In case you hadn't heard...

The news is true, we are expecting another sweet pea this fall! I always wanted a spring and fall baby and life is sure shaping up to go that way! This baby will most likely complete our family and we cannot wait to meet him/her in October! The babies will be 20 months apart and after meeting many people with kids close to that age gap, it seems to be perfect!

Brynlee cannot WAIT to be a big sister!

How is it possible?

How is it possible that I have a ONE year old? Where has the last year gone? Where has my baby gone?

I cant believe she is ONE and it has been the best year of my life! Having Brynlee in our life has been the biggest blessing. When people say your life changes when you have a kid, they are 100% RIGHT. But it changes for all the right reasons. I would never trade being a mom for anything. I would never trade it to go back to the life I had before her... going out to bars, going to the movies whenever I wanted, picking up and leaving for a spontaneous trip.... nope, shes worth it.

We celebrated her 1st birthday this weekend and boy, was it the best weekend EVER. Ryan and I took Friday and Monday off and I was so thankful that we did. We dont get much time with her during the week, so having 4 days in a row with her was amazing.

Friday we took her to the Mesa Childrens Youth Museum. She had a blast! She loved exploring and her favorite was the giant lite brite wall along with the magnets, she was so curious about the magnets and how they would pull together. She is going to be a smart cookie, I know it!

Saturday we had her big 1st birthday party! It turned out amazing and everyone that showed up seemed to have a great time! The weather was perfect, the scenery, the setup, just everything. I was happy with the outcome to say the very least. I also gave her, her one year quilt that I made for her from all her weekly photo fabric. It is such a special gift to me and her! We hired a photographer and should have her photos back soon but I did get a sneak peak at some that I will share!

My cute girl! Love her little toofies

Diva on her birthday!

She loved the cake!!!

Its my party and I'll cry if I want to!

Sunday we headed to the renaissance festival with Nana and Nonno to celebrate her actual birthday, and she had a blast! She was so into it and smiled the entire time. She loved the WyldMen show the best. She was cracking up the whole show! Sunday evening we had my family over for a pizza party, and ate left over cupcakes and had ice cream. Brynlee stuffed an entire cupcake straight into her mouth. I guess she liked it?! :)

Monday we did NOTHING, we simply relaxed. Brynn played with her new toys all day, and sat in her favorite present, her new big girl chair/ottoman!

We seriously had the best weekend and coming back to work was very very hard. I am happy to support our family and I know I would never be able to give her the weekend we did, if I didnt work. So I deal with what I have, and am ever so THANKFUL for what we can give her. I dont want to say she is "spoiled" because we are not trying to raise her that way, but we are very thankful that we are able to give her everything she wants/deserves, and I hope that it can continue for years to come!

Having a one year old is a whole NEW ball game now..... and I am not used to it yet. The whole transition to milk/sippy cups completely weirds me out. She isnt a fan of the sippy quite yet, but she will be soon, because its her only option! She only gets her bottle at bed time now so she will have to learn to make it work :)

We are headed to Cali next week to visit some amazing friends and spend some much needed time relaxing by the beach and the pool! Woo hoo!

I'm still alive....

I feel like a horrible blogger lately. Life gets the best of me and to say the least, February has been JAM packed. It's hard to keep up with blogging sometimes but I really do love it!

This month is filled with a couple 1st birthday parties, a couple of my friends birthdays, I was in Florida last week for Monster's Sales Conference, and I have 2 baby showers! Ey yi yi!

On top of all that, we are only 2.5 weeks away from Brynlee turning 1! So you can imagine all the busy crafty things I am up to. I love the way Brynlee's party is coming together but I still have a handful of things I need to do! We are getting a lot of fun feedback on the time capsule idea we are doing for her party and I cannot wait to see all the fun things that people bring! Brynlee has a huge heart for the neighborhood park so there couldn't be a better place to have her party. Especially in March! I LOVE having a spring time baby, the best weather ever!

Last week I was in Florida which was a jam packed week but while there I actually won an amazing trip! I get to spend 6,000 towards any location in the WORLD. We are thinking somewhere in the South Pacific, like Fiji Islands, Tahiti, or Bora Bora... or maybe a mix! :) We are so excited!!!

Hopefully once Brynlee's 1st birthday is over, I will have some more time to update the blog with pictures and details of her BIG DAY!

Have a great week everyone!

Facelift & a little quiltin action!

The blog got yet another facelift. I love changing up the backgrounds and the last one, well... it had Christmas ornaments, so I think I was a month past due on changing it up :)

I wish I was better at blogging all the crafty things I have been up to lately around the house. Maybe I will make that a 2012 resolution? Oh wait, New Years is over. But I'll try! Brynlee's quilt is all ONE piece now and is basically done. Just 2 more steps and its complete! It will be done by this weekend which was my goal so I could focus next month on just the party and not stress over this quilt.

I am SO happy with the way its turned out. It was a bittersweet time making that thing. It took over 20 hours total and for my first time in many many years sewing, I think it turned out great. Is it perfect? NOPE, but its made from me, to her and I love it. There are actually, many imperfections. So many that while making it, I almost quit, haha! But I powered through it, and I am so happy and in love with it.

I cannot wait for years to go by, her still have her blanket, that her mama made special just for her. And to know, that on each little square, was a week of her life in the her first year. Its so awesome. This project was VERY challenging towards the end, and its not over yet, still have 6 weeks to photograph even though she will be 1 in 5 weeks, her last pic will be a few days after she's 1 :) At the beginning it was so easy to photograph her but now we have to sing, dance, wave elmo in the air, make ridiculous noises, snap our fingers, and do anything possible to just get ONE good picture. Most are eyes closed, her bootie and not her face, half a leg because shes crawled off the fabric kind of pictures. Speaking of, here is her most recent pictures. You better believe we were elmo dancing for both of these!!

She had to hold the pig, or else this picture would not be possible!

Trying to quickly get away, which we turned into her doing the "running man". The first, and only shot we took this week, it was good enough for us!

We may have a walker, soon!

Brynlee is so close to taking her first steps, I can feel it! She is starting to stand more and more on her own and yesterday even took a second to clap while she did it. I was so happy to capture that on video. I was video taping her exploring our new gate and right as I was about to end it, she just stood up, clapped, and fell on her booty. She walks with her walker ALL the time and I think its her favorite activity. She gets so happy and is so excited when she is doing it. I know its just a matter of time...

This is her way of exploring the gate. That litttttttle step she has, she is not afraid to use it, stinker!

I want her to walk, but then I want her to also stop growing up :( Time goes by so fast! It is so amazing to see a child learn and grow before your eyes. She is SO smart and I really think she is going places some day. She is very inquisitive and a quick learner. She also knows when she shouldnt be doing something, and loves to do it anyways because she thinks its so funny. We are working on her next sign "I Love You". She has bye bye down pat so I think we are ready for the next word. How adorable would it be for her to cross her arms over her chest and say "I love you". My heart would MELT :) I love her so much and I feel so blessed to call her mine!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week :)

The planning/prep begins!

Brynlee is only 7 short weeks away from turning 1! With so many things to do I found a blog that I am following with many great ideas that I am using. At the end she stated it perfectly and I couldnt agree with her words more...

one thing about birthday parties...

I know a lot of people feel pressure to have the "perfect" birthday party. I love planning parties. I love all the details and trying to figure out a way for everything from the invitations to the party favors to work together. It is fun for me. It is not stressful.

My point...

Do what works for you and your family. If you prefer small parties and don't care about the details...totally fine. If you love making fancy cakes...make an amazing cake. If you love the details like me...sew those paper circles together so that everything matches. The important thing is that we shower our children with love on their special day. We want them to know how much we love them. The day they were born is a day to celebrate! I had to stop and remind myself of this as I was planning Levi's party. When all the details didn't quite get finished like I had planned...I had to let it go. The important part was that Levi felt loved on his birthday.

Stated PERFECTLY. Some may think I am going "over the top" or "too big" but I dont care. It is what works for US and how we want to celebrate her day. All of these things that I am doing, are FUN for me and is something I honestly enjoy! And like she stated above, if a small party is your thing, totally fine. I cant wait to start all these crafts and celebrate her big day. It only happens ONCE!  :)

Woah, it's 2012?!

First of all... time to print my blog... I did it last year at the end of the year, and I am doing it again. 2 whole years of blogging have gone by... wowzers. Cannot wait to show Brynlee and any other additions these books one day. Will be so fun for them to be able to look back and see what their momma had to say about life!

Brynn is 10 months.... how the HECK did that happen???! She is growing so fast and I feel like she is getting to be more and more like a toddler. She is starting to take steps and standing without holding onto anything while attempting to take a few steps. She walks with her push walker like a pro and just cruises around the house. Any day now, any day.

Besides being close to walking she has officially said her first word, besides mama and dada of course. I feel those always come first and naturally to babies. She learned to say bye bye! Her version is more like "yi yi" and she waves along with it. I will try to get it on video. Seriously the CUTEST thing in the world.

Oh and did I mention, she sprouted 2 teeth?!?? She got her bottom two front teeth, they havent risen all the way but when they do, you better believe a picture is on the way!

I cant believe 2011 has come and gone. It was by far, one of the best years of my entire LIFE. Brynlee entered our life in 2011 and life has NEVER been better. We built the house of our dreams to raise our family in and I continue to work at a job that I absolutely love. I dont know how 2012 will be any better, but I guess only time will tell!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!