The party

Bria had an amazing 3rd birthday party. It was last Sunday evening and we had it at a recreation center that is right down the road from our house. I'm so happy we had it there, they had tons of toys and climbing structures for the kids to play on and I think everyone had a blast, at least we did :) I barely saw Bria the entire time, she was having so much fun running around with her family and friends. Reese was passed around the whole time so I had both my hands free, it was such a change!

My cousin Lanie was awesome enough to come over the day before and help me make some goodies for the party. My favorite were the Preztel Buttons:

Stick a Hershy kiss on square preztels, bake for 3 minutes then stick an M&M on top. So easy and soooo good!

Some of the cupcakes, I had fun decorating them.

The birthday girls cupcake.

Some signs for the party favors.

I was so happy that Bria took a good nap the day of her party, it meant she would be in a good mood. Well, she's 3 so nothing is a definite, but she was in a good mood.

Bria, Porter and Jaidyn

Abby, Kailey, Bristol, Cassidy, and Noah

The older girls (Abby, Jaidyn, Cassidy, Kailey) were soooo good with all the kids. They ran around and played with them and it was seriously awesome. All of us adults got to talk and chat and eat.

Cassidy and Bristol playing together.

Grammy and Reese

Singing Happy Birthday to herself

She loved singing happy birthday and then blowing out the candles, almost as much as opening presents.

She loves her cupcakes. Fortunately this year went better than last year:

"I want MIIIIIIIILLLLKKKKK!"

A happy 3 year old!

Grandpa David and Grandma Kathie (Brian's Dad and step mom)

These girls are awesome. I met them through a Moms club up here and I don't know what I would do without them. From left, Dehlia, Shaina, Me, Jen, and Amber.

A few of the girls couldn't make it but they were there in spirit.

My cousin Lanie, love her!

Finally it was time to open presents. I couldn't believe how many presents there were, and the girl took her time opening each one :)

I have no idea where Bria gets her facial expressions from.

No clue.

This is now her Rapunzel hair :)

Bria was pooped after all the fun she had, fortunately she got an awesome Tinkerbell pillow from Grandpa David and Grandma Kathie to rest her head on :)

It was such a great party. Bria had a wonderful time and loved having her family and friends there. Birthdays are such a magical time, especially when you're a kid.

It keeps on going

Bria woke up on her birthday and came downstairs to balloons in the playroom. She was absolutely thrilled!

It's nice that something so simple and easy meant so much to her, I think this will be a birthday tradition.

She even let Reese get in on the action.

For lunch on her birthday we went to Red Robin because I knew she would be thrilled when they sang to her. She tried to sing along and then made sure to tell them Good job when they were done.

Congratulating the staff on a job well done ;)

Enjoying her free sundae!

And everyday since her birthday we have played with the balloons in some manner, this day it was in her princess castle:

And yesterday it was in her little fort under the stairs. Like I said, it's nice to know something so simple can be so much fun!

While Bria has been celebrating her birthday for like a week straight, Reese also turned 5 months old which meant we could try baby food. So I've tried baby food with Reese for the last couple days, she is not a fan. It's so foreign to me because Bria took to it right away, like she had been doing it her whole life. I'm not really sure how to get a baby to eat. I think we'll take a little break and try again in a week or so :)

5 months old

Yeah these last two days my girls really socked it to me by both getting older.

Reese is 5 months old and adorable. She is such a sweet happy baby, I feel so incredibly lucky. This month of her life consisted of being sick, almost the whole month. She is finally getting better (I think) and it's been nice to see my smiley baby back again.

At 5 months old, here's a snapshot of Reese:

• Sits up by herself for a few seconds, even long with the boppy around her
• Rolls and rolls and rolls, ALL OVER the place
• Found her feet this month
• Loves her big sister
• Is a mama's girl, but still quite enamored with her Dad
• Nurses exclusively, about 5 times a day
• Sleeps from about 7pm-7:30am (wakes once around 4 am or 5 am to eat and then goes back to sleep) *obviously this has not happened in the last week since she's been so sick
• Takes 2 or 3 naps a day

"Wow, you're really hairy."

"Hey Thumper, Thumper look. Look what I can do Thumper. I'm touching my foot."

"Thumper is impressed!"

We are going to give solids a try in a few days. I'm not in a hurry but she is definitely showing signs of being interested so I know it's time. I am just not ready for the mess and stinky diapers. Meal time is already crazy, so this should get interesting ;)

I can't say enough how much this little girl lights up our world. She is such an essential part to our family and we love her so much.

3 years old

My little cupcake is 3!

Happy birthday to my first born daughter. My sweet little mini me. I remember the excitement of finding out we were pregnant...then seeing the u/s and finding out it was a girl...then driving to the hospital in labor...then holding her for the first time...hearing her say mama...watching her take her first steps...getting her first haircut.

The last 3 years have been the best. Bria teaches me patience everyday and challenges me daily, but she also has me laughing so hard I cry and crying because I'm so happy. She is such a lover and wants to cuddle all day long.

Here is a snapshot of Bria at 3 years old:

• Has quite an impressive memory
• Loves to sing at the top of her lungs (I can't list even a quarter of the songs she knows but here are a few favorites: Star Spangled banner, Jesus Loves Me, I Am a Child of God, Feeling Groovy, Frosty the Snowman, and Dynamite)
• Is incredibly observant (Example: I came home from running errands and had gotten my eyebrows waxed and tinted at the last minute. The first thing Bria said when I came in the door was, "Oh, did you do your eye brows?")
• Loves to be tickled and chased
• Her favorite game is to get under the covers with Daddy while I stomp towards them and then scare them. She thinks it is so much fun and would do it for hours if we would let her.
• Insists on reading her bedtime book after we read it to her. Her impressive memory comes into play here, some of her books she says word for word.
• Listens pretty well for the most part
• Loves talking baby talk to Reese
• Is obsessed with cupcakes and birthday parties
• Is into Dora, Blues Clues, Toy Story, and Tinkerbell. The last 2 she is starting to lose a little bit of interest but still likes them.
• Enjoys doing craft things...I need to get over my aversion to messes
• Fancy Nancy is teaching her fun new words like "perplexed" and "delectable"
• Has a big attitude as well as a big heart
• Is about 30 pounds and we'll find out how tall she is at her doctor's appt next week, I'm thinking she is tall for her age
• Wears 3t, sometimes 4t shirts and size 6 shoes

My favorite thing that we say to each other is, "I love you to the moon and back." It melts my heart to hear her say it, I just love it.

I love my Bria girl!

Food Boot Camp

Rumor has it that all toddlers are horrible, picky eaters. Bria is not an exception to this rule, and to top it off she usually wins the "My toddler is pickier than your toddler" debate amongst other mommies when I tell them she doesn't like fruit. Thanks Brian, for passing that on to your daughter ;)

So a few weeks ago we decided enough was enough, Bria was old enough to understand rules and it was getting important that her diet become more balanced. I can't remember if I blogged about the first time we told Bria she had to eat the dinner I made for all of us, instead of making one separately for her. Forgive me if I have, I'm going to retell it a little.

I made lasagna (okay, I put the Costco lasagna in the oven) and we said, "Let's eat." Bria cried and screamed and threw impressive fits for 2 hours. At the table. For 2 hours. Because she didn't want to eat lasagna. But she finally caved and ate the 4 bites we required of her. Brian and I celebrated our awesome parent victory.

Each day/night got a little easier, with a few hiccups here and there. Sometimes she would take a bite or two then throw a fit and we would tell her she had to have 3 more bites or some other number and a half hour later we would finally be done. Dinner time started to become a scream fest and we would all be in a very bad mood by the end of it and our evening would kind of be ruined. It was frustrating.

Brian and his friend, Bruce, were discussing this toddler eating issue together since Bruce has a little boy who is 3 and also doesn't like eating. These genius guys came up with a brilliant idea: put small amounts of food on their plate and make them eat all of it. That way you don't have to say, "Eat 4 more bites and you are done." None of that, just eat all your food and then you can get down. It's simple, to the point, and they can remember it.

The Food Boot Camp was born.

I'm sure all you parents out there already thought of this, but not us. I figured the more I piled on her plate, the more she would eat. I think it may have been overwhelming her though.

This is a picture of Bria's snack one day: A Ritz cracker, raisins, a piece of a Cutie and golfish crackers.

I decided to implement it a few days ago and make sure her plate looked inviting and fun. So I would put a few small pieces of turkey meat, 2 sugar snap peas, 1 small carrot, and 3 slices of cheese. This is just an example of a lunch I did, obviously it varies. Anyway, it was incredibly successful. It took awhile and she still whines and throws fits here and there, but I think over time it may get easier. Or not, but at least I'm not quite as stressed. And she knows what we expect of her which helps. Also, if she finishes her meal she is more than welcome to eat more of anything, she just has to eat everything on her plate first. We aren't starving her, I promise.

See, she's happy :)

Now, I'm not thinking that we are genius parents who have solved the toddler eating debacle. We aren't gonna go write a book or anything. This Boot Camp worked for Bria and worked for us, but everyone is different so it's not going to work for all. I think the key is consistency and Brian and I can be hard asses when needed, Bria knows we aren't kidding around when it comes to eating ;)

Lunch: (from top left, clockwise) apple slice cut in half, turkey meat sandwich & chicken, broccoli, and cheese slices.

She ate it all. It took half hour, but she ate it all. There was no tantrum, just some whines.

Reese thinks Food Boot Camp is funny.

She promised to be a good eater.

We just got this Chicco rotating chair for Reese that hooks to the table. I'm in LOVE with it.

We start her on solids soon, there will be no Food Boot Camp for her yet, don't worry.