Baby and football

Brinley has been so much fun lately. She has so much personality and is changing daily. Here she is!

I gave her a pot to play with the other day and she decided that standing in it and trying to balance on the handle is the way to play with it.

We keep some of Brinley's toys in a basket so she can get them as she pleases. The other day I found her sitting in the basket!

Brinley refuses to let me brush her teeth so we just give her the toothbrush while I am brushing so she can copy me. She doesn't really brush very well yet but she loves putting the brush in her mouth. I figure that's probably as good as it's going to get for now.

Brent has been coaching football at the high school this year. It makes for a fun Friday night activity each week! Brinley has done very well sitting through all of the games. There is a lot to look at!

Fort Worth, TX and Memphis, TN

What a whirlwind the past few days have been. On Saturday morning we got up before the sun and started a 7.5 hour drive to Fort Worth, Texas! Although we were only there until Sunday, it was well worth the trip. We went for the BYU vs TCU football game. It was great to see our team live and have a little taste of BYU, even though the game was not so pleasant to watch. Oh BYU, how I wish you would just figure out how to play football again. After the game we got to experience a little bit of a bigger city by going to Hobby Lobby. Seriously this was the only thing I really wanted to do in Texas. Greenville has one tiny fabric shop with a very small selection of fabrics and everything is overly priced. For example, I bought a package of pins the other day there, and they cost $8. Eight Dollars! Greenville also doesn’t have anything that resembles a craft store, and Walmart is limited in craft supplies. Thus hobby lobby was a must. Even though we drove 7.5 hours for a bad football game and a hobby lobby, it was totally worth it.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Us and the Wall family. We caravaned with them on our trip.

Uh, are those lights sideways? A city we stopped by in Texas has all sideways lights.

Anyone hungry for some pizza on a stick?

We got home Sunday night, got unpacked Monday and then left early Tuesday morning for a day trip to Memphis. Brent had a Spanish teaching seminar there for the day so Brinley and I tagged along and spent the day exploring Memphis by ourselves. It was fun to get to walk around a big(ger) city. Memphis is an enchanting little city. Downtown is right on the banks of the Mississippi river. Memphis is known for it’s famous “Beale Street” which is a street full of blues music bars and stores and Elvis Presley paraphernalia. We enjoyed spending the day there exploring and want to go back again soon!

The city

Beale Street

It was a lot of fun spending sometime away from home, but I was surprised to find myself happy to be back in Greenville and to be home. I guess this place is starting to grow on me. Plus, Greenville is right in the middle of Memphis, Little Rock, and Jackson so at least it is comforting to know that some civilization is never more than a couple of hours away!

Goldilocks

Up to this point in her life, Brinley has been known more for her lack of hair than for her hair. However, she is finally starting to get some in (although she still doesn't compare to her cute little cousin Jacey in the hair department)! It's more like a mullet than anything right now, but I love it. The back is actually pretty curly. It's hard to capture such light hair on camera (especially with the tools I have), but I did my best to give you a view of her curly little mullet. I adore this girl.

Side view of the mullet


She is such a happy little girl!

Help me!

Today I feel a renewed sense of purpose. I feel motivated to do something good. After a period of feeling down it's good to be on an upswing again. This quote from president Monson I read today has a lot to do with how I am feeling.

"To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility. You ask, “How might we achieve these goals?” I answer, “By gaining a true perspective of who we really are!” We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Think of that: created in the image of God. We cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power."

This statement really does give me a renewed sense of strength and power and I want to do something with it. What better place then in my home with my child, the place I spend almost all of my time.

So now, I need your help. For the first 8 months or so of Brinley's life I was in school and in transition and was never really a "stay at home mom." Now since I have been in Mississippi I am pretty much the definition of the phrase. I don't really know how to do it though. I am not working, and just have all day to feed Brinley, bathe her, teach her and play with her, but sometimes what I am currently doing just doesn't feel like it's enough for both her and myself. My questions is, what types of things did you do (are doing, or will do) with your child so that your days were interactive and filled with meaningful activities? Brinley is 11 months old, crawling like crazy, getting into everything. I feel like I don't know what to do to stimulate her. Somehow our days are always full but I look back at the day and don't even know what we did! Any ideas from mommies or daddies or even future moms and dads would seriously be appreciated. Like I said I feel motivated to make some positive changes in what we do daily.

Also, what did you mom's do, or what do you think you will do as a mom for yourself each day? What type of hobbies, work, community service, or whatever are you able to do while spending all day with a baby? I would really love some input! Thanks!

Of course, here are some pictures of Brinley!