Jim, Stacy and Brielle

15 month checkup!

2007-09-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well the time flew but Brielle had her 15 month appointment on Thursday. Jim got to be the bad guy this time and take her in for the check up. She is a very healthy little girl, a bit on the small side, but the doctor told us not to be alarmed. Apparently she is growing right on track of what she should :)

Here are her stats:
Height- 30.5 in.
Head- 18.75 in.
Weight- a waif of a child weighing in at 21.4 lbs.!!!

She also got her pictures taken again last week so we hope you enjoy these as much as we do!! There are a few more pics I want on here but for some reason, they're not coming out in the size that I want. I try again later!

Fun at the Zoo!

2007-09-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hopefully I will get better at this post thing but for right now, the sporatic ones will have to do. On Sunday, my friend Amy and I took the kids to Como Zoo for a fun day of adventure. Because I live right next to it, it is alway cheap entertainment! She has a 7 month old little boy named Kaiden and Brielle seems to get all giddy when she is around him. It's super cute but Jim refuses to acknowledge the fact that she is interested in a boy already! :) She seemed to think that every animal was a "puppy" but Amy did get her to say "ooohoooh" at the monkies which got a rouse out of pretty much everyone around.
The other day I was getting frustrated at the fact that Brielle kept climbing on the coffee table. Whenever she does that, we tell her to get down and if she doesn't, we count to 3. Usually by 2, she gets a scared look on her face and gets down. Apparently we've discovered our "parent voices". But this day I said "one..." and she said, "two...". Both mine and Jim's mouths dropped. I thought maybe it was a fluke but she continues to do it!! It's amazing what they learn but don't always know how to express it!

It's been a long time!!!

2007-07-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone, it's been quite a long time since I've posted on here...so I am not sure who even reads this anymore. A lot has happened since my March post so a quick update includes: Brielle is walking!(thanks to her friend Adelyn:), she now has 11 teeth and a the 12th on the way, she is desperately trying to say a lot of words and Jim and I can barely keep up with her!!
We have kept very busy during the summer so far but we have still managed to squeeze in a few relaxing days to lay low. Brielle's birthday party went pretty good and it was really nice to see everyone. A few people who hadn't seen her in a few months didn't recognize her because she was running around the place. They weren't expecting that! She really destroyed her cake! It was quite the mess to clean up so I guess it was a good thing that the party was outside! This past weekend we visited with Jim's aunt Mickey and her daughter Aurielle. They live on a lake, so Jim and I helped rake out the beach, took the canoe out for a while and brought Brielle swimming a few times. She is such an outdoor baby, so she had a blast out there.
One of the other things I am keeping busy with is redecorating our bedroom. It's the only room in the house that hasn't had much tender loving care, so we figured it's about time it recieved some!! We really wanted it to be a place where we could unwind and feel cozy in. It's coming along pretty good, so it will be interesting to see how it all turns out.
One more thing...Brielle decided it would be a good idea to jack the camera and took it for a swim in the cat water, so it may be a while before we get some new pictures taken :(

Hawaii!!!

2007-03-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

Well once again, it's taken me a while to update this thing. Jim's been really busy using the computer for school so my time to do things on it is scarce. About a week ago we traveled up to Hibbing again so that we could see Jim's great nephew's baptism. We didn't have a long time to stay but it was nice just to see everyone for at least a small amount of time. Brielle has also been growing at the speed of light! She has been completely on table foods for almost 2 months! Jim and I were really excited to get past the "baby food" stage :) She had a bit of a rough day at daycare the other day as I had to fill out 2 accident reports. The first time she really hit her cheek hard with a toy bucket and left a pretty nasty shiner and the second time, she got her fingers bit by another child :( To top things off, she got a 102 fever that night. She is back to her normal self and we couldn't be happier!

Jim and I also changed our plans for our wedding by quite a bit. We decided that a traditional wedding would not only cost a fortune, it just wouldn't be "us". So....We are going to Hawaii and getting married on the beach! We understand that not a lot of people will be able to come there but this sounded perfect to us. Because the plans changed, we are planning on getting married this coming January instead. (Hawaii in August just doesn't sound appealing) We hope that people understand and don't feel bad if they can't come, we can always see you at the reception!!!!

MIA

2007-03-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Like my sweater?

Being mischievious as usual!

Sorry to everyone who has been waiting for something new to happen on our page...we are lagging behind a bit! Well a lot has happened in the last few weeks. Jim has kept very busy with school and is currently searching for work in the summer. He has an interview for three different positions on the 27th and we are hoping and praying for him to get an offer. He only has 2 months left of this semester which is going to be a huge relief on both him and our poor computer :) I don't have much new going on so far, just trying to put some wedding ideas together. We have set the date for Aug. 23, 2008 but we still have a lot to do to make sure that it will be set in stone for that day (church, reception, ect...)

This past weekend we traveled to Hib-town for some good times. Jim's best friend Chad, his fiance Crystal and their daughter Laela came to visit all the way from Wasilla Alaska. Jim hadn't seen them in 4 years so we were super excited to be able to spend time with them. Brielle certainly enjoyed her time with her grandmas, grandpas, aunties, uncle and of course, her cousins! She had a lot of new talents to show off. She has been making a lot of attempts to stand on her own and she's not doing to bad at it. Also, on Tuesday, she took about 2 or 3 steps on her own. I don't think that she knew she was doing it because when she realized she was on her own she started laughing and fell down. She loves cruising around with her walker and especially loves to was around the coffee table and any furinature thats she can find. We are trying to teach her baby sign language but she just looks at us funny and shakes her head "no". That also seems to be her new thing, to tell us no all the time. She is growing too quickly and we can't believe that she will be ONE in a few months. I feel like she was just born!

We FINALLY Engaged!

2007-02-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been waiting for Jim to finally pop the question...your wait is over! This past Saturday Jim and I celebrated Valentines Day by staying downtown at Embassy Suites. Thanks to Mamma J, who was kind enough to watch Brielle for the night, Jim and I got some time to hang out with just the two of us. He was acting a little fishy so I had somewhat of an idea that it was about to happen :) I gave Jim his present of cologne (which does not hail in comparison to my gift!) right away and then he asked if I would like mine. Anyone who knows me very well, knows that I hate to wait for things so of course I wanted my present. He took my left hand and got down on his knee and from there, I draw a blank! I was so nervous that I absolutely have no idea what he said to me (isn't that terrible?) Jim's mom laughed and asked me if I was sure I was even engaged (hehehe) Well, that's the scoop on the big day so far. We haven't set a date but it will be in 2008 sometime and we are really looking forward to all we have ahead of us!

On the Move!

2007-01-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

all this crawling makes me sooo tired!

Cover the outlets, remove the breakables...BRIELLE IS ON THE MOVE!!! She has recently made the discovery that she can crawl, and this time she is moving forward and not just backwards like before! Now, she hasn't quite perfected it yet but she can make it across the room by crawling a few steps then sitting herself back up and then trying again. I think the most she has taken is 5 steps at one time, but it is still exciting and terrifying at the same time. We're thinking that she will be full time crawling within the next two weeks. So Jim and I are trying to figure out what we haven't baby-proofed and we're pretty sure that she'll figure it out first. She always finds what you don't want her too, so why would that change now, huh?

Preston James

2007-01-24T19:34:00.000-08:00

Enjoying a muffin for breakfast

Brielle and Kaius

Preston James

Sorry about the delay! We had a great time up in Hibbing and especially loved to see the newest addition to the family. From what we hear, Preston is already doing well at sleeping through the night! (we, unfortunately, were not so lucky!) He is a beautiful baby boy and we can't wait until him and Brielle can play together. And if you haven't thought about this yet...Jim is a great-uncle! That's right folks, a great uncle at the ripe old age of 24! Congrats again to Amy and Shane. We wish you the best of luck with the joys of parenthood :)

Congratulations Amy

2007-01-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

I'm not the youngest anymore!

Congratulations to Jim's niece Amy who just had a baby boy today! Preston James was born at 2:20 and weighed 6 lbs. and 9 oz. We will be driving up to Hibbing this weekend to see the family and spend time with the new bundle of joy. Congrats Amy and Shane!

I've been tagged!

2007-01-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tagged
A - Available or taken? Happily taken
B - Best friend? (s) Jim,Stacy,Sam,Stef
C- Cake or pie? CAKE! especially carrot cake:)
D - Drink of choice? caramel cooler from Caribou
E - Essential item you use every day? contacts
F - Favorite color? gotta go with red :)
G - Gummy bears or worms? Worms for sure.
H - Hometown? Hibbing
I - Indulgence? McDonald's sausage,egg and cheese mcgriddles(i just can't help myself)
J - January or February? February, one more month closer to spring :)
K - Kids and names? Brielle McKenna Lind - 7 months
L - Life is incomplete without? God & Family (I agree with you Shan)
M - Marriage date? Hopefully soon!
N - Number of siblings? 1- Jason
O - Oranges or apples? apples if i have the cream cheese fruit dip, otherwise clementine oranges
P - Phobias or fears? trains and bears (i know, it's strange)
Q - Favorite quote? Life is not counted by the number of breaths you take, it's counted by the number of times it gets taken away.
R - Reason to smile? Brielle, in everything that she does!
S - Season? Spring...it always feels so warm even though it's probably only like 40*
T - Tag three or four people. Stacy Greenwood, Amber Shain
U - Unknown fact about me? I used to were curlers in my hair, put a hankerchief (sp?) on my head and ride my bike to the store because I thought that people would think I was older! GEEK!!
V - Vegetable you don't like? peas, YUK (Shannon- Brussel sprouts aren't that bad actually)
W - Worst habit? always saying "huh?"
X - X-rays? yes, many times but I don't remember what for.
Y - Your favorite food? Hibachi Steak from Benihanas otherwise hamburger gravy and mashed potatoes

Happy New Year

2007-01-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

enjoying a good laugh with great grandma!

doing my excercises!

Happy New Year! Yes, I know that it is a little late but you'll have to forgive me as I had the flu :( Because I work at a daycare, I am able to hear the scoop on all of the sicknesses (sp?) that fly around. I had heard a lot about this nasty flu that people kept getting and how it stayed for about a week! YUK!! Of course, I was hoping that it would just keep it's distance from me...wrong! I came down with the bug on Sunday afternoon and stayed miserable until Wednesday night. Luckily, neither Jim nor Brielle caught it, so they took really good care of me. I have also decided to make all of Brielle's baby food because my mom gave me a Magic Bullet for Christmas. It was super easy and in the blink of an eye, I made 4 different kinds of food for her! And thanks to Shannon's good idea of avacado as a baby food, Brielle now has a new thing in her diet. So far so good, she seems to really like it! (Thanks Shan!) We will probably still buy the meats in a jar until I master that. I think it might take a while to get the hang of that one! But making her fruits and veggies saves a lot of money with only a minimal amount of work involved.

We are heading over to our friends Nate and Kari's house tonight for dinner and visiting. Their daughter Madison is 2 and loves playing with Brielle, and last time Brielle couldn't sit very well on her own and toys weren't super fun. So I think they will both have a good time tonight as Brielle is now a pro at both of those things :)

Christmas Weekend!

2006-12-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

my very handsome nephew!
href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/943/3886/1600/657804/100_0614.jpg">
my pony is just my size

I love bows!

We had a great weekend and Brielle also came home with a few firsts! On Friday before we left for Hibbing, we noticed two teeth poking through her bottom gums! We were so excited because we didn't see them there the day before. (1st #1) We had so much fun being able to see everyone and also get a little time to relax before coming home and hitting the grind again. On Saturday, Jim and I both got to go out and visit with some of our friends and catch up on old times. Unfortunately because I rise out of bed at the weee hours of 6:00am everyday, I couldn't make it as late of a night as I wanted to. (sometimes i feel like i'm 80!) Brielle's first Christmas was pretty eventful too, because we had 4 different places to go! She could have cared less where we were as long as shiney and colorful bows were provided. And as much fun as it was to shop for her and my nephew, we could've saved a lot of money and just gave them bows and tissue paper! On Monday, we visited with my cousin Kara and her family. It was a lot of fun because her daughter is only six weeks older than Brielle. When we left, Kara waved goodbye and Brielle did it back!! Two different times!! ( 1st #2 and as hard as i try to get her to do it again, she just laughs at me!) On our last day home, Brielle was playing in the playpen in front of the mirror in my mom's room and pulled herself up to her knees to see herself better! (1st #3) And last but not least, she is now able to have meats in her diet and she loves them! Chicken seemes to be her favorite, but she still seems satisfied with the others too. (1st #4!) We hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend as well and Happy New Year to you all!

puddin' on the ritz!

2006-12-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

Jim and I had a blast last night letting Brielle experiment with pudding. We went to Sam's Club the other day and bought a few groceries, one of them being a giant thing of SnackPack pudding. Now, it is a lot of pudding but we paid the same price we would have for a small package of them so we decided that since we have so much, we will just let Brielle play with some. She loved it!! At first she was a little skeptical but then she realized how cool it felt and began to slap it all over everything! We thought it was the cutest thing and she looked like she couldn't have been having more fun. We also were reading that night in our "What to Expect the First Year" book and it said that some six month olds can feed themselves crackers, our first thought was "really?", but then we decided that we didn't know if she could because we had never tried. I gave her a fourth of a ritz cracker and she put it in and out of her mouth and sucked on it for a while and then gummed it around and swallowed. I don't think she knew it was food, but at least she knew what to do with it! She is just growing so fast that everyday she seems like she learns something new!

6 months old!

2006-12-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

Well, Brielle had her 6 month appointment today and from what I hear, she did very well while getting her shots. I couldn't go because I was at work, but Jim got to be the bad guy, and bring her in. Everything checked out as normal and we are proud to say that she is growing like a weed!
Her new stats are:

Height: a whopping 27 in. (77th percentile)
Weight: 15 lbs. 9 oz (48th percentile)
Head: a little on the big side at 17.5 in. (85th percentile)

We also had a great weekend with my mom down to visit. We got to do a little X-mas shopping on Saturday and even roped my mom into taking our pictures for our Christmas cards this year. It took quite a few times to get everything and everyone looking normal but eventually it worked out! We did have to take like 3 different breaks because Brielle wasn't liking the fact that she couldn't play for a while! She was posing with her new hairstyle though. That's right folks, her second haircut in 6 months!!

Great Thanksgiving Weekend!

2006-11-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

We had sooo much fun this past weekend up in good Ol'Hibbing! Jim and I got to have a little break to be able to go out with our friends we haven't seen in a while. Of course, the families were more persistant than we were to leave her there with them! We had a pretty laid back Thanksgiving Day and I actually ended up getting sick in the middle of dinner so I had to lay down and finish my dinner later. :( We didn't have thanksgiving at my mom's house this time, but we are going to do it a totally different weekend. On Friday, all of us (my brother,sister-in-law and my nephew too.) gathered at my mom's to visit and order pizza. I just can't believe how much the two of them look alike now! They were laughing at each other almost all night...it was super cute! Brielle now learned her nickname "bubba"! Thanksgiving day she started to say babababab over and over again! Now she says it everyday even when she's upset she starts crying it like maybe we will understand what she means...it's sad but cute!

I haven't had a lot of spare time to keep up with everything going on around me but I am trying to fit things in slowly. Everyone will just have to be patient for the new posts to come. (sorry)

Busy Week!

2006-11-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

Peacefully asleep at 7:00pm!

My first time with my sippie cup!

Me and Jim after the game.

Do I look cute or what?

Wow, we have had a busy couple of weeks, so it has taken me a while to write what's new. I started my new job a week ago and I absolutely love it! The company I work at is really laid back and everyone is very nice. Brielle also started the same day I did and within her first 5 min. there she found a boyfriend. His name is Jacob and he is absolutely gorgeous. They played for quite a long time laughing at each other and he even came up to her and put his mouth to her cheek and started playing with her hair! The next day that she was there, they were intertwining(i don't know if i spelled that right) their legs together and rolling around. Jim had to have a little "daddy speech" with her about boys! Every night that she gets home from daycare, she falls asleep at about 8:15 and stays asleep until about 6 or 7AM. We are so happy to finally get some peacefull sleep!

We also went to the Vikings/Packer game this afternoon and had a blast! We didn't win but it was soooo much more fun to see a game live. I had bought Jim the tickets for his birthday and he was really excited to take time out to really enjoy himself on a weekend for once. Because we were going to the game, my mom came down and watched the little one. It was really nice having her down here to visit and we loved that we got to go out and do something!

Seafood Anyone?

2006-11-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

Isn't she the cutest lobster ever?! We really didn't do too much for Halloween but we took Brielle to the Rosedale mall and walked around and shopped. We had tons of people stop and say how beautiful she was and what an adorable costume she had! We even had a family ask if they could take a pic of her in her costume!( I know it sounds strange, but they were really nice)

You are also now talking to the Assistant Teacher at KinderCare Learning Center!! I guess I was a few qualifying credits to be eligible for the Teacher position. Oh well, I can't wait. Brielle and I go in on Monday for our first day. It will be really nice for her to meet other kids and give her a chance to build her social skills. Plus, I will either be in the room with her or in the next room. Jim and I are really excited to get her started in daycare to give her a break from her crazy folks!!

Brielle sat on her own!!

2006-10-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

I could be a grad student!

Brielle and Kaius(my nephew)

Growing up too fast!

Hangin with Dad at the pool

The last few days have been amazingly crazy! On Thursday night Briell sat up for the first time on her own! She has been able to sit by herself on our laps as long as she is angled the right way for quite a few weeks but now she can sit on the floor by herself!! She has also been really into typing on the computer trying to help dad with his school work :) Mama J came down for a few days to visit... so Jim and I got to go out on a date. It was a lot of fun and we discovered a really cool little pub that is just a few blocks from our house. It's called Patrick's Lounge and it reminded us of home because it just had one of those hometown type of vibes. It was a lot of fun just getting to spend quality time together and not to mention kicking his rear at Photo Hunt!! (touchscreen) Plus, the peanut got to hang with grandma.

Last night Jim and I babysat his little cousin Aurielle and had a blast. She is a huge ball of energy. We decided that we need to pick up some toys that weren't just for babies, because all she wanted to do was watch TV. So I am going to pick up a few games to try and keep her occupied with something else next time.

2006-10-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has taken me a while to post a new message, sorry about that! There isn't a whole lot that is new around here but I have decided to look for a new job. I do like the one that I have, but I have been there for over a month and she is still training me but only for approx. 9 hours a week. (I am grateful for work but I can't diaper my child on 9 hours a week) So...the other night I decided to start looking in to new positions. I found a few that sounded interesting and decided to send a resume to them. When I got home from work today, a woman from KinderCare called me to say she would like an interview with me for a infant/toddler teaching position. YEAH!!! I went there at 2:00pm today and had my interview and everything went great. She has to go through a big process for hiring starting with my reference check and then giving my info to the main office for approval. I find out on Monday if I got the job or not, so I am going to ask everyone who is reading this to pray that everything goes the way it should whether I get the job or not and if I do, pray for me to find the words to tell my current boss that I will no longer be coming in. Thanks to everyone in advance. It's much appreciated!!

2006-10-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been a week since my last entry but i certainly was a busy one. When we got to the hotel it was about 11:30pm. They put us in our room and as we started to get settled I noticed that there were two shirts and a jacket hanging in the closet, the rest of the room looked spotless so we just figured that someone had left them by accident. It wasn't until we noticed the hotdog buns and hotdogs that were sitting up by the microwave that we started to wonder. So.. Jim called down to the front desk and told them about it and they said that they would send someone up. They called back two minutes later to tell us that they were upgrading our room to a two room jacuzzi suite. YEAH!!! Apparently, there was someone checked into that room but thank the good lord that he wasn't in there at the time!

Jim's presentation went really well but unfortunately he didn't win :( (he's always a winner to me though!). He said that there was about 500 people there! (don't worry, he only had to present in front of like 20) I mostly sat at the hotel and hung out with Brielle. When Jim got back on Thursday we decided to go out to eat and then take Brielle in the pool for her first time! She jerked a little at first but then she seem to love it. She reclined back in her tube and put her arm behind her head like she was just relaxing. As soon as I get the pic downloaded, I will post it.

On Friday, it was off to Hibbing for some good ol' northern fun. I got to hang out with all my friends and catch up with ones I hadn't seen in a long time. It certainly won't take us all this long to hang out as a group anymore! Still can't believe that Beasy got married....we're talkin about the girl that once got pulled over for no tail lights and asked the cop what tail lights were!! We love you Beas dog!!!! (Johnson Dog Now!!)

2006-10-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

Healthy Baby!!

We leave tonight for St.Cloud after Jim is done with school which should be kind of fun. I'm really excited because I get to take Brielle swimming in a pool for her first time. She loves her bath time and spashes water everywhere, so I can just imagine the joy she'll have in a "giant bath tub"! Yesterday, Brielle had her 4 month check up and everything went super good. It was our first time at the new Dr. and she seemed super cool and was really funny. Of course the munchkin was full of smiles until the needles came out...then she started crying. It was so sad to see that horrified look on her face. But after I picked her up she calmed down right away and then slept for most of the night. We were able to get her to smile and laugh about a half hour afterwards so she must have been fine. well here is what her current stats are:

weight: 13lbs. 8 oz.(50th or 60th percentile)
height: 25 in (75th percentile)
head: 16 in (75th percentile)

well there it is, a healthy, growing peanut! I also talked to Alyssa Maki today on Myspace and her boyfriend is going to school for GIS just like Jim. I thought that it was strange because not too many people have heard of that program! Small world!

2006-09-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

yummy,yummy, naners!!

Brielle experience her first taste of bananas the other day and she kept making the cutest face!! Jim, the babe and I packed up this morning and headed off to the MN zoo. It was a beautiful day and we had a blast. Brielle is so intrigued with large groups of people and was showing off her huge smile to everyone! We were kind of interested to see how she would handle such a long day in a stroller outside but she was an absolute peach!! We also went and drove around and looked at huge houses on Pleasant Lake, trying to guess how much they cost. Yeah, I know it sounds pathetic, but it doesn't hurt to dream!!!

Well this week is packed full of all kinds of stuff. We are going to go to St.Cloud on Wednesday because Jim got chosen from UMD to present at the consortium. He will be presenting the senior project that he had done this past year in order to graduate. Each presenter will get $200 and the winner will get $1000. (Go Jimmy!!) After we are done with all that jazz, it's off to Hib-Town for Beasy's wedding!! It should be and interesting trip because the munchkin will be getting her 4 month vaccinations the day before we leave. The last time she got shots, she was cranky for about a week!!

happy as a clam!!

2006-09-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

well i tried to do this post earlier but the pic wouldn't come up so i'll try it again.
on saturday, brielle was entered into a beautiful baby contest and she got 1st runner up. she got a trophy and her fee paid for the state finals in may!

Brielle's Tummy Time

2006-09-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Getting my workout for the day!!!

2006-09-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

2006-09-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well this is kind of a test run to see if I can figure out how to do these kinds of things without Jim's help (he's the computer whiz of the family!) Things are quickly coming together after the big move. Brielle is adjusting just fine to the new place and her new bedroom. She started sleeping in her crib for the first time instead of the bassinette that was in Jim's and my room. She has also been experimenting with the highest pitch screeches known the entire human race. That has been reall pleasant on the ears!!! My family came to visit last weekend and Jim's dad came this weekend so she has been around plenty of visitors the last couple week to share her new talent with. Jim has been very busy with school and I just started my new job at Kiddie Kandids Portrait Studio as a photographer. So far I love it and I really get to use my creative ideas with everything that I do. Another plus is that it is located inside of Babies R'Us so I get to see all the new baby products everyday!!Brielle also got her first hair cut the other day and the stylist was kind of suprised to see all of her hair. She said that most times babies get their hair cut at around 6 mos! I will also be posting some pics fo our new apartment soon. Well I hope that this all works the way that it's supposed to!