Cinderelly!

I happen to be a subscriber to PDX Kids and they send a calendar of all the events going on in the area. When I saw that the Northwest Children's Theater was doing a Cinderella play I knew I HAD to get tickets for me and Bria. What a perfect Mommy/Daughter day. 

We were right by the stage, great seats!

Cinderella!

The show was really cute, they did tap dancing and singing and it was incredibly entertaining. Bria was so engaged and clapped every time a song ended with so much excitement I thought she might burst. I could tell it was killing her that she couldn't run up onstage and join them. Soon, my love, soon.
After the wonderful show we got to meet some of the cast for autographs and a few pictures.

Bria in awe of Cinderella (kind of a different spin on the original Cinderella)

 When they would ask her name she would say Bria and then spell it for them, haha. They also asked what her favorite part was and she said the dancing.

One of the performers (look at my girls smile, love it!)

Bria and Armando (Prince's page who narrated and was HILARIOUS!)

The fairy Godmother 

 As we were walking to our car Bria kept saying how much fun she had. It was so sweet.
On the way home we stopped by Old Navy and to my surprise they were having a Grand Reveal (they remodeled) so the whole store was 20% off, score! Also they had a DJ and a face painter. Random, I know, but cool nonetheless.

Bria got a Unicorn on her cheek :)

I got 2 shirts, a 3/4 sleeve sweater (a beach-y looking one), flip flops for Bria, and a reusable bag all for $22! I think I may need to go back and do some more damage ;)

We can call it a beach now

I decided last minute to take the girls to the beach on Friday. Usually we call it the coast because it's so cold and windy but the weather has been fabulous and when I checked the weather for Cannon Beach it said upper 60's and clear, which is incredibly rare. I packed up and away we went!

It was a little windy at first but it got warmer.

Bria's sand castle, which she promptly squished 3 seconds after this photo

Loving the sand

Yes, life is good

 Bria found a ladybug friend and we named her Leena. Leena and Bria were best buddies for an hour. Leena crawled all over Bria, Bria talked to her, carried her around, and it was just the funniest thing. Leena "flew away" and maybe this summer we will find her on a tree in our neighborhood.

Bria and Leena just hanging out

 Reese was cracking me up. She would just flop and roll around in the sand, she couldn't get enough of it. Probably because it was so warm.

She was voluntarily doing this, seriously.

Striking her model pose

And the head in the sand again.

 And Bria met friends...of course. Everywhere we go she meets people and has the best time, it's so much fun to watch her play.

Bria and her friends

This particular beach as a little stream running through it so the girls had so much fun playing in there, it was a little warmer than the actual ocean. It was still a little too cold for me but my girls had no problem running in it and getting soaked.
Bria made sand angels, Reese pointed at every dog on the beach, and I smiled while watching my girls have a blast.
It was one of the most fun days ever. I truly enjoyed my time with my girls and we just played and didn't plan anything or go to any shops because they were having such a good time in the sand...and so was I. So we spent about 2 and a half hours on the beach just soaking up the goodness.

Just add water and shaving cream

 On Wednesday we headed over to the Buell's house for some outside fun. It was in the 70's and I was thrilled to put summer clothes on the girls.
Amanda put some shaving cream in the kiddie pool and filled up their activity boat with water, the kids had a blast.

Sweet Bennett

Hey Reese, you got a little something on your head

The kids snacked and then we walked down to the park right near their house where the kids had a fabulous time.

 Reese is always the first one at the table all ready to eat, and the last one to leave. The girl loves her some food.

 The boys have a bunch of fun Little People set ups with all sorts of people and animals so we set up a whole town and the kids had fun playing with them.

We fed them lunch, tired them out with some more outdoor fun and then headed home for naps. It was a fun day and a perfect first day back from vacation since that is usually the hardest day. After naps we woke up and went to our neighbors to play outside more and then had an impromptu BBQ at their house.

Are you surprised that Bria stripped down and ran through the freezing sprinkler? I'm not.

I can't tell you how much I love this weather!

Arizona

I had 3 wonderful days in Arizona.

I spent quality time with my Grandma, quality time by myself, and quality time with my extended family. It was exactly what I needed and more.

When you leave in Oregon it's easy to slowly get depressed with all the gray weather and gloomy skies, plus I've been feeling extra impatient and cranky so this trip completely rejuvenated me.

We brought my Grandpa new flowers, I think he likes them

My Grandma is my favorite storyteller, she has a way of making every story captivating. I got to hear stories from her childhood, stories about her and Grandpa, stories about raising 5 kids (she had 5 kids in 6 years, I have NOTHING to complain about!), stories about life and I just loved it. We looked at photo albums and reminisced about wonderful memories and family reunions.
I truly enjoyed every minute.

 I went down to the lagoon on Sunday and Monday. The lagoon is one of the pools at the clubhouse my Grandma is a part of. Lance and I use to spend hours here, playing and playing and swimming. That was nearly 20 years ago, wow.

Best pool ever

Just soaking up some sun in the backyard

Blissful morning

 We ate breakfast outside every morning and I was just in heaven. Something about starting your day with fruit and sunshine just makes you happy.

I just love this tree outside my Grandma's house

Another Lagoon picture

 We had a BBQ at my cousin Brad's house and I got to catch up on how everyone is doing and cuddle their sweet kids.
One of my favorite parts was sitting around with my cousins and talking about kids and nursing and being a Mom. I have so many fond memories as a child playing with my cousins and running around, it's so neat to now be going through motherhood with them and hearing how incredibly similar we are. It's almost like we're related ;)

My trip was just a little slice of heaven.

It took awhile

...but a few months ago I finally joined the ranks of smart phone users and got my very own. Our big hesitation was the data package, it's so expensive! But we are spoiled by the fact that Brian's phone is a work one so we don't pay anything. 

I have to say my favorite thing about it is the fabulous pictures it takes. Better than our old point and shoot and much more convenient to carry in my pocket. So I feel like I'm capturing so many moments I wouldn't otherwise be able to. 

Like this cute one!

Or this attitude 

Or this nurturing preciousness

And on one of our date nights we saw the most amazing sunset ever, the picture does not do it justice but at least it will remind us of that magical sunset.

On our above mentioned date night we went mattress shopping. Laying on a bunch of beds together, not a bad date night :) We think we found the one, but haven't made the purchase yet.

And I have scheduled this post to appear while I am gone in Arizona.
Sans husband and kids.
In the sun.
With my Grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
In Arizona.
Did I mention in the sun?
Glorious sun!

And the correct answer is...

BRIA

REESE

Just in case any of you doubted that they are in fact sisters, here is further proof for you!

It will be interesting to see if they continue to look alike or if they change. I don't think my siblings and I looked alike as babies, Jaime and I look alike now. 

I'm just excited they get to grow up with a sister. I'm always telling them that they are each other's best friends and always will be. 

Who is who?

Which one is Bria and which one is Reese?
Or is it a trick question and it's actually the same baby?
Vote now!

Personality & The Lemon!

This child is sooo much like her Dad, such a ham and always trying to do something funny. She gets into things constantly and loves to make messes. I'm in trouble with her! And so is Bria because Reese loves to push her sister's buttons.

Reese is still a pretty good eater. She has gotten a little pickier than she use to be, but still out eats her sister at most meals.
One worry I have with Reese is her skin. She has very sensitive skin. Not so bad that I have to use special detergent, but it's constantly dry in areas. Her cheeks are always red, even with prescription ointment (teething doesn't help it either). Her bum seems to constantly have some sort of rash, I get rid of one and a different type starts showing itself. Ugh, it's getting exhausting! Plus, I feel bad for the poor girl, although they don't seem to bother her at all which is good.

I came downstairs just in time to see her empty this out and crawl inside. Not sure what prompted her to do this but when she got stuck and wanted out I ran to get my camera. Such a good Mom ;)

On Sunday we ventured out and did a family movie day to see The Croods. Such a cute movie, we all really liked it. We were taking a risk with bringing Reese, knowing she might get antsy and cranky. She did great for the first 45 minutes, just sitting on my lap snacking and watching it. Then she wanted to walk around so Brian and I took turns letting her, fortunately it was a pretty empty theater. Finally she fell asleep on Dad towards the end.

Bria requested a picture :)

This video is from Brian's cell phone, sent to mine, sent to the computer to be put on the blog, so the quality is not so great. But still it's hilarious.
I give you, the lemon face:

I'm me

Everybody has their own little idiosyncrasies.  When I became a Mom, many of mine were exaggerated even more because...because, well, I don't really know. Let's blame it on the hormones.
Sleep.
If you go back and read my blog when Bria was a baby, almost every single post included some kind of vent about Bria's sleeping routine. What I didn't completely divulge is that I would literally count how many hours she slept each night and every nap, taking into account when she actually fell asleep, not just when I put her in her crib.
When she was an itty bitty newborn I was stressed and overwhelmed and most nights I couldn't sleep very well because I was constantly thinking of when she would be up next and all the what if's. What if she only sleeps for 2 hours and not 3 like last night? Wait, was that her? Should I pick her up or let her fuss? I need to get to sleep right now or I will only get 5 hours of sleep total, and that's interrupted sleep not consistent. On and on and on. I will spare you from giving you further details.
You might be thinking, well, that's not toooo weird.

Newborn Bria

It gets worse.
I also counted how many hours I slept. And Brian. And I stressed out about it. When Brian would get up in the middle of the night because he couldn't sleep I would stress out and get all anxious. I would calculate how many hours he had gotten and then figure out what time he should come back to bed so that he would get a decent night.
I know.
I will give you a minute to let that sink in.
I have no idea why sleep was such a big deal to me but it was on my mind constantly. I had to be home for all of Bria's naps and home in time for her bed time. I was that typical first time mom who was crazy obsessive about Bria's schedule.
However, I'm not going to harp on myself too much because my OCD about sleep is part of the reason our girls sleep so well. So judge away, but we are getting a full nights rest in this house. And sometimes naps as a family.
Anyway, when I had Reese I was noticeably less stressed about sleep. It did not consume me. When she was a newborn and still in our room I had no problem sleeping. The minute my head hit the pillow I was out, which is a huge change for me. Usually I lay awake for at least an hour before going to sleep. I would sleep until Reese woke up, nurse her, change her diaper, put her back down and I would be out until the next feeding. In the morning I would barely remember when her feedings were and I definitely wasn't counting my hours of sleep.

Sleeping peacefully with baby Reese (she is under all those blankets, I swear)

All refreshed because of great sleep!

This has continued and I am very grateful for it. I can't tell you how draining it was to constantly count and worry about everyone's sleep. I still want everyone to sleep well and get a full night's rest, but I can't tell you the last time I counted the hours someone has slept. I mean I usually know about how many hours I sleep at night, but I think that is pretty normal...I hope.
Of course, now that I'm not stressing about sleep I have moved on to something else. Food. I'm constantly worrying about what the girls are eating and if they are getting a well balanced diet. I think that is somewhat normal too, but of course my constant worry takes it to the extreme.
For now, I'm just going to enjoy sleep and enjoy that it actually relaxes me now instead of stressing me out!

The boys got moves

Reese and I were going through my phone the other day and came across a video from when we watched Jax. It is a must see, this boy can dance!

Is he not a crack up?! You are probably going to want to bookmark that so you can watch it whenever you need a pick me up.

So I mentioned Reese and I had Mommy/daughter day on Sunday, during that time Brian and Brian were having a Daddy/daughter day. Bria gets so excited about her Daddy/daughter days, she squeals with delight.

Reese wanted in on this picture, bad. 

The girls almost knocked Brian over in an attempt to get a picture with him, but don't worry, Brian is use to girls fighting over him ;)

Daddy Daughter day! Let's call it Triple D from now on so I don't have to keep writing that out.

 So what did they do? Well they went to a car swap meet with the Buell boys. Dusty came and picked them up and Bria was so excited to ride in their car with them, she sat right in between her two favorite boys and was ecstatic. (Brian took an adorable picture on his phone and sent it to me, I saved it so that I can see it in my Google+ and put it on the blog but I can't seem to find it...any suggestions? Did my question even make sense?)

In other exciting news, we have a very first planter. Brian built it (with the help from Bria) after he got the measurements from Dusty.

Planter in progress

Complete

Bria and I planted some peas yesterday and we will do carrots soon. Pretty excited :)