Hello Montana!

So, in the midst of my nursing meltdown, we decided to get away for the weekend. Get away from the snow, cold and work, um, no. We went to West Yellowstone, and holy crap! Snow, Snow, Snow! It was 6 ft deep! We were the only car, everyone else was traveling by snow shoe and snow machines. It was hilarious. Have you ever seen a snowmobile at McDonald's drive-thru! It snowed and blowed the entire time we were there. We also weren't able to get away from work either. Those of you who travel with children know what I mean. We stayed at G and G Byram's timeshare, 2bed, 2bath and a kitchen; however we still had to take a lot of stuff. Pack n play, sleeping bag, diapers, food, 2 coolers, swimming stuff, clothes, video camera and of course Brooke's Bouncy Chair. I wish I had a picture of Mr. Incredible hauling all this stuff in and out, what a Dad! We couldn't have done it without him.

George and Jane stayed Friday night with us and went home on Saturday. We spent most of the time at the pool. Yeah, we were the only people there.

Jack's hot pink ear plugs

The pool to ourselves

The Kiddie Pool

Vince and Jack lived in the water

Brooke also enjoyed her first time in the water

This is the snow piled outside the doors to the pool. The amount of snow was insane.

Although we spent most of the trip in the pool, we also had a great time just watching movies and playing cards with Grandma and Grandpa.

Brookelle spent most of the trip in her Lay Z Girl. We can't go anywhere without it!

On Saturday we took the kiddos over to the IMAX Theater and watched a movie about Yellowstone. This was Jack's first time going to a movie and he did really well. He ate his treats, complained about it being dark, he was scared of the how the seat would close up on him and halfway through I looked over at him and he was dozing off. He spent the rest of the movie asleep in my lap. Both our kids slept through the movie, it was great!

We had a great time and didn't want to come home, mostly because we didn't want to load the car and drive home in the blizzard. It was fun to just get away though, Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!

Little Late

Charm picture tagged me like a week ago, and I forgot, so here it is. 6th picture from the 6th folder.

I am so glad she did this because I haven't looked at this picture or folder forever. It has a bunch of pictures of me and Vince while we were dating. This was before Vince and I were even engaged. We went to Utah for my birthday and this is us eating at PF Changs. YUM.

What's Wrong With Me?

Today I found myself back where I was 3 years ago, sitting on the couch crying over my decision to quit nursing. I don't know why this is such a big deal for me. With Jack, the decision was obvious, it just wasn't working and the kid was starving to death. And yet, it still took me 3 months and a swimming pool full of tears to finally give in and give up.
I guess I just feel that there is serious pressure to breastfeed, and for me, it is always a struggle. I feel like I have to do it though. I feel that if when the nurse at the hospital came in and asked "Now Dear, are planning on doing breast or bottle?" if I said bottle, I would get a stare saying "Why, don't you love your baby? What is wrong with you?"
So I ask, What is wrong with me? Am I the only mother in the world that doesn't enjoy breastfeeding? Everyone claims that it is wonderful and beautiful and such a great way to bond with your baby. What? I am apparently doing it wrong, because it is never that way for me. For me it is inconvienent, overwhelming, emotionally exausting and extremely frustrating when Brooke just screams and wiggles every time I try to nurse her.
Last night I finally had my breakdown as both of my children were screaming and I was hooked up to my pump, unable to satisfy anyone, including myself. I went over to the sink and began washing the 12 bottles from the day, yeah, 12. Brooke only has six feedings, but with pumping, I dirty all the bottles. What am I doing? It was my "a hah!" moment and I realized that this wasn't doing any good for anyone.
The entire family feels my stress when I am trying to nurse, and I have decided to throw in the towel. Vince said he is proud of how long I lasted, but he has been anxiously waiting for me to quit, so I would be happy again. I think he was just tired of watching mom and baby crying on the couch during each feeding.
I know that I shouldn't feel like a bad mother, but I do. Tonight when I gave Brooke her first bottle of formula, I cried. I feel like I am being selfish and it is killing me. I am sure that we will both survive the ordeal, it just seems so hard for me right now, and I really don't know why.

If anyone actually finished reading this incredibly long vent, bless you. I needed this outlet for my emotions. I think if Vince hears me talk about this one more time he will start crying. Oh, the petty little problems that we face at the Byram's. I should just take Vince's advice,

"Don't sweat the petty stuff, and don't pet the sweaty stuff.

Words to live by.

Two Fears

So within the past few months, two fears have been brought to my attention.

#1 Potty Training

I have been dreading potty training Jack ever since those little pink lines appeared over 3 years ago. Last week I decided to face my fear and give it a try. To my surprise and delight, Jack was potty trained in 1 day! He is still wearing a pull-up at night and during naps, but he has got the rest of it down. I don't know why I dreaded it for so long. Maybe the trick was waiting this long! I hope this isn't the calm before the storm, you know, when I start finding little piles of Doo Doo all over the house. I am so proud of him.

#2 Little Divas

The last few weeks at church have really set this fear in my heart. What happened to "Little Princess's", and even so, "Little Girls"? I remember when I was 6-12 years old, I wore matching dresses with my sisters, my mom did my hair (with the biggest bows ever), I didn't wear make-up, I respected any adult, and most importantly, I looked like a little girl! And so I ask, When did Princess turn into Diva? A few of the girls in our neighborhood have really scared me. The things they wear, the way they do their hair, and the way they act cry out "I'm a DIVA, watch out!" This scares me to death to have a little girl growing up with the pressures to grow up too fast. I want Brooke to be able to "Be a kid" as long as she can. Maybe I am the only one who fears the term "DIVA", but I would much rather have a little princess!

The Rumors Are True...

No, I'm not pregnant. And if you thought I was, shame on you. We're moving! Well, we aren't moving just yet, but our house is for sale. That's right, it is that time in the pattern of build it, live in it for 2 years, and then sell it. You're right, we haven't lived here for two years yet, but with the current economic situation and Real Estate slump, we figure it will take a couple of months, at least, to sell. You can find our listing at http://snakerivermls.com/, and our listing number is 157766, for any of you interested in buying :)

Even though I have known from the very beginning that this house was not to be our final home, just simply an investment in having our next house paid off, it still makes me sad to move. This really is my dream home. Our original plan was to build this house again when it sells, but with the current economic situation, we have decided to wait.

So you are probably asking, "Where will the Byram's go?" We are asking ourselves the same thing. We have a lot over by the elementary school here in Rigby, but we aren't sure we want to build there just yet. Right now we are just waiting to see what happens to the market. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For now, I get to deal with keeping the house spotless daily, "just in case" someone calls and wants to show the house. This is my least favorite part of having a house for sale. Let us know if you know of any potential buyers!

Baby Bwooke!

This post is a little tribute to our "Baby Bwooke", as Jack calls her.

CAUTION: LOTS OF PICTURES!

She is 4 Months old today, and I can't even believe how fast she is growing. She is such a little sweetie and we love her to death! I don't know how we have lived without her these past five years.

I finally finished writing up her birth story for her baby book, and here it is for anyone interested in reading it. It isn't too detailed or graphic, so don't worry. Sorry you can't enlarge it, I don't know why?




Brooke has the most adorable curls and I had to put a picture in here of how curly it is when she gets out of the bathtub.

I love how her forehead looks huge in this picture, it really isn't.

We love playing with her hair, and here we have tried a side swoop. Vince said it looked "hideous", and we haven't tried it again. We will stick with our Curly Sue.

We put her in the high chair for the first time the other day and I almost started to cry (I do that often). She looked so grown up. I did however have to spend an hour cleaning some leftovers off the tray that Jack left a year or so ago, sick.

Brookelle melts her Daddy's heart! I know this because I don't recall him ever using baby talk with Jack, but with Brooke he can't help himself. She loves him too. When he walks in the door at night, she hears his voice and starts looking for him from her bouncy chair. As soon as he comes near, her face lights up with joy. She smiles the most for him!Things she loves:

• Her Daddy
• Watching Jack prance around
• Getting her hands involved in a poopy diaper change (any advice would be nice)
• Her Bink
• The bath
• Anyone that smiles at her
• Sucking her thumb, so cute

Things she dislikes:

• Being swaddled
• Her neck exercises (We are trying to avoid the nasty helmet)
• Being left alone, basically not being adored
• The BUMBO, she doesn't dislike it, she LOATHES it!
• Nursing (what a struggle)

She is a little piece of heaven that has fallen right into our home. We love you Brooke!

Stuck At Home

I hate RSV. Not that anyone really likes it, except for those doctors who are making bank on our family! Jack is finally starting to get over his, and Brooke seems to be getting worse every day. We seriously have not left our house for a week and a half except for Doctor's appointments. We have some insane cabin fever. Last night Vince had to work late so I decided to kill the time by filming the kids and taking some pictures. Jack wanted to hold Brooke so badly, and I was scared for her life. Once he is bored, he simply lets go of her and she falls to the ground, Ker Plunk! Luckily, there were no serious injuries.

I am hoping that we get better soon. I feel like we are harboring the plague over here!

Too Much Fun!

At last minute, I decided to ride down to Utah with my Sister-in-law Stacie and visit my parents for a couple of days. We left on Wednesday and Vince came down on Friday night to pick us up. We had a great time.

We didn't follow our usual routine of Babies R Us, Taipan and Costco, (Which is what we always do when we come for the weekend. Even though we did stop in to Babies R Us; I always need something). We had a jam packed schedule!

First we went to Discover Gateway in Salt Lake at the Gateway shopping center. The kids loved it. You could spend days in there with all the fun activities they have.

Our favorite place was the little play town . You can work on a construction site, work on a farm, ride a horse, deliver mail, be a policeman, fireman, and the list goes on and on. There were even costumes for every thing. Jack's favorite was the Grocery Store where he could pick out food and then ring it up. I could barely drag him out of it.

The kids also loved the play house and Jack and I spent a lot of time building houses and then knocking them down by pushing the Earthquake Button.

On the roof they had a real Life Flight Helicopter that the kids could go inside and even sit in the pilot seat. It made real helicopter noises that made Jack nervous, but he eventually warmed up.

On Saturday we got up early and went to the Draper Temple Open House. It was rainy and windy and we were so glad they had tents! The temple is practically in my parents back yard, but the system was this: Drive to a church in Draper, watch a movie at the church, get on bus to ride to the temple, tour the temple, end up in different church by the temple, eat some treats, get back on your bus and ride to the church you started at. It was quite a process, but it flowed great. I had high hopes of getting a picture of me and Vince in front of the temple, but there was never a chance with their system.

That night we went to Boondocks with the entire fam, which has laser tag and arcade games. Jack had his first experience with loud Arcade Games.

It was a great weekend until we drove home and we couldn't get Jack to stop coughing. We decided to stop in Idaho Falls on the way and see a doctor, and sure enough, Jack has RSV! Again! We just can't go anywhere anymore! All in all, it was a great weekend. Thanks for everything Grandpa and Grandma!

Weekend Recap

We didn't do anything extremely exciting over the weekend, but here is a recap.

FRIDAY

Spring has come a little early at our house as I have decided to do some deep cleaning. I started with my closet. It had become a mess over the last year with a mixture of maternity clothes and regular clothing. I finally said "Goodbye!" to those saggy butt maternity jeans. I am so glad to get them out of the closet.

You may be thinking that this still doesn't look very organized, but you should have seen it before!

Vince will kill me if he sees this, but I had to share with all of you his obsession with belts. He won't let me fold and organize his pants, but heaven forbid I touch his belts. He keeps them very organized. He still has three more you can't see. I think I own 2 belts. You would think he would take better care of his ties that are on the right, draped over a hanger. I guess we are all OCD about something, right?

SATURDAY

We took the kids to Ruby River and surprisingly, they were both very good. Jack didn't throw any kind of fit and Brooke slept the whole time. I think we were in and out within 45 minutes.

This is what happens when you go to Grandma's, have a "blow out" diaper and soil your clothing beyond recognition. I am usually very prepared with extra clothing in the diaper bag, but we left in such a hurry to go to dinner, I forgot. Luckily we found an extra blanket and some pins. I'm sorry Brooke!

SUNDAY

We didn't see a whole lot of Vince's face this weekend, because it was covered by this book the entire time. He stole it from his parent's house and won't put it down. It is like 800 pages or something. He is almost finished and we can't wait to have our daddy back.

Mommy Must haves

Every time I go to my sister's house I notice a chart that she has posted in her kitchen for child CPR, and I always think that I should get one for my house, and I finally have. Click on the title of this post and it will take you to one printable chart that I found. If you know where to find a better one let me know. I just think that even if we know what to do in an emergency, our babysitters may not!

I know that I am an overprotective mom, but why not be?

I have also fallen in love with this thermometer!

My mom gave me this thermometer about a year ago, and no lie, I use it everyday! My kids are always sick and for those of you who have had children with ear infections, you know that they scream when you try to take their temp with an ear scanner.

I seriously think that everyone should have one of these. You just place it on their forehead and push the button, EASY! I think that they are far more accuarte than the ear thermometers and far less icky than doing it rectally! (Who has really ever done that!) Anyway, if your kids are sick, go get one! I love it!

Do you want the good news, or the bad news?

We'll start with the good news. I took Jack to the doctor and he said that one of his ear tubes has fallen out. Yay! We are one step closer to him being able to lay down in the bath tub! I can't wait for the other one to come out so the kids at the pool aren't constantly asking me what those pink things in his ears are (ear plugs). It will be one year since his surgery in March.

Jacks ear tube surgery, March 18, 2008

Now for the not so great news. I also took Brooke to the doctor and she is currently experiencing her THIRD ear infection since birth. He said we need to sign her up for tubes right now. They don't put them in babies this young, so I have to talk to an ENT for more details and how soon we can do the surgery. I am not looking forward to it. I don't know how I am going to wash all that hair without getting her ears wet! Just when I thought we were out of the woods.

Do you want the rest of the bad news?

Look closely at this picture and see if you can tell what is wrong.

Um, Yeah. The front tooth on your left, does it look a little darker than the other one? Scroll down to where I have posted some pictures of Jack and Vince snowmobiling and you can be a witness to the accident. Apparently during their ride, Vince ran into a fence and Jack went flying into the front of the snowmobile. I was not made aware of the severity of the accident until recently, when we noticed the dead tooth. That's right, IT'S DEAD! The dentist said that it will continue to get darker, turn black, then fall out. Oh Great! Jack will be missing a front tooth for the next 4 years of his life.

Now look at this picture and find what is wrong.

Here is a little hint. It is a tooth problem as well. This picture was taken a few days before the other one ( That is how quickly the tooth is turning black). But that isn't what your looking at. Look at his bottom teeth. Instead of having four front teeth, he only has three! The dentist also isn't sure if there is even a permanent one in there somewhere. I knew I should have been a dentist! At this rate, Brooke probably won't even have teeth. Whatta ya do? I guess I'll love em anyway!

If you would like to donate to the Byram Family Dental Plan Fund, please contact me.

Boy are we in for it! :)

Merry Christmas

We went to Utah for Christmas, again. Every year I say that THIS is the last year, but those Wheatleys keep enticing us with their promises of games, goodies and gifts. I don't know if this was our last year, but we sure had a great time.

My mom has a spectacular Christmas Eve party every year. We eat, sing Christmas songs, open presents, and this was the first year that we had enough Grand kids to act out the Nativity. Brooke took on the role of Baby Jesus and Jack showed us that he is quite the thespian as he portrayed one of the Wise Men.He was mostly concerned about what was in that box, however.

Christmas Loot!

Christmas Naps!

Christmas Cutie!

What a Great Christmas!

Outside the snow is falling.....

Every year is the same. We wait and wait for the first big snow storm and get all excited and dressed up and head outside for some fun. And then.... we curse every storm for the rest of the winter. We aren't wishing for Spring yet, but it is only a matter of time.

Because our house sits in the middle of two vacant lots, we accumulate some amazing drifts. The Abominable Snowman himself couldn't get through the ones near our front door, one of which I caught the neighborhood kids sledding down yesterday. I couldn't believe they would journey clear down to our house, just to sled.

Anyway, we are enjoying the snow for now, and here is some proof.

Jack helping Daddy shovel the driveway

Vince saved this snowmobile that was destined for the dump, and brought it back to life. We are very proud of his mechanical skills! He has been promising Jack since the fall, that when it snowed he would take him for a ride.

Did I mention that it was 4 degrees outside!

He looks a little unsure of the ride.

Brookelle's Big Day!

We blessed Brooke this weekend and we were so glad to be able to share our joy with our friends and family. It was a small gathering because of Thanksgiving weekend, and our poor little Jack wasn't feeling well, but it was still a great day. We sure missed all of you who couldn't make it!

Vince commented that it was another blessing under his belt, now only a few more blessings and baptisms to go. His comment made me realize how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband who worthy and willing to honor his priesthood and bless our family. I also realized that before I know it, we will be baptizing our children and watching them grow and do the same in their families. Jack is only 2, but they do grow up so fast. I'm not sure how many more "Blessing Days" there will be in our future, but right now I know that we have many blessed days with our two beautiful children.

Thanks everyone for coming and for all your love and support.

Santa Only Comes to Good Boys and Girls!

I must be crazy! Yesterday I decided to try and take some Holiday photos of my children, needless to say, it didn't go well. Jack wanted to "Hold it, Brooke." and I decided that we would try it. I told him that if he was good and smiled real big, then Santa would bring him presents and candy. Well, I said the wrong word, "Candy." As soon as he heard it, BANG, smiles went away. He was so concerned about his candy, that he let go of Brooke and tried to get away. Brooke only took a small tumble, but I decided that I was crazy to expect a 2 year old to hold a newborn. We did get some good pictures though among the crying and stress.

Happy Halloween!

Grandma & Grandpa Wheatley's Halloween Party

Brooke was a beautiful ballarina and Jack was a fireman.