Happy 34th Anniversary To Us!

Today marks 34 years together... now there is something to celebrate! Happy Anniversary Blaine! I love you forever.

New Blog

So, as much as I enjoy putting up all of my posts twice (once on this blog and once on the Walton family blog), I've finally decided to start our own family blog. I still plan to post on here occasionally if there's something meant only for family members.

Here's the link:

http://russanneburnettfamily.blogspot.com/

Ashlyn is always full of questions. Recently many of her questions have been about Jesus. It's obvious that she is really beginning to think about Him more. She often requests to hear the story about "when Jesus died" and she'll make statements like, "We believe in Jesus, don't we, Mom."

This morning she asked me when we get to live with Jesus. I told her we get to live with him in heaven after we die. Then she said, "I'm so excited to live with Jesus! Jesus will say, 'Hello, Ashlyn.' And I will be one of the children."

It's very rewarding, as a parent, to observe these seeds of testimony beginning to grow.

Good Manners

Brenna Updates

Brenna turned 15 months yesterday and got to visit the doctor and get three shots in celebration! At her 12 months visit she weighed 18 lbs 11 oz. Yesterday she weighed in at 19 lbs 3 oz. A gain of 8 oz over 3 months is not so good. Her weight was up in the 50th percentile until the 12 month visit, when it had dropped to the 20th. Now it's down in the 5-10% range. The pediatrician was ready to send her to a GI specialist, until I mentioned that Brenna has been sick almost constantly for the past month. So, we'll hold off on too much worry for now. She'll be adding one can of PediaSure to her daily diet for the next three months, at which point we'll re-evaluate where she's at.

Last week we picked up Brenna's very first pair of braces. They are called DAFOs, which stands for Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthosis. The point of the braces is to stabilize her ankles when she's standing and walking (which only happens with adult support at this point) and to make sure she's positioned correctly. She usually puts up a fuss when I'm strapping them on, but doesn't seem to mind once they're in place.

When I took her in to get cast for the braces we got to choose the padding color, the velcro color, and the strap pattern.

Brenna has recently begun folding her arms for prayers (and at various other times throughout the day as well). It's basically the cutest thing you've ever seen.

Easter Weekend

We had a fabulous Easter weekend here in Delaware!

Saturday morning the girls found all the goodies the Easter bunny had left for them.

Brenna got some tasty Froot Loops in her eggs.

New outfits!

After the Easter basket fun we drove to DC so Mom & Dad could go to the temple (on their anniversary). The girls had fun playing with cousins Kelly and Ashley.

Brenna had fun smearing a partially eaten M&M all over her face on the way home.

The girls looked lovely on Sunday morning (though Brenna, who was getting over a cold, wasn't too thrilled about taking pictures.)

But Kaylee and Ashlyn cooperated nicely. :)

Two Weeks of Fun

Day 1 Brenna: throws up 4 times during the night

Day 3 Kaylee: feels sick, stays home from church

Day 4 Kaylee: wakes up coughing hoarsely, high fever, visits the doctor

Day 5 Kaylee: coughs constantly, stays home from school

Day 6 Kaylee: coughs constantly, stays home from school

Day 9 Brenna: feverish, fussy, won't eat, won't sleep

Day 10 Brenna: feverish, fussy, won't eat, won't sleep, visits the walk-in clinic = ear infection

Day 11 Brenna: feverish, fussy, won't eat, won't sleep, hates amoxicillin

Ashlyn: falls asleep on floor, head aches, throws up (during Pres. Monson's talk)

Day 12 Ashlyn: head aches, mouth hurts, throws up

Day 13 Brenna: teething, fussy, won't sleep

Ashlyn: diarrhea

Day 14 Brenna: teething, fussy, won't sleep, runny nose, congestion, coughing

Ashlyn: runny nose, congestion, coughing

Someone PLEASE tell me they'll all be healthy and normal again soon!