Briana 2009 - A Year In Pictures Video

Wow - I can't believe the year 2009 is coming to a close. It has been an amazing year. Doug started a great new job a few months ago, I finally got an amazing camera that takes beautiful pictures which I plan on learning to use to the best of my ability and we went to Disney World as a family for the first time.

Briana had so many "firsts" this year - she turned three years old, was potty trained, started preschool, was baptized, learned to ride a bike, had her first "real" haircut, went to her first circus, had her first professional photo session, attended her first dance camp, went to her first Dragon Boat Race, went to a planetarium, saw the Terra Cotta Warriors, met Doug's grandparents for the first time, participated in her first gymnastics "spectacular", went to her first movie in a movie theater, had her first sleepover away from mommy and daddy, sang in her first recital, took her first school pictures, sat on Santa's lap and wasn't freaked out, made her first gingerbread house, baked her first Mooncakes and Christmas cookies and to top it all off, she now sleeps in big girl bed.

My baby is definitely not a baby anymore. She is such a little girl. I was so worried about her speech at the beginning at this year, and now she says so many quirky and silly things that I can't help but laugh. On Sunday morning, we heard her starting to stir on our monitor. Doug went into her room (leaving her door open) and lied on her bed next to her to wake her up. She groggily got out of her bed, closed the door, climbed back into bed next to him, snuggled under the covers and told him she "needed more time." She went back to sleep until 10 that morning. That was definitely a glimpse of her teenage years. LOL! I see more and more of her amazing personality every day. The one thing that hasn't changed is her big smile. That has always been there.

I look forward to all the amazing and exciting things that will happen in 2010. Hope all of you have a happy and healthy 2010!

Enjoy the video of Briana 2009 - A Year In Pictures. Briana is definitely my miracle... (I posted on both Vimeo and YouTube.)

Briana - A Year In Pictures 2009 from Lisa Lu on Vimeo.

Ok, I Lied. A Few More Pics From Christmas...

I found just a few more photos that I liked from Christmas. A few weeks ago, Briana and I went to the pottery painting place that we went to last year and made another mug for Doug for Christmas. This was the hug Bri got from Daddy on Christmas morning.

And here is Miss B getting her My Little Pony from Santa. She was soooo excited.

She got these adorable American Girl Doll twins from Doug's aunt Jene'. Bri has named them Briana and Ethan (after the little boy she has a crush on in school). :D

Sunday, Doug, Bri and I went to my aunt and uncle's house to visit my cousin Jennifer who was in town with her hubby Andy from Florida. We had a great visit with my family and the expectant parents. How is it that my baby cousin is all grown up, married and going to be a mom soon? Time certainly flies...

A Few More Christmas Photos

Here are just a few more of my favorite Christmas photos. We had a great Christmas. Briana is definitely coming down from her Christmas high - we had some whining this weekend which is very unusual for my girl. I think she had Christmas overload. Between Halloween, Disney World, Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are all partied out. I actually started putting some of my Christmas decorations away today because I am so ready for some normalcy!!

By the way, Briana did receive her "My Little Pony and an Ariel that goes in the bathtub." Those were her two big requests that she did not waiver from. She got a lot of other stuff too, but Santa made sure she had those two things. :)

Here is Miss B putting out cookies, carrots and a special picture she made for Santa...



Spreading reindeer food Christmas Eve morning. It rained Christmas Eve afternoon and night, so I wanted to get the food out before the rain. Yes - she was wearing jammies and rain boots. A major fashion statement. :)



My mom got me this book that I have been wanting to read...



And this is my kitty again. Her life is so hard...



Hope everyone is having a great week! I'm trying to get rid of my Christmas hangover.

Several Favorite Christmas Photos

We had a wonderful Christmas - hope you all did too. As you can see above, Santa came and was very generous. :)

Here is Briana coming down the stairs. She looks like she is thinking "Are all these mine?"



Some Christmas smiles at Gramma and Papa's house...



New white boots from Gramma and Papa...



And Doug snapped this photo of our kitty Asia (our first baby)...



I am just starting to go through my hundreds of photos and these are a couple of my favorites so far.

Merry Christmas

Silent Night, Holy Night, All Is Calm, All Is Bright...we're definitely ready for Santa to come tonight. :D

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Briana - Master Baker

Monday morning, my sister and nephew, my mom and grandmother came over to my house for a visit and to do some cookie baking. Briana was very serious about making cookies. She spent lots of time adding sprinkles and m and m's. I put on an adorable hat and apron on her that Doug's aunt sent her a while back as a gift. It was the perfect time to try it all out! Briana had so much fun!

Honestly, I almost couldn't believe I was baking Christmas cookies with my daughter. Briana has been in my life for over two years and I still find that I want to pinch myself sometimes when we share special activities together.







Definitely needs more icing...



The finished products. Delish!!! (Daddy gave two thumbs up!)

Disney Live

We can't seem to get away from all things Disney, can we? ;) Doug bought tickets for us to see Disney Live back in June, and since we still had a little Disney hangover from November, we might as well get one more Disney experience in before the end of 2009. Disney Live was really entertaining and we were 5th row center, which made it even better. We had a great Sunday afternoon.

This was the smile Briana had the entire show...

The show was about the Disney Gang (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald) looking for acts for a talent show...

They got in a car and started to look...

The car even turned into a hot air balloon...

They came across Cinderella and her step sisters...

And I had no idea Buzz, Woody and Jessie were in the show. Briana almost peed her pants with excitement...

Her she is pointing out Tigger...

Tigger had two numbers in the show which both involved getting the kids in the audience to bounce...

Let's just say Briana really took it to heart...

Cinderella's fairy godmother made an appearance...

"A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes..."

The finale...

With confetti...

I thought Briana would explode...

The one thing I can say is that when we bring Briana to do or see something special, she does not disappoint. She is always unbelievably excited, so happy and appreciative. I guess that is why we don't mind spoiling her (a little bit). ;)

Enjoy these videos. The first is Mickey making his entrance and the second is of Woody and Jessie dancing and some Briana smiles thrown in. :)

Gingerbread House and Christmas Play Date

Saturday morning, Briana and I worked on our very first gingerbread house together! Doug's parents sent us the kit, and it included all of the things we needed - except for marshmallows. We decided to add them on our own. Briana had so much fun putting on all the candies. In the front of the house sits a Christmas tree and "Princess Briana Snowman." I think it turned out pretty cute!


And on Friday, we had a Christmas themed play date at my friend Angela's house. Briana LOVES her friends. The kids made gingerbread men out of construction paper and ate a nice lunch that ended with Christmas cookies of course! As we were leaving their house to go home, Briana said, "I love Laney and Halee." :)

One More Chrismas Program Video - Jingle Bells

Here is one more video of Briana's program. Please excuse the beginning where Doug takes some video of the floor and also the zoom in blurs it out a little. And please also excuse my incessant laughing because I thought Briana was so cute. :)