Tormenting the cat & 11 months old

Bria is 11 months old today. Time has flown by, although I won't say something cliche, like "It feels like only yesterday" because it doesn't. A few months maybe, but not yesterday. :) I try to remember what a year ago was like...I was very pregnant, we actually went to the Omaha Zoo a year ago today. I was so disappointed that we couldn't go to the International Conference at Calvin College, Matt took the day off and we drove 3 hrs to Omaha and spent the day at the zoo. There's probably not very many people who walk around the zoo when they're 36 weeks pregnant, but I had an easy pregnancy. And thankfully it wasn't very hot that day (I attribute our unseasonably cool summer last year to my constant praying...Our Heavenly Father knows that I don't do well in the Kansas heat and I was due in August!!! Prayers were answered! :)). I didn't have any swelling, although my legs & back were pretty sore the next day, but other than that, I didn't have any problems. And all that walking didn't cause Bria to come any earlier; she was 8 days beyond her due date. :)

But I don't need to use up this blog space for reflecting of what I was like a year ago, let's focus on the big almost 1 year old! :) Bria is very chattery, loves making all sorts of noises. Says "mama" and "dada" very well. She is a super fast crawler, especially when I'm changing her diaper...I usually get the wet one off and try to get the dry one on and she's already off and doing something else before I can get it on her! She also took her first steps on the 4th of July (talk about Independence Day!) and she's been doing a little bit more here and there. She likes to cuddle, I think when she's working on some more teeth, but even Matt gets some of these unexpected snuggles. She loves to clap for things she does...she'll stand up and just start clapping. She's quite proud of what she can do! :) She also gives us LOTS of silly smiels & grins. She is definitely our smiliest baby between the two of them. Tyler is still the easier one to get laughing, but she's coming along in that department too. Bria loves to eat and unless I stop putting things on her tray, she would never be full. She'll eat anything you put in front of her. The only thing she didn't eat was spaghetti-Os, but who can blame her on that? She & Tyler enjoy playing together and while Tyler still gets frustrated with her getting in his way sometimes, they do pretty well.

Tyler is doing well. His vocabulary has greatly increased. Nothing like hearing your 2 1/2 year old say "Oh my goodness" to remind you to be careful of what you say. Thankfully it wasn't anything bad, but I still don't like hearing him say that. He loves to count, he counts up to 11 and then starts going backward...11-10-9-10-11...this goes on for awhile and every once in awhile, he'll just keep repeating "14 19!". I told Matt we need to find a verse with that reference so we can put that "14 19" to good use. :) He can say one verse: the verse that we always repeat when he gets disciplined, Ephesians 6:1, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." He has pretty good annunciation with most words now, but every once in awhile, we'll wonder what he's talking about or trying to tell us. Yesterday a motorcycle drove by as we were looking out the window and he said "Mucky Chucky!" and apparently that's his new word for motorcycles. Sure. Why not? And since my parents have been in Colorado for the past week, whenever he's asked where they are, his response is "Papa Mac, Mimi, Cawrada!".

And as a complete side note, today is my parent's 38th anniversary! They have been great Christian models of a married couple who seeks to serve the Lord in all they do and I pray the Lord blesses them with many more years to come! Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!!

Hope this helps you feel like you haven't missed too much of our everyday going-ons. :)


Tyler learned to torment the cat at a very young
age, thanks to his dad. Matt never realized how
oberservant Tyler is until recently.

That mischievious grin...I know that
means trouble...and so does the cat.

Giving the cat nuzzles - she's not really fan
of those, at least not from a 2 1/2 year old!

Mommy, look what I did! :)


Running through the kitchen with his plastic bag vest.
(I think he just liked hearing the crinkle noises when he ran).

Hi Bear!

Obviously the Baby Einstein video that I put in
so I could do her hair was WAY more interesting
than me trying to get a cute picture of Bria with the bear. :)

What?

Ta Da! I can stand (REALLY well, I might add!)

Taking some steps