Trip to the Zoo

Last week, we went to the zoo with aunts and cousins (and an uncle!). This was Brychan's first trip to the zoo, and he seemed to enjoy it much more than I had expected. As long as the animals were moving and were able to catch his attention, he would sit and watch what they were up to. However, I think he still had more fun watching his cousins!




Riding the antelope

Jacob, Michelle and little Zach

Ken & Ellie

Pumpkins for Sale!

On Saturday, Grandma & Grandpa Stander had a pumpkin party for the Primary children in their ward, so I took Brychan up to Twin Falls for the day. JR & Linda planted an entire pumpkin patch for this event, and the kids had a blast! Even though all the activities planned were obviously for older children, Brychan still had SO much fun! After the party was over, he was so happy to play with Grandma & Grandpa for a few hours!

Watching the kids play


About half of the 130 pumpkins JR picked for the event. Their garden is still full of pumpkins...

Brychan with his "loot". Each child was supposed to get 3 pumpkins. Obviously, we came home with a few more. Grandma & Grandpa put a few more in my car than I realized. So if anybody needs a pumpkin for anything...we've got you covered!

Photos with Jocie

Well, here's another slew of photos that I am so in love with! How on Earth did he get to be SO cute?!? His first tooth broke through last week so he wasn't feeling so great for his photos, and therefore not a single smile (until we were all done, of course). But they still turned out great anyway.

6 months old!

Brychan had his 6 month check up this week...he grew a TON the last month and a half!

Length: 27 1/2" (80th percentile)
Weight: 19.25lbs (85th percentile)
Head cir: 43.6cm (55th percentile)

He did great with the shots this go around. Not sure what the deal was last time. He is now sitting up by himself without any problems, rolls all over the place (he can get across the room in the blink of an eye) and the little stinker is already pulling himself up on things to stand up. He is oh so close to crawling; in fact, he took 3 little "steps" on his hands and knees the other day. Most of the time he leap frogs it - gets on all fours and just kicks off with his feet. And surprisingly enough, he doesn't seem to mind landing flat on his face. Although he's not doing any signs yet, he definitely understands them. If you sign "milk" to him, he opens his mouth like a little bird waiting for food to be dropped in...the same face he makes when he sees a bottle (his OR Tysha's; he's not picky). And his two bottom teeth are about to make their appearance. He's chewing on everything, including the legs of our chairs, his bouncy seat and anything else he can get his lips wrapped around. I can't believe how big he's getting! How can that make one so happy and so incredibly sad at the same time?!?

Trip to Twin Falls

This weekend, we were able to go up to Twin Falls for the dedication of the Twin Falls Temple. Saturday night we were lucky enough to have tickets to attend the Youth Cultural Celebration, and then we attended the second session of the temple dedication on Sunday (we sat in one of the sealing rooms). Dave's entire family was there, with the exception of Jeremy & Michelle who were at home waiting the arrival of their new baby boy (Zachary Matthew came yesterday afternoon...congrats, guys!).

This trip was also full of little "issues"...Kodi almost drowning and Kodi getting lost and Kodi getting sprayed by a skunk (he STILL smells - not a good trip for Kodi!!!). Not to mention the fact that as all 10 of us were trying to get ready for the dedication Sunday morning, the power went out 45 minutes before we were supposed to leave. Mark & Ken "showered" with bottled water (JR & Linda's water is on a pump, so when the power goes out, so does the water!), and I ended up doing my hair out in the bed of David's truck. I am so grateful for new vehicles that have electrical outlets in them!!

These are random photos from Saturday...
Emma, Taylor & Riley with Brychan. They are so good with Brychan and love him to death, and he really seems to return their adoration.





This is Shoshone Falls. We didn't go to the falls on this trip (I stole this photo from Jocie), but for those of you who are interested, this is where Dave proposed to me. Granted, it was the end of December - so just imagine all that water frozen over. The little mountain on the right of the photo is what we hiked up, in the mud where I was clobbered by a large dog with very muddy paws after I agreed to marry David.

At the Cultural Celebration. Brychan loved it! The brightly colored costumes, the music and all the clapping - he was well entertained for the entire hour and a half!

The Twin Falls Temple. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to participate in this. I have never heard another prayer given with as much power as the dedicatory prayer given by President Eyring.

Baby Einstein

Okay...okay. I always said that I would never just put my child in front of the television for babysitting purposes. But my heavens - if it weren't for Baby Einstein and/or Signing Times I would NEVER get anything done. It's amazing how 20 minutes of un-interrupted time can seem like an eternity. No nap days are definitely movie days. At least they're educational, right? :)

Bear Lake...Take Two

This time we went up to Bear Lake with some friends from our ward. All in all I think there were 6 families that went. And this time we spent all our time on the beach or in the water which was nice!

Nestle was the only dog we took up, and he was a HIT!! He spent his days going up and down the beach playing with anybody that wanted to. He made all sorts of friends, had his picture taken who knows how many times and completely wore himself out chasing his ball out into the lake and bringing it back. He even made some new friends from Holland!


Playing with Mommy in the water


We got to go ATVing and sailing. This is one of the sailboats we had up there. It was the first time sailing for both Dave and I, and we absolutely loved it!

Out for the count. He was a trooper!!