A perfect day (:

On Saturday, I planned a fun day outside for me & the boys. I'm sick of being stuck inside the house all the time & having no lawn in our yard makes it pretty hard to do stuff out there. So since it was the weekend, I decided we were gonna spend lots of time out in the sunshine!

First, we went up to Dixie rock for a little hike. We put Bransyn in his little back carrier thingy, for the first time in a lonnnng time. He was kind of freaked out at first, he was holding onto Ryan so tight. haha.

It was really hot, so we only hiked for about half an hour. Bransyn really enjoyed being up there, climbing on all the rocks. (well, on daddy's back! haha) Maybe when it starts to cool down in September we can go again before it gets too cold.


After we got done there, we went over to the splash pad at the park in Ivins. The night before, we went to the store & got some food so that we could have a picnic there as well. When we first got there, Bransyn couldn't take his eyes off of all the kids playing in the water! But surprisingly, he sat & ate ALL of his food before even trying to book it over there! And I was verrrry surprised at how much he ate! He ate half of a hogie sandwich (which was what I gave him) a bunch of chips, & a bunch of pretzels. Then later he had a banana & some mandarin oranges. After he was done eating, Ryan took him to play in the water. He's never been there before, so he didn't really know what it was or what to do. It was also a tad bit windy over on that part of town, so when he got wet he was cold. He did play in it & had a good time for a while, though! (:

After he was done playing, he came over & just played with me & Ry in the sunshine. He loves to just be outside! We layed out & he played with cups. haha. It was a blast! (:

We stayed at the park for a good 3 hours! It really was such a fun day! I love getting out & doing things like this with my boys. Especially since it was all free ;) (okay, besides the food haha) I really wish we could find more kid/family-friendly things to do in this town, that don't cost a whole lot. And that Bransyn would actually cooperate with. But for now, I'm fine with just doing things like this (:

Casa de Bransyn

Bransyn finally has his own room (:

Not in our own house, quite yet... but since Ash moved to Salt Lake & took all of her stuff out of that room, we just moved him in there.
(Amanda didn't want Camden out of her room yet, so there were no problems with that :)


Since he has been in my room for the past year & a half, I didn't have a TON of stuff to decorate with. So it's still kinda bare. But once I can figure out what else I want to put in there & find the stuff, it will be a little more decorated (:


Here are some pictures of it!

I want to get either styrene or gator mounting for 3 of the pictures me & him just had done together in 11 X 14 sizes & put them above his dresser. It's gonna be a little bit pricey, so I just gotta wait til we have the extra money to spend on that.

I also want to get his whole name spelled out above his crib & possibly paint the letters blue. (in my room the white 'b' was up against a light blue wall, so it stuck out more. haha

I did actually move his Build-A-Bear puppy from his dresser, to the top of that white thing next to the window, right under the picture. Then I framed another picture of him from when he was a baby, & put it where the puppy was on the dresser.

His closet is still used for a little bit of storage ;) haha. And hopefully we will be adding to his clothes soon... I swear he just BARELY had too many things to fit in a closet. I hate when he still fits in clothes, but the season changes. Usually they grow out of them too fast.

And his shoes (: I love his shoes. (his little Nike flippy's are dirrrrty from playing outside, haha)

I'm hoping to find some kind of a book case to put in there to stick all the books on. Or even some kind of shelf to put on the wall for a few books & put 'stoppers' on both sides of the books. I hope that makes sense, I dunno how else to explain it. haha


I would also like to get a bunch of pictures in black frames & stick them on the empty part of the wall between his crib & the window.


And my last idea would be to get some kind of a saying/quote in vinyl to stick on the wall, probably above his door. The only problem with that is when me get our own place, I don't think I would be able to remove it and re-apply it to his room there.



I'll get it all figured out (:



Anyways, he is doing SO well sleeping in a room on his own! I thought it would definitely take some adjusting to, but he really hasn't had any problems! He goes right to sleep at night and sleeps through the night by himself. I thought I would need monitors so that I could hear him when he wakes up, but I guess somehow I still hear him in my sleep from all the way down the hall. I do sometimes get a little worried about him being that far from me for the night though, just in case something were to happen. But all kid's gotta break away from mama at some point (:

You are now looking at. . .

A High School Graduate!!!



That's right, I took my GED today & passed!




I am 2 years late, but better late then never, right? (:


I worked my butt off for 2 weeks straight (plus some other random days prior to those 2 weeks)
got all of my hours & work done in class.
Wrote an essay at home.

Then got signed up to take the biggest test of my life. (Thus far)


I went in feeling pretty confident. I mean, I wanted to pass... I didn't want to think I was gonna fail & bring those negative vibes.

First I did the 2 parts to the math test, 45 questions each. I thought there were a few questions that were quite challenging, but overall... it was easier then I thought it would be.

Then I did the writing part of the English test. That was 50 multiple choice questions, plus an essay at the end. The essay was what I was most worried about, since I didn't get to choose the topic. Luckily, I got a VERY easy topic
{What was a major change in your life that had a positive effect on you?}
I wrote about having Bransyn.

Then I went to lunch with Ryan & my mama.

When I came back, I did the Science test. A few questions in, my confidence went down.
There was not a lot on there that I KNEW right away. I had to reallly think about each choice that was given, and chose the answers I felt best fit each question. After that subject, I wasn't sure if I would pass.

Then came the Social Studies test. And my confidence went even MORE down. After this test, I just knew that I wasn't going to pass. I did my absolute best, but I didn't think that it was good enough.

The last test of the day, was the reading part of the English test. I thought this one was easy peasy (:



After I finished my last test, I went out to go to the bathroom, came back & sat on the couch in the waiting area and waited nervously for them to come give me my results.


When the guy walked out, he had this look on his face like he was about to tell me 'I'm sorry, but you didn't pass. Better luck next time!'

& I felt my heart sink.

But what he REALLLY said.. shocked me.


'You did it.'

'Uhh, wha.. I DID?!'
was my reply.


I grabbed the envelope & walked out the door.
I opened it up, looked at my diploma, and got the biggest smile on my face that didn't leave the rest of the day.
I really did it.

Finally.

:)

(excuse the horrible lighting & me looking all nasty... it was a lonnnng day of testing ;)


The cake my mama got me.
The girl that wrote on it obviously did not have very much experience, haha.
But it sure was yummy (:

(& by the way, its spelled conGRADulations for a reason ;)






I feel so accomplished (:




My graduation ceremony will be on June 24th at 7:00 pm

I'm so glad they are having a ceremony for this school, cause that's one thing I realllly felt like I missed out on by not graduating with my class.









I still can't believe that
I did it.

18 Months!

Our baby boy is a year and a half!!!

Can you believe it?! Only SIX more months until he is.....




Two.
Oh my gosh.


• he says horse more clearly now. before it used to be 'hoh' but now, it's 'hoyse' And boy, is he obsessed with them! He loves to look at pictures of horses, look out Ryan's back door & see his pa's horse, watch them on the TV and play with toy horses.

• he says 'peace' (: and I LOVE it!

• he says 'cheese' when I pull out my phone or camera to take a picture of him.

• sometimes when I go to take pictures of him, he'll hide his face (like I showed in a previous post)

• he also likes to hide his face when we tell him it's time for bed & he'll run into the corner. Or when we play 'get you'. Or sometimes if you just look at him! haha

• 'get you' is a little thing we play, where we tickle him, then he'll run away & we'll say 'get you! get you!' Well lately he'll switch up the roles & run after us saying 'detchoo'

• he says please if we tell him to. he'll also say thank you sometimes.

• he says 'all right!'

• i think that the reason he doesn't say mama, mom, or mommy is because he's having trouble pronouncing his m's. (or just forgot how to, cause he used to say mama & mom!) The reason I think this, is because everything that he says that starts with an M, he replaces with a B. Ex. mom=ba, moose=boose, macy=bace, moo=boo. the only time he DOES use an M with, is when he goes 'mmmm' (for food, of course! haha)

• he loves to help us with things! the other day I was doing laundry & asked him if he wanted to help. he came running down the hall to help me. as I was sorting through his clothes & mine, I would put his on the floor next to his hamper for him to put in. Every time I would lay a piece of clothing down, I would say pants. Then he would say pants, pick them up & throw them in the hamper. Then I would say shirt, he'd say shirt, pick it up & throw it into the hamper. He would do it with socks & shorts, too. The only thing he wouldn't say, was onesie... because he can't pronounce it! haha.

• he copy's us a lot. whether it's repeating words that we say (good thing we both stopped swearing... for the most part!) or doing what we do. he likes to copy us when we dance in the car, or when I tap my fingers on the desk/counter & he's sitting on my lap, whatever it is... he'll do it!

• he likes to help himself to the pantry. sometimes I find him sitting on the floor eating food that he pulled out of the pantry, sometimes I find him sitting on the floor eating DOG food from the pantry. Taking after his aunty Ashlyn with the dog food... ;) hahahahaha, sorry Ash!

• he thinks it is hilarious to pick up the dog food out of the bowl & have Bandit eat it out of his hands. Or he likes to grab a handful & throw it on the ground for Bandit to get.

• he says 'ban' for Bandit

• he's learned how to open the pantry doors... that would explain him always getting in there.

• he has an obsession with opening & closing doors. he can open my bedroom door (because it's broken & doesn't stay closed unless you lift it up to lock into place -- really confusing!) he can open doors that have the pull down handles. Luckily he hasn't been able to open the twisty knob doors, yet. But he can close any door.

• he likes to say 'ow' whenever I give him food. he pretends it's hot, without even touching it! haha.

• he can put his shoes on himself. sometimes he can only get the right one on, for some reason. but he does get them both on at times. and on the CORRECT feet! (it's just his slip-on ones, since the other ones have to be tied) I'd say that's pretty good for a 1 1/2 year old!

• he's still obsessed with everyone else's shoes, too. And he can put those on the right feet as well!

• he still talks a lot of 'gibberish' but is getting better & better with his words everyday!

• he loves to turn the tv off & on.

• he eats regular cereal for breakfast. not everyday, but that's one of his fav's!

• he sings (: he'll say 'la la la la' or, he will sing along to certain songs:
- Baby by Justin Beiber
He'll sing the 'Oooh' part at the beginning and also the 'baby baby baby' part.

- Don't Stop Believing The cover done by Sam Tsui
He'll sing the 'da da da da' parts

- Say Aah by Trey Songz
He'll sing the 'ahh ahh ahh' parts.

It's super cute! (:

• he absolutely LOVES to play outside! I'm sure he would stay out there alll day long if he could!

• he has FINALLY learned how to go DOWN the stairs. the first half, he'll go down backwards. Then when he turns the corner to go down the second half, he'll try to hold onto the railing & walk down them, but slips onto his but & just scoots down the forward. (the only house we ever go to that has stairs in is the house I babysit at, & that's how their stairs are)

• he loves to rub lotion on his belly & hair. haha. he also loves to put hand sanitizer on his hands. every time he see's the bottle, he'll put his hand out for a squirt. (don't worry, I only give him a teensy bit & make sure it's completely dry before I put him down)

• he is really good at following simple commands & seems to understand really well!

• he always opens & closes his mouth when he shakes his head yes. it is HILARIOUS to watch! (:



Our little man is getting SO big & definitely learning things faster then I can keep up! He's got quite the personality & we just love him!
Seriously can't believe it's been a year & a half since he was born, though!

Time to start the party planning for Birthday #2! I've already got the theme picked out, some ideas for his 2 year pictures & the invitations, some of the decorations & stuff to go along with the theme! I'm trying to figure out a location, and find a photographer. (I was kinda bummed at the pictures we got from his 1st... so if I can find a photographer to come for a reasonable price & we have the extra money... I'll do that! Crossing my fingers it's possible, cause big events like this I like to have GOOD pictures! :)

Fix my kid?

Seriously, I swear there is constantly some kind of medical issue going on with my child.
Okay joking.
Actually, I am thankful that this is ALL that is going on... cause it could be muuuuuch worse.
But still... all you mama's understand. We hate seeing something wrong with our sweet babies!

So anyways... the new issues.

#1
Last Monday, Bransyn threw up after his nap. Just that one time all day. Then a few days later... did it again. Just once. Then a few days after that... again, & just once. I did not know what the deal was... I thought that if he was sick, he would be throwing up more then once a day & it would most likely be everyday. Also, his #2 diapers were... let me just say that it was like he was a little baby again.. you know, the 'explosion' diapers. (that's the best I could do without sharing too many gross details! haha) So I was trying to figure out what could be causing that, since I figured he wasn't sick. I decided to just wait it out for a few days & see if it got better. Then I realized that he had been having a lot of juice lately & that might of been causing it. So we stopped giving him juice & continued waiting for it to get better.

#2
I think it was last Thursday that I noticed a little bump on Bransyn's right ring finger, right where it bends. It just looked like a blister, so that's what I figured it was. Well on Saturday, we went up to Ryan's parent's house so that he could help move some furniture. Bransyn was playing outside & touched an old wheelbarrow & got a little sliver in his pinky. As Ryan's dad was getting it out, he saw the bump & asked what it was. I said that I just thought it was a blister. Then his sister looked at it & said it looked like a staph infection. That kinda put my stomach in knots, because I have heard of some HORRIBLE things that resulted from a staph infection. She said that her husband had one a while ago, so she was familiar with what they looked like. She said that if it had green puss in it, then it was a staph infection. So after he got the sliver out, he popped the 'bump' & sure enough, there was green puss. So we cleaned it & stuck a band-aid on it. I decided that I was not gonna mess around with that & get him into the Dr ASAP, so that we could find out exactly what to do for treatment to avoid it getting any worse!

Monday, I called & made an appointment with the nurse practitioner to confirm our diagnosis of the bump & also to see if she could figure out what could be causing his throwing up & yucky diapers. She looked at his finger first & said that it definitely looked like staph. She said that since it was right on his joint, that if it didn't get taken care of correctly, it could get in there & cause major problems. So she said to just keep it as clean as possible at all times & gave me a prescription for an ointment to stick on his finger to help fight the infection. She said that it should help, but if it the redness doesn't go down, or if it looks like it's spreading, or going up his arm... then I need to bring him back in right away for to take something orally to get rid of it. So for now, I'm just keeping an extremely close eye on it & making sure I keep it super clean!
I also found out that staph can happen to anyone, anywhere on their body. I was really worried that I had somehow let him come in contact with something that caused it. But turns out, everyone has staph on their skin. When you get a cut or anything like that, that the staph doesn't like (ha, that's how the dr explained it) it will find it's way in there & infect it. If you let it go untreated, or wait too long... that's when it will start to cause problems. I am SO thankful that Nikki knew what it looked like & I didn't just let it go, since I thought it was just a blister. I don't know what I would of done if it had caused major problems from not getting it taken care of in time!
So if you ever have a blister like bump & it has green puss in it... GO GET CHECKED ASAP! Staph is some serious business!

After we got that all figured out, I asked her what she thought could be causing his other problems. She said that there is a stomach virus going around right now, that is just causing those 2 things. She also mentioned that with this virus, milk upsets the stomach. Then I realized that every time he would throw up, it was milk! (Ahh, gross I know, sorry!) Since he wasn't throwing up that much, he probably just has a mild case of it. Especially since he drinks a lot of milk. She said that cutting out the juice was good, & to also start giving him 1 or 2% milk so that it's diluted, until he's better. So far it seems like that is helping! So we'll see how everything goes with that & hopefully he'll be better in a few days!

Mother's Day

I had a pretty good & relaxing Mothers Day this year.

I got to sleep in.

{i woke up to breakfast being made}
waffles & bacon -- mmm!

{the boys played outside in the sandbox while I relaxed in the sunshine}

{i received my gift, that i am in absolute love with}
Click here to check out the website I got this off of.
They have a TON of cute stuff to choose from.
I came across this site & chose this one out a few months ago. The reason I chose this one, is because the song I always sing to Bransyn is 'you are my sunshine'
That is the only song he will calm down for, & just lay on me & listen to.
This necklace definitely means a lot to me (:

{we went to olive garden for dinner}
The three of us, plus Ryan's parents, his sister & her husband, my mom, Amanda, Bryce & Camden all went. We treated our moms to dinner for mama's day <3>

{we went home & sat outside on the porch swing}

{i showed Bransyn how to smell the flowers...}

{...and we smelled them together}

{i sat back & watched my sweet baby learn}

{i realized how much i love being a mommy to the most amazing little boy, for the 10 billionth time}

{i loved on my necklace}





Oh. And Ryan did my laundry for me (:





I had a pretty good day & I'm so thankful for the little boy that gave me a reason to be a part of this day.
I love this poem/saying so I thought I would include it in my Mother's Day post (:

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him/her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom




I hope all you mama's out there had a wonderful day! You are truly blessed <3>

My boy wants to. . .

potty all the time....



Yes, that's right.


POTTY.



Today, Bransyn used his potty - for something other then a seat - for the very first time...





He went pee pee in his potty!


Not once.
Not twice..
But THREE times!



The first time I stuck him on there, I got his 'Potty Time Elmo' book so that he would sit there for longer then 5 seconds. This book is one of the talking ones, where you push the buttons on the side. A few pages in, I notice he was, um, sticking his hand in the potty. So as I was telling him no & removing his hand from there... I notice that he had gone pee pee! So of course, we had to go wake daddy up & show him, and also go show Grandma. This is a big moment, didn't you know?

The second time, I was in the bathroom getting ready & he came in there, opened the lid to his potty, and was trying to sit on it, while saying 'pee pee' So I said, 'Oh you have to go pee pee?' Thinking that he just wanted to chill on the potty, like he has so many times before. So I take his diaper off (he didn't have clothes on, ha) and sit him on there. He starts going right away! And yes. We showed daddy & Grandma... again. (:

Time number 3, was when I was changing his diaper & I thought I would just try sticking him on there to just kind of get in his head, that's where you go to go potty. (since his diaper was pretty close to dry!) And sure enough, he goes for a third time... in ONE day!

I am SO proud of this little man! We are not even actively trying to potty train him! He got a potty for Christmas, and every once in a while we'll sit him on there just so he'll get used to it. Usually he'll sit there for a few seconds, then get up. I guess the other day while my mom was watching him, he was saying 'poo poo', so my mom went & sat him on the potty & he was acting like he was trying to go, but never did. So he definitely knows what it's for! And he knows what pee pee & poo poo means, too. haha.

We're still not gonna force potty training on him quite yet. But we will continue to stick him on there every once in a while, just so that he is used to and comfortable with the potty. And also so that he knows what to do on there by the time we do start the actual potty training, which will be at least after he turns 2. Unless of course he decides that HE wants to use the potty all the time. I am hoping that since he's already doing this, the real potty training will be a piece of cake ;) Crossing my fingers! haha




Good job, Bransyn! We are sooo proud of you! (:

Workin' at the carwash. . .

Bransyn got to help Grandma wash her car!

He had a blast.
He's such a good helper!

Shower time!

This kid love love LOVES to take showers! Or as he says it, 'dowa'
He has recently learned how to wash his hair, as well as his daddy's hair (:

Camera shy... ish.

Today, I went to take some pictures of Bransyn playing under the table. As soon as he saw the camera, he started hiding his eyes! haha, he's never been 'camera shy' He usually just says 'teeeeze!' (cheese) when he see's me taking pictures of him. I thought it was SO cute & silly though (:

Mama got sneaky and caught one without him covering his eyes ;)

Spring Pictures 2010!

Here are {some of} the pictures me & Bransyn had done on April 16, by Errin Andrus!






































{I have these + a few more posted on facebook, if you have not seen them yet}

I am sooo happy with how they turned out & I am sooo glad that I had them done! I absolutely LOVE them! I highly recommend her if you are looking to get some AMAZING pictures done! I promise, you won't be disappointed with the restuls (:

website.
blog.

Check her out (:


I can't wait to get these babies printed! (: