More food please?

Somehow, Spaghetti, corn, berries, and crackers have never looked so good. Top it with a sippy full of mixed fruit juice and you have yourself one tasty treat! Plus, just about the cutest face to be seen!





On Monday, Rusty and I went on a road trip. Not a long one mind you, just 30 minutes, but we got out of Gaithersburg. We drove up to a town called Fredrick which is about 30 minutes north. As you drive the highways here, you can watch deer feeding a few feet off the freeway. While we were driving to church on Sunday, we passed a dead one on the road. They are small compared to the ones we are used to seeing at home, but it's nice to feel a little like I'm not consumed with the city. The trees are thick, almost to the point of claustrophobia here and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of colors spring and summer will bring.

The purpose of driving to Fredrick was nothing glamorous. We went to fill out baskets with the bounties of Wal-Mart Super store and Costco. We saved around $40 on our monthly grocery bill doing that. It will become a weekly trip we decided. While in Wally world, we happened to check out baby toys. Brylee is learning to stay steady on her feet and move around so we wanted to check out some toys that would be good to help her. Plus, she turns 1 in May. Can you believe that? My mind can but my heart certainly can not.

As we are trudging down the toy aisle, I stopped at a certain toy that holds fond memories for me as a kid. While young, I used my glowworm to be my nightlight at night. Even though it had a hard plastic body, I slept with it consistently. They have made strides at making the faces much more appealing and I couldn't help but stop when I saw it. I took it and handed it to Brylee to test her reaction (Rusty thinks I am crazy for testing her but if she hates it, is there really any reason to spend the money?). She LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! She would kick and squeal and laugh as we pushed Mr. Glowworms chest, and he would light up and sing to her.

Next was Costco, and she was already two hours past her nap-time. We opened the toy and for the rest of the trip, all we heard was the sweet gigglings and squeals of our almost 1 year old. A lady stopped in Costco and asked "Is she always that happy?" I couldn't be more proud to say that most of the time, yes she is.

(Would have tried to sneak a pic of her sleeping with him, but she is a light sleeper and would have woken up.)

Let me count the ways

I promised to find things I love about Washington D.C. Actually, since we don't live right in D.C, I'm going to start saying Maryland since that is technically where we live. As far as the things I love go, I have two new ones.

My phone has a GPS on it. I think I will start calling her Lucy. No streets are on a grid system here so you end up in who knows the hell where if you don't have a GPS around to figure crap out. Roads that go east and west for two miles turn and go north and south, then turn back again. Its crazy. You would think that with men as smart as the Founding Fathers around, they would have designed something a little smarter. Considering that fact, as much as I love Lucy, she isn't always the best guide. So, I love that in almost every intersection in Maryland, you can make legal U-Turns! It has become a very efficient option for me when Lucy and I don't always get along.

The other, is that my home-made bread rises VERY good out here. I don't know if it has been the moisture we have had, but my bread and cinnamon rolls have been fantastic!

Now, if I could find us a house that was built before 1975, AND that cost less than $1800/month to rent, all would be right with the world.

Different Turn

Not often do I rant or rave about politics on my blog. I use it for journaling purposes mostly, and only try to express my feelings about things that are about my beautiful family or more non-controversial (seeing as I'm not paid and don't have a huge fan base, why would I?). But, today I can't keep quiet. I went to sleep sick to my stomach. Only part of it was health related. I was really upset about developments in the new health care legislation that was passed.

See, for anyone who doesn't know, my daughter was born with two different conditions which STILL require and will continue to require regular medical treatment. While in the process of changing jobs, Rusty and I paid $500 a month for COBRA coverage FOR JUST BRYLEE, because if we didn't, her treatments for those conditions would be completely out-of-pocket. Of course I didn't want to pay this, and of course, I wish that the public option wasn't so expensive, but it is what is required for my daughter to have what she needs.

So, when I learned yesterday that the law makers pulled a bait-and-switch in regards to more than one MAJOR issue in the bill, I was FUMING!!! Unlike what was shoved down our throats that pre-existing conditions for children would no longer exist...that it would take effect IMMEDIATELY, we were lied to. Some if not most will not be covered until 2014. We were also lied to that health care would not cover abortion. No matter what an Executive Order says, our new health care plan WILL pay for abortions. (Please do research about this executive order, it is basically a political rouse. An executive order CAN NOT overturn a law when the law has specific terms written in, which the abortion clause does.)

I watched as a woman came on and tried to defend the reasoning behind this "miss" in the legislation. Basically, the most intelligent answer she gave was "Well, the , terminology in the bill is very technical." .....Really? That's all you've got to tell the American people? Basically, the law makers who passed this bill don't know how to read fine print? Isn't that their job?

Oh ya, that's right....your job is to sit in your office, draw your bloated salaries, and NOT pay attention!! It's a huge sign to me that even our most executive offices in the government are not forced to participate in this health care like the rest of the American people are. Shouldn't that tell us something?

As far as the American people go, I wonder....if you stopped paying for your expensive clothes, eating out, watching movies, and lots of other unnecessary items that we spend our money on everyday...do you think you could cover your family? Most if not ALL Americans could at least afford major medical coverage for their family if these were cut from our lives. I know, Rusty and I have done it.

So, if you disagree with me, that's fine. I just hope your children are the lucky ones that don't have any pre-existing conditions that may or may not be covered until 2014. I fear for you that you don't find yourselves VERY disappointed in this socialism.

Whach ya eatin?

I knew yesterday was going to be a doosey. I woke up tired. Brylee didn't sleep so good (or long) and I wanted to crawl right back in our rented bed and drift off to a sweet slumber.

Instead, I loaded the washer to get my day of laundry started. As I am loading aforementioned washer, Brylee crawls in under my feet. This is not good. Our laundry room is the size of a normal bathroom linen closet. Our stackable washer and dryer are the only thing that fits in there. I load it while standing in the doorway almost. She crawls under my feet, then in an uncharacteristic move for her, she retreats all on her own.

That should have tipped me off. She NEVER leaves the laundry room until I forcefully remove her. For some reason that room is like the forbidden apple. She just can't stay away.

I had closed the door behind me, walked back to our bedroom, and was on my way to the kitchen to cook breakfast when I hear Rusty. Now, Rusty doesn't panic, most of the time he laughs and tells me to quite worrying about stuff. So, when there was a little bit of alarm in his voice I knew I'd better go.

I found Brylee sitting on the floor with what looked like Mormon gravy coming out of her mouth. It was lumpy and totally NASTY! I freaked a little. Dad nabit! Why did my daughter have to be the human vacuum? I grabbed her and started pulling crap out of her mouth. She was crying, I was yelling, and Rusty was standing there laughing.

It was drywall. Yep, you heard right. My daughter was eating drywall.

Rusty continued to laugh. She was mad at me for taking it away. Whatever to you both!

Luckily, my daughter usually has better taste in food. She has been feeding herself for a while now with puffs but I can't get her to like any other textures. We tried mashed up bananas, green beans, mashed potatoes (without butter or milk), and apples. Nothing. She didn't like any of it.

This however she loves! She must have some of Grandpa Wilkins in her.


These are becoming fast favorites! (Ritz crackers)

Firsts

On May 13, 2005, Rusty and I were married. Definitely a first for us both.

For our honeymoon we went on a cruise. That was a first for both of us as well.

A week later, we signed papers on our first house. Yep, it was that quick. Again, another first.

I can remember crying on our way home from signing those papers. What should have been a happy moment in our lives, and I was crying. To tell the truth, I had major doubts about buying that house, but selfishness usually wins when you want something so bad, so we bought a house.

I can remember every trip we made out there to see the progress as it was being built. In fact, I have pictures of every milestone. I would even have Becky (Rusty's sister) go and take pics for me since she already lived in the neighborhood. The most memorable of them all, was a trip we made to see that the framing was complete. We stood across the street hand in hand and looked with pride at our first home. I remember telling Rusty, "Just think, we will bring our babies home in this house!" I won't...actually I can't describe for you the terror that immediately showed in Rusty's eyes.

Then, the day we moved in I was so stressed trying to get everything taken care of that I had completely lost my voice. (It happened when I tried planning our high school graduation too!) I just sat there pointing to his family and mine as they were trying to help us. That was annoying. But, we were in our first home.

We had our first married Christmas in that home. One of my favorite memories too.

We brought Bronx home to that house. I stayed awake until 4:00 am trying to start the potty training process. He peed all over my floor...multiple times. He got it after a few days.

Rusty worked really hard putting in a back yard for our family. We spent lots of time out there. We both loved it.

And best of all, Brylee was born while we lived there. I remember every part of decorating Brylee's nursery. I had the house cleaned top to bottom before she came home. Rusty and I walked around the neighborhood for an hour and a half trying to keep my contractions going (we went to the hospital but they sent me home). I remember walking out of the front door a week over due and thinking "The next time I walk in that door, I will be carrying my new baby!"

The day we packed up and walked away, I sat on the stairs crying. Such a huge decision we made moving there. Such huge moments in our lives took place there.

So when I received the documents we needed to sign for the sale of our house yesterday, I cried again. I know it's just drywall and lumber. But it holds all of our "Firsts". No matter what, it will always be our house.

(I have no pics of the house with me...sorry!)

Help

I really need help trying to figure out why I can never upload videos to blogger. any suggestions?

From her point of view

I wish I could see the world from Brylee's eyes. What it would be like to see something new everyday. As we were walking around D.C, she spent some time on daddy's shoulders. We happened to walk by a lady who was sitting quietly on her own. Probably trying to build herself back up enough to endure through the rest of her work week. Something about that woman tickled Brylee, and she let out the sweetest and cutest giggle. The woman's face lit up and you could tell that getting through the day just got a little easier.

Brylee's world revolves around a window in our house. I spend a lot of time on the computer during the day, so she gravitates towards where I am. Directly behind my chair is a window that goes from floor to ceiling. Brylee watches the world go by from that window. I can always tell when someone is walking by because she starts to pound on the window to get their attention. Some look up and smile, others don't notice or have ipods in. No matter what, she loves looking out at her world from the window.





And just for Grandma's sake, thought I would show them what Bry's teephers look like!

"Liberty to All"

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER


I get choked up reading this. I get chocked up at a lot of things, but I have a love of history and this chokes me up. Of all of the monuments to see in D.C, this is the only one that I HAD to go to.

The day that I visited Pearl Harbor, I can not explain the emotion. You are standing above a tomb for thousands of men. Black, White, Asian it just didn't matter. They had died because they believed in Freedom. I had similar feelings yesterday standing at the marbled feet of Abraham Lincoln. When you think about what he did, for our nation, for civil rights, for the human race, you can not help but stand in awe. When we walked in Rusty told me, "Don't let me rush you, take your time." I thought it was sweet that he understood how much it meant to me. I would have cried I think if not for the huge multitude of people standing around us.

We walked by the WWII museum and I got choked up again. My Grandfather fought in WWII. I have read quite a bit about the war and the conditions of the Allied troops as they fought towards Germany. You can't help but stop and think and pay respect to the memory of the men who walked in the Bataan Death March. There were high school kids running around screaming and joking....I wanted to scream. To somehow instill in them the reverence for the sacrifice this monument represented. Yet, I'm not sure I was much different then myself.



I was surprised at how the White House was somehow....demure. It was understated among buildings much more architecturally amazing. It is hard to describe my feelings at seeing it. I found it funny when the Hot Dog lady asked us to say "Hi" to Obama for her when she found out where we were heading. I turned around to immediately murmur "Like HELL I will!" No matter who walks the halls now, great men have walked there. I was proud to know it stood as a symbol for freedom and greatness, even if it wasn't always portrayed that way to the world.

We walked around in sunshine. Brylee napped through most of it (thankfully), and we had smiles on our faces almost the whole time. It will take many trips to be able to see everything I want to see. The Smithsonian's alone will take days. It was great to explore, to see for ourselves things we have only seen in books and movies. (By the way, you know if Forest Gump when Jennie runs to Forest as he stands by the Lincoln Memorial? You can see the tall Washington Monument in the background. Remember as she wades through the reflection pool? Ya, all of those things are a lot farther apart than it appears in the movie.)

And, as a side note, I found a lot of nice people in the subway. I almost didn't make it on the train with Rusty, and this nice man grabbed me and pretty much threw me on. I was never so grateful to be manhandled before in my life! All in all, it was a great day in D.C.

Rusty feeding the squirrel an M&M

Just starting the day.

1st Subway ride for Brylee and Mom!



Playing in the grass.

White House Garden

Lions Pride

You know on Lion King when they first introduce Simba to the world? Can you remember the look of pride on Mufasa and Sarabi's faces? I now know the source of that pride. I now know how you can be so totally in love with a child.

I look at Brylee sometimes and this feeling down deep lets me know that no love can be the same as a mother for her child. It is so eternal, so....for lack of a better term...from another planet or better yet, a source. Then there are other times that I look at her while she is whining and I think if I get close enough to her at that particular moment I might pinch her head off. That's when I take a deep breath, go to my computer, and pull up pictures from other times when I remember how much I love her. It doesn't take long at all.

She is nine months now and I swear she is smarter than I am sometimes. I think if she could talk she would ask me.."Really mom? Are you really that dumb?" I haven't updated this in a long time but I did want to record some of the awesome things she has done lately.

Feb. 15th 2010- 8 1/2 months. We were on our way to Washington D.C. We stopped in some small town where there was a Days Inn and let her crawl in the lobby. She finally got it and that's all it took. She motors everywhere and is into everything.

Feb 20th 2010-8 1/2 months. She started clapping her hands when told "Yay Brylee!" She was so proud of herself. She would keep one hand in a fist for a long time but eventually she got it. Now she LOVES to play patty cake.

Feb 26th 2010- 8 3/4 months. She learned how to wave "Hi" and "Bye". The first time she did it I took a video and she just looked at her hand like, "Wow, I'm really doing it!"

Right now she is learning to throw her hands in the air when we say "TA-DA". I'll post a video when she does. She tends to sit and clap and wave and clap and wave and clap and wave....just like a good monkey does!

We finally got her a high chair (yes, long time in coming), and she thinks she is pretty hot stuff feeding herself the puffs.

She finally drew her first good blood when she tried pulling herself up to the coffee table. She landed her mouth and nose right on the corner of the leg and won herself a pretty good swollen lip. It only lasted for a little while and of course I forgot to take pics. The bridge of her nose was swollen for a day too. I'm telling you, those bumps are hard to take sometimes!

As far as her personality goes, she is the most fun loving kid I have ever seen. It doesn't take much anymore to get her to give you a huge smile and giggle. He laugh is starting to change from a small infant to an older babies laugh. It makes me sad that she is growing up so fast.

I have thought a lot the last couple days about learning. She has made me think a lot about our Heavenly Father watching us learn. He watches us learn to walk and talk and move and read. He watches us learn how to interact with others, how to respect others, and watches us learn how to learn. I think I have gained a better understanding of what D&C 98:12 says, "For He will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept;..." She teaches me that (in most cases), you cannot walk before you learn to stand, balance, and move correctly. Even so, I can not expect to learn more unless I am learning and mastering the basics.

Maybe this is the propose of having children. To learn from them things that can be taught no other way. In that case, I hope someday that we can stand together and she can present me as her mother and be proud.

19 Week Ultrasound


Brylee 3 Months Old




9 months old

THE MAN

So, Uncle Sam, you may have gotten the better of us this year....but just you wait! Next year you will anty up a big fat return to make up for this year. Ya, you heard me...big AND fat!