2nd Birthday Pics

Sorry its taken so long to get these posted!  Enjoy!


The night before her birthday, I decided to make cupcakes to take to school.  I didn't get to last year because of work so I was determined to do it this year.  She, of course, wanted to help.  We made yummy strawberry cupcakes using my sister's awesome strawberry cake recipe.

More mama!  Right there!

The taste test.  I'm assuming she liked them because she gobbled this one down and ask for another one!

Unfortunately for both of us, Dallas got hit with snow and ice on her birthday so we didn't get to take cupcakes to school.  I know!  So sad!  But, I had hope.  I'd taken what was left of the batter to make a small cake and covered it, thinking I'd ice it and take it on Monday when the weather cleared.  Well, we returned from Super Bowl parties to find that cake pan on the kitchen floor, licked clean courtesy of our wonderful dog Moab.  I was not a happy mommy!  This is the second year that my plans for a party at school for her have been thwarted!

Now, on to the actual party, which was February 12, a week after her actual birthday.  She and Bethany, her oldest cousin, have the honor of sharing a birthday so Amanda and I try to plan parties so that the grandparents can be at both.  Based on the pictures below, I think its safe to say that she was completely spoiled!

We did a Minnie Mouse theme, complete with cakes (yes, the same strawberry because that's what she requested) that looked like Mickey.  She had no problem blowing out the candles this year!

And she also had no problem eating ALL the cake and ice cream either!

So, now that she's two, what's she doing these days.  In short, a whole lot!  She is a regular chatterbox, speaking in 4-7 word sentences, and every day, there's a new funny story and phrase that comes out of her mouth.  This morning (Feb 23) as I was taking her to school, it went something like this.

Brianna: Mama, I a precious baby!
Me:  Yes you are!  Are you my precious baby?
Brianna: No!  I Grandma's
Me: Oh really.  Do you want to call and tell her that?
Brianna: Sure Sure!
(insert break while I call Grandma, my mom, on speaker)
Grandma: Hi Brianna!
Brianna:  Grandma I your precious baby!
Grandma: Yes you are!
Brianna: hears Grandpa say hi Hi Grandpa!  I your silly goose!

There was more to the conversation, but it was so cute to listen to her talk to them about what she was wearing (a shirt) and where she was going (to school).  As if the answers would be anything other than that!

Her two year well check went great.  She's at 97% on the height charts and 54% on the weight charts.  Her pediatrician said her language development is way ahead of her age and so is her reasoning / logic.  She's wearing size 3T clothing now and is steadily working her way towards potty trained.  In fact, she woke up this morning completely dry and proceeded to tell me she needed to sit on the potty.  The conversations we have while she's sitting on the potty are hilarious but for the sake of not embarrassing her in the future, I won't share all of them.  Suffice to say, she's embarrassed me a few times when I've come out of the bathroom by asking me in front of whomever is around if I made "BIG pee pee's come out".  Yes, we have entered the stage of bathroom humor coming out of her mouth because she doesn't realize yet that bathroom's are private things. 

Justin and I got her an art easel for her birthday and she seems to really enjoy that.  It doesn't surprise me since one of the first things out of her mouth when I pick her up from school is related somehow to that day's art project.  But, it did lead to the first time I saw her attempt to do something beyond her ability and let me have a glimpse into just how stubborn & independent she really is.

Justin had drawn a car for her when they were playing.  Later that night, she decided she wanted to draw a car of her own.  After a few attempts, she was getting very frustrated so I asked her if she wanted me to help her.  She informed me, "No mama.  I do it myself."  So, she scribbled and tried some more and I asked her when she stopped if that was a car.  She looked at me with a look you'd expect from a teenager and said "No mama.  That is NOT a car."  So, once again, I asked if she needed help.  She finally admitted she did and we drew it together.  I was so proud of her for trying to do something that is obviously beyond her hand/eye coordination and for not giving up even after several attempts.  I have a feeling though it won't be too much longer and she'll have it figured out.  She's stubborn that way.

Minnie Mouse Birthday Card

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

So cute!  She loves to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for us!

Gorgeous Weekend!

Saturday was glorious ... the kind of beautiful day that catches you by surprise because its the end of January and 75 and sunny.  All of which make you glad to simply be alive and able to get outside.

So, how did we spend the day?  It started right after breakfast with Brianna announcing in her very authoritarian toddler voice that it was "tickle monster time mama!"  I love tickle monster time.  We put on our tickle monster mitts, read the story and laugh till we can't laugh any longer.  Its awesome mommy/daughter time!  She has her own set of mitts and we tickle each other till we can't laugh any longer.  I love that the book ends with an "i love you so much" and big hugs too.  She randomly announces its tickle monster time, grabs the book from the shelf and plops down in the middle of the floor with it, much like in this picture.

We also spent a lot of time playing at the park.  When we first started taking her to this park, we had to hold her hands to help her climb the stairs.  Now, everything is "i do it myself mama" and do it herself is right.  She was all over the place, climbing the stairs, making new friends, taking turns, going down the slide, swinging, trying new things and just generally having a great time.

We went to Panera Bread for lunch afterward and then home for a nap.  Lately, she's taken to going to bed with a book and "reading" until she falls asleep.  She doesn't want to be rocked or cuddled or anything.  We read stories, give her kisses and then she informs us that its night night time and that she needs her taggie and her book and we can "go now. I go night night by myself.".  I swear she is the most independent little thing when she wants to be.  This is a far better option than the temper tantrums of a month ago though so I'll take it.  I miss the cuddles, but its far better for her if she can wind down and go to sleep on her own.  Its almost time for her to transition to a toddler bed, but I'm not quite ready for that.

I still can't believe she's going to be two on Friday....that's a whole other post though.

A Crazy Week

I think the title of this post is an understatement...its been a chaotic, out of control week.  It all started Wednesday of last week with a trip to the ER for me.

See, I've been on allergy shots for months now and they are fabulous.  I no longer have to take medication every day, I feel amazing and I simply can't explain how much of a difference having my allergies under control has made.  That is, until I had such a severe reaction that I ended up in the ER after using my EPI pen because I broke out in hives and my throat was tightening to the point it was difficult to breathe.  Oh, and the ER was after a visit to a local urgent care facility that refused to treat me and made me take an ambulance to the ER instead.  Can't wait to see what that bill is going to be...

I was fine the next day, but Brianna woke up with a low grade fever Thursday so we kept her home from school.  She was a trooper, going to the allergist with me for a check-up and just generally being a little doll, despite the fact that she was running a 100 degree fever off and on all day.  Friday, that fever turned into 102.8 and she was miserable.  So, we spent a lot of time snuggling on the couch, watching the clock for when the next dose of Motrin could be given.  Her fever finally broke at 6am Saturday morning and she spent the next 24 hours doing nothing but sleeping to recover from it all.

Monday was pretty normal, Tuesday was a trip to the doctor for a cough left over from the virus that BB said made her chest hurt.  Wednesday was pretty normal but then yesterday, the wonderful seasonal flu hit me and I spent the afternoon curled up on the couch trying to sleep and cursing the construction crew operating behind my house on the Denton Rail Trail train line.  So, now its Friday and I'm back at work (shhh...don't tell anyone I'm blogging too!) and just ready for the weekend.  I leave Sunday for our National Business Meeting in Florida and will be gone until Wednesday night so that will be 4 nights of not being home to see Brianna and Justin, which is not my idea of a good way to spend the week but hey, I've got to earn a paycheck right?

Anyway ... here's a few pictures from all our recent episodes.

She likes to "do it myself mama" and insisted on taking her own temperature.

Hmm, can I fit in this box?

Beanies not only keep her ears warm, they make great peek a boo props!

Playing trains with daddy.  She wants to sit in the middle of the train tracks, no matter what configuration you build them in.  Its just not the same apparently if she's sitting outside the tracks!

Making Memories at 4:30am

 

Sometimes, the sweetest memories are made at the most unexpected times.  As I drug myself out of bed at 4:30 in the morning to answer her screams, the last thing on my mind was taking pictures and having sweet little conversations.  Something woke her up ... a nightmare, missing Daddy, who knows.  She didn't want to go back to bed.  She wanted a clean diaper, a banana and for Mommy to turn on the Christmas lights.  So, that's what we did.  We talked about the lights, their colors, the ornaments, when Daddy would be home, if puppy was sleeping, the fact that puppy woke up and needed outside to potty ... anything that came to her mind, we talked about.  She wanted to look at Daddy pictures and rock after she finished her banana so we rocked and looked at pictures of Daddy on my phone and on Facebook (thank you FB friends for all the pictures he's tagged in!).  She hugged the phone, saying "I love daddy pictures mama" and was as happy as could be.  We got ready for the day, played tickle monster and giggled uncontrollably until we absolutely had to leave for school and work.

I might be exhausted right now, but at 4:30 this morning, I was in my own little slice of heaven.

What's Brianna Been Up To?

I've been wanting to post this for a few days but with preparing for Justin's two week mission trip to India, its been a little crazy around our house!

So, now that Bree is 22 months old (plus a few days), what's she up to?  Here's a few pictures from Thanksgiving with her two cousins, whom she adores!

- She speaks in 4 and 5 word sentences, although they may not be in correct grammatical order all the time (but who cares right!).  They however do typically have a subject, a verb and an adjective and we have whole conversations every day on the way to and from school.  I lost count of how many words she knows a long time ago.

- She's taller than everyone in her class by almost a full head so no telling what her two year well check will show.  A few of the 2T pants I bought a couple months ago will be too short in a few weeks if this growth spurt keeps going!

- She's able to tell me the general storyline of her favorite Backyardigans or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes and is starting to develop imaginative play for her doll and animals.

- She can count to 12 if she really thinks about it but regularly hits 8-10 pretty easily.  She's also starting to get basic math concepts.  We asked her at school yesterday if she counted as one person, add mommy to get two people, how many people would you have if you added Miss Donna.  She thought about it and answered 3!  Amazed me to watch her mind work that one out!

- She also knows all her colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown and pink) and is starting to identify basic shapes.

- She still signs occasionally, but usually to add emphasis, like when she really wants more cheese, not just kind of wants more cheese.

- She's very close to being able to jump with both feet now too.  Its crazy funny to watch her try to figure it out!  At first, all that happened was arm swinging, a big step and lots of giggles.  Now, she kind of hops and will get one foot off the ground.  Her favorite thing to say afterward is "TaDa!".  

- She's very intent on potty training as well, although she still can't quite tell you she needs to go before she does.  But as soon as she feels herself start to pee-pee, she lets you know and wants to be changed right away.  That is, if she's not too busy playing.  If she's playing, she could care less.  Nothing interrupts play time.

- She's becoming more social now too.  Even last week, she wasn't comfortable giving people we see every week a hug, but this week, she will enthusiastically.  She loves to hug too ... everyone at school gets hugs bye-bye and if someone's having a particularly tough morning, she's the first one to run up to them with a hug and say "all better now.  hugs make (fill in the name) happy.  no more cry."  Its so sweet to watch her being a loving little girl.

- Last but not least, she loves to play "peeky boo towel" after bath time.  She gets all excited for you to through the towel over her head so she can "hide".  After a few rounds of this, she takes off running around the living room saying, with giggles, at the top of her lungs, "I naked baby!  Watch me run!  I naked!".  I love how she sticks her little tongue out!  It was hard to get a picture of her because she was in constant motion.

I Naked!

This morning was a little hard on her with daddy being gone.  So, to make her feel better, I told her that whenever she misses daddy, just blow him a kiss and that kiss will fly all the way to India to tell daddy she loves him.  That made her smile from ear to ear and she quickly started blowing kisses in the air saying "go indada (India) kisses.  love you daddy!"  It was so sweet to watch.  My baby girl is growing up.