The Santa Train

We took a ride on the Santa Train on Wednesday night! The event was at Irvine Regional Park and I think it may be a new Christmas tradition for us! The park was decorated with lights on all the trees and they turned the train into the Santa Train and it took us for a ride through the park to Santa's Village where Santa was. Aubrey got to see Santa and she discussed all her Christmas list wishes with him. Then we were treated to hot chocolate and a cookie! Aubrey got to see alot of her friends from school there which made the night even more exciting for her. Then we hopped back on the Santa Train and it took us back to where we started. The end of the ride was really fun because we rode through a tunnel of tons of Christmas lights and then we were showered with fake snow (bubbles) as the ride ended. What a fun time!

Waiting for the Santa Train!

She loves Santa!

Discussing her Christmas list with the big man.

Aubrey and Mommy :)

Aubrey and Daddy :)

Getting hit with fake snow!!

Thanksgiving 2008

We had Thanksgiving at my Aunt Ammie and Uncle Tim's house this year. My aunt always makes everything so beautiful. We managed to actually have the early dinner that was planned and the food was SOOOOOOO good! And there was so much of it! It was Taylor's first Thanksgiving and first family event so she was the star of the night with everybody making a fuss about her...how can I blame them?! :) She actually slept pretty much the entire time and as she was passed around. Aubrey ran around the whole time with her cousin Zach. They have so much fun together! Since my aunt and uncle live right on the Coto de Caza golf course a bunch of the guys jumped onto the course to hit some golf balls around...definitely a highlight for Mitchell since he LOVES to golf! We also played this game called CRL or something like that. Although I didn't win, it was a pretty fun game! Overall we had a really nice time and I love being with my family!

Here we are playing CRL...

And my cousin Melissa holding Taylor...

First Photo Shoot

A photographer came to our house to take newborn photos of our little Taylor and Aubrey. These are just a few of the pictures...I haven't seen them all yet! Cute stuff!

Baby Taylor Is Here!

She's here!!! Taylor Cozy Bryant arrived Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 4:15pm! She weighed 7lb 4oz and was 20 inches long. She is a beautiful baby and is the perfect addition to our family. Aubrey loves her new baby sister and wants to hold her and kiss her head every chance she gets! She's been a big help too. It's amazing the simple things she helps me with really makes a huge difference! So now I have my 2 little girls and although I'm a little sleep deprived I couldn't be happier!

39 Week Update ~ Any Day Now!!

So this will probably be the last blog before the baby arrives. She is actually due this Sunday but I will be induced on Saturday morning if she hasn't arrived on her own by then. I'm excited to finally hold her in my arms, but on the other hand am not looking forward to the recovery. I'm doing rather well considering I'm a few days shy of being 40 weeks pregnant! I feel like I've been like this forever. I was still 1 centimeter dilated at my last appointment on Monday. So now we just wait and wait. C'mon little girl...come out!!!

F.U.D.G.E. Night at Aubrey's Preschool

This is a little out of order, but last week on Thursday night Aubrey's preschool had their F.U.D.G.E. night. It stands for fathers, uncles, dads, grandpas, and everyone else male that is important in your child's life. I think I got that right. It's a night of decorating pumpkins. Everyone brings a pumpkin and the kids and dads use all sorts of items to decorate their pumpkins. Aubrey and Mitchell had a great time and decorated their pumpkin as a princess...of course! Mitchell was the artist behind the creation but Aubrey came up with the initial idea. Look at this beauty!

37 Week Update! Almost there!

Yes, at this point I am counting down the days...or I should say I am fully aware that I could very well go into labor at anytime now. Yay! So at 37 weeks I'm considered to be at full term. Thank you God for getting me through the last 37 weeks with no problems! I saw my doctor today and all is still pretty uneventful besides being dilated 1 centimeter. I got real excited when I was told I was dilated with Aubrey at 36 weeks only to find out most women start to dilate during the last month, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're about to go into labor...and that was totally true. So, the same excitement didn't come over me this time...but at least it's one less centimeter I have to worry about and I didn't have to suffer through it! Oh, and she is positioned with her head down...ready for take off I like to call it! We'll see how everything is progressing next week. I'll bet that all will be the same. This little baby is pretty happy in there I think...minus the occasional karate kicks and jabs she delivers to my insides at random times. :)

Everything is set up and ready at the house minus a few minor details that probably don't really matter. I keep putting off packing my bag for the hospital. Maybe because alot of the stuff I want to take will be put in at the last minute anyway. I suppose I should start it. I have the baby's diaper bag ready though! Even that I just did today!

I'm starting to get a little cold. My nose is a little runny and I feel like I'm a little off. Hopefully it will pass quickly before the baby arrives. I'm sure it will.

As for the rest of the Bryant family, they're all good. They all take such good care of mommy...minus all the messes they make!

32 Weeks Pregnant...Update

So I'm totally OVER being pregnant now! I'm 32 weeks along...which is 8 months for those of you trying to do the math. :) I've been very lucky to have no complications thus far. I'm just really really uncomfortable alot of the time. My belly is getting so big but for some reason I still try to get around like it's not there...and I am constantly bumping it into things (poor baby!). I can't help but compare this pregnancy to when I was pregnant with Aubrey. They have been so different and I'm already as big as I was at full term with Aubrey!! I'm hoping that I've just created a bigger home for this baby and it's not going to be a huge baby! I had a doctors appointment on Monday. I've gained 20 pounds and am right on pace to gain 1 pound per week for the rest of the pregnancy...it just sounds like alot, but I know its totally normal. The baby was head up and diagonal when the doctor checked on Monday, but she moves all over still so I'm hoping she'll settle into the launching position very soon. My worst fear is having to have a c-section. Another concern of mine is that because she does move like an acrobat in there I'm afraid she's going to get tangled in her umbilical cord. I should stop worrying and just let things happen. I have another doctors appointment in 2 weeks so I'll try not to think about it til then...yeah right!

Summer's Over...Back to School!

Aubrey started back at preschool last week on Monday! This will be her final year of preschool. She is in Mrs. Del's class this year in the Orange Room. She goes three days a week now and she's loving it. She kept asking all summer if summertime was over yet...she couldn't wait to get back to school with all her little friends! We're looking forward to seeing all she's going to learn this year and getting her ready for kindergarten. I can't believe our baby girl is going to start "real" school next year!

Vegas

We took a trip to Vegas last week. Aubrey hadn't been since she was a baby so we were all excited to go. We showed her pictures of Vegas before so she knew where she was going. We left early in the morning on Wednesday and made it to Vegas at noon. It was SUPER hot as expected! We stayed at the Venetian and had a view of all the pools. Aubrey LOVES staying at hotels so she was thrilled with the room. Everything was so fancy and she loved every detail...especially jumping from bed to bed and turning every light on!! After settling into our room we got ready for some time in the sun and headed over to Mandalay Beach since our friends Kristen and Damian and their daughters just happened to be in Vegas too and were staying at The Hotel. We all had a great time at Mandalay's beach. Later we had dinner at Mandalay's buffet...yum! After that we met up with Mitchell's sister, Jessica, and her boyfriend to walk around the strip a little so Aubrey could explore. The main reason we came to Vegas was because Jessica turned 21 on Thursday and we wanted to celebrate with her. Mitchell went golfing early the next morning while Aubrey and I explored the Venetian and had a snack. We met back up with Kristen, Damian, and the girls later that afternoon at the Mandalay buffet...more yum!! We snuck in a quick trip to the MGM after we ate so Aubrey could see the lion habitat. It was great! The lions were super active and Aubrey watched them for awhile. Very cool. Then it was off to see the family to celebrate Jessica's 21st birthday. We had dinner (well, we were too full but everyone else ate) at Mitchell's Aunt Sari's house. Then all the non-pregnant and over 21 year olds took Jessica out for the night of her life at Tao. Mitchell went with them and Aubrey and I headed back to the hotel to get ready for bed. Aubrey and I headed down to the food court before bed since we were hungry again. We had our late night snack and went to bed. The next day we got up, packed, and decided to walk along the strip a bit before we headed back on the road to go home. The most exciting thing we saw was the water show at the Bellagio! We waited almost a half hour in the heat (sweating) waiting for it to start, but it was well worth it! Finally we grabbed some MacDonald's, got some gas and snacks for the road and headed home. We had fun, but it was good to be home. :)

Wild Rivers

We spent Sunday afternoon at Wild Rivers Waterpark! Just the three of us went. It was Aubrey's first time there and she was immediately ready to have fun when got there. Since mommy is now 6 months pregnant I was there mostly for picture taking and cheering...which there was alot of! Mitchell walked up with Aubrey her first time to make sure all was okay and that she understood what she was doing. After that she wanted to do everything all by herself...which she did beautifully. She LOVED the Kiddie Congo ride and the multiple slides they had for kids! Mitchell went down the kiddie slides too which you can see he enjoyed. Aubrey so badly wanted to go on the adult rides because they look so obviously fun but of course she is no where close to big enough to handle them! After going on the rides, playing in the water, going through the lazy river, enduring the wavepool, and eating a highly begged for Dippin Dots ice cream our day came to an end. We definitely would like to go back...lots of fun!

Aubrey's First Dance Class

Aubrey started her first dance class on Monday. It's a Creative Movement/Combo class but seems to have an emphasis on ballet. She loves to dance and sing throughout the house everyday so it was a no-brainer to put her into a dance class! She was so excited and loved to dress up in her pink leotard, tights, and ballet shoes. Such a princess!! All the little girls in the class were so excited and seemed to all be at the same level. They did a little stretching, learned first position, did plies, pointed and flexed their toes, learned some arm movements, and twirled around in front of the mirror. She told me before the class that I could leave and pick her up later...so much for wanting mommy around! Little did she know, but I could see her the whole time through the one way glass! Mitchell came to watch near the end of the class and Aubrey was so happy to see her daddy when she got out of class!

We're having another GIRL!!

Yep! We found out yesterday that we're expecting another little girl! Mitchell was convinced that I was pregnant with a boy all this time so he made sure the ultrasound technician was sure about her findings. She was quite sure and I saw what she was looking at and it didn't have any boy parts attached. :) We are very happy that she is doing well and growing on schedule...although they pushed my due date forward a few days to November 16th. Aubrey and I immediately went and bought her sister-to-be a few little tiny things. She seems to love the idea of becoming a big sister and we're going to do all we can to make sure she knows how important she is in all of this. We won't be revealing our baby girl's name until she is born...just one thing we decided to keep a surprise! The pictures are of her head/face. They are kind of skeletal looking since they are of the bone structure...just to help if you can't figure out what you're looking at. :)

Officially Mr. & Mrs. Bryant!!

It's been almost 2 months since I last posted. Sorry. Obviously with the wedding I've had hardly any time for updates and such. BUT, I'm happy to say that we are FINALLY married! The big day was Friday, June 6th and it was a gorgeous day! Everything went amazingly well and I really enjoyed it all! Mitchell looked so handsome, I felt like a queen, Aubrey was a princess, and our wedding party looked so good! Definitely a day I will remember forever!!

Another quick update...I'm 19 weeks pregnant and feeling quite good. I've officially got my baby bump and am now trying to find creative ways to wear my clothes these days! I'm so glad I'm past all the sick days and now onto feeling almost normal besides having to use the restroom 10 times a day and trying to fit into clothes. We find out if we will be seeing lots of pink or blue next week on Friday! We can't wait! Aubrey wants a sister, Mitchell is leaning towards wanting a boy, but I will be happy with a girl or a boy...just a healthy little baby is all I want.

Well, that's all for now from the Bryants! :)

Mitchell and Sara

We are getting ready for our wedding on June 6th! It's almost here and we're excited about it! Of course it's a project that never seems to end, but we're getting there and hopefully the event will be beautiful. We've had to attend pre-marital counseling which isn't exactly fun but we're making the best of it since it's required. After 9 years we think we've got it figured out, but I guess an outside opinion never hurt. So 7 more weeks til the big day! Wish us luck!!

The latest news is that I'm 9 and a half weeks pregnant!! Yeah, great timing with the upcoming wedding, but oh well! We're excited to have another baby! But this pregnancy has been less than delightful so far. It's left me feeling more sick, more tired, and more hungry than I ever was with Aubrey. I had it so easy with Aubrey I thought I could expect the same again...NO WAY! I just hope that it's a first trimester thing and it will pass in the next few weeks. Everyone says that it must be a boy since this pregnancy is so different. Perhaps all the extra testosterone just doesn't agree with me! We'd love to have a boy, but honestly either would be fine with us. A healthy baby is all we want!

Aubrey

Aubrey is now 4 years old! She is just so precious and it's unbelievable how fast she is growing up! She goes to preschool twice a week right now and absolutely LOVES it and loves all her friends and teachers. She will start attending school three times a week in September. She is currently very interested in being Cinderella! Especially with the wedding coming up, she is convinced that she is preparing to become Cinderella on that day!! She also loves to go to the track with Mitchell while he works out. She runs with him and tries to do all the exercises he does! She is very coordinated and we're pretty sure she will be an athlete of some sort. She's a really good little girl and is so friendly with everybody. We love that about her. She loves animals and loves an occasional trip to PetSmart to see the cats, dogs, fishies, birds, hamsters, rats, and reptiles. Since we're not ready to get her a pet yet this seems to fulfill her need for now. We recently told Aubrey that there is a baby on the way but we're not convinced she really understands completely. Maybe when my belly starts to show it will make a little more sense! But she is pretty convinced that she wants a baby sister!

Welcome to our Blog!!

Okay, so this blogging thing seems to be the thing to do these days and I'm now convinced that perhaps it really is a good idea. Since I don't keep a daily, weekly, or anything journal of things going on in our life I figured this will be a good way to keep track a memories and milestones. Just trying to remember and recall stories is getting a bit challenging! Aubrey is getting so big so fast and there's only so many things I remember to write down in her baby book. And now with baby #2 on the way I'm going to need a way to look back and remember everything. So I will try to post whatever I can that's going on in our life on here. I hope you enjoy!