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!