Looking back at 2011

I was sitting here for the past 20 minutes or so, enjoying the quietness of a napping child. As I sat, I started thinking over the past year.

It has been a complete whirlwind of a year.

Starting in January of this year, my life was changed forever. I had Shiloh. That, in and of itself, was enough to change my life forever, but we also have had so many other life altering events come over us this year.

Kenny started looking for jobs and that seemed to be crazy enough. Then came all of the interviews, all of the flying back and forth.

Then it was official. ken got a new job in Missouri. We had four weeks to put our house on the market and look for a new one in Jefferson City Missouri. We went through our house and sold everything that we couldn't take with us.

We had to say goodbye to two of the best pups ever. That I think was one of the hardest things about leaving Utah. Besides everything else we had to say goodbye to, we had to say goodbye to Piper and Pixie. I still miss them.

We also had to say goodbye to the first home we ever owned and to the home that we had so many good memories in. It was also Shiloh's first home.

We packed up flew to Missouri and beat all of our stuff here by about 2 weeks. Our first homebase here in Missouri was the Baymont Inn. Kenny started his new job, and I started trying not to get lost on my way back from the grocery store.

Then we moved to an apartment, that has been home base ever since. We sold our house in Utah. We spent countless hours looking for one here. We found one, it didn't work out. We found another, it didn't work out. We went back to the first one, it was seeming to work out.

In the meantime, we found out we were expecting our surprise kid #2.

Finally, we closed on the house this week. Just in time to be added to our list of events in 2011.

We have made many, many memories in the past year. All in all, it was an exciting great year, albeit one that I do not want to repeat because of all of the craziness. Here's to hoping that 2012 will be just as good, but maybe a little quieter...

I have an 11 month old...weird

I can't believe that Shiloh is almost 1 year old! Where did the time go? He really is such a great kid. This past month has been a bit of a challenge for us, but Shiloh is learning and growing all of the time. Some of his favorite past times include, turning pages in books as fast as he can, playing with and pulling out all of the canned goods in my cupboards, learning to climb, putting things in his mouth and crawling with them like a puppy, bath time, and anything that has to do with outside. His favorite toys to play with are probably books and stuffed animals, chapstick, paperclips, the printer, and cans and his toothbrush as long as he is the one holding it and no one is trying to actually brush his teeth. He is terribly afraid of any toy that makes noise. So much so that we ended up throwing one of his stuffed animals away(it sang the abc's... i know...very scary) because every time he saw it he would whimper. We ended up nick naming it "the Chucky dog". He weighs just a little over 20 pounds as of last week per the doctor when we took him in and he had strep. His favorite foods include spicy foods, beans, fish, bananas, anything squash related, and he has been on a pea kick lately as well. He is a professional turbo crawler as of late. He also can stand unassisted if you trick him into it. He can walk along and climb up on anything, but he is still too scared to walk. Kenny and I had fun trying to get him to take one step last night between us. It worked a couple of times. He says mama and dada and most of the time doesn't call the wrong thing those names. He also says " Na na na na na" very loudly when he is angry or doesn't want something. I think he is really trying to say No not na, but we can wait for that word to be correct I think. He has also started to be quite cuddly and will come up to you and give snuggles for no reason and then go back to playing. He gives open mouth kisses which are very cute and very disgusting all at the same time. I sure love this little guy. He is a handful and that will hopefully keep me young and not give me gray hairs, but either way I will take it!

This is an example of one of Shiloh's fave ways to sleep. We call it "the stink bug"

An example of him carrying something in his mouth like a puppy. He is such a cute little goof.

He discovered balloons this month and LOVES them. He was very disappointed that it was no longer floating when he woke up the next morning.

Yes...he is still a major drooler and has a total of 6 teeth currently.

I love you little Shiloh. I am so glad that you are my little guy!

Gratitude

So, lately I have been feeling a bit sorry for myself. I kept feeling like the whole world was combining its forces of bad luck and stress and dumping them on me. I had been feeling alone and overwhelmed. And to be completely honest I still am feeling a bit that way. I kept praying and asking why these stupid little things had to happen to me. Wow, how quickly I forget the lessons I learned just last month. Gratitude. I have a lot of this world to be thankful for. A LOT! Who cares if you sprain your ankle? Who cares if the only thing you get cleaned that day due to you and your child being sick is yourself? Is it really that big f a deal if your head is pounding and you want to sleep but you have to take care f the cutest little boy in the whole world? What is a few more weeks of living in an apartment because the house you are buying needs to have a septic tank installed? Although, admittedly, these things are not fun, they are but fleeting moments in a grand life! I have a wonderful family. I do have my health. What is a little sniffle compared to all of the life threatening diseases or life altering injuries out there? I have the Spirit for comfort and for a friend when I don't feel like there are many others out there. I have so much to be thankful for. I am still going to try and remember that, instead of dwelling on all of the little things that go wrong. I guess if you look at all of the little things that go wrong, you will find so many. If you look for all of the blessings, the little moments, like your kid smiling or your kid knowing that you are "mama" and calling you that, you realize life is good.

Feeling bad about a little clutter? Feel bad no longer...

This is a pic of what happens to your house when you hurt your ankle and your wrist, you are pregnant and morning sick, and you have a ten month old that you cannot keep up with any longer....

If you are feeling bad about yours, just take a look at mine and you will realize that your house isn't in such bad shape :D

First big boy haircut!!

I have to admit that I have been dreading cutting Shiloh's hair! He has such a beautiful color of hair and it had that great baby soft feeling to it. I finally broke down and cut it though. The fact is, it was in his eyes all of the time, and it tickled his nose and his ears. I was starting to feel a bit mean making him endure all of the tickling and itching he was constantly doing just because I was in love with his baby locks. So, the day after Christmas, I got the nerve up to cut his hair. The minute I got the nerve up, I told Kenny we had to do it right then or I would chicken out. I was quite nervous to cut his hair. I was at a loss at first of how to get him to sit still. Well, he did great!!!! You see, we don't let him watch tv or movies. We don't even have a tv. We decided that for this special occasion, we would put on a movie on the laptop, Cars to be exact. He was, needless to say, MESMERIZED by all of the music, colors, and lights. On rare occasion he would try to look at me to see what I was doing but for the most part, his attention was glued to the array of action in front of him. The other thing I gave him which he rarely gets to play with was my phone. Also very flashy and colorful.

Here are a few pictures of the during...please excuse my appearance as I had not been out of bed long. Also take notice of the expression in the first pic. Quite priceless.

We decided that he just looked so grown up and so cute that we did a little mini photo shoot of him on his little rocking chair after we bathed all of the hair off! I sure am in love that little boy! I won't post too many, but they turned out pretty cute

In this picture below, I have to admit, that I think that Shiloh looks like his older cousin, Spencer! I had thought Shiloh had a bit of the Williams' look, but not much, but there must be more to him than I thought because they look similar in this pic.
And here is a pic of the back.

He looks so grown up! I can't believe the difference a little haircut makes!

Christmas time!

I do have to admit that we were not the most "Christmasy" family around. Shiloh was getting over strep, I had (and still do have) a major sinus infection, and Kenny was getting over his sore throat as well. Nonetheless, we had a great Christmas, which was quite laid back. In the morning we let Shiloh open the presents that were left that he hadn't already gotten to previously in the month. He had, of course, no interest in opening any present for the camera! Apparently, he had already gotten the ripping paper need out of his system and was completely bored with it by Christmas morning. Kenny and I obliged in opening his present for him, and trying to keep him interested in the process was a bit difficult.

This is the closest he got to the presents on Christmas morning. After this one he was bored. (You can tell by looking at the picture that we even stopped and had an outfit change before opening the rest.)

Here is daddy helping the smiley by open up a present!

Once the books and toys were unwrapped though, it was whole new story. He loved playing with and hugging everything he received. I also made Monkey bread for breakfast. That is a Williams' fam tradition and then I made wassail, a Russell family tradition. Shiloh didn't want either, so we gave him bananas:)

What a goober! I love all of his cheesy smiles!

We went to church for an hour and listened to hymns and talks. Then we came home and had naps and made some food for a get together we had been invited to. After nap time we headed over to Brother and Sister Hippen's house. They are a very nice older couple in our ward who invited us and many other families who lived away from family over to their house fro Christmas dinner. We had a great time. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring camera for the latter part of the day, but you can imagine that it was crowded, there were a tone of kids running around all hopped up on sugar from their stockings, and their was a ton of really great food. We had a blast and are so thankful for their kindness in letting us come.

Our first snowfall of the winter

Early in December, we had our first snowfall. It has been the only snow fall so far this winter. I am sure we are just being spoiled, but I am really liking it. (Also, on the plus side to no snow, we were able to get the septic tank installed at the house we just bought, so it was really a blessing) The snow that came was super powdery, and barely even covered the ground, but it was beautiful. We decided to have Shiloh go outside and try it out. He was a little afraid of it, but not as afraid of it as he was the Christmas tree, so I count it as a complete success! We didn't stay out long because it was freezing. But we had to document it.

I love my little cutie, even if he is afraid of most winter things. I am sure by next year, I am going to be wishing he was more afraid of things!

When I was a child

When I was a child, I remember falling down and getting back up again. I remember being told to brush it off, and most of the time, I would. Sometimes, the fall would end up in a scraped knee or elbow. Most of the time a trip or a fall resulted in me forgetting about it 20 minutes later and never thinking about again. I woke up this morning sore! I currently feel like all of my muscles hurt. I am walking with a limp or a cane depending on which is more annoying at the moment. My hand that caught the fall is killing me. I can't pick up Shiloh with that hand. I still can't look to the right. Oh, that I were a child once more, and could just brush it off and not be wishing that yesterday didn't happen...

Interruption in the blog catching up....

Two things that I would like to blog about....

First my nephews are here!!!!!! Benjamin Paul and Crew Russell Hutton were born on Monday. They are happy and healthy and big for twins. They both weighed the exact same... 6 lbs. 9 oz. Congrats to my sis and her hubs. They deserve the new little babes and I am glad that everything with the adoption went through smoothly. We cannot be more thankful for the blessing of adoption and for their birth mom who selflessly thought of the boys, which resulted in my sister and bro-in-law having the opportunity to become parents. Truly a miracle.

Second is a short list of some things that I don't think should happen to a pregnant lady, or really anybody for that matter, in the which all happened to me today. (complaining involved , so skip it if you don't want to hear it:) )

1. A pregnant lady should never wake up with a kinked neck that makes it impossible to move her right arm for a few hours, or her neck, and gives her a headache.

2.A pregnant lady should never be allowed to fall down the stairs (It was only two, but it was on the cement in the rain before 7 am).

3. A pregnant lady should never be let to twist her ankle until it pops falling down said stairs, leaving her limping, swollen, and bruised.

4. Also, a pregnant lady should not have to endure trying to fall to the side because of fear of falling on her stomach, thus ending in the result of a very bruised and skinned hand which took the impact first before everything else.

I did not die. My baby is just fine. But man! I hurt! and I am having hard time keeping up with Shiloh. Luckily, Kenny only had to go to work for 5 hours, and a good friend of mine came over for an hour and a half to chase Shiloh for me. Sorry for the complaint, but I just thought I should note to everyone that this should not be allowed to happen. ;) I guess I was overdue for another Brittani klutzy moment.... I should have been expecting it.

Shiloh and Daddy

So one of the downfalls in being in an apartment where you have no room and can't child proof anything, is that Shiloh has opened almost all of the presents that my parents brought at Thanksgiving. He got one set of cute jungle puppets. He LOVES them. He and daddy. crawl around the house playing with them. Kenny will crawl quickly to another room, and then peek the puppet around the corner and make a lion noise or something like that. Shiloh will squeal and then turbo crawl to get to him or walk along the walls til he can find them. Then, just as Shiloh reaches them, the process is repeated all over again, racing from one room to another and then back again. It can go on for a quite a long time. This is a game that I am apparently not good enough to play with Shiloh. He is a puppet snob and I just don't make good enough animal noises to get the job done, so he waits for the this game every night after Ken gets home from work. It is just so dang cute to watch. I am pretty sure that Kenny is having a little more fun than Shiloh is, and Shiloh is having a lot of fun! The game always ends when Shiloh is starting to get frustrated at not catching the puppet, so Kenny makes one more move and it inevitably ends with Shiloh hugging and hitting the puppet and feeling quite accomplished at "catching" it. Here are a few shots of the process:)

Setting the bait...

The Hunt....

The end when daddy lets Shiloh "catch" the Puppet

These two are best pals. It is just so fun to watch and just so fun to see Shiloh at this age!

First December weekend... Part 2

Wow! Did I keep you waiting long enough? Sorry about that. Not feeling great plus a lack of motivation, makes for a long wait for part 2. So Friday night we went to an event called The Living Windows. Downtown Jeff city blocks off a huge portion of a street downtown. Everyone walks down the streets, that are lit by Christmas lights and decorated. On every street corner there is free hot cocoa, apple cider and cookies. There are people passing out candy canes. There are of course treats and such that you can buy as well. All of the business store front windows have cute little kids dancing or singing. There are caroling choirs and bands everywhere. It was just such a festive fun filled way to kick off the season.

Here is Shiloh all bundled up ready to walk down High street

This was a fun little group that was playing Christmas carols. There were so many more, but since it was at night it is hard to get good pictures

On Saturday morning we went to a small town called Hermann. The add for this event sounded way more fun than it actually was... I mean it wasn't boring by any means, but it was a lot smaller than expected and I probably wouldn't make the trek again, but it is a good memory. One interesting fact that we found out in Hermann is that Shiloh is TERRIFIED of Santa Claus. Especially obnoxious creepy ones that come up to your 10 month old uninvited, and then after he starts screaming and trying to hide, he touches him without permission anyway. So my kid is afraid of Christmas trees and Santa Claus. Next on the list is Gingerbread houses I guess, or maybe even snowmen. Not really sure. We only took one pic in Hermann and it wasn't of the lame booths. It was of a beautiful vineyard outside of a winery. It was gorgeous.

After getting back from Hermann, we went to the Governor's mansion. They open the bottom level so that you can see it all dressed up for Christmas. It was beautiful and very historic looking. This was way more fun the previous event.

It was such a fun weekend, and we didn't even do everything there was to do that weekend, but I think we did enough to get the Christmas Spirit awakened in us. Still on the list to do, go to Rotary park and look at all of the lights and then there is a 27 acre field that is decorated and lit and you can drive through. Hopefully we get to that before the Christmas season is over.

The first weekend in December....Part #1

I know, I know, I know, I am totally behind in my blogging, but I am trying to get caught up. The first weekend in December Kenny had Friday off. So we decided to kick ff the holiday season and see what Jeff City had to offer. Let me tell you, it has A LOT to offer!!! There was no way to get to everything there was to offer the first weekend in Jeff city and all of the cute little surrounding areas. I can't even fit the whole first day into one post! There are so many things we still are planning to do, but we will see! I just love the small town feel here and how they do so many fun things. I took some pictures of the events we went to!

Well since we were supposed to move into our house before Thanksgiving, and we are still waiting for it to close, I wasn't really sure that we were going to do any holiday decorating, but it was just making me soooo sad. All of our Christmas Decor is in the storage unit and almost impossible to get to. I was getting pretty bummed about it, so we thought we would look for a Christmas tree lot and get a tiny Christmas tree. My mom had bought me a few decorations while she was in town. We drove all around town, but there were no lots to be found! I thought that it was kind of bizarre. So, I looked online and found out that they do not have any lots here. Instead, you go to the Christmas tree farm and go pick out your own and cut down your own. How fun! So we decided to go check it out. It was so fun. We didn't cut our own because those were bigger, but they had a little section of smaller $10 trees that were pre cut for you. There was free hot cocoa and coloring books and candy canes. There was even a free hay ride! It was sooo fun and I am not sure why we would do it any other way. So here are a few pics from that part of the outing.

Cute little pic of Shiloh standing by himself for a few seconds....

This is the Truck that they do Hay rides on. So Fun!

There were soooo many trees!

The owner offered to take a family shot. He was the nicest guy. He said that moms always got left out of the pics, and he thought we should have one with all of us!

After we got it, we went home and decorated the tree with our few decorations. Shiloh only got one ornament off the tree before he realized he was terrified of the tree because it was poky! I guess I should be happy about that, but I have tried to no avail to get him to touch or come close to the tree, but he won't.

Our little tree. It is shorter than me, which you can't tell from this pic. We don't have any lights, but it still turned out pretty.

The only time Shiloh got near the tree.

His new favorite noise maker:)

It was such a fun morning. I am also super excited that I was able to get a tree and feel a little less bah humbuggish!

13 weeks...heading into the 2nd trimester!

Disclaimer: Please don't ask if I am having twins or say something along the lines of, "You're Showing already?!" or "You're getting so big!" For some reason I am super sensitive this time around, and have already gotten those comments, and they made me cry, really really hard.

So, I was looking back at pictures from when I was pregnant with Shiloh...all 4 of them, and decided that I should better document this pregnancy. I am making no promises, but I will try to get more than 4 pictures of me pregnant:) So here it is. Me at 13 weeks...

Thanksgiving (Finally)

So I have waited way too long to post about Thanksgiving, but I was bummed about forgetting to get all of the pics my mom took on her camera before she left, so, needless to say, this will be me mostly telling about the fun time, not a whole lot of seeing. Maybe I can get my mom to send me some of the pics:)

My parents got here the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for them I was quite sick the whole time they were here. So they mostly just played with Shiloh, which they didn't seem to mind, and he just basked in all of the attention. His favorite thing to do was to walk under the table between my mom and my dad. He could do it for hours and they were kind enough to let him. Saturday night we went to a GREAT bbq place called Bandana's BBQ. It is one of the most delicious places around, and Kenny and I have to really use restraint s that we don't go there every other day. My parents loved it and Shiloh really really loved it!

Sunday was just kind of a kick back day. We went to church and then we drove around and out to the house that we are still under contract to buy (keep your fingers crossed for us). We didn't go with the realtor, but my dad was able to look around the property and it was a lot of fun to show my parents why we loved Missouri so much. We also drove to a lake that is only 5 minutes away from the church.

Monday and were pretty similar. We shopped a little and just hung around. They played with Shiloh and he was in Heaven! I have been such a lump lately and have had no energy. He was just pumped to be playing with people that moved. Monday night my parents let Kenny and I go on a date. It was so nice of them and so nice to get out of the house. We went to a great Italian restaurant here in town called Madison's, then watched a movie at the dollar theater here in town. That is the first time Kenny and I have been in a movie theater since Shiloh was born. It was a momentous occasion for us :)

Wednesday, while Kenny was working, My parents, Shiloh, and I went to the Capitol building and went to the museum inside. The building is gorgeous. I was really sad not to have the pics my mom took of this day. By this time Shiloh and my Pa Pa had become the best of friends. They walked around together, and we had all sorts of cool pics of the building. Oh well, maybe I can get them later.

Thursday we made dinner all day. We had a wonderful Turkey that was crusted in cranberries and vegetables and basted in white wine. Hats off to the chef on that one! It was delicious! We also had mashed potatoes, a great spinach salad with home made poppy seed dressing (I made it), Home made rolls, cream cheese and corn with green chilies, stuffing, celery sticks with cheese spread (my side of the family's tradition. it wouldn't be Thanksgiving for me if it wasn't there.) and then some sparkling apple cider. It was yummy and a big mess. Later we had pie. We made one. It was an apple pie with a pecan pie layer on top! Also really great. I can't wait until I can have a Thanksgiving where I am not pregnant though. Two years in a row for me. Always slightly more enjoyable when you have room in your tummy, and you aren't feeling under the weather.

Friday the whole gang of us did Black Friday in the morning. We went at 7 though, so we weren't too crazy. Got a few things and went home. We fed my parents some lunch and then they went home. We had a blast! I am glad they came.

Here is Shiloh and my dad being buddies. They did this a lot of the week. Since I wasn't much of a hostess!

Here is Shiloh opening a Christmas present. This is one of many that he has tore into. I wish we has some place high to put them, but oh well. He did this one right before my parents left. They were happy to see him open at least one. He sure loved the cow pillow and blankie they got him. He carries and hits it, which is his ultimate way of showing affection currently.

Random Stuff

So I have some random shots of the boy either being cute or getting into trouble. None of them were really pics that I could blog about all on there own, however I still wanted them to be on the blog for memory's sake, and so that you could all see how cute and mischievous he is:)

He is such a funny kid. He loves to get into my office supplies and to play with the printer. Of course this is always done with close supervision. I CAN"T wait til I am somewhere that I can actually child-proof things.

What a cute little face. His hair was crazy this day. I took a ton of pics, but I am just posting my favorite one.

Can we say flexible? When he first started to go from belly to sitting up, Shiloh always ended up in the straddles. I was lucky enough to catch on camera one day. He never stayed in that position long.

10 months old for Shiloh

Below is a video of Shiloh crawling...FINALLY! This is one of the most accomplished things he has worked on recently. He seems much happier, but really he is ready to start walking. I actually thought that he would skip crawling altogether and just start walking, but he surprised us just in time to show my parents for Thanksgiving(Pictures and blogging to come for that event, just a little behind). Shiloh is still a really good eater. He likes almost anything, except for eggs, which he hates with a passion, and cottage cheese, which he just hates. What he really loves is eating things all by himself. If he can do it without us, he is really into it. He is getting taller and bigger all of the time, but I have no idea how much he weighs. ( we currently don't have a scale) He loves to sing and clap and drum on pretty much everything including my and Kenny's faces. I guess our next trick is to teach him how to be soft. He also loves to go for walks, to swing in the swings, and do anything besides going to bed and sitting still. Other accomplishments include: learning how to stand up using the walls and walking along them, dumping out everything he can find all over the floor, giving snuggles, going to complete strangers, learning how to pull off his own diaper on occasion, recognizing that when we get our coats on and pick up our keys we are going bye-bye, waving at every person he sees (including himself in the mirror) and biting ( I actually think that sometimes he is trying to give kisses, but he just can't help himself with his five teeth) We sure love this little guy. He learns new things every day and he keeps me on my toes constantly.

Happy Thanksgiving...Nov 24th

Today I am thankful for my family....

Kenny- I am thankful for him because he is the love of my life. He works to provide for me and Shiloh. He is my best friend and he makes me laugh, even if I am in a bad mood. We always have fun together no matter what!

Shiloh-He is such a cutie and has changed my life in a lot of ways. I am thankful for his giggle. I am thankful for all that he has taught me about life and about myself.

Little Bean-Just thankful that I can have another one :)

My Mom-I thankful for her friendship, we have fun together, and I am so glad that she is in town to share Thanksgiving with me.

My Dad-I am thankful for him and his ability to be so giving. It never ceases to amaze me

Cami-I am thankful for Cami and all of the good advice she gives me, even if I need a sister moment and she is at work, she still answers the phone and gives me all of time she can.

Paul-I am thankful for Paul's ability to laugh at almost anything, it is great for times when I need it (Turtle Power)

Bryce-I am thankful for such a fun pal, who will not judge me, and is just my friend no matter if we have a differing opinion or not

Kristy-I am thankful for Kristy because she is always the first one to volunteer to help me or anyone else out.

Chandi- I am grateful for Chandi because she always makes me laugh! I can be having the worst day ever, and she will find a way to make me giggle.

Jordan-I am thankful for Jordan because he is such a funny sweet helpful guy. He makes my sis so happy.

My Tucson mom-I am grateful for Jonna Lu because she always makes me feel important and loved and like I am part of the family.

Pops-I am grateful for Pops because he is so great with all of his grandkids and it teaches me to be more loving towards children.

Rachael-I am thankful for her because she never forgets to remember us. She always keeps us informed and invites us to dinners.

Ismael-He is always willing to help when there is something he can help us out with.

Sienna-I am so thankful for her fun stories and bubbly personality

Maya-I am thankful that Maya always comes and sits by me and gives me hugs when I am there.

Tessia-I am grateful for Tessia's zest for life. We could all use a little more of it :)

Heather-I am grateful that I can call Heather up anytime. She is such a good friend to me and someone who is there, always.

Eric-I am grateful for Eric because of his adventurous nature and all of the fun outings he takes us on in the great outdoors.

Mason-I am grateful for what a great young man he has turned into and he always comes and says hi and gives me hug.

Renee-I am grateful for Renee because she is just so great with animals, and she always is so imaginative.

Colby-I am grateful for Colby because he always wants to wrestle and have fun

Sadie-I am thankful for Sadie because she is so positive and she just loves to love people!

Janelle-I am thankful for Janelle and how she is so easy to be around. I have never felt unwanted around her.

Brad-I am thankful for Brad because he is always willing to have a conversation with me, he is very easy to talk to

Camille-I am grateful for Camille because she always reminds me that every girl is a princess.

Maddie-I am thankful for Maddie because she has the sweetest smile.

Spencer-I am thankful for him because he is a load of fun and so playful.

Rebecca-I haven't met her yet, but I am thankful for her because she is so good for her mommy.

I love you all! Thank you for being in my life! I am grateful for you all for so many more reasons than the ones that I posted! Thanks for being in my life.

Thanksgiving Eve...Nov 23rd

Wow, I cannot believe that tomorrow is thanksgiving already!!!! This little project of mine has seemed to pass the month by quite quickly. I am thankful for the word of God written in scriptures. I guess, along with that, is that I am thankful for all of the men and women that listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and wrote all of the things that I base my life and my values on today. What a miraculous and incredible work! What a wholly daunting task undertaken by those who God called! I am grateful that they accepted the task so that I might have a knowledge of their doings and of all the wonderful insights the scriptures give to us. I truly believe that what they have written is the word of God, and that it is meant for all to hear, and all to adhere to. The scriptures have enriched my life in countless ways, and helped me through many a trial and hard time, and I am so thankful for that! What are you thankful for?

Nov 22nd... Thankfulness

Today I am thankful for our bodies. They are amazing. Unfortunately Shiloh has had a cold this week, but as I watched him start to get better, I started to think about that whole process. Our Heavenly parents created us, and our bodies, with such amazing perfection. Our bodies know exactly how to root out infection and heal us from a cold or other illnesses. If we brake a bone, the bone eventually fuses back together. We slice our finger, our skin grows back together. As I thought about this most of the week, I realized what a miracle and work of faith our bodies are. It is a miracle that once something is broken, it isn't that way forever. The other amazing thing about our bodies is that, in conjunction with faith, anything is possible. We pray for a loved one to get well soon, and then we exercise faith in their behalf and a miracle happens. Things that aren't supposed to heal do, or things that take longer to heal miraculously heal in a few days! I am so thankful for my body and the hard work it does for me everyday and I am grateful for Heavenly Parents who made mine the way they needed to, with enough weakness for me to fall or to get sick, so that I might try to obtain enough faith to be healed. It is an amazing process and I am thankful for it. What are you thankful for?

A gratitude attitude... Nov 21st

This month has flown by it seems. Maybe when you are grateful for things, the time just flies by. Today I am grateful for two things, and they are completely unrelated. The first is, I am grateful for a real date with my hubby. Since my parents are here, they offered to watch my little guy ( I am grateful for that also) and Kenny and I were able to go out to dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant here in town that we hadn't tried before, and then we hit the dollar theater to watch a movie; something that has only happened one other time since Shiloh was born. We ended up watching The Help. It was a really great show.

The other thing I am grateful for is a really nice and honest Realtor. He is always checking up on the status of things on houses and emailing and calling us. He remembers things, like that my parents are in town and offers to take them through the house we have an offer on. There are a lot of other things, but I won't write them all down. It is just nice to have found someone who cares as opposed to someone who just wants money and so they don't really care about you. I know it seems like a weird thing to be thankful for, but I am. What are you thankful for?

Thankful... Nov 20th

Today I am thankful for the rain. Although it is quite cold, it is much needed whenever we can get it. besides, it creates such a beautiful feeling of fall all around. The overcast skies, The crisp autumn air, and even the smell that is distinctly fall. I love it and I am grateful for it! What are you thankful for?

Nov 19th...Gratitude

My parents get into town today for thanksgiving week! I am really excited. I haven't really planned all that we are going to do. I am actually not sure I can keep them preoccupied for a whole week here, but I am pretty excited none the less! What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving...Nov 18th

I am grateful that there are two heart beats in me. (One is mine)

Shiloh is getting to be so BIG

Today Shiloh started walking around clinging to the walls. I think if he got brave, he might be able to do it by himself!!! Crazy. I feel like in some ways I just had him, and then again, in other ways it feels like it is about time. I will have to get a picture son, but I thought I would post so that I could remember the day that he started wall walking :)

So Thankful... Nov 17th

Today I am thankful for my bed. I haven't been feeling too hot today. Nothing horrible, but still not great. I was up early with Shiloh this morning and the minute he went down for a nap, I went and laid down in my bed and took one too. I am so glad that I don't have to sleep on the floor or on a mat or anything like that...I get to sleep on a nice warm soft and comfy bed. What are you grateful for?

Thankfulness...Nov 16th

Today I am thankful to be a mom! I love my little Shiloh, and I feel so blessed to be able to teach and care for him. I also feel like the minute I became a mom, I was blessed with a little more charity and the ability to finally start thinking of someone else instead of myself. It wasn't necessarily an easy transition, but it is the best one that has ever happened to me, and I feel so blessed to be able to share that with my Kenny who is an awesome daddy. I am also thankful that I got to witness the incredible transformation of Kenny from just hubby to hubby and daddy. He is a great daddy (and hubby too). What are you thankful for?

Nov 15th...again

I just have to add something that I am thankful for today. I have been having a bit of an off day and week, but nothing serious, just the house is a mess and such. My new visiting teacher showed up today by herself because the other one's daughter was sick. My house, mind you is a bit of a disaster, and I was super embarrassed but there hasn't been the time today to do anything about it. I had the plan to at least straighten, but nothing has worked out that way today. This kind woman walked in and without even knowing me folded my laundry with me while we chatted. I am thankful for her! How nice! I need to be a lot more like her, and look for opportunities to serve those around me. Not just ask, but look and see and do! Just had to add this!

When you have a gratitude attitude...November 15th

It has been interesting, this whole "gratitude every day" gig. I have noticed that I have been looking for things that I am grateful for. I guess, unfortunately, I am not usually a very grateful or thankful person. Not to say that I am not grateful for anything, but I guess I am not constantly thinking about it. I say the few normal things everyday in my prayers, and then I move on and I don't think about it for the rest of the day. How could I have been so blind or reluctant to acknowledge what I have been given? Now, though, I find myself thinking all day about what I am grateful for. It is like a ripple effect. You start thinking of one thing and then you start thinking of more. Each thing makes you think of something else you are grateful for. It has been a wonderful experience thus far, and I truly feel blessed, and not only do I feel blessed, but I feel excited to find more things that create this awesome sense of gratitude in my heart. I know over the ages one may find many a quote referencing to the importance of a gracious spirit and thankful heart, and I am not the first person to discover it, nor will I be the last, but I am truly thankful to have unearthed it in myself. Today, I was trying to think of one thing I am grateful for, and I have just come to the conclusion that I am just Thankful in general today. I am truly blessed in every facet of my life. There is nothing that I want for in my life. I may feel greedy at times, and think that I deserve something or that I "need" something, but I don't. I have the Spirit, and knowledge of the Spirit. I have a loving family, which includes so many more than those who just live with me. I have friends. I have clothes and food and water and shelter! The list goes on and on and on. It is endless. I could write one thing down for the rest of my life and never lack for something new to be grateful for. In my heart, I feel so badly for not recognizing the things I have been given. I have a new ambition to keep these feelings and this new version of me, the thankful one, alive. I truly hope that I can. I also hope that I can teach my children to be thankful. It makes life seem a little more rose colored, and who couldn't use a little more of that in their life? In my humble opinion, I think everyone could use something that helps them see how truly good their life is. I am not just saying that gratitude makes you think that things are good when they aren't, I am saying that gratitude makes you see the things that are good and great even though, before applying it, things may have looked a bit grimmer. It helps us shed a negative outlook and put on a positive one. By sharing with one another what we are thankful for, we strengthen one another and help one another see the blessings we have. What are you thankful for?

Nov 14th...Gratitude

I am really grateful for the fact that Shiloh took a great nap today. Yesterday, the naps were non-existent, so today. I am super thankful that he at least has one good nap under his belt. Yay for happy me and happy him. What are you thankful for?

Gratitude...November 13th

I am thankful today that my house got vacuumed yesterday. I know it seems like such a simple thing, and not a very good thing for a list of things to be grateful for, but I am really really grateful for it. It seems that ever since I have had Shiloh that I NEVER seem to get to the vacuuming. Either he is asleep, and I am not going to vacuum then, or he is awake and he is a bit scared of the vacuum. Well yesterday Shiloh was awake and Kenny was home and he vacuumed while I held Shiloh and showed him that the vacuum wasn't scary. He actually got pretty interested in it, and once he got used to the idea of it, he wanted to watch it with me sitting close by. I know it may seem like a ridiculous thought of gratitude, but I am thankful for it. It feels so good to be in a house with no crumbs on the floor. Now if I can only get to the other things that need to be done, like mopping, dusting, putting away all of the summer clothes.....

I am thankful for.... Nov 12th

Today I am grateful for my voice. There are so many things I can do with it. I can sing my child to sleep. I can have a wonderful conversation with a friend. I can chat with my husband about his day at work. I can let someone know what I want, or what I don't want. I can bear my testimony at church. I can call a friend or family member on the phone hundreds or thousands of miles away and still be able to communicate with them. I can also say things as I would say them. I know that seems a little confusing, but if I didn't have my own voice, I would never be able to get my exact point across and articulate exactly how I feel to my loved ones. I am also able to pray with my voice. Although, I could silently say a prayer, without a voice I would never feel that wonderful feeling of praying out loud and knowing that I will be heard. If I didn't have a voice I wouldn't be able to any of these things, and I am so grateful for it! What are you thankful for?

Gratitude... November 11th

Today I am thankful for books. They teach us so much. They can help us relate to different situations by giving us a look into someone else's mind, they can teach us things we need to know about the world around us, They can helps us learn from the past, and they are also something quite fulfilling to pass the time. It is quite funny that I as I get older I have even begun to be thankful for, and enjoy textbooks ( as long as I am not going to be tested on the material and just get to learn for the pure joy of learning) I am grateful for them in all of their many different forms. What are you thankful for?

November 10th

I have been thinking a lot today and this week in general about Heavenly Parents. I am thankful that they are there. I am glad that I have a Father who loves me. I am especially grateful for a Heavenly Mother who I get to try and be like one day, hopefully. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to acknowledge their hands in all things. I love Them! I hope that I can have a closer more sincere relationship with them as I learn to understand the Spirit. I am also thankful for everything that they let me experience that helps me become more like them. It may not always be easy or fun, but it teaches so much and helps me in ways I am sure that I can't even comprehend. I also hope that I can remember them and be more grateful to Them on a daily basis and not just in the month of November.... I should put that on my new Year's goal list, right? What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving... November 9th

So I have been doing this on facebook, but thought it would be appropriate to post on my blog as well. Each day I am going to write something I am thankful for until Thanksgiving. And since I am late on my blog I am going to post ones for all of the days before :)

Nov 9: I am thankful for the old man who saw Shiloh and I walking from the car to the building in the rain without an umbrella, and decided to run to us and cover us with his coat and walk with us to the front door. thank you! So grateful that there are still kind, chivalrous men in the world!

Nov 8: I am thankful for the opportunity to change, become better, and to repent.

Nov 7: I am grateful that I get to watch my little guy explore all of the new to him things in the world.... today he discovered my bin of paperclips. It made a mess, but he was in heaven!

Nov 6: I am grateful for clothes to keep me warm....such a good thing to have and yet I hardly ever take notice at what a blessing it is. It might not be the most profound thought of gratitude, but I and thankful none the less.

Nov 5: I am grateful that Shiloh is starting to scoot around the apartment army crawl style, even though it means that I have to vacuum more. He just seems a lot happier and htat makes me a lot happier.

Nov 4: I am thankful for friends. God always sends the ones you need at exactly the time you need them.

Nov 3: I am thankful for running water, and along with that comes toilets. the story behind this thankful thought of the day is that yesterday while looking at houses we came across on that was vacant and the water was turned off. I had to go sooooo bad!!!!! I totally thought i was gonna have to pee in the bushes or something. I almost didn't make it back into town. it sucked to wait, but it made me grateful for what we have!

Nov 2: I am thankful for the knowledge we can gain... I tis such a blessing to be able to learn about all of the good things that God has given us!

Nov 1: I am thankful for my husband....he is the best thing that has ever happened to me!

The next couple of weeks should be fun and a bit shorter to read day by day!

Halloween 2011

I do have to say that this Halloween was an absolute bummer!!!! We usually have a grand dinner with lots of decorations, lots of friends, lots of haunted food, and lots of costumes.... This year we didn't have any decorations, nowhere to have a dinner party, no pumpkins, and the only costume was Shiloh's, in which he wasn't dressed in until right before bed because we thought we should at least create some sort of picture memory for him and I already bought the costume. If any of you know me, you know how out of character this Halloween was for me. In fact, when telling my little sister Chandi that I wasn't doing anything, she commented, "Sister, you HAVE to dress up or something, if you don't, you might cease to be Brittani!" Don't worry folks, I am still here and as far as I can tell I am still Brittani...but I was pretty bitter about the no Halloween fun for a few days after. (this is why it has taken me so long to post, I didn't want to rehash the bitter all over again) Next year I am going to rock it out and do double duty. Sorry Kenny, I know it isn't you favorite holiday, but you got the year off!!

Here is our cute little Zebra

Here is the cute little tail and mane

I had to include this one because it is Shiloh trying to pull off the costume, but instead he is pulling his head down to the ground. It was really funny.

Apartments.....and the things I will not miss about them.

I will NOT miss

-sharing a wall with Shiloh and hearing him scratch it at 4 o'clock in the morning

-sharing a wall with the laundromat and hearing people's stuff bang in the dryers

-paying $1 just to wash 1 load of clothes.

-taking my laundry across the building only to find out that all of the washers are full

-the smoking hangout spot being on the patio right outside my window

-the maintenance man and his daughters smoking in the laundry room

-hearing my neighbors yell at each other.

-going up a flight of 25 stairs every time I need to leave

-going up and down a flight of 25 stairs several times and running to the car in the rain just as many times just to get the groceries in the apartment from the car

-hearing my neighbor's puppy yipe and whine and cry at all hours of the day and night.

-stepping in said puppy's poop on the patio.

-Hearing the garbage man emptying out the huge dumpsters on the street in front of me on Monday and Thursday at 5 am, on my street on Tuesday & Friday and 5 am, and the street behind me on Wednesday and Saturday at 5 am.

-a lack of counter space

-folding chairs and card tables as our main furniture

-having to eat in the living room because the kitchen is too small for a table and chairs

-being without a couch

-having to go through some parts of storage to find the things that I need and then only to realize that I won't be able to find it and I have to do without or buy something that I know I have but can't get to.

-not being able to decorate for my favorite holidays because everything is in storage

-having a blanket for curtains because we don't want to buy some that won't work for our house

-having my shower water turn cold whenever the washers in the laundromat get used

and finally.....

-paying for something that isn't ours...

Well I know this was a bit of a rant, but I had to get it off of my chest, so there it is. Sorry if you got all of the way to the bottom. A lot of complaining, I know. I am also sorry if you can empathize with any of the these things. I really am thankful we have a place to stay and I know it could be worse. Just to keep that in mind the next time the puppy starts barking at 2 o'clock in the morning is the key.

Shiloh is 9 months old!!! ( well as of yesterday)

Shiloh is my sweet boy. He just smiles so easily and loves to laugh and play! He is definitely turning into a Daddy's boy more and more, and I don't blame him. The Kenny and Shiloh playing together is just so dang cute! Shiloh weighs just under 18 lbs. I know this because we had a hospital trip this month when he had a really high fever that wouldn't go down! Luckily he is feeling much better. He really would prefer to walk holding onto fingers as opposed to doing anything else. He STILL refuses to crawl. I think he is just going to skip it all together! It would be nice if he would crawl and he would be a lot happier, but he doesn't feel the need to crawl since no one else in our household crawls around. He just wants to be a big boy. He is eating a lot better now most of the time which is great. Makes life a little easier for me. I would tell you what his favorite foods are, but he seems to like all of them, which is a plus. He might like yogurt slightly more than the rest, but not by much. He loves to laugh. He loves to drum on things and shake rattles. He loves to listen to music and try to sing along with us. It is adorable. He also loves to make random jibberish outbursts in the middle of sacrament meeting, prayers, or really any other time that calls for reverence or quiet. As his parents we try not laugh, but it is oh so hard! He also is a drool monster!!! I think his shirt will forever be soaked. But he is getting in a couple more teeth and that makes him look more grown up. We have a lot of people tell us he is a big kid for his age and guess that he is closer to 18 months old!!!! I really just think it is because he is tall and has a HUGE head and a lot of hair( in the cutest way possible ). He also loves to be outside. He loves to try and put rocks, stick, leaves, acorns and other such objects in his mouth also... He is such a boy and I love it! Love you my baby boy!

Party

So Kenny's work had a "harvest" work party a few weeks ago, and I am a bit behind and haven't blogged about it! I wish we would have taken more pics. It was such a beautiful day and a beautiful place. It was at and "farm and orchard". It is called Apple creek farm and orchard, but it is really an old farm converted into and events center of sorts. We enjoyed a hayride with Shiloh. There was a live band playing. There were also all sorts of things for older kids to do, but we just hung out more or less. There was also a beautiful little trail that lead down to a small lake. There wasn't anyone around to take a pic of us on the dock, so we set the camera on the stroller. The pic actually turned out pretty well.

They also provided a lunch for us. They pit roasted a whole hog as pictured below. Kenny thought that this was really cool and took like 5 picture of the roasted pig. It kind of grossed me out and I had to sit with my back to the serving table while I ate. Sometimes I would just rather not think of where my meat comes from so literally. Anybody with me? Kenny really wanted me to post this picture.... It is a bit unappetizing though!

Thanks St. Mary's for a wonderful lunch and time!

The Hartsbrurg Pumpkin fest

So there is town that is about 15 miles away from Jewfferson city called Hartsburg. This is a teeny tiny town with a population of less than 150 people. Yes I typed that right...LESS than 150 people live in Hartsburg. It is a cute and quaint little town. Every year they do a little pumpkin fest. There are all sorts of tents set up with lots of things to buy...very interesting things I might add. they also have a huge pumpkin patch that you get to pick your own pumpkin in. The town has been doing this for festival for like 40 years. Every year they get over 50,000 people that visit in these two days. Again, no typo, 50,000 people in this tiny town. It is insanity! But it is also a ton of fun. We just had to go. Luckily someone local told us to go by 9 a.m. on Saturday so that you could beat most of the crowds. There were still tons of people, but it was so worth it!!!

This is a picture of the 3 of us with our cute little pumpkin that we chose. being in an apartment, with no doorstep to the outside makes it hard to display pumpkins, so we just got one for the heck of it!

Along the way there were all sorts of fun things to do and so many things I could have taken pictures of, but I found this huge cat kind of festive and fun!

This is just such a cute pic of my buys, I had to put it in.

Things not pictured: the amazing cinnamon sugar pecans and almonds that we bought and munched on, all of the amazing hand crafted wood furniture for sale (I want it all!), The cute wooden tractor and wooden tool set we got for Shiloh to play with, and all of the really fascinating things that people actually make. This blew all of the hand crafted doo dads for sale that I have seen at any fair I have been to! People are particularly talented here in Missouri. All in all, we had a blast. I can't wait to go next year. I think that this is going to have to be one of our family traditions. The only thing I would change is that next year we will bring more cash ;)

Day at the park....

Well the park is at our Apartment complex, and it was more like an hour, but it sounded good for a title. :) These are just a few cute pictures that we took. Shiloh loves sitting and playing in the rocks. I do have to watch him like a hawk to make sure that none of them go into his mouth, but it is nice to enjoy the 70's outside and get some sun.

He thought that being buried in the rocks was pretty cool. This was of course dad's idea. I would have never thought to bury him in the rocks, but dads do always come up with fun things to do .