Thankful

We had a great Thanksgiving starting off w chili waiting for John&Co to arrive from Alamo. We met the new au pair and Brie got to wrestle and get foot-slappers from Uncle John. Then on Thanksgiving we cooked and baked all day and brought cranberry bread, pumpkin muffins and sweet potato casserole for a chilly evening. The food was good and grandma's new place is a lot bigger than before. On Friday we took a breather and then went out for dinner w Grandpa Mike to an old pizza place in DP while John and Mandy hit up a movie that no one else wanted to see. On Saturday was crazy - we saw Yo Gabba in downtown LA and then raced home for a nap and then went right away to Medieval Times! Our knight won the contest and Anna got the rose for the 2nd time in a row. Brie had a great time and even went pee in the parking lot. Sunday we said goodbye, watched the Broncos beat the Chiefs and fell asleep!

Visit w SANTA

Took Brie to get some photos taken w Santa and all she wants is a Sleeping Beauty dress, an Ariel tale(?) from the Little Mermaid and jellybeans…it was very cute she wasn't afraid of Santa and did a great job. She is her father's child…the other day I caught her peeking up my fireplace trying to figure out the logistics of how he fits through there!

Don't Ya Make My Blue Eyes Green....

I am here to tell you folks. Brie's eyes are turning green. Her father and I overcame!! She was standing in my kitchen tonight (helping me cook fusilli pasta w butter and parm) and the sun showed me they are green green green.

Ear Tubes

Well, after several annoying and painful ear infections, I decided to take Brie to a pediatric ENT doctor and bypass the usual "give her antibiotics" routine. So she's getting ear tubes inserted this month. I am excited but I dont want to put her under so that's the scary part :( but this will give her some much needed relief!!

I'm not Brie, I'm Cinderella

Everyone warned me but the princess phase is in full swing. I am talking about ball gowns, gloves, veils, tiaras, glass slippers and pettycoats. Its very cute to watch and see. I find that eBay and costume stores are great places to get stuff. And now she wants her hair long enough to be in a bun. Stay tuned...not sure what she'll end up being for Halloween but I am guessing it will have something royal about it...

lake tahoe

Brie and I took a little mommmy/daughter trip to LT for a week...it was great minus the smoke from the Rim Fire but as soon as we got to S Shore the wind picked up and we had puffy clouds. Brie loved it up there - playing w Caiden in Truckee who is my Godson and only 9 mo older and then down to Uncle John's mountain house. She watched Star Wars for the 1st time and played air hockey with me. Overall it was a great trip!

our new wknd routine

I feel like there is a glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel of never being able to sleep in. Oh, how I envy my girlfriends who tell me that she and her husband take turns on the weekends to see who gets up with the kids. Me..its me all day, every day. But lately I have this new routine that is working out well for both me and Brie. She wakes up early...I'm talking 6am sometimes and crawls into my bed. I then stumble into the kitchen and get her a zippy cup of milk and turn on cartoons. Winning! She snuggles w mama while mama catches some zzz's! Last weekend I was able to sleep in until 7:45! Thanks to Nick Jr, Team Umi Zoomi and Blue's Clues....I am starting to see the light

pause button

I think this is an age where I'd love to just press the pause button and keep Brie at this age. She's just learning so much and is like a little sponge. She tells me at the most random times "mama, I just love you" and that is so sweet to hear and I know down the road when she's a grumpy teenager I'll be dying to hear something like that. I think even though Brie is super young she understands that mama tries really hard to make her happy and give her a good life. Obviously I overcompensate because her father isn't here in person but she's very appreciative most of the time :)

picking out names

I am fairly sure it was on this day (or close to it) when Brian and I were thumbing thru a baby name book while he was on hospice. For a split second I think we both forgot the tragedy of the situation and just had fun discussing possibilities and trying to find some meaning behind them. We wanted a boy name that had the initials BRH so we settled on Brody Robert Hogan because we thought he sounded like a surfer from Laguna Beach. The girl name was harder. Brian really wanted Emily for the girl name but I had reservations because of my BF Emily that died in 1993...so while we were watching Wheel of Fortune I came across Brianna which was like the biggest lightbulb above my head. I put the book down, told him the name and with a very choked up voice, he said "its perfect" and now I sit here with my beautiful 3 yr old....5 yrs later watching Brianna Emilee watch TV as I type this...little does she know I changed Emily to Emilee about 5 days before the c-section after my favorite Spa treatment at Burke Williams....called Emilee's Intrigue. Which is a magic if anyone wants to buy it for me! :)

sssssssssssssnakes

There are times where I second guess if Brie is my child. Most of the time I don't but when she walks into a pet store and asks to see the snakes while bypassing the bunnies, fish, guinea pigs and birds I have to wonder. She's a nice mix of girly girl and tom boy. I bought her a Cinderella ballet doll today and she was just as enthralled with that as she was the snake. She is liking her new school a lot and is slowly starting to talk about her new friends. She has grown fond of a little 2 yr old girl named Logan. From what I hear she acts like a big sister to her and was trying to carry her around at one point. I think its good for her to have younger friends so maybe she can feel what its like to have a younger sibling. She is starting to talk about Papa more and that he lives in heaven. I let her watch the wedding video the other day and she kept asking when he was going to come back home - because I tell her often that he and I bought this house together. I also told her now that the jacaranda trees are blooming purple that her daddy liked that tree so when she sees one she calls it Papa's tree. We're getting ready for summer and soon we'll be at the MV lake splashing around. I am not ready to introduce her to the big waves of the ocean yet so its a great alternative.

fatteries

Its just so cute that Brie can't pronounce 'batteries' when one of her toys is broken...its batteries and she must not have confidence in me because she'll either tell me that Grandpa Mike or Chris can fix it :?

Goofy Picture of my Daddy on Halloween

boing boing boing

This child....and her new trampoline. I am tell you its the best gift for both mom and daughter...its great exercise for her, it tires her out (yea) and she loves it. Brie likes to jump, sing, talk and tell imaginary stories while she bounces. I caught her singing God Bless America the other day which makes me very happy. I think she learned it at her new "big girl school" that she started in late March. Even though her school was formerly Christian, they have still keep the tradition of saying the pledge of allegiance. She misses Miss Pattys but she's meeting new friends and loves carrying her lunch bag every day to school. I just wish this peanut allergy hoax wasn't such an issue. Overall, Brie is doing great. No crying when I drop her off. I am blessed.

PARTY PISCES

Its been a hectic week preparing to go away and plan 2 birthdays but Brie is over the moon excited and Friday she'll have cupcakes w her friends at school and then the BIG party Saturday. Pray for no rain!!

Almost March!

Looming in a few weeks is BIRTHDAY week for Anna & Brie! I can't believe my little baby who was 7lbs is going to be 3 years old. She's excelling in every way; fully potty trained, great with her numbers and letters and a great conversationalist...Proud mama indeed! The day after our b-day, mama will be embarking on her 1st 'real' vacation since becoming a mommy. I am excited but anxious on how she'll do and how much she'll understand. Luckily I have an army of grandparents taking care of her and she'll be in school FT so she wont miss a beat. For her party, we'll be doing a BLUE party - everything is blue! She's a bit obsessed with the color so this will be an easy party to plan!

Post Holidays

Even though Brie totally got Christmas this year, I was glad to see it go. I was great about getting my cards out on-time but the rest was a game of catch-up. As of Dec 23rd I had nothing wrapped! Very unlike me. But we had a great Christmas Eve with Grumpa Skipper and Gramma Sugar and Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda. We ate turkey chili, cornbread and opened some gifts. Christmas morning Brie bursted out her door and went right into the living room without her usual routine of drinking milk in mama's bed. She got a red scooter, a blue Big Wheel bike, a singing machine and lots of little toys. She got a great train set from Brian's friend Don and lots of Princess stuff. Brie opened her gifts really slowly so that gave mama some time to drink mimosas with Gramma Janie and Phil. It was a nice quiet holiday and we appreciate everyone coming to us and not having to travel. Cheers!!