a new phase

We have entered into a new phase with Briella.  It's called, "I'm going to screech in the highest octave I can manage, pretty much all day."

fun with friends

A couple weeks back we were invited to a BBQ at Vicki's home  (Josh's coworker).  You might remember her from this post.  We were joined by another of Josh's coworkers, Evelyn and her two uber cute children.  And of course, Spock, Vicki's dog was there to keep us all entertained, and to keep Bee's face spotless.  (which she loved so very much, she followed him around the entire afternoon)

  

 We brought Bee's golf clubs and Evelyn's kids LOVED them.  Her son made mini golf course obstacles throughout the back yard, and later they were used as bubble destroyers.

 Of course, Bee was the little social butterfly and quickly made friends with everyone.

 It was so nice we spent as much of the afternoon as possible outside.

 Bee was given a taste of her very first chocolate cupcake by her Daddy.

 I'm very proud to say that she LOVEEED her cupcake and as soon as she was done with Josh's she came straight to me to help finish mine.

 You can't really tell but they are trying to hit the bubbles with the golf clubs.  It was HILARIOUS to watch Josh trying to dodge their swings from their overzealous attempts to destroy as many bubbles as possible.

It was such a great afternoon, filled with friends, good food, lots of laughter and beautiful weather. 

shrieks and giggles

Bee's Method for Prolonging Sleep

Sometimes she'll do this for 45 minutes before she's ready to admit defeat and pass out for the night. 

  

Such a funny little girl.  

another day in the life

 



 It was one of those days today.  Wait, let me rephrase this:  it was one of those days BECAUSE she wanted "dada" and not me, and sadly for her, he was working.  You can clearly see what she thought of that! 

Today we bought our first washer and dryer set.  Nerve wracking, but now that its done...I am completely satisfied we picked the right one!  And once we've moved into our new house, I'll post pictures of our newest babies.  Yes, I do think of them as my babies, I'll probably even name them.  And not only will they wash and dry king size comforters, they are pretttttttyyyy, or as Josh calls them "space-agy".  (which is just the male version of prettttyyy)  It's crazy to realize that in 5 weeks, we'll be starting our trip back to Montana, well Wyoming actually, (dang you border towns!) and starting our new life as "Park People".  Which is exactly what I call everyone who lives in or around National Parks.  


I LOVE this last picture of Bee.  After her bath she was walking around being all cute and sweet with her towel still on her head, but AS SOON as she saw me taking pictures, she charged!  HAHA  This is her, "I want that camera, and I'm GOING to get that camera" face, and one of my personal favourites.    

dinosaurs are pets too

Taking her pets for a walk

We're thinking she's already trying to prove how responsible she is, so she can start asking for a real puppy soon.  And maybe a bigger shirt.  What do you think? 

Bee and Buzz

Bee goes through these periods of loving her Buzz doll and then completely ignoring him for weeks at a time.  So much so, we've begun to think of him as her "boyfriend".

Today she LOVED Buzz.  She went everywhere with him. 

They wrestled to see who got to sit in the "bubba chair".   I'm proud to say she won. 

She even tried to have a tea party with him.  I caught her shoving the teacup she's holding into his face, but when I grabbed my camera she saw me and walked off dejectedly, annoyed that I had saved him from getting his face smashed in by a croqueted teacup.  Later she tried to throw him in the tub while the water was running.

Then this evening after I had given her her nighttime bottle, she grabbed good ol' Buzz and snuggled down with him to watch a few cartoons while I tidied the kitchen. 

a glimpse into our future

Bee has a tendency to grab my phone while I'm distracted and call random people, and has now become quite famous for her voice-mails.  Today I caught her talking to my Mother-in-law, Cheryl, and decided to video her.  It's not the best video, but I think we've been given a glimpse of her teenage years!

ups and downs

 She's a happy little girl until you tell her she can't play in the toilet...

and we always end bath-time talking to "baby in the mirror".  She really gets into it.

Pirate

For the past two days I've been fighting some virus, and as all you parents out there know, there are no "sick days" in parenthood.  This is the first time I've been "seriously" sick since Bee was born, so I was prepared for the worst.  I was pleasantly surprised then yesterday when Bee was an angel!  After baby proofing everything in our apartment and making sure both bathroom doors were closed, I camped out on the couch and let Bee have full reign.  I also had the TV on all afternoon with baby cartoons, which definitely kept her in my sight most of the time.  She let me rest, often bringing me toys, socks, and random baby cracker pieces.  It was actually a fairly relaxing day!  Then came today.  

Josh was so kind and got up with her this morning and let me sleep until 9:30 and then lounge in bed until 10am.  It felt so luxurious!  I took my sweet time getting up and was greeted with Bee wailing away from being scolded.  Apparently that was how the entire morning had gone.  She'd do something naughty, get scolded, and then wail her little heart out.  That afternoon Josh left for work and I got her settled down for a nap.  I should have known her good behavior wouldn't last another day.  

All afternoon she was getting into things, trying to pull the pots and pans out, pulling garbage out of the bag, splashing around in the toilet like it was her own personal pool, and was just plain cranky.  I figured she was hungry since she'd been on a food strike for a week, so I made her an early dinner (which she actually ate!  Hallelujah!), and that seemed to placate her for a time.      

Then I caught her with our checkbook.  I gave her the "look" and said, "Briella",  in my most "I'm so disappointed" voice and she jumps up, grabs the cheques, and tries to escape with her loot.  In her haste to get away she trips over her own feet,  looks back at me standing there (trying not to laugh), looks at the checkbook, then looks at me, decided it was better to leave it behind and hightails it to her room.  

As I've written (ranted) before, Bee is not a cuddly kid.  She'd rather shove her fingers up your nose than sit on your lap.  So imagine my surprise when she came over to me and sweetly climbed into my lap.  I melted with love for her, thinking "At last!  My daughter wants some cuddle time!"  Suddenly I realize she's grunting and her little face is getting redder and redder, and then I smelled the real reason why she came to sit on my lap.  This time, I laughed so hard I think I startled Bee.

She wasn't even exceptionally naughty today, but it sure felt like she was doing everything on purpose!  Luckily, the virus seems to be slowly disappearing, which is good, since I'm pretty positive the apartment needs a good picking up, and we're out of leftovers!