Connections

The most important thing to me has always been connections and relationships, that is just what makes me happy! Nothing to me is more fulfilling or rewarding that having good people in your life, feeling needed as well as having people around that you know you can count on. I think that is one of the main reasons marriage and motherhood have always been such a high priority in my life.

My awesome family goofing off

Linkin and the Aunties!

Lately I have been feeling SO blessed. We have a busy house with friends and family always in and out, and nothing could make us happier! I am lucky to have found a husband that values this as much as I do. I feel so grateful to the people in my life right now and the place that we are in. When we moved to Billings I never expected to have so many people around. We have been lucky enough to have four family members here with us! I also never thought I would be able to forge new friendships the way I have. I was blessed with an amazing group of friends growing up that has stayed closer than I thought possible, and I have been lucky enough to make new great new friends :) I just love all the visits, the girls nights, the crazy days and the quiet nights.



There is nothing greater than to love and be loved!
and life is great

Until next time
xxoo
Brittany

Pumpkin Patch

This week we went to a Pumpkin Patch! It was my first time every going to one of these and it was so much fun! They had all shapes, sizes and colors of pumpkins and we all had a blast picking them out :) Roice even got to pick some cute little pumpkins of her own.


As an added bonus I got to do a little impromptu photo shoot with the kids and get some really cute fall photos! Linkin hit the six month mark this week, and Roice is now 2 1/2, so it was nice to be able to document that. Linkin is sitting up really well now and he seems so happy to see the world from this new point of view. I LOVE how smiley and happy this little boy is, all you have to do is look at him and he lights up every time! Such a sweet little man we have. Both the kids were troopers hanging outside for the afternoon. It was pretty chilly, but I think they were just happy for the fresh air and to play in the dirt!

 After the Pumpkin patch we went over to a friends and she taught me how to sew a little flannel blanket for Linkin! We still have to crochet an edge around it, but it felt pretty awesome to sew something that actually looked decent when I was done! Always fun to learn a new craft :) I will post pictures when the blanket is all done, hopefully soon! I have about a million projects that need to be done!

The Pumpkin patch made me so excited for fall! I just got crochet patterns for the kids' halloween costumes. Roice is going to be Little Red Riding Hood and Link will be the Big bad wolf! I seriously cant wait to get them all dressed up, it is going to be adorable. And we get to carve pumpkins, which means pumpkin seeds! The holidays are so much fun.

Well until next time!
xxoo
Brittany

Meet Linkin

This is my first catch up post of many...I only have like two years missing so that shouldn't be too bad right!! I am just going to back date everything and pretend I was on my game :) Better late than never right. Here we go!

So tiny next to Ryan's Hand

On April 8th 2013 we got to meet our son, Linkin James Naffziger. This delivery was a little different because it was scheduled, and I have to admit that is the way to go! We had it all arranged for my mom to fly in on saturday to get all situated with Roice, and what a relief that was. Having my mom there with Roice was invaluable and made my time in the hospital so enjoyable because I knew my baby girl would be perfectly cared for!

That tiny little face <3

We went into the hospital early on Monday Morning and were holding baby Linkin before Noon! He arrived just a little peanut at 5 lb 12 oz and 19 in long, and just as healthy as could be! He came out with a full head of hair and dark skin, just like his big sister. They looked so much different as newborns though, Him being all boy and her being all girl!

All set to go home

The delivery was really an amazing experience, which I was so grateful for, as it was not really expected! With Roice's c section everything was very hectic and rushed. With Linkin it could not have been more calm, and really amazing! I had the best anesthesiologist who did an amazing job of talking me though everything. And as they were working on getting Linkin out all the doctors were talking and laughing, taking bets on how big he would be! I got to hold him shortly after and hold him on the way back to the room and he took to nursing right away. The time in the hospital was so nice, not having a baby in the NICU. Although that first night he had a little lapse and forgot how to latch on, so that was a bit of a long night! The best part about the hospital was that they let us out a day early! Only 24 hours in the hospital then we were headed home with our little 5lb6oz baby. I always forget just how tiny they look in that big carseat on the first ride home.

Roice meeting Link

There is no better feeling in the world then arriving home with your new family member. There is such peace in having your family all together after such a long wait. I was so proud of Roice and how well she did with her little brother. She did have a little adjustment period but I think that was more due to the fact that I could not pick her up than anything else. She has been such a help with him, always bring us diapers and wipes, and really anything else we may need! Linkin has been the easiest little guy from that very first day too. I dont think he cried more than a handful of times in the first months of his life. Always just content, calm, and happy! He has slept six hours at a time a night pretty much every night since we got him home. He is the kind of baby that could easily fool you into thinking this is all easy and that you should totally have another one! I am sticking to my guns though, as of now we feel very complete with our little family of four :)

Just a few hours old and so precious

 Writing this post I just cant help but feel SO blessed to have this wonderful family with the best husband and daddy in the world. It is still crazy to me how much joy these little humans bring into our lives :)

Until next time,

Brit
xxoo

Denver

This past weekend we got to take a trip to Denver for a wedding! It was so much fun to see and spend time with my dads side of the family, it does not happen near enough. I was so worried about the eight hour drive and long weekend with a 6 month old and 2 1/2 year old, but they were better than I could have ever imagined!

So handsom...and no brace!

We had such a fun weekend with the family and at my cousins wedding :) And it was definitely nice to get away after being pretty laid up all summer with Ryan's back injury! The other great thing about the weekend was NO MORE BACK BRACE! After three months sporting it, it was so nice to see my husband without it.  We got to get in some shopping, some really awesome meals, and some really good time with our family. It always goes way too fast. The ceremony was so beautiful and heartfelt, weddings are always such a good reminder of whats important, FAMILY, and this wedding definitely did just that!

Enjoying wedding treats

This trip was also exciting for us because this was the first time that most of the family got to meet our sweet boy Linkin, and maybe even the first time seeing Roice as well! As always the kids were a big hit. Roice has a personality that is hard to miss and people usually love that about her, not to mention how extremely adorable she is :) And babies really don't get any happier than Linkin! That boy really just kills me, always in a good mood especially when people are talking to him.

Sitting up!

  Linkin also started sitting up over the weekend! I tried to sit him up in the tub because I didnt have my little bath thing, and sure enough he had no problem! These milestones are all a little bittersweet, it seems like he is growing up much to fast. I just wish I could keep him as this chubby little buddy for a while longer, but I am excited to watch him grow. And I am so grateful that my family, including their great grandparents, got to see the kids as they are growing! I better cut off here before I go on and on about the kids...another day another post for all of that! Until next time!
xoxo

Lexie and her fiance Preston. Roice is obsessed with these two and it was so fun to have them along with us on this trip. Aren't they cute together :)

So fun to actually get dressed up!

Those are some cute boys!

Start where you are!

So once again I am going to try to have a blog. As my post history indicates I have not been able to keep consistent, but I am hoping the third time will be the charm!

It has been almost a year and a half sense my last post and boy have things changed! I hope to get some back dated posts up to fill in that gap a bit but for now we will just "start where we are"

This pretty much sums up the sibling dynamic!

Our family finally made it to church today for the first time in longer than I would like to admit, and Im so glad we did because the talks given where so awesome. One talk was about light, and one of the references she made that stuck with me is to just "start where you are" so I am trying to apply that to a few different aspects of my life that feel important to me right now, including this blog! It is so easy to get behind in things and then feel overwhelmed enough that starting up again doesnt seem worth it. I am trying to fight that feeling!

So anyways, UPDATE TIME! The most exciting news by far would be the arrival of our son, Linkin James. He was born on april 8th, putting him at nearly six months already! (Tear) From day one he has been nothing but the biggest blessing. We could never have expected such an easy going happy little person, he truly is a huge light in our lives :) And even before that, when I was about three months pregnant, Ryan and I bought our first house in August 2012! We have already been in the house a whole year! Crazy how time flies. Of course so much has happened in the last year but I will have pace myself in getting it all out :) This post just serves as my start line!!

Until next time!
xoxo

It has been a WHILE !!

One of my favorite pictures from Roice's 1st Birthday! I will post more about her party soon :)

It has been so long since I have posted anything, but I promised myself I would get back into this after Roice's first birthday which was already nearly two months ago! I have probably ten unfinished drafts to attach pictures to and countless other things I feel like documenting for Roice...better late then never right! It should be easier now because my sweet baby has finally decided that it is acceptable to put herself to sleep at a decent hour...giving this mommy some free time at night. WOW what a difference that has made in my day! After a year of having a baby up until midnight I really forgot what it was like to have this time...and let me tell you I will never take it for granted again! Roice is also sleeping more than two hours at a time, more like six hours now which has also made me a much happier person! The two combined has been pretty much a game changer! I feel like a whole new girl :) I guess that means I can start thinking about number 2 right !? lol.

trying to sleep of a bad cold 

Anyways Roice has been doing really well minus a cold and a poor reaction to her last set of shots, but as always she was a trooper. She took her first steps right as she turned ten months and then took off from there! She is practically running now, although it looks much more like a peguin running than a human, very adorable though! She is getting smarter by the minute, the other day i walked into her bedroom to find her trying to put on her socks. She is so cute she always trys to help my put her cloths on hangers and put away dishes...pretty much anything i am doing she is by my side trying to help. She says bye bye and waves but it comes out more like "beh beh beh" and the waves are like half waves. She figured out months ago that when duchess barks, that usually means someone is at the door. More recently she knows that duchess barking plus a diesel truck driving up means DADDYS HOME and she heads for the garage door :) It really blows my mind how smart these little people are !

Roice in her jogging stoller for our first race :)

Roice and I also got to run our first race together last weekend! Billings throws a huge womens run every year and and a lot of people do it with strollers so I thought it would be a fun one to try out! My dad decided it would be best to sign me up for the 5 mile rather than the 2...about 1.5 miles in I was really not happy about that! Roice did really well for the first three miles and then spent the last two screaming at me, so that was great motivation to keep running! I am looking forward to getting out with her more often now that the weather is so awesome.

Be back soon :) This blog will just be a little spiratic for the first while...hopefully I can get caught up!
xoxo

Baby Roice!

 

she gets up here by herself!

Beep Beep

     This week we have hit a few big milestones with baby Roice :) She is full on crawling!!! She has been using an odd worm like motion as a mode of transportation. But this week in Bozeman we were at the hotel and there was tile floors and I think the motivated her to not face plant herself and to put one hand in front of the other instead :) She has also learned to pull herself up on the furniture and onto her big toys! Her favorite thing is to stand by the bin we keep the remotes and stuff in and empty it all out. It is so cute she forgets she needs to be holding on to something and tries to walk away...it never ends very well though. She also got a little walker that looks like a red convertible (I will get a picture up of her in it, so cute!), and she can actually touch the floor in it! So she can motor around in that :) With all these new advancements she seems to be a lot happier because she is able to get where she wants to be on her own. And she really likes to be standing up so she can see more of whats going on! And all this movement also applies to bath time!! I am really starting to miss the days when i did not end up as wet as she is! Its adorable though she gets so excited trying to crawl around and get her bath toys, then she will pull herself up on the edge of the bath and just grin. Such a little stink.

This is the bin she is always going through

She is also eating!!! Roice has started eating rice cereal and little snacks :) I know it seems a little late but she just wasn't into it for a while. I started putting bananas in her rice cereal after getting the tip from a good friend and it worked like a charm. Ashley and Troy and their adorable girls where in town and Ashley got me to try giving her some of those yogurt melt things and those little puffs and she did great with them! It is so crazy to see her pick them up and try to get them in her mouth, in my head she is still a 5lb new born.

Ryan took this when he was home with Roice...She is so busted!

      Roice and daddy also had a first, they spent the whole day together with out mommy! I had an amazing girls day of shopping and lunch with my friends Ashley and Tiffany and left Roice with her dad and uncle B. She took a bottle from him and everything. It was a big relief to know that she is okay with other people because in a few weeks she will be spending the evening with auntie Krin and Les while mom and dad go to a concert! I am a little nervous, but mostly excited :)
 
                                                                            A few more random little stories that I am thinking of....In bozeman last week I was heading out to Belgrade and Roice was laying on a full on melt down!! She was screaming her head off so i decided to turn on some music to try to distract her (or at least drown her out lol) and Don't by Shania Twain came up on my iPod. I kid you not, two seconds into the song she is totally silent, and not much longer after she is passed out! Nothing like that had every happened before! Then tonight I am trying to get Roice to bed and she was exhausted and rubbing her eyes but totally restless. After about a half hour of trying I asked Ryan to just put his hand on her back to maybe calm her down, two minutes later she is passed out. It is just so sweet to she a daddy and his daughter, it melts my heart! I have been seeing all the facebook statuses about what people are thankful for...nights like this and my little family are what I pray for nightly. We are very blessed.

My little girls <3