My good friends Katie & Brendon became parents today, to a sweet baby girl, Makenzie!!
I'm so excited that they get to experience such love, joy, and fun that a baby brings! Makenzie Jean is one lucky little lady!

They are...

Adrian, Anna, Ella, Tessa, Jaci & Aaron

We took their family photos at Ft. Missoula on Sunday. I haven't gotten to sit down and fully edit them yet, but here's a quickie-edit to share. Thanks, A & A and kids for being soo wonderful during our shoot! It sure was worth the work and wait for ice cream afterwards, huh? :)

Guess Who?

Snap Me If You Can...

Yesterday we took some family/friends pictures at Ft. Missoula, and of course it woulnd't be a complete day if we didn't take some of the boys too. :)

There were *seriously* soo many cute ones of Bentley, it is soo hard to choose just a few. But Coy? Too fast to catch. However, we did manage to snap one or two.

Here are just a few of us and our two adorable little guys.

the little boys that rule this house

sigh...just thinking of post on this blog overwhelms me...

i always have lots to blog, but wonder if it's worth the effort. (who reads this anyway?)

so, i wait...and wait...and wait, until it's just too much to post in one post, when i DO actually get my butt motivated to blog.

so anyway...here's a little from the braaten house :)

Coy is not a baby anymore...he's a LITTLE BOY!! He's starting to talk a lot, not only saying new words, but putting 2-3 words together.

Here are a few :

• "mama, *grunt* stuck" (in his carseat. of course dear, you should be stuck)
  
• "colt wodder" in the pool. or any water for that matter...seems to be "colt". once in a while it's "hot", as he blows on his hands. water is his new obsession :)
  
• "dum dum dum di-ee dum" (dum ditty dum ditty dum, dum, dum)


• he says "buckle" when he's wearing his belt. and if he's not wearing it, he's sure to show you where it should be. Same thing with "pocket".

And, there's many, many more. He's starting to pay more attention to the little non-play things now too, which is big for us. We usually hold hands when we give thanks for a meal, and he made the connection the other night in meeting. During prayer, he bowed his head, and grabbed for our hands. It was so sweet, but of course lasted for about 20 seconds.

He got a POTTY CHAIR! thats another thing he's been obsessed with...so we though we'd try it out. He hasn't gone in it yet, but he "practices" everyday ;) As he sits on it, I hear "pah-ee...poopy. pah-ee...poopy"

Bentley is working on cutting his second tooth...i can see it just below the surface of his gums. He's of course chewing on lots of things, and of course cranky. It doesn't help that by 3 o'clock it's usually about 76 degrees in the house. oof da! He obviously has started eating solids...but not as usual as he probably should be. When Coy was about 5 months, I was really excited about feeding him solids (who knows why...just the first-time mom thing?). Now, I realize the effort and mess and clean up that it takes...and it's harder for me to get used to doing that more then once a day, especially when it's much easier to just unsnap my bra. So...he's been nursing ALL the time. Yesterday though, I made a TON of baby food...hoping to start actually feeding it to him. My favorite? Breakfast medly...blueberries, apples & oats.

We enjoyed our 4th of July with Hugh & Carmen, and Kenny & Lichen in Townsend. We had planned on going out on the lake that day, but the weather told us otherwise. So we spent the day playing at a park, having a picnic, and walking downtown Helena. The company was nice :)

Envelope System?

Is it smart? or just SAD that I listen to Dave Ramsey while the babies nap?


Im wondering if any of those mommy bloggers out there use the cash envelope system? How does it work for you?





I WANT to be frugal!!!!! I really really do. So, as we come close to buying, closing on a house that we absolutely LOVE, I want to do everything that I can to make the finances much easier. Plus, save extra for traveling to see my wonderful family, that I miss so much :)





So...how do you do it?