Summer ...please let me see your face!

This is how I get through each and everyday:



Life is tough, hard, full of challenges, and tiring..... but these two make it all worth it...

We are so ready for summer around these neck of the woods! Anyway, not too much new going on here. Brody, Braylee, and I got to travel up to Salmon last weekend to see their new cousin and my new baby niece... She is darling!

Braylee babe turned 5 months old about a week ago and is so alert and alive since then! I cannot believe how much she has changed in the last week or so.

Some fun little stats about her at 5 months: (p.s.) I wish I would kept track of these things for Brody like I am for her :( )

~ Braylee babe is ALMOST sitting up by herself!
~ The day after she turned 5 months I gave her some rice cereal for the first time and she LOVED it! It made me so sad that she was growing up and I haven't wanted to give her much!
~She is squealing and has found her voice lately :)
~ Also, the day after she turned 5 months I was feeding her and then needed to go and do something so I set her down on the floor. I set her on her belly hoping that she would burp herself, and I came in and she was on her back! Just like that, she had rolled over! I was so sad that I missed it, but she did it right after that for me :)
~ She chews on her hands like crazy, so I am going to back off on the finger nail polish for a bit ;)
~ And as usual, she LOVES Brody! She laughs, giggles and follows him with her eyes wherever he goes !!

Brody is almost 3 YEARS old!! AHHHH! Where does the time go. They only reason I notice him growing is I seem to put his pants on everyday and wonder: Why are these too short already??? I just bought them???? And then I realized it was longer ago than I thought, and they are 24 months, silly, he is almost 3!!! Also, whenever I am shopping for him I always pick up the 2T and think, "that looks so small, what the heck, Why are they making clothes so small?" Then I realize that he is almost 3!!!

Brody has been watching alot of this:
And he quite possibly is picking up on some of the naughty words.....So if you are around him and he suddenly blurts out the word, "Jerks!", you'll know where it came from, right??? Or if he says, "Those little SH#@S!"....Ok, so maybe that phrase isn't in there, but the word is :), and he could of quite possibly heard the phrase from me.......

He says the funniest stuff. It is so craZy...I wish I would document it more... Let me think...

We love to watch Brody and to see the habits and things he likes to do.... For example: Everytime Brody lays down for a nap or to go to bed, he has a routine. First, he takes his pants off, it doesn't matter if they are pj's or jeans, they are coming off. Then his socks. After that he lays down on the pillow
for a few seconds, sits all the way up, and turns his pillow over. Every time. Without fail. I always thought it was weird but thought nothing of it. Then yesterday before nap time he let me know why. As he was flipping his pillow over he said to me, "Mom, I like a cold pillow." LOL... I thought it was hilarious.

This is when I caught Braylee rolling over.......

She is the happiest little thing I know... She is constantly smiling and I am so grateful for her little spirit!











This is a snap shot of the first time this little munchkin eating her first rice cereal....

Here is a super cute snap shot of Braylee sitting up :) My dad got this shot :) Thanks pops!


Darling huh?

The Ultimate Sacrifice

No one can truly appreciate the sacrifice soldiers make for this country until they are one. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my twin brother, Jeff, and his sweet wife Kara. After 7 years of trying to conceive a blessing from heaven, Leila Jade Gritton, was born on Monday April 4, 2011 weighing 6lbs 12oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.



Kara spent most of her pregnancy without the presence of her loving husband, as Jeff spent most of her pregnancy serving us and our country. That in it self is enough sacrifice for me. What a strong woman Kara was to support her husband in every way, while enduring the unknowns of pregnancy on her own. She is a hero in my eyes. What a sacrifice for Jeff to miss out on the mood swings ;), changes, and glowing presence of his sweet wife during her pregnancy. Thank you American soldiers.

Jeff is in the military and is currently serving in Iraq. He was able to get a Red Cross message and jump on a flight within a few hours of notification that Kara was going to have their sweet baby girl... Unfortunately, Kara had to go in for a c-section and Jeff missed it by about 10-12 hours. (Thankfully Kara has a wonderful mommy and family who took great care of her during labor when Jeff couldn't be there.) But the very most important part is that they are together now. Jeff is wrapped around that little girl's finger and Kara is wondering how she could love something so much :)

Jeff seeing his sweet wife for the first time.... (Leila was in NICU at the time)



I feel like I have under appreciated the service that has been given to me. An example is here. I will be forever grateful for the service that our soldiers do to defend our freedom, at the expense of their own family and lives. I hope that we can all reach out to someone we know serving in the military and help them in anyway.

Jeff will return to Iraq for several months, in a couple weeks. Kara will continue to nurture and raise their little girl, while Jeff will serve you and I. Leila will see her Daddy often, I'm sure, but not the way that most daddy's get to. Skype and modern technology will allow for constant contact, but we all need to be grateful for the sacrifice families make while serving in the military. I hope during these trying months while Jeff is away from his precious little girl, he feels the support of many, as does Kara while Jeff is away.


Leila Jade with mommy......





Leila meeting Daddy for the first time....




Together forever.....

{big brother}

What a good big brother Brody is! He always wants to read to Braylee...



And I decided to get sweet little Braylee's ears pierced :) I was so nervous to get them done. I knew that if I was gonna do it, I better hurry before she got any bigger and play with them... But I also wanted to make it her decision.... Well, I am so happy I did it and they turned out darling..




Braylee only cried for about thirty seconds on the second ear....I didn't even know she had done the first! Such a little trooper! And she had Brody, her #1 fan, to cheer her on the whole time by her side!



Well, it's baseball season now, so you know what that means.....Baseball has a new #1 fan.....Brody Davis! I swear, this kid breath, sleeps and eats sports. He is a die-hard fan! Not one HOUR, yes i said hour, passes with out Brody asking me, "Mommy when is Daddy coming home so he can play baseball with me? Mommy is Daddy here yet? Mommy is Daddy on his way?"

And the minute Derek walks in the door, they head out to the back yard to play ball for about an hour, no matter how many times I tell them dinner is ready!

And ya wanna know the worst part? Every time, and I mean every time, we tell Brody that its time to eat or time to clean up, he looks at you with those big blue eyes and says, "But, Dontcha wanna play baseball with me?"...................AHHHHH! How do you answer that?? Say NO?? No way. You say, "Of course I do little Buddy," (at least that's what Derek says) and they are off playing for another 20 minutes......


Braylee is 4 and a half months now and is getting more active. When she is on her back, she'll turn her head back like she wants to roll over. She is not interested in food at all, and I am more than happy about that....I want to keep her as little as possible for as long as I can! Sometimes I feel like I made Brody grow up too fast! Braylee thinks Brody is hilarious! If we cant get her to giggle, we always know we can turn to him!



Brody is going to be 3 years old in a few short months......Ahhhh! I cant believe how fast time goes! He is talking very well and always playing. He has the best personality! He loves to figure out how to annoy people and continue to do it...GRRR! He loves to squeeze Braylee's cheeks entirely to rough....If we want Brody to do something we just tell him to do the opposite and he will do what we originally wanted him to do, on the spot!

{4 months and a growing 2 year old}

I can believe I am saying this, but our sweet Braylee girl is 4 months old!

~Braylee is almost always smiling or giggling
~Her hair is growing by the day and more crazy than ever
~She is about 12.7 lbs...I think
~SHE is so FLUFFY! This girl has thighs on her like I've never seen before, and of course cheeks! {its everything I can do not to sink my face into them!
~She thinks Brody is hilarious
~She tries to throw her head back to turn from back to tummy, but has a bit to go :)
~She hates tummy time
~She has had 3 huge crying spells (which is totally unlike her) where nothing, and I mean nothing, will calm her down :(
~She sucks her hands like Crazy
~She is a good eater and still nurses quite a bit. She is getting to the stage where she kicks her arms and gets super excited when I lift up my shirt.....{heart melting}
~I Love My LITTLE GIRL!



And So does Brody....



Little Brody boy is full of ......sports lately! He cant get enough of Rudy, Sandlot, and Simon Birch. He has started this thing, where the moment he wakes up he has to find his basketball shorts and either a football or basketball shirt. And from that moment on it begins. He changes his shirts depending on which sport he is playing or thinking of at the moment..... This is what I find.....



As soon as Derek gets home Brody is convincing him that they must practice....And it begins...



While they are playing Braylee just watches while Brody runs over to give her an occasional squeeze on the cheeks (which is far to rough.)

But who wouldn't wanna squeeze these babies?????



And lastly, happy birthday to Derek who turned 28 on Sunday :]

New Craft Blog ;]

Yep, I did it... Started a little craft blog! I'm excited! Check it out here...

{ a lil bit of this and that....catching up!}

wow! slacking lately for sure! But I have a really good excuse! I have been fervently working away on a craft blog....Yep that's right. I decided to start a craft blog and it will be in running condition soon! So be on the look out :)

Anyway nothing to much is happening new in our busy lives.

Brody.

Brody is constantly being a boy, talking about sports, bucking bulls, and his friends.




Braylee is getting larger by the minute and I cant believe she will be four months in a week. She is still being a really good girl. We just love her. And I just love dressing her up and taking pictures, cant you tell?



Braylee also has tons of dark hair that I wanted to get a snap of. Here is her locks at 3 months!


anyway, that is about the jist of our lives lately, exciting huh!!??!!!

Family.....

Well The Davis' have made it another year :) That's four years and counting... :) Derek and I celebrated our four year anniversary on thursday and Braylee had a little celebration of her 3 month mark that same day ;) Derek got me a new camera which I desperately needed...And for him, well he is going on a 3 day ski trip with his friends this weekend so Happy Anniversary! Ha... Well anyway, I am grateful for a good marriage and companion to share my life with and laugh with :) One thing I have noticed over the last four years: Derek has a very dry and hard-to-read sense of humor that I just love. It makes me giggle everyday. Sometime he jokes around with people and they cant tell if he is serious or not.... And then they see me in the background giggling.... LOL. By far my most favorite thing about him.... Ok anyway enough with him ;)

Our little children are growing up so fast! And of course we think the are the most beautiful! Brody is just full of life these days. He talks about football, Lexi (his crush), and a new little girl that he has become a little obsessed with is Bailey. He is starting out way too early! She was sitting by us in church and was cooing over the baby, and Brody was doing everything he could to get her attention. Telling her what a good football player he was, telling her he had a buzz light year at home, EVERYTHING. It was so cute. And she was so sweet to him. SHe said, "Well maybe we'll have to have a play date." LoL. Then I looked over and he had is one arm draped across her back! So cute! He definately has a little crush :) But I'm ok with that, because she is adorable.

Braylee is now three months old. She is starting to giggle and laugh more and be much more awake during the day. We dont have a schedule down during the day, but I am ok with that since she nearly sleeps through the night every night! What a good baby she is. She is a gem and sure to light up a room with this precious smile.....


Derek suprised us the other night and brought Braylee home a bumbo and brody a police truck. She is pretty good in the bumbo. She loves to be upright and hAtEs to be carried like a baby :)

OUr little kiddos are the world to us and we couldn't imagine life without them!

NO title

So I have a broken camera :( WHAAA! O-well. But I just wanted to note a few things. Our little Braylee is 12 weeks old as of yesterday... SO bittersweet. It seems I have been having a lot of those moments lately. As I was folding the 12th pair of little action figure underwear this week, I realized how bittersweet that was. My little boy should still be in diapers. He should not be growing up. Period. But I am so grateful that he is potty trained too! :)

Derek came home from work yesterday and surprised Brody with a cop car that makes entirely too much noise, and a bumbo for sweet Braylee. I was pleasantly surprised and so was Brody! Braylee does pretty good in the bumbo, but if she is in it for too long, I can tell her neck gets tired and she wants out. She is such a great baby, but sure has an attitude if there is something she doesn't like :) She has got a voice on her! She is giggling a bit but has not gotten in to it a ton and I cant wait till she does so I can snag it on video!

My weeks seem to be flying by at home. I always look forward to Derek getting home at night... it seems it is the highlight of my day. Although I have my moments with him, he is truly my best friend and keeps me laughing daily. I am sad to say this but Braylee loves her daddy mucho. I thought I would be the highlight of her life for the first little while like I was to Brody, but no. She loves to be with him in his arms. She seems so soothed and peaceful with him... another bittersweet moment for me. Mommy hood seems so different this time around.... Like one friend described to me once. One child is like a pet and a show toy, two kids give you meaning and keep you busy! (not that having one doesn't give you meaning, I might be putting my foot in my mouth with this one:)

I love my life.

update :)

So I feel like I'm a little behind so I will catch up! After Christmas we got our family pictures done for the first time... I loved how they turned out and loved Brittany who took them! :)













Anyway.... We had so much fun and I am sure glad to have finally got some pictures done :)

Time is flying by. Braylee is already ten weeks old and as cute as ever. She is starting to be awake a lot more and is smiling a ton and ALMOST to squeeze out that giggle :) Brody is loving on her and barely lets her sleep :) He Always comes up to me (or screams across the room,) "Mommy, come look at Braylee, she's sooo cute!" Ha, I love it, and he loves her......Well I think. I was making some valances for Braylee's room this past week and had my little drill gun out on the floor in her room. I was sitting on the floor changing Braylee's diaper when Brody came up to her head with the drill gun (and bit) and started drilling her head. I of course freaked out and said Brody what are you doing?!!! Luckly, I was right there! Anyway he said, "Mommy, I was just trying to fix her!" WOW.. that's all I have to say

Oh and how could I forget to mention my Cricut :) I got one for christmas and LOVE it. It will be so fun... Here is my first little project...



I think little Braylee and Brody will be the best of friends. He always wants to put Baby Einstien in for her and the other day he did and I came in to the living room to find this......



He had rubbed her head and put her right to sleep! So cute!

And little Braylee is growing right up... She loves to be walked around and loves her binky!



And of course, she loves her Daddy!



2 Months :) and she is loving sitting under these toys.....