Ode to Bree

Since a lot of my posts are about Rhett's accomplishments, they don't really include Bree. Even the last one had our whole family and not one picture of Bree, so I decided to contribute a post to her!! Among her recent accomplishments - turning 10 months old, standing alone, and getting two bottom teeth, without hardly any trouble!!

After making fun of my sister for taking 70 pictures at Rhett's b-day party, I read that to get one really good picture of a kid, photographers plan on taking about 70 pictures.. So one day I just started snapping away. These three were some of my favorites.

Bree is so tiny!! These are pictures of her around May or June. This cute little outfit is 3-6 months and I was so worried that it would get to hot for her to wear it before she grew out of it. In May she was five months and I saftey pinned it on!

Here is Bree now - It's started getting chilly so I pulled out warmer clothes and decided to try this outfit on again!

Perfect fit at 10 months - 15.3 pounds, 27 in.

She won't leave the bows on anymore. I've given up. I do her hair once in the morning and then just leave her headband by the door after she rips it out so we can get it if we are going somewhere or if someone comes over!

Bree loves Rhett and hates it when he's sleeping and won't pay attention to her.

Bree loves climbing on to chairs...
Or under chairs!!!

She's alittle monkey. She even climbs into this walker by herself!

Besides being a monkey, Bree's my cuddly bunny. Everytime she wakes up she gives me great big hugs, laying her head on my shoulder, and wrapping her little arms around my neck as far as they'll go. She then opens and closes her little hands- giving me little squeezes as she hugs. When she's tired and your holding her, she pets your hair or shoulder and gives kisses.

Snuggling is one of her more feminine qualities. She does this along with growling, headbutting, hairpulling, and screaming at or along with Rhett! Bree is such a character and brings so much laughter into our home! We don't know what we would do without her. Love you Bree!

Fun Night Out!!!

Thanks to the Moores for calling us Monday night to go ride in their Dune Buggy!!! We had an impromptu fun night out. Heath grabbed his parents' four wheelers and Moores brought their Dune Buggy, marshmellows, and cookies, and headed out to Badger Point. Rhett is in the backseat with Annie. He loved riding in that thing, even though he would scream as they went up and down the hills.

I impressed everyone with my girl scout firemaking skills and made us a little fire out of sagebrush and Weed Man envelopes!!

Around the fire is Rhett, Colin, Annie, Rachel, and Jenna. Jenna was so funny! She loved riding the four wheeler, Heath took her around a bunch of times. Her helmet was kind of small and it was squishing her little cheeks, Rachel and I were laughing so hard. It was SO cute, I loved it. Unfortunately I was laughing so hard, I could never get a good picture, because everytime I went to push the button I started laughing and it blurred it.

While Heath, Bree, Annie and I were sitting around the fire. Annie told us all about her boyfriends in Kindergarten and how Jenna went to "Pretty School." We loved it!! I'm always amazed that Rhett is such a boy - without anyone teaching him the things he comes up with!! I took him potty out in the sage brush and he started making shapes in the sand.. When we came back I told everyone, "Rhett made a square in the sand!" Later Jenna had to go and she asked her mom, "What shape did I make?" When we were leaving Rhett had to pee on the fire before we could go... How do boys come up with these things???

Thanks again Moores - it was great!!

Rhett's Potty Trained!! - pretty much..

When I faced the potty training time, I did what I do with about every subject in my life. I read about a hundred books on it, different theories and perspectives, learned everything about everything, confused myself, decided it was too hard and found a thousand reasons to keep putting it off. Rhett was helpful by showing no desire whatsoever to go on the toilet or be a "big boy." About four weeks ago we were at the park with a playgroup and one of the little boys had to go, so his mom and him ran to a tree and went. Of course I pointed out what a big boy he was and Rhett thought it was so cool to pee on the tree!! He wanted to go do it to, so I let him. One of the mom's was telling me how she made a chart and bought a toy, etc..I had read about this kind of stuff before, but I was inspired this time. I decided to combine the multiple theories floating around in my head and forget about all the "signs" he was supposed to display and wasn't etc. etc. I took him to the store, found a toy he wanted (a sword) and for the first time he was interested in the big boy underwear and picked some out he liked so he could get his sword. We rushed home and I made him a really messy potty chart, put the toy up, used the potty doll, gave treats for dryness and double treats for going on the toilet, like I said combined everything and ta da!! (as Rhett says) For two or three days his only accidents were during his nap, but after that he did pretty well. He's had two or three pee accidents since then, but he will NOT poop on the toilet!! I don't know what to do. He holds it and holds it until night time and then poops at 1 or 2 in the morning - and then comes and gets in bed with me..Any suggestions??

I know he is way to skinny!!! I try to feed him, I really do!!

Prop 8

My friend is campaigning for Prop 8 and challenged everyone to blog about it. I feel like I can't do much since I don't live in California, but I do have strong feelings about the sanctity of marriage and I pray that our country will "under God" preserve the title and right of marriage to be between a man and woman. It is not only the sanctity of marriage at stake, but the of the family unit as a whole. I fear that making the definition of marriage so open will speed up the breakdown of the family in our country which eventually will lead to the breakdown of our society!! Please everyone do what you can to help pass Prop 8.

Catch up from August - Summer Olympics!!

For some reason I can not move on until I blog what I was going to in August and never did. I have new stuff, but I wanted to post this and I never got around to it, so I have to do it first...First a picture of Rhett's first, and I'm sure not last, black eye..actually I think this might be his second, but the first was overshadowed by the stitches in his lip... He got this black eye from fighting me in the bath tub. I won. No just kidding, he was throwing a fit in the bathtub and turned his head right into the soap dish. I really didn't think it was that bad, but it just kept growing and growing...

Rhett is in a gymnastics class and they do a Summer and Winter "Olympics," when you can invite family to come watch and they show their stuff. It is SO cute, especially the look on Rhett's face when it is over and they get their medal. He is always so proud of himself, for that reason I will never take him out - until he decides he wants to stop. I love that look, I hope I get to see it all through his life.

Each class carries a sign around with the name of their group. Each member gets a turn carrying it.

Here's Rhett on the bars and the pommel horse. He's pretty good on the bars, but he just goes totally limp on the pommel horse, unless they let him ride like a horse, which they don't do in the Olympics...

They walk from event to event in a "train." I guess this strengthens their arms and gets them ready for the pommel horse. Rhett just likes to climb in the bucket and swing around!! Coming up...THE look....


You probably can't see it very well, but in the first picture he is raising his arms above his head and cheering, in the second picture a boy is copying him (what a trend setter, they probably all showed up the next week with black eyes) but Rhett has The Look on his face. You probably have to zoom in, but I can see it.

I'm throwing this random picture of Bree in so you can see how much she's grown in my next post. This was in August so she was 7 or 8 months old. Plus, I wasn't sure I had enough pictures...

handbags

So there is this handbag that I really want to win. If I post this I get more entries in the contest. Check it out, there are some cute ones. I especially think Heather and Lindsay would like these!!
www.handbagplanet.com