A Two-fer

Happiness Is...

• Summer BBQs.
• My boy's giggles.
• Chasing bubbles.
• Listening to Brig sing at church when the piano starts playing.
• When family comes to visit.
• Butterfly kisses and snuggling.
• Swimming in the sunshine.
• Popsicles or a cherry limeade on a ridiculously hot day.
• Watching the hubs and Brigman wrestle and grunt on the floor.
• Having a sweet new nephew join the family. Congratulations Bryce and Court! :)
• Family.
• Bacon for breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner.
• Sundays with David home and not studying.
• Trying a new recipe, and it's delicious.
• Flopping on my bed after a busy day.
• Looking at old pictures, happy memories.
• A fresh, new bag of gummy bears.
• Hearing frogs and crickets on a summer night.
• Water fights that stem from drinking out of the hose.
• Finding out the small mass I had biopsied last month was benign. Feeling overwhelmingly grateful. I had gotten a letter stating, "The results from your tests show an abnormality that is suspicious for cancer and requires biopsy." Yeah, that's enough to make you lose your lunch for 2 wks straight. This month we're trying to appreciate the little things that make us grateful and HAPPY!
  




This is how Dave bonds with Brigsy on the weekends. Makes me giggle every time! :)

 

Spring Break

Better late than never with my posts, right?  The Dayter's made the trek down to Houston for spring break this year.  I think I would say it's the best spring break I've ever lived through. :)  It was an awesome week with late nights, lots of laughs, yummy food, and great excursions.  The best part was David had 9 days off from school!  Here's some reminiscing...  (and lots of pics)

We went to a hockey game.

We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and got serenaded by Brad Paisley!

Yes. That's a marshmallow in his ear. Don't judge, Brad's voice was boomin! Gotta protect our boy!

Brig loves his Nana & Papa :)

I love my family. I LOVE my family!

We visited Brazos Bend State Park and walked with the alligators. It was crazy, and kinda creepy, but pretty cool. 

We took a tour of the Blue Bell Ice Cream Creamery. Blue Bell is sooo yummy!   

We rode the Galveston Ferry and played at the beach in beautiful weather...what's not to love about that?! Our little B man even ate sand for the first time.  He loves the beach!

 

I hate when they have to go back home, but I'm sooo grateful for their willingness to come down here regularly to spend time with us & love on Brig.  He loves them!  Thanks for the amazing visit, Dayters! We love you!

Seriously, is this not the cutest face?! WE LOVE THIS BOY!

Dr D Is In the House Yall!

I just wanted to give an update on the hubs!  He starts finals next week, after which he'll be HALFWAY DONE WITH DENTAL SCHOOL!  YEEEEHAW!  And hallelujah, he'll be done with most of the didactic junk he's been swamped with since he started (with the exception of his boards this summer).  Can you tell I'm bitter at dental school for stealing away my David for the last two yrs?  From here on out, he'll spend the majority of his time in clinic. 

I can't say enough how proud I am of him and his hard work.  He studies, studies, and studies some more, all the while taking care of our little family, doing his churchy duties, and being an awesome dad and husband.  And this is all done on very little sleep more often than not!  He is seriously amazing!  I know the last two years have been super stressful (he has some gray hairs to prove it!), but he's still grinnin' and bearing it!  This is the only pic I have of him "in action" right now.  I'm sad he doesn't have his magnifying loops on, they really make him look so professional!  He said this patient was amazing, and didn't move a muscle when he stuck him!  Poor patient has a mouth FULL of metal! ;)  

This last semester he got to officially start working on actual people.  He's done cleanings, sealants, perio checks, and cavity fillings.  There's a lot of students in his class who haven't done any fillings or operative procedures, and David's done multiples!  He's been so lucky.  He's got six patients right now, and there's also quite a few people we know that want to come in to have him work on them.  It's so exciting!  He does an awesome job, too!  He's very gentle and thorough.  (A little too thorough I found, as he found a cavity. BOOOO!)

They just built a big, brand new dental school and he gets to start at the new school the end of May.  New everything, perhaps? Yes, please! I get to go tour this baby in June for the dedication. Can't wait!



OLD BUILDING from 1950s



Brand Spankin' Newbie



So anyways, here's to the next two years going by super fast!  I love ya Dave, and couldn't be more proud of my man! 

Woot Woot, Brig Man's ONE!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Brigston,

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Can't believe our little mini David is ONE!  (Little late on the post, he turned in Feb. Oh well.) Pretty sure he grows at least an inch a week.  He's our little boy now, and we just love the stinker to death!  He's funny, sweet, cuddly, sooo happy, full of energy, and he's perfect for our family. 

Well, since all the familia lives ever so far away, we settled for a quiet party with the three of us.  We ate us some corndogs and tots (as you can see he was thoroughly excited for his dinner party with Dad and Mom), played with his new bday toys, went to the zoo where he shot every animal he could see (don't worry PETA, it was his pretend hand gun), and ate some Idaho [see license plate] truck and ice cream. 

  

BRIGSY'S ONE!!!

His Loves:  When Daddy comes home, trucks/cars, drinking water out of the hose, playing outside, trucks/cars, getting in any dirt he can find, playing with friends, trucks/cars, marshmallows, yogurt, trucks/cars, opening & shutting the garage, playing chase & peek a boo, trucks/cars, reading books, dipping fingers in anything, and trucks/cars.

His dislikes:  Anything with a slimy consistency (grapes, blueberries, kiwis), the vacuum, my food mixers, milk, not being able to be outside all day, naps, when mom plays the piano at church and leaves him (I get the biggest stink eye), cats, getting his hair washed, and being told no no.

Favorite words: Dada & Daddy, boo, uh oh, husat (what's that?), ca (car), KyKy, & broom broom

He's all boy, makes car noises 90% of his wakeful hours, will pee on the floor if you let him go diaperless for more than 10 seconds, he loves to eat, and he's got a big toothy grin that will melt you in a second.  He's still really tall and skinny minny.  How we love our sweet boy and can't wait for the fun this next year will bring.  Happy Birthday to our dream baby!  

**Oh, and just in case you were wondering, I can now answer the question that's been on everyone's mind for years and years now.  (You can thank me whenever. I do accept small gifts and monies.)  Yes, it's true.  Everything IS bigger in Texas.  We found rock solid proof at the zoo.  If you don't believe me, take a gander at this here duck.  You're welcome.

Love Him to the Moon and Back!!!

This post is personal ,emotional and gooey with my feelings so if that makes anyone bored or uncomfortable, consider this post a skipper por favor.
Feb 10th was a day of reflection for me.  A day full of emotions...disbelief, excitement, pride, nostalgia, love, and just thankfulness. Lots and lots of thankfulness. My 21 and a half pound miracle turned one (birthday post to come hopefully sooner rather than later).  I never imagined how beautiful every aspect of this sweet little boy would be.  Nor did I imagine that I would have such tender feelings about being a mama. 


Women have innate qualities that make us want to nurture, to be motherly.  I think I got a double dose of that.  And I don't only feel this with my Brigston, I feel this with all my nieces and nephews.  With my friends' kids, kinda with kids in general.  Being Mama is probably the hardest fulltime job I'll ever have and it will only get harder as we have more kids, but I want this job forever.  I still have to work hard at trying to be good at it daily, but I've never had such "wow, this is my purpose here" moments as I do being a homemaker.  Maybe I'm not the norm, but I love being at home with David, with Brig.  I want to spend all my spare time with them.  If I'm gone for an activity, I miss them.  If David takes Brig someplace and I don't go, I get lonely for them.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have a break after a long day with a teething baby, but I want that break to be me watching David play with our boy, hearing giggles and squeals, still there with them.   


I realized on Brig's bday how thankful I was that we had to wait a while for him to join our family.  I think because of that wait, he means all the much more to me and I pray I never ever take having him for granted.  I hope when I complain or whine about any aspect of motherhood, David reminds me how lucky I am to be Mom.  When I get up in the middle of the night with a wide awake or crying Brigston, the second my mind starts to wish I could be sleeping I try to remember how much I ached for the opportunity to just hold a sweet babe in the middle of the night, how much I wanted to be that tired, frazzled mom.  At least I'd have a good excuse as to why I looked tired and haggard. :)  This is what I signed up for when we decided we wanted our family to grow.  Sure, sometimes I get frustrated when I watch Brig make a tornado out of a room I just picked up for the 50th time that day in seconds, or when he refuses to take a nap.  Yes, I wonder how to tackle fits he throws.  I wonder how to stop him from bullying other babes or to stop others from bullying him.  Yes, more often that not I feel like my house is a disaster area by the end of the day.  I'm sure many days when Dave gets home he sees a scary version of me, dried crumbs, stickiness, and food stuck to my shirt from pudgy lil hands, hair all messed up from a personal hairdresser who's fascinated with my hair everyday, bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep.  Yep, I'm a first-time mom, and I don't really know what I'm "supposed" to be doing.  But I'm trying, learning, doing what I feel is best for Brig and me, and I've learned it's ok to be different from other moms, to not compare myself to other moms. 


I've realized lately how important moments are with my fam.  Brig lets me cuddle him everyday.  It's my favorite!!!  I'll cradle him before he goes to sleep and sing to him as we rock in the rocking chair.  It chokes me up when I stare at him and think of how he's perfect to me in every way, so beautiful.  He often stares right back at me for a while and occasionally reaches up to touch my face or pat me.  Sometimes he'll blow a little raspberry, almost like he's making sure I know he's still awake.  I try to memorize those moments so I'll always feel that warmth of feeling like my heart's going to explode I just love him so much.  I just feel full of love for this itty bitty boy.  Full of thankfulness.  Appreciation that I can have special moments with my babe.  It's priceless, and I'm thankful for that. 


Anyhow, I guess I just really wanted to write about how grateful I am to be a woman, a nurturer, a mother.  I know not all women feel this way, and many women don't enjoy motherhood.  I enjoy it, I love my job, and I'm so grateful for the amazing examples I had growing up who also loved motherhood.  My mom is a saint.  I hope to be as influencial, kind, and loving as she is, as a mother.  Not only is she motherly to her family, but also to those around her.  She's amazing, so Christlike!  And my sister, what an example of a motherly nurturer.  She doesn't have kids of her own yet, but she treats all her nieces and nephew (soon to be nephews!  So excited to meet Bryce and Court's little boy in June!!) as if they're her own.  She's going to make an awesome mom!  And I know David wouldn't be the man he is without his amazing mom.  I'm going to try harder to remember how lucky I am to be a woman, to remember all the little things [like family time] that I need to cherish and memorize, and to drink in and soak up every ounce of this little boy that I can.  If the next 17 years go by as fast as this last one did, then I'll run out of drinking and soaking time all too quickly.  I love this kid and I'm feeling so thankful...


Then.

Now.

I love him to the moon and back.
(infinity times) 

Christmas 2011

It's always a lovely time at Christmas, especially when you get to spend it with family.  We were so lucky we were able to go home to ID again.  Brigston did AmAzInG on all our flights going and coming back, it was just all the 2 weeks in between that he was miserable.  Poor little guy was sick THE WHOLE TIME we were there with fevers (he got shots right before we left), an ear infection (Dr thinks it was from flying), and then a cold.  David got a cold the first week, too, so they were pretty miserable.  Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep.  We didn't end up getting to do a lot of what we'd hoped to while we were there because of the sickies, BUT it was still great to be home. 

Brig wasn't too interested in opening presents, but he loved all of his new clothes, books, and toys.  It was so fun to watch him experience his first real Christmas.  It was gloriousness at it's best!!

Christmas pics 2011

Watch Out World, We Gotta Cruiser!

Still playing catchup :)  I'll have to do my Idaho Christmas post later because I haven't uploaded the pics onto the computer yet.  

Sad, teething babe



Pretty much from Dec 16th to now, poor lil Brig's been sick on and off, or teething.  He got two ear infections within a month!  So our awesome sleeper has gone back to hit and miss, just depending on if he's sick or teething that week. 



Two front teethers

On a happy note, both of this two front teeth popped through at the first of January, and they've slowly been making their appearance.  They are adorable!  But man, have they been a pain in his rear, er, I mean mouth!  He's definitely been miserable this time around.  

If you look close enough, you can see a battle wound on his lip





On another happy note, Brigston's walking!  He started standing up on his own and balancing all by himself at the end of Nov, and he'd grin from ear to ear, so proud of himself.  ADORABLE!  He'd take a step here and there and was getting braver around Christmas.  Then the day he turned 11 months he just up and wobbled across the room to me.  Probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen.  I now know why they call them "toddlers!"  Took him about a week to get the hang of it good, and he's been cruising around ever since.  He rarely crawls anymore, and he gets going so fast now it looks like he's running.  There's been a lot more bumps, bruises, and tears from wipeouts, but he's doing great. GO BRIGSTER!!!

Yeah, he's a sad walker in this pic.  It was raining pretty good so I took him outside to run around in the rain and feel it for a minute, but it was pretty cold so I brought him back in.  Well, he wanted to go back out in it, so he was crying, walking back and forth between the door and me. But it's a "walking in action" shot, so I had to put it in.  ---->

First Haircut

Wow, I'm on a roll!  Three posts in one night?  This is insanity.  I better write about this in my journal. ;) 

So Brig had his official "FIRST HAIRCUT" right before we went to ID for Christmas.  It went great!  Nope, not really.  If you'd like to know the recipe for making your babe's first haircut miserable, I went ahead and figgered it out for you.  You can thank me later...

Ingredients for a First Haircut Disaster
One super cute baby
Time of the day should be an hour past baby's bedtime
Baby should only take a 30 min afternoon nap for supreme overtiredness
Haircutter should be someone the baby does not recognize
Decide to do it last minute while trying to pack for a 2 week vacation
Put baby in a cold bumbo seat with no pants on
Show the baby toys that he can see but can't play with because he's stuck in a bumbo
(Keep a paci on hand to prevent hair getting into baby's open, WIDE open, mouth

Make sure to use ALL the ingredients without leaving any out, and you will have definitely get this:

 

It's fail proof.  Trust me.  We tried it!