Brynlee-isms

Brynlee has turned into a kid over night. And by "kid", I mean no longer a "toddler". She plays in the "big kid" section of the playground, she wakes herself up in the morning and goes potty all by herself, she puts her dishes in the sink without being asked, and she can find music and Netflix on the computer without any help (kinda scary). She's just growing so fast!! Bryn talks non-stop and she totally makes sense! (Up until now we just nod, smile, and say "uh huh".) We have funny little conversations all the time. I wish I was better at recording things, but here are just a few:

Sometimes the kids & I have dance parties when Riley's at work. Most of the songs on our playlist are Disney or kid songs, but there are also a few other songs on there. One of Bryn's favorites is Beyonce's "Single Ladies". Whenever she hears the intro, she jumps up and yells "SINGLETS!"... she's referring to the title of the song. Not the leotards. I think.

The other day Bryn was being extra difficult so I had a stern talk with her and had my hands on my hips. When I asked her if she was listening she said, "Mom, you have two triangles." (My arms were making triangles when my hands were on my hips). She's a great listener!

Brynlee was playing on the couch when her arm got "stuck" between two cushions. From the kitchen, I hear a little voice yell "Ayudan me!" ("help me" in spanish). Again, thanks Diego. Not sure what life at our house would be like without you.

The cutest thing she does is sit on your lap and say "let's talk for a minute". Then she'll proceed to make a list of all the things she likes (usually starts out with "I like animals, I like giraffes, they have long necks, I like zebras...")

Oh, and Brody fell all the way down the stairs last week. Yup. "Great Mom Award" right here!

This is the best picture I got of his battered face. This was several days later...

Poor kid. Even with bruises he's still the cutest little guy I know!

Potty Party!

Brynlee has been back in diapers for a couple months now. It has been so frustrating because I know she knows what to do. But as I've researched what to do, I've found that it's kinda normal-- especially after a vacation or something.

One of the main problems with potty training at our house is that our dumb apartment doesn't have a bathroom downstairs--they are both upstairs. It's the worst floor plan ever! Anyway, Riley had the great idea to clear out our coat closet and turn it into a downstairs bathroom for Brynlee. (We already have NO storage space, so clearing out that closet was a huge sacrifice.) It turned out pretty well. She certainly seems to think she's pretty special with her own bathroom!

So, we went out and got a new toilet-- Bryn got to choose which one she wanted. Of course she would choose the one that sings to her when she goes potty! And new panties! She's always telling us how "beshal" (special) they are. We made a HUGE deal about it. Made it SO exciting (probably a little over the top), but it seems to be working!

Whenever she needs to use the toilet, she tells me she has to sit on her "potty train". I think she's heard me say that a few too many times.

The girl has quite the little set-up. Complete with reading material and all.

So far so good...

Halloween

The kids got to dress up several times this year for various Trunk-or-Treats and ward parties. Brynlee was supposed to be a monkey or a turkey, but she couldn't handle having a hood around her face. She gets a little claustrophobic. So, she ended up being a hula girl... and she loved it!

Brody was the cutest little Nemo on the planet. He (and his costume) were quite a hit. Everyone kept saying "hey look! I found Nemo". Yeah, it wasn't funny after the 10th time!

Showing off her moves!

Bryn & her Dora pumpkin

This was the best picture we could get of the kids before they went Trick-or-Treating. They had waited patiently (with costumes on) all day long!

It's been a month since I last posted... that's not like me! So here are some updates on our little family:

Brynlee: Brynlee frequently tells me I'm her "best friend" or that she's "proud of me" (especially when I first wake up). I love it!

She has recently started to like watching Dora & Diego. The other day she told me that the "chinchilla fell in the water." *I didn't even know what a chinchilla was! When I asked her what happened to it, she told me that "Diego save her". Thanks Diego! I have to admit, that "Rescue Pack" song is quite catchy! If you've ever watched Go Diego Go, you know you agree with me!

She also loves to retell stories from books we read. Her two favorites at the moment are "Tiki Rembo" (a.k.a Tiki Tiki Tembo...) and the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf.

The other day Bryn asked me if she could lay down on the "bump". I asked her what bump she was talking about. "The bump on mommy's tummy." Nope folks, I'm NOT pregnant... apparently there's just a "bump" there. Love you too, Bryn!

She's just got the funniest little personality. When Brody is taking a nap, Brynlee & I like to watch Mormon Messages or profile videos on Mormon.org. At the end of every single one she says, "that's a great one!" I think I said that once and now she says it every time! She's 100% convinced that the little girl at the beginning of this video is her. She asks to watch it daily.

Oh... and on a less-happy note, she's totally reverted back to diapers. Is that normal? One day she had an accident, the next day 2-3 "accidents", and now she's back in diapers because I felt so bad about getting mad at her. She still goes #2 in the toilet (thank goodness), but that's it. Any suggestions?

Brody: Brody is all boy! He bites, pushes, growls, and pulls hair. But he can also be the most cuddly, loving boy around. He loves to give slobbery, open-mouth kisses!

His favorite song right now is "pat-a-cake". He's pretty solid on "marking it with a B" on his hand. It's adorable!

Brody has also found a new love for Brynlee's boots. He puts them on first thing in the morning and doesn't take them off until I make him. He walks around the house looking at his feet, giggling, and stomping as fast as he can.

Riley & Tarryn: We celebrated our 4th anniversary on September 22nd. It was a perfect day to spend with my best friend! Riley is staying busy with school (currently has a 4.0! Woohoo!) he read this and deleted that. But I noticed and put it back on!, and on the days that Riley is home, I substitute in Gilbert. That's been interesting... but fun??

We're just enjoying life and can't wait for the weather to finally cool off!

Tis the Season...

For MORE family pictures!

Bryn & Sweet Baby Ty.

Bynlee LOVES Baby Ty and would kiss his face all day long if we'd let her!

BRODY

I had a strange moment the night before Brody's 1st birthday. I was putting him to sleep and was overwhelmed with the knowledge that the next time I held him, he wouldn't be a baby anymore. I know some people consider their baby to be a "toddler" when they start walking, but Brody started walking at 10 months and I wasn't ready to let him be a "toddler" yet. I'm still not. When Brynlee turned one, I was 2 months away from having another baby, so at the time I didn't feel like she was the "baby". Anyway, it's been a surprisingly hard transition for me...

Our Mr. Brody is so full of spunk! Here are 10 of our favorite Brody things:

1. He's all boy. I remember once a lady at Costco walked up to us when I was holding Brody. She just saw him from the back and immediately said, "Well there's a football player if I ever saw one. He's ALL boy!" Riley beamed with joy the rest of the day.

2. He's a kid on a mission. And that mission is to destroy anything and everything that mom has just put away.

3. He has 5 teeth. That's right. 5. We're not sure where the other one is (the 6th that would make his mouth even)... it's been missing for a while now.

4. He never responds to his name. Ever. ... at least not when Riley & I call him. And it's not because he doesn't know his name. He'll listen to Bryn the first time she says his name. One year old and is the most stubborn kid on the planet.

5. His favorite activity is to throw a ball (or anything even remotely ball-shaped) and chase after it. Repeatedly. throw. chase. throw. chase... all day long.

6. He refuses to say "mom/mama". Pretty sure he thinks it's funny. I tell him all the time to "say mama". Then Brynlee chimes in "say Bryn-Bryn". He'll probably say her name before mine. Punk.

7. Brody has a permanent bruise on his forehead. (No, not that blue vein on the top of his nose... although that looks like a bruise too). He's just always falling off things, running into things, tripping over things... It makes him look really tough!

8. Oh he folds his arms so well whenever we say a prayer. It's the most precious sight in the world.

9. Brody lets Brynlee do pretty much whatever she wants to him. He's a trooper. He gets squished, pushed, poked, and yelled at. But they're still best friends. (But don't think he doesn't do his share of biting and hitting. We're working on being "soft".)

10. Brody gives the best kisses. When he's really in the mood you might get 5 or 6 before he's done. On the cheek is best... unless it turns into a bite. Which happens quite often.

We love our Brodes. His birthday makes me think back to when we first found out I was pregnant with him. I remember crying. Now I can't imagine him coming into our family at any other time. We love him. We can't get enough of him. And man, oh man, is he cute!

Some pics from his birthday party last week:

Notice the missing tooth:

HATES shoes... these are his first pair (I know, what kind of horrible mother lets her kid walk around for 2 months without shoes?!) and he can't wait to get them off!

More Family Pics

All the Wardrop cousins & husbands

The WHOLE Wardrop fam was in town. The only people missing were our missionaries, Dallin & Chase.

Life

I've been thinking lately about how life is just plain ol' crazy sometimes. I look at blogs of friends and think, "man, her life looks perfect. They have everything going for them!" And then I look at my own blog and it, too, seems like we have no troubles. We tend to only share the good things-- which is fine, because who wants to read about something bad? But my friends, I'm here to tell you that our life is not perfect. We don't just go on vacations and take fun pictures all day long. No. We have a real life, too. So, I'm committing myself to blog more about real life, rather than just sharing pictures of my cute kids.

...

Ok, so I just wrote a really long post about how "real" our life is and when I was done, I reread it and decided no one wanted to read about that. Lets just say that it involved my attempt at being a good mom by taking my kids to see Rio, kids running up and down the aisle-- not caring about the movie, then hitting up the sales at Borders, waiting in long lines, getting out of line to go potty (only to be too late), changing Brody's diaper while Brynlee LOCKS herself in the bathroom, me climbing under the bathroom stall on the dirty floor to unlock the door for angry customers also waiting in line to use the bathroom, and having to carry two screaming kids all the way to the 2nd to last parking space at the mall while my arms are on fire. See? Life is not always so glamorous.

Hawaii

I apologize in advance for the picture overload. I just couldn't narrow it down. We had so much fun in Hawaii a couple weeks ago. It was great to spend time with family in paradise!!

Waimea Falls

Waimea Bay

Trent has been in Hawaii for the past couple months, so it was fun to meet up with him again. We've missed Uncle Trent!!

Turtle Bay

Brynlee & Papa

We were able to go to the temple while visiting Laie. You can tell how much the people missed going to the temple during the 2 years of renovation when it was closed. Our session was packed!

(We were having a slightly "off" day and couldn't manage to take a normal picture.)

Polo Match

All of the sibs went skydiving. The Airfield was right by our beach house, so we were able to watch them all fall out of the sky from our back yard. I think this one is Trevor.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Brody got swept away by a giant wave. Riley had to run after him and scoop him up by his legs. So scary! The poor kid got a huge gash on his tummy and was scared of the ocean for the rest of the trip.

Riley, oh Riley. This is what happens when you don't let your wife help you with sunscreen. He used one of those sunscreen sticks and made this cute pattern on his forehead. I'm not sure what he was thinking... that it would "blend"???

One day we went on a hike to Manoa Falls. It was a beautiful hike, but it poured rain the entire time! The kids were such troopers. Bryn kept telling us she was "coldy". I had to hide under a tree to take this picture so my camera wouldn't get wet.

Sea Life Park was definitely a highlight of the trip for the kids. Bryn was in heaven, and even Brody seemed to enjoy himself.

The setting of the Park was gorgeous...

Every time the sea lions made their little ''bark" noise, Brynlee would put her hand on hear ear and say "Mom, you hear that?"

We had a great time. Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful trip. We enjoyed every minute of it! We love you guys!

Aloha 'Oe