Monday, July 16, 2007
Fun Summer
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Sunday, June 24, 2007
Father's Day and a D-backs game!


The following weekend, we got to see the D-backs beat the Orioles at Chase Field. Brenna enjoyed seeing all the people, clapping when everyone else cheered and playing at the "Peter Piper Playhouse". She got to see her friend Jason and his family and lots of mommy's co-workers too.
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Bookworm
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Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorable moments
Hi all! On Memorial Day (when we remember all those who are sacrificing, or who have sacrificed, so much for the lifestyle that we are all accustomed to)
I though it would be fun to share some memorable moments - thanks to the adorable Brenna. We are also sharing some fun pictures from our trip to the mountains this weekend. We loved the beautiful weather and the fun adventures that it brought for Brenna. We got to visit with family and spend some quality time with everyone.
- While using her toy camera to take a picture of a small stuffed dog, she says "chee puppy" which means "say cheese puppy".
- While searching for grasshoppers in the backyard or in the woods (where we spent some time this 3-day weekend) - "hopper, weh ah you" which means "grasshopper, where are you".
- Singing some of the lyrics to Akon's "Don't Matter" - mostly "I got you" and dancing/swaying with the music. It is one of her favorite songs
- Playing with all of her dolls - laying them on the floor or table and putting a blanket on top of them followed by a "nigh, nigh bebies".
- Running and playing with "Scrushy" who is also known as "Scruffy" to those of us with fully developed speech.
- Playing outside and crying and whining if we make her come inside - she doesn't even notice that it is 100+ degrees!
- Reading her books on her own (I found her in her room alone one day, sitting in the glider, reading lots of books) - she especially likes the book about the 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed - she reads each page as "no no mony na na bed" which means "no more monkeys jumping on the bed"
She brings so much joy to us and is becoming quite the intelligent little girl. We love to watch how much she learns in short time and can't believe how fast it is going!
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Sunday, April 15, 2007
Happy Easter and more!
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
We have been busy!
It has been a long time between posts - I know that and I'm sorry! I know that many people check for updates on a regular basis and I've been slacking - but busy!
Ok, so onto Brenna news, which is what you are all logging on for right? She is growing like crazy and becoming such a fun person to be around. She entertains us regularly and is learning new things all the time.
Some of the new things that Brenna has been working on: potty training (she has used her potty chair once to actually go potty, the rest of the time it is a seat or a stool - it converts to a stool); identifying people she knows from pictures; talking on the phone (she used to just stare at it and now will say "hi", "love you" and "bye-bye"); playing peek-a-boo with herself in the mirror (very cute by the way); telling mommy and daddy what she needs/wants when she is hungry or thirsty or needs a diaper change. She also really likes to dance and wants the music on anytime that she can - she even dances with the stars on tv!
With the warming weather, she got to enjoy the playgrounds more and more. She would see one and beg us to take her to it - she loves sliding the most, but eventually swinging became fun for her too. We got to enjoy some of the nice weather later in February when we got together with some extended family in Tempe. Brenna loved the playground at that park and it was fun for the adults to get to visit too.
Unfortunately, as some of you know, some of Brenna's playing came to a screeching halt a couple of weeks ago when she fell from some bleachers and broke her collarbone.
A very scary moment for mommy (daddy wasn't with us where it happened, so he wasn't as frazzled right away). It wasn't clear right away that she'd broken anything - I had heard worse cries when a toy was taken away, so I wasn't sure that it was too serious. Needless to say, she was babying her arm a bit, so we went to urgent care the next morning and confirmed a broken bone - her first (and hopefully last). The UC doctor scared us into thinking that she might have to have surgery, so it was a stressful weekend of doing nothing and waiting to see a specialist on Monday. During that weekend, she had her arm in a sling that was slightly too big, so she also had an ace bandage wrapped around her torso to keep her from moving her arm. Luckily, when we saw the pediatric orthopedic specialist, he gave us a better brace for her (more like backpack straps that don't restrict her as much, but just enough to help with healing) and told us that surgery would not be necessary - thank goodness!
So, her little body will regenerate new bone and she'll be as good as new, but will have to avoid playing on a playground and slides for about 6 weeks - poor baby! But she seems to be doing VERY well and went back to daycare after a week off with mommy, daddy and Aunt "Mamie". We were so relieved that she wasn't injured more severely and that surgery was not necessary - she's been through enough of that!
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Sliding Fun!
Back in February, Brenna got to go play on the playground with her buddy Jason (see the link to his blog on the right). This is one of the adorable pictures of her and the sliding adventures that she had. Mommy didn't dress her for sliding that day (hence the skirt) but baby skirts come with handy little diaper-covering panties that don't make it so bad.
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Monday, February 05, 2007
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!
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Merry Christmas!!
We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a great one. It started out a little early - with just Brenna, Mommy and Daddy at home on Friday morning. We opened presents, and got ready for the big trip to Show Low. Among Brenna's gifts, she got a new table and chairs set, a toy cell phone (one of her favorites), a toy laptop, other toys and some clothes and other practical gifts. We enjoyed a relaxing morning and then loaded up and headed to SL. We visited Grandma Ann at work for a bit before heading over to Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dave's house. We got to play for a couple of days, visit friends (the Penrods and Mark & Cindy) and enjoy the cool Christmas
weather. Although it didn't snow while we were there, the snow from earlier in the week wasn't all melted, so there was some for Brenna to experience and enjoy! On Christmas Eve, the Pearson's were a little under the weather, but daddy took Brenna out on the town to visit more friends and explore. That night, we visited Grandma Ann and Grandpa Rick at their house and got to open more presents. Brenna got a Leap Pad book, a magnetic paper doll, some clothes and more! On Christmas morning, we woke up with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dave (feeling a bit better) and waited for Aunt Jamie and Uncle Josh to come over to open more presents! Opening gifts took a lot longer this year since Brenna had to play with everything she opened - it's been a long time since our family had that type of delay in opening gifts! Brenna got blocks, a new little people house, puzzles, clothes and a counting piggy bank. She is so loved to get so many presents from all the special people in her life! We had such a fun time over the Christmas weekend - mommy and daddy took a little extra time off of work and LOVED having the extra time to relax. We are looking forward to a new year and more fun adventures with our little angel!
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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Feed me!
As we've shared over all these posts, Brenna is growing to be quite the little person - she's not a little baby anymore. This was very apparent to mommy the other day when we got home from work/daycare and came into the house. We were hanging out in the living room, just getting settled into the evening, Brenna was drinking some water from her cup and mommy was on the phone. Brenna disappeared into the kitchen, went into the pantry, grabbed a can of toddler ravioli (one of her favorites) and brought it to me. Then she took it back to the kitchen and the next thing I hear is the cabinet doors. I went into the kitchen to see what she was getting into and found that she'd opened the "tupperware" cabinet, had pulled out her bowls (some that we typically use for her food) and put them on her high chair tray.
The ravioli was on the dining room table. She was hungry! Clearly this was her way of telling me to feed her! Needless to say, I fed her then and there and mom & dad could just eat later. With Christmas approaching, we thought it would be fun to teach Brenna what Santa says. We've been giving her a small stuffed Santa to play with and then telling her "ho, ho, ho." She now knows what the Santa is if we ask her to bring it to us and when we ask her what he says, she replies "ho, ho" - don't know where the last "ho" went, but it's close enough and it's adorable! We are looking forward to heading up to the mountains to celebrate Christmas with both sets of grandparents, Aunt Jamie & Uncle Josh and lots of friends! We're hoping it'll be Brenna's first white Christmas! Happy Holidays to you all!
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Monday, December 11, 2006
Zoo Lights
This weekend, we went to see the famous Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo! It was very popular - there were lots of people there. It was a pretty nice night, not too cold, although we eventually bundled up. Brenna enjoyed looking at all the pretty lights - colored, white, solid and twinkly!
Once we let her out of her stroller, she even liked touching the lights (when she could). It was a nice family evening out! The rest of the weekend was devoted to getting ready for Christmas - shopping and such. We are looking forward to watching Brenna open her gifts, playing with wrapping paper and boxes and just enjoying the season with her this year!
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Monday, December 04, 2006
Preparing for Christmas
As mentioned last post, Brenna helped to set up the Christmas tree last weekend and loved the lights on the tree and has been very good about not touching the ornaments - thank goodness. Here's a picture of her enjoying the tree! This weekend, we had a visit from Santa at our house! Brenna wasn't too sure about him, but we wanted to try to document the occassion and take some pictures. Although she knows the man that was dressed as Santa (helping him out during his busy season), she did not like the strange outfit and long beard.
We tried playing with the beard, giving him fives, all kinds of things to help her not be so scared, but in the end, this is what we got - hope she's not permanently traumatized! She also helped decorate the outside of the house this weekend - we put lots of lights on the house and in the bushes and she hung out with us all afternoon outside.
Not that she didn't find her own adventures of course (including moving the rocks from one side of the yard to the other, playing with clumps of dirt found in one area of the yard and eating the dirt in one of the planters - yes, I know gross!! That is dirt on her mouth and in her nostril - evidence for the future. But every kid goes through it right?
We also had some visitors this week - our friends Paula and Ryan visited from Philadelphia. We are looking forward to them moving back to Arizona this spring, it was nice to have them around! Brenna also bonded with them and had some playmates other than mom and dad while they were here. They also got to have some practice with a toddler since they are about to have their own little munchkin in February. I tried to post a picture of Brenna with them, but blogger won't let me - I'll try again later.
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Sunday, November 26, 2006
Happy Turkey Day!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year and a lot to be thankful for. Earlier in the week, Brenna had tubes put in her ears to help drain fluid that had chronically gathered in her ear - causing lots of ear and sinus infections. The procedure was a quick one - only about 10 minutes.
When we went back to get her from recovery we were shocked (so used to a groggy, bloody recovery from our previous experiences with surgeries) that she was doing so well - you couldn't even tell anything had been done - no grogginess or anything! We proceeded about our day and Brenna was wonderful. It wasn't until the next day that she really showed signs of anything different, so mommy stayed home that day too so little Brenna could get some extra TLC. Thursday brought the turkey and lots of family.
Grandpa Dave, Grandma Diane, Aunt Jamie, Uncle Josh, Aunt Debbie and cousin Rick came to eat with us and we had a great meal (thanks mostly to Daddy). Brenna almost slept through it but mommy woke her up so she could enjoy some green beans and mashed potatoes (that was about all she'd eat) - oh and whipped cream! Brenna also got to enjoy some fun playtime with family - including throwing the leaves around the backyard. This weekend, Brenna helped clean up the garage and put out Christmas decorations - she definitely likes the pretty tree with all the lights =)
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween!
Brenna dressed as Minnie Mouse for Halloween this year. Initially, she wasn't too keen on the ears (they were an elastic band around her head) and didn't much like us putting her down and not holding her. Thus, the grouchy Minnie picture to document the occasion.
As a side note (an explanatory one at that), Brenna had 4 shots today so in her defense, she had a right to be grouchy. After a bit, she did ok. She went trick or treating to our neighbor/friends' houses to show off her costume and enjoyed playing outside while she was allowed. She also helped hand out candy to the other kids in the neighborhood and then enjoyed the candy on her own! 
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Zoo trip
For Brenna's birthday, Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dave got us a membership to the Phoenix Zoo, so this weekend we invited them to come with us for our first trip! We also met our friends Catherine, John and Jason there. Brenna was very excited by the animals at Schnepf Farms the previous weekend, so we figured she'd really enjoy the zoo and she did! She was very excited by all the airplanes that flew overhead too. We got to see giraffes, lions, a growling tiger (Brenna even growled back), baboons, goats, birds, rhinos, and lots of other things. It was a beautiful day for a trip to the zoo and we all enjoyed it very much! We plan to go back regularly and hope that soon we can invite Grandma Ann and Grandpa Rick!
Later that night, we got into the spirit of Halloween and carved a couple of pumpkins that we accumulated over the last week and had Brenna help (as much as she could). She enjoyed banging on the pumpkin and playing with the goo from inside.
Stay tuned for some Halloween pictures! Hope to have them posted after the evening's events!
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Sunday, October 22, 2006
On the farm
We made a visit to the Schnepf Farms Pumpkin and Chili Party for the second year in a row and had a great time! We enjoyed a warm day in the valley and were entertained by our darling daughter. We first took a train ride around the farm and got to wave at all the people enjoying the farm with us. We ate lunch (where Brenna fed herself using a fork for the first time), played in some hay with pumpkins on it - mostly for photo ops. We took Brenna through the pumpkin patch and let her roam around in the little and big pumpkins.
But, the best part of the day by far had to be the visit to the petting zoo. As a side note, Brenna's favorite page of a book she "reads" regularly is the farm animal page, so she was seeing her farm animals in real life for the first time (well, at least since she'd remembered). She went in with the goats and first was a little taken aback by their size, but then found a small white one to which she said "fffff" which is Brenna for "Scruffy" - our dog. She was not afraid to pet it and then became more friendly with the other goats. She was talking and pointing at them the whole time. Then she went to the bigger pens (where she couldn't go in) and saw a big sheep, a giant cow and a donkey (not to mention the chickens that were roaming around everywhere which creeped mommy out).
She stood at the edges of the pins, holding on to the bars and would talk and bounce around - she was so excited. She was not afraid to touch the sheep or the donkey and would walk back and forth between their pens pointing and gabbing the whole time. Since she seemed to like the animals so much, daddy thought she might also enjoy a pony ride. Boy were we wrong. The minute she was on the pony, she was reaching for daddy (who was walking right next to her). He tried to distract her with petting the pony, but it didn't work. Oh well - some other time! Overall, it was a very eventful day and a lot of fun for us all!
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Sunday, October 15, 2006
All Aboard!
This weekend, Meghan was in town with her mom and Brenna's buddies, Sean and Colton. We met them at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park where a special "Railfair" was being held. Brenna got to ride on two trains (one small, one a bit bigger) and look at a lot of model trains.
She was quite a wiggler before the trains got started, but once they were moving, she held still and enjoyed the ride! She also rode a carousel for the first time. It started out ok (riding on a horsey) but pretty quickly turned into a little more frightening - Daddy ended up holding her for most of the ride. It was a nice afternoon out and Brenna's first time really looking at/playing with trains.
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Race for the Cure
We traveled downtown to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with Grandma Diane, Grandpa Dave and Aunt Jamie. Since Grandma Diane is a breast cancer survivor we like to participate in the annual 1 mile fun walk every year and this was Brenna's first year!
She didn't like waiting for long in the stroller, but once we were going, she was happy. She also got to play with a couple of balloons and enjoy the view of all the other families walking in the race. The older girls got to go look through the booths and grab some free goodies (scarves, pins, cell phone charms, etc.).
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Celebrating Gran's 90th birthday!
Brenna's Great-Grandad celebrated his 90th birthday on October 3rd, so we went to visit (with lots of other family members to celebrate with him! Brenna enjoyed climbing up and down the steps into Gran's living room (2 steps) and spent lots of time practicing that skill. She got to hang out with Grandma Diane, Grandpa Dave, Aunt Jamie, Great Aunt Sandy, Cousins Jim, Jacque and Ashley and of course - Gran! We enjoyed some good Globe mexican food and yummy cake. It was a great time!
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Monday, September 25, 2006
Signing
It's been awhile between posts and it has been busy around the Harvey household. Brenna has been
keeping us busy learning all sorts of new things including a few signs (sign language signs) to communicate with us. She practices the signs at daycare and then uses them at home to let us know what she wants or is trying to get. She uses the signs for "more" and "please" - especially when she has had something good to eat and she wants more of it. She also makes a little noise that sounds a little bit like "huh?" when she makes the signs. She is well mannered and regularly says please! She is demonstrating that sign in the kitchen (asking for more food of course) in this picture. She also knows the signs for daddy and mommy (she uses the daddy sign more) - it is absolutely adorable!
She has really been enjoying her books more and more and will often sit and read on her own. Her favorite page of this particular book about first words is the "on the farm" page. She likes to point to the animals and learn about the noises that they make. Brenna had her first night in a hotel this past weekend. Aunt Jamie debuted as a Mary Kay representative so we took a trip to Tucson to visit. Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dave were there too. She did pretty well considering she wasn't in her own bed - mommy on the other hand, had Brenna's head in her ribs most of the night. Oh well - those cuddles are worth it!
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Saturday, September 02, 2006
Miscellaneous stuff
This last few weeks has been full of fun for Brenna and us. Just after her 1st birthday, Brenna graduated to the "ones" classroom at her daycare. They made her a pretty graduation hat and she got to have her picture taken with her teacher from the infant room - Ms. Josephina. Brenna has been doing so great in the big kids room. She makes lots of drawings for mommy and daddy (some of which only have some lines and dots where she touched the crayon to the paper - but we still think they are beautiful). She takes a nap on a mat along with the other kids (don't know how the teachers manage that) and does so great with it! She also uses a sippy cup all the time now and eats regular breakfast, lunch and snacks in the "ones". She is getting more and more like a little girl everyday. She has also been doing some very cute things that make us laugh all the time.
One of the funniest parts of the day is getting ready for her bath. When I take off her shoes, she begins to giggle (I assume it feels good) and starts pulling at her socks. She laughs and laughs and then says "ahhh". She also uses her toy remote control as a telephone. She'll push the buttons and hold it to her ear and then babble like she's talking to someone. This is the best picture I could get of that. She is dancing to pretty much any kind of music (on TV, on a toy, on the radio - even in the car). If she's standing, she'll dance and turn in circles. If she's sitting (in the car seat), she'll just sway from side to side. It is adorable!
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Sunday, August 20, 2006
Dancing and Scruffy-loving
Sorry it's been awhile since the last update! Brenna had her 12 month checkup a couple of weeks ago and weighed in at 22.75 lbs and was 31 inches long. She is right on track developmentally - except that she doesn't really say mama or dada when actually referring to us, but she does know who we are when we ask (she points). But, we know the talking will come and if she's anything like mom or dad, we won't get her to stop! She has been making us laugh lately with her dancing. Anytime music comes on, she smiles and starts dancing. She does a sort of march-like dance one leg up, then the other and she'll even turn around sometimes. It is very cute! She has also been loving on Scruffy A LOT lately - more than he'd like!
We'll find her following him around and then she'll lay her head down on him (her way of giving him a hug). He'll quickly move away, but then come back when she gets his toy to play tug of war with him. He has done so well with her (we knew he would) and it is very cute to watch her initiate play with him. She is also drinking very well from her sippy cup (as you can see)
and eating lots of foods on her own. Pretty much anything you put in front of her is worth a shot for her to try and she has been pretty successful with most things.
I will try to post some pictures soon - for some reason, I'm having technical difficulties!
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