Brindle's First Birthday Party

Brindle's birthday fell on a Monday before I was supposed to work a Walk to Emmaus Thursday through Sunday. Mom was going to come up and keep B for me during the Walk so I decided to have the party on Wednesday afternoon so that she could be there. It actually worked out good because having it at lunch meant I had time to clean up and finish packing that night. And then we had another party at church that night! Brindle likes to extend her birthday like I do ;)

I decided to do a "little Indian" party. Native American stuff is big right now so I knew I'd have a lot of inspiration to look at. I went pretty simple, though.

I had been really wanting to buy Brindle a teepee for her first birthday but have you ever looked at how much those cost?? Close to $150 for a decent one. No, thanks. So I found a tutorial online on how to make one and Kanyon said we could do it. We finished it at midnight the night before but we loved how it turned out. We're keeping it in storage for some fun sleepovers in the future since it was way too big to stay out all the time. We don't have a playroom so maybe if we do in the future, we can.

I made a white chocolate two-layer cake with lemon buttercream frosting. I really have no idea why I chose that except that she had lemon ice once and loved it. It turned out really good!

She wasn't so sure about making a big mess, especially with everyone staring at her...

I think Kanyon ate more of her little cake than she did.

I decorated with fringe banners in the kitchen, they turned out so cute! And so easy to make.

We had lots of friends and family there to celebrate with us!

Brindle got lots of great presents, too. Here she is sitting in her present from Nana and Papa (Kanyon's parents)... unsure of where to put her hands because of the tutu :)

She loves that chair... Grandma and Poppy (my parents) got her a beautiful play kitchen that is a big hit with her and all the kids that come over.

It was a great day celebrating her first birthday!

Catching Up a Bit.

I guess I've become that person who only blogs every couple months now... Oh, well.

I've been busy getting used to being at home full time, creating a schedule, etc. I'm really loving it. I feel so much more balanced, like I'm able to finally give myself fully to being a mom and a wife and taking care of a house. Even though I was working part time, I never felt like I was able to be fully present wherever I was because I was thinking how I needed to be the other place. I don't know how full-time working moms do it.

Brindle is approaching 17 months and is changing so much! Although her weight hasn't... She is a petite little thing, only growing in height and head circumference. She is 19 pounds and still in her infant car seat. Facing backward. 

She is really exploring the world, loving being outside and into everything. She wants to be wherever I am and doing whatever with me. She is learning new words every day. Just this morning, she learned how to say "moon" to the one on her nightstand. I'm constantly amazed by every new thing she learns.

Kanyon has been really busy getting some new land that he took over this year ready for planting, working a Kairos, and is about to start team meetings for a Walk he is working later. He and Brindle are best buds. They have several minutes of funny faces that they make at each other and giggle over before bedtime every night.

Brindle is constantly jabbering these days. My favorite words are "oof!" (ouch), "cuck" (milk, drink, water?), and "pu-ppeee" (puppy, said like its two words). The first thing she says when she wakes up is "Pu-ppeeee?". She loves her Zeb. They have a strange relationship. They've only ever touched each other by force. They get so excited to see each other, run to the other, but as soon as they get to close, the excitement is too much and they run the other direction.

Okay, I'm going to go actually get something done while Brindle naps. Have a good day!

P.S. I just realized the post about Brindle's first birthday party never got published, its still labeled "draft"! Oops. I'll finish that one and publish it.

Holidays

Wow, let's pretend that November 12th isn't the date I last posted, please?

Life has been great, hectic, nerve-racking, joyful, warm, uncertain... all sorts of things since my last post. Since then, I have quit my job, gone through the end of harvest, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Deer season, my birthday, my first dance class, and my first week to really be at home as a "stay at home" mom (who incidentally don't actually stay at home much). 

Quitting was wonderful, a little sad, but mostly wonderful. I ended on a good note with the staff and the church and felt that I had adequately prepared the woman taking my place. It was a good feeling. I wasn't even too nervous about the whole lack of any more pay checks coming my way (until later). I think Kanyon has really loved me being at home more because sometimes I actually cook something for breakfast and lunch. It's thrown a whole lot more variety into his every day :)

Right before I last posted, we had Brindle's first birthday! I'll give it its own post, though.

For Thanksgiving, my parents came up here. We had Kalith and Vaughn over that afternoon and had a great time. I love Thanksgiving meal! I could eat it throughout the year. I thought this picture of my mom making dressing was typical of both of them - Mom's eyes are closed and Brindle is dancing.

After that, it got a little crazy. We had a church Christmas party, training the woman taking my place at work, a small group Christmas party, three family Christmases in Welch, drove to Houston for Christmas Day with my family, hunting at the deer lease and my birthday. I've technically not been working since December 13th but feel like I haven't noticed until last week!

Christmas was so fun and such a whirlwind! We see so much family in such a small amount of time. I wish we could have a whole week to visit with them. In a 36 hour span, we had our immediate family Christmas with Kanyon's parents and siblings and their kids, then Mama Brown's that night, and Meme's the next afternoon.  

After that weekend, we left to go to Houston - a 9 hour drive with a 13 month old and a dog. It actually went a lot better than I imagined! Even with me realizing after a few hours that I completely forgot to pack any diapers. At all. I found out diapers are really expensive at the convenience store in the middle of nowhere.

Being in Houston was so relaxing, we did little besides eat, sleep, and visit - besides opening presents. We did leave the house to go play our annual charades night with friends and the boys went skeet shooting. Brindle did a lot of sleeping. I guess she was exhausted from the weekend before.

Sorry for the quick post on Christmas but I guess since it was a month ago now, I'm not remembering many details! We had a great Christmas, though, and are always so excited to see family. Hope your's was good, too!

Next, going even further back to Brindle's first birthday party...