My Little One

My little Brykn. I could never have imagined how wonderful being your mom could be. And, I am so lucky that you were given to me. Sometimes I wonder why I was given such a precious gift. I really haven't done anything in my life to prove me a worthy receipient of a boy as special as you.

I absolutely adore this picture. You have such a cute and fun little spirit. Your zest for life is so inspiring and your smile is infectious. I just look at this picture and I can't help but smile myself.

I know that someday your little head will fit into that great big hat and as sad as that makes me, I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to teach you, to love you, and to share your life with you. You are such a blessing--my little blessing!

Elk, Horses and a Cat

We went to Hardware Ranch this weekend.Brykn is facinated with animals, so I knew he would like the Ranch. Funny, though, he thought the horses pulling the wagon were much better than seeing the elk. While everybody on the wagon was ohhing and aweing over the huge elk, Brykn just kept saying, "Horse. Ride!" He was really disappointed that he had to ride on the sleigh and not on the horse. So, when the sleigh ride was over, we promised him he could pet the horse--which he loved. But, what he liked even better was the stuffed bobcat in the Visitors' Center. It had a pretty wicked face, and was posed in attack mode but Brykn just kept hugging it saying, "Ohhh...nice!"

Be Mine!

When I was little, holidays were so much fun. My mom tried very hard to make sure that the holidays were memorable. And, they are. I remember making the most elaborate Valentines boxes you could ever imagine. I loved taking the squares of tissue paper, dunking it in the glue and attaching it to my creative (and always themed!) box. When it was done, I always remember thinking it was a true masterpiece--even if it was gloppy with glue!

Now, as a mother, I want my kids to have the same memorable experiences. Brykn had so much fun decorating his Valentines box and he was SO proud of it when it was done. He looked at the littel masterpiece he had created and said, "Wow! Good Job Brykn!" It was so funny! And, the look on his face when he was getting the glitter glue on there was absolutely priceless! The look on my face as I cleaned up the glitter glue was priceless as well...as it will be for quite some time. :)

Both Grandmas brought Valentines surprises and so did Mom and Dad--talk about spoiled!

A Hill to our Own

The weather was really nice yesterday. It was about 45 degrees, and definately warm enough for us to go outside and have some fun without freezing to death. Since our house is at the end of the street, the snow plows tend to pile all the snow into our driveway. Which I used to think was a real pain...until I realized that we had our own private sledding hill! I really thought Brykn was going to be afraid to go down, but he thought it was great fun. He can count to two and he did so with gusto at the top of the hill. The look on his face was priceless. I wish I could freeze that smile.

We must've went down that hill 20 times. And, Smokey the cat went down it too--just once though. Brykn hung on tight to the poor thing, but it jumped sled about 3/4 the way down and took off just a running. Brykn couldn't figure out why "Moke" didn't like it. It was too funny.

All that sledding really tuckered Brykn out. He didn't take a nap, so come 5:45 he was dead asleep. And, he slept for 14 hours! (Doesn't he look like Al from "Tool Time" in this shirt?!)

Snow Days

It's been so cold this winter that going outside to play in the snow has been just about impossible. And, for all the clothes you have to bundle into, it hardly seems worth it. With the cold weather has come a whole bunch of snow. Right now we have about 2 1/2 feet. Gee gads--shoveling has become an everyday affair. For Christmas Brykn got a kid-sized snow shovel that he loves. And, he shovels his little heart out until he's too cold to move his little hands. To warm them up, I make him hot chocolate, which he loves. He says, "Ohhhhh....arm...." The hot chocolate has become the best part of winter!

Brykn loves the little red sled too. It's really top heavy though, so we seem to crash an awful lot. He laughs like crazy when he crashes until the snow gets under his hat or in his ears. Then, he's ticked and immediately wants his hat "Oss." As for me, I just can't wait to see tulips!

Down at the Station

Yesterday was Brykn's first field trip with Discovery Academy. We went to the police station. While he was too little to understand what the policeman was telling the older kids, he was facinated with his badge. It was so fun to be able to go with him...but, I now understand why my own Mom and Dad seemed a bit frazzled after going on field trips with me. My child is an angel, but all those other 30 kids--wow! :)

As you can tell by the pictures, Brykn is catching on to the "Cheese!" part of picture taking. I'm really not sure where he learned it, but it cracks me up. He's learning things so fast now I can't believe it. He's started copying everything I do and some of the things I say. And, well, I'm still not sure if that's such a good thing!