Spring 2011

The VB's have been pretty much holed up in hybernation mode this winter. We've had some illness and trying to prevent illness...however...we didn't forget to take pictures!!
This picture of Bryce trying to eat his foot was a while ago, but too cute not to post.

The little guy has learned and mastered sitting on his own. He's taken a few tumbles face first, but he's learning that's not in his best interest.

Bryce is also eating at least 1 fruit or veggie a day and is really enjoying solids! He is also

really growing FAST!!

Last Saturday evening was such nice weather we were able to take our first bike ride as a family of 4. Rick was able to put the trailer behind his bike and Leah also has a bike seat...it looked pretty cute with him riding toting both the kids behind him. I was perfectly ok with just trying to keep up!

B - 4 Months!

We're surviving winter so far....having lots of fun staying...in. Bryce is learning many new tricks lately. He can roll from his back to front AND front to back. He enjoys sitting in his Bumbo even though he spits up about every time he does. He feels like he is part of the team and enjoys helping me make his bottles before school in the morning from his Bumbo.

We also have gotten the exer-saucer out. Apparentely, in this picture, Bryce thought it was going to take off at top speed...notice the grip he has on the toy.

And of course, Big Sister Leah, the great helper that she is, wanted to make sure the exer-saucer was SAFE for her little brother and had to test it out for him. She now gets a "mime-out" if she is found playing in it.

Leah is also enjoying potty training her babies. Here this picture shows her 'white baby' taking a turn on the potty. She tells them "good-bob" when they're all done while nodding vigorously! It's funny to watch her interpret how she see's me!! She is doing a great job telling us when she needs to go and has had many successful trips but I feel as though we're not very close to big girl pants yet...a few more weeks of good practice may do the trick!

Our little rockstar, Bryce turned 4 months old yesterday. It's so hard to believe. He is laughing and squealing and singing a lot of the time that he is awake now.

We went for our 4 month wellness checkup this week and his stats are firmly in the 50th percentile. 15 lbs, 3 oz. We are very thankful for his development and health!!

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas from the VB family to yours!! We had a great holiday week. We spent Christmas Eve with Rick's mom and sister's family. The kids play so well together. It was a great time!!

Christmas morning we went to my parent's house for waffles a la Kyle and presents and naps...

Auntie Holly showed up with Santa hats for the kids.

This one I thought was cute - what a great big sister making sure his pacifier is in his mouth...

We are so blessed with such great families and warm homes with food to eat, and the ability to give gifts!!

Early Winter 2010

Leah is becoming such a great big sister! She shows Bryce how to take a bath and play with his toys!

I was getting Bryce out of his bathtub (yes, it's pink) and Leah decided it was time for her bath. I heard some rustling in the bathroom and she had proceeded to take all of her clothes off and hopped into Bryce's tub.

Bryce's First Day of School (and other pictures too)

Real life has started for us now that I am back to work and Bryce has started school. If you can go all the way back (I cannot figure out how to put a link to Leah's post), there is a similar picture of Leah on her first day of school - Bryce seems about twice her size!! He is doing very well at school and is learning a lot. He enjoys seeing his cousin Tyler everyday (as well as his aunt or uncle) and I am sure they will learn how to team up on their teachers!

Leah is hilarious these days! She is mimicing pretty much anything I do with Bryce with her baby. She hasn't given her baby a name yet, I am waiting for that one! This is a picture of her

'eat, eating' - that means feeding her baby. She likes to tell me what Bryce is doing all the time...her favorite is "AWAKE...OPEN", then she says "HI BWICE" with the C being a TH sound.

Saturday mornings are fun around our house because we aren't rushing off to school in the morning and it's much more relaxed. I thought this picture was kind of funny with Leah eating her oatmeal reading her US Weekly and Bryce hanging out in his bouncy seat.

Of course, I cannot forget to report in on the precious smiles that we're starting to get from our little guy!! Sometimes I will look over at him and he is just ALL smiles at someone or a random toy - or yes, the ceiling fan.

He is a happy little fella. We figured out if he is fussy, he normally wants to be put down on the floor and have his independant play time. I wish I had figured that out a few weeks ago, but it's making the VB house a little lower on the decibal level!!

Happy Halloween - 2010

Halloween was a fun holiday with the 2 kids this year. We kicked off the week with a kid's costume party and hayride complete with pumpkin carving and a hotdog roast in the woods.

We have so much fun with all of our friends and their kids!! We were pretty proud to get almost all of them on the wagon minus one 3 month old ghost.

Our extent of Trick or Treating was going to my Grandparents and Rick's sister's house. I love this picture because Leah is giving GG a kiss. What a sweetie! The pumpkin is cousin Tyler who is 6 weeks older than Bryce.

And of course, Papa and Ima had to witness this trick or treating event...although the doggie was not really cooperating in the picture.

Bryce - 1 Month!

It's amazing to think that at the end of August I was dreading the LONG month ahead...then after Bryce was born, this first month has just flown by. He is currently working on being able to hold his head up and he did roll over twice from his tummy to his back, although it hasn't been repeated since. The longest he has slept in a row is 6 hours and it delighted the entire family. :)

He is so much fun and is starting to coo and squeal. Big sister Leah enjoys mimicking him and makes us all laugh.