So Tired

I know people tell you that every pregnancy is different.... well this one is kicking my butt! I have been so tired every day! But when its time to go to bed, I'm wide awake! I don't fall asleep until 2:30am but then Russ has to wake up at 5 am so his alarm wakes me up, and once that happens I have to go to the bathroom... uh. I was never like this when I was pregnant with Ethan. I didn't have hardly any symptoms like this until later in my pregnancy.

I FINALLY got my first doctors appointment! Its on the 27th of November at 10:00am. Unfortunately Russ will be in the Field for 2 weeks, so he wont be able to go with me. Luckily I have some good friends out here that can watch Ethan for me while I go. I get to have an ultrasound at the appointment! I'm really excited about that because when I was pregnant with Ethan they didn't give me one until I was 20 weeks. All they did was listen to the heart beat, so that will be fun to see the little peanut living inside me!

So I have been thinking a lot about if I would be having twins! No one in our family has had any, and Great Gma Riley was a twin... so its bound to happen. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I keep hearing people talking about twins!!! So I wonder if its a sign? I think that would be so awesome! 2 baby Mallory's... lol. Oh man... That would be AWESOME! LOL. I think Russ would go insane... so would everyone else.. But I would love it! Who knows though... probably not. But its still fun to think about. I guess Ill find out at my appointment! lol.

I have been eating a lot healthier since I found out I was pregnant. I also haven't been drinking any soda, so that's been really good. Maybe that's why I'm so tired... no caffeine. lol.I made some DELICIOUS turkey lettuce wraps. It was suppose to be just turkey topped with pineapple peach salsa, wrapped in a big lettuce... but that didn't sound good to Russ, so we made some wraps with tortillas.. Its turned out just as good! I have been working really hard on cutting out Ranch! And if you know me... you know how hard that is for me! lol. I eat RANCH with everything! But I figured that Salsa is better for you so I have been trying to top things with salsa, rather then ranch... and its working out pretty good!

Well not to much has been happening here. Its been pretty cold and rainy the last few days, so I haven't been able to take Ethan anywhere fun. We did take him to go get a Buzz Lightyear Halloween costume and he was super excited to get it. But when we took it home and tried to put it on him he freaked out!!!! I finally got him in it and took a picture, but that was long enough... lol He wanted it off right after that.

We also painted our little pumpkins that I talked about a couple posts ago. He painted Daddy's, and his. I painted mine and the baby's.  We had fun. Ethan loves to paint and be creative. So here are a few pictures of our pumpkins!

He did a great job! From left to right.. Daddy's, Mommy's, Ethan's, and the Baby's!

Brussels Sprouts!!!!

So lately I have been cooking a lot more with vegetables! I never thought I would like some of the things I am eating now! :) One of which is Brussels sprouts! I LOVE BRUSSELS SPROUTS! I have cooked them a few times and Russ even likes them now! So I just wanted to share this delicious Brussels Sprout side, or appetizer!

What you need :
1 lb Brussels Sprouts
1/4 Onion (we use red onions because they are sweeter)
4-6 Slices of bacon
Olive oil

So all you do is peel and cut Brussels sprouts. Then boil them for about 5-7 mins. Then drain!
Then cut up bacon and onion into how ever size you would like. ( I do all different sizes, long pieces and cubes)
Throw the bacon and onion on the stove in a sate pan, and sate for 5 mins, then add Brussels sprouts. Just let them cook until the bacon is cooked fully and the Brussels sprouts are soft to your taste.
And then put it into a bowl and toss a little olive oil in there to taste!
And if you want, you can get some bread, I use sourdough, slice it up and put some cheese on there and broil it for a 1-2 mins, until the cheese is melted. You can serve it on that!
Or you can just serve the Brussels sprouts as a side!

This is my favorite little app to make! Its so delicious!

Yummmm I cant wait until pay day! I'm going to buy like 3 lbs of Brussels sprouts so I can make a huge bowl of it!

It all makes sense now!

So my last post I  was saying how I kept thinking about motherhood and stuff.... well its because I'm PREGNANT!

We are so excited to have a baby! And we thought Ethan would be too.... but he is not happy at all! He keeps saying that he doesn't want to be a big brother, and that there is no baby in my tummy. lol. I went to the commissary with Ethan and bought Minny pumpkins for Halloween and Ethan was with me. He helped me grab one for daddy, one for mommy, and one for Ethan... and when I went to grab another one, he told me that we didn't need it! I told him it was for the baby, and he yelled... its not for the baby.. I don't want a baby!!!! I just smiled at him and told him we are getting it for the baby in Mommy's tummy.... he looked at me and said "alllll right".
The only problem with this pregnancy is that Russ will probably be deployed with the baby is born! :(  but they do allow the marines to skype in Afghanistan so hopefully the hospital will agree with that. Well this is just to let everyone know that another little baby will bless our family! Hopefully Ethan will warm up to he/she when they get here! :)

Motherhood

 I don't know why but I have been so emotional lately about Ethan. It seems like he is just getting so big! I look at him and think, where has all this time gone.
I LOVE talking to Ethan, he has always been a good talker, and still to this day he astounds me with what sentences he can put together! I figured that with me as his mother, that he would definitely be outgoing and really talkative, but I never imagined that I could have a full on understanding conversation with my 3 year old. And when we talk to each other, he has such a caring tone to him. (most of the time lol) He is so loving towards me and never is afraid to ask me if I need a hug, or if I'm okay. I just cant understand how someone so young can realize when you really need a hug or a kiss. Ethan is so good at that. (I'm crying right now, see I don't know whats wrong with me! ) I really don't know how he does it? Of coarse we are not always rainbows and sunshine, we have our disagreements, our little temper tantrums. But what mother and child don't? But even if I yell or tell him to go in time out.... he still gives me hugs, tells me he loves me, and gives me a kiss on the cheek. Its amazing how children can do that. Give them 10 mins to cool off and they are back to their loving selves. I only hope that when I fought with my parents, I was like Ethan and pouted for a few minutes, but then came running back into their arms saying that I loved them.
I have had so many thoughts in my head lately about motherhood and if I have been a good enough mother to my son. Some times I just look at Ethan and wonder... Am I a good mom Ethan? Are you happy, do I make you happy? Then I start crying.... and of coarse Ethan sees me crying and will walk over and ask me if I'm okay.. I always respond yes I'm fine... his next response is always the same, "Give me a hug mommy". How did I get blessed with such an amazing child? Right before Ethan was born, I had these same thoughts. How am I going to do this?  I cant even do a load of laundry on my own, let alone be a mom! I was scared that Ethan wouldn't like me. I know that sounds crazy, but it was a thought that I had a lot when I was pregnant. I think about it now, and it kinda makes me laugh. How could I think that? I'm his mother, of coarse he is going to like me at least until he is a teen. lol. But even then, he will love me, he may not say it as much or even act like it, but I know in my heart that he will love me forever, because being a mom has an amazing impact on a child's life. My mother had and still has an amazing impact on my life. I gave her HELL in my younger years, but she stuck with me, told me she loved me and helped me in any way possible when I needed it. I hope I can be a mother like my mom. I'm still learning... I still call my mom asking how to bake, what I should do about sickness... but I am learning.

I love Ethan so much with all my heart. I wouldn't know where I would be now if I didn't have him. He is a blessing to both Russ and I, he came at a hard time in our life, and pulled... well YANKED us up! I cant wait for the day when I get to tell him that he saved my life. I could tell him now, but he would just laugh and say sure mommy, sure. But he really did. I'm forever indebted to him.

Ethan loves his Kunkle Nate!

Ethan has been so lucky to have seen all his grandparents this month, and his aunt Megan... and his KUNKLE! Nate was here for a soccer tournament down in San Diego, so of coarse Ethan was super excited to go watch his kunkle play soccer, and to have him stay with us for a few days! We got to go to La Jolla, which is a pretty wonderful area! I loved it, it was a city that had MALLORY written all over it! Ethan loved it too because Nate took us to go watch the Seals that hang out on the cliffs! So I put some pic of that on here. We got to tour the house the soccer team rented while they stayed here. It was BEAUTIFUL, it kinda looked like a mobster owned it. lol. Fancy statues and painting... it was soooo huge, they had a game table in there, and Nate and Russ decided to teach Ethan to play 21. It was funny. They had Ethan saying "Hit Me", and "Ill Stay". It was adorable. When we dropped Nate off at the airport Ethan was so sad, he kept saying that he wanted to fly home with kunkle. We loved having Nate here with us, it is always fun when he comes! We love you KUNKLE!

We went to lunch and Ethan kept jumping into Nate's arms... it was funny. He knew Nate would catch him every time!

This is Nate and Russ teaching Ethan how to play. Ethan wanted to bid more.. but Russ kept shaking his hand NO! lol.

These are the seals! They were so loud!

Nate showing Ethan the Cliffs!

Looking at the beautiful water! I loved La Jolla!

Ethan always had to hold Kunkles had every where we went!

Saying goodbye to Kunkle at the airport........

... and this is how he looked the WHOLE time driving home! He was super sad to see him leave!

We love you Kunkle! Hope you can come out again!

Better Late Then Never....

Yep I know... its been like 4 months since I posted last. Sorry! But it take me about 5 hours just to post because our computer is still stupid! Anyways... Whats been happening in the Bringhurst house in the last 4 months? Ill tell you.....

May...
Well we headed back home to Utah for a quick weekend trip because Russ had Memorial Day off, so we came back and did a little birthday for Ethan with Russ side of the family. He had so much fun, he loves opening presents! I think his favorite from his Kunkle Nate (we call him kunkle Nate because Ethan has 2 uncle Nate's! So Russ's brother is Kunkle, and my brother is Uncle). He got a golf set! (all the bringhurst men love to golf, so it was only a matter of time before Ethan got his set!) Oh he was so excited! Here are some pics of Nate showing him how to golf!

Kunkle showing how its done....

look at that swing... future Phil Mickelson right there...

June...
Nothing happened in June. lol. It was a boring month

This is how boring June was... lol. This wasn't taken in June... but this best describes that month. lol

July....
Russ got promoted on July 1st! He was promoted to Lance Corporal. I was so proud of him! Now hopefully he can get promoted to Corporal before he deploys next year, so he can be a NCO on deployment. (that's really good, for all you that didn't know.)
We got to go home again!!!! This time we got to stay for a week and my whole family was there! Oh it was so much fun to see all my siblings and my nephews and nieces! Ethan had loads of fun playing with his cousins. He loves them all! My parents had us do family pictures while everyone was here, and that was a bigger job then any of us thought! Having 6 kids under 6 cooperating together was quite a hard job. One would cry, or not sit still, then after 5 mins of coaxing them, they would be good, but once they were good, someone else would start crying or be a pill. lol. Ethan of coarse was the worst. uh.. but we did get 1 good pic out of him! Right before we left back to Cali we made a pit stop at Gama Gina's salon and gave Ethan a MOW-HAWK! lol. Needless to say my mom and dad were a little mad at me, but I just told them.. Every little boy should have a mow-hawk at least once in there life. :) plus Ethan looked sooooooooo adorable with it. Everyone on base loves it!

August...
We met our new neighbors, and Ethan is in love! lol. Our neighbors Adam and Jenny have an adorable little girl named Taylor. Once Taylor and Ethan met, it was pretty much love at first sight. They hung out almost everyday after that. Unfortunately Jenny and Taylor had to go back to Chicago so Jenny could finish school. But they will be back in December for good, and Ethan is super excited to see Taylor again.
It was also my 24th birthday. My awesome friends out here threw a party for me, and it was so much fun!
And here is a pic of me and Ethan eating chocolate pudding... lol.

Ethan and Taylor! Every where they went, they held hands.

Ethan decided to put Chocolate on my face... because he didn't want to be the only one messy.

September...
WOW... this was a busy month and its not even over yet! First we had my parents, Megan and Preston come down to visit for a few days! We went to Sea World, took the coaster down to old town, did a tour of San Diego, and went to the beach... all in 3 days!!! My parents know how to party. lol. Ethan loved seeing Gama and papa wood, and aunt Megan, and presto! (that's what he calls Preston) lol. Then after they left ... the next week his other Gama and Papa came! Gina and Ron came down for about a week! We went to the aquarium, beach and on a few bike rides! Ethan loves all his Grandparents so much... which is good because next week his other Papa, Papa Bringhurst, is coming to visit for a week... then his kunkle Nate is coming too! September is just our family month! :)

Ethan at Sea World playing with the music stuff. We played there for about 30 mins! He loves anything that makes music

Russ showing Ethan the sharks! Every time the shark would pass by Ethan would take a few steps backwards. He didn't want to be close to the window when the shark was there.

Russ and I at the aquarium

Here is a before and after shot of Ethan's hair!!!!

Before.....

And After! So awesome... :)

Well that's pretty much it. I will try and get better at posting more. I know I say that a lot but, really. I will try harder!

I Finally Posted!

Sorry I have not posted for a while! Our computer got a virus!... and I was lazy. lol. But here is a post! Gina and Ron came up and visited last month and did an early birthday party for Ethan! He was so excited! He got lots of fun stuff. Gina decorated his birthday cake with Buzz and Woody from Toy Story. He also got both the Toy Story movies and some more train set stuff. Ron got him some beach toys, which he totally loved since he is my little beach baby! Ethan was acting so funny when he was opening his presents! What ever it was he opened, he would gasp and open his mouth and go "OOOOOOOOO"! It was hilarious to watch. I wanted to post a video of us singing Happy Birthday to him... its pretty funny. He obviously doesn't like that song because he was crying on my leg asking us to stop. lol. But for some reason it wont let me put it on here. :( so ill try and post it on facebook. 

There are also pics of him at the Zoo again! Yes WE love the Zoo! They opened their Polar Bear Plunge at the beginning of May! Its Ethan's favorite part at the Zoo now, they have a cave that they can crawl through and a helicopter you can sit in. He wont crawl through the cave though, he just stands at the entrance, he is too scared to go through it! So there are pics of us at the zoo.

Ethan's cake! See the corner with out the icing??? That's my corner! :)

Ethan had fun opening presents! He loved getting the movies!

This is the beach stuff Ron picked out for him! He was really excited to play with those!

He has always slept with a stuffed animal, or Rocket, or any toy. So when he got Buzz and Woody toys they had to sleep with him. (and still do) lol

Gma and PaPa helping Ethan build a castle with his new beach stuff!

Ethan loves to go out in the water with PaPa!

My little beach baby! He loves the sand and water so much! I'm so glad he does! Maybe he will be a future swimmer like his mommy! :)

Smiling at the cave entrance at the Polar Bear exhibit. He looks happy, but then i tried to get him into the cave and he freaked out! (I unfortunately don't have a picture of that! lol)

Touching the Polar Bears bum! lol.

The Polar Bears are really fun to watch! They were playing a lot that day!

This is the helicopter they have at the Polar Bear exhibit! Ethan loves to push buttons so he was excited that he could sit there and push and switch the buttons with out me yelling at him! lol

This was on a different day, but this little otter was playing with Ethan. He kept swimming in circles and showing off for Ethan. It was fun to watch

So we figured out that Ethan has my allergies! :(  The poor little guy got really puffed up one night because he was playing with our friends kitty. We felt so bad for him. I told him to smile, and this is how it turned out. He actually had hives all over his face, you cant see them in this picture, but it was pretty bad.

Okay well that's about it! Russ is still working hard, he actually gets promoted in July to Lance Corporal! So that will be nice. He is excited about that. We are making a quick Utah visit from May 28-June 1 because russ has 4 days off! So if you want to see us durring that time give me a call! And thats pretty much it! Ill try and post again soon!