FamilyLife: June 2006

6.27.2006

Random Stuff...

"For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life - the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value."- Claude Monet

"The sun, centre and sire of light, The keystone of the world-built arch of heaven."- Phillip James Bailey

About that sun...
Our house could be classified simply as a sauna, without of course the super absorbent, fancy towels and the option to walk away once you are "cleansed"!! I think the temperature around here reached over 100 degrees yesterday and today they say it should have only reached a cool 85 to 90 degrees. It's funny when you are "thankful" for 90 degree weather! I absolutely love the sun would take the 100 degree weather over the rain and storms most any day, but it is a bit rough on the babies. Braeden does so well with everything and even he was getting cranky yesterday. To beat the heat yesterday the kids daycare took them to a park with a bit of a wading pool. Freya said that although Braeden didn't like the baby life-jacket he was wearing, he had a lot of fun. He is quite independent as we tried using that same kind of life-jacket on him on Sunday and he got so mad...it was quite funny. For those of you that don't know the baby/infant life-jackets have a collar in the back and a little loop for the adult to hold onto...so when they go too far you just reel them in again :) Braeden seems to think he can swim with the big boys. He is definitely all boy. He has bruises, scratches and bumps to prove it! Brooklynd has been doing okay with the heat, except if he wants to sleep than he has a very hard time, he gets very restless. Which I for one can definitely relate to it is so hard to relax at night when you are sweating and everything is sticking to you. As for our sauna (house), thankfully our air conditioning may be fixed by tonight. My dad and Darren installed it at the end of last summer and it worked for about a week and then kind of stopped for no real reason, and because there was no heat they didn't worry too much about it, but now that summer has just begun they have decided to take another look at it. Hopefully it is a minor fix! I am sure it will not be fun for my dad to try and figure it out in the heat wave we are experiencing right now, but who knows when it will pass.

This week will be kind of quiet, which will be a nice break for all of us. Last week was Darren's last softball game until the makeup games on July 11th. Therefore this will be our first Tuesday being home in quite a while, the babies and I will miss it as I am sure will Darren, but possibly not for too long. Trista has been talking of starting up a girls team...I think it's in the works, which will be sooo much fun. I am a bit nervous because I am SO out of shape and so it will take a while for me to be up to par, but I am sure by the end of it all will be fine! Then maybe in the future we could do a co-ed team or something...For this week & weekend, we don't have a lot pre-planned, tomorrow I have bunco which will be fun to catch up with the ladies, I missed it last month as we were in Missouri! Then over the weekend as I mentioned in my last blog we will be getting together with my cousin and her daughter for the little ones birthday and then my mom's birthday in on Saturday so althought there are no plans yet I am sure at least dinner if not the beach also are in store for us all! We hope everyone is enjoying the sun and surviving the heat that comes along with it!
Take care...

6.25.2006

Nothing New

So not much happened over the weekend which was very nice for a change. Saturday morning after having a good breakfast and after the kids were rested, we headed over to Kodys basbeball game. It was his last of the day in a tournament they were playing it. It was a beautiful day and Breaeden loved running through the grass. Afterwards we went out to dinner with my parents! Today Darren worked with my dad for a couple of hours in the early morning and then we all went to the last of Kody's games in the late morning. After this, we headed over to my parents house for some relaxation time...The boys all fell asleep for several hours and I decided while I had the chance to go swimming. I went to check on them all around 3:00 & unfortunately we had to change our early evening plans due to the fact they were all still asleep. We had planned to head over to my aunt and uncles for one of my cousins birthday party, but because the boys were so sleepy, I let them sleep and had to cancel our plans....we hope to see her over the coming weekend to wish her a happy birthday! After the boys did finally wake up, we took Braeden down for a swim to re-introduce him to the water. As anticipated at first he was hesitant, he wanted to splash the water with his hands, all the while keeping his feet dry. He soon realized this wasn't an easy task, and gave into his urge to splash and sat next to me on the first step into the pool. From there we eased him into it step by step and by the time he was done for the day, he was trying to swim on his own away from his daddy, not fully understanding the concept of drinking water and drowning :) Thankfully, it was time for us to dry off and head upstairs, so Darren didn't have to fight it too long. We had dinner at my parents house and eventually headed home to rest up for the week ahead. We hope everyone had a great weekend and is keeping cool. I hear tomorrow it is supposed to be above 100 degrees today.....summer's here! Loves.

6.22.2006

Good Friends...Good Times!

When Darren's sister was here, we got to take her to our favorite place Med's and here are few pictures from that evening. It was a fun night and some of my best friends showed up which was great that she got to meet them.

Darren and his sister Stacy

Brian, Darren & Tom

Karen, me, Cody & Nikki

Trista, Darren & Crystal

Karen, Me and Nikki

Pictures of our two bears!!

After uploading these pictures I noticed that they kind of speak for themselves. Braeden is almost 2 years old and doesn't sit still as you'll notice. Brooklynd is still calm but is just starting to really move around at 5 months old! Enjoy!

Braeden riding his tricycle at his Grandma and Grandpas

Brooklynd learning to roll over

Braeden driving the car

Brooklynd up close

Braeden driving his car :)

Brooklynd smiling at Grandpa

6.20.2006

Babies are-a Growing

I have been blogging a bunch about all the things going on and thought it was about time to update everyone on the babies and then post some recent pictures. Braeden will be 21 months old in two days and Brooklynd is 5 months old today. The months have passed in what seems more like weeks.

Brooklynd had his 3rd big accomplishment over the weekend (his first 2 being smiling and sleeping through the night), at his Grandma and Grandpa Lorenz's he rolled from his tummy to his back twice. I have yet to witness it, but will be spending ample time on the ground as soon as the evening permits. He is also grasping toys and loves to chew on everything. He is trying so very hard to roll from his back to his tummy, but hasn't quite mastered it yet. I am sure this is just around the corner. Last time we took him to the doctor he weighed 15lbs, 6oz. which was when he was 4 months old he will go back in a month. He is growing so fast, I wonder who will be bigger of the two...He is a VERY happy baby, we are so thankful. He absolutely loves to have people talk to him and is very content. He smiles constantly and is rarely fussy. He still is sleeping great through the night, which we hope continues once he is moved from the basinett in our room to the crib in his room. We are waiting to get the desk out of his room, which will hopefully be soon, then he will be into his own room. Sometimes it is hard getting adjusted, so we hope for a smooth transition.

Braeden is talking up a storm. He says "please" (which actually sounds more like Weeze), he said "Aunt Stacy" while she was here. He calls my mom and Trista Nini (Neenee). Hey says lots of words "Hello" "bye-bye" "Nigh-Nigh" "Mama" "Dada". He says "Hi guy" to his brother (which he picked up from Grandma & Grandpa Ellwanger I believe), it is adorable. He says "bye guys" when he waves to whomevers going. At daycare they call him the greeter! He is very smart too. He says "yummy" & lots and lots of other words. He talks a lot (like his cousin Kody and his mom) and I love it! He is in need of his second hair cut already it's amazing, he has gorgeous white blonde hair. He has gone up 2 sizes since he started wearing shoes a little bit less than a year ago and he is now into 24 month or 2T clothing for the most part. Let's hope his feeties don't grow like his dad's or we will be in for it ;)!!

I love watching my sweet baby boys grow up, and can already see so many changes in both of them over the past few months...soon Braeden will be able to reach the pedals on his bike and Brooklynd will be walking, it goes way too fast, but I am so thankful to be a part of it, there is nothing else in this world like it.

Happy late Father's Day to all the daddy's reading this. Darren definitely had a fast paced Father's Day this year. It was his first with 2 babies. We went to a quick lunch with my family, then he took his sister Stacy to the airport and in the evening we went to a BBQ with steak and all the fixings at my bosses house. It was a lot of fun. A great end to a wonderful weekend. Things don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Darren has his last scheduled games tonight in a double header, but they do have 2 make up games that are TBA. There team is tied for 2nd in their league as of now. Looks like they will end their season on a good mark! Darren hit a home run last week which was very exciting. We were glad to be able to watch it, Braeden has a hard time concentrating as expected, but none the less he enjoys clapping for his daddy. We hope everyone is well and having a great week thus far.

PS The pictures aren't loading so well in this entry, so I will try one by itself...

6.19.2006

The Aunt's & Uncle visit!

Uncle Ryan, Aunt Terra, Aunt Stacy & Aunt Trista

So Aunt Trista lives here in Oregon as all you know, so she has been given the nickname Nini (Pronounced Nee-nee), which as most of you know is what my nephew Kody calls me too. Tey get to see eachother quite often which is very nice for our babies. But...the boys have two other aunts as well and now 1 official Uncle. Aunt Terra and Uncle Ryan were here for their wedding on June 10th...so, Ryan got to meet the newest addition Brooklynd just before they left. Terra got to see Brooklynd for the 2nd time (she was here about 2 weeks previous to this). They also got to see Braeden for Terra's 3rd time and Ryans 2nd. Just about a week after they left to head home, Aunt Stacy got to come up to see Braeden for the 3rd time and then to meet Brooklynd for the first time! It seems like Terra, Ryan & Stacy always just miss meeting eachother. I think everytime they come out Stacy comes pretty close afterwards...we will have to plan better for next time! It was very much fun to have them all visit though. It doesn't take Braeden long at all to warm up to them at all and Brooklynd changes so much so often I love for them to see him as often as possible...

Aunt Stacy & Braeden playing!

Nini & Braeden hugging

Uncle Ry, Aunt Terra and Braeden laughing

In posting this I realize that I don't have ANY pictures of the aunt's and uncle with Brooklynd :-( Seeing as how I am a stalker with my camera (Trista calls me a tourist) I can't imagine how this has happened.

I hope you are all aware this means that next time you all WILL get your photos with both babies together and each individually FOR SURE...it may be easier because Brooklynd will be sleeping less too. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Koko!

Our sweet little nephew Kody (Koko) is 7 years old, it is crazy. I can still remember when he was born and the first time I held him. It is an awakening as to how fast time goes. We went to dinner on his actual birthday June 11th, the day after Terra and Ryan's wedding. However, this weekend was his birthday party filled with baseball decor, waterguns, his friends and lots of fun. The weather turned out beautifully and the kids had a blast. Thought I would attach a couple of pictures.

6.17.2006

It's Done..WOOHOO!

Okay so after filling you all in about the delay I finally got the pictures to upload smoothly this morning...YAY! Just to let you all know there are 8 total posts for Terras wedding including the pictures and 6 from our trip to Missouri. So if you start with the first blog in June that will cover it, ofcourse you all know it shows the blogs most recent to oldest, so it would be best to go straight to the June blogs, you can select them on the right. We hope you all enjoy...if I do get any more reception pictures I will probably just add them to the blog that exists...Love you all hope you are enjoying your weekend. Stacy is here and we are having SO much fun..Braeden adores her and is already calling her aunt Stacy. He loves having more playmates around...sometimes Darren and I just don't cut it! We will post pictures of her visit soon.
Love,Trina

6.16.2006

Faster, Faster, Hurry, Hurry

Just a side note to start...Have you ever noticed that when you are in a hurry everything takes forever, the car in front of you is going 10 miles under the speed limit, the tape in the cash register runs out and you need the receipt and so on and so forth, but when you are early or have lots of time, things flow very smoothly, someone lets you go in front of them in line, you hit all green lights...just a random thought...ah, such is this beautiful life.

Onto the point....this post is just to let you all know I have blogs setup for more pictures from Terra's wedding (as you can see), however, it is taking me forever to get them uploaded and by forever I mean many, many days. It seems on the end of blogger.com is where the problem lies. A friend of ours (thanks Sean) let me know a little while back that to do a picture album would be in my best interest as all of the uploading problems here on our blog aren't necessarilty on my end..or at least he doesn't think they are. Very soon we may be requesting his talents and intelligence in assisting us to get an album of our own, soon meaning within a year or so, heehee! Of course since I LOVE posting pics of the babies and I am somewhat of a "tourist" for everything and everyone, as you can all tell I love to take and share pictures. So to sum it up basically the blogs are ready and awaiting the photos that have been oh so carefully chosen and they will be up as soon as I can get the uploads to cooperate. Also, as some of you know I have NO pictures of the reception so I am waiting for friends to share them with me. We didn't get our new batteries for the camera until we got back to the hotel which was just before the "after party"! So anyways that's the deal.

We hope everyone is doing well. We will be sharing pictures of John and Marcia (Darren's mom & stepdad's) visit with the babies once they share them with us as well as Stacy's (Darren's sisters) visit with us this weekend. We hope you all have a great weekend.
Much love to all!
Trina