I think it was 3 birthday celebrations

Bria had 3 different birthday celebrations. When we were talking about all of them Bria said that we should have 4 since she turned 4. That is the kind of thinking that will get you places!

Celebration numero uno: Chuck E. Cheese

This was Brian's suggestion and I'm so glad he suggested it. We did it at 11 am on the Wednesday of her actual birthday. There was one other small party there and that was it, we pretty much had the place to ourselves and it was fabulous. 

The carousel was a big hit, Bria went on it no less than 6 times.

Reese always finds Amanda and begs to be held

Bria and Weston taken a joy ride

Yay Chuck E!

All the kiddos, minus some younger siblings :)

 We got a bunch of tokens and passed them out to the kiddos and they ran around that place like they owned it, it was fabulous.

She kind of likes cupcakes...

...can you tell?

I wanna get cupcake wasted!!

"Nope, you can't even have one bite of my heavenly cupcake."

Beautiful Brinley

Too soon, waaaayyy too soon

Charleigh sister enjoying a cupcake (Presleigh always introduces her as her Charleigh sister, it's adorable)

Present time!

Operation birthday with friends was a success.

That night we went to Old Spaghetti factory with Heather and Amy. I think a tradition for birthdays will be to go somewhere they sing to you. Bria always loves that part :) Last year it was Red Robin.

Getting so big

The third and final celebration was at Papa's Pizza on the following Saturday. Brian's Dad and stepmom wanted to come up and see the birthday girl so we chose a fun place to go. Unfortunately it was a Saturday evening so everyone and their cousin was there. It was packed...and loud...and Bria does not like loud. But I was fine with her not wanting to play in the germ-filled, stinky room. Instead we ate pizza and chatted which was perfect. She opened presents and then requested we sing to her.
She did get a mini 4th celebration on Monday when Heather and Amy brought over their gift, and it was the gift Bria had been dreaming about! Her words.

A Brave dress!!

And check out the shoes!!!! I still squeal every time I see them.

 Plus a ton of Brave figurines which are Bria's absolute favorite things to play with. She has Princess figurines, Fairies, and now Brave. She plays imaginary play most of the day, it's her favorite.
So there you have it, a delayed post about the many celebrations for Bria's 4th birthday!

Keepin' it real with ponderingness

Ponderingness is totally a word...in my own head.

Staying at home is hard.

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a Mom. I'm sooo that cliche girl who wanted to get married and have kids.
Being a stay at home mom has been a dream come true for me and I owe it to Brian. Not only did he support my want to stay home, he also had the same desire. We talked about it well before we were even married and it was something that was both very important to us. That's part of the reason I knew he was mine.
Over the last four years I go through phases (pretty sure phase is the mantra for life with kids, everything is a phase). You know the ones, one day you are like, "Oh man I am an awesome Mom, my child is the bomb and I love staying home!" and then there are days like this, "What the wha!? This child has serious hearing problems and is possessed, I wanna go to work!!!!!"
Obviously on the rough days I vent to Brian about wanting to go to work so that I can have something for myself and get a break from what is clearly HIS child...because my child is not bipolar and screaming, throwing fits because her shoe won't go on.
Lately, even on the good days, I find myself dreaming about something for me. Something I can do where I'm challenging my Mommy brain...and not challenging it to find even more patience or searching for yet another answer to the 324 questions that are all pretty much the same question just re-worded.

The tough part is I don't have a clear vision of that dream. What exactly do I want to do? I was an accountant before kids and I liked what I did, it was fun working in Excel and reconciling stuff. But I don't think it would be worth it for me right now...to leave the girls and go do numbers, they don't excited me that much.
Aside from not knowing what I want to do, the toughest part for me is thinking of not being there with my kids everyday.
I talked with Brian about it last night, just kind of spewing my random thoughts all over and he was great. Super supportive in whatever I decide (he always has been) and best of all he kept saying how he understood my desire to want something for myself. After all that he looked at me and said, "I think it is so wonderful for you to be home with the girls, they need you."

I really liked hearing that. It meant a lot to me. I guess sometimes you just need that reassurance that even though this season of life is hard and challenging and you feel so unsure about things, what you are doing is valued and appreciated. I don't get the feeling of completing a huge project with a work team, or getting a bonus, or working to the next level in the corporate ladder, sometimes I get mopey about that.
I do get the victories of watching Bria learn to write and listen to her articulate words and big imagination. I get to watch Reese purposely pick fights with her sister because she knows it will get attention, watch as she listens and understands what I tell her, and feel her cuddle up on me. Those are the promotions I get right now. And those are pretty cool.

So basically what I'm saying is that I will continue to stay home, but I will also continue to pursue my passion...and try to find out what that passion is. Maybe I'll go back and get my Masters, who knows. I'm grateful for the option and flexibility to choose. Ideas and thoughts are always welcome, hopefully I'm not alone in this jumble of a post :)

Sisterly love

HBK

 HBK-Holcombs Before Kids

Before Brian and I welcomed our little girls into our lives, we were good at being social. With the girls getting older and our eager babysitters, it's starting to become easier to have a night away and live it up.
That's exactly what we did this weekend.
Our friend Linus (he was our coach for the Blazer Stunt Team) and his wife Beth, invited us along with some of their friends to stay at a Beach house. They were all going to the Seafood and Wine Festival on Saturday, we couldn't stay both nights but we decided to at least go Friday night and I'm so glad we did. We had an absolute blast and played like we use to. I couldn't decide if I wanted to stay up late and take advantage of this kid free night, or if I wanted to go to bed early and get lots of awesome sleep. I chose the first one and I'm pretty proud of myself, usually I am the first one to bed.

It was awesome how well we got along with all these couples, it was like we had known them for years. 

We all hung out at the house for awhile and then got hungry so we went to a delicious Thai restaurant. I felt bad because we kind of overtook the place, it was super small and we had 12 people in our group, I'm not sure the other customers appreciated our loudness, probably they were jealous of the fun we were having ;)
The plan was to go to the dance club at the Casino down the road, but it didn't open until 10:30 pm (um, that is past my bedtime) so after dinner we went back to the house to wait until it opened.

Beth and I

Dancing was a blast, it's been so long and dancing is just my thang. This group knows how to have fun on the dance floor, they all got into it and fortunately Brian was in his dance mood. Brian can dance and I love dancing with him, but he has to be in the mood and it's tricky because you just don't know when that mood will come. And he calls me moody? ;)

Anyway, basically we danced and danced and danced some more (enough that I was a little sore the next day). 

Attempting to take a picture with my phone

Afterwards we went back to the house, some went to bed, some of us stayed up and chatted. Linus revealed to me that he is an amazing magician and so he did a ton of his tricks which blew my mind. We were all in awe of his awesomeness.
Then we crashed in bed and slept like babies until morning.

Saturday we were sad that we weren't going to the Seafood and Wine Festival with everyone so we drowned our sorrows at the Outlet Malls nearby. I came very close to buying a gorgeous, very, very, very much on sale Coach purse, but ultimately Brian threw out the logical, "Yeah, we can't really afford that," argument and he was right. Retail therapy these days include Old Navy :)
We were excited to get home and see our girls, especially because we were going to Papa's Pizza for one last little birthday celebration with Brian's Dad and Kathie. It was insanely packed and Bria is not one for loud noises so we just kind of stayed at our table and chatted. She opened her presents and was thrilled with each and every one. Love that she is so grateful and excited with presents.
I'm thinking we need more weekends like this one.

The beach in February?

That's right folks.

We went to the beach in February. You might be thinking we are crazy, but the Oregon coast is almost always cold so why not?

Heather came along with us and it was a fun filled day. It rained for a few minutes while we were on the beach but fortunately not long. 

 It was a little chilly especially with the wind and Bria got miserable pretty fast. So we didn't spend long on the beach. Reese loved it and wanted to walk over to the water the whole time. I'm looking forward to more trips when it's warm so we can stay and enjoy the sand!

 We walked around and found a cute candy shop where we got some popcorn and hot chocolate, this lifted Bria's spirits immensely.
We decided to go to the Tillamook cheese factory on the way home and the girls had a great time.

"Mooo!"

We tasted cheese curds, bought squeaky cheese and then after watching them make cheese and stuff, we devoured these:

Ice cream is awesome

 On our way out we had to take a picture on the bus:

It was a fabulous Saturday and Brian and I decided we need to go to the beach way more.

Aww yeah

Last week was a great week for getting outside. It was cold and some days it was cloudy, but we still managed to suit up and breath some fresh air. It did a world of good for our moods, it always feels so good to be active.

 We went to the park with friends and the girls had a great time. Bria hopped from one activity to the next until she was famished. Fortunately I had brought a sandwich and some pretzels for the girls to munch on.

 Of course, Weston and Bennett's McDonalds look much more appealing, grateful our friends share since my girls are little moochers!

Man, does this not show you how much my girls love taking pictures with me? ;)

This week it started raining and I'm back to my cloudy mood. I was born and raised here but that doesn't mean I like gray, I crave sunshine and blue skies like you wouldn't believe. Maybe some day life will take us to a sunny world where we can play outside everyday, that would be glorious. Of course, the whole family would have to move with us.

4 years

Bria is 4 years old today.

I'm gonna skip over all the time is flying by and I can't believe she's that old ohmygosh! because that is a given.
Let's get into the happiness of this blessed day. 4 years ago we were in the hospital in love with a tiny squished newborn who immediately stole our hearts.
Now that little newborn is a little person. A little person who is sweet, spunky, smart, and beautiful. We love her so much and are so proud of the girl she is.

Bria talks like an adult sometimes, she has a way of saying things that make her sound older than her 4 years and it is hilarious. If she starts to get really cranky she will sometimes stop and say, "Mom, I'm having a hard day." That is so much easier to deal with than tantrums! Although let's be honest, she can still throw some pretty massive fits, they are fewer and far between though.

She is my tall girl, maybe not taller than her peers, but right up there with them and that makes me proud. I was always a foot shorter than my peers so I'm living vicariously through her and hopeful she will be a basketball player or something.

She has made leaps and bounds the last month in her letter recognition and writing. For awhile I was beating my head against the wall trying to teach her to recognize her letters and all the sudden it just kind of clicked for her. And all the sudden she's all about writing her name which is super exciting. I was in the kitchen the other night and she calls me over and shows me how she wrote her name all by herself so I had to take a picture of course. She calls me back over a minute later and says, "I spelled your name!" Sure enough, MOM was written on the paper. I was stoked and proud of my little lady. She teaches me that she gets things in her own time and I need not stress...which is easier said than done.

Bria's love of cereal rivals my own, she asks for it all day long. While she is pretty picky with her food, she does eat a pretty good amount and she also knows that what I make for dinner is what she gets. Although that doesn't mean she won't try and convince us to make something else, such a negotiator.

The other morning she was being quite ornery and I was not in the mood. I gave her a stern talking to and a few minutes later while I was doing her hair she apologized. And not just the, "I'm sorry," but she explained that she was sorry she was whining about getting dressed and not being a good listener. It was a proud moment for me because I didn't even prompt her, she did it on her own and knew what she did wrong. Those are the victorious moments I live for.

Bria's emotions and excitement are out of this world. She makes the best facial expressions and exclamations when something excites her or makes her happy. She does not hide a single emotion, everything is laid out there...may God watch over her future husband ;)

And now to get a little sentimental because that is just what Moms do (I get it now Mom ;)...

4 years ago today I was in a hospital room

4 years ago today I fell in love with a beautiful little girl who became my whole world

4 years ago today I saw my husband in a different light and loved the man he had become even more

4 years ago today my life began

Motherhood has been such a journey and although it's been incredibly difficult, I can't tell you how much it's all worth it. I live to make my girls happy. They are my world.
I am incredibly blessed and so grateful to God everyday that he sent Bria to us. Her passion and love are an inspiration to me. I love her so much!

17 months

Reese will be 17 months in two days and I think it's time to do a little update of my lady.

When Bria was a baby we had a very consistent routine of reading to her at naptime, bedtime, and lots of times in between.
With Reese, I'm not gonna lie, we slacked. Trying to get a consistent routine with a baby when you also have a toddler is challenging. So it wasn't until she was almost a year that we started getting consistent with bedtime reading, and in the last two months I've gotten consistent with reading at naptime as well.

Even though we slacked, this girl is over the moon obsessed with books. She will get a back, come over to you, back it up and sit on your lap. All the while saying, "Book, book, book." She has gotten very good at the K sound which is pretty cute. Sometimes she hurries the story along by turning the pages before you are finished, and she definitely knows which books she likes and which she doesn't. The ones with less words and more pictures are her favorite and she loves to point to things and have you tell her what they are. I've noticed over the last month or two she has gotten more patient while reading and I can read longer books to her which is fun.

Reese cuddling her baby with a towel

 Reese's other love is milk. I cannot express enough how much she loves milk, it is her love and she says it first thing in the morning...literally. In the morning when I go get her I pick up her pillow, blanket and stuffed animals from the floor (she loves to throw them out of the crib when she wakes up), open her curtains and pick her up. She smiles at me and very clearly says, "Milkkk," making sure to exaggerate the K sound once again. If I don't head downstairs right away she screams milk over and over and points downstairs. It was cute for a day.

Going outside for walks is probably her third favorite thing to do, next to milk and books. She loves being outside and it actually helps motivate me to get the girls outside and go for walks. Fortunately we've had a break in the rain most days so we can actually do it. And if it's been dry for awhile we walk to the park and play.

However, she understands almost everything we say. Brian will tell her to go lay down so he can change her diaper and she seriously does. Heather tried it and again, it worked. Me? She runs away and when I finally get her she screams and cries. Awesome. Alright, sometimes she is good for me but not always.

Being a big girl and crafting at Bria's preschool Valentine's party (she would be in heaven if I left her at preschool too)

Reese is definitely a spit fire. She recently started biting and pulling Bria's hair. This is new territory for us. We do time out and she is really good about staying it time out until we come get her, but the downside is that she smiles and laughs all the way to time out. Wha?!

Despite her fierce and passionate attitude, she is so incredibly lovable and still cuddles. After reading to her before I put her down she lays on my chest while I sing and sometimes I rock her until she falls asleep because I am in heaven just snuggling with my baby.

She has started the No phase and boy does she have sass and attitude. She yells it with attitude when Bria does something she doesn't like.

Proof of said Attitude...with a capitol A

It definitely pays to have a big sister to help you learn things faster, Reese can drink out of a cup...without spilling. Anytime she sees a cup at her level she carefully picks it up, takes a few drinks and puts it back...without spilling. I know she gets this from watching her sister and it's fabulous...let's hope it carries over to the potty training stuff.
Last but not least, here is a little video of Reese and her obsession with books:

Don't mind the Q-tips on the coffee table cube, I swear they are clean, the girls love playing with them for some reason.

Up up and away!

On Saturday we rode in a private jet, just Brian, Bria and myself. How?
We are rich.
Hahahahahahaha.

Not really.
Brian's good friend, Craig, is a pilot and he flew in to the Portland airport for a night and then had to fly to the Hillsboro airport (about a 15 minute flight). He offered to let us join and we were thrilled to accept! Heather was gracious enough to drive us to the airport and keep Reese for us since she would not be as impressed with the flight as Bria.

Bria was thrilled. She walked up to the airplane and I told her to smile for me and this is what I got. Criag was laughing and could not believe what a little ham she was. He could tell I've trained her well on picture taking :)

The plane

To be honest, I think I was just as excited as Bria for our little adventure. I mean, who gets to do this kind of stuff?!

High rollin'

Brian was very sweet and generous to let me sit up front as the First Officer while he enjoyed an elated Bria

Ya know, just flying a plane, no biggie

Pilot Bria!

Bria kept saying she could be a girl pilot...not just a pilot but a girl pilot. It's funny that even so young she seems to notice that being a pilot is a job held mostly by men. I'm hoping she will become a pilot and prove girls rule.
Craig was so easy going and let us thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Very grateful to him.