Baptism pictures

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Rayleigh's Baptism Weekend

Yesterday, August 22, we baptized Rayleigh at Saint Frances Cabrini church here in Granbury. It was truly an amazing experience. I was very surprised how emotional I felt as the deacon baptized my little one with holy water. I became choked up and overwhelmed as my precious, perfect little angel received the Holy Spirit. I find comfort in knowing that we are beginning her journey as a Christian together as a family, and that she will forever be in God's grace. Rayleigh is an amazing gift from the Lord, and I am so thankful to Him for her and the love that she brings into our lives.
We were really excited to have everyone in town. I got to spend a lot of time with my cousin Lori, whom I love like a sister. Lori & her husband Matt (who is also a college friend of mine) are Rayleigh's godparents. We feel so honored to have them take on that task. I know from my experiences with both of them that they are two of the most devout Christians I know, and I have 100% faith in their ability to counsel Rayleigh in the future and for them to help us raise her to have a stron Christian faith.
We also had my parents, Doug & Mary Kaye, sister Makemma, brother Cameron and my grandparents, Leon & JoAnn, visiting. I was thrilled to have Granny & PoPo visit us and get to see our home. I think they liked it! My friend Alissa came as well and hung out with us all night as we partied! Emily & Josh came to baptism and lunch with us. It was good to see them.
After the baptism ceremony, us big kids went and played golf and drank some beer. Then we went out to the Langdon ranch for dinner and more celebrating. It was a great day, and we all had so much fun!!

Livin' la vida loca!

So the last year has flown by!! I can't believe how much our lives have changed since August 2008. In the last 12 months, Kit & I both got new jobs, moved, bought our first house, and welcomed our first child. Whew! What chaos! It has been crazy but so wonderful.

The move was tough on us (especially me) at first, but as we have gotten settled, it has progressively gotten better. We are starting to make more friends and getting closer with some we already had.

Our friends Katherine & Terry Smith live across the street from us. I worked with Kat at my previous job, and it was just coincidence that Kit & I bought a house across from them. The Good Lord works in mysterious ways because Katherine has been my saving grace. They have an 8 month old son, Bryson. It has been such a blessing to have a brand new mom and great friend over the past year because I can bounce ideas off of her and get advice on mom stuff & just adjusting to life in Granbury. Our husbands are also both from Granbury and grew up playing baseball together. Kit & Terry love watching the Texas Rangers games on TV. It's been a real blessing to become such great friends and hang out with them all the time! I love their little boy like he is my own, and it has been so neat to watch him grow and change over the last year.

In addition to Katherine & Terry, our friends Jeanne & Aaron Stone live three houses down in the opposite direction. Aaron & Kit coached baseball together last year, and Jeanne & I have become friends through the boys. They have two little girls, Lynlee (2 & 1/2 yrs) & Rylan (10 months). We love hanging out with them too, even though they are Red Raiders and won't let us forget it! ha ha. Aaron is a photographer and is the one that took Rayleigh's baby pictures. This is a picture of Lynlee & Rylan with Cinch. They love him!! Aaron was mad because he can't ever get Lynlee to smile & pose, and the night I was taking these, she loved the camera!!

We've been out to the Langdon Ranch a few times lately too. I love going out to the ranch. It is so peaceful and beautiful there. It is definitely a nice reprieve from the hustle & bustle of town. Rayleigh has finally gotten to meet some of her Langdon family. She met her Great Aunt & Uncle Mimi & Jerry a couple of weeks ago, and she got to meet her Great-Aunt Julie on Monday.

I love this picture of Rayleigh & Joe (Kit's Dad). It cracks me up!

Here are RayRay & Kit's mom, Karen.
Last week, my cousin Sydney & Makemma came out to stay with us for a week so they could help with Rayleigh. We went swimming out at the ranch. It was my first time in a swimsuit since I had RayRay, and it was less than fun... But I am working on it!! It was also Rayleigh's first time to go swimming. She liked it ok, but was getting hungry (surprise, surprise) and got a little fussy.

Here are me, RayRay, & Makemma swimming at the Langdon's.

We went to Lubbock last weekend. My brother Cameron graduated from Texas Tech! Although I am sad he is a Red Raider and not an Aggie, I am very excited and proud that he graduated!! We had an awesome time hanging out with him and his buddies over the weekend. It was also a blast to hang out with my sister Sallye. I don't get to see her very often, but we always have a good time when we do! I don't have any pictures yet from graduation, but I will post them when I do.

That's about all for now. I have a lot more pictures, so if you want to go to my Picasa Album and check them out, feel free.

Say Cheese!

As I mentioned in my post on Friday, Rayleigh has started to smile at us a little bit and even coo and make cute little noises sometimes. It is the most adorable thing, and I finally caught a smile on camera. This picture just makes me beam every time I look at it, so I had to share. Enjoy!!

First week back to work

Well, today wrapped up my first week back to work and leaving Rayleigh at home with Kit. Sunday night was hard, and Monday morning was REALLY hard. I cried some Sunday evening and all the way to work on Monday. I even had a few moments during the day at work. I had a hard time even though Kit is the one keeping her. I trust him completely and am not worried in any way. I just miss her! I feel like "I'm her Momma. I should be there with her." As the week has gone on though, it has gotten easier. I feel like I have gotten a little bit of a mental break, and it's good to have some adult interaction. Kit brought her up to the club today for lunch, and I got to show her off. I loved it!

We also took Rayleigh for her 2 month check-up and first round of immunizations. I don't know who cried harder, Rayleigh or Mom. She was a trooper though!! For those of you that think she is a chunk, you are right! ha ha.... She weighed 13 lbs, 11 ozs and was 23 1/4 inches long. She is in the 90% for her weight and 75% for her height and head size. The doctor said she is extremely healthy and not to change a thing (even if she is a little on the chunky side). According to him, she is doing fantastic and he is very pleased with her overall health and develpoment so far. That's always good to hear!
She is starting to smile a little bit now and make cooing noises. I'll never forget the first time she flashed us a real smile! It was awesome. She kind of giggled at us and gave us a bunch of smiles in just a few seconds time and then it was gone... She's done that about 3 or 4 times now, and each time it just lights me up!

We are really starting to enjoy Granbury more and more. We love our subdivision and are starting to make more friends with our neighbors and stuff. For the Fourth of July, we went next door and hung out with pretty much everyone from our cul-de-sac and a few more. We had a great time! Rayleigh really liked the fireworks. She wasn't scared at all and looked really cute in her little Fourth of July outfit!

Our friends Katherine & Terry Smith live across the street from us. They have a 7 month old son named Bryson, and he is Rayleigh's little man!! Kat & I have known each other for about 2 years, and I am so thankful for Kat's friendship. She is a great person and awesome friend!

Mom came to visit last week while Makemma was at 4-H Camp in Brownwood. She stayed 2 nights, but it definitely was not long enough! I wish she could have stayed for a week! It was so nice to have some time with her, just us. We got inspired while we were sitting around one afternoon, so I went to Lowe's, bought some paint, and I painted two walls in my living room while Mom supervised. She wasn't allowed to help much since she is still in her boot because of her Achilles' tendon. We really liked the way it turned out, and Kit adjusted to it pretty quickly. I'll have to take some pics soon and post them for you all to see. I will go ahead and take some pictures of the house in general since some of you live far away and haven't been able to come visit yet! Hopefully soon though! Take care and stay safe everyone!

Lots of Love!

Kit, Brianne & Rayleigh

Time is Flying!

I can't believe Rayleigh is already 7 weeks old. It seems like just yesterday we found out we were having a girl, and now she's here. Our lives have changed so much! I find myself thinking, "What did we ever do with our time before Rayleigh?" ha ha. She is getting big so fast. She's already holding her head up a lot and starting to focus on objects... She loves lights right now and loves being outside. She also really likes the little mobile on her swing. She's just started this new little high-pitched squeal when she wants attention or isn't getting her way. It's funny.

We are all adjusting more and more to everyday life with little Ray Ray. We're starting to get on more of a schedule at night, which is really helping me & Kit. Anything more than 5 hours of sleep per night has become more of a luxury than a neccessity. I never knew I could function on such little sleep!

Rayleigh is already my little Road Warrior & Socialite. She has been out to West Texas twice now. She does great in the car. She pretty much sleeps the whole time, which is nice because then Mom & Dad get to actually carry on some adult conversations.
We also took her to her first Texas Rangers baseball game! She did so awesome. Kit bought her an Ian Kinsler jersey that she wore. She's must be Ian's good luck charm because he hit two home runs that night!

My Dad, Piper, Paige, and Wyatt came to visit a few weeks ago. Dad brought his race car, and we all went to the dirt track in Stephenville to watch him race it. Emily, Josh, and Alissa joined us. We had a blast just getting to all hang out, and even better, Dad won!! Rayleigh enjoyed the races from her Baby Bjorn strapped to me. She slept for most of the evening while sporting ear-muffs because it was loud. She looked really funny.

Rayleigh definitely is not shy about telling us when she is hungry. She eats a lot and pretty often, which is pretty normal for little Langdon babies! She sleeps pretty well during the day, and her favorite is taking naps naked in her crib. It's adorable, and she always looks so peaceful.

I go back to work on July 13th, which I am dreading. I really like my job, but I have cherised every minute I have been home with her. She changes so much from day to day and week to week. I am afraid I am going to miss something! But, back to reality I must go. Kit will be watching her until he has to go back to work too. Say some prayers for us for patience for Kit while he is home alone with her and for strength for me while I am away from them. It's going to be hard!!

We have Rayleigh's baptism scheduled for August 22nd, which is also Makemma's birthday and Joe & Karen's anniversary. We'll have a lot to celebrate that day, and we are really looking forward to it.

Well, that's all for now!! Hope everyone is doing well. We love and miss everyone! ~ Kit, Bri, and Rayleigh

West Texas Tour

Whew! What a whirlwind of a tour we just finished! After being gone for 10 days, it's nice to be home, but we had a great time in West Texas. Rayleigh & I went out a few days early and visited some of the family in St. Lawrence.

Rayleigh got to meet Granny Jo & PoPo for the first time. She loved both of them!! Any time she was fussy or crabby, all we had to do was give her to PoPo or Granny Jo and she was quiet!

Rayleigh got to meet lots of aunts and cousins. She met aunts Karla, Bitzy, and Terry, uncles Mark & Tommy, cousins Ty, Lexie, Halie, & Sydney. Lexie & Sydney decided Rayleigh needed her toenails painted, so she got her first pedicure. She did really well, and it looked so cute! We spent two days in St. Lawrence and then we went to Olfen for Leslie Matthiesen's wedding. We got to get dressed up all pretty, so we took some pictures. Here is a picture of four generations of Halfmann women. Pretty neat!! It was really fun to be able to take these pictures.

Rayleigh was so good during the wedding and reception. She pretty much slept the whole time, which meant I was able to socialize and have some fun.

After the wedding, we spent the next week hanging out in San Angelo. Kit joined us on Monday, and we just relaxed and hung out. Kit & I got some much needed rest and help with the baby from Granny & Aunt Kemma. Rayleigh had her first trip to the pool with Makemma, Granny, and me. She was lookin' good in her swimsuit.



We also took Rayleigh down to Junction to meet her Godparents, my cousin Lori and her husband Matt, who is also a college friend of mine. We had some BBQ at Lum's, which was awesome! We spent the night and came home. It was so good to get to see them!! It doesn't happen often enough!

Overall, we had a great time, and it was so good to see everyone. Click here to view my Picasa album with all of the pictures from our trip out West.