Getting ready

I spent all day yesterday sick. I don't know what it was, but I feel better today thank goodness. I realized that I have a ton to do before we leave on Thursday afternoon. I don't think I will have enough nap time to get it all done. Hopefully I will.

So, instead of working on some of my tasks at hand, I decided to write a little. I wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas. I'm sorry you won't be receiving a Christmas card this year. We are really trying to cut costs right now. I am hoping that next year will be different. I miss sending our our annual cards.

I was walking this morning and realized that Christmas is only a week away, which in turn makes New Years only two weeks away. Where has the year gone. It has been such a busy one for us: moving, a new job, new friends (hopefully we will be more successful on that front next year). There is a lot of sadness for me in the last few months of this year. I hope that I won't remember this year just by those sad later moments. I want to remember Brenna's first birthday and all her milestones. I want to remember being closer to my family. There has been a lot of joy mixed in with the sadness and anxiety. I learned long ago that you can't have one without the other.

So, you may not hear from me until after Christmas. I hope that you enjoy this time with your family as much as we will with ours. There will be loads of pictures to show when we return from our mammoth drives. I look forward to a new year with all our friends and family.

New things

I know I have posted about new things often, but I just love to watch Brenna discover the world around her. Today I pulled out a box of packaging popcorn and let her go to town. (It has been a rainy day.) She made a mess, but had a blast for over an hour. Unfortunetly I was so busy keeping the popcorn out of her mouth that I forgot to snap a few shots of her play time. By lunch time, we had to put the box away and vaccuum up many tiny pieces of leftover popcorn. How fun!

A few days ago, I pulled out the playdoh. That was quite fun too. She loved mashing it between her fingers. The feel of playdoh must be so strange to a young childs little hands. It isn't very often that we as adults are able to immerse our hands into a new sensation. It was fun to watch her learn about that new feeling.


She has also recently learned how to climb into the kitchen chairs. She loves to sit there any time we are in the kitchen. Fortunetly there have not been any serious falls yet. Unfortunetly there have been a few not so serious fall that have lead to a few tears. It was hard not to laugh yesterday when one of these falls occured. She hit the back of her head on her way out of the chair. I picked her up to comfort her and say she was okay. As I did the mom thing, I sat into the accused chair. She asked to be put down and proceeded to ask me to get out of the chair. She pushed it away as if to say, "bad chair". It was cute.

The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship

As most of you know, my love for horses runs deep within me. Unfortunately this is an expensive love that we can't afford right now. I have taught lessons for years and been riding most of those years as well. It is something I miss very much right now. I can't wait for the day that God blesses me with a horse again. I can't even think of words that can describe the longing I have to feel free and one with a horse again. For now I wait.

But, yesterday I took Brenna to a fellow church memeber's house. They own a lot of land, goats, 2 horses, some cows, and a cat. Brenna was able to ride a horse for the first time and we captured the moment. Her smiles show that perhaps she may develop my love for the beautiful animal as well. She loved sitting on the back of the horse and wanted to "go" every time the horse stopped. Pretty Boy was a big hit.













Today, at least twice and hour she says, "Neigh.... Ride?"
"No Brenna, We can't ride today. We will go see the horse another day."
Oh how I would love to have one of our own.

I'm so "tute"

"Brenna, are you cute?"

Head nod twice. "Tute."

The word itself elicits cuteness. It is one of Nathan and my favorite new words now. I wish everyone could hear her speak it.

Speaking of new words. There are so many of them and so many new actions as well. She does have a sense of humor. Nathan and I are laughing at her all the time. She loves it too. We are having so much fun with her at this age. What a blessing she is. I don't want to miss even a moment of this age. I want to capture who she is now and never forget all her little stages.

And since we are are the subject of my cute baby. I wanted to show you a picture of Brenna in her Christmas dress. Cindy gave it to her. I think Jessica and Alex must have worn the dress too. It is precious and I love having Brenna wear it this year. She was mighty cute this Sunday.

The art of talking in your sleep

Those of you who know me well, know that I talk in my sleep. I have been known to sit up in bed open my eyes and carry on an almost coherant conversation with you. It has brought joy to my husband and friends who have slept in the same room with me at times. I bring a little night time humor to their worlds.

I have been wondering if talking in your sleep is something in our genes that would be heretary or if it just seeks out a random person. I don't really have the answer to that, but may be closer. Last night Brenna started to talk. It was so cute and funny because she can't really say a lot of words yet. She was speaking in a clear voice but babbling over something. I just had to laugh. Nights will be fun with her too.

On another note. Annie wanted to say Merry Christmas to all.


One other event to share. Have you ever wondered what my pets do while Brenna naps?

Apparently they nap and bask in the sun. Ahh, she is finally asleep!

"Nanta" and Christmas fun

We went to the Christmas festival here in Karnes city on Saturday. The temperature was around 75 and it was very windy. Not feeling much like Christmas. I though there was a parade, but it ended up being the old fire truck bringing Santa to the festival. While Nathan was busy playing in the band and keeping his middle school kids in line, I decided to take Brenna over to take her picture with Santa. Now, here is a little background. We have been talking about Santa some this year. I have towels up in her bathroom that have a picture of Santa on them. She can now point at every Santa she sees and promptly say "Nanta, Nanta, Nanta". I was optimistic for the picture.

We stood in line for about 5-10 min, and we could see Santa the whole time. I kept pointing to show her what he looked like. She seemed interested and excited. Of course she was also interested in the baby behind us who had a bottle of "mulk". The running commentary was "baby, baby, mulk, mulk, nanta, nanta". It was a very exciting afternoon to say the least.

We finally make it to the front and I start walking towards santa. I can feel her arms and legs begin to wrap around me and hang on for dear life. I truly believe if I let go she would not have moved an inch. So, we get up to Santa and I say, "Brenna, can you sit on Santa's lap." To which she begins to reply, "No, No, No, No" with increasing resolve on each word. The picture is proof of how we solved this problem. It's not a great picture because it is actually a picture of a picture.


This is another cute picture of what Brenna was doing the rest of the festival. She does love her sticks and rocks.

Video Monitors and Such

So, this morning I woke up to the sound of my little girl babbling away to herself. What a lovely sound that is especially when my normal alarm is her screaming to get out. Anyways, I turned on the video part of the monitor and saw her just talking away to Bear. It was so cute, I just laid there and watched her enjoy her time. Then she preceded to try to give Bear one of her many paci's in the bed. I could barely breathe it was so sweet.

Yes, this does prove that I broke down and bought the video monitor. I fought against this modern technology for a long time. I saw how wonderful it was when we lived with Aaron and Elizabeth, but I still fought. I finally broke down and I am so glad I did. I love being able to see her when she is sleeping and waking up. I highly suggest them to all those out there that fight against all the newest trinkets. This one is worth the money.

.
As you can see, Brenna is starting to roll play some. She really started this at Mimi and Poppi's house this Thanksgiving when she tried to give her Christmas bear a drink. I happened to catch a picture of that

I also thought you might want to see Brenna playing at this park that we visit everyday. She has so much fun today, I thought I would share her joy with everyone else too.

She looks like such a big girl here. My little baby is turning into a little girl.

Happy Thanksgiving Late

I know I am terribly late. I just wanted to show everyone a little of what we did over the week. It was a fun week with Mimi, Papawww, Nena, Roron, Liz, and Tanna (names spelled as Brenna can say them). I have a few pictures from our fun excursions. On Friday we went to the zoo. Brenna loved saying the sounds of all the animals she recognized.


Then when we got home, no one could figure out why when anyone mentioned elephant Tanner responded with "PooPoo?". It wasn't until further examination of the pictures that the truth became evident.

Boy is he an observant toddler.

Then on Saturday we again braved the weather with two toddlers and 6 adults. Did you know it really does take 6 adults to manage two toddlers? Anyways, we went to the Childrens' Museum. That was lots of fun. Even at such a young age, both Brenna and Tanner loved it. I am so glad we were able to take them.




You can see we had a lot of fun. Brenna also learned many new words while she was in Houston. I have to say my favorite is "belbow". It makes me smile every time she says it.

Our house

Well I thought I would suprise you all with a....




PICTURE!
Aren't you all excited. We finally got all the parts to our hard drive. What an exciting day. Now I will be able to post pictures again. It was just in time too. I had exhaused the memory on my card in the camera. So, this is what our house here in the huge metropolis of Karnes City looks like. It does look cute from the outside. I will show you pictures of the inside as I get them taken.

I also wanted to show you what Brenna and I did for and hour and a half on Wednesday afternoon. I am always amazed at how much she likes to move things around. I don't know if that makes her OCD or if that just makes her a good organizer. Anyways, here she is playing in a tub of water. She was soaking wet and mesquito bitten when I said we had to go inside. (Notice the previous sentance. It was not a willing move on her part.) She did have a great time that afternoon. Thank you Mimi for that idea.




Brenna and I are going to Houston for Thanksgiving tomorrow. So, if I don't write again, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Finding Words

I am having a hard time finding words to write today. I noticed that it has been a whole week, but I still can't find the things I would like to say. Our mundane life still passes day by day. Only, this week I learned of a dear friend from Georgia who was in a riding accident. She died the day of the accident. I wonder how I can just move though my days when so many of my close friends in Georgia are now living in the middle of terrible grief. I grieve with them, but I feel apart from it all. What I know now is that I have waves of sadness that come so fast and strong they nearly knock me to my knees. I have prayed for the family and friends there. I have asked God "why" with everyone else, but there is nothing I can do here but pray for peace and comfort.

And in the middle of all this pain, I still have a toddler who needs my care. We still laugh and play all day. It seems strange how our lives still go on each day even in the midst of death and sadness. I have found myself telling Brenna I love her many times as I watch her play with such vigor. I am comforted by Nathan's presence next to me. I am thankful for the life we each have and pray that we will use it to God's glory as Kristin did with her short one.

The "Whee"

So, everyday Brenna and I go for a walk and to the park. That is the only thing to do in this town. As we make our way to the park, I also keep hoping that I will see the one mom with a child Brenna's age that I have met here. There just isn't a lot going on in the little town. Hopefully I will start to acclimate soon.

Anyways, as soon as the park is in sight, Brenna starts yelling, "whee, whee, whee." (Translated: "Yea the park! Yea the park! Yea the park!") It is so cute to hear her excitement. She squirms and wiggles until I can finally get her unstrapped from the stroller. She even tries to help me undo the stroller harness. How do you explain to a toddler that I appreciate her help, but will get her out much faster if she sits still?

Then what does she do when she if finally free. She runs to the rocks, dirt, or sticks and starts moving them all around. She doens't even go to slide or swings first. That just makes me laugh. She loves to rearrage dirt. She could (and has) do it for hours and never get bored. What a strange child I have. She at least keeps me laughing.

Sleepless in Karnes City...

as my mom has so affectionately called Brenna, is now sleeping again. This move has apparently been hard on all of us. Brenna has spent the last 3 weeks on a sleep hiatus. I though she would never sleep her "normal" schedule again. Thank goodness I was wrong. Sunday, yesterday, and today have been normal sleeping patterns. Hopefully they will last now.

Brenna is talking more each day. She is learning to say all her grandparents names. I love to hear her talk. Each new word gives me a special pleasure. She can definitely express when she doesn't want something now with the word "no". She also tells us when she sees most animals by mimicking what they say. She can say bubble, turtle, play, wee, yea, and ni-ni. I am enjoying this stage of expression even though it can be challenging at times.

I think that is all for now. We are still working on an external hard drive for the photos. Hopefully they will come someday. I believe I will take a nap now.

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted anything. Life has been crazy here in Karnes City, Texas. Nathan, Brenna, and I are finally living in our own rental house again. This one is a little hard to adjust to, but I think it will be good when I get everything set up. It is smaller than the last house and has several quirks about it. It was filfthy when we got here, it smells old, and there have been a lot of very large roaches. But we are now taking care of all those problems and I am feeling a little better about being here.

I thought packing with a toddler was hard, but unpacking is every bit as hard as packing was. I hope that I will eventually get all the boxes out, but for now, I am doing the best I can.

I will post pictures soon. I know I have been saying that for months, but I really will soon. The computer is up. I just have to find time to download all our pictures. Maybe I can do some of that this weekend. I'll write again soon.

Moving Day

We now have an official moving day on October 6th and 7th. I have rented the truck again. I hope I don't have to rent one again soon. This has been a very long move. We are excited, but I am sure there will be a lot to take care of once we get there too. I hope the house will actually be cleaned and bug free. We have been told it will be, but I don't know that for sure until I get there.

I also wanted to let you know about Brenna. She is learning new words and sounds daily now. It is so hard for me to believe that she can learn so fast. I think she learns a lot of words from Tanner. Her newest words are "uuh-ohh", "nite-nite", "neigh", and almost "no" (unfortunately). She will be talking all the time soon. I am actually excited that she will be able to express what she wants better as she learns new words, but I also believe that she will not stop talking just like I did.

I know I am short today, but I will talk again soon as moving day comes along. I can't wait to add pictures again too. I know you are all missing them dearly.

News

No, there still won't be any pictures. We don't have our computer set up yet due to the problem of no house yet. The good news it that we have found a house to rent. It is available for us to rent on October 1st. Not too much longer. It is the right price, but there are some problems with it. The house is much smaller than the last one we lived in and it doesn't have a dishwasher. Actually those are my biggest problems. There were also a lot of bugs, but I am hoping a little extermination will take care of that problem. There are also some good things. It does have three beds and two baths. It has air conditioning. It has a fenced backyard for Annie. Although we do have to finish the fence. It also has a very large two car detached garage with plenty of storage space. It isn't pretty, but it is a home. I think it will be nice to start getting settled finally.

On the flip side, I will be sad to leave my brothers house. I have enjoyed my time here with them and I am sure I will visit often even though it is an hour and a half away. I have loved watching Brenna play with her cousin and learn from him. She is saying so many new words now. I can see how children with older siblings develop faster sometimes.

They are so funny playing together. Tanner always wants Brenna to play in his box with him, but Brenna doesn't really like getting in boxes. Also, Tanner really believes that baths are much more fun with a friend. Anytime someone mentions bath time, he grabs Brenna's hand and takes her with him. It is very cute. Brenna also loves sharing her toys with him except for the books. Aaron believes that Brenna wants Tanner to remain illiterate. She tries to keep all the books from him. I don't know why she wants to share everything else but books. She also loves to dance with him when there is music. This is one of the reasons I am glad we moved. I will enjoy watching the two of them grow up together. I hope they will remain friends.

Nathan still loves his job. I love to hear him talk about his day with excitement. It is definitely a blessing compared to last year. I am thankful God found him a place to belong and find success. There are so many things to be thankful for. I forget to share them most of the time. I am thankful for a place to live this past month. I am thankful that everyone is well again. I am thankful for my family and my friends. I have a good life.

One last statement. If any of my friends from Toddle Time read my blog, will you leave me a comment. I don't have any of your email addresses and can't get on the website that we have. I would love to talk to you. If not, I'll have my computer soon enough.

I'm a Texan again

The whole family is officially in the same time zone now. Yea! This has been one crazy move. I hope to never repeat this one. It is not the way I would suggest, although I can now give you great tips of what not to do. Mom keeps calling the move a comedy of error, but I think comedy is the wrong word right now. Maybe I will laugh in a few years. I have no pictures to post yet because our computer is packed away. Hopefully I can get it back out eventually though and start adding the pictures.

I will start at the beginning for those who don't know. First, we didn't have a job and were moving in with Nena. Then Nathan got an interview with a school in Karnes City, Texas. He ended up doing a phone interview three weeks ago on Thursday. He got the job Friday and then we had to get him ready to go. It was a good thing that I had already started packing the house up to go live with Nena. As you may be guessing now, Brenna and I were left packing alone for a week. I actually did more of that packing than Brenna. Nathan had to drive all the way to Houston alone. Well, he wasn't really alone because he had both the dog and the cat with him. That must have made for some interesting potty stops, but you will have to ask him about those. We somehow managed to get the house packed for the small group and church friends to come help load it into the moving truck. What better way to load than in the rain. Would you believe that Watkinsville, Georgia, being in the drought that it is, had rain the entire time we loaded that truck. But the helpers were trouper. Thank you guys. I couldn't have done it without you. They helped clean and then I finished the packing and checked out of the house. Brenna and I then began our stay at multiple houses. Poor little girl didn't sleep in the same place two times in a row. When we finally said our sad goodbyes, we got on the plane for our two hour flight that turned into five. Yes, I did say five hours with the almost one and a half year old child. She did great considder how long she had to sit still. I never thought I would make it to Houston. I had to drive through rush hour traffic to get to Mom and Dad's house. Which by the way, I took the earlier flight to avoid that traffic in the first place. The truck made it to San Antonio thanks to Keith from Watkinsville to Houston and my dad from Houston to San Antonio. Then Dad lost the keys to the truck and had to spend all Thrusday waiting for the locksmith to show up. Meanwhile, Mom, Brenna, Annie, and I drove to San Antonio without any major problems thankfully. Now Nathan, Brenna, and I are all living in San Antonio with Aaron, Elizabeth, Tanner, Reagan, and Joey. It is definetly a full house, but we are all doing well. It is fun to be able to spend time with Aaron and Elizabeth. I haven't really been able to do that in years.

The good part in all of this is that everyone is safe and we are together again. Nathan also loves his job. Thank you everyone for praying for the job. Brenna likes playing with and getting to know her cousin, aunt, and uncle. And I am thankful to be near family again. We are still looking for a place to live since this house will be even more crouded in March. We would welcome any prayers on a new home. I also know that it will take time to get used to this new life, but I would welcome prayers for an easy adjustment for me and Brenna as our schedule has changed. We are missing all of you in Georgia. I do wish we could be in two places at once. I will try to be better at writing more often as I settle into life here.

Alone

Well, it is Wednesday. Nathan has left for Texas with both animals and a car full of our precious idems. It is so quiet without him and the animals. Brenna is still asleep. The two of us are left alone to pack the rest of the house. (When I say two, I really mean one will be packing. Brenna does more unpacking than packing.) I just hope we will be able to get everything packed and ready to go.

I have the whole small group ready to help on Sunday afternoon. Thanks guys. I couldn't do this without your help. So until the next time I have a moment alone, I will leave you all to your days.

Packing

I feel like I have been packing forever. Will it never end? I am always amazed at all the stuff we acquire. Did I really come to Georgia eight years ago in just a horse trailer? I guess I did add two more people to myself.

Well, Nathan heard back from his interview from yesterday. He is now an employed man. We are so excited. I can't believe that someone finally saw how good he will be and took a chance with the boy from Georgia. I know they won't regret their decision.

So, Nathan will be leaving next week, but Brenna and I won't follow until the following Wednesday. That will be a very long week for both Nathan and I. I am sure Brenna will feel the strain too. I'm not sure how I will get the whole house packed with a one year old and no husband. I guess I just have to do it.

Our next task (besides packing) is to find a home to live in or around Karnes City, Texas. How do you find a home when you live in another state? That should be an interesting task. I think Nathan will do a lot of looking when he gets to Texas.

I guess that is all for now. I will keep everyone updated.

Bittersweet

As some of you may know, Nathan, Brenna, and I are moving to Houston in a few weeks. We will be living with my grandmother for awhile. This is a very bittersweet experience for me. I am sad to be leaving Nathan's family. I am sad to leave the home we have built together here in Georgia. I am sad to leave the friendships we have developed and nurtured. I am sad to leave the Church family we love so dearly.

On the flip side, I am excited about moving closer to my family. I am excited to be in the center of God's plan. I am excited about the job opportunities I know Nathan will find in Texas. I am excited to be near friends I have from years ago. I am excited about the new experiences we will face together as a family.

This was a hard decision for both of us. We both prayed a lot and came to this conclusion. I am glad the decision is made, and now I am packing a planning madly. We love everyone here in Georgia dearly and will miss you daily. And we are excited to see those in Texas soon.

Words

I have been wondering if my very vocal child will ever start to use words. She has a whole language of her own. We just don't understand it. She sits in her carseat or bean bag chair with a book and reads to herself. She even turns the pages. (Although sometimes the book is upside down.)

Well, in the last week, she has finally started to add words to her store of knowledge. Mamamama and Dadadada have been there a long time. We also now have, bye bye, all done, baby, and Nathan says he heard Dog. So, she has suddenly double her use in words. I will keep you informed on any new words in the near furture.

Happy anniversary

For those of you who may not know, today is Nathan and my fifth year anniversary. It is so hard to believe that we have been married that long now. They have been five wonderful years and I could not have asked God for a better dream come true. God has blessed me with a loving, caring, and generally great husband and father. I love you dearly my love. I wish I had a digital picture of our wedding day to post, but I don't. So for those of you who were there, you will just have to visualize that day. Now look how our little family has grown.


Just kidding. The little boy in the picture is Tanner our nephew. I just couldn't find a recent picture of the three of us.

(Also a little side note. Happy fifth anniversary to the Neals. I love sharing this day with you. You are great friends.)

She's getting so Big

Each month at the end of the month, I have taken a picture of Brenna in her car seat so that I can see how much she has grown. I have a little book that I keep all those picures in together. She has finally outgrown her carseat and graduated to a bigger one, so then I had to find a new way to measure her each month.

This is the first picture I took when she was going home from the hospital. She was only 2 and 1/2 days old. She was so little. The second picture is when she is one month old. And the last is when she was 6 months old.




Now here is the last picture in the old car seat, and the first picture in our new spot. I have decided to use our computer chair as our new photo spot.


I am taking suggestions of new ideas for our next child whenever that time comes. One friend suggested in front of a large stuffed animal. I like that idea because the child won't ever grow too big to be with the stuffed toy and it is cute. Any other ideas?

A Tribute To Mindy T.

Some of you may not know Mindy T. She is actually my brother's womb buddy. Stacey (her sister) is mine. Now, even more of you probably don't know the definition of a "womb buddy". The phrase was coined by my mother. It defines two friends who knew each other while they were in their mother's wombs. It is a very special relationship if it is able to last through the adult years. There aren't many of us, but those who have a womb buddy know how special they are.

Well, these pictures are a tribute to Mindy, my brother's womb buddy. I don't remember, but have been told the stories often of her eating cottage cheese. From what I have heard, Mindy used to grab hand fulls of cottage cheese and stuff it all into her mouth. Brenna must take after her "Aunt Mindy". She loves her cottage cheese. I normally feed it to her, but I have recently been trying to teach her to eat with a spoon. She ate a few bites with the spoon, but I guess that just wasn't fast enough. The pictures show the end of the story.




So Mindy, this is a glimpse of what you may have looked like. Aunt Peggy, you have a picture to remember your Mindy as a little one. Mom, sorry if this is too gross for you to look at. Stacey, thanks for being my womb buddy. And anyone else who is reading. I hope you are looking forward to your own experiences with children or having fond memories of experiences past.

New Things

Sometimes I wish the world could be all new to me again. I love to see Brenna's amazement as she sees something new again. She has to learn about everything right now. There is so much beauty in the world and as a child she can really appreciate it. I wish that I could always have those child-like eyes that would allow me to see the beauty of everything.

I know you have already seen Brenna at the pool, but this one is different. Nathan and I set up a little pool in our yard. She was very nervous about it at first, but loved it once she got in. Water is so fun for her (even when she drank a little of it on accident).

This is my new favorite gadget. I can't really carry Brenna in the front pack anymore. She is finally too heavy for my shoulders to hold. I bought a back pack and you can see she loves it. I was very pleased by this purchase especially because it only cost me $10. I couldn't go wrong with that one.

I know I should have showed her crayons before now, but I was worried she would only want to put them in her mouth. My worries were not unfounded. She colored a little on the paper, but then they went into her mouth. I guess a little wax won't hurt anyone. I just can't see how that actually tastes good. Anyways, we had fun on the floor. She also wanted to color the floor instead of the paper. It is all a learning process. She will figure it out.

The Wedding

I have officially decided that weddings are not a place for a one year old. My brother in law got married on Saturday. Nathan was in the wedding, so it was Brenna and me. I think the wedding was a success and just what they wanted although I didn't see much. I had high hopes to take some pictures and be a great help, but that is not the case when you have a little one to watch. She had a hard time staying out of everything. So here is her mischiefous little self at the rehearsal. I did take a few pictures there, but none at the wedding. It was too hard for me to watch her and the wedding.

We did all have a fun time, and now Matt and Tasha are happily married. Congratulations you guys. I hope you have a great marriage.

Pig Tails and New Friends

Well, we have been busy this week. With Nathan gone, I have packed the week full so that Brenna and I would survive. We have both had fun, but I think we are both ready for Daddy to get home. Yesterday, we went to visit with a friend of mine who has twins that are 6 months older than Brenna. She had a good time with them even though they are a lot more roudy that she normally is.

Before we left, I was trying to do something with her hair to keep it out of her eyes. She can now wear pig tails. And she is sooo cute if I do say so myself. This first picture is of Brenna and the boys just before we are leaving.

I love this one that my friend took. Brenna was going to find a toy. Look how good she is walking now.

And a close up to see those cute pigtails.

I love this one. I had left to put something in the car. She got so excited when she saw me come back in. I love that smile. I wish you could hear the gleeful squeal that went with the face.

Playin' Dress Up

Every girl has to dress up in their princess dresses sometime. Brenna just got to do it before she knew what was happening. Poor thing. I made her try on so many clothes to see if they would fit yet. They did, yea! She is finally growing some more. Anyways, since we were already trying on clothes, I couldn't resist putting her in her princess dress. It was so cute, I had to do a photo shoot. I actually had Nathan take this first one for my Mom. Her favorite picture of me is very similar to this one. I thought she would enjoy it even if it is a little blurry.

Then after she was inside with so many different outfits on, I had to reward her with a little outside fun time. Bubbles make any situation fabulous. And again, it was a perfect photo opportunity. This was such a big job that it took two people. Nathan was in charge of the bubble making and I was in charge of the photo taking. We think the pictures turned out cute.

Ride 'em Cowgirl

I have decided that Brenna has evenly divided her interests between the two things that Nathan and I love most to do. In the past week she has made several attempts to become a famous horseback rider.
You have already seen that She has taken an interest in the piano, but now she also loves the trombone. Her Daddy took out the instrument the other day and she was thrilled. You can't see the huge smile she had on her face when he played the first note, but trust me, it was there.
Here you see Brenna in her daily practice. She is working on her dressage. This is her new horse we call Noodle. She fell in love with him immediately. Today she has taken him through the obstacles of the house and is really working on keeping him together though each movement. She how she keeps his head in just the right placement for the movement.
"Brenna Jones is coming down the kitchen floor to her last and most difficult jump ever. She needs to soar over the stroller in order to finish first. Not even her mother is sure if she can do it. She how she goes up into her flawless two point and waits for her horse to take the stroller jump. And the crowds go wild as she makes it over almost effortlessly."

So, as you can see Brenna is busily working on all sorts of talents. We will keep you informed about her upcoming performances. Be sure to stay tuned.

Bow or No Bow?

I have wondered for awhile now if I would put bows in Brenna hair or not. I guess I made my decision the other day. Yes, because they are just so cute. Don't you agree? Now the most ironic part of this whole delima is the way I have to place the bow. When I was younger, Mom used to put clips in my hair the exact way I have done Brenna's. I HATED it. Now I see why she did it that way. It was the only way to make it stay. I guess we do eventually turn into our parents (or at least see the wisdom of their ways).

Bubbles

I love to see Brenna discover new things in her world. Mom recently encouraged us to get a bubble wand that give a continuous stream of bubbles. Brenna loved it. She was not happy to go inside when it was time. Anyways, here are a few of the pictures from our evening.