Applesauce

Brayden's favorite word these days is "applesauce." He replaces other words with it at unexpected times, and just thinks it's the most hilarious thing ever. My favorite is at night time when we sing his bedtime song (Families Can Be Together Forever -- or the "family song", as he calls it). He sings, "The Lord ... has shown me how I APPLESAUCE."

I love being Brayden's mom.

Smartie Pants

I just need to brag for a minute...Brayden has become quite the little whiz kid.  These are words he spelled on his own on my laptop this afternoon:

SUN

PLANE

CAKE

ROCKET

DUCK

FLY

I take no credit...He loves the kids' show Word World and has memorized just about every word they spell on it.  He is starting to even learn the sounds the letters make.  The kid is TWO.  I love watching him learn and get so excited about his letters!

Don't Eat Your Friends.

I just noticed my "last post published" date, and I'm pretty darn embarrassed. I'll be better, I promise!

luckily "better" isn't too much to ask of a bloggette who posts once a quarter. :) 

For my first post in 2010 (eh...still embarrassed), I will share something that has cracked Chris and me up for the past few days. Brayden recently watched this episode of the toddler show "Yo Gabba Gabba"...

As you can hear (over ... and over ... and OVER), the characters are teaching kids not to bite their friends.  Valuable lesson.  Brayden took the lesson to heart and has been walking around singing his own version... "Don't eat your friends!" 

I guess it's pretty close...

I'm just glad our son will never be a cannibal.

Like Father, Like Son

I was so excited that Brayden kept his hat on that I ran and grabbed the camera. When I told him to smile, this is what I got. This is the EXACT same thing Chris does in his "cheesy" pictures!

April Fools!

I couldn't let the day go by without involving Brayden in our tricks :)

Oh, the first of April. One of my favorite days of the year. Suddenly no one trusts anything others tell them; everyone's looking over their shoulder; and toilet seats are examined much more closely than usual before being used.

One of my first memories is waking up on April Fools Day and seeing my bedroom door covered in a web of string so I couldn't get out. My mom LOVED practical jokes and April Fools was a much loved holiday.

Today has been a great day. Chris has been on pins and needles all day wondering what was in store for him. I really didn't have anything planned because I knew he'd be expecting something. But right now we're on the couch watching The Office and he's eating popcorn that has Alum sprinkled on it and wondering why it tastes funny. Haha and now he has a VERY nasty taste in his mouth.

I have to say that the best trick I've done today was on my sister Dana. This morning I had my friend Ellie call her and leave a message and act like a Walgreens pharmacist technician, and tell her that her birth control prescription has been recalled, and that chances of conception are actually increased by taking it. And she told her that they would give her a free pregnancy test; she'd just have to go pick it up at the pharmacy counter. Dana sent me a chat message late in the afternoon and told me as a joke that she and her husband were moving...and then she asked how my day was going. I was sure she had listened to the message so I said "Good, except my pharmacist called and said my birth control prescription has been recalled!" She was like, "No way! Really?? Are we on the same pill??" That was when I knew she hadn't heard the message, and she thought I was serious! So I played along and asked what she was on and said we are on the same one. She said, "I wonder why I didn't get a call then...oh, wait - I did get a call from an unknown number today!" So she listened to her voicemail and said "I DID get a call!! What are we going to do??" Long story short, she went into quite a panic and I had her convinced that she really could be pregnant. She was so panicked that she called one of her girlfriends who is on the same pill and told her, and the friend was going to call the pharmacy. This all happened while we were chatting online...so I finally called her and said "do you want to go to the pharmacy together and get our free tests?" She told me that she already had a test at home she could use, so I said, "Can I tell you something?" She answered, "Sure..." and I could barely get the words out..."April Fools!"

I have laughed many times since that conversation today. I love you, Dana. Thanks for the laughs! And thanks to Ellie for your help :) Happy April Fools, everyone!

Giving Thanks

I'm pretty in touch with my emotions today, and I think it's appropriate to take a minute and express thanks for some of the many, many blessings in my life. Please forgive my indulgence.

As I sat at the kitchen table this morning and listened to Brayden "talking" back and forth with Chris down the hall, tears swelled up in my eyes. I love both of those guys more than anything and I am so grateful to have them in my life. They are my life. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for guiding me to such an amazing, strong, spiritual, smart, dedicated, driven, patient and kind man that I get to be with for eternity. I could have never imagined, or asked for, a better "fit." Chris, if you're reading this I know you're thinking this is so cheesy but I mean it. And I adore you.

Next comes sweet, spunky, loveable Brayden. There is just something about him that just melts my heart. He's growing so fast and seems to learn something new every day. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be called his mother. It is humbling (and sobering) to think that such a sweet and noble spirit will rely on me to help teach him. Watching him has made me thankful for the simple little things in life.

I'm grateful for family. For my Angel Mother whose presence I felt even just this morning as I was rolling out pastry dough (and who I'm sure got a kick out of my frustration when it stuck to the counter). I miss her more than words can express but I'm grateful for the knowledge that she's permitted to be with me once in a while and for the fact that, if I live worthily, I will get to see her again and we'll make up for these years apart. She and Chris will get along famously. They've got the same sick sense of humor ;).

I'm thankful for my dad. He's been through so much in his life...so many trials...yet still has a positive outlook on life. I'm thankful for his wisdom and his strength. I'm thankful for his Christlike example. I'm thankful also for Annette, for the many sacrifices she has made in becoming an "instant mom." I shudder at the thought of how we may have turned out, growing up without a feminine influence in our home.

I'm thankful for my brothers and sisters. I'm especially thankful for the closeness Dana and I share and for the fun we have together. She's the only person I know who is as certifiably insane as I am, so it makes me feel good to be around her. Haha. We're definitely cut from the same cloth. I'm thankful for my brothers' wives and the way they both make them even better than they were when they found them. It means a lot to me to see them both so happy. That goes for Scott, too.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful in-laws who have stepped in and helped fill gaps I very much needed filled. I get along so well with my mother-in-law and I know our relationship will continue to grow and be something very special in my life. I am eternally grateful for doing such a great job at helping Chris become the incredible person he is.

I'm thankful for the amazing examples I have all around me. I see friends, and people in my neighborhood and at church who seem to just have infinite ability to give. They have such incredible talents and they constantly use them to serve others. I am surrounded by so many amazing hearts.

Last but certainly not least I am eternally grateful for the birth, life, and Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Only through his sacrifice and resurrection am I given the opportunity to live with my Father and Mother in Heaven one day, and to be with my family for eternity. What an incredible gift. I love him with all of my heart and I pray that I can show my gratitude for Him and for all of my other blessings through my actions, and the way I treat others. I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving, and I wish you a very happy holiday season!

Happy Hallo-WEAN!!!

That's right, I meant to spell it that way! Brayden is officially weaned! It's been an emotional month or so (just for me...Brayden has seemed to adjust perfectly fine), but luckily I have a very patient and loving husband, and we did it! It's really weird to think that we're already done but I have to say it is SO nice to be able to leave the house for more than 3 hours at a time. FREEDOM! Haha.

Halloween this year was fun, though not what I pictured. All 3 of us were sick with nasty colds so instead of making the rounds in our neighborhood we dressed Brayden up in his Yoda costume and surprised Grandma and Grandpa Blumel at their door. It was fun to hang out - and nice to just relax on the couch instead of getting up and down to answer the door all night long! Wait, did I say that out loud? Bah humbug! Just kidding, I really do love Halloween...when I'm not sick. Anyways, here are pictures!

Yoda & Grandma at her ward party

Hangin out at Grandma and Grandpa's

"Does this pumpkin make my ears look big?"

Our incredibly awesome trick-or-treat room at our ward shindig



Playing blocks with Grandpa

The three amigos

Time's a-wastin'

Okay, so it's been a couple of months since I started this blog and I've been meaning to go back over the past year and document all of the great things that have happened but time keeps going by and I keep not doing it, so I'm just going to post about life from now forward, and then if I have time I'll back-date some posts. Savvy? Great.

Here's what's going on in our lives right now. Chris and I are both working full-time - Chris at Tahitian Noni in their Quality Assurance/Control department, and I'm working from home as the Customer Support manager for Podango, and am also taking on some projects that I'll talk more about later I'm sure. As for the little B, he is becoming quite the character! He walks around the house and jabbers...it sounds kind of like Chinese...he loves balloons, Baby Einstein, balls, his puppy blanket, and his new Curious George (thanks, Grandma!)

We've put our home on the market in hopes of selling it so that Chris can go to law school next fall in...drumroll, please...Grand Forks, North Dakota! That's right. We're actually really excited, and I feel ready for a new adventure. I get antsy after a while...I guess that comes with moving about every 2 years growing up. I'll be sure to keep you updated on any action with our house.

So we're basically just hanging out, loving life, and getting ready for whatever's next!

Here are a few fun photos Chris took with his new camera!This is my favorite photo of Brayden. Such a sweet boy.

Already a tease like his dad...

Bubbles!

Super B!

Highlights of our Past Year (or so) - BRAYDEN ARRIVES!

My pregnancy with Brayden went very smoothly-- just looooooooong. My "due date" was August 25th, but B decided to hang around the womb as long as possible. Chris started asking if I was a "dud." I really did feel like a dud...a firework that was supposed to go off at a certain time, and didn't. My doctor had a vacation scheduled the week after my due date, so I couldn't be induced until almost 2 WEEKS after August 25th. Looking back, 2 weeks isn't a big deal (okay it still kind of is, but not nearly as bad as it felt then), but for an expectant mother, it was an eternity. Chris and I tried pretty much everything we heard of to try and move things along...spicy food, walks, and all that good stuff. I was even seen by neighbors bouncing around the bumpy yard on the riding lawn mower. Didn't do a thing except get a lot of laughs out of passers by. Doh. Brayden wanted all the baking time he could get. I'm glad now...it made him extra sweet (awwww cheesy!!).

September 6th was the big day we had scheduled if the B decided not to come on his own. We were scheduled to go in at 7 am that morning, but I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. Kind of a big event that was coming. I took a shower and started feeling contractions. By the time it was time to go to the hospital I was having some pretty good ones. Turns out it was a really good thing because it helped things go much smoother with the petocin.

We were escorted to the delivery room and I remember looking at the delivery bed, the tray of I.V. stuff, the scale, and the INCUBATOR (where OUR baby was going to be!) in terror. I was so nervous. Chris, of course, was enjoying every second of my anxiety. He just laughed. Punk. I got the last laugh though because he ended up having to lie on the floor and sip juice after seeing the nurse place my I.V. HA!

Long story short, I got my epidural when the contractions were getting stronger, then we watched Seinfeld episodes for a while and I fell asleep. Pretty soon our cute nurse (Carol was awesome!) came in and said it was pushing time. I pushed for about an hour and a half, and then our baby boy was here! He was 8 pounds and 10 ounces (ya that extra baking time did him good!), and was 19 inches long. It was amazing to finally meet the little guy who had been wiggling around inside me for so long. I felt so much love for Chris and for our new baby boy, and I felt so humbled and grateful that everything went so smoothly. It was a great day.