Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas, and the celebration isn't over!

Cookie Playdate

This Christmas season is flying by! A few weeks ago, we had a Christmas cookie decorating playdate with our friends from church, and it was a HUGE success. Bryson was one of the youngest children there, and even he got in on the action. (and ate a TON of icing) Here's a few photos from the event; I hope this becomes an annual tradition.

Everyone signed up to bring different items, cookies, sprinkles, icing, etc- so it was much easier than decorating at home- and clean up is SO much easier when there's 10 hands on deck.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Family Photos

My friend Lauri took our Christmas photos again this year. I think they turned out really well. Here's some of our favorites. Bryson definitely doesn't look like a baby anymore!

Merry Christmas!

Lights!

Last night, we decided to take Bryson to Rhema to see the Christmas lights right after his 15 month shot appointment. Not the smartest move we've ever made, as he wasn't in the best of moods. Once we got the stroller out, he seemed to behave better. Anywho, here's a few of the pictures we took:

Bryson was in awe of all the lights, especially as we pushed him through the lighted tunnel that 'moves' to the Christmas music.

This Christmas season is already turning out to be one of our best yet- It's just so much more enjoyable now that Bryson has joined our family!

15 Months

Bryson is really enjoying the leaves and we are allowing him as much outside time as possible before winter hits!

• Bryson wears size 4 diapers and is moving up to 18-24 month clothing, although the pants are too long.
• Bryson says 'mama, dada, leia (yeia), yea, hello, done (du)' and signs 'more' and 'please'
• He LOVES dogs. I think his favorite word is Leia. They play together really well; he loves to pet and chase her.
• Bryson pretends like he is talking on the phone- he'll use our cell phones, remotes, toys, sock monkey, etc as a phone. He says 'hello', babbles a bit, then hands the phone to us. It's really cute.
• Bryson's ears have remained relatively clear for the past month!!

impromtu

Bryson wore his Thanksgiving shirt to church today, and I wanted a photo on our way out the door. Bryson was actually interested in having his picture taken- for once- so I got some good shots!

My friend Kim made his turkey shirt. I love the way it turned out and he received SO many complements at church today. We're looking forward to a fun-filled Thanksgiving weekend!

Thankful

Bryson's been on the move so much lately, I haven't been able to get very many photos of him. But, I do want to write down some of the things I'm thankful for:
1. my family
2. my family's good health- Bryson's ears are finally clearing!
3. my business, my business partner and Brandon for helping to make it so successful!
4. my patients and their families- I truly love my job.
5. our friends
6. our church family/Sunday School class
7. Sonic and Starbucks :)
8. sleep!

Halloween Weekend!

A Halloween weekend, in rewind!
Tonight we went trick-or-treating with our neighbors, and Bryson had a blast!! He actually started to carry his own pumpkin bag and reach for candy by the end of the night. He adores our neighbor, Blake- and is always wanting to hang with him. I love this photo of the two of them!

Even Leia got in on the costume action, and she absolutely hated it. But, here she is- Doctor Leia:

Saturday evening, we had a hayride/bonfire event with our Sunday School class outside of town, in Haskell. It was a perfect evening and Bryson really enjoyed watching the 'big kids' and running around.

Bryson doesn't go to school on Fridays, but we made a special trip since the 'Black Cat Parade' was scheduled. Basically, they parade the school around the circle drive 3x, and all the parents stand around and watch, taking cute photos. Bryson just couldn't quite figure out why all of his friends looked different :)

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. I feel like we all need an extra day to rest up before starting another week! It's hard to believe that October is actually over, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. Time seems to be going by too quick!

Great Weekend!

Brandon and I were able to get away this past weekend- to Eureka Springs, AK. We hadn't been away from Bryson for more than 24 hours and we hadn't taken a trip since I became pregnant, so we were long overdo for this weekend away!

We stayed at the New Orleans Hotel and Spa right in the middle of the historic district, on Spring Street. It was a beautiful old hotel. There wasn't an elevator, and our room was on the 3rd floor, so we got plenty of exercise!! We walked almost everywhere this weekend- dinner at Ermelio's, shopping, Mud Street Cafe and several hiking trails.

We checked out Onyx Cave (a tourist trap) and had a couples massage on Saturday.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend away. We needed the break, but it was great to get back home and spend time with Bryson and Leia again!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Carmichael's pumpkin patch outside of town today, and had a blast! It's crazy to think how much Bryson has changed in a year....Last year we were able to just prop him up on a pumpkin and take a photo. Now he can walk and climb all over the pumpkins!

We spent over two hours there, allowing Asher (our nephew) and Bryson to roam all over the place and visit the petting zoo portion numerous times. The best part: it was FREE!

We are still going to try to visit to our old stomping grounds- pumpkin town next weekend. But this little pumpkin patch outside of Tulsa was well worth the drive and the petting zoo really set it apart! I'm so excited to start this tradition with Brandon and Bryson!

Fall Recipes

I have been in a fall-ish baking/cooking mood. I made these EASY pumpkin muffins last week, and Bryson and I have had them for breakfast every morning since. (Brandon prefers good ol' cold cereal)

Easy Pumpkin Muffins (from www.ourbestbites.com)
2 boxes of spiced cake mix
2 cans (medium) of pumpkin puree
1 bag of chocolate chips

Mix the cake mix and pumpkin together. Fold in the chocolate chips. Using a spoon (these don't bake to look very pretty- they keep the same shape you start with) fill the muffin tins.
Bake for 22 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe made about 40 muffins, and our best bites reports that these are 1 WW point.


Something about fall makes me love casseroles. And having people over for supper. This recipe makes a TON of food- and its addicting, so share with friends :)

Potato Casserole (from my mom)
2 lb bag of frozen hash browns
1 pint of sour cream
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded cheese
2 tbsp minced onion

topping:
crushed corn flakes
1/4 cup melted butter

Thaw the potatoes. Mix all (non-topping) ingredients together- and put into a greased 9x13 pan. Your pan will be FULL. Sprinkle the corn flakes on top and cover with melted butter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Enjoy!

13 Months

Bryson's now 13 months old. That seems strange to type. When I was in college, I remember people at church saying 'oh, he's 15 months old' and I'd think why don't they just say he's a 1 year old? It all makes sense to me now!

Not too much has changed this past month, but here's some of the highlights:

Shoes: size 5

Clothing: 12-18 months

Interests: Elmo, cars/trucks/trains, books, opening and closing doors

Words: dada, a form of 'I did it!' and 'all done'

Bryson had his second ear surgery this past week. His old tubes were removed, and new tubes were placed that are supposed to last longer. He also had his adenoids removed. He seems to be doing quite well. It appears that he can hear more- we will have his hearing re-checked by an audiologist in October. I'm praying that this new set of tubes will reduce the infections and we'll have a healthy winter.

Fall Cleaning

I never really get into the spring cleaning craze. I'm so ready to get outside and work in the flowerbeds, that I'd rather put it off until the fall!

I've been struggling with how to organize and keep track of Bryson's toys. They started taking over the downstairs. We toyed with the idea of using the game/media room for its true purpose, but we didn't have a couch for Brandon and I to hang out on.

Our neighborhood garage sale was this past weekend, and our neighbor decided to sell us her NICE, white couch for $75!! So, that kicked my playroom idea into high gear. We spent all afternoon Sunday installing these shelves in the game room closet- total cost: $112 from Lowes.

Floor/1st shelf: Bryson's toys and puzzles

2nd shelf: sensory tubs (rice, beans and noodles), Lincoln logs and speech therapy toys/manipulative's

3rd shelf: my scrapbooking stuff

top wooden shelf: speech therapy games, printing papers, folders and assorted scrapbooking stuff.

I love the way this all came together. Bryson only have a few toys left downstairs now, and we spend more time up here at as family now that we have a couch to hang out on......And, what would a post be without a Bryson photo? He seems to be enjoying the game room now too!

Great Garage Sale Weekend!

I had some amazing finds this weekend out garage sale-ing. I found this tool bench, with all the parts and batteries included for $20 at this AMAZING garage sale on Friday morning. I ended up spending $44 there- half on this workbench and the rest on 13 items of clothing (all for $1 each), 2 wooden games and a bag of musical toys. My parents neighborhood had their annual garage sale, so my neighbor Amanda and I went late Friday night to just scope it out and see who was setting up. I got these bristle blocks for $4......

and this Schwinn tricycle for $18!! I googled it when I got home, and it retails for $120! Bryson already loves it- he just figured out how to ring the bell this evening :) I can't wait for him to be able to ride it around.

I'm going to keep the trike and the workbench in the attic and pull them back out around Christmas....... This next weekend is our neighborhood's annual garage sale, so we'll see what other goodies I find!!

12 Months- better late than never

I realized that I never posted Bryson's 12 month photos! It was very difficult to get him to sit still in his rocking chair- thank goodness my friend Lauri took some professional photos for us!

Milestones:
*Bryson's now walking!
*Completely off the bottle, taking whole milk and water through a sippy cup.
*He moved up to the next room at school! Now, he only has one nap a day.
*He eats whatever we eat- and we rarely find a food he doesn't like.
*Bryson weights 27 lbs, and is 30 1/4 inches tall. (90th %iles)
*He's a HUGE thumb sucker- speech therapy, here we come! :)
*He really enjoys playing with other kiddos- we caught Bryson and our neighbor, Lauren, playing peek-a-boo the other night with each other.