I hope you cry

Dear Brenna,

I cry a lot. I cry when I'm happy. I cry when I'm sad. I cry when I'm scared. I cry when I'm confused. I cry when I'm frustrated. I cry when I'm excited. It's just who I am.

Take today for example. I watched Oprah's last show. I have probably watched 20 total Oprah shows ever. But, today I watched the end. And I cried. A lot. You looked at me like I was crazy and you gave me a kiss. I explained to you that I wasn't sad - it was just emotional for her, so it became emotional for me.

Yesterday I cried after I talked to the realtor. Our house isn't selling when I want it to. Daddy and I have faith that God will help it sell in his time, but I'm worried about our next step. I cried and cried.

About two weeks ago I sat down in the front of my classroom and cried (with students in there!). They wouldn't listen to me and I wanted them to learn so badly. So, I cried because they hurt my feelings and made me frustrated at the same time.

So, you see, sometimes I wish I didn't cry so easily. I cry at commercials, I cry at books, I cry EVERY YEAR when Charlotte dies in Charlotte's Web. I cry anytime I watch A Baby Story on TV. I cried while April was in labor with Tinley. It's embarassing at times and I sometimes try to hide it.

All this to say - I hope you cry like me. Even though it's awkward (I'm NOT a pretty crier!) and sometimes embarassing, I feel like it's how I live life. I'm passionate about things. I care deeply about issues, and people, and causes. I cry because I feel things strongly. I hope you do, too. And just know my shoulder is always here for you to cry on - and I'll probably cry right along with you.

Love, Mommy

#11 - 7-Eleven

Here goes! The list I've been trying to write for weeks now. I'm mourning the loss of our life here in Virginia. I'm excited about our new adventure, I'm thrilled to be able to stay at home, I'm proud of Jonathan and his new job. But, I'm sad. I finally feel like Christiansburg is our home, instead of just where we're living for a season. But, instead of rambling on and on about that - I'm going to list some of the things I'm going to miss the most about this area. I'm sure I'll be able to make a list longer than this after we learn to call NC home, but for now, here's where my mind and my heart is!

#11 - 7-Eleven!

Ok, so I admit we hardly ever go to 7-Eleven any more. But, it'd kind of like part of our "story" here. When Jonathan and I were just dating, we would go pick up a slurpie from 7-Eleven and go to the park just to hang out and/or read. It's a really special memory for me. I'd sometimes pick up one when I lived in Radford, too. It was one of my favorite ways to surprise Jonathan when I'd go visit him at his home in Blacksburg. And, um, they are GOOD! We haven't been in ages, mainly because there aren't any in Christiansburg. We'll definitely have to get one before we move! Maybe Brenna should even get a sip (but we'll warn her about the brain freeze!). I know this seems like a lame start to the list, but it's special to me and it's MY list. Now, I'm going to google 7-Eleven and North Carolina. :) Stay tuned for more!

New Camera + Play date with London = Picture Heavy Blog Post

I'm in absolute love with our new dSLR camera. I've taken a ridiculous amount of pictures over the past week! Here are a few of the best ones from Kristen's graduation party today - which, unfortunately, has no pictures of Kristen. Brenna and London had a great time playing (minus one little bloody nose on our girl - sooo sad!). Enjoy! :)

14 Months Old!

Dear Brenna,

You are 14 months old! It seems like you've changed so, so much this month. You are a big talked and have learned lots of new words - Nanie, Nana, Nini (banana), wawa (water), turtle, moo, meow, JoJo, peeee (please), cha cho (thank you), shh (shoe), milk, and PawPaw. You try to mimic what we say a lot more now, and you understand many, many more words that you can't say yet. Your voice is the cutest thing - along with your giggle. You like to make us laugh by playing peekaboo or making us chase or tickle you. You're super playful. You'll also run to me and give me a hug when I stoop down and hold out my arms. I'm also happy to report that you'll actually kiss ME when I ask now instead of the air! I love it!

We had to go to the doctor again this month because you had a really bad diaper rash. We got it cleared up though, and all is well. You weighed in at 20 pounds, 11 ounces - so you had a little growth spurt! You're still wearing 12 month clothes almost all the time. You're wearing sizes 3 or 4 shoes and you have to wear them a lot now because we've been playing outside a lot. I've taken you to the playground near our house several times and we've had a blast. You're quite a daredevil (Mrs. Kate agrees!) and also love to slide!

You spent another night away with Nana and Papa Bill this time. They loved having you and Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a date night while you were gone. We also went back to Pine Mountain for Easter Sunday, after spending 2 days in Bristol with Nanie, Aunt Mal, Uncle Josh, Grandma Abel, and Sissy. You looked adorable on Easter Sunday and were such a good girl. You sure got a lot of attention that weekend!

You have slowed down on your eating quite a bit. You're not really into meat right now, but I'm hoping it's temporary. You've tried out grilled cheese, which you really like. And your favorite is definitely bananas! You had your first restaurant meal (a grilled cheese with ham from Macado's) and have made a huge mess of many restaurants. I've never cleaned up so many messes! Luckily you're cute so people don't seem to mind too much. You still eat oatmeal or eggs for breakfast, and drink at least 18 or more ounces of milk each day. You got your third and fourth teeth on the top, and so you have quite a strong (and painful) bite.

Daddy started his job with Apple in Maiden, North Carolina this week. He'll be coming home as often as he can, and we miss him like crazy. We're working hard to sell our townhouse so we can finalize our house in Newton and move as soon as I'm finished with school. I think we're going to have so much fun this summer together. I enjoy having you as my "buddy" and I look forward to our bond continuing to grow.

Oh, and you wore your first pigtails. Cutest.thing.ever. Since you won't wear bows anymore, I tricked you into pigtails. Sorry, but it's a girl thing! You'll understand one day.

I love you, my little Sprout!
Love, Mommy

*This post was written on May 4, I promise. Just took me this long to get the pictures taken. Luckily, I got to take them with my new camera! WOOHOO!

Easter 2011

Here's our Easter rundown - told in picture format because I'm too lazy to type it out in paragraphs.

We started the weekend in Bristol hanging out with Nanie, Aunt Mal, Uncle Josh, Sissy, and Grandma Abel. Brenna got some books and a new "purse" for Easter.

playing with her purse

We colored Easter eggs for Brenna on Saturday.

Then we "hid" them for her. She was more interested in banging them together and then trying to eat them.

Brenna got lots of quality time with her Nanie and her Grandma Abel.

Nanie made Brenna some banana pudding. She LOVED it!

We headed to Nana and Papa Bill's on Saturday night. Brenna got bubbles, a stuffed frog (which Brenna calls "turtle" because my mom taught her the word turtle), and a cute outfit for Easter.

We went to the Easter morning breakfast at Pine Mountain and then had an Easter dinner with Jonathan's family at his grandparents' house.

Brenna got her second Easter basket.

She loved the Elmo camera.

Pretty Easter Angel! Oh, but she despised the hat. It lasted about 10 seconds each time we tried to put it on her.

She had lots of fun exploring Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw's yard.

swingin' with Maw-Maw

She loves boys! She was really interested in Spencer's glasses.

We had a great weekend with our family. The weather was gorgeous and Brenna was the center of attention (wait, isn't that supposed to be Jesus on Easter?) everywhere we went! We're also thrilled about next Easter when Brenna will have a baby cousin on the Lucas side and on the Roberts side - my sister is expecting in September and Jonathan's cousin Stephen and his wife are expecting in August! I just love the excitement and anticipation new babies bring. And no, I'm not pregnant.

Words, Words, Words

Brenna is talking up a storm these days. She's started trying to imitate words we say, and understands way more words than she can say. I wanted to try to have a list of the words she knows, and maybe add to it for awhile as she learns more (until it becomes impossible to record them as fast as she learns them!) For now, here's what we've got:
*mama
*dada
*nanie
*nana
*paw paw (not sure if this is for Bill, or Paw-Paw Roberts....or both?)
*nini (banana)
*no
*turtle
*boc boc (when we ask what a chicken says)
*moo (when we ask what a cow says)
*mow (when we ask what a cat says)
*no (for nose)
*bite
*shhhh (for shoe)
*uh oh (or sometimes just OH)
*melmo (for Elmo, and many other characters)
*thank you (I can't even type it the way it sounds when she says it)
*ma ma (for Maggie)
*JoJo (our neighbor's dog)
*dog
*bye bye
*zzzz (buzzing like a dragonfly in one of her books)
*baby
*ball
*mah (kissing sound - it's not a word, but it's cute!)

Thirteen Months Old!

Dear Brenna,

Well, the first month of your second year is over, and boy have you changed a lot. You are really noticing the world around you, and we are amazed at how much you notice, learn, and change every single day! You are growing like a weed, no matter what the percentiles say! Your motor skills and language skills are also changing like crazy, and it's fun to experience life with you.

The week after your birthday party you got a little bit sick. You were running a fever, but you didn't have an ear infection or strep. You got to hang out with daddy a lot that week, too, because Mrs. Kate was out of town. I stayed home with you one day, and Nana came to stay one day, too. The next week we went back to the doctor for your well visit and you got a few more vaccinations. You weighed in at 19 pounds, 2 ounces the first week, and 19 pounds, 7 ounces the next week. You measured 30 inches tall, which makes you supposedly tall and thin. However, your belly is so round, and it's hard for me to believe you're still on the smaller side in weight! You're obviously healthy and growing, so we'll take it! You're mostly wearing 9 or 12 month shirts and 12 month pants. I giggle when you still wear your 6-9 month onesies, but I'm glad you're getting plenty of wear out of your cute clothes! You're riding in your "big girl" carseat in Daddy's car, and I think our days of the infant carrier in my car are about over, too. I've put it off because you still occasionally fall asleep in there, and it's so handy to tote you in the house while you're sleeping!

Around the middle of March we got the terrible news that Papa Bill had to have open heart surgery. Mommy and Daddy went to Winston Salem to be with Nana while he was in surgery, so you had your first sleepover with Nanie and Aunt Mal in Bristol. You did great, and they got very spoiled to having you around. It was best that you weren't at the hospital, and we also got to squeeze in a trip to our new hometown (Newton, NC) while we were in NC to do some real estate stuff. We missed you like crazy though, and we talked about you almost nonstop. It was so nice to meet them in Wytheville and finally pick you up after being away for almost 2 full days and nights. It's nice to have family members who want to keep you - but man, it's hard to give you up! Papa Bill is recovering well, and you're going to visit him and Nana this weekend, and they can hardly wait!

After that adventure, we had another one. We all three got the stomach virus!! You caught it first, and threw up twice on Thursday night and once during the day on Friday. We thought it was just a 24 hour thing, but you threw up (all over me!) three more times on Friday night. You were pitiful because you weren't eating and had no energy, so you just sat around with us all weekend. Once you got better, Daddy caught it. Then once he got better, I did! You only spent 2 days at home, and we're all finally feeling 100% better and back to the usual daily schedule! Shew!

I finally weaned you completely on Saturday, March 19. You really took it in stride and never even seemed to notice. It was really sad for me, but I knew it was all a part of you growing up. I'll never forget the closeness that our nursing relationship brought us, and I'm so glad that we were able to make it the full year (and 2 extra weeks!) I'm very proud of us, baby girl! You're definitely a litle piggy and can't seem to get enough to eat. You eat oatmeal or yogurt or eggs for most morning breakfasts, lunch meat and cheese, fruit, and bread for lunch, and usually whatever we're eating (pasta, meatloaf, casserole, etc.) or a Gerber Graduate meal with fruit for dinner. You are constantly begging for snacks - you go to the corner where we keep your crackers and beg. It's funny - until you sit down and wail when we tell you it's not snack time. I think all those teeth (4 on the bottom, 2 on the top) are helping you chew more, too. You've done great with your whole milk, and usually drink around 20 ounces a day, with a little watered down juice at times, too. I'm so glad you don't seem to be very picky - and I hope that trend continues!

You talk constantly and are saying more words. Just today you started saying "Peekaboo" in a cutie little voice on your own without being prompted. You say "ni ni ni" when we say "No, No" to you. Are you mocking us already? I think you were trying to say "bite" at the table today when you wanted some of my dinner. You called one of the boys at church Elmo during the middle of service yesterday - hilarious! Oh, and you say "boc boc" when we ask you what a chicken says? TOTALLY the cutest thing ever! Ok, the second cutest - because the absolute cutest is your new obsession with kissing. You pucker up and push your mouth toward whatever and make the "mmwah" sound. You do it all the time - seriously. We don't even have to prompt you to do it - you just kiss whatever is near, including Maggie, baby Tinley, strangers at church, the trashcan, characters in book - it doesn't matter! The one thing you don't always kiss is us when we ask for it. You'll turn your head and kiss the thin air instead of us - silly girl! I would love to bottle up your innocence and save it forever. I pray that you continue to have a loving heart. It's so fun to have you be so friendly to our friends, family, and even to strangers. Everyone just enjoys being in your presence.

The weather is turning nice outside, so I look forward to more playtime at the park and in your swing that Papa Bill and Nana got you that's hanging in the tree by the side of our townhouse complex. Mrs. Kate takes you and Liam to the park and I know you will start enjoying that more and more. This summer is going to be so much fun, Brenna, and I know it's going to be even better knowing that I don't have to go back to work next fall and we'll get to spend our days together. I can't believe we are so lucky - it's something I've wanted so bad since you were born. Having you around will make the move and transition to NC much easier, I'm sure. I can't wait to see what fun we'll get in to.

Until next month, know that I adore you more every day. I love you, my spunky little Sprout.

Love, Mommy