Braelynn's first X-mas

We started out on X-mas eave with the Hudson side of the family. Not a big typical dinner, just homemade lasagna and garlic bread early in the afternoon. Then we opened gifts and chated. Oh and we made my brother Nick change his first ever diaper. He got lucky and only had a wet one, we will make sure next time it will be a little harder for him ;).

The next morning, the three of us went to Gennie's grandpa's house for a wonderfull day of food and gifts. Almost the whole family was there and we had a fun time. Grandpa Hamlin wore his springy santa hat that the kids loved. We all got some great gifts and can't wait for the next family get together.

Gennie's other side of the family will be having X-mas on New Years day. With everyone having more than one place to go for X-mas, we all decided to split it up a little. We look forward to seeing everyone and we will post more after the New Year.

Hope you had a good X-mas and will have a great New Year.

Three months! Where did the time go?

Wow! It has been three months with Braelynn now. How amazing it is to have such a wonderful little happy baby. She almost always has a smile except when she is crying of hunger or has a messy diaper. She is doing well at daycare and everyone loves her. She has been trying to sit up on her own already and loves to grab our fingers to pull herself up. She is also starting to laugh and figure out putting things in her mouth. We are getting ready to try moving her from a bassinet next to our bed to her crib in the next room. She is starting to outgrow almost everything.

Some notes on things that work and don't work for us:
Cheap diapers DON'T WORK! We have tried almost every off brand out and none of them absorb better than Pampers Swaddlers.
Same thing with wipes. Most of the cheap brands are too wet, rough, won't come out of the package, or leave little scraps. Pampers Sensitive have been the best.
Can't find a better stain remover than Shout. It has gotten the worst poop stains out of everything. Even jeans after sitting for two days without spraying them.
One last thing. If you aren't picky about what your baby wears, Once Upon A Child is great for getting clothes that baby will grow out of quickly. From holiday outfits that only get worn once or twice to sleepers that get spat up on all the time. Sometimes you can even find brand new stuff with the tag on it still at about half the price.

That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great holiday and New Year.

Turkey day x2

We know, we havn't posted in a while. It's been busy now that Gennie is back to work, and I am working two jobs, plus we have had to go Dublin for a weekend for Gennie's reserve duty. I figured since we had a day off that one of us should post something. Since Thanksgiving is now over, I thought I'd let ya'll know what we did this year for Braelynn's first turkey day.

We started with an early dinner (at lunch time) with my parents, grandma, brother and sister in-law, and my cousin and his wife and son. We had the usual turkey (deep fried), dressing, mashed potato's and gravy, rolls, green beans with BACON and MUSHROOMS MMMMMM, two kinds of moms home made stuffing, and candied yams. We had a great time laughing and talking during the meal. Then we went outside for some family pics before coming back in for some home made pies. Mom made two pumpkin, two pecan, and a key lime pie to go with grams apple pie. Everything turned out great and we were stuffed, but we had to go to another dinner at 3pm.

We packed up Braelynn's diaper bag and headed to Gennie's dad's parents for more turkey and all the fixins. For our second round of desert, I had Jamie's apple-pear tart that was awesome, cause it was made just for me (with splenda). The rest of the family had pumpkin pie and Gennie's pretzel salad, made with cream cheese, whipped cream, jello, and pretzels. I know it sounds like an odd combo, but everyone loves it.

We hope you all had a good thanksgiving and hope to get back some blogs or pics of x-mas time.

Braelynn's 1st Halloween

Nope, she didn't go trick or treating, and no she didn't snag a bag from any other kids. She did something even more fun. She went with us to her uncle Christian and aunt Jamie's wedding. She had fun being passed around to all the family that attended. She was dressed up as a wiggle worm that grandma camel made her. Gennie and I dressed up too. The theme of the wedding was the masquerade ball from the Phantom of the Opera, so most of the guest could dress up for the holiday. Gennie was dressed as a saloon girl and I went as a old west gambler. We tried to find something that was in the period of the Phantom, but more from the west.

Family & Friends

Uncle Christian


Grandma Jackson


Auntie Elizabeth and Cousins Ella and Annika


Great Grandpa Rittmann


Great Grandma Rittmann


Great Grandpa Hamlin


Great Aunt Linda


Auntie Jennifer and Mari


Auntie Colleen


Uncle Nick and Aunt Marianne


Grandpa and Grandma Hudson


Cousin Maddie



Grandpa Gary

1st Pumpkin

Braelynn is ready for Halloween. Thanks to Mari, Jennifer and Tim for her 1st pumpkin - just her size!

Work update

The search for a job is done! I now have two jobs. One of them is full time for a really great group of people doing deliveries for a dental lab in Roseville. The other is part time for a local radio station in the promotions department and some board op stuff when someone calls in sick. I have been working for a week now at the dental lab and love it. I start at the station next week setting up for a live remote.

On the Braelynn front, we have got a daycare with an opening just over a block away from Gennie's work. We really lucked out with the location cause we were told they wouldn't have a spot untill late November. We got a call last Wed. with the great news. They are letting us bring Braelynn in a few times before the actual start date to see how she is going to react. The staff seems to be really good and the cost is fair for what they include. They include diapers, wipes, and food or formula. Since Gennie is breastfeeding, we will supply the food for now and with Gennie being so close, she can go on her breaks and lunch to feed.