Welcome to the world, Brynn Avery

OK, so I'm jumping back on the blogging train.... or I'm going to try anyways, no promises that I'll have the time or motivation to keep it that up to date. I'm very impressed with all you moms that can do this on a regular basis. Anyways,

It's been a busy start to 2010.

Brynn Avery Kutzke entered the world November 19, 2009 at 4:10 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz (exactly the same as her big sis, Mad) and 18 inches long, although at her appointment a few days later she was 19 inches long so she either grows REALLY fast or they didn't really stretch her out on her birth day.

The labor was a lot different than what I experienced with Madison. I only labored for a few hours with Madison, pushed for an hour, and then she was here. Much quicker than I ever expected.

Brynn I felt like I was laboring for days, she was born on a Thursday, and I was having contractions since Sunday. Maybe just because I knew what contractions were I could identify what was going on but it was pretty annoying.

Short story is, I got to the hospital at 1:30, my midwife broke my water at 3:30, I pushed 2 or 3 times and she was here. I actually got to deliver my own baby, I reached down and pulled her out and onto my chest, it was amazing and magical.

She's been a champion sleeper and feeder since day one. Since birth she routinely sleeps 3-4 hours straight and it has only gotten better.

My greatest fear was breastfeeding since Mad and I couldn't ever get the hang of it. But Brynn quieted those fears almost immediately.



I was really bummed that Madison couldn't come visit us in the hospital because of all the H1N1 stuff. But I was allowed to go home after 24 hours so it ended up not being that bad. Madison mostly ignores her little sister since all she does is sleep and eat but she does help me with diapers and her Nuk. Once Brynn gets more interactive I believe she'll be a very amazing big sister.


I never thought I'd have 2 little girls, but I adore them so much.... it's amazing how much love one person can have. I can't imagine life without them.

March Madness

hey guys,

sorry i haven't posted anything in awhile, once again life has gotten away from me. It's crazy how quickly the days go by these days.

here's a quick list of what i've been up to lately:

~running; I run 2 or 3 days a week of a treadmill, blah! i freaking hate that treadmill, I cannot wait to run outside. I know there's plenty of die hards that run outside in the winter, I've been there and done plenty of that. However, I don't think Madison would enjoy the crisp air as much as I pretend to. Anyways, I've decided to run the Stillwater Half Marathon on May 24, since the days are longer and the weather is looking more springlike, I'll need to get my butt in gear and step up the training.

~babysitting; I'm still babysitting 2 or 3 days a week. That's going well, it's pretty easy, E is a peach and Mad is so sweet to him, she'll make a very good big sister (when that time comes.)

~work; I work 3 or 4 days a week, which actually keeps me relatively sane, I definitely need my time away from the house. Mad is getting more and more actively every day and it's really hard to keep up with her after awhile. Thank goodness the weather is getting nicer so I can just throw her outside for a few hours. I can't wait for those summer days where I can sit and read while she plays in her pool.

~socializing; bah, who am I kidding, I don't have much of a social life anymore. Mad is definitely at that stage where she will not sit in a high chair to save her life. Going out to a restaurant is NO fun! Especially since she's already to the tantrum stage, if she doesn't get her way she definitely makes it known, by screaming and throwing a huge fit. Oh the joys!

But seriously, life is good. Things are good. Can't wait for all the joys of summer, running, BBQing, softball, camping, swimming, etc.....

I'll try to be good and be more on the ball about posting.....

What a day

Mad is really excited, her favorite nascar driver, Matt Kenseth, just won the Dayton 500. We blame her obsession with the sport on her wonderful uncle. He has an unhealthy obsession with driving around in circles. Although the race was right during nap time and she was only able to nap for half hour she was quite the trooper.

The second photo is of her wrestling with her uncle.

My little Rock Star

Mad has found her calling

Potty Training Start up

It's begun, Mad is almost 18 months so we figured we'd at least pull out the potty chair and get her used to it. She actually been successful a few times, more luck than anything, but exciting all the same. For the most part she just loves being able to run around the house with her tush hanging out. Before bed she sits on the potty and brushes her teeth, I can't believe how grown up my baby is getting.

dog at heart

Mad has this crazy obsession with our dogs food and water, we have to keep it out of her reach or she'll spend all day playing with Kali's food, and trying to swim in her water dish. Just the other day she packed both the food and water into the living room without spilling a drop. She then proceeded to put her face in the water and drink it. She really is a dog at heart.

Mad's first haircut

I finally got Mad a haircut, I've been putting this off hoping that the back of her hair would grow a little more so when I cut her bangs she didn't look like a boy. I was getting sick of trying to keep her bangs out of her face since she won't keep a ponytail in. So I took the advice of my mom's group and went to Kid's Hair in Woodbury. Granted I probably could have done it myself but I didn't want to butcher her hair. Anyways, they did a great job, Mad was a peach and easygoing about the whole thing like usual (how'd I get so lucky with the most laidback kid around?!) I'm sure people will think she looks like a boy but I think she looks adorable.

busy

seriously i have really good intentions to blog, then i find myself watching tv, or sleeping, or Mad chasing, or broomball playing, or working.

it's been a busy month, every weekend seems to be full of broomball tournaments, family get togethers, parties with friends, and lots and lots of work. This is how an average week goes....

Sunday~work 6-2 pm
Monday~work 5-9 am
Tuesday~nanny 7-5 pm
Wednesday~nanny 7-5 pm
Thursday~OFF, broomball at night
Friday~OFF, OFF, OFF
Saturday~work 7-2 pm

I guess on paper it doesn't really look that bad, especially if you don't have kids and once you're done with work you can just chill out. Unfortunately my 17 month old isn't too fond of letting me sit around, cause when i do she's probably putting toilet paper in the toilet water and then sucking the water from the tp (yuck, i know). Or she's pulling all the books of the bookshelf, or eating the dog food, or trying to swim in the dog water, or trying to climb in the bathtub and helping herself to a bath.

I'm nannying two days a week for a 3 month old, it's a lot of work with Mad around. She's really cute because she tries so hard to be helpful. When he cries she tries to get him to drink from her sippy cup, she pushes him in his swing, she tries to pick him up (he weighs 14 pounds, Mad weighs 20). She tries to sit on him about 10 times a day. I feel more like a referee than a babysitter. He really loves her though, even after she tries to poke out his eyes.

That last pictures just because she's adorable and cracks me up every day.

Christmas in Idaho

I know this post is about 3 weeks too late, but better late than never, right........

We spent Christmas in McCall this year, which was a long overdue trip, it had been 4 or 5 years since we've spent a Christmas in Idaho. It was a very short 6 day trip, but we packed in as much fun and family time as possible. I wasn't able to see everyone I wanted to and I feel really guilty about that but I'm glad for the people I did get to see.

We spent most of the vacation relaxing and eating my moms amazing food, she definitely tried to overfeed us every occasion she got, her food is so wonderful though, it's hard to resist. I don't know if I'll ever live up to her standards in the kitchen, but I'm definitely willing to try. Madison loved her chocolate covered bananas.


We were also able to get out cross country skiing once and boy did it make me realize how much I miss real snow and real mountains, it's definitely something I need to bring back into my life.

We spent at least an hour every day outside, which Madison LOVED. She couldn't get enough play time outdoors. She'd be freezing but the second we brought her inside and tried to take off her many layers she would throw quite the fit. She loves the sled, we even were able to get Jasmine to pull her with the harness,
that didn't go over quite so well but funny to watch anyways.



T & I went out one night with a bunch of my high school friends to two local bars (there are only 4 bars in the downtown area). I had the greatest time. The wonderful thing about McCall is, when you go to a bar on a Friday night you're bound to have a high school reunion (I went to school with 400 kids so I knew everyone,) I saw so many people from HS that I was really glad to see again and catch up on their lives.

We spent Christmas day at my brother & sister in laws place. It was a very relaxing fun day of open gifts, eating, playing games, and playing outside. It had snowed over 12 inches Christmas night so it was a blast watching the dogs chase snow balls in the deep snow.


Overall it was a fantastic, but too short trip. I LOVE going home, it makes me feel whole again. Before I left I was having a really hard time, I was getting angry a lot about stupid things, I was impatient and sad more days than I was happy. I feel so much better now, I don't know what it is about McCall but it's magical, I miss it, and everyone there, every day!