Five for Fridays

1.  We flew to Michigan for the holidays
2.  Breslin celebrated his first Christmas in Michigan
3.  Breslin is TEETHING....  not a happy camper at all
4.  Went to the MSU vs. Indiana basketball game and got to watch a super exciting basketball game and a Michigan State victory
5.  Had a fabulous mani pedi with Lauren as a Christmas present.  It was a much needed relaxation, baby free couple of hours.

Visit by Norah Collins

Brad, Norah, and Jessica stopped by to say hi and have the little ones meet.  Brad was one of Brady's good friends in college and I feel like I know Jessica through our interactions on fb.  They used to live in Northern California and then Brad got a job in Kansas City so they moved there.  They have family in Michigan and we happened to be back at the same time so me and Jessica decided to meet up.  It was so much fun finally getting to meet Jessica and watching our babies interact.  Unfortunately Breslin was just recovering from a little cough so they couldn't interact as much as I hoped... but let's be honest, Breslin is at a very aggressive touching, grabbing, pulling at everything, so it was probably a good thing that he didn't get to close to Norah.  Hopefully we can at least make this a once a year thing if not more...

GR visit

Our annual trip to Grand Rapids.  We stop by to see the Reinsch's and their family and then go on and see the Burrill cousins.  Breslin did great with the Reinsch's, but then when we went to meet up with all of the Burrill's Breslin was a mess :(  So I didn't get a picture.  To find out later that Breslin is TEETHING and has not been sleeping well since we got to Michigan.  The combination of those two things makes for a very unhappy baby.  Regardless we had great visits with all.

Breslin's first Snow

2 days after Christmas on December 27 it snowed!  So we ran outside really quick to get a picture.

Breslin's first Christmas

Breslin celebrated his first Christmas with the Yarbrough family in Michigan.  Unfortunately it was not a white Christmas :(  But none the less Breslin got up with the rest of us at 7:30 (which would be 4:30 California time) to see what Santa had brought.  It took Breslin a while to figure out what to do with the presents, and let's be honest, Breslin had way more fun with the paper and boxes than the presents... next year will be the year that he really knows what's going on (but let's not rush things).

Above is a family picture, Allan, Becky, Aunt Joyce, Uncle Mark, Scott, Harmony, Avery, Austin, Madisyn, mom, dad, Christina, Brady, Breslin, and me!  Merry Christmas to all.

Breslin spending some quality time with his long distance Auntie.  Oh my goodness did she spoil him with all of the toys she got for him!

Grandpa Mike is no longer afraid to hold Breslin.  It is now hard for us to tear those two apart.

Yup... that has to be the cutest hat ever given by Auntie Christina.  Breslin is our "little moose" now.

What are you showing us Breslin?  Oh the turtle that Auntie got you. 

Merry Christmas.  Mommy finally took Breslin out of his Christmas duds into his comfy, cozy Christmas outfit.

Any more presents???  Or did we take care of it all?

Five for Fridays

1.  Breslin made his first visit to Santa Clause.  (On the third try).  First try was on Wednesday and he was wearing his "Santa's little helper" outfit... but we ran out of time that day.  Second try was on Thursday and he was wearing his red and white outfit... but the line was ridiculous.  So by the time we got to Friday we ran out of cute Christmas outfits... so overalls is what you get!!!!
2.  This semester is done... thank goodness.  It has definitely been a trying one.  I vow to not do any school work the first two weeks of winter break... maybe not even talk about school...
3.  Breslin had his 6 month appointment...  Stat's  hmmm I don't remember, it's written down somewhere... but I do know he is still in the 95th percentile for height... and middle of the road for weight... I'm thinking basketball super star!
4.  With the 6 month appointment comes shots... :(
5.  Celebrated Christmas on the Burrill side today!  Breslin enjoyed his first Christmas, and loved all of his presents... I think he spent two hours tonight playing with all of his new toys!  And I always love getting together with the family.  Just a great day all together.  Merry Christmas guys!

Five for Fridays

1.  I forgot to tell you guys a couple of weeks ago... we got Solar Panels for our house, were helping the environment... AND hopefully have lower electric bills come summer.
2.  The last full week of the semester has come and gone... let me tell you, it has been a stressful semester, a lot of issues this year....  I am ready to move on from this semester.
3.  Hung out with some great friends last night for some holiday cheer!
4.  Done Christmas shopping :)
5.  I absolutely NEED to go snowboarding... ASAP....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Pictures taken courtesy of the fabulous Mitzi Mandel

Five for Fridays (for two weeks)

Well, it's been awhile.  Can you feel it?  The holiday season?  We have been super busy around here with end of the semester school stuff, and Breslin being more mobile and active.  I get so sad sometimes thinking about how much time we miss out of Brez while we are at work, so when I am at home I want to spend every moment with him... so the blog has been slacking.

1.  Michigan State made it to the first ever B1G Championship game... Unfortunately lost, and in turn we lost out on our opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl.  It was a good game none the less.  We enjoyed watching it with some of our favorite people.

2.  Breslin had two REALLY bad nights of sleeping, which resulted in a stressed out mommy and at some point a pump getting chucked across the room and breaking :/  Oops.... there's a hundred dollars we weren't planning on spending.  But the two REALLY bad nights of sleeping were followed by three really GREAT nights of sleeping.  One of which consisted of Breslin falling asleep at 7:30 pm and waking up once around 3 to eat and then slept until 6:30!!!!

3.  We are getting into the Christmas spirit around here.  We have our two Christmas trees, our colorful tree and of course our MSU Christmas tree.  Breslin man also got his pictures taken by Auntie Mitzi for Christmas cards and just Christmas pictures.

4.  Breslin turned 6 months old.  Enough Said.

5.  Didn't run the Las Vegas half marathon because it was Sunday night, and I would have had to miss work on Monday, and I couldn't really do it.  So I am 95% sure I am going to sign up for the Pasadena half marathon that runs around the Rose Bowl.  If we can't go there to watch the Spartans, I guess the second best thing is to run 13.some odd miles around it {insert sarcasm here}

Five for Fridays... or sunday

 1.  This was a week of firsts for us and the Breslin man.  Breslin celebrated his first Thanksgiving.  And was officially a part of the family Thanksgiving pictures (he was last year, however he was in my belly at the time).
2.  Breslin tried baby food for the first time ever.  Jury is still out on whether he likes it or not.  According to his facial expressions he looks like it is the grossest thing ever, but he continued to eat it.  We started with rice cereal.  So we will continue with the rice this week and move onto vegetables next week.  (I'm thinking either carrots or sweet potato).

 "Seriously daddy, you're gonna let her feed me wha?????"

 Not to sure....

3.  MSU made it to the first ever B1G Championship game.  We even had four tickets to go.  However, the plane flights were too expensive, so we had to sell our tickets :(  I am super bummed about that.  So we are really going to need the Spartans to pull through with a victory so we can go ahead and watch them at the Rose Bowl instead.

4.  No, we did not do Black Friday.  However, we were up early enough with Breslin to be able to go (for some reason he wanted to wake up at 4:30 and NOT go back to sleep).

5.  Is the semester over with already?!?!

Oh My Goodness!

Big Oops by Victoria's Secret PINK collection.  HUGE OOPS.  I just might not ever by another MSU PINK shirt again.  Seriously.  Whoever made those shirts should be fired... Thoughts?

Five for Fridays

1.  We are trying to get Breslin on stricter sleeping schedule, overall it has gone pretty well.  He is able to put himself to sleep at night in the crib with little or no fuss at all around 7:30.  Then it seems that around 11:30 he will wake up no fail, and it is struggle for us to get him calmed down and back to bed.  I think he wants to eat, or the comfort of suckling (and since Breslin doesn't do a pacifier, the only way to get his suckling need is by nursing) however he doesn't need to, so we are not giving in, and just trying to comfort him back to bed.  Besides that 11:30 time slot it has gone over pretty well.  He seems more well rested and much happier.  Brady and I have decided to go on an every other night duty, one night Brady will get up if Brez wakes up, the next night I will get up.  (However it seems like my nights Breslin gets up the most or stays up the longest.... lol).  I think Breslin knows that it's mommy in the room with him and he knows that he can get mommy's milk from me.  We are definitely not a cry it out family, so we are doing the Sleep Lady Shuffle at night, this does require a few tears, which is super hard for me, but in the end everyone will be much happier and we won't be dealing with sleep issues as much when he is older.  Here goes to another week of the Sleep Lady Shuffle!

2.  This week seemed to last FOREVER, and on top of it grades are due, oops, I had no idea. Somebody (that's name rhymes with Bennifer) will be doing grades this weekend.  Let's hope MSU wins in football, or else some of the grades might be kind of low... ;) jk jk.

3.  I have finally admitted to my new found addiction to Starbucks (and I truly don't think it is because of the caffeine.  Their vanilla latte with soy is amazing to my taste buds.  I have to drink it with soy because of the dairy issue with Breslin).

4.  Only two more weeks of regular season football.  :_ (  A tear is shed.  But on the plus side, Brady and I put in our request for tickets to the B1G Championship game on December 3.  If we make it, we will be going.  Unfortunately that is the same weekend as the half marathon I signed up for.  Let's think about this for a moment; run 13.4 miles OR watch MSU play in the first ever B1G Championship game.  Hmmmmm.  If I don't end up running the half marathon in Vegas, there is one in Pasadena in February.  I think I will sign up for that one.

5.  I went to Target the other day and was very disappointed.  We are having Thanksgiving on Friday at our house again this year, and I have little to no Thanksgiving decorations so I wanted to pick up a few items.  It seems that every year Christmas gets longer and longer.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but for Christmas to have that special feel I can't have it last too long.  I went to Target and I couldn't find any Thanksgiving items at all.  But, boy oh boy, was there quite a bit of Christmas items.  I know stores are just finding a way to make a little money with our economy and what not, but seriously, some items were out just after Halloween (I think Costco had items out before Halloween).  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and that is why I was bummed out by this.  I don't want it to be looked over :(  Oh well, I guess I saved some money... Brady should be happy by this!

5. 

Five for Fridays

1.  We made another trip back to Michigan.
2.  Breslin went to his first ever MSU game.  Not only that, but his first true gameday experience.
3.  It is so great to see all of my family and friends back in Michigan.  Even though people joke about us flying out there so often... I still do not see them nearly enough.  I love you all and miss you dearly.
4.  Breslin is now growing out of his 6 month clothing and is now wearing 9 month clothes (someone needs to tell him he is only five months old).
5.  Can not believe we are already in the thick of November.  Before we know it the New Year will be upon us.

Our trip to Michigan ~ All things MSU

Our trip to Michigan ~ Breslin's first MSU football game

 Breslin and daddy sitting at our season ticket seats!

 The Burrill family's first football game together!  Luckily MSU won!

 Walking through all of the tailgaters.

 It's kind of chilly out of the stadium...

 Breslin telling Auntie Tina all about his first game.

 And the we won :)

 Had to grab a family shot by the original Sparty after the win.

Traditional post game tailgate with Kathie (my coach at MSU).

We did it all to give Breslin his first true MSU game day experience.  We attempted it for the Michigan game... but it was too windy.  So we tried yet again for the Minnesota game.  We started off the morning leaving the house by about 9:15 or so.  We started our rounds of tailgating.  We stopped by the Simpson's tailgate and got to hang out with them for a good hour or so, then we walked through campus and finished our pregame tailgate at the Weichman's tailgate.  Oma had bought Breslin brand new warm MSU gear for his first game... and little did we know, that the second to last home game (any game in November really) it was going to be 50 degrees and perfectly sunny with not a cloud in the sky.  Needless to say, we had too much clothing on Breslin, and ended up having to take off his jacket as soon as we got into the game because he was so warm.  We were more concerned with Breslin getting a sunburn then him being too cold.  Who would have thought?!?!  So we headed into the game around 11:45, with the game's start time being at noon.  Breslin watched the whole first quarter and did GREAT!  Slept through the entire second quarter (which I have no idea how)... made an awakening during half time and the third quarter, and then went and changed him and fed him during the fourth quarter.  Breslin was a BIG hit with all of the fans around us.  Let's just say this wasn't MSU's best showing at a football game, and when we weren't playing well, the fan's were like... at least we have a cute baby to look at!  (A few people even asked to take pictures of him!)  After the game... around 3:45 or so we did some postgame tailgating back with the Weichman's then headed over to Kathie's tailgate .  On our way over to Kathie's we walked by the Sparty statue, so we had to stop and take a pic.  Then capped off the game day experience at Kathie's tailgate.  All in all our day started around 9 am when we headed out... and then we left campus around 5 or so....  I would say Breslin is a trooper, and will do just fine in our little family :)

Our trip to Michigan ~ Friends

These are some of my favorite people; Dana & John & their newest addition Hannah; Anna & Brian & their newest addition Teagan; and Lauren & Sean!!!!  I love all of you guys and wish I could see you more often.  (Lauren and Sean-- can't wait to meet up with you guys in Colorado and hit up the slopes).  See all of you over Christmas.