I Love My Boys

Whether it's watching you two snuggle...

... Or playing and having fun...

 ...I'll always be grateful...

... For my husband and son.

Love, Brie

I need some help!!

As some of you know, I'm the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society of my ward, and as such I'm in charge of directing the "Relief Society meetings", previously known as "Enrichment". Since Sister Beck's new counsel last year on these meetings, I've been completely STUCK! I don't fully understand how she wants us to formulate meetings that:
1. Increase faith and personal righteousness
2. Strengthen home and family 
3. Seek out and help those in need,
along with making them important enough to take the sisters out of their homes. I think I've done a pretty good job molding the meetings this year thus far around this, but I need some more ideas.

What are some of the meetings that you've either experienced, have planned, or would love to see happen? I'd love to get some great ideas!!!

THANKS!!!!

5 Months Old!!

My baby is already 5 months old today and I can hardly believe it! He's such a joy to have in our family and we love him more and more each day... especially when he sleeps consecutively for 11 hours through the night, like last night! I think he's catching on that he's a big boy! :) He's always been a pretty good sleeper, and recently, since we've put him in his crib in his OWN room (about a month ago), he's been sleeping for about 8 hours, nurses, and then goes right back to sleep for another 3 hours, so mom is extremely happy with that! But last night he was asleep for 11 hours STRAIGHT! It was amazing! I have to admit, though, that I still woke up pretty much every hour after 5 (his normal time for waking up to nurse) because I was way paranoid, but he was just fine... he must be going through a growing spurt because he fell asleep for his morning nap 2 hours later, which is why I'm able to be writing this post. :)

He can sit up with little assistance now, which is great! It's so fun to watch his development. Sometimes it seems like one day he can't do something and the next he can. It's amazing! He can ALMOST roll over both ways now, as well. Before I know it, he'll be walking and talking! I can't wait!

"Um, mom, I'm falling over now, so can I get some help?"

Happy 5 Months, Rusty! We love you!

Sweet Potatoes and Apples... YUM!

You guessed it! We gave in and gave Rusty a sample of solid food. He's been wanting it for forever, and when we had his 4 month checkup last week, his pediatrician gave us the OK to start intruding it to him. We wanted to first start with rice cereal, but we didn't have any formula (and I didn't have my pump readily available), so we decided to just let him try some pureed baby food instead.

We sat him in his bouncer and this is how he started out:

So eager to start!!! :)

"More, mom, MORE!!!"

"I'm not so sure about this anymore..."

I guess sticking his tongue out to taste it first was more enticing than just shoving it in his mouth!


"I still want more, but I'm not so sure why!"

I'm not quite sure that the "YUMMY" spoon sums up this first experience. Nonetheless, he still begged for more, so we gave it to him until he didn't want it anymore. Silly kid.

In the end, though, he looked pretty dang satisfied to me!

Here's a video of his first feeding... HILARIOUS! And yes, the movie, "Newsies", is playing in the background. :)

I keep forgetting to post this, as well:

We went in for his 4 month check-up last week and this kid, as if you couldn't see, is a big boy!
15 lb 15 oz (so basically 16 pounds) - 49th percentile
27 in - 95th percentile

He's a tall, skinny (kind of) kid-- just like his daddy. :)

Some of his favorites right now:
- Me, of course. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it when he smiles at me after he hasn't seen me in while.
- Kisses, especially in the morning. He'll let us kiss him all day and he loves it!
- His rattle. Whenever we rattle it in front of him, he gets a big smile on his face and starts wiggling around in excitement.
- Diaper changes. From day one he has LOVED getting his diaper changed. I can honestly say that he has never had a diaper rash. EVER. Whenever we lay him down on his changing table he goes ballistic! It's hilarious! (Maybe it's because he loves to be naked.)
- Bath time. Again, the whole naked thing comes to mind. :) For real, though, he loves the water and has always loved his bath time.
- Swimming- Like I said, he loves the water, and since it's summer we spend a lot of time at the pool.
- He likes being jostled, and by that I mean: being bounced on our bed, tossed in the air, tickled, and everything else you can think of (that's safe, of course).
- Peek-a-boo
- Solid foods (some of them, anyway).

Some of his not-so-favorites:
- Tummy time. At first he loves it, but he has such a big head (87th percentile) that I think he gets tired faster than most and is not a real fan of it.
- Car seat. I don't blame him after all of the road trips we've taken in the last two months. Poor kid.
- Loud noises. I think this is true for just about every kid, but my kid SCREAMS when there's an unfamiliar/loud noise. Sheesh! Sometimes it's kind of embarrassing because you would think he's dying! lol

Overall, he's a very happy, easy-going kid. He's one of the greatest joys of my life and we love having him in our family.

4th of July in Washington

There's nothing like driving for 12 hours in a car with a 4 month old baby, your two teenage brothers who can't sit still, your sister (who's actually the BEST), and your sweet husband that just goes with the flow. I don't know what I'd do without him... he really is the best husband ever. He keeps me anchored and I keep things interesting. :) ha ha! ANYWAY, we went to visit my dad and Judith for the 4th, which was different because we usually spend it camping with some friends, but it was a good switch-up this year. I was hoping all of my siblings would be there, but Jeremy and his wife, Cassie, had to stay behind in UT to work, and my awesome brother Mitchell is off serving our country in the Navy. What a stud! We still had a blast, though, and love visiting the Evergreen state! Even though I don't call it "home" now, it will always hold a special place in my heart... despite the dreary weather and rain all the time.

Friday we just chilled and hung out at my dad's house, went to a movie, and came home and played games... a family favorite. We're all extremely competitive, so it's hilarious playing together. :)

My brother, Derek, came down from Bellingham, WA to be with us. It was his first time meeting the baby.

Playing games!! Our favorite...

...And apparently Rusty's new favorite thing, too!

Russ blamed Rusty for losing... probably in part to all of the slobber that he left on the cards. Poor Russ couldn't see what the cards were!

It looks like he's playing "Knock, Knock" here! ha ha!

"Ooo, Dad... this is a good hand!"

"Let me see... ahh! This one!"

"Suckers! Dad and I have a WAY better hand than you do!"

"Look at all of my winnings!"

"And I continue to win!" (Even though Dad isn't... it's so good being the baby!)

"Now it's time to help Mom win..."

"... Or just eat the cards... you know, whatever."

Do you SEE how much DROOL this kid has? It's never-ending! And this was his third bib of the day! Sheesh!

He'll put anything in his mouth. I think Derek's phone was especially yummy. Gross!

Thinking that it's so funny to stand up in front of everyone and laugh! (My hands are like that because I was tickling him... not because I was clawing him!) lol

On Saturday we went to the Pike Place Market, one of my favorite places to go in Seattle. They have tons of fresh seafood, my favorite, fresh produce, flowers, and some pretty interesting little shops. It was fun showing Russ this place, and even better that it was on a semi-nice day!

 Throwing the fish:

One UGLY, freaky fish!

Imagine greeting THIS monster while swimming... or reeling this bad boy in. Eww.

Our cute family... and some random black dude. :) He's really the one that makes this picture special. lol

My siblings:

Zach, Derek, Caitlin, Rusty, Colten, me, and Russ.

My brother Derek and I. I love when I get to see him, which isn't often enough!

The awesome Space Needle:

We had such a fun time and can't wait to go back! Hopefully next time we'll get to stay longer and get there and back on a plane. We pretty much spent two whole days just getting there and back... not fun, but definitely worth it. :)

4 Months and Starting His Sippy Cup

We gave Rusty his first sippy cup of water today!! He didn't quite catch on to the sucking part on the cup, so we just undid the lid and let him "drink" the water right over the edge of the cup, but all in all it was a success! As if the front of his shirt wasn't already soaked enough from all of his drool, he succeeded in complete DRENCHING it! ha ha! Being a mom is one of the funniest jobs in the world... how many people can honestly say they laugh, smile, and LOVE their job every day?? I CAN!!!

Doesn't it look like he just LOVES it?? ha ha! He actually did love it... he eventually started pushing the cup with his fungers... like this:

At the very end he looked like this:

As I said before, more than half of it ended up down his shirt, but the kid LOVED it and we loved watching it. Man, I love this kid!