Not always just about Brenna

I realize that when I created this blog, the intention was to show some adorable pictures of our little girl. While that is fun, I am also realizing that this blog can be used for other fun exchanges of information. I have many friends that also have blogs (see the links to the right) and through their blogs, I've gone to other blogs of former classmates (who I've unfortunately not seen/spoken to since graduation), people I don't even know and relatives of these bloggers....I know, you would think that in my busy life, I'd do something better with my time. Anyway, the point is, I see fun stuff on these other blogs and thought it would be fun to add some new elements. I saw this questionnaire on the blog of a former classmate (really his wife maintains it) and it got me started:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I had just started my freshman year at UofA and was enjoying it. I was spending nearly every weekend driving to Show Low to spend time with Justin and had an enormous phone bill from talking to him on the phone so much. I was meeting new friends and learning how to be an adult - grocery shopping, paying bills, etc. I hadn't chosen a major, so I was enjoying some basic gen ed classes and realizing just how much you were expected to read in college...ick.

2. What was I doing 5 years ago?

I had just started working for MCAO as the HR Generalist. I was learning like crazy about HR and had a great mentor. We were living with Justin's parents while we waited for our house to be built. We were saving money, paying off bills and just doing simple cheap things for entertainment. We had just moved from Tucson to the big(ger) city and were adjusting to a different kind of traffic.

3. What was I doing 1 year ago?

We were well settled in our house and I was working for MCAO as an HR Manager. We were preparing for Brenna's 2nd Halloween, her ear tube surgery and the start of the holiday season. I had the ability to be working from home a couple of days a week and was enjoying the flexibility that gave me to take Brenna to daycare later in the morning and pick her up earlier in the afternoon. I had just joined a scrapbook group (we meet monthly to make a 2-page layout and buy products, taking turn playing hostess for Stampin' Up products) and loved having that one evening devoted to my hobby with some time away from regular responsibilities. Oh, and I was still wondering what in the heck was wrong with my randomly swollen foot.

4. What was I doing yesterday?

Yesterday was a normal weekday in the Harvey home. We all went to work (or school in Brenna's case). I worked on some standard projects that have been going at work, went to the Pets on Probation meeting at lunch (I'll be volunteering to walk dogs from a shelter run by the Sheriff's Office during my lunch break a couple of times a week in the downtown area thanks to a friend who is giving me the motivation to get my exercise in), worked more in the afternoon and drove home. We ate leftovers for dinner and hung out the rest of the evening. I did bath, Justin did books and bed....then sleepy time!

5. 6 places I would rather be?

On a long vacation somewhere relaxing
Comfortably wearing a smaller size of clothes
On a fun date with Justin
In an already cleaned/organized house
On the warm beach with Brenna and Justin
In some normal shoes - with a normal size foot

6. 5 treats I love

Just five??
Brownies
Peanut Butter M&Ms
Mexican food
Cheesy garlic bread
Pumpkin Pie (tis the season)

7. What would I do with a million dollars?

Pay off all our bills, buy a larger house, have the house professionally painted, have another baby, save, invest, save. Oh - and probably quit my job....

8. 5 favorite TV Shows?

Grey's Anatomy
Dancing with the Stars (I know - goofy, but Brenna loves it too)
Oprah
Any decorating show on HGTV
Desperate Housewives

9. Most memorable things right now?

The fun things that Brenna says to us, to herself, to her babies...adorable. The beautiful weather that we are having which allows us to have windows and doors open in the mornings and evenings. The fun fall decorations and getting ready for Halloween.

Latest happenings

We have been working on potty training recently and implemented a reward system for when Brenna goes in the potty! She earns a Dora sticker for her shirt (or leg or hand or wherever she puts it) and a smaller sticker for her Potty Chart. She is very excited to get a sticker and frequently asks for one - even when she doesn't really have to go. But, she tries. She has gotten much more regular about it, but we're not quite ready for panties.


We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin and Chili Party at Schnepf farms this weekend and had a good time! It was a little windy but otherwise beautiful weather and got us in the fall mood. Brenna visited the goats, donkey, cow, sheep and pigs in the petting zoo (she wasn't as excited as we expected, more afraid), watched the hog races, had her first ice cream cone (pumpkin of course!), wandered in the pumpkin patch, got a spider painted on her face and enjoyed some time out and about.

Some of the fun things that Brenna has been doing lately:
-when we get in the car, she says to us "buckle, seat on" which means buckle your seatbelt. She repeats it until we do it.
- she has begun to figure out door knobs - especially the one between the garage and the house, she goes in and out when daddy is working out there
- she is speaking in longer sentences and shocks us sometimes with her commentary!
- she had her first haircut this last weekend (the outcome is not obvious, we know) but it was a fun, good experience for her.

We are getting all ready for Halloween, so stay tuned for our update! She definitely realizes this year that there is something going on with all the pumpkins around and the decorations in the house and the neighborhood. Should be fun!

Taking time to smell the flowers and playing hard!

On our last visit to Show Low, Brenna got to spend some time outside in the (much) cooler weather. This included some time playing in the rocks/dirt, time walking around the yard, checking out the fake bird in one of the trees and smelling the pretty flowers! Brenna really enjoys being outside and it is nice to have so much stimulation available when we visit Show Low.

Brenna was invited to a birthday party last weekend at a place called the Little Gym. It was very fun and stimulating - encouraging all sorts of gymnastic activities. Brenna really enjoyed walking on the balance beams, hanging on the bars and playing in a group with the parachute. What she didn't enjoy was the inflatable "track" where the kids were expected to bounce across from one side to the other - sort of just like the bottom of a bounce house. She was not happy at all to be on it when it was inflated and then didn't want to jump across by herself. But, overall, she had a fun time playing at the Little Gym and spending time with her buddy Mackenzie!

Handy Daddy and the Dentist!

Daddy has been very busy lately working on building a shed for us to store all of our stuff - including some of Brenna's stuff that we are saving for another little one someday. Brenna loves to be outside with Daddy and tries to help him with all of his projects. Throughout the building of the shed, she has been there - painting, drilling, all of it. She's always looking for some task that she can help with and Daddy is happy to oblige. He has asked her to relocate some of the supplies that he's using (even when moving them wasn't necessary) and she is quite the little helper! We are looking forward to the shed being done so that we can make some room in the garage and the house. It sure is nice to have a handy daddy!

Brenna also had her first visit to the dentist today! She did so well. We went to a pediatric dentist recommended by Brenna's plastic surgeon as someone who has dealt with the "cleft team." He was very nice and Brenna was very comfortable. She got her teeth brushed and then got to get a sticker and two toys (a small ball and a bracelet) for her goody bag. She also got a new princess toothbrush! She was happy the entire time and later tonight was very eager to show off her toothbrush.

It's been awhile

It's been awhile since the last post so I'd like to share a bit of what Brenna - and the rest of us have been up to. There are a few pictures attached to show what our nugget has been up to - growing like a weed and keeping us laughing. We recently saw her plastic surgeon for a followup and he thought she looked great (so do we!) and was very pleased. She didn't talk much for him, but he asked if there were any speech concerns. About 15% of cleft kids need to have speech therapy so he's recommended an analysis so we're working on that. She also saw her ENT specialist and her tubes look great. At that visit, she was quite the entertainer for the crowd in the waiting room. She tried pushing on the windows next to the front door, saying "push, push" and when they didn't open, she told me "it lock mommy." So cute!

Last weekend, I had a minor medical procedure to hopefully help the edema that I've had in my right foot for almost 3 years - it was a treatment that it typically used to treat vericose veins. It was an outpatient procedure, but since I would be somewhat limited in my walking, Mamaw & Papaw Pearson came down to visit and to help out. It was such a help to us! I was out of work only a couple of days and will now wear compression hose for 2 months (and intermittently after that). It went well and I'm just waiting for results now. So far, it is hard to tell if it has helped, but I feel a lot less pressure in my foot and with the hose off, can really see a difference. Brenna did well and knew that mommy had an "owie" so she stayed off of me and played with daddy, Mamaw and Papaw.

Brenna is getting to be quite the big girl lately - she wants to sit at the table more and more - instead of her high chair. Although she tends to be a picky eater - she is still in the 95th percentile for her weight and the 97th for her height! She really enjoys reading, coloring and is learning to play on her own a lot more. She is also quite the talker, can sing us the ABCs, count to 10, sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, tell us her name ("Brenna Harvey") and tell us her age. I have a great video and I'm hoping that it works. It is silly and you'll hear my voice too (unfortunately) but it is cute!

Happy Birthday Brenna!

Brenna turned 2 years old (awhile ago, I know) and we had all sorts of celebrations! Since her birthday fell on a weekday, she took cupcakes to school with her, enjoyed one of them that night and then had a small party with family and friends the following weekend. We can't believe how fast time is flying by but we love every minute (well most of them anyway) with her. She is so much fun to be around and she makes us laugh all the time. Among her latest adventures is her mommying (she has some things that she got for her birthday that assist with this), and her vocabulary which is improving hourly (at least it feels that way). She also moved into the 2-year old classroom at school and seems to really like it. She is learning to use the potty on a more regular basis - although the excitement has died down a bit. She is also starting to learn to drink from a big girl cup instead of a sippy cup, also going slow, but it is going. As a sidenote - mommy went to her 10-year high school reunion last weekend. Hard to believe how fast those 10 years have gone. It was a lot of fun to see some old classmates and to see how people have changed. There were some awkward moments and some feelings like I was in a time warp, but mostly, it was a lot of fun and a good excuse to get dressed up and have a grown up night out.

Fun Summer

We are having a fun summer so far! Since our last post, we had a fun filled 4th of July with a swim in the whale pool in the backyard and some fun company. Our friends Paula, Ryan and Conner (see the link to their blog to the right) came over to have some BBQ chicken and other fun 4th of July food and to hang out. Conner slept through all the fun in the water, but Brenna had a blast! She also enjoyed having some watermelon (she chewed on one slice for a good long time) and it was good that she was playing in the water since it can be so messy. We had a good time though and are ready to get the pool out again - it is just too hot without it. But the following weekend, Brenna got to play with the neighbors on a big water slide - the inflatable backyard kind. She had lots of fun playing with the neighbor boys Jeffrey, Joshua, Matthew and Jayce. She was pretty brave climbing up the ladder and going down the slide. She had a great time - so did the daddies that were playing too!

Our little girl is growing up so fast and will be 2 years old in just a few weeks! We can't believe how much she has changed and continues to change every day. She says all sorts of funny things to us regularly and this weekend played on her own quite a bit. I saw her disappear from the living room at one point with her baby (mommy's old cabbage patch doll). I found her in the bathroom, preparing to give the baby a bath. She was talking to the baby about taking a bath and leaning her over the edge. Luckily she doesn't know how to turn the water on just yet, otherwise, we would've had one wet cabbage patch doll! She was also caught reading in her room again - this time for almost 30 minutes. She loves her books! Another sign of her growing up is her enthusiasm for potty training. We have our typical early morning and before bath potties, but today when we got home from daycare, she told me "I wanna peepee in the potty" so we ran to the bathroom and she did it! It was the first time that she'd actually told me before she already went in her diaper. It was a very exciting moment!

Father's Day and a D-backs game!

For Father's Day last weekend, we enjoyed spending time with some important people! Saturday was a quick trip to Tucson (since Papaw Dave would be there, mommy and Brenna took a quick drive).

Sunday was a day all about daddy - we went to all the stores that daddy loves (except a Harley dealership). First we started off at the zoo. Since it was so hot, we only stayed for about an hour, but Brenna loved it as usual and got to see quite a few of the animals while they were trying to keep cool. We also went to Cabela's and spent quite awhile roaming around all the stuff you could buy and looking at all the animals. Brenna was able to roam free instead of in a cart for some of the time so she was happy!

After Cabela's, we went to a couple of Sportsman's Warehouse stores and to a boot store. Then, after a nap in the car (it was a long way from the west valley back to the east side), we went to Outback for dinner. That wasn't anyone's favorite part since Brenna got sick (and I mean really got sick) on the table and daddy while we were there. But, Daddy got a free shirt (he needed a clean, dry one) out of the deal and overall had a good day!
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.

Bookworm

Just a cute little story to share - although Brenna doesn't typically like to go into her room by herself (usually she wants to be where mommy and daddy are, and if we aren't in her room, neither is she). I'm sure this will change when she's a teenager right? Anyway, on a couple of different occassions, while we are busy doing things around the house, we have found that she is happy to get some books and read quietly (or not) to herself. It is very cute and sometimes every book ends up off the shelf! She also loves to read just before bed and usually gets 3-4 books a night.

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.

She is making us laugh out loud on a regular basis and we are loving every minute of it! Here are just a few of the fun memories:

• 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!

Happy Easter and more!

We celebrated Easter with a trip to Show Low to visit grandparents and more! We enjoyed visits with Mark & Cindy, the McQuillan family and both sets of Brenna's grandparents! Although Brenna had celebrated Easter before, this one was much more interactive and a lot of fun! She also recieved lots of Easter baskets (the bunny came, but lots of loved ones spoiled her too) and is very grateful for all the fun toys and clothes that she recieved.

We started out the Easter celebrating with coloring eggs with the Pearson grandparents. She wasn't really allowed much independence with this project, but had fun nonetheless just watching the action! On Easter morning, she hunted eggs in the backyard and had so much fun - mommy thought she might lose interest, but boy was she wrong! When all the eggs had been found, she started picking up pinecones and adding them to her basket - what a cutie. She continued to hunt inside the house, in the front yard and would've continued if we let her (and had more time). Then we went to the Harvey grandparents' house and started another egg hunt and got another basket! We had some great food and company - not to mention the new hiding places for eggs!

Unfortunately, while we were gone, we had a sick Scruffy (he doesn't make it into many posts - he's sort of forgotten with all the activity of having a baby), so he went to the vet when we got back - turns out he's fine, just got a little anxious while we were gone - combined with a sensitive stomach (poor Wendt family that had to take care of him - thank goodness for them!) He's doing fine know - thankfully for my carpet. A few days after we got back home, Brenna had her followup with her Orthopedic Specialist - her x-ray showed that she's healing just fine and her collarbone looks the way it should after 3 weeks. She no longer needs the brace and she'll be able to play on playgrounds again at the end of the month. Thank goodness! We are starting to enjoy the wonderful weather here in the valley before it gets too hot and have been trying to spend some time outside. Brenna got a gardening set from the Easter Bunny, so we are learning about dirt - she loves it. We are hoping this weather sticks around for a bit longer - it is nice to be able to go outside - for those who like outside anyway =)

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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 =)

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!