A day at the Park...

There's a little park not far from our house that we like to go to.  Brylee loves her swing at home, especially if its at high speed, so even though she's still pretty small we thought we would see how she liked the baby swings at the park.  She loved it, baby girl was laughing so hard.  Unfortunately we didn't have our camera on us.  So these aren't the pictures of Brylee's "first" swing, she actually laughed much harder the first time.  Easter Sunday was so nice, so we took Brylee to the swings again, and this time we remembered the camera! 

And here is a little video of Brylee on the swing.  She was so funny whenever Sam would stop pushing she started getting fussy.

Sorry if the video made you a little sick to watch...I got a little dizzy watching it.

We missed our family this Easter, but had a fun time with just the three of us.  Brylee looked so cute in her Easter dress.

Bry is so much fun, we love this stage, and love making her laugh.  Sam discovered a new little trick, he blows in her face and it always makes her smile.  So here are some pictures and a little video of that...

An Oklahoma Adventure...

I can't believe we have been living in Oklahoma for seven months.  We only have four months until we move to Philly.  We love it here, and while we look forward to all that Philadelphia has in store for us we will certainly miss Oklahoma. 

A couple weeks ago the weather was gorgeous here, like 80 degrees in March! Sam had a four day weekend so we decided to do some exploring.  We drove to Turner Falls park which was about an hour south of us. 

The park is located in the Arbuckle "mountains." I say "mountains" because they were more like hills compared to Montana mountains.  None the less it was fun to see hills, and I almost felt like I was back home. 

In the 30's some professor decided to build a castle in the park...pretty cool.

Brylee had so much fun she loved being carried around all day.  She was a little angel the entire day. 

When we took her out of her carrier her pants were hiked up so high she looked like a little old man, we couldn't help but laugh.

We had fun hiking around a few trails.  The park had two water holes, but we didn't bring anything to swim in.  And the water was extremely cold, but it looked like it would be a lot of fun in the summer. 

We were also able to go to a hockey game.  We were nervous about taking Brylee, especially because she has a very early bedtime.  We just set her on a chair next to us, and surprisingly she slept for the first hour of the game. It was incredibly loud in there so I have no idea how she slept through it...then she woke up. She loved it, she was so excited to be out an about.  She just kept looking around taking everything in.  She was even watching the game we couldn't even get her to look away so we could take a picture.  There were two guys sitting next to us who thought she was just the cutest thing.  Brylee loved them, they had her laughing so hard.  I was a little jealous because I've never gotten her to laugh that hard for so long

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I'm so glad when Daddy comes home...

Sam has his new schedule and is working every other Sunday.  This was the first Sunday I went to church without him, and it was definitely a little hard.  Brylee is taking a nap and I was just thinking about how much I miss Sam! I was wasting some time on pinterest and I saw this amazing quote:

I remember the moment I realized I was in love with Sam.  It was about a whole three weeks after we started dating, and I waited very patiently (not) for him to get up the courage to tell me.  I remember kneeling across from him at the alter thinking there was no way I could possibly love him more than I did at that moment.  ...Then I saw the look in his eyes when we saw our baby girl for the first time.  Sam is such an amazing daddy and I don't tell him that enough.

Brylee is such a daddy's girl.  The first three months of parenthood were amazing but completely exhausting.  Our poor baby girl had food intolerance to what I was eating and colic.  She could scream for hours on end.  I definitely lost my patience at times but I never once saw Sam get impatient or frustrated.  He would come home after a long day at work and hold his screaming baby all night to give me a break.  When he gets home from work he changes almost all of her diapers, picks out outfits, and plays with her.  He puts her down for naps, and reads to her.  The first three months included many many sleepless nights (She still wakes up several times a night, but at least now she goes back to sleep!)  When I was completely exhausted Sam would stay up with her to give me a break.

On Sam's days off he usually waked up with Brylee in the morning so I can sleep in.  The other morning I woke up to him reading Brylee the Chronicles of  Narnia.

Brylee loves watching us workout especially watching us shadowbox.  One day Sam was having her do her own shadowboxing and I caught part of it on film.

Brylee loves bouncing.  She loves to be tossed in the air, and when we bounce her on our laps.  One day she was laying on the bed and Sam made the mattress bounce, she just loved it.

We're Lucky because...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!(When I started this post it was St Patrick's day).  We're lucky today because we have a beautiful baby girl!  Brylee is such a joy.  Here she is smiling because she's happy she's Irish (Like 1/16! 

Here are a few much awaited videos of Brylee just being cute.  She is such a chatterbox (Except when we're on skype). We can get her to smile whenever we want, unless we are skyping.  Today in our sunday school class we had the youth study some scriptures.  WE wanted the room quiet so they could read, but Brylee was just chattering away.  At least she's a cute distraction, even if she's a bit rude at times...hehe she let out a really loud toot just before the prayer. 

And for the final video you can see Brylee rolling on her side...the little stinker refuses to roll all the way over again! 

And yes...that was a little brylee toot.

She is so much fun! We are so LUCKY to be her parents. She lights up our lives.

Sweet Baby Girl

Little Ray of Sunshine…

When I found out I was pregnant I decided I wanted to blog…mainly because I HATE writing in a journal and thought this would be a great way to keep track of my little one.  I was great at blogging while I was pregnant. Then…I had a baby.  Amidst the frequent diaper changes, clothing changes, spit up messes, and fussiness I just didn’t have time to blog.  Well little miss is almost four months old so I decided to try to blog once again.  Colic is over! Hallelujah!  Brylee has become more independent and is now content to simply play on her mat or chill in her swing, instead of demanding to be attached to mom 24/7.  What does this mean?  Just that I might actually update the family blog more than once every four months!  

She is so much fun.  While we loved the first three months of her life(even the complete exhaustion), this stage is so much fun.  Everyday we witness her little personality developing.  A little about our baby girl: She is such a smiley little girl.  Today we were blowing raspberries on her and she couldn’t stop laughing.  She loves her lullaby music from Grandma Nan, nap time might be nonexistent without it! She loves to sing along with mom and dad, and babbles all night long!  She loves attention!  I don’t think our Sunday school kids get anything out of our lessons because Brylee is such a cute distraction! Bry loves reading books, especially her kitty one.  She still loves her bath time; we’re excited for the weather to warm up so we can take her to the pool.  She doesn’t however like to skype!  Unfortunately I think our family believes that she never smiles.  I guess they’ll just have to come visit in person J.  She also doesn’t like eczema or when mommy eats foods that hurt her tummy (which is basically everything, poor girl)! 

We love being parents, and can’t believe how much it has changed us.  We are so thankful that we were blessed to be parents of this amazing little girl.  There is nothing in the world that can compare to watching Brylee smile and laugh.  When Sam gets home from work she’s usually sleeping, but he always has to go peek in on her.  A sleeping baby is the most precious sight.  

We are certainly enjoying Oklahoma and all it has to over.  The people here are great. Sam is enjoying work, and loves being a paramedic. 

Brylee Skeie

I can't believe how much much little girl is growing, she's definitely not my little tiny newborn anymore.  I thought I dedicate a post to Brylee's first three months for family and friends who don't live close (which is basically all family).

Brylee in the beginning...

 Baby girl loves to sleep with arms over head.  She gives quite a protest when we swaddle her.

 

 

 

 

 I can't believe how much she has changed.  They sure grow up quick.  Brylee is full of personality, and we enjoy being her parents. It has been a very exhausting and incredible three months!

A brith story...

After almost three months Sam and I have finally written Brylee's birth story.

November 15th, 2012

Leaving for the hospital with an empty car seat and a belly

Sam:

We got to the hospital just after midnight at Saint Anthony Hospital for Mary to be induced. Things seemed to have gone pretty normal for the first couple hours. After Mary had the epidural they started noticing that baby’s heartbeat was beginning to drop with each of the contractions. The nurses and the doctors weren’t too concerned at first and just had Mary lie in different positions hoping that it was simply a positional issue. As this continued the baby’s heartbeat progressively became lower with each of the contractions. The doctors then got a little more aggressive with their interventions including using medications. With the amount of duress the baby had already been under, and the amount of labor time left before delivery, Dr. Lane decided that it was not safe to wait a few more hours of labor. It was the best and safest idea to deliver the baby via caesarian section. They took Mary into the operating room to prep her for the surgery while I waited in our room.

By the time they let me into the room, the surgery had already begun. I got to sit at the head of the table next to Mary while the medical team did their part. It didn’t take long before I could tell that they had delivered the baby; and just after that we heard a tiny little cry. When the nurse brought our little baby to us, and we got to see her for the first time, it was the most special and happiest moment of our lives.  Mary and I both had tears in our eyes and we just smiled and looked at each other. It was so exciting and wonderful to see our little Brylee for the first time. And because Mary still had to deliver the placenta and be sown back up, I got to hold Brylee first. She was without question the most beautiful little baby I had ever seen. I was generous though and a couple times I held Brylee over by her mom so that she could get a closer look.

It was a very surreal day, and at the same time was so fun to actually be a dad. Once Brylee and I were in the recovery room , Dr. Lane described to me that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her foot two times. With each contraction the cord would further cut off the circulation to Brylee. It was most definitely a good thing that they performed a C-section and averted a possible disaster. Mary was a little bummed she didn’t get to deliver the old fashioned way, but we are both so happy our little girl came, and is healthy and beautiful.   

Mary:

Going into surgery I was so nervous.  They took me in first and a little while later they brought Sam in.  Sam sat behind me and held my hand.  I was completely numb and couldn’t move my lower body but I could still feel them pulling and tugging.  Just a few minutes into surgery I heard this little noise.  I remember thinking what is that.  I heard Sam saying cry Brylee, cry. His voice sounded so nervous, I’d never heard that fear in his voice before.  I then realized that little cry was my baby, and it sounded so pitiful.  I’ve never been more scared in my life, but just a few seconds later we heard a very loud and healthy cry.  Our little angel was finally here. The nurse brought her around the corner and we saw our baby girl for the first time.  It was such a beautiful moment.  Sam and I both had tears in our eyes as we looked at each other overwhelmed with love for our little girl. Brylee had her dad wrapped around her finger since the day she was born.  She was absolutely perfect. . It was the first time in the entire time I’ve known Sam that I had ever seen him cry. I don’t know if any feeling in the world can compare to the feeling of seeing your baby for the first time, and how instantaneously you can love someone you’ve just met.  

Brylee was born at 10:31 am weighing 7lbs 7oz and was 19 and half inches long.  She was absolutely beautiful with lots of dark hair. 

The nurse took her to get cleaned up and Sam went to take her very first pictures.  I looked back at them from the operating table, wishing so badly I could hold her.  After she was cleaned up sam was able to hold and brought her over for me to see.  Sam carried Brylee into the recovery room while they finished stitching me up. They brought me into the room but I still couldn’t hold my little girl, I was shaking too bad..  Sam laid next me on the bed and we just stared at her.  Finally, after I was feeling better I got to hold her.  She was so precious.  

Those first nights with our sweet little girl were incredible.  Brylee had lots of personality right from the start. The nurse told us to make sure that she ate every two to three hours, and we’d probably have to wake her up to eat.  Boy was she wrong.  Brylee barely slept the first couple nights.  We were always awake at feeding time.  We spent a total of three nights in the hospital and between those three nights we’d only gotten five hours of sleep total, none the first night.  I couldn’t believe we were still functioning. Sam and I decided it’s that feeling when you first fall in love: you hardly get any sleep because you want to spend every waking moment with that person. 

We feel so blessed that we are able to be her parents, and so thankful for our little girl.