Connor Briggs

Back when I was good at blogging, I was fairly decent at updating when my kids had milestones, when they said first words, and so on. I want to at least get some information up about Connor before he gets any older.

He is 18 months old!!

He had his doctor's appointment a couple weeks ago.

6% for weight.

65% for height.

75% for head.

He is our little peanut, but he is SO much fun right now. He is super silly, loves making everyone laugh, has this cute hopping run that he does 90% of the time, makes silly faces ALL the time, and HATES getting his diaper changed. Here is his vocabulary so far.

Hallee: I like that he calls me Ya-ya

Maddie: I like when he gives me kisses

mama - more like mAAAm MAAAM MAAAAM (he does it quite loud)

dada - same thing with the volume levels.

nana - banana

wawa - water

up - when he wants me to hold him

men - "amen"

hum - some, when he wants something to eat

dee - please

deedee - thank you

ball

dog dog

yahyah - Hallee, and maddie

yuck

more

no

ow

boo

done

hep - help

and he can make pretty much every animal sound imaginable

cow, horse, pig, sheep, dog, cat, bird, lion, elephant, bunny, bee, monkey, owl, bear, zebra, tiger, chicken, and I am sure there are more but my brain isn't working right now.

Anyway, he is a cute kid, tons of fun, goes to sleep really well, sleeps through the night, loves his sisters, is a total mama's boy, and really brightens our family every day. Oh, and he is a master at the iPhone. He knows that thing like he was born using it.

Before it's too late!!

So, after this long hiatus from the blogosphere, I wanted my comeback post to be one in relation to my favorite month. There are so many great things about the month of November, including the birthday celebrations for me and Maddie, as well as the incredibly fun Thanksgiving holiday. So in memory of that great day, here are all the things I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1. My Savior - I truly cannot imagine being our Heavenly Father and allowing one of my children to sacrifice themselves so that all of their brothers and sisters could return to live with me again. What Christ did for us is beyond expression. I am so grateful for Him and for his Atoning sacrifice and what it means to me. I am grateful that my sins can be forgiven.
2. My husband - I never thought such happiness existed. I never thought I could love so completely. I never realized someone could pull me out of a slump with one quick joke. I am so grateful to have such a good, hard working man at my side. And on top of it all, he is the best dad I could have possibly asked for.
3. Hallee - I don't know how, but I was blessed with a loving, sweet, protective, caring big sister. She also likes to be a little mom, which can either be looked at as annoying or endearing, and depending on the day, I do too. :) But it just means she notices everything that I do and wants to be like me, even though she is a daddy's girl through and through. I love that girl. She impresses me daily.
4. Maddie - My sensitive little soul. I love her tenderheartedness. And her passion. And her silly quirks, like "I have to have my blankets a certain way in order to go to sleep." She is a sweet little girl, who gets her feelings hurt so easily, and looks up to her big sister like a hero, and cares for her little brother like a puppy. :) She inspires me daily.
5. Connor - Oh that little boy brings me so much joy. He is a handful, but he is so incredibly sweet and cuddly, and in a strange way calms my soul. He came to our family at the perfect time. He loves his big sisters so much and makes our whole family a little happier all the time.
6. My friends - Whether they live close by or across the country, I have had many friends touch my life and I am grateful for them. Having someone to talk to the way girls do is something to cherish.
7. My parents - I am grateful that they have supported me and all the decisions in my life without question. They have been great examples of love and kindness, and have selflessly cared for their children and grandchildren in so many ways. I am grateful that I can talk to them anytime about anything and we always have great conversations. And I miss them.
8. My parents-in-law - I couldn't have asked for better people to join families with. I felt their love for me from day one, and I appreciated that warm welcome to their family. They are also great examples of love and charity, which I admire.
9. The rest of my family - from cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, siblings-in-law, I am grateful for the examples and feeling of love they give me. Even though I don't see most of them very much at all, I still feel the closeness that the name family gives. And it makes me so happy.
10. My home - I am so grateful that we were able to find this home. It has been a great place for my little family to live for the past year and a half. It always feels nice to be in a home you enjoy. And our landlords are the nicest ones we have ever had, which helps a lot!
11. My car - I love my car. It is nice, and functional, and makes me very happy. It costs a pretty penny, but every penny is worth it. I love it. I am so grateful to have it.
12. A working body - I am so grateful that me and my body get along. I have no physical problems, my past stomach issues are forever passed, and I enjoy working out my body and seeing what its limits are. I am impressed and happy with what I have been blessed with. And I have no problems birthing children, which is also a huge blessing.
13. Modern technology - I am grateful for things like skype and facetime, so I can see my family more than once a year.
14. The love of my Father in Heaven - I am grateful that no matter what I do, my Heavenly Father loves me. Through the spirit, it has brought me so much peace and comfort throughout my life. And I know that no matter what trials I face in my life, He is there ready to comfort me and help me to remember that He loves me.
15. Prayer - I am grateful that I can talk to Him anytime. I am grateful that I can feel close to Him through prayer. I am grateful for the guidance and comfort I can receive just by praying.
16. The scriptures - I am not good at reading them regularly, but regardless I am grateful for the word of God. The strength and wisdom that are in those words are truly a blessing. I know that if I read the scriptures daily, I can draw closer to my Heavenly Father and be blessed that much more.
17. My calling - I am grateful to be able to work with the teenage girls at church. This brings on a whole different responsibility and level of need. I am grateful for the challenges and opportunities to grow. I am grateful for what these girls have taught me.
18. This season - I am grateful for the Thanksgiving/Christmas season. Despite the fact that I hate the cold and the snow, the warm feeling of gratitude kindness swells in everyone, bringing a happier spirit everywhere I go. And I am grateful that we have thanksgiving to remember to be thankful, and then Christmas to remember the birth of the Savior and to be grateful for Him and all he did for us.

I am sure the list can go on forever, but those are all the big things I am grateful for. There are so many little things I am grateful for, like my Uggs, or my cheese grater, or my phone, but those are all quite trivial. Tis the season. Share the love. I know I am going to try harder to reach out to others.

Cake Boss

I remember driving from Provo, UT, to Albuquerque, NM, (10-11 hrs. depending on if it was before or after my speeding ticket in Navajo Nation--55 feels like a standstill after you have been going 80+ for awhile) and thinking that it wasn't that bad of a drive. Put three kids 4 and under in the car and anything above 2 hours, turns into 4 hours feeling like 10 hours when you factor in the children's music (have you ever listened to the children's station on Pandora and counted how many times they play the hawaiian somewhere over the rainbow song within an hour). Then anything above 4 hours makes you wonder what the guinness world record is for number of times a human can go to the bathroom in a day. So on our way up to the Boston/Cape Cod area (6 hours, or 3 years of lost life expectancy due to premature insanity) we decided to break the traveling time up by stopping in NYC and visiting Mia's high school friend for a couple days. (In case you were wondering, I'm pretty sure it took 5 hours just to get to NYC. Why is it so hard to find a gas station with a bathroom out East?).

Instead of driving straight into NYC we first went to Hoboken, NJ, to visit Carlo's City Hall Bakery, home of the Cake Boss. Buddy makes some awesome looking pastries and cakes, but I wasn't sure how that would translate as far as taste was concerned. But we decided to wait in the 2 hour line to find out. Luckily there was an ice cream truck to help the girls cool down and distract them from the fact that they were in a line. It was a good distraction for the 5 min. it lasted. It's hard to justify waiting in a line for 2 hours just to get pastries . . . that is until you have tried one of Buddy's lobster tails or a cannoli. (earmuffs) Holy crap. After we ordered, what I initially thought was too much to ever eat but what ended up being not nearly enough, we had a little impromptu photo shoot in the back alley behind the bakery. This is where the flour gets dumped on the delivery guys, unfortunately we did not get to see that live.

The next NYC day was spent walking around, a lot, and discovering that all the big photo stores in NYC are run by Hasidic Jews, and therefore closed on Saturday. People actually adhering to their religion, weird. We ate at a delicious Mexican establishment, called La Esquina. Evidently the entire corner has 3 or 4 different restaurants all under the La Esquina brand. The most popular, and hardest to get into was a dinner only place, so we ate at the cafe (there's also a taco shop). Great place to check out if you're ever in NYC.

Caught Mia while chewing. Turns out she does a little Blue Steel while she eats.

Yes, Hallee is sleeping standing up.

Even crack is more affordable on Canal Street. (Every time we go to NYC with Mia, the girls hit up Canal St. for some new purses).

NYC Parking

That night Megan and I went out with our friends, the Calls, and hit up the Comedy Cellar. Aziz Ansari was headlining. There were about 6 comedians and each was dang funny. It was very hard to refrain from loud laughter, or from keeping my eyeballs from popping out of my head, my mouth from drooling, and my pants from being peed. I'm pretty sure when I laugh hard I turn into an infant, or old man.

The place we stayed has an amazing view being right in between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges and right in front of this amazing park. Hallee was using these binoculars to people watch. There are always wedding or other special occasion photo shoots taking place here.

Maddie was deathly afraid of the dog, Brooklyn, when we first arrived. By the time we left she had warmed up to her and was only mildly timid, but with a smile.

Milestones

K, so we just had this great trip to New York, Boston, Plymouth Ma, and Cape Cod, BUT...I will let Kyle the magnificent photographer do that post, and include whatever pictures he desires.

SO...Until then...I will talk about our little man.

Our little, almost ONE YEAR OLD, man. 11 months old. This is the month of milestones for this kid. It's like he turns 11 months, and everything changes.

*FINALLY got his first tooth! The girls were both 5 months old when they got theirs, so it was so bizarre for me to have a kid get teeth this late.

*Officially going up and DOWN the stairs all by himself, without me being concerned that he would fall.

*He's been crawling like a champ for a few months, but now it's all the time on hands and knees, and no more army crawling. He also pulls up on everything and cruises along the furniture.

*Standing all by himself! This still only happens for a few seconds at a time, but I think only because he thinks it's a game.

*Folding his arms for prayer! - This is my favorite milestone. SO CUTE!

*He can also make the sounds for a lion, elephant, owl, and says uh-oh.

Anyway, I am just completely in love with this little boy and I can't believe he will be 1 soon!

Run run run

So, the past 3 or so weeks, I have started a new running program. This is HUGE for me. I have always been an athletic person, dancing and what not, but for some reason, running has been a very big struggle for me. I have only run an entire mile one time in my lifetime, which was when I was in my best physical condition. I have some kind of athlete's asthma which makes it really hard for me to breathe while running. But I see all these people on Biggest Loser do it, and they weigh 300 pounds more than I do. So why can't I do it???

That's when I decided I will do it. I downloaded this app called C25K (Couch to 5k), and it is amazing! It basically get's you to go from the couch and no running at all, to running a 5k in 9 weeks time. There is a 5 minute warm up and cool down, and 20 minutes of running/walking. The best part about it is that there is just a voice that comes on that says, "Walk." And then he says, "Run," when it's time to run. It's so simple, yet it is exactly what I need. I have already seen a HUGE improvement in my endurance and breathing. It has also affected the rest of my life too. I have more energy to do other things and my appetite-inhibitors are a lot stronger, so I don't snack as often. I haven't lost any pounds yet, but I know I will get there.

I don't think I can explain it in words how big of a deal this is for me. It's just one of those things that I thought to myself I could never do. And here I am doing it. And kind of enjoying it.

Sigh

So, without going into much detail, things around here have been a little rough and stressful. Finally, after about 4 months, I feel like I can breathe. I am sure that some of you know that I stress myself out more than I should, and I am working on that.

But, thankfully for my wonderful husband and amazing kids, we got through it all and got all our plans figured out with our living arrangements, and Kyle has had an awesome internship all summer, and we have had some fun weekends, which all helped me get through the stress. I am so grateful that Kyle is who he is. He is my human stress reliever. He knows just how to make me laugh when I need to. He is such a great dad too. He is a great example of hard work and great faith to our kids. Then there's our children. I am so incredibly blessed to have been given these particular little spirits to raise, teach, and nurture. Just last night, as we were laying in bed, talking about our day, I said to Kyle, "It really is amazing how much I love our kids." My heart is so full of love for my family. I am actually glad we are so alone out here because it has brought us all closer together, allowing us to brace ourselves together for the upcoming adventures and big life changes. In just over 10 months, Kyle graduates from Law school and we will be *hopefully* moving to Dallas where he will *hopefully* have a job lined up. I have loved the crazy adventure that has been Philadelphia, but I am very ready to go back to the west, where the general public is less brash and the cities are cleaner. :)

I feel like I have been m.i.a. for a while because of my stressed-outness. I am so over it and so ready to enjoy the rest of our summer. Yay!

WHAT??

New post? No way. I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted. Big time fail. Anyway, Hallee turned the big 4 on the 12th, and we were lucky enough to go visit Uncle Aaron and his family down in Lusby, Md. And lucky for us, their neighborhood has their own beach. Yay! It was lots of fun and Hallee had a blast with her cousins. So we had fun at the beach and then came back to their house, let the kids crash for a while, then had her party celebration with a Costco cake and presents. She was in heaven.

I am so grateful for my Hallee. She is so incredibly smart and so funny. She is the best helper a crazy mom like me could ask for. She loves her sister and brother with all her little heart and would do anything for them. Her sense of humor is to die for, and I just love it when she catches jokes and busts out laughing. She is so beautiful, inside and out, and I love her so much!

Happy birthday, little Hal Pal!