Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Circus Tent

A couple of weeks ago it rained all weekend and we had to stay indoors. Brandon got out the tent and set it up in the living room. The kids thought it was so cool and we all had fun eating popcorn and watching a movie in the tent. Brenna even fell asleep in the tent! Our daddy is so fun!

It's always fun until someone gets hurt!

We picked up food at El Pollo Loco and headed over to one of our favorite parks where we had a picnic and then played with the kids. We were having fun until Ethan went down the slide. Mommy didn't quite catch him at the bottom and he cut his lip! Sorry Ethan!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Bathtime

Our kids love the bath! Brenna immediately starts stripping off her clothes when she hears us turn on the bathtub and Ethan tries with all his might to climb in the tub fully clothed. A couple nights ago we gave the kids a bath. We usually get Ethan out first, dry him off and dress him in pajamas while Brenna "swims" in the tub for a while. Well, while we were drying off Brenna and getting her dressed, we hear a splash and a cry for help. We go running into the bathroom to this scene.....
Ethan had climbed into the tub with his pajamas on!!! He didn't know what to think at first but then he started splashing and crawling around the tub like he didn't care! What a nut! Belle also had a bath that night (after the kids) and she even got a new hairdo (thanks to mommy) complete with bright pink bows! Ethan loves to give her kisses!

Monday, February 16, 2009

My Valentine

My sweet husband always spoils me on Valentine's Day with the most beautiful boquet of red roses. He is so good to me!

Here are 14 reasons I love my Valentine (in no particular order)....
1. He is so hot!
2. He makes me laugh.
3. He honors his priesthood.
4. He makes me want to be a better person.
5. He thinks I'm beautiful even in the morning when I have bed-head.
6. He is the best father--he plays with our children and they adore him!
7. He is an amazing musician--I LOVE to hear him sing and play his guitar!
8. He loves me despite my faults and shortcomings (which are many!).
9. He has an awesome family whom I love dearly.
10. He works so hard to provide for our family.
11. He has the cutest buns in the world! :-)
12. He listens to me and helps me make decisions (he is my rock).
13. He treats me like a queen.
14. He is very romantic!

Love is in the air....

We had a really nice Valentine's Day this year. Well, let me rephrase....we had a really nice Valentine's evening. Brandon was building a block wall for most of the day but we were able to sneak away for a nice dinner with his parents at one of our favorite restaurants, Benja Thai and Sushi. It was delicious! Nothing's better than sharing sushi with the one you love (the perfect aphrodisiac, hint hint). We also had a nice Valentine's breakfast (heart-shaped pancakes w/ homemade raspberry sauce and whipped cream). Mmmmm!


We have block walls!

Brandon and his dad finished our block walls this weekend! They worked so hard and we appreciate Brandon's dad for driving up from California to help us (he was a mason in his early days). It's a relief to have our yard enclosed now.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentine's Activities

We've had a lot of fun celebrating Valentine's this week!
We made Valentine's cards!

Brenna had a Valentine's party in her dance class!

We decorated heart cookies at preschool!

We made/ate heart-shaped Egg McMuffins!

My Love Bugs!

Naptime

Brenna has recently decided (as of a month ago) that she no longers needs naps. I have begged and pleaded with her to keep the nap alive but she firmly believes that she doesn't need it. I have finally given up trying and, although she gets tired, I'm not going to fight her about it. She played at a friend's house the other day and five minutes after she got home she had crashed out on the couch, which she NEVER does! Anyone who knows Brenna can agree that she is the "Energizer Bunny", she just keeps going and going and going......

Lost puppy!

We had a big scare this past week...we lost our puppy! I always take our puppy, Belle, outside to go potty but every once in a while I'll let her out by herself and when I call her ten minutes later, she comes running. This is probably not the smartest thing to do because our yard is not enclosed yet but sometimes she takes for-ev-er to go potty and I don't have time to wait. Well, I learned my lesson the hard way! I let her outside and after ten minutes I called for her and she didn't come so I began walking around the house calling her name. She didn't come! I ran to the front of the house and the construction workers across the street said they saw her chasing a car down the street! I immediately began to panic thinking she had chased a car to the main road and had wandered away. I began running down the street screaming her name but there was no sign of her. I was trying really hard to hold back the tears as I ran back to the house to get in the car to look for her. Brandon began looking in all the neighbors' backyards while I went out in the car (with the kids) to look for her. At this point I am sobbing hysterically, wondering how I'm going to explain to Brenna that we've lost her dog. I cried harder and harder as I thought about our teeny (5 pound) puppy lost on the streets freezing and scared. I can't remember the last time I cried that hard. After looking for a while I decided to stop the car to say a prayer for help to find her. We kept looking for over an hour and still no luck. I even called Animal Control to see if anyone had reported a missing puppy but there hadn't been any calls. It was dark and late and we started heading home--unable to believe that our puppy was gone. I knew I wouldn't sleep that night. As we were pulling into the driveway, a friend of ours (who was helping us look for Belle) drove past the neighbor's house and.....there she was! She had been in their backyard! I don't know if she didn't hear us when we called or if she had been in their yard the entire time--we were just glad to see her! I was beyond relieved! We were so exhausted after that we all went home, said a prayer of thanks, and went to bed. And, as a result, we are building our block walls this weekend to enclose our backyard (it's about time)!

Monday, February 9, 2009

A Walk Down Memory Lane....

It's hard to believe that my baby girl is three years old! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. What an amazing three years it has been! We just love our little Brenna! She has so much spunk and personality and she brings us so much joy. We still laugh when we remember the story of her birth. She took us by surprise and arrived exactly a month early! Being a planner and preparer, I wanted to spend the upcoming weekend shopping for the last items on our baby list--mainly a mattress for the crib. Brandon, on the other hand, wanted to go play roller hockey. I don't have to tell you who won but, needless to say, we spent the night before Brenna's birth playing roller hockey and Brandon will never live it down. :-) Well, I just watched (can you imagine a big pregnant woman playing roller hockey? The last time I played before I was pregnant I about broke my nose crashing into Brandon!) Anyways, we got home at about midnight and we were exhausted! At about 3:00a.m. I jumped out of bed because I thought I was wetting the bed. I ran to the bathroom but I wasn't peeing--my water had broke! I was so tired that I went back to bed mostly in disbelief that my water had broken--my due date was still a month away! The next morning I told Brandon what had happened but I was still in disbelief. We called the hospital and the nurse barked, "Get here now!" I wasn't having contractions yet but we began frantically packing our bags for the hospital. Note to self: pack hospital bags earlier next time. We were pretty giddy and excited about the possibility that our baby could be born that day. We got to the hospital and, sure enough, my water HAD broke! It seemed unreal and yet a little scary because she was so early. I began to panic that her lungs wouldn't be developed enough and that she'd have complications. I said many tiny prayers that day (in Brenna's behalf and for my own survival through the labor). The nurses immediately started my labor with pitocin because there is a window of 24 hours that a baby should be born after the woman's water breaks. We called our parents (who were at church) and told them we were at the hospital, to which they laughed in disbelief. When they realized we weren't joking, they quickly made arrangements to drive to L.A. for the birth. I called my sister, Emily, to tell her what had happened and ask her if she would be in the delivery room with me. We both cried and, bless her heart, she left her 2 little boys with her husband so she could be with me during my labor. It was so great to have our families there for the birth. Brandon was my #1 coach, with my mom, Brandon's mom, and my sister, Emily, as assistant coaches. I couldn't have done it without all of them. Each one would take a body part (legs, lower back, and cold compress on the head) and just start massaging away. Brandon, my dad, and my father-in-law gave me a priesthood blessing which helped me so much. Brandon never left my side and talked me through the entire labor. Poor guy--he worked just as hard as I did (well, almost)! After 12 hours of intense labor on pitocin (with no epidural), Brenna finally arrived! She was beautiful! I couldn't contain my emotions as they laid her on my chest and I saw my daughter for the first time. What a miracle! I hope I never, ever forget that feeling for the rest of my life. Our prayers had been answered....she weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz. and was perfectly healthy! A neo-natal team was on hand in case there were complications but she was perfect! We were beyond elated and it all seemed like a dream as we brought our first-born home from the hospital. We were floating on clouds as we held Brenna and realized that we were really parents. And then panic set in and we began taking her temperature every hour to make sure she wasn't too cold or too hot. Oh the joys of first-time parenting--we were pretty hilarious! I don't think I slept a wink for the first week of her life because I would watch her constantly to make sure she was breathing. She has kept us on our toes ever since-with her strong and independent nature. The very first time we tried to feed her baby cereal (mind you, she was only 5 months-old) she screamed at the top of her lungs because she wanted to hold the spoon and do it herself! She has always wanted to "do it herself". She is very strong-willed (I wonder where she gets it from)! ;-) We love our little princess and we are so anxious to see what great things she will do in the future. She will be a great leader and have many talents that she will use for good. We love you, Brenna! You make life worth living!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Princess Brenna Turns Three!

Brenna's birthday was January 29th and we've been promising her that we'd take her to Disneyland. She is in love with the Disney Princesses and so we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate her 3rd birthday. Brandon's parents, grandma, and my mom joined us as well as Brandon's brother and my sister and her family. We had so much fun! (what do you expect at the "Happiest Place on Earth"?) Brenna was in heaven! It was a long day for the kids (Ethan decided not to take a nap as we'd hoped) but very fun! Happy Birthday, Brenna! You are our princess!

Breakfast with the Princesses

All of Brenna's dreams came true in the space of about one hour--she was able to meet almost every Disney princess and talk to them up close! We reserved a spot at a restaurant where the princesses will visit with you as you eat. It was so amazing--and something Brenna will never forget! She was speechless in their presence. Each princess would come and talk to her and take pictures with her as we ate breakfast. It was perfect!

We spent the rest of the day walking around California Adventure and we had a blast! We went on rides, watched the Aladdin production, and took plenty of pictures (thanks to yours truly). I know, I know, I'm worse than a tourist but who's going to make sure we document the event?

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Ethan and the Princesses

Ethan, having an older sister and being unaware of gender-based toys, has been caught on more than a few ocassions playing with or carrying around Brenna's princess dolls. He especially loves Snow White (don't ask me why) and so we thought it would be so cute to take a picture of the two of them. I'm not sure what he's doing in the picture (it must be a Tim the Toolman howl) but he's still a cutie! He also loved meeting "Fairy Godmother". He is such a ladies' man!!!

Ethan loves his grandpa!

Who likes to rock the party?

We like to rock the party! (a line from one of our fav bands, "Flight of the Conchords"). New Year's Eve this year ROCKED (literally)! Brandon's band played at his parents' rock climbing gym and it was awesome! The kids and I went to my sister's house for a family party where we played games and ate good food. I was able to sneak away for a bit to see Brandon play and then plant a wet one on him when the ball dropped. Happy New Year!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year--filled with lots of memories! Brenna was so excited for Santa to come to our house she couldn't contain herself and Ethan was just thrilled to be tearing up wrapping paper! We really tried to focus on the Savior's birth and after telling the story a few times Brenna could retell the story by herself. Christmas morning was so magical (just as I remembered as a kid). I love Christmas!