Yeah Malia!!!

It seems like I have been talking a lot about Brinley on here lately, so I wanted to take a minute to talk about Malia. When dropping Malia off at school last week, I found out that her class had been split up into reading groups according to the level that they were reading at. I knew that Malia was a smart girl, but you always wonder if they will perform their best at school when being tested. I am happy and proud to report that Malia was moved up to first grade for reading!!!! I talked to her teacher a couple of days ago, and she said that Malia tested at a level 6!! She also said that most kids leave Kindergarten at a level 4!!! So she is a little bit ahead of the game right now. We were so happy when we heard the news, Brinley and I weren't feeling well, but Malia and Rod had a daddy daughter date to celebrate. Rod took her to lunch at her favorite resteraunt, Olive Garden. Malia is such a great daughter, I am always amazed by her intelligence and her maturity. She works so hard at school and always does her best. I am so blessed to be able to be her mother and have the awesome responsibility of raising this beautiful little girl.

Where did my baby go?

Brinley, my baby, turned 2 on the 13th. It is so hard to believe that it has already been two years since she joined our family. She is such a joy to be around. She is so loving, independent, stubborn, and smart. I am amazed everyday by what she says and does. The other day, I was trying to get a kiss from her. Normally, this is no problem, but this time she was being really stubborn with her loves. I just kept teasing her and she looked at me with a glare and said "seriously mom"! What???? Aren't you supposed to be 2?? Brinley has taught me so much about myself, and that it is ok to not have everything perfect all the time. She is truly a huge blessing in our lives and we are so greatful that she is ours!! Rod had to be at work all day ( 9am to 12am) on Brin's birthday so we just had her open her presents from us the night before. She loved having all the attention on her when we sang Happy Birthday, and she loved opening her presents even more. Here are a few pics of this little stinker!
Brinley right after she was born. She weighed in at 7lbs. 8oz.
We had to spend a week in the pediatric department because Brinley had jaundice so bad. Here she is "tanning" under the lights.
Brinley at two months old. She was such a happy baby!
4 months old and loving her rice cereal

A couple of pictures from when she was 6 months old.
Brinley's 1st birthday, we were at my mom's and she wanted to give her chocolate cake. How bad could it be, right??
Holy Crap!!! This kid knows how to party! I was watching her smear cake everywhere and just thinking, how am I going to clean this all up? Amazingly enough, everything cleaned up nicely and I learned that I don't need to be such a neat freak! Just one of the many lessons that she had taught me.
Brinley taking her first steps, she walked at around 14 months.
Brinley, age 2. This is when we were singing to her. She just couldn't get enough.Rod and I got her this V-Smile thing. It hooks up to the T.V and has some cool educational games for her. Malia's gift to Brinley was this beautiful pink dress. Brinley thinks it's beau ful!!!
We spent Brinley's birthday at the park with some friends, the girls were sitting on this bench having a snack, I couldn't resist! They are starting to get along much better now, and never go to bed without telling each other, "I Love You"!! It just melts me!!
And last, but not least, Brinley recieved her first haircut tonight. Let me describe the before hairstyle.... Mullet! Yep, my baby had a mullet. I knew it was there, but I kindof didn't care because I knew when I cut it, my baby would become a little girl. I was right!!!!

Sweet, sweet baby!

I just had to post this video. A little background: Brinley has always been my little miss independent, always saying "self mom", meaning she can and will do it herself. I should not have been so surprised when she informed me that she will be saying her bedtime prayers by herself, but I was. She actually does a pretty good job, but on this night she really didn't want to go to bed, and was telling me, "No bed mama, I cry". I had been wanting to capture one of her sweet prayers on video, but I did not expect her to be so emotional! She is such a sweet little girl, if you listen really close you can hear her say Heavenly Father and then she squeezes in a daddy, mommy, and Malia in there before wrapping it up with Jesus Christ Amen.

Back in the blogging saddle

It has been a very busy holiday season for us, things are finally starting to slow down a bit and I am starting to return to normal ( the normal that i was to begin with). With a trip to the urgent care last night and another ear infection, I can officially say, WE'RE BACK!!! I just wanted to post a quick recap of the last few weeks.
A few months back, I'm thinkin' it was like the end of Aug. or the beginning of Sept., my sisters and I started talking about planning a big party for my mom's 50th birthday, that was in December. We wanted to do something big and we wanted it to be a surprise. I thought it would be fun to do a 50's theme, so I told everyone that I would just plan it and then let them know what I wanted them to do. I had already commited to doing 2 Halloween parties, so the birthday party took a back seat till they were done. After Halloween, I really got things rolling and ordered all the decor and fun table wear. I completed 95% of my Christmas shopping early, so that I could dedicate all my time to the party. My mom's birthday was on the 13th, so the girls and drove out to St. George on the 12th and stayed at my sister Jillian's house. Rod had to work, but was coming out the next day. You all know from the previous post how well that plan turned out. The day of the party was crazy, but fun too. We made sure that all of us kids would be there, and so it was fun to all be together setting up for the big night. Mom had no clue what was going on, so it was fun to call her to wish her a happy birthday and have her talk about the crazy weather when I was just down the street from her. Her reaction to the surprise was priceless, and I am so glad that we all worked together to give her this gift. I was to busy at the party to take pics, so these were stolen from my sister's blog.
When Rod finally got to St. George safe and sound, we thought it would be fun to spend a day together as a fam. We decided that Jumping Jacks was the place. We had a blast, and no injuries, even better!!
With all the snow that fell in St. George, Malia and I had to go out build Grandma and Grandpa a snowman, and throw a little snow around. Good times!!After spending some time in St. George, we headed up to Cedar Mountain to spend some time with Rod's parents. It was so nice to be up there and just watch the snow fall. It snowed most of the time we were there, so we didn't really get to do much sledding or snowmobiling, but we still had a fun time. (Don't think we are wusses for not going out in the snow, it was like 20 degrees and blowing so hard that the snow was coming down sideways!! )We came down off the mountain just in time for Christmas, which we spent at my mom's house. It was a lot of fun to have Christmas with so much family around. Malia really enjoyed spending so much time with her cousins and did not want to come back home and go to school.Brinley and Malia must have been really good this year because Santa brought them all that they asked for and even a few things that they didn't ask for. One of the first gifts Malia opened was a 100 piece puzzle, she saw it and just looked at Rod and I and said, " I did not ask for this!" We couldn't help but laugh. I guess I need to let Santa know for next year, just stick to the list, no extras!!!
We had a really great time being with family over the holidays, it only makes living so far away even harder. I am looking forward to Malia's next break from school so we can get together again. To all my fam, thanx for the great times together, I love you all!!!!