Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

Saturday we finally got a good snow storm. Jeremy was out shoveling our walks and Brielle and I were very jealous not to be outside. So we got bundled up and went outside to play. She looked so cute in her coat, snow pants and beanie. We didn't stay oustide too long. Just long enough to get a few pictures. She loved watching Brighton and Trigger barry their faces in the piles of snow Jeremy was making. We are big fans of the snow at our house. I know Jeremy is excited about teaching Brielle to snowboard. But I think we will wait a few more years for that.

Moment almost missed!

Yesterday my babysitter was sick, so I got to stay home from work with Brielle! I was sorry that Jenny was sick, but so happy to be able to stay home. By the end of the day I was even more happy because Brielle decided it was time to crawl! She has been getting so close for weeks now, and we have been waiting for the moment to arrive. I was on the phone in the kitchen and she was playing in the living room, so I was watching her out of the corner of my eye. I knew she would make her move when she didn't think anyone was watching. Sure enough! She wanted her dad's guitar bad enough to take a few crawls in its direction. I got off the phone and started jumping up and down saying yeah!!!! Of course that made her stop crawling and started clapping instead. I coaxed her a few times to get her to do it again. And by evening she was really enjoying her new freedom. She isn't too fast at it yet, thankfully for me! It will keep me busy chasing her as soon as she gets her confidence. I of course called Jeremy at work right after she did it. Unfortunately he didn't have the day off and missed the beginning efforts, but he made up for it when he got home. I was really hoping she would wait until after Christmas so that we wouldn't have to rewrap presents and redecorate the tree, but it so exciting to see her take this next step that it will all be worth it. It makes me sad to think that I might have missed her taking this big step had I been at work. It has really made me appreciate the days I do get to stay at home with her. Even on days like today when she fights her afternoon nap and is cranky all evening.

Celebration!!

This morning I woke up and realized Brielle had slept through the night...really!!! Yipee!! Brielle will be 9 mos in 3 days. She is getting so big! She is getting to be more fun as the days go by. She laughs a lot and dances a lot and fake cries a lot. She has really learned how to try to get her way. Sometimes it works. Brielle has really found a love for music. Every time she hears music she dances, every time she hears someone sing she sings too. At this moment she is scrunching up her nose pulling a face and making me laugh, and then she laughs too. I wish you could hear her laugh. It is so cute. But if you are a mother reading this you know that the best sound is your children's laughter. It is so much fun being a mother. Another thing I am celebrating is my salon floor is now in!! I am no longer doing hair in my laundry room!! Brielle has fun in the salon listening to her voice echo.

Here is a picture of Brielle in the sink taking a bath. The silly little girl likes to pretend she is a "Price is Right" model. Here she is pretending to be holding the next item up for bid.

I yam what I yam!

This is at the

Gates Halloween Party. We dressed up as Popeye, Olive Oyl and Swee' pea!. Brielle was having a good time that night. She is a giggly little girl! There is a trunk or treat at the church on friday (halloween) so we are going to get dressed up for that too.

Best of Friends!

Jeremy and Brielle playing the piano. She loves spending time with Daddy! She gets very excited when she hears the door open and to hear Daddy is home!

October Already!!

I can't believe it is October already! I can't believe my daughter is growing up so fast! I went to see a friend's new baby in the hospital and couldn't believe how big Brielle looked next to her. She is Jeremy's and my greatest Joy!! Here is a picture of her in a sunday dress her Uncle Mike and aunt Kimmie gave her. So cute!! This is Brielle also in one of her bath robes. I think the towel is so funny and Brielle just adds to the character of it!!

I found Brielle's Halloween costume the other day. She is going to be a lady bug! We will post pictures of us all in costume when it draws closer. Jeremy is still figuring out what he is going to be. I wanted to be Cleopatra and him be Pharoah, but he didn't go for the short skirt and no shirt, suprisingly...JK!

Look at those Rolls!!!

Brielle is two days shy of being 7 months old. She loves her reflection and gets very excited to see the baby in the mirror. She has two teeth now on the bottom and chews on everything she gets a hold of. She has also learned how to dance and can't help but move when the music comes on. It is so fun to see her get into the groove. She even dances at the grocery store when she hears the music! Brielle is back to spitting! She started doing it before her first teeth came in so I am waiting for any new ones to come through. Thankfully when she spits at people they think it is cute instead of rude!

Here are some pictures of a few fun things we have done in the last month. We went to the zoo for Brielle's first time. And we also went to Thanksgiving Point to the Labor Day Luau. It was pretty cold that night, so we had to bundle up to stay warm.

Summer Days Driftin' Away....

It has been quite a while since we have posted an update, but there has been a lot going on. For an update on Brielle, who is just shy of 6 months old, she knows how to do "patty cake," "Peek-A-Boo," & "So big!" Brielle weighs 16 lbs, 4 oz., but I am unsure of her length. We will learn that at her Dr appt in a few weeks. Brielle has found her toes and likes to put them in her mouth, yum! She has a lot of new hair coming in too, so her fo-hawk days are limited. Brielle giggles a lot & is a very happy baby!

Last weekend we went to Capitol Reef to take Brielle on her first campout. She did very well and loved being outside and not in her car seat. We hiked to Calf Creek Falls and also a smaller hike in the park. We had a good time with the Bates and little Wesley.

We have had a pretty good summer but it looks like it is almost over. Jeremy is excited for snowboarding season, but I am wanting Autumn first and hope that Utah doesn't skip it this year and go straight into Winter.

First Time for Everything...or just cereal.

Just before turning 5 months old, Brielle had her first tast of rice cereal and she actually really liked it! Jonathan was kind enough to share his high chair with her to let her have her first real meal. She looks so big in the high chair!! She is growing up so fast! Brielle's friend Camryn who was born just 27 hrs after Brielle, had her first taste of cereal on the same day too. They have been reaching most of their milestones together. We hope they will be good friends when they get a little older.

Bath Time

Brielle loves her baths. Whenever she is grumpy we just dip her in the tub (sink) and turn that frown upside down. She has almost out grown her little tub. She is growning so fast. So we decided to try out the sink this time.

Brielle is now 4 1/2 months old. She weighs 14 lbs, 12 oz. and is 25 1/2 inches long. Tuesday she rolled over for the first time on her own and also learned how to scoot on her belly from one end to other in her crib. Time for bumper pads! She likes to suck her thumb and bottom lip.

The 4th of July in Manti

Brielle's first 4th of July celebration!

This 4th of July weekend we went to Manti for the Freedom Festival. It was a fun weekend full of activities. The morning of the 4th, Jeremy, Josalyn, Danny, Kim and Tom ran the 5K for the festival. Jeremy improved on his time by about 3 minutes. He is getting faster each time he runs. Later that day, Brielle was in the Freedom Festival Fashion Show with her cousins at the city park, where all the main events take place. It was fun to relax and eat snow cones and navajo tacos with the family. To get out of the heat we went to Palisades State Park and swam . The water was quite cool, but it felt good in the 100 degree heat. At night we watched the fireworks over the Manti High School's football field. Brielle liked the big fireworks, but not so much the little ones we did at the house the night before. The next day Jeremy, Brielle and I headed to Maple Canyon yo meet up with Danny, Josalyn and Wesley for a little bouldering and hiking. We hiked to the waterfall and had a nice picnic in the canyon. Later that night we met up with the family for dinner and Jeremy was talked into helping his brother and nephews brand their calves. It was the first time I had seen branding done. It was very tiring for the men, but Sharron and I really enjoyed the show. -Heidi

Keep swimming, swimming, swimming -Dori

I thought I would give you an update on Brielle. She is getting so big! She will be 4 months on the 10th, I can hardly believe it! Last Saturday Jeremy and I took her swimming for the first time. I have been trying to find her a swimming suit, but I am afraid we started looking too late, for most stores are sold out of her size. A friend of mine bought her one that is 9 mos in size. We tried it on her just to see how much bigger it was and to our suprise it fit her perfectly. She is not in 9 mos clothing, but the suit must run a little smaller. Brielle loved her first pool experience. I thought maybe she would be too cold since it is a lot cooler than her bath water, but she shivered only a few times. She didn't even cry when other kids splashed her.

This week my mother and I also took her to her first movie; Narnia II. She did very well there too. She only cried once when Lucy screamed, but only for a minute and the theatre was so loud, I don't think anyone else heard her. It was a matinee and so there weren't very many in the theatre. Unfortunately I forgot a binkie, so she gave me a hickie on my arm while watching the movie. I think the war scenes were a little intense for her. The rest of the movie she was glued to the screen. -Heidi

Stone World Update

I am still in the process of recovering from my stone adventure, but for the most part am back to normal. Yesterday I had my stent removed and even though the nurses said I would feel much better afterwards, I felt miserable! The doctor mentioned right at the end of the visit that I would have some cramping and spasms. Wish they would have mentioned that earlier! I barely made it to the sitter to pick up Brielle and home before it all set in. I felt like I was at the beginning again and would have to rush to the ER for relief. I took some pain meds, but they didn't work for quite a while. Thankfully Jeremy rushed home from work to help me out. Everyone keeps welcoming me to the "Stone World," but I pray I never have this experience again. I wouldn't wish a stone upon anyone! -Heidi

Scofield

Last weekend I (Jeremy) went fishing up at Scofield Res with a bunch of friends. My friend Griff invites us up there each summer for guys weekend. They have a pontoon boat and a cabin/house at West Scofield. We always have a good time up there. We caught quite a few fish. On Saturday they had a fishing derby and a pot luck dinner. It was fun. Anyway, while I was gone Heidi was at home having a good time too. She went to the ER at 3 in the morning and found out she has a kidney stone. She was in a lot of pain. And it still hasn't passed. So today she is going in for surgery.
My parents are coming up tonight to visit. Tomorrow my work is giving a tour for its 25 year anniversary. Its rare to let anyone through the tight security, so I'm taking my family through to see some gold and silver. Then Saturday morning I am going to attempt to run another 5K at the West Fest and try and beat my 27 minute record. (sarcastic) . I'm sure all you runners out there reading this think I'm a pansy with that time for a 5K. Back off!

Way to Run!!!

Thought I would let you all know that Jeremy ran the 5k this past Saturday and ran it in 27 minutes! We are very proud of him! He had a great time running with his sister Kim, brother-in-law Tom and nephew Jansen. Jeremy is now talking me into running in the West Fest's 5k in two weeks! Thankfully it is a walk/run. I am not sure I could handle a full on run yet, but I will do my best! This might just end up being a family affair. It would be fun to run one all together someday! Congratulations to Kim who qualified to run the St. George race and was the only one chosen from the drawing! -Heidi

Three Months Old!!

I took this picture of Brielle last week. She was sitting so content in her bouncer while I worked. Grandma & Grandpa Greenhalgh, does this remind you of anyone? Me maybe? Brielle has been sucking on her hands nonstop. She has also found her tongue this week and keeps sticking it in and out. She now wears a bib all day to soak up all the slobber! But she can blow some great bubbles with it! I can't believe how big she is getting. She is 3 months old today! -Heidi

Here is a new picture of Brielle curious as always. She is always looking around. She has a little brown spot appearing in her eyes, maybe she will have brown eyes.

Memorial Day Milestone

This memorial day weekend started out to be just an average weekend. Jeremy was stuck at work doing inventory all weekend and so that meant we were not in Manti for the usual Scandinavian Day Celebration. Brielle and I were at home cleaning house and doing average weekend things. For days now I have tried to get Brielle to giggle when I tickle her, but she usually just grunts and wiggles around. But on Memorial Day, she actually GIGGLED!!!! It was so fun that I couldn't stop. I loved to hear her laugh out loud and react to me tickling her. Everyday now I try to get her to giggle, but she is a Stilson, which means she is stubborn and does it when she is good and ready!

Today though, she has started trying to sit up! When I place her in her car seat or bouncer, she is not content as usual with just laying back and watching me work. She has been really giving her abs a good workout trying to sit up. These milestones are so fun to see. Now she just needs to say Mommy!!!

Ready, Ready, Ready...Ready to Run!!!

Jeremy keeps asking me to put another post on here. I haven't had a lot of time to write any posts so I told him to get on and post about his training for a 5K race he is going to run with his sister Kim. He must be too modest because he doesn't want to mention it. But if you know Jeremy, modest isn't the reason. JK!!!! He has started running in the evenings to get ready for the race. I am so impresseed that he can just go out and run after not running for such a long time. He runs while playing basketball at the gym, but we all know that is not the same. Jeremy is in such great shape!! I am very jealous actually. Before finding out that I was pregnant, I was determined to start running. A 5K race was a goal of mine. I guess it still is but I am a ways behind in training. Maybe next time friends!

Getting through the shots.

Monday, I took Brielle to the Dr's for her two month appt and to get her immunizations. I was really worried for the shots. She did well, but she has been a sad girl over the past couple days. She looked so startled as the nurse poked her with the first syringe and then just started to scream. She cried through the rest of the shots and then for a few minutes afterwards. I gave her her binky and she settled down and fell asleep. Poor girl.

She now weighs 12 lbs and 6 oz and is 24 inches long. The doctor says she is growing and progressing very well. He noticed that she holds her head up well and is very alert.

I attached a picture of her in her Sunday dress and matching shoes the day before the appointment, looking very happy in her car seat.

Hope you are all having a good week!

Heidi

Two Months & one week!

Brielle is now two months old and one week. She is growing very fast!! Today I am taking her to her 2 mos appt. I am not looking forward to her shots. I think I may cry along with her. I am curious to see how much she weighs. I am guessing around 12lbs. She has started talking her own little baby talk. She mimicks the sounds we make and it is fun for me and Jeremy to get her to talk. We are going to try and get some video of it and post it sometime for you all to see.

We took her to Gateway Mall on Saturday to walk around in the warm weather. She loved being there. She is a true girl-loving the mall already. Sunday we went to Liberty Park for a picnic. She didn't like sitting on a blanket as much as walking in her stroller. But she loves the wind blowing through her hair.

Well time to get back to work. We'll let you know how brave she is for her Dr's appt today.

Heidi