busy, busy, busy

New crocheted hat. She didn't want me to take her pic :)
Trying so hard to stand up in the tub

Her classic bath time look.

Playing with mommy's spice rack

Busy playing in the kitchen.
A picture of mommy on her 25th birthday

We are staying busy keeping up with Bray-Lynne. She is just about 11 months old now. We can't believe we are already planning her 1st birthday. It feels like she was just born! She is getting more confident pulling up on things and forgets what she's doing and lets go momentarily. She was nervous about going "boom" to get down but daddy worked with her on that one night and she had it down. We are constantly given smiles and 'kisses'. She loves to point out our eyes and she can show us where her hair is. She is also very good at showing us that she is "soooo big". Bray still doesn't really crawl on her knees...only a few times here and there. She prefers to army crawl to get where she's going the fastest. She is totally off baby food and LOVES to feed herself. Sometimes it can be a challenge to think of things to feed her. We are working on weaning her and so far we only have 2 bottles a day. One before afternoon nap & the other at night time. She doesn't like milk from the sippy cup yet but I am determined to get her there! :)

We have a busy weekend and week ahead of us. We are trying to get done in the field and are on the home stretch. We had some very long days and will be thankful when we are finally done. Tomorrow we have cousin Lake's 3rd birthday party and are very much looking forward to that! Next week we are hosting both Van Zante and Filer/Fox Thanksgivings. We know it will be a lot of work but work that we look forward to and enjoy! We can't wait to see our families and spend some quality time with them...not to mention the great food that will accompany! Once Thanksgiving is done we have several birthdays and of course Christmas. We are looking forward to seeing lots of family and friends over the next few weeks!

Bath time

Splashing!

I'm in the sink guys
Last weekend we had the opportunity to go to Des Moines to celebrate my 25th birthday. We went out to dinner with my parents and oldest brother. Dinner was great but seemed like it took way too long to get our food. By the time we were done, Bray-Lynne was definitely ready to go. She was being put to bed that night by her Grandma & Grandpa Filer while we went to catch up with some old friends. I told them not to worry about a bath because it was getting late; however they decided they'd do a quick bath since they don't get the chance to do that very often. I didn't know until later but they decided to do her bath in the sink that night. I don't know why I never thought of this before. I think all of us kids have pictures of us in the sink taking a bath. I am glad they got several pictures. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween and more!

Bray's first Halloween
She found our souvenir shot glasses from Hawaii in the cupboard tonight
She thinks these binkies are funny
In the pantry
Messy in her high chair. She will not drink milk/formula from a sippy so this is her looking at me thinking "is this some kind of joke?"


We spent our first Halloween as a family at Josh and Chelsea's house. We had a great supper and passed out candy. We got to celebrate Nana's birthday too. The night was a lot of fun and Bray had a great time keeping up with her cousins. We dressed Bray-Lynne up as a ladybug which was only appropriate being that we have a million of those bugs flying around here nowadays!

I have been pretty good about getting a few snapshots each day/couple days. Bray-Lynne is now pulling up on everything she can get her hands on...especially mommy and daddy. She is getting into everything and it's so much fun to watch her explore. Of course we have to be careful for little fingers and toes...and going 'boom' on the floor; she hasn't figured out how to get down gracefully from standing yet. Our little girl is turning into such a 'big' girl right before our eyes. We are cherishing every moment.

Brandyn has been working hard with his mom and dad getting crops out. The days have been long but we are grateful for dry weather. Bray loves her daddy so much and it's so hard for her to say 'bye bye' after short visits during the day. He has to sneak out before she gets too worked up. I am so glad she loves her daddy that much :)

I turned the big 25 today but suprisingly I don't feel "old". I was talking to my older brother tonight and he asked me that question...I replied: "I'm 25, married and have a child but I don't feel old." I still sometimes feel like a kid myself. I suppose that's a good thing.