Happy New Ear

I admit it, we don't blog much. But since I just downloaded over 100 photos from the camera, I thought I would post a couple.

Lately, a collection of Christmas-themed 'Alvin & The Chipmunks' has been one of Caimon's favorite things to watch. He likes to sing along to the songs, but he cannot always figure out the words (much like me). So the part that goes 'Merry Christmas, happiest time of the year' he sings as 'Merry Christmas, merriest time of the ear.' He really liked getting spoiled with all the toys this year, but he seems to like Brylee's toys as much as his own.

And Brylee is finally getting big enough that she can play with Caimon. We try to get him to play gently with her, like the picture below, but I think he's going to end up making her really tough, or breaking a lot of her bones.

Boo at the Zoo

Sara and Joyce took the kids to Zoo Boise yesterday where they held their 'Boo at the Zoo.' It's a fun event where little kids wear costumes and they can receive candy as they go around the zoo. Caimon had lots of fun, and walked by himself through most of the zoo in his clown costume. Brylee, in her flower costume, slept most of the time.

Who cares about daddy?

I was not feeling well this morning, and Sara graciously got up with kids to let me sleep a little longer. At one point she came in, Caimon in tow, to check on me. They had this conversation...

Sara: Daddy doesn't feel good.

Caimon: Oh, no! What are we going to do?

Sara: I don't know. What should we do?

Caimon: Mommy, will you play puppies with me?

Then they left. It's okay, I survived.

What we have been up to....

Ok, so it has been a really long time since we have posted anything on here! Alot has been going on this summer so I am going to try to summarize it quickly in one tiny little blog!

First of all, at the beginning of July Brylee was blessed. It was a pretty busy and fun weekend. Corey's family was able to come as well as my aunt and uncle and my cousins. It was over the 4th so we got to all watch some fireworks too!

At the beginning of August we went on a vacation. Yes, with 2 little kids we drove to Canada! Most people say we are crazy but it was a lot of fun. We had Corey's parents and sister there as well to help so that was a life saver! We went to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. It was beautiful and we saw 9 bears! We also did some shopping, hiking and ate lots of ice cream! It was nice to get away, but as always, it was really nice to get home.

We had Brylee in to the doctor the other day because she had some green, yucky, goopy eyes. The doctor diagnosed her with conjunctivitis and a double ear infection. She beat Caimon. Caimon didn't get an ear infection until he was a year old. Even though she has been sick, she is still a really good and happy baby. We really are blessed!

We wanted to put some more pictures up, but we're having some trouble uploading them. We hope to have them up soon.

Caimon needs batteries and Brylee's smiley

Both of our children are growing up so fast these days. Caimon is the best big brother. He is always wanting to give Brylee kisses and wanting to hold "it" (meaning Brylee). He even held the bottle for me yesterday!

Brylee has been very gassy and so I have been giving her some medicine. I think that she is getting the same intolerance to milk that Caimon had. Anyway, Caimon keeps telling me he needs medicine too. Then yesterday he informed us that he was sick and he needs new batteries! When anything isn't working he says that it needs new batteries.

Brylee is growing sooo fast. When I took her in last week she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz. She is so chubby and cute. She also started smiling and she has the cutest smile. I just love having a girl. It is already so much fun!

Sara started this blog, then went to make some pancakes for breakfast. So, I'm going to finish off this entry with a few pictures of Brylee. She's just beginning to smile (real smiles, not gas smiles), as you can see in the pictures below.

Two Weeks Old

Our little Brylee turned 2 weeks old today! We had her 2 week check up and she is doing great. She gained 14 oz in 7 days. She is eating like crazy and she actually sleeps pretty well too. We are all still a little tired, but she is a great baby.

Isn't she pretty?

Caimon and Brylee
Brylee had some jaundice when she was born so we had to have her on a bili blanket for a couple of days. We called her our little alien baby! Can you see why?

Corey came back home yesterday after being gone for the last week for work. It is so good to have him home and I think he is having fun with his kids!

Brylee

Sara had a baby girl yesterday morning (Cinco de Mayo baby!) at 8:55am. We named her Brylee Elizabeth. She weighed 8lbs even and measured 19.75 inches in length. She has some dark brown hair (with hints of red) and really chubby cheeks. She looks a lot like Caimon did when he was born, but she sleeps more and makes less noise (so far). Anyway, here are a couple of pictures...

Birthday Blowout

This is the video of Caimon singing happy birthday to himself and then blowing out his candles. Listen to his answer when Corey asks how old he is. He has been telling us he is 4 for several weeks now. It is pretty cute. I think he does finally know that he is 2!

Birthday Boy

Caimon is officially 2 years old as of last Wednesday! To start off the week, we took him for his 2 year old check up. He is only 24 1/2 lbs, which puts him in the 12th percentile for weight. He has always been small though, so the pediatrician is not worried. He was in the 25th percentile for his height, and the 75th percentile for his head!

On Wednesday for Caimon's birthday we took him to the park! He played there for 1 1/2 hours and was then traumatized when daddy took him off of the swing! It was pretty pathetic.

Then on Thursday, Grandma and Grandpa Riding came to play with him. He had a blast and was pretty spoiled for the rest of the weekend. He always had someone to follow him around and play with him. Mommy and Daddy are not so nice.

On Saturday we had a birthday party with all of the grandparents. It was a lot of fun and I think Caimon had a blast, especially with all of the new stuff and the attention. He even blew out his own birthday candles! He had been practicing blowing out pretend candles since mommy's birthday. Here are some pictures from his birthday on Saturday!

Daddy and Caimon opening presents.

Caimon with his mess after opening the presents!

Caimon's Elmo birthday cake.

Caimon loves his ice cream cones!

No More Monkeys

While Caimon was hanging out with grandma on Saturday, we moved his crib and put up a twin-sized bed. He was really excited when he saw it (especially with the 'Cars' sheets). His first night he slept really well, even better than he normally did in the crib. His second night was pretty good, but at 6am he came knocking on our door saying, "Come in!" So he spent an hour or so sleeping in our bed this morning.

Anyways, while I was trying to get Caimon to take a nap yesterday, he discovered that he could bump his head into the headboard. I'm not sure why, buy he thinks it's great fun! Last night he was in playing on the bed (it's still a new toy, after all), and he, apparently, jumped face first into the headboard. He bit partially into his bottom lip, leaving some nice marks on the inside. He lost a lot of blood for someone so small, but he calmed down after about 10 minutes. While reading before bed, Sara decided to read the story about the monkeys jumping on the bed. Caimon got into the story, as you can see in the video.

P.S. That's his "new" bed in the video.

-- Corey