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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!

All-Star

Each month at Brenna's elementary school, every teacher nominates a student (well 2 students) who have excelled academically or exemplefied the character theme for that month.  Brenna was the character nominee from her class for the month of March!  She displayed the character trait of being confident in herself!  I am so proud of her!  I can only hope that she continues to be confident as she grows into a young woman because we all know how difficult that can be.  I'll do my best to always help build that confidence in her.  She was very proud to get to shake her principal's hand and get a certificate and proudly posed for pictures with her school spirit shirt on.  What a precious little girl - she brings so much happiness and joy to my life, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Renaissance Festival

For something fun to do on a beautiful weekend, we traveled out to the Renaissance Festival.  There are so many things to see and do there, but when we arrived just in time to catch a juggling show, we ran in and found a seat.  About a 1/3 of the way through the show, the very talented jugglers scanned the audience for "helpers" and walked right out to us to grab Travis.  He was called up with another guy and they started out juggling pillows around them.  Kinda weird...but THEN....they pulled out the knives...yes, knives.  They ended up calling another girl up too and they proceeded to juggle KNIVES around my honey's face.  Before they started, Brenna was a little concerned...uh..mommy...what are they doing???  I took pictures and video, but you can hear me a few times on the video going eeehhh, ooh, hehe (nervous laughter) to match the expression on Travis' face I'm sure.  Everyone came out safe, but what a crazy way to kick off our visit.

We walked around all the booths, saw LOTS of people dressed up in costumes, ate some delicious food, got Brenna's face painted and enjoyed a couple of other shows.  At the end of the day was the Joust to the Death show, so we wanted to make sure we got a seat and we are so glad we did.  It was really cool!  We were sitting in the section that would be cheering for the "bad guy" which had Brenna very conflicted.  In our prep for the actual joust, we had a cheerleader of sorts telling us who to cheer for, what to say, etc.  And to get the crowd pumped, they had us yelling insults at the other parts of the crowd who would be cheering for the "good guy."  Brenna wasn't crazy about cheering for the bad guy, she prefered to cheer for the good guy, but understood that it was all pretend anyway, so she could play along.  At one point, we were instructed to yell, "Hey you! You suck!" and Brenna specifically said to me, "I'm not gonna say that.  I want Santa to still bring me presents."  It made me giggle, but also proud that she wasn't giving in to the pressure to go against what she knows is right.  Such an angel :)  At the end (you know...the death part) she was nervous so I reminded her that it was pretend and then she really got into the cheering.  It was a very exciting show!  We're so glad we went! 

Afterward, we got to chat a little with the guy we were rooting for, you know, the bad one.  He was really friendly and told us all kinds of things about the show!  His armor suit weighs close to 75 pounds and they all travel around the country for various festivals.  This is their full time job!  Pretty amazing!  

Conversations

Had you been a fly at the wall at our house (or in the car) recently, here are just a few of the comments you would have overheard:

B: "The best part of my day today was when I blew my nose and ALL the boogers came out.  That would be cool if ALL the boogers were gone cuz then I'd never have boogers again."


B: "Mom, I just realized, if you don't like birds, that means you don't like the bald eagle. That's not nice."


M: "Brenna, please shut the fridge."
B: "Wha? How did you know...oh yeah, I forgot that you have eyes in the back of your head."


B: "Mom, here are all the teams that I wanna see: the Wildcats, the Cardinals and the Suns.  And you know what I mean that I wanna GO to a game, not just on tv.  So then people can see me on tv.  That's why I wanna go - for a chance to be on tv!"

Four eyes

It is very likely that one day, Brenna will need glasses.  Both sides of the family have them - everyone in the immediate family, so it is probably inevitable...unfortunately.  For now, her vision is great (last time it was checked). But, while perusing the dollar store yesterday, B found a pair of reading glasses that she just HAD to have.  She specifically said to me "I need them for nighttime, like you."  They are small like a child's glasses and have a pretty pattern on them, so I can see why they'd be appealing to her.  So, for the super cheap price of $1, I gave in and bought them for her (after all they came with a case too).  I popped out the lenses and whattaya know, a new toy!  She wore them in the car for a bit, but then took them off so she could surprise Travis when we met him for dinner.  While at dinner, she adopted all the mannerisms of a long-time-glasses-wearer (well reading glasses anyway), pulling them off to make a point, to hear better, to talk to someone. It was hilarious.  I have no idea where she got those mannerisms, I wear my glasses pretty infrequently and once they are on, they are on (or I won't be able to see my hand in front of my face LOL).  But it was adorable!  I think it's fun that she likes them and can only hope that it'll be many years before she actually needs them and that she'll still like the idea when the time comes. 

Parent/Teacher Conference

Today I had the honor of attending a parent/teacher conference that Brenna got to lead!  She was so excited to show me around her classroom and talked about it for days leading up to it.  It was an early release day, so when I picked her up from daycare, she was practically running out the door to get back to school and get this conference started!  She excitedly led me from the office through the hallways to her classroom.  She made sure to slow down as we walked past the library to show me where the book fair was being held (I had promised we'd stop by after the conference).  When we arrived in the classroom, Mrs. Tapia was with only one other student so we got a little bit of chatting in with her.  Brenna took me to her seat/workspace and we began reading the list of things to do.  She showed me how to identify the date and day on the Promethian board (probably the thing she was most excited about); showed me her favorite centers since she couldn't decide which one she liked more; took me to the reading spot and read one of the books to me; did a complete math worksheet while at her desk; showed me two important things that good writers do (use a finger space between words and use periods) by showing me some of the things she's written in her journal; and went over her citizenship review where she rated herself on things such as walking in the hallway, doing her own work, getting all of her work done.  It was so much fun to see her so excited about school and so proud of all the things that she does each day.  She is such a great source of joy and pride and I love moments like this where she can show off.  Not only that, but how much fun it is to be in a Kindergarten classroom!?

This drawing was too adorable not to take a picture, it just had to be documented :) 

Valentine's Day

We started the day with a quick batch of our annual pink pancakes!  Even though it was a school/work day, I managed to squeeze in 4 pancakes before leaving so Brenna could take them to daycare with her - I was struggling with how I would fit it in and kicking myself for not preparing them the night before but I managed to get it in at the last minute and keeping up the tradition makes me happy.  Brenna was very excited about her party to be held at school, had decorated a foam mailbox to collect cards and had written all her own valentines to her classmates. Side note: I was surprised to find that not all Brenna's classmates wrote their own...I mean, they are in Kindergarten, learning to write, but didn't write their own names on the cards?  Maybe that's a little harsh coming from a mom who typically doesn't have all the time in the world to do as many homemade crafts, homemade treats, etc. but i was treating this as an opportunity to have Brenna practice her writing.  Anyway....

She also got to wear the new festive socks she'd recieved from Grandma and Papaw the day before!  That night, we celebrated as a family with a trip to Subway (Brenna's favorite restaurant of the moment) and enjoyed spending time with the ones we love!  Although we are excellent at expressing our love every day of the year, we still enjoyed celebrating this day of L-O-V-E!  Travis brought us both some roses to share, some gummy bears for Brenna and a lovely card.  I'm so lucky to have such a fabulous valentine! 

Mia Lynne

I have a new niece!  Mia Lynne was born on Februrary 7th in Hawaii and she is PRECIOUS!!!  Of course who doesn't say that about their family, but I really mean, she is precious!  It breaks my heart that she is so far away and that it will be quite a long time before I get to see her (stupid plane tickets are so expensive).  When Rylan was born, I was able to visit and see him at least once every month for the first year of his life.  I'll be lucky if I even get to see Mia in her first year, outside of pictures and Skype of course.  BUT, I'm still so very thankful that she has joined our family, and that she is happy and healthy and that her mommy is too!  At this point, I just love to drool over her pictures (which I try to force Jamie to send me every single day).  At one point, Jamie labeled one pic with "she doesn't do much :)" to which I replied, well then send me a picture of her crying or something!  Brenna is also very excited and has been drawing pictures for baby Mia since long before she came into this world.  She asks me every day if I have a new pic of her and appropriately responds with a loving "awwwwwww."  We couldn't be happier to have a new little addition and can't wait to meet her! Welcome little one....

Special Helper

I got the following email from Brenna's teacher today:

"I just wanted to let you know that Brenna is an amazing friend to David in our class. I am so impressed with her. I think she will grow up to be a teacher or even a special needs helper. She is really gifted at helping others. She works on a level with him that is perfect, and she pays attention to how his “aide” works with him. Then she uses those things to work with him too. For example, she and I could not figure out something he was saying. So she said, “Use your BIG voice David”. Then we figured it out. She is wonderful! I try to break her away from helping him so often, but she truly loves it. She goes to him on her own.


I just wanted to let you know what a great helper you have (you probably already know it)."

It made my eyes a bit wet and my heart melt.  It is always wonderful to hear what Brenna is like when she's away from me, because I know that different traits come out than what I always see.  I am very proud of her and although admittedly biased, I believe that I have a very special little girl!  I look forward to seeing what kind of woman she becomes (but not too soon).

Taquito Munchkina

Bren, B, Nugget, Peanut, Honey....nicknames that Brenna has had over time. Some are obvious, but her most recent one is goofy.  And she loves it. 

Brenna likes to eat.  But only the foods she chooses (not marshmallows, fish or mustard).  And she LOVES taquitos...you know, the little rolled tacos.  One night she ate so many that she was nicknamed Taquito by our friend Tim.  It made everyone laugh and she has, on occasion, been referred to as Taquito again.  While tucking her in the other night, I referred to her as Munchkin.  I usually do a slew of goofy things while getting her ready for bed, or to get her excited for bed, or to motivate her to go through the routine.  This particular night, I called her a bunch of nicknames.  By the time the covers were coming up over her chest, I was calling her Taquito Munchkina.  It just came out.  Now she loves it and wants me to squeeze the covers around her tight (like a taquito) and call her Taquito Munchkina.  It makes her smile or laugh, which in turn makes me smile or laugh.  Not to mention how it makes my heart melt.  I sure do love that little rolled taco with the beautiful blue eyes :)

Christmas highlights

So here we are, the end of January, giving Christmas highlights.  But, I figured it's better to document than skip it.  That "skipping" is what got me so far behind in the first place!  So here are the highlights:

Travis got to have a chunk of time off to come up the mountain with us!!  It was WONDERFUL to have him join us.  It was our first Christmas "together" and was fabulous :)  Although we weren't supposed to exchange gifts (given all the moving and other stuff going on) he surprised me with a laptop! I love that man!  Can't wait to skype with my family when they catch up ;)

Brenna was at the PRIME age for enjoying Santa.  She was excited to leave out cookies, milk and a few m&ms for him and even spread some reindeer food (oats) out in the yard to make sure they knew how to find us.  She was SO excited when it was bedtime that she told me, "Mom, I'm just so excited, I can't go to sleep."  I explained that she'd have to be sleeping or Santa wouldn't stop.  She explained that she could pretend to be asleep...little stinker.  Of course it didn't take long for her to fall asleep, but I loved how excited she was.  It brought back so many memories of when Jamie and I would wake up so early in the morning eventually running by the living room (without sneaking a peek...well maybe a little peek) to wake up mom & dad. 

Brenna recieved many of the things she asked for - a Magic Snow Moxie Girl, a makeup studio (a post all about makeup will arrive on this blog soon), and a barbie vacation house. 

We had a wonderful, relaxing time in Show Low.  We rarely left the house (hence all the relaxing) with the exception of a drive up to Pinetop, a walk around the neighborhood, and an after-Christmas Kmart shopping trip.  We ate delicious stuff...and lots of it.  We are now closely watching what we eat :)

We missed Jamie, Josh & Rylan SORELY.  It was an odd feeling knowing that they weren't coming.  Not even the next day or the following weekend.  All we got was some phone conversing.  It just wasn't the same without them.  Not to mention all the planning ahead we had to get used to to make sure that packages were shipped in plenty of time.  Guess we'll be more prepared next year!

We are looking forward to all the exciting things that 2011 will bring for us!  And can't believe that one month is already gone...

Is anyone still out there?

When I started this blog (way before Facebook invaded my computer) I LOVED it and was committed to using it as a true history log of my life with a child - it helped me remember all the funny things she did or said without much effort.  Well, many things changed in my life over the last few years and some of it just didn't seem like the kind of stuff people wanted to know.  I could've stayed more current if I focused just on Brenna, but I now realize I just wasn't in a great place to wanna blog about life so I slacked.  I miss having the blog as a journal of sort - even if just to keep track of stuff my kiddo does :) 

I'm going to try to get back into this - and hopefully those of you who still check this once in awhile will keep coming back.  I have a lot more info on Facebook these days so some of you will already be able to fill in the many blanks on this blog.