Sweet Home... SOUTH DAKOTA?!?

Chris had a conference in Sioux Falls, SD this week, so Brynne and I tagged along (per Chris' request!) It was held at the Sheraton, so that is where we stayed... Let's just say we prefer the Holiday Inn Express anyday!!

We walked in to the room and see a couple of bottles of water sitting around. That was nice of them...

Until we looked closer and saw this! Um, no thank you!! $3.95 for a bottle of water, they must have lost their minds. We went to Walmart and got a 12 pack for $2!

The Holiday Inn Express has a free continental breakfast, yum! Not so much at the Sheraton. $8.95 was the cheapest breakfast they had... I don't think I pay $8.95 for a month's worth of Cheerios and milk!! :)

On top of the $8.95, you also have to pay a delivery charge and a "convenient" 18% service charge! I'm not sure what part of that is convenient for me?!


We bought a Pack n Play for Brynne to sleep in. Both nights I put her in it long ways and when I got her up in the morning she was like this:

How she turns around I'll never know! It could be the fact that the bassinet portion is only supposed to be used up to 15 pounds, Brynne is probably right at (or possible over) that mark!! She is getting HEAVY, good thing she isn't a fan of being held all the time!

As you can tell by the pic below, Brynne is super happy in the mornings... Definitely her dad's trait!

Another thing I noticed while we were there (which is also a problem in MN) was this:

Seriously?!? Who does that?? Louise Avenue, Louise Drive, and I'm pretty sure I also saw a Louise Road! Apparently Louise was pretty special :) Something else that is really weird to me is that Louise Avenue and Louise Avenue North were no where near each other. You have to be really careful when using the GPS up here... Just ask Chris!!


While Chris was in the conference I did some exploring. The night we got there we went out to eat with others from the group. On the way to the restaurant I spotted a Sonic!! So far I have not found a Sonic in MN so I was very excited!

Anyone who knows me knows what I got... a GRILLED CHEESE!! I also got a cherry slush. I was VERY tempted to get a coke because I LOVE Sonic cokes, but I haven't had any cokes since Brynne was born and for once in my life am not craving them, so I decided to leave well enough alone!

It was gone in like two minutes!

I got lost looking for the Sonic (not so good with directions--or lack there of) but I'm glad I did because I found this:

I can literally spend hours walking around Hobby Lobby... I also haven't found one of these in MN! So after Sonic I made my way to Hobby Lobby and just walked around. I told Chris I walked around in there so long that I forgot I wasn't in TN!! I saw lots of cute things, but I made it out only having spent $6 and some change!! I'll try to remember to do a post on what I got when I finish it.

We also spotted this right off the exit! The only one in MN is in Minneapolis, which is 65-70 miles away :( Chris and I decided we would eat there after the conference was over as we were leaving. Mimi and PaPs { :) } gave us some Cracker Barrel gift cards in our stockings at Christmas and we were finally able to use them!!

It was SO good! I MIGHT say it was better than the ones in TN, but it could be because I just miss good southern food :)


On the way to SD we saw tons of windmills! I was mesmerized by them and wanted to take pics, but I was driving and the camera was out of Chris' reach :( I would get some on the way back. Unfortunately the weather was nasty on the way back so we had to take the pics from inside the car. This was only a small portion of them:

It is relatively flat and always pretty windy up here so windmills are definitely a good idea! I however am not a fan of the wind!

We also took Brynne swimming for the first time while at the hotel. As I was going through the pics I decided to do a separate post because there are lots!! :)

We had a great time in South Dakota and it gave us a little taste of home. Brynne did great with all the driving, sleeping at the hotel, and all the new surroundings! Chris said the conference was very good as well!!

We are TITANS!!

Even though we now live in Minnesota, we will still be a Titans family!! Chris' friend John (a Montana Titans family!) sent Brynne this onesie and bib. I took her out in the onesie one day last week!

Now we just hope there will be a team to watch this season!!

Brynne's loves...

Before we moved Brynne loved the bouncy seat my mom had! I was hoping we would be able to find one like it here, but it was an older style they don't make anymore. I checked the Once Upon a Child here, but they didn't have it. So we used a gift card and bought a new one for her. The first time I put her in it she hated it, but since then she has loved it! It plays music (or water/wave sounds) and lights up too! I think she would sit in it all day if I let her... So this is my view many times a day (except she usually has clothes on :) ) She will talk to the fish and sqeal and kick her legs like crazy and make it bounce! Sometimes she sqeals so much that I think she is getting upset, then I look at her and realize they are squeals of excitement!!

As much as she loves the bouncy seat, she equally loves the swing Aunt Stephanie gave us! I think she would also stay in it all day if I let her. She just stares and stares at the animals on the mobile and the fabric piece on the back. It looks like she is smiling at me in this picture... but she was looking at the dolphin, turtle, and fish :)

You can't tell very well in the pictures, but she was laughing at them and talking to them. She did this for about an hour or so. I put her down on one of her play mats (that doesn't make any noise or move) and she longingly stared at the swing that was sitting beside her, haha!

It's so fun to watch her kick and talk and play more and more everyday!

Finally!!

Well I have officially been home (in MN) by myself for a full week... Here are a few of the things we have been up to! Brynne still loves taking a bath... I should really try to give her one more than every four days!!

Chris had to work the first Sunday I was here by myself, but Brynne and I still made it to church... and almost on time :) We came home after church and I took a few pictures of Brynne all dressed up in the dress my mom made her (the one she came home from the hospital in).

Once Chris got home we took a new family picture, our first since the day Brynne came home from the hospital!

Brynne has discovered her fist and has been sucking on it all the time!

Occasionally she gets lucky and finds her thumb :)

Dad and daughter:

I pulled these size 6 months pjs out for her to wear the other night and I just couldn't squeeze her into them... Her chunky arms and legs were just too big, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

The other day I was cleaning up a little and put Brynne in her bouncy seat. She was kicking and talking and playing away when I looked over and saw this:

Her headband was a little too big and slipped over her eyes, but she didn't mind one bit! I died laughing when I saw her!

Well it only took 100 posts, but I am finally caught up! Now I plan to actually blog as things happen and not many days... weeks... months later :)

Happy 100th post to me!!

And don't forget to keep reading... I back dated LOTS of posts :)

2 Months!

Before we left Tennessee we had Brynne's 2 month check-up and shots. We did this so that we did have to find a doctor as soon as we got to MN. She is doing great and weighed in at 12 lbs 2 oz and was 22 3/4 inches long (both were 90th percentile!) She got two shot and an oral vaccine, but it was a total of like 5-6 vaccines I think! Poor baby... but she only cried for a second, she had pretty much stopped by the time I picked her up!! This was her after we got home, she was in a great mood (considering what the mean nurse did to her, haha). These are a few pics since we've been in MN. I LOVE this outfit she has on, it was Whitney's. She finally outgrew it and passed it on to Brynne, but she's only going to be able to wear it a few times because it's almost too small!! I love this picture because it looks like she is thinking "Mom, this bow is ridiculous!!"

We tried her out in the bumbo... I tried to put her in one at Allison's but she wasn't a fan (I think it was cold on her bare legs), but she did pretty good in hers!

Brynne is wearing size 2 diapers as of the move... She probably should have been wearing them sooner, but I had several 1's left and didn't want to waste them or buy 2's right before we left! She is wearing 0-3 month and 3 month clothes, but they are all getting a little snug to say the least. All of the 3-6 month stuff seems way too big though, so I'll just keep stuffing her in the others :) She is such a good baby... sleeps well at night (she had been sleeping 6-7 hours pretty consistently at 2 months), nurses like a champ, and made the transition to MN very well! It's been great to be a family of three finally! I am enjoying seeing Chris interact with Brynne more now too; he didn't get much time with her up to now, so he's got some catching up to do! We are working on getting a little daily routine going and I'm still trying to get the apartment in better shape before I post pictures! :)

Welcome to Minnesota!

On Friday March 25, my mom, Brynne, and I made the trek to the great (re)frozen tundra! This was most of our baggage... not pictured are two carry-on "personal items," Brynne's diaper bag, car seat, and stroller! Now picture this: my mom and I lugging all that through the airport!! Quite the scene if I had to guess :) Our flight left a little before 11 in the morning. We sat in the very back (by the bathroom, eww!) Brynne was GREAT the whole time!! She stayed awake a little, ate a little, and slept a little; I couldn't have asked for her to be any better! The were people on the plane (including a man sitting right in front of us) who didn't even know she was there! Brynne and I during her nap... Getting all of that luggage, plus Chris' bag (he was away at a conference all week) in our little Corolla proved to be quite the challenge! The trunk and backseat were PACKED!! Brynne was in the middle, beside all of this: It looks like Chris is trying to get out of the car here, but this is the way he rode... ALL 70ish miles to our apartment from the airport! HA!! I about died laughing when I saw him contorting himself to fit in!

At the beginning of the post I said (re)frozen because of this:

Prior to last week most of the snow was melted (with the exception of the huge mounds of plowed snow). Tuesday or Wednesday of last week they got around 10 inches and the above picture is of our balcony!

My mom and I are trying to get the apartment in order this week. I will try to post pictures when we get done!

Comparison...

Yesterday afternoon we went over to Mimi and Paps house for a visit. Everyone keeps saying Brynne looks like Chris (because she definitely doesn't look like me!) so I took this picture so I could compare (I'm not sure how old he is here, but I think I see a tooth so definitely older than Brynne). I see a little of him in her, but I think she looks more like he does now. I'm pretty sure all the chunk came from my side though! I asked my mom to find one of my baby pictures, I will post it once I get it. And here is Brynne all dressed up and watching Mimi before church.