Sweet, sweet Brea... April 5, 2009

Brea,

My sweet Brea. I don't know if any other word could possibly describe you better. I might start all my posts with that, but it is the most accurate definition of you. Ultimately, you are so thoughtful and sweet I can't even grasp it! You're all the things I wish I could be... you share your best toys, your best ice cream, jelly beans, presents with me, daddy and Bryn. You think of our needs and try to meet them. You are sweet beyond your years. You have moments where you don't want to share, but ultimately, you do nice things for other people.

You are asking some pretty in depth questions lately, like what are cocoons, and why doesn't lightning happen when it's not rainy or dark skies... You have a great memory, and will pick up on things I thought would be over your head. But you will think about them for awhile, and at a later time you'll pull out a word I said and use it in a sentence. Iit doesn't always make sense... and sometimes you'll say a big long mumble with a few big words in it-almost like you're babbling again! But you'll expect an answer or say, "right, mom?" You have been on a time thing lately, for awhile it was about the hour, and now it revolves around mealtimes or last night, this morning, yesterday, tomorrow... It's the funniest that you don't quite get it right... We'll be eating lunch and you'll say what a great dinner it is (that would be your peanut butter and jelly sandwhich...) Or you'll talk about something that happened at any point in the past as "last night". It's just that you're so serious, and adult like in your conversasions that I get a kick out of it! The last few days you've talked about how I woke you up in the middle of the night "last night" to see the lightning storm. It really happened a week ago, but it cracks me up. You're learning so much and trying to use it all!

We've been playing outside the last few days because the weather has been amazing. You ride your tricycle and Bryn will push her stroller around. There's a few other girls who have been out there, one is Lily, she's 5, and the other two are twins and I think about 8ish. Anyway, they ride their bikes around, and asked you to play. At first you pretended to be shy, but after we "learned" their names (which we forgot instantly) you were like, "Okay girls! Let's go!" and you took off on your bike and they all followed you, like a bunch of swaggering turtles trying not to fall off their bikes because it was so slow. They let you lead for about 2 laps around the common area before they sort of dispersed and got off their bikes. I was surprised at how you took charge and the way you spoke to them. You were a bit bossy and were talking to them like you were all grown up! At times I was a little weirded out, like I didn't know this side of you! Then you ran off to go see "your" puppy at the end of the grass and the girls took charge of Bryn. Funny, funny! The way you change!

You still love to snuggle and I can curl you up and you just fit in my arms perfectly. Like you haven't grown at all. You look at me with such adoration, and reach up to stroke my face. Then you crinkle your nose, kind of like your Great Grandma Huddleston did (maybe I do it too?) and give me a puppy dog kiss (rub noses). Sometimes I feel like you soothe my soul, you show me love so tenderly, so thoughtfully. You mean it. I can't explain it, you just know how to show your love. And speak it too. You speak such kind words to me, daddy and Bryn. At night in Bryn's room, you'll start her mobile while I lay Bryn in her crib and then you wait for me to leave her room first and as you close her door you say, "Goodnight Bryn. Love you, Sweet Dreams. Both of you." (I don't know who else you mean, but EVERY night you say those words and close her door quietly. When she cries at night, or in the morning you'll sing her songs. You talk to her and soothe her. She adores you. You ask, "Mommy, can I hold my sister?" or, "my Bryn?" Sometimes I'll have you go potty as I lay Bryn down, and you'll say, "don't forget to turn Bryn's music on, okay?" And then you'll meet me at the door to close it and offer your well wishes.

You're imagination is growing, and you're a different character each day. It's either Melman from Madagascar or Bambi, but you switch it up daily. Somehow you don't forget who you are, even though the only thing that seems to change is your name. You don't move like a giraffe or deer, "talk" like them or anything. I manage to forget your "name" by the second it seems. I never realized how often I said your name until I got, "Gloria!" (oh... that's me, the hippo...) "my name's not BREA, it's MEL-MAN, okay??" You'd think I'd get it right!

We've been hanging out with your preschool friends more often the last couple weeks, and you seem to really enjoy them. I'm not surprised at your friendliness, but I am surprised at how un-shy you're starting to become. I've always known it was a fake shy, an act if you will, but you don't usually snap out of it if I'm around and it's a new place. Anyway, we were at the arboretum with your preschool friends, and at one point we stopped for a kindermusik show, where all the kids interact and "fly" like birds, twirl, dance, and sing. You went right up to another little girl we didn't know and held her hand and played ring around the rosies with her. You called her "my friend" the whole time. It was cute.

You've been doing some pretty daredevilish stuff lately... Like climbing up on Bryn's crib and jumping onto the "ball-less ball pit." You aren't as afraid of water anymore. Tonight we went in the spa and you would put your face under the water and hold your breath when we asked. Not a whole bunch, but you're getting better. You jumped off the side without a fight this time. Fun! You like jumproping, although you really just jump over a stationary rope. I want to get a hopscotch drawn for us out front, I think you'd have fun with that now. We tried skating, but that only lasted a few minutes before you were bored. I basically held you and pushed you forward, so I wasn't upset for that to be over.

School's going great, your teachers adore you! Mrs. Theresa can't get enough of you. Lately you've been falling asleep there, and it's so sweet. Bryn will crawl over you to wake you up and then you'll just hug her neck until she can't breathe and manages to push you away- lovingly of course ;) ha! On the way home you'll ask, "how was your day, mommy?" Oh, so sweet! Sometimes you're talkative and will answer questions about your day, but other times you need a bit of a rest in your room before you want to hang out. You are so proud of the pictures and crafts you make, and tell everyone that you made it just for them! It makes a person feel good, even if you made if for everyone! You always want people to feel happy! You don't really fall asleep at home for naps on a regular basis. You still need your time alone, and you play in your room contetedly- though sometimes destructively... Sometimes you'll finally crash at 4, when it's too late to go to sleep... Oh well. You dress yourself entirely, and even pick out your clothes sometimes. We're trying to be better about cleaning up, and though you're good at putting things where they belong, you don't always clean up after yourself. Me and daddy aren't very good at that either...

I just am amazed by you. Your love and tenderness are so honest and genuine. It's really like you connect, like you look deep into my eyes and really mean the sweet things that you say. I just can't explain it right. I am in love with you, you are a great daughter, with an amazing spirit and love for life. You want to do good for others, and you want to please. My baby, I would be pleased with you no matter what you do! God's love shines right through you, and you have an amazing gift!

I love you,

Mommy (or Gloria )

My little Trickster 14 1/2 months

Bryn, 4/5/09

My little trickster! You have such a funny personality! You love tricking me, by running toward me for a sec when I ask you to come, then turning around, laughing as you run away. When you get far enough, you'll start to come back, but never close enough for me to reach you before you laugh and run away again.

You answer our questions with a "Ya." It's really quite helpful, and most often you tell us what you want. Sometimes we'll ask you something funny and you still say, "ya!" and we just laugh. You shake your head for no, and nod your head too. I love this new way of communicating. You just got your 4th bottom tooth, so you're even again on the bottom. Just waiting for the opposite top one to come in.

You count to 3, sometimes 4. It's not entirely legible, mostly the tone that you do it in helped me know what you were saying. Just like we throw you up high on the count of 3, or toss you on the bed, it sounds like that. So fun!

At most times throughout the day you have two stuffed animals in your hands. It doesn't necessarily matter which ones, but mostly it's a cat/kitten and a bunny or puppy. Makes me smile. And you toddle around, lugging them everywhere you go. You tuck them into the baby crib, feed them food and bottles, rock and pat their backs. You're a great little mommy. We've been playing a lot outside, and you'll push them in your stroller while Brea rides her tricycle. The neighborhood girls have taken a liking to you, and have found it their mission to "help" you walk and ride Brea's bike. They push you around, and hold your hands. Sometimes you get mad and pull your hands back, but mostly I think you like the attention. The girls who are usually outside are 5 and two 8 year olds. Brea's kind of the leader of that pack right now. I never knew she had it in her. You may give her a run for her money though :) I have a feeling you're not going to stay in the back for long. But really, you and Brea continue to play really well. You share with her, and she shares with you. You both want to do what the other one does, and though it can get a bit touchy, so far it's working out and you're both fairly patient. Right now you two play very well upstairs together, and I can work on my photography downstairs. I hear you in the monitors laughing and talking to each other. You both like jumping in your ball pit (which is now just like an air mattress). You're getting into reading stories more, and you'll bring them to me, and sit in my lap. Any time I'm on the floor, you walk over to me, turn around and back up until you sit on my knee. LOVE IT! Most of the time you don't last through 2 pages of a book before you're off finding a new one, or into something else. But you have at least been picking them up and looking at them more on your own.

You have moments where you're very defiant, and I'm trying to figure out if that's your personality, or you're just trying to see what happens when I say no and you do it again. But you touching my computer has been a big thing lately. And as you look at me after I tell you "don't touch, that's not for Bryn," you'll slam your hand down on it again and again until I can get to you. Inside I laugh, but I'm sort of freaking out. I don't know how to handle it! So you've been in several time outs for that, and hitting me (mostly after I tell you no), and for throwing food. The timeouts are pretty unproductive, but I guess they have to start somewhere. I sort of sit you facing backwards to me and have to hold your thighs so you stay sitting, but you think that's funny or maybe a bit ticklish. You go from laughing at me to being mad that you're stuck. I try not to look at you, but I'm inches from your face and you'll throw yourself backwards into my lap. Yeah, I don't think I'm getting through. I'll have to work on that ;)

You follow me around most of the time, especially downstairs. You close all the doors we go in and out of, close the dryer door as I'm trying to fill it, and the diswasher as I load it up. You throw the close that I've folded in piles, and empty the drawers that I've fill up. You also try to swish around the food that I've swept into mounds. It's pretty funny! You manage to be in the middle of most things, and it makes me smile (sometimes I have to try harder than others). Sometimes I wonder how there can be so much to play with, and you always find the things that are a bit off limits-like the remote. But I love you to bits, and you keep me on my toes!

In the car you sing songs, and I love your sweet little voice. You just make up songs, I don't think they are real words, but there usually isn't a recognizable tune either. You just sing. Love it!!! You do sing night-night Bryn...or at least the night-night and hum the rest. It's definitely a recognizable tune, and you have several verses. For a while when you heard music you would open and close your mouth real wide, moving your tongue around but no sounds would come out. You would even bob your head up and down, side to side. Mostly now you "sing", but I do catch you faking it sometimes. You say, when you choose to, thank you, all done, bye-bye, night-night, mommy (though you usually call me mAA!), Brea is recognizable to us, but I'm not sure how to describe how you pronounce it. You know animal sounds... I'm sure there's other words...

You're able to climb onto Brea's bed (she taught you) and Granna and Papa's bed too. Not yet the couches, but you try desperately. I have seen you downstairs when I know you were upstairs, but have yet to witness how you did it. When I'm around you want me to hold you... Brea says she taught you how to scoot on your bottom. I've tried to show you how to do it on your belly, but so far you just go back up when you turn over. It is how you get down from the beds and fireplace step though, so maybe...

Overall, I adore you right now, at this age, and I could bottle you up and savor it forever. I've thought it all along, but you're just so fun! You get so excited about the little things, like chasing balls outside, and swinging, and touching trees or flowers. You love running and animals. I think sometimes you may hyperventilate when you see an animal and we can't get there soon enough for you. You love catching the bathwater and snuggling and tickles. You love raspberries kisses and swinging. You love pulling wagons and pushing grocery carts. You love your blanky and have to sleep with your stuffed animal friends. You talk to them at night and in the morning. You call for Brea when you wake up, and you're first on her lips when she wakes up. She sings you songs from her bed if you cry. She closes the door to your room each night and says, "Goodnight Bryn, sweet dreams, love you, sleep tight, both of you (I don't know who else she means, but she says it that way EVERY night). It's the sweetest thing I've ever known. I wanted my girls to be best friends, and at this moment, the love you have for each other is in your soul. It binds you. You share your treasured snacks and candies with each other, you share toys, you look for her around the house when she's at school, and you run to her when we pick her up. You have this excited, fast-fake breathing that I've taught you- we do it as we run up the stairs when we're trying to catch Brea, or when we chase each other around the couches, or when I put cold lotion on you after your bath, or when we knock on Brea's door in the mornings... But you also do it when I ask you if we should get Brea. And you'll run to her as you "hyperventilate" it's pretty funny! I'm in love with you, and I couldn't be happier! You are a precious gift from God, and I'm a lucky mommy!