One Year Old--I can't believe it!

I really can't believe Harlee is one year old. It has gone by SO fast. She's gone from a tiny little premie baby with dark black curly hair, to a chunky little cutie with straight blonde hair-what a transformation! At one year, she's still not walking...but then again, why walk when you know your Mom will take you anywhere you want to go? Ha! She can say Mamma, Dad, Thank you, and There you go. And, I just got her hair cut for the first time on Friday--OMG!

I can't believe what a blessing she has been. So fun and so special! Thank heavens for little one-year-old girls!

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Funny Things Brykn Says...

Brykn is a funny kid--that's really all there is to it. Lately he's popped off with some things that just make me laugh out loud. Here's just a sample..

1. Brykn loves Bon Jovi. Don't ask me why--he's only heard a few of their songs. Anyway, we were in the car and he told me to turn off the radio because he was going to sing me a song. As soon as the radio was off, he broke out with a hum for about 5 seconds and then "Six gun a lover!" (Don't ask me what Bon Jovi song that is because I have no idea.) I told that was great and he wanted to sing again. Only this time it went like this, "Hum Hum Hum...Six Gun a Lover! Take it Sis!" To which Harlee piped up right on cue with some of her jibber jabber. When she was done, Brykn flopped his hand on his forehead and said, "Oh, Sis..." I told him that her song was great and he said, "Yeah, cept it was in Spanish!" I laughed until tears rolled down my cheeks!

2. As we were watching TV, Brykn says to me out of the blue, "Mom, are we going to have any more babies?" Surprised, I said, "No, Brykn, we're not. We have a brother and a sister and that's wonderful!" He thought for a minute and said, "Did you tell heaven that?" Oh, the innocence...

3. We were talking about the upcoming karate tournament and I was trying to explain to him what being a good sportsman meant. As we talked, I explained that you don't ALWAYS win and tried to relate it to when they have relay races at karate. Thinking, he said, "Let me tell you sumping, Mom. At karate, when Emma runs, she has a really mean look on her face. She really needs to get her a new look because when she has that mean look, I always think, "Whew, Buddy, she's meaner than heck!" Brandon and I both cracked up.

Oh, my little Brykn...you are so funny and so wonderful all at the same time. I'm so lucky to be your mom!

On to Orange!

Brykn has really taken to karate. When we started with karate about 9 months ago, I really didn't know if he would like it and want to stick with it...turns out, he's pretty good and is quickly becoming the teacher's pet. In fact, Sensei Michelle even asked Brykn if he wanted to compete in a karate competition. Brykn seemed to think that the sword fighting sounded pretty appealing...imagine that!

These pictures are from the orange belt ceremony. He was SO proud! When Sensei Michelle presented him with his belt, everyone started clapping and cheering for him--and there was a full studio, so there was lots of cheering. And, of course, then their's his mom and she was the loudest cheerer in the bunch! "Wo wo wo, Brykn!" I was just a hollering. He had a smile that filled his entire face. I'm so proud of him!

Three Little Monkeys

This is the cutest video! Just in case you want to sing along, the lyrics are:

5 (4,3,2,1) little monkeys swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"
Along came Mr. Alligator, quiet as can be
And SNATCHED that monkey right out of that tree!

No more monkeys swinging in the trees
Here comes Mr. Alligator fat as he can be!

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Peanut

Well, I swore we would never have a dog in the house. I guess I've learned to "never say never." I found this cute little mini Australian Shepherd online and when I called, the owner was BobbiJo Woodard--Misty Woodard's little sister. Knowing the dog came from a good home with kids that had already tortured the poor thing, it was a great fit. So, Peanut moved in.

Brykn has been so funny with this dog. They play, and they play, and they play! Harlee, on the other hand HATES the dog. She wines and cries if Peanut even looks at her. And, the two have major power struggles over the stuffed animals. Harlee wants Peanut's and Peanut wants Harlee's and neither wants their own.

All in all, the dog's done pretty good and we are transitioning him to the outside kennel. Until then, he and Brykn play from sun up til sun down!

Little kiddos!

On New Year's Day, we took the kids for pictures in their new Christmas clothes. They are getting SOOOO big!

Christmas 2010

I'm behind! I know! Nonetheless, we had an absolutely WONDERFUL Christmas. It's amazing the magic a four-year-old brings to the house at Christmas time. He was so excited for every part of Christmas. Thank you, Brykn, for bringing so much joy and life to our season!

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