March Update #1

Here's a few more random pictures, this time from March:

Emmalyn got to try whip cream for the first time at the Brugman's. Judging by the smile on her face the whole time we'd say she's a fan.


We also got a chance to go see Jayden's fiance Derek pitch for his MCC baseball team earlier this month. The girls were excited to see Derek playing and they also had fun hanging out in the grass around the bleachers.

Emmalyn standing up and watching the game...


Emmalyn and Matt at the game...


Shaylin with her friend Meila at the Brugman's. Jayna does her mom's hair about once a month up at the Brugman's house. Shaylin is 3 weeks older than her and have had the chance to become friends over the past few years.


We also had the opportunity to plant a garden on a piece of farm land that's run by one of the members of our church. He was nice enough to donate a big chunk of his land for people in the community to come and plant their own vegetable gardens. We got a plot that's about 10x15 and planted a lot of things that we don't have tons of room for in our backyard garden, like corn, watermelon, cucumber, and cantelope.

If you look closely you can see our plot outlined in yellow string just to the right of Jayna and the girls.


Emmalyn also got to try corn on the cob for the first time in March. She's always been a really good eater and she loves corn.


She loved it so much that at one point she had one in each hand and was going back and forth gnawing on each one.


One of Jayna and her siblings favorite thing to do when they were growing up was to be pulled around the tile in a sleeping bag or on a blanket by their dad. Jayden was nice enough to pull Shaylin and Emmalyn around for a while in our D-Backs blanket.


Here's a few cute pictures of the girls while they were playing with Matt one day right after he got home from work.


We got 15 tons of rock delivered for the backyard in March. It was a HUGE pile, but luckily we got a lot of help from Jayna's brother Jayson and her little sister Jaymee the day it was delivered. It took a few more days to get it all in the backyard, but they definitely made the pile much more manageable for Matt. Shaylin is usually very helpful and loves pushing her wheelbarrow, so she even pushed a couple small loads into the backyard.

Emmalyn's First Suns Game

February 27th -

We got to go to the Suns vs. Raptors game recently. We hadn't been to a game yet this year and we were able to get two tickets for around $20, so we were really excited to go. Plus Emmalyn had never been to one and Shaylin hadn't been to one since last season, so we wanted to make sure that they got to go to one this year.

Even though we had to leave after the third quarter because it was getting late and the girls were tired, it was a lot of fun. Our seats weren't great - they were in the upper level - but we had forgotten how much fun it was to watch Suns games in person. The Suns scored a lot of points and won. Shaq had a really good game and ended up scoring over 40 points and one of our favorite players - Luis Amundson - also ended up having a career high in scoring that night. We also got to see some pretty good dunks and saves as well as Shaq dive into the crowd. We also got the chance to see Shawn Marion, who used to play for the Suns and was one of our favorite players, play for the Raptors and gave him a little ovation along with a lot of the other fans during introductions before the game.

Shaylin may have been a little more interested in the blow up gorillas and the mascot than the game - she kept asking 'Where's the monkeys?,' during the first quarter but she enjoyed the game too. She would clap when everybody else was clapping and watched pretty intently for most of the game. Emmalyn also did really well and just sat there watching and sucking her thumb for the most part.

We got one of the ushers to take a family picture on the lower level. We were thinking he was getting a little bit of the court in the background, but it turned out ok anyway...


Shaylin went back and forth from sitting on Matt's lap and sitting in her own seat. We only had two tickets but there were a couple open seats around us so Shaylin got her own seat when she wanted it.


We asked Shaylin if she wanted a picture with the court in the background. We were going to have her stand straight up but instead she decided she wanted to put her face right in front of the camera. Here's the cute result.


Shaylin watching the game. (Sidenote: You can kind of see the bruise she had on her cheek from when she fell in our kitchen a couple weeks earlier. We've realized lately that she bruises really easily and that bruises don't go away for a long time.)


Emmalyn sucking away on her thumb while watching the action.

February Randomocity Continued

Here's some more random pictures from the second half of February:

Emmalyn not only enjoys sucking her thumb, but she's also discovered how to chew on her own socks and also enjoys sucking on the bottom of shoes and drinking bath water, among other things...


Shaylin got her hands on her uncle Jaycob's harmonica and had fun trying to play it...


We had the opportunity to eat dinner at Jayna's parents house in February with the Bennett family, who moved from our ward into their ward. We really like their family so it was fun getting to hang out with them. Here's Emmalyn having a blast playing with their two youngest boys.


Shaylin got to practice her swing a little bit off the tee at the Brugman's house. You can see that she's actually swinging left handed in this picture, but she also swings right handed sometimes and hits about the same from both sides, so we're still not sure if she'll be right or left handed. You can actually see the pink ball she hit in the lower right hand corner of this picture.


We also got the chance to go feed the ducks in the Villages lake nearby our house. Shaylin loves feeding ducks and had fun trying to throw the bread out as far as she could. Our uncle Tim, aunt Gina, and two of their kids - Savannah and Sydney - were also there. Here's Shaylin with Savannah.


Here's Emmalyn hanging out in the stroller watching them feed the ducks.


Shaylin's hair is growing fast. For a while we were just able to part it and let it curl up on the sides and in the back, but now Jayna is able to do a few different styles, including this new one -half up and half down.


One day Jayna found Emmalyn underneath our little picnic bench that we've had in the house. This is the face she made when Jayna found her and she realized that she was 'stuck.'


Here she is trying to eat her way out.


Emmalyn is such a happy girl (most of the time). Here she is smiling while walking around the kitchen and holding onto the cabinets.


Here's a few pictures that Jayna got of Shaylin one day. There kind of Glamour Shot-esque, but they're cute anyways.


Emmalyn hanging out near the toy kitchen...


This next picture was taken on Feb 23rd, which was actually the day that Emmalyn really started getting good at walking. She was able to take around 10 (or more) steps each time she tried to walk.


Here's Emmalyn pretending to talk on the phone while relaxing on the couch.


Emmalyn still loves to swing.


Jayna's younger sister Jayden is getting married this summer and Shaylin is going to be a flower girl at the wedding. This is the dress that Jayna's mom Jaylene got for Shaylin to wear. It's a 5t, so it's just a little too big, but it should fit just right in a few months at the wedding.


Now that Emmalyn is able to walk and stand on her own she has easier access to some of the food in the Brugman's pantry. One day we looked a way for a minute and when we looked back at her she was making a funny face because she had found some spicy Dorito's and had started chowing down on them.


Jayna and the girls had several opportunities to go to the zoo in February. Here's the girls looking at some of the animals during one of the trips.


Here's Emmalyn taking some notes on the couch...

V-Day Fun

February 14th -

We've been trying to make holidays as fun and unique as possible for the girls. So for Valentine's day, after a yummy breakfast, we 'hid' paper hearts all around the family room for Shaylin to find. Most of the hearts had an activity written on the back that Shaylin likes to do.

The yummy breakfast that Jayna made for the girls...This was Shaylin's plate...


The family room - where most of the hearts were.


Shaylin holding one of the hearts after pulling it down. This one says 'Ride on Daddy's head'...


She still loves to ride on Matt's shoulders...


Emmalyn even got in on the head riding action. She wasn't able to do all the activities this year, but she'll be able to next year...


Another activity that was on the back of one of the hearts was helping Matt water the plants, which Shaylin also enjoys...


Another activity was 'making' chocolate chip cookies with Jayna. We cheated a little and used the break and bake cookies to speed up this one...


Shaylin pulling down the 'Go to the park' heart...



Shaylin pulling off the 'Feed the fish' heart...


She loves to feed the fish too. Hopefully she loves helping out around the house as she gets older as much as she loves to now - if so, chores it should be a breeze! Not likely, we know, but it's nice to dream.


When she was younger she really enjoyed sitting and watching the fish. She doesn't do it as often now since there's so many other things going on, but Emmalyn still enjoys watching them.