Repeat Bathtime Offenders.... warning, frank discussion of baby poop invovled :)

Well, we apparently have a couple of REPEAT OFFENDERS in our house. You may wonder what I am talking about. I will address each offender separately. :)

Teagan -
Somehow I survived 19 solid months with Brynnlee bathing - and no "accidents" in the water. My friends with kids do not believe me, but the child has never pooped in the tub. Ever. At any age. We made it a solid 19 months and then Teagan came along..... :) That little girl - and I mean little, she is a dainty thing - must wait until we put her in the tub and then think to herself "hmm, this seems like a perfect spot...." Twice now ALL THREE GIRLS, Mommy, Brynnlee and Teagan, have been in the tub and Teagan has pursed her little lips and the next thing I know Brynnlee is yelling "oh NO Momma, POOPS!". Sure enough, it is time to evacuate the tub. Brynnlee grows hysterical while Teagan looks around wondering what all the fuss is about! Quite funny, while quite disturbing all the same. ; )

Brynnlee -
I have often bathed with Brynnlee (now, both girls) b/c it is just easier and sometimes my only chance to get a bath or shower all day. Well, as you can imagine, since having two children, I am a little soft in the middle. Well, Brynnlee no longer has a need for bath toys since her sister was born. She attacks my stomach with both hands, squeezing my belly button and then letting it go, all the while repeating her mantra "Where is it? Der 'TIS!" She thinks that it disappears when she squeezes my tummy and then somehow, as if by magic, reappears when she lets go. She laughs so hard she snorts and does this OVER AND OVER. At first it kind of hurt my feelings.... haha.... but now I laugh so hard and figure - who cares, right? I guess she will be disappointed when all my working out for our trip to Hawaii starts to show results.... (haha, a girl can dream!)

Bedtime with Brynnlee

Ah, bedtime has been getting more interesting the larger our vocabulary grows..... : )
This is a typical exchange on recent nights:

Mommy: Ok, we finished the book, let's pray and go night-night.
Brynnlee: Uh, oh, I hear Abe!
Mommy: No you don't, Brynnlee!
Brynnlee: Uh, oh Abe BARKING!
Mommy: Silly, it's bedtime.
Brynnlee: Oh no, I poop.
Mommy: (checking diaper) NO YOU DIDN'T!
Brynnlee: (laughing) Oh no, Momma, baby crying!
Mommy: Teagan is NOT crying, she is sleeping. It is bedtime, silly.
Brynnlee: Book, Momma, read.
Mommy: We just read two books, now we pray and go to bed.
Brynnlee: Jesus, sing Jesus!
Mommy: One time Brynnlee - we will sing Jesus Loves Me ONE TIME and then night-night!
Brynnlee: NO WAY.

As you can see, things are getting more interesting. I have a terrible time controlling my laughter - especially b/c her eyes light up so much when she thinks she is about to put one over on old Mommy! : ) Sneaky little thing.... I love it! : ) If this is how 21 months goes.... I am a little nervous about TWENTY ONE YEARS!

Love to you all,
Jennie xoxo

Teagan meets Mrs. Sewall and we get a fun visit!

Last Tuesday we enjoyed a fabulous visit with Mrs. Barbara Sewall in her beautiful Coronado home. Initially I arrived with only Teagan - but Eric and Brynnlee weren't far behind! That morning I took Teagan to some Balboa appointments while Eric stayed home with B and his folks who were flying back to WI a bit later. After our appointments I drove across the bridge for lunch with Mrs. Sewall as Eric was departing home to drop Karl and Shirley off at the airport in San Diego. He caught up with us shortly after we finished lunch. It worked out well and we were ALL able to enjoy a visit with Mrs. Sewall and Ms. Tina - what a lucky bunch we are! Here are some pictures of Mrs. Sewall with wee Teagan and a few that Tina took from a very precarious position on the sea wall as Brynnlee investigated the bay with Daddy! : ) What a beautiful day.

Mrs. Sewall with Teagan

pretty ladies

Mrs. Sewall, Jennie and Teagan

What a treat - Tina fixed up some ice cream

and Brynnlee couldn't have been happier!

Here is the crew enjoying their ice cream!

B and Daddy checking out the view - and the

"WATER!!!!" : )

getting a closer look at the water

Brynnlee running to Tina to entice her to go

back to the water. : )

Mrs. Sewall, Eric, B, T, and Jennie

All Teagan! :)

hanging out with Daddy - now that she is
looking around a lot she likes to sit like this


that is the "almost smile" I have mentioned -
here she was watching Brynnlee explain the
baby toys she was sharing with Teagan


after church on Sunday

in the car after church on Sunday

"almost smile" again :)

relaxing

what's going on behind Papa?

always posing in her sleep

wild hair on bath night

catching flies while she catches some zzz's

So, I find as I do these newer blogs I have so many pictures of Brynnlee doing the activity being described and very few of little sister Teagan. Here are some pics of Teagan as she has been growing in the last few weeks. Though she is not riding horses or jumping in the bounce house - she is bringing us HUGE joy with her sweet countenance and "almost smiles" as she watches Brynnlee bound around! : ) She is gentle and quiet - only shouting at us when something is wrong or she is hungry. : ) Brynnlee is adapting well to having a sister and Teagan has luckily survived all her sister's "gentle" touches - so far!

Here are some sweet pictures of the wee-est member of the fam!

xo, Jennie

Getting ready for Teagan's baptism

Here are some photos of our prep for Teagan's baptism. There was some errand running, cooking and flower arranging and the kids helped with everything! :) I will get pictures up of the actually event when I have them all organized! I think Grammy will enjoy the pictures of Brynnlee "helping" with the flower arranging. We got out a bunch of vases, put them on the floor so she could reach and let Brynnlee "arrange" to her hearts content. Granted, we ended up with a few broken stems, it was well worth it to see the satisfaction on her race as she did it "ALL BY SELF". : ) I love when she says that phrase - only second on my list of favorites to "I DID IT!". Both phrases are said with such pride it is hard not to get a little lump in my throat. I swear having kids is hard sometimes - for such an emotional girl. :)
xoxo, Jennie

'
in the car with Papa - that huge smile on Papa's
face is like a nearly endangered creature! :)

flower girl

BIG helper!

cleaning up the stems we cut

Papa helping by keeping the wee
Miss Teagan happy during the prep :)

A visit to Daddy's Work

One of the days Papa and Grandma were visiting we went by Eric's squadron for a little tour before running some errands. Brynnlee got to sit in the helicopters and push all the buttons her little heart desired. (a regular phrase often heard in our household before something like the printer/dvd player/phone goes haywire "I PUSH BUTTONS") : )
Here you can see Brynnlee enjoying the heck out of these mean fighting machines. (well, we all know the Cobra is a little meaner and little fightier - nice word choice, I know - than the Huey)
She got a kick out of the visit for sure. xoxo, Jennie


what do you like better Brynnlee?
"COBRA" :)

in the Huey

Daddy and B checking out the lesser aircraft ;)

looks so cool in the Cobra

Legoland with Papa and Grandma

GREETING FROM LEGOLAND!!!!!


We had a great week long visit with Karl and Shirley (aka Papa and Grandma) that started the second week of June. The second day they were here we all went to Legoland for an afternoon of playing and generally wearing Brynnlee out. (Though let's be honest, the adults were pooped too!) After Brynnlee took a good nap we headed out for the "land of adventure" as the commercial says. : ) Here are some pictures of our fun afternoon! xo, Jennie


Brynnlee calling "PAPA" through the
bathroom door so we could leave! : )

catching a ride on Papa's shoulders



nice lego doggy

catching a ride on said lego doggy :)

Papa's sister asked "which one is Papa?" :)

Brynnlee thought this was so cool!

two dates for a play date

chatting up the locals

Teagan hanging out on the front of Mommy

HMLA/T 303 Family Day '09

On May 30th we attending HMLA/T 303's Family Day celebration at Lake O'Neill (about a mile from our house). I wore Teagan on the front of me in a carrier while Eric chased Brynnlee around the grounds of the lake (I definitely got the easier job!). Brynnlee enjoyed a pony ride, the traveling petting zoo, a bounce house and some pig - I mean literally, SOME PIG. They roasted a pig like we were at a luau and Brynnlee enjoyed snacking on it for lunch! (We did not take her over to see the actually pig b/c I found it really disturbing!) It was a fun day with friends from Eric's squadron and the whole thing was really well organized. You will notice that Brynnlee looks a little nervous on the horse, but apparently had no problem touching a snake. WHO'S child is this? Teagan slept the day away in the carrier and didn't make a peep!
It was a fun event!
xo, Jennie

Bottle time!

I said that with Teagan I would NOT make the same mistakes I made with Brynnlee and so far we are at about 50% :) I am trying so hard to let her have a bottle from time to time so I will be able to leave the girls with a sitter a little more often than I left B. So far I can say we are "making progress" but maybe not all the way there. Here are couple of pictures of Brynnlee helping us introduce Teagan to a bottle that I ran across as I picked out some pictures to post. Thought you might enjoy the two sisters in action. : ) The funny little bottle is one I got from the hospital when I pumped there and they stored the milk while Teagan was in the "box of lights" for her jaundice (which is all cleared up! Hooray!). Teagan didn't really love this bottle so we have moved on to a different make and model. ; ) These pictures demonstrate what a great helper little Brynnlee is! Enjoy. xoxo, Jennie

So much to say!

Well, there has been a lot going on at our house! And Brynnlee has been talking up a storm! I need to update the blog with pictures from the squadrons family day, church, a fun visit with Papa and Grandma Raasch, stuff around the house, a visit with Mrs. Sewall and Teagan's Baptism. The Baptism might take me some time b/c the pictures are coming from friends and family, but I'll get there, promise! Life is busy, but good. We are getting into a pretty great routine with our days. Brynnlee is in "summer school" - haha. Tassy has a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays until Brynnlee bumps up to the "Little friends" program in the Fall. Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays we are walking in the mornings with our neighbor Wendy and in our free time (haha) we try to get things done around the house and throw in some play time! Eric and I continue to be EVER-SO grateful for the church we found last year and look forward to Sunday each and every week. I have never felt about a church like we do about Christ the King and feel grateful that we found it. I truly believe it is a great place to build a foundation for the girls' relationship with Christ and has helped to strengthen our marriage.
We now look ahead to what the future holds with great optimism and look back with thanks for the things we have been learning. Who knows.... maybe someone will give us some cookies. :) That always seems to make Brynnlee's day!
Hold tight for some pictures as I attempt to upload them today! : )
Love,
Jennie
xoxo

A cooking play-date!

On Thursday Brynnlee had a friend over for a great play date!
Little Orrin and his mommy Crystal came over so we could
do a little "pre-school cooking" and playing together. It was
great fun and the kids did really well together. Teagan was
a good sport and allowed for lots of activity to go on around
her. She was peaceful most of the day with a few feedings
here and there. Orrin was a little shy at first -
but as soon as he warmed up to Brynnlee it
turned out to be a great day! Crystal brought a recipe for
apple pizzas and the kids baked them - as you can see in the
pictures below. I will add the recipe so you can try it! :)
After enjoying the food their hard work resulted in, we
played outside for a long time before it was nap time for
Orrin and Brynnlee. After hours of fun Brynnlee really
crashed hard and slept well for several hours. It was a great
day for the kids and especially for the mommy-friends to
catch up after not seeing each other for a long time.
Hope you enjoy the pictures from yesterday. I have more of
Teagan headed your way.... : )
xoxo, Jennie


B and Orrin putting cheese on their "pizzas"
er, eating cheese....

sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar

Chef Crystal in action with the kids

this is called the "learning tower" so

the kids can safely reach the counter

to "cook" - one of our best investments


"let me help you Orrin" : )

gardening outside after cooking

Orrin said he wanted to "catch her".....

so HE DID! : ) sweet boy!