Polar Express

To make the most of my time with B this month I took a couple of days off of work and drove to Williams to ride the Polar Express! It was FREEZING. Granted, it was similar to the weather that I'm used to from Show Low but when you are used to living in the Valley of the Sun - it was freezing. Either way, a good excuse to bundle up with some cute winter clothes and look at the snow and see your breath and slip around on the sidewalks! We got into town, grabbed our will call tickets and got checked into our room while we waited for departure time. We got to the train depot, had time for a pic with Santa and boarded the train! The kids, and some parents, were all dressed in their jammies. Not long after we started down the track, cookies and hot chocolate were passed around - YUM! The story of the Polar Express was read over the loudspeaker and the "chefs" walked up and down the aisle showing the pictures from the book. After traveling through a magic tunnel at the speed of light, we made it to the North Pole in record time! We could see out our windows, all the lights of the North Pole, including some elves' houses, Santa's house, the reindeer stables and Santa's sleigh! Santa and an elf were there waving to us. When we went back by, Santa was missing, but we were quickly informed that that was because he'd boarded the train! Soon enough, Santa was in our train car passing out bells to all the children. On the ride back, we all sang Christmas songs and jingled the bells. Brenna had a great time and it was a lot of fun to see everyone get into the Christmas spirit!

Thanksgiving

Since I'm behind - here's a quick update on our Thanksgiving holiday: B was with her daddy for the actual holiday, but I got to spend some time with other family. I made a quick trip to Globe to see Grandad and Aunt Sandy (with my mom & dad). It was nice to visit and laugh. I drove back to get another turkey meal in with Aunt Debbie and her family - I was stuffed to my eyebrows by the end of the night. The following weekend, I got B back so we took a day trip to the Silliman's house for yet ANOTHER turkey meal. YUM. We had a great meal and lots of fun times watching the kids play and chase each other around. We also watched some football - specifically some Wildcats kicking some SunDevil bootay! Woohoo!

Disneyland

We had a fantastic trip to Disneyland and apparently I'm still recovering since it took me so long to blog about it - sorry! Either way, we wanted to share the fun that we had, so here goes! Day 1, we left in the morning for the long drive ahead of us. Fortunately, we had a DVD player to keep B entertained. We all thought she'd sleep - well she didn't. Mommy might've napped a little - or it might have looked like she was napping - really I was just checking my eyelids for leaks. Anyway...we arrived at our hotel and got checked in. Then we ran over to Disneyland so we could be sure to get at least one ride on It's a Small World (we got word that it would be closed the day after we arrived, so we had to hurry!). We also got some rides in near there - all through Fantasyland. We had a great time! Went back to our room to settle in and could watch the fireworks show from our room - so cool! The next morning, we hit the park early and got to go on even more rides. Among them, was Splash Mountain. You could say that B really liked this ride. In fact, you could say that it was her favorite - she loves the "screaming rides" and especially if you get wet (or anyone with her gets wet). We had a blast on that one and rode it a few times. We also did all the old standards - Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, Teacups, Autopia & the Jungle Cruise. It was fun to see lots of the rides updated (i.e. the Submarine had a Nemo theme, Pirates had a few Johnny Depp look-a-likes. Because it was Halloween time - the whole park was decked out in Halloweentime decor. We got to see lots of characters, get lots of autographs and take lots of pics. The longest line was for Tinkerbell - who knew? B got her princess mouse ears, her face painted and we watched the parade. We went back for the fireworks show that night and it was really cool! Day 3 we started out with early access to Disneyland, rode Space Mountain and a few others before the crowds were big. We even got to meet some of the characters all dressed up in their Halloween costumes! Then we headed over for a day at California Adventure. Although it was chillier, we got on another water ride that day - got soaked - then road a few other rides before meeting all the princesses for lunch! Brenna met Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Aurora! We stayed at CA Adventure for awhile after that (allowing me to ride the craziest coaster they offer - alone since B was too little and Grandma & Papaw were well...um...wanting to keep B company). Then we watched a Pixar parade which was full of all the characters from the Pixar movies. Day 4 we went back to Disneyland for some repeats and some things we hadn't seen yet. We visited Toontown, met Mickey Mouse (again), rode the Monorail, took the train, and snuck in as many more rides as we could handle. We had such a great time - some really good quality time with Grandma & Papaw and made some great memories. B is looking forward to going back someday! She asked if we could go back when she's 10. I said yes - I figure that gives me time to save up :) Thanks to Grandma & Papaw for taking us on a great vacation and planning such a great time! We love you!

Halloween

My little rock star LOVED dressing up like Hannah Montana for Halloween. She was so excited to dress up in shiny, sparkly clothes. She lives for lipgloss. EEK. So with her costume, I let her wear actual lipstick. Bright pink, 80's style lipstick. Actually the same lipstick I wore to the 80s party this summer. She loved it. She also got blue eyeshadow (do you see a trend?) and glitter on her face. Her hair was straightened to look like Hannah's and I put pink stripes in it since she was a rock star after all. She ate it up - loved every minute of getting dolled up in makeup and fancy hair. She posed like the STUPER STAR (her words, not mine) that she is! We enjoyed trick or treating in the neighborhood and then hanging out with the CGC gang. Halloween was also our last night in that neighborhood before moving a couple of miles away, so it was a nice way to end our many happy years there!

We'd gotten home from Disneyland just a couple of days earlier, but the Halloween post is about all I have the energy for right now - so I promise to post something Disneyland related soon! We had a BLAST, so there is definitely a lot to tell!!

I'm kind of a blog slacker

Sorry to those of you who still follow this. Unfortunately, I get sidetracked by talking to the cyberworld via Facebook instead of Blogspot. However, I do have some cute pictures to share, an update on my 5K experience and some funny things about Brenna that make me laugh.

We visited a pumpkin patch/farm earlier in the month and had a great time enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Unfortunately, this weekend summer came back for a visit - can't wait to have fall again. Here is B posing with some huge pumpkins! She decorated a small pumpkin with foam stickers, got her face painted, took a hay ride and visited with some farm animals. A fun way to kick off the season!

The following weekend, I ran my very first 5K (the Phoenix Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure). When I say ran I really mean ran - yes, me...running!! I admit that I took a couple of short breaks during the run and fast-walked, but picked back up the running and really, truly ran at least 85% of the time. I don't claim to be fast - it wasn't a race for me, just something I wanted to do. Although I wouldn't say it is my favorite thing in the world, I have come to truly appreciate running and actually look forward to it now. I don't run a whole 5K every day or anything, but running makes me feel good so I think I'll keep doing it! My friend Jennifer and her hubby Jack ran this one with me and we are planning to do another one in just a few weeks (and hopefully some more throughout the winter). We may even be gearing up to eventually do 10Ks, 1/2 marathons or marathons. Someday.....but for now 5Ks are all I see :)

Finally, some fun quotes from Brenna:

"Mom, can we do the stuff where you make funny faces or tickle me and make me laugh?"

"My bones are all cracked" (this after having to be carried in an awkward position out of a store for throwing a fit)

"Um..I really need to go shopping so I can have cute clothes for Disneyland. Cuz I wanna wear LIGHT pink pants with my horsey shirt, not regular pink, LIGHT pink. So I can look cute for Disneyland"

Next post is sure to be about Disneyland! My fabuloso parents are taking us soon!! We are SUPER DUPER excited!

Weekend getaway

We hadn't visited Show Low for sooooo long - well a few months at least and we just had to get up there and escape the heat! It was a beautiful long weekend to visit - wish there would've been a bit more rain, but thankfully, we got all the fun of the rainy weather (loud thunder, cloud cover, etc.) but without the actual rain. We enjoyed a fantastic visit with Grandma and Papaw! We fed the ducks at Woodland Lake Park. We. HA! When I say "we" I mean everyone but me - ducks count as birds you know. Brenna tried hard to throw that bread out far enough for them - she just not the best bread thrower around :)

We also got to have fun just playing in the yard and I got to play with my camera! There are sooo many beautiful things in the yard at my parent's house - I got lots of practice with different shutter speeds, etc. It was fun to get a chance to goof around with settings and see what I ended up with. Now I just need to do it more often!

Brenna helped water the yard one afternoon followed by an early campfire. Well, a fire in the firepit - not actually camping. But perhaps the closest to camping that Brenna will get from me. She wasn't crazy about it anyway - talking about how the "air" would change and blow the smoke toward her. The whole idea was to make s'mores - who doesn't love s'mores? Well apparently, Brenna doesn't love s'mores. She knew right away that she didn't want marshmallows. Whatever I thought - when she sees how cool they are when the fire melts them into the chocolate, she'll love 'em. Nope - I was wrong. She only wanted chocolate and cracker. About 2 tiny bites of chocolate and cracker. I made her try the actual s'more. This is the face she made. I know - crazy!!! But I enjoyed TWO s'mores to make up for it. She is such a ham - she cracked us up the entire weekend. We all got our fill of being the "buyer" while playing store and listening to that little chatterbox talk our ears off. She doesn't slow down or take a breath sometimes - and the stories that she comes up with! We love her so much!!

It was such a great weekend - nice and relaxing. I even managed to stay on my health kick, getting my running/walking in at least 2 of the days! Even in the high altitude - but it will be worth it when I finish a 5K!!! Stay tuned for that story.

Stuff about Brenna I wanna remember

• She LOVES Hannah Montana - not like I will forget that! She asks when she can go to her house. She wants to hug her. She's upset that I don't have her phone number. LOVES her. Even said that she wishes HM was a boy so she could marry her when she grows up. She likes her because she sings so pretty and has cool clothes!!
• She is impatient - doesn't like being stopped in traffic/construction, etc. She wants what she wants and she wants it now.
• She has a crazy good memory - remembering things that were said weeks before in a five second portion of a conversation.
• She sings all the time (much like her mommy and Aunt Jamie). If she doesn't know the words to a song, she begins humming and over time, learns the words (much like her mommy and Aunt Jamie).
• She is starting to get freckles - one appeared near her belly button (also a family tradition - oddly enough) a number of months ago, but now I'm seeing them on her nose/cheeks and arms.
• She has sensitive feelings - has told me (after she's been disciplined/scolded) that I hurt her feelings "right here" while holding her hand to her heart - awww....
• She asks some of the most amazing questions - that I don't always have an answer for: "How did God make us?" being one of the most recent. After I attempted to answer that - she said "I wanna hug God"
• She is a girly girl - loves wearing lip gloss, nail polish, carrying a purse, wearing jewelry and putting on my blue eyeshadow (at home only - haha).
• She tells me she loves me out of the blue FREQUENTLY. I try to soak that one in as much as I can.

Happy 4th Birthday!

How can it be that my baby girl is FOUR years old?? I can't believe how fast time flies when you have a kid - everyone says that but it is soo true! We celebrated Brenna's birthday with a small (local) family lunch. Appy Debbie and Chelsea joined us for lunch at Red Robin where Brenna got to eat Macaroni 'n' Cheese and apples (which she dipped in ketchup - weird, I know). The staff came and sang to her and brought her a sundae - she wasn't too crazy about that, and didn't even take a bite of the sundae (I know, WHAT??). But she got four balloons, and couldn't have been happier about that. Then, we went to the mall where Appy Debbie let Brenna go on a shopping spree at Claire's jewelry store. You know that saying "like a kid in a candy store"? I'm changing it to "like a princess in a jewelry store." She went nuts - got a necklace/bracelet set, some stick-on earrings, a headband, a sparkly purse and some hair clips. She loved it. Then we came home and did her annual interview - some answers surprised me, but they are precious.

Rumplestiltskin...no actually Root Beer

As part of our nighttime routine, I am regularly reminding Brenna that she needs to SLEEP once she is in bed. Tonight she claimed that every time she closes her eyes, she has a bad dream. I don't really believe this - although I've heard about a couple of these bad dreams, I don't think she actually has one EVERY time she closes her eyes - notice, not sleeps, but closes her eyes. So, we started coming up with ways to get those bad dreams outta there. We spend time thinking about princesses, bubbles, butterflies, flowers, castles, Hannah Montana, etc. to get some happy thoughts in there. I suggested that she pretend that she is at Disneyland WITH Hannah Montana. She said, "Mom, that dream is cute, but I still have bad ones." So, we continued brainstorming ways to get rid of the bad dreams.

I suggested that we come up with a magic word that we can say every night before going to sleep that would chase the bad dreams away. I asked her what the magic word should be and she replied "Rumplestiltskin". Side note: this has been a "magic" word since I was a kid - it is used to get out of being tickled, to open hands that are holding surprises, etc. So, naturally, I taught it to her. I thought her suggestion was good, so we continued with our teethbrushing and hair drying. Then she said "Actually, Root Beer." HUH? "Root Beer is the magic word." Okaaaayyyy.

So, after I tucked her in tonight, we said "ROOT BEER!!!!" at the top of our lungs a few times to chase away the bad dreams. It didn't work the first time, but the 2nd time was the charm. She isn't asleep just yet, but close :)

Fun filled weekend!

We had a great, busy weekend! Even though it is BLAZING hot here, we still get out and have fun :)

We got to go to birthday parties with friends, got to eat lots of cake and ice cream, went swimming and got in a visit to Rylan (who was being visited by Grandma and Papaw).

Some adorable pics of Brenna and Rylan:

And finally, Brenna's tribute to the King of Pop. We'd been watching the coverage (who can avoid it right) and I'm really enjoying seeing all the stuff about his music. For all his personal troubles, you can't deny that he was an incredibly talented singer, dancer, artist. Brenna picks up music pretty quickly and was singing this one night. I had to record it...so cute!

Summer begins!

And we are officially private. Here are some fun pics of Brenna playing in the water to start off summer. More to come!

Last chance

I know, the deadline already passed. I got lots of emails and responses, but I'm extending your opportunity.

And I'm calling some of you out - I'm curious to know who's looking from the following places: Prospect Heights, IL; Austin, TX; Rochester, NY; Rome, GA. Just email me if you want to be invited - I'm really just curious who you are :) Otherwise, this is it!

Private

Ok folks, I've been sort of threatening this for awhile and now I'm really doing it. I'm taking this blog private.

I know, I know, I kinda hate to do it, but I've decided that I need to do it. Nothing extreme or crazy has happened to motivate me into doing this, I just want to do it.

So....you have until Monday, June 15th to email me or post a comment here and let me know that you want me to invite you to be able to read the blog.

Please know that you can post a comment here without actually "registering" just make sure to put your name or email in your comments so I'll know who "anonymous" is. If you don't want to post a comment, just email me at jenn_harvey@cox.net.

And really, ANYONE who reads this should contact me. I will not freak out if I haven't talked to you in years and I might still invite you :) Just let me know who you are!

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!