6 months!

This picture was taken yesterday, and since it's a new favorite, I thought I'd work out nicely to document our little boy's 1/2 year birthday! Bryce is growing so fast. We cannot believe he is six months old today. It really does feel like he's been with us for much longer though. His smiles

make so many people happy. A couple weeks ago I was at the doctors office and there was a woman there who just seemed sad. You could see it in her face that she was having a rough day. I know the power this little boys smile has on me, so I turned him around to see her. He studied her for a few moments then gave a sweet, always genuine, smile. She seemed happier after that. Sometimes I wonder if Bryce knows how great his smile is. How much a smile can help someone. I think he might know, and therefore does it with the intent to make someone happy. He is a wonderful example of service to me. He can't do much, but he is helpful in every way he knows how. In addition to his smiles, he laughs and makes all sorts of funny noises, he now eats like a growing boy, and his favorite toys are the ones that are made for holding things. i.e. the diaper carrier, diaper bags, and toy basket. He'll scoot himself to anything he wants, reach... reach... reach... until he can finally pull it over and get a look inside. And whether or not he is interested in his new found booty, he'll content himself for a while to suck on it for a while, marking and claiming his path. He also has a new game where he'll wake up from a nap, or be crying from not wanting a nap. Then when we walk in to get him or to see what's wrong, he laughs. Really. He laughs, and it's way too funny to not laugh right back.

Well, he is one fun kid, and we are so excited for more fun kid memories to come .

We love you Bryce.

Grass... finally!

We bought our home because of the back yard. We kept planning on seeding the yard for grass... but timing is so critical it just wasn't working out. We looked into sod and found a good price and what did we get?... instant gratification! Now we don't have to worry about all the potential problems that accompany seeding, and we can look out and see a beautiful green, no longer brown, backyard.
Next up... more fruit trees and bark. Lots and lots of bark. I think we'll wait until spring for that though.

Apple Hill!

More-or-less a tradition (except we haven't made it in a couple years ;o) We love driving up to apple hill. The fritters are perhaps our main motivation... but the trees, delicious apples, and crisp autumn air are just as great!

Standing, almost crawling... and eating a ton!

Bryce finally found his appetite and loves to eat now. He's chunking up quite nicely and it's so fun to see all his funny expressions when trying something new! He is also incredibly close to crawling, and though he's not quite crawling yet, still manages to get where ever he wants to go. It's so fun to see the proud look on his face when he accomplished his goal!

Happy Halloween!

Bryce was a skeleton for his first Halloween. Grandma Biggs and I made his costume on our way home from Disneyland and he looked sooooo cute! The festivities started with a ward party on the eve of Halloween, then ward party with Grandma and Grandpa Biggs on Saturday, pumpkins at Gillespie's, then a party with friends, lots to do, and always a fabulous holiday!

Disneyland!

Here comes a lot of pictures... I have a really difficult time leaving them out. We had a great time at Disneyland. I had a season pass that'd expire in December, Bryce was free, we were already down there, so heck, why wouldn't we go to Disneyland?!? Bryce was a trooper... Happy all day... every few ours we'd recline his chair and he'd easily fall asleep... I did find it tricky to find a quiet place where his sleep would be uninterrupted... but he managed wonderfully, and we're excited to go back later this month with Grandma and Grandpa Carlson.

That's our big boy in an ant whole while we were waiting for the Bugs Life show.

I know it's gross I let him suck on this, I can't even imagine the germs, so I tried to not even think about it. Ty saw the pictures later and asked, "How long did you let him suck on that thing?"... It didn't help that complete strangers were coming up wanting to take pictures too. No joke... this funny little kid attracted a lot of cameras.. It sure is fun having a cute baby!

Here we are waiting for the Pirates ride... the only ride Bryce cried. He cried the whole ride. I felt really bad. He did great on the drops... but after that, he was done.

This was the very last thing we did and we found it to be his favorite. If any of you Disney fans have not experienced all the fun to be had at the animation place in the California park... you've got to go. They have a sea turtle (Crush for the 'Finding Nemo' fans) that talks and interacts with the kids... Bryce was mesmerized... he was even trying to talk to him. It was adorable!

Peter Pan... the best kid ride, tying with Dumbo,

and always worth the long wait if you have a kid.

I love it that Bryce will still keep things on his face and head... hats and glasses are no problem.

Lucky for us, the ladies at the store didn't make us buy them even though he sucked on them...

"C" is for Carlson!

Halloween at Disneyland is a wonderful time to go... we highly recommend it!

Yeah Dumbo! We love this ride! All Bryce wanted to do was suck on the feather... go figure.

Bryce also loved the Jungle Cruise... the piranhas startled him a bit,

but it's always a fun ride with kids.

We got to see Mickey! Bryce was so cute with him. He kept wanting to grab his face and whoever was Mickey that day was great with him too. Mickey played with him and had a hard time looking at the camera because he had such a cute kid to look at. I know, I am a mom and I sound ridiculous right now, but it's all true!

My favorite part about Toontown is the fun picture spots.

Bugs Life, also a must if you've never been.

As you can see, we had a great time. I wish Ty could have been there, but he'll be there next time. I feel so blessed to have wonderful parents who helped me love Disneyland... and for a wonderful baby who is so good-natured and happy. I love Bryce... so very, very much!

Cousins!

Last week Bryce and I drove down to So. Cal. for a cousin's wedding. On the way we saw cousins, we stayed with other cousins, and even at Disneyland we ran into a cousin. We are so blessed to have such wonderful influences in our lives. On my the Biggs side... you are currently looking at the youngest and oldest grandchild.

We did have a really cute train picture with them all sitting on each other... they didn't stay long enough for a good pic. but I think this one was pretty cute.

This picture makes me smile every time I look at it.

Cousin (Bro. Glick)... we saw him as we were getting off the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland... and for those who are familiar, he had brand new happy pennies for all of us.

Bryce meeting Great Grandma and Grandpa Miller. My dad cracks me up in this picture... he was holding Bryce's head so he'd be looking up in the picture... But Grandpa forgot to put his hands down... oh it makes me laugh.

'Bryce... meet Bryce'.

Five months and already wanting to drive.

My parents have a picture of my oldest brother, same age, same pose... love it!