Brynn was blessed last Sunday, December 20 at church. Grandma and Grandpa Swainston, Brian and Erica, Nana and Papa, Amy, Elizabeth Stephens, and Grandpa Sparrow were all able to come for the blessing. We really appreciated everyone making the effort to come from so far for Brynn's special day. Also, thank you to Aunt Mary for the beautiful blessing dress. We had lots of compliments on it, and people kept telling me that she looked like a little angel.

Mark gave her a beautiful blessing and didn't change her name to Gertrude like he had threatened. :) In the blessing, he talked about her being born into a loving family and blessed her with a desire to become like her Heavenly Father. He also talked about her choosing to marry in the temple.

Brynn did wonderful at her first day of church. Benson was a little hyper- I think because there were so many people around and he was showing off. He was pretty wiggly during the prayer, so I don't remember everything that Mark said but am hoping to see what else everyone can remember. Mark and Cindy decided that Benson has a little crush on Erica. Apparently during church he kept trying to give her hugs. During the sacrament, Benson kept yelling for "agua." Even though it wasn't our most reverent Sunday, it was so nice to attend church for the first time together as a family of four- especially on the Sunday before Christmas.

She was beat by the time we started taking pictures:


Mommy and Brynn:


Benson looked very handsome for the big day:


The closest we could get to a family picture where we're all looking at the camera:



Most of the family (we lost Nana and Tyler somewhere along the way, and Amy volunteered to take the pictures):



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Things have been a little crazy around here, so we didn't actually get in to see the doctor for Brynn's two week check-up until she was actually 18 days old. I had to take both kiddos to the doctor by myself, so I was a little nervous, but Benson did really well. They had to prick Brynn's foot to get blood for a lab screening, and it seemed like it took forever to get enough blood. It was really sad and she was not a happy camper. While I held her leg and tried to calm her down, Benson made himself busy getting using the doctor equipment. There was an extra nurse on hand, so I figured she could handle it if things got too crazy.

Brynn is doing really well. She is growing like crazy- she's already up to 9 pounds, 13 ounces and is 22 inches long. So she's gained almost 2 pounds and grown 2 1/2 inches since she was born. She has an infection on one of her toenails that the doctor is a little worried about, so we are doing antibiotics and keeping an eye on it. I can't believe she's already almost 3 weeks old- in some ways it seems like I just had her yesterday and in some ways it seems like she's been here forever. We are so happy that she is in our family.



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Benson turned 2 last Thursday. We had a little family party for him, and it was so much fun. Grandma, Tyler, and Nana all came over and we ate hot dogs (his and Daddy's favorite) and had juice for dinner. Daddy got him a Nemo cake, which he loved. Every time somebody says "Happy Birthday" or asks him how his birthday was, he starts talking about his Nemo cake. He also got lots of fun presents. He loves his new bike, his tickle me Elmo, and his new dog pajamas. He also really liked the wrapping paper on one of the presents- it had birthday candles on it, and he kept telling me about the "fire paper."









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Benson has been frequenting time out much more often now that Brynn is here. He really likes her, but he's not very good about minding Mommy and being careful with her.

This morning he told me, "No, not pooping," which usually means he just pooped in his diaper. I asked him if he needed to poop, and he said no until I reminded him that he gets a piece of candy if he poops in the potty. Then he was more than happy to go to the bathroom on the potty. So after he finished his business, he got a piece of candy and decided to share some with Brynn (which is a big sacrifice since he never gets candy). I explained to him that Brynn can't eat candy and that he can't put things in her mouth. When I turned back around, he put a crayon in her mouth, so he had to go to time out.

But Benson doesn't mind time out; in fact, if I ask if he wants to go to time out, he usually says yes. When he's on his time out stool, he just sits there and smiles and talks about being in time out while he holds the timer. I'm not sure it's the most effective discipline technique ever, but it is pretty funny. He also now calls his stool his "time out" and is constantly looking for it so that he can climb on it to reach things.



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How I know that Benson loves Brynn...



He brings her all of his favorite toys, even his Simba Lion.

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Brynn has a little jaundice, so she is supposed to sit in the sunlight for about half an hour each day. Since it's been so cold, we just open the shades and she sits by the front windows. She really liked sunbathing with Daddy.







P.S. Isn't the little cleft in her chin cute? I also can't believe how much blonde hair she has.

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Brynn Avery Sparrow was born at 11:49 p.m. on December 3, 2009. She weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is so sweet and loves to cuddle. Benson is very excited about his new sister and gives her lots of hugs and kisses. We are all doing well and very happy to be home.















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Benson is loving getting ready for Christmas. We decorated the house last night, and this morning it snowed. He really liked looking at the snow and tromping around in it, but he got cold pretty fast and came back in. He also really likes Christmas music, especially the song "Santa Baby" when they sing "ba-boom." He's such a funny kid and sings all the time now. I love it. Here are some pictures from the past few days.

This outift was his idea:


Decorating the house:


More jingle bells:


Checking out the snow:


P.S. No baby yet...

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