Man, I stink at this....

Sorry Everyone. Once again, I've slacked off....
This post will be a bunch of pictures with some explaining....that's about it. I do want to mention though that I'm SICK that tomorrow is July 1. The summer can't go fast. It just can't. UGH. (It has been so awesome to be home with my daughter and I don't want it to end....I love being her mom!)
OK, because there are so many pictures...let me give a general update that will give you info about them. (This is going to be random, unorganized mess of info that probably won't make sense, and I apologize!) We went to Indy to see Jason's family a few weekends ago. They have a new puppy, Cocoa, who you will see in the pictures. Brynne was afraid of him at first (yet she's not afraid of Byson???ahahah) but learned to love him...and he loved her too. She also loved playing with her aunts and uncles(and the Chamberlains who are like family)...and grandpa as you can see in the pictures. (She loves her grandma too...but somehow I didn't get that on film!) We also traveled to Kentucky last weekend for Jason's five year college reunion. Brynne had her first taste of Chick-fil-a waffle fries and Maggie Moo's ice cream (YUM). She also enjoyed meeting all of daddy's (and mommy's) friends (you'll see Major and Missy in the pictures)....and loved the big king size bed in the hotel. She was a trooper during the long car ride too.
We are so blessed to have a WONDERFUL baby girl! (The latest developments on her part: She got her top left tooth about a week ago, and the other top middle tooth is on it's way. She LOVES to clap. She LOVES to stand without holding on to anything and can do it for about 20 seconds (give or take a few seconds). She's getting more and more brave and is starting to take some steps with our help. She didn't want much to do with that before (besides walking along the couch and her toys on her own). She is so fun and funny.(She enjoys playing in the dog cage, she laughs at nothing and rolls around the living room floor (sometimes I think she has ADHD) and you'll also see a picture of her with a toy stuck in her diaper. She played with it in there for HOURS before I noticed it). She also enjoys eating ANYTHING we're eating and is very verbal if we're not quick to share with her. ahaha.
We love our Brynne!!!!!

Happy Summer!

Oh brother, I'm so bad at blogging. ahahah

Sidenote: I just looked at the ticker for Brynne at the top of my blog and about passed out. She's seriously almost one years old?! Gosh!

We've had a great summer break so far, but I don't feel like it's been much of a break so far! We've kept so busy! Since the last post:
1. I enjoyed my tradition of a weekend away with some of my best girl friends. We met in Ann Arbor, MI this year and had a blast! Brooke brought her new camera and captured the fun....I'll have to post some of her pictures soon!
2. While I was with the girls, Brynne had her first 2 nights away from mom and dad as she hung out with my parents. It was hard to leave her, but I know they took great care of her!
3. We got new carpet!!!! YAY.
4. We had to get a new hot water heater. Boo. (we've needed to replace ours for about a year and we finally did it before having a major incident) But....I'm thankful for hot water on cold mornings!
5. I've had some teacher meetings....fun. ahahah
6. We've tried to clean, clean, and clean again, yet our house still needs help! I'm still hoping to sort and organized and get rid of the unwanted junk in our basement! It's just so hard to work around nap times! The window of time is too short!
7. I finally planted flowers in the pots out front (and I stink at it. They look better than they did, but still...Ahhh, not my cup of tea.)
8. I participated in Relay for Life for the first time and was touched by how many people have dealt with cancer! The event was so awesome....
9. Brynne had her 9 month check up and her 9 month pictures...(to see them, visit kimberlyjewellonline.com and find Brynne under the online veiwing (the password is our last name)
10. And best of all.....I've had some time to spend with Brynne, Jason, and Byson! I DO NOT miss the stress of the school year and PRAY this summer goes by slowly!

One day shy of a month...

It's one day shy of a month that I've posted....that's how insane life has been. This blog has obviously been last on my priority list. I decided that since I have an extra day this weekend due to Memorial day, I'd update people QUICKLY on what's gone on here the past month.

We've had a rough one....and UGH, it can only get better from here, I hope. As you all know, our first "son" Reggie (our cocker spaniel) died on May 2nd. I still miss him so much and find myself crying for one last day to cuddle with him on the couch. He was an awesome dog. Byson is slowly adjusting to life without his buddy....and Brynne has become his new best friend. They have a mutual love for each other ahahah. She smiles when she sees him, doesn't mind his daily licks on the face, and she loves to stand at his cage and talk to him when he's locked up. When she figures out how to open the lock to his cage, we're done. He'll never be locked up because she'll want to play with him. ahahahha

In addition to our dog dying, the heavy rains caused issues in our basement...ugh. I had to throw away a lot of things that I wanted to keep! Ugh. I have lots of work to do down there this summer. Work has also been stressful as usual, and some changes taking place next fall have made me down. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard, especially when I would love to just be a mommy and leave the work and stress behind!

On some happy notes....(because I know that even in times of storms, I am blessed!)

In the last month, Brynne has begun crawling high speed as well as pulling herself up onto everything. It's so cute to go get her in the morning and find her standing up in her crib. She's 9 months old now as of yesterday...and she's just getting so big! She loves cheerios, remote controls, and the computer still. I guess we should also add to that...the dog's bone and food too....we are in need of some baby gates now that she's very mobile!

This month, Brynne got to go to her first baseball game, got to feel grass for the first time, and hang with her grandparents and aunts/uncles on the Aukerman side. She was also able to meet Nate and Ryanne, our best friends who will someday be her in laws (they are expecting a son in September). Last weekend, Brynne got to hang with her Crawford side grandparents who came to visit her cousin for his birthday.

Well, the school year will end in less than two weeks, and I am very grateful for that! I need some time with my girl, Jason, and the dog....and some time to sort out life, mail and bills that have been shoved in an old Bath and Body Works bag, and time to clean the house! Ahhh! Thanks for your prayers....we, well, I, desperately need them right now!

What a week.

Oh brother, this week! ahahahah That's all I have to say to that. It was a crazy one. First, here are some pictures:
Asher, my nephew.

Brynne (She's kinda crawling...not really? ahahha)

Brynne and uncle Dennis

Brynne with a bow in her hair. She doesn't have much hair but I tried to see if something would stay (it stayed for about 1 minute) ahahahah, and it looks silly, but she's still cute.

Brynne and daddy cuddling...

The dogs cuddling...

Brynne playing her piano

Here's a look at our week:
Sunday night: The stomach bug that my mom had hit Brynne....ugh.
Monday: I wasn't feeling to great at work, but once I was home, my body gave up, and the bug also got the best of me. I even had to take part of the following day off from work. I try to avoid missing any work in general, but especially this year since I"m already docked pay for taking some extra maternity leave days! Ugh, life goes on....
Tuesday: Jason got the bug.
Wednesday: Our babysitter and her baby got the bug. (Jason stayed home with Brynne and disenfected the house like CRAZY!)
By Thursday, we were all feeling better, and thankfully, Jason's sisters Alissa and Kara came to watch Brynne so that our babysitter and her family could recuperate! It was so nice to have the girls here. Brynne was reunited with her aunts, and we had a great time catching up with Alissa since she's been studying abroad for the past four months! (Somehow I managed to not get any pictures of them with Brynne!) Yesterday (Friday) my mom and her friend came into town for Ladies Day at ONU, but of course they came a little early to see us! We had a good time eating pizza with them.
Other highlights of this week: Brynne now says her "Mmmm" sounds...and i've heard a few "mamas" come out of her mouth (does she know that's me? not sure...but I will tell myself she does). Also, Brynne had her first swinging outside on the swingset experience, and loved it. (My camera was inside at the time, so my mom got a cute picture, but I didn't!)

Brynne and Mommy's Quick Trip to Michigan

Mom tried to work on the fact that she's such a scheduled person, and she decided to take me (Brynne) on a quick, spontaneous trip to Michigan. It was fun to see my family and meet mommy's friends.
Here's me being silly for the camera!

On Saturday we got to go to a Tea Party at Grandma's Church. Everyone loved my dress and headband....and for the most part I was a good girl. I saw soooo many people, and I especially loved mommy's friend Ahminda. I usually only kiss family members...not strangers, but I kissed her lots! Here is a picture of me being very sleepy with mommy!

I liked reading my book to my mommy and Grandma...

I got to meet mommy's friend Brooke and mommy's friend Michelle (not pictured).

I got to play with toys with my Uncle Matt...

I love my Uncle Matt!

And, somehow Grandpa and Grandma lucked out because mommy didn't manage to get a picture taken with them! Grandma didn't feel well, so she tried to keep her distance as much as possible. Grandpa played with me lots and I even slept next to him! I loved the noises he makes and how silly he can be! He worked hard on fixing a toy mommy' bought me, and now it works! Thanks Grandpa!

Now we're home and this is the last day we have to get work done and play before returning to work and the babysitter tomorrow! BUT...we're much closer to summer break!

Our little Beauty...

Happy Easter from Brynne!

I'm in love with my daughter!

I'll begin with some more recent photos of Brynne!

This first one I've fallen in love with. It's our new picture from Brynne's 6 month shots with our photographer. I just hung it on the wall this week and can't get enough of it!

Here's Brynne with her cousins....they decided to copy her and eat their feet too!


Here she is being cute on her chair...

And here she is enjoying Daddy's reading chair in his office. It makes her look so little!

Brynne in her green star shirt looking so precious!

Enjoying the laundry basket! She loved playing in there!

Her new BIG flower headband...I was trying to find something she could wear for Easter and was inspired by our friend's cute baby Charlotte when she wears big flower headbands!

Her new white flower headband...

Her pink flower headband...

Mommy being silly and making Brynne try on bunny ears with her flower headband! She didn't seem to mind!

AND...that's enough pictures!
Well....now that's it is spring break, I finally had some time to post a few more recent pictures. I never remember what updates I've already given when I space my posts this far apart! Brynne's two bottom teeth are super cute...and she notices them being in her mouth now because I'll catch her putting her tongue on them to feel them. She's also been very talkative, and she says "da da da" when Jason is around. We think she might know those sounds need to come out of her mouth when he's around because he's daddy? Who knows. She loves to make spitty loud noises still and will play the game where we go back and forth making the noises. She likes to imitate. She's still not crawling all over...but is up on all fours and rocks back and forth. She scoots everywhere though and has gotten into a few things that she shouldn't play with like the dog's bone, dirty movie rental cases, the remote control, and mommy's school papers. She also knocked a bowl of her rice cereal off the kitchen counter before I added liquid to it so the dogs enjoyed licking up the powder off the floor! I've gotta be careful with her now because she doesn't just sit in my arms! She's definitely discovered what her hands and arms can do! Brynne also loves to laugh when daddy burps (he purposely burped for about 15 minutes the other night because she found it hilarious) and she loves playing patty cake!

I'm so excited to have a week off to spend with her!