My Etsy Shop

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that I got an etsy shop up and running. Its called world of yarn and I sell amigurumi toys I make. So check it out! or not, whatever....

2 1/2 months

We were in Bear Lake when Echo turned 2 months, so I'm doing a 2 1/2 month old post instead. First, pictures (3 of these are from my cell phone, so I apologize if they aren't great).

And now, here are a few fun little facts about cute little Echo:

~Echo is a wonderful baby. She's so sweet and laid back, and easy, easy, easy. She only cries when she's hungry or tired, and even then, its a very laid back cry, like she knows I'll get the job done.

~She's super happy and loves to smile and coo. The kids love to try and make her smile (Dex is the best at it), and they just can't get enough kisses.

~ She doesn't sleep through the night yet, but she is making progress, going from waking up ever 2 or 3 hours to every 5 or 6 hours (most of the time).

~She gets the hiccups like 10 times a day. It seems like she always has them. She got them all the time while I was still pregnant too.....weird.

~She always sounds like she's saying "hi" or "yeah" when I'm talking to her and she tries to talk back. So cute.

~We considered giving her the nickname "Buffy" because, as Scott says, "she poops like a buffalo". It didn't stick....She'll be grateful for that in a few years!

~She still "poops like a buffalo" and stains every single article of clothing placed on her. I need a rubber band that will fit around her waist and secure the diaper so that poop doesn't shoot up the back EVERY TIME. Diapers seem useless at this point!

That's all I've got. Happy 2 1/2 month birthday Echo!

Ps...Ivy has her annual echo-cardiogram (not to be confused with her baby sister, we didn't really think that one through did we!) on Monday. Pray that everything is still working as its supposed to to get us through til next summer! Thanks!

Can you see a resemblance?

So everyday while I look at my adorable 2 month old baby, I see one of my other babies too. They could be twins!! Can you guess which of my other babies I see when I look at Echo?

This is Corbin at 2 months old

This is Dexter at 2 months old (ignore cute corbin smiling next to him)

Ivy at 2 months - Look at all that HAIR!!!

And here's Echo

So.....Do you see the resemblance? I think she looks so much like Corbin that if I put her in blue, and took a picture of her, I could fool myself! What do you think?

Bear Lake Family Reunion 2011

I almost skipped this post based solely on the amount of pictures to choose from (I think there were more than 800!). It is so hard to choose which ones to post. I tried to keep it to a minimum, but what can I say.....its just to fun!! This will probably only be interesting to members of Scott's family, but have a look anyway. Thanks again to Ross and Marde for throwing a great party! We LOVE going to Bear Lake. Only a month until our next trip there.

The Brunson family

Echo smiles after nap time

Grandma made "Gorp" which contained peanuts. Corbin is allergic to peanuts, so they gave him some of it, but picked out the peanuts, which was fine until this moment when he rubbed his eye with his hand that had some peanut oil on it.

Two pictures later he's squinting that eye, five minutes later it was crazy swollen (no pic, sorry), no more Gorp for Corbin.

Dallin is about to be eaten by birds (don't worry he lived)

My uncle Rico pose

our super cute little family (I smell christmas cards...)

The boys on the tube

And one second later... (don't worry they all lived too)

Our family on the boat

Craft time

Don't shoot, I surrender!

Digging for treasure

Everybody LOVED to hold baby Echo!

Echo wanted to make sure we would "rock on"

Marde and Ross, our awesome hosts

Ivy and Grandpa were attached at the hip!

Buried Corbin

Buried Dexter

Me and Echo having a private conversation

Corbin and Dallin became best buds

Shaliese and Echo, future best friends?

Silly face family

Darla? Is that you?

I'm in Bear Lake, probably playing in the water and getting a super tan as you read this! Jealous? But in case you are missing us, here is something to brighten your day.

Does Ivy remind you of anyone in this picture?

She reminds me of Darla from Finding Nemo-minus the red hair, braces, and fish murdering tendencies.

Cute kids random tidbits

Do you know what Ivy's most common compliments from people are?

~most common: Her super cute chubby cheeks. I'm not kidding, random people at the doc's office or target or church and everywhere else we go comment on them constantly.

~Second most common: Her voice! Seriously, its cute, and beyond description. Someday I'll put up a video of her talking just so you can hear it! She sounds really smart and is easy to understand, which is shocking to strangers due to her small stature (They always think she's much younger).

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Sometimes I feel like I'm being interrogated by my 6 year old. He asks SO MANY questions! Its a constant thing, and many times, I do NOT know the answer! He thinks about things that I've never thought about in my whole life, and then expects me to know the answer when he comes up with something crazy and out of the blue (out of the blue, but also very insightful and quite amazing). I have to look things up on the internet sometimes! He's six and he's already smarter than me.

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Echo is growing like a weed!! She's about 11 1/2 lbs now! She is wearing an outfit right now (size 3 to 6 months) that Ivy wore from about 9 months to 18 months, it blows my mind that they are so different in size. Echo is also smiling a lot more, although I still have to work pretty hard to coax one out of her!

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Dexter is still with grandma Marde, but we get to see him tomorrow. We are so excited to see him. We miss him like crazy, but he is having a great time with her. She sent us an email last night called "Reflections of Dexy". I was having a rough day because of a doctors appointment that caused me some pain, so this email really made my day. I want to quote my favorite parts for you.

~"After a temple sealing, I picked him up and took him to the luncheon. After eating and playing there, I asked him to say thank-you to the hostess. She bent down to make eye contact with him, then he leaned forward, kissed her right on the lips and said thank-you!"

~"I may NOT eat off of his plate. He is VERY territorial that way. He said to me once, “How would you feel if I ate your food? Really, he may be right. However, someday, when his wife tastes a bit of his food, at some restaurant, she may be in for a big surprise. Once, when I accidentally ate a piece of left-over toast from his plate, he insisted I give it back, and let me know that he would wait for it to come out in my poop if necessary."

Man I love that kid! Thanks for the email Marde, I laughed and laughed!

Questions for the cosmos

~Why is reading so much more fun than doing laundry? Even when I don't particularly like the book. The book I am reading now keeps going on and on about moths. Yes, moths. Yet, it is infinitely more entertaining than folding underwear into teeny, tiny squares.

~How does the baby know that I am about to eat or sleep or make out (wink wink)? She wakes up every time. I think she's playing jokes on me!

~How come Scott could sleep through a nuclear explosion but I wake up at the sound of a butterfly flapping its wings (or moths, I suppose)? It just isn't fair. I kind of want to wake him up by hitting him with my pillow sometimes! (just kidding babe, love you')

~Why, being the chubby girl that I am, did I marry into a family with such skinny women? Its not great fun being the chubby one. They can't help it, being skinny is in their dna, while my dna has cheeseburgers where the skinny part should be. When we're all together I kind of feel like a beach ball amongst tennis balls. (alright, I actually know the answer to that one.....it has something to do with a handsome fellow named Scott).

~And finally, why am I blogging when I should be cleaning the kitchen? Because cleaning the kitchen is no fun at all and it gets all messy two seconds later. That's why!

Happy Monday, ya'll!

Dexter - the bringer of blessings

One of my kids causes me more stress than all the others combined. It is not the newborn baby who constantly needs to be fed or held or just paid attention to. Nope, that girl is a piece of cake. It's the 4 year old who constantly needs to be the one who flushes the toilet, no matter who just used it, or open and close every door, especially the garage door, and win everything even when there isn't a competition, and when any of these things don't go his way tears happen and flailing on the ground is common place. I love him so much, but he makes life so hard sometimes. This boy is turning my hair gray and driving me to drink (caffeine, not alcohol)! Some days its a nightmare trying to keep up with all his demands, or just plain exhausting trying to ignore them. I am at my wits end here people. Seriously. What do I do with a kid like this. I swear we've tried everything for the past two or so years to get past his "terrible two's" phase, but nothing is working.

I sent him away. I'm not joking. He went home with Grandma Marde on Tuesday. He's staying with her until we meet up at Bear Lake for a family reunion. I think she was terrified to take him, having witnessed his meltdowns on multiple occasions, but she reluctantly agreed (after much begging by Scott and myself). She says he's been a perfect angel so far! I think he is experiencing what it feels like to not be in constant competition with someone (even if that someone is unwilling to compete) and will realize that that is an exhausting way to live. Maybe he will come home and be broken of his toilet flushing habit, or maybe the temper tantrums will ease up, just a little. Maybe he will miss us enough to realize he doesn't need to fight with everyone all the time. Really, any changes for the better are welcome!

They say that with trials come blessings. Well, I think Dexter is getting us more than our fair share. Thanks Grandma Marde for taking him against your better judgment and giving me a break.

Dear Dexter,

I love you so much! I'm glad you are having so much fun with Grandma. The house is too quiet without you, and Corbin says it feels funny when you're not around. We miss you, not the tantrums, but you. I hope you are still remembering to be good. We can't wait to see you at Bear Lake. Come happy! Oh yeah, and congratulations on your C-shaped poop! That's quite an accomplishment. Love you!

Love,

Mom

Pretty in white

Our beautiful baby girl, Echo, was blessed this last weekend. It was a beautiful blessing, and a fun day. We had all sorts of people come up for the occasion. Scott's brothers' and their families who live here in Boise came as well as his parents who drove up on Saturday from Sandy. My parents and little sister, Kim, came all the way from St. George and my sister Britteny, my brother Shane, his wife Anngee, and their 2 kids, Braxton and Shayne Marie came from West Jordan. It was a full crowd, but made for lots of fun. We are thankful for everyone who came, especially all of you who drove here, went to the blessing and lunch, and then drove all the way home in one day (I still think you are all nuts!). Here are some pictures of our pretty girl in her Ivory blessing dress, which we some how managed to keep from being pooped on! Also lots of family pictures. Thanks mom for sending the ones I didn't get. I missed getting any pictures of Marde, Ross and Echo, I don't know how that happened. So Marde, if you have any, email them to me please!

I know, she totally looks super happy right?! Well, although she could be happy, she wasn't smiling, she's really just starting to yawn!

Me, Scott, and Echo

The whole family

The Guest of Honor

Mom and daughter

Three generations

Grandma Floyd and baby Ex (Ex is her nickname, in case you're confused.) Do you love how she's looking at my mom! I love that face!

My brother Shane and his cute little family.

My parents getting their fill of holding the baby before heading back to HOT St. George

My sisters and I (minus Maxine, missed you Max!)Britteny and Anngee in the back, me and Kimbo in the front

The Brunson Brothers and their babes.

The Brunson wives with the babes

All of us: Scott, Rochelle and Echo (6 wks), Shawn, Shelley, Shaliese (3 mos), and Russell, Collette, and Aiden (almost 11 mos)