Imagination

I love the imagination kids have and that anything is possible with them. Brylie has such an imagination! Daily she rides around the house on her horse or plays with her princess friends. She goes to the beach occasionally and is constantly some kind of animal. I'm sure she is trying to tell us something with some of the things she imagines, but I'm still amazed by what she comes up with. Yesterday she decided she wanted to be at dance class so she put on her tutu and ballet slippers. (Both were from Santa this year and I must admit "Santa" got a little carried away with the tutu.) She danced around her room and ended with a bow.

She then decided she wanted to be a princess and play with Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White. First she was Jasmine and then Sleeping Beauty. She loves her princess clothes.

Brylie does so much that makes Brandon and I laugh and we constantly question where she gets things from. She often is too smart for her own good. I guess it just keeps her parents on their toes.

Another Sister at BYU

I just wanted to take a quick minute and tell my sister Shelby congrats on getting accepted to BYU!!! The tradition of sisters going to BYU continues. She will be the third girl from my family to go to BYU. That just leaves you Lindsay. Can't wait for you to come join the fun in Utah Shelby. Congrats again!!!

Hip Hip Horray!!

For all of you that have older children you know what a struggle (or as for me a power struggle) potty training can be. I should have learned by now that Brylie will do things when she wants to do them and can't be hurried. But, I was tired of the diaper thing with her so I started trying to potty train her at the beginning of January. For the first couple of weeks she would have nothing to do with it. She understood the concept, but didn't want to be bothered. I of course pushed the subject. I offered her treats, bribed her with dance class and anything else I could think of. None of my offers swayed her. Then one night after a particularly rough day of potty training, she decided she wanted to use the toilet. That was two weeks ago and from that point on she has been a potty using pro!! I am so happy and Brylie sure is proud of herself. Way to go Brylie. She of course remembers everything I offered so keep posted for posts about dance class.

Such Sweet Sorrow

I knew this day would come and in a way I was dreading it and in another I was hoping for it. Dear President Hinkley died tonight at 7:00 pm. He has been the president of the church for almost half of my life. I don't know how to put in words my feelings and admiration for this man. I am so happy that he has been reunited with his dear wife who I know he missed, but am so sad for what this world has lost. For the last couple of hours we have been listening to people share their memories of President Hinkley and it has been great to hear the many nice things people have had to say. I would like to add one of my favorite memories. At my college graduation his wife, Marjorie, was receiving an honorary doctorate. President Hinkley gave a little introduction and introduced himself as Sister Hinkley's husband. He let us know in his great quiet way, that he was not there as President Hinkley, he was there to support his wife in the honor she was receiving. I unfortunately don't remember much else that was said that day, but I know I will forever remember that and the example he set in so many aspects of his life especially the relationship he had with his wife.

Little Moments

The other day I was trying to get Brylie to take a nap and she told me to put Beckam in her bed. I told her that I was going to put him in his own bed so she could sleep and she then told me he wanted to be in her bed. Needless to say, I gave in. Brylie then proceeded to put her sheet on top of Beckam and make sure he could see her book. These little moments of them discovering and establishing their relationship as brother and sister are priceless. Brylie sure loves her brother and calls him her baby. Beckam thinks the world of his sister and nothing brings a smile to his face like she does. I am blessed to be their mommy.

Snow

(This is all of the snow plowed off our street. There is a big fountain behind it)

I know living in Utah I should be used to snow by now, but I'm never ready for the first really big snow of the season. Well at least the first big snow we've been here for. This morning Brandon called to let me know he had taken my car to work. Needless to say, I hadn't looked outside yet and didn't realize Brandon had to get to work on unplowed streets with at least six inches of snow on them. Well another six inches fell during the day and Brandon had tons to shovel when he got home. Brylie wanted to get bundled up and go outside with Brandon. Beckam and I were smart and stayed where it was warm.

Rediscovered Quiet

Today I realized the house was not quite as filled with noise and it took me a second to figure out what was missing. The coughing is gone!!! The incessant, repetitive, tag team coughing has stopped. For two weeks our house was constantly filled with the sound of either or both of the kids coughing and it has now gone away. There have been some quiet moments today that I didn't realize how badly I missed. My kids are finally better and I couldn't be happier.

In Quarantine - Enter at your own risk!

I just finished reading a family members post titled Breathing Again and I wish with all of my being I could say the same. Our house is in a bit of turmoil right now. Having two sick kids at the same time is not fun and more draining then I could ever imagine. The day after Beckam's four month check both of the kids developed a cough. I thought it was just a cold, but because Beckam's wasn't sounding that great we took him to the doctor's on Saturday. Everything seemed just to be a normal cold with both of the kids. But then Sunday and worse on Monday, Beckam was inconsolable and wouldn't eat. We took him back to the doctor's on Monday and he had double ear infections and bronciolitis (or so we thought). Brylie still seemed like everything was fine. That night after filling three prescriptions and getting the medication in him, Beckam was coughing so hard that he threw up twice. We'll we took him to Primary Children's ER and he was diagnosed with RSV. After getting home at 2 in the morning and a few hours of sleep, Brandon's mom Jill took Brylie for the day so I could concentrate on Beckam. Well Brylie came home not feeling to hot and by six o'clock last night was complaining that her ear was hurting. We tried to give her Tylenol but that didn't seem to touch it, so Brandon took her to urgent care. She came home with a diagnosis of an ear infection and bacterial pneumonia. Needless to say we've had fun at our house today. I do want to say thanks to everyone for their concern and for the offers of helping, but my warning to you is I have two contagious sicknesses in my house right now, so enter at your own risk. And on top of the sicknesses you'd have to try and maneuver around the Christmas stuff that is still out and everything else that has been dragged out in the last week. You do what you can to make your sick kids feel as good as they can and everything else falls by the way side.

Beckam 4 month stats

Beckam had his four month check-up today and it was confirmed he is a big boy. He's about 4 1/2 months old right now, weighs 17 lbs 8 oz and is 26 1/2 inches long. So in 4 1/2 months he has gained about 9 lbs and grown 6 1/2 inches. That puts him in the 95 percentile across the board. The doctor was nice to not bring up how much bigger he'll be then Brandon and myself if he keeps growing this way, but she did say he was as big as babies 2 months older then him. I wonder where my biceps of steel are? All I have to show for lugging him around all day is an aching back and tired arms at the end of each day. Well and a boy who prefers his mommy.