Brennen is One!

Yesterday was Brennen’s first birthday! I can’t even believe that my little guy is a year old. This year went by SO fast! He was a little sick yesterday so he was pretty lethargic during his birthday party which was a bummer but he snapped out of it a little later and was playing with his new toys like crazy. Grandma and Grandpa Clark along with Mary, Brad, and Lane came to help us celebrate Brennen’s birthday. He opened his presents then Brennen got his own chocolate cupcake. He went to town on it and loved it of course. 

Brennen went to the doctor today and everything is looking good! He weighs 20 lbs 5 oz, so he’s gained exactly 13 lbs in a year. He’s 30 1/2 inches long and the rest of his body is starting to catch up to his head because it’s not off the charts anymore. :) He can stand by himself for just a few seconds but isn’t really showing too much interest in walking yet. He is a really fast crawler and eats basically anything we give him. He doesn’t really drink out of bottles anymore, sometimes just at bedtime when he’s really upset. He walks around the room like crazy (holding onto the walls and couches still) and dives off furniture head first with his arms out to catch himself. He’s great at going up stairs and is learning how to come down.

I know that no one else cares as much as I do about the little things that Brennen can do but he really does amaze me. He’s always been so alert and aware of the world around him. He gave us social smiles at 4 weeks and laughs and smiles all the time. He shows all of his emotions and luckily most of the time he’s really happy. He “reads” books on his own now and rolls balls around. He loves playing outside and he’s starting to prefer me to anyone, even his dad (which I actually love because he was never cuddly when he was tiny and now he is)! But he still loves interacting with other people and isn’t very shy at all.

I have learned so much this year. It’s been challenging at times trying to figure out how to be a parent but I think Matt and I are doing a pretty good job if I do say so myself.  :) We really wanted this little boy in our lives for awhile before we got him but neither of us really had any idea how happy we would actually be. I love this little boy so much and I don’t even remember what life was like without him in our family. Motherhood really is the best gift and blessing I could ever have!

all the cupcakes

opening presents

eating cake

We also went up near Vedauwoo and had a little picnic with Kyle and Kylee a couple nights ago so here are a couple fun pictures from that and a couple bonus pictures of a one-year-old Brennen!

  

Another fun trip

Last week we all loaded up the car and headed to Lyman. We got there late Thursday night and spent all day Friday hanging out with my family. We also went to the Lyman cemetery since it was just past memorial day and visited the graves of my dad and grandparents. Brennen got to play with his cousins and he loves them so much! It gives me hope that I’ll actually be able to handle more than one child ‘cause it seems like kids entertain each other. :)

But the real reason for our trip was to go to a wedding in Utah. Matt’s brother, Kyle, got married to a wonderful girl, Kylee, who is also from Laramie. We left Lyman early Friday morning and were able to be there for the sealing in the Draper temple. And later that evening we went to a reception in Provo that was held outside of a beautiful house with awesome landscaping. It was a really good day and we got back to Laramie Sunday night after going to church with my family in Lyman.

On a completely different note, Matt and his siblings all have wavy/curly hair whereas me and my siblings have straight hair. I thought curly might be dominant but it definitely is because all of a sudden out of nowhere Brennen’s hair is really curly! It’s pretty cute but I’ll have to be careful not to let it get too long ‘cause I don’t want him looking like a girly man ha ha!

So here are some pictures of the weekend.

The happy couple! (I tried to be sneaky and get pictures from the side where there weren’t so many people but this is the best one I could get!)

Brennen in his snazzy tie sitting on the grass at the temple.

Our little family at the wedding luncheon

The reception

And just a cute one of Brennen for good measure. :)

Mini Vacation

Last week Brennen and I went to Idaho for my brother in-law’s graduation (master’s degree from Boise State). We missed Matt while we were gone for 5 days but he had to work so we had to leave him behind. We traveled to Lyman Thursday afternoon and then rode with my parents up to Boise on Friday. Brennen’s not the best traveler but we made it! We had a really fun weekend hanging out with my sister and the rest of my family and they all seemed pretty happy to see Brennen since they don’t get to see him very often. Brennen also turned 11 months while we were there. He hasn’t had any really new milestones except that he can stand on his own. He still has to pull up but then he lets go and stands. He is also a pro at climbing stairs. He’s so much fun and we all love him so much! Enjoy the pictures of our little trip!

Brennen likes roaming around with stuff in his mouth.

playing with Grandma and climbing the stairs

my lovely sister

a really cool piano!

playing at Bounce!

Shoshone Falls

 

I’m a Mother!

So this past Sunday was my first real Mother’s Day! Matt was SO sweet, too. He brought me flowers the night before and said they were for Brennen’s mom then he cleaned the kitchen that night and when Brennen woke up at 6:30 Sunday morning he got up and shut our bedroom door so I could sleep in. Then about an hour later I woke up to my little boy being tossed on my bed so he could attack me and Matt was in the doorway with breakfast in bed. And it was seriously SO yummy, too! Then “Brennen” also gave me some sour gummy worms, a big bag of chocolate, and a pair of earrings. Then Matt had to go to work so B and I went to church then spent all day at Matt’s parents.

It’s still a little weird that I’m a mom! You’d think that I’d be used to the concept after almost a year but it still blows my mind sometimes. In church there were some really amazing talks given about the role of women as mothers and even though I was wrestling with my little guy the whole meeting it still really hit me that I’m doing the most important thing that I could ever do by being a mother.

I’ve had a lot of great examples of motherhood in my life.
My two biological Grandmother’s have both passed away but I was lucky enough to grow up in the same town as both of them so I got to spend a lot of time with them growing up. My grandma Tanner was always so funny and spoiled us rotten. She always had treats laying around and my mom would have to threaten to separate her from us during church because she couldn’t be reverent. I never doubted her love for me and all of my siblings. My grandma Rees taught me a lot about how to live life. She would get mad at me during my teenage years for treating my mother badly and even then I could see that she did it because of how much she loved me and my mom, her daughter. She really approved of Matt so after we got married our relationship grew closer and toward the end of her life she told me a lot of stories and I know that she sacrificed a lot to raise her children in the gospel and I’ll be forever thankful for that. My grandma Bennett is still alive and I’m sad that I don’t see her much but she also raised her kids in the gospel and I remember her having a lot of involved callings in the church and she is a hilarious woman. She raised the man who would marry my mom and become my father.
My two older sisters are wonderful mothers and I learn from them all the time. They are both patient, loving, kind, and are doing their best to raise their children in a tough world and in difficult circumstances.
My mother in-law Gwen is another great example to me. I’ve always felt welcomed and loved by her and she is such a good grandma to my little boy. Matt tells me a lot of things that he remembers about her when he was growing up and I know he holds her in a very special place in his heart. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and has raised a very righteous family and I really look up to her.  
My father passed away when I was only about 7 weeks old and my mom also had my two older sisters to take care of, ages four and one! And my mom was only 24 herself. I’ve told her a few times how amazing I think she is for making it through that and she’s told me “what else was I supposed to do? NOT make it through?” but I still think she’s amazing. She’s taught me so much and she too has always had such a strong testimony of the gospel. I love her so much and admire her more than any other woman I know.

My mom and me at my wedding

Me and my sisters

Gwen with Matthew and Brennen

My Grandma Bennett

Grandma and Grandpa Tanner

Grandma Rees (don’t worry, she’s not smoking a cigar, I think that’s a breadstick.) :)