Meet The Early's

C is for Cookie and Phineas and Ferb

2012-02-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Kirksville to watch Asa play basketball and spend some time with family. It had been a few years since I had gotten to watch Asa play and we were determined to get that in this winter. We battled the snow and kids with the stomach flu but we did make it. Briley and Baylor both had a lot of fun watching the game. The next day we got to watch Jackson play which was really entertaining. It is always fun to watch kid's games:)

Last weekend Briley got to bring home a very special guest. Cookie Monster is their classroom guest that gets to visit each families home. You get a disposable camera, clothes to dress him for the appropriate weather with snaps, buttons, and zippers. Briley has been patiently waiting her turn and you would not believe how excited she was when she found out she got him. We took Cookie to the Plaza shopping, to eat some BBQ, watched the MU game, and of course the Super Bowl. We made Cookie Monster cookies and Briley treated him like he was her baby. On Monday morning I went to iron my clothes and as I passed her room she was sitting up in bed. I went in and asked her what was wrong. Big alligator tears came rolling down her cheek as she said, "I don't want to take Cookie back to school because I will never get to have him again." Just about broke my heart.

This weekend her cousins came down and Papa, Grandma, and Molly took them all to Phineas and Ferb. Briley loved it! Later that night we all went bowling which is also a favorite of the kids. We seem to do it once a year this time of year and it is always entertaining. Everyone left early today and I ran my errands, finished up Valentine's gifts, and cleaned the house. Briley and Baylor fell asleep on the couch and slept over three hours. They must have been worn out from all of the fun this weekend. Miss Lissy should be here later on tonight and Briley is so excited to have more company. We hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day!

Baylor cheering on Lincoln

My tulips are coming up. Crazy weather!

Andy's Projects and other stuff

2012-01-24T17:09:00.000-08:00

Andy has been busy updating light fixtures, bathroom mirrors, and ceiling fans. I love winter because it means he can't be out working on the yard and therefore updates things in the house which is more fun for me:) We replaced the can light above our kitchen sink with a pendant light and we did the same in the guest bedroom. Andy also added crown molding around the mirrors in all the bathrooms to make them look like framed mirrors. They look great. These little inexpensive changes have really made a big difference in the look of our kitchen and bathroom. Our to do list is growing smaller and smaller which is exciting. I have been busy doing my usual January organizing closets, cabinets, and the attic. I have also been trying to find summer clothes for our trip that is coming up. It is a challenge to find sundresses this time of year. I have started working on changing up our mantel. I never really liked the look of everything when we moved in but never changed it so when I took the Christmas stuff down, I didn't put anything back up. I have made a lot of trips to Michael's buying different styles and shapes of frames to see what looks best and I am getting there.
The kids have really been enjoying all of their new toys from Christmas. We used our easy bake and made delicious cookies with fondant icing, watching new movies, having showdowns with all of our nerf guns, and so much more. Baylor has been spending hours playing with Briley's dollhouse. I am beginning to think that Santa gave the gift to the wrong child. He loves it.

New Light Fixtures and Molding

Monkey Boy

Welcome to the Circus Miles and Bennett!

2012-01-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about going home this past week was meeting our new little nephews. They are so precious! Briley is in love:) Congratulations to the Farwell Family! These two little ones fit your family perfectly and I can't wait to watch them grow. With all of the craziness I missed getting a picture of the two of them together but here is Briley with Miles I believe or at least that is what Briley tells me. She is better at telling them a part than me.

Congratulations Caroline and Jared!

2012-01-03T16:13:00.001-08:00

After Christmas was over, wedding details began. Caroline and Jared were married this past Saturday and it was the perfect day and perfect way to ring in the New Year. The ceremony was beautiful, music amazing, the reception was so much fun, and now we need to be sitting on a beach recovering from the craziness of the week along with those two. I always wanted a Christmas wedding, but Andy refused so I think that this wedding is right up there with one of my favorites. Congratulations you two!

A Christmas to Remember

2012-01-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a crazy Christmas. The kiddos were up and ready to go at around 6:00 a.m Christmas Eve morning. This year was so much fun with Briley. She was so excited and really got caught up in the magic of the season which was amazing to watch. She loves her dollhouse that she got and Baylor seems to enjoy his dump truck. He really likes running it into the dollhouse which as you can imagine causes some problems. The gift Briley was most excited to receive this year was a little duck from Target called Jellybean. She has one in her class at school and has been asking for one since last May. I love the fact that the simple things excite her so much right now and I dread the day that she starts asking for the electronics. After breakfast and letting the kids play we were off to spend the holidays with our families.

We got home around 2:00 and Andy began to feel achy. By Church at 5:00 he was feeling pretty bad and ended up dropping us off and going back to his parents. He was in bed when I got back so I took the kiddos to my Dads for dinner with family and friends. We opened a few gifts, one of which was my favorite gift that I gave this year. We gave my Uncle and Dad each a platter that has a recipe that my Grandma had written. They really turned out neat and it was cool that it was in her handwriting. I would like to do a series of them from different family members to hang in the kitchen someday. At about 9:30 we went back to the Early house and Andy had been kicked out to the poolhouse with the stomach flu. I put the kids to bed and we ended up not going to midnight mass. I thought it would be best to take Tamiflu and rest in the hopes of not getting it.

Christmas morning was a whirlwind. We opened presents at Andy's parents and then went to my Dad's to open a few more. Andy hung in there through it all and was well enough for Christmas dinner which was a good thing.

We then went to my Mom's for Christmas night and had Christmas with that side Monday morning and then the wedding preparations began:)

My Dad's Rocking horse that Andy repainted.

Jellybean!

Briley's gift to Grandma

Ringing the Jingle Bells

Jared's gift to Andy "Johnson County Country Club" sweater and Carson's gift to Briley or Spidergirl.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Our little ones are doing their best right now to fall asleep, but as you can remember it is so hard when Santa will be taking a trip down your chimney later on tonight. This last week before Christmas was spent doing many of my favorite things in preparation for Christmas. My sister, Briley and I went to the Nutcracker last Sunday. It has kind of been a tradition of Amity and I to go to the Nutcracker each year. We have missed the past few years but finally were able to go this year. This was Briley's first trip and she loved it. I let her pick out a Nutcracker to buy at intermission and she acts out the ballet at home. She wrapped him in a dishtowel last night and put him to bed on the China cabinet.

We also have been watching my favorite Christmas movies. There is only one left to watch and I think I might have to wait till I get home for that. It's a Wonderful Life is a family favorite and I still need to find a time to watch it.

Today we were busy making sugar cookies and Christmas ornaments. Briley has been crafty today! Baylor has been a wild man a ll day and of course driving his sister crazy. Tonight we went to Stroud's for our annual Christmas dinner and then went down to the Plaza to walk around and check out the lights. Perfect ending to a perfect day. We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Holiday Festivities

2011-12-16T19:59:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that Christmas is only a week away! I feel like this month has really flown by which in a way kind of makes me sad. I'm not quite ready for it all to be over and the darkness that follows when the lights are turned off and the trees are taken down. Briley has been so much fun to watch during the season this year. She has such an excitement for the holidays. She has already told us that she is going to be the first one up on Christmas. Her plan is to get up, go down and look at her presents, and then come and wake us up. I don't know what she will do when she gets up and the stairs are blocked with wrapping paper:)

We have been busy with school parties, making treats for the neighbors and teachers, wrapping presents, and watching Christmas movies. Last weekend we made the trip to see Santa. Much to our surprise, Baylor did not cry. He sat on Santa's lap and just stared. Briley was really upset about getting hurried through the line and did not get to tell him all that she was asking for. We assured her that the elf would send the message on to him.

This past Thursday was Briley's first dance recital and she was so darn cute. Her studio did a holiday performance benefit for Operation Breakthrough with all the proceeds from the tickets going to their organization. Briley danced to Jingle Bell Rock and she was beaming. She loved being in that spotlight. She kept waving and putting her hands over her eyes to try and find us in the crowd. We'll have to work on a little more dancing and a little less waving for the next recital.

We still have a few more fun activities planned before the big day so hopefully I will be able to post again before Christmas, but if not, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

P.S. Congratulations to the Farwell family on the two new bundles of joy. We can't wait to get to see them.

M-I-Z-Z-O-U!

2011-11-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took a day trip to Columbia to watch the Tigers play Texas Tech. My Dad met us there for a 2:30 game and the weather was perfect for November. I thought we would for sure be in our winter coats for this game but it turned out to be beautiful. The game started off a little slow and quiet so Briley and I took that opportunity to go see Truman the Tiger... or as Briley called him the "Silly Lion." She has been watching a lot of The Lion King lately. Later in the game Papa took her to see the "Silly Cowboy" from the other team. I guess she likes to call all mascots silly.

Missouri was behind the whole game and so the crowd was pretty much dead and then all of a sudden we started coming back and in the last two minutes and twenty two seconds of the game we came back. We were up by four and Texas Tech had the ball. They quickly moved down the field and I thought our hopes were up for nothing but with three yards to go, Texas bounced the ball off of a player's helmet and the ball was in the hands of a Tiger. We won!! Briley and Baylor had so much fun at the game. Briley joined in on all the cheers, (she didn't always yell all of the correct letters) and Baylor loved clapping and bouncing his head to the music. After the game we ate and Briley was off with Papa to Kirksville for the week.

We went back home and have spent today getting ready for Christmas. We bought a fake tree this year at the Kansas City Christmas Warehouse for a really good price. We had been paying 70 dollars each year for a fake one and just felt that we were tired of throwing the money away on a real tree. We are saving the ornaments for next weekend when Miss Briley comes back.

Lastly, Baylor has just learned how to get in the bathtub by himself. The other night I turned the water on and then ran to get a towel and wash cloth in the linen closet. I came back into the bathroom and Baylor was fully clothed playing in the bath. He has become so quick and he is literally into everything. Christmas decorations are really going to be a battle this year.

The ornaments are waiting for you to hang on the tree Miss Briley:)

What happened to October?

2011-11-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that October flew by as quickly as it did. It has been a crazy month for us in the Early household with visitors, parties, soccer games, and the World Series. I often felt like there was never enough time in the day to get everything I needed to get done. One of which was updating our blog. Our computer was six years old and takes me FOREVER to upload pictures, edit, and do a blog post. I typically spend a whole week getting one post ready and I just did not have the time this month. I decided to sit down and begin the long process Saturday morning and complaining about how slow our computer was and Andy suggested we get a new computer for our Christmas present to each other. Sounded perfect! So we loaded the kiddos in the car and headed to Nebraska Furniture Mart. I am now the proud owner of a Mac and can't wait to finally get our blog up and going again. So here goes:
My Mom, Asa, and Kelsey came at the beginning of the month for Grandparent's Day at school. While they were here, we went to the pumpkin patch where we loaded up on 100 pounds of pumpkins.
started playing soccer this year and her season came to an end a few weeks ago. She really did a great job and I think she really enjoyed playing this year for the Green Apples. Watching her play really showed us how much of a leader she is. She definitely had her share with the ball, but she was also so positive and encouraging to her teammates as they played. Yes, I was excited every time she scored a goal, but I was even more so when she cheered on her teammates.

This month I also went on my very first Girl's Weekend without the kids for Caroline's bachelorette party and we had so much fun. It was nice to get away and relax for a little while. I love my kids but it was wonderful to get up in the morning when I wanted to, to sit overlooking the lake and read my book without being interrupted, to not have to revolve the day around naps for the kiddos, and to have a nice long dinner without kids screaming and making a mess all over the floor. Thank you so much Kaitlin for planning this fun trip for all of us. We will have to do it again someday:)
Next up was the World Series. Andy got a ticket for his Christmas present and I do believe it was probably the best gift his parent's have ever given him. He was lucky enough to go to game 6 and see history in the making. I unfortunately could not be there because it was our Fall Festival at school. It wouldn't look good if the director was not there for the party she planned, but it killed me to give up the World Series. It is these moments that I wished I was a stay at home mom and could do what I wanted when I wanted to, but oh well.
Andy got home on Friday and we left for Kirksville. We got there just in time for the beginning of Game 7. The Cardinal's won and we went all out on the celebration with champagne and fireworks. So much fun! The next day was a buy one with hair cuts, Great Grandma came to town, and dress fittings for the wedding. That night we had the Annual Early Halloween Party which Briley loved. Baylor was not so sure of all the people dressed up, but he soon relaxed. The night was filled with good food, friends, and a little Hocus Pocus to cap off the evening.

Monday was Halloween and Briley was soooo excited. She could hardly wait to get home from school and get her costume on. We went around our neighborhood with several people from the cul-de-sac and this was the first year that Briley could really keep up with the older girls. Baylor was content sitting in the wagon and taking a cruise around the neighborhood. He would get out once in awhile to get a piece of candy, but overall he enjoyed observing everything from the wagon.

The Big Brew Bash

2011-09-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Monday was a very big day in the Early household. Andy turned the big 3-0 and as you may know, his birthday is kind of a big deal. I decided to throw Andy a beer tasting party for his birthday this year and it was so much fun. I had 18 different kinds of ales and lagers for everyone to try out. Each guest got a mason jar so that they could sample a variety of beers. I also made bar type foods and cupcakes. The cupcakes were made by Cody's Cupcakes and they were sooo good. We had stout chocolate cupcakes with irish cream icing and blue moon vanilla cupcakes with orange flavored icing. Andy's family all came and friends from high school, college, work, and neighbors. Andy had a great time catching up with old friends that we hadn't seen in awhile. I think it was probably the best party we may have ever had.
Sunday morning some of Andy's family was still here so we went to Louisburg for their Apple Festival. We got some cider, apple donuts, and lunch before they headed out. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up, taking naps, and then Lissy took our family pictures which I think are going to be pretty cute.
On Monday, Andy requested fried chicken and french silk pie. I was a little burnt out on cooking so I cheated and bought a Tippin's french silk pie so that I would only have to make the chicken and he seemed to be okay with it. As Andy was blowing out his candles, it dawned on me that it was also Viva's birthday. I can't believe that I almost forgot that they shared a birthday. Since I hadn't made it to the pet store to get a favorite treat, she got a donut and seemed to be okay with it.

Briley's First Dance Class

2011-09-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Last month Briley mentioned that she would like to dance. I was so excited that she was expressing interest in dance so I did not hesitate to sign her up. Turns out, she really does like it. I don't know if she will love it as much as I did, but I am so happy that she is at least trying it out.
Baylor has also started dancing around the house and it is so funny. He gets up on the coffeetable and stomps his foot a few times and then turns around. He makes me smile:)

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we went to St. Louis for Andy's Uncle's surprise 80th birthday and it was such a nice party. Jim was completely surprised and his family had done such a great job putting it together. It was nice seeing everyone and catching up.
Saturday morning we met Andy's parents for breakfast before they went back to Kirksville and we went to the City Museum. We have been there several times for weddings and reception but we have never gone just to play so we met my friend Katie and her family for a day of fun. It had been a couple of years since we got together so it was fun to catch up and let our girls play. Afterwards, we went back to Lissy's for nap while Lissy and I went antique shopping and searching for Cardinal's shirts. Andy's cousin was nice enough to give us tickets to Sunday's game and of course I hadn't packed any Cardinals gear. That night we went out for Mexican which was really good and they had a singer/guitarist that came around to the tables to sing. He gave Briley and Baylor maraccas and tambourines to play along with him which was cute. We then decided to go to Maple Days for some carnival rides. Briley got her tickets and decided that she wanted to ride the tilt-a-whirl. She started out with a big smile on her face and as the ride began, the smile faded and was replaced with terror. I thought for sure she was going to lose her dinner before the ride ended but she held out. She just got off the ride and informed us she did not want to ride that ride again. We rode a few more rides and then went to get custard to cap off the evening.
On Sunday, we went our to lunch with Andy's good friend from college, his wife, and their little boy. We hadn't seen the Davis family for awhile and so we had a lot of catching up to do. They also had tickets for the game and we sat pretty close to one another. The Card's unfortunately lost, but we did get to see Fred Bird which was exciting. This was Baylor's first game at Bush Stadium and the first one that Briley could remember. Thank you Bruegenhemkes!! It was a perfect day for a ballgame.

Go Green Appple!

2011-08-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

This was a busy weekend for the Early family. Andy's Parents and The Sedlaks came in Friday night for the weekend. Papa and Grandma brought a big surprise for Briley and Bella. When they pulled up, Ellie jumped out. The Girl's were so excited to see each other. We had put the Sedlak's in the larger guest bedroom and Andy's Parent's in Briley's room. Well, Ellie was sleeping in there so Briley wanted to sleep in there, and then of course Bella joined in, and then to top it off, Viva hopped in bed with them:) They were in the smaller room and had the most people. We could still hear them talking at 12:15 that night.
The next morning we all got up and went to Briley's first soccer game. This girl was sooooo excited to play soccer this weekend. She has been wearing her uniform, cleats, and shinguards since I had bought them and now she was able to officially use them. Her team was called the Green Apples and they were a hoot. Briley scored a goal it's just too bad it was in the wrong goal. She reminded me a lot of my brother Asa because she is so dramatic while playing. She was doing turns and falling on the ground as she would run down the field. The ball was often times not even near her. After the game, the kiddos all took naps before getting ready for a wedding.
Andy's cousin got married Saturday night and it was so much fun. The ceremony was in a beautiful old Catholic Church and then the reception was in the building that shared the same parking garage of our old loft downtown. It was such a cool old building with a beautiful ballroom. The reception was also full of a lot of cute details, wonderful food, and a great DJ that we could not get the girls away from. Briley literally danced from the moment she walked into the recetption hall. It was funny when the bride walked in. Briley looked at Andy and said, "She looks just like Snow White." She just kept falling her around and at one time I caught her feeling her dress. So cute. Baylor on the other hand was terrified of her in the big dress. I think he thought that she was a character from Disney which he was not fond of. At one point Briley walked up to me when a slow song came on and she asked me if I would dance with Daddy. I thought he may have told her to ask me but it was all her. I went out to the floor and I heard her telling Grandma, "Ohh look at Autumn and Andy dancing." Yes, she did use our first names like we were a couple of friends that she had just set up. She is too funny.
Today, as everyone was packing up and getting ready to go, Briley decided she was going to give Bella and Ellie one of her marbles that she got at the marble factory. She let them each pick out one "happy thought" so that they could remember the fun weekend they had had. We then went out to breakfast before everyone left. The rest of the day was just relaxing and getting ready for school tomorrow.

Div>

Sparking Creativity

2011-08-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Cleaver family came down to hang out with us and we really had a good time. Friday night we were able to get a babysitter for all of our kids and we went to the Chief's game. The game was awful but I didn't even care because I don't remember the last time that we got a night out together without the kids in tow. Probably years.
On Saturday, we went to Crown Center to go to Kaleidoscope, check out the new Rainforest exhibit, and eat at Fritz's. The kids loved it all! Even Baylor kept walking around pointing at things for us to look at. He also loves painting and there was a lot of that at Kaleidoscope. It was the perfect place for all the different ages of kiddos that we have.
This weekend we have been crafty around the house. I have a little motivation to work on decorating the playroom again. I have been envisioning a wall covered in the alphabet but I want all the letters to be different looking and it has overwhelmed me for a year now. Briley and I started today and we took care of the B, X, and O. Not a lot, but at least it is a start. Baylor and Briley also painted on some canvases that I am going to hang in the playroom maybe. I like them so much that I almost hate to put them down in the basement. We'll see what happens.
Baylor has finally said a word that we understand. You might think that his first word would be Mama or Dada, but he usually screams at us if we try to get him to say either of those. His first word is uh-oh. I don't know if you would even call it a word, but he has really been into dropping things so that he can say it.
Andy spent the day with the kids on Friday because school was closed and I had a teachers in-service day. Andy took Briley and Baylor to Deanna Rose and I got a text that he realized he forgot to brush Briley's hair before they went. Briley has the worst bed head that I have ever seen and he took her out in public. Sorry Lauren Shreve, our child doesn't usually look like such a ragamuffin. He then took both kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Brave guy he is to introduce this wonderful restaurant to her. She was in heaven. I wish I would have gotten a few pictures of the day because I am sure they would have been entertaining.
Next weekend Briley has her first soccer game and she is super pumped about it. The first thing that she does when she gets home is run inside and get her shorts, cleats, and shin guards on. She makes me smile and I can't wait to see her excitement next week:)

Field Trips and Cinderella

2011-08-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Asa came down to stay with us for a week to go to Kelsey's softball tournament that was being held just down the road from our house. While he was here, he was lucky enough to go on a field trip to the Wyandotte County Fair with Briley's class. It was a field trip that was one of the kids favorites and one of the teacher's least favorite. It was sooooo hot and dusty!!! We went through the barns to check out the prize winning horses, goats, pigs, and cows. We then got to watch a pig race, stunt show, petting zoo, magic, show and then a concert. The kids loved it all!
Lissy came to town on Thursday and we went to the Starlight Theatre to see Cinderella which Briley loved. Baylor was not so good during the show. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but lucky for us we had a photographer tagging along to take pictures for us. Briley is still singing, "the prince is having a ball!" and "Impossible". She is my theatre buddy.
Last week we had our very last field trip of the summer and it was by far my favorite. We went to the Marble Moon Factory. The kids got to watch them make marbles, learn marble games, and pick out about 20 marbles to take with them. Briley loves looking at them and asking everyone what their favorite marble was. It was really a fun little shop with some really cool unique toys. It was a great way to wrap up the end of our summer camp. By the way, it is hard to believe that we are wrapping up our summer. School starts next week!
Baylor is officially done getting new teeth in until his two year molars which Andy says will probably come early because that is just our luck. I have never seen a boy have such a hard time getting teeth, but I think everyone can agree that he does. Hopefully we will have a happier baby on our hands from here on out:)

Marble Moon Company

Going on the water slide with Daddy

Wyandotte County Fair

Summer Happenings

2011-07-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I last posted, mostly due to the fact that our camera broke at Disney and I just hadn't gotten around to buying a new one. One of the big things that has happened this month is Baylor has finally decided that he would walk a little. He has been taking a few steps here and there but he still prefers to crawl. We have noticed over the past few days that he is taking more steps without us making him do it so that is a step in the right direction.

We went home for the Fourth of July and my Dad's birthday which was on the 1st. We took him out to eat, had a little ice cream cake and opened a present. Andy, the kids, and I went on over to Andy's parents because that is where we were staying. Well, sometime around 3:30 a.m. my Dad heard an explosion outside. He woke my Sister up and they looked outside to see my Dad's car on fire. The whole carport at Woodwinds was on fire. It is still under investigation so hopefully they figure out who did it. After the excitement of the fire, the rest of the weekend went well with a party at Andy's parent's house. Viva wore her the pads of her paws off from pacing around the pool. She gets really nervous when the kids and adults are in the pool swimming. She starts barking and whining anytime someone goes under the water. She is a good lifeguard, but could only take a day of the stress. The kids all had fun swimming, shooting off fireworks, and watching a movie under the stars. Briley liked the movie so much that she made them do it two nights in a row. It was good to see everybody and just relax for a few days.

The past two weeks, Andy and I started a project in the kitchen. We are kind of doing a slow remodel with the first step being the cabinets. We just got finished painting the cabinets a rustic white and adding glass to six of the doors. Andy also got all fancy and put in lights underneath the cabinets which really adds a lot of light when I am cooking. We think it turned out great though Andy had a friend drop by the other day and he asked if we were going to repaint the cabinets because they looked a little dirty. Andy tried to explain to him that we were going for rustic and that we were more Potterybarn and he was Ikea.

The biggest news of the week is that the Farwells are having twins!! What a crazy surprise. We are so excited to have two more nieces or nephews. With two sets of twins in the family, Briley keeps wondering when we are going to have two. Andy is scared to death that this might happen to us and said that maybe we should stop at three:)

Before

After

Movies under the stars

Watching from a distance

Perfect Fourth of July

Dad's car:(

Big Boy!

Perfect Memories

2011-06-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Last week we took our first trip to Walt Disney World as a family and it was a week full of memories and dreams coming true for one little girl. Here are a few of my favorite moments of our trip:
Briley's unbridled excitement from the moment we got her up at 4 AM to fly out to the moment we landed back in Kansas City. Briley sitting on the plane in her Mickey Mouse dress, red Converse sneakers, and her Daddy's Goofy hat saying, "Goofy is ready to go!!!"

The moment she saw Mickey Mouse for the first time. She went racing for Main Street waving her hand at him as he passed by in the parade. Her excitement is overwhelming.

Baylor and Piglet:) As Briley got Piglet's autograph, Andy was holding Baylor close to Piglet. Baylor reached out and touched his cheek and then turned around and started crying hysterically. Our little man was not a fan of the characters.

The looks on peoples faces as 26 people (5 double strollers and one single stroller) traipsed through the parks.

Animal Kingdom favorites: Briley loved being up close to giraffes in the safari tour, her favorite ride was the water rapids, and our favorite was watching her at the 3-D It's a Bugs Life movie. She had us laughing so hard as she tried to swat those bugs away. I don't think we could get her in that movie again.

Hollywood Studios Favorites: Briley met Phineas and Ferb which was kind of a big deal, she loved watching Beauty and the Beast Musical (she has been singing "Be Our Guest" ever since), stumbling upon the Disney Junior Dance Club. Briley got to dance with all her favorite characters and it was later at night so there weren't many kids in there. There was a balloon artist handing out balloons, she asked Briley if she wanted a flower and Briley said, "No, I want a blue sword." Andy got me on Rockin Roller Coaster, but I still wasn't up for Tower of Terror or as Jackson called it, the Tower of Happiness. Dinner at 50s Prime Time. Our waitress made Andy eat his potatoes and called Ryan a tattle tail after telling on Lissy for not eating her mushrooms.

Epcot Favorites: Briley's favorite ride was Test Track and thanks to Jackson being a little scared about riding it, the guy working the ride gave us fast passes so that he wouldn't worry about it in line. Unfortunately Lissy, Caroline, Molly, Mike, and Mary Carol jumped in line to early and missed the fast passes. They finally joined us an hour and a half later:) Dinner a Via Napoli was amazing!!! The ride Soaring was probably one of the best simulator rides that I have ever done.

Last but not least, Magic Kingdom Favorites: "Good Morning, Good Morning" to start our day. Lunch at Cinderella's Castle:) Briley talked the princesses ears off as they came by. We also loved listening to her yell "Cinderella, Cinderella, I'm here" in her raspy un-princess like voice. Splash Mountain and my fear of heights. Briley's favorite ride was the Buzz Lightyear ride. Baylor's favorite was It's a Small World. Briley getting picked for Monster's Inc Laugh Floor. She became so shy when the camera was on her. Not getting on Astro Orbiter. They miss counted and there was not a seat for me which I did not care at all, but they gave me a free pass for any ride at Magic Kingdom for our family to go to the front of the line. We used it on our last night for one more ride on Buzz Lightyear. Seeing an old couple on motorized scooters being attacked by balloons on Main Street saying "She's doing it on purpose!" Riding the Teacups with Alice and Wonderland. Wishes Nighttime Spectacular...unbelievable. Above all, seeing our little girl's dreams come true. We'll be back before we know it to experience this all over again with Mr. Baylor and I can't wait.

Getting ready to head to the airport.

First encounter with Mickey Mouse and all the Disney Characters.

We made it!

The Owen

Good Morning!

Got our first set of ears!

Goodbye Disney World

Baylor's First Cardinals Game

2011-05-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we went to the Cardinals-Royals game at Kauffman Stadium. Andy scored 4 tickets at work that were ten rows up on the first base line so we were pretty excited. This was my first time at Kauffman since they remodeled it and it was really nice. They have a great area for kids and the food was really good. There was a Jose Peppers stand, Gates BBQ, and the best part, Stroud's. We went with Strouds chicken and cinnamon rolls. Delicious! The clouds rolled in at the beginning of the game and we were afraid thunderstorms were coming but the clouds lifted and we baked in the sun for the whole game. It was a long game with an extra inning but the Card's pulled through and we won! Baylor and Briley were both really good throughout the game eventhough it was so hot. Overall, we had a great time, and Briley is already talking about going back for another game.

The Countdown is On!

2011-05-24T15:09:00.001-07:00

Birthday Craziness!

2011-05-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went down to Arkansas for Bella, Brady, Colton, and Carolina's birthday parties. It was a beautiful and relaxing weekend. Everyone was able to make the trip so it was nice to have everyone together to celebrate all of the birthdays. The party was adorable! They took a spin off of Briley's Minnie Mouse birthday last year and added to it. It was also fun because we will be going to Disney very soon so there is the element of excitement about the trip with all of the children. Sara did get two life sized balloons of Mickey and Minnie that she had hidden in their closet to be brought out for the party. Briley saw them and was absolutely terrified of them. She would start screaming if anyone opened the closet door. It made us a little worried about what she was going to be like when she meets them in person. By the end of the weekend she did finally give Minnie a high five but she was very cautious.
They had the party at the neighborhood pavillion which worked out really well. There was a playground area, basketball hoops, and picnic area. Amanda, Todd, Sara, and Ryan were perfect hosts all weekend long with dinner on Saturday and brunch for Mother's Day on Sunday.

May Day

2011-05-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we celebrated May Day which is one of my favorite little holidays growing up. I have many memories of making flower baskets, running all over the neighborhood delivering them with my brother and sister, and of course it was the day that Andy proposed to me on. Now, I get to do May Day baskets with Briley and this has been our second year of making them. This year it was kind of rainy but Briley didn't seem to mind because she got to wear her raincoat and use her new umbrella. Have you ever tried to deliver May Day baskets on a cul-de-sac? Very tough to find a hiding place when you live on a circle, but we managed. We only got caught by one neighbor this year.

Baylor has been going on bike rides with Andy some lately and loving it. He prefers Andy to stand up while pedeling so that he can see what is going on.

Briley Turns the Big 4

2011-04-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

Monday was Briley's 4th Birthday and so I took the day off to have a special day with her. We had plans of going to Deanna Rose Farmstead but the rain nixed that so we decided to go to the movies to see Rio which was really cute. That night when Andy got home we gave Briley her presents and her big gift was a bicycle which she was pretty excited about. Here are a some questions that I asked Briley throughout the day to remember Briley at 4. This is Briley in a nutshell.

What is your favorite color? Blue and orange

What do you want to be when you grow up? A big kid and climb the big towers at the balloon festival or be a bear.

What is your favorite song? Honey Honey (Mama Mia soundtrack)

What is your favorite movie? Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Light Year

What is your favorite toy? My guitar

What is your favorite book? Goodnight Moon

Who is your best friend? Cooper (This boy makes the list every year)

Who do you want to be when you grow up? Batman
If you could give one gift to every child in the world, what would it be? A water gun
Where is your favorite place in the world to be? At home
What are you learning at school? Painting Rainbows

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

We got up Easter morning and the Easter bunny had left a few surprises for Briley and Baylor. We then went to Church, headed over to the Easter egg hunt at Andy's parents, back to my Mom's for lunch, over to my Dad's to say goodbye, back over to Andy's parent's to load up the birthday loot, and then we were off! We got home and that silly bunny left a few eggs in our back yard and Easter baskets. I spent the rest of the evening trying to organize everything from the weekend. Do you think we got too much candy?

A Super Hero to the Rescue!

2011-04-25T13:48:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday we celebrated Briley's 4th birthday by having a super hero party back home. Briley really wanted a super hero party that was orange and yellow because those are her favorite colors. Well, I must say it was pretty difficult to pull off and make cute, but I think it turned out all right even with a few hiccups. That afternoon Mom and I went to pick up the cake and my Mom called the person who was doing it to ask what street she lived on because she couldn't remember. She asked my Mom why she was coming over and my Mom said we were there to pick up the cake. All I could here was OH NO I FORGOT THE CAKE!!! At that point I was thinking oh no what am I going to do with the party four hours away and a girl who is really looking forward to her cake. Well, she said she could still do it but it would have to be modified a bit and I said whatever she could get done would be fine. A hurried over to Andy's parents and began getting dinner ready and the house decorated.

When Briley woke up from her nap, I gave her the present which contained her cape and bat woman shirt. I of course tried to girl it up with a cute pink tulle skirt but Miss Briley would have none of that so we went with jeans. It was her birthday so I wasn't going to fight that battle today. She marched into the party full of the confidence of a super hero.

The party was full of food, drinks, presents, cake (pretty cute considering she had to scramble to do it), mask making, and dart shooting:)

Super Hero kit from Aunt Lissy. She played with it the whole way home!

Briley's First Sleep Over, Cooper Playdate, and Update on Baylor's Walking Status:)

2011-04-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Briley's best friend Cooper came over to play. This has been Briley's buddy since she started in the infant room at school. Unfortunately Cooper left school in December to start preschool in the same school that his siblings go for elementary. His Mom and I have vowed to keep up with the play dates because his Mom has a plans for the two of them someday. This was Cooper's first time at coming to our house to play but you wouldn't be able to tell. He hopped out of his Dad's car and darted right for the house with no hesitation. The two of them together just make me giggle a little because they both are kind of quirky. They did a little singing, driving the Barbie jeep, headed to the park, and raided my kitchen when I wasn't around. I walked in at one point to Cooper stuffing thin mints in his mouth that I have hidden in the freezer and cutting open a bag of chocolate chips with my kitchen shears.

Baylor went to the doctor the week after his birthday and he has now dropped off the charts at 17 pounds 9.8 ounces. This however is still bigger than what Briley was at the same age. I'm just glad that the doctor now realizes that we just have little kiddos and Baylor doesn't have to go into all of the blood work that Briley had to do when she was little. He is cruising around furniture more and he has pretty good control with his walker. I still don't see him walking in the near future, but he is heading in the right direction. I think the teacher's in his room are ready for him to walk so that he can move on to the next classroom. All I hear all day from my office is "Baylor Michael NO" That child is into everything and so darn persistent (especially when it comes to an open computer, remote control, or stereo). He also has this new thing where he will wrap his arms and legs around your leg and not let go. This usually happens when I'm cooking and when his teachers are changing a child's pants. One of his teachers dragged him across the room today and he did not let go. He is like a little monkey!

This past Friday Briley went to her first sleepover with her friend Ainsley. She was sooo excited about going . She told Andy that morning that he could sleep in her bed that night since she wouldn't be home. That night they went to Red Robin for an onion ring tower. They then went back to take a bath and watch a movie. Briley thought they had a really cool bathtub and it was hard for them to get her out. It had a seat in it that she could sit on and slide down into the tub. She told them it was the coolest bath tub that she had ever been in. The night overall went well and of course she didn't miss us. This girl will have no problem going to kamp someday.

Party Number 2 (Baptism)

2011-03-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we got up early and started cooking brunch for Baylor's baptism. The baptism wasn't until after the 12:00 mass so we had a brunch beforehand so that everyone could get on the road afterwards. Baylor was a little stinker during Church which is somewhat unusual. He usually likes Church because he can cuddle with us. After Church was over, we had the baptism and luckily Baylor was the only one being baptized this Sunday so it made it a little more intimate. He loved having the water poured over his head. He got really excited and wanted me to let him in the baptismal font to splash around. The preist did a great job with the baptism and didn't seem to mind all of the little ones running circles around us throughout the ceremony. It could not have been more perfect. Thank you again to everyone for coming and sharing with us in this special weekend!

Happy First Birthday Baylor!

2011-03-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe how quickly a year flies by. It really seems like it was just yesterday that he was born! As most of you know Baylor is a Mommy's Boy. If I am around, he expects me to hold him and he can throw quite a fit until he gets it. At times it drives my crazy, but then I see the five year old boys at school who make their Mom's kiss them outside their classroom door so no one will see and I am okay with cuddling with my little man a while longer:) Baylor's birthday was this past Thursday and as usual I think he is cutting a tooth and was in bed by 6:30. The poor thing has had a fever, drooling, snotty, and not eating much. Those are usually my clue to a tooth, but he wouldn't dare let me look in his mouth. We had his party on Saturday and Andy and I took off Friday to prepare for the big day! His birthday theme was Dr. Seuss and it was so darn cute. There were just so many fun ideas that it was hard for me to decide on what to do, but I narrowed it down somewhat. I really get excited about a good birthday theme and I have to take advantage of the fact that for the next few years, I get to pick out his theme before he starts making me do themes like superheros. Thank you so much to everyone in the family that came! It was amazing to see everyone here and we really appreciated all the help! His party went off without a hitch. We always get a little nervous when feeding 30 people with Jared, Todd, and Asa in the mix because they eat SOOO much, but we had enough food to go around. All of Baylor's cousins helped him open his presents and then it was cake time. I do believe that it was the only time Baylor was truly excited about his party. I don't believe that I have ever seen a one year old so excited about a cake before. He definitely smashed that cake with intensity there was no hesitation. I think he would have eaten the whole thing had I let him. After cake, it was bath time and cleaning up. We had six drink spills throughout the day so our floor was pretty sticky. Andy and I made a trip to Wal-Mart that night after everyone left to get a Shark Steam Mop. We cleaned the house and prepared for party number 2, Baylor's baptism.

Busy Weekends

2011-03-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

div>A few weeks ago we went up to Iowa to visit the Taylor family and meet our newest little nephew. Owen is such a cutie and soo sweet. He did really well putting up with his crazy cousins running around. We stayed at a local hotel while we were there and the kids enjoyed swimming. There was a zero-depth entry so even Brady and Baylor got to enjoy themselves. After some swimming and pizza, we went over to the Carrol Bowling Alley and played a few games. We lucked out and it was cosmic bowling so the kids got highlighters and got to write all over themselves and their Aunt Lissy:) Briley had such a good time that she whines about how much she misses Kaitlin and Zane and wants to go back to see them. I hope they can find a good bowling alley next to their new house because Briley expects bowling when she goes to Iowa.

After Iowa came my 29th birthday and it was a good one. The parent's at my school sent me an Edible Arrangement which I should have taken a picture of but forgot. Briley's class called me back to her room later in the day. When I went back, they all began to sing Happy Birthday. Briley walked up to me with a handful of birthday cards that they had all made me and she was so darn cute. She had turned bright red and had a big smile on her face. She was very proud of herself:) That night we ate at Garrozzo's and then had cake and presents. Andy gave me a kindle and I am so excited to start using it. It looks like it will be so handy.

Last weekend my Dad and sister came to visit. It was kind of a nasty weekend so we couldn't get out and do a lot, but we did make it to the National WW1 museum on Sunday. I suggest to everyone that they make time to see it. While we were there, my Dad asked if there were anymore WW1 vetrans alive. Well, the last WW1 vetran passed away that day. Kind of strange.

Lissy came this weekend to do a few photo shoots and to go antiquing. I got an amzing dining room table that I am sooo excited about. Thank you to Lissy and Jared who are better at negotiating than me. The lady told me that she didn't plan on selling the table until next month and I said okay I'll wait, but Lissy and Jared pushed. Now I have a table that is just what I had pictured in my head. I had seen a table similar to it in December at another antique store and thought it was too expensive. I never thought I would find another one like it and be able to get it for such a deal.

Welcome to the World Mr. Owen!

2011-02-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

We are so excited for Kaitlin, Zane, and their little bundle of joy! Owen Patrick was 8 pounds and 21 inches long. We can't wait to meet him.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago my sister and her friend came to town. It was a crazy weekend with me having a school open house Saturday morning, coming home and picking up my sister and her friend to go antique shopping, and then going out with some friends while Amity and her friends babysat the kids. THANK YOU for watching the kids not just Saturday night, but for also watching them Sunday so we could sleep in. Amity made her first snowman with Briley Sunday afternoon. It is hard to believe that you could be in your mid-twenties and never have built a snowman before.

This weekend we had a special surprise for Miss Briley. We took her and Baylor to Coco Key Water Resort for her Valentine's Day gift. She loved it but didn't understand why there were other people there at her special surprise. I guess we should have rented out the whole place. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough for her to do there for her age, but there was plenty. She had so much fun going from one place to the next. We will have to go again someday.

We had an exciting Valentine's Day around the Early household. It started with parties at school which is always exciting. Briley loved passing out all of her Valentine cards and of course getting valentines. Tonight, we ate a heart shaped pizza, opened a few gifts, and watched Winnie the Pooh. Andy got me yummy cupcakes from Three Women and an Oven and I got him a French Silk Pie and magazine subscription. We also got each other the same card that really fits our lives perfectly right now. It said " Just because we've been married awhile doesn't mean we can't enjoy Valentine's Day." When you open the card it had a Mom, Dad, son, daughter, and dog in the bed and it said, "Oh wait, yes it does." I guess great minds think alike. That's our lives at the moment. We hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Watch Out for the Blizzards!

2011-02-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

Briley told Andy Tuesday morning that the blizzards were coming. Andy asked her what a blizzard was and she said it was a big blue bug and they hide in the snow mountains (snow mounds) outside. She watched out the window all day to catch a glimpse of them.
The groundhog has made his predictions and spring is just around the corner! Let's hope he is right and this is the last of snow. We have been home for the past two days due to the weather and I am so happy about it. This is the first time my school has closed in five years due to the weather!! The first day was a mistake on the news station who put the wrong school on tv. I see the cancellation, get back in bed, and then get a call from my boss saying that we aren't closing and she wants me to go to school and get it taken off the news. I start calling teachers who are not at all pleased with me and start getting ready. My boss calls a little later and has had a change of heart and says she won't fight the posting. I am so grateful that she decided to do this because I think I could have been stuck at school with this snow storm. It was a blessing in disguise that they posted our school and can you believe some parents were mad at our closings! Sometimes I really wonder about people.

Not a lot has been going on the past couple of weeks. Andy took Briley sledding around the snow a couple of weeks ago which she loved and then she was off to Kirksville for the week. Our house was really quiet and clean while she was gone...a little too quiet and clean. We missed her while she was gone , but I think she enjoyed herself.

Baylor has now started pulling himself up to the coffee table which is fun. I am so happy that he has finally become mobile. He seems to be a much happier boy. He is also in love with food if its not a vegetable. He gets really mad at us if we are eating something different than him. He wants everything we are eating and he has to feed himself which is fun when it is lasagna or anything else that is super messy:)

Happenings Around the Early Household

2011-01-16T19:12:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Briley began "Trampoline Jumping Class" or Gymnastics class. My Dad had given her gymnastics classes for Christmas and she was not too excited about it. To her, gymnastics was going to be like dance class which she hated. So, we told her she was going to trampoline jumping class and that she needed to wear her new outfit because it would make her jump higher. Well, that made her pretty excited about going. I took her the first week and she walked right in and did not look back. She loved every moment of it.

Last weekend Andy went to the Chief's game and Briley and I did a little sewing. I have been envisioning a reading nook in the play room for two years now so I finally got around to doing it and I think it turned out pretty cute.

The BIGGEST news in our house is that Baylor is finally crawling. He doesn't really care to crawl; he would much prefer being held, but he is now capable of doing it. If you throw a remote control in front of him he will muster up the strength.
This weekend we went to Crown Center to Kaleidescope. This by the way would be Bella's paradise. As you probably know Hallmark makes Crayola crayons and this fun place lets you create art in unique ways. There is a black light room for painting with neon colors, coloring a picture on cardstock and then putting it in a fun little machine that will make it into a jigsaw puzzle, ribbons, stickers, old cards, markers, paint, crayons. You name it, they got it to create what your little heart desires. The best part is it is FREE!

After an hour of creating, we went to Fritz's for lunch. This would be the perfect place for Mr. Carson. You call your order in by using the telephone at your table. When your lunch is cooked, they put it on a train and it is delivered to your table. Pretty fun stuff.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

After Christmas with the family, we drove back home for a few days. Andy went to work and I spent some time putting toys away and reorganizing the house. We also met up with Briley's old teacher at the mall for a little bit. It was fun catching up with her and hearing all about her new school.
It was far too short of time before we were back in the car and going back home again for Andy's sister's baby shower and New Year's. The baby shower's theme was "These little wonders" and it was so cute! Everyone did such a great job putting it all together.
New Year's Eve was spent throwing an impromptu engagement party for Caroline and Jared, playing games, eating, and drinking. We were all dragging a little bit probably due to all the work that was put into the shower earlier in the day and partly due to the fact that we are getting old, so we decided to ring in the new year with the east coast. We then went to my Dad's house to get ready for bed and actually all were awake at midnight. In fact, that is when the party started for Baylor. I don't think he fell asleep till about 1:30 a.m.
The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing. We came back home on Sunday and back to work on Tuesday. I packed up all the Christmas stuff on Monday afternoon (sorry Lissy). I am sad that Christmas is over but at the same time it is refreshing to pack up the clutter. Our house feels so much cleaner. We do still have our lights on outside so Christmas isn't completely gone yet.

Waiting up for Santa

2010-12-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! We began Christmas Thursday night with an annual trip to Stroud's which was delicious as always. We then came home and the kids opened their pj's, set out their cookies, and dumped the reindeer food outside. The kids were then off to bed and I captured a few pictures of our house at Christmas.

The next morning we all got up and headed downstairs to see what Santa sent us. Briley went straight to the guitar that she had been requesting and Baylor loved his new tool bench. After opening all of her presents, Briley said,"Oh, Santa forgot to bring me Cheetos." After everything she got! Well, luckily Santa had put some in her stocking and she ate them for breakfast. It was Christmas after all so we let her. Andy gave me an amazing collage of pictures to go up our stair case and I love them. We put them up this week and they really look good. I got him a dremel for all of his projects around the house and he seems excited to get started. Briley made the cutest gift for us this year at school. It is a cookbook made up of recipes from her and her friends. They talk about their favorite food and how you should prepare it. Hilarious! After opening our gifts and having breakfast, we packed up our things to begin the long trip home in the snow.

We finally made it safely home Christmas Eve and spent the rest of the day spending time with all of our families and going to Church. Briley and Baylor were sweet enough to sleep in Christmas day so we weren't as drained as we have been in the past. We got up and opened presents at Andy's parent's house and then went to my Dad's to open presents. That night we ate a feast at Andy's parent's and then went to my Mom's for her Christmas. Thank you to everyone for making Christmas so memorable this year!
We are now at home and I am busy organizing the house and getting things back in order before New Year's. Briley has a had a lot of fun playing with all of her new toys this week. She told me today that she was really sad that Christmas was over and I would have to agree. Andy is trying to get me to take down the tree and I just can't bear to do it quite yet. I hate to let it go. We hope everyone had a great Christmas and we will see you in the new year.

Sitting on Santa's Lap

2010-12-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

We started off this past weekend going to a farewell party for Briley's best friend who will be going to a new school starting in January. These two kiddos have been inseparable since they began in the infant room. I really don't think I have ever seen two kids that are so close at such a young age. His two other siblings also attended our school and were in my class when they were younger. His parents decided to have a party to thank all of the teachers for everything they have done for their children. The party was supposed to end at 8:30 and we didn't leave until 11:30. We have decided that we will have to get together a few times a year so that they can remain buddies. His Mom has hopes of these two getting hitched someday and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it happened.
On Saturday, we went out to Bass Pro Shop to visit Santa. We got there at 10:45 and had a bass pass for 12:30. We walked around the store, checked out the fish and a big bear that Briley wouldn't get near, and climbed around the boats and tents while we waited. Briley did a great job with Santa this year and Baylor seemed very intrigued by him. Briley asked for tic tacs, cheetos, and a guitar for Christmas this year and Baylor is asking for his two front teeth. One came in this week and we have one more to go!
On Sunday I spent the day wrapping presents and cleaning the house for Christmas. Briley keeps saying that we have to clean the house to make Santa happy. Baylor was a bit grumpy if he wasn't sleeping. Did I mention that he is teething? He is also at a very frustrating age because he hasn't figured out the crawling thing yet. He gets up on all fours and rocks but falls everytime he tries to move and this infuriates him. As much as I am not ready for him to become mobile, I know he will be much more content on the ground if he can move!

Getting Ready for Christmas

2010-12-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

I know we haven't posted in awhile but it seems when the holidays come, we seem to be so busy! We went home for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago and had two delicious Thanksgiving dinners. We spent the long weekend just relaxing and it was perfect. On our way home we picked up our Christmas tree which I love. They are easy to hang ornaments on, they smell so good, and I don't break out in a rash when I decorate it. Briley helped with the ornaments and you can tell by the pictures that she is really good at it:) Baylor also really enjoyed touching the tree. Lucky for us, he can't crawl yet so we won't have issues with him tearing things down this year. We did have an exciting moment when Andy got the Christmas decorations out. We found our box of baby toys! I have been looking all over for that box and had finally given up. Christmas came early for Baylor this year.

This past weekend, Lissy, Tabitha, and Bright came to visit. We went to some unbelieveably awesome antique stores, ate on the Plaza, got Maddie and Sylas ice cream, Andy made his famous hot chocolate, and topped it off with watching Christmas Vacation. This coming week we have Briley's Christmas program and visiting Santa so I am sure I will be back soon.

Halloween Weekend

2010-11-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

I have been told that the last time I contributed to this blog was the end of July so I guess I am overdue for a post. As is always the case with my posts, this is somewhat delayed.

A few weeks back, or maybe it was a couple weeks back...anymore they all blur together, we tackled the nightmare that is Interstate 35 and made the trek back to Kirksville. If any of you have traveled on I-35 north of Liberty in the past two years you know what I am talking about...it has been down to one lane the past two summers and I hear its going to be the same deal next summer. Anyway, it takes forever to get through and those who know me, know that I am probably one of the worlds most impatient drivers, so this part of the trip puts me over the edge every time. I have never seen a road construction project take so long... and it will start up again next spring! Alright now that my "Lissy style rant" is over I will proceed with telling you about our busy weekend back in K-Town.

The whole Early crew and all of our minions were back in town for the Halloween weekend. When you get 15 adults ( 9 of them crazy women),5 kids, 1 toddler, and 4 babies together in a house things are bound to get crazy, for video evidence check out Lissy's blog. Add to that two football games and a Halloween Party...all in a 24 hour period. As always it was great to see everyone and to see how much all of the babies have grown; they have all gotten so big. Baylor is the oldest of the four babies by about two months and Brady has already passed him up while the twins, Colton and Carolina are coming on strong. It use to be that you could go home and have a weekend free of holding kids but now if you hand yours off you are guaranteed to get one or two in return. Oh well, I guess you cannot complain too much about getting to hold cute little babies.

When we got into town on Friday night we went straight to the football game, it was Molly's Senior night and Briley was super excited about watching her cheer. She got so excited while we were waiting in line because she saw the tiger mascot down on the field. When we got in she notice that the mascot was wearing a pack pack (back pack)so Briley figured it must be going to its grandma's house. We only stayed for the first half as it was cold and none of us were dressed for the frigid temps (heaven forbid we look at the weather before we head north).

On Saturday afternoon we went over to watch Caroline's boyfriend Jarod play football; he plays for Washburn and they were in town playing against Truman. It was great to finally get to see him play...even if it did take 5 years.

On Saturday night we had my parents Halloween party, Briley and Baylor dressed up as Tinker Bell and Peter Pan; they were adorable and Briley loved the idea of dressing up with "little fella" (her name for Baylor). Bella was also Tinker Bell and Briley thought that was pretty cool. As you can see from the pictures, all of the kids looked adorable and as always a good time was had by all.

On Sunday morning we all pitched in and helped my Dad close the pool and put away the pool furniture, which is always kind of depressing because it means another miserably cold winter is ahead of us. We then headed out of town early so that we could make it back home in time to go trick-or-treating with our neighbors. This was the first year where Briley really got into it. However, there was a this group of kids that were on the same route as we were and one of them had a "scary mask" so Briley spent the whole night worrying about this kid coming too close. Every time we came to a house we would have to confirm that the people answering the door would not be wearing a mask. Well one time we saw from afar that the guy answering the door had on a Scream mask. The mean parents we are, we sent an unsuspecting Briley to the door with one of our neighbors, well lucky for her the wife answered and said that she just couldn't let her husband scare a cute little girl...darn the luck.

Well that pretty much sums up our weekend; we hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Halloween.

Early's First Annual Pumpkin Carving Competition

2010-10-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Last night Andy and I held the Early's First Annual Pumpkin Carving Competition and it was a hit. This was the first big party that we have done before and we really had a lot of fun hosting it. We were a little worried about the chance of rain but it held off and it turned out to be a beautiful night. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and we will definitely do it again next year.

Goodbye Miss Monica

2010-10-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

This past week was a bit of a sad one at our school. Miss Monica started working in the Honeybee Room alongside me about four years ago and I was pregnant with Miss Briley. Monica became quite attached to Briley and this year Briley was finally in her class. Monica was a great teacher and was definitely an inspiration to many little Honeybees including Briley. I think Briley is really going to miss Monica bringing her doughnuts and McDonalds breakfast in the mornings. Thank you Monica for being such a great person to work with and loving my kiddos. They were spoiled!

Our Adventure for the Perfect Pumpkin

2010-10-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed out for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. As many of you know, Andy loves this trip. He rants and raves every year because you have to pay to get in and then pay for your pumpkins. I try to explain that it isn't about the cost, it is about the experience. Andy's parents were in town so they were lucky enough to go out with us. It was a hot and dusty one this year. I would take that over the bitter cold of last year though. We can't complain about the beautiful fall we have had this year. We checked out the animals, played in the straw, did a little swinging, and then went out to get our pumpkins in the field. After choosing our pumpkins and paying, we stopped by the cider mill nearby for some apple cider slushies and cider doughnuts. Yum Yum!

Happy Birthday Andy!

2010-09-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

Andy's birthday was this last weekend. He spent his birthday going to a Chiefs game with the Cleaver crew and then came home to a fried chicken dinner and he requested french silk pie for his cake this year. It is the first time I have made a french silk pie, but I must say it turned out pretty well. The Pioneer Woman will never steer you in the wrong direction. Lissy came into town to do a few shoots and to hang out with us this weekend also. We did a bit of an impromptu photo shoot on Saturday and I loved the way the pictures turned out. You will have to check out her blog because I do believe they are my favorite pictures that I have had taken of Briley before. They completely captured her spunky three year old attitude. THANK YOU LISSY!!!

On Sunday, we went to the Cider Festival while Andy was at the game. We got some yummy doughnuts and just walked around for awhile before heading back to make the Birthday Boy's dinner. I believe Andy had a good birthday with the Chief's pulling off their third win of the season.

Last weekend we had the first annual hot air balloon festival in town. It just so happened to be taking place just down the road from our house. We went out to eat a yummy meal at Stroud's with Grandpa Mike, Karen, Kaitlin, and Zane on Friday and our plan was to go to the festival on Saturday. Saturday morning we got up and this is what we could see from our back patio. They were low enough that we could talk up to them. Briley thought it was so exciting! We went out to the launch site that night but unfortunately there was a storm moving in so they did not do another launch or the balloon glow. We heard it was really neat on Friday night so we are sad that we missed out. I guess we will just have to check it out next year.

Camp Out and A New Swing Set

2010-09-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago we got a call from one of our old neighbors who wanted to know whether we would want to have their old swingset. We asked how much and they said free. Andy and I can't pass up a deal like that so we said sure and Andy was off to get it. He spent this week repainting and staining it and we had some neighbors over this past weekend to assemble it. Not only did our old neighbor bring the swingset over, but he came back this weekend with a pink doughnut for Briley at her request and helped set it all up. She was so excited for the doughnut and the swingset!! Thank you Schmidts!
Andy and Briley also had a camp out in the backyard last Saturday night. Andy set it all up while she was playing out front and then he came around and asked her to go look in the backyard. She was giddy. He set up the tent and had her portable DVD player going. They watched Princess and the Frog and ate popcorn before going to sleep.
I did have a funny story about Baylor from this morning. He was laying on our bathroom floor while I was in my closet getting dressed when I began to hear Viva whining and yelping. I looked out to see Baylor pulling Viva's hair on her face. She was just laying there whining for me to help while Baylor was grinning from ear to ear. He loves pulling hair! Briley and Viva just need to learn not to get too close to his face.
This coming weekend we will be going to the Midweat Hot Air Balloon Festival. After the movie Up, Briley has been wanting to go in a hot air balloon so bad. In fact, she and Cooper have been planning on going in one together. I told her they could when they get married:) For now, going to see them up close will have to be good enough.

Baylor is 5 Months Old

2010-09-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Baylor just turned five months old and it is really hard to believe. He is getting so big so fast! He just got two new teeth last week and it was rough. The poor kid wouldn't eat because it hurt and spent his time sleeping, drooling, and getting upset. We are all glad they have pushed through and hopefully he has a little break before the next ones come. He has also been busy eating. He has been loving carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. He was not a fan of green beans but I will try them again in a couple of weeks. Right now he is becoming our little orange baby.
We haven't had a whole lot of things going on. Work has been a little stressful lately, but hopefully I get through it all soon. We went to the pool last weekend which was nice and relaxing, other than that, not much has happened.
Here are a few pictures that I took last week of Baylor for his 5 month birthday. (Lissy, you do realize that you are conveniently coming to stay with us right on his 6 month birthday:) Briley also wanted to get in on the pictures. It is so hard to get a picture of the two of them together. Briley is consistently making goofy faces and Baylor is never looking at the camera. Maybe I will get a decent picture someday.
Briley has been Miss Sassy Pants at school lately. Her teacher called up to the office the other day and told me that she kept asking her for a drink out on the playground and her teacher kept saying we are going in in a few minutes and then you can get water. Briley as usual did not let it go. Finally her teacher said, "Briley you have asked me for a drink 16 times already, we will go in soon!" Briley told her, "Actually it was seventeen times." She really knows how to push Miss Monica's buttons.

Finally...A Weekend at Home

2010-08-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

The Early household has been a busy one for the past eight weeks. Since we last posted, we have gone back home for my Mom's wedding and then again for our ten year class reunion. My Mom and Jeff's wedding was on July 31. The wedding and reception turned out really nice and it was great catching up with so many people that we have not seen in awhile. I unfortunately did not get many pictures during the ceremony but Andy's sister has some on her blog. Congratulations you two!

Last weekend was our ten year class reunion. It is hard to believe it has been that long. It is funny that some people we haven't seen in ten years and we can fall right back into a conversation with them like we had just seen them yesterday. We had a great turn out. I would say about 75 classmates came back over the course of the weekend. It was great catching up with everyone and meeting their families. The weekend flew by and I was a little sad when it ended because I know that I probably won't see many of these people again for another five years. At least we have facebook these days to keep in touch with each other.

This weekend was perfect! It was so nice to finally be home for a weekend to get stuff done around the house. I worked on putting Baylor and Briley's clothes away that no longer fit, cleaning, doing the laundry, and uploading/editing pictures from summer. Andy spent the weekend outside caulking and fixing things around the house. On Saturday night, we went to Starlight to see Beauty and the Beast. Briley loved it! She has been to several shows at Starlight and she usually never stays awake for the second half because they are so late but she was wide-eyed till the end. She of course asked a lot of questions throughout the show which I'm sure those around us loved but then again, we had to listen to them go on and on about how much better their son's middle school production was. The kid even wore his Beauty and the Beast shirt and talked like Lumeaire throughout the show. They were also good about letting everyone around them know what part was coming up next like we all haven't seen it before. Oh well, we still enjoyed the show. I just got a lot of eye rolls from Andy:)

Last but not least, Mr. Baylor has had a few firsts over the past few weeks. He has started eating cereal and trying out a few vegetables. He likes sweet potatoes, but threw a fit when I gave him green beans. He has also started rolling over from his back to his tummy which is VERY exciting. Now Andy and I won't have to get up in the middle of the night when he flips himself over to his back and then gets mad about it. The first day of school for the year is tomorrow so I better go get some sleep before the crazy week begins.

I Guess Its My Turn to Post

2010-07-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Where to begin...it has been more than a month since we last posted. We have been playing the roll of the weary road warriors this summer, in fact out of the previous 8 weekends we have been home for one, and even then we had guests. Autumn has been on me for the past few weeks to update the blog but I always had an excuse as I could never motivate myself. She even went to the point of uploading all of the pictures so I figured I better post before she tied me down to the computer.

It has been so much fun (most of the time) watching Briley and Baylor interact. Briley is absolutely smitten with Baylor; she is always doting on him and talking to him. Baylor is just as interested in her; his eyes follow her all around the room and he just lights up when she comes over to talk to him. Actually, Baylor lights up when anyone looks at him. I have never seen a baby smile so much; he makes everyone feel special.

If anyone has been around our little Briley lately you know that she is the Princess of Questions. I know kids her age ask a lot of questions but Briley takes it to a whole new level. If you are driving down the road and a car pulls up next to you at a stop light, Briley will ask "Who's in that car?" You would say "I don't know" and with most kids that would be the end of it, but that is not the case with Briley. She wants a name and will not stop till she gets the answer she wants. She will ask you questions that she already has the answers to; she just want you to confirm she is right and watch out if you answer wrong (or wrong according to Briley). I am not kidding when I say she probably will ask 30 questions in an hour...its exhausting and my parents and siblings get a kick out of it because they say I was the exact same way. I guess its true when they say a parents best revenge is grand kids; lets just say with our adorable little inquisitive, stubborn, and independent (too much like her daddy) three year old my parents are getting plenty of revenge.

As I said before, the past month has been busy. For the 4th of July we went back to Kirksville for my parents 4th of July party. My Grandpa Mike and Karen were back in town with all the Colorado cousins so it was great to see them all; they even treated us to a lovely dinner at Stroud's when they came through KC. We also got to see my uncle Shawn and his wife Veronica's new baby boy, Harrison. He is a few months older than Baylor and is another adorable, happy baby boy. We also found out some exciting news that weekend...the Early family is gaining another baby as Kaitlin and Zane announced they were having a baby. It is due in February and we could not be more excited for them; they are going to make great parents. I guess we are going to have to something I swore I would never do again, make rip to Iowa in the dead of winter.

Briley did not want to go home with us after the Fourth and it turned out Lissy would be coming down to KC the following Thursday so we thought this would be the perfect time to letter her stay with the Granparents by her self. Well, needless to say she did not miss us at all, was spoiled the whole time, and still did not want to come home when it was time to leave. Now evertime we go back she thinks she gets to stay and ends up crying as we drive out of town...are we really that terrible to be around???

This past week we went on our summer vacation. Typically we go down to the Florida gulf coast but due to the oil spill and all the uncertainty surrounding it we decided this would be a good year to try something different. Our neighbors have a house up in Door County, WI which is located on the Wisconsin peninsula where Green Bay and Lake Michigan meet. The peninsula was line with one picture perfect town after another; it was like The Great Outdoors meet Dirty Dancing. We went with Julie, Amity, and Asa and we all enjoyed the food, ice cream, shopping, beautiful sunsets, more ice cream, wine, some more ice cream and the wonderful weather (it was in the lower 80's our whole trip) We did venture to the beach a couple of times but the water was a little cool, although Briley seemed oblivious to the water temperature and swam the whole time. Overall it was a very relaxing trip and we would love to go up again sometime...we think it would be the perfect place for a little fall getaway.

On our way home from Vacation we stopped in Kirksville for Mr. Lincoln's 1st Birthday Party. Allsion went all out on the decorations and the party was a hit. Lincoln had plenty of help from his cousins and siblings when it came to opening his presents and thoroughly enjoyed his birthday cake.

So there you go...a brief synopsis of our month. I'm sure I missed a lot but at 9PM on a Wednesday its the best I could do. This weekend we are again trucking back to Kirksville for Julie and Jeff's wedding and then we do it all again the next weekend for our 10 year class reunion.

Father's Day Weekend and our 5th Anniversary

2010-06-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

Our anniversary was last Friday night, but we decided to celebrate it the weekend before since we went back to Kirksville this weekend. We had planned on going on a little trip for our 5th anniversary, but Baylor came along so we decided to hold off until this coming winter, but then Andy's parents surprised us with a trip to Disney World next summer so we will be saving our money for that trip. Some day we will get that second Honeymoon but I have a feeling it won't be until our tenth anniversary or at least I hope. I guess that is life though. Instead of laying on a beach somewhere tropical we went down to the Plaza for dinner. We had talked about going somewhere fancy, but I really wanted to try out a new restaurant down there called Blanc Burgers and Bottles. There burgers are delicious! I am in fact craving one right now. They also had adult milkshakes that were also wonderful. I would suggest this restaurant to anyone who will be in the KC area. After dinner, we walked around the Plaza for awhile and then we headed to Ernie Biggs Piano bar. Piano bars are always a good time and this one was really entertaining. We got home around 12:30 and we considered it a late night. As we were upstairs getting ready for bed, we heard the door open and Amity leave which we thought was odd. We then heard her come back in around 3:45. The next morning we asked her where she went and she said that she went out since we got home so early. Crazy! I guess we are getting old. Thank you Am for babysitting for us. A night on the town was just what we needed!
We went back home for Father's Day because Andy's whole family was coming back into town. It was fun and a little crazy with so many babies in the house. We spent the weekend going to Asa's baseball games and relaxing by the pool. For Father's Day/Anniversary I gave Andy a sign that Lissy made for me. It was the story of us and it turned out so cool. It begins with Spring Dance and continues through until the present. I love it! I also got him a tent to go camping in the back yard with Miss Briley and Baylor. Briley gave him a sweet little card that said,"in case you haven't heard..." and then when you open it up there were pop rocks attached. She decorated it and then was asked why she loves her Daddy. Her response was, "I like to shoot him with my playing gun." So sweet. Andy really feels loved.

Riding a Rainbow

2010-06-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

The other night we had a big thunderstorm and the sun came out soon after. I told Briley we should go out and look for a rainbow. We all went outside saw not one but two rainbows that went clear across the sky. Everyone in the cul-de-sac was out taking pictures of it. When Briley saw the rainbow she said,"Please can I go put my Tinkerbell costume on and ride the rainbow?" She hurried in and got her costume on and took off across the yard. Unfortunately, that costume didn't make her fly. She has such an imagination sometimes.

Memorial Weekend and the First Day of School

2010-06-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, my maternity leave officially ended last Monday and we have started back to school. Baylor seems to be adjusting well in his classroom. He is the new baby so he has all the attention for a few weeks anyway. I was incrediably busy this week catching up on everything that hasn't been done in ten weeks and I have a feeling next week will be crazy too. Briley was very excited to see all her friends again. She fell right back into playing with the boys. You should have seen how excited her man Cooper was to see her.
Before we went back to school, we made one last trip to Deanna Rose. Now that Briley is three, she can ride the ponies. We also fed the goats of course. While Am was feeding a goat one was chewing a hole in her dress. I thought it was so funny because Am has never been a big fan of goats:) We also went back home for the Memorial Day Weekend. The weekend was spent relaxing by the pool and spending time with our family and friends. Baylor wasn't the biggest fan of the pool this time around. He would rather be cuddled up with Grandma in the shade.

Baylor is Two Months Old!

2010-05-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Baylor, Briley, and I got up early to go to garage sales with one of our old neighbors who recently moved. I have not been to garage sales in years but decided it might be fun go along with her. I didn't have anything in particular that I was looking for but I did run into this console table at a moving sale. It works perfectly in our entryway. I have been looking for one that I could put a lamp on because the entryway can be really dark at night, but we don't want the overhead light on.

After that we went to the doctor for Briley's three year well check and Baylor's two month check up. Briley weighed in at 27 pounds and 36 inches tall. She is in the 25th percentile for both categories. Baylor weighed 12 pounds 3.2 ounces and is 22 inches tall. He is in the 75th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height. Baylor also got three shots so he was not a happy camper this weekend. Poor little guy!

We decided to move Baylor to his own room Friday night and he did a great job. He has been sleeping through the night for the most part. He usually goes to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 and then he will get up to eat between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. We are so lucky to have such good sleepers!

On Saturday, Andy and I had some old friends from college over for a BBQ. It had been entirely too long since we had seen them. We spent the night eating and catching up while the kids played. We said we are really going to have to get together more often in the future. I should have thought to take pictures but I didn't.

We went to the park on Sunday since it was such a beautiful day. We took a picnic lunch to eat and Briley quickly finished eating so that she could go play. I know I have said it before but this girl really loves a good park. We played on the playground equipment for awhile and then we went down to the pond. They have these really cool stepping stones in the water to go across. I really wonder how many people fall in. We also checked out some baby ducks and turtles before heading back home.

Baylor turns two months old today which is hard to believe! Time really does fly. This is our last week of my maternity leave. Briley is really looking forward to going back to school and seeing her friends again. She also is excited about having Miss Nancy's cooking again. It seems I don't cook anything as good as Miss Nancy. Baylor has one more week of getting spoiled before he is introduced to eight other babies and is not the center of attention. I'm sure he will be just fine. As much as I hate my leave coming to an end, I think we will all benefit from being on a schedule again. We are going back to school right when summer camp starts so there is a lot of fun activities coming up. Summer is my favorite time at school because of the fun visitors, field trips, and activities going on. I'm sure Miss Briley is ready for it.

Meeting Brady

2010-05-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to St. Louis to meet our new nephew Brady Matthew. We got to their house around 12:30p.m. and ate a quick lunch before going to the Magic House. Andy and I were both excited to take Briley there because we had so much fun going when we were kids. It has changed a little since we were there last. It has probably tripled in size. Briley was hesitant at first, I think it was a little bit of sensory overload. After we started she fell in love with the place. We could hardly keep track of her because she ran from one thing to the next without stopping. She left us all in the dust! You would head one way after her and then you would lose her in the crowd and the next time you spotted her she was climbing on the beams above you. She loved every minute of being there. They had a baby weigh station in the toddler area so we weighed Baylor and he came in at 12 pounds and 8 ounces.

We went back to the Sedlak's that night and just ordered in and let the kids play. Brady is such a sweet little boy. I can't wait for the adventures that these boys are going to go on together. Grandma and Papa's house is going to be one rowdy place before too long!

Firsts for Baylor!

2010-05-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

Baylor started smiling about a week and a half ago and I attempted to capture it last week and these are the pictures that I got. Doesn't his chins make you laugh?

Today I took a few more and I think they are much more flattering. He has the cutest little smile doesn't he?

Last Friday Baylor slept through the night! I fed him at around 7:30p.m. and he slept till 6:30a.m. the next morning. The next night he slept from about 10:00 p.m. till 7:30 a.m. the next morning. We are so lucky to get a another good sleeper! I guess it is about time for our little man to move to his crib.

Babies, Babies, Babies

2010-05-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

This past week has been an exciting one in the Early family. We have two new nephews and one new niece! Brady Matthew Sedlak was born on May 4th and Colton Michael and Carolina Joy Bobzien were born on May 5! Congratulations to everyone! We went down to Dallas to visit the twins this past weekend and they are precious! Mr. Baylor is one chubby boy next to those two.
The trip to Dallas went pretty smoothly. It is about an eight hour trip and both Briley and Baylor did an excellent job riding in the car. We got there on Friday afternoon and spent the day letting Briley and Carson play and of course going to the hospital to see the babies. Briley and Carson were pretty entertaining to watch because Briley is so bossy. Thankfully Carson would stand up to her for the most part but we did get some funny pictures of Carson pushing Briley around the drive way in his car. She would push him for a minute and then make him get out and push her. At one point Briley pushed him into the bush and ran off. He turned around and looked at us and said, "oh my goodness!" It was pretty cute.
On Saturday, Amanda and Todd left Joy and Don in charge of the twins and we went to a really fun park to let the kids play. Briley has a love for parks so she was in heaven. The weather was gorgeous and I think Amanda and Todd enjoyed getting out of the hospital for a little bit. That night, Andy's Aunt Pat, Luke, and his girlfriend stopped by the hospital while we were there to see the twins and Baylor. Pat gave Briley and Carson tv trays/activity trays that they loved drumming on while we were at the hospital and they drummed so loudly that their was complaints from neighboring patients. I think between their drumming and the sixteen people in the room talking and crying we were a little loud. Andy read a sign on our way out that said only two visitors per room. Whoops.
On Sunday, we said goodbye to everyone and made the long drive home. The kids did a great job again on the way home. Amity moved in this weekend and will be staying with us for two months while she does her clinicals. We are very excited to have a live in nanny:) for awhile. We hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day!

Happy May Day!

2010-05-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was May Day and Briley got to carry on a tradition from my childhood; May Day baskets! We worked on decorating the baskets all week and then she and I delivered them to each of the neighbors yesterday afternoon. Before delivering the baskets, we had to first get our racing shoes on and then we had to put on our bike helmet for safety. You never know what might happen when you are ringing door bells and running. Briley really had a lot of fun sneaking around the cul-de-sac!

After we delivered our flowers, we got dressed up and headed over to Ashley's Purple Star Benefit which raised money for cancer research for Sinonasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma. Andy's cousin passed away from this last winter and this benefit was held in her honor. Their goal was to raise 8,000 dollars and they were already at 5,000 dollars before the event took place. We all had a lot of fun with the band that they had playing, free massages:), silent and live auction, food, and drinks. Briley really enjoyed dancing to the band. She never left the floor while they played. She kept asking Andy throughout the night where the cake was. I think she thought we were at a wedding.

On Sunday we went to Lawerence to visit the newest little Stetson. Shawn and Katie had a baby girl named Paige Elizabeth about two weeks ago and she is precious! You should have seen her compared to Baylor. He was a giant next to her. It is amazing how much they can grow in a month. Congratulations Katie and Shawn!

Last week I was feeling crafty and made the cutest little newborn outfit which I gave to little Paige and I learned how to make bows. I went to the store the other day to buy Briley some new bows and after seeing 8.00 dollar prices on a single bow, I decided it was time I learned to make them myself. I am really enjoying my maternity leave! I am getting so many things done that I have been wanting to do for a long time.

Briley's Birthday Continued and Baylor Turned One Month Old!

2010-04-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we got up and went to Church and then spent the rest of the day lounging around the house. We had Briley's favorite dinner of pancakes that night followed by some more presents and cake. We gave her big present at her party (the Barbie jeep) and saved her small ones for today so that she would have something to open on her real birthday. I made her a new tutu, she got a basketball, Green Eggs and Ham book, and a new swimsuit. We have already read the book three times since last night. She and Daddy went out and played a little basketball last night and she rode her new car.

Baylor turned one month old on Saturday and I can hardly believe that a month went by so fast. He is growing like a weed! He is such a chunker that you sometimes forget that he is only a month old. He is also a mover. He really doesn't like to sit still and cuddle. His legs and arms are always moving and on Saturday morning he rolled over from his stomach to his back twice! At the rate he is going, he is going to be walking by six months.

Briley did have one accomplishment this week that I had forgotten to mention. She learned how to peddle. Now we have to work on steering!

Happy 3rd Birthday Briley!

2010-04-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Briley's third birthday this past weekend with a Minnie Mouse party on Saturday and her real birthday on Sunday. It all turned out great eventhough the weather was nasty and a few of her friends had to cancel due to sickness and going out of town. She had Ellie there and that was all that mattered! The party kicked off at 12:00p.m. and it started with a dance party, followed by jumping in the jump house in the basement, pizza, presents, and cake.

Briley got a lot of fun presents at her party. Ellie was very excited about each and everyone of them. Briley shares my enthusiasm for gifts and would say "thats nice" and move on to the next gift. She got a tea set, t-ball set, a soccer ball, a Tinkerbell movie, some fun clothes, an Aerial doll, and a pink Barbie jeep to name a few. She made us all laugh when she insisted that I put on her new Tinkerbell costume from Aunt Amanda,Uncle Todd, Aunt Sara, and Uncle Ryan. I put it on her and she got really upset because she thought the costume would make her fly like Tinkerbell. She was jumping up and down and running around the house and nothing happened. Amanda said she would send the pixiedust. Below are some questions that I asked Briley about her favorite things at three.

What is your favorite movie? The Balloon Movie (Up)

What is your favorite color? Pink

What is your favorite book? Pinkalicious (still a favorite for two years in a row) and Fancy Nancy

What is your favorite food? Candy

What is your favorite toy? Teacups

What is your favorite tv show? Handy Manny

What is your favorite song to sing? Itsy Bitsy Spider and ABC's

What is your favorite game? M&M game (If she gets the color of M&M right, she gets to eat it.)

Briley/Baylor Picture

2010-04-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Baylor decided to flip Daddy off while he was holding him. It made us laugh because we have a picture of Briley doing the exact same thing at his age.

Our Weekend

2010-04-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Briley's Drawing

This past weekend we were able to just hang around the house and relax. Since we did stay home for the most part, we let Briley dress herself. Don't you love her new accessory? She really likes her new helmet. Yesterday she was coloring with chalk on the driveway and when we asked her what she was drawing, she told us they were Mommy's boobs. It is nice to have that on your driveway.

Baylor has been such a great little baby. He has only been getting up twice a night which has been great. He usually wakes up at 1:00 a.m. and then again at 4:30a.m. He has also been sleeping in his own bed for most of the night. He usually will sleep in his bed until that 4:30 feeding and then he likes to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy until morning. Briley also likes to come in around then for cuddle time so our bed gets a little tight. Andy says he wishes we would have gotten a king sized bed.

A Trip to Deanna Rose

2010-04-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I took Briley and Baylor to Deanna Rose Homestead to visit all of the baby animals. Briley has been obsessed with baby animals since Papa got her the movie Babe for Valentine's Day. We saw baby pigs, calves, goats and many more. She got to watch a cow getting milked in the dairy barn and she fed the goats "Kix" or thats what she thought it looked like. It was a beautiful day and I had a difficult time getting her to leave. I promised her we would go back very soon.

Baylor's First Trip to Kirksville

2010-04-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

Last week Briley, Baylor, and I went to Loose Park because it was such a beautiful day. This park has a really big playground area and Briley was in heaven! We also got to see some turtles, ducks, and fish at the pond. One of the ducks was even sitting on her nest. I promised Briley we would go back soon.

Baylor also enjoyed getting his first bath last week and he loved it. Briley was really wanting to get in his "boat" with him. I told her they both couldn't fit but she could sit outside the boat in the tub and that seemed to be good enough. I also got the "swinger" out of the attic and he seems to enjoy it. I just have to watch Briley because she likes to push it a little too fast sometimes.

This past weekend we headed to Kirksville. We had planned on going home for Easter but I couldn't sit in the car on my tailbone for that long so we waited another week. It still hurt, but I managed to make it as long as I sat on a pillow. Baylor got to meet his Uncle Andrew, Uncle Rick and Lisa, and his Great Grandma while we were home.
Jackson celebrated his 6th birthday on Friday and it was a Mario Brothers themed party. He got a lot of awesome toys that he had fun playing with the rest of the night. His party excited Briley for her own Minnie Mouse party coming up next week. We have been busy getting things ready for the big day. She has been anticipating it since Christmas.
Andy and his Dad took the pool cover off and began getting it ready for summer on Saturday. Briley got to swim in the hot tub and she loved it! We also got to enjoy lounging around outside and having homemade icecream. It felt just like summer! That night we went to my Dad's for dinner and Rick and Lisa came to meet Baylor. While we were there Briley found my Dad's hats and decided she needed one to take home. She had picked my Dad's Mississppi State hat, but Dad pursuaded her to take his Mizzou hat instead.
On Sunday we met my Grandma in Macon on our way back home so that she could meet Baylor and get Briley measured for her birthday dress. It was a quick little stop so hopefully Baylor and Briley will get to see more of her at Briley's birthday next week.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! Last Thursday we had the Cleaver family stop in for a visit on their way back from Colorado. It was great seeing them and catching up for a little bit. Bright reminded us that we have some childproofing to do to our house before Baylor gets to his age. It is funny how quickly you forget those things.

Easter was pretty entertaining with Briley this year. She really enjoyed dyeing eggs. I somehow forgot to take pictures of that. She was very excited Sunday morning when we reminded her that the Easter bunny had visited her house. She got a bike helmet to go on bike rides with Daddy, Princess and the Frog, and glow in the dark stars for her ceiling. She then looked out her window and saw all the eggs in our backyard so she got her Easter purse and out we went to collect them. I later caught her in her room crouched in the corner shoving as much chocolate as she could into her mouth before she was caught. She was on a sugar high the rest of the evening.

We went to 9:00 mass and you would not believe the crowd. There were two masses going on at the same time. One was in the gym and one was in the sanctuary. We luckily got their early enough to get into the sanctuary. The altar was gorgeous. I told Andy that I really wanted to take a picture of it. It was packed with hydrangeas, lilies, hycinths, tulips, etc. After Church, we headed to Sunset Grill for Flamingo French Toast (our favorite breakfast). Briley and Andy went for a bike ride when we got home and then we watched Princess and the Frog a couple times. Overall it was a pretty relaxing perfect day. We hope everyone had a great Easter!

Baylor is 1 week old!

2010-03-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

Baylor is one week old today and what a whirlwind of a week it has been. Baylor was born at 9:22 last Wednesday night and came in at 8 pounds 4.7 ounces. We had a doctor's appointment today and he is almost back to his birthweight. He is in the 75th percentile in height and 50th percentile for weight. Hard to believe he is so big after having little Briley on the opposite end of the spectrum. He has really been such a good baby so far! We are still working on keeping him in his cradle at night but other than that he has been great. He would rather be cuddling with us than sleeping in his bed by himself.
We have had a lot of visitors this past week to meet our little man and we still have a few more visiting this week. Our house was full this weekend with fifteen visitors and then my sister Amity and Andy's sister Sara came on Monday. My sister left today and we are now on our own. Thank you to all our family for the food, help around the house, and of course the perfect pictures that Lissy took. We had planned to go back home for Easter but I think we are going to hold off till next weekend. We really haven't had much down time so we are hoping to be able to get some rest and relax in the new hammock Andy bought me. I am so excited to try it out!

Baylor's First Photo Shoot

2010-03-27T06:49:00.001-07:00

Hi, it's Lissy :-) I just had to post that first picture...it's a classic!

Baylor and I did his first photo shoot yesterday and he did a very good job. Here are some pictures from yesterday, enjoy!

Baylor Michael Early

2010-03-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

After a long day of hard labor (Autumn was AMAZING) we are proud to announce the birth of our son, Baylor Michael Early (I know, A BOY, how shocking is that given the Early family gene pool). Baylor is a big boy, weighing in at 8 pounds, 7.4 ounces and 21 ½ inches long; basically the total opposite end of the spectrum from Briley. Speaking of Briley, she could not have been happier. She spent the whole time kissing and hugging on him; she is a very proud big sister and will be a big helper. The delivery could not have gone better and like I said before, Autumn did amazing and I managed not to pass out; I even cut the cord. Anyway, we are very excited and very tired so hopefully we get a good night sleep tonight. I will update with some better pictures tomorrow.

2010-03-07T05:57:00.000-08:00

Well, much to Autumn’s dismay, we still have no baby and from what her doctor and my dad say, she still has another week or two (I was not suppose to tell her about my dad’s two week prediction) before she pops. Between Briley and spring cleaning tasks around the house, we have plenty to keep us busy while we anxiously await the arrival of Baby Early #2. Autumn has been staying active since her appointment on Thursday in the hopes that she can encourage the process along.

We celebrated Autumn’s 28th Birthday a couple weeks back; we went to dinner at Garozzo’s, which is our favorite Italian restaurant and then much to Briley’s delight, we came home and had some ice cream cake from Dairy Queen for desert. For her birthday gift, Briley and I got her a new wireless stereo system for the house; I figured it was time to upgrade from the radio she has had since high school.

Last weekend my parents, Molly and Caroline came to town for the weekend. My Dad came to help me put trim up in the basement so that we could get the carpet down before the baby came. There were a few choice words during the process of setting doors and hanging trim but we eventually got it done and it looks great. Mom and Dad also treated us to Stroud’s, which is always a treat. It’s kind of funny because it was the same weekend a year ago that they came down (first of four trips in a row) to help us work on the house. Maybe we can just make this an annual work weekend.

This week, I completed the finishing touches on the basement and we had the carpet installed on Friday; we can’t believe it is finally done and we could not be happier with the finished product. We wasted no time in getting all of Briley’s toys out of the dinning room and nursery and down to her new playroom. She played down there all by herself for a couple of hours on Friday night so I think it is safe to say she enjoys the space. I was down there with her for awhile cleaning up and then she shut the door on me so I figured it was alright for me to go upstairs.

Briley got sick in the middle of the night on Friday and it turns out that she has strep throat. She had us up off and on throughout the night; Autumn says she is just preparing us for what’s to come. We have her on some medicine so hopefully she should be able to go back to school on Monday; I guess it was a good thing we did not have the baby this weekend. She spent all day yesterday lying on the couch but today she seems to be back to her normal, perky, bossy self…with a snotty, crusty nose. It stinks that she has not been able to enjoy the beautiful weather we have been having but I am sure she will be out helping me in the yard this afternoon. Well, better go; we will keep you updated on any baby news.

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Happy Birthday Autumn!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-21T15:23:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went home so that Andy could help his Dad work on their basement. My Grandma came up Saturday morning to pick up her new dog. It is a cocker spaniel that someone had abandoned and was found by a family in a nearby town and they just wanted to find a good home for her. Her name is Maggie and she is a sweetie. I think she will be perfect company for my Grandma. After we picked her up, we went to eat lunch at a new deli in town that was really good. Their croissants are amazing! Briley and I then went to my Dad's house to hang out and watch the Mizzou game before going over to the Early's for a Valentine's day party.
After we had dinner, the kids had a scavenger hunt through the house with their Valentine's gifts as the finale. Briley was very excited about her lollipop as you can see by the picture. The adults were all really excited about the new Wii game they got. Everyone headed downstairs and the games began. After everyone had a turn, Briley, Ellie, Jackson, Zane, and Andy went out to the "big bath tub" as Briley calls it. Briley had so much fun that she told Andy and I that we needed to go to the store and get one.
Andy stayed home with Briley on Monday because it was President's Day. They went around and priced carpet while I went to work. That night I got home and Andy had done Briley's hair and he was very proud of himself. He had never done it before. We went out to Nebraska Furniture Mart that night and bought our carpet. It is supposed to be installed in two weeks and then the basement will be done. Yea!!
I have been busy this week trying to get everything ready for the baby. I am now 36 weeks and I would be shocked if the baby doesn't come within the next two weeks with the way I am feeling. I had a prenatal massage yesterday that was glorious. My massage therapist gave me some tips with using a tennis ball to help relieve any pain I may have from here on out. I also went to look for a boy outfit today at two stores that I drove between stores so I wouldn't have to walk, and then went to Target to do some shopping. I got half way through the store and I just couldn't make it any further. I gave up on the rest of my list and came home. It is pretty sad and frustrating when you can't get through a store without the feeling that the baby is going to fall out. I had reached my breaking point and I am now done for the day. My list is getting shorter and hopefully I will be able to get everything else ready this week and then the baby is more than welcome to come:)

Sesame Street

2010-01-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

This past Friday night, we got tickets to go see Sesame Street at the Sprint Center. We got tickets at the last minute from one of my parents at school and Briley was so excited. Daddy even splurged and bought her an elmo light toy that he says was worth ten cents and he paid fifteen dollars for. She loved every moment of the show and I am sure this is the beginning of many more of these fun shows for us.
We went to Lawerence on Saturday to have lunch with our friends Katie and Shawn and to watch the MU game. Katie and Shawn are expecting a baby girl on May 2nd and it will be their first. We are so happy for them and excited that our kids will be so close in age. Briley really loved their little dog named Kiwi. I'm sure Kiwi slept the rest of the day after we left because I'm sure she was not used to a toddler chasing her around. Briley was just giving her a little glimpse into her future when the baby arrives. Thank you Shawn and Katie for inviting us over for lunch!

That night we went out to eat at our new favorite chinese restaurant and then we went over to our old neighbors house to watch the KU/K-State game. Briley was very excited about playing with her future husband Jake. It had been awhile since she had seen him.

Our trip to Iowa

2010-01-31T12:25:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we packed up the car and drove to Carrol, Iowa to see Kaitlin and Zane. We hadn't really followed the weather issues that we were heading into before we had left and we probably should have. The fog was really bad Friday night on the drive up there. It was also a two lane road with a speed limit of 55MPH. At one point Andy said that he was beginning to wonder if the town of Carrol existed. When we finally got to town, it was blackness. They had a bad ice storm a few days before and a lot of the town did not have electricity. The Taylor's had electricity, but did not have a working furnace or cable until Saturday afternoon. The plan was to go skiing and tubing on Saturday, but the lodge was closed due to the storm so we had to make our own fun. Lissy took pictures of Briley and Ellie and then we went to the movies to see Tooth Fairy. If you haven't seen this movie, I would probably not recommend it, but is was the only kid's movie that was playing and it got them out of the house. The guys stayed behind and helped Zane hang dry wall in their garage.
That evening, the kids helped Papa make a snowman and then we played an intense game of Uno. After dinner, we went bowling and the kids loved it. Who knew how much fun bowling could be when you turn on the blacklights and hand out highlighters?
The next morning we got up and had breakfast before coming back home. On our way back, we made a detour through Maryville. Andy and I had not been back in about four years. There were definitely some things that had changed and we said we are really going to make an effort to come back for a game next fall.
Thank you Zane and Kaitlin for being great hosts! We loved your house and Carrol looks like it would be an adorable and quaint town if the weather was a little nicer.

Amanda and Carson came into town on Monday. They were on their way to Kirksville and stayed with us Monday night. It was so nice to see them! We hadn't seen them in about three months and Briley was very excited to play with Carson. We went out to dinner and then went to our house to relax. Andy went into to work late on Tuesday so that Carson and Briley would have an opportunity to play a bit longer before they left for Kirksville.

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and Briley of course came with me. I have seven more weeks to go and I am ready to meet this baby! After the appointment, we went to the birthing center at the hospital to get all of the pre-admission paperwork done. Briley got the opportunity to see where her baby sister/brother will be born. They said that Briley will be spoiled when she comes to visit us. They have a snack room and big sister stickers waiting for her. They also gave me a list of things to pack for the hospital and I really had to laugh when I saw "swim trunks for your partner". I told Andy that he didn't want to forget those because I am positive that he will want to get in the jacuzzi tub with me while I am in labor:) Could you imagine?

Nine Weeks to Go!

2010-01-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

Briley and I went to my doctor's appointment today and we got a pleasant surprise. I ended up being put in the patient room with the ultrasound machine and so Dr. Peck decided to go ahead and take a look at the baby to see if it was head down. Briley was very excited to get to see the baby and has been dragging the picture around. The baby looks good and is facing down. It is hard to believe that I only have nine weeks left! Time has really flown this time around. I would say that my nesting isn't really at home, it is at school. I think I am driving all of my employees crazy, but I want them to be prepared for our QRS evaluation in March since I may or may not be there for it. Therefore, I have been going through the classes and making them get ready two months early. Oh well, at least they will be ready; I am not a procrastinator so I don't want it to wait till the last minute. Here is a picture of our little one. It isn't the best, but my doctor really wasn't taking the time to take a good picture. The baby is laying on it's side looking at us if you can't tell. I was just excited to see it one more time before it is born.

Briley has been pretty entertaining lately. Her vocabulary is growing more and more everyday. She has had quite a few funny moments lately. One thing that she has been doing is pulling up my shirt to see the baby and she will say, "Oooohhh she's so cute." Like she can really see the baby. She has also been in a dancing mood lately. As soon as we get home she is bugging me to turn on the stereo and get her tutu so she can dance. She has gotten really particular on the type of music she wants to listen to. Her song right now is Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and she informed me today that she did not like Brad Paisley's newest song and wanted me to change it.
Lastly, Am came last weekend to watch Briley so Andy and I could have a night away. She brought her a pair of tennis shoes that she had gotten her for Christmas and hadn't fit her so she had exchanged them. Briley was so excited to finally get them! She put them on immediately and went running through the house. She calls them her "racing shoes". Thank you Am for watching her for us! We had so much fun going out to dinner, the movies, and spending the night on the Plaza. Briley misses you greatly and keeps asking me when you are coming back again. Am told us that she didn't ask about us once while we were gone. She didn't miss us a bit.

A Great Week!

2010-01-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Briley and I had this whole week off and it was perfect! We got back home last Sunday and Andy took off Monday to work on the basement. I had a three hour long glucose test to start my morning which was not fun at all. My arms are still all black and blue from them poking and prodding on me. The test came out fine which I knew it would. I am protesting against tests for the rest of this pregnancy!

On Tuesday, Briley and I went to the mall to return a few items from Christmas. I had promised her that if she was good, we could ride the Merry Go Round. Well, the time came and we walked over to get a token and I realized it was $2.00 not $1.00. I only had a one and a one hundred dollar bill, so we had to go find a place that would break it. After getting some gelato and socks, we had it broke and headed back over. She was so excited! After the ride, we loaded up and went back home.

Wednesday was spent running more errands, we had a tea party with apple cinnamon tea and cheerios (the perfect combination in Briley's opinion), and then went out to play in the snow. Briley wanted to make a snow angel and then we built a lopsided snowman that Daddy had to fix when he got home. We have gotten about 16 inches of snow here so far this week! Andy has had to shovel the drive three times.

Briley and I made a cupcake cake on Thursday to celebrate New Year's. Andy got home early and we went out to eat with our neighbors and their kids. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen and then went ice skating. It was freezing cold and Andy's back began hurting after helping Briley skate so it didn't last too long, but Briley loved it. She was very upset when Andy told her they were done. I watched from the sidelines and tried to get a few pictures. We went to Ingredients for some hot drinks and then went home. Andy fell asleep on the couch and then he went to bed around 11:00 p.m. and I lasted till midnight. It was a wild and crazy New Year's for us!

The next day Briley and I went out with our neighbors to feed their horses. They have a barn not too far from our house and Briley has wanted to go see them for some time. She was very excited about feeding the horses until she actually saw them. They were a little too big for her. She wanted me to feed them and she would give them a real quick pet and then back up. It was pretty funny. She then decided the barn cats and dogs were a little more her size.

The rest of the weekend was spent staying inside and trying to keep warm. It doesn't look like warmer weather is in our near future. We hope everyone had a great New Year's and we are hopeful that 2010 is good to us all!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-30T06:56:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas festivities started last Wednesday night when we loaded up and went to Stroud's for dinner. This is a tradition that Andy and I started last year and really looked forward to it again this year. After dinner, we went back home and Briley decorated Santa's cookies. She also got to open one present which was her Christmas PJ's. She wanted to put them on right away. We then put the reindeer's food outside and read T'was the Night Before Christmas. It was then off to bed because Santa was going to be coming down our chimney later that night. She was so excited about Santa coming to her house! After she went to bed, Andy taped wrapping paper in the entry way so she wouldn't sneak downstairs. The funny thing was she didn't rip through it the next morning, She and Viva crawled under it. I guess it didn't really do it's job if she really wanted to sneak down.

The next morning, Briley got up and crawled into bed with us like she does about every morning. She wanted us to turn Handy Manny on. We asked her if she remembered who was supposed to be coming to our house the night before. A smile spread across her face and she said, "Ho Ho bring Briley presents?" She got up quickly and we went downstairs to check it out. Well, Santa gave her just what she wanted, a big pink present. Presents took awhile to open because she had to stop in between to go back to her kitchen.
Andy gave me a prenatal massage as my big gift and I can hardly wait! I have just entered the third trimester and with that comes more aches and pains. I can hardly wait to get my massage. I also got some slippers, a coffee grinder, and another present which STILL hasn't shown up yet. Gotta love the post office! I gave Andy a night out. Am is coming next weekend to watch Briley and we are going to the Plaza for the night. I have booked a room and we can sleep in as long as we want with no Handy Manny in the morning. I think we both are really looking forward to it. He also got a tool box and a framed collage of Cardinals games that we have gone to to hang in his "man cave" when he gets it finished.
After having breakfast in our dining room with our Christmas china (we never eat in the dining room), we packed up and got on the road. The weather was starting to get nasty and we wanted to get home before it got too bad. Christmas Eve night was spent going to my Church at 5:00 and then over to my Dad's for soup. My Uncle Rick, his girlfriend Lisa, her sister, and my Dad's good friend Jack came over. We opened gifts with them before getting ready for Midnight Mass with Andy's family. Briley got a washing machine, baby doll, and apron from Rick and Lisa. She was so excited about it. The washing machine was in many parts so we told her that Santa might work on it when he stopped by my Dad's that night. She took a little nap with her new baby doll later on before we had to go to Church.
After Midnight Mass, Andy's Dad read Twas the Night Before Christmas. It was strange that Briley was the only Grandchild there this year. She didn't have to share Papa's lap. I hope she enjoyed it because it will be the last time that it will be just her.

On Christmas morning we got up and waited for the Farwells to come over. Once they got there, Briley and Ellie snuck into the family room without being noticed. We look in and they are already playing with the toys that Santa left! It was really funny to look at them in there checking everything out before everyone else. Andy walked in and spotted a stack of gifts that were all the same size and one for each family. He asked me what I thought they were, and I said I didn't know. When his parents finally passed them out, he ripped it open and started jumping up and down when that Mickey Mouse balloon flew out. I don't think I could begin to describe the joy on his face when he learned that we were going to Disney World. He still has the heart of a child and I can't wait to see his face as he enters the Magic Kingdom with Briley and our new little one.

We went back over to my Dad's house afterwards to open presents with them. Santa had put her washing machine together over the night and that made her very excited. She opened a couple of gifts and then she fell asleep. Christmas exhausted her. She slept for two and a half hours before finally waking up to open the rest of her gifts. It was killing my sister because one of those unopened gifts was from her. She gave her a really neat Wizard of Oz pop up book. We have it put up for now because I don't want her to tear it up. It is the most impressive book I've ever seen. She and Andy also got a sled and she got a scooter. So far Santa has been good to her and she still has two more to go! That night we had dinner at Andy's parent's house. My family also came over which is so nice. I love spending Christmas with my whole family. That night we went to my Mom's to spend the night and have Christmas with her the next morning.

We woke up Saturday and opened presents with my Mom, Jeff, and his kids. I got a really cute new beach cruiser which I am very excited about, Briley got a doll buggy and too many other gifts to name! Saturday afternoon was spent with family and that night we went to Tom's to have dinner with the Early side. We spent the night with my Dad and the next day we packed up the car, ate lunch with the Cleavers, and off to my Grandma's house for lunch before heading back home. We got home Sunday night and were so happy to be back. We got a lot of snow here so Andy worked on shoveling the driveway while I started unpacking the car. After getting things put away we were off to bed and couldn't be happier. Thank you to everyone for a great Christmas!

Visiting Santa

2009-12-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Briley has been asking us for several days to go see Santa Claus. We decided to take her yesterday morning. She was so excited to see "Ho Ho". She wanted to tell him that she wanted "big pink toys". We went to Bass Pro and Briley could care less about all the activities that they had for kids. All she cared about was speaking to Ho Ho. Well, we stood in line and when it was her turn she walked right up and sat on his lap. She had that shy look on her face that she gives and she fought back smiling. She didn't want anyone to know how excited she was at that moment. She has been asking to go back to see him constantly since we left. It was a better experience than what she had last year that is for sure.
After leaving, I headed out for my marathon of shopping. I told Andy I would not be done until it was done. I didn't get it all done, but I came very close. I finished up on Sunday. Let's just say that when I got to the grocery store which was the end of my journey, I parked right up front in the spot reserved for pregnant and new mothers. I wish every place I went to yesterday had that. I would have really appreciated it.
After Church today, we came home and got to work. Andy worked on putting drywall up in the basement and I made eight loaves of poppyseed bread for our neighbors. I feel like my body from the waist down might just fall off. It is amazing what pregnancy can do to you. I just ache and need a massage. I still have dinner to make for my staff at school this week on Thursday and then I should be about done with my holiday baking. We'll see.

We Know...It's Been Too Long!

2009-12-03T15:43:00.000-08:00

Before I begin this post, I need to take a moment to tell you of a painful loss in our family. My second cousin, Ashley Abernathy, passed away this past Tuesday, December 1st, after a courageous seven month battle with cancer. Although any death is painful, this one is extremely heart wrenching as she was only 22 years old. Her funeral is tomorrow, which would have been her 23rd birthday; she was far too young and this is truly a life cut short. I ask that you all keep Ashley, her mother Barb,and her little sister Kelsey, along with the rest of her family and friends, in your thoughts and prayers. It's losses like this that make you hold your children a little tighter because you never know what the future holds.

It has been a long while since we have done a post so I am unsure about where to begin. A few weeks back (I have lost track), Kaitlin, Zane and their dog Max came to town for the weekend. Viva and Max become instant friends; I kid you not, those two dogs wrestled around for three hours strait on Saturday. We spent the weekend doing some Christmas Shopping and catching up. This was their first time to see our house so now we need to make it up to middle of nowhere Iowa to see their new house.

The next weekend Lissy came into town for some photo shoots; it's amazing how quickly her business has picked up in such a short time. Saturday night we went over to our old neighbors house for a game night. We played some games but we spent most of the night eating and catching up with each other; since it has been cold out, we don't see each other near as much as we did during the summer. We also took advantage of the nice weather that weekend to finish putting up our Christmas decorations, and I have to admit, our house looks pretty darn good. I was going to make Lissy and Autumn stand out there on Saturday night and do the drum roll (for Christmas Vacation) when I turned on our lights but we ran out of time.

Last week we ventured back to Kirksville for Thanksgiving. This year was my parents year to host the Killday (mom's side) Thanksgiving. My Mom's side of the family is rather large; we typically have around 80 people for Thanksgiving. For that reason, we usually do it out at the fair grounds multi purpose building but my Mom was adamant that she was going to do it at our house this year. Much to my surprise, it worked out very well. Her and my dad worked very hard on all the preparations and we cannot thank them enough for such a wonderful Thanksgiving. That night we had another Thanksgiving dinner at Autumn's Mom's house and it to was delicious; thanks Julie and Marilyn...two Thanksgiving dinners in one day is a tough task so we made sure we did not over eat at either of them (which was an even tougher task). On Friday we had Elie's birthday and it was an event. When you fill a room full of two and three year olds and surround them with presents, it bound to get out of control...it was really funny to watch.

This week we have flung ourselves into full Christmas mode. Our trees and decorations are up and we had Briley's Christmas Party at her school this past Tuesday. Briley's class sang a song but Briley spent the whole time running around the room; oh well, she was still cute. I have a video of her performance posted below. This Christmas season has been so much fun, Briley is really getting into it and has to help us with everything. We have an advent house and every morning she gets to open a door and get a peice of candy, well this morning Autumn came down stairs to find Briley shoving her face full of chocolate...who knows how long the candy will last because she is pretty sneaky.

Tomorrow a lot of family members are coming into town for Ashley's funeral; I'm sure it will be an extremely somber day for all of us; I just can't get over how young she was...it's just not right. My Mom, Dad, Caroline, and Molly will be staying all weekend. For my Mom's birthday, Autumn and I got her tickets to a stage performance of "It's a Wonderful Life" down at Crown Center and then we are going out to eat at my Dad's favorite Italian restaurant, Garozzo's.

There are a couple of things that happened that I failed to mention above (because I have lost track of when they took place.) We had an ultra sound and we are extremely happy to say that our baby is very healthy; however, we will not find out the sex until the big day...we like surprises and you can't get a much better surprise than that. Also, Briley is now potty trained; we threw her a pantie party (all Autumn's idea) to celebrate her big girl moment. Basically, we just bought her a bunch of pantie's and let her unwrap it.

Lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, we can't wait to see you tomorrow; Briley is very excited.

So there you have it; that is our last month in a nut shell. We hope everyone is doing well; take care.

Mizzou Game

2009-11-08T16:09:00.001-08:00

Spending a Few Days in Shelbyville

2009-11-08T13:13:00.001-08:00

We went to Shelbyville on Wednesday for the visitation and funeral. My Grandpa had everything preplanned so it was quick for them to get ready. Thursday morning we went to the funeral home to visit. They opened his casket and Briley said, "Close the door, Papa is sleeping!" She was very concerned about us bothering him while he slept. A child is great for lightening the mood that is for sure. The visitation was Thursday and then the funeral was on Friday. The funeral was the perfect celebration to his life. After the funeral, I took some pictures of Briley playing in the leaves at the cemetary before we headed to the lunch at the Church.
When we got back to my Grandma's, Briley went out to play in the leaves with Asa and Am. This kept her entertained for quite sometime. That night Amity, Asa, and Briley played hide and seek. It took Asa 30 minutes to find Am and Briley. They were hiding in a closet upstairs. When he finally found them, they started going through the closet and you can see by the pictures below, what became of it.
Andy, Briley, and I got up on Saturday and went to Columbia for the Mizzou game. This was the first Mizzou game for Briley and I think she enjoyed it eventhough they lost. Andy and I have decided that it is best not to go to games because we never see our teams when. It is always a guarantee that they will lose if we go to the game. Our tickets were right next to the band and she enjoyed dancing and clapping as they played. That night we drove back home and it was nice to be back in our own beds! We also had today to get things done around the house before going back to work tomorrow. Andy even got our Christmas lights up. I must say that he did a great job! We won't actually turn them on for a couple more weeks, but it was nice to get them up while we had this beautiful weather.

Farewell to a Great Man

2009-11-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a bit of a whirlwind in the Early household. I got a phone call on Monday that my Grandpa had had a seizure and was not doing well. Andy and I took off Tuesday in the hopes of getting to go back to say goodbye, but he passed away early Tuesday morning before we got the chance. Though he has been sick for about four years, the end came rather quickly. I know that he is at peace, and much happier than he was living in the nursing home. My Grandpa was one that never wanted to get old, he was a person that was always on the go and did not want to slow down.
As I stood there during the visitation, I heard countless colorful stories from friends, family, students of his, and teachers that had worked for him. He was the Superintendent for North Shelby for nineteen years and he touched many lives including mine. Going somewhere with my Grandpa has always been an adventure because you never new what he was going to do or say. Am and I talked about the many times he would just show up at school to say hello. I had a field trip to Thousand Hills in the fifth grade. My class showed up at the park and there was my Grandpa picking up cans with his shirt off. As the teacher tried to steer us away from this strange man, I had to tell her that it was okay, it was only my Grandpa. He loved recycling cans and would stop on the side of the road just to pick up a can.
He also took us on many adventures growing up. When you got in the car with him, you never new where you would end up. It could be to Dairy Queen, a grocery store for a good deal, historical landmark, or you might just get kicked off a ferris wheel at Old Settlers for being to loud and obnoxious:) Vacations often took detours to see something historical. He loved history and teaching it to us.
Our nights were spent playing restaurant where he would set up tv trays in the living room and serve us our dinner. We had little bells that we would ring and he would be at our service. After dinner, it was Uno of course and we finished the evening with milk shakes. Yes we were spoiled!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

We have been very busy in the Early household the past couple weeks. Briley became potty-trained a couple weeks ago which is very exciting. We get a few months diaper free before the new baby comes! She is very cute when she tells us she has to go to the bathroom. She tells us she has to "twinkle". It makes me smile everytime. I have some pictures below of her panty party that Andy and I had for her when she started using the bathroom. It consisted of ice cream with sprinkles and of course gifts of princess panties. She loved it!

We went home last weekend since we had decided to stay in Kansas City for Halloween. It was really a nice weekend of relaxing. Briley showed off her Aerial costume to Ellie and my Dad because that is what she had decided to be for Halloween. She got some fun Halloween gifts from her Grandparents and a bag of candy and a cell phone from my Uncle and his girlfriend. She became very excited about this whole Halloween thing.

Carson and Amanda came to stay with us on Monday night. They were driving up from Texas and stayed with us on their way to Kirksville. Briley was very excited to see her cousin. I just wish they could have spent more time together. Oh well, they will have plenty of time to play in a month. Amanda is doing well and the twins are growing like they should be. It is fun that our kid's will all be so close in age.

Tuesday was Briley's Fall Festival at school. She did not go as Aerial though. She went as a candy corn witch. After watching Hocus Pocus for the past week, she decided that is what she wanted to be. We bought the costume Monday and I must say that she made the perfect little witch. She had a lot of fun at her party. I was busy being in charge of everything so Andy was the lucky one to go around to all the activities with her.

Last night was our first Halloween in our neighborhood and it was so much fun! We had really debated on whether to stay here or go back home and in the end we decided to stay. Andy and I worked all day to get the house and yard ready for the scavenger hunt. I made spider cupcakes and oreo eyeballs as well as set up the scavenger hunt throughout the yard. We had pizza and appetizers out in the cul-de-sac and then we were off trick or treating. I must say that our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween. There were some really neat houses. Our neighbor behind us had black light that showed monster foot prints going up to his door where he was dressed up passing out candy. Briley would not go up because it was too scary. He had to come to her. We also had a house with a guy sitting in his garage (to show of his ferrari and BMW) handing out candy to the kids and beer to the adults. Andy was impressed by this house. Our HOA was set up at one of the houses and they had cookies, treats, and drinks for everyone. It was our halfway mark and then it was on to our house for the scavenger hunt. The kids and parents had a lot of fun with the hunt. The end result was desserts and hot chocolate in our kitchen. Andy and I think we will step it up next year and make it a little harder for them. Overall, the night was so much fun! This was the first year that Briley has gotten to really enjoy trick or treating and she loved every minute of it. She has been dragging around her candy purse all morning.

The Flu Bug Bites

2009-10-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

After going all week with what seemed like no sun, the nice weather this weekend was a welcomed presence. Grandma Julie and Asa came to town on Friday for Grandparents day at Briley’s school and from what I hear Briley was VERY excited to have them there; thanks for coming Grandma Julie and Asa. In anticipation of our guests, Briley and Autumn made brownies on Thursday night; well I should say Autumn made the brownies while Briley licked the spoon, mixer, and bowl clean (the picture tells the story).

On Saturday we made a trek out to Nebraska Furniture Mart so that Grandma Julie could get a new video camera and we wanted to look at tile for our master bathroom, which along with finishing the basement, is one of my many interior projects to get me through the winter. Grandma Julie and Asa had to head back to Kirksville for a wedding so we said our goodbyes and then Autumn, Briley, and I headed to boutique shop over by our house to look for furniture for Briley’s big girl room. Not only did we find everything we needed, but we were out of there in 15 minutes with our loot, which from a guy’s perspective is a successful shopping trip. One of the items we got was a large mirror to put above the bed so I had to build braces for it and attach it to the wall (very securely). Then we painted Briley’s bookshelf so that it would match the rest of the furniture in the room. Aside from some pictures that need to go on the walls, Briley’s big girl room is done.

Unfortunately, Briley was not able to enjoy her new room as she has come down with the flu. She crawled into bed with Autumn and I at about 1AM on Sunday and proceeded to vomit all over the bed; it was lovely. After getting the bed and Briley cleaned up, we all went back to bed. She threw up again on Sunday morning and has been running a temperature off and on since. Papa Early called her in some medicine and she seems to be feeling better today but we will probably keep her out of school for a couple more days just so she does not get anyone else sick. We got a call from Grandma Julie on Sunday and she and Asa are both sick with the same thing; Autumn and I are crossing our fingers and hoping we do not get it.

I have also posted some pictures of the witch I made for the front yard; Autumn found the idea in a magazine so we had one of her friends draw us the pattern so that all I had to do was trace it onto some plywood, cut it out and paint it. It turned out to be really cool but I must admit, sometimes in the morning while getting into my car I will catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and it makes me jump a little.

We also have one last bit of BIG NEWS, cousin Bella is also going to be a big sister, Sara and Ryan announced to the family that they are having a baby. So get this, our baby is due the end of March, Sara and Ryan’s baby along with Amanda and Todd’s twins are due the exact same day towards the middle of May, although Amanda will go early with the twins. Craziness, four new babies in less than two months and when you include Lincoln, that is five babies in nine months; the number of grandkids in our family will have doubled in a year (Grandma and Papa Early are going to have a busy spring). We are growing by leaps and bounds. Congratulations Sara, Ryan and Bella, we are so happy for you and can’t wait for the little ones to arrive.

Our witch, or as Papa Early tells Briley, "Grandma Julie"

Brileys New Dresser

Mirror in Briley's Room

Asa, Briley, and Grandma Julie

Briley after "helping" with brownies.

Heading to the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

"We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Halloween by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive to embrace the frosty majesty of the fall landscape and select that most important of Halloween symbols."

Does this quote sound familiar? This is exactly how we felt when we bundled up this weekend and headed to the Pumpkin Patch. Usually it is 80 degrees when we head out, but I don't think we are going to get a day like that this October so we braved the cold and went. Amity was lucky enough to be here this past weekend so she got to go to. Lucky her! Briley enjoyed seeing all the baby animals. She thought the piglets were cute and she was not so sure of the baby cow that kept mooing for her to pet him. After we checked out all the animals, and played on the playground, we got on the tractor for a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. Andy was willing to pay the extra money to buy the pumpkins that were already picked, but I felt we needed to go pick our own. We slopped through the mud and came out with four pumpkins. Afterwards, we headed back to the house and stayed in the rest of the day.

Andy made one of my absolute favorite meals on Sunday afternoon! My sister and I love chicken and dumplings and he was sweet enough to make it for us before Amity had to catch the train back to St. Louis. I also made an apple pie to round out the day of yummy comfort foods. It was the perfect meal for a cold day. I just wish he would make them more often:)

Happy Birthday to Daddy and Viva!

2009-09-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Andy's birthday this weekend. Friday night Andy's grandparents came into town and we met them for dinner at Stroud's. Yummy! I had been looking forward to this meal all week. Andy and I usually only eat there when we have family in town. It is not the place you want to frequently go to unless you want to double your weight. I don't think there is a healthy thing on the menu, but it is oh so good. After dinner, we headed home to meet Jonathan, Tabitha, and Brighton. They were staying with us for the weekend because Jonathan had a conference on Saturday. We pulled into our driveway and our house had been TPed! Tabitha ran out and swore they didn't do it and about that time our neighbors yelled out "Happy Birthday" from their houses. I took a few pictures of it, but it was dark so they aren't the best.

Andy's parents came down on Saturday morning to celebrate Andy's birthtday. Grandpa Mike and Karen also came over to see our house and then we went to lunch. We came back to the house and Andy and Mike planted a tree and some shrubs in our backyard. I know that is what Andy wanted to do on his birthday! Oh well it looks really good. Briley unwrapped Andy's present while we were all outside not paying attention to her. I came in and it was all over the floor so I just called Andy in to see it because I wasn't going to wrap it up again. I got him Mizzou tickets for us to go to. I am really excited to take Briley to her first MU football game. We are sitting close to the band so I know she is going to love it.

That night we met Jonathan at the Plaza for the art fair. It was really crowded but the food was delicious. After eating, I took Briley into the toy store to look around. She found the cutest toy shopping cart and took it as her own. She walked around the store and filled it with each and everything that she wanted. It looked like she was at the grocery store grabbing this and that. I finally had to have Andy come in to assist me. I couldn't take the cart away, put all the toys away, and carry her out kicking and screaming. I guess we know what she wants from Santa:) We had cake and Viva had a apple cinnamon pupcake from the barkary to celebrate their birthdays that night.

Andy's parents left Sunday morning and then the Cleaver's and us went out to brunch at Trolley's before they headed home. I spent the rest of the day trying to rest. I have been having some rough nights lately and just can't get a good night's sleep. I spend my nights sleep walking and getting ready for school at 1 in the morning, and having the weirdest dreams. I know it is probably the hormones and I hope I get over it soon. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

Red Barn Art Fair

2009-09-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

Briley and I went home last weekend for the Red Barn Art Fair. Lissy had a booth so we thought we would go back and help her out. We headed up at 6:00 to start setting up. It was a little crazy but we got it done and I think it turned out really cute. She got a lot of interest and the booth seemed to be busy for the entire time. That night I went back to my Mom's and took a nap. The day was exhausting, but a lot of fun and exciting. Lissy definitely has talent in what she does and I can't wait to watch her new career grow. Not many people get the opportunity to have their passion become their career. Here are a few pictures of the booth and her Nieces advertising for her.

The House is Painted!

2009-09-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Andy has worked all summer on painting and replacing wood rot on our house. He finally finished about a month ago and then he went straight to yard work. He built flower beds around our patio and then we had someone come and work on the yard. Hopefully we will have a beautiful yard next spring. We'll see!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

Blowing out the Candles

Briley's New Cowgirl Boots

Briley Taking Care of Lincoln

We went home last weekend since we haven't been home for awhile. Briley enjoyed seeing her Grandparents and playing with all of her cousins. She especially enjoyed taking care of her new cousin Lincoln. He is a little over a month old and she adored him. She was always giving him kisses, rubbing his head, getting his pacifier whether he wanted it or not, and rocking him in his swing. I think she is going to be a good big sister.
Grandma Early celebrated her birthday on Sunday. The day was mostly spent relaxing. Mike and Allison made a delicious birthday meal and then there was the cake. Briley always enjoys a party with cake. She had two pieces before it was all said and done.
We visited the Cleaver family for a short little bit on Sunday. Brighton is getting so big! It is amazing how much they grow in a few short months. We need to get together more often!

Briley's Big Move

2009-09-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

Briley recently made the move to her big girl bed. I bought her bedding two weeks ago for her new bed and she decided that she wanted to sleep in that bed instead of the crib. I wasn't quite ready for this move yet I will have to admit. We still don't have her new room put together yet. It is just the bed and her toys. I wasn't planning on this move until late October, but she had other plans. She walked by the nursury on the way to her new room and said, "Goodbye crib." It was kind of sad for Andy and I. She is growing up too fast!

Now that she has found out that she can get out of this bed on her own, she often comes into our room around 5:30 and crawls into bed with us. As much as we know we need to break this, we do enjoy the cuddle time:). She came in this morning around 5:30 and got into bed with us. She slept for another two hours and then got up and turned on the Disney channel to watch tv while her lazy parents tried to sleep a little longer. Here are a few pictures of her in her bed.

Papa Visits

2009-08-18T17:27:00.001-07:00

Friday night we had a cul-de-sac party. We had a BBQ and the kids got to make smores and watch a movie projected on one of our neighbors garages. Briley was so excited to get her PJ's on and watch the movie in her sleeping bag. It was pretty cute.
Papa Sparks came down on Saturday and stayed till today. He watched Briley Saturday night so that Andy and I could have a date night. We had tickets to see Chicago at the Starlight and I was so excited about it. On our way there, the clouds were looking dark and right about the time we got there it started to rain. The show is rain or shine so we went in with our umbrella and hoped for the best. We bought ponchos inside the theatre and got them on before the downpour began. We stood under the canopy for awhile and then it seemed to slow down a bit so we went to our seats. We sat there for about 10 minutes and the rain and lightening began again and we went back to the canopy. It finally slowed down to a sprinkle for the second half and we went back and sat down. I must say that it was pretty entertaining. I wouldn't put the date down as one of the most romantic nights. Ponchos are not the most attractive things.
On Sunday, my Dad and I took Briley to the zoo. She loved seeing all of the different animals. The zoo was pretty empty so we didn't really have to mess with crowds and the weather was perfect. Towards the end Briley started to get fussy and as we walked out with Briley screaming and trying to get out of her stroller, my Dad decided it might be the last time he makes the trip to the zoo:) He said he took two grandchildren to the zoo and that was enough.
Briley spent Monday and Tuesday at home with Papa and I know she really enjoyed it. She keeps asking where he went to. They watched a lot of Wizard of Oz and ate a lot of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal from what it sounds like.
We had a doctor's appointment today and had our first ultrasound. The baby looks great so far and has a strong heartbeat. Briley has been carrying the ultrasound picture around with her saying that it is her Baby Sister not brother. She is adament that it is a sister. I'm afraid we may have a very disappointed girl if it is not sister. We'll see.

Congratulations to Justin and Christine!

2009-08-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Early family headed to St. Louis for Andy's cousin's wedding this past weekend. As always, Briley enjoyed the dancing. I think she wore her Papa out by the end of the night. The wedding was at a really neat greenhouse in an old historical house. We were sitting right by the door that the bride walked out of. She walked by Briley and she looked at Andy and said "I like that" pointing to her dress. Anytime the bride got close to us she would start pointing and smiling. She is already planning her future wedding.
The reception was at the City Museum and Briley really enjoyed herself. She and her Daddy went out to play in the tunnels and slides that are throughout the museum. When they came back to the reception, Andy was dripping with sweat. He said the tunnels were neverending and he didn't think they were ever going to get out of it. He said she kept going in tunnels that were tight squeezes for him in his dress clothes. I think we will have to make another trip when we are in more appropriate clothing.

Guess What!!!!

2009-07-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the World Lincoln!

2009-07-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Andy's sister Allison gave birth to the cutest little boy this past Saturday. He weighed in at 6lbs 4oz. Everyone is doing great and Allison was lucky enough to come home on Sunday. Briley didn't quite know what to think of him. He was just soo small. You forget how little they are when they are newborns. We were luckily in Shelbyville for Old Settlers this weekend so we had the opportunity to go see him on Sunday. I have posted some pictures of him and of Briley at Old Settlers. She had a great time with her Great Grandma. She really loved the parade and the candy that went with it. She also really had fun on the rides.

Back from the Beach

2009-07-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

We got home last night from our annual trip to the beach and we had a blast! Briley really enjoyed the beach this year and it was hard to take her away from it. She enjoyed playing in the sand, looking for seashells, taking walks, and being wrapped up in her Aerial towel. She had a lot of fun playing with all her cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. As you will see in the pictures below, Briley loved wearing her sunglasses at the beach. She had four different pairs and she always kept them on. She would get really mad at us if we took them off when we went inside.
We spent our days playing at the beach and our nights were spent crab hunting, going to Seaside for delicious Frost Bites and entertainment, and celebrating my Mom's birthday. We took her out to eat at one of our favorite spots in Seaside and it was delicious. There is nothing better than grits and crabcakes when you are on the beach. Yummy!
Overall, we had a wonderful time and I'm sad that it went so fast. Time flies when you are having fun! Andy started his new job today and I am anxiously waiting for him to get home and tell us about it. Briley was very disappointed when we got home today and he wasn't here. She kept saying "Where Daddy go?" I guess we will have to get used to him not being here when we get home at nights.

Briley's First Dance Class

2009-07-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

The weekend before we left for Seaside, Briley had her first dance class. She is just so darn cute in her leotard and ballet shoes. She was not such a big fan of ballet. I think she is more of a hip hop and tap kind of girl. She just looked at them like they were crazy when they were doing tendus and plies. We will see how she does after a couple more weeks of it.

A Little Slice of Happiness

2009-07-12T16:39:00.001-07:00

Andy has been busy painting the outside of the house before he goes back to work tomorrow. He has to rent a cherry picker to get the very top peak, but I am in love with it so far! It reminds me of one of our favorite houses in Seaside. I smile everytime I turn onto our street and see our little slice of happiness at the end of the cul-de-sac.:)

Congratulations Zane and Kaitlin and Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went home to celebrate the marriage of Andy's sister Kaitlin to Zane. The weekend was a whirlwind. Our anniversary was Thursday night and we celebrated that with dinner at the Pear Tree with Andy's grandparents, aunts, and uncles on our way in to town. The dinner was delicious, but I wouldn't say that it was the most romantic anniversary. Oh well what do you do?
The next day was spent decorating the reception hall and then we were off to their Catholic wedding, rehearsal, and then we went out to celebrate. Briley stayed with my Mom so that Andy and I could stay out late and then sleep in. It was the first time we had both ever left her for the night, but she didn't seem to mind.
Saturday morning was beautiful! I was in charge of the bridal brunch and then everyone was off to get their hair done. I stayed behind and helped with things while Andy and Briley did a little swimming.
Later that afternoon we got dressed for pictures that started at 3:00. By 4:30 the clouds were beginning to roll in and there was talk of rain. We moved the wedding up a bit and cut the ceremony short to avoid the rain. Briley had no trouble at all walking down the aisle. She and her cousins were adorable! The ceremony was very sweet. As Kaitlin and Zane made their way back down the aisle, the rain began and we all ran for cover. We weren't able to get pictures done at the time because of the rain so we waited till we got to the reception. The rain let up just enough for us to take some pictures outside by some old buildings. I really think they are going to turn out pretty neat. The rain may have been a little stressfull but they say that it is good luck on your wedding day. I'm sure it will hold true for Zane and Kaitlin.
After pictures, we headed into the reception and that is when the fun began. Briley had such a good time dancing with everyone. She danced until she could not dance anymore.
On Sunday, the Taylors opened their presents and a lot of family came over for brunch and swimming. Later that afternoon we went to Dad's for dinner before heading home. We were all exhausted by the time we got home. It was difficult to go to work on Monday. Sitting on a beach in Mexico sounds like a better idea to me. It's too bad Zane and Kaitlin didn't invite us to come along.

Congratulations Brett and Alayna!!

2009-06-16T18:52:00.001-07:00

We went to Lincoln, Nebraska for Brett and Alayna's wedding last weekend. We had a a great time and caught up with a lot of old friends from high school. The bride was beautiful and the wedding was perfect. I just wish I would have taken more pictures.
We also recieved some big news on Thursday afternoon. Andy got a job!! We are so happy that Andy got a job working at a bank downtown. He starts as soon as we get back from vacation so he has put the house into high gear to get as much done before he starts back to work. We think that this job will be a great stepping stone with many opportunities for advancement. Sometimes a bad situation can be a blessing in disguise.
We will be heading back to K-Ville this weekend for Kaitlin and Zane's wedding. We can't wait!

Busy Weekend

2009-06-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a busy one for us; we had Amanda, Todd, Carson, and Lissy in town. Lissy was coming into town to do photo shoots to try and build her photography business. The Bobzien’s came into town Thursday night and we enjoyed a relaxing night sitting outside over some pizza while Carson and Briley played and fought over toys. Friday afternoon Lissy came into town and we all went to a park in Fairway to meet with one of Amanda’s old friends and her two kids. Briley and Carson both loved the park. As you can probably tell from the great pictures Lissy took, their favorite part was the swings. Friday night Todd had to meet an old boss for dinner so the rest of us had a BBQ and drinks at the house. On Saturday, while Autumn and Lissy were doing photo shoots we met some family friends at a park down in Brookside for another afternoon of swings and slides (Briley could not have been happier). Saturday night we went to a Belmont Stakes party at one of Todd’s old boss’s house out in Lee’s Summit. Needless to say, after such a busy day we were all spent by the time we got home that night. After seeing off the Bobzien’s Sunday morning, we pretty much laid low all day until Sunday afternoon when Lissy took our family photo before heading back to St. Louis. Next weekend we have a wedding in Lincoln, NE then the following weekend we head back to Kirksville for Kaitlin’s wedding then a couple weeks later we are off for Vacation in Florida. Well, I hope everyone is doing well.

Welcome Summer!

2009-05-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed to St. Louis for Kaitlin's bachelorette party and Zane's bachelor party. The bachelor party was Friday night at the Cardinal's game. Unfortunately the game was rained out, but they still got their money's worth in drinks and food. The girls to the kids to Monkey Joes and my friend Katie met us there with her daughter Charlotte. We showed up at around 7:30 and they unfortunately closed at 8:00. The kids didn't get too much time to play, but I think they really enjoyed themselves. Briley is a girl with no fear. She went right to the top of the slide and flew down without hesitation. She had so much fun she went up again for a second and third time.
The next day headed to the winery for Kaitlin's party. It was very relaxing and a lot of fun. We enjoyed trying all the different wines and looking at the gorgeous landscape. Afterwords, we went back to Sara and Ryan's for pizza and to get ready to go out. We went out for a short little bit and then went back home. I think everyone was exhausted from the day.
This weekend we welcomed summer with icecream, grilling, slip n' slides, and gardening. What fun! It was a gorgeous hot weekend here and we spent most of our time outside. Our neighbors got a blow up water park that was a hit with all the kids. We all know where they will be playing this summer. We got Briley's pool out on Friday and by Saturday Viva had popped a hole in it. That did not last long! Hopefully she won't get a hold of the other swim toys.
Andy and I also planted some flowers out front in our flower beds and added mulch. They look really good right now and hopefully we will be able to keep them that way. We'll see what they do!

Congratulations to the Cleavers and Am!

2009-05-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend! We got up early on Saturday and headed to Jefferson City to meet the newest addition to the Cleaver family. They had a baby boy named Brighton Harris on Cinco de Mayo. He is going to have a great 21st birthday I'm sure. He is absolutely precious! We are so happy for the two of you and we can't wait to see him in a few weeks.
After we visited with them, we went to Columbia for Amity's graduation. She graduated from Stephen's College and will be heading to Washington University in the fall for grad school. Andy, Dad, and Rick really enjoyed the man hating graduation. Stephen's is a women's college and they had feminist speaker that basically said the world would not be in the trouble it is in if women were in charge. My Dad said he was waiting for them to start throwing darts at all the men in the crowd. It was pretty entertaining. After graduation, we went out to eat at a local wine bar before heading back home.
Sunday was Mother's Day and we spent the day relaxing. Andy and Briley made me a delicious breakfast before we went to church. Briley gave me a little glass jar that she had painted that was filled with hugs and kisses. She let me have the jar, but felt the candy belonged to her. Andy caught her today chowing down on the rest of the chocolate. Oh well, I guess I probably didn't need it. I also spent the day watching a movie that I had been wanting to see and Andy even gave me a back massage. What a perfect day!

Bella's Birthday Party

2009-05-04T19:06:00.000-07:00
Well, this past week has been somewhat of a hard week in the Early household; I joined the ever-growing masses when I was laid off from my job at the bank on Wednesday. This was something that we did not see coming as the bank gave no indication that they were contemplating such a move. Since then I have been mass-mailing my resume to all my contacts and I’m glad to say I have a very good lead on a new job with the company I use to work for. Until then, my list of jobs around the house is keeping me busy and I am also looking forward to spending some much treasured time with Briley. Keep us in your prayers and keep your fingers crossed; we will keep you posted on any updates.

This past weekend we loaded up the family roadster and made a trek across the state to Ms. Bella Lou’s 1st birthday party at Ryan and Sara’s house in St. Louis. The party was great, the birthday girl was beautiful, and it was great to see our family. As you can see below, Bella was a very happy girl and I think she had a great birthday party. Her actual birthday is today sooo… HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA!!! Ryan has been hard at work over the last couple of months refinishing their basement and we could not believe how good it looks; Ryan did a great job. Now if we could just get him here to finish ours. Lissy was kind enough to let us stay with her; Briley always enjoys staying with Aunt Lissy because she gets to help feed her fish…the simple pleasures. Well, I better get going; we hope everyone is doing well.

Happy Birthday Briley Mae!

2009-04-26T13:25:00.000-07:00
Briley celebrated her second birthday this weekend with a Pinkalicious Party. I chose to do a Pinkalicious party because that is her all time favorite book. She has had Andy and I read it to her numerous times. The story is about a little girl who loves pink cupcakes. She ate too many one day and turned pink. She then had to eat green food to get back to her normal color. Briley thinks it is soo funny. We had a bbq and I made a lot of green food along with pink cupcakes just like the book. The party went really well and I think she really enjoyed herself. One of the cutest moments is when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. She got the biggest smile on her face. I was glad that we were able to capture it on camera because she was just too cute. Thank you to everyone for coming to the party. We were excited to have you all down.
It is hard to believe that Briley is two. It seemed like we were just bringing her home from the hospital. It is true what people say, kids grow too fast. Our little girl is a busy little bee now. Here are some of her likes right now:
cupcakes, helping her Mommy and Daddy with everything, being read to, balls, doggies, playing outside, her Skip-It and Bunny, squeeky shoes, jumping, dancing, the Mama Mia soundtrack, 101 Dalmations, going night night, telling everyone and thing hello and bye-bye, imitating Mommy with her purse, stroller, and baby, and coloring. We can't wait to see what this year has in store for her.

Home is where your story begins...

2009-03-28T18:32:00.001-07:00
We have officially moved into our house!!!! We are so excited to finally be into the house after weeks of hard work. We got our house February 23rd and have been working non-stop. We painted the whole interior, replaced all the faucets, light fixtures, had the carpets cleaned, the wood floors refinished, and Andy has now moved to the outside. We have worked from sun up to sundown to make this house our own and it's getting there. Thank you to all of those that helped us make our house a home. We are forever grateful to all of you because there is no way Andy and I would have been able to do this on our own.
Briley did very well hanging out at the house while we were busy working. As you can see in the below pictures, our child was a little neglected during this whole process. I have always been annoyed with parents who used the tv as a babysitter, but it was truly a blessing while we painted! She would watch her movies and eat whatever junk we could scrounge up for her and she was pretty content. I really felt like a terrible Mom some nights when I would take her back to the apartment for a bath with BBQ Pringles all over her face and paint from head to toe. She was our little white trash baby, but we are now moved in and she loves to explore her new house. Viva has also enjoyed her backyard. It is hard to get her to come in at nights.
Our cul-de-sac is great! We have met just about all the neighbors and they all seem to be very nice. One of ladies came over a couple days ago to get our phone number and email address. She said that they have an annual Easter Egg Hunt on our street and movie nights outside during the summer. What Fun!! The kids are always playing outside and the parents set up their lawn chairs along the street each night to talk. Andy said we needed to invest in some fold up chairs soon. We can't wait to begin our story in our new house.
I have pictures of our house below. I don't have all my pictures hung up on the walls yet, but I figured I had better do an update anyway. Just give us a call if anybody wants to go help Andy paint the outside of the house!