her on the drugged side so she doesn't hurt herself. She has a few "normal" arrhythmia's that are typically seen after open heart surgery so they are monitoring those still. She is eating a little. We have just been putting a bottle in her mouth and she is drinking about 80-90 ml every three hours or so. I am pleased with her progress. Hopefully we will be able to hold her today.

Kenna wanted to send her some flowers. I told her that I wasn't sure if they would let flowers on her unit. So she drew some flowers in a vase for her instead. The squares around the flowers is the table clothe I had to ask Kenna what they were and she answered in a tone implying I was an idiot, "it's the table clothe mom".

We taped the picture on the foot of her bed so Lauren could see it. Kenna and Bryn are excited to come tomorrow and see her. This makes mom nervous as Bryn is not a gentle child.

Surgery

2010-05-06T13:10:00.002-05:00

Lauren's surgery went well. While closing the VSD they found she had a small ASD as well so they closed that hole too. She did very well. She has been out of surgery for 2 hours now. She is off the ventilator but still has some O2 by way of a nasal cannula. If all goes well she will have the chest tube out tomorrow. Thank you all for your prayers and help with the McKenna and Brynlee. We so very much appreciate it.

Surgery Date

2010-04-30T22:38:00.005-05:00

We have set Lauren's surgery date for May 6th. She will undergo an open heart procedure to fix her VSD. I will be spending the next few days stressing over everything that could be stressed about (sometimes ignorance is bliss). She will be in C.I.C.U for a few days and then in the hospital for a week. The doctors say that she will be back to her old self in about 4-6 weeks after the procedure. p.s for those of you who are interested here is a you tube link to see the procedure. It is an actual procedure so if blood or anything medical makes you squeamish you should pass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9crkTBuHbc

Pass

2010-04-30T22:29:00.003-05:00

Such a wonderful word!! When you hear the word pass you may think of many different things. Some may think of a pass as something you would do with a football, soccer, or basketball. Depending on where you live you may think of a road with a 10% grade covered with snow and ice, no guardrail, and only 12 feet wide for two lanes of traffic. Pass may be something you would like to do when stuck behind a school bus. At our house it means Brad has PASSED his Dental Board Examinations and can now be a lisenced Dentist.

Lauren 9 Months

2010-04-30T22:08:00.008-05:00

Lauren is getting so big!! She is very mobile now she crawls, pulls up onto furniture, and moves along the furniture (although very wabley). She smiles easily, has a fabulous laugh, and is so fun to have. She says a few things, the usual, mom, dad, and up. Up in this case is Jump and she loves to jump. She will spend hours in the jumparoo jumping away. The new love of her life is Cheerios. She has a little friend at daycare named Brooklyn and they are two of the cutest little baldies ever. This week she just learned to clap and wave. She is one tough cookie! I went and got this photos taken of her today and they all turned out so cute. I really liked the ones with the blue flowers they really made those blue eyes pop. The pink and red outfit was sent to us by my grandma.

They really do love each other

2010-02-06T18:38:00.003-06:00

Lately I feel like Brad and I need to wear Black and White shirts and have whistles around our necks. We are spending a lot of time refereeing fights between Kenna and Bryn. Most of the problem comes from Kenna wanting to boss Bryn, and Bryn not wanting to be bossed. They play well for a little while and then end up fighting. This is how they fell asleep the other day after an evening of fighting over couch territory.

2010-01-27T19:11:00.003-06:00

As my time in Philadelphia is growing to a close, (105 days at time of this post), I am finding myself a little torn. Part of me can hardly wait to get out of here and start the next phase of our lives as contributing members of society, receiving a paycheck rather than a quarterly interest statement. While the other part is a little sad to leave. I have learned a lot, met a ton of wonderful people that will be life long friends, and have enjoyed all that the east side of this wonderful country has to offer. This is my top 10 things learned in Philadelphia.

Speed limits are merely suggestions
Green means go and Yellow means GO FASTER
You have 5 solid seconds after a light turns red to still go through it.
Never for any reason park in the city.
No matter what you hear about Pat's or Gino's the best place to get a cheese steak is at Old City Pizzeria
Rita's Water Ice is the best thing ever on a nasty humid hot day.
WATER is said ouwader
A Broadway show at the Kimmel Center is every bit as good as a Broadway in NY
Lancaster has some the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen
All cities should be set up on a grid system with all streets running N,S, E, W. As this is not the case the team that put together the Garmin GPS is all going to Heaven.

Her Royal Highness

2010-01-24T15:17:00.002-06:00

Kenna thought Lauren needed a crown. As Lauren is a needed child and demands a lot of attention we have nick named her "Her Royal Highness".

2009-12-28T21:24:00.012-06:00

This Christmas we decided to remain home in Philadelphia instead of spending it in Idaho with family. We did miss our family, however, we did not miss the following unexpected layovers due to weather, security screenings, over tired kids, jet lag, and all other unpleasantness that come from traveling over the holidays. We really enjoyed creating our own family traditions as this is the first time in our 9 year marriage that we have not been at parents houses. Here is what we did. Monday night we made a gingerbread house and watched Disney Prep and Landing. Tuesday we let the girls play in the snow and they had a fabulous time. Wednesday we made cookies. Thursday we had a special FHE and talked all about the birth of Jesus and what his birth and life meant for us.

We then let them open one gift (the ones Grama and Grampa Norby sent) they of course were pj's. They dressed in jammies and we went out to look at the wonderful light displays, a lot of neighborhoods have contests and nothing is spared. Kenna who was concerned about "no creatures stirring" wanted to hurry home and go to bed. Before we had left we had checked on line and saw that Santa was in England so she was sure he would be to NY soon and then on to PA. After lights we had hot chocolate and doughnuts and the girls went to bed.

I was expecting early risers but they slept in until 8:15.We lined the girls up at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning, and then got into place with the video camcorder and the camera. We gave them the go-ahead to come down the stairs. Kenna came barreling down the stairs and squealed with delight at what she saw for Christmas. No Brynlee. We called to her at the top of the stairs and she informed us that she was “scaried of San-tuh”; she thought that he was actually downstairs waiting for her and wasn’t interested at all in seeing him. We had to go up the stairs and carry her down. Once she did get downstairs she was excited. Santa actually showed up a few moments later (something the borough does here) When he walked in I thought for sure she would be right back upstairs and we would never get her back down. But I guess she was impressed with her tricycle and let him right in took him by the hand and led him to the couch for a photo. Both of the girls had a good time and have enjoyed playing and riding on the things that they got. Lauren just took it all in with wonder. The tree lights were intriguing and the crackle of the wrapping paper was magnificent. I really liked this picture of her checking out her toy. She has such a cute little profile.

P.S. The dog in some of the photos is not a Christmas present. It is just Gracie who we are watching for some friends who are out of town.

How to make a gingerbread house

2009-12-28T21:02:00.007-06:00

Step 1) Ice the base Step 2) Place gingerbread house walls on base Step 3) Attach roof (or if you are Bryn start eating icing) Step 4) Wait ever so patiently while dad who is a perfectionist ices the house. Step 5) Add candy

Step 6) Tah-duh

2009-12-24T18:10:00.002-06:00

With all of your excitement this evening please remember to make time to reflect on the Savior so that you may feel the "magic" of the season. Because He lives the earth has Joy.

A much needed update

2009-12-03T17:35:00.010-06:00

So the last week of October and first few days of November we spent time in Idaho with family. It was nice (at least for me) Brad took the two older girls on Tuesday and I flew out on Friday with Lauren. A little tricky but hey when you are working with free tickets you take what you can get.

While there the girls soaked up cousin time with sleep overs, parks trips, an early birthday party for Kenna, and an early Thanksgiving, and

some much needed family photos.

We Also blessed Lauren. It is much easier and cheaper for five to go to Idaho than for 30 people to fly to Pennsylvania.

in the future when you are questioning a dose

don't call the pharmacy (we called 3 times and they said we had the right instructions) call your MD. So here is a photo of her new self at a whopping 12 lbs (finally).

Photos

2009-10-02T19:45:00.012-05:00

I took the girls to get some pictures taken today. Lauren hit her 2 month mark, and I hadn't had Kenna or Bryn's pictures done professionally for over a year. I was nervous about taking all 3 by myself but it turned out really well. Bryn was uncharacteristically good about following her instructions, Kenna was a great helper, and Lauren graced us with waking up so we could get some shots with her eyes open. My mom got them these adorable matching leopard print dresses and pink sweaters. I have decided that the best part of having girls is dressing them, and it gets even better when they can match. Here is what we got.

McKenna

Brynlee

Lauren

anyone see the resemblance

2009-09-19T11:28:00.004-05:00

In Greek Mythology, Medusa was a gorgon, a female monster; gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone. At the Murray house Bryn is an adorable monster; gazing directly upon her turns her onlookers to mush. Even if she has just done something "wrong". Medusa is said to have 2 sisters as does Bryn. The parallels here are outstanding. We will just have to teach Bryn to watch out for her form of Perseus. Although Bryn would look very cute on a goddesses shield.

Another Visit with the Cardiologist

2009-09-19T10:33:00.002-05:00

We had another appointment with our pediatric cardiologist today. It was a much less emotional visit than we had last time, mostly because he didn't use words like: surgery, cut her open, crack open her ribcage, scar, or complications. Instead, this time there was a lot more optimism. We are still by no means out of the woods yet, but at least we have something to hope for. Since she has been on the diuretic to relieve her pulmonary edema, we haven't had to deal with the constant reminder of her coughing and difficulty breathing. Nevertheless, it's always something as her parents that we have had in the back of our minds. She had gained weight, and although she is still hugging the lower end of the growth curves, at least she is making gains. The doctor examined her and listened to her heart for several minutes. Then the doctor said, "Okay, well please make an appointment to come back and see us in two months". We kind of just looked at him confused, after all we were bracing for him saying that we needed to make surgery plans. We asked if she was doing better. He said that she seems to be doing well, gaining weight, and it would be something we would continue to monitor. We asked him what the chances are of this thing resolving itself without surgery. He said that according to the literature, and with her progress, there was about a 40% chance that it would resolve, or at least resolve to the point of not needing to do surgery. We just wanted to thank everyone for your concern and prayers. Although we know that this chapter is far from over, we have felt the influence of loving friends, family, and the Spirit of Our Father in Heaven.

2009-09-15T13:04:00.005-05:00

Just because I feel like I have been repeating myself a lot lately here is the deal with her heart (up to this point we go to the cardiologist again on Friday). She has a moderate to large hole in her heart between her two ventricles. This condition is called a VSD (ventricular septal defect). This following link explains it quite well and has a nice little illustration. Hers being moderate to large, it may not close on its own, but that is what we are going to find out more about on Friday. She has been on a diuretic for the past 2 1/2 weeks because she was in heart failure (just meaning that her heart wasnt doing what it was supposed to) and had some pulmonary edema (water around the lungs). I anticipate that they will start her on some digoxin (a heart medicine) this Friday. Due to the diuretics, she has had a slow weight gain. This is normal with the medicine, as well as the condition. She was 6 lbs 5.5 oz at birth at her 4 week check up she was only 6lbs 8 oz, she is now finally 6lbs 13oz so we are slowly making progress. https://www.google.com/health/ref/Ventricular+septal+defect Other than this, she is a normal happy 5-week old. She is starting to smile a little and is trying to hold her head up. She loves to snuggle. This works out great as we love to snuggle her. My mom went home today and so far, so good. Nothing horrible has happened, other than my house looks like a war zone as I have been to busy with McKenna's school, Bryn, and a new baby to do much cleaning.

Week three at our house

2009-08-28T19:51:00.014-05:00

Dressing up in Kenna's cowboy hat and flip flops has been fun for Bryn. As well as talking to Aunt Jessica and Ryan on the phone. What she is saying here to Aunt Jessica is that she would like some dorky boy socks to go with her outfit and would like to borrow some of hers. Actually she was asking if Ryan could come and play next Sunday. Cuddling and snuggling with Lauren has been fun for all. Kenna is looking forward to starting Kindergarten on Tuesday. She will be participating in an on-line charter school available to PA residents as an alternative to public schools (we live in a crappy school district) and you had to be 4 1/2 by September 1st to start this year. She is beyond ready. Brad and I have looked at the lessons, she will be done with Kindergarten Math in 2 weeks. This has its advantages where ever we move she can test out of Kindergarten and go 1st grade. Lauren has enjoyed her bath time. The wash clothes that we have are as big as she is, and she loves to have a warm one wrapped around her. As you can see from the photos it produced a smile. Summer wouldn't be complete without a trip (or two or three) to Linvilla Orchards. We went and picked some peaches, pears and two of the biggest tomatoes Kenna had ever seen. Bryn had a good time even though she was a tidge on the short side. She stood on her toes and got this one. She was very proud of it. She carried her peach around in a little box. Here is Bryn and her Giant Peach!

Kenna and her load of peaches.

Jessica was right (feel free to gloat Jess)

2009-08-28T08:26:00.005-05:00

Photo #1 is Lauren

Photo #2 is Brynlee

Photo #3 is McKenna

Poor Lauren

2009-08-25T09:56:00.002-05:00

and poor us too. I took Lauren to the Dr. yesterday, we had a weight check scheduled but she has been coughing and having a hard time catching her breath after a coughing fit so they we going to follow up with us as the coughing fits had landed us in the ER over the weekend. We called her pediatrician and told him what was going on. He said that with her heart he didn't want to wait until Monday to have her evaluated and instructed us to take her to CHOP.While in the ER they did another chest x-ray showing in fact that her heart does still have the VSD and it is not getting smaller on its own, the echo showed the same. Lungs were clear however. So at the Dr Lauren showed him her stuff and had a very good coughing fit for the Dr. After looking her over he looked at me and asked "has she had a fever?" Nope I said he then said "she has an ear infection in her left ear". My kids and their EARS!!! Normally they don't get an infection until 6 months but hey she has thrown us lots of curve balls so far so why not have an infection at 17 days old. After another really good looking over to make sure nothing else was going on he put her on Antibiotics. She takes it really well. Hopefully we won't need to sleep upright with her after tonight.

Name the Murray Girl

2009-08-23T14:25:00.009-05:00

Photo #1

Photo #2

So we were looking at baby pictures of our girls. Before we looked we made a comment that they all look a little different. Then again maybe not. Can you tell who is who? Leave your guesses in the comments.

Photo #3

2009-08-23T14:16:00.001-05:00

To me this photo sums up Bryn's personality.

Past two weeks

2009-08-23T10:11:00.011-05:00

This is for the most part what has been going on. The first week home both of us got sleepy really easy. Week two I can actually stay awake for 10 hours, Lauren still just likes to sleep but is giving us some more awake time. She is a really good baby. She sleeps well, eats well, and is very fun to snuggle. She doesn't cry if she needs something she just squawks it sounds like this Aaak. When she does this Bryn will inform us that "baby Lauren is making noises"

Her big sisters have loved having her. Bryn has gotten better about being soft. She says sweet things to her like "my baby" and "I am here Lauren". Kenna always asks if she can "watch on her".

Bryn really enjoys using the bobby pillow to hold her. I think Lauren appreciates it as well. I am sure she feels a lot more secure laying on the bobby then being in a two year olds arms. She also loves to snuggle with her dad.

Back in May I started working on this quilt for the baby and we got it done this week. I am proud of it and will most likely make another.

Potty Training Bryn

2009-08-22T17:15:00.005-05:00

Day one went really well. She was dry all day. We decided pull-ups were not working and went strait to underwear. She went to church and came home in the same outfit she was sent in. Day Two made us question if we should even bother with a day Three. She not once went potty in the toilet. Day Three we felt like we were committed and went ahead with a day three. She did much better this day. I would like to say that it was my parenting skills but in all reality I think it was the Dora Underwear Grandma Norby had bought for her. So far it has now been a week and she is doing well. Pull ups only at nap time and bedtime. She only has one accident a day on average and we are working that out, it is too time consuming to come in from the backyard to go potty.

Are you kidding me!

2009-08-10T12:50:00.003-05:00

So being stuck in the hospital during recovery I have learned a few things. 1st I never want a c-section again! 2nd the only good t.v is the stuff I DVR and everything else is crap. I have watched a lot the past 3 days as all I have to do is walk around, feed baby, waste time online, or watch t.v. Here is a list of odd things I have seen on t.v. while flipping through channels in the past 4 days.

Did anyone know that their is an Air Guitar championship? Well their is. It tours 25 cities and has a championship in D.C. if that isn't odd enough the championship is actually televised and is about as good as it gets for t.v viewing at around 2 am while feeding.
Danny Davis Ministries will sell you "No Evil Oil" to "anoint" your bills, home, family pictures and what not. It comes with biblical instructions on how to use it.
Spanish acting is horrible
from about 11 am to 3pm you have your choice of 4 different court shows to watch.
the Hallmark channel could be the Golden Girls channel.

I only have to be in the hospital for 6 more hours and I am counting the time!!!

Day two

2009-08-09T17:05:00.002-05:00

Today we both spent the day sleeping. What a better thing to do on a Sunday. I would like to thank the wonderful chemist who came up with the drug Percocet that allowed me the ability to sleep comfortably through the day. Most importantly she has a name. Lauren Elise Murray. It fits her perfectly. Feminine and petite.

Day One

2009-08-09T02:46:00.017-05:00

What did you do on your first day? Here is what she did. Got lovingly mauled by two big sisters.

Who are so excited that their little sister is here they are having a hard time being soft. Bryn keeps saying "I love her" and Kenna just wants to hold her. They went with Grama Sherri to get some gifts for their sister and were very excited to bring them to her. They both got her a little blanket and a toy. Kenna of course got a pink dog that is a rattle. Bryn got her a little lady bug rattle.Grama also entertained them by having them make these big sister crowns they were so cute walking into the hospital with them on. It has been such a blessing to have Sherri here we haven't needed to worry about Kenna and Bryn at all. She just stepped right up and has taken over the stuff I can't do.

Grama was also very smart and got both the girls a little bag of goodies from their little sister. Complete with a treat and colored pencils notebook and beads. They went right to work coloring pictures for "baby sister's" crib.

Our friends the Traverso's delivered their 3rd boy 8 minutes before we delivered our 3rd girl. Here are the nameless little ones

Gave Grama Sherri some open eye time and lots of snuggles.

She's Here!!!

2009-08-07T19:41:00.010-05:00

So Thursday evening at about 9:30 Adrienne's water broke. That meant that the time was nigh at hand for the baby to be delivered. We went to Delaware County Memorial Hospital and got checked into our room. Then they pretty much stalled us all night so that the doctors could get their beauty sleep. At about 8:30 Friday morning they started Adrienne on Pitocin (makes the contractions stronger ending in childbirth). They started her epidural about 11:00 a.m. At 12:45 she started pushing to deliver the baby. The nurse was cheerleading Adrienne's efforts to shoot the baby across the room in record delivery time, but as the doctor went to check for the baby, he told Adrienne to stop pushing. Turns out the baby was breech (upside down, i.e.: coming out bum first instead of head first). So, they told us to stay calm and we would do a C-section delivery. First of all, for anyone who has gone through the emotions involved with childbirth, there is no such thing as calm. At least not with us. So we put our best game faces on and a short time later our baby girl was born. We still don't know what we are going to call her, but I'm sure we'll come up with something other than "baby" or "little sister" soon. Stay tuned. She was born August 7th 2009 at 1:47 p.m. She weighed in at 6 pounds and 5 1/2 ounces She measured 18 1/2 inches long She, unlike our other two girls at birth, has hair!!!

2009-07-13T08:32:00.007-05:00

Friday something very rare happened. The clinic was closed so Brad had no patients and I didn't have to work! We took advantage of this much needed family time and headed to Gettysburg for a day trip. The Kane's let us borrow their audio tour CD and we used that to go through the park. We stopped a lot to explore and let the girls run around. The big highlights for Kenna was the rocks and Devils Den (she immediately wanted to climb them) and the cometary because that is where Abraham Lincoln spoke. Bryn was just happy to be there and thought the cannons were neat. Every time she saw one she would say look at that one momma! The funny part was they all looked the same. We also went to the hall of Presidents were they had some wax statues of all 44 Presidents. We wore everyone out and then headed home.

2009-07-12T14:52:00.012-05:00

We had a great 4th. We went to the local parade here in our Borough so it was small and only lasted 45 min. It is perfect for little kids. Another plus is it is only 2 blocks from our house so we could walk there and back. The girls thought it was fabulous. Kenna who just enjoys life period got excited about everything from the firetrucks to the banjos in the string bands. It didn't take Bryn long to realize that this was a candy getting opportunity and we had to grab her a few times as she kept running into the street for the candy. The picture to the left is right before we left for the parade so they are nice and clean. Although I put sunscreen on her poor Bryn was still burnt by the time we got home. The rest of the day involved just being home. The girls played outback with dad in the pool took a nice nap. We ended the evening with a BBQ at our friends house everyone brought fireworks and we did our own little display for the kids. It was so nice and relaxing and the kids really enjoyed having a family day. When I asked what Kenna's favorite part of the day was she said "Dad didn't have to go see patients today."

I personally like the photo of the girls and dad waiting for the parade to start. The baby in the stroller has been taken everywhere lately by Bryn. If we think we are going to get out of the house without it we will soon be sorry. She will even remind us at times to "not forget the baby". Dad spraying them with the hose may have cost about $10 in water but the squeals of delight from it made it well worth the money.

Because we are rarely all together we had to get a photo. Bryn found the park so much fun with dad. Brad would bounce the bridge and she would giggle and giggle and then ask him to do it again. What would the 4th be without sparklers and local ER's being filled with burns caused by them. My dad may remember in the early 80's my Grama Norby purchasing some sparklers for us grand kids. I am sure with that purchase she had visions of all the kids having a great time with them. I do believe all 10 of us got burnt and a lot of crying took place. When I purchased these sparklers I was sure that in the past 30 years great improvements would have been made in their engineering. Alas this was not so, short stick and spouting fire, fun but carries some risk. Luckily no one was hurt. And the kids all enjoyed them.

The kids all cheering for the finale and the finale.

Rock climbing like Uncle Tom

2009-06-28T16:52:00.009-05:00

While at the Family Fun Center Kenna begged and begged and finally won a chance to go up the rock wall. Since last summer all she talks about wanting to do is to go climb a rock and slide down with Uncle Tom again. Now may I add here that while buying the $4 ticket I was sure this was going to be a waste of money. No way I thought is she going to be able to do this. Her rock climbing had only been done up to this point strapped to Uncle Toms back as neither Brad nor I are confident in our skills to strap her to us. We were absolute surprised when off she went up this wall. She made it quit a ways up and impressed us. She got a little over half way up and the only reason she stopped at that point was because the notches were now to far apart and her arms just a hair short. She wanted me to put these pictures on so Uncle Tom could see. So Uncle Tom here is Kenna going up the wall.

Bryn's Turns 2!

2009-06-28T15:46:00.022-05:00

It is crazy for me to have her be two! Sometimes I look at her and think you are still a baby! She has been so fun and her personality is wonderful to have around, she likes to tease, bug her sister, and if she does something that needs an apology she won't say sorry unless she is, try as we may so if you every get an "I'm sorry" from her know it is sincere. She is a little chatter box and has plenty to say about everything. We love her perception on things for example Brad doesn't mow the lawn he vacuums the lawn. She loves to give hugs and kisses and we all love getting them from her. Here are some of the pics from her day. Unfortunately the majority of it was spent at Kenna's dance rehearsal but she really had no idea of the concept of "birthday" until we took the cake out after dinner.

This is the girls leaving the rehearsal. Bryn is wearing her birthday outfit bought for her by Ms. Kelly from work.

Brad didn't want to have little spit droppings on his slice of cake (nor did the rest of us for that matter) so he did a few practice runs with Bryn on how to blow out a candle.

Here she is blowing them out. She was completely please with the results and asked to do it again.

We took them after dinner to the Oasis Family Fun Center. They have mini golf, arcade games, and the reason we went a large indoor play yard. They girls had a blast and wore themselves out entirely. Bryn ran and ran from slide to slide laughing the whole time it was well worth it, even Brad and I had fun with them.

The ball area is called Ballocity. Everything is done with soft balls and air. It was a ton of fun, this really brought out the little boy in Brad. Bryn and Kenna both fell asleep on the way home so we opened presents for Bryn on Sunday. She got some puzzles, My first doll house, and a Dressy Daisy Doll.

Dance 2009

2009-06-28T15:12:00.010-05:00

Kenna did dance again this year and absolutely loved it once again. It has been over for a week and she is already wanting to know when it is time again. We take her to Cathie Collins School of Dance and they are wonderful. Ms. Cathie has been doing this for 25 years and the teachers are all phenominal. Infact Brad was shocked durinrg the teacher performance that a woman who was in her 40's and had survived cancer 2 times could still dance like that. The dress rehearsal was on a Saturday and this is when they allow parents to record and take pictures. The School is huge and has 4 performances Sunday matinee and then night, Monday night, and Tuesday night each 3 hours long to accommodate all the girls(and preschoolers only perform in one). Even with the school that large they know all girls, their families and siblings by first names. Kenna was in the Sunday matinee performance and did a great job. They were in the opening number entitled Under the Sea. After her performance she sat by us and watched the rest of the program on the edge of her seat wide eyed. We recorded it bu not on the right camera to post so her are a few pictures of her.

Kenna and Kelsie from her class.

Getting ready to start.

The Dance:

Grandma Murray

2009-05-27T17:07:00.017-05:00

Grandma Murray was able to come out to visit us for the past week. The girls had a lot of fun. They played their hearts out as well as enjoyed some fun outings to Lancaster and also to Longwood Gardens (which I have been dying to take her to since I first went a few years ago.) We are excited for her to come back soon.

Here are the girls at Longwood in front of their favorite bush!! Honeysuckle! (Sunnyhuckle as Bryn calls it)

Kenna really wanted to have a picture with just her dad in front of this waterfall.

A big old tree

Kenna listening to the bee's make honey in this beehive.

At the indoor children's garden.

We went to an Amish farm and house. It was very interesting and the girls had a ton of fun walking around the farm. Omar took us on a buggy ride and let Kenna sit by him and "help" drive the team. By help I mean he let her hold one of the reins.

Bryn was fine in the buggy it wasn't until the end of the ride and we put her up front with Kenna that she was freaked out. I guess that was too close to the horses for her liking.

The Pennsylvania Railroad museum was Bryn's favorite. She was so excited to see a CHOO CHOO! She kept saying it over and over again, "Mom a choo choo see!"

Watching the train get ready to go was the highlight of Bryn's Lancaster trip.

This was Kenna's.

Just cause they are cute!

2009-05-27T12:34:00.006-05:00

Here are a few cute photos of the girls from the past few weeks.

Bryn likes to try to dress herself. Sadly she only puts on shirts and will only get dressed in Kenna's clothes. Here she has 3 of Kenna's shirts on.

Of all the things she could have spent her money on at the zoo she chose get her face panted like a Zebra. If your kids ever get their faces painted don't let them pick anything that involves black face paint!

They play very well together.

No more Chocolate

2009-05-27T12:29:00.004-05:00

This was Bryn's reaction when Brad told her ENOUGH NO MORE CHOCOLATE TONIGHT!

I must say that I feel about the same way when the chocolate is cut off!

Pigtails

2009-02-24T16:03:00.005-06:00

Bryn now has enough hair to do pigtails they are a little dorky but at least she no longer looks neglected. She has significantly more hair then Kenna did . Here are photos of both of them at 20 months in their pigtails.

Kenna's pigtails

Bryn's pigtails

I should have taught her this months ago

2009-02-24T15:56:00.004-06:00

I taught Kenna how to make a Peanut butter and Honey sandwich a few weeks ago. This has changed our lives for the good! If she is hungry she no longer wines at me she just takes care of her problem. Now we just need to work on the Peanut butter/ Honey ratio they turn out a little thick but she likes them.

Cute Kid

2009-02-24T15:15:00.005-06:00

Bryn has been making us laugh at every turn these days. She is talking up a storm for a 20 month old. Here are some of the things that she says and the interpretations.

Hanny Manny= Handy Manny her favorite t.v show

Abu= I want to watch Aladdin

Murry Murry= Singing Row Row Row your boat this is Merrily Merrily

Gan pa= Grandpa she asks daily for him and then will ask "what he do in? Meetin"

kiat= Quiet usually yelled at Kenna when Bryn is trying to watch Hanny Manny if quiet doesn't happen she will shout

Top it= Stop it

I esoos= I excused after she is done eating

Binee= Brynlee

I of u= I love you

bid= bib she insists on one when she eats and has to have the buckles on the booster seat done up.

Ebly obber = Heavenly Father

Tip= Tiffany the answer to the question "Bryn who do you look like"

Sunbeeb= Sunbeam see video of her singing

Words she says that need no interpretation

Mom, Dad, sandwich (she will bring you the peanut butter), cereal, potty, pity please, Kenna, Julia (the babysitter), Grandma (she will bring my the phone), more, nite nite, Binky, blanket, Jesus, Thank you, and hello, bye, eyes, ears, hairs (she throws an s on the end of it), Finish.

Update From Halloween to Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T13:14:00.005-06:00

That just shows you how bad I have been about this. So for Halloween Kenna was a Princess and Bryn was a Pea. It was so fun. Kenna understood the get candy and it didn't take Bryn long at all. The first door we went to she held out her bag got a treat, looked in the bag said WOW! followed by Tank U (thank you). They had fun all week with the ward party, a school party, and of course trick or treating.

Kenna turned 4 this year! It is so crazy! She has been so fun to have. She makes us laugh everyday and is so smart. She is learning to read and loves to sit down with mom to read a book. She is very into Barbies and will play with them for hours. For her birthday she wanted a hula hoop, jewelry box, and a big coloring book. She had a party with her friends and was able to take some treats to school for her birthday. These little things were the highlight of her year. Oh to be four and have your biggest worry be to use a Magenta Crayon or a Fuchsia one to color in your My Little Pony coloring book.

For Thanksgiving we stayed home and had Brad's cousin Jake over for the week

as well as some friends dogs. The girls have loved having the dogs over. Kenna asked if she cried would John still take them home? Thank you Jake for coming to visit Kenna keeps talking about riding on a horse with you when she goes to Idaho. Also Thank You John and Terra for letting us have your dogs for the week. Brad I don't want them to go home either we will watch them anytime.

This one is for Jess

2008-10-13T19:46:00.009-05:00

My sisters Jessica's little boy (as you can see in the photo) has hair that well runs perpendicular to his head. So cute! I call this "Lewis hair" as I have seen this trend on both Teagan (Tom's Nephew) and Lydia and Jane (Tom's Nieces) I find it absolutely adorable and would give anything for a baby with that much hair and would care less what way it stood. Alas I have been blessed with baldies that look just like me or my sister Tiffany. And Jessica has been blessed with kids that look like their dad. After Bryn's bath the other night I was blowing her dry like we always do. She has some hair on the top of her head now and when I was done it was perpendicular to her head. I laughed and thought this is what Jessica's kids would look like if she ever has one that looks like a Norby. Enjoy Jess .

OBX

2008-10-13T18:19:00.031-05:00

So I realize that this is a little late but we have been very busy with life since returning from our annual Outer Banks NC trip. We had a ton of fun. We spent some fabulous time on the beach. Went and saw some of the stuff about Blackbeard (a real pirate who's birth name was Edward Teach), went on a boat and saw dolphins out in the wild this was amazing. It was a wonderful family vacation. Kenna's favorite part was as she says "the whole thing". Bryn loved the sand and running around with Tanner. Brad and I loved the beach and the dolphins. Here are some of the photos.

Brynlee

McKenna

Pirates

On the Ferry. This threw our GPS for a whirl. It kept saying recalculating and showed the picture of the car in the middle of the Ocean. Teach's Hole

Dolphins Flying a Kite Family Photos

2008-08-19T08:28:00.002-05:00

Okay so most of you know this primary song. The words go Follow the prophet follow the prophet follow the prophet don't go astray. Anyway my sisters little boy is Ryan and we call him Ryan the Lion. In primary they were singing Follow the Prophet. Kenna was singing the loudest only singing the wrong words she was singing "Ryan the Lion, Ryan the Lion, Ryan the Lion, don't go astray". This is very good advice to Ryan however only being 1 I am sure it is not an issue yet.

Olympics

2008-08-12T18:25:00.003-05:00

I love the Olympics. The competition, the stories behind the athletes, and just watching people beat the odds and accomplish goals. We have been following Michael Phelps and his goal for 10 gold medals. I have no doubt that he can do this. I have been awe struck with his speed, form, and sportsmanship. Kenna has also enjoyed watching with me, she finds him "very handsome". Another favorite has been the gymnastics of course and Kenna now wants to be in gymnastics to compete, we just told her it would take a lot of work and it would be expensive but if she wanted we would help her do it. She is doing somersaults all over the house and trying to leave Brad alone so as she says "he can be a dentist and pay for it". Bryn enjoys watching the Beach Volleyball and will stand there for several minutes watching. While she watches she squats and then stands I have no idea as to why she does this but it is cute. If I could figure out how to post a video I will. Anyone know?

Tumble Tykes

2008-08-10T14:58:00.007-05:00

Kenna is a Tumble Tyke! She started her first class on Friday. She is loved it. So did I it used some of her energy and allowed for an easy nap in the afternoon. It is a 5 week class. Brad and I decided that we would do a summer class and if she really liked it then we would see about a fall class. When I asked her what her favorite part of the class was she said "the flipping over part". She has been practicing her somersault and cartwheels all week. Hopefully by next week she will not need as much help. She did very well for her first class.

Blackberries

2008-08-06T10:54:00.003-05:00

I took the girls to Linvilla to get some blackberries. They had so much fun. I got Bryn out of the stroller and showed her how to pick them. She was to cute. The ones she picked went strait into her mouth. I had my back to her and was helping Kenna reach "the perfect one". I heard some ladies laughing and then one of them say "Miss you should get a picture of that". I turned around to see this: I suppose when you have little one year old chubby fingers it makes it hard to pick berries as fast as you need to to eat them. She used her ingenuity and decided to forgo the picking step and go strait to the eating part.

2008-07-29T07:32:00.002-05:00

Brad is at Scout Camp this week. He left on Saturday afternoon and will be back on Saturday. It has only been 3 days and I have decided that I don't want to be a single parent ever. Church on Sunday was pointless at least when Brad is here I get about 30% of what is going on during Sacrament meeting all I got was that the kids who went to the Hill Camorah Pageant were going to tell about the experience that they had. It went downhill from there chasing a 13 month around the Primary room while trying to do your calling is next to impossible. Bryn needs her nails cut, this is something Brad does. I started the clipping on Sunday I got 3 fingers cut, Monday I got another 3 done, today maybe I will get lucky and be able to do the last 4. How does he get her to hold still that long? The girls miss him tons. This morning Bryn brought me the phone and said "DAD" so we called so he could say hi. Right now they are up in their room playing "scout camp" Kenna has blankets hanging everywhere and Bryn is just running around the room taking Kenna's instructions. I am not allowed in cause mom's can't go to scout camp.

2008-07-27T19:30:00.007-05:00

Kenna is at that wonderful age were internal monologue doesn't happen. No fault of her own it just hasn't developed yet. She hasn't said anything that isn't true, just socially inappropriate and I have found myself walking briskly out of stores or awkwardly trying to explain what she means. Here are a few of them.

To the clerk at the grocery store "you have the biggest butt" Thank goodness we had already paid! after a quick apology all I had to do was push the cart right out the door.
Poor kid has another yeast infection (you were right Jess). This is something that should just be kept to her self, but does she, nope, she tells a lady at Target "I have a yeast infection" I wish you all could have seen her eyes get wide and then how she looked at me like "did she just really say what I think she said." Again another apology.
This is my favorite.It is just funny but did make me look like a little bit of a bad mom. Kenna loves to have Brad speak to her in Spanish, sometimes she will just say "Dad talk in Spanish" She knows about 20 words really well . Anyway we were talking to a missionary at church and his first language is Spanish. So I tell Kenna that he speaks Spanish. Kenna looks at him and says "callate means shut up in Spanish". All I could think is Kenna you have 20 words that you know and that is the one you decide to use. So I reminded her that was a naughty word and that we get in trouble for saying it in Spanish just the same as English. Meanwhile the missionary had to walk away so that Kenna wouldn't see him laughing.
A woman was out walking with her kids in the stroller. Kenna informs her that her kids are funny looking. They are funny looking, no disabilities just funny looking kids eyes kind of bugged out a bit and this kids ears were huge my internal monologue works so I was thinking the same thing as well as wow I wonder if these kids have Acromegaly. So once again I find myself saying in an exasperated tone "Kenna Margaret" and apologizing to this poor woman who may or may not know that her kids are funny looking but just the same didn't want to here from a 3yr old.

Anyway we will be having a Family night lesson on tact, saying only nice things, and watching the words that we say because obviously the honesty lesson worked well.

One last story This one didn't embarrass me at all in fact it made me almost cry. After reading a chapter in her chapter book she looked out the window and said "Mom the sunset is pink tonight. That is how Jesus and God tell us that they love us, they make the sky pink before we go to bed. Sometimes he will make it purple because he knows you like purple the best, but pink is just for me" and then to make sure that I knew she added, "but he still is saying that he loves you Mom when it is pink we just have to take turns with the colors." This took me off guard as we have never discussed anything like this before, all I could do was hug her and say you are right they love us very much and we must always remember those little things around us that show their love. I walked out of the room still trying not to cry. It is moments like these that make me forget her lack of internal monologue and all of those embarrassing moments. Even though she gives me a rough time once in awhile I am sure glad she is mine.

Concussion and Lightning

2008-07-26T19:31:00.005-05:00

Okay the Lightning didn't cause the concussion it just all happened the other day. So here is how it happened: after Brynlee's nap she was playing with some of her toys in the living room and climbing on the furniture. She climbed upon the gliding rocker (see where this is going) and fell off right onto her little head face down on the hardwood floors mind you. She hit hard I saw the whole thing helplessly from the other side of the couch I was unable to hurdle. She didn't start crying until I picked her up and then had a hard time at that. Little trooper she only cried for a minute. She had a huge bump on her for head and some bleeding from her mouth above right incisor. The tooth wasn't loose but I called Brad anyway and said I am taking her in to have her checked out because she kept trying to go to sleep (remember this was after a 2 1/2 hour nap). Kenna was such a helper she kept her awake all the way to the hospital. Right when we pulled into the parking lot she started vomiting (fabulous was all I thought). 6 hours, and a CT scan later we were on our way home. Thank you Hawleys for watching Kenna for that whole time!!! She slept like a rock and was tired the next day but is fine now.

As we pulled onto our street and come up to our corner this is what we saw

Impressive huh? We had a nice lightening storm that afternoon while we were in the hospital with a mild concussion. According to our neighbor lighting struck our tree right before it started to down poor. It was 8:30 when we got home and after all of this excitment in one day we were all asleep by 9pm.

2008-07-23T11:21:00.003-05:00

(Thank you for the good picture Riv)

As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, if we’ve actually met in person or not, anything you remember about me!
Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Laurel Ave Piano

2008-07-17T12:49:00.002-05:00

This Piano has been on our street for the last 30+ years. The 1st owner of our home got it from a friend and her kids learned to play on it. When they had grown (and she got another) it was given to a family down the road, after they learned to play on it is made it's way back down the street to the Flood's home where Maureen and Chris learned to play. Now that Judy is in a nursing home and the house is getting cleaned out Chis and Maureen asked us if we would want the piano. On Sunday it was lifted, pushed and pulled, across the street to our house. It is out of tune big time but other than that it is in good shape. Kenna will start lessons this Fall (thanks Mom and Dad Norby) and is very excited. She asked me to play her a primary song so I got out the book and attempted an easy one (no sharps or flats) and it was a little rough but not bad for not looking at any music or being at a piano for years and years. She was not impressed and asked "can't you do it like Uncle Blaine?" Sadly no.

Peaches and Raspberries

2008-07-14T11:51:00.010-05:00

Saturday afternoon after lawns were mowed we took the girls out to Linvilla to get some fresh peaches and raspberries. The Raspberries were slim but we were able to find enough to put on some ice cream. The girls had fun even though it was humid beyond belief. The outing served it's purpose and when we got home we were able to put the quarter round up in the living room and dining room while Bryn slept. Thanks to Carter and Steph for coming over to help. I would also like to thank Nathan and Tiff for finding our camera so that we could take pictures of the fuzz on a peach. Here are some of my favorite shots that we got of the girls and Brad.

Bryn got a good kick out of the hey ride. She laughed the whole way to the peach orchard.

Kenna out to find the perfect peach.

The perfect one.

Bryn's Peach

Summer Idaho Style

2008-07-11T07:57:00.005-05:00

We had a lot of fun on our trip to Idaho. Although seeing Blaine was the highlight we did a load of other fun things. We went swimming, repelling, up to Jackson Wyoming, Floated Warm River, Lagoon and had a ton of fun playing with family.

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Blaine is Home

2008-07-03T19:05:00.007-05:00

Finally after a 33 hour delay (13 of that in London 16 in Chicago) we at last got to see Blaine again. It is so wonderful to have him home and hear his stories and well just basically just have him around. Kenna has enjoyed snuggling with him as well as Bryn. The picture above is of 6 of the 8 grand kids. They all put their hand prints on the sign. Here are a few more of the airport and right when he was home.

This is him walking out of the I.F terminal.

Bryn went right to him and gave him a great big hug. This was a big deal as she has never seen him before and had been freaked out all day from all of the strangers who had picked her up all day and kissed her.

Kenna was so excited to see him. When he left she had been tired and cranky so we made her give him a hug. She has more than made up for it in the past few days. She will just randomly walk over to him and have him hold her and has talked him into rocking her to sleep with songs.

He brought back this amazing drum. Oh how we missed hearing him pound a beat on anything that could be beat.

Dance Recital

2008-07-03T18:43:00.004-05:00

Kenna had her first Dance Recital on the 22nd of June. She did such a good job. We were so proud of her and how well she knew the dance. She had so much fun. These pictures are from her dress rehearsal. She can't wait to do it again next year.

Bryn's 1st Birthday

2008-07-03T18:27:00.004-05:00

Okay so it is amazing to me that Brynlee has turned 1. I swear that wast the fastest year ever. Here is a photo we took of her at two wees old (exactly one year from today) She has been so fun to have in our family. She has really become a fun little girl with a cute personality.

For her birthday we had a Luau with some of our friends and their kids. They all came over with kids in swimsuits, we got the pools out and the kids played, ate hamburgers, hot dogs and other bbq food, and finished it off with cake and ice cream.

Bryn was more interested in the pink stuff salad than her cake but she did enjoy a chocolate cupcake later on that night. Grandma Murray sent a wagon, we got her a little people SUV, and a number turtle and swiming pool, Grandma Norby sent a cute book and a baby doll. She had a lot of fun playing with her new toys and being in her new pool. Thank you to everyone who came and shared the evening with us.

2008-06-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

Qualities I love about my dad. -His gift of Gab. He can talk to anyone. -His ability to laugh in all situations. Even when we were in trouble and being scolded we would always leave the room laughing. -making all situations fun. (Yellowstone can be boring lots of buffalo, slowly dissipating elk herds. Dad always made it fun) -Always follows the spirit (even when it seems inconvenient) -Truly enjoys his posterity. (they truly enjoy him as well, Kenna has her imaginary Grandpa show up once in awhile when she misses him) -Generosity What I have learned from my Dad. ( a lot but these are a few of the things that he would say) Buy low sell high Save your money KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS (this was heard the most during the years of 1993 and 1999 while he was the Bishop) Don't do dumb Always pay your tithing (old brown cars run better and longer if tithing is paid) That heavy breathing and slight increase in pressure around a small arm can go a ton farther and get a point across easier than a spanking. (doesn't work for My kids when I do it, only Brad and my dad can use this tactic) Read your scriptures Don't just be on time be early. Clean home is a happy home. Laughing can happen in any situation. Always find what is funny. A ways fulfil your calling in the church with a smile on your face (even if your calling involves winter camp outs) Everything can be an experiment (how many people will pull over in Yellowstone if you stop your car, get out, use your binoculars, and point out in the open.) Happy Fathers day!

2008-06-15T14:24:00.002-05:00

Brad thank you for being such a great dad to Kenna and Bryn. We love you.

2008-06-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

(Picture of Kenna talking to Uncle Blaine)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE BLAINE

Last few outings with Thomas

2008-06-12T15:08:00.007-05:00

On Monday Thomas moves to Detroit. Or "Troit" as Kenna calls it and "B-Troit" as Thomas calls it. Kenna is more than a little saddened by this. So we are soaking up our Thomas fun while we can. Yesterday we went to Kehler's Gym.

Kenna and Thomas had a ton of fun and got themselves good and worn out. They all had a good time. Bryn enjoyed the crawling up and down everything. She was not a big fan of the ball pit. Hewitt on the other hand loved the ball pit and spent the majority of his time there.

So much fun was had that I enrolled Kenna in a

summer Gymnastics program that they have. 5 weeks 2 days a week at a very reasonable price (aka cheep!). She is excited to start and has for the moment forgotten about dance being over for the summer.

Today we went to the zoo. Thomas made the comment that he is not taking the zoo with him when he moves. I assured him that Detroit has its very own zoo and to not worry. Once again they ran themselves ragged and had a good time.

A funny Little Bryn story.

2008-06-12T14:45:00.004-05:00

Bryn has recently fell in love with Baby dolls. She likes them all and gets excited if she sees one. She will love it, rock it, and give it a kiss. Kenna has a new doll Little Mommy cuddle and coo that she purchased all by herself after months of saving all of her quarters, dimes, nickles, and pennies. It has been a bone of contention at our house the past few days, Bryn wants it, Kenna doesn't want to share it. Because she bought it herself and worked so hard for it I am not making her share.

Well yesterday I hear a scream and then, da da da da ( those of you with hardwood floors it was the noise of a small someone running). Bryn was coming around the corner with the doll in her arms holding it as tight as she could (almost like a football player would hold a football as they were running to the end zone) her eyes wide open. Kenna was hot on her heals screaming "that is mine! I only put it down for a minute."

The look on Bryn's face made me laugh, the fact that at 11 months old she knew she needed to run made me laugh harder. The picture is of her laughing at Brad pushing her in the swings by our house. She is so fun.

One funny kid.

2008-06-12T14:12:00.002-05:00

I have decided that I like the 3 1/2 year age the best. Then again that is as far as I have gotten with a child so I may change my mind later. Kenna has done some very funny things lately that I thought I would share.

1) Her favorite movie is Brother Bear. We have it recorded on our DVR and it has been watched at least once a day. She knows how to work the remote and will rewind and listen to the Moose say "Gee Aay You're one big beaver" and laugh hysterically. She has gotten in the habit of calling me Adrienne, this is driving Brad and I crazy. So when she called me by Adrienne the other day she was told sternly, "I am not Adrienne", She looked at me smiled and said, "Gee aay you're one big beaver" and laughed harder than she does when the moose says it.She found herself so witty.

2) She really wants a dog. She asks daily, will run out the front door if she sees someone walking their dog to ask if she can pet it. She has imaginary ones ( I like those best), stuffed ones, and the memories of our dog Chloe we had in Idaho. Yesterday She was eating Spaghetti. I heard sit, sit, (then very happily) GOOD GIRL! I heard this a few more times. When I peaked around the corner I saw Kenna sitting in her chair holding a noodle up, Brynlee was standing next to the chair. If Brynlee would sit Kenna gave her the noodle.

3) She has recently learned how to do thumbs up. If she gets something she wants or if Brad or I do something she finds "good" she will give us a Thumbs up. The following are for sure to get a thumbs up: giving her a Popsicle, rolling her window down, taking her to a park.

She is such a fun kid we are so glad that she is ours!

2008-06-12T08:34:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIVKA!!!!!!

One Nasty Heat Wave

2008-06-10T16:00:00.006-05:00

It has been in the high 90's and the mercury has touched 100 degrees here the past few days. It would be a little more tolerable if it weren't for that blasted humidity!!! So yesterday we had some friends over and got the pools out. The kids had a blast. They didn't seem to mind that Brad had just mowed the lawn and they were covered in grass. We did a hot dog lunch and had Popsicles for dessert. I know my kids took a fabulous nap. I am sure that the others did as well.

Yo Ho a pirates life for me

2008-06-06T13:36:00.005-05:00

I took the girls to the Franklin Institute today to see the Real Pirates exhibit. Very much worth the trip. It is all about the Whydah that crashed off the shore of Cape Cod Mass. in 1717. they had cannons, some of the treasure, swords, and many other pirate like things. I learned a ton. We love museums.It was very fun even though crowded with school kids (hello Friday what was I thinking). Because everything is old and recovered after decades from sea water they do not allow flash photography in side. But if you check out the above link you can see a few of the things that we saw. After we had gone through the exhibit we walked across the street to Logan square to eat lunch and then walked the few blocks back to the train station and headed home. Here are a few of the photos that we were able to take.

This is Kenna on the steps of the Franklin Institute. They had the front of the steps painted and so when you looked at it from the street it looked like an old map. She wanted to sit in the ship. Isn't she cute!

Here are the girls in front of the fountain at Logan Square. Kenna said to me as we were walking back to the train station, "Mom, I love our city". I would have to agree. Although it does have parts I could live with out, we really enjoy the area and the great venues that are offered to us. Our next stop is The Natural Science center.

Riding her bike.

2008-06-03T13:32:00.005-05:00

Kenna and I had practiced all day the other day on riding her bike. She was having a hard time pedaling, steering, and watching where she was going (2 to many tasks) She finally had it mastered for the most part and couldn't wait until dad came home so she could show him. Before showing him that she could do it she asked if he knew how and if he would like to ride her bike. He said he could but only if she could help him. It was so funny! She now loves to ride her bike.

Theft

2008-06-03T13:24:00.003-05:00

We went to Hershey a few weeks ago. This beautiful key chain and magnet came home with us. Brad's parents were with us and Sheri had purchased a few things. Kenna came up to me (holding Sheri's bag) and said "Mom, look!" I remember thinking to myself "huh Brianne and Tim must be some of Jamie's friends and that is why Sheri bought those." I responded to her by saying WOW! When we got home Sheri asked us who they were, she had thought I bought them just as I had thought she had. OOPS! Kenna does pick things up in the stores and I usually have to do a check before we leave. I don't know why I didn't ask "Who bought these" I will be the wiser next time!

Just a few cute photos

2008-06-03T13:07:00.006-05:00

Here are the girls in more twirly skirts that I made. I made myself one as well that matches this one so we can all match at the beach. I was a little frustrated that I couldn't get them to look at the camera at the same time or to get Bryn to not follow me away from where I put her for that matter. I made the bow too. I feel quite crafty!

Bryn has a buddy

2008-06-01T15:26:00.002-05:00

This is Bryn's little buddy Tanner. He is the only kid that she gets excited about seeing. He is 3 months older than her and so he can do more things but she sure likes to try to keep up. They sat this way on the blanket for a good 45 seconds while we took pictures.

Last day

2008-06-01T15:22:00.003-05:00

Kenna had her last day of Preschool. She sure had fun this year. This is a picture of her class with her teacher.

Mothers Day and Twirly Skirts

2008-05-27T19:07:00.007-05:00

Isn't it beautiful! This is what I got for Mothers Day. My old one ( a hand me down from like early 1960's) finally hit the dust. Well it made dust when it's all metal frame came into contact with the cement floor in the basement. Oops. After many attempts to fix the bobbin issue and a few calls to the Singer people (in India?). We broke down and went to Joanne's and purchased this model. I LOVE IT! I can sew a beautiful straight line. I have hemmed scrubs, and made Twirly Skirts for my girls. I am attempting this week to make pajamas for Kenna. I am nervous as this involves lines that are not all straight. I only had to call my mom 10 times before I got started. This was my first "sewing without someone who knows what they are doing right beside me experience." Brad's mom came for a visit and helped a little with my first skirt. After that I became slightly out of control and have made 4 for each kid. Here are a few of them. I also have made a sundress for them when we go to the beach.

Are they not adorable! I can think of a few girls who need to have twirly skirts, Whitney (Jess just have mom see link below), Rivka's little girl would look ravishing in one as she is about the same size as Bryn. Bonnie's girls and Bonnie's niece Molly (Bonnie DO NOT talk to Savannah while sewing)! And Paige and Rylee. Here is the website to go to for a tutorial on how to do it. Have fun!http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/photos/twirly_skirt/index.html

Chocolate World

2008-05-13T13:59:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-05-13T13:36:00.008-05:00

Brad had his White Coat ceremony this last weekend. He can now work on patients his days of typodonts are over only real teeth and real mouths from here on out! His dad was able to come and "coat him". We are so proud of him for making it this far it had been a tough two years! Everyone pray for compliant patients!

Learning "Cause and Effect"

2008-05-13T13:17:00.004-05:00

Bryn had a lesson in Cause and effect. She learned that if you pull a wipe out of the container another pops up (very interesting). She was pleased to find that every time you pulled out a wipe another pops up for you to pull out. This can continue until all wipes are out of package. She also learned that if she causes all of the wipes to come out of the package the effect is mom saying "Brynlee Victoria NO NO NO!"(after taking a good 15 pictures of course). When mom comes down the stairs to investigate the quiet.

For those of you who may be wondering, the wipes you get at Sam's Club contain 85 wipes not the 80 indicated on the package label. They are also very strategically placed in the package. Once removed they don't fit back in as nicely. Also, much to Bryn's disappointment, when placed back in package they lose that nice pop up effect.

Trip to Idaho

2008-05-11T15:49:00.001-05:00

Kenna, Brynlee, and I went to Idaho in April. Brad stayed home and finished his finals we had a good time. Enjoy the pictures.

Prince Thomas

2008-04-10T15:30:00.003-05:00

Thomas is a favorite at our house. Kenna absolutely adores him as do I. I love when he comes over they entertain each other and I get tons of stuff done.She has announced to everyone that Thomas is her Prince. When Thomas comes over he does refer to her as Princess Kenna and he is Price Spider man Thomas (or some other boy super hero). We have been at my mom's house for the past week and Kenna has been pretending that Thomas was here with her. She has so missed him It is so cute. While here in Idaho Kenna has been Cinderella and Whitney has been Princess Aurora. So naturally Cinderella's Prince's name is Thomas. We were at Wal-Mart and Whitney saw this picture of Cinderella and announced Kenna it is you! Kenna's response was and Thomas. If you ask either of the girls who Cinderella (or Kenna) is going to marry it is Thomas. That would be just fine with me.

2008-04-07T10:34:00.004-05:00

SINK ME! The 3 people who can tell me what this phrase is from will get a a surprise from me. Leave your address and guess in my comments. The picture is of my sister and is to help you guess.

Tiff or Bryn?

2008-04-03T16:34:00.005-05:00

As promised here is a photo of Tiff when she was a baby. I was 7 when she was born so I remember quit well how she looked and acted. I have caught myself calling Bryn Tiff a few times. I put this picture of Tiff on the piano at my moms house. Everyone who saw it wanted to know when we got this picture of Bryn taken. My dad thought it was Bryn and made the comment of how much she looks like Tiffany. The resemblance he said was amazing. Which just proved out point to those who weren't sure that Bryn looks just like Tiffany. So it will be no surprise to us if in 18 years she looks like this.

On the Move

2008-03-28T23:08:00.005-05:00

Bryn has been crawling for 3 months now, and pulling herself up to the couch and other stationary objects throughout the house for a few months as well. I have been okay with this type of movement, not a ton of damage can be done. However, we have just reached a new type of movement... climbing onto those stationary objects. This past week I came out of the kitchen to find my child half way up the stairs and clearly proud of herself. While folding laundry on the couch I looked over to see her standing on top of a chair. With this new mobility also come the awareness that cupboard doors can be opened and the contents within removed. Oodles of fun I tell you. Kenna will say "She's on the MOVE" if she sees Bryn heading for something she shouldn't. We have been hearing this phrase a lot these days.

Easter Morning

2008-03-28T22:47:00.011-05:00

In their Easter baskets they each got a blanket and a small stuffed bunny, Kenna got a Barbie, Bryn got a few binki's. Candy of course for Kenna, Bryn we put puffs in her eggs. In the family basket came the movie Enchanted and a game Hi-Ho- Cherry-O (only because I am sick of playing Candy Land and Memory). Bryn was so excited when she found a binki in her basket and was in awe when I opened an egg for her. Bryn also has a new trick, it is going from sitting to standing with out having to grab onto anything and pull up! We hosted dinner at our house. Dan made an amazing ham as did Stephanie then everyone else brought the extras. All of the adults were able to sit at the dining room table. We brought up our extra one for the kids. Kenna was in Heaven it couldn't have been any better for her Thomas, Kyle and Spencer all at her house! After dinner the kids played and played while the adults were able to talk and enjoy each others company. We have the greatest friends we would be lost out here with out them!

Easter Celebrations

2008-03-28T22:17:00.010-05:00

On Saturday we took the kids to an Easter egg hunt with friends at a local park. It was freezing cold but Kenna didn't mind she was running all over the place and oops slipped and fell into a big pile of mud right before the hunt was to start. She was a little upset.

Other than that she had a ton of fun finding eggs and putting them in her basket.

Later that evening we dyed easter eggs and set out our baskets for the Easter Bunny.

Brad had a good time hiding candy all over our living room and making this M for Kenna out of M&Ms . Then I did the Baskets.

A visit from Grandma

2008-03-28T21:43:00.009-05:00

My mom was able to come out for a few weeks this month and we had fun. She gave me a sewing lesson, I made two blankets for the girls (as seen in the Easter photos), a sun dress for Kenna, a Blanket for my friend Stephanie, and a hooded towel for Kenna. Kenna of course slept smack dab next to her every night and brought every book we had to her for it to be read. We went out Lancaster hit the outlet mall, snickered at the Amish (just kidding we just stared like idiots who had never seen a horse and buggy or a beards that long). These are some other things that we did:

This book is her favorite. We had checked it out from the Library it was read so many time I think my mom has it memorized. It comes highly recommended.

Grandma took her to her favorite place Build a Bear Workshop. Here they built two Elephants (one for her one for Whitney) and a dinosaur for Ryan. After this we all went to lunch and then to the movie Horton Hears a Who. This was my favorite book when I was little my dad still has the first page and a half memorized. She is still talking about this days later.

Longwood Gardens was another stop for us. It was fun they had the Orchid festival going on, so Orchids everywhere. We took at least 100 pictures just of flowers. Kenna went on a scavenger hunt she got a stamp at various stations through out the indoor gardens. Another highlight was that the indoor children's garden was open. It is such a neat place. She walked all over and made herself exhausted. As we were leaving she said "this has been a beautiful day". She was right it was.

We had a good time and the 2 weeks really flew by. We are excited to be able to do to their house in a few days (thank you Dad).

All I want is my Sister.

2008-03-28T21:39:00.003-05:00

After trying everything under the sun to get poor Bryn to be happy and failing time and time again I decided to let Kenna have a go at it. So Kenna held out her arms Bryn lunged out of my arms toward her sisters and here they sat for the longest time Kenna snuggling and Bryn QUIET (finally) and fell asleep.

Dance class

2008-03-28T21:30:00.004-05:00

Kenna has been given the opportunity to take ballet and tap (thank you Grandma Murray). She is having an absolute ball with it. Here is a picture of her on her first day(March 3). It is every Monday and then at family home evening she shows us what she has learned. She has a recital in June and can't wait to wear her costume and dance on a stage. She is such a girly girl. They let us take a few pictures before class started it was impossible to get one of her looking at the camera she was so intrigued with her self in the mirror.

Art work

2008-03-28T21:20:00.002-05:00

I am having a really hard time wanting to wash this off of my wall. Kenna came up to me a few weeks ago with a pencil in her hand and said

"Mom I am sorry I disappointed you"

I had two thought almost simultaneously,

1. "where did you learn the word disappointed?"

2. (actually spoken) "What did you do!?"

She took me into the living room and above the heater vent she had drawn a picture of our family. I thought it was rather good for a 3 year old but not wanting to condone writing on the wall she was sentenced to 3 minutes on the top step and lost pencil and crayon privileges for the rest of the day. It was hard to get a good picture so I hope you can see it.

Little Bryn

2008-03-01T16:29:00.002-06:00

She looked so cute and so much like my sister Tiffany with her hair up like this that I had to take a picture. Big blue eyes, peachy cheeks hair poking up on top. I called her Tiff twice today. I will hunt and find a picture of Tiff at this age and post it so everyone can see the similarities. Tiff this is what your kids will look like.

This is a fish face that she has figured out she can do. I am so glad that I have a fast camera now so I can capture this as it only lasts a few seconds.

Mail in a Box

2008-03-01T16:18:00.005-06:00

Let us not be confused with the various types of mail, here they are (according to my 3 yr old)

"Envelopes kind"- this is your standard mail delivered to the mail box

"Brown truck mail"- dropped off by the UPS man and usually for dad

"Mail in a box"- can come from the Brown truck but is usually from the white FedEx truck and for the kids from a Grandma.

We got the Mail in a box kind this past week from Grandma Murray, with cute clothes, valentine dogs and candy, and Dance Lessons for Kenna. She is so excited to start Ballet, it took some looking but we found a group that would take her late. She has a pink leotard, white ballet shoes and white tights. She starts on Monday

Big Blue Eyes

2008-03-01T16:13:00.002-06:00

My kids have many features that I love, but my all time favorite is there huge eyes. Brad took this picture of Bryn and it captured not only the size but also the amazing blue color that they are. We call them Great Grandpa Wade eyes as they are my Moms Dads color. I hope they stay this Blue.

BROWNIES

2008-03-01T16:07:00.005-06:00

Kenna loves to cook. So after a few days of begging I let her help me make some Brownies. They turned out very good, they had to they were from a box. I am sure however, they would not have been as delicious if she had not worn the chef hat and cupcake apron. After each ingredient that she added she would say "I need to see the directions", and then look at the back of the box. I think I like the Preschool age best.

Some Snow

2008-03-01T15:59:00.003-06:00

We woke up the other day to some snow. Kenna played outside all morning. We had footprints and snow angels all over our yard. She had such a good time. I had just finished shoveling the driveway and sidewalks and heard Mom look a mountain! I turned around and saw her standing next to this pile of snow up to her knees and thought; "wow we need to get you out to Idaho more". Anyway I laughed and took her picture. If you would like to see some real snow mountains look at my sister Jessica's blog. Unfortunately the snow only stayed around for a few days.

I scream you scream we all scream for

2008-02-21T13:50:00.006-06:00

ICE CREAM! We gave Bryn her first taste of ice cream. Like a true Noby she loved it! I had originally planned to only give her a few bites, she ended up enjoying 10. She would reach for the bowl and grab at the spoon if it passed her by to my mouth. Now if she sees anyone eating out of a bowl she will crawl over to investigate the contents, if it proves to be ice cream she will open her mouth and wait for a bite.

So Frustrating!

2008-02-19T02:14:00.002-06:00

It is 3:15 am for the past 2hours I have listened to my 8 month old scream her head off with no sign of stopping. This is normal she screams every night from 1 until about 3:30 or at least has since January 3rd when we decided to try to get her to sleep through the night. Here is how her night goes, bedtime between 7:30 and 8, wake up 1.5 hours later eat, wake up at 11 pm cry for an hour then fall back to sleep, wake up again at 1 and cry until 3:30, sleep until 7. It makes no difference if I put her to bed later. We have had a few random sleep through the nighters but by few I mean only two. If I allow her to nurse when she wakes she wakes more frequently. I have tried all those wonderful books about baby sleeping through the night crap, not working!!! I am usually the only one who wakes during this wonderful time of the night. A pillow over my head muffles the sound a little, but it is just a little difficult to sleep through your child crying. Kenna usually sleeps straight through the noise, even being in the same room however, tonight she has added insult to injury, woken up came to my bed and peed in it!! Well I now have sheets to wash and a memory foam mattress to take care of. I hope you all have slept well.