Birthday Party Fun!

Here are some fun pictures from Brenna's birthday party!

On Friday grandma and grandpa Lyster came up to start the weekend off right. We worked on the big cupcake cake and played card games over a few cocktails. Lets just say we got to learn a bit "too much" about some of the other players during "catergories" haha

Chris and Anne Marie were down as well and had so much fun playing with Brenna and watching her crawl all over the place

Saturday morning the men worked outside setting up the backyard with chairs, tables while the ladies were inside working on prepping all the good food. Soon after the Foy grandparents arrived eager to see their growing grandaughter.

By 4 o'clock the guests had arrived, kids were running around and the weather stayed Perfect!

We opened up presents, had brenna eat her cupcake, took lots of pictures and video and enjoyed everyones company.

Later in the evening once Brenna was down to sleep we had a nice bonefire and relaxed after a busy day.

Everything went perfectly and we were so happy to have all these great memories shared with close family and friends. We are sooo lucky to have so many great people in our life~

Mom and the birthday girl

1 year ago today...

I can't believe it but Brenna is ONE year old today!!!

What a joy Mike and I have had over these last 365 days.
She sure has changed alot and it has been so fun watching her little personality
shine though.

Today we head for her 1 yr professional photos and then out to our birthday dinner.

On Sept 19th we will be having a big birthday bash for Brenna (and mom).. can't wait for the celebration.

This video felt like only yesterday...

and then 365 days later.....

We can't wait to see what this next year brings...

and she's OFF!

Over the last month Brenna has been crawling like a crazy lady!

We have begun to baby proof the house and have really enjoyed watching her explore in her surroundings. She loves to peek around doors to find voices and crawl towards the dog food dish no matter where you move it to!!! she also loves to watch me get ready for work in the bathroom.

In late July we found Brenna standing up in her crib! After that we had to lower her mattress so she couldn't jump out. She loves to pull herself up but hasn't really attempted to walk yet.. I'm still trying to adjust to her increased activity at this stage.

This month we changed to a different day care as our previous daycare provider decided to go back to school. We found a fabulous in-home child care provider named Laura. She lives a mile away from our house, does part time and has a small group size. We are excited for her to see Brenna grow over the years. Ohh and they also have a little Schnauzer that Brenna just LOVES! She even said 'Dogh" when she saw him!!

She can also say mommah and daddah. SO DARN CUTE!

mommy and Brennie lunch date at Lake Calhoun

CONGRATS TO THE BRAINERD LUMBERJACKS!

Mike and his brothers are already talking about next year..

here are some pictures from the last few games :-)

A note from...

Brenna Linn

Hi friends & family,

What a fun weekend I had with my mom!!

On Friday we headed back to Wisconsin for a fun-filled 3 days of meeting family, eating great foods (some of wich I have never had before) and great weather!

On Friday I went out to dinner with my Grandma & Grandpa for Fish, I showed them how I love to eat new foods and how im a social butterfly at restaurants.. i must get that from my Grandma Linda!

On Saturday morning we went to the Oshkosh Zoo where my Aunt Corrina is a Zoo Keeper there for the summer. I got to see wolves, llamas, an albino racoon and a funny monkey names Bubba-Loo. My Aunt is very good with the animals and knows so much about them.

On Saturday afternoon we all headed down to SunPraire to visit my GreatGrandma Lyster whos 93 years young!

From her house we went to relatives H.S. graduation party.. I got to try pulled pork, and pasta salad along with meeting lots of family members on the Lyster side that I had not met yet. Everyone just adored me and loved my chubby cheecks!

Great grandma Lyster, me & Grandpa Mike

And then on Sunday we headed down to Jefferson where my Great grandma&pa Rueth were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary!

They were so happy to see that my mom and I traveled down to see them. They sure miss me. I also got to meet alot of family on that side too for the first time. For some reason they say that I look like my daddy... hmmmm?

The day was beautiful out and I got to play in the grass, eat more finger foods like cake & pickles and of course get lots of kisses from my loving family! What could be better....

Great Grandma&pa Rueth,

Grandma Linda, and her 3 siblings.. Marie, Eric and Mark

It was so nice to see everyone~

Now its off to Mankato MN to visit my Aunt Natalie on Saturday!!

9 months old

9 months
old

What a fun age Brenna is at right now.

She has been getting more and more inquisitive lately and likes to go-go -go.

She hasn't quite figured out crawling yet but she can roll and reach far to get the toys or kitttycats tail.

(Its kinda nice that she just stays in the place i put her, not much longer and she will be all over the place.)

She has always liked baby food but now she likes to reach for our food.

She snacks on baby fruit puffs and little pieces of pancake, soft fruits and potatoes.

One of her favorite treats is watermelon.. funny how that was my #1 food request when

I was pregnant! coincidence i think not...

There are two little teeth on the bottom ready to come in any day now!!!

~~~~~~~ PHOTOS~~~~~~~~

Camping in Mid Wisconsin over Memorial Day Weekend

Brenna chillin' in her stroller on one of our summer day walks around the neighborhood

Brennas first swim

Almost 8 months old..

Brenna has offically outgrown her "baby" clothes

I went through all her clothes in the closet and packed away almost half of them away! I was kinda sad to see the tiny outfits

get packed away.....

She fits into 6-9 month old items these days. We went shopping for summer outfits, got lots of cute tank tops, shorts, sun dresses and a few sun hats. She will be already for the park and playing in the backyard

this summer~

We have changed out her baby car seat for a larger "convertable" one that can

be reversed when shes 1. No more carrying her around in her car seat into palces..

she does pretty well in restuarant highchairs and

grocery stores carts.

Griffin our dog continues to be great with her. Below is a video clip of me catching them goofing around together :-)

7 months

At 7 months old Brenna loves to play, coo& babble and try to put everything in her mouth! She can also grab a bottle and bring it up to her mouth.

Her favorite things are tags... on books, toys, blankets...etc

she will find the tag on anything!!! Its fun to watch

She hasn't started crawling forward yet.. but can spin in a circle and scoot backwards pretty darn well.

Wow! It has been a fun 6 months.. like they say the times just flys by~

I'm a month behind so here is some catching up...

at 6 months old Brenna weighed

17.2 pounds

height 2' 2"

She has been eating solid foods like sweet potatoes, carrots and rice cereal.

She loves her baby einstein exer-saucer and the bouncer at her day care.

She has some pretty strong legs!!

5 months old

Over the last month Brenna has reached quite a few milestones...





......She can now roll over from her stomach onto her back

She loves to make Goos and Gaas, blows bubbles and gets excited when she sees mommy and daddy





Getting her first tooth in.. it hasn't pop'd in yet.. but we can tell it will soon





and my favorite....





she has started eating baby cereal daily! we thought we should give it a try when she started to actually open her mouth while we just ate~

mmmmmm

4 month check-up

Brenna has now doubled her birth weight

At our 4 month appointment last week she weighed

14 pounds 11 oz..

And boy can i feel it in my arms when i hold her these days. Even though

she has grown.. shes still smaller then my parents cat Libby!! :-)

For Christmas Mike got me the HotSling, its a wrap you wear around with baby snuggled in it and its a bit more comfortable then the Baby Bjorn carrier i had. Its also very cute and Brenna loves being all cozy in it.. now i just need to get Mike to wear it!!









After all the hype I ended up finding a Bumbo chair at the store Once upon a child ..so i bought it.. and she loves it! its so cute to see her sitting up like a big girl and it comes in handy a lot more than i thought.









I am still breastfeeding and occasionally giving her formula through out the weeks. In about a month we will start trying rice cereal!! yuummm

She has never liked tummy time very much but she is improving on that and Mike has her working her arms a few minutes a day like he were her trainer..its cute. I'm guessing by next month she will be rolling over.











Last but not least we have switched day cares and will be starting up with a great lady named Beth who owns and operates Beth's Kiddlywinks out of her home just 2 miles away from us. We are looking forward to having Brenna be in such caring arms.