Princess Briana

Briana is all about the disney princesses these days. A couple days ago for dinner we had Hamburger Helper and toast. I was cleaning up the kitchen and Briana started saying “princess” over and over from her highchair. I looked over at her and she had her toast on her head shaped into a triangle. It took me a second to figure out what she was doing but as she keep repeating princess I laughed out loud. The toast was her tiara and she was a princess. She is such a funny girl. She is so into the princess thing and gets excited every Sunday when I throw down her dress from upstairs for daddy to get her changed. She can’t wait to get her dress on and would probably wear one everyday if she knew where I keep them. They are hung in her closet but she is never around when I get her dresses out so she doesn’t know where they are. Once she has her dress on, she'll hold onto the sides and spin around saying “princess".

Then last week while my mom was here, she brought a ton of princess stuff for Briana because we all know that shopping for girls is much more fun than shopping for boys. Her favorite item grandma gave her was a princess cape. It actually is Barbie brand but she doesn't know that and who cares anyway. She loves to wear it around the house and twirl around saying "princess". I think she says that word more often than any other word now. I shouldn't complain though -there could be worse words coming from her mouth all day!!

Visits From Family

My mom and step-father Jim were in town last week because Jim's daughter had her 2nd baby. They took care of her 3 year old while she was in the hospital so they came up and spent the day with us. It is always nice to have family visit. My mom and I were able to escape during naptime to have lunch together and do some shopping - Walmart style.

Book Club

My ward is starting a book club this month - hooray!! I haven't read any new books lately except the Twilight series (loved it) so I don't know what is good out there. If anyone has any books they'd recommend, let me know. I've also posted a list of some books that I'd recommend if you're looking for a good read.

Professional Pictures of Briana and Brandon

While we were in Texas a couple weeks, a bunch of us from our old ward got together at our friend Brian and Kelly's house. Kelly just started her own photography business and offered to take some pictures of the kids in her home office turned studio. Unfortunately I didn't have the kids dressed the greatest but I didn't want to say no to the opportunity to get some decent pictures of the kids. The last time I took them somewhere to get professional pictures was when they were 8 and 9 months old. The pictures turned out great so check them out. Her website is http://www.timelessbykelly.com/ Go to the PORTRAITS section and then click on CLIENT LOG-IN and the password is my last name.

Snow Day

We woke up this morning to see snow falling outside. Once it stopped, we bundled up the kids and went to shovel the driveway and let the kids play. Briana picked up snow to throw at anyone within reach while Brandon ate handfuls of snow, rolled around, laid down, and did everything possible to get completely soaked.

Some Christmas Pictures

I know that I'm alittle late with Christmas pictures but I didn't have what I needed in Texas to post pictures from my digital camera. Craig and I celebrated our Christmas on Sunday, 12/16, with the kids doing our own family thing before we headed to Texas. The kids love their bikes and Briana spends all day riding around the house doing laps around the kitchen island.

Here we are in Texas doing Christmas again with Craig's family. The kids got some great toys, puzzles, stuffed animals, jackets, and had a good time playing with all their cousins.

Just hanging out on the couch ready for bed!!

One of the late nights visiting friends while in Texas. We tried not to mess with the kid's schedule as best we could but by the end of the day, they were wiped out and would fall asleep in the car - especially Brandon. Briana always is looking for Brandon's hand to hold and finally we had the camera on us to take a picture.

Brandon started dumping out all the toys from the bin until we realized it was because he wanted to climb in. Briana is always right behind her brother to copy whatever he does so she had to join him.

Here we are at Grapevine Mills Mall in front of the Rainforest Cafe right before it opened. Brandon couldn't get enough of the alligator. We even gave him some money to throw at it and he thought he was so cool!!

Our last day in Texas

We have been in Texas now for two weeks for the holidays and I'm getting anxious to get home. It has been a great visit seeing friends and family but I'm ready to sleep in my own bed and get back to my routine at home with the kids. We went to Rainforest Cafe today for lunch with friends Pam and Steve and Briana clutched onto Pam the whole time because she is scared of the animals in there - especially when they come alive!! Brandon couldn't get enough of the alligator and would jump into the water to touch it if he could. Just another typical crazy lunch outing with the kids.
Another thing happened today that is important to note: Brandon SPOKE the word "no" today. He isn't much the talker but this morning said "no" to me when I asked him if he wanted breakfast. It took me back when he answered me instead of moving his head away from me. I'm hoping that he won't use the word as often as his sister does but I doubt I'll be that lucky.