Christmas girl...

She kept smiling after the flash....so all I could get was the deer in the headlights look....

Mommy! Not another picture!!!!

Ahhhhh!

Wow....what a week. The week of work was pretty crazy as the kids were very excited for their upcoming break causing them to be a little out of control! Thursday we had pj day and went to the local movie theater to watch the Polar Express. It was a fun day! We were warned of a possible ice storm hitting us that evening and told that school may be cancelled on Friday. Of course with our long break only one day away, all the teachers would've much rather have been at work on Friday for the easy, fun early dismissal day rather than make it up the spring and have to go back in June instead of getting out in May! UGH....the weather won though, and the ice that hit caused power outages and no school! My "snow day" home was worthless. The power was out for us....and didn't return until today at 4pm....so we had a very dark, cold past 31 hours of no electricity! Thankfully, my friends let me come shower, bathe Brynne, and do a load of laundry. While the power was out, we decided we'd just leave town earlier than planned for the holidays since it started to get so cold, and then of course as we were packing the last items, the power returned. We're home tonight trying to "fix" the mess that we made in the house, as well as fix our packing that we did in the dark, do some laundry, and leave on a good note in the morning!!!!
Ahhhh! And Pray! The wind is causing the icy tree limbs surrounding our house to fall...and i'm scared they are going to cause lots of damage to our house or car!
Here are the latest pictures....

PJ Day...my second grade team. I LOVE THEM and couldn't survive this year without them!

Daddy trying to keep the dogs warm in our freezing house with no power!

Mommy hugging and squeezing the dogs!

Our bundled baby sleeping and trying to stay warm in our house of no heat! (It didn't seem to phase her!)

So Fun!

Having a daughter is just that....SO FUN! It's been a hectic few weeks since I last posted. I kind of wonder what I used to do with all my time. I thought I never had time to get things done before a baby??? Yea, I had no idea! ahahha Brynne has been a joy....we are constantly smiling and laughing at her. My favorite thing is to go get her out of bed after she wakes up....and I get the biggest smile ever. It melts my heart. Tonight she was talking non stop for about 10 minutes....and it was so precious. She also sticks everything in her mouth now and seems to enjoy sucking on her hand! I can hardly believe she's almost four months old!
I wanted to post one picture from tonight. After she talked forever....she fell asleep on the floor....and when I turned around to look at her, she had ahold of Reggie's fur while she was sleeping! So funny!!!!!

3rd post in one day! Ahahah

I'm trying to catch up on some pictures I wanted to share. Here are the last 2 I had to share with everyone....
The first is a picture of my baby girl all ready in the morning to go to the babysitter. She took her baby doll with her that day and just looked so precious to me.
The second is a picture of Byson and Reggie on the way home from Thanksgiving in Indiana....I couldn't see what they were doing in the back so I held the camera in my hand and stuck it over the seat. That is what I saw ahahahah. So cute.

Aunt Alayna LOVES Brynne!

I had to give Aunt Alayna (who is 18 months old) her own little post recognition. She loved baby Brynne and pointed at her and played with her whenever she got the chance. Here are some pictures to prove her love....:-)

We love this time of year!

Thanksgiving and Christmas are so special!!!! I love celebrating with friends and family and following traditions that we've made! This year Jason and I sat down and planned out some traditions that we want to start now that we have a child. I'm thankful that I have the holiday break that I have from work so that I have time to enjoy the season and relax a bit! Anyways, I'm a bit behind on my blogging, and I have a trillion pictures to post! We had a great Thanksgiving with Jason's family. Brynne however did decide to have an exposion in her diaper at the dinner table and had evidence coming up her back! Ahahaha, way to ruin the meal!
Here are some of Brynne's first Thanksgiving pics:
Uncle Colin and Brynne

Uncle Adam and Brynne

Aunt Shayna, Aunt Alayna, and Brynne

Grandpa, Aunt Alayna, and Brynne

3 month photo shoot

Brynne's 3 month pictures are posted now! Visit this website: http://www.kimberlyjewellonline.com/proofing.html and click on "Brynne 3 months" in the far left column! The password is aukerman! I had my ordering appointment today and had the hardest time choosing!!!!!!!! They're only this little once! :-)

3 Months Old!

Hey Everyone! I'm three months old today!!!!

My eye has been yucky the past few days!

Mommy finally got me to smile while taking a picture and then didn't have the camera centered! Awe man!

Me again...

Getting so big!!!!

Where has the time gone?! Our little girl is 3 months old today!!! That's 1/4 of a year! If the next 9 months go as fast as these first 3, I'm going to cry! She can't grow up!!!! ahahah Today we are putting up Christmas decorations....and as we predicted, Brynne loves the Christmas lights! We are so excited to start some family traditions with our baby...ya know, the usual....put up decorations together, watch the same Christmas movies, make and decorate cookies together, etc. Yay!!!! It doesn't feel like Christmas yet, but we didn't want to wait much longer to decorate, otherwise with our traveling over the holidays we're not home long enough to enjoy it!
Alright, well I'm going to go in the other room now and enjoy the sounds of "White Christmas" playing on the t.v. and the smell of our cinnamon candle burning in the kitchen!

Thankful...

I am thankful for my heavenly father and his never ending love, mercy, grace, faithfulness, and blessings!
I am thankful for the most precious baby girl whose smile melts my heart and who has shown me my purpose in life.
I am thankful for my husband who loves to joke with me and loves me enough to help do the dishes!
I am thankful for my stinky dogs who love me no matter what I do or say.
I am thankful for family and friends who take time out of their day to listen to my worries, complaints, and crazy nonsense stories of life.

When I sat down to write a post tonight, I was wondering what I should blog about. Not many updates here....and when I asked Brynne, she didn't have an answer, however she did laugh at me and smile. That reminded me how blessed I am....bringing about this "Thankful" blog.

THANK YOU Lord for life, no matter how hard some days may be!

A First!!!!!!!!!!!

Brynne rolled over from her tummy to her back yesterday for the first time! YAY!

Smiles...

Tummy Time. She's doing so much better holding up her big head lately!

With her bear (I've meant to take a picture with Mr. Bear each month. I can't remember if I've done it or not ahahah)

Lounging on the couch...


When I got home last tonight, in celebration that it was Friday and I get to spend the next 2 whole days with my baby, I went camera crazy. The weekdays are so hectic I forget to take pictures, and the fact that she's rolling over now reminded me that she's getting older each day and I need to capture more shots! Above were just a few pictures from our evening!

2 in 1 day!!!!

I forgot how much I loved this little picture of Brynne....so here's my second post in one day!

It's been awhile...

I am home enjoying this day off....and very thankful for those who fought for our country making this day at home possible!

This day has of course flown by as I've tried to clean up the house, do laundry, and get caught up on life! I think maybe we should flip the normal work week and that maybe we should have school only two days a week and have the weekend last five. Yea, that's a dream. Today we had a very fast play date. Brynne and I left early to go to the doctor to make sure her cold wasn't turning into an infection. When she woke up today, I had suspicions that it was...but the visit brought good news that she is fine and that we need to just continue using the aspirator, eye drops, and saline drops. Phew. OH...and she's up to 12 lbs and 5 ounces! She's growing!

On Sunday Brynne was baptised at the Greek Orthodox Church that Jason attends before he meets us at church....(He's pretty much a celebrity there and is one of the only people who isn't Greek. People love him and he's on the church council. It's cute.) Anyways...so we didn't realize how big of a deal this baptismal service was going to be. It lasted forever, and Brynne was stripped naked, dunked in water, had oil put on her, and had her hair cut (her first offering!) The hair cutting made me gasp a little....but I'm over it now. ahaha She was also given so many gifts and a beautiful Christening gown...with a shawl, bonnet, cute shoes and socks, and a cross neclace. We enjoyed fellowship during a church potluck afterwards, and we also came home and had an extra afternoon visit by my parents. It was a very crazy, but fun day! We felt so loved.

I think this is my first post since being back full time with students. Let me just say I'd love your prayers. It has been a big adjustment for me and my students. I keep hearing, " But the other teacher let us do that...or....we're suppose to do it like this...etc." I know this transition period will take awhile as we get to know each other...and as they realize that I'm in charge now. :-) Luckily, we love our babysitter, and Brynne has done just fine adjusting to being away from her mommy and daddy. That's one thing I don't have to stress over during the day. I've made a huge effort to leave everyday after work....and I just bring home what I HAVE to do. I'm working really hard at leaving work at work. UGh. So, for now, I'm trying to stay positive and be content with life as a working mom. I'm trying to remember how blessed I am....and how much I love my husband and baby girl even if I do have to work! Thank you Lord for holidays and days off like today!!!! :-)

Here are some shots of the past week...

Brynne in her new winter hat...It's COLD outside lately!

Daddy and Brynne watching Ice Age together...

Grandpa Crawford and Brynne...

Grandma Crawford and Brynne in her Christening Gown...

During the baptism service... (This was before she started crying because she was starving and past her feeding time!)

Jason, Brynne, and me with Brynne's Godmother...Ya Ya (Greek for Grandma)

Getting dunked...

Brynne all ready to go see her babysitter, Kelly!

Brynne wearing her new bow made by her babysitter!

Krista and Brad's Wedding

Here are some shots from our wonderful weekend in Indy for Jason's sister Krista's wedding! My camera kept making everyone close their eyes! Boo! We had a great time seeing family and friends. Brynne enjoyed her first long car trip, and was such a good baby at the wedding! Congrats Brad and Krista!!!!!

She's a person now!!!!

So....Brynne is technically a person now with a number. Her social security card and number came in the mail yesterday. AHAHAH. I cheered, and she smiled. I'll also say she's really been smiling a ton at Jason and me lately...and it's just too cute! Maybe it's because she got her social security card in the mail. Ahaha, probably not.

Here are a few pics...not the best quality, but the one in the picture sure is! Ahahah, corny, i know!

She was watching t.v. in this one...The Pumpkin Charlie Brown movie...can't think of the the title..ahahah.
I can't seem to keep her bibs on straight! They are always twisted. Still though, she looks cute...

Had to put one of the boys. I feel bad for them. They are no longer one of my biggest priorities...awe....