Happy Easter/Happy Passover

Most of you know, my family celebrates both (Passover began on Monday evening and ends this Tuesday). :)

Happy Easter and Happy Passover everyone.

Dyeing Easter Eggs

I love when Briana and I get to dye Easter eggs together. She always enjoys it so much (and I do too).

She takes her time dipping in each egg...

How could I not like this time of year? How many times a year do I get to pull out my mismatched coffee mugs all at one time? Seriously?

Bri and I made some Easter cookies earlier in the week and the packaging had these cute little cutouts to put on the Easter eggs. They are so stinkin' cute...

A cute grin...

They came out nice and bright...

This is the finished product...

Too pretty to eat!!!!

She Oozes Cuteness

Bri not only oozes happiness, she oozes cuteness too. IMO, this kid is cuteness personified.

She looks cute wearing cow couture.

She looks cute with a springtime sassy smile...

She looks cute getting out of the shower...

And wearing pajamas on pajama/teddy bear day...

She is cute eating ice cream with Gramma...

And when she rides her bike...

And she is totally cute when she is kissing daddy on the nose...

Her cuteness makes me smile each and every day!!!

Just Cause I Love Her Smile

I snapped this photo on Friday. When Bri is happy, her whole face lights up.

She just oozes happiness.

Palm Sunday And The New Pope

If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know that Doug, Briana and I are Catholic. Briana was baptized in 2009. 

Today is Palm Sunday.

And as you all know, the new pope was elected a couple of weeks ago. This is a huge event in the Catholic religion. It is an even bigger event right now because popes never step down from their posts, but Pope Benedict felt the need to do so due to poor health. Traditionally, a pope passes away and then new pope is elected. Yesterday, the former pope and the new pope had a visit - and that is the first time that has happened in over 600 years.

The day that Pope Francis was elected and announced to the world was on a Wednesday, and I take Briana to PSR class on Wednesday afternoons.

When I arrived at the church, the church bells were ringing and they rang for an entire hour. There was a buzz and an excitement in the air and all around church that afternoon. It was pretty neat.

I snapped a picture of my church from the bottom of a hill and also recorded some of bell ringing...

It is definitely not an event you witness every day.

My Sensitive, Caring Girl

Briana is an ultra sensitive child and is extremely caring. When she loves someone, she will really go out of her way to show you.

I received an out-of-the-blue e-mail from Briana's former kindergarten teacher a couple of weeks ago telling me that Briana makes her day nearly every day because Bri goes out of her way to hug her whenever Bri sees her. She said that Bri is the sweetest little girl and that Bri brings her such joy. What a wonderful e-mail to receive! I was pretty proud. :)

Since Briana doesn't have brothers or sisters, her cousins and friends often fill that "sibling" role. Briana's good friend Kira is 4 years younger than Briana, and Kira (who is also an only child) looks up to Briana in that "big sister" type role. 

Here is Briana reading to Kira the other night on her iPad...

It was so cute because she would allow Kira to "turn" the pages (you swipe the iPad to turn the page) when Briana was done reading that page. Briana is so patient with Kira and it is really fun to watch.

There are times I worry about how sensitive Briana is. But, I think I rather have her more sensitive than not sensitive enough.

Briana is also very sensitive when it comes to her stuffed animals too. She has a ton and won't allow me to get rid of any of them. I know that rationally that she knows dolls/stuffed animals are not real or alive, but she gets so attached to them - she seems to think they have feelings. As we all know, she still has her lifeline favorite doll Pink Baby.

My mom said that this commercial reminded her of Briana and her imaginary friends (and I totally agree)...

I am so crazy about my super-sensitive, caring gal.

Soccer Saturday

I love watching Briana play soccer. I think it is because she loves playing it so much. With all the things she has tried in the past, soccer is really her passion. And I will let her keep on playing as long as she keeps that passion.

We had to get to the field early for picture day. Look at that sassy pose. Makes you think she gets a lot of pictures taken of her or something. Snort...

The whole team (minus one girl that was sick on Saturday)...

Getting ready for play...

Talking strategy...

Briana played like a rock star once again on Saturday. U6 Soccer for the YMCA is played 3 on 3 with no goalie. It gives the girls more time with the ball and a bit less resistance to score. Miss B made a whopping 14 goals that day! Woo Hoo!

1st Grade Field Trip

On Thursday, Briana and all of the 1st grade went to a little theater in a nearby downtown area to see a performance on Harriet Tubman. (I snagged the above and below shots of the theater off the internet because I didn't get any really good ones). It was performed by the Bright Star Touring Theater...

There were only two performers - the actress portrayed Harriet Tubman and the actor portrayed all of the other characters (masters, government people, etc).

Parents were invited to attend, and Briana said she really wanted me there, so I went. I'm really glad I did, because I got to sit with her and her class during the performance.

At one point during the performance, Harriet Tubman started to walk up and down the aisles and asked for volunteers from the audience. You can see all the little hands go up...

And wouldn't you know it, Briana was one of the kids picked. She was pretty excited.

Harriet Tubman was explaining how it was to walk along the underground railroad. The kids were pretending to be runaway slaves. They were hiding throughout the theater from the man trying to catch them...

Here is a clip of Briana walking by me...

Here they are trying to "hide"...

Actors on stage (too bright to see really)...

Briana's class getting together to get a picture taken...

I thought it was a great performance and very informative (it was a bit slow at times for a few of the kids) but Briana watched intently the entire time. I think the biggest lesson the kids learned is that "Education Is Power."

I've joined in on Bri's preschool field trip, her kindergarten field trip and now her first grade one. I am very curious to see where Bri will end up next year!

Another Visit To The Museum

Seriously, if Briana could live at this place she would. We are members and it has been worth every penny.

Briana had the day off from school on Friday, so I took her favorite place ~ the science museum!

And something really amazing happened. Briana actually slowed down this visit and wanted to read the signs. She wanted to learn about everything. Her growing up is really cool sometimes...

 We started our day in the fossil dig...

Then we moved to the Dinosaur fossil exhibit...

Time for quick bite to eat...

She loved her grilled cheese...

Miss B then panned for gems/rocks...

We moved on to the "big backyard" where Briana could play with science stuff...

The transportation/space exhibit was next...

Then it was the mineral exhibit. Love the rocks that can light up...

There is a new solar house right outside the museum. The whole little house runs completely on solar power. Amazing!

Briana stopping for a little pose before we headed home...

These are the days that I really, really, really love being a mom.