Swimming in Midway

We spent lots of time swimming in Midway. And it was so much fun to see Sadie get excited and kick in the water. I take Brizzy swimming almost every week at our gym pool, so she wasn't quite as enthralled. In fact, she anticipates exactly when I'm going to dunk her now, and she freaks out right before I do. I think its sort of funny, so I continue to do it. I figure she'll get over it one day :)

P.S. Lots of pictures below, just to warn you.

If she ever gets nervous in the water, she hugs me really tight, and so, sometimes I like it when she gets nervous. She's not a big cuddler other times. I'm selfish sometimes, what can I say.

Sadie busy eating her hand.


Palmer and Portia came up and joined us one afternoon. Briz and Sadie had fun watching the big kids. Palmer thought it was pretty funny to give himself a beard of bubbles; here he is wiping them off.

Oh yeah, Mom's chin tastes SO good.

Palmer is not very excited to be posing with the babies. He really could care less about them.

We're training Briz and Sadie for the circus.

Briz loved Sadie's ball. All my hopes of a feminine daughter are slowly fading.

Reunited and it feels so good!

This is what Briz looks like after swimming and being dunked under a little bit. I was hoping she would sleep extremely well, but not so much.

Nick is torturing her here.

I love this picture. Just having a little conversation in the pool.

Sadie was not happy about the posing. Come on you guys, just let me swim!

Cute little family.

She's not quite sure yet about this pool. And I'm not quite sure about Nick's face. I have lots of things I could put down as an explanation, but he will get mad at me for making fun of him on our blog (again).

Hmmm, this place has great lighting. (in Sadie's voice).

Getting ready to dive in.

Doing a little strip tease. Wouldn't be affective without a little drool.

The dads and their little women. I laughed so hard looking at Briz' face in this. She looks like she is thinking, "What the hell is going on here?"

Signing Times with the Sader

For Spring Break, we flew to Utah. And we spent a few days with Daniel, Carly, and Sadie. In addition to staying up late playing games, going on walks, swimming, talking, shopping, and making fun of each other, it was so much fun watching Sadie and Briz interract. They were very interested in each other. Briz, in particular, was interested in stealing Sadie's pacifier, her bottle, or just using her head as a balance for standing.

Here Briz is sharing her love of Signing Times with her bff.

Although Sadie was excited in the last picture, she looks a little more hesitant about the current song playing. Maybe she heard Daniel and Nick discuss how they're going to make up their own signing times songs. Briz, on the other hand, is ecstatic about listening to a song she's heard a bazillion other times. They're probably showing food or something.

Airplane Ride

Nick, Briz, and I flew to Utah last Sunday for our Spring Break to visit friends and family. We definitely feel like we are getting more experienced on this whole flying with a baby thing. Oh yeah, except, we forgot to mention we were flying with a child. It was early in the morning, so I had Briz in her sling so she could still sleep. And the attendant at the check out counter, caught us right before we were done. And she asked, "Are you traveling with a child?" And I was like, "Oh yeah!" She thought, like many others, that I was just carrying a huge bag around my side. She was a little disturbed at discovering that my baby is almost a year, and still bundled up in the sling like a kangaroo. I think its almost retired :)

I can't tell you how many people have given me dirty looks and said rude things to me about carrying Briz in her sling, because there has been news about babies dying in them. This may make me an irresponsible mother, but I don't care. It has been an absolute life saver for me. Briz loves it, and so far, she hasn't died yet, not even come close (she does however get kinda sweaty in it sometimes). I know that many people have said they are unsafe, but to that I say, those mothers are just stupid. Babies also die from blankets.

But yes, sad to say, she is about too big for the sling. I suppose I am just an impatient mother, because I can't handle a baby with no nap time. And I didn't think people on the plane would want to deal with the beast that Briz can be when no nap occurs.

I was a little nervous about her flying. The last time she did was when she was 7 months, and she is MUCH more mobile these days. But she did pretty well. She slept for about half the time, and then ate the other half (that's pretty much how her days run as well). She also loved staring out the window and at other people on the plane, which creeped people out a little bit. We lover our little sling sleeper/flyer.

The Park

A couple weeks ago, Nick and I took Briz to the Riverfront park for a little picnic, and playing at the park. We were making fun of our fellow Oregonians the whole time, because it was a nice sunny day, but still a little cold. However, since the sun was out, it meant that people were sporting shorts, flip flops, and tossing frisbies and footballs at the park. We were freezing, so we left early. Or, maybe we're just wimps :)

A little milestone

A little while ago, Briz hit a new milestone. We are now able to put her hair into a "Cindy Lou Who" pigtail. I think its hilarious. And now people don't ask if she's a boy, so that's a plus.

Dog or Child?

I've had a few friends who don't have kids, but have a dog, ask me if its similar. And yes, sometimes, it's exactly the same!

This morning, Briz pooed and peed all over my carpet, then proceeded to crawl through the poo and pee, getting it all over her body. When I started yelling, "Ew, gross, gross, gross!" She just looked at me with this innocent face, like, what's the big deal Mom?

I never used to want to get a dog, but since Briz, I have wanted to really bad because I love seeing her interact with animals. I figure I'm a little more prepared now. However, I'm not sure if I really want a second child right now. Not quite ready for double the poo and pee!

Yes, I'm crafty

With the help of my Mom, a couple weeks ago, I decided to learn how to begin sewing. I've been fighting it for years and years, and while I can never see myself as being really talented at it, it was kind of fun to learn the basics. Keep in mind how big of a leap this is for me. I have difficulty sewing on a button!

These are some silky/soft blankets for baby presents, and one for Briz of course. She has a small one like this, and she LOVES it, so I thought I'd make one so when her other one gets all nasty, she'll have her transitional object to cuddle with.

And I made a bunch of head bands for her. I got some stretchy elastic from the Fabric Depot (man that place is awesome but a little overwhelming), some fake flowers from Joanns. A little cutting, a little sewing, a little touch of the hot glue gun, and voila! Now, a lot of you probably think, yeah, that's easy, I already knew how to do that. But like I said, its brand new to me. And its probably a good thing that I don't have a sewing machine or money, because I could definitely see how this could become an addiction.

Our Daughter the Genius

I thought I would express through pictures, just how smart Briz is:

Here she is putting some of her sweet potatoes in her hair, saving them for later. Smart, right? She plays with her hair and ears when she's tired.

Here she is signing "more." She likes to do this because, well, she likes to eat a lot. She ALWAYS wants to eat more, so its a common sign. But, I will admit, she thinks the sign for more means food, because she will sign this, even before she eats. Don't worry, we're working on it.

She also signs more by clapping. They are very similar, and so this is confusing to her.

She will keep her mouth open for a good five to ten seconds before the food actually enters her mouth.

Okay, so she's not a genius. But she definitely can eat; that has to be some sort of talent.