Long overdue update

Sorry folks! Looks like I missed all of April and 1/2 of May...here are some updates to quickly catch us up:

Brenna spent Easter with her Daddy, but the Easter Bunny left a basket for her at my house! She got a new dress, flipflops, Hannah Montana hairbrush, HM hair glitter, HM chapstick, hair clips, and some candy. She loved it all! The following weekend, we visited Grandma and Papaw (with Mamie and Rylan) and got to hunt for Easter eggs and enjoy the beautiful cool weather. We also celebrated Papaw's birthday and got some fun bonding time in with Rylan!

On May 1st, Brenna got her 2nd set of ear tubes and did great. The procedure was quick although it was a bit more dramatic this time as she was much more aware of what was going on (since she is older) and was a little freaked out by the process. But, she recovered and was her usual self within hours! These tubes should stay in for a few years and hopefully when they come out, she'll be done!

This past weekend we got to have some more time with Grandma and Papaw for Mother's Day weekend! Brenna enjoyed having a pillow fight with Papaw, doing puzzles (100 piece puzzles!!) with both G & P, and just hanging out with everyone. My mom and I also went to my cousin Rue's wedding reception and it was really fun to see some family that we haven't seen for awhile. I didn't take my camera (I know - boo) but we had a good time visiting and catching up. I had a lovely Mother's Day when I woke up to the "Mother's Day song" - the happy birthday song with a few lyrical adjustments :) and go to hang out with my lovely daughter. She made me a beautiful, glittery pasta necklace and bought me ice cream in the form of a Cold Stone Creamery gift card. It was also really nice to spend the weekend with my mom, who is the best mommy anyone could ask for. She has always been such a great role model for me as a woman and as a mom. I'm so thankful every day to have her in my life and I love her VERY much!

So I don't forget

Some of the funniest things came out of Brenna's mouth today, so I have to write them down before I forget!

First, I haven't seen her for a week, so I feel like she's grown a foot and her conversation seems so much better too! :) As I have probably mentioned before, this girl talks NONSTOP. I just don't know where she gets it. But really, it's hilarious. I picked her up from school early today for a dr's appointment (that update is below) and she was talking all the way there. I mentioned to her that she was talking a lot and she said, "that's what our mouths are for, everyone has one so we can eat." So I asked her more questions about what her mouth is for (i.e. singing, drinking, kissing, etc.) and moved onto some other body parts - she is so smart. Then, as we were driving, she mentioned that she got to have a "special cookie" with her dinner the other night. She says, "I had a special cookie with my dinner at Panda bear (Panda Express for those who don't speak Brenna) and I had noodles and chicken orange and a COOKIE!!" I asked what kind of cookie. "Chocolate" she said "I really like chocolate and chocolate pudding. I like chocolate everything!" That's my girl :0)

We came home, watched the Hannah Montana movie (she hadn't seen it for a week) and sang along with all the songs. Well, the fast ones anyway. While blow drying her hair after bath, she was rocking out to one of Hannah Montana's songs - singing at the top of her lungs the words that she thinks are right (they are close) and then breaks into Pink's "So What." It cracked me up - she was making rock star faces in the mirror and passionately singing "so what, I'm still a rock star and I don't neeeeed yooooouuuuuu." So funny - she is such a joy to be around and has made me laugh all afternoon and evening.

Dr's appointment update: Brenna still has regular visits with her ear/nose/throat doctor because of her cleft. Today she had a hearing test and didn't do so well. There is no permanent hearing damage, but she has fluid in her ears that keeps her from hearing perfectly. Luckily it's not infected or anything, but it is there and can affect her speech if she doesn't hear everything right. So, the doctor recommended that she have tubes put in again. Typically, kids grow out of the need for ear tubes by about age 4-5. Since Brenna had a cleft, her problems will probably linger until about age 13. So, we'd be looking at tubes pretty frequently depending on her fluid buildup. There are some new kinds of tubes (butterfly tubes) that are intended to stay in place for a much longer period (4-5 years as opposed to 1-2 years) and he wants to try those. He believes they are designed specifically for kids like Brenna who would need them for longer periods or would end up having to get them more frequently. So, not great news, but thank goodness for modern medicine and health insurance. We are actually very lucky!

Hannah Montana, St. Patty's day and Renaissance Festival

That's a lot to squeeze into one post, but we've been busy!!

First and probably most life-consuming is the story of how Brenna became Hannah Montana. She was introduced to her at daycare (a classmate dressed like her for Halloween) and she would mention her every once in awhile. A few months later, Grandma bought her a HM pen that played a few lines of one of her songs when you pushed the button at the top - B just LOVES that pen. She quickly memorized the words and would take it everywhere with her. While I had the Starz channel free for a few months, I DVR'd the Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds concert movie and showed Brenna. She danced along with the whole movie and LOVED it. Now, we watch it almost daily and know all the words. She goes through costume changes when Hannah/Miley do, she dances just like Hannah/Miley and has her favorite songs (and not-so-favorite songs - she doesn't like the slow ones that she can't dance to). She has even told me "Mom, I'm not Brenna, I'm Hannah Montana" and begs to have her hair curly like Hannah Montana's (actually like Miley Cyrus' without the HM wig). It is adorable and although it happened a lot earlier than I expected, as obsessions go, this one is fun. I get to witness some fantastic dance moves and some beautiful singing by the cutest little girl in the world.

Next, is St. Patty's day. Last year, I was so sick with the flu that I missed this day altogether. So, this year I wanted to do something fun to make the day special. So, we ate green pancakes for breakfast (made the night before since it was a weekday) and then tried green spaghetti for dinner! I found a recipe for a green sauce made with spinach, parmesan cheese, milk (I added garlic) and while it looked a little strange, it was tasty. B didn't want to try it - a little too strange for her - she still enjoyed helping make it!

Last weekend, we took a trip to the Renaissance Festival with friends Tara and Brady. It was super windy and dusty, so we didn't get to stay long, but it was still a fun and different activity. Luckily, we had free tickets thanks to a prize that Tara sort of "won" while impersonating me on the radio - haha. We got to enjoy a frozen banana and a turkey leg while we were there. We went through the petting zoo and saw some kids throw tomatoes in the Vegetable Revenge booth. It was a nice afternoon out - just too bad it was so windy!

Brenna is so much fun to go out and do activities with - I love having someone to go on adventures with me!

A trip to the farm

This weekend, we were fortunate enough to have a visit from Grandma and Papaw! They joined us for a trip to a local farm where we got to see LOTS of cows, some bunnies, goats, chickens (eww), a donkey and some small horses. We didn't spend lots of time there, but enough to get the feel of the farm (and the smell). It was surprisingly busy but we took a hay ride to learn about the dairy operations, went through a small hay maze, tried to feed some of the animals in the small petting zoo and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. What a great weekend to hang out outside!

We sure are lucky to have such wonderful Grandma and Papaw come to visit often. And when they come, they are always very helpful around the house too!! Thank you both - love you!

Photography by Brenna

While Jamie and Rylan were visiting, we were making every attempt to get a great photo of B & R. Unfortunately, we are not professional photogs and the pics aren't all that great. Regardless, they are still cute. When we got done, I wanted to have a picture of me and Jamie so I handed the camera to Brenna (you should've seen how her eyes lit up at this action) and asked her to take a picture. The first one was a little low...but then - wow! Jamie and I both love this picture of us!

So, this morning, I decided to see what other great shots B could take. Here's what I got - some are really fun and she loves this project :)

Random stories

I really do have the cutest little 3-year-old ever (and the smartest). No offense all of you with 3-year-olds - and there are a lot of you. I'm sure you have smart and cute kids too...but this blogger is biased.

Brenna got a cash register from Santa this Christmas and she loves to play store. She gathers things from the pantry, her bedroom, wherever and gets grocery bags too. We take turns playing clerk & shopper. She loves it! When she is the clerk, she says, "how are you man?" - she means "ma'am" - but doesn't know the difference. She asks if I have a kid that will like the things I'm buying (usually the stuff she likes) and is so nice and friendly. What great customer service skills :)

She also got some Barbies for Christmas and loves to play with them too. There are 2 of them, so they swap clothes (not shoes though, one of them has GIANT feet - weird right?) and go shopping together after they've eaten dinner on the table that Aunt Mamie bought. The other night, I figured the Barbie's should talk to each other and she thought this was hilarious. After just a couple of minutes she says to me "you be the baby, I'll be the mommy." The barbies are the same age - but whatever. I agree to this arrangement. (side note: I've been trying to keep Brenna from crawling in my bed each night at about 2:00am and convince her that she's a big girl and needs to stay in her bed) She says - through her barbie "oh baby, I love you so much, you can sleep in my bed tonight" so I respond "oh, but I'm a big girl, I can sleep in my own bed." She wittingly responds, "I just love to cuddle with you, so you can still sleep in my bed." What?? She is trying to manipulate me through the barbies?? See, I told you - smart. But, it didn't work. I still make her stay in her bed. And she's doing great!

For the last few nights, she has wanted to read this book (she LOVES this book and I have to limit it - I can only take so much). So, after we read it, she wanted to take it to bed with her. I agreed. When I went to check on her and turn the light all the way out - this is what I found. So precious. I love hanging out with her and seeing that little brain working - she is super smart, funny and passionate! Love that little booger.

Valentine's Day

This year, I decided to do something cute and fun for Brenna for Valentine's Day. Since she will be at her daddy's on the actual day, we celebrated a little early. We had a themed dinner (breakfast really, but at dinnertime since that is when I have time) - all pink & red! We had pink pancakes, strawberries and pink milk. We ate on pink plates too! Brenna loved it and thought it was fun. She also got a little present - I decorated a little metal mailbox (from the $1 section at Target) and gave her some v-day candy and hair bows and also a cute little pink/green cupcake outfit. She was so excited to see the present and loved her mailbox (complete with a "B" for Brenna). We had a nice night playing together - it was a nice early Valentine's Day!

How do we get to the zoo?

Well, you mapquest the address and it gives you step by step instructions for getting there :) So, that's what we did this last weekend while Papaw was here visiting. Gramma went to CA with Appy Debbie for a family funeral, but Papaw stayed for a few nights with us. It was a beeeeyoootiful day for the zoo - and we had a great time. It's been awhile since our last visit so we were excited to see our old animal friends. Since the weather was nice, lots of the animals were out and we got to see most of them! Of course, we saw the old standards, but even visited the Arizona section for much longer - and learned exciting things about the animals that Papaw hunts. Brenna is not a fan of the animal heads that hang in Gramma & Papaw's house, so Papaw showed her the real (live) thing - maybe that will make her less scared. Although someday I'm sure she'll wonder why just their heads are hanging there...and why they aren't moving....oh well, that's for another day. We also saw the javelina and I think Papaw could watch them all day. Brenna and Papaw fed the ducks while mommy stood at a safe distance behind them (hoping the birds would not come too close to her) taking pictures and ooh-ing and ah-ing over the $10 bill that she found on the ground (well, that Papaw found). Score! It was also the baby orangutan's birthday, so there were free cupcakes and I've never seen Brenna enjoy a cupcake so much - she usually doesn't even like cake (I know, who's kid is she?) They came with animal rings on them too - Brenna loved the "hippomuspoto" one. Anyway, here are some fun pictures of the day. Brenna loves her Papaw and had a great time with him (as did I) but we missed Gramma. We hope next time that she can come to the zoo too!

Like, totally

So, I think that I've had a light bulb moment while having daily conversation with Brenna. Apparently, I use the word "like" a lot (as in, "this tv show is like dumb" or "you are like so funny"). I admit that I do that - I have known this for some time, but thought that it was probably getting better as I got older - I am 30 after all. But, apparently, it has rubbed off on Brenna. The other day while putting on her jammies and socks (home socks, keep in mind), she says "Mom, these socks are like stained" - I laughed because it was cute. Then today she says "this book is like loud." I've noticed it a few other times as well. So apparently I've created a valley girl :) We do live in the "valley" right? Oh well, just like every other thing that we need to work on as parents, I guess I'll add: improve use of proper grammar.

A very merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas this year. The snow in Show Low was beautiful and fortunately, we had a window of no-storm travel time that allowed us to get up the mountain. We enjoyed lots of time with family and friends and although it was cold, we loved the snow (from inside). Brenna got what she wanted from Santa (including the mermaid Dora, some barbies and even a guitar when he visited Daddy's house) plus some! She must've been a very good girl this year! We were very thankful to be able to celebrate with Grandma, Papaw, Aunt Mamie, Uncle Josh and Rylan! Rylan was so much fun to be around (except for the spitting up) and Brenna loved to love on him. She sang to him and made him smile and we loved experiencing Christmas with them. We also did some annual traditions like doing puzzles and playing games - and of course eating!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!

Christmas traditions

Today we celebrated the season by baking some Christmas cookies and writing a letter to Santa. This was the first year that Brenna has written a letter to Santa and we are "emailing" it to him so it will get there in time.










Brenna loves helping me in the kitchen and always wants to stir or pour or touch whatever it is that I'm making. We baked cookies together last year and now it will hopefully be something we do together every year. When we first got started, we forgot to put on an apron, so she wiped floury hands all over her pants, then we got the apron out! She was very happy to roll out the dough, rub the flour on the cutting board and use the sprinkles. Can you tell which ones she sprinkled? :) The best part was getting to eat one at the end! After all the cookies were out of the oven and cooling, we went into the living room to write a letter to Santa. We attempted to visit him the other night, while Fry's was having a "Night out with Santa" event, but although she showed lots of interest, when it came time, she was not so courageous. But, I did get a picture of both of us with him! Here's her adorable letter to Santa (transcribed by mommy). Also, notice where she signed it, she knows the "B" and "r" but from there, it doesn't much resemble the letters of her name. Still precious!

In case you can't read it:

"Dear Santa, Hi dear Santa. Can you bring me a Barbie for Christmas? Can you bring me a mermaid doll for Christmas? A Dora mermaid doll. And a Christmas Bobber the Bill Christmas movie. Can I have a guitar, please can I have a guitar? Hey, I saw you at Fry's Santa. Why you were at Fry's? I was afraid when I got my picture. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Love, Brenna"

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with family this year. We visited Jamie (who started a blog while I was there, but has no posts, so no link yet), Josh and Rylan along with Grandma & Papaw, Appy Debbie, Chelsea and Rick. We all filled our bellies and enjoyed each other's company. It was raining most of the time, so we were inside, but had a good time. It was amazing to see how much little Rylan has changed - I snapped a cutie patootie picture of him too. Grandma & Papaw followed us home and stayed with Brenna while I worked on Friday. We ventured out to shop a little on Saturday and spent the day getting Christmas decorations set up - the tree is up and lights are on outside. It's beginning to feel like Christmas (except for the warm weather, I don't think I ever get used to that occurring in November/December). Sunday we visited a park to get some fun pictures taken. Chelsea took some great ones of me & Brenna. I'm saving the best one for the Christmas card. We had lots of fun while we were there. We walked around the park, then took a ride on the train (Chelsea's friend hooked us up for free!) and on the carousel. We also fed the ducks before leaving (not my favorite part as there were lots of icky pigeons around too and it was nearly my worst nightmare when the all took off flying at the same time - eeewwww). As we were leaving, I had some car alarm issues and was very thankful that it happened then (with Chelsea) and so close to Appy Debbie's house - phew! All was resolved though and we made it home to finish up with Christmas decorations. What a crazy, busy, fun weekend! Can't wait until we have another fun one.

I'm all out of kisses

Here's the conversation Brenna and I had as we were playing tonight:

M: Can I have a kiss?
B: Nope, I'm all out.
M: What? Can you make some more?
B: Sure. (she proceeds to stick her finger in her mouth and "stir"). Ok, I have more now. (She kisses my cheek)
M: Thanks!
B: I have some hugs too if you want some of those.
M: Yes please! (she proceeds to hug me)
B: Ok, now I have to get more at the store.
M: When are we going to the store?
B: On Thursday
M: We have to wait until Thursday?
B: Yep

I sure do love that girl!

P.S. "M" is for mommy

History!

Brenna predicted history the other night when I asked her who would be elected president. Although I only recall mentioning both of the candidates' names to her once (pointing them out on tv since they were on tv a lot), she retained the information and repeated it back to me! Imagine my surprise when she tells me one night "you're Barack Obama and I'm John McCain!" I asked her who they were and she replied "for president." So I got the video camera - and I didn't talk about my vote with her. I interviewed her about 4 times - she was split even for them - twice she thought Obama would win and twice she thought McCain. Every instance after that, she would mention them both. Either way, I was shocked that she remembered their names after just one conversation, but now she recognizes their faces. It was amazing to witness a history-making moment last night. I am hopeful that we are all in for an improved America under Obama's leadership! And whether you voted for him or not, it is a pretty inspiring time - to see racial barriers knocked down (or at least knocked over) and I think it says a lot about how far we've come as a nation.

Halloween 2008

Halloween was a lot of fun this year - Brenna was counting down as soon as we got the decorations out around the house! She had the trick or treating script memorized early in the month and was very excited to be a fairy princess - what else? She got to wear glittery wings, glittery shoes (thanks to Appy Debbie) and glittery nail polish - perfectly fitting for her this year. There were lots of fun activities for this holiday including a festival at daycare, pumpkin carving with mommy and of course - trick or treating! Daddy came over to our house for trick or treating (as we get used to doing things a little differently) and we walked around the neighborhood. Pretty quickly that bucket was getting heavy and she was asking us to "go home." All that walking with a heavy bucket - just exhausting right? She anxiously waited for more kids to come to the house so she could hand out candy the rest of the night while we watched a Halloween cartoon and then visited with our friends and neighbors! Stay tuned for fun election updates with Brenna!

Laughter makes life full

You know those people who have really great laughs? The kind that you remember forever, that every time you hear it, you can't help but laugh too? My daughter is one of them! I absolutely love her laugh. When it is a really good belly laugh - a geniune laugh - it is one of the greatest sounds. I can think of a few people in my life who have these laughs and even though some are people that I haven't seen or talked to for YEARS I still remember the laughs in my head - and they still make me laugh. Genuine, fun, contagious laughs are the best! I finally got a good video of Brenna's great laugh - I am tickling her like crazy to keep it going - so here it is for all to enjoy.

P.S. you can really see her top teeth here - for those of you who haven't really seen what they are like following her cleft palate repair - you can see that she'll need braces eventually, but they are not so bad!

Cousin meeting

Brenna met her new baby cousin Rylan this weekend. She was so excited - we had a countdown going all week. Saturday morning we woke up and headed south to Tucson. We had a great day of visiting and giving kisses to that precious boy. He is pretty mellow and it was fun to hang out with Aunt Mamie. Jamie and Josh are also doing well and adjusting to parenthood pretty well I think! We didn't get to visit too much with Josh, but will next time. Although it was a mellow day, the time really flew by. I finished the scrapbook I'd been working on for him and we had fun watching Brenna tackle some new puzzles (she is really good at puzzles). If we would've had more time, I think we could've started a blog for him, but things didn't really work out. Some day though....

Here are some adorable pictures of the proud big cousin. Some of the adorable things she said as we prepared to visit: "Mom, I have to squeeze him soft, I can't squeeze him too hard." and "I can't touch his face, just tickle his feet and hands." When I asked what she thought of him, she said "he's pretty." Too cute!

Problem: I washed a pullup

Problem solved: salty cycle

Yep, this weekend when doing laundry, I washed a pullup. I never knew what a pullup (or a diaper for that matter) was made of. I never bothered to care either as long as it served its purpose. These days, we barely need pullups. Brenna wears them at night still because I'm paranoid and don't want to have to be changing sheets in the middle of the night (I actually really enjoy sleeping through the night). Most mornings, well really all mornings for quite awhile now, Brenna's pullup is dry when she wakes up. Sometimes they are recycled for the next night (it is dry after all) but apparently this week, one snuck its way into the hamper with some jammies. I didn't see it when dumping the clothes in the washer. BUT, when I moved the clothes to the dryer, I was horrified to find lots of little balls of gel EVERYWHERE! I panicked a little, not knowing what it was. I initially thought it was one of those little silica gel packets that you find in a new purse or something (I frantically searched the internet for what to do and how dangerous they could be when opened). Nothing found...nothing helpful anyway. So I did the next thing that most people would do - I called my mom. But, busy helping with new baby Rylan, she didn't answer her cell. So, I called my dad. I asked for advice. They didn't know what was in a pullup either and didn't know what I should do. So, I did the next think I think most people would do, I googled "I washed a pullup". Luckily, I was not the first one to do this. I found a blog (on blogger even) where someone posted that they'd done this and fortunatly all of her friends gave some helpful tips. The one that seemed the most promising (translation easy and quick) was to run an empty cycle through the wash of water and salt. So I did that (after I scooped up the gel goop from the washer tub first. While that was running, I shook out the soiled clothes in the back yard. Then, I checked the washer - hooray, gel was gone! Put clothes back in washer, did not add detergent, but added salt. Ta da! It worked. Ran clothes through wash again and dried them...gel free! Quickly told Brenna not to put pullups in the hamper anymore - they go in the garbage can. She agreed and knew that it was not good to put a pullup in the "dishwasher".

Rylan is here!

My baby sister had a baby! Rylan Kae Silliman was born at 4:53pm on September 17, 2008. He weighed 7 lbs, 15 oz and was 21 inches long. I got to go visit them today and he is the most precious little boy (easy to say since I don't have a boy). He is very mellow and alert - he was looking around at us quite a bit. He makes adorable little noises and entertained us all - at under a day old! We can't wait to see him grow and play with his cousin (Brenna didn't come along because she'd been battling some sniffles and a cough and we didn't dare expose Rylan to that). I just know that she will love him so much and smother him with kisses! We all think that he looks like his daddy - but has his mommy's nose. Regardless, he is adorable!

Congratulations Jamie and Josh - you are already fabulous parents!! Love you!

Princess Brenna

She's been a princess since the day she was born - sometimes even a "baby queen" around Papaw. For her birthday this year, she recieved many princess related gifts and she LOVES them. Most of the time, she prefers to be in her dress up clothes rather than her regular clothes and very often she changes as soon as we get home. Sometimes the princess outfit is even put on top of her everyday clothes. If she can't be in her full outfit, she at least has the shoes on. She plays in her princess outfits, eats in them and even naps in them. She is very aware of using other princess items, such as her princess plate (a request at nearly every meal) her princess ball, her princess cup, princess washcloth and her princess toothbrush. Of course we regularly watch princess movies too! Thank goodness for her sweet nature - she is truly a treasure to me. She is quite the trooper as we go through some major adjustments and is so innocently optimistic about things that have quite a different effect on me. Without her kind, giving spirit this would be a much more difficult time for me. Thank God for this beautiful angel! Outside of being a princess, she is also quite the performer. She'll go on for quite awhile singing various songs and doing different dances - and if I'm videoing, she'll do even more (she also really likes watching herself). So, enjoy the video below. This one was one of the last in a concert she gave last weekend. Before I started recording, she said that she was going to sing "Old McDonald had a Farm" but it is important to note that the song just before was "B-I-N-G-O". Cutie patootie if I do say so myself!