Goodbye for now...

Words cannot describe the loss of my Mother-in-law.

I tried to write in my journal all of my feelings from the past week. My hand hurt and I had to stop. There are just too many emotions to speak about.

Happy she is not suffering anymore and no longer in pain. Sad that she is not here with us. She will no longer be sitting in the family room as we walk in, ready to greet us and give Tylie a big hug! Always smiling! Mad she will not be here for my children to know her and know that they had an amazing Grandma. I hurt for her daughters. Every girl wants their mother to know their children. No one loves your kids like your mother does.

We estimated there were about 1,000 people at her funeral. She touched every person she ever knew. Her battle with cancer started 12 years ago when her youngest daughter, Jenn, was in Kindergarten. Now Jenn has graduated high school. Cathy felt blessed she was able to raise her children.

Even through the years of struggling, Cathy was there for everything. Graduations, weddings, baby blessings, birthdays etc... She was, most of the time, in pain or not feeling well but she was there without a complaint!
I am glad that her last Christmas we were able to spend with her. She loved Tylie so much, as she did all her grandchildren. The three things I will remember the most with her and Tylie are when she would hug Tylie in her recliner and rock so hard that Tylie's legs would fly over her head, they cracked up! Also, Cathy (being so sick) would get out of her chair and get on the floor to bark like a dog with Tylie (the days when Tylie thought she was a dog). Then in her last days, she was barely talking. We came to visit and would sit in her room with her. Tylie sat in her lap. Before I knew it Tylie and Cathy had each other hysterical! They were laughing at laughing. It went on and on and I think that might have been the last time Cathy laughed that hard (at least that I had seen). It was so funny and precious!

This is when they came to visit us in Tucson. Tylie got in the car with Cathy and didn't want her to leave. The night they stayed with us Cathy had been dancing with Tylie to country music all night. I hope with all my heart that Tylie will remember her and all the good times they had.

Her funeral made me want to be a better person. Life is short. She enjoyed being a mother and staying home. What a great gift to give your children! She was patient, humble and so giving. We all knew this day would come, but it is still so hard. I love you Cathy!!

Now that it is below 100 degrees...

We have been enjoying the nice weather!

We did our yearly trip down to Wilcox to pick our own apples and pumpkins
We pick our own pumpkins off the vine. The weather was in the 70's and so nice!

Brynn was our own little pumpkin we carried around

My mom got to come with us this year which was so fun! She made cakes in the shape of pumpkins with Tylie and even watched the girls one night while we got to go on a date! Thanks mom!

Picking the apples

I love the Fuji apples. They are so good!!

So it may not have been cold enough for a beanie but I had to! It was just too cute. My aunt sent it to us :)

While Dallas had work off we also went to the zoo

Brynn's first time at the zoo

Tylie was so happy that day. She even let me do her hair and put a bow in it which lately is very rare! That shows she is in a good mood. For some reason her hair is the center of her emotions!

Minnie and Mickey

I couldn't wait to have two kids to match them for Halloween! I couldn't think of anything because all Tylie wanted to be was a princess. We convinced her to be Minnie and she is SO excited! She wears this dress every day. Brynn cracks me up in this Mickey costume.

September

Winston, Brielle and Brynn

We had our friends Regan, Nate and Langdon and Heather come over when my sister was in town. We had to take a baby picture...
Also my friends Jenny (and her cute little Trent) and Adrienne drove into town to see Brynn. It was so fun to hang out with them for the day!

Tylie had another ballet recital. This session with ballet was a nightmare! She hated going. Thank goodness she was excited for the recital because she got to wear this outfit. No more ballet for a while!

I couldn't wait to dress up my girls in matching outfits!

I don't know why the blog turned my pictures!

This is Brynn with her twin cousins Shane and Liam

More matching outfits :)

My girls!!

Bit of Heaven!!

My friend Ashlie took these amazing pictures of Brynn at just a week old...

I can't believe she is already one month old! I love that her cheeks are getting chubby. Tylie was always a skinny little thing!

Things have been crazy but good. Tylie decided the week after I had Brynn to become insanely difficult. She acted irritated at everything. She would wake up in the middle of the night crying for no reason, then wake up in the morning crying for hours and continue the crying throughout the day and night. Thankfully it has gotten a little better! I don't know what I would do if Dallas weren't home helping.

Brynn was a wonderful newborn for the first two weeks. Sleeping ALL the time. Now she is getting more high maintenance. She loves to be held and she knows if you sit down! She is good if you are walking around bouncing her. She is not very happy to stay in the swing, bouncer or the floor. She is still easier than Tylie was because she is a good eater and actually sleeps a little during the night!

When we found out Dallas had six weeks a paternity leave we thought what the heck was he going to do at home that long! Oh I know! Let me just throw out my back so you can take care of all three of us :) So that is what I did! I was carying Brynn around in a sling all day then went running that evening and in the middle of the night I sat up to feed Brynn and my back was out! I couldn't walk, sit, or move at all! It is feeling better each day, but man it is hard not having a back when you have a newborn to take care of!

I have to say, the second time around having a baby is SO much easier! You know what to expect and maybe we are just a little more relaxed too. It also helps to have a really hard baby first so the rest that follow seem like angels :)

I know I complain about how hard Tylie is, but she has so many sweet moments to make up for that. She loves her sister. She kisses and holds her all the time. I love it when she comes up and gives me a kiss or a hug out of no where! Brynn has been such a blessing and I can't stare at her enough!

A Baby Story...

Leaving the morning of the induction...

It's been exactly one week since Brynn has arrived! Time has flown by. I feel like I had her yesterday. At 37 weeks I was dilated to a 2. By 38 weeks I was dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced. My doctor sceduled my induction for Sept. 1st but didn't think I would make it to that date. My sister came out to watch Tylie for when the big day arrived and we waited day after day with nothing happening. I can't tell you how many walks I pushed myself through and many other things to try and get her to come. Well, my induction day arrived and she was still comfortable in me I guess! Rachel and I kept busy making hairbows, sewing, painting murals on Tylie's room and renting several movies!! She was great to come stay and help out so much. I don't know what we would have done without her!

The induction went great. I was induced with Tylie and it went pretty fast. This time I really wanted to have the experience of going into labor on my own but being induced assured we had someone to watch Tylie and I wanted my brother to meet the baby before he left on his mission. So after a few hours of pitocin I got an epideral (which only worked on the right side). Once she broke my water it took an hour to go from a 4 to 10 and Brynn was out with a few pushes! By the time I had her the epideral was fully working so that was nice!

When I had Tylie I had so much anxiety that it was hard to be excited. This time around was such a different feeling that I am so thankful for! I am so glad I didn't have the anxiety like last time. It was the worst feeling in the world! I was pretty relaxed and ready for her to come. I was so happy to have my healthy baby girl and she has been such a blessing!!

Brynn was very alert when she was first born. She had her eyes wide open, just looking around calmly. We still didn't know her name at this point. It was between Brynn and Kendall.

Proud Daddy

My family came a few days later and stayed for the weekend.

Chad holding Brynn for the first and last time until she is 2! He leaves on his mission tomorrow.

Taking her home from the hospital

Tylie was different than what I expected. The whole time I was pregnant she loved my belly and loved the baby. She would get so excited when I talked about her sister. Then a few days before I had her Tylie started saying she didn't want her to come. I bought a baby doll for when she came to the hospital so we both had our new babies. She loved her doll and gave Brynn a few minutes of attention. She wasn't too sure at first about Brynn but now she has seemed to change. She loves holding her and can't get enough!

Super Aunt Rachel! She always told me she wouldn't love any of my kids as much as Tylie but I think she may admit she loves Brynn just as much! I know I couldn't imagine loving any baby as much as Tylie but there is definately room to love both!!

Brynn Ella Haught

I will post more later but thought I would share some pictures of our new little addition!!