Rock Band Night

Isn't this pic too stinkin' cute?

Doug, Briana and I met up with friends for some Japanese hibachi and then some Rock Band last Friday night. The food was delish and the entertainment was well...interesting. LOL!

The girls from left to right are Briana, Ashlyn, Kaitlyn and Cassie.

After a delicious dinner, we headed back to our friend Mark's house for some Rock Band. I was really nervous. I mean really nervous. With Rock Band, you are required to sing, play drums or play guitar. I started off easy by playing drums. That was really fun. Then I moved up to guitar. I never got the hang of that at all. Guitar is freakin' hard. But the part I was really nervous about was the singing. See, I DON'T sing in front of people. I have sung in front of Doug and my daughter - and that's it. I don't think I am a bad singer really, but I'm definitely not Mariah Carey either. So, after some liquid courage (an apple martini), I caved in. And you know what? It was really fun!

So if you are looking for something fun to do with friends, I highly recommend Rock Band!

** Update - my friend Lisa S. reminded me that I did sing with the other mommies in Bri's music class. But, most of the time we sang as a group! LOL!

1.5 Years/A Different Kind Of Quiet

On January 30th, 2009, it will be 1.5 years since a scared and tiny little girl was placed in my arms in China. I can't believe how much Briana has grown and blossomed since then. And I also can't believe how much my life has changed in just 1.5 years.

I decided to rock Briana in her room tonight around 9:30PM because she was having a hard time falling asleep. I turned her nightlight on and I placed her sitting on my lap facing me with her arms and legs wrapped around my waist and her head laying on my chest. She would lovingly squeeze me with her hands every so often. As I was rocking her, I started thinking about how different my life was just 1.5 years ago.

I remember the longing for a child like it was yesterday. I don't think it is something that someone ever forgets even though it does fade a little - especially when you yearn for something so desperately. I didn't decorate Briana's nursery until a few months before referral because of my fear that the dream of having a child might not be realized. But I finally did decorate the room, and I remember sitting and rocking in that room by myself. I would look around at the painted walls, baby furniture and the pictures on the wall. Often I'd sit in there at night. I remember the deafening silence. No laughter. No tears. No noise. No baby. Just...quiet. A quiet kind of sadness, I guess.

Then rocking Briana tonight, I really thought about the different kind of quiet that I was experiencing in that moment sitting her room. It wasn't complete silence, but it was still very quiet. I was listening the soft hum of Briana's fan and hearing the sound of her breath. I stroked her hair and patted her back. I once again looked at the painted walls, baby furniture and the pictures on the wall and the feeling was so different. I don't feel sadness in the quiet anymore - I feel at peace. And even in those times when I am really tired and don't feel like rocking in that chair, I still feel that peace. Briana changed the quiet and took my sadness away.

To all those moms still experiencing that quiet kind of sadness, know that I think of you every day and I pray that the quiet changes for you like it did for me...

CNY Eve Dinner

We had a wonderful Chinese New Year's Eve evening with our friends Amy, Kevin, Garrett and Mary Lin on Sunday night. The food was delicious and the company was even better! All the kids dressed in their Chinese outfits and looked adorable. And Briana ate more long noodles than any child her size should. ;)

I, of course, had to attempt a little photo shoot before we left the house. Miss Briana was less than cooperative. Ugh. I managed to get a few good shots. And yes, in the full length shot of her she was huffing because she was sick of me taking pics of her...

I still need to blog about Rock Band. I promise to do that in a day or so!!!

Xin Nian Kuai Le/Happy New Year!

Wow - has it really been an entire week since I last posted? I never go that long without posting, do I? This weekend has been super busy - filled with a Rock B@nd night with friends, a chocolate tasting party night and now tonight, we are going out to dinner with friends for CNY Eve. I will blog about Rock B@nd night and chocolate tasting party night in a separate post because they were so FUN! The past week was actually a quiet one for Bri and me. I was actually able to work a little on Briana's toddler lifebook.

Doug and I decorated the house today because CNY starts tomorrow! Briana was sooo excited when we started pulling out the decorations. She started yelling "Ni Hao!" because she has seen the Kai Lan CNY episode like 50 times. Here are a few pictures of our decorations...




And I just have to post this. Look at what my baby drew! Here is her first "real" picture that is not just squiggles. I hung it on my office wall. She actually drew circles, and if you look closely, you'll see eyes, a nose and a mouth. I think it is supposed to be me! I cannot tell you how proud I am of my little sweetheart!

I have to mention how sorry I am to all of my blog buddies that are so close to referral that got the wind knocked out of them with a two day batch. My heart goes out to you...

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!!

New Kids In Town, Kooza and Update On Napping

The new kids in town are Liene and Eriks! Briana and I met them over at DAC Kids on Friday morning. It was so nice to finally meet Eriks (what a cutie pie) and see Liene again. The kids were all over the place at DAC Kids, so it was super hard to get good pictures. I attempted the one above at Chick Fil A, but as you can see, Briana was not super cooperative. Briana thought Eriks was "da bomb"! :)

Here is Miss Briana getting ready to go. I had to bundle her up because it was 14 degrees (yes 14) when we left the house. Yowza!

This is the only pic I caught of Eriks at DAC Kids and it was of his back. LOL!

I was so shocked. Briana actually enjoyed playing with the sand more than climbing all the ladders, etc. It was nice that she was more calm this visit. Much less stressful for me! It was so nice getting to know Liene better. We have to do it again soon!

And here are Doug and I before we left the house for our big night out Wednesday night!

We ate at Geisha House and it was delicious. And as you can see, the atmosphere was so cool.

I just had to take a picture of my cocktail...a peach tikitini. Yum!

And this was my tempura lobster tail. Amazing doesn't even describe it!

And here is the tent for Kooza. The show was absolutely incredible!

And now I have an update on napping!

Thank you so much everyone that commented on napping. It is so nice to get so many responses and so many perspectives on the subject!

Thursday, I gave Briana rest time with books in her crib for about an hour, but she was still wide awake. No sleep for Briana that day. She looked a little tired around 4:30, so I walked outside for a few minutes to get some cold air on her face! We ate dinner and Miss Bri was asleep by 7:30. She slept all night without a peep.

Friday was DAC Kids - she woke up about 8AM. She was so exhausted from her fun with Eriks that morning, she zonked in the car on the way home. She slept two solid hours and I finally had to wake her up because she would never go to bed that night if I let her sleep longer. She was pretty ticked that I woke her up, but I had to wake her. I didn't put her down to bed until almost 9PM and with a little rocking, she fell asleep. Unfortunately she cried out a few times during the night, just enough to wake me up. Ugh. She was up at 7:30 this morning. I put her down around 1PM today with a few books. She fell asleep within 10 minutes.

It looks like napping will just depend on her - a hit or miss situation. I plan to still put her down each day for "rest time" for at least an hour. Yep, because mama needs her rest too. ;)

And lastly, I just want to say "Happy Anniversary" to my parents today. It is their 39th wedding anniversary!!!!!

Doug's B-Day and Giving Up Naps

Unfortunately, Doug had to work all day on this birthday. But when he came home, he came home to these...birthday cupcakes!

Of course Miss Briana had to help Daddy blow out his candles and help him open his gifts! Tonight, Doug and I are having a night out ALONE! We are going to a sushi restaurant and then we are going to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza. As you know, Doug and I are big Cirque fans, so we are very excited about seeing this one. This is part of Doug's birthday celebration - even if it is one day late. :)

And here is a picture of Miss Briana last night. The minute her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light...

Ok, BTDT moms...

The reason Briana zonked so quickly before 8PM was due to the fact that she didn't take a nap yesterday. And then she slept for 12 hours straight without a peep. She is skipping a lot of naps lately. I really think she might be trying to give them up. When I put her in her crib, she will talk and play for over an hour sometimes - wide awake. Now I don't mind her not napping if she is getting rest time, but the problem I am having is that she wants to fall asleep in her dinner at 5:30-6PM when she doesn't take a nap.

Should I let her give up her naps (unless she is really tired)? How soon did your kids give up naps? Briana is almost two and a half. Gosh that seems too soon for me. I really love having some "me" time in the afternoon, but if she isn't wanting them - I don't want to force her to sleep. Hmmm, quite the dilemma, huh?

Happy Birthday Doug!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, father of my daughter, best friend and love of my life! Hope you have a wonderful day!!!! XOXO

Doug's Return

It has been a long week. Briana was sick at the beginning of it, but luckily she started feeling much better toward the end of it. We are on the tail end of our antibiotics. What a failed to mention at the beginning of this week was that Doug went to the CES Convention in Vegas on Monday. I decided not to let the whole world know that Briana and I were alone this whole entire week. So as I write this post, Doug is heading home from the airport. Yay!

On Friday morning, Briana and I took a tour of what will be her preschool in the fall. She will be going two days a week and since she will be 3 years old in August, she will be in the 3 year old program. I think the school is great as well as the program director. What is even better is that my friend Amy's daughter will be going to the school too. The girls won't be in the same class, but they might pass each other in the hall. ;) I seriously cannot believe Bri will be starting preschool in the fall. Sigh...

Briana and I spent the day at my mom's house yesterday. I really needed a hand in keeping Briana occupied for the day. Big news - Briana is FINALLY saying the word "grandma" now. Ok, actually it sounds like "gramma", but that's ok. Clear as a bell too! And now that Briana can say "gramma" now, she says it ALL the time. When I tried to do something (anything) for her yesterday, she would say "NO! GRAMMA do it". Hmmm, so much for loyalty. :)

As you can see, Briana makes herself comfortable at Gramma's house. She and my mom did a lot of dancing together yesterday too.

So, I am waiting for the garage door to go up any minute now. The first thing Briana asked this morning was "Where's Daddy?" She has been asking that a lot. I can't wait to see her face when he comes home!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Dramatic Improvement

I wrote my last post on Tuesday afternoon - when Briana woke up grumpy from her nap. Well, bath time that day was horrible. She screamed through the whole bath. It took her over an hour to fall asleep once I put her down to bed and she yelled out a few times in the night.

Wednesday morning - 7:15 AM. Briana woke up happy as a clam. We met Kathy and Chani at Monkey Joe's at 10 AM. Briana jumped, played and had a wonderful time with Chani. Bri even went up the very big ladder and slid down the big slide all by herself for the first time. Even more impressive was Chani did too and she is not even two years old yet!

Here is some of the fun the girls had...

After a morning of jumping, Kathy, the girls and I had a great lunch together. I couldn't believe the turn around Bri did overnight. Briana was so tired from jumping, she fell asleep in the car on the ride home. She took a nap, woke up happy and played stickers all afternoon. While I cooked us dinner, she cooked a meal of her own...

We played Legos after dinner and she didn't make a fuss when I told her it was bath time. She went right to bed and woke up this morning again happy.

She went to her independent gymnastics class today and did a fantastic job! She loves it!

I didn't realize how much I had missed my little girl's smile until I saw it again. Thanks again for all the support and suggestions! I really appreciate it!!!!!