Easter Happenings

Sorry this is a little late. Unfortunately, during Easter weekend, I was VERY ill and could not participate in the planned activities which included a trip to Show Low to see all the family. Really, I couldn't participate any any activities that are typically essential to daily life. I was in bed...for days...but doing better now! Anyway, since I was so sick, when we knew we'd have to cancel the trip to SL, Justin stepped up and made sure that Brenna still had a fun Easter! Of course (thanks to some planning ahead) the Easter bunny brought a basket of goodies for Brenna on Easter morning and she had a blast with her new stickers, gardening gloves, bath crayons, plastic eggs, jelly beans, etc. Daddy got her dressed up in her pretty Easter dress, sandals and asked our helpful neighbor to come do her hair (acknowledging that he wouldn't have done her hair very well). Then they went off to a nearby park to hunt for eggs. From what I hear, she had a blast. She got to spend some really good quality time with Daddy during that weekend and the days that proceeded and has become quite the daddy's girl. I'm so thankful that I have such a great husband - he took good care of me and our little one, talk about a demanding job!

Potty Time!

We are pleased to announce that our little girl appears to be potty trained!! Last week, she was moved into the 2B classroom at daycare (basically, the 2 1/2 year olds) and they have a rule of no diapers. We were advised to bring extra underwear and lots of extra pants and there would only be pull ups worn during nap. Although she had an accident once a day for a couple of days, by the end of the week, things were going very well! She went accident free all day Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, Brenna and I met Aunt Jamie for some shopping and I was anxious about doing the potty training thing while we would be out and about all day. We visited the bathroom of every store in the shopping center, many times with no luck. Finally, at Kohl's, we found a family style bathroom that had a grown-up toilet and a little toilet. Brenna was excited that there was a little toilet that was just her size. Mommy and Aunt Jamie were very happy for her!! Brenna is much more aware of the urge to go and instead of having a full accident, she'll run to the potty. I have to admit that I'd been pretty lazy about the whole thing - hoping that she'd eventually just "get it". Sometimes it was easier to just change a diaper or pull up than deal with the trouble of finding a toilet. While she's still in pull ups at night, she is definitely making great progress and we are so proud of her!

Artwork

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to move Brenna's table and chairs to a different part of our living room. She was in a corner that was sort of removed from the rest of the room and it didn't feel like she was part of the group when she was sitting there doing her coloring, stickers, etc. Well, within the first day, Brenna drew on the wall where her table had been moved! She had recieved a chalk board as a party favor and had been using blue sidewalk chalk on it. Apparently, she thought it would be fun (I guess) to see what happens when you use it on the wall. Luckily it came off pretty easily - thank goodness it wasn't crayon, or even worse, sharpie marker!

How do we get to the zoo

We know the route well - we have visited often. This weekend, the weather was beautiful so we invited our friends the Esmays to join us. We all had a great time. Brenna was asking for specific animals (monkeys, elephants and hippos to be exact) for the first time. We think this was definitely the most involved she has been at the zoo - she was very excited for every little thing and really enjoyed all the animals. We saw all the animals that she wanted to see, except the hippos (the Phx zoo doesn't have any). She didn't want to leave! We also enjoyed the rest of the weekend, spending time as a family doing our normal weekend activities.

Our little American Idol

Brenna got a cool new keyboard for Christmas this year (thanks Pepaw and Gramma Harvey) and she loves to play with it. Fortunately she has learned how to adjust the volume =)

We regularly find her singing various songs - some that she learns at school, some that she has heard on the radio or from us. Anytime, it is adorable. Some of her favorites are ABCs, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Do Re Me, Ring Around the Rosies, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Sometimes we still even get to hear Jingle Bells or Frosty the Snowman.

Since she got her keyboard, which came with a microphone, she is putting on full performances. We were lucky enough to get some on video the other night (ironically while American Idol was on). Enjoy!

Playing in the alley...

The bowling alley that is! We had a blast going to the bowling alley this weekend with our friend Mark. He was in town visiting with us for the weekend and we all decided to go bowling on Sunday afternoon. Brenna had a blast - and did very well. She was even beating daddy for a lot of the game! In game 1, she had 2 spares and a strike - watch out Pro-bowlers of America! She was constantly asking if it was her turn, but would patiently wait while the rest of us took a turn. She cheered us on and gave high fives whenever someone did well. After a while of playing, she started to get sad if she didn't get all the pins, but we encouraged her to do her best and if she only hit a few (or none at all), she was still doing a good job and was having fun!

Happy Birthday Justin!

Yesterday marked 33 years (yes 33!) since Justin came into this world . . . and we are so happy that he did! We have a wonderful husband, daddy, fix-it man, V-rod rider, chef, playmate & friend and love him very much! He celebrated by spending the day with his baby girl, enjoying some dinner/dessert with friends and watching Strange Brew (not my kind of movie, but he liked it!). His present from Brenna was more for her, but reflected something about her special daddy! Had to post the adorable picture. Happy birthday babe!

Fairy princess

Brenna was invited to three birthday parties this weekend. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to all of them (who knew that a 2 year old would be so booked on one day) so we opted for the closest in proximity (sorry Courtrights). Brenna's daycare friend Maya turned 3 and had a fairy princess party, which included skirts and wings for all the girls. The boys got to dress up like pirates with eye patches and hooks. There were special crafts to correspond with the costumes and even the food went with the theme! It was a fantastic party - Brenna had lots of fun. She wore her wings and skirt the rest of the day

After Maya's party, we celebrated Conner's 1st birthday with his family. We enjoyed watching him dig into his cake and eating all the frosting he could get to his mouth (as opposed to his legs, belly, etc). We can't believe how fast Brenna and all of her little friends are growing - what a remarkable thing to witness.

Big girl bed

Brenna has officially been in a big girl bed for a week now. We converted her crib last weekend and she LOVES it. The first few nights were a small struggle - we think she was a bit scared at how open everything was. Anyhow, she has gradually become more used to the idea. She still comes up with a large list of things that she wants (techniques to delay sleep of course) like more blankets, a drink of water, her monkey, her babies, a book, a kiss, a hug, a kiss & hug from whatever parent isn't putting her to bed (although we have already both kissed/hugged her), her fan on, a wipey, etc. But overall, she is doing great with the bed and feels like a big girl when she wakes up and comes out to the living room on her own in the morning. It definitely makes for a more pleasant morning for all of us when compared to crying to have someone come get her.

On the potty training front, we thought we had made a lot of progress. We even bought a package of pull-ups this weekend instead of diapers. Unfortunately, that must've been our mistake. She reverted a bit this weekend but we'll get back on that horse......uh, potty, and just keep trying!

A new look!

Ok, I finally figured out how to upgrade to the new version of blogger (thought I already had, but apparently not) so I gave us a new look! I'm still working on figuring out some of the other fun tools (slideshows, etc) and will try to get an update soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the new and improved Harvey family blog!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the new year with our friends and neighbors this year and had a great time! Brenna got to play with some little friends and was so wired, she actually made it to midnight again. She wasn't a big fan of the horns and noise that came along with midnight, and not long after, she was ready for bed. Mom and dad continued to have fun though and were thankful that we could avoid being out on the roads that night - just a walk next door and we were home. We are looking forward to a fun year and have resolved to get more organized in all rooms of our house and I am really looking forward to that. Hopefully we can decorate them while we are at it - after all, 5 years in a house should be enough time to paint and decorate don't you think?

Happy and healthy new year to all the bloggers (and blog readers) out there!

The most wonderful time of the year

I think that Christmas time is the most wonderful time of the year - hectic, yes - but really just wonderful! We had a great Christmas this year and got to spend some great family time with each side of the family and even see some friends!

The holiday really got started on Saturday morning. We had our own Christmas at our house before heading up the mountain to Show Low. Brenna was very excited to see that Santa had eaten the cookies/milk that we left out and that he left her some gifts. The first words out of her mouth were "Thank you Santa!" it was adorable. We proceeded to open the gifts and then got packed up and headed out. We arrived at Grandma and Papaw Pearson's house and spend the afternoon making cookies and decorating the small tree planted just for Brenna out in the front yard. That night, Aunt Jamie and Uncle Josh arrived and we enjoyed dinner and some games with them. The next morning, we headed over to Grandma and Pepaw Harvey's house. We had quite the adventure as we went out into the woods to cut down a Christmas tree! We all had some new snow boots to wear (we didn't have any living in the desert) and it made the trip that much more exciting. In fact, the boots were such a hit for Brenna, that was all she wore the entire weekend. It was the first time cutting a tree for Brenna and me - although it was cold, it was fun. We found a good one, cut it down, had some lunch and then headed back home. The next day we visited our friends Mark and then the Penrod family. We went back home and watched some movies, and painted cookies. Brenna didn't make the most attractive cookies, but she had a blast! That night (Christmas Eve) we enjoyed a great meal and then heard the sleigh bells and sure enough, Santa had come. Brenna said "thank you Santa" after seeing each gift and really seemed to enjoy watching everyone else open gifts too. After gifts, she conked out fast, but the adults stayed up and watched more movies. Early the next morning, we loaded up and headed back to the Pearson house. We opened more presents (Santa found us 3 times!) with the family and played the rest of the day. Brenna even got to practice cooking now that she had a new kitchen! It was nice and relaxing to hang out and play with new toys. That night, we drove around the town to look at all the pretty lights on houses and in the city park. Wednesday we made the trip back home, stopping for a visit with Grandad and Aunt Sandy (and some great Globe mexican food). Then it was back to our regularly scheduled programming of work and daycare. We had a very magical Christmas seeing things through the eyes of our baby and loved every minute of it! Stay tuned for tales from new years eve.

Santa is coming!

Brenna is much more aware of Santa this year. When he visited the daycare last week, she says she wasn't scared (I got a different story from the teachers). In the picture, she doesn't look happy but she doesn't look scared either. Regardless, she is very excited for him to come. We have been listening to lots of Christmas carols and when she hears "Santa Claus is coming to town" she starts yelling, "Santa is coming!" It is so magical to experience this holiday through her eyes - like we are children again ourselves. She sings "Jingle Bells" and "Frosty the Snowman" and loves carrying her stuffed Santa around (sometimes he goes to timeout, but most of the time, he gets to play with her).

We are trying to also teach her the real reason for the season. I've explained that baby Jesus was born on Christmas. She got excited and started singing "happy birthday baby Jesus" - adorable. She is learning about giving gifts to those in need - we adopted a family at work and she has helped me shop for them. After I explained that they needed shoes, she thought she was getting shoes, but then said, "I have lots of shoes" and I explained that this family didn't have any shoes. She seemed to understand!

Stay tuned for more holiday fun! Hope everyone has a magical Christmas like we are!

Cookie Time

The holidays (read Halloween through New Years) are the worst time for anyone watching their waistline - all the sweets make it impossible to avoid eating more candy, cookies, cakes and pies than you should. That said, we participated in that good ole holiday tradition of baking Christmas cookies today (not really much waistline watching going on here right now, that'll come after the new year). Brenna got to help (really help) this year and she LOVED it! We pulled out some traditionally shaped cookie cutters and set up the kitchen table for easier access to a toddler. She really got into the project, she helped spread the flour on the cutting board, pushed the cookie cutter into the dough and with a "ugh" pushed it in hard, and sprinkled the decorations. She also enjoyed eating the results (duh!). The picture looks like she is really savoring the taste doesn't it? Stay tuned for more fun holiday activities!

Thankful

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful and although we are late posting the goings-on of that weekend, it is not too late to tell you all how thankful we are for what we have! Thanksgiving weekend allowed us to visit with family and spend time together having fun as a family. We decorated the house for Christmas - inside and out (I think we are the local Griswold family now). We even hit the stores for some of the sales - what a crazy idea.

As we get closer to Christmas and hear all the stories of families in need, we are so grateful to have a home, great jobs, vehicles in good condition, clothing and food and all the things we need. Not to mention lots of extras that we don't need, but like to have. We had a trip to urgent care this weekend that, thankfully, was very minor. Brenna's elbow was popped out of socket (easily fixed by the doctor with no follow up care needed). We are very grateful for our health and are trying every day to pay extra attention to the things that we do have (many that we take for granted) when so many others are without.

On a lighter note - we also like to share the fun that Brenna is bringing to our lives these days. Here are some fun highlights:

• She loves playdough right now - we regularly hear, "Mommy (or Daddy), play playdough wif meeeeee." She makes pizza, cookies, snowmen, balls, snakes and all kinds of funny things.


• She has been acting like a puppy for the last couple of days. She wants us to refer to her as "puppy" and crawls on all fours with her tongue hanging out, panting.


• The other night, while acting like quite the ham, Daddy asked her if she was being ostentatious and her reply was "no, I not ostentatious" We laughed, but she said it very well! Her vocabulary (and her attempts to say big words) sometimes shocks us!


• She is completely delighted by the Christmas lights around the neighborhood and asks me where they are in the morning (since it is dark when we leave the house).

We look forward to visiting with more friends and family this holiday season and hope to hear from you all!

Happy Halloween!

We celebrated this Halloween with lots of pumpkins and Brenna made the cutest one of them all! As we prepared for Halloween this year, we allowed Brenna some input regarding her costume. We went through a number of suggestions (witch, princess, fairy, puppy, etc.) and the one that she kept coming back to was pumpkin. I was glad because I figure that I can only dress her as a pumpkin while she's little and still get away with it - and I found a bargain costume that was brand new! She looked precious and got to wear it to her daycare's fall party, to school on the day of Halloween and of course - to go trick or treating. She did visit a few houses and really got the jist of the whole trick-or-treating thing pretty quickly. She wasn't too shy to go up to the door, say the magic words and get CANDY! We got to walk through the neighborhood with our friends/neighbors which also made it easier for her - she had some friends to model after and learned quickly.

Earlier in the week we carved our jack-o-lantern. Daddy had the great idea of using Brenna's hands as a template for the eyes to the j-o-l and it turned out really cool! By now with all the weathering of the pumpkin insides, it looks like she had only 3 fingers, but that night it looked really good! Brenna enjoyed the carving part too - she got to help dig out the pumpkin guts and make a mess on the table.

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.