Minnesota SEA LIFE

Last Friday we went down to the Mall of America to go to the SEA LIFE aquarium! This was Brynne's first trip to the aquarium and she loved it! Although I think she enjoyed the freedom of walking all over a new place more than the actual fish!

I snapped this picture as we were leaving, I had to roll down the window quickly to get it as we were driving through the intersection!

Eels

Brynne checking everything out!

They had a really awesome room with tons of jellyfish. They had 10ish round tanks that had color changing lights inside. It was hard to get pictures with no flash because they were moving so fast!

These were in a different tank.

Seahorses!

These were tiny! They were probably less than half the size of my pinky!

Shrimp I think?

This seahorse probably had all his blood rushing to his head, haha!

NEMO!!!

There was also a neat tunnel where you walk under the tank. I also have a video of this that I will post later. YouTube doesn't work on our laptop, so I have to use the other computer!

Albino sea turtle?

Sting ray

SHAAAAAARK!

At the end you walked through a little rainforest area with frogs and crocodiles and probably some other things I didn't see!

Thank you Mimi for the trip to the aquarium and for dinner at Cracker Barrel afterwards! I look forward to taking Brynne again in the future!

Invaded!

We were invaded for almost three weeks by grandmas! Invaded in a good way of course :)

Brynne and I picked up Granny from the airport three weeks ago today and the spoiling began!

We didn't have time to give Brynne her Easter basket on Easter, so we decided to save it until Granny got here. Granny also had some bracelets for her.

She is really into sunglasses right now, so I knew she'd love a new pair!

Going for the good stuff... Chocolate!

Brynne and Granny had some fun with the Easter grass!

Brynne was taking fashion tips from Granny!

Chugging some Sundrop!

Just kidding, the lid's still on!

Unfortunately while Granny was here Chris' heart got out of rhythm. I was so thankful she was here though and could keep Brynne while we went to the hospital! It would have been a loooong 5+ hours in the ER if Brynne had been with us! We also changed Granny's ticket so she could stay longer in case it happened again. I am glad she got to stay an extra couple of days, but not glad about the reason!

Sunday morning we took Granny to the airport. Before we left:

We dropped off Granny, then made it to church in time for services. Right after that we headed back to the airport to pick up Mimi!

Brynne and Mimi either doing itsy, bitsy spider or "hugging," I can't tell which one.

We had lots of fun playing at home and going outside a few times when the weather was nice. We also took a trip to the aquarium and Cracker Barrel! Pictures coming soon!

I think Mimi had a great trip, here are her and Brynne before we took her to the airport Monday morning:

I am so glad both grandmothers were able to come and visit! No offense Mimi and Granny, but I don't think we'll let you come back to back anymore, haha! Brynne and I have spent the last two days catching up around the house and relaxing. Now we are ready for our trip to TN this summer!

15 Months!

Brynne is 15 months old today!! She has changed so much in the past couple of months, she is definitely turning into a toddler!

We don't go to the doctor for a couple of weeks, but I think she is around 25-26 pounds. She is a pretty good eater!

She has six teeth, with one about to pop through and a few more (based on the constant gnawing) starting the journey.

Little stinker always pulling out her bow!

She is a walking pro! Her new favorite thing to do is back up and sit on things... Your lap, her blocks, books, pretty much anything, haha! She also loves to take the trash down the hall to the trash chute with me.

Her absolute favorite thing to do is look at books!! She will bring you book after book after book all.day.long! I really thought she would be saying lots of words by now based on the amount of reading we do, but her vocabulary consists of "hi" and "eye". They sound very similar, but she uses them correctly in context.

This is the view I see most of the day, haha!

She loves to sit on her car facing the front or back and "drive" it forwards and backwards, talk on her cell phone, and carry her purse (or anything with a handle) on her wrist.

We are in the process of dropping to one nap and so far it's pretty hit or miss. Some days, even after 12+ hours of sleep at night and a three hour nap, she still seems tired!

I also see this quite a bit... Trying to escape!

Everyone told me I would regret wishing she would start walking, but so far I'm loving it! It is so fun to watch her play and explore. It also helps my hands a little bit not having to carry her all the time... Because in case you haven't noticed, she is heavy!! We have had a busy few weeks with Granny then Mimi here and it won't be long before we are back in TN for a visit this summer! I am looking forward to all the fun we will have!

Easter 2012



We had a nice (but busy) Easter this year! That means this post will be LONG :)

Saturday our church had an Easter block party. They had an egg hunt, bounce houses, crafts, a cake walk, a bike raffle, and lunch for anyone who wanted to come. The weather was not too great, it was cold and rainy, but we still had a pretty good turn out!

Brynne enjoyed walking around ALL over the place! I volunteered to take pictures all day so Chris was in charge of keeping up with her :)

All of the goodies for the cake walk...

I thought this cake was so cute!

Eggs!

The had the kids broken down into groups based on age. These were the eggs for the one and two year olds, they made it pretty easy :)

These were the oldest kids (8-12 year olds). They were done in about two minutes, they were flying!

After it was over Brynne found a box with a lot of empty eggs, she was in heaven!

Sunday we of course had church in the morning and then we went to the preacher's house for lunch.

Listening to everyone talk about how cute she looked!

We haven't had a family picture since November! Definitely overdue!

Being silly!

The preacher's daughter hid eggs for Brynne to find, they are so sweet! They LOVE Brynne!!

Too bad Brynne was more interested in hunting sticks!!

And trying to escape!

After leaving there we headed to one of Chris's co-worker's house for dinner. They gave Brynne a cute little stuffed duck that she has enjoyed carrying around! She walked all around their house and loved talking to their dogs (as long as they were ouside!!). We had a busy, busy weekend, but are thankful we have friends who were kind enough to let us join their families.

Now we are ready for a visit from Granny, who will be here tomorrow!!

It's time!

We decided it was time... Time for Brynne to start carrying her own weight, haha!

Since we travel so far to get to church, we always have to take Brynne's lunch with us. I had been looking for a small lunchbox, but never found anything. I found this tiny backpack, that is actually made to use with a leash, and thought it would work. It is the perfect size!

We were about to walk out the door, so we didn't have time to get good pictures, but this is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen...

She likes it and wears it to and from the car at home and church :)

I See You!

Brynne's got a new favorite thing to do in the bath...

Mohawk time!

Now that Brynne is walking, she likes to take off as soon as I get her out of the tub and run away!

Bath time is still one of her favorites!