What's a conundrum?

Reese and I were having a sister talk the other day. She was explaining to be a conundrum she was experiencing—something about 22 catches. Her problem centers around singing. She loves when people sing to her and by singing to her you can accomplish almost anything with her (fix her earrings, wipe her nose, calm her down), but that means that Dad does some singing. I think that pretty much sums up her dilemma.
We’ve been spending a lot of time with Camden and Ashton and Reese and I thought it was important that we be able to tell Mom and Dad when we want to hang out with our cousins. I’m still working on effective communication, but fortunately Reese can say both Camden’s and Ashton’s names. Mom says I am much chattier than Reese was at my age, but then again she was usually busy sucking on a pacifier. I tried a pacifier and decided it was no where near as good as the real thing, go ahead, call me a purest. I have started to branch out with my diet. Mom makes a lovely rice cereal that I enjoyed for my first Thanksgiving meal, it didn’t taste as good as everyone else’s food smelled, but I was still thankful for it.
When I finally made it to the doctor for my four month check up I was greeted by a strange face (Dr. Brice had the day off), some needles and a measuring tape. I tipped the scales at 13 pounds 8 ounces, was 24.5 Inches tall and had what is considered a normal size head. All I care about is that I am big enough and strong enough to start trying to keep up with my cousins. I’ve learned how to roll over and I didn’t have a tape measure out, but I know that during one tummy time session I started in the middle of my mat and ended up at the end of it—now I call that progress.
One of the most adorable things that happens around our house daily centers around Reese and her baby, she loves to take care of her baby. Baby gets dressed (in my dirty clothes usually), baby gets wipes, diaper cream, diapers, kisses, naps, hugs and the occasional toss across the room. Reese loves her baby!
With Christmas just around the corner, we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If we aren’t too busy playing with new toys we will try to write a little to tell you how wonderful Christmas was at Nana and Bop’s. Mom & Dad want us to remind you that Christmas is about Jesus and his gift of unconditional love and mercy is the best gift you can ever receive.

In this family you better know how to get a good car nap in, I learned from Mom

Reese and Nigh, Night go everywhere together

You wouldn't believe how good this tastes

If only you could see what I see

My sister is nice enough to sit down and read to me every once in a while

I really don't have any reason not to be this happy all the time

Reese loves to wave and say bye, bye

Love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr

Words are great, but pictures are better

Camden likes to take me for drives. Dad says Camden has been chosen as one of my protectors.

With our lives I've learned to take a nap whenever and wherever possible.Happy is the way to go!

I was at the first Husky/Nebraska football game this year; I don't have high hopes for the second.
You turn four months and apparently they put you on an exercise routine. I must get 90 minutes a day in this thing.

Love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr

A duck says...

A couple weeks ago, Mom and Dad really started to work with me on my animal sounds. It wasn't until I saw my Halloween costume that I realized why. We spent Halloween with my cousins at a local church playing games, bouncing in inflatables, and watching puppet shows. I had read of rumors in a couple of my under 2 year old chat rooms that candy was a big part of Halloween, but apparently Dad is worried about the childhood obesity and diabetes epidemics so I was limited to a couple pieces.

My vocabulary is growing by the day, with my newest favorite word being Kota, as in Dakota-Nana and Bop's large German Shepard. Kendall is more vocal than ever too, of course I am the only one that can understand what she is saying and I'm sworn to secrecy by the bond of sisterhood, so don't even ask.

Camden & Ashton were first runner-ups in the costume contest. We were in line for food during the judging because Dad knows how important it is to keep his girls fed.

I think we can all agree that Kendall would have run away with the contest had she entered.

I love holding my sister, but I get the feeling she doesn't always feel that safe with me.

It can be tough to find a quiet place to read, so I often have to improvise.

Love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr

West Coast Tour 2010

The end of our Camano vacation sparked the beginning of chaos. During the next thirty days, we spent the night in 10 different places, drove about 2000 miles, were separated from Dad for 5 days & 4 nights and flew back to Seattle from Arizona. It wasn’t until October 12th that we were in Tucson and not leaving. Despite all that chaos the toughest transition may have been getting kicked out of Mom & Dad's bed for a pack n’ play. Reese told me to get used to the pack n’ play—reminding me that she has spent more nights in her pack n’ play than on her organic mattress in her crib. I told her I’m not getting my hopes up for leaving the pack n’ play because I don’t even have a crib, let alone an organic mattress.
We packed up in Chelan, said goodbye to our summer roommates and hit the road for Tucson. Before we headed south so I could meet all Mom and Dad’s friends, we got to stay with GP (Gigi was in China sharing the Good News). During our stay, I learned where I get all my baby tendencies. We went to the Washington/Nebraska football game and Dad might as well have been wearing my diaper he cried and whined so much. Reese missed out on Dad’s tears because she spent the afternoon with Aunt Erin. I heard that Aunt Erin is a great babysitter and next year she wants to watch both of us if Mom and Dad ever need a babysitter.
We spent the next two weeks on the road seeing a lot of our good friends. Some were super excited to meet me (Grandma Rudy was so excited she was doing donuts in her golf cart when we drove up), some were glad to meet me but really just wanted to see Mom, and a couple didn’t even know that I existed (I blame Dad for not spreading the word). Reese and I met a lot of new friends and have even been presented with a couple potential husbands. The highlight of the trip was in Camarillo when our friends, the Rankins, had their twin boys—while we were staying with them! It cut into my mom's and Mrs. Laura’s Nertz time, but it was super exciting.
Things were so crazy and disorganized the first couple weeks in Tucson that it seemed Reese was in charge of unpacking. It didn’t help that Dad had to go the Waterpark Conference or that we went back to Seattle for a weekend. The chaos is subsiding now and both Reese and I are already loving being in Tucson with our Cousins Camden and Ashton, not to mention our new roommates—Nana and Bop.

My sister Reese is in denial about the musical genes she inherited.

We had a great time on the road trip, but as far as I'm concerned I've put in the car seat miles of 9 month old--so now when Mom & Dad put me in my car seat I "nicely" communicate that I've done my time.

One of the best parts of being back in Tucson is spending time with our cousins.


Dad and I have been watching the Huskies play this fall. I think this face says it all.

It's not my fault, these things don't come with a users' manual.

Love to all,

Kendall Starr

Another summer in the books

I learned last year that the last month of the Slidewaters' season is bitter sweet and it was even tougher this year because I was just starting to get my sliding technique dialed in when it was time to drain the pools. It is going to be extremely important for me to be an expert next summer around the park, because I’ll have to show Kendall how everything works. After all our help thinned out and it was just us and our summer roommates, Mom, Kendall and I spent a lot of time at Slidewaters. Kendall was making fast friends with a couple of Dad’s employees which freed us up for some serious sliding. By the end of the summer I was a self-sufficient slider (provided someone would catch me at the bottom) on my favorite slide, Bugaboo.
I’m sure they would have visited even if my sister wasn’t so adorable, but the entire Bordner family descended on Lake Chelan at the end of August. I got to introduce Kendall to Grandpa Roy, Uncle Rhett and the rest of the family. Dad said that he hopes my relationship with boys is like my relationship with the ducks at Wapato—I can get close, but the second they come towards me I am to run. With so many hands around, Kendall led the plush life during Wapato week—not that her normal routine is that tough, eat, sleep and work on keeping her eyes uncrossed. When we took Kendall in for her month check-up she had grown over an inch and gained 2 pounds, but I was most impressed with how strong she already was. Since she was born Kendall has been able to hold and support her own head and it wasn't long until she was supporting her own weight for a split second. From the very beginning Kendall has been the most beautiful baby girl—of course as her big sister I do offer the jaded opinion usually only reserved for parents.
By the time Slidewaters closed for the season on Labor Day, we were ready for a little more dad time. Of course Mom had gone back to work the week before so Kendall and I were really anxious for some great family time. We packed up and headed to Camano with the roommates. It was a great time-no work, no stress (other than making sure all the right toys got packed for the three night adventure). Camano offers more adventure and things to do than any 16 month old can handle. The best way I can describe it is to imagine having your favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner on the same day while playing with your best friends and favorite toys and not having to share. And to top it off we had Uncle Tucker's boat! I love Camano.

I've been trying to perfect my pouty lip, Reese says it works like a charm on Dad.

You would think my Dad's bone body wouldn't be a cozy place to snuggle up for a nap, but it is actually the second best place to nap (Mom is untouchable).

I was reading some of Reese's early blogs and I think I saw almost an indentical shot of her. Everyone has a different opinion as to who I look like-Dad and I are just hoping I get Mom's and Reese's gorgeous smile.

Well Reese's smile has been better, but look how adorable my mom is.

Dad moved the camera at the last second, otherwise I would be looking right at it too.

Love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr

Kendall's here!

Yesterday had been moving along pretty slow and Mom, Kendall and I were starting to feel a little cooped up at home. So when Dad got home for an afternoon visit, I decided it was time to make the most of the day. Between two o’clock and nine o’clock I went for a very quick dip in the lake, a swim in the pool, had some play time in the bath, went to the waterpark for a couple hours of sliding and finally had another bath. I’d say the day wrapped up nicely.
Since my sister Kendall Starr arrived on July 19th, life has been drastically different. I didn’t know that so much more was expected of me as a big sister. I’m doing my best to help out, but sometimes I get frustrated and have what Mom calls melt downs. The first couple of weeks were a piece of cake. Nana and Bop were here to help; GP and Gigi came for a couple days too, and Uncle Roy and Uncle Adam even came to visit, so I had plenty of people to help me with Kendall and lots of people to play with.
Kendall loves to be held, receive kisses, sleep and eat. Our roommates and all our visitors seem to specialize in holding her, Mom obviously specializes in feeding her and I specialize in giving her kisses. I guess that leaves Dad for changing her diaper, but he doesn’t seem to be taking his job as seriously as the rest of us. When Kendall was born she weighed 8 pounds and was 19.5 inches tall, the very next day she was holding her head up and turning it from side to side—Mom says that is a good thing because in order to see everything that is going on around the house she’ll need to be able to look in a lot of different directions. I was hanging out with our roommates but I heard that Mom was very brave and worked very very hard to bring Kendall into our lives—and I am so thankful that she did because I already love having a little sister.
July ended with fire season starting in Eastern Washington, but it also ended probably the busiest birthday month of the year for us. With the addition of Kendall we celebrate 9 family and one close friend’s birthdays in July. I mentioned half in my last blog, so happy birthday Grandma Hannah, Kendall, Aunt Jennifer, Cousin Charlee, J.W. Emery and Daddy. August doesn’t slow down that much in the birthday department—mom’s present budget takes a huge hit this time of the year.

I can't believe I was almost 2 pounds smaller than Kendall when I was born.
Kendall will sleep just about anywhere.

My sister is so cute!

They are so sweet when they are sleeping. This was during Kendall's first night in the hospital.

One of my jobs as big sister is to check in and make sure Kendall is always safe.

Love to all,

Reese Bronson

I have a button!

I don’t know why Mom & Dad didn’t tell me earlier but apparently I have my own button on my belly. It turns out everybody has their own button on their belly—Dad has a button on his belly and it usually has a little lint in it and Mom’s button is… well Mom’s button looks a little different because my sister, Kendall Starr is behind it—growing by the day. In addition to my belly button, I’m learning where my eyes, ears and nose are too.
The past month has flown by and none of us can believe that Kendall could be here any day. I’ve been so anxious and ready that I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night to see if it is time to go to the hospital. After I realize it isn’t time, I have trouble going back to sleep—sometimes I stay up for hours. I’m anxious for my sister to get here because I have so much to teach her. In addition to signing “please”, I’m mastering “all-done” and “more.” Dad says that no one has ever said the word NO cuter than I do. With as much as I say it, I’m at least glad that I sound cute saying it.
Dad and I have been doing a lot of sliding lately at the park. I love sliding by myself on the frog and dinosaur, but my favorite is going doubles on the big slides. It gets a little annoying having to wait in line at the top of the slides, but Dad says that we need to wait our turn just like everyone else. Mom and I visit Dad at the park often, but I don’t always get to go sliding and that really bugs me and I must admit that it can bring out my bad side. One time Dad just made a loop in the parking lot and I let him know that was unacceptable.
Mom and I were pretty disappointed on the Fourth of July when it was too windy to go out on the boat to watch the fireworks. Instead of the boat trip we all piled in the Slidewaters bus and drove to Wapato to watch from the beach. The show was great and I couldn’t believe how big and loud the fireworks were.
July is a huge birthday month in my family circle and I want to wish a happy birthday to my cousin Ashton, Uncle Adam and Uncle Burke.
Love to all,
Reese Bronson
I learned from Dad that it is very important to have things to snuggle with when you are watching tv.
Now that summer is here I am getting to wear all my cute summer clothes, including these cute shorts and shirt.

I have a lot of great dresses, and I am trying to wear them as much as possible before I out grow them.

The magic word

Did anyone else realize that if you pat your hand over and over again against your chest that your parents will give you what you want? Apparently it is this secret sign that tells other people that you really want something. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been using this secret sign to my advantage to get more of the things I want—like cheese, water and my new favorite... ice. Sometimes Mom and Dad don’t separate the ice from the water so I have to go into the glass to get it, it slows me down a little but it is still worth it.
We had our first visitors in Chelan a couple weeks ago. It was great to see my Washington family again; they had changed so much since I saw them last. GP and Gigi came with Grandpa Roy and I got to show them how well I’m running around. I also got to meet my newest cousins, Cody and Jackson McLemore. It was weird to see mom and dad holding a baby, but I guess I better get used to it; I’m going to be a big sister in less than 5 weeks!
Since Slidewaters opened almost three weeks ago, I’ve learned that things are a little different once the season starts. I’ve taken naps in multiple closets, helped Mom in the gift shop and helped Dad keep an eye on the park and his employees. Earlier this week things slowed down enough for me to finally get into the Aqua Zoo. I checked out the dinosaur slide, frog slide, the new turtle-totter and loved them all. Dad even took me on a couple of the bigger slides and I can’t wait to give the Purple Haze a try.
As much fun as I’m having here in Chelan with my cousins and at Slidewaters, I do want to make sure I let everyone in Tucson know how much I miss them. Bop and Nana I can’t wait for you guys to get here so I can show you all my new skills, including how I clap, give high fives and blow my lifeguard whistle. Uncle Adam, Aunt Mel, Camden and Ashton I really miss being able to be carried down to your house to play and it is even tougher now than that I could just walk down. Uncle Matt I really look forward to seeing you again because Dad tells me that you are going to take me and my sister to the zoo.

We live in the apple capital of the world, so I thought I would give them a try.
Maybe I'm not ready for apples yet.
One of the best parts of Cousin Peter's wedding was seeing David & Katka. It was a long day and I was exhausted (as you can see) so I slipped into my pj's during the reception.

You don't have to hang out with Gigi for very long to learn where Dad gets his desire to give Mom and me endless kisses. Plus as you can see she signed the magic word.

We were only in Seattle for one night, but it was so much fun to hang out with GP and Gigi. One of my favorite things was playing with Devlin.

I am very lucky to have multiple contributors to my wardrobe. Thanks Nana! I wanted to sleep with my new sandals on, but Mom said they wouldn't fit in my sleep sack.

If I have learned anything during my second summer in Chelan it is that Sammy can always make you smile.

Love to all,

Reese Bronson

Oops, I blinked.

The fact that we left Tucson over a month goes to show you that time flies like an afternoon nap. One of the reasons I am so surprised that it has already been a month is because our "summer life" got off to a start that even a snail would considered slow. Despite traveling over 80 mph (90 when Mom was driving) we spent three days in the car and on the road getting to Washington. We were blessed to get to spend a night with Uncle Rhett, a night with the Mormons in Salt Lake and a night with the Bordner Boise clan. When we got to Flagstaff, Dad turned my car seat around so I could see him and Mom, not to mention where we were going. I also got to watch singing vegetables during the drive, so it wasn’t all bad. I did my best to be a big girl and apparently I did well enough because I overheard both mom and dad tell people that I did great on the road trip.
It didn’t take long for us to get into the swing of things in Chelan. Mom was back at her original Starbucks within a couple days and Dad was shopping for a boat on Craigslist before we had the car unloaded. At first I was a little unsure of our summer life, but after a couple days it was business as usual—play, play, play. During the week Lucy, Mia and Charlie all have school so Sam and I get to hang out a lot. At first Sam was by my side every moment I was awake, then he found out I was a girl and played with me a little less. I guess I’ve won him over though because we play together all the time again. Lucy loves to report my activities and whereabouts to my parents, Mia loves to carry me around, watch over me and make sure I’m safe and Charlie has yet to get over the word BOO! He can yell it pretty loud, it never scares me but I find it hilarious and he stills gets me to laugh better than anyone. Uncle Matt you will be glad to know that my Pooh Bear airplane is a hit with all four of my cousins and Uncle Burke had to put restrictions on its use.
Even though the summer hasn’t officially started it feels like we are right in the middle of it. Mom is gone to work almost every morning, Dad is working long hours, we all went to the pool on Sunday and sometimes I am even woken up by the yelling of the word Nertz.

Since we got back to Chelan, I've had some good laughs and great times already.

I get a lot of great clothes from a lot of great people. I usually check out the shoes first.

My cousin Mia is a lot of fun to play with and I do my best to always try and keep up with her.

Even when I can't play with my cousins, I like to watch them from afar.

Dad caught me practicing for the gameshow Minute to Win It.

Love to all,

Reese Bronson

Holy birthdays batman!

Our departure date for Washington was less than a week away, but we still had three important birthdays to celebrate before we left—including my first! With all the packing and utter disarray going on in our house I told Mom and Dad we didn’t need to do anything special for my birthday but like most parents they didn’t listen. My swim lesson with Mrs. Pam was especially important because it was my last chance to practice before I had to swim fully clothed. My birthday swim lesson went great and the next day I was able to successfully float with all my clothes on. After my clothed swim lesson my diaper felt like the time dad forgot to change me all afternoon. I finished up my swim lessons a couple days later and now Mrs. Pam says that as long as I make good decisions I can play around water and feel safe.
After swim lessons, Mom, Dad, Nana, Bop, Uncle Matt and I went to the Zoo to see all the animals. The zoo is like a retirement home for animals, all the older, slower animals hang out all day, eat and wait for people to come and visit them. The most exciting part of the trip was when one of the visitors decided to get an up close picture of the tiger and the tiger charged him. After the zoo, I had a birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant—In’N Out. All my Arizona family was able to make it—Uncle Rhett even drove down from Tempe to help me celebrate!
Normally anytime you go to In’N Out it is the highlight of the day, but on my birthday after my burger we went home and had just a couple people over to help me celebrate my first birthday. Dessert, presents, lots of pictures and tons of fun. I can’t seem to figure out why people don’t have more birthdays—all your friends and family get together, you get to eat your favorite foods and you get presents. My loved ones gave me enough great toys, books and clothes to keep me occupied for at least a week and a half.

Mom picked out my birthday dress.


Can't think of a better birthday meal, next year I might try mine animal style

The next time I see Camden and Ashton I'll be able to introduce them to my sister!

Brownies, birthday cake, donuts, ice cream and candy-Mom put together an incredible desert bar for my first birthday.

Thanks for a great birthday Mom and Dad!

I've been testing out new snacks for the road trip to Washington.

Some of the best toys have been around a long time and have been broken in.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE MATT, AUNT MEL,

UNCLE DAVID & GREAT AUNT PENNY

Love to all,

Reese Bronson