I'm sick and trying to stay positive.

EW.

I H-A-T-E colds.

I hate colds even more now that I have Brinley. BOO. The last time I had a cold, she got it almost immediately and then followed with an ear infection. (thankfully we have health insurance, but last time she was sick we didn't since we JUST moved. it was an expensive trip to the dr).

so. this is me trying to stay positive.

Here is a list of happy things!

cooler weather

rain today

pumpkin bread from a friend

really yummy fajitas tonight

it's thursday tomorrow! not that weekends are exceptionally fun around here, but still...nice to know that we are that much closer to Sunday when Ryan takes studying off!!

a kitchen table. we were sitting in camping chairs while eating dinner! thanks Mom!

Brinley boo boo sleeping in until 8:30am these past two mornings. go girl!

peanut m&m's in my candy jar

Ryan studying at home. which means, I get to SHOWER before noon :-)

my bro gets off his mish in 6 weeks :-) :-) :-)

financial blessings

talking hypothetically about the future (possible move, possible baby) talking about our next baby alllllways makes me happy! I think I'm more excited to name our next children, than actually getting preg. HA!

skyping

talking to my Sister ALWAYS makes me happy. Especially right now with the stuff going on in her life :-)

taking out my fall and winter clothes

where are my ugg boots!?

so happy we moved our bed upstairs in the bedroom next to Brinley. I sleep much better being 20 feet away from her instead of 200 AND that wretched flight of stairs in the middle of the night!!

listening to Ryan guess every Jeopardy clue. he gets about 1/3 right!

Ryan's eyes. soooooo dreamy.

going to bed before 10pm.

and tonight. Modern Family.

One book, two books, three books...



Brinley's Favorites!

Brinley loves her new toys. I love to sit and watch her play by herself. She loves to touch everything and look at every angle. She is seriously, so cute.

Her 1 yr appt isn't for another 2 weeks so I haven't really tried whole milk yet. And, seeing as though she was still 18 pounds 2 weeks ago, I don't think she'll be in a front facing car seat for awhile. I'm waiting for the "go" from the Ped. I'm guessing when I'm home in Charlotte, we'll get a bigger car seat and just keep it rear facin for a few more months. Who knows, she may be in nursery and still be in a rear facing car seat! Poor girl!! Wait, Poor Mommy!!!! ahhh I am dying for her to be front facing!

I'm hovering on a cold right now. I've been waking up with a sore throat for a few days. Not cool.

But, I've been blessed with a few opportunities to make some money while being home in NC, which is definitely needed. Ryan and I decided that we don't need to spend any money on each other for Christmas. I'm sure he will though. He loves to spoil me :-) Maybe just one gift each. I have a great idea floating in my head right now for him! I know he's gonna love it!

What a weekend!

I. am. soooooooooooo. TIRED!!! I am so exhausted from this weekend. It was a blast! I LOVED having my Mom in town, and of course Sophie :-) Brinley loves my Mom, but she LOVES Sophie. She had so much fun with Sophie, everytime we wanted to put her down for a nap, she would loooooose it. So, she basically ran on only one nap everyday for the past week. That is not good at all for Brinley. Brin is like her mommy and daddy in the fact that we all NEED our sleep, or we are cranky-poos.

Brin's new "I'm One" thing is shaking her head no and nodding yes. I have no idea if she does in response, but it seems like every time we ask her if she wants to eat something, she shakes her head. Greaaaaaat. Already has attitude!

Brinley is Such a lucky girl. She was spoiled rotten. I want to thank everyone for their wonderful gifts and cards you sent. You all were wayyyyyy to generous and kind. What's funny, is that I was complaining to some girls in my ward that Brin is still wearing 6-9 mon jammies and they are SUPER tight and I was too lazy to get her new ones. Guess what? She got 5 new pairs of jammies!!! I was floored!!! and sooo excited to not have to go out and buy them myself!! My Mom brought way too much, of course, but she couldn't help it!

Brin fabulous gifts from everyone:

lots of books

some new clothes and dresses

jammies!

bath toys

a cute 3-way wagon from Radio Flyer

stackable boxes (that she loooooves)

a barn with fuzzy animals that make noises

a fisher price fish bowl that plays music

baby einstein A-Z books

foam letter blocks

a beautiful Book of Mormon book that has flaps

new walking shoes

We were all expecting Brinley to wake up with a mouthful of teeth, buuuuuuut of course....NONE! My brother thinks we need to think about baby teeth implants.

She is SO spoiled. Seriously, we are so grateful for our wonderful families and friends who made this day SO special for Brinley. Thank you!

Here are some fun pictures from the week:

Reading with Grammy. Brin loves books about doggies.

Brinley's 1st Halloween outfit from Grammy. Isn't she adorable!!!??

I know, I know. SO cute, huh??

Brinley in her 2nd Halloween outfit from Grammy.



Brin and Sophie playing. They were so cute. Sophie was so gentle with her!

Taking a walk around Lake Ella (it's really just a man-made lake that the homeless people love to take over, buuuut people LOVE walking/running around the lake with their families and pets). It was a perfectly sunny day, low humidity, around 75 degrees.



Going out for dinner and walking downtown.

On our way to church. Happy Birthday Brinnners!

Brin in her birthday suit! LOL she was busy running around and got really hot. Her mouth was also really hurting her so she is sucking on ice cubes in her sack.

Her poor frozen face!!! lol I think it helped though!

We had a fabulous time with my Mom! We were sad to see her leave, but we are looking forward to being together again at Christmas time! She booked me and Brinley a one-way on Nov. 30th. Ryan thought it would be best if Brin and I weren't around during his 2 week finals week. So, off we go! The day after finals week starts! He'll drive up to Charlotte on Dec. 10th when he is done. We are excited!!!