Briana's First Circus

And boy did we have fun! I kept talking to Briana about all the fun things we were going to see at the circus a few days before we went and she was totally pumped! Walking into the arena was almost the best part because you could see the excitement all over her face.

Briana did great the first half of the show before intermission, and then she got a little antsy during the second half. The circus started at noon and about two o'clock, you could hear children all over the arena missing their naps - LOL! Briana's eyes started to droop the last 15 minutes or so. Overall, she did awesome and thoroughly enjoyed her cotton candy and popcorn. Once we got back in the car, she crashed from her sugar rush and all the excitement.

I love seeing everything through Briana's eyes. Everything is bigger, brighter, more magical and more exciting. Makes me feel like a kid again...

Here are a few pics and videos for you to enjoy.

We're on our way to the circus - hooray!!

Walking to the arena.

We're here!!! Already trying out the cotton candy. ;)

Watching the show.

Daddy and Briana enjoying the show.

There were a few numbers that were very "Cirque du Soleil-esque" to me.

The tiger cage.

The big finale!

Enjoying the show and Briana shoving cotton candy in her face...



Here are the really cool circus motorcycles.



This is the beginning of the show.



It was such a fun Sunday afternoon!!!

A Little Catch Up

We have been just hanging out - how about you? This is a pic my mom snapped of Briana a few weeks ago at gymnastics. Bri still absolutely loves gymnastics. In fact, we were in class this morning. I wish the class lasted longer. A half an hour seems so short. I'm sure not too short for Briana's teacher though. ;)

Last Friday, Briana and I visited my grandmother along with my mom, sister and nephew. We had an early Valentine's Day lunch.

Briana wanted to dance with Mommy in the halls of my grandmother's assisted living home.

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. We had a really nice one. Doug took Briana and I out to a nice dinner at a steakhouse. Briana is always so good in restaurants, but with it being romantic holiday, I prayed that the streak would continue. I always worry about taking Briana out to a nice restaurant - especially on Valentine's Day. But, we made early reservations and Briana was a champ as usual. The waitress said to us, "You wouldn't even know there was a little one sitting here." :) Briana is a whirlwind, but she is very serious about her food. ;)

Here is my sweetie on Valentine's Day...

At the restaurant...

My Valentines...

We are taking Briana to the circus on Sunday. I am so excited. I hope Briana enjoys it and actually sits in her seat. I may have to bribe her with treats. My gal pal Lisa went last weekend and said cotton candy was $12 a bag. I think we are in for a very expensive Sunday! Yikes!

Happy Valentine's Day & Sleeping Bri

I hope everyone has a very Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow! Look at the present I got a little early...

Doug and Briana gave me M&M's with their faces on them. Aren't they cute? Do you think I had any issues eating candy with my two favorite people printed on them. Heck no - they are delicious!!!

And here are a few shots of my sweet Briana sleeping today. We had a busy day visiting with my mom, grandmother, sister and nephew. Briana fell asleep in the car and I placed her on the guest bed to finish her nap. She really takes my breath away. I love how peaceful she is when she sleeps.

Happy Hugs and Kisses Day everyone!

Briana's Singing Debut

I mentioned in my last post that Briana started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." My mom called during lunch today, and I asked Briana to sing the song on the phone to her and she did! After I got off the phone, I grabbed my camera and had her sing it a couple times again. I always need to accompany her to get her to do it, but I am so excited that she is finally singing real songs! Yay!

Enjoy these two videos!

A Little Catch Up With "Super-Nana"

Yes, Briana calls herself "Super-Nana" now. She declares, "I'm Super-Nana!" at least once a day. It can be very tiring living with a real life superhero. :)

Here is a little catch up with all things Briana...

* The Saturday before last, we went to Briana's friend Dylan's 2nd birthday party. You all know how much my girl loves a good party. Here are a few pics from the day.

* I signed Briana up on Tuesday morning for preschool in the fall (it starts in August). She will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 - 1. Oh my gosh, what am I going to do with actual free time in the morning? I don't know what that feels like anymore!

* Last Wednesday, Briana had her speech evaluation with Babies Can't Wait. Good news - Briana passed her speech evaluation with flying colors. The therapist would point to pictures in a book and Briana had no problem saying what the pictures were. In fact, the therapist pointed to a scissors in the book and Briana said "scissors". The therapist looked up at me and said, "I am going to finish this, but um, she's not going to be needing help from us." She thought she was right on target and since she had not heard English until she was one year old, she felt she had caught up very fast. She also said that Briana would most likely be saying sentences very soon. I have to say that in the four weeks between the first evaluation and the second one, Briana has greatly improved in her speech. I can breathe a little sigh of relief now.

* Briana is still loving her gymnastics class. She waves to me from afar every so often, but she doesn't need my help. Sniff...

* I already filled you all in on Briana's first haircut. I did keep a snip of her hair. I will put it in a book - some day.

* Briana is doing so much better in story time at the library. I was getting a little frustrated for a while because Bri seemed to want to cruise the room rather than participate in the activities. In the last few weeks, she dances and sings and listens to the stories like a champ. She is usually in the front row of kids. I am hoping this is a precursor for preschool.

* I think we are officially cold free now. Bri and I started our colds on Tuesday and Doug started his on Thursday. Being sick royally stinks...

* I am slowly working on potty-training. I actually tried to put Briana in panties on Friday just to see what would happen. Let's just say it didn't go well. I had to clean up several accidents. Things are still not clicking for her yet. We still have a lot of work to do, but I just need to be patient and not push her too hard. I know every kid is different and goes at their own pace. Bri is not in preschool yet so she isn't able to watch other kids go potty, and it is all on me to teach her. Stresses me out a little (ok - a lot)! But she is a smart cookie. She'll get it eventually.

* Last night, I was rocking Briana before bed and I started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to her. I sang it once and she listened. Then I started singing it again. The one thing I have been worried about with Briana is that she hasn't been singing songs. She would hum along to a song, but not say the words. That is one of the reasons I had her speech evaluated. And she loves to sing, but her own little songs - just la, la, la songs. Last night, she started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with me for the first time. It was so sweet - I felt a big lump in my throat. She didn't get all the words right, but she sure got a lot of them right. Doug was listening to us on the baby monitor in the other room and came in when we were done because he was so excited. It was a really amazing moment. I love all of these "firsts".

* Speaking of singing, I took Briana to the subdivision playground Monday afternoon. As she climbed the ladder, she started to sing "Sube! Sube!" Thanks Diego. She can sing in Spanish now too! LOL!

* I better run. Super-Nana's mommy is signing off. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Briana's First "Real" Haircut

This is the real first haircut at a salon - not the one where I hack at it the best I can. :)

Briana and I are getting over our colds now and are starting to feel much better. Doug is the sick one now, but he wanted to see Bri's hair cut today, so he went with us feeling a bit under the weather.

I honestly can't believe how well Briana did. What a champ! Bri sat still the whole time (for the most part) and smiled throughout it too. I didn't get too much length cut off because I still want cute pigtails and ponytails, but the hairdresser (Shari) trimmed and cleaned it up a bit. Briana even went back to the shampoo station. Shari didn't shampoo her hair, but she did get it pretty wet!

Here is a picture play by play!

Waiting to be called back...this magazine is very interesting.

Shampoo station!

Getting set up.

Briana looks so little in the chair!

Some support from Mommy.

Some support from "baby" as well.

Shari showing Briana her hairdryer with sparkles on it.

Drying her hair.

Curling it a bit.

Final touches.

A little hair discussion...

Voila! Happy Briana!

Afterward, we ran to Garden Ridge to pick up a few things. Briana got a little treat - a small hoola hoop. Here are some pics of Briana new do!

My baby is growing up. Sniff!

Under The Weather

I've come down with a nasty cold. Briana has the sniffles too. I have some stuff to blog about but just don't feel up to it. I'll be back here and checking blogs when I am feeling better. See you all soon.

Guess Who I Met?!

Lisa from "The Long Road to China"! Yes, Ms. Half Gaelic, Half Garlic herself! She is as sweet and charming in person as I imagined. Lisa was in town for business and to attend a photography workshop given by my friend Deb (a workshop I definitely plan to attend in the future). Lisa, Briana and I headed to Bahama Breeze on Thursday night for some good food and conversation. And when I mean conversation, I mean nonstop talking for two hours! I couldn't believe how well Briana did during those two hours. She was on her best behavior - thank goodness! I think the bowtie mac n cheese and the Wondercolor sets that Lisa brought for Briana were a very big help!

Most of the following pics were taken with Lisa's awesome camera and a couple were taken with mine...

And once we got back to the hotel, Briana showed us all the energy that she had saved up sitting in the restaurant so long. She lapped the hotel lobby several times - LOL! She showed Lisa where the ladies room was about six or seven times. :)

I wish we had more time to spend together, but the time we did spend together was fantastic! Thanks for visiting Lisa!