haha

I thought this would be funny. Check it out-- it's Pepsi vs. Coke....that's Travis' brother (working for Pepsi) and Travis' dad (working for Coca-Cola).

Dedication and more...

Well, Brenton is not even three months old yet and he now has his second cold. Poor baby! It is so sad-- he sounds hoarse when he makes noises and he is coughing some. Good thing we have Aunt Michelle around to take care of him!

Brenton was dedicated Sunday morning at church and he was so precious. It was probably his best day ever as he was happy all day long. He let Travis and I get ready that morning by playing by himself for about 45 minutes (which was remarkable if you ask me-- a long time for a little guy), he did not get his adorable white suit messy in any way, and he was awake for his dedication and some pictures. It was a long day, but altogether a beautiful event. I stood up on the platform at church with Travis, our families behind us, thinking to myself-- we are so blessed-- I was dedicated on that very platform 23 years ago. It takes my breath away to know that God has given us this little life....just as we were given to our parents...and so on. On a different note-- I've realized we do not have any pictures of our family alone from the event! It's so hard to remember everything about picture taking in the heat of the moment!










Good news, also, we finally got Brenton a play gym and he LOVES it!! It has the cutest little lion that dangles in the air and plays very cheerful music-- Brenton wiggled all around playing with it, giggling and batting the toys around with his hands the whole time! I will post video, but that will come after this.

Running!!

Ok...here goes my attempt at posting video. I don't think there's a way I can rotate this...so sorry about that! If anyone knows how...just send me an email!




It will just look black with a tool bar underneath...just push play!

the long awaited post!

Finally...a new post!

Brenton is growing and changing every day-- it's so much fun! He smiles so much, makes lots of sounds, and is very alert and wanting to look around at the world (especially the TV!). We've started letting him "play" with a few toys


and he seems to enjoy both that and looking at his mobile-- he coos and talks to them and wiggles his arms and legs like crazy. Brenton moves his legs CONSTANTLY and we say that is him "running"....of course that is just the beginning of him becoming a soccer player! The dogs and Brenton are getting along....our little puppy is very excited about the baby still, though!

Wow...I can tell this is going to be a looooong post! Brenton and I have read our first book together-- Baby Einstein's See How I Feel. The book talks about feelings (how appropriate for me, I know!) and has a mirror where baby can learn to make faces that express those feelings. Here is Brenton....















Brenton also met Ann and Joe and got to spend time with mommy's friends...











































and with his own friends Mason, Briar, and Caleb!




























He even had his first piano lesson!!

















Finally, he got to meet Uncle Tim, Kimberlee, Elisabeth, and Reed.















































We've been hangin' out with Great Grandma and Grandpa Hinkle some, too.

















And with Araceli and Arelli, too.



















Oh yeah! We went down to Tulsa and gave Aunt Maranda her first car!
We've been having a lot of fun with our smiley little guy! Brenton is so strong he loves to be sitting up and standing like a big boy. Our pastor's wife saw him standing at church choir rehearsal last week and whispered to the woman next to her "look, she's going to have him walking by Christmas!" I couldn't help but smile! :) At his 2 month appointment he was 22 and a half inches long and weighed around 10 pounds, 13 ounces. His eyes are still dark blue and his hair still looks reddish-brown, so we'll see how long those hang around!

I'll post a video-- if I can-- of Brenton "running" as soon as I can figure it out! Hope you've enjoyed!

First cold :(

Well our trips were wonderful! Brenton loved flying and seemed to enjoy beautiful Colorado and of course he loved going to visit grandma and grandpa in Tulsa. Our family got a taste of his usual evening round of being fussy, but it was kind of amplified-- we're not sure if it was because we were away from home, on a different schedule, or what. My dad's graduation went well....bagpipes and all....haha I guess you had to be there! Here is Brenton preparing for take-off!















Here is a picture of 4 generations on my mom's side of the family taken while we were in Colorado.














Here is Brenton with Dr. Grandpa. When we were at lunch the day of my dad's graduation celebrating the waitress brought out a cake with a candle in it for my dad and made the announcement, "We want to wish him congratulations-- he just finished medical school!"-- the whole table (16 of us) burst into laughter because we had told her he just got his doctorate-- not MD. :)










Here is a family picture-- Hinkle, Wells, and Gough.











Look how tiny we look next to the Balancing Rock at Garden of the Gods!













And here we are at the Seven Falls-- they are behind us, but kind of didn't make it into this shot! Daddy climbed all the way up the stairs to the top of the falls, but mommy stayed with Brenton.








I haven't uploaded the pictures from Tulsa yet...so that will be another post! Maranda's 16th birthday seemed to go great, though, and we got to eat yummy Chick-Fil-A a lot! We are back home now and should be staying put for a while until we are able to make a trip up to Manhattan to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and all of Grandma Jeanette's side of the family. Mommy has friends coming in town this weekend-- Brenton gets to meet Ann for the first time. :) The only bad news we have right now is that Brenton is a little "under the weather"....he caught his first cold. We went to the doctor this morning and she said to put some saline drops in his nose and suck out all that snot-- which is not going to make him very happy-- but we hope he is feeling better soon. Right now he sounds like a little piggy-- snorting when he breathes in and out! I guess the double bad news would be that Brenton goes back to the doctor Friday for his 2 month appointment and gets another round of shots.... :(

See ya at our next post!

Getting big!

Brenton is growing and growing...

this week Brenton took his first trip to the State Fair and to see the Amish people in Yoder (haha...only because mommy stopped at their bake sale!). Next week Brenton gets to go on his first airplane ride and takes his first real vacation (not just to grandma and grandpa's house)-- we are leaving for Colorado Springs Thursday morning bright and early. Brenton is really excited-- he told me so when we were practicing flying like an airplane last night! :)

Here are a few pictures to keep you up-to-date!

Brenton tries and tries to get his thumb in his mouth...but rarely makes it-- he usually misses. When he does get it in there, though, he leaves all of his other fingers extended instead of closing his hand into a fist.













Self-explanatory!!
















Check out that sad face-- he really knows how to get that lip out there!

















We finally caught Uncle Jason! But he says Aunt Michelle is in big trouble for this!
















Best in Show! He's just missing his blue ribbon!

















How precious-- she's 95 and he's just 5 weeks!

















And finally...this is Brenton's celebrity picture. See...he's saying, "no pictures, please!" :)