Briggen: 5 months

New: rolling over from back to front, sleeping in his own room 

Enjoys: sleeping on his tummy, playing with his toes, back rubs, & stuffed animals 

Dislikes: hot weather

Firsts: movie in the theater, rodeo, baseball game, trip to the aquarium

Now that he is rolling, we find him like this in the crib! We quickly ordered a mesh crib liner .

 

Briggen rarely sleeps on his back. He's always on his side or tummy!

 

 

 

July - Sun Valley

To celebrate Brodie's graduation, the whole Fish family met in Sun Valley, Idaho for a reunion. It was a whirlwind of fun - so much fun that I don't have that many pictures to show for it! The Sun Valley home hosted 4 dogs (2 of them puppies), 9 adults, and 3 kids. Our week was filled with hiking, fishing, shopping, bike rides, swimming, a rodeo, dock dogs, frisbee golf, lawn games, and horseback riding.

It was Briggen's first road trip and being in the car for several hours is not his favorite! Luckily we were able to split the drive into two days and stay with my sister in Baker City. Even still, the 5 hour drive to Baker was a struggle. Briggen did not sleep (as we hoped) and by the time we got to Amy and Jeremy's, he was pretty worked up and had the biggest freak out in history. To make it even crazier, we had Cosmo and Luna with us (Cosmos had been ours for only 3 days). Thanks, Amy, for putting up with the crying baby and puppy. 

With a baby and puppy, we had to take lots of bathroom and feeding breaks along the way.

we made it!

daily walk with Briggen + fur babies

fun at the pool 

 

poolside snoozin'

For the 4th of July, we went to the local rodeo. It was hot and loud, but Briggen handled it like a champ! We grabbed Dad's construction headphones out of the back of his work truck, and Briggen surprisingly kept them on the whole time.

My personal favorite activity was horseback riding! It was a half day ride in the gorgeous mountains. Briggen was back at the house with Tek, Kim, and Cohan. Thank you for babysitting!

horse smiles and selfies

It was a wonderful week that went by too quickly. We can't wait to come back again! 

UWS Graduation

After 4 years of chiropractic school, Brodie graduated from University of Western States!! It is surreal and almost strange to not live the "school" life anymore. Our entire married lives, Brodie has been a student. First finishing up undergraduate school at BYU Provo, and then 4 years at UWS in Portland. His schooling included about 2 years of science/medical courses and 2 years of clinical practice. We are now ready to take on the real world! I have decided to work part-time (same grade, same school) and Brodie is on the hunt for a full-time job as a chiropractor.

The morning of his graduation turned out to be a crazy morning! Brodie left early in order to dress in his gown and rehearse. I left the house 30 minutes earlier than I needed to . . . just in case! It was a good thing I did, because I drove to the wrong venue! Rather than driving to the Portland Convention Center, I drove to the Portland Expo Center - two TOTALLY different places that are 20 minutes apart. And yet they are both near a Martin Luther King blvd. See how that can be confusing?? 

I pulled up to the Expo center and all I saw was a bunch of trucks. The woman at the parking booth gave me a very strange look when I asked for graduation parking. She asked me if I was there for the trucking convention (!!!) Realizing I was in the wrong place, I hurriedly called my parents because I told them to head to the Expo center. They were just 5 minutes behind me, and just as confused as I was. Long story short, we made it just in time. But it did require me running up several flights of stairs in heels and carrying a baby. I slipped in to the back just as the graduates were walking to take their seats. Phew!!

receiving his diploma - cum laude AND honors!

 

proud family of 3!

with my parents

 

 Brodie's parents

 

the Fish men

Heppler/Fish fam

We are so proud of you, Brodie!

June

June was a busy, fun-filled month! Highlights included hiking, 5th grade end-of-school events, frisbee, berry picking, a trip to the zoo, Brodie's graduation, and . . . a surprise puppy! We definitely know how to finish out the school year with a bang! 

weekend hike in Gresham 

I came back to work just in time for all of the "fun stuff". Lots of events and celebrations for fifth graders! Which is a lot of fun (and a lot of work) for the teachers, too!

Annual State Fair 

Colonial Day with these crazies! Which included a covered wagon . . . 

biscuit making . . .

homemade ice cream . . .

picking herbs from the school garden . . . and lots more!

On Saturday mornings, Brodie likes to play frisbee and I bring Bringgen and Luna to support :)

berry picking in Grandma's yard

Briggen's first trip to the zoo! Which included an impressive lion feeding demonstration

 

 Brodie graduated!! Wahoo! Read more here. 

 

As a graduation gift, a family in our ward generously gifted Brodie an adorable puppy!! I only knew a day in advance, and Brodie found out when we went to pick him up. It was totally unexpected (as you can tell by Brodie's reaction) and people called us crazy for taking on a second dog with a 3 month old baby. It was a little crazy, but Cosmo is now part of the fam and we love him! He's a pure bred German Short-Haired Pointer, which is a breed commonly used for bird hunting. We chose the name Cosmo to fit with Luna's "space-themed" name (although she was actually named after Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter). It's also perfect because Brodie and I are both BYU graduates, which is home to Cosmo the cougar. Go cougs!

 

taking Cosmo home!

 

It was definitely a hectic month, and now I am ready for summer vacation and summer naps!

Briggen: 4 months

weight: 14 lbs 4oz (24th %ile)

height: 26" (84th %ile)

head: 41.5 cm (45th %ile)

enjoys: meeting new people, tickles, kisses, blowing bubbles

dislikes: swaddles, cold bottles

personality: observant, content, & friendly

on the move: rolling onto his side, sitting with support

firsts: trip to the zoo, public meltdown

 

still unsure what color his eyes are

side by side comparison with Brodie's baby photo