Christmas Card 2012

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Snowflake Winter Wishes Holiday Card

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Snowflake Winter Wishes Holiday Card

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Snowflake Winter Wishes Holiday Card

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Snowflake Winter Wishes Holiday Card

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Very Merry Montage Christmas Card

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6

Dear Brenna,
This week, you turned six. It does not seem possible. Six years ago, I was so exhausted.  And so excited to see your face.  I was overwhelmed with responsibility and overflowing with joy.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I'm still not sure.  What I do know is that you have been the greatest blessing.  Although everything in my life hasn't gone exactly the way I planned, you are just what I always wanted!  You have brought enormous joy, stress, laughter and LOVE to my life and I am thankful for you every day.  The challenges of parenthood aren't always peaches and cream but I know that I signed up for this and wouldn't want it any other way. It is amazing to watch you grow, learn, and experience new things.  You are my sunshine and I want everything for you.  I look forward to many more fun, exciting (and likely stressful) years.  LOVE YOU MUNCHKIN!!

Here is your annual birthday video interview.

Editor's note 1: I CANNOT get blogger to upload this video.  I will be searching for some product to compress the size of the video because I want to get it up here someday....also, there was supposed to only be one editor's note....

Editor's note 2: the original interview was interrupted by a full memory card.  This REALLY ticked off the cinematogropher.  This is the replacement that was forced to be completed after the memory card was emptied.  It is not nearly as "go with the flow" that the original was.  Some of the responses aren't as cute as the originals, but have been included for posterity.  :)

1st Grade!

Brenna started 1st grade this week and we were all so excited.  She is attending a brand new school and wears a uniform.  At first, I was kinda undecided on the whole uniform thing.  Brenna is the kind of kid that likes to express herself with her clothes, jewelry, shoes, etc. and to wear a uniform might really squash that.  Well, Brenna is also the kind of kid to whine and cry and fight about what she wants to wear, whether mom thinks it is weather appropriate/the right size.  Uniforms are my friend.  There are no battles about what to wear when there is very little choice in the matter.  And she looks adorable :)

Her teacher is Mrs. Avelar and so far so good.  Outside of getting on "yellow" for all three days of the school year so far (heavy sigh), she seems to really like class, her teacher and is making new friends.  On the first day, when I picked her up from the afterschool daycare, she described her day as "AWESOME" which I think is AWESOME!!!  I can only hope that she always feels this way about school, like her nerdy mom!  She is already following in my footsteps by being in trouble for being too social....a "problem" that I will still admit to :) 

Montana trip

On a whim (yes, this man is changing me into a spontaneous person haha) Travis and I decided to take a quick trip to Great Falls, where he grew up.  With his new schedule that leaves his weekends free, we called his mom, checked for flights and booked them.  A whirlwind trip got us there on a Friday night with 3 full days to take in what we could and meet who I could. 

We landed at about 9pm local time and it was still light.  Talk about strange, but since they are so far north this is what it's like in the summer time.  We immediately hit one of T's favorite food spots - the Taco Treat - and had dinner with his mom.  The next morning, we were up early and ready to see the sights.  The three of us drove around the city, they showed me lots of personally important places (houses they lived in, schools they attended, etc.) and it was so much fun.  Since they'd had so much rain over the last few months, everything was so green and very wet. The Missouri River runs through the city and was so full and flooding certain parts of the city.  After a nice afternoon nap, we went out with T's good friend Jason and hit all the local night spots and had a great time!  Getting started while it's still light out felt odd, but closing time came quickly! 

The next morning (on just a few hours of sleep), we headed out to Jason's cabin about an hour out of town to meet up with his wife and kiddos.  The twins, Bree and John, are about a year older than Brenna and are precious.  They made me wish she was with us...next time she will be.  We took a drive to the nearby ski resort, where there were still patches of snow!  We had a snowball fight and took in the gorgeous setting.  We then enjoyed a beautiful hike over to Memorial Falls, it was beautful.  I wish I'd been feeling a little better (my own fault for having so much fun the night before I guess haha).  The drive back that afternoon was just as gorgeous - and a really nice time with my love.  It is so much fun to just be with him, even in a car on a long drive.  We took some more pictures of the amazing scenery and headed home.  Since it was 4th of July weekend, there were stands selling fireworks everywhere we went.  We didn't buy any, but could hear them being used all over town.  It sounded a bit like we'd imagine a war zone to sound, but fortunately, it was just fireworks.  We tried to stay up late (remember it gets dark way later there) to watch fireworks from the back patio.  We didn't quite make it - saw a few, but were so tired we just went to bed. 

The next day was more sightseeing, eating and visiting.  Some napping and enjoying the weather and each other's company as well.  Since our flight was late at night, we were able to visit with T's aunt and uncle who made us a fantastic meal and told some great stories!  As our plane took off, we could see fireworks which was very cool. 

BTW, I love all the subject matter for taking photos and I like a bunch of them (if I do say so myself).  For more, check out facebook...

June

June was an eventful month that FLEW by...it began with Jamie's visit and Gran's funeral all within the first week of our move to Travis' house.  So we are now officially living together - gasp!! (that was for you mom) and we are so happy.  Although it was a rough transition time with so much going on in both of our lives (funerals, job changes, etc.) it really made our relationship stronger.  Travis is by far the most fabulous man that I could've ended up with.  He has been an amazing support through this and has made me so proud dealing with some major transition in his career. 

Travis and his dad helped prepare for our move in by painting Brenna's room!  They did a wonderful job and she LOVES it.  It's all girl and glittery and fits her perfectly.

During the beginning of the month, Brenna got to spend an entire week in Show Low with Grandma and Papaw - she was soooo excited to go without me.  I think she thought that she'd be able to get away with all kinds of stuff and that she'd get anything she wanted.  Well, I think she was right :)  She had a great time and although they were worn out from all her 5 year old energy, I think they had a great time too. 

Brenna also began attending a new daycare summer program following our move.  It is located in the school that she will attend this fall and so far, she seems to like it.  With a crazy busy summer, she's only going to attend a couple of weeks before school starts, but it's a good introduction to the location and some of the kids will at least be familiar faces when 1st grade begins. 

Brenna spent Father's Day with Justin, but got a special card and gift for Travis too.  He has truly become a father figure to her, and especially now that we all live together.  The two of them have formed a special bond and share some fun times together.

May

As usual, I'm behind on the blogging...but since I want to keep a record of this, here we go:

• Brenna grew leaps and bounds in swimming lessons, even in the short time she was enrolled before we moved.  She now literally leaps into the pool when she has the opportunity.  But, she knows her limits and stays away from the deep end.
• Brenna completed her first year of school and "graduated" from Kindergarten.  It is so hard to believe how big my baby is - and that she's FINISHED with Kindergarten.  She learned so much and it is awesome to watch her sound out words, write things out (even if they are slightly off) and just generally LEARN. 
• The end of the month was a difficult one.  On top of planning a move and finishing the school year, my Grandad was ill and had to move into a full time care center.  He ended up in the valley and my parents were here to be with him for a number of weeks.  I wasn't able to provide much support in terms of time since I was working, and because of the move I was limited in what I could offer for a place to stay as well.  It was so hard to see my family dealing with so much stress and not being able to help in the ways I wanted to.  Gran ended up in a Hospice in Mesa and I was able to visit with him on a number of occassions and will forever be grateful for that.  He passed away on May 29th.  It was much harder than I could've imagined.  Having lost my other grandparents when I was very young, he was the only one that I knew as an adult and as a result I formed a much stronger bond with him.  He was an amazing man and lived a great life.  Jamie and I gave his eulogy and I'm so glad that I decided to do it.  It was a wonderful feeling to tell everyone how much he meant to me and to show what an amazing life he lived.  I still miss him so much and even though we knew how ill he was and his passing was expected, it has been very hard to process.  I know that he is not hurting anymore and that he is with so many of his family members in heaven and that he's watching over all of us. 
• The bright spot out of the sadness at the end of the month was that Jamie and Mia got to come for the funeral.  Since I hadn't met Mia in person, I was SOO excited.  She is such a precious little nugget and I got to cuddle and love all over her for a few days.  It was wonderful.  It was also FANTASTIC to have my sissy around.  We got to have so much visiting time and she got to spend some time with Travis, which also meant so much to me. 

Celebrating Easter

We celebrated Easter in Show Low the weekend before Easter this year.  Brenna participated in the Show Low City Easter Egg Hunt and the weather was PERFECT!  We were prepared for it to be a bit chilly, but it was wonderful.  We got to spend quite a bit of time outside enjoying Papaw and Grandma's yard, hunting eggs in the front and back several times.  We colored eggs, made a fun Easter wreath craft and spent lots of quality time together.  It was so much fun to have some nice family time with the most precious kiddo on the planet. 

Play Ball!!!

 
Brenna was lucky enough to be the "play ball" kid at the Diamondback's game on April 13th.  We knew for a few days ahead of time, so she got to practice.  Typically, when asked how she'd do it, she'd jump with arms and legs spread out (sorta like a jumping jack) and yell, "play ball!!!"  But when the time actually came, she got quieter and quieter and we tried like crazy to keep her pumped up.  She was a bit nervous just before - probably once she realized that she'd be standing on the dugout (which I don't even know that she realized it's where the players were).  But, she did great!  The actual performance was pretty standard, she was her adorable self, but the words were said without much flair.  She looked adorable in her dback cheerleader dress and with a pompom in her hand.  She now tells me how her friends don't believe she's famous (since she was on the jumbotron, she believes she was on tv).  I hope that she'll have some memory of it for years to come - what an experience!!

Swimming Lessons

While we've been living in an apartment and had access to a pool, I've tried to take Brenna down a few times just to take advantage of the easy access.  Although she loves playing in the water, she is very cautious.  Don't get me wrong, this is good, I want her to respect the water and know her boundaries.  Unfortunately, her boundaries kept her on the steps ALL the time, even if I went in with her, it took a lot to get her out away from the wall.  Soooo....I decided it was about time to get some swimming lessons.  Money and time had always been an obstacle in making this happen, but I found a great place and decided to go for it.  At least for as long as we'll be on the east side (which is only a couple more months).  I'm behind in making this post, but she has now completed 3 lessons and the difference is so amazing.  She has so much more confidence in the water.  Just from the first lesson to the second, she had stopped hanging onto the instructor for dear life and when he was working with the other kids in her group, she was practicing sliding into the water face first - which she NEVER would've done before.  I'm so proud of her and so thankful that I could make this work.  It is so important and it's a bit of a relief to know that she has the basic skills to hold her own in the water.  Since the lessons, Travis has also been spending time in the water with her at the apartment pool and it is so fun to watch them interact.  She is now comfortable to jump to him from standing on the edge, has contests to see who can hold their breath longer, and loves to get dunked and spring up from the bottom of the pool. 

Tiny Dancer

Brenna completed another session of her dance class in a neighborhood nearby.  Mykee does an awesome job with these girls and they all love her!  It is so fun to watch Brenna get so excited to perform.  This year the theme was "wild" so I found a fun leopard print and paired it with a big pink dance skirt.  She got to perform with her friends Norah and Jacy (although Jacy was on the other side of the line, so I didn't get many pics of her) and they all did a great job.  I'm so glad to have come across these classes for her, they have been perfect for our schedule and our pocketbook.  Thanks Jody for telling us about it!  It's also given me some good times with my Jody, without it we will have to try much harder to squeeze in some hang out time!