Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 was great. It was awesome to have both our girls, and although Raylee did not quite get it, she sure did have a good time.

This is Raylee riding her Lil quad that Santa brought her. She is already a pro.

We went to my Aunt Susan & Uncle Kyle's house in Lake Charles. We had yummy gumbo & a fried turkey. It was my 1st time having fried turkey, and hopefully not the last. I didn't take many pictures, but I did get this one of my MawMaw & PawPaw spending some time with Brinn. She got lots of great stuff this Christmas as well.

The day after Christmas we made the drive to Kingwood to celebrate Christmas 2 more times. Here are the girls before we left.

You can see Raylee's new table & chairs, and singing tea set in the background. Both have been big hits.

This little cutie is my step-sister Amber's newest addition Jack. Jack was born Nov. 6, and Brinn & him are about 3 months apart.

This is Raylee giving her cousin Anna some love. They played so well together, and are already fast friends.

Trying to get a picture of all 4 grandchildren. This was the best I could get. :/

Raylee & Anna

This is PawPaw & Granna holding their two youngest grandkids.

Then we made the 5 mile drive over to my Dad & Lenora's house for more celebrating.

Grandpa, Grandma & their girls.

My Dad w/ both his daughters & granddaughters

My family of four

Raylee playing in the paper

Discovering the popcorn. She loved it.

Grandpa & Raylee

Grandma w/ Raylee & Brinn

We had such a good Christmas! We are looking forward to all 2012 has to bring.

Hope you had a good Christmas, and a great day!

Picture w/ Santa

Here is the girls picture with Santa for 2011. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Although we did not get smiles, at least there were no tears!

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

Raylee at 22 Months

Today, Raylee is 22 months old. It is hard for me to believe that in 2 months she will be 2! Raylee is strong, happy, fearless, sweet, curious & helpful. She is a good big sister, and beautiful on the inside and out. We love our Raylee Roo, and she makes our family happy & complete.

Raylee is strong and fearless. It has been almost exactly a year since she took her 1st steps, and she has learned so much in the past year. She will flip things over to climb on, stand on any surface (if given the chance), and loves to spin until she is dizzy, and then do it again. That does mean there are falls and tears, but she is one tough cookie.

Raylee is sweet & helpful. She loves to carry Brinn's boppy into the living room for the day & bring her things she needs. She loves to put the groceries in the refrigerator, and get her juice out. Hopefully soon her co-ordination will allow her to help around the house even more. :)

Raylee is a great eater. She will try most any food given to her, and most things she likes. The other day we had some hummus, and when she tried it she said "Mmmm!" She loves mac-n-cheese, crackers, beans, rice, cheerios, eggs, potatoes, apple sauce, & lots more. She will not drink apple juice, but loves her white grape juice. We still mix about half with water. She has milk in the morning, and at dinner. She doesn't get many sweets. We give her mini vanilla wafers as a snack, and sometimes she has ice cream with Daddy. I know the day is coming when she will be much more vocal about what she wants to eat, so we are trying to help her try as many new foods now as possible.

Raylee still sleeps good. She goes to bed between 8-9 & is up between 8-9. She takes a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. She still has her p-a-c-i, but hopefully its days are numbered.

Raylee is talking more and more. She can identify almost all her body parts, and can say about half of them. She has started saying "bless you!" when we sneeze, and it is pretty cute to hear. She calls Brinn "Sissy," and when she accidentally bonked her in the head with her cup, she said "Sorry Sissy." She has been saying "amen" & "Jesus." It is sweet to hear it come out of her mouth. More & more she is getting confidence with her words, and we are trying to be encouraging!

We are so blessed to get to be Raylee's parents. She keeps us on our toes! We love you Raylee Michelle!

Hope everyone has a great day!

The Difference a Year Makes...

This is a picture of Raylee around this time last year that I posted on the blog.

This was yesterday....

Different thing on her head, same silly girl in there. She loves to put things on her head. Her favorite are Brinn's blankets. She wants Mama, her, & "Sissy" to all be under the blanket. It's a fun & silly game.

It is Friday again. Paul has to work tomorrow, but on Sunday we are planning on getting the girls pictures taken with Santa. Hoping for a good picture!

Have a great weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Recap

This weekend was not too exciting. Paul had to work all day Saturday, and I had a headache all day, so the girls & I stayed in and kept warm. We are hoping that Paul's schedule slows down some, but are thankful for the work. Here is a picture I took of the girls hanging out. They really are sweet together. :)

Then on Sunday, Paul was home so we cooked a lot & got some stuff done around the house. We also watched the Texans clinch a playoff spot for the 1st time in franchise history by winning the game in the final seconds. To say we were excited would be an understatement. Both girls were taking naps, so we were quietly jumping up and down! I look horrible in this picture, but had to document how happy we were. 

GO TEXANS!

Today I took Brinn to the Doctor for her 4 month check up. She did very well with her shots, and was done crying by the time we left the Dr.'s office. She was 13.1 lbs. & 24 in. long, which is the 50th% for both. So happy that she is doing so well. We love our Brinn girl!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Brinn at 4 Months

Today, Brinn is 4 months old. I can hardly believe the time has gone so fast, and being in the middle of the holidays makes it seem even faster. I don't have any stats for Brinn at 4 months yet, because we go to the Dr. on Monday for her well baby check up. I will post those when I get them. Everyone in this house is having issues with runny noses, coughs, and congestion, but Brinn seems to (thankfully) just have a stuffy nose.

At 4 months Brinn:
*Is in 3 months or 3-6 months clothes
*Still in size 2 diaper
*Has had some issues w/ the 4 month sleep regression, so we are working hard to get back to those 5 hour stretches!
*Is a good eater, and will start infant cereal in the coming weeks.

*LOVES her feet. She will try and grab them both with her hands, and roll all around. It is pretty cute!
*Still has dark blue eyes.
*Is a drooling machine
*Big sister still gets the most smiles, followed closely by Mom & Dad.

We love you so much Brinn Danielle. You make our family happy and complete!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Lately..

Hope everyone had a  good weekend. We did, and then Paul got rained out yesterday so it was nice to have him home two days in a row. Raylee has not been feeling well, so we have been staying in and staying warm.


On Friday, my friend Chelsea came over with her 2 kids Cayson & Kyla. We had fun spending time w/ them, and are looking forward to more play dates in the future.

Chelsea & Brinn

Kyla & Brinn

The girls giving Brinn some love, but not much space.

Then Saturday, after Paul got off work, we went to a bonfire for his brother Ken's Birthday.

Paul & Ken

Ken with Victoria & Adrianna, about to blow out the candles.

& here is Brinn lounging around.

Hope everyone has a good day!