Brynne’s Life Through My Phone

 

     Well, this is Taylor.  I haven’t blogged in a while, so I guess that means that I have to make some kind of apology, then an excuse, and then promise to post X amount of times in the next month, but I’m not going to.  

     We took these pictures with my phone, so the quality isn’t that great, but they are memories none the less.  I mostly use my phone to get Brynne to calm down when she is acting up in various places, and these pictures are the result.

At RC Willey and the Grocery Store… Her first donut!!! 

Studying with Dad at school.  Dione says these pictures show how much alike we look.

Brynne’s first chips and salsa.  She mostly just licked the salsa off the chip.  She didn’t mind the spicy.

 

Brynne loves to swing and go to the park.  She has learned to pull herself up onto platforms and isn’t afraid of the taller/steeper slides, in fact she prefers them!

 

 

She loves the trampoline out back.  Just about every time we go outside she says, “bunts” (bounce) and she throws a fit if she doesn’t get to!

 

Salem Pond on a Sunday afternoon.  We went to feed the ducks, but they didn’t like the goldfish crackers we had for them.  She knows that a duck says “kack, kack,” and thinks all birds do the same.  Brynne decided to go for a swim too.  Water was freezing!

   Brynne recently learned how to draw.  She does well drawing on the paper and herself, and has now started stabbing the page.  I am disappointed that she wont let me trace her hand.

 

 

The flowers are in bloom here and Brynne learned to smell them.  Then when she discovered the dirt, she tried to fill the tulips with it.  and her dress as well.

Brynne’s most recent trips to the doctor.  The bottom 3 are before and after Brynne’s surgery.  You can read about that here.  The above pictures are of her first “non check-up” visit. 

I love this little girl!  She makes us laugh so hard and keeps us smiling.  Although I don’t want her to grow up too fast, I can’t wait to see the young lady she will grow into!

Well, that is it.  Even though many of you are Dione’s friends and not mine, please comment anyway.  The more comments I get, the more substantiated I feel about my life!

Pavlova recipe

Life has been absolutely crazy this last week, more for Taylor than me. He took his MCAT yesterday, so he has been studying like crazy for that, he has had finals, he had 3 interviews in SLC, he got a job offer that we are trying to decide whether or not to take, whether or not to move.. etc, etc. Its true that when it rains it pours!
Anyways I was watching some cooking shows to keep myself busy while Taylor has been gone. Its got a baked meringue crust which reminds me of Ms. Oviats food class in 9th grade, she was this really eccentric crazy lady that had lost like 200 pounds and so we learned how to make really healthy things....so the crust has no fat.

Meringue crust
4 large egg whites at room temp
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
2 teas cornstarch
1 teas white vinegar
1 teas vanilla

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper (I used aluminum foil and it did not work) on a pan. Draw a 9 inch circle on the paper, using a 9 inch plate as a guide. Then gurn the paper over so the circle in on reverse.

Place egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat eggs and salt for about a minutes. slowly add sugar till first shiny peaks. sift cornstarch, add vanilla, and vinegar to the top of egg whites, slowly fold in with rubber spatula. Pile mixture onto pan using the 9 inch circle as a guide. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Let cool for a hour. will be crisp on outside and soft on inside.

Whip a pint of heavy whipping cream with a teas vanilla a three tablespoons p. sugar. place on cooled meringue, top with any fruit, and a fruit syrup.

I did strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, with a strawberry syrup, and it looks gorgeous, and is really unique and fancy.

7 things :)

1. The Tongue Surgery.

A few months ago Brynne fell and I noticed she had a tiny white mark on her tongue. Well...it kept growing and growing, and honestly, it was getting really gross. I finally took her to the pediatrician, where he didn't know what it was, and neither did the other pediatricians in the office. So, they found a pediatric dentist that was going to remove it and then they were going to do a biopsy (we still don't know the results of this.) Sooo they said it was going to be 20 minutes no big deal.......so I wasn't emotionally prepared for the big deal it was! We got to the hospital at 6 am because Brynne was supposed to be fasting. We filled out paper work, took vitals, changed Brynne, waited around, talked to the Dr., talked to the Anesthesiologist, and about 8:30 she was finally done and coming out of the anesthesia. When we when we went in she was having a hard time coming out of the anesthesia, she was thrashing around, had blood ALL over her, didn't recognize me or Taylor, kept trying to pull her 3 stitches in her tongue.....oh it was for sure my personal hell seeing her like that! Around 9:30 we finally calmed her down enough to put her in the car. She took a nap when we got home and did really well after that....but I'm sure glad its over! P.s. this pic doesn't nearly do that growth justice.
2. The Aquarium.
My mom came out to visit for her spring break last week! It was so fun to have her! We had a great time, and Brynne loved all the extra attention. We went to the aquarium one day, Kenny got to come because he took a half day off work....it was really nice for only $9! What a deal...the Monterrey aquarium is like $40 I think. Anyways they had some cool exhibits, Kenny and I got attacked by a ray we were trying to pet, and we didn't bring the stroller so Brynne was constantly running around.


3. Independent girl.
Brynne is learning that she likes to do things on her own! She has learned the word "NO."...it is frustrating! She LOVES to go Bye Bye because it's her opportunity to try to run to the back yard to get on the trampoline...she could stay on there for hours. She has created this game that when shes bored she will try to walk from place to place with her eyes tightly closed, its hilarious. When she gets an idea she will say PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE relentlessly till she gets it...like this camel-back, our phones, but especially chocolate. Its better to not give her any at all! She has learned to twirl in circles when she dances to any music from twinkle twinkle to some old beastie boy music. Oh she has so many good tricks and is always keeping us entertained, we LOVE her and her fun personality!
4. Easter.
I love when conference weekend falls on Easter! It makes it easier to remember the atonement. Taylor and I got to go to Saturday morning session thanks to Kenny and Andrea for babysitting and changing not 1 but 2 dirty diapers. It was so nice to go and feel the spirit so strong, and not be distracted. I have a lot to work on as a parent that is for sure, but I felt like conference was very encouraging. We also had lunch at Johny Carinos, so good. It was a much needed date!
Brynne loved the candy in her basket and for awhile wouldn't eat anything unless we put it in the egg first...so she ate pieces of a casadilla and crackers from her eggs. Taylor made us some great Easter pancakes!

5. New Table.
This beauty was our first furniture purchase not from craigslist or KSL, and I am in love. Someone gave us our other table when we got married and the chairs were broken and the table was starting to fall apart...so I convinced Taylor that we did get our tax return.......Taylor did some wheeling and dealing and got the sales man to take off more than $200 off the sale price, so we got a amazing deal!

Using the table for mom's birthday party, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We had the party on April fools, so I put some vinegar in Kenny's drink. But he tricked me later when I bent down to pick up Brynnes sippy, and switched our cups, so I also got to try the vinegary crystal light...delish.
The table hard at work during our fondue party we had with our FHE group.

6. New babies in the Family.
Alex and Megan had their third baby recently! His name is Wesley, and he's darling. His sisters seem excited! Erica and Riley also had their third baby girl, and her name is Natalie, she has got the most gorgeous dark hair! We are excited about our new nephew and niece!



7. Loyalty. What a great quality!
Just something I've been thinking about.....I think its so important to have feelings of loyalty towards your friends, family, country, etc. I like this quote from President Hinckley. "I think of loyalty in terms of being true to ourselves. I think of it in terms of being absolutely faithful to our chosen companions. I think of it in terms of being absolutely loyal to the Church and its many facets of activity. I think of it in terms of being unequivocally true to the God of heaven, our Eternal Father, and His Beloved Son, our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Its a ........

Ultra sound technician:
It looks like its a boy!
Oh wait that might have been just the cord.
We'll double check. Yep its a boy!
He is such a active little guy, he wont hold still! (her excuse why all the
ultra sound pictures are blurry!)

Taylor: Yayyyyyyy!!!
Me: We have to go shopping! Babies can be boys? Cant quite imagine it!

Winter crafts

My mom wanted to see this quilt I made for one of Kenny's bff's. He said he wanted a real "Mormon made quilt." So he sent me all the 501's and dickies he had been saving, haha. I probably wont ever offer to do that again. But anyways sewing is always a lesson on how to be detail oriented because I am not that way at all!
Purse I made out of a chair cover wedding gift we never used.
There was this family in our stake where the parents of 10 were hit by a car of someone on drugs, and the dad died and the mom was in the hospital for a month without much health insurance, and the dad didn't have life insurance, so we had a charity auction, so sad. I forgot to take a picture of the finished quilt, but if we are having a boy I want to make his bedding with these colors.
I inherited this chair from my sister in law, sold my glider I didn't like, and used the money to re finish this. There are a few issues with this chair and I haven't put a clear coat on yet. I wish I would have practiced the antiquing on a board or something first.....oh well its finally done! But I will chalk it up to a learning experience, and it will look good enough in Brynne's room.

Brynne Latley.

Spring Fever!!

Happy Valentines day! Taylor and I have always gone out for Tai food on Valentines day, but this year the restaurant was quite the disappointment, so we got some dessert! We also went swimming at the indoor pool which was great, I forget in the winter how much I love to swim...even if I was possibly the whitest person in the pool!

On Sunday we made this fancy meal...I am really really bad at making meat, so my new goal is to learn how to make it without it being dry. I ALWAYS overcook it because I cant handle the thought that it might be raw or underdone. I have only in the past couple of years not needed to put baggies on my hands before touching raw meet. Anyways these were called braised short ribs, and they were moist, yay, a first for me!
Our little Valentine!
Here is Brynne ripping up her valentine:) Taylor gave me a swifter mop (romantic I know..but what I wanted!) And he hid it outside by the dumpster, where he had put the old mop out there, and he was playing that song from the commercial "Baby come back!" I thought it was hilarious, those commercials crack me up especially when the mop falls in love with the bowling ball!
Brynne and I flew to California to "hang out" with my brothers while my parents went on a much needed vacation to San Diego. Brynne obviously thought we were in Hollywood.
The first part of the week was absolutely gorgeous, how I LOVE the sun! I know my mood changes to ten times more happy when I'm outside! We spend most of our time at the park next to my parents house.
Telling grandma a joke!
Brynne and grandpa love the apple blossoms........who doesnt!!
Brynne and chad.....after dinner. I guess Chad's shirt was even more dirty than Brynnes and he had to take it off.
Todd studying away! In fact he was at the computer so much that whenever he wasnt there Brynne would look at the computer and say Taaaaaaaaa??