HAPPY 29th Birthday AMY!!

November 2006, 4 months after Landon was born!

Auntie and Landon on 06-07-08 Amy's wedding day

I am blessed in many ways in my life. I have a wonderful, happy life filled with amazing friends and family. One of the most amazing people I have in my life is my sister, Amy. As far back as I can remember Amy has been a huge part of my life. She is my younger (only 18 months), thinner, prettier little sister! We are complete opposites in most ways, but somehow draw strength from that and have a very close friendship.

Amy and I Yosemite 2003, I think?
Amy and I 1998


We have gotten along and been pretty close our whole lives, minus the normal fights in high school over clothes and the telephone! Amy and I have completely opposite taste in men too, so luckily that was never a fight either, LOL. Where I am organized Amy is messy, where she is compassionate I am judgemental, where I am skeptical she is too trusting, where I am uptight she is laid back. We compliment each other in most situations, but are so different. There are many things that Amy loves in her life... her family, her animals, CANDY (this girl has the biggest sweet tooth ever!) but most of all she LOVES my babies as if they were her own!

Auntie and Landon when he was about 4 months old

Auntie and Brynne this summer

I couldn't ask for a better sister to be a wonderful, patient, kind, loving Auntie to Landon and Brynne. Amy is there for us whenever we need her, and luckily for me she lives only 5 minutes away! She will drop anything to babysit and will do everything possible to help out with the kids. We are so lucky to have amazing family like Auntie Amy!

Amy and I February 2007


Auntie and Landon July 2008, Landon's 2nd birthday

Since Landon was born he has had a special bond with Auntie Amy. She is his BEST friend and his little face lights up so bright whenever he sees her. Auntie and Grandma have been the only other people, besides Mama, that Landon has always been completely at ease and comfortable with. Auntie spoils Landon and lets him get into whatever he wants! Whether it's pulling every last sponge out of her drawer in the kitchen, or playing with her cell phone, no matter how expensive it is! He knows he can always go to Auntie with an 'Owie' and always have someone to kiss it better as many times as he wants!

Amy and Nathan engaged! May 2008

4th of July, 2008

I am lucky to call Amy my sister, and also my best friend. Landon and Brynne are lucky to call her Auntie.

Bachelorette Party! May 2008

Goofing Off April 2007

May 2007 in Clair's wedding

LOVE YOU SISSY PANTS!!

Happy Birthday!

Changes

Yummy! Coldstone with Daddy~


Practice Makes Perfect~


Pictures from Landon's weekend playdate with Auntie Amy (why no pics with you in them Auntie?)~






Our two sweet kids are napping at the same time this afternoon (YAY) so I thought I would take some time and catch everyone up! I have had some emails asking for new pictures and stories about the kids. My camera has been acting up and I have not been taking as many pictures lately! Shocking, I know! I think we may have finally gotten the camera to work right and more pics are sure to follow later this week.

3 days ago Landon turned 2 years 2 months old...or 26 months, however you say it at this stage. It seems the days since he turned two have brought nothing but development and change into my little man's life. He speaks constantly in 3 or 4 word sentences now and wants so badly to converse with us. Wherever he goes he is constantly looking over his shoulder and saying, "C'mon Mama" or "C'mon Dada" or even "C'mon Baby." It is still hard for him to say Brynne so he refers to his sister as Baby still, lol. He is amazing on his new bike already, and was doing laps in the house by the 2nd day. He now rides all over outside and can squeeze in between even the smallest of spaces. He still tries to do everything that Travis does and copies his every move. Our boy can be mischievous and sneaky, like any 2 year old, but he has such a huge loving heart. His favorite thing to do each day is to run full speed down the hallway, throw open Brynne's door and run in to see his sister after her nap. He climbs right up into her crib and sits and plays with her and gives her hugs, and talks to her in words only Landon understands! Catch him after his nap and he is full of love for his Mama. Brynne is so mobile these days and is constantly walking along the couch or toy box. The daily encouragement she gets from Landon is very sweet, and melts my heart. He wants her to walk so badly and always says, "C'mon baby, you do it!" Those are some of my favorite moments during the day. Landon loves his baby sister sooo much. I had so many fears while pregnant with her that he would feel jealousy and would not 'welcome' Brynne into our family. Instead he has done just the opposite. Whenever she is out of sight throughout the day Landon is constantly asking "Mama where baby go?" He tries so hard to play and interact with her, and does not seem to understand why she can't do many of the things he wants to do with her...such as look through a book, have a snack together, or run around the house. I am so looking forward to the days when Brynne can walk and the two of them will likely go on 'adventures' together and no doubt get into a whole mess of trouble!! What else are big brother's for? As for Brynne, I already mentioned her mobility, which is amazing to me! This child literally went from sitting in one spot all day, to roaming the house on all fours overnight! She is so determined and wants to be near Landon ALL day long. It is a hard stage to be in with Brynne because this girl knows what she wants! If I set her down to make lunch, clean the house, or take Landon potty she gets very frustrated and goes into an instant meltdown. She is sooo different from Landon when he was this age. He was always such a happy baby and rarely cried. He explored everything on his own and as long as we were within his range of sight then he was fine. Not Brynne! She wants Mama or Daddy involved in everything she does, all day long. If she is hungry she lets us know, right away! If she has a wet diaper, we know it! If she's tired...oh ya, we know it! She is very vocal and when she wants something she WANTS it then! She is definitely female and I can see a much more dramatic side to her personality that Landon just doesn't have. Brynne is either very happy, or very upset (usually because she is not getting her way). And she is only 8 months! We are in a mess of trouble with this one X: She definitely loves Landon and no matter how many times he rides his bike over her toes she still looks at him with such a look of love and awe! She has a special love for her brother and can not take her eyes off of him throughout the day. What can I say, we are so blessed to have 2 healthy, happy, beautiful children. What a lucky Mama I am!!

We have enjoyed the recent cooler temperatures and are SO excited for fall to come. I love fall and it has always been my favorite season. Fall means lots of fun things to do as a family, and many traditions with the kids. I can't wait for Halloween and pumpkin patches and costumes, baking and fun with our family and friends! We will miss the carefree, HOT days of another passing California summer, but are so thankful for the changing of the leaves and the crisp fall air.

FFF~ OH BABY!

The theme for this weeks Favorite Foto Friday is Oh Baby! I had a hard time finding baby pictures of the kids because our laptop is only a few weeks old and the pictures are all on the broken laptop! These are side by side photo's of Landon and Brynne from birth until about 4 months old.

Landon on the Left in all pics, Brynne on the Right~
Just Born~


2 weeks~


1 month~


10 weeks~


3 months~


13 weeks~


4 months~


You can view more FFF posts by visiting Sarah's Blog at www.kissthefrog4me.blogspot.com

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Brynne's "ever increasing" mobility

Reason # 112 why I NEVER get anything done during the day...









You'll notice the funny thing she is doing with her tongue in the 2nd picture. Lately she has been playing with her tongue all day long. She always has it twisted or sticking out. It seems as if she has just realized that it is there, too cute!

And while explaining the pictures I should note that the couch featured in the last photo is freakin ugly not exactly my style and should IN NO WAY reflect the taste of either myself or my husband! This couch was loaned to us because we had an out of town guest and needed a sofa bed! Thank you for your time (:

Mama's Helper's

Reason # 67 why I NEVER get anything done during the day...







See Honey, I try and do the dishes...

Random Pictures

Oh to sleep like a baby...


Playing is baby sister's toy...he thinks it is SO fun!


I am so lucky, I get to walk into this happy baby girl after every nap~


Sweet kisses from big brother (he has his binky because he had just gotten up from his nap~


No decent brother and sister pic this week, thanks to little miss 'I can never sit still'


A few pictures from our fun trip to Chuck E. Cheese's this past Saturday. Landon had SO much fun and ran from game to game~

Wordless Wednesday!