I Love Thursday's

On Thursday's... Brynn and I have our ECFE class. I look forward to it all week! It isn't like I don't get out besides it... but for some reason I just enjoy it! The other moms that go are great, and it is a good place to go to get others advice/ perspective on things. One of the other moms lives right in my delvelopment and her baby is about 3 weeks older than Brynn. Hopefully we can get together this summer and let the girls play!

I have been shedding like crazy! It started almost exactly 3 months post-partum. It is so gross. I hope it ends soon... my bathroom sink drain has was clogged due to it, and I am sure it is only a matter of time until I have to clean out the shower drain.

Today I was upstairs in Brynn's room putting together her Jenny Jumper that Shannon got her. Brynn was just laying there kicking her legs, and the dogs were laying right by us. All of a sudden I hear Maia chewing on something... and it was one of Brynn's long sleeve onsies!! I was SO MAD! She chewed a hole right through it. I probably should start making them stay out of her room. They have been so good about leaving her toys alone. Before today, the only other thing Maia has eaten 2 burp clothes. So, they have been better with her stuff than I thought.

Last night when I got into bed, I leaned over to give Dan a kiss goodnight, and there was a little pink sock on his shoulder. Haha. I found it to be so funny! He didn't even realize it was there. It was probably from earlier in the day when I had Brynn in the bed. Here is this manly man with a little pink sock on his shoulder. I thought boy, has times changed.

I sometimes am so overwhelmed with this feeling of love when I look at Brynn. It really is amazing when I look at her to think that Dan and I made her. As we are approaching June again, I still have been thinking a lot of Elizabeth and how she would be almost a year. I am really glad we have pictures of her, because lately, I have found myself wanting to look at them.

Tomorrow night we are going to dinner with Dan's dad, Nick, and his girlfriend. Mexican... yum! We have a wedding shower this weekend for Shannon and Dan has a bachelor party. It should be a good weekend.

Brynn's First Easter

Hope everyone had a good easter and was able to enjoy friends and family! We spent the day at my parents house. It was pretty low key, but that was fine. It is different with a baby, that is for sure. My day was pretty much spent trying to entertain her/ getting her to sleep/ feeding her. I feel like when we go places like that she gets a bit off. She doesn't sleep as well and almost seems like she gets over stimulated. We had a lot of food and it tasted so good! Brynn also got 2 Easter baskets from her Great-Granparents! My mom made her a blanket. Here is our little family on Easter :)


Here is Brynn and her Easter basket from the Easter Bunny!


Here is Brynnie and me!


Saturday night I got together with my closest friends from high school. We had a blast! Sometimes when we get together it feels like we are 18 still... taking silly pictures and whatnot. However, our conversations are defnitly different. Mostly about pregnancy, kids, and current events! Sounds kind of dull when I read it, but we have so much fun. We laughed so hard, I hadn't laughed as hard as I did that night in a really long time! Sara made a delicious dinner- enchiladas and shredded chicken tacos. We also celebrated Amy's baby that will be born soon! I have many conversations with my mom and sister (Faith) about how fortunate I am with my group of girl friends from high school. I have been friends with Amy and Sara since kindergarten, Katie since 7th grade, and Kelsey since 10th. All of us had our ups and downs, went to different colleges, but have managed to keep in touch. I feel so blessed to have this group of ladies in my life!

My weekends in May are already so booked up... we have Mother's Day, my 10 year class reunion, dinner for Dan to celebrate his graduation, Brynn's baptism, wedding shower for Shannon, wedding shower for my friend Rachel, Shannon's bachelorette party, and Memorial Day weekend! Whew. Before I know it -- June will be here. I guess the good thing about that is hopefully we will be having June weather! I have all these cute outfits for Brynn that I want to put her in... and the weather is not cooperating! :o)

I have been putting Brynn in her crib for her naps during the day. Preparing myself for her moving into there at night at 4 months. She is sleeping through the night most nights so I really have no excuse. Her room is so close to ours, it will be fine. I just bought her a white noise machine, and am hoping that helps with her daytime naps. She doesn't take long naps very often when we are at home, and I feel like it makes her super crabby. She sleeps so well when we are out and about-- and I think it is from the noise in stores/ restaurants and the motion of the car. Today was the first time I used it, and she took about a 2 hour nap in her crib. It helps me too to have that bit of a break during the day for myself.

My body has been super achy after I work out/ during. When I have been doing Jillian's 30 day shred, my knees have both been bugging me bad. I am worried about it. I am wondering when it is time to get them checked out to see what is wrong. I get out of bed in the morning and my joints just hurt. I wonder if it is a result of 4 years of college soccer taking a toll on my body. I feel like an old lady and truly worry about what my body will feel like when I am actually an old lady. Yikes. I wouldn't even know what type of doctor to go to about it. I thought working out would make my body feel better, but it makes me feel worse. That in turn makes me not want to work out. Blah, it is a bitter cycle.

Here are some pictures taken of Brynn by KJB photography & design! My friend Kelsey and her husband are starting their own business and are very talented!

14 Weeks

I think I have said this in almost every post, but I really don't understand how time is going so fast. I swear it feels like we go straight from Monday to Friday and miss the rest of the week. Where does the time go?? How is my baby girl already 3.5 months? She is becoming such a little person. She loves hearing her own voice, and she talks back to me (not in a bad way, in a good way :)) She does so much "ahhhing" and "oooooh" and gurgling. I just love it.

Today I had Miss Brynnie on her tummy at my parents house, and she was rolling up onto her side. Almost made it over. When she is on the couch, she can roll sometimes but I don't count that since it is uneven and squishy! She has help from that. I am sure it will happen before I know it.

Tonight Brynn was in her jumper for a while. I put batteries in the part that needed batteries... and you would have thought Brynn hit the jackpot! When the buttons are pushed, they light up and play music. She pushed it once, but mainly I was pushing it and she was just in awe over the lights. It was so fun watching her!

Let's see... not much else to report about in the life of Brynn. We are both really enjoying our ECFE class we go to every Thursday. She just loves to be sung to to I sing to her a lot. Her favorite is "All Around the Mulberry Bush." Brynn has been eating and sleeping like a champ this week, so I really think she must be going through a growth spurt. She hasn't been very fussy which has been nice. She is also still sleeping through the night!

As far as me and what I have going on... I am SO excited to get together with some of my girlfriends for a girls night! My friend Amy is having a baby on May 31st, her second and a little boy, so we are giving her a little 'mini' shower. I am so looking forward to it! For Easter Sunday, Dan and I will be going to 9 am mass, and then go to my parents for the day. I am so excited to put Brynn in her Easter dress! I will definitly post pictures of her. I made her an Easter basket... My grandpa makes them out of wood, and I painted it.





Next week... no big plans at all. Oh, Dan and I did book our trip to Door County! One of my best friends from college is getting married on July 30th in Fond Du Lac, WI, so we are going to head out the week before for a little family vk. I went there when I was 7 with the fam. Patrick was just a baby! I think it will be a lot of fun.

Here is the picture of the quilt my Grandma Dot made Brynn. I said a couple posts back that I would post it. One is a pic of the whole quilt. The other is a close up of one of the squares... if you look at it closely you will see the ruffle butt detail my grandma put on it. I love it!



An this is a picture of a pillow Dan's Grandma sent Brynn for Easter!



And finally, here is a picture of Brynn from the last week! Hope you all have a blessed Easter!

Working Out...

Well... another week is almost come and gone. I know I have said it before, but seriously. These weeks just keep flying by. I started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred on Tuesday. I haven't missed a day yet. I have no excuse not to. It is literally 20 minutes, all I need a hand weights, and I can do it at home with Brynn right here. It is amazing, after only 3 days, I already can tell my endurance is changing. There is 3 levels. My plan is to do each one for 10 days. Next week I plan on adding the gym and going on the elliptical.

My motivation is so up and down. I will feel like I have lost weight, and I step on the scale, and nothing. It is very frustrating. I am also having a hard time with my appetite. I am trying so hard to eat well... and smaller portions, but with breastfeeding I have been hungry all the time. I can't seem to satisfy my hunger. I have been trying to keep fruit in the house, but it doesn't seem to fill me up. I also bought some Lean Cuisine for lunch, but I feel like I haven't eaten anything when I am finished-- they don't come close to filling me up. I don't feel comfortable saying how much I weigh, but after the 30 days and as I go through, I will update if I am losing weight... which I hope happens.

Brynn slept a lot today. I hope she sleeps well tonight. I also hope she isn't getting sick or something... I am hoping she is either growing/ just catching up on some sleep.

This weekend Faith is going to prom. I can't believe she is old enough to go to prom. Yikes. I am hoping to make it to the Grand March to see her. Other than that, not much going on this weekend. The weather is supposed to be crappy (boo) I want the warm weather to permanently be here.

Three Months

I cannot believe tomorrow marks 3 months since Brynn was born. Everyone warned me about how fast it goes so make sure I enjoy it... and boy they weren't kidding! How come pregnancy doesn't go this fast??

So what milestones have we met? Well Brynn has been a drooling machine.. so we have been wearing bibs everyday to keep her clothes dry. She consistently can put her hands in her mouth. She is just loving her play mat. She stares at herself in the mirror and reaches for her toys. When I had her on her belly this week... she was tipping... so who knows when rolling over will happen!

Brynn also likes being in her bouncer. It is a baby einstein one... and she is a little small for it yet... but she is so strong and like to be in it for a while.


When Brynn hit 12 weeks, she really went through a fussy stage. I was worried about how long it would last, but she seems to be back to her cheerful self... smiling and talking to me and Dan :o) The sounds she makes is so cute. It really sounds as though she is trying to talk to us. When she sleeps, she really likes a soft blanket being against her face. That is cute, too.

As far as daycare goes... we discovered some of the people we were looking into were not going to work for Brynn. Without getting into details... I was already getting stressed. Finding someone who would hold a spot for an infant until September was going to be tough. Finding someone with an infant spot available period was tough. It seemed as though everyone I talked to had a current mother who was expecting so they would be filling an infant vacancy. Well, Dan and I are so blessed, my friend Kelsey is going to watch Brynn this fall when I go back to work. I can't think of anyone else I would trust as much as her with our baby (besides family)! I am excited to spend time with her and her kiddos along with Brynn this summer. I just know Brynn will love her, too.

Not mcuh going on this week.... probably a lot of cleaning, and maybe a little shopping :o)

God Heals

Ok... be prepared for another sentimental post, it is also very personal. :)

Dan and I really like our priest at our new church. We feel so at home, and we both enjoy going to church each week. We went to mass this weekend, and I always look forward to Father's sermons. He has a way of keeping you interested. Anyway, this week, his sermon was about blame. Blaming others-- blaming God for all the bad things that happen in life. Blaming Him for Family and children who have cancer, devastating earthquakes, tsunamis, losing a child at birth... why would God allow such horrible things to happen? If I had a nickel for everytime I have said that statement over the last 5 years... I would be rich. Why did my dad have to have cancer? Why did his chemo not work? Why did my 11 month old puppy get killed the same weekend my dad was admitted into the hospital for his stem cell transplant? Why God, as if we are not going through enough, does my baby not survive and die at birth? The last 5 years just have been hell. Why God, did all of this happen?? Why did YOU allow this to happen? What did I do to deserve this?

We as humans love to blame other people for things. I am guilty of it. I never want to be "at fault". So, over the last 5 years, God has been the easy target to blame when all hell has broken lose. I still believed, but was losing faith. I didn't have much desire to go to church. God allowed all this stuff to happen, I just didn't want to go.

However, God doesn't want us to hurt. He doesn't want us to be in pain. He doesn't make these bad things happen. God's role in it all is healing. Helping me (us) get through all the tough times in life, and knowing I can pray to Him through it all. I didn't have much desire to go to church over the last 4-5 years. So, as Father began talking to us about this and God's role as a healer, it really hit home. I was guilty of blaming God for all of these things that have happened, but hadn't given him much credit for getting me through them. My dad and I are so close now. So much more so than before he was sick. We would not have this relationship if he didn't get sick. God helped our family get though my dad's sickness and hospital stay, even at times I didn't think it was possible. When Bella died, it truly was the most tragic thing I had ever experienced. She was my baby and was ripped away from me. While my dad was in the hospital and Bella was killed, this really was the darkest time in my life. I eventually healed, and got out of that dark time. When I found out Dan and I were going to lose our daughter, again, I was devastated. I had no idea how I was going to get through each day. However, God healed me and allowed us to be blessed with our beautiful daughter Brynn.

So, hopefully through all that babbling, you got my point. It is so easy to blame, especially God, when things go wrong. God doesn't cause these things to happen. He is there to help us heal when they do. It truly is amazing how we can heal. It doesn't mean it is easy to go through those tough times, but knowing God is there while healing from it, is a comforting feeling.

Baby Friends!

Well this week we had a lot going on. It has kept me and Brynnie busy during the day. Wednesday we went to my Grandma's for lunch. My Aunt Monica and Mary Jo were there and it is always good to see them :) I know my Grandma really loves the company-- even more since my Grandpa has passed away. My Grandma finished Brynn's quilt! It is so cute. I need to take a picture of it and post it on here. Anyone who was friends with me pre-marriage to Dan knows I had an attachment to my blanket that my Grandma made me :) That thing even came with me throughout college and on all my soccer trips-- haha. I finally decided once Dan and I got married it was time to put it away. It is now in Brynn's closet. I wonder if Brynn will have an attachment to something....

Brynn and I joined an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) class through our school district down here. It is on Thursday's for an hour and half and for babies 0-6 months. We had our first class yesterday. There is only one baby boy in the class! All the rest are girls. There is a baby that was only 2 weeks old, and the oldest was the boy, and he was almost 6 months old. It is fun to see all these babies together. I wasn't quite sure what to expect.... but it seems like we will sing to the babies, play with them, read to them, and then have some time to discuss things we have questions about. I am already looking forward to next week's class! I also plan on signing Brynn up for swimming lessons this summer through community education. There is a lot of great opportunities for new moms... it is nice.

Today we are heading out to the Mall of America to have lunch with a couple of friends from work. We are eating at Bubba's... which is always fun since I used to work there. I looked at their menu online last night... and it has gotten a lot more expensive. I am looking forward to it, though. :)

This weekend we have a Wild game, and plan on going to the Sportsman's Show. I also saw the forecast and it looks like on Saturday is supposed to be so nice! I can't wait until everything is green again.

Onto more about Brynn.... routine. She is almost 12 weeks old, and I have the morning routine figured out. She gets up around 7, eats, we play, and then I know she needs a nap by 9 for at least an hour. She then will eat again, play, and then take another nap around 12. From here until the end of the day... it could be anything. I am sure a reason this is the case is because the afternoon is when we go out and about... so it is hard for her to figure out a routine. She goes to bed anywhere from 7-10 pm! SO no consistency, just kind of depends on the day. I am ok with this for right now... I was talking to my friend Kelsey a few weeks ago and I was thinking of trying to really get her into a routine around 6 months. I am hoping then that will help once I go back to work and she has to go to daycare :( Speaking of daycare... we have an interview on Tuesday with a home daycare in SSP. I hope it goes well...