Catching up!

Okay, so we took a little blogging break following Christmas but we are back and we have a lot to say! We rang in the new year with friends/neighbors and Brenna even stayed up past midnight! There was so much activity, she didn't want to miss anything. But, not long after 2007 was here, she was in bed. Later in January, we took a trip to the zoo to have some family time and celebrate daddy's birthday. Brenna got to dip her hands into Stingray Bay (although her arms were too short to let her actually touch them), each lunch with a duck, visit the little monkey space, help the baby orangatan celebrate her 1st birthday, look at the tortoises, and finally - visit mommy's favorite (the giraffes). That night, Aunt Jamie (or "mamie" as Brenna called her) came to babysit so mommy and daddy could go on a date - and what fun she had! She ran around the room in circles and talked and talked (a common occurance these days), even dozed off in her baby rocking chair - there is cellphone video proof of her little bobbing head. The next morning she got to play in a big cardboard box and a huge piece of styrofoam! What a fun weekend! It turned out to be good for mommy and daddy too - it was nice for them to have a date night and know that Brenna was in good hands - it was just what everyone needed.

In other news, our little baby is becoming just like her mommy and daddy - a little chatterbox. She has really expanded her vocabulary over the last month or so and tries to say everything that we say to her. She pretty clearly says: bye-bye, hi, no, yeah, please, thank you, love you, baby, bear, ball, book, uh-oh, down, go, beep-beep, jacket, and cow. And some other things that aren't so clear: milk, doggy, blankie, outside, tiger, Woody & Buzz (from Toy Story), and so many other things yet to be translated. Among her accomplishments is her ability to point out body parts (on herself and others) and clearly say what they are like nose, ears, head, eye, mouth, and belly. We can't believe how many words she can say and how much she really understands us these days - it is so amazing! There will be more updates soon - Brenna just turned 18 months so after her checkup we'll provide some new stats and more updates!