Sweet thing...

We got to get lots of snuggles out of this little man this past weekend! 

Gabriel is the most darling, cute, snuggly, squooshy little thing you ever did see.

He has tons of slooow, long, stretches full of adorable expressions. 

Congratulations to the Ault family! We are so happy for you.  

Brielle- 8 weeks and 12 lbs 12 oz

Gabriel- 5 days and 7 lbs 6 lz

Wow- what a difference a couple of months makes! Isn't it cool how the cousins have very similar names? I guess Terry and Sarah groaned and then laughed when they heard that we named our baby Brielle!

coo

Getting Creative

Rhya 'needs' her door open when she sleeps. For the past couple of months, whenever we put her down, she says, "Mommy (or Daddy) leave Rhya's door open!" We say, "Sure, I can leave your door open. Night night!"
Then she proceeds to lay on her bunny and pillow and fall asleep...usually on the floor NEXT to her bed.

However, the past week or so I was getting a little nervous because she seemed to forget how to say "leave Rhya's door open" She started to say, "Leave Rhya's d d d duh duh duh"....and then trail off. I'd have to finish, and say, "You mean DOOR open?" She'd agree and then just stand there and stare at me.

It finally CLICKED w' me...she's buying time!! It's HILARIOUS now that I know what she's doing. At first it was freaking me out because I wondered if she was coming down w' a speech problem. However, she knows that I wait for her to finish her sentence before leaving, so I won't leave if she never finishes her sentence!

Now I'll have to be the one to get creative!

Socializing

We've been with so many people lately and it's sure been fun!!!

Back up to a couple weekends ago. Some special ladies came to visit us from eastern WI! We called it our 'Jess and Jess' visit!

We kept very busy chatting, playing, snuggling the wee one, opening a pile of gifts, grilling out at Freedom Park, walking around town, and attending mtg and Granny's bday part on Sunday. We have another little peanut to look forward to as Jess F is about halfway through her pregnancy:

Mr. Jordan is back! He's with us every Wed and Fri from now on. It is perfect for us- gives Rhya a play mate and I am just fine with the fact that it's still part time! Rhya thought it was just too funny that Jordan fell asleep on her shoulder in the bike trailer. She kept leaning forward and giggling when his head flopped. Then she'd pick up his head and put it back on her shoulder.

We had a shower for Kristina. Hop on over to her blog for a full description of the event. Mom and I had a blast planning it. We had a super fun day and now I can't WAIT for our little Larson nephew to arrive!

Miss Mama showing her skills at the 'dress the baby' relay!

It's the year for babies! 

Lotsa ladies equals lotsa fun! (Dad and Travis said they could hear the talking from the barn. hilarious!)

Now for this week: We kicked Mon off to a great start by wolfing down Chinese in the park for lunch. Then we biked to DQ for dessert (how am I ever going to lose this baby weight)! Travis, Heidi, Nate, me, Rhya, Brielle, and the dogs all participated. :-)

After Nate and Travis left for their afternoon shift, Heidi, the kids and I decided to head back to the farm. We picked up the venison hot dogs that Mom and Dad had ordered from Ptaceks (from last fall's deer), then made a fire and roasted some for supper. Gpa George 'n Gma Elva even joined us!

It was a gorgeous evening. Rhya was all excited because when we were 4-wheeling Dad back out to the field after supper (so he could keep cutting hay) we saw three does jump a fence. She also got to help feed milk to the 13 brand new calves. She was also super happy to have Heidi back for a few days and followed her around like a puppy. :-)

Nothing could end a perfect Monday like the news we received at the end of the day, though....
Terry and Sarah welcomed Gabriel Taylor into their family!!!!!!!!!!
He arrived at 3:30 pm and weighed 7 lbs 2 oz.
We can't wait to meet our newest nephew/cousin!

Do you want all of your troubles to melt away?

Just go to the park with this munchkin:

Meanwhile, while she is playing, make faces and coo to this little star:

Both girls prefer the outdoors.

This is how our day usually goes:
Wake up around 7:15
Feed baby. Change diaper. Eat breakfast. Comb hair. Brush teeth. Rock baby. Interact w' Rhya (in different ways and levels according to current need. smile)
Run around in every spare moment and clean up messes and clutter.
Feed Brielle
Walk or bike w' Waylon and Sakari at 11 (while Daddy can watch Brielle)
Make lunch while playing with and holding the kiddos
Say bye to Daddy at 2:13
Put Rhya down
Spend precious one on one time with Brielle. Hope that she falls asleep so Mommy can have some catch up time (they are both sleeping at the moment!)
Go to the park when Rhya wakes up
Eat supper
Hang out with a usually fussy baby until after 10. Rhya doesn't want to go to bed until I do so we have late nights! That's okay, because it usually means that Rhya sleeps until 7:30 or 8, which is conducive to Nate's schedule.

We are living the life of small kiddos! I LOVE it and am thankful for my life and little ones every day.

How will I remember this in 15 years?

We were on the receiving end of a very thoughtful deed yesterday!

I decided to embark upon my first Trader Joes shopping trip with both girls.

All went well on the 35 min. trip up. Brielle napped and Rhya sang various songs.

All went well for the first 7/8ths of the shopping trip. Rhya helped me shop and Brielle sacked out in the Baby K'tan carrier.

As we were pondering over the cereal in the LAST isle, Brielle decided that she needed some of this NOW:












I couldn't just stop and feed her in the middle of the store, so we endured the screams and waited in the checkout line. It seemed that we were being watched by many eyes. A few people said, "I understand, I've been there!" Rhya hopped over to the chocolate stand and handed the checkout lady her chosen chocolate bar. I was so distracted I didn't hardly notice or care. Besides, who can turn down chocolate?

When asked if I needed help out, I was too embarrassed (or proud) to accept, so Rhya followed along like a perfect puppy while I struggled with a screaming baby and 135 dollars worth of a loaded cart.

As we were going out the door a nice upper middle aged employee with tortoise shell glasses said, "Let me assist you!" I gladly handed over the load. Ten feet later Rhya face planted into the sidewalk. She hopped back up but had a horrible look on her face. She would NOT let herself cry in front of the man. Her lip was quivering and her eyes were welling up with tears but she just silently stood by the car with slumped shoulders while I was transferring Sakari to the front seat (why did we take her, anyway? Oh yeah, Rhya couldn't bear to leave her behind)....and juggling the screaming 5 week old.

Rhya held out until she thought that the man was gone. Then intense wails filled the air. She became inconsolable. I plopped her in the passenger seat,  peeled an orange and gave her a few slices. They just ended up in a big slobbery mess. She had snot running into her mouth, strings of slobber landing on her shirt, and strands of hair plastered to her tear sopped face.

Meanwhile, Brielle was still declaring her hunger. It seemed as though she was competing for the highest volume. As I was sitting in the driver's seat, wondering what to do next, and starting to get the goods out for Brielle,  I saw the man approaching us again. He leaned down and looked Rhya in the eyes and said, "I know that your knee hurts, so maybe this will help." He handed her a beautiful pot of daffodils. She couldn't stop her wailing so he said, "Well, maybe your Mommy would like this right now", and looked at me with understanding eyes as he set the pot on the floor of the car. I thanked him and he smiled and walked back to the store.

It was rather difficult to console the poor girl while feeding Brielle, so she wailed and wailed with the  car door WIDE open. The looks continued in our direction.

I abandoned all thought of stopping by Target and Goodwill and zoomed toward home. Meanwhile, both kids continued the cry fest...Kayla was kind enough to jabber to me via phone to provide some distraction from the situation.

Rhya finally got over her traumatic episode once we got home. We were able to look at her owie and decide that it wasn't that bad after all. We were able to admire the pretty yellow daffodils and even take a picture!

We were able to discuss how nice and generous the man was for giving us flowers. I am glad she was privileged enough to be on the receiving end of such a nice gesture. I am hoping that it was a mini life lesson for my little tyke....when we see someone in need, do what we can!!

Looking back on this li'l experience, it wasn't even that big of a deal- just stressful at the moment. However, it was a reminder to me that LITTLE gestures go a long way!

BTW-  I never got that chocolate bar. It must've fallen when Rhya did... hopefully someone else could enjoy it!

An update about....what else but the girls?

These girls crack me up, make my day and test my sanity regularly! 

Examples:

We were attempting to get a 'matching sister outfit' picture after special meeting. This is what we got- Foot In Head!

Last night Heidi, Rhya and I were happily munching on our supper. Rhya suddenly popped up out of her seat and frantically patted at her backside. She exclaimed, "This fell OFF! This fell OFF!!!" I had no clue what she meant until I lifted up her sundress to see one half of her undies in a major wedgie.

Her undies had disappeared and she couldn't figure out where they had gone besides to fall off!!

Brielle will be five weeks old tomorrow. She frequently delights us with open mouth grins!

I weighed her at four weeks and she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz so she's surely a bit more now.

Brielle does best when she's being moved. She's fine in her car seat with one exception- it HAS to be moving!

She loves to parade around the house high on our shoulder. Then she can study everything around her.

She loves her wrap- I bought a Baby K'Tan and would definitely recommend it.

She sleeps in a bassinet right next to my side of the bed. She usually eats about every three hours and goes right back down. I hardly feel sleep deprived, especially since I feed her in bed. :-)

Brielle's cry is interesting- she doesn't usually wail for very long at a time, just gives us warning yells. She'll do a yell, I'll reposition her, and she'll be pleased as punch until her next desire to be repositioned.
After meeting last Wed Bob said, "She's the loudest baby I've ever heard!" HA! I think he expected little whimpers, not random outbursts. 

Rhya had two special meetings under their belt by the time she was one month old. Brielle one upped her! The above picture was taken before heading to Stillwater Special meeting (Brielle's third special meeting in her month of life!)

Memorable Moments

My parents have now been married for THIRTY short years!

Their love shows!

I love how they still give each other loves notes on special days.

I love how they always give each other a smooch and pat pat when one is going to leave for the day or even a few hours.

I love how Mom is always game to help Dad around the farm and in the shop, whether it's feeding calves, raking hay, staining cabinets, catching up on bookwork...

I love how Dad rants and raves about how good Mom's cooking is and thanks her for the meal.

I love how they enjoy each others company, especially when they chit chat in the evenings while Dad eats his ice cream and Mom eats her orange.

I love how they show so much care and love toward their grand-kids, whether it be tractor rides, long discussions about anything big or small, craft projects, snuggles, horsing around, etc...

I love how despite what life brings they always remain grounded and realistic and see things clearly in a unified way. 

The list could go on and on. I am so lucky to have these special people as my parents!!