Grandma Bryson's 1st visit to Vancouver

My mom came out to visit us from May 24-June 3rd. We had a blast showing her all the sites. The only bummer was it stayed in the mid to upper 50's the entire time she was here with little sunshine. Usually by end of May its the mid 60's or so. Oh well,such is the weather in Vancouver, unpredictable! (except for July and August hopefully!) Nevertheless, we still had a great time and can't wait until we have more visitors! So when are you coming? :D

(Click on slideshow to view in full size and watch video)

Shelby is 2!

(I know I'm a little behind in posting this, but as you all know December is a VERY busy month--so you'll have to forgive me.)

Where did the last year go? My little baby girl isn't so little anymore...she's now the big 2 as of December 1st! It's insane how fast the last year has passed and how much Shelby has bloomed into the wonderful girl that she is now.

Some highlights of Shelby are, she...

• recognizes most all colors and doesn't hesitate to let you know when you've picked the wrong color shirt, pants, or hair clip-etc.

• knows her ABC's (although she'll skip a few every now and then) and loves to sing the song-- especially in the tub (just like her daddy--hehe ;)

• counts to 10, and counts down from 10

• loves to laugh to herself at random moments or laughs along with us while saying "that's funny", even though most times she has no idea what's so funny.

• she's working on her manners--anytime she burps or toots or if anyone else does for that matter, she'll say "excuse me, I burped" or "scooze you daddy". She'll also excuse anything in her way, i.e. "scooze me chair" or "scooze me shoes"

• anytime she sees anything that reminds her of football, no matter the team she'll say "B--Y--U...B--Y--U...Cougars!" (Scott began the indoctrination early,can you tell? ;)

• gives really big hugs & kisses, as she pats you on the back--especially when she thinks momma or daddy is sad

• She'll repeat pretty much anything you say--needless to say we've learned this quickly the hard way. Her current favorite word to say repeatedly is "BOOBS!" (sorry Grandma Wells) or "NO BOOBS, chest" as she pats me or her own after I try and correct her. (Oh well,it could be worse I suppose-lol )

• She loves "reading" books and adores anything that has to do with Dora the Explorer.

I just love Shelby to pieces and thank God everyday for allowing me to be her mother, especially when I am so undeserving. She is our world and brings so much love & joy into our lives!

For Shelby's birthday this year I decided to have a big shindig with all our friends, since it's likely next year we'll be on the other side of the world in S. Korea on her 3rd birthday. We invited 15 friends from around the neighborhood and church. We held it in the activity room of the commons-block which is shared by all of family housing here on UBC campus. The kiddos had a blast jumping around in the bouncy castle, creating with playdough, coloring, bubble popping and of course decorating and eating cupcakes. Shelby loved all her gifts and still talks about it. It took a lot of planning but in the end it was definitely worth it. It wouldn't have been possible without such wonderful friends! We feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many great people. We only wish we could've had all our loved ones here to celebrate with us.

Enjoy these pics from what you may have missed! (Click any pic to see in full size & video)

Our Last Supper in Alabama

Mid-November Shelby and I made our way down to Birmingham to go visit my mom,brother and sister and their families for Thanksgiving. It was our last chance for Shelby to fly for free before she turned 2 and a good time to get away from Vancouver since the weather is now cold,dark and wet most of Nov/Dec. Unfortunately, Scott couldn't come with us because of school. Thanksgiving in Canada is October 13th(Columbus Day)so life goes on as usual the last Thursday in November here. Even so, Scott somehow managed to have 9 people over for a good 'ole American Thanksgiving dinner celebration so he didn't feel left out. From what I heard,I think it went over well for the most part :)

In anticipation of our big trip, I had alot of anxiety about our flight, as Shelby was going to be in my lap. She ain't no tiny-tot at almost 32lbs and decided to join the exclusive terrible two's club a few weeks early, just in time for our trip. I could just see myself ending up on the evening news as one of those parents who gets thrown off a plane b/c their kid was too much of a "disturbance". I hardly slept the night before our flight!

Thankfully, she was a super-star on both flights and didn't cry one bit--not even one tantrum, hallelujah! It definitely helped to be prepared. Thank goodness for portable DVD players,sticker books, and let's not forget left over halloween candy! I also was extremely blessed to sit next to some decent people who traded seats with me in order to open up an extra seat for Shelby. It really helped for her to have her own space. Especially when she needed to get her wiggles out. If it weren't for that I'm sure you would've seen us on the evening news--lol.

Once we were safe and sound in Alabama, we spent most of our time low-key, just hanging out with my mom and family. It was important to me to just enjoy the time we had together with my mom and not worry about all the craziness going on in her life at the time. Without going into too much detail, due to unfortunate circumstances my mom will soon be moving out of the house that I grew up in. I moved into that house when I was 10yrs old and have a lot of memories there, especially of my dad who passed away in 2005. It's also the spot where Scott proposed to me in my living room over 6 yrs ago. I didn't realize how attached I was to that house until this last visit. I was quite overwhelmed the first night there as I was staying in MY old bedroom. I was caught by surprise at the mourning I suddenly felt for my mom and her loss, my own loss, and really our entire family's loss. It's a very strange feeling, but it's just a part of life I suppose. After all is said and done it's probably what is best for my mom and hopefully she'll be able to move on with her life. I know Heavenly Father is watching over her and it will all work out for the best.

Anyhoo--Sorry to get all mushy and emotional on ya....
We really did have a wonderful time in Alabama. I'm extremely grateful that Shelby and I were able to visit my mom and family. It was really a blessing see everyone and show her where I grew up. Thanksgiving dinner (or "the last supper" as my mom half-jokingly called it) was held at the house of course and was a huge success. Nothing makes ya feel better than eating, eating and more eating :)

Being at my old house made me especially aware of all the blessings I've been given throughout my life. I have so much to be thankful for--all the LOVE in my life, my forgiving husband and sweet daughter, our health, our families, our dear friends and neighbors, plenty of food, shelter,clothing...the list could go on and on but I think you get the point. :)

I hope that everyone had a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Now for some pics!Check out the photo album from our trip in Sweet Home Alabama
**Click on any pic to view pics in full and watch the video clips**

Halloween '09

Last year when Shelby was almost 11 months old, Halloween wasn't very eventful. We dressed her up for as long as she could stand, took a few pics, and then called it a night. This year the weather was perfect for her first full on experience of trick-or-treating and she loved every minute of it! She didn't know quite what to do at first, but after the first few knocks and getting free candy, she was a trick-o-treating machine. She and her best friend Kaylen knocked on doors non-stop for an impressive 1.5hrs! Shelby couldn't get enough candy and we couldn't stop taking pictures of our cute lil' ladybug!

We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Click on the pic to see the entire photo album :)

Halloween 2009

The Pumpkin Patch '09

Just thought I'd share some photos from our trip down to the local pumpkin patch with some friends. The little girl in blue is Gretta, my neighbor's daughter. I take care of her 9.5 hrs a day, 3-4x a week. Shannon and her daughter Aurora are also our neighbors, as well as members of the church. We are still loving Vancouver and are so blessed to have great neighbors and friends.

Hope you're having fun this fall season!! Enjoy :)

View all

Get your own

Munch & Mingle

Shelby says "I love you" and a few other things

Click here to see video

How Shelby starts her day...

(Make sure to click on VIEW HQ VIDEO in the upper right corner to view in full quality!)

Click here to see video

B-Square Museum

In June, we spent a good amount of time in Scott's home town of Kirtland, New Mexico. It's about 20 minutes outside Farmington, near the Four Corners area. After a few weeks we were running out of things to do, not to mention money too. Well if you ever find yourself in Kirtland and need to get the kids out of the house without spending any money, the Tom Bolack "B-Square" Museum of Fish & Wildlife is the place to go.

It reminded me a lot of the Bean Museum on BYU campus, except everything in this museum was actually caught by Mr. Tom Bolack himself,a former governor of New Mexico. He definitely had some serious free time and money to have traveled around the world and gather all those creatures. I've never seen so many animals on display in one place. It was especially enjoyable for Shelby to see such a wide variety of animals that she could actually touch without worrying if they'll scare or take a bite out of her. We also definitely appreciated the extra bonus of avoiding the stench that usually comes with the sightseeing of the "live" critters at the zoo.

Thanks Grandma and Papa Wells! It was great to get out and see more of Kirtland and spend some extra quality time with you :)

Click on pic for a closer look

A Scary Thought

While we were visiting Scott's parents in June, we got a glimpse into the future of Shelby at 16...

Shelby's 1st test drive w/ daddy

So much sass, already!

If that isn't a mischevious face, I don't know what is. I love this little girl!

Some things to ponder...

Elevated Expectations « By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog

WHY GIVING MATTERS By Arthur C. Brooks

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!

Our trip back to the good ole US of A

Towards the end of May, we were fortunate enough to be able to fly home to Utah and New Mexico and visit both sides of our families for a month. We flew into Utah for a few days and then were driven down to New Mexico for 3 weeks to attend a few festivities, Scott's 10 year high school reunion, the annual Wells family reunion(just the other siblings, their families and Scott's parents) and just some good ole quality time with Mama and Papa Wells.

First on the agenda was Scott's 10yr class reunion. There is much to be written about Scott's class reunion, but I'll leave that to Scott to post the exciting details on his blog. Thanks to Scott's parents who watched Shelby, we had a lovely night on the town in Durango, Colorado where part of his reunion was held. Durango is Colorado's "Park City" for those of you who don't know anything about it. It was really nice to walk around historic downtown and window shop completely childless, although half the stores we ended up going into were children's stores. I guess I just couldn't get her completely out of my mind. Even so, it was so great to go somewhere new and just enjoy spending time together.

Thanks again Mama and Papa Wells!

Scott thought this hotel was pretty cool, its over 100years old

This was on the side of the hotel

The rest of the days prior to the family reunion were spent at Scott's parents house. Shelby just had a ball with her grandparents getting to know them and enjoying all the animals in and around the house, including the 50 stuffed bears and bunnies. She absolutely adored the kittys, cows, roosters, horses, and even the obnoxious donkey. She had a lot of "firsts" while we were there. She had her first time...

• eating a popsicle, marshmellow, hotdog, and sucker



• jumping on a tramp



• riding on a tire swing



• feeding a cow, horse, donkey



• holding a kitten



• gardening



• cooking(little tykes kitchen)



• running in the sprinkler



• riding in a go-kart



• seeing a HUGE toad(almost the size of a softball, not kidding!)

I think that is most of them, although I'm sure there are some that I'm forgetting. Needless to say we all had a wonderful time with Mama and Papa Wells. It was really nice to get away from the hussle and bussle of life and just relax in the country. There is definitely something calming about that place. We are so grateful to them for taking care of us for so long! (Thank you for everything!!) The next item on the agenda was the family reunion, which I'll have to save for another post.

Until next time...enjoy these photos from just hanging out around the house. (Remember to click on it for a closer look)

A Confession

Shelby last year at 6 months

It's no secret that I am way behind on this bloggin' thing. I'd much rather spend my free time reading everyone else's than trying to come up with my own. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist and control freak and don't like just posting without editing or writing something but in the end I just let it take WAY too much time. It's time to just start posting pictures and videos without any explanation. I dunno if I can really do that but if I'm gonna catch everyone up on what we've been up to since May 1st then I'll have to just do it, no regrets. Sometimes I really hate bloggin' but I know there are a few people out there who want to see Shelby grow so I must press on. I hope you are happy...you know who you are! ;) A post will follow shortly, so stay tuned...

Progress

A few months ago feeding Shelby was my most dreaded time of the day because it had become a huge battle. She would be so hungry, but absolutely refused to let me spoon feed her. She had just begun the stage of wanting to do everything herself, but not quite having the skill or patience to do it. One night after what seemed like an eternity of going back and forth and having yogurt hitting everything but Shelby's mouth, I'd had enough! I gave up. I pulled her high chair as far from any walls as possible, removed the rug from underneath her, handed her the spoon, and walked away, upstairs. Needless to say, we were both feeling pretty frusterated by this point. If she really wanted to eat she would have to figure it out on her own or finally realize she couldn't do it and give in. (Ha-that'll teach her!)

As I made my way back down to check on her, instead of crying, there was silence. For a split second my thoughts turned to worry and guilt...what if she had choked and I hadn't been there to help her?! I'll admit probably not the smartest thing to leave her alone while eating, but I quickly rationalized and thought she couldn't possibly have choked on yogurt. I know Shelby well enough by now and usually her silence only means one thing...she's up to something naughty! I turned the corner and found this,

Shelby just squealed with delight at the mess she had made,

as if she was so proud of her creation.

Such a goofy girl!

Even though she had made a huge mess which is not fully captured in these photos,I couldn't help but laugh with her. After this incident, I realized it'd probably be awhile before she was ready to spoon feed herself...at least yogurt anyway.

Fast forward a month or so later and I'm happy to report Shelby is doing much better! Here's the proof,

(notice the bib is gone now--that's our new battle, getting her to keep it on!)

She may have learned to use her spoon better, but she's still just as goofy!

That's my girl :)

Time flies when you're having fun...

Where did April go? Seriously? I can't believe it's almost May! The last time I blogged was St. Patty's and I really have no solid excuses. Sorry folks! Could my absence be due to the glorious and brilliant sunshine returning after a cold,dark,wet winter and a rather chilly spring?

YOU'D BETTER BELIEVE IT!

If we aren't sleeping or eating you can find us outside--walking, strolling, riding, rock/shell/pine cone hunting, climbing, falling down-ing, sliding, swinging, sand castle building, squirrel chasing, bird watching, flower smelling and zooming or rolly-pollying(actions to a song Shelby knows).

Life is good!

Until another rainy day here are some pics to hold you over until the next post :)

MARCH

APRIL

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I sure hope this is a joke. If not...well I guess, it speaks for itself.




May we all find our own 'pot of gold' :)

Cheese! Part 2

SAY CHEESE!

Take 1

OK...Take 2

Let's try again...Take 3

I guess third time's a charm!

A Slightly Overdue Valentine

We heart you!

A clip from Shelby on Valentines day...

Cheese!

I'm a bit behind on bloggin' and eventually may write about what's been going on with us lately,but until then, here are a few pics and a video of Shelby from last month. Enjoy!

Click here to see just who Shelby belongs to.

Just Monkeying Around