Merry Christmas Everyone!

A new family member..

NO, we're not pregnant! Wouldn't that be crazy? Meet Snowman (creative name, right?), our VERY FIRST SNOWMAN made as a family!

As we rolled the huge balls of snowman-perfect snow, I realized that this is also the first snowman Darren and I made together. In TWELVE YEARS?? But it makes sense: we met back in 1996 and rushed right off to Dallas. 14 months later, we packed up and headed to the desert, where it did actually snow once when we were there (Valentine's Day 1999) but of course it melted upon contact. Two years ago, we finally moved to Denver, and in our first winter we had a record number of inches of snowfall but with two babies (yes two... neither Tevin nor Brynlee was able to walk), we weren't outside too often! Last winter, Brynlee was just crawling, so cabin fever was the name of our game once again. FINALLY, this year, we've got two walking, talking kids, and it's been SO wonderful to experience the fun of the cold weather with them.



Our next door neighbors happened to be outside at the same time so we started building snowthings together! Darren made the Snowfish, and then all of us built a fort around Tevin and Dylan. FUN DAY!

Sitting Pretty

They say if a child starts to ASK to use the potty, that means he or she is showing interest and *might* be ready to start potty training, right? Well... does it count if she asks AFTER she's already done her business in her diaper? On more than one occasion, she has come to me to tell me she has "tooted" and wants to use the potty. It only took twice (I'm a slow learner) for me to realize that I need to clean her up BEFORE sitting her on the potty (eew, what a mess). Anyway, here she is, all glammed up and just kind of waiting. She did actually "go" the other day but she didn't even associate it with anything positive so I wasn't sure how to reward that! She was just excited that she gets to sit on the potty like all the other people dwelling in this house. Go Brynlee! ;)

November

The month started with unseasonably warm weather. Darren and the kids got outside one Saturday to finish raking leaves before the inevitable first snow (we knew it was right around the corner). I was out at the salon getting a manicure, pedicure, and haircut (a birthday treat from my mom!!) while they had fun playing in the leaves. Brynlee got an "owee" on her chin and decided she wanted to put her own BandAid on. Nice, eh? Tevin just sat and watched his silly sissy.

The warm weather stayed around through my birthday, which we celebrated with my dad at our house. Darren bought me a really delicious Raspberry Truffle cake from Cold Stone. I got some new winter boots, a new purse, and some "diamond" earrings from Darren and the kids. My dad sent me some beautiful flowers, and I got Starbucks from my brothers Trent, Logan, and Ryan and more from my friend Eva! Randy and Sandy and Mike and Helen sent me cards with cash so I'll be headed to the mall soon for even more new digs. Thanks everyone for making this a fun birthday!

Snow finally arrived on Friday the 14th. I took this picture when the ground was finally covered, only to watch it continue to snow and snow! By the time it was done, I think we had nearly 3 inches! Of course, two days later, it's 65 degrees out and sunny. Such is "Fall" in Colorado!

Happy Halloween!

Or Happy Sugar Rush Day! Seems we've been on a steady diet of Sweet Tarts and Twix bars this week, but it all came to a grand finale this evening when the kids went Trick-or-Treating to the familiar neighbors this evening. Tevin chose to be a race car driver, and Brynlee thought the lady bug outfit was the best (thank God for unseasonably warm temperatures this year or she would have been a lady bug wearing sweat pants!). Here the kids pose outside our house before their big adventure.

Brynlee's Birthday Party

Alas, she's been 2 for over a week, and I have yet to post pictures of our fun gathering on October 19th. How time does fly!

We opted to have Cinnabon Cinnamini's instead of cupcakes or cake. It was a good change from the ordinary!

The kids decided to eat theirs like dogs do!

It seems like only yesterday.... (long but worth the read)

Well, just 2 short years ago, we were a one-kid family. Then, our lives changed forever with the birth (via scheduled c-section) of Brynlee Charisse. I am amazed at how quickly these two years have gone. At the risk of sounding terribly cliche... "It seems like only yesterday..."

I picked my mom up at the airport the morning of October 20th. It was a Friday, and in true Phoenix Fall Fashion, it was to be in the 90s that day. Mom and I went to Target to pick up some last-minute provisions (the candy I would surely need in the hospital). We went back to our condo to play with Tevin. Little did our Big Dude know this was the last time it would be "Just Us".

At 11 a.m., I was admitted to Scottsdale Osborn. After much preparation, I walked down the hall into the OR, waving to what I knew to be my family up until that moment. At 1:19 p.m., Brynlee came screaming into this world. We both got cleaned up and then were able to have that first bonding moment when I looked into her eyes and knew we were meant to be together. She was grunting softly, something I thought was so cute, but it turned out she had fluid stuck in her lungs. Away she went to the NICU, where she spent nearly 48 hours away from me. During the time she was away, she developed a heart murmur. Talk about an eventful first couple of days! A specialist had to be called in on a Sunday to do a sonogram on Brynlee's heart - they wouldn't release her until she was cleared. I watched them do it; the cardiologist documenting verbally every step of the way and stating, "There's the hole..."..... My own heart skipped a beat. I prayed so hard at that moment that God would make my baby okay. I swear on my life that in that very second, I heard the cardiologist say, "Wow, the hole... it's actually closing as we speak... Umm, I've never seen anything quite like that before...." Tears filled my eyes (as they do to this day when I recount the story) and about an hour later, my baby was out of the NICU and snuggled in my arms. Take it as coincidence or take it as Divine Intervention. I thank God every day for the countless blessings he's brought into my life. I thank God today for bringing Brynlee into my life!!! Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Our K-State Girl

Brynlee is a big Wildcat fan (and let me PLEASE clarify that I'm talking about the KANSAS STATE WILDCATS, **NOT** the kind from Tucson)! She gets a lot of K-State gear from her cousins Maverick and Madelynn who's momma, my cousin Holly, went to Kansas State. Here's our future cheerleader!

Funny Farm

The weather in Denver has been so beautiful this week! My dad suggested we take the kids to the Littleton Historical Museum. The museum itself is not much fun for the kids, but if you venture outside you'll find an 1880s-era farm. In addition to the barn, there is a furnished home as well as a schoolhouse that looks like it was time-warped from 1885. My dad said the smell of the house reminds him of his grandparents' home. Seems when we went to the farm yesterday that it was feeding time for the animals. The kids thought they looked funny when they eat!

New Beginnings

Tevin is officially a Preschooler! He was so excited about the day that he could barely stand still long enough for me to take a picturein front of St. Luke's Little School. He was soon off playing with the trucks (who would have guessed?). Brynlee, Hippo, and I headed off to Starbucks to secretly mourn the loss of familiarity. It was strange only having one baby again! We took Hippo because I knew she would be lonely at home. After all, she's been Tevin's lovey for over 2 years. Guess it really shows how much he's grown -- he picked a macho "Car Pillow" over his sweet Hippo Girl! Don't worry Hippo, we'll get through this together....

Labor Day Weekend in Kansas

We hit the road on Thursday in The Hulk for our big late-summer road trip to Kansas. The kids did so well in the car for the 6-hour drive, and Tevin kept his pants dry the entire time! We had lunch with Grandma, Granddad, and Grammy and then played in the backyard. Tevin named all the states for Grammy, and Grandma painted Brynlee's fingernails purple (in honor of the Wildcats!!)

On Saturday morning, Darren and I left the kids with Randy and Sandy and drove up to Manhattan. After stocking up on the "necessities", we got to the parking lot around 2 p.m. for 4 awesome hours of tailgating. We had such a fun time doing what we used to do before the minors came along. :) We did miss the kids, but it was nice having a night to ourselves for once!
On the way back to Dodge City on Sunday morning, we passed several wind farms. This one was in Spearville, KS, about 15 miles northeast of Dodge. I was amazed by the sheer size of these turbines. Research said 328 feet tall and sweeping a full acre of air! Kind of creepy and alien-like, but amazing nonetheless!

Monday morning, we said goodbye to Grandma and Granddad after a great weekend with them. We will see them again in October when they make their Fall Pilgrimage to Phoenix for the winter.

SUCCESS (for the most part)!!!

Tevin is potty trained! :)

After getting to the point of sheer desperation (realizing it was a matter of weeks before preschool started and Tevin was REQUIRED to be potty trained), and after having a serious talk with my dad, I buckled down and got serious about helping Tevin lose the diapers. My dad helped me decide that I needed to commit to it 100%. So the next morning, Tevin and I gathered all of his diapers, put them in a box and taped the box up, and then wrapped the box in pretty gold paper. We wrote, "To: Babies, From: Tevin" on the box. Then Tevin put his own artistic rendering on the paper. We "sent" the box away to the babies because they needed the diapers way more than he did. He enjoyed it very much. At last, I was able to turn in Tevin's enrollment paperwork at the preschool! (Tevin still has accidents from time to time, especially when he is heavily immersed in play. He is also wearing pull-ups at night. We're all VERY proud of him nonetheless!!!)

About 3 weeks later, we got a letter from Tevin's new teacher, Ms. Carol. It was so sweet! The letter was addressed to Tevin and it welcomed him to her Teddy Bear Class for the fall semester starting September 3rd. Tevin even gets to take his favorite stuffed plaything to school on the first day for a Teddy Bear Hunt. He posed with his Pillow Car (the lucky plaything that gets to go to school) and the letter we got from his teacher.

I cried as Darren read the letter out loud, because I couldn't believe my little guy is "big" enough to be going off on his own for a couple of hours to school. I am amazed every single day by Tevin. Sure, preschool is only 2 1/2 hours a day, 3 days a week.... but that's 7 1/2 hours (or 450 minutes, or 27,000 seconds) that I will miss his smile and his unbelievable spirit.

Cousin Sarah

Sarah is my favorite cousin -- she has always lived in the north part of Denver but that has never stopped us from hanging out or getting together. Since I'm only 6 months older than she is, we've always been close, no matter what the physical distance is or has been. We spent the morning a few weeks ago at my aunt's house and went to the pool. Sarah has two kids of her own (Tayla, 17 months, and Kyler, 6 years). She's holding Tayla, who is 5 months younger than Brynlee. Sarah and I hope that our girls will always be as close as the two of us are!

Tevin decided he didn't need us girls and motored around in his pink floating car for about an hour. He was HAPPY AS A CLAM!!

"Heat" Wave

Brynlee loves coats. Regardless of what the temperature is outside, she wants to wear one if she sees it hanging on the coat rack. For whatever reason, the coats were out of the closet one day, and of course, she had to wear her pretty pink one. At the time, we happened to be in the middle of one of the longest heat streaks in history (97 degrees that day) and she went outside with this coat on. I didn't let her wear it for long because I was afraid she'd get heat stroke! I also didn't get the pictures of her having a temper tantrum when I made her take it off (I'll save you that drama).

Keep on Truckin'!

Last week, I detailed my brother's truck before listing it on CraigsList to sell before he moves to California. Tevin and Brynlee have always enjoyed the sights and sounds of the truck (it's tall and very loud!) and they had to give it one more joy ride before saying goodbye.

Happy Birthday Gammy K!

Gammy K turns 29 today! ;) Happy Birthday Mom/Gammy!

Babble Brynlee

This little girl LOVES the phone, and she's not even near her teens yet! I can hear it now though:


"Hang on one sec, Mom, I'm making a call..."


"It's ringing!!"


"Do you MIND? I am on the phone here!!! UGH!!!"

Happy 85th Birthday (Great) Granddad!

Darren's granddad (the kids' great-granddad) turned 85 on Saturday, August 2nd. In his honor, the entire family gathered in Denver for picnics, dinners, and a family photo. Great Granddad Mike's three kids Randy (Darren's dad, from Dodge City, KS), Linda (from Dallas, TX), and Brent (from Phoenix, AZ) as well as all of their kids (and their kids' kids!!) came to celebrate 85 years of greatness. In all, there were 24 of us trekking around Denver together. Mike had a huge "85" cake at dinner on Saturday.. you can see that our kids enjoyed it almost as much as Mike did! Happy birthday Granddad Mike!

Fun Fourth

Well, this post is a bit late... I will just say that I've been keeping way too busy with Tae Bo teaching and house cleaning for my own good! :) (Kidding, I love both jobs but sometimes, since they're both so physical, I get very tired very early!) Anyway, here's the update I'm sure you all have been waiting for!

The day started with a parade in Highlands Ranch. At 9 a.m., it was already quite warm out! We didn't think to bring the camera, but the parade was so lame, we wouldn't have needed it anyway. After a good nap, the kids were ready to party at Grandpa's! Grandpa's house was a great place to just romp and spend time with family. Gammy K, Kristin, Uncle Logan, Uncle Ryan, Auntie Manda, and some of Logan's good friends came over to enjoy the great food and libations. Around 8:00, Darren, the kids, and I hit the road in search of a good spot to watch the fireworks that would be set off from Town Centre in Highlands Ranch. We found a great spot that, although not extremely close to the epicenter, had a superb view of numerous pyrotechnic displays throughout metro Denver. The four of us had such a great time running around on the big grassy hill while waiting for our local show to begin. This is the first time either of our kids has been able (or has been allowed) to stay up to see the fireworks on Independence Day. We hope everyone had a great holiday!

Big Boy Pants?

Tevin decided he wanted to try Big Boy Pants this past week. He excitedly picked out a pair of undies with, what else: Cars on them! Once we had put them on and started to put away the rest, Brynlee grabbed a pair of Spider Man undies and promptly sat on my lap. She started attempting to put them on, and was making the motions for me to help. SO, here they are wearing their Big Boy Pants.

I'd like to say the end of this story was a happy, potty-trained one, but let's just say we're back to diapers. No end in sight... We'll try again this summer when they can run around outside without (my) fear of them getting something on the new carpet. :)

Happy Father's Day!

Hope all the dads out there had a really great day. We celebrated by having brunch with Darren and then went to Hickory House (BBQ) for dinner with my dad (as well as brothers Logan and Ryan and sister-in-law Amanda). Wish I could post pictures but we forgot the camera for both events!

Tevin's New Room

Tevin got some new things for his room, including a bedspread and a window valance. Here he is with his Cheesy Face showing off his new stuff. We painted his room green (the blue room is what it looked like before we ever moved in) and will soon add an armoire for Tevin's clothes. Our big guy is really starting to grow up!