Happy Birthday, Brandon!

When I first met and started dating Brandon, he was a 19-year-old college freshman. Now he's a 27-year-old working professional, Brynlee's daddy, and the best husband I could ask for. Happy birthday, honey! I've loved sharing your last 7 birthdays with you and I can't wait to celebrate this one either with my better (and older) half :)

My 19-year-old college sweetheart

My 27-year-old amazing spouse and father

We love you!

-Brooke and Brynlee

Rest in Peace, Brother

After an amazing life spanning 119 doggie years, our beloved Murdock was laid to rest this morning. While we weren't ready to say goodbye, it was definitely time for our dear Murdie. We know that he is in a much better place and are so thankful for all the years we got to spend with him. He was a great family dog, and while he wasn't the most energetic, he was the perfect dog for the Wellenreiter household and will be greatly missed. We know that he is enjoying the ability to run around for the first time in years and is probably enjoying some amazing table scraps, since those were his favorite :) 

A Beautiful Friendship

We think she likes Turner, just a little bit :)

Brynlee is 5 Months Old!

As of yesterday, we officially have a 5 month old. I can't believe she's already that old....time is flying! The following, Brynlee, is the highlight list for your past 5 months.

-You still sleep between 10-11 hours a night, which is amazing if I do say so myself :)

-Still wearing size 2 diapers, but finding a way to soak through them and lay in a big puddle of pee about 2 times a week. Any suggestions for diapers that will hold a whole bunch of urine?!

-Eating 5-6 times a day, with cereal now added in one time per day.

-As of our last doctor check (May 26), you weighed 13 pounds 9 ounces and were 23.5 inches long. That's the 25th percentile for weight and 10th percentile for height (you obviously take after your momma on the height, poor girl)

-You are officially in 3-6 month clothes and all of your 0-3 month ones are packed up :(

-You love watching Turner and trying to "pet" him, which for you means grabbing onto his beard and seeing how much hair you can yank out!

-You are doing much better on your tummy and last week, you even scooted across a blanket to get your paci. You haven't done it since and I'm ok with that because I'm not ready for you to be crawling all over our house!

- You are really ticklish and let out the cutest little giggle whenever we tickle you.

-You are a smiley, smiley girl! All it takes is one silly look or a grin from either your Mommy or Daddy and you grin from ear to ear :)

Brynlee is discovering so much every single day. It's amazing to see how much she has changed in just a short 5 months. She's also getting so much fun! What a blessing to our lives she has been already and we can't wait to see what this next month holds for her :)

So happy to be 5 months old!

More, please!

After Brynlee and I returned from Illinois, she got to begin her adventures with solid foods. Right now she's getting to enjoy oatmeal with bananas and, so far, the variety it brings to her diet seems to be agreeing with her :)

Before the action began

The first bite

This isn't so bad!

Somehow Daddy manages to get a lot more on my face than in my mouth :)

Oh What A(n) Night Update

Last weekend was chock-full of excitement and activities for the Yoder family. Brandon's sister flew in from Florida on Friday so Brynlee finally got to meet her Aunt Heidi for the first time! Though I don't have any pictures of the two of them, I do have this picture of Brynlee with our nephew's stuffed Clifford that he sent along with his mama to be photographed wherever she went.

After spending Friday and Saturday with the Yoder clan, Brynlee and I headed off to my parents' house in Illinois. My sister flew in from Arizona and was anxious to meet her niece for the first time. We spent 5 days in Illinois and had so much fun!

Brynlee thought her Aunt Bria had some appetizing fingers

On Sunday, I went with my mom, sister, and grandma to Chicago to see Jersey Boys. I left Brynlee in the care of my dad and grandpa. This was my grandpa before we even left for Chicago.

You can see why I was a little nervous about leaving my daughter with two out-of-parenting-practice males. However, everyone survived the day and we had a fantastic time in Chicago. If you ever get the opportunity, go see Jersey Boys. It was fantastic! My mom had already seen it once and she said she'd even go back a third time. It's that good!

Monday, my sister and I took Brynlee to visit her grandpa at school. Grandpa enjoyed showing her off to his fellow teachers and Brynlee developed a liking for Fredrica the Skeleton, leading us to believe she apparently has a future as a doctor :)

All in all, it was a wonderful five days spent hanging out with my sister and my family. Brynlee enjoyed getting spoiled rotten by every family member in sight and managed to bring home three bags stuffed full of clothes. She absolutely did not need any of those clothes, but being the only baby on my side of the family so far, it's impossible to stop Brynlee's aunt and grandma from buying her things. We had a great time and can't wait to have the whole family back together again at Christmas. Judging from the picture below, it just might take my sister that long to recover from five days spent with a five-month old!