Again with the Zoo

I feel like I'm always posting pictures from the Zoo. Probably because I am, since we go there a lot. But we have a membership and man it's a great place to go, Bria loves it.

We took our friends, Dehlia, Sophie and Caiden on Monday and had a lot of fun.

The penguins had been put in a different location while their "home" was renovated. They were finally moved back and it was so fun to see them, although I think Dehlia and I were more excited than the kids.

"Why do I feel like there's something behind me?"

Bria and Sophie admiring the fish and turtles.

"Hey there little boy, how you doin?"

Have I mentioned I have a flirt on my hands? I'm not lying. I feel like I should write a whole post about her flirtatious ways, I don't know where she gets it from. Seriously though, you should see her when a little boy comes around, she'll touch their back, introduce herself, and cock her head to the side while batting her eyelashes. She is so funny with Caiden (Sophie's little brother), he's 17 months old and she always says in the sweetest voice, "Hi little boy!!!"

And of course she loves her cousin Porter. When they were staying here she went downstairs to show him her hair braids, she walked up to him and said, "Hi Porter, do you like my hair braids? Wanna touch 'em?"

Brian's in trouble.

Back to the Zoo though :)

Riding on the hippo

One of the best parts about the Zoo, the lion statues.

"I'm sitting on him, hehe!"

But the most favorite place of all is the grass area where she can run and play.

These girls ran and ran and ran some more. So much so that Bria fell asleep on the way home and slept until 4:15 pm! So yeah, the Zoo rocks.

Lance Armstrong's niece

That's right folks, her uncle is Lance Armstrong so you know she's gonna be a bike rider ;)

(If you don't understand this reference, it's because you don't know that my brother's name really is Lance Armstrong)

I went garage sale-ing with my friend Dehlia and picked up lots of books, a laundry basket for the baby, a dress for the baby, a yellow toy VW bug for Bria (for her fairies to ride in), and a helmet.

Bria LOVES her helmet.

She's had a fear of bikes since she smashed her cheek on the handle bar of her new bike. But this new helmet made her want to dust off her 3 bikes. Yes, my spoiled daughter has 3 bikes to choose from. One is a balance bike, one is a small tricycle, and one is an awesome old school Radio Flyer tricycle.

She is still about a half inch too short to reach the pedal when it's full extended, but she can kind of make it work. If she didn't get my darn short legs, poor girl!
She is doing really well with it though and it's fun to go out and do for a few minutes.
I think her favorite right now is the Radio Flyer tricycle which isn't pictured here. I think it feels the most stable to her :)

So yeah, expect to see Bria Holcomb in some bike competitions soon, she'll be the one with the pretty fairy helmet.

Success

So yeah, Bria did awesome at her dentist appointment. I talked with her that morning about how we were going to the dentist and how exciting it was. I told her that she'd sit in a nice comfy chair and lean back and then open her mouth real wide.

She did exactly that. The second she sat down she opened her mouth and the dental hygienist and I started laughing. It was really cute and I was so proud of her.

The dentist said her teeth look good and her 3rd, second year molar is coming in on top. We got fluoride drops since our darn city doesn't have it in the water. She got to pick out a toy when she was done and a sticker and she was happy as a clam. They said she was so cooperative and will do great with a cleaning in 6 months.

Other than that, we haven't been up to much. It's been really hot this week and I'm kind of enjoying that, but that's because I have a/c :) Seriously though, we've had such a mild summer that it's nice to get some hot days before Fall comes.

I'm looking forward to Saturday morning, I'm going to coffee and then garage sale-ing with my friend Dehlia and I can't wait for some girl time. I'm trying to get it all in before the baby arrives. We also have plans for pedicures next Tuesday, score! I love pedicures :)

Staying busy

We had quite the labor day weekend here and stayed super busy. It was the good kind of busy, spent with friends and crossing some things off our list of summer fun. Friday night was dinner at Dehlia and Joe's (I met Dehlia through my Mom's club) house, then Saturday the Wood's came up for an overnight visit. We had a fun trip that included Buffalo Wild Wings, a trip to Voodoo donuts, an awesome park, and a Farmer's market.

Here are Gabe and Bria at the fun park we went to:

Putting Daddy to work

She was torn between the sand and the swing, both were her favorite :)

Monday we headed to Seaside (the coast) with Dehlia and Joe and had a great time. It was suppose to be in the upper 70's but instead it was in the upper 50's. We still had fun on the beach, went out to a great Hawaiian lunch, and then got some treats for the ride home. Oh, and we stopped at the Carter's outlet because, duh, you have too ;)

By Monday evening I was beyond exhausted and could barely move. This morning we had a play group planned at one of the Mom's swimming pool and I almost didn't go because I was so tired but I knew Bria would have a blast and it would tire her out so we went. I'm glad we did, we of course had a blast and Bria was such a dare devil.

She took an awesome nap when we got home which meant I got to take an awesome nap too, it was fabulous. My nap helped so much that I got lots of little projects done around the house, just little organizing things that have been driving me crazy.

And here are just some pictures from last week that I wanted to include, for family :)

Wondering why I'm taking a picture of her while she's eating.

Smiling her camera smile :)

Driving the yellow bug. The scary thing is that before we know it she'll be 16 and really driving, ahh!

Tomorrow is Bria's first dentist appointment, I'm hoping she's in a good mood and does well. Wish us luck!

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home

It's been a really good week. Like, the kind of week where I never want Bria to grow up because she is so adorable, sweet, loving, obedient, and just fun! I've been eating up our time together and just loving it to death. Brian feels the same way, the last 2 nights I've had girl nights (Wednesday was my baby shower with the Moms club and Thursday was book club with Lanie) and he has enjoyed his alone time with Bria so much that he asked where I was going tonight.

2 is a funny age, one week it's the most trying time in your life and you are convinced you won't make it out the other side, the next week your angel is back and life couldn't be better. It's nice to have those good weeks, they help keep you going.
With this new little girl arriving soon, I think about how Bria will handle it. I pray she still feels loved and that she gets enough attention. I pray she loves her little sister and wants to help and cuddle her...softly :) It'll be an adjustment for all of us, I just hope it goes smoothly, as smoothly as it can anyway.

We have been soaking up the weather lately because we've barely had a summer and it seems like Fall wants to creep in on us already. Normally I look forward to Fall, Oregon is so pretty, but our summer has been so short and I'm nervous that our horrible summer weather will translate into a horrible Fall. But that's me being pessimistic so let's think good weather thoughts.

We've got a pretty busy week next week, a play group at a swimming pool, Bria's first dentist appointment, another play group, my doctor's appointment, and the hospital tour. Busy weeks are good, I like staying busy...for now.

I think that's all the updates for now, I'll leave you with some sweet pictures of Bria and her Daddy :)

I'm so glad when daddy comes home,

Glad as I can be;

Clap my hands and shout for joy,

Then climb upon his knee,

Put my arms around his neck,

Hug him tight like this,

Pat his cheeks, then give him what?

A great big kiss.

The Saturday Market

Saturday we had a fun adventure at the Saturday Market in downtown Portland. We took the Max there and the kids had a good time on it :)

Waiting for the Max

Just riding the Max

2 blond beauties :)

My sweet niece, Jaidyn, and me

It turned out to be quite a hot day so I felt like a sweaty pig, but tried to act like I had the pregnant woman glow.

Watching the bucket drummers.

The kids had fun in the water and got pretty wet, good thing the heat dried them off in no time.

I like Paparazzi shots.

Jenny, me, and Jaime

Jaime and her kiddos :)

My sweet girl and me (with my new hat :)

Mom and Jenny with their new hats.

Notice my "glow" aka disgusting sweat. It was so hot.

Jaime and I in line for the ATM

We headed home and lounged because we were pretty darn exhausted, that heat and all the walking completely wore me out.

Jenny helping to hold up the big belly so I could get a break :)

We took it easy the rest of the evening and just hung out which was perfect. We got a call from the guys and it was so good to talk to Brian and here how their trip was going.

Sunday morning we took our time getting ready.

We ran a few errands and then ate at 5 guys for lunch, I love their burgers. At that point it was time for Bria's nap and then my Mom and the Jensens packed up to head back home.

This is what we stared at all weekend long. It's the SPOT gps tracker thing on the computer, it was soooo nice being able to see their progress and know they were okay, it kept us sane.

It was such an amazing weekend and even though I was suppose to be the host, my family took care of me and it felt great, I was seriously spoiled. I was so sad to see them all go but glad we were able to make such wonderful memories together.

Bria had this little sign waiting for her when she woke up. She loves her cousins dearly.