Croup

Even though my mom assures me that Brindle is not a "sickly" baby, I feel like we have have dealt with some ailment every month. And reading through her baby book confirms it.

She deals with allergies at all times and is on Zyrtec every night but we've also had reflux, thrush, RSV, double ear infection, sinus infection, and last week, we had croup. Through all of them, she recovered quickly (RSV being the exception by a little) and still had a smile on her face all the time. So I am, by no means, complaining because they are all normal and I am SO THANKFUL that those are all we've had to deal with.

She came down with croup the weekend before her first birthday - also opening weekend of deer hunting season, so needless to say, Kanyon was at the deer lease. I told Kanyon I could tell something didn't feel good but I couldn't put my finger on it. That mommy intuition is good stuff. Within a few hours, her voice got steadily weaker.

At the height of it in the middle of the night, when she could hardly breathe and wouldn't be anywhere except on my chest, and I bundled her up in fifty blankets and walked up and down our driveway so that the cool night air would help relieve her swollen airway, I thought to myself "this is what motherhood is." 

One of my strongest memories of childhood is my dad walking down our street, my head on his shoulder, in the humid Houston air in the middle of the night to help me breathe during one of my many bouts with croup. I remember not thinking the words exactly but feeling grateful for him taking care of me, even though I was very young.

As I held Brindle at 3:00 am on our driveway (which is a LOT darker without the City of Houston street lights), I remember being so grateful. Grateful that I was getting to show my baby girl the same love and provide the same comfort to her that my parents did for me. She had her eyes closed most of the time but occasionally, she would open them as she laid her head on my chest tilted up to my face and smile behind her paci. I thought my heart would burst every time she did. I knew that she knew what I was doing for her. It may be one of the sweetest, best moments as a mom that I have experienced so far.

Life is about to change.

(No, I'm not pregnant again.)

Blogging has been put on the back burner, as if you hadn't figured that out, for me in the last year. I have a weird relationship with it. I really enjoy writing and I had great aspirations that blogging for me would be this great outlet. But then when I sit down to actually do it, and it was this way before I even had Brindle, I get all nervous and self conscious about just letting my thoughts flow and my posts end up being more informative than anything. I've had one post in the three years of blogging that I feel was really up to my aspirations and that frustrates me. So maybe that is in my subconscious when I think "man, I really need to blog, it's been a while" and then don't do it.

Well, here's my attempt at breaking the rut.

This week, I told the staff at FBC Lamesa that I will be leaving mid-December. There are several factors that are going into me finally making that decision, all of which are more about me and less about "them". I am leaving in good relations with the church and everyone has been supportive, although sad enough to make me not feel like I am easily replaceable, ha. In all honesty, I feel good about this for both me and the church. We (the church staff) are in a transition stage and it felt like a good time for me to seamlessly transition out. A part of me has wanted to do this for a long time now but something in my Spirit kept telling me to wait and it finally feels like its time now.

I am so incredibly grateful for the almost 4 years that I will have been there and truly feel that God placed that opportunity in my lap right when I needed it. In a time when most college graduates have had to settle for a job that their degree doesn't apply to, I got the awesome "luck" of being hired in a small town with little to no ministry jobs available to do a job tailored to my strengths. I grew and matured a lot because of it, the highs and most definitely the lows.

I am very much looking forward to what this will mean for me. I am excited about the change. I don't know exactly what it's going to look like yet. I have had several thoughts bouncing around in my head ever since I became pregnant from expanding Kanyon's leatherwork business, to teaching work out classes, to expanding my own Mary Kay business (this one is a definite), to teaching dance in Lamesa again. So by no means will I be trying to "slow down", which isn't the problem. I'm excited about the variance that will become available to me.

Of course, I'm leaving out the most beneficial part of leaving a job - being with Brindle more. But honestly, I haven't really felt like I've been "away". She is with her Nana one and a half days a week, and that is extremely beneficial for her, I believe. I will most likely still have Vaughn keep her a little during the week so she gets her Nana time and I can do some Mary Kay work without someone wanting to rip up my order sheets. And then the rest of the week, I have had her.

I chose mid-December instead of end of December so I wouldn't be rushing back from Houston after Christmas day to work two days and then be done for good. I am relieved that this all happened at the end of the year. It just feels right to finish off a year and start something new in January. (I don't count mid-December as my "start of something new" since it will be crazy town as always during the holidays and I probably won't even notice I'm not at work).

So there's the latest concerning any big news. We've got a big week ahead of us starting tomorrow. Opening day of deer season, Landon competing for Tech's Rodeo Team in Abilene (making a quick day trip there Sunday - yikes with a baby), BRINDLE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY on Monday, harvest beginning, Brindle's birthday party on Wednesday, and then I am working a Walk to Emmaus Thursday through Sunday. Wow, I hadn't really laid it all out till just now... I have to go to bed.

But I'll leave you with a picture of a cute bunny...

Fall is finally here!

I would update the blog with all the pictures and details of what all we did in August and September so far, but that just overwhelms me! So I'll just touch on the high points.

In early August, Brindle and I flew to Houston for a few days with my mom while Dad was in Denver visiting my brother. We had a great time visiting a lot of friends and Kanyon's sister, Kyla, and her family. We went to the beach and Brindle loved it!

She's only ten months old and she's already made two round trip plane rides! That's her momma's girl.

The week after that, we drove to Kerrville for the weekend for a little family reunion. And we did some more swimming in the river that Brindle loved! We've got a fish on our hands.

She is so ready for us to let her go in that water. She squealed and clapped the whole time. We had such a great time with the cousins!

A couple weeks after that, I had the pleasure of watching one of my best friends, Lauren, get engaged!

 It was so exciting and I'm so happy for you, Lauren!

Brindle had her 9 month well check later in the month and we found out that she is 17 lbs, 4 oz and 27.5 inches, which put her into about the 25th percentile. Still no teeth! She is a petite thing, still wearing only size 1 shoes! She is an active little girl, very alert and into everything. She's pulling up on everything and I'm sure its only a matter of days before she starts walking.

We are going through a rough phase right now where she is waking up in the middle of night again and we find her standing and talking and playing. I'm told that its normal when they go through a big developmental stage, like pulling up, but I'm ready for it to pass!

The cotton is looking good and Kanyon is ready to start turning off the irrigation systems. Harvest will be here before we know it!

Our little girl is so much fun and we love being her parents. She's become such a daddy's girl lately and I love seeing the two of them together. She hates to see him walk out the door anymore!

This last picture is hard for me to look at - she looks like such a little girl and not a baby in it! I keep telling myself its just a trick of the light or something.

We got some good rain this week and my parents are coming this weekend. Its a great week!

Happy Happy Happy

Here I am, after a month has gotten away from me. July has been so busy for us, I looked up and realized I haven't even checked my email since July 1st as of yesterday. Pretty crazy when I have it available on my phone. While its been crazy, it has also been so fun. We have seen more family this month than we see some years!

At the end of last month, my parents and brother came into town at the same time as Kyla (sister-in-law) came with her three kids. 

I had a great time spending time with Kyla that I haven't had in a while and her girls are just the most polite delightful little girls, while Preston is so cuddly and sweet! I wish they were closer.

Uncle Cole and Brindle had some great bonding time. Cole lives far off in Denver guiding treks and going to school so we go months between visits. Which is a lot in baby development! They adore each other.

We had Brindle's Baby Dedication the morning my family was there. Our small church family gathered around her and prayed for Kanyon and I as we parent Brindle and for her to be blessed with unwavering faith. I love our church.

After that, it starts to become a blur and I have to refer to my calendar. I had a Mary Kay party and a girl's night at a friends house which means lots of daddy-daughter time. Brindle loves her Daddy but she is ADORED by him. He would - and does - anything just to get a smile from her. Or a snuggle.

After that, the Shocks (Kanyon's sister Jada and family) came in town for several days! Brindle got to spend lots of time playing with her Aunt Jada.

Notice the tongue? It's out 95% of the time right now. ?? And she looks like a huge chunk in that picture, doesn't she?

The day after the Shocks left, Brindle and I jumped in the car and headed for Edmond, Oklahoma, to visit both sides of my family. And then - surprise! - my parents decided to meet us there! If only Kanyon could have come but summers are crucial for farming. We got to spend a lot of time in the pool playing with my cousins (we are calling them her "aunts") and her actual Aunt Jenny. I even got to go out to eat for a girl's night with the girls while Aunt Jenny babysat. We also spent some time with my day's sisters who hadn't gotten to meet Brindle yet. She put on a show taking her first consecutive crawls on Aunt Carol's floor. We couldn't get her to do it again to save our lives but at least I had witnesses! I don't have any pictures but I do have a couple embarrassing videos of Emily if anyone's interested...

As soon as I got home that next week, Kanyon came down with a nasty stomach bug. I won't give you the gory details but it was bad enough that I needed to stay home from work to make sure he got even a little bit of nutrients and didn't keel over.

That weekend, we had my BFF, Camille (I have to use that acronym since we go back to Jr High) and her husband, Jacob, out to visit! It was such a great time spent with them. I don't think I've gotten to spend time like that with Camille since I've been married. A whole three and a half years, which is, like, forever, right? They got to even experience a chihuahua. If you know what I'm talking about... you know. 

They left on Sunday night, I worked a full two days, and then Brindle and I jumped in the car with my friend Kellye and we drive to Dallas today for Mary Kay Seminar. I am super pumped. 5 years ago, I would have been like "who's Mary Kay?". It's the 50th anniversary and they are going all out. So if you need me, I'll be drooling over the pink Cadillac SUV.

I did want to catch y'all up a smidge on Brindle's recent accomplishments since I know that's all y'all think about like me. A few highlights:

- No teef. Seriously thought they'd be here by now?

- Crawling: check. I'd share a video but I'm not able to at the moment.

- Not sure on her weight because we haven't had a check up since 6 mos but I'd guess 18 lbs. Since she's become more active, though, she's slimmed up a little. People always say she looks very petite. She's still wearing 6 mos spot on except she's too tall for a few things. Wonder where she gets that from?

- Eats cereal and baby food like a champ. Still nursing really well, too. I've been very blessed by how easy it has been for us.

- Says Dada, Mama, Papa, and Nana.

- Toys and tv are secondary to people. Can't get her interested in them! Not that I'm complaining, really.

- Loves Zeb. Zeb could care less about her. Weird, huh? He loves kids. We're working on it.

- Not consistently sleeping through the night but I can't blame her with so much change in her schedule and sleeping arrangements just in the last month alone.

- "Happy happy happy"!

Some summertime pics (as if you haven't already seen several of her):

Alright, I'm going to bed. Got a busy few days ahead of me!

Brindle Boo

I've been terrible at updating the blog lately. I now know why my sister-in-laws always have trouble updating theirs. Because kids don't like your attention being away from them!

So Brindle is turning 8 months old next week and I am yet to post some of her 6 month pictures! I've had them on Facebook for a while so everyone that reads this has probably already seen them but just in case...

 Notice the Wrangler diaper cover :)

They turned out so beautifully! Ashley Kerby is our photographer. She is wonderful!

Brindle's personality has really been showing up the last month or so. She has become so spirited! She has a smile for everyone. She's always making noise - Dada, Papa, and Mama are her favorite words but there's a good amount of just regular "aaaaaah" too. She likes to hear her own voice and loves to make us laugh. She's getting up on her hands and knees and rocking a fair bit. She hasn't cut any teeth yet even though I've thought for months now that they were coming soon! She has a strong personality like both her mom and dad. She is a busy girl moving around the room, scooting backwards and touching (and tasting) everything in reach. She loves Zeb!

I can't believe how much she has grown! Being a mom is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Cole says being an uncle is the best thing ever but I assured him that being a dad will be a million times even better. What has surprised me the most is how easy it is - in the sense that it has come naturally - not that there are not hard parts. We find ourselves doing the most ridiculous things just to see her smile and laugh, and she never makes us work long for it. I had to start putting Aquaphor on her cheeks because they were drying out from me constantly kissing them.

Brindle's Nursery

I am finally uploading pictures of the house! The "Our Home" page is now updated. Gotta upload more of the kitchen, though.

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For Brindle's room, I decided to go with a sherberty orangey pinkish color. I painted the ceiling and walls in a couple of days and the rest of the room kind of came to me after that. I love turquoise so I added a little turquoise here and there.

The room is pretty crowded but it was necessary in order to have the twin bed in there that we got for her. I'd love to have more room but I like having the twin in there more, so it will do! There's enough floor space, so its okay. 

I wanted to go with a burlap-and-lace theme but it ended up a linen-and-lace theme because burlap is too hard to sew with (not that I sew...). I had a lot of help in this room implementing my ideas. Mama Brown sewed the amazing curtains, Aunt Rhnea made the gorgeous lace canopy, Mom had the linen bed and crib skirt made, Vaughn helped me paint and pick out the rocker, and Cole helped me sand and paint the furniture. I love how it turned out!

With my affinity for re-arranging furniture, though, who knows how long it will stay like this? (Seriously, though, these pictures are making me want to change it up a bit.)

Come visit her sometime!