Party Time

Brynn loves, loves, loves duckies. She gets so excited whenever she sees a toy or picture of a duck and starts saying, "bap bap" over and over. This made the choice for a birthday party theme very obvious. I learned my lesson with Mason's first birthday party to keep things simple. Really, her birthday party was just a glorified Sunday family dinner in our backyard.

The Invitations

The Cake

the Birthday Girl herself!

and her biggest fans.

Opening presents was entertaining, as always. Mason, Cannon, and Kennedy took turns "helping" Brynn open her presents. She loved them all.

And so did Mason. It was a very hard day to be a big brother. I'm not sure which toy he was more jealous of, her big stuffed Rex from Pooky and Papa, the pink lawn mower he picked out for her himself, the stuffed Elephant, or her princess push and ride toy. It's a good thing Brynn is so good at sharing as long as he shares his toys with her.

Here is our little princess at the pool on her actual birthday.

Birthday Girl

One year ago today, this sweet little girl entered our life. Words cannot describe how I feel every time I see her big, cheesy, smile. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to be her mom. I love you Brynnie!! Here is a quick look back on the last year.

Just hours old. 1 week old. 2 months old. 3 months old5 months old 7 months old

9 months

1 year!!!

Here is a little bit about Brynn at 1 year.

Brynn....

is a total Mama's girl.

laughs hardest for Daddy.

adores her big brother.

does not like strangers.

is extremely coordinated.

has been walking for almost 3 months now.

can go up and down stairs like a pro.

loves to mimic our noises.

loves duckies and says, "bap bap" (quack quack) when she sees one.

loves to growl and roar.

roars for dinosaurs.

makes a great elephant noise.

loves to read books.

loves stuffed animals.

crinkles her nose when she smiles.

has a big gap between her front teeth.

has light hair that might be entirely blonde by the end of the summer.

has rainbow eyes just like Mason.

has beautiful, flawless skin.

only likes latex binkies and bottle nipples.

loves real food.

sleeps like a champ now!

loves to take things out of a basket and then put them back in, then out, then in, etc.

likes balls.

does the actions to wheels on the bus.

favorite words are "dat" (that), "dis" (this), "mama", "baba", and "nana" (banana).

loves bathtime and the swimming pool.

plays with her hair when she is tired and falling asleep.

Happy Birthday Brynn!

Rachie's Race

I have been an avid runner my entire life, but have never participated in a race longer than a 5k. I guess I just have a hard time paying money to run when I can do it anytime I want for free. This year I got over my cheapness and decided I would really enjoy participating in a few races. I ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon on Saturday and had the time of my life! My goal was to run it under 2 hours and I did. I crossed the finish line at 1:54. I can honestly say I enjoyed every single second of the race. It was overcast and drizzling rain which is actually my favorite kind of weather to run in. When my cute dad woke up and saw the rain he drove up the canyon and was the first spectater of the race waiting at mile marker 4 with a rain jacket for me in case I needed it. What can I say, I guess I'll always be his little girl. I didn't end up needing it, but it was a great surprise to see him when I wasn't expecting it. He and Scott staggered themselves at points throughout the race to cheer me on and every time I would see one of them it would give me a little burst of energy. I am a lucky girl to have such a supportive husband and parents (my mom was watching my sleeping kids so Scott could be there). Next up is the Stansberry Park Triathlon in July. I can hardly wait! My training partner, Ali, and I after the race!

50/50

On June 4th the Hale grandkids evened out to an equal 3 girls and 3 boys when Chris and Kacie welcomed this little guy into their family.

Chase Bradley Hale Their first time together as a family.

Chris, Kennedy, Kacie, Chase, Cannon.

For the record Chase looks just like Cannon when he was born. I love watching my brother with his new babies. He is such a great dad. All the kiddos after watching Chase get his first bath.

Mac Christiansen, Mason, Cannon, Kennedy, and Brynn. Brynn's not the baby anymore.

We are so excited to have another little boy cousin around. Only a few more months until the scales are tipped again, this time in favor of the boys, when Brandon and Whitney welcome their little guy. I just love all these babies!

Weekend Getaway

We decided to excape the dreary, rainy weather last weekend and take a little getaway down to Zions with Scott's family. Even with a little wind, the 70-80 degree weather felt great! We stayed in a beautiful house at Zions Pondarosa Ranch as usual. Saturday morning I woke up and went for the most beautiful 10 mile run with deer, jack rabbits, and other wildlife. I didn't see a single person or car my entire run. I could get used to that! Later that day we went for a little hike. We're goin' green! No we didn't coordinate our outfits. Snack break for the 2 and 3 year olds. Karissa, Kaden, Keyana, Kayla, and Mason. Apparently we missed the memo about K names only. There were frogs and Mason loved them. Mason loves little creatures. The girls. The boys. The nursery leaders in our ward have told me that Mason is quite the stick collector on their little walks. I got to witness it first hand. He started out with one stick. Before long he was holding as many as his little hands could hold. We stopped and played in the giant sand box for awhile. Brynn loved mama's sunglasses and kept trying to put them on herself. Almost.

After a wonderful relaxing weekend we returned to SNOW!! Seriously? May 24th and the ground was covered with snow. Thank you Utah weather.

A real thank you to Scott's parents for inviting us for a fun weekend.

Snip Snip

Brynn got her first haircut last week and it is oh so cute. Her hair has really started coming in the last few months and it was starting to look a little too mullety for my liking. So Karlie trimmed 1.5 inches off the back making it a cute little bob and giving the front a chance to catch up in length. She evened out the ends all over and kind of shaped the front a little more as well. You don't really notice the difference from the front, but I just love how the back of her hair looks. It is so much fun having a little girl! Oh, and Brynn was great through the whole thing. No freaking out like Mason did when he was her age.
Speaking of Mason, he got his hair cut for the bazillionth time, so no big deal. He was so relaxed, in fact, that he fell asleep in the middle of it. He started nodding off and we couldn't wake him up. I had to hold his head up so Karlie could finish. I guess we know he's over his fear of getting his hair cut.

Momma's Girl

Since the day she was born, Brynn has been a total Mamma's girl. I swear she has spent over half of her life in my arms. Sometimes I wonder how she ever learned to crawl and walk since she cries when I put her down. She cries even harder if I leave the room, so I guess her motivation to become mobile was so she could follow me where ever I go. I can't remember the last time I did the dishes,cooked dinner, or got ready without her either in one arm or wrapped around my legs begging and whining to be picked up. It's not uncommon for her to start crying and climbing up me in a panic when people talk to her, including Scott. Don't get me wrong, she loves her dad....from my arms. I always feel guilty leaving for work when she starts crying and reaching for me as I leave, but Scott assures me she settles down once I'm gone. Once I'm out of the picture then she loves to play and have fun with Scott, but as soon as I'm home in the morning I'm the only one she wants. After an entire year of feeling attached at the hip to this little girl (and only having one arm free to use) I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready for her to accept other people more. It's not all bad having a Mamma's girl, though. The excited smiles and laughs I get from her every time I walk in the room are priceless. I love this little girl to pieces and I know a day will come soon enough when I will wish she adored me this way again. So for now I will try to enjoy the time that she is my #1 fan.

Brynn helping me get ready for work. As soon as I pull my scrubs out of the closet Brynn becomes extra clingy and will not let me put her down. So I have gotten really good at getting ready with her in my arms.

Friends

We are so lucky to have so many fun friends to play with. For the last year we have been a part of a playgroup with these fun friends. We try to get together every week or so and go somewhere fun with our kids. I love hanging out with these ladies and Mason loves his little friends. Last summer some of my closest friends from High School and I all had baby girls. It's been fun watching these girls grow and now that they are older we've had fun getting together to play with them. Although being the only 3-year-old with all these babies sometimes isn't the funnest for Mason, he will one day look back and beg for the opportunity to be the only boy with all these cute girls. Sunnie and Brynn. Future BFFs for sure. The stroller Mafia.

Brynn, Nathan, and Macie.

Who would have thought 3 roommates from Freshman year would all have babys in the same week. It definitely makes for a fun time getting together with these cute kids.

Pets

Scott and I have always agreed that we would hold off getting any pets as long as possible. We knew the day would come when Mason would beg for a pet of some sort, and we would eventually give in. But last week Scott turned on me. He decided it would be fun to get Mason hermit crabs and after he got Mason all excited about it I caved in and agreed. Why hermit crabs? They are pretty much the most low maintenance pets and they don't smell or make messes. Plus, there is an episode of Dinosaur Train that is one of Mason's favorites where they meet a hermit crab named Henry and learn all about him. So off we went to the pet store to get our first pets. Mason wanted this little guy to be his Henry. It was a great pick. Henry is fearless and very active. Perfect for Mason. He picked this baby one for Brynn. Since its shell looks like a giraffe he named him Melman. I'm a little worried about Melman. This picture honestly might be the only time we have seen him out of his shell. He's a wee little guy and appears to be very very scared, even of the other crabs. Poor little Melman. Scott was so excited he couldn't leave without picking out a big ole' Daddy one for himself. Mason named him Buddy. He is massive compared to the others. He is very active and a little bit of a bully to the others. He claimed the little house we made them right away, but I think Henry has grown on him because now Buddy lets him share the space. Mason loves to hold them. It still makes me a little queasy. He is learning how to be gentle when he holds them and we have only had one incident when he accidentally launched Henry. We cannot get them out when Brynn is awake because she goes crazy trying to get them and I'm pretty sure that would not end well for anyone involved.

It's kind of fun having pets, we'll see how long they last.