RELIEF!

I need to post some pictures from our trip in July, hopefully soon! We just had to share our excitement that Jordan passed his board exam! Wahooo!! Thanks for all your prayers! He is really enjoying clinic and trimmin all those nails :). He's gotten to do some other stuff too. I'm glad he doesn't mind all those stinky feet. He's gonna be the best podiatrist ever!

July 4th

Just a few of my favorites from last night. We went to see the fireworks at Racoon River Park. Bryn was asleep before they were over, but she seemed to be fascinated by them. We had a great time! We're so grateful to live in this free country!

Wrinkleability

I still plan on taking Brynlee to the pool, but I have had a hard time motivating myself to go swim in a nasty public pool with a bajillion dirty kids and who knows what human waste.....so when I was at Target today, I saw a cute little $5 pool that I thought might be fun in this crazy intense heat we've been having. Sure enough, it was a big hit. My visiting teachers came and visited while we were all splashed by Brynlee. She loved it and stayed in for about an hour.

I think she inherited my wrinkleability, or perhaps an hour would do this to anyone :). She was pretty much a raisin.

Jordan's brother Rob and his wife Jaime had a sweet baby boy early Tuesday morning. Hopefully its not completely rude of me to post a picture of him before their blog even has pictures of him, but he's so stinkin cute...I had to show him off. Congrats guys!

Busy, Busy!

Quick update on Brynlee and then I'll catch up for the last month. She is busy as always crawling and exploring everywhere. She has most recently learned to open the cupboards. She loves pulling the movies out of our entertainment center and watching the cars go by out our window. She loves to play outside. I can't wait to get her in the pool!

I'm amazed how busy we have been since my last post about a month ago. We were able to first head out to Colorado for my little brother Mark's graduation. He has already been at BYU-I for a semester, but I'm glad to see it is official. He made it :). Brynlee met her great-Grandma and Grandpa Winkel for the first time and spent some good time with Gramy, Grandpa, her aunts and uncles from that side (all except Gerrit and Rebecca) and her cousin, Aliyah. Here are a few pictures from while we were there. (Thanks Dad!)

Brynlee with the graduate himself :)
Gramy with the girls...It's amazing to see how different these two are. Polar opposites as Gramy says. They were cute interacting together though.

Boo and her funny Grandpa.

We brought Natalie home with us for two weeks. It was so fun to have her here. Brynlee loved being entertained all of the time! She was great help and it was fun to get to spend some time with her. My parents came and got her and were able to spend a few days with us here. We went to the zoo here in Des Moines. Bryn seemed to enjoy it. It was fun that she remembered Gramy, Grandpa, and Luke when they came.

Aunt Nat

Brynlee has been a stink to feed lately. She doesn't love the spoon so much now that she realizes that she can feed herself. She's getting better (or worse depending on how you look at it) at refusing to eat what she doesn't like. She absolutely loves her sippy cup and drinking out of a straw. Forget the bottle most of the time.

Jordan has been enjoying clinic and studying like mad for boards. I sure am glad he doesn't mind taking care of nasty feet!

Brynlee's Super Daddy--My Good-Lookin Hubby

(I miss her being this little!)

Jordan finished year 2 this week of podiatry school. He did great on his last exam of the year and now is buckling down for what is likely the most important test he has taken thus far! He has his first board exam July 1st. It sounds like he will have to go to Chicago to take it. Meanwhile, he is continuing to be an all-star dad. He does so terrific with Brynlee while I'm at work and then is caring and considerate about letting me catch up on sleep for the next few days after I work. He's a great housekeeper and cook. He even usually takes Brynlee during Elder's Quorum at church so my YW aren't distracted by her. Even still, he works at the State Medical Examiner's office once a week helping with autopsies and manages to find time to study and does great with his calling. So basically, I have an amazing husband....yes I'm bragging!

I think it is so great how every baby stage is just a blast. I love being a mom! Brynlee has been enjoying pushing this car around. She's not long enough to move it while riding it, but loves to be pushed around in it. She also crawls laps around our kitchen island chasing her dad. It's so hilarious.

We are looking forward to seeing a lot of you in the weeks and months to come! We are excited for the summer months! We wish more of you would come out this way! It is weird to think this is likely our last summer here. We are excited for our brothers' weddings and to meet our soon to be sister-in-law Emily in person instead of just over the webcam. (We love you too Rebecca!) We are excited for you both Gerrit and Ren!

My growing girl...

Nothing really new or exciting to report. My mom just wants to see pictures. Brynlee of course continues to keep us busy..standing up to everything she can reach. Here are some more pictures of our sweetie pie.

I realize these three pictures are very similar...but they all just say Bryn to me. She loves "helping" with the dishes.

Brynlee's most still time happens reading books. We all love it!

Here's a little video clip of her. She really can wave :)

7 Month Update

I spend a good amount of time complaining about Iowa winter scenery (or lack thereof) and missing the mountains. But much to my excitment, the part of Iowa I love best is appearing! It is getting so green! We've had lots of rain and its warming up. I do enjoy Spring in Iowa. Brynlee is getting bigger and learning so much. She's a little sponge and is picking up on new things. Her latest achievements are waving, giving "five," and she's slowing getting to be a good clapper. She also has been pulling herself up to her feet on whatever she can. It is leading to a few more "bonks" on the head, but she doesn't seem to mind. Her crawl is more and more on her hands and knees unless she wants to get somewhere in a hurry, then she reverts back to her army crawl. She is quick!

We had her 7 month "weight check" today since she is so little. She weighed 14 lbs 11 oz which is up a pound and 5 ounces from a month ago. The doctor seemed satisfied enough. She's just a petite little thing.

I'll have to post pictures later, but the other excting things that have been going on are that Jordan has pretty much made it through his 2nd year of podiatry school. They had a "Rite of Passage" ceremony a couple of weeks ago to commemorate this achievement. His classes will now be more clinical based. I think he's pretty excited about that. He has worked so hard. I'm really proud of him. It was also his 28th birthday the other day. Time sure does fly. He's getting old. We didn't get to celebrate much since I was in the middle of working 3 in a row, but hopefully tomorrow we'll do something fun. I also got released and recalled to YW's. I love working with the girls in our ward so I am excitied about the call.