New Shoes

Briley recently got some new kicks thanks to a gift card from her great-grandmother Edna Mae. I have to share them because they are too cute and they fit feet that has some "fluff" on the top, as the sales lady at Stride Rite so sweetly called it.

Briley's feet used to be...umm...well, rather "fluffy" all over. Alright. Fine - they were just plain ol' fat. We found out they no longer measure wide, but we still have a hard time finding some that don't squeeze the top of her foot. And for the most part, cheap shoes just don't cut it.

So, I wouldn't recommend these if your kid can wear the $10 pair at Target, but if you're used to searching far and wide for shoes to fit your kid, this line call Morgan and Milo is at Stride Rite stores. Or just check out their website. Now that I know what size what Briley wears, I believe I'm going to order her some more.....

Getting Crafty

As I mentioned in a previous post, Briley looooves arts and crafts. Her teachers at school say she is the "craftiest" one in the room - not sure how they go about judging that at two years old, but anyway.....we will have to wait a few years to see if the girl has some talent or just an interest in this hobby.

Take me, for example - I also very much enjoy arts and crafts, but it's just an interest because I have absolutely no talent. You will never meet anyone who struggled as much in high school art class as I did.

Ok, I'm getting off topic. Here are some pictures from a craft project we did this past week. We made trees with leaves changing colors since I was on fall break. :o) Yeah, I really enjoy themes. In a couple weeks we'll be doing Halloween projects, then Thanksgiving.....you get the idea!

Briley's hand and arm print. This makes the tree trunk and branches.

Using her body as a canvas.

Body art. This isn't an early warning sign of her wanting a tattoo is it?! Kidding :o)

The finished product. Of course mommy had to do one, too! Kids shouldn't have all the fun. Sadly, my masterpiece doesn't look that much better than my toddler's.

By the way, I got this idea off of kaboose. It has all sorts of fun activities on it and it's really easy to look anything up. If you're like me and don't have lots of time to find stuff like this, then this website is the place to visit! You can find something fun in just a couple of minutes, print it off and you're ready to go. Or do what I do - make an account on there when you have a few free minutes and then anytime you find something on there that looks like something you might want to do, add it to your favorites. This way, you can sign in and then see all the great things you've saved at any time and take your pick!

My (Little) Big Girl

Talking about poop on my blog is probably inappropriate, but inhibitions usually disappear once you have kids, right?!

Briley did some fine work in her potty yesterday and while I'm proud of her for it, I am not on here to gloat. I'm on here to relay exactly how it all happened and what she said to me during the episode.....

She came and told me "I poo-poo, Mama". When she says this I never know whether she's telling me she already did or that she wants to go in her potty. But usually when I suggest the potty she refuses. Yesterday she complied. So I pull down her pants and diaper only to realize that she has left me a parting gift. I figured she was probably already done, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and let her sit on her potty (only after she smears the poo on her behind across the knees of my jeans - LOVELY.) She sits there for a moment, pauses, then stands back up and starts grunting, like she's going to relieve herself on the bathroom rug. So I try not to freak out and convince her to sit back down. After all, I'm already wearing this mess - I don't need it on my floor, too! She starts grunting and then says....

....."I can't. It stuck, Mama. It stuck! Help Mama! Pease help!"

I tried so hard to keep from laughing, being that this is a serious ordeal and all for her, but it was impossible.

Eventually, she informed me that she was done and her body was covered in Lisa Frank stickers shortly therefter to celebrate her accomplishment. (Our deal is Briley using potty = stickers on shirt, arms, hands and feet.)

Oh, and then we saved the surprise for daddy. Because we knew he would appreciate such a thing. < Sarcasm!

Better Late Than Never!

Here are just a few pictures of Briley's birthday party for those of you who weren't able to make it! I know, I know - I'm over a month behind! I'm so thankful our friends Kara and Ashley took tons of pics because Adam and I sure didn't have time to! I stole these pictures from both of them. :o)

The set up. We went ladybug crazy, I guess.

The big cake with all the baby ladybugs around it.

Little Bit and I checking out the trains. Her t-shirt said "Little Miss Birthday".

This is Briley's friend Lily that I have mentioned in previous posts. They are both apparently blown away by the birthday card. :o)

Briley's laptop from Lily, Kara and Lee. She knew how to work this thing immediately.

Before.....

........and after!

Prayers Needed

I'm going to make this quick because I have lots of studying to do (yes, it's my fall break and all I've done is read textbooks - fun!).

I would like to ask for prayers and thoughts for my family. My mammaw passed away yesterday. She was my great-grandmother and had just turned 96 last week. I won't get into how much she meant to my family because words can not do her justice, I just ask that you think about us. We know she is in a better place, but it's always hard to part with a loved one, especially when they have been with us as long as my mammaw had. And can you believe that she had 8 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and 9 (with one on the way!) great-great-grandchildren! Wow.

Again, please just keep my family in her prayers. Thank you all in advance!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

I got in trouble today.

With Adam.

Why, you ask?

Because when Briley and I got home from our recycling trip (we recycle E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. and you should too!), Adam came to get her out of the car and started freaking out because she was eating a no-no food.

In case you don't know (but I know many of you do) there are LOTS of no-no foods at our house. Anything with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, lots of food coloring, most dairy, nuts (including peanut butter!) is off limits to Briley. I'm sure I'm missing a few, too. And there are some that Adam and I stay away from or at least limit (high fructose corn syrup and sugar). Some may be no-no's because of Briley's intolerance to them (dairy), some may be because we are waiting till she is older to avoid allergies (nuts) and them some just aren't that great for you.

And guess what she was chowing down on in the backseat without me even knowing!

A chocolate granola bar! It was already open and half-eat because it was my breakfast yesterday. (Yes, my vehicle is THAT nasty.)

Adam was so ticked. He fussed and fussed at me! And you guys all thought I was the strict one! He is actually more particular about Little Bit's food than I am. I tried to convince him that it wasn't a big deal because 1.) she'd only taken a couple of bites 2.) it was organic and 3.) chocolate actually has been show to have some health benefits. But he didn't buy it.

He has now forgiven me, but he watched Briley like a hawk because he was afraid she was going to get sick due to my negligence. :o)

I'm So Proud :o)

I have to share this tidbit because it was my first real "proud mommy" moment. Of course, I'm always proud of Briley and people compliment her on different things all the time, but they're the kind of compliments every baby receives! This one is special....

I went to pick her up last week from school and when I walked in I saw Briley reaching for a marker and she said "Pease" to the teacher. When the teacher handed her the marker she said "Dank doo!" See, she always says her pleases and thank you's at home and to other people when she's out with Adam and I, but I doubted that she used her manners at school since they don't enforce it a whole lot at that age. But when the teacher saw me she said, "She's so sweet. She always uses her manners with us. She's the only one in the class that does and we don't even have to tell her do. She always does it on her own."

I'm sure my head was huge when I walked out because I was so proud! :o)

Manners are super important to me because my mom really stressed them with my brother and I when we were growing up. Mom always likes to tell us how the teachers would compliment us on our manners at the parent-teacher meetings! Haha. So I'm glad we're passing that down to Briley. Sometimes Adam and I will forget to say thank you to each other if we are in a hurry and Briley is always quick to correct us. She'll say, "Dank doo, Mama!" or "Dank doo, Dada!".

But don't you guys worry - my ego wasn't inflated for too long. When your kid insists on riding around Target with her sippy cup straw up her nose or screams "I poo-poo! Shoo-wee Mama!" while you're in a restaurant, you are quickly brought back down to reality.