Day at the Zoo

Each Wednesday in September, the Phoenix Zoo was offering 2 free admissions. Luckily, we had today open so we could take advantage of it! The weather was perfect (high 80's) for our trip and since we went first thing in the morning, ALL of the animals were out and about. We had so much fun!

This was by far Brychan's favorite. He kept meowing at it until I reminded him that big cats growl. Then he kept signing cat while growling at him.

Brychan loves giraffes and was very excited about seeing them, but once it came to actually feeding them, he wasn't quite so sure. I had fun, though!




Brychan loves elephants. Unfortunately, he only got to see the backsides of the elephants at the zoo. But. These statues might as well have been the real thing - and I really think he did think they were real. He would not sit on that baby elephant by himself for anything!! We have another photo of him "tickling" the elephants ears and he is standing as far away from the elephant as he possibly can, stretching his little arm out to touch it.

At the petting zoo. Brychan was very hesitant to pet the goats, but once he realized they were much like his dogs, he was okay.

This was my first trip to this Phoenix Zoo (there is another one closer to our house) and I was very impressed! There were so many things to do that we just ran out of energy to do or were closed today for construction (Oh yeah. The Construction also had ALL the water fountains AND bathrooms closed for the day. That part was not so fun for pregnant mommy!). Can't wait to spend another day soon!

Kitty Love

I apologize that there are two videos, but they were just so cute I couldn't decide on which one to post. Brychan has a very intense love for kittys. I don't know why or where it came from. He's only ever pet two kittens - both of which happened this month. The first time: he and I went for a morning walk. I had heard a cat meowing, but didn't see it. Next thing I DO see is my son frantically trying to jump out of his stroller signing "cat". I caught him and he pointed to the cat, which I picked up and let him pet. He was SO sad when we left that cat that David and I decided to take him to PetSmart that weekend for their adoption weekend so Brychan could see some more cats. Since then, he has learned to say "kitty" (if you listen hard you can hear him say it in the video) and he meows like it's the saddest, most pathetic cat you've ever heard. Way too cute! I am NOT a cat person (which is why I have a dog) and I am very allergic to them. Well, at least I used to be. Don't know how severe it is now. Anyway, my son's intense love for them is making me think twice about never owning one. THAT IS NOT AN INVITATION FOR OVERLY ANXIOUS AND SYMPATHETIC GRANDPARENTS OR AUNTIES TO BUY MY SON A KITTEN!!!! We will be sticking to the stuffed variety for now.

A little side note on the videos: while waiting rather impatiently at the doctor's office yesterday, David pulled some kitty videos up on YouTube for Brychan to watch on David's Blackberry. Brychan now seems to think that the Blackberry is his own personal "kitty box". He brought it to David this afternoon asking for kittens. Geesh! How did our parents survive without all this wonderful technology?!? :)

Little Mouse

This afternoon we took a little trip to Costco. Brychan LOVES Costco!! We got a few samples, got the groceries we needed and even got some frozen yogurt for the ride home. Brychan started fussing on the way home trying to get into some muffins we bought. I offered him some of my yogurt, which he declined, and he kept fussing about the muffins. I promised him a muffin once we got home and then ignored his fussing.

Evidently, "once we get home" was not quick enough. When we did get home and I went to get him out of his car seat, this is what I found.

The little turkey totally helped himself!! He was not very patient with me taking this photo either...he wanted to finish his muffin NOW!

Scary Day

Is it possible to share too much info on blogs? Well, I mean I know it is...sometimes I worry that I am telling way too many stories...but here's the latest.

Friday was a VERY scary day for us. At some point in middle of the night, I woke up because I felt the baby moving very frantically for quite awhile and then stop abruptly. By the time I was fully awake, I wasn't sure if that had really happened or if I had just been dreaming. I didn't worry too much about it and went back to sleep. This afternoon around 2:00ish, I realized I hadn't felt the baby move hardly at all all day. The last very subtle movements were around 7:00 that morning. Not normal for my little kick-boxer. Usually you can see my belly moving all over the place any time of the day. So I ate a cookie, sat down and relaxed and tried to get him moving. No could do. I poked, I prodded and got nothing. I finally broke down and called my doctor who I expected to tell me not to worry. Instead, she told me to go straight to the hospital.

Crying almost all the way, we made our way to the hospital. Got into the lobby where the sweet little old lady volunteer informed us that Brychan could not come into the hospital due to swine flu restrictions (we were already aware of this but it had completely left our minds in the panic of everything). I was on the border-line of being hysterical (I did NOT want to get bad news by myself) when this sweet little volunteer offered to watch Brychan for us.

We got all checked in and settled in; the nurse hooked the monitors up and warned me that it might take a minute for her to find the heartbeat. It took longer than a minute. It took so long, in fact, that I was already certain what the outcome was going to be. Luckily, she found it. It was very quiet and hard to hear, but there it was; beating away just as it should (I'm guessing he was facing backwards). Again, more crying. I had to be monitored for 30 minutes, at which point the nurse came in and said the baby passed his test - that he was passing as a full term baby. I have no idea what that means (Elsa or Marie can you help with that one?), and I don't really care. Just SO glad everything is okay and he is just as healthy and strong as can be. Evidently just a little stink pot who thinks it's funny to be lazy once in awhile just to get Mom and Dad's hearts going.

When we went back down to get Brychan, he had not only the one little grandma we had left him with, but two others as well. He also had a balloon, a coloring book, two packages of crayons AND a stuffed dragon. Needless to say he could have cared less that we were gone and left him with complete strangers. Man that kid knows how to work it!

I am so grateful tonight for my dear husband and my little boys - who are both safe, sound and healthy. I'm also very gratful to my sister who left work without hesitation to try and get to the hospital in time to get Brychan for us. Thanks, Ash! We love you!

Brychan with his new, beloved dragon

David's Website

Dave has been working hard on his website...be sure to check it out!

(It's not letting put a link directly into this entry for whatever reason, but you can get there from the link on our sidebar way down at the bottom on the right)

Flag

In honor of September 11, David decided he wanted to hang a flag out front. He did this while Brychan was asleep and then left for work. Oh the excitment in our house when Brychan woke up and noticed through the window that there was a flag! The boy loves flags almost as much as he loves balloons (for those of you who think my son is a sweet angel all of the time, just buy him a balloon at one store and make him leave it in the car while you go into another store. You will see a screaming fit like you've never experienced before!).

Our beautiful flag

One of the half a dozen visits we've made outside this afternoon (I'm almost positive there will be more to come) to actually look at, and touch, this wonderous flag.

You got it! Standing at one of the 3 windows he can clearly see the flag from. He's spent a good majority of his time looking out these windows this afternoon. Notice all his little animals enjoying the view as well.

I LOVE being a Mommy!!

The last couple of days, I just keep thinking to myself how much fun Brychan is and how much I love being a mom. Sure, there are days when I feel like I'm losing my sanity and need a break to be myself and an adult, but I wouldn't trade staying at home with Brychan for anything. Here's a few of the newer things that I am LOVING:

- Brychan is trying to hard right now to say "whoops!". He thought it was so funny the first time he heard me say it.
- He loves standing on a step stool to watch me bake cookies (or anything else involving the Kitchen Aid) and will do so for the entire process.
- Anytime I'm wearing pants with drawstrings, he uses those to guide me all over the house. He looks like a stagecoach driver pulling on the reigns with his hands behind his back.
- He loves helping me unload the dishwaher, and does so one utensil at a time.
- He has found a new love for wearing mixing bowls as hats (thank you Daddy!)
- He loves kissing and hugging my belly. Just a few minutes ago he signed "baby" and leaned over and gave my belly a kiss. LOVE IT!!
- Brychan loves his dad. I don't even think love is a big enough word. Adores, cherishes, idolizes... When David is working at home in his office with the door shut, Brychan will just stand outside the door asking me to please let him go in to Daddy. As soon as that door opens, Brychan is making a bee-line for David yelling "Daddy!!!!".
- Brychan's new favorite song is "I'm so Glad when Daddy Comes Home". He knows ALL the actions to it and will sing it over and over and over (we are trying really hard to get this on video. So far, no luck).
- Brychan loves watching So You Think You Can Dance, and tries his hardest to mimick the dancing he sees. The boy loves to groove!
- Bug will come give David, Biggs or I a huge hug and say "ahhhh" every time.
- He loves to pretend being different animals, and he is very specific in how each animal behaves and what they say. For example: a frog jumps all the way up down and says "ribbit". A kangaroo just hops and says "boing". A rabbit hops like a kangaroo but says "jump". If you mix them up and play the wrong way, he'll let you know about it! He knows all his animals and the sounds they make, along with the proper sign to go with them. His favorite is still the elephant.

I could go on and on. I just love him to pieces. He is the sweetest most loving little boy. He does have his moments (I don't know where his new screaming fits came from, but he can take them back! AND he is currently throwing handfuls of shredded paper all over the place), but for the most part he is nothing but fun!

The first tent. I showed Brychan how to build a tent and he played in there for well over an hour.

Brychan loves putting things in that old purse, telling us "bye-bye" and walking off to who knows where. I love that he does this - David not so much!

Labor Day Fun

After a fun playdate in the morning, we spent the afternoon at Railroad Park in Scottsdale - SUCH a fun park!! There are train cars everywhere, fun playgrounds and lots of shade, soft grass and birds. Brychan loved it! Auntie Ashley joined in on the fun; much to Brychan's like. In fact, he got really upset when we left her at her apartment and she didn't come with us! He sure adores her!

Riding the train with Mommy and Auntie Ashley

Riding the carousel with Auntie. Brychan is all of the sudden very afraid of the animals on carousels and won't ride on them. Not sure why. They rode the very exciting park bench instead.

On top of the "Old West" town with Daddy

Watching a train go by

We had so much fun and can't wait to go back!

A Perfect Day

Today was pretty close to THE most perfect day. Brychan slept in until 7:30 - which meant Mom and Dad got to sleep in until 7:30. It stormed all morning, so the high today was only 90. David and I got to go to the temple this morning (which after the week I've had I was slightly amazed we actually made it). I also got to see some old friends; one who watched Brychan while we went to the temple and another whom we ran into at the temple. It was SO fun catching up with them! The rest of the afternoon was spent napping and relaxing with my boys. Now if only I could stop worrying about my lesson tomorrow morning...

My friend Debbie is the one who watched Brychan for us this morning. I've known Debbie for 15 years (can you believe that?!?!). We went to high school together in South Dakota, and her little family lives in Mesa. She is so good about blogging and photo journaling, and took these photos of the kids today (thanks for letting me steal them!). Brychan had SO much fun with them today. He could have cared less that we came back to get him. Lots of toys plus 3 new friends equals way too much fun for one little boy. We are so greatful to Debbie & Ryan for taking him and glad he had so much fun!


Brychan loves, loves, loves playing the piano. Makes me want to get one NOW (I'm "patiently" waiting for my Mom to hand hers down).

Oh my puffy little face!!! It's funny how I don't realize at all how I really look until I see a picture.

I'm Dreaming of a WHITE Christmas...

and Thanksgiving
and Halloween
and Labor Day
and any other day it feels like cooling off...

Every night for the last couple of weeks, all of my dreams have taken place in cold, snowy and icy locations. Wonder what that means?!?