Our Brinley girl is THREE

It's hard to believe that my tiny 6lb.15oz. baby girl is now 3! Although she is still a peanut...she's got the attitude of a teenager. One morning we were getting ready for church and I told her no to something...so she said "fine..I'm not going" and stomped off to her room....oh dear!
All she talked about for months...literally was her birthday! She kept saying "my dir-day comin up"..so funny! She requested Barbie everything...so we had a Barbie cake made for her...made her a Barbie shirt and of course bought her all Barbie presents :) She's a girly girl that's for sure and she LOVES her Barbies!
We love our Brinley girl! Happy Birthday little doll XOXO

My adorable kiddos :)

I had to post these pics because they are so cute! This was before we walked out the door for church <3 I love my little ones so much!

A Sad Post...

It saddens me that my first post for the new year is a big loss for us. We lost our baby that was due in August :(. I was supposed to be 11 weeks pregnant and found that the baby stopped developing at 7 weeks. On Friday, January 27th I woke up to some spotting...everything just progressed slowly...cramping, back pain, bleeding...to the point that by Sunday the 29th I couldn't get off the couch. I went in Monday for a sonogram to check things out...that's when we found out we lost the pregnancy. I ended up going in for a D&C at 7:30pm that night. It was well needed and I'm so grateful they are able to do procedures like that so I could be comfortable.
Of course I prepared myself for the worst news when I went for the sono...something just wasn't right and deep down I knew it. Although I am very sad, I am happy that the pregnancy was still in the first trimester. I can't imagine what I would feel if I actually seen a fully formed baby on the sono that had passed. I know my Heavenly Father has a plan....I wish I knew exactly what it was! I am blessed with three beautiful kids already and I hope that I am able to be blessed with another. I first thought I would not want to try again, but I was wrong. I feel that our family is meant to grow a little more. I will try again for another baby soon...and hopefully we will be expecting again in the near future.
I am grateful for all of my family and friends who supported me through those 4 days of miscarrying. I couldn't have stayed strong without them...especially my mom. I love you all...<3<3<3

How could I forget the tooth!!!

Tristan's tooth was driving us CRAZY! He was being such a baby and wouldn't let anyone touch it. Of course it was painful and he wasn't eating hard things like apples. This went on for over a week....finally after Daddy tried several times to get his fingers in there to pull it out....I wrestled him down...pushed his locked jaw open and pushed my thumb against his tooth...what do you know...that little sucker came right out...You should have seen the relief on Tristan's face and all of a sudden he was happy and excited for the tooth fairy to come! Oh man! I can't wait for the other baby teeth to come out...what fun! lol....anyhow...the tooth fairy took his tooth and gave him $1.
This leads to Easton...who went to the dentist yesterday for 2 caps and some fillings...ended up getting a tooth pulled and being in for 5 hours!!! He was given meds and slept through the whole things, so when he woke up he looked like he was beat up. I told him his tooth had to be pulled and he didn't even care...because now he got to take it home and wait for the tooth fairy to come give him his $1. Oh man...so of course...we had to put the lovely molar cavity and all under his pillow so the tooth fairy could come. Sigh....:)

Christmas 2011

The Christmas excitement for the Kent household has come and gone. This year, Jim and I took the kids to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunks on Christmas Eve. We celebrated by feasting on snacks and meatball subs with my Mom and Ryan and Amanda. They all spent the night so they would be here bright and early for presents and breakfast. Since Christmas fell on a Sunday, we had Church at 11am! It was a race to get up, open presents, eat breakfast and get ready in time. We all went to Church for a nice sacrament meeting, then came home (minus Ry and Amanda) for dinner. We had enough food for a whole other family lol. It was nice just having dinner together with my Mom and relaxing. The kids were excited to open and play with their new toys. We just lounged all afternoon. Although it was nice, we sure missed family, especially my Dad. Last year we had my Grandpa Huff still with us and he was here. Each year it seems to get a bit more lonely. I am grateful for my husband and kids...I am grateful for my Mom...because of these sweet spirits, Christmas was Christmas. I love them all so much and can't imagine my life without them. I am grateful for all that I have this Christmas. Jim and I are expecting another little one in August. This will be a nice addition to our family. We are thrilled with the news and can't wait to welcome him or her (it will be our LAST baby and our FIRST surprise baby...boy or girl...we won't know until delivery!). Merry Christmas my sweet little family...XOXO

Tristan turns SIX

I probably clicked something I shouldn't have for blogger..ugh....I would love to comment under each photo I post...but for some reason it won't let me. Oh well...:)

My first born turned the big SIX this past Saturday!!! He requested steak for his birthday, but since Jim and I had his firm Christmas party to go to on Saturday night...we took him to Outback on Friday. He ordered his very own steak dinner...and ate every bite! He then got his own birthday dessert, which he shared with East and Brin. We went back to Nanay's house and opened presents and had cake. Tristan REALLY wanted his own digital camera. Of course he knew he was getting one because his big mouth-can't keep a secret brother told him! He was so excited to open his presents...however, you can tell by the pictures that his brother and sister were NOT happy! They were a bit jealous.

Saturday came with an 8:45am first basketball game of the year, followed by a big breakfast at McDonald's with Austin & Crystal, Ryan & Amanda, Nanay, the Farrands and the Lindsleys <3 I think the crew was happy when we all left to go home! Nanay took Tristan shopping to spend his birthday money. They went to Toys R Us where Tristan was welcomed with a birthday crown and a balloon. He bought a toy for himself, Easton and Brinley. He's such a thoughtful brother and was so excited to give them what he bought.

It seems like yesterday that I was in the hospital in labor while my Dad, Mom, Ryan, Kayleigh and Jim were all waiting...and waiting...and waiting for the arrival of my little Tristan James. They waited so long it went into the next day before he was born hehe. We love you so much Tristan. You are the first grandson to Nanay and Grandpa Drake. You are also the only grandchild Grandpa Drake ever got to see and hold and love. You are the one thing that kept me going when I lost my Dad, my Nana and my Uncle. Life continued and you made everything okay...we had milestones to look forward to with you...and are so grateful you arrived here on earth when you did. I am so proud of you and look forward to many more birthdays with you. XOXO

Family Dinner

We were supposed to drive up to Penn Yan for a Pre-Thanksgiving dinner with the Drake fam, but plans changed and we ended up going to Austin and Crystals. We had so much food it was enough for another 30 people I think...potatoes maybe another 50 lol. It was nice getting together with everyone, including the Kerrs. It's amazing how much our family has grown over the past 5 years. I really wish we would all get together more often. There's nothing like feasting on yummy Drake food and hanging out with family. I'm so grateful that after all the sadness, tears and hardfeelings over the years....we can all still be a family and love each other no matter what. These are the memories we will talk about as we get older. These are the memories my kids will remember and talk about. These dinners and get togethers are what makes cousins grow close to one another. I love my family. Even though my Dad was a huge party of our Drake family, he would be the first one to say how happy he is that we all still get together even though he isn't able to. I love my Dad and miss him everyday.
We celebrated actual Thanksgiving last Thursday with Austin and Nate's families and Ryan, Amanda and my Mom. What a yummy turkey dinner once again...filled with relaxing, kids screaming, football games, online shopping and eating. :)
Christmas is just around the corner now. Tristan will turn SIX in two more days! I will post about his birthday after it is here and I have picture and stories! Today Tristan came home with the gifts he purchased from the Lanigan Holiday Shop at school. He bought gifts for Mom, Dad, Nanay, Easton and Brinley. We had to stop at Walmart on the way home so we could buy gift tags for them. He wrapped every one of them by himself and they are all ready to be put under the tree on Christmas. He can be one of the sweetest boys. He was so proud and excited to wrap those presents. As I sat and watched his expressions and movements it just made me melt. I have so many moments where I have a hard time dealing with him, but these times make up for it. I'm proud to have him as my son. I'm proud to have Easton and Brinley too ;). They mean the world to me and I hope that I never have to live without them in my life here on Earth. They are the reason I wake up every morning.