Pretty as a Princess

Our friends, the Monsons, invited us to go to the Disney on Ice:  Princesses show. Piper wanted to dress up like Cinderella (in her blue dress).  I wanted to dress up too, but stifled my urge to whip up a Belle costume.  It was a good choice because there weren't any adults dressed up as princesses. I know Piper has very limited knowledge on who Cinderella is, but she picked her because blue is her favorite color.  I love her logic.  After I got her all dressed up, she asked me where her crown was (doh!) and then she kept saying, "you're as pretty as a princess!"

The show was really spectacular and magical.  They did abbreviated versions of "The Princess and the Frog", "Tangled (Rapunzel), and Cinderella.  I'm not going to lie...I teared up a bit watching the princess finale.  They had every princess from every Disney cartoon come out and skate at the very end and seeing all the little girls get super excited about their favorite princess made me really happy.  

After the show, Pip couldn't stop talking about the princesses and how she wanted to see the show again.  Luckily for us, Disney on Ice makes regular appearances here in Houston.  I think we can spare a chunk of change to go see them again.  

9 Months!

Who knew Baby B would have such a PERSONALITY?  She is so much fun to hang out with and play with.  I love this age!  

What is Brynnie up to now?

*If you couldn't tell from the picture, B is officially crawling!  B moves like lightning and there's no stopping her.  She's started to pull herself up and stand with assistance so it's just a matter of time before she starts cruising and then walking.

*Speaking of being more mobile, B is also very, very curious and sometimes that curiosity gets her in trouble.  B discovered Boo's water dish (just like her big sister did), Pippy's potty, every electrical outlet, and that power cords are meant for teething.  We also know how to push/close doors and drawers.  We have to stay one step ahead of her or else we'll have a fried Brynnie.

*Baby B has teeth!  2 cute little bottom teeth that she cut at the same time.  What a nightmare for us and for her.  Poor thing was a complete mess.

*Now that Brynn has teeth, you better watch your food closely or she's liable to swipe it.  She loves to eat.  Her favorite baby foods are:  beef  or chicken based, any fruit (bananas, berries, watermelon, avocado, pears), and pasta.  She's also been known to steal a waffle or chicken nugget from Pip and a few fries from my plate.  B's been practicing self-feeding and developing her pincer grip too.  B is also completely weaned from nursing and drinks from a bottle.

*Brynn communicates!  She can say "mama" and it generally refers to me.  She also signs "more" and "milk".    She has the sweetest voice and most of the time she's laughing or giggling.  I'm working on "all done" and "diaper change"  with her.  Pippy gets in on the signing as well and will sign "milk" and "more" to her.  I think she understands when I say "I love you" because she gets this huge grin on her face, but I get the same response when I tell her "no" along with a definitive head shake.  

*Pippy and Brynn love playing together.  Brynn has to be everywhere Pip is or wherever she thinks the action is going to be.  If Brynn is left in a room by herself, she goes looking for everyone.  Earlier this week, I put Brynn down for a nap in her swing and forgot to snap her in.  I could hear B crying and it sounded like she was closer and closer to the door.  Sure enough, she had gotten out of the swing (which is in the master bedroom's bathroom), opened the bathroom door, and crawled to the bedroom door to be let out.   I never laughed so hard in my life.  Sometimes when I'm in the kitchen, I see her little head peeking around the corner looking for me.  She loves to be by people!

*Brynn's sleeping habits are pretty predictable.  She naps in her swing, in the bathroom with the exhaust fan on for about 2 hours, 2x a day!  Her nighttime sleep is from 8am-8pm.  Once she's in her own room, I'll probably have her nap in her crib. 

*At our 9 month check-up, the doctor commented that Brynn is one happy baby!  I have to agree. 

STATS:

Height: 28.5in 

Weight: 16.5lbs 

Eye color: Hazel- lean more towards the mossy green

Hair color: medium brown- her hair has lightened up quite a bit.  Everyone always comments that she has the most perfect pixie cut.  

This House is OURS!

We closed on our house today!  I can't say that it went with out some drama.  For starters, we had a bit of a communication problem between the "powers that be" and it potentially threatened our closing date.  Then our closing lasted about 2 1/2 hours instead of the 1 hour because we had to sign our documents twice due to a clerical error on the first set we signed and then we had a nail biting wait for the wire transfer to go through.  After we signed away our life in blood, we were able to take home these beauties:

To hold these keys for the first time felt sort of like holding my newborn babes:  afraid to drop them and in awe that dreams really do come true.  

Signing away- Bobby had to do most of the signing, but I did  put my John Hancock on a few documents

Welcome Home!  

After almost 10 years of apartment living, I am most looking forward to:

1.  having a yard of my very own

2.  not having to share my parking spot 

3.  not being able to hear my neighbors above, below, and to the side of me

4.  having enough bedrooms and storage

5.  and knowing that this home is permanent- we aren't going anywhere!

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its Way

For Easter, we had a little dinner/egg hunt at our friend's house- the Monson family.  We had such a nice time watching the girls play, chit chatting, and eating yummy food.  

Check out that Easter basket full of eggs!  Pip doesn't know that candy comes in the egg.  Maybe next year, I'll skip the candy and let her hunt.  

Piper and her buddy Reagan.  These girls love each other.  I'm so glad they've become such awesome friends.

Brynn couldn't get into the hunting or the egg dyeing, but she still had fun playing.

My friend, Miss Molly.  

Our colorful bounty of eggs.

Surprisingly, we only had 1 spill- it was a major spill and now the Monsons have blue grout, but the girls were very careful with their eggs and  dye up until that point.

HaPpy EaSteR!

34:24

 I think that's what the time said when I finally looked up at the finish line of my first ever (3rd 5K in all) afternoon 5K trail run.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  The time isn't exactly fantastic, but I'll take it considering the trail was mostly sand and tree roots and it was blazin' hot.  I swear the road portion of the race felt like the surface of the sun (I could feel my flesh burning).  But I finished.  I didn't stop.  I kept my focus on several runners and used them to pace myself.  I kept telling myself, "you can do this, you can do this.  If that seemingly fit looking person is dying back there and you're still going, you can definitely do this!"

The race was held in our new neighborhood.  It gave us a chance to mingle with some of the people that would be in our community.  

Me and my training partner, Baby B.  This little baby has helped me drop all my pregnancy weight and  an extra 10lbs!

Ready, Set, Go!  I positioned myself in the middle and found myself inching closer to the front.  

Getting my finishing medal and water

See that skinny girl behind me (#154) pouring water down her chest-  Yep, I beat her. I'm older and have 2 kids.  Ha ha ha ha ha!!!

My workout clothes are like bags on me.  Guess it's time for some new digs.  I was so exhausted in this picture. I  was ready to pass out dead. (But I still beat that skinny girl #154 as pictured above)

And I'm a finisher!

The Masters 2012

 After applying year after year for tickets, we were lucky enough to get tickets to the practice rounds of The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, GA.  We flew out on Sunday and left the girls with my sister who lives in Atlanta (and the grandparents made sure to be there too) so we could enjoy a kid free mini vacation.

At the 12th hole.  We got to see several golfers make their way through.  We saw some former Masters champions, Phil Mickelson  and Mike Weir

Here's a favorite of mine Vijay Singh.  

Here's another favorite of mine and the whole reason I'll watch  golf:  Adam Scott. 

I was not the only girl lined up to get a pic of him.  He's really cute.

Bobby's dad joined us on the trip

the cross way at the 15th

the scoreboard at the 1st

We had so much fun despite it being warm and crowded.  We didn't get to see Tiger Woods.  He only played 9 holes and then went to the practice range.  By the time we got up there, he was done practicing and was finishing up signing autographs.  Oh well...

Many people didn't understand why we took this mini vacay as part of our 8 year anniversary celebration. I  realized early in our relationship that there's a weekend  in April where I could either be a golf widow or a golf fan-  I chose to be a golf fan and have watched The Masters every year Bob and I have been together.  So it was really special to get to spend this time with Bob and take part in something that he really enjoys.  Now that I've done it, I think I can cross this experience off my Bucket List...that is unless we get tickets to the actual tournament.