Fun, Fun Summer

The last two weeks have been very very busy....hence why I missed writing a blog last week. Although I didn't write a blog, I still continued taking lots and lots of pictures. We've been very busy but have had a lot of fun. Since there are sooo many pictures and too much to write about, I've decided to just write a little longer captions under some of the pictures to explain some things we have been doing. We are going on "vacation" in the next couple of days, so I wanted to catch up b/c I know I will have a lot more to post when we get back. Enjoy all the pics...and certainly don't miss out on the video at the end.

Thor...looking so cute wearing Chris' shoes

Beat after a fun filled day at the lake

We had a great time swimming at Crystal Lake. Afterwards, Katie wanted to test her skills at photography by taking some family pics of us. She got some good pictures, however, it was pretty hard with two little ones that were absolutely exhausted by this time.

A couple of neat reflection pictures

Funny family pic...somehow ALL 4 us managed to make a funny face all at the same time
....not an easy task w/ a 2 month old and 22 month old

another neat reflection picture....the reflection is the top part of the pic

out on the pier

so in love

Aleigha was trying to swim like she does in her baby pool at home....
(putting her hands down on the ground and either kicking her feet or walking on her hands)
luckily she tried this where she could reach, however, her mouth kept going under the water and she kept screaming "Help...Stuck!!" It was pretty sad but really cute...I had to come to her rescue.

Before I came to the rescue

Grandma and Grandpa swimming with Aubrey, Aleigha, and Brenton
I'm not sure what Aubrey and Brenton were thinking....but Aleigha seemed to enjoy it.

family pic while swimming

group pic

Gramma and Pop with Aleigha and Brenton
Aleigha sure has missed them this summer...but she is having a blast with them now

Aleigha holding the babies....good thing she had on her life jacket bathing suit

Aubrey and Brenton enjoying a nice float in the lake

Man, I'm telling you what...so far this kid has rolled over on his own, sat up on his own...and now floating on his own-he's growing up too quick...
(the only true part of the above statement...is rolling over on his own)

my beautiful baby girl

Grandma and My Little Man

Daddy and Aleigha hanging out at Crystal Lake

amazed at all the fish in the lake

she loves to be swimming

this is what you get when you let a toddler be in charge of the gold fish bag and her juice box

swinging at the play ground at Crystal Lake

This duck kept trying to take Aleigha's gold fish...she actually hit the duck and kept saying "Get away duck...stupid duck"(a dreadful word she picked up from me calling the dog stupid-when I stepped in one of his "accidents" in our house)
Luckily other than the dog and this poor duck...she hasn't called anyone else stupid

this poor duck was missing part of his top bill...he can't pick up food...it's sooo sad, he tries but he just ends up pushing it all over instead

my beautiful sister Katie and her adorable little girl Aubrey relaxing at Crystal Lake
Katie, Wade, and Aubrey came in to visit for a few weeks. We have been enjoying their stay very much. We have been trying to keep busy while they've been here.

Uncle Johnnie letting Aleigha be a life guard for the day
He is great with her

we thought she'd like it a little more than she did

Aleigha being a fire fighter at the breastfeeding party

Just like the kids, Thor is growing up too quick
He is doing so much better now. In one week he went from 8 lbs to 16 lbs...and he's grown even more since then

Aleigha has had a thing for showing off her muscles recently

my adorable baby boy

my precious little girl

she's too darn cute

this pic is a little blurry, but it is a great picture of Aleigha laughing...she has such a great laugh...a true down in the belly, rolling laugh...i love to hear it

being silly

she's taking fashion tips from Aunt Molly

We went to visit with our friends Brian and Emily and their kids.
Of course by the end of the night, Aleigha didn't want to leave and Lilly didn't want her to leave either. I went to go get her in Lilly's play room. Lilly turns to me and says, "She doesn't want to leave, so she's hiding." Can you believe what a 2 and 3 year old (not quite 2 and not quite 3) are capable of!!

trying to hide a little more in the toy box

Aleigha and Lilly swimming....Aleigha loves Lilly and going to her house.
The last time I remember her truly crying all the way home in the car was when she was about 9 months old. On the way home from Lilly's she cried and cried for a solid 60 mins and then feel asleep for the last 10 mins. It was a miserable ride home, but we had a great time while we were out.

One of the fun things we've done this week was go to the Ritchie County Fair. They had a pet show. Someone had brought their pet snake....a Boa. Katie decided it would be fun to get pictures with Aubrey and the snake (leave it to Katie to ask the guy to let him put his snake around her newborns neck). Sure enough, Chris liked the idea and got in on the action. Brenton laid back, relaxed, and let the snake do it's thing.

Aleigha wan't quite as chill as Brenton. She wouldn't let it around her neck. Look at her having a stare down with it though.

Brenton and Aubrey taking a nap together in Brenton's bed

hanging out
(check out Aleigha's art work on the mat)

Aleigha thinks she's in heaven, with 2 babies!!

play time

2 peas in a pod

my little stud...he is such a happy baby

Eli, Brenton, and Aubrey
Brenton and I went to Columbus to pick up Katie, Wade, and Aubrey from the airport. We then stayed the night at Adam's house. Although our visit was short, we had a great time haning out with them all.

she is just too cute

i have a feeling these 2 (along w/ some other cousins their age) will get into some mischief together

a hard day at work for Chris...Aleigha's hat, Aleigha's room, and my rocking chair

she loves her brother

what a handsome boy

hanging out at grandma's house

she loves to color

although this pic is a blurry and half of Brenton's cut out....his face is too cute not to post this pic

all bundled up

relaxing by the pool

our little model

catching some sun rays...in the shade

I watched some of Julie's kids...Aleigha loved the company of her older cousins
this is a beach ball sprinkler that shoots water out of it from lots of different spots...they had a blast rolling it around and getting each other wet

having fun in the pool

This is a hillarious video of Aleigha dancing at the fair to some guy singing accapoulo. She is so into dancing right now. She will pull Chris into the living room while saying "music daddy, music." As soon as Chris gets it started, she dances away. We've decided to put her into dance classes as soon as she is old enough...which is 2 1/2 around here.

Exciting News!!!

This has been a very exciting week. We have not done a whole lot this week, but nonetheless, it's been quite exciting. Thor spent the weekend at the vet because his illness continued to get worse. However, after 4 days of IV fluid and medicine, we were able to pick him up. He is acting 100% better. With each passing day, he poop gets a little thicker. He is still on medicine, but he is making a nice recovery.
This week, we got the exciting news that the newest member of our family was born, Oliver Seth Owen (I believe this is the official name)-Laura and Todd's second little boy. He makes the 4th baby born in 8 weeks. He is absolutely adorable, he looks like a little Parker. We can't wait to meet him, as well with all the other babies. Our first chance to meet one of the newest babies will be next week, when Katie and Wade and little Aubrey come to visit. We are anxiously awaiting their visit.
It is not uncommon for toddlers and young children to regress a little when a new sibling is born. Aleigha has, for the most part, done well; however, there have been some things that have changed. For instance, she was 100% potty trained during the day. Now she has pee accidents (fortunately she has not had any poop accidents), about every other day and sometimes twice in one day. I think we are going to go back to the M&Ms to reinforce her to use the big girl potty again. It worked within days after first starting, so hopefully this will get her back to being fully potty trained during the day. Also as a little incentive, we taught her how to use a stool and climb on the BIG potty (w/ an attachment of course) all by herself. She gets very very excited when she climbs on it with no help. I have included a video of her doing this; however, the memory card became full as soon as she climbed on. So unfortunately, we did not get her reaction on camera.
Another regression has been that she was sleeping all through the night. Now she wakes up and wants to come into our bed. This week we took down the side of her crib to make it a toddler bed that she could climb in and out of. We were a little weary of doing this because she has no door to her room, and I didn't want her to wander around the house looking for us. And since she has never tried to climb out we thought we would keep her in the crib for as long as possible. We are fortunate to have a second crib for Brenton, so we don't need to move her out. Despite all this, I thought that the excitement of not having the side of the bed would make her excited to sleep in her bed instead of ours...HAHA. The only plus side of it was that we didn't have to get out of bed to get her...she came to us. It assured her coming into our bed. The first night, we thought that maybe it was a success. She slept all the way through the night in her own bed. The only scary thing was that when she did wake up around 7:30, before we were awake, she searched the whole down stairs for us. When I heard her calling out for us, I got up to get her, and found her in the kitchen. The second night, I woke up (I guessed I sensed something, b/c I didn't hear anything), to find her standing right next to our bed. All I could see was her eyes up. She didn't say a word...it scared me half to death. The next night, Chris awoke and found her laying on the floor beside our bed with her blankie and bunny. It didn't take long for us to put the side back up. I included a video of her playing in her bed. She did like that she was able to climb in and out whenever she wanted; however, it didn't keep her in bed at night. When we get back from vacation in a few weeks, we are going to try to do sleep training. It worked for her when she was 9 months.
Alright, so for what makes this week the most exciting.........drum roll please.........Chris and I will be going to the Washington DC temple to be sealed together and to our children for all time and eternity. We were able to set the date and get our interviews all in the same. We are inviting all friends and family that are able to go to join us in such a joyous occassion. For those who can not go into the temple, are more than welcome to come see us outside the temple and then join us for a celebration dinner outside the DC area. We will be sealed on Wednesday, August 12 (aprox. 3 weeks away). For any more details, please contact me.
Here are a few pictures and videos from this week. Hope you all enjoy.

She put herself in Thor's kennel

sneak peek at what Brenton will be wearing for his baby blessing and for the sealing at the temple

an absolutely adorable summer outfit...
thank you Mrs. Nolan...we are forever greatful for all the
wonderful things you have sent to Aleigha and Brenton

Brenton in a cute little onesie that Aunt Carrie bought for him

Aleigha is showing off her muscles

she's so much fun

since Brenton has been born, everything has become her baby...
including this Wii remote cover

Beautiful Aunt Molly taking a nap with Brenton

Parties, Parties, Everywhere

Yet another week has past. It has been a pretty good week for the most part. However, it has also been a little stressful. We were kept very busy with lots of parties and the addition of a new puppy. Last Thursday, Chris bought a new puppy. I agreed to the puppy as long as he understood that it was HIS puppy. That meant, he lets it out, he walks it, he cleans up after it, he takes it to the vet, and any other additional things that it might require. Well, the puppy had diarrhea when we got him and within 24 hours after getting him he also became very lethargic, was not eating or drinking and also started vomitting. So of course, who had to bring him to the vet first thing the following morning...that would be me. The vet visit went alright for the most part...they tested him for several things, all of which came back negative. They diagnosed him with an inflammed bowel and sent us off with some medicine. He has seemed to make a remarkable difference in now that he is eating, drinking, and playing. He has also stopped the vommiting; however, the diarrhea is now full of blood. We contacted the breeder and had to meet him to pick up some additional medicine. And guess who had to pick it up...again, that would be me. I really can't complain though, Chris is doing all the dirty work. The puppy wakes up more than Brenton in the middle of the night...and that makes me happy. The puppy is absolutly adorable and Aleigha loves him. He is a full bred American Bulldog named Thor. He was a bit costly but we plan on breeding him and should make our money back fairly quick. Like our beloved Saddie, he has done great with both kids.
Also this week, my parents and Molly came back from their trip to Idaho (to see Katie's baby, Aubrey, be born) and Texas (to meet Bob's baby, Jaxon). They were home for three days before heading to NJ (to care for Uncle Bob and visit with Tom and his family). However, they were only in NJ for 1 1/2 days before my mom flew to Arkansas (to see the birth of Laura's new baby boy...yet to happen) and my dad came home. Molly and my Dad will be headed to Ak as soon as Molly comes home from church camp. We missed my parents while they were gone. We had a great time with them while they were here, and now we are missing them (well my mom) again. Hopefully we will be able to spend a good bit of time with my dad before he leaves again. We were very fortunate to be able to spend the day with him today. Us Thornburgh kids sure do keep my parents busy with all these babies. First it was wedding after wedding...and now baby after baby. However, I know they enjoy being able to travel and spend time with all their children and grandchildren. They are great parents and I have been so fortunate to be born to them.
Over the weekend, we were kept busy with 3 parties in 2 days. First, Aleigha, Brenton, and I went to my friend, Jami's bridal shower. We had a good time there, spending time with friends we hadn't seen in awhile. Later that day, all of us went to the Satre's Mega-Party (as I heard someone in the family call it). Scott along with Allie, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Abbie all have July birthdays (Abbie's the first week of August). With so many birthday's so close, they decided to have one big party for them all on Allie's bday. It was a lot of fun...although it felt like Christmas (only some of us not getting presents). Then on Sunday, we went to Chris' step brother, Shane's going-away party. Shane will be serving a two year mission to Russia for our church. We had a great time spending the day with family and friends. We were sad to see Shane leave, but we are very proud of him.
Today, Brenton had his six week apointment. It is heartbreaking for a mother to hear the cries of their baby getting a shot. It broke my heart to hear him cry out in pain. He is a trooper though; he cried for about 2 minutes but has not let out a cry since (it's been about 8 hours). At 6 weeks and 1 day, Brenton weighs 9 lbs 5 oz and is 21 3/4 inches long. He is growing like a weed. His personality is developing more and more everyday. For about the last hour or two of sleep this morning he slept in our bed. I awoke to the noises of him cooing and laughing. I turned towards him, to see him afixed in a gaze, looking up in the corner of the room. He was very excited and seemed to be "talking" to someone that I could not see. It seems that many parents have observed their newborns in a situation like this at one time or another. To me, it seems clear that the veil is thin for them and that they are communicating with some being that they knew in the pre-existence. It is an amazing thing to witness, and I cherish every moment that I am blessed to see him (as I did with Aleigha) have an experience like this.
I believe I have made up for last weeks short post. I hope you all enjoy. I appreciate all those who take the time to read and look at my post, it means a great deal to me. Take care.

Heisman Pose already-our future football star

black mail on Aleigha (I know it's mean to post these..
but I just can't help it...it's too cute)

Brenton sleeps just like Chris and Aleigha

We were a little worried how the puppy would act around the kids...the first morning we had him, Aleigha left the baby gate opened...the dog went into the living room where we had been sleeping...Chris and I ran in as soon as we realized where the puppy went...this is what we found

Aric's twin brother Won Twon
Aric was stung by a bee right above his left eye brow (on the inside-if you look close you can see it)...they had to take him to the ER b/c his face swelled..the bee stung him in his sinus'...so his poor face looked like this for about a week

At Jami's bridal shower w/ Jami and Amanda...we had a good time
Congrats Jami!!

She loves her Gramma and Pop

Sporting her boots

but not the pants (or underwear for that matter)

he was fed up w/ me taking pictures during his nap

Thor sleeping w/ Chris

me and my handsome husband...I think after 2 kids we're still looking okay
(well atleast when we try)

me being vain (although I had to take about 30 or more pics to get one that I liked)

Aleigha, gramma, and Thor

She was a big hit in this outfit...so there are several pics (from different angles)
of her in this dress

our little beauty

oh...i love it!

she loves here gramma

so this outfit came to be b/c she insisted on wearing the boots...being summer and not a whole lot of options for boots I went through her clothes and put this together...I think it turned out great!

Daddy-Daughter pic

Grandma Leta with her two grandbabies

Brenton looking adorable

grandma love

It takes about 30 tries to get a decent family picture....and this is about the best we get

she wore it well

he is very aleart now-a-days

what a stud!

an absolutely adorable bathing suit

she is such a happy girl...i love it!

so precious

so much personality

precious boy

he also has a great personality

he's got awesome lips, just like his sister

our newest addition....Thor

American Bulldog

at 7 weeks-8.8 lbs
expected weight at 1 year- 90+ lbs