I Had A Birthday...

...Shout Hooray! One year older and wiser too. Well, one year older. Not so sure about the 'wiser too' part.

I cannot believe that I am 39. Seriously? 39? Are you sure? Let me check my birth certificate. Yep. Thirty-Nine! Wow...are you shocked? I certainly am.

I love my birthday. That should come as no surprise to many of you. And this year, like many others, my birthday was perfect! This birthday taught me some new definitions of love.

Love = Breakfast in bed cooked by husband.
Love = A surprise lunch with my mom and sisters. Tina took a three hour flight here and a three hour flight home, just to spend a couple hours at lunch to celebrate my big day. We ate at Normandies and of course, we had to have dessert! Together, my mom, Tina and Cheryl pulled off a fabulous surprise! Mom even showered me with confetti. That made it officially a party...=)
Love = A Thai Massage! Tyler secretly set up an hour massage appointment for me. We pulled up, he handed me my stuff and said he'd be back in an hour. Heaven!
Love = Dinner with my two favorite people - Tyler and Holland.
Love = New speakers for my computer and a bag of Recees Peanut Butter Cups!
Love = A no napping baby (aka Holland was awake all day!) Her daddy said she was just so happy about my birthday she wanted to spend the ENTIRE day with me. And she did.

Love = Phone calls, texts and FB messages from family and friends. Some of them even sang!
Love = Dinner and new books to read from my mother- and father-in-law. (Friday night.)
Love = Little gifts dropped off on my doorstep - like the precious necklace below from my friend, Lesa Wells. We serve in the RS Presidency together. Seriously - how thoughtful!
Love = Lunch with Sheri - without any babies. It was nice...and it was weird...and it seemed totally normal at the same time. I have a GREAT bestie! (Friday lunch.)

If all of that isn't LOVE, I'm not sure I know what is! Thanks for making me feel special on my special day...

Five Months

Dear Time,

It's been FIVE MONTHS? Already? Please slow down. That's all.

Love,

Holland's Mommy and Daddy

Holland is as obviously as surprised as we are about how fast the time has gone!

Four Years Later

Tyler and I had only been dating a few months when his parents happened to be in town visiting, so I got to meet them. I fell in love with his mom there and then! I remember thinking, if I could have her as a mother-in-law I would be the luckiest girl ever. Anyway, his mom snapped this pic of us at Tyler's grandma's house.

Brigitte & Tyler - September 2007

After the Greek Festival earlier this month, we stopped by Tyler's grandma's place on our walk back to his parents' condo downtown. While we were there his mom snapped this pic of us.

Brigitte, Tyler and Holland - September 2011

Four years later, I'm just feeling really blessed that Tyler picked me to be his wife!!! Oh, and, I'm thinking I want bangs again...

General Relief Society Meeting...

...of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later day Saints! To my friends that don't know much about my religion, click here. To hear or read what I learned at this meeting, click here.

Tonight I had the privilege of attending this meeting at the Conference Center with my mom and my mother-in-law - two women who are undeniably women of God. I love that I and Tyler both were raised by such incredible women. They are both patient, kind, loving, giving - and both are pretty darn funny as well! I love that they are both so well-rounded, healthy and stand up for what they believe in. They both have an incredible way of standing for righteousness.

And, seriously, look at this picture. Aren't they both incredibly beautiful and in EXCELLENT shape?? Holland is a dang lucky little girl to descend from these two women. Lucky-lucky-lucky! Not every little girl gets to say, "Ya, my grandmas are total hotties and they have sweet spirits too!"

From this meeting we were taught: "Through the blessings of the temple they will be armed with power and blessed to receive the 'key of the knowledge of God.'  Through the ordinances of the priesthood found only in temples, they will be blessed to fulfill their divine, eternal responsibilities, and they will promise to live as committed disciples."

 

 

Aria - No Longer Solo

a·ri·a [ahr-ee-uh] - an elaborate melody sung solo with accompaniment, as in an opera or oratorio.

Aria is finally home and with her sister, Siena. The duo, together again! She is still hooked up to oxygen and a monitor, but at least she is home with her family. It was so fun to meet her - finally! And, she's already up to 5 lb. So impressive!

Once Aria is "unplugged" we'll attempt a pic of the Three Musketeers. While we were taking these photos, Holland was rolling form one end of the room to the next. I can only imagine how she would have steamrolled right over Aria had we attempted a pic of the three BFFs together. Yikes!

On that note: Please see the next post...

Our Own Little Circus...

...minus the tigers jumping through hoops of fire, but definitely, the monkey is present and accounted for!

 Holland puts on a cute little circus for us daily, from the break of dawn until 9:00 p.m. when she sacks out for the night. Her acts include: acrobats (ie. rolling from one side to the other), clowning around (ie. making funny faces that make us laugh), training animals (ie. sucking on stuffed animals), trapeze acts (ie. swinging in her swing and maneuvering in her Bumbo), musical acts (ie. tooting, burping....and giggling), juggling (oh wait...that act is performed by me and Tyler!) and other stunt-oriented acts (ie. bending in half as to place entire foot into mouth - very impressive!)

She loves her little play mat, going for walks, rolling around on the floor, eating her hands...and feet! Laughing at silly sounds that we make. (Sometimes I think they are courtesy laughs. We may need to work on our material just a bit.) Let's see...she loves splashing in the tub. Seriously, the bathroom is completely drenched by the end of her tubby time. But, there is no way mopping up after her isn't worth watching her love "swim time" in the tub! She reaches for and grabs anything remotely close to her. After watching her reach for several things and immediately put them into her mouth, I had a brilliant thought: put a bottle in arms distance. You know, she's not too keen on the bottle, so I wondered what would happen. Yep - she grabbed it and shoved it right into her mouth. Brilliant! We only wish there would have been some milk in there. Darn. 

Oh ya, and when she reached for Tyler's camera earlier this week, we quickly realized that our house is in the beginning phases of mass-destruction at the hands of an almost-five-month old.

In fact, even nursing her is part of the daily circus routine. She wants to look at anything - everything! She wants to make sure I'm still there. Uh...yep...still here, my Baby Bliss, I'm the one that's feeding you - remember? If she hears a sound, she has to look around to see what it is. If I smile, she smiles. If I look at her, she smiles. If I look away...she smiles until I look at her...and then she smiles bigger! (The mouth in a smile has a pretty hard time latching on - FYI. Another little talent of hers is slipping her fingers in her mouth while she's nursing. She's so stealth about it.) If I have an itch, she looks at where I'm itching. She likes to grab my hair and play with it, brush her hand across me and reach for my chin or lips. (I really love when she places her hand on my cheek and looks at me....sigh...)

A circus, I tell ya! But a circus we are loving - every single second.

I mean, so what if our once-upon-a-time 30 minute nursing sessions can now last closer to 45 minutes? Or only 10 minutes when she just won't focus at all - we try again 10 minutes later. Honestly though, some sessions leave me completely exhausted! But so worth it when she falls asleep and is all warm and snuggled in my arms. But maybe these circus acts are why I'm so close to being back to my pre-baby weight!! I'm burning calories baby!!!

I digress...

So there you have it. A glimpse into our daily lives. We. Love. It...Ahem...HER!!

And today, let me just add, Holland took a Three Hour Nap. A THREE HOUR NAP!!! (I'm totally singing Gilligan's Island in my head. Maybe I should YouTube an episode. Do you think they have those???)

Anyway, Holland and her dad are on a road trip to Park City, while I sit here blogging...in my pajamas...at 3 in the afternoon. Goal: Shower before they get home! Ya, I have pretty simple goals these days...

Early Morning Hike

Last Friday, September 16, we had a free morning so we bundled up our Baby Bliss and took her for a hike. Bells Canyon. It was perfect! The trails were virtually empty, the sun was just rising and the air was cool enough to be a bit invigorating. Holland loves to be outside. She just stared and took it all in. It really is a pretty hike...and a very easy one too. If you have a free morning...GO HIKE!