My sunshine

See this girl? The only who almost always has some evidence of her last meal on her face? She's my crazy, artistic child, who always keeps me laughing.

Yesterday morning, when I asked her what she wanted for breakfast, she replied, "just a pile of carrots." And on Saturday night, when the server at the restaurant we'd gone for dinner asked her why she didn't like her cheeseburger, she replied, "because you forgot to put onions on it."

"That's a first," he said, and walked away shaking his head.

She is bright in every sense of the word. She's full of energy. and life. and IT.
She's also the best hugger on the planet.
I love this girl!

Easter weekend

Just photos:

Translation

This girl Bryn. . . she's a funny kid. The way she phrases things cracks me up. The other day, she frantically ran to me to say "Mom! My light ran out." (translation: her light burned out)

Yesterday, she had a bit of a tummy bug. Very concerned, she told me: "There is something wrong. When I go potty, it comes out all squishy and wet." (translation: she had diarrhea)

Yep - I told another potty joke. You know when you're reading my blog, its only a matter of time . . .

Bryn's 5 years old

Bryn turns 5 tomorrow, and we celebrated today with a "fancy" party. The girls showed up in their fanciest clothes - we did manicures, makeovers, and made headbands. I've never seen such a quiet and well-behaved group of 5 year-olds. I think because the looked like princesses, they had to act like them too.
Bryn is the sweetest girl. And she's funny too (and knows it). She wants everyone to laugh at her all. the. time. She's also an artist and a dancer - she's so creative and fun.
She's smart too. She can already read many words, and can sound out simple words. When she starts kindergarten in the fall, she's going to be totally ready.
She is also a social butterfly, and LOVES to be around other kids. She really likes to be the center attention. . . which isn't always a good thing.

I have very alturistic kids

The other day, Bryn and I were riding in the car. Out of nowhere, she says to me:

"I feel bad for the kids in Haiti. Don't you mom?"

"Yes," I said, trying not to smile. "What made you think of that?"

"I don't know," she said. "But I want to do something for them."

"OK. Like what?"

"I want to give them shoes, and toys, and things they don't have. Things they lost in the eart-cake."

"That is nice," I responded. "How will we get it to them?"

"Drive there. Duh!"

"But we can't drive there over the ocean. We have to take a boat or an airplane."

"Or a submarine! We could take a submarine and go under the water."

"Yep" I said. "That would work too."

"Oh, and we can see things like sharks and octopusses through the windows."

And then it was done.

We're now preparing our things, and we'll be boarding the submarine next week.

Brynlee is four!

Last weekend was Brynlee's birthday. What a sad state my blog is in, to think it took me a week to update her birthday. Even now, I wonder what there is to say, other than how much I love her. And how big and bright she is. She can even (almost) write her name:
She wanted an ice cream cake - we just did a small one, since she shares her birthday with Grandpa, and there were lots of other desserts. But this one was delish - chocolate cake with Oreo ice cream. Yummy!

The only thing she asked for was a blonde wig, that was straight and went to her bum. Thankfully, the year-round party supply store had plenty to choose from.

Mommy definitions

Compromise: (noun) - allowing your 3-year-old to wear a swimming suit on a snowy day, just as long as she's wearing snow bibs and moon boots as well.

(My apologies for the quality of the photo - it was taken with my phone. Its hilarious though. My brother said she looked like she belonged on an episode of My Name is Earl)

Princess Brynlee turns 3

I'm not even going to say anything about them. They're just pics of the party.

Flashback friday

Today is Bryn's 3rd birthday.  I can hardly believe it has been 3 years.  Knowing that she's my last baby, I've been trying to keep her little, but she just won't listen.  She's growing up way too fast.  She was the most fun baby - so soft and squishy, and she loved cuddles.  She's still cuddly and loving, but she's such a big girl.  A bright, funny, energetic girl who is full of life and not afraid of anything.

Bryn was the sweetest newborn, so chubby that she didn't even look newborn.  And she grew quickly.  By her first birthday, she was already walking and talking.

Now, as a 3 year old, she's unstopable.  She loves music and gymnastics, barbies and princesses.  She loves to sing, and knows the words to dozens of songs.  She's also caring and considerate, and always willing to share.  She got a pack of gum for Valentine's day, and her first comment was that now she had enough to share with everyone.  

Here's an interview that I had with her, just so I could remember her at three years old:

Favorite color: green like her eyes

Favorite toy:  new Barbie from Grace

Favorite food:  Hot Pockets and macaroni (makes me feel like a great mom)

Favorite song:  Zippity Doo Dah

Favorite thing to do:  paint

Favorite movie:  Cinderella

Favorite place to be:  at her house

Favorite word:  the doo dah (????)

Poopie in the pot-tay

Bryn, my dear, sweet Bryn, is a challenging child. She can be the biggest sweetie, which is a good thing, because she can also be the most difficult person to deal with. I'm sure her stubborn nature will be a great thing as she gets older (because that girl does not give up) but right now it is going to be the death of her mommy (because that girl does not give up - have I said that already??)



On top of being stubborn, she's also apparently very fragile. Today, she dislocated her elbow - for the third time. Luckily last time it happened, the ER doc showed me how to put it back in place, which I was able to successfully do today. But I don't think I can take many more injuries. A concussion and dislocated elbow are too much for a week. But I digress, this post is not supposed to be about injuries. Its about poop. Funny how sometimes posts take an entirely different direction once I start writing.



Back to the poop: we've been in the midst of potty training HELL with my stubborn child. It has actually been a full year since she started showing interest in the potty. In fact, I bought her potty seat before she even turned 2. She was great at going in the mornings (in fact, she would be dry about 1/2 the time) and before bath time. I thought we were doing awesome.



The problem is, she never progressed. Occasionally she would tell me she needed to go, but those times were pretty seldom. So, around Christmas time, we decided to step it up a bit: we bribed her with a trip to Disney World if she could learn to go in the potty. Everyone knows that they don't let babies in diapers go to Disney World. If she couldn't learn to use the potty then she'd have to stay home (apparently alone eating cat food, or so she thought).



Thing is, she was just fine with this scenario. She had no desire to be potty trained. In fact, she liked going in her pants, and told me so. She had gotten to where she was fairly consistent with "#1" but "#2" was a struggle. We had a few random successes (mostly because mommy saw her going and would run to the potty in time), but for the most part Bryn refused to poop in the potty.



In December, we went to Vegas for a few days, and suddenly it all clicked. Bryn only had one accident the entire 5 days in Vegas. She even pooped in the potty like a pro (because we all know about professional poopers). I thought we had finally turned the corner. But NOPE. As soon as we came back home, she was right back to potty-ing in her pants.



I knew she could control it too, because she would always hide to poop. Lately, she's been going right behind the new barbie house to go. Nice.



About a week ago, I decided I was sick of throwing away almost new panties (because some were completely un-salvageable). I was on a mission to get Bryn trained once and for all. New Year's day was the first day of total training, and Bryn didn't have one accident the entire day. That was even the day she got her concussion, but she remained accident free. The rest of the weekend though, she'd stay dry just fine. But she did all her poops in the corner by the doll house.



I decided to try bribes - first candy, but she didn't care about that. Then I took her to Target and let her pick out a toy that she could have when she finally went, but that Polly Pocket has just been sitting on the counter for a week.



Until tonight.


I'm working late, and my husband just called to say he's opening the Polly Pocket, and they're running around the house singing:



Poopie in the pot-tay! Poopie in the pot-tay!



She went just fine for him. Apparently she just needed her privacy :)



**I thought about posting a picture with this entry, but decided against it. Aren't you glad!

Bryn mosiac

I loved making the me mosiac, I thought I'd do one for Bryn:

Today my post is all about Bryn. As you can tell from the following pictures, she is a goof - one may even call her a ham - and both words fit her. She is amazingly bright, funny, spontaneous, strong willed, and loving all at the same time. She has an incredible ability to live her life to the fullest. She's friendly and kind.

When I took her to Maryland in the spring, she was amazing with my grandfather. That girl's got the gift of empathy and love. She wasn't scared one bit to hug him, kiss him, show him her treasures, and even try to sit on his lap (which she couldn't do, since he was recovering from a broken hip and femur).

She loves princesses, babies, and all things girl. Her very favorite is to dress up as Cinderella - she even insists that her name is not Bryn, but rather CINDERELLA.

She wants to do everything her big sister is doing. She's G's shadow.

Bryn is also coordinated and physical. She's a fast runner, and always on the go.

As you may imagine, with all her other qualities, she doesn't sleep very well. But she does love to eat (I'm sure she burns every calorie and more).

She is also very bright. She knows the alphabet, and can even recognize many letters. She can count to 20, and actually understands what counting means.

She loves music and dancing. Many times I have found her singing and dancing when she doesn't think I'm watching. But here - now you can watch too:




Bryn is like a ray of sunshine and I am proud to be her mommy.

Teaching manners

I’ve been trying to teach (brainwash) my kids to be polite. Its probably pretty annoying to them. I’m constantly reminding them to say “please”, “thank you”, and “excuse me” when the situation arises. I typically prompt them by asking “what do you say?” and then waiting for them to make the appropriate response. But after this weekend, I believe that I may need to rethink my methods.

On Saturday afternoon, I was playing in the living room with Bryn when she very audibly passed gas. She smiled at me, thinking it was funny. I sternly looked back at her and asked, “What do you say?”

“Thank you!” was her sweet, pixie-voiced response, not missing a beat.

My sister and brother-in-law burst into laughter.

Later that evening, as we were finishing up dinner, we retold the incident to daddy. Thinking it was time to again quiz Bryn, my brother-in-law asked her, “what do you say when you toot?”

Bryn’s classic response was “I say ‘pffffffffft’” (as she made the sound of air escaping)

She may not be polite, but at least she’s good for a laugh.

The little ladybug

Brynlee loves ladybugs - really, she's obsessed. A few weeks ago, I bought her some crock-style mary jane shoes with ladybugs all over them. When I saw them at the store, I knew she had to have them. She loves those shoes, and calls them her "haileebugs".

So, I was excited on Saturday, when we were walking through a parking lot and spied a ladybug crawling on the curb. I told her to come over and look, and sure enough, she was fascinated by the tiny creature.

I put my hand down so that the ladybug could crawl on my fingers, and Bryn loved that even more. It excited her to see the bug crawling on mommy's hands.

"Me hold it," she asked, and held out her hand. I let the ladybug crawl onto the back of her hand, thinking she'd be in heaven.

Instead, she freaked out - simultaneously shaking and swatting at her hand while shrieking frantically. And that poor, poor ladybug. Once a beautiful little creature - it was reduced to a hollow shell and some yellow gunk that Bryn wiped on her jeans.

Later, Bryn recounted the story to Grandma:

I made her (the ladybug) sad. I made her cry. I made her die. (as she mimicked the slapping/shaking/shrieking routine)

Flashback . . . tuesday?

Check out these cute vintage-style pics of my girls.

The many faces of Brynlee

As if getting up Monday morning after we've "sprung ahead" wasn't difficult enough, Bryn decided last night that she didn't want to sleep. At 2:30 am (or was it 3:30? I can't remember which of my clocks had been put ahead at that hour) she decided she didn't want to sleep anymore. The problem was, that I REALLY did want to sleep. Really! I'd gone to bed with a migraine, and I knew that a good night of sleep was the only thing that would keep me from waking up with the headache in the morning.

But Brynlee had other plans. She wanted her blankie. Then a drink. Then a song, and another song, and another and another. Then she wanted her back scratched. UGH. The demands went on and on and one. And now that she can get in and out of bed by herself, there is no way for me to make her stay. I refused to let her sleep with me - especially since I was already sleeping with Gracelin because Ben was snoring. So, I resorted to lying on her floor and singing to her until she fell asleep.

The kid is 2 years old for goodness sake - when is she going to sleep through the night?

I swear - Brynlee is the most difficult child and the most wonderful child all at the same time. Its like there are two people in her one little body. Here are a few facts about her:

She is so sweet, loving and kind. And she really is happy. She smiles and sings all of the time - and her cute little singing voice it just about the most wonderful sound ever.

Brynlee is also social and friendly. She says hi to everyone - in the store, at church, at restaurants. And she LOVES to talk on the phone. I don't know any other 2 year olds that can carry on a phone converstation, but she can. Its hilarious. She really does love people. I think I could learn something from her as far as how to treat people. She is so living and kind. She's worried about feelings, and can really sense when someone is sad. She'll tell me all the time that someone is sad - she can tell just by looking at them. About a month ago, we had gone to dinner at Applebee's as a family. There was an older grandma-type lady eating along at the table next to us. Bryn was so worried about her. She kept smiling and waving, and finally had to run over and talk to her. She just didn't want the lady to feel lonely. And when I lie her down at night, she'll say "Mommy. Are you happy?" I'll tell her that I am, and she'll respond with "I love you too!"

And she's smart - maybe too smart. She knows the alphabet and can count to 20. She knows the words to about 20 different songs. She knows all her shapes and colors. And not much gets by her. At her 2 year old check-up 2 weeks ago, the doctor asked me if Bryn had started stripping naked yet. At that point she had never done that - but she did the very next day, and every day since then. I'm sure when she heard him ask, the little lightbulb went off inside her head, and she realized that is might be fun to be naked. She understands everything.

She's also strong and coordinated. She loves physical activity, and can't wait for her gymnastics class. She also loves to run and run and run. That girl is all about motion. On Saturday we went to a bike store. She saw a cute little bike just her size, and wanted it so badly. The man working there let her take it off the wall and she rode it around the store about 100 times.

She's a girl - a princess - a diva. She loves clothes and shoes. On Friday she needed new shoes, so I tooke her to the shoe store to buy them. It was a real shoe store and when she walked inside, with her shrill little voice, she excitedly exclaimed to everyone within ear-shot (which were quite a few people): "I LOVE SHOES!!" She was in heaven, and wanted to try on everything.

She isn't intimitated by anything, which right now is a curse. I'm sure one day, that may be her greatest trait, but there is nothing worse than a toddler with no fear. I have to constantly be on guard to make sure she's not doing something dangerous. There aren't too many kids who can pick on her either - I worry she may be a bit of a bully. We were playing at the park with some friends. She and another little boy who is only 3 weeks younger than her were under the slide. His mom and I couldn't see them, but we could hear them. Suddenly, one of them let out a shrill scream, and his mom and I rused over to intervene. I think by the sound of the scream, we were both pretty sure that he was picking on her. But Brynlee had the kid by his neck, and was shaking him - and he was the one screaming like a little girl.

She is strong-willed, which again, is not a good thing in a 2 year old. I have decided that the majority of her tantrums come when she doesn't think she's getting her way. So, I've had to devise ways to get her to do what I want while still making her feel like she's doing what she wants. Its a very tricky thing. But I'm getting more devious.

She gives the best hugs and kisses.

I do love her, and wouldn't trade her for anything. But some days, she makes me so tired. And when i think what life is going to be like for me when she's a strong-willed, unintimidated, friendly diva teenager who loves to hug and kiss, my blood runs cold. I think I'm in serious trouble.

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