Halloween 2009! Army Men!!!

We had the BEST Halloween! We went as Army Men, and it was a BLAST! We actually won the costume contest at our ward party, and everyone thought Brenner was the cutest little army guy! Our ward had a "costume parade," where the children walked around to different tables in the gym to get candy. Brenner had a frankenstein bag, which he wore proudly around his neck.

Brenner had a blast, even though the only candy he could eat (because of his allergies) were suckers and smarties. That's okay though. Dad helped with the rest. ;)

The army family!

Brenner had two big guns, and he waved them around at all the girls! Haha!

Brenner fell in love with this one little girl. He's started hugging pretty girls recently, and this girl wasn't offering him a hug, so he just pushed her up against the wall and gave her one! A bit aggressive, yes, but we think maybe he was just getting into character...our little Rambo...

Daddy hunted Brenner around the gym, and he CAUGHT HIM! Look at Brenner's face!

Little army man Brenner after we got home. Best Halloween EVER!!!

Brenner is learning to feed himself...run for cover!!!

Brenner's feeding himself--EVERYTHING! He refuses to let us spoon feed him, so we decided to go ahead and let him feed himself whatever he wanted...even if it was rice and kidney beans! I put him in his high chair, gave him a fork, a spoon, and a bowl of food, then went to the other room to get the camera (I knew this would be good). I got distracted, and left him for about 10 minutes, until I heard a thud. I ran back in, and Brenner was laughing hysterically, COVERED in food, with the bowl on the floor...

Well, at least we had fun. ;)

Happy 25th Birthday, Andrew!!!

Brenner put on Daddy's birthday hat...it was a little too big for him, but he didn't care!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!!!

Andrew had his 25th birthday last week! Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very good, so wonderful Andrew took care of Brenner (and mom) most of the evening. While Andrew was at school, Brenner and I put up streamers and colored a banner together, and we made a card to give to Daddy. Brenner even "signed" his name on it, with a beautiful blue marker. :)

We love our Daddy so much, and feel so lucky to call him ours. Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Ah, October...

Brenner ate some ribs from Texas Roadhouse that we brought home today, and he LOVED them! He even took a rib into the bathtub when I went to bathe him afterwards.
Like Father, Like Son!

Of course, Brenner's been cute as ever. He's started making the silliest face--we call it the "monster face!"

We're having so much fun decorating for Halloween. We've made our family pumpkins, decorated our windows, and we'll be putting up our Thanksgiving tree soon!

Our bedroom window!!!

The Pumpkin Family

Brenner's 1st Camping trip!

We went camping and 4-wheeling in Mill Flat over the Labor Day weekend. Andrew and I haven't been camping since we've been married, even though we both love it! It was so nice to be able to just relax and enjoy our family. We went with Andrew's family, and it was so great to sit around the campfire and talk and laugh together.

We also went 4-wheeling! I finally got up the courage to do most of the driving, even on big scary mountains really close to the edge! Being so terrified of heights, I was quite proud of this accomplishment! Brenner brought his little 4-wheeler that he got for his birthday, along with his very own helmet. His Grandpa looked so proud. :)

Brenner also got to experience his first smores. My goodness he LOVED them! He ate almost nothing but smores the whole weekend, and got his marshmallow goodness all over everyone (sorry Mom)!

Mom McMurray made the most delicious dutch oven meals, and we ate so well. Brenner especially loved the bacon and potatoes with chicken. I thought he'd never stop eating! Andrew's extended family (Mom McMurray's parents and siblings) made the long 4-wheeler drive from Juniper to visit us while we were there. We went 4-wheeling together and had a yummy dinner and sat around the fire telling stories. We're so blessed to have such a tight knit family. They're great!

The last day, Brenner found a sandbox (of sorts) and plopped himself down in it to play for a half hour or so. He kept dumping sand in his hair and laughing. He is so funny (just ask him)!

The whole trip was fantastic, and Brenner did great--aside from night time, where he insisted on sleeping ON TOP of me, and woke up for good at 3 am. He just sat up on top of me and kept pushing my nose with his finger and saying, "BEEP!" Poor Andrew had to take him out to sit by the fire for the next several hours. Brenner even woke up Aunt Kamila in the next tent over! Sorry! Other than that, we had so much fun on our first family camping trip. Can't wait to go again!

Happy 1st Birthday, Brenner Boy!!!

Brenner turned one on July 28th! We spent the day swimming and eating chocolate birthday cake and opening presents. It was so much fun! That weekend, we went to Burley to see Grandma and Grandpa and the girls and have his REAL birthday party. Brenner got his very own little 4-wheeler from Grandma and Grandpa, and he loves it! We had cake and pizza, and that evening we went to a big party with waterslides and a BBQ.

Happy Birthday, Brenner boy!

Brenner's Sixth Month

Our Brenner is six months old now, and today, February 21, 2009, Brenner's two top incisors broke through! 4 teeth before 7 months old! Brenner eats cheerios, rice cereal, and jars of baby food. He loves pears and applesauce the best! We gave him pudding at Grandma and Grandpa McMurray's house, and he LOVED it! He'll drink from a sippy cup, which is wonderful, since he never wanted to take a bottle. He blows raspberries on everyone, especially when he has a mouthful of food! Brenner's almost crawling, too! We think he'd rather walk though. When we put him in his walker, he cruises around the house--sometimes we even find him under the kitchen table! We've discovered that Brenner is infatuated with Veggietales. We put on the Veggietales DVD sing-alongs, and he starts laughing and jumping and trying to sing with it! We've never seen anything so funny before! He loves being in his Johnny Jumper--he'll jump in the doorway as high as he can, giggling hysterically the whole time. We've begun to realize that we don't have a baby anymore--we have a kid!

Brenner's Fifth Month

Merry Christmas to Brenner! Brenner celebrated his first Christmas at 5 months old! Brenner went on his first plane ride too!!! Everyone thought he was adorable! There was a man sitting across from us on the plane, who was trying to do his homework, and Brenner kept leaning over and jabbering at him. He just wouldn't leave the poor guy alone! Brenner loves an audience! We flew to WV to visit my family, and we got to spend time with Brenner's Grandma and Grandpa Burrows and his aunt and uncles. He had so much fun getting to play with all the little boys! For New Year's Eve, Brenner had his very own party hat! And, on January 5th, 2009, Brenner got his very first, and SECOND teeth! His two bottom incisors broke through at the same time that night while we were eating at TGI-Fridays in Idaho Falls! He loves chomping on EVERYTHING with them!

Brenner's Fourth Month

Brenner's four months old!!! Such a silly boy! He's had his first taste of cereal, and he LOVES it! Daddy blessed him in church, and he wore such a handsome little burgundy suit. Andrew's whole family came for the blessing, and we took pictures and had a wonderful lunch at our home. It was a great day. Brenner scoots on his tummy, and we are so proud of him!

Brenner's Third Month

Three months old already! Brenner has begun sitting up by himself! We sit him on our bed, and he'll support himself with his arms and look around at us and smile. He's begun really jabbering, too. Another huge milestone, especially for mom, is that Brenner began sleeping through the night this month!!! Yay!!! We put up a Thanksgiving Tree at the end of October, and Brenner just LOVES it! He'll lay across the arm of our couch and touch the ornaments and talk to himself. He's such a funny little boy!

Brenner's Second Month

Brenner kept getting more and more handsome! By two months, he was just so smiley! He also began rolling over! Brenner only wanted to sleep in Mom and Dad's bed cuddled on daddy's chest. His eyes were beginning to lighten, and we could begin to see how blue they were going to be. Our baby boy was getting so big!

Brenner's First Month

Our Brenner was so advanced from birth! He could already lift his head and chest off of the floor, which his doctor thought was pretty remarkable. We had a funny experience at Brenner's one week appointment with the pediatrician. When the doctor walked in the room, he took one look at Brenner and said, "Wow! Two chins! We don't usually see that till the second week!" Brenner had gained 13 oz in 5 days! What a little oinker! Healthy, healthy baby!

Brenner Anders McMurray

Welcome to the world, Brenner Anders McMurray! Brenner was born July 28, 2008, at 1:30 pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz, and was 21 inches long! Mommy was exhausted, and very much drugged, so they wheeled me upstairs and left Brenner with his proud papa! Andrew and Brenner stayed downstairs for more than an hour, cuddling and getting to know each other. Brenner was such a quiet little guy. He was so attentive, and loved being cuddled. We were so proud of our boy!

My Pregnancy

We were so excited for our litte Brenner to come! Pregnancy wasn't too kind to me, and I ended up on bedrest towards the end. Brenner was such a big baby! Combine that with his mommy not being very big, and it made for a hard couple of last months. Brenner's ultrasounds were always so much fun. He wiggled and wiggled! I loved feeling him kick and roll around, and his daddy loved to play with him! Andrew would put his hand on my tummy, and Brenner would kick him! He'd move it to a different spot, and Brenner would follow! They had a bond from the very beginning.

Surprise!

On November 26, 2007, I came home early from work and surprised Andrew with a gift bag. He opened it up, pulling out one item at a time. First came a tiny pair of baby booties, followed by a rattle, a bottle, a bib, and some toys. I could hardly contain myself as I took picture after picture of his face as he took out all the baby items! He jumped up, tore the camera away, and began hugging me. We were going to have a baby!

Our First Year

We had quite a first year! We moved to Morgan, UT, where we worked and played for the first 10 months of marriage! We went rock climbing, snowmobiling, and snowboarding! It was a great first year. In the end of October, we moved to Pocatello, ID to go back to school and finish our degrees!

Honeymoon

Andrew and I spent our honeymoon in Panama City Beach, Florida. We had a stunning condo on the 15th floor, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. We spent the week laying out on the beach, enjoying yummy foods, and celebrating our first Christmas together. It was so much fun! We can't wait to go back!

The Beginning of the McMurrays

Andrew and I were married in the Washington D.C. temple on December 21, 2006. Andrew's whole family flew out from Burley, ID to attend the wedding. It was so wonderful of them to come such a long distance! My family made the long drive up from Ona, WV. It was an amazing day, and we are so grateful to our families for helping to make it so. My aunt took gorgeous wedding pictures, which captured the sunset and beautiful Christmas lights on the temple grounds. It was a perfect beginning to the new McMurray family.

Our Engagement

Andrew and I had a funny engagement. We were aware of each other from our ward at BYU-Idaho, but we didn't begin to really get to know one another until after we had both left school. We found each other on facebook, and began talking online. It soon progressed to all night conversations on the phone, and we fell in love--practically sight unseen. It was a wonderfully intimate relationship, beginning as mere acquaintances, evolving into a deep friendship as we became the other's most trusted confidant. We found that when we spoke, we could be ourselves in everyway, and both of us grew to love the other more and more with every conversation. It seemed strange to those who knew us, our families particularly, when we announced that we were in love and wanted to be married. After all, we'd never even talked in person! But we knew it was right, and we were prepared to take the plunge and embark on our new lives together.

Andrew flew out over Thanksgiving in 2006 to meet my family. He proposed officially while we were taking pictures, with all my family gathered around. We then drove up to Washington D.C. to spend some time touring the area where we would be married. We went to the museums and monuments, the zoo, and I introduced my new fiance to some of my family in the area. They put him "on trial" and interrogated him--complete with a judge and jury! He passed with flying colors, and they all gave their approval!

Andrew left to go home after a week. It was so exciting, knowing that in less than a month, we would be married!