Toddler Bed Nightmare and Demolition

Well Rick and I have moved into our new place! We love having this gorgeous house and hope that it will last us forever. We never want to move again! Thanks to everyone who helped us so much on moving day. We were very blessed to be all moved and practically unpacked by Saturday afternoon. I spent the next week getting curtains (mainly for privacy since we didn't have blinds), unpacking a few left over boxes, and putting up new child proofing stuff. Rick has been so busy since we moved in fixing sprinklers, working on the basement apartment we are getting ready to rent, and doing all my fix it requests around the house. We will get to the demolition later. First, let me tell you about our toddler bed nightmare!
Maybe I'm just not that patient, but a toddler bed was just too soon for Levi at 17 months. We are getting ready for Ally to come in 2 months so I thought we would work on getting Levi adjusted to a toddler bed before she arrives. We were so excited and he looked so cute and peaceful in it the first two nights. He woke up a few times but stayed in bed and went back to sleep. The only odd thing is that he was waking up at like 5:30 or 6am. Instead of his usual 7am. I thought that would get better. I was wrong.... For the next few nights he wouldn't go to bed until 10 or 10:30 pm and was up at 5am. He also was waking up 4-6 times a night and getting out of bed. We were getting no sleep and it was just getting worse each night. Finally after last night I just gave up and had Rick put the crib side back up. I decided I would try again in 6 months when Levi is 2 and Ally is a few months old and I have a little of my sanity back. ha ha. I love sweet Levi, but he sure wasn't ready for the big boy bed yet.

In other news, Rick has been going hard on working on the house. We love this house because the basement has the perfect set up to turn into a basement apartment. All we have to do is get me new laundry hookups in our storage room and put in a renter's kitchen. There are a few obstacles though. This lovely rock wall!

It's not lovely is it!? We can't figure out the reasoning behind someone ever taking the time to put this thing up! Well we are taking it down! It was an adventure the first night of working on it. We were worried about rock flying around so Levi and I watched from behind this gate across the room while Dan, my cousin, and Rick started chiseling away at it. It was slow at first, but then rock started flying.

So much rock, in fact, that Dan ended up with a huge gash in his shin from a sharp piece that broke off of a rock he was hammering. He was a good sport about it and thought it was cool that he finally had his first stitches!

A few days later Rick kept working at it. Look! It is almost done. One more day of demolition and I think we will have it all out of there. Then we just have to haul it to the dump! That will be another challenge.

We are working on getting some electricians in here to give us some quotes on wiring some new outlets for the future kitchen and soon we will be even closer to getting this ready to rent. So, if you know of anyone looking for a place let us know. We decided we would like to rent to people that are clean, quiet, and have much of the same lifestyle as we do so keep that in mind. We are hoping to have it ready by the first of September. Maybe even sooner. It's a one bedroom, one bathroom with laundry hookups! It's going to be nice.

Fourth of July

Our neighbors do a flag raising ceremony each year. The scouts in the neighborhood all wear their uniforms and present the flag. There were fire engines, horses, bagpipers, and more! It was very inspirational. I was close to tears as the flag was raised and all of these people stood silent with their hands over their heart. It was a good reminder of the passion and patriotism we should be feeling towards our country. I wish I felt that more than just once a year on Independence Day.

Levi didn't feel the same as me. He was more interested in the gutter water than the flag. Someday he'll understand. lol

The ceremony is followed by a pancake breakfast. It was delicious and we had so much fun.

We spent the afternoon at Rick's parent's house swimming and eating. Then went to my sister's house for a BBQ and some fireworks. Levi again was more interested in what was on the ground than what was going on around him. He got SOOO dirty. My sister offered to bath him since I was so exhausted. So I just sat back and enjoyed watching him get crazy in the dirt! Look at that face. How could I be upset? Boys will be boys.

Here we are watching fireworks. Levi loved them. He even got to play with a sparkler with daddy's help! What a good Independence Day. We were so worn out by the end of the day, but that is what is supposed to be like.

Father's Day and horsey rides!

My nephew, Landon, turned 2 last week and he had some horses at his birthday party for the kids to ride. I of course wanted to ride it more than Levi. It was pretty funny to watch me with my 6 1/2 month pregnant belly and Levi all squished into one saddle. Levi seemed to like it. Although he was more interested in a goat of the side of the road than the actual horse he was riding on! He wouldn't look at Rick taking the picture so they aren't posed very well.

Just a side note, we went up to Rexburg this last weekend to see Rick's grandmas that live there. I wanted to make sure we got to spend at least a few hours with each before I got too large to travel and had another newborn to worry about. It was good to spend time with them.... AND!!!!.... we got to stay with the Petersens. They moved a few months ago for school and we have missed them oh so much. It was fun to spend time with them and catch up. I know we will always be good friends.

For Father's Day I made Rick his favorite breakfast.... chocolate chip pancakes. Okay, I'm sure he has something that he likes more than that, but he always begs me to put chocolate chips in our pancakes so this time I humored him. He was super happy. I also made homemade hash browns which actually turned out good. I have tried them a few times and have failed miserably, but now... SUCCESS! For Father's Day Rick gets a house! ha ha. We are about to move into a house so our budget is close to nothing. I would have loved to get him some batman DVDs or a dozen cases of root beer but alas, he just had to enjoy chocolate chips on his breakfast plate. His mother gave him a nice tie and a matching one for Levi so we made sure to take a picture at church on the steps. I thought it turned out cute.... what do you think? Well the Brunsons are a happy bunch. We are loving the summer, as long as I am inside with the AC full blast!! We are enjoying Levi and soaking up every minute of his learning and growing. He is such a joy to be around. We hope you are all enjoying the heat and I'm excited for July. Coming up, Holidays and BBQs, 3rd trimester, moving, and much more I am sure! :)

I'm so boring.

I feel like I have been so boring the past few months. I'm still a couple weeks away from my third trimester but I feel like I have been in it for a month already now. I guess the doc was right when he said each pregnancy gets worse and worse. I am a whole lot more tired and just plain bummed than I was with Levi. I'm so excited for little Ally (Alexandra) to get here. She is going to be just gorgeous. I know it!

Well, in other news. We actually got out into the mountains finally. I have been waiting for the snow to melt enough to do some hiking. We started off on a trail and didn't get too far when we ran into snow. So we did a little exploring and lower on the trail and headed back home. It was a valiant effort. ha ha.

My nieces are the cutest friends for Levi. They all take such good care of him, almost like he is their little brother. Ella especially (the one with him in her lap) is always helping him and playing with him. We went to the park the other day and they had a blast showing him the slides! I got the cutest little suit for Easter for Levi, but never really got a good picture of him in it until now. He is almost too big for the shirt. Maybe I can squeeze him in it one more time. I just LOVE how cute he is!

My favorite thing is cuddling with Levi. We got these Book of Mormon story books from Rick's parents and Levi LOVES them. We are almost halfway through the BOM. I love my cuddles with my baby. He's a thumb sucker when he is tired. He is sooooo stinkin' cute!!!!!

Playing at the fireman park with Levi. What a ham!

Patrick, my cousin's son, and Levi are growing to be good friends. They are just now getting old enough to start fighting over toys and hitting each other, but they are good friends in the tub. ha ha. I hadn't put any pics of Ally up yet. This is at our 18 week appointment so it is a little outdated, but you can see her feet and face here.

I think she is camera shy, she is covering her face with her hand. Can you see her arm and hand? So cute!

Here is my 25 week picture. I think I am going to get HUGE with this pregnancy. Although I was GIGANTIC with Levi.

Well that is all with us for now. We are still waiting to hear back on final details with the appraisal for our house we are buying. Until then we are anxious to move in. We are also going up to Rexburg this weekend to spend some time with Rick's family since he doesn't get to see them much. It should be a fun little trip. Levi needs some time with his great grandmas. I'll keep you posted.

All the comings and goings....

As I sit here in our apartment listening to gospel music and watching Levi play with his toys, I am overwhelmed with the spirit. I'm so grateful for my life and our lifestyle. Each day is a new challenge and adventure in parenthood and marriage. Rick and I were discussing the other day how little we knew each other when we got married. You can't fully comprehend that until you have been married for a couple years. We knew we had all the basic things aligned, and even a few oddities, but nothing so grand as we do now. I remember sitting in front of his stake president as we were interviewing for our marriage recommend. He said something very profound that we knew was true, but didn't fully comprehend. He said, "You think you love each other, but you don't. You just like each other. You may even like each other A LOT. You will understand love a few years down the road." I am sure that all of you reading this that have been married a couple years or more are nodding your heads. Isn't it so true? I can say with all my heart that I love Rick. He is my other half. My better half. He is my life line. My best friend. He is the one I turn to when I cry, laugh, and need a foot rub. Ha ha. I love you my sweetheart Rick!
Levi has been struggling with hitting and throwing temper tantrums these past couple weeks. It is hard to watch him struggle to express himself then get so mad when he can't do it. He is such a sweet boy and I know that as he learns to communicate this will get easier. For now I am trying to help him the best I can with a soft voice and gentle hands. It gets hard, as you know... but I know that it won't do any good yelling and getting aggressive. I just need to be the example of gentleness and calmness for him to follow.
He hasn't been sleeping or eating much lately. He used to sleep 12 hours at night, now I am lucky if he sleeps 8. He has major food preferences too! The only vegetables I have been able to get him to consistently eat is green beans and asparagus. Even then he will only eat a couple beans and only the tops of the asparagus. I hope he will get a little more brave with food as he gets older. I worried about him not eating enough but I was put at ease when I went to the doctor's this last week. He had his 15 month check up and shots. When I pulled off Levi's jeans so the doctor could examine him the first thing out of the doc's mouth was, "Wow! Look at those healthy thighs!" I just love Levi's thick little legs. He has the chubbiest thighs ever! Just like his daddy's thick thighs. The doctor wasn't worried in the least that Levi wasn't getting enough nourishment. He is in the 80% with his weight so I think we are good.
Ally (Alexandra) is doing well. The doctor said at my 20 week prenatal checkup that I have a low thyroid. He said he wants to wait another month to see if my body self corrects itself, but if not I will go on medication for the rest of the pregnancy to avoid a low birth weight baby. She is pretty active, but not as much as Levi was. I can already tell she is a gentle girl. I hope that Levi and she get along well and that Levi can still feel my love for him even as I begin to take care of another life in our home.
Speaking of home, we are buying a house!!! Right now it is 98% sure. We are doing the home inspection tomorrow morning and then the appraisal and loan process will get going. We are hoping to close and get the keys before June 30th! I am so excited for this home. Especially because it is big enough for our growing family and is in bountiful! We didn't want to leave Bountiful. We have grown to call this home and want our children to be able to do the same. I will keep you updated more on the house as we get further through the process!
One more thing, tomorrow is Memorial Day. We usually go the day before, Sunday, to visit my brother and sister's grave and my Grandmother Gray's grave. I remember as a child thinking often of my brother and sister, Jefferson and Elizabeth, that had never met. My mother always taught me that they were on the other side of the veil teaching others about Christ and His gospel. I was always in awe at them. They were my mother's 1st and 3rd born children, I am the last... that is why I never remember them. Although I am sure I spent time with them before I came to earth. As I think of them this Memorial Day I know they are valiant servants of Christ and amazing examples to me. I love you brother and sister!
I know this was a long post with no pictures, but I wanted to document these thoughts for my children especially.