School

What was I thinking? College classes after being graduated for 2 and 1/2 years! My brain doesn't think anymore. Between my newborn and Courtney they took my brain cells!! Okay, so today I am more than a little overwhelmed. But hopefully if I can get my mind greased up and thinking again I will be doing better tomorrow. Listen to my classes Epidemiology and Biostatistic, Research Methodology, and Leadership. Have I ever mentioned I don't particularly like research? Okay, I'm done now. I'll get back to reading my chapters. Thanks for receiving an ear-full!

She's Here! Kali Marie McBride

Kali Marie was born July 23, 2009 weighed 7 lbs. and measured 19 inches long. She has dark brown hair and blue eyes. She has a similar look to her sister but looks more Barton than Courtney does. Kali is an amazing Baby! She is a good eater and sleeper and is an overall easy-going girl. Everything went well with delivery besides a scare with the placenta tearing and possible emergency c-section but all turned out well. Recovery has been a million times easier this time around. We have been truely blessed with another beautiful addition to our home!

Maternity Pictures

My really good friend came down from Provo and took some amazing maternity pictures. I have always thought maternity pictures would be awesome but I never thought I would ever be able to get them. (Sometimes it's hard to feel like having your picture taken when you feel huge and just not that cute). But I think Marie is a fabulous photographer because they turned out really well!

Why We LOVE Summer!

Happy FOURTH of JULY!!

Where I am so close to my due date, the doctor recommended I stay local for the holiday. However, we've had a trip planned to go to California for months! So we took the risk...and it was well worth the aches and pains associated with a 6 hour drive and 36 weeks pregnant (I thought my tail bone was broken)! Afterall, the Fourth of July is the only summer holiday!

Dave's Mom & Dad always have huge festive dinners. It was delicious! And I think we ate enough watermelon to make us all sick. After a tornament of horse shoes, we sat at the water's edge and watched the neighbors shoot off about $5,000 worth of fireworks right over our heads!!! It was awesome. In fact, the 'real' fireworks shot-off across the lake were a let down after our front row seats! One of Courtney's favorite things was the boat light parade.

We LOVE Family Reunions!, and Swimming!

Dave's Great Grandpa had a reunion at Warm Springs in Nevada. Talk about crystal clear water!, and a bunch of people I didn't know. We had a great time getting to know a lot of people and of course swimming in the natural springs.

We LOVE Boating!

We have gone on our boat at least once a week with anyone who will go. In fact, Courtney loves the boat so much she'll start to cry everytime she catches a glimpse of it! She'll help her Daddy drive, hold the flag like a champion, and clap for anyone when they do a trick on the wakeboard!

A really fun night was when we threw in hot dogs and forgot bricketts. Gunlock is pretty laid back so we just made a fire and roasted our dinner on randomly found sticks!We also love having my sister Tawna her husband Jonathan and their son Drake stay with us this summer! Courtney has had to learn how to share and 'be soft.' In fact, quite often when I say, "be soft" she'll skip right to giving Drake a hug!We also LOVE the Splash Pad!

Courtney isn't totally crazy about getting splashed on but loves water, kids, and toys. So I endure the heat (until lately when it's been too hot for a big momma)!

We LOVED Cinco de Mayo!

It was truely as close to a fiesta as I can image from 'white folks'. We ate an amazing Carniacada grilled by Dave with cilantro fresh from our garden! Then proceeded to make a chicken coop!

Ok, the story behind the chicken coop...Courtney is CRAZY about animals and we've really wanted to get her a pet but anyone who knows me knows I'm not really crazy about dogs especially in a small suburban house. So it was between a fish, rabbit, or chicken. Fish just aren't that fun for a toddler so that was out, a rabbit well, I'm not sure why we didn't get a rabbit but we did get a chicken because I guess Dave thought it made us more self sufficient. I know it sounds weird but I love chickens I had a pet chicken when I was in college given to me by a good friend. Since Dave never does anything halfway, he made an amazing chicken coop and they are quite cozy in it. In fact, it's like the Chicken Coop Hilton! We also LOVE our Garden!

We have zucchini, banana squash, tomatoes, and an assortment of herbs coming out our ears!!! I have learned several fun recipes and have made an entire dinner out of food from our garden! It is so rewarding!

Our Official Announcement!!

We are having a BABY GIRL!!!

I want everyone out there to know how extremely overjoyed I am to have another little girl!! And its really funny because as soon as I tell most people I'm having another little girl the next question they ask is..."how is David with that?" hahaha, if they only knew how incredibly infatuated he is with his little girl!? In fact, he said if he had 6 girls it would be great but then he added a 'but'... "I hope I get at least one boy." :)

Little peanut is doing great she is healthy, happy, and growing strong. This pregnancy is no walk-in-the-park but it has been a lot easier than my first pregnancy. Thank goodness!! I can still function and be a Mom to Courtney! In celebration of the Pink Power I've finally changed my wallpaper.

Five Years!

We did it! David and I have been married 5 years. Man, time has flown. People who have been married five whole years always seem so old! Yikees. It has been awesome being married to such an amazing guy who makes me smile everyday. Thanks Dave for making marriage way better than I could have ever imagined!

Everyday Joys

Courtney is such a fun toddler! She is so curious and becoming more capable everyday! I seriously left the room for no longer than 3-4 minutes and I come around the corner thinking, "hmm, it smells like finger-nail polish!" At times like this, I don't know whether to grab Courtney, a rag, or the camera!

Courtney has really become a little 'copy-cat', she loves to help me do everything. On this night, I let her help me stir. She turns back around saying, 'ah-oh'. (She splashed all over herself)! She'll become a proficient mixer soon enough!

Yes, this is how the table AND the floor look after just about every meal! I know other Mom's say, "I don't let my child do that, I taught them 'no.'" Well, apparently Courtney doesn't know 'no' because I have tried EVERY technique to get her to stop throwing her food on the floor!!! Currently, I've resorted to ignoring it- and distraction. And yes, she had her foot all propped up on the table like that just kicked back like she owned the place!

This is something Courtney does that I think is hilarious! She loves to sit at the bottom of the shower and let the water fall all over her! This is about the only time that she'll sit still for longer than 2 minutes.

Another thing Courtney loves is her Daddy! She looks forward to him coming home everyday. She loves to play with him, cuddle with him, and relax with him.

I'm NOT Potty-training Courtney or am I?

Okay, I am totally shocked! The following story is not to make other mothers feel bad or to brag that Courtney is amazing, it's simply a surprising story that may not happen again, who knows? (You can totally tell I'm a Mom, if you had told me 5 years ago that I'd be excited over potty-training, I wouldn't have believed you). So I bought Courtney a pink potty a week ago and about once a day she'll sit on it and we'll sing songs, talk, and clap when she's all done. Sure no big deal. Mind you I did not set out to potty-train Courtney. We are expecting another baby in July and I heard that kids regress after a new sibling, therefore I wasn't pushing it. It was mainly just a fun game. I was planning on training her after the baby came. So this morning, she said "poo-poo" and I sat her on her potty thinking nothing of it. We sat and gabbered then what do you know?, to my amazement she went poo-poo!, signed done, and in disbelief I clapped for her. She acted like it was no big deal! I don't know maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of this but I can't tell you how amazed I am over the whole thing. Maybe some other Moms will discourage me or say I'm doing it all wrong, I don't know. Maybe this is the beginning of the awfull 'potty-training' hardships that everyone talks about. I don't know.

It is always crazy to me the things that Courtney learns so quickly and then there are other things that I think are really simple she won't get at all! Go figure?!

Brisbin Reunion

I have been looking forward to this last weekend for along time! My Great-Grandma Brisbin turned 89 yrs old this March and we typically have a reunion for her around her birthday. No one had stepped forward to do a reuion so, I did! I love parties and I decided this was a great way to show Grandma how much I love her. It turned out great! Everyone was in such good spirits and there were no problems except the 'bounce-house' kept deflating, but I think the kids thought that was even better! I am really grateful to everyone that came because it is always a sacrifice. It was more work than I thought it was going to be but one of my goals was not to get overly-stressed about it and I think I did really well. (This is huge...my husband is so proud)!

Tawna (my sister) came down a day early and we had a chance to play! Her son, Drake, and Courtney had a blast playing outside all day. Then more of my family came down. We went for a walk to the park, played at the sand dunes, caught fish at a pond with ducks, shopping, and then to the reunion. (But not all in one day)!

These next pictures where so funny I couldn't resist putting them on.

Courtney is not crying in this picture. I think every Mom knows how it is when you say smile then the camera clicks just as they turn their head away. Well, this picture is such a result of a 'smile' picture. My mom and the kids at the dunes.