brette: 3 years

 looking back i can't believe i've been

doing these updates for so long.

once a month for the first year,

then every six months and now, yearly.

and how do i remember or accurately describe brette's growth

for a whole year?

going from two to three...

i wouldn't call it the "terrible twos" - -

instead i would call it the "trying twos."

she tries your patients, she tests her limits (and mine)

she fights back, she talks back.

she is just trying.

 

 

growth:

brette weighs 32 lbs.

but i don't know how tall she is.

we have her three year check up soon,

so i'll report back.

i'm interested to see what the doctor says.

she almost as tall as eden which is almost 4

but she's thicker in her legs.

i don't think she's built like me,

so i'll be interested to see if this changes in the next year.

i can't wait to find out her percentiles.

she wears 3T clothing and at

night she's in a size 5 diaper.

she's not crazy about her clothes... yet, so

i still relish in the fact that i get to pick out her clothes.

most days i give her two options and we go from there.

she still hasn't fully mastered not peeing when she sleeps.

besides that though, she's got the potty thing down.

the ONLY time she ever has accidents are on mondays

when she's way too busy playing to take a break.

we took her to the dentist last month

and they said she looks good.

i still haven't cut her hair.

i just don't want to.

what's cuter than long beautiful hair on a little girl?

you know me and my love for long hair.

she loves running and jumping.

she's finally into climbing too.

she climbs in and out of reid's crib,

she's up on the kitchen counters and on

the back of the couch.

i thought i'd never see the day.

 

 

sleeps:

she goes to be around 8:00,

but since we took down the rails to her crib

we sometimes find her asleep on the hallway.

she doesn't come in our room or cry.

she just grabs her pillow and makes herself

comfortable out in the hall.

its so weird.

she's normally in our room around 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning

and climbs into bed with me until 7:00 or

whenever she hears reid.

(that's her cue that she can talk)

she was going for awhile where she never napped, but

thankfully that has gotten much better.

i have to bribe her with gum or popsicles,

but it seem to be working.

she's been consistently sleeping for a couple weeks from

1:30 to 3:30 or even after.

and she's been waking up so much better.

i used to hate the afternoons because she was such

a nightmare when she woke up.

she would cry, had to held and

was just plain miserable.

she's like a new person now.

she doesn't wake up cheery, but

she can pull herself out of her fog and

be normal relatively fast now.

thank god.

  

 

eats:

she loves:

pea crisps

cheese sticks

peanuts

chips & dip

turkey sticks

sausage

hot tea

honey

cheez its

peanut butter and jelly

blueberry pancakes

veggie straws

broccoli

ice cream/popsicles

 

she hates:

dinner

really it doesn't matter what it is,

she rarely eats it.

rice, potatoes, pork, meatloaf,

spaghetti, corn, casserole, anything and everything.

the only way i can get her to eat is if

i sit around and spoon feed her.

it's annoying.

i'm not sure if she's just not hungry?

recently i've been giving her a pretty good snack

around 4:00-4:30 just so i know something is in her system.

she eats breakfast, lunch and two snacks just fine.

but dinner is always a battle.

   

talks:
oh my god, the talking.

there are some days i wonder how long she can last.

i mean really.

how long can she go?

it's constant.

it's clear.

and it's correct.

she's got great language skills.

she uses words in the correct context and

can say basically anything you can.

some of her blends are still wrong and

her "k" sound is a "t" but

i think she's clear as a bird.

she also repeats ANYTHING she hears,

so we have to be extra careful.

just today there was a wasp in the playroom and

i ran away saying "oh shit."

after i killed the thing, brette says,

 "mommy, why did you say oh shit? was it because of the wasp?"

juuuuust great.
    

plays:

she still loves her swing.

going for walks instead of stroller rides.

anything with princesses.

running through the sprinkler.

dancing and singing.

helping ronnie outside.

watching movies - - especially toy story, tangled or frozen.

wearing "high heelies" but they never match.

she prefers one shoe of each color.

she is constantly playing her in kitchen baking cake

or making tea.

she will also get out her tool box and fix my leg.

we play "nap" where she'll get me a pillow and blanket

and make me close my eyes. (i love this game)

she loves watching tv, which is useful when i need to get reid down,

but i limit how much she watches a day. (normally only 2 shows per day)

her favorites are umi zumi, bubble guppies or mickey mouse club house.

she'll ask to play the touch game, which is basically where i say something and

she runs to touch it and then come back.

it's a good game to burn energy while i get something done.

 

firsts:
 jumping for real

puts on her own shoes

takes herself potty

has full on conversations

knows some letters and numbers

walking up and down stairs without me

climbing

has an opinion  (about everything)

has songs memorized

 

 

i'm really excited for this next year.

she'll start preschool and i'm hoping

that she learns some set limits

so we're not battling as much.

but honestly, i wouldn't expect anything

less from a child of mine or ronnie.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday B Money!

my biggest little girl turned three years old on sunday.

seems like yesterday she was just meeting us for the first time.

and now three whole years has flown by.

36 months

1095 days

1,577,847 minutes.

she has gone from one day old to

one year old. and then

two years old. 

 

and now, somehow, we are here.

celebrating her big 3rd birthday.

miss brette annaleigh.

i couldn't love her more.

 

 

 

we actually started her day the night before.

after the girls were asleep ronnie and i decorated the house.

we hung balloons and pom poms downstairs and

strung streamers from her door.

of course the next morning, we opened presents first,

because you should never bury your lead.

there. are. gifts.

she actually liked her new princess books best,

which i was surprised.

i thought she'd go straight for her new sprinkler or

want to try on her new dress.

but no. it was the "princess movie" books she loved.

(i got her Tangled, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast)

 

 

 

after presents we took her out for breakfast.

biscuits and gravy, then

biscuits and jelly.

with lots of fruit and sausage.

all of her favorites.

we got home in time for reid's nap, so

i let brette pick a movie (frozen) to watch while she slept.

ronnie actually went outside and had cale come over so

they could finally finish up the house for the painters.

when reid woke up i was packed and ready to take brette

back to the splash pad - - her new favorite thing.

she even let me braid her hair.

a first!

i told her it was like elsa hair and she was down.

 

 

 

it was super hot so this was the perfect birthday activity.

when we got back home it was nap time for both girls.

i conned brette into actually sleeping by offering a cupcake when she woke up.

worked like a charm.

but then of course she had to have it as soon as she woke up and

kind of ruined her dinner.

but whatever,

it's her birthday.

 

 

(ronnie is a sweaty mess. its really  g. r. o. s. s.)

 

and then we headed out to meet my mom and dad for dinner.

it was such a nice day and i think

brette loved every second of it.

 

happy birthday, B!

we love you so much.

 

 

wanna take a look back?

birth

first birthday

second birthday 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

splash into summer

i literally don't believe it,

but the best thing ever was built right

down the road from my house.

my old house.

that's right.

we move and then

the city built this amazing park at

the end of my old road.

it's got:

2 or 3 huge jungle gyms

playground equipment

covered picnic tables

musical chimes for the kids to play

AND A MOTHER-EFFING SPLASH PAD.

 

 

i literally used to walk down there with the dogs

and let them run in a big open field.

and now,

well, now it's like a kid's dream.

not that i regret moving, but it

would be nice to be a short

stroller ride away from this all summer.

but whatever, at least it's a short car ride away.

 

and brette freaking loved it.

she ran around like a crazy woman.

literally.

 

reid, not so much.

she cried when i tried to put her down,

but i have hope that she'll eventually start playing too.

she did enjoy sitting with me in the shade in her stroller.

it felt like a break to me, so i'll take it!

the best part is that it's easier than a pool.

i don't have to worry about drowning,

or peeing, or drowning.

plus, there is no clean up.

i packed a super small bag with one towel,

2 sandwiches, sunscreen, snacks and water.

 

 

that was it.

it was so easy.

and so fun.

i'm pretty sure we'll be back weekly to hang.

 

ps- brette begged to go back that night.

she calls it the "ice pack" instead of the "splash pad."

 i wanna go back to the ice pack!

hilarious.

 

pss- brette's new favorite snack is "trail mix."

i made it up.

basically it's 

peanuts, yogurt covered raisins and pea crisps.

 last time i even added cheez-its.

i feel like it's semi-healthy, so i'm down.

 

weekends that come and go

 

 this weekend was really nice.

after work on friday i headed downtown

to help work the bbq tent at our town's festival.

i served up drinks for awhile before i made it home in time

to help ronnie put my babies to bed.

a few girls from work followed me home and

we played circle of death until 1am.

throw back to 2004, for sure.
i was super tired - - a clear sign i can't hang anymore.

saturday, ronnie and i took the girls out to eat and

downtown so they could walk the festival.

they have a "kids street" full of games, face painting and

animals, but all i really wanted was an updated one of these:

 

caricatures are my fave.

but he messed up my mouth, right?

the eyes and nose are on point, but that mouth.

i think he nailed ronnie, reid and brette.

it's getting framed for sure.

 

in other news, 

we lost a tree in our backyard and i'm super bummed.

it was a bad combination of too much rain and

the tree being rooted in the creek.

it just toppled right over.

we actually have some dead trees we need to remove and

few that i just don't like the placement of, but this one?

i loved this one and i'm sad to see it go.

add it to ronnie's list of things to do. 

 

we've also been going on daily walks through the

neighborhood and most days,

it looks a lot like this:

 

 

however, sunday brette tuckered out early and

decided to hop in and ride the rest of the way back.

i was thinking, oh geez, it must be nap time.

but no, she fooled around and never slept.

it. kills. me.

 i put her bed by 7:30 though, so that helped.

she's started falling asleep in the hallway every night.

we drag in back in her bed when we turn the lights off,

but the combination of a hallway sleeping, early rising and no nap,

well, its enough to kill a mom.

promise.

 

and my last update for the weekend,

my toe.

ever since last sunday i've had pain in my big toe.

ended up getting infected and i had to go to

the doctor to get some antibiotics.

it got pretty bad, so i made sure

and sent ronnie toe pictures throughout the day

so he felt involved.

i know, it was sweet of me to think of him.

 

kassie tells me this is what i get for going to the lake

and swimming in poop water.

dang the luck.

antibiotics seem to be working and things are on the mend.

sorry, for the foot pic.  i hate feet.

but i had to share my pus bubble.

(insert vomit noises)

 

 

hope your weekend went as slow as mine.

it felt really long,

which was a nice change.

 

short stories

 

 

 

 

i can no longer sit reid on the bathroom floor to play

while i take a shower.

she takes turns between crawling to the fireplace

or the toilet.

i stand there in a mild panic trying to decide between letting

her go a few more minutes or running across the room naked

to save her from god knows what.

good times.

 

 

 

brette doesn't like to accept help getting in or out of the car.

i stand there for what feels like an hour waiting for her to crawl in.

and then, even worse, find the longest route possible to get out.

today she decided to crawl over the console to sit shotgun before

making her way to the driver's seat and then finally out.

meanwhile, i'm chanting:

patience. patience. patience.

pick your battles.

i'll miss this one day, right?

 

 

 

i went through the drive-thru the other day

and the whole time i'm ordering brette is yelling

from the backseat, "what's your name?!! what's your name?!!"

it continued when we pulled around to get our food.

i finally just rolled down her window so she could

have the conversation with the fast food employee that

she'd been dying for.

social butterfly? yes. yes, she is.

 

 

 

 

reid is obsessed with louie and leia.

she has no words yet, but every time she

sees them she starts saying,  oo oo oo oo.

i'm pretty sure she's trying to say louie.  

i wouldn't be surprised if its her first word.

 

 

 

brette does a good job of listening and then

using what we say to her against us.

how do you respond when your two year old

tells you "i don't want to hear it" or "you need to watch your mouth."

but funny enough, she's started using what i say to her

and then tries it out on reid.

the other day we were in the grocery store and reid was being

a little loud and brette turned to her and said,

"you see all these people, reid? they don't want to hear you.

you need to quiet down."

it's pretty much the exact sentence

i use when brette is being too loud.

this year should be fun.

 

 

memorial day weekend

the long weekend is over and

we're all back at it tomorrow.

we left early saturday morning to go

 down to the lake with a bunch of friends

and spend two whole days out on a boat.

it. was. glorious.

and it makes me want to spend my whole summer

doing exactly that.

i think both girls love being out on the water.

it is a little difficult with the girls being as young as they are.

reid is supposed to take two naps a day and is still on the boob.

try doing that on a boat.

brette was ready to throw down at night because she was so tired,

but i figured it's only a few days and i'd rather have a fun day

and a rocky night, than do nothing at all. 

the second day we left reid with my parents and

just took brette.

reid needs a schedule more than brette

AND brette was so excited about "driving the boat"

that there was no way she was getting left behind.

i think next summer we might look into getting a camper so

we can actually do more of this.

the girls will be easier, the house should be done and

we might actually have some free time.

i can't wait.

i'm really glad we got out of the house and had some fun.

i think ronnie and i both needed the break.

 

 

we spent today at my parent's.

we slept, at lots of food and hung out with the family.

my brother came down with his girls and we

took them to visit my grandpa's grave and see

the ceremony they have at the veterans cemetery where he is buried.

 

 

 

and now here i am,

back at home, after going and going and going.

both girls are passed out after the long weekend and

i'm getting ready to watch scandal. (yes, i'm obsessed)

it's been a nice break,

but its nice to lay in my own bed.

hopefully you had a lovely l o n g  weekend too.

if only we got more of these.

 

 

 

reid: ten months

 

reid changes more and more everyday and

i feel like we're getting into "big girl" territory.

no more car seats in a store, she sits in the cart.

no more laps in a restaurant, she sits in a highchair.

no more baby food, she's eats what we eat.

basically, she's way easier now.

here's the downlow:



 

 

growth:

we won't have another doctor's appointment until she's a year old,

so i don't have her exact height and weight, but she's definitely getting bigger.

she mostly wears 12 months clothing, but

just because we have a TON of it.

everything from madeline and eden and then 

all the clothes brette got for her first birthday.

reid's wardrobe is out. of. this. world.

no clothes needed over here.

 she's still in a size 3 diaper and i'm going to try to start having her wear shoes.

i bet she's in a three or a four, but not sure.

i need to go through all of brette's old shoes and bust them out.

her hair is growing a lot on top and the sides but

still not a lot of length in the back.

it does seem to be curling some though, so

i'm excited to see how that turns out.

basically, exactly opposite from B.

but the biggest change this month are her gross motor skills.

she can crawl and sit up on her own.

it is so amazing to sit her down in the playroom

and let her go.

literally, i can just leave her alone to go explore

she can sit up, crawl around, bother brette...

it's awesome.

 

 

sleeps:

turns out i was right about her sleeping through the night.

in fact, it's even gotten better.

no more up at 5am.

wahoo.

she goes down at 8 and is up at 7.

i'm loving it.

too bad it only took 9 months!

her naps are the same except i took out the 3rd nap altogether.

it was annoying and i decided that since she's getting eleven hours at night

as long as she gets around three in her first two naps,

then i'm okay with it.

her first at is still at 10am,

her second at 2pm.

her morning nap is definitely her best and

she'll sleep the longest, but

every once in awhile her afternoon nap rocks too.
 i'm still nursing her to sleep and she still loves the pacifier.

i know.

these next couple months might suck taking those things away,

but i'm hoping for smooth transition.

fingers crossed.

 

 

 eats:

reid still has no teeth.

it's crazy. i keep waiting but nothing is popping through.

nevertheless she eats people food like a champ.

she eats anything we give her including meat.

i know last month i still hadn't started that, but

i wanted her to get more protein so i just cut it up really small and

she does great with it.

in fact, i think she loves it.

for those of you with babies this age i completely recommend

the summer infant tiny diner.

it makes going to a restaurant a breeze.

seriously, get one.

weaning has been going really well too.

i took away her 5am feeding and now she sleeps right through.

next, i took away her 5pm feeding.

i figured she can have a snack after nap and

then dinner, which will get us to her last feeding of the day.

so far, no complaints.

right now our schedule is:

7:00 nurse

8:30 breakfast

10:00 nurse

12:00 lunch

2:00 nurse

4:00 snack

6:00 dinner

8:00 nurse

i plan on combining her 7am with her 10am.

i would like her to start drinking milk with breakfast that

way we can start getting away from nursing her to sleep.

next week should be interesting.

hopefully she's ready for this.

 

 

 

plays:

like i said above, reid is playing more and

more on her own just because she's mobile now to do it.

a lot of the time if i'm trying to get something done or

i need to get ready i can put a basket

of toys down on the floor and she's good.

she'll throw them around and then crawl around to all of them.

it's so nice.

her freedom = my freedom.

we've also been going on stroller walks everyday.

brette loves to run around and reid loves to watch.

it's so nice to be able to go outside all the time.

in fact, i took them to the park a few days ago and

reid sat on a blanket in the grass and picked dandelions.

thank god for spring.

i have been trying to work on her standing to play,

but she has no balance.

i feel like she stands on her tippy toes a lot and

will literally just go down like a tree.

i have to be on high alert when she's standing.

we have a bunch of toys that are good for standing and playing,

and she'll pull up to her knees, but actually

getting up on her feet is a no go.

i'm not even worried about it though since she JUST started crawling.

one thing at a time.

 

 

firsts:

she is crawling

she is sitting up on her own.

she is sleeping 11 hours straight.

she sits in shopping carts and highchairs.

she had her first ice cream and popsicle.

(tis the season, right?)