A day in pictures...

Since there is so much to catch up on, and let's face, this is what it's all about!

has it really been a year???

Ohmygosh, I can't believe I have all but abandoned this blog for the last year! What a slacker! I am recommitting myself to it though, and making it bigger and better! Especially since Karen and I (and Cameron's cousin Kim) are starting a little business venture - we are working on fleece and wool covers to go over cloth diapers, as well.as the fitted diapers to wear under these fabulous covers. We are also planning on making several other cute baby things, including a ton of hairbows. Look for some free tutorials in the coming months!
Where do I even begin?? Brett and I got married in September (9/18/10) and it was the best wedding ever!!! It took a ton of effort, but it was worth every painstaking minute spent on it. I will upload pictures in the next installment of this blog.
We also got pregnant with our second in September (guess Maui is good for making babies!). Our second girl, Hadley, is due June 2nd, and we cannot wait! She is threatening to come early, but I am trying to convince her to stay put. Katie will be here from Florida May 26th-29th, so if she wanted to come then, I wouldn't mind too much! Her nursery is darling, so look for those pictures soon too! Hope Brinn won't mind sharing her blog with Hadley (or if someone can teach me how to re-name this??).
On to my first love - Brinn is AMAZING! She is so smart and funny and ridiculously adorable. A recap of her milestones - she started walking at 11 months (and was running by 13 months). She finally picked up eating right around the same time but she is still super picky. She will eat most anything, but it has to be covered in tomato sauce! Weirdo! Oh well, at least I can get her to eat veggies that way. Another big thing she does is identifying body parts, her own and ours. She is absolutely OBSESSED with belly buttons. When I ask her where her baby sister is, she runs over to me, lifts my shirt and jams her finger in my belly button. Funny kid. She is also working really hard on talking - she has quite few words (mama, dada, hot, ball, dog, hi, bye) and a bunch of babbles. She likes to have lengthy conversations with us, but Daddy and I just don't understand her yet. Poor Brinn gets frustrated with us, but hopefully she will be able to express herself more in the coming weeks and months!
I have a lot of anxiety regarding baby #2, and how Brinn will feel about it. I know a sibling is a great gift to give her, but u don't want her to feel pushed aside. I know everyone goes through this, and I am comforted by the fact that Brinn is so little that she probably won't even remember a life without a sister! Anyway, I found this sweet poem that chokes me up, and reassures me as well. Enjoy!


Loving Two



I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?



Then she is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as youve never shared me before.



I hear you telling me in your own way, Please love only me. And I hear myself telling you in mine, I cant, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.



You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.



But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. Im afraid to let you see me enjoying her as though I am betraying you.



But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.



More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.



But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.



I watch how she adores you as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I havent taken something from you, Ive given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you. I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you only differently.



And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know youll never share my love. There is enough of that for both of you .you each have your own supply.



I love you-both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.

They grow up so fast!

Everyone tells you (and continues to tell you, over and over and over again!) how fast kids grow up, and it's true! I can't believe Brinn is already 6 months old! It is unreal how quickly it goes by! I have never once said, "I wish you could walk, or talk, or even crawl" (Daddy has though!) because I just wish I could hold on to her little cute baby squishiness forever!! Of course I know she will grow up, and those stages are all fun and exciting, but oh how I love my little princess!

Brinn has mastered a lot in this past month - she sits unassisted, and practices really hard at trying to get crawling down! She is close, but not there yet. We have started her on solids, and she hates it all. Avocados - gag! Sweet potatoes - gag! Pears - gag! Oh well, she's doing just fine on mommy's milk, so we will keep slowly trying. It has been fun for me to make her food, if nothing else. We want to stay as organic and unprocessed as possible, and making baby food is actually really easy. Another big milestone is she is sleeping (very happily!) in her own room! Brett and I are very happy to have our room back, and baby seems to love her space. How could she not with how cute it is?!

For Mother's Day, my mom got us Mommy and Me swim classes at the Brentwood Aquatic Center and yesterday was our first class. Brinn has been in the pool a ton, and she is a natural in the water! She really seems to like it, and I am sure she will be on the swim team like Daddy. She also is starting a class at The Little Gym this Saturday, which will probably be cuteness overload with all the rest of the babies in it! I will have to do a special blog edition to post pictures!

My new obsession is cloth diapers - we started doing them a couple months ago to avoid the pointless (and gross!) waste, and I am hooked! Besides being super cute, I can't believe what a difference it has made in her skin. It makes Brett and I sad we took so long to switch her over, and the poor little thing was always red. That has cleared up now, and we couldn't be happier. I even started working with a Work At Home Mom who has exclusive sought after diapers so I could get them for free, and also hopefully pick up how to make them!

Wedding planning is... going. We have made some really fun decisions and have all the big stuff out of the way, but it is managing all the details that is difficult! I love it but it can definitely be all consuming. The most important decision has been made however, and that is the Honeymoon spot! We are going to Maui for two whole weeks! I can't wait! We will be celebrating Brett's birthday while we are there and I can barely wait to hop on that plane!

Now for the reason you all read this blog:

Oh guys, it's been a LOOOONG day!

Cousin love!

I want to CRAWL!

I know, ADORABLE! hahaha... hope you enjoyed her!

5 months old today!

Where does the time go? I am making a concentrated effort to update this regularly, so at least I feel accomplished by updating it monthly! Little Miss Brinn is celebrating her 5 month birthday in Tahoe with her whole Williams / Riach family. Brett and I are both working out here (he's at his annual conference, and I am training and securing a new account at UNR!), so it's nice everyone gets to come - we get babysitters plus family time!

We have all been loving the Brentwood weather! Look for the pictures of Brinn "helping" us plant our new garden that I included below! We went crazy and planted 4 different types of tomatoes, 2 different types of bell peppers, 4 different types of hot peppers, zucchini, sweet peas, sage, cilantro and strawberries. Whew, I'm tired just talking about it, but can't wait for all of our organic goodies to sprout!

oh yeah, and Jonas wanted to help too!!

Brinn is growing by leaps and bounds every day! She babbles and laughs constantly, and is showing her personality more and more. She is working really hard on trying to sit unassisted (she can do it for about 30 seconds until she realizes no one is holding her, than she likes to fling herself in various directions.. she's quite the dare devil!) and is doing her best to start crawling! Yikes.. I can wait for that milestone! Hahaha.. She spends all of her tummy time trying to figure it out. That darn tooth still hasn't popped all the way out, and she is getting another one that is torturing her as well. Needless to say, our nights have been a bit interrupted, but she is so sweet and usually just wants cuddles to go back to sleep, so who could resist that??


The wedding plans are coming along. It has gotten a bit more difficult since I have been back to work, but we hired a planner in Paso Robles to tie up all of our loose ends.


I think that is it for now - enjoy the pictures!

One of Brinn's best friends, the beautiful Lissette! Look at them holding hands!

Celebrating St. Patty's Day! With a name like Brinn, you know she honored her heritage!


Our little Easter Bunny checking out the eggs...




"Oh Mommy, enough with the bunny outfits!"

I swear, she was laughing in tis picture! Our first trip to the snow...

Much happier now that she can grab her toes! And get kisses from Daddy.

"Too many kisses mommy!!"

First time in the pool, and she loved it!

Learning to float - she's our little water baby...

two updates in just a couple of days!

This is our favorite baby invention, a mei tai.. I swear it is sprinkled with sleepy dust, because she passes out in it almost right away.

Look how good I am, doing two updates within a couple days of each other! It's only because I forgot to mention she is teething! She has been getting a tooth for about two weeks now, and it is being a stubborn little think and won't fully cut. She has been a trooper though, and besides being a little congested and whining a little, she has still been her little angel self! Lucky us! And now for your viewing enjoyment, a couple videos of our cutie pie!

Where does the time go?

It is unreal to think that Brinn is over 3 months old now! It seems like just yesterday that we were planning for her arrival! She is getting cuter and cuter everyday, and it's so fun to watch all the things she is accomplishing. She smiles and laughs like crazy, and is getting closer and closer to sitting up on her own.
I am heading back to work in a couple weeks, which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it will be very nice to get back into the swing of things, and speak to grownups everyday! But on the other hand, I can't imagine not spending my whole day with her. Luckily, she will be staying with Grandma Elaine, so I know she is in wonderful hands. They have had a couple practice days, and both baby and Grandma are handling it way better than Mommy! Hahaha...
Wedding planning is in full force now, and it is so fun! We have gotten a ton accomplished - we've ordered the cake, flowers, and have our photographer. Woo woo!
We can't wait for summer - our pool just got cleaned, and we are all itching to go in! Baby has the cutest swimsuits, and I want us all to be TAN for the wedding (not Brinn of course!).
I will try to be better about updating the blog, but here are some pictures to hold everyone over!

oh, I love naked babies...

Kylie loving on Brinn

thinking deeply...

Brinn and her little boyfriend Lincoln

She is so beautiful!

2 months old, plus a whole lot of other stuff!

Man, I have been slacking on this blog!! Brinn is 2 months old today, which is hard to believe! She is such a delight to be around.. every day there are new joys (and challenges!!). We have been quite lucky, and she's a pretty good sleeper. Not sleeping through the night yet, but we get good 4 hour chunks, she eats, and then goes right back down. We even got a 6 hour stretch once! She also has been smiling and laughing pretty regularly now, which just melts our heart! Unfortunately, Brett and I both caught colds, and we thought she had escaped it, but last night she came down with it too, and it is the hardest thing ever to see her not feeling well. But we're cuddling and loving on her, as well as using a ton of steam to clear her up, so hopefully she will get better soon.

I am going a little stir crazy at home, so I joined a play group, which has been a lot of fun. She had her first baby playdate, which was cuteness overload. She was all googly eyes and cooing, especially over this adorable 4 month old little boy named Lincoln (so young, and already into the boys.. hahaha...). I was too busy watching her and enjoying it to take pictures, but I defenitely will at the next one. We were supposed to go to one today, but that's out of the question. Soon, and you all will get to see how big she is!

Speaking of how big she's getting - I just got a new digital camera, and in an effort to rekindle my photography passion, I am working on something called the 365 project. I take a picture of her every day for a year, and see how much she's changing! I'll post some of my favorites here. I also realize I never put up Xmas pictures (told you I was slacking!), so there will be a ton of pictures to enjoy this time around! I will make an effort to keep more up to date!

We also started officially planning the wedding! Hooray! Once we have the venue secured, I will post pictures of that as well. We are hoping to do it at one of our favorite wineries in Paso Robles - Eberle. Paso holds a special place in our hearts for a lot of rasons, but it was the first trip we went on together, and the first place we said "I love you" to each other. I know, we are totally cheesy! Ha!

On to the pictures already!

Brinn enjoying lap time with mommy, and Jonas standing guard!

A little peek of a smile!

This was her coming home from the hospital outfit.. getting a little snug!

what can I say, I love her feet!

This is my favorite hat of hers.. I'm not so sure she agrees!

thumb sucking and pearls, the makings of a perfect day...

Baby's 1st Christmas.. it was amazing! Lots of family around loving on her!