Portraits

We got portraits taken the other day for our family pics. I'm not posting any that we're using for our final pics yet until we get them in our hands :) Certain grandparents want pics of their granddaughter and I thought I should leave a little surprise with holding out on our "top picks". But until then, I love these pics :)

Who would have thought........

Who would have thought gas would be $1.83/gallon on Dec. 2nd 2008? Only months ago when I was driving around the radio station person was predicting gas to be $5.00/gallon by Christmas and I DEFINITELY agreed, seeing as it was already over $4.00/gallon. Wahoo and THANK GOODNESS, we can actually afford to fill up our tank :)

What a good day!

(Random pics for fun. I laugh when I catch Breanna's tantrums on camera, gotta love it! She's such an emotional chica!)

I am Thankful for Thanksgiving :)

I am thankful for Thanksgiving because it makes me stop and think of what I'm thankful for. Most days I just go through the day, without thinking of what I'm grateful for. I am very thankful for prayer because it is the one reason that I daily think of what I'm thankful for, without it, my days would blur into weeks and possibly months without stating the MULTIPLE things that I have to be thankful for.

Here's my list....I am thankful for:
**Heavenly Father and Jesus
1. My husband
2. My daughter
3. My parents
4. My sisters
5. My extended family
6. Our apartment
7. Our cars
8. Food we have to eat
9. Electricity
10. Sunny days
11. Books
12. Nap time
13. Being a stay at home mom
14. Having a husband with a job
15. Chick flicks
16. Friends
17. Earth
18. Airplanes
19. Music
20. Candy
21. Pictures
22. Vacations
23. A body that is healthy and able to exercise and run around
24. When Breanna sleeps in late in the morning
25. When Rob comes home from work and plays with Breanna
26. Showers
27. Clothes
28. Other moms who help you in your time of need
29. Education
30. Animals
31. Restaurants
32. Nature
33. My new treadmill
34. Going on adventures on Rob's days off
35. Girls night out
36. A clean house
37. Candles
38. Holidays with family and friends
39. The holiday season, in general, so fun!!
40. Dessert at night after Breanna's gone to bed
41. Talking to my parents on the phone
42. Seeing Breanna light up when she's excited
43. Watching Breanna learn and discover new things each day
44. Medical technology
45. Walmart that is 10 minutes away instead of an hour away
46. The time I got to spend living in Hawaii, I'll always cherish it.
47. Going on walks with my mom
48. Going on dates alone with Rob
49. Living in the United States of America
50. Freedom

Jumping Breanna

This is how Breanna got her energy out before bedtime yesterday after we stayed at home all day long.

Abandoned Parks

I don't know if I'm weird or something, but if it's NOT raining or FREEZING I will take Breanna to the park. We'll stop whatever we're doing and go b/c sooner rather then later it starts raining again or gets cold. So, what I don't understand is why are there no other moms and kids on the playground? Now I seriously think it's been the past 4 times to the park NO ONE else is there?!?!?! Is there some sort of magical indoor playground around here that is free that no one else is going to? I really don't think so, but if there is, let me know! I'm not upset, it's just an eery feeling to pretty much always have the playground to yourself.

Maybe other moms are alot busier then I am, probably, but I feel so locked up if we stay at our house all day, so I'm always jumping at the chance to get out. They probably also don't want to go b/c the playground is wet, but it seems like it's always wet, so we don't worry about that, or else we'd never go!

Either way, Breanna and I enjoy going :)

Canned Food Drive - People that live in WASHINGTON!!

(This is my husbands company and I would love to support him by helping him get as much food as possible for this canned food drive!)

In the mood to give thanks?

Quadrant Homes is participating in a Canned Food Drive - North West Harvest. You can check out the website @ northwestharvest.org. The Food Drive goes from now til Nov. 17th. For every time you come and make a donation you will be given One ticket to the Space Needle - Good for up to 4 people Free Admission up the to visit the Observation Deck includes 4 free hours of valet parking and expires the Dec. 30th 2008.

Drop off the canned good items from 10 - 6pm Monday-Sunday at The Ridge at Suncrest community:
917 Comiskey Lane - Tumwater, WA 98512
Phone: 360-352-5656

What types of food does Northwest Harvest need?
Northwest Harvest can use any nonperishable food or monetary donations. If you prefer to donate food, select shelf-stable food with the lowest saturated fats and refined carbohydrates (sugar, white flour). We buy white rice and beans in bulk, so we encourage you to donate other items. Here are some suggestions:

General food items:

Oatmeal
Whole grain pastas
Brown rice
Tomato products
Canned peas
Canned pears and peaches, especially with low sugar (but not artificial sweeteners)
Canned tuna
Canned chicken and turkey
Shelf-stable milk
Beef stew, chili and similar meals with low sugar and saturated fats

Infant and baby foods:

Baby formula
Canned milk
Infant cereal
Jars of baby food
Powdered or canned milk
We also accept baby diapers

Trunk or Treat

Breanna is supposed to be a flower....she threw a 25 minute tantrum about me putting the costume on her. She also told us "owie" about the petals if they would touch her face (mind you they are the softest material EVER :) So, i put flower clips in her hair b/c I realized the hat part of the costume was not going to stay on!

My parents ward had trunk or treat and before the candy everyone had brought big crockpots full of soup and then rolls/bread, so we had a tasty feast! They also had a little "festival" around the church in different rooms. Breanna got her face painted (so did grammy) and won a prize at the beanbag toss. (she walked all the way up and dropped the beanbag in....smart little girl, she probably thought why are all these kids standing behind this line trying to throw it in...that's too hard, i'll just walk up there and drop it in :)

Dad was Bob Marley, which worked great because it kept his head warm and he got to have a "hair complex" for the night. Mom was a "wench", at least that's what dad kept saying she was because that was the label of her costume, in other words, a female pirate. I borrowed some of my moms scrubs and was a nurse, not too creative, but a great last minute and free costume!

Lots of fun! Breanna enjoyed trunk or treating. At least the candy aspect...but so did all of us adults :) Thanks Breanna for trunk or treating so I could steal your candy !!

Flying

Rob, Breanna and I were lucky enough to fly over to Colorado on Thursday. Rob stayed only til Friday night and then flew back for work...I know, quick trip. Breanna and I will be here til Thursday. We're very excited to be with family and visit my parents. My dad is healthy enough right now to have visitors and Breanna is actually healthy too (AMAZING) so we jumped at the chance to come.

Now, I don't know if you know, but my dad works for United Airlines and so we can get "buddy passes" VERY CHEAP to come on a flight last minute. We have to fly standby, which always is interesting. So, my dad looked up the flights and the only "for sure" flight was the one leaving Seattle at 5:44AM. Now, this meant we had to get up at 2:30AM and leave by 3:00AM for the airport.

Breanna decided to make life interesting and did NOT sleep a wink in the hour drive up to the airport...fun times. Now, she was pleasant in the car and just looked out the window, but she was tired by the time we entered the airport.

You can guess how well the trip went after that. Breanna was fussing in the line for tickets, she fussed and cried in the security line and then threw a MAJOR tantrum in the bathroom when i was changing her out of her pajamas into an outfit. "Socks, socks" she screamed as tears streamed down her cheeks. For some reason she thought I was stealing the socks away for eternity when I took them off to change her. She threw herself all over the bathroom floor screaming and flailing. Not only was I grossed out, I was sweating b/c I was trying to calm her down and get her dressed while people stopped and stared at us....Come on, have you never seen a toddler throw a tantrum, give me a break.

She calmed down when we went to the gate and took her to the window to see the planes. She LOVES airplanes, so she screamed plane every time she saw one, over and over, I'm sure the people trying to rest loved that this early in the morning, but I was thrilled that she wasn't crying :)

Then we were lucky enough to be called to get our tickets from the gate agent. We were super lucky and got first class. I would normally jump for joy, but my heart sank as I saw Rob would be 6 rows behind me and I would be dealing with Breanna on my lonesome, sitting next to people who paid BIG BUCKS to sit in a luxurious seat and SLEEP on their way to their destination. Little did they know they would be in an enclosed environment with a exhausted baby girl.

So lucky or not, you tell me. Now, i know this sounds really selfish and rude to not be excited, I just didn't want to upset everyone around me, you know?

We were okay until the plane started to take off and then Breanna screamed bloody murder for 15-20 minutes until the seat belt sign came off. She did not want to sit on my lap, that's why she threw a tantrum. I tried everything i could to get her to calm down, yet nothing worked. I was definitely almost crying, lots of tears in my eyes, but still trying so hard to settle her down. I'm sure some of you have had this experience before, i just felt even worse b/c we were in first class, at this point i would have given anything to be in the back of the plane in the last row, so barely anyone would see me.



Before the seatbelt sign went off a male flight attendant came and asked me if i was okay and if he could help get me anything. I said no and apologized for her behavior, he was SO KIND and said, "we've all been there." Apparently he has a daughter who screamed and cried for almost an entire flight one time and a woman on the flight said, "can't you control your child." WOW. He said he was just here to help and he was just so nice.

As soon as the seatbelt sign did go off I left with her to the back and gave Rob the evil eye, or the HELP ME eye, and he came to help. I was at my breaking point and he calmed me down. He went and asked the lady i was sitting next to if she would like to trade seats with him (they both had window seats) so that she could have a quieter flight and he could help me. She was very helpful and switched, thank goodness. We played in the back of the airplane for a good 30 minutes then Breanna started getting cranky again. I tried rocking her and bouncing for almost 20 minutes and she almost fell asleep, but then flight attendants got back from passing out drinks and woke her up :( I feel very hopeless b/c even at a 3AM wake up I still can't get my daughter to sleep anymore....any tips would be heaven from anyone who knows how to do it!

After this we decided to go back to our seats and try it out again. Well luck was in my favor and Breanna was an angel the rest of the way. She played by our feet for awhile with all the toys/books i had brought. Then she sat on Rob's lap and stared out the window and pointed at things while we descended for at least 20 minutes!

This was only a 2 hour flight and I had my husband with me. Let me tell you that I am so grateful he was there b/c I had lost it by the time we had just gotten in the air.

I don't know how she was such a good girl on our 6 1/2 hour flight to Hawaii...it must have just been ALL the prayers we had prayed for months in advance!

I'm just glad we're here. (PS- these are pictures of when we visited in June...haha, haven't taken to many here yet :)

Posing

While on our Hawaii trip Breanna started "posing" for the camera. She actually now stands still (sometimes) and will look at the camera when I tell her I want to take a picture....much better then trying to get a pic while chasing her around :)

I have gotten quite a few funny faces....she doesn't grasp the whole, "smile for the camera" concept yet, that'll be awhile from now...til then, yeah for funny faces!

go, breanna, go :)

breanna had a blast "riding" a tricycle and "riding" a scooter the other day. she actually wanted to wear the helmet, or hat as she called it, because her friend addi was wearing it. lots of fun. too bad her chubby legs aren't strong enough yet to pedal, i tried teaching her how to push on the pedals....it was a bit advanced for her.

but, it made me consider buying one, i can imagine the hours of fun she would have!

Toddshell!!!!

Well I decided to do another post since Breanna is playing in her crib instead of napping....I'm scared to get her out because she's going to be cranky until bedtime...but she's been up there for an hour and a half, no crying, just playing?????

Weird.

Anyways, we were very lucky to be able to stay with Michelle and Todd at the end of our vacation. I stayed 5 extra days when Rob had to get back to work, so I got to spend extra special time with my awesome sister Mimi. I love her and had so much fun.

We got to do girl time, watch chick flicks, she painted Breanna's toenails, we had lots of good food, went to Ted's Bakery, the beach, on a walk, they bought pizza for my b-day, went to sunset beach, lots of fun!

Every morning Breanna would look at the pictures on the wall of Michelle and Todd and scream "Toddshell"!!! She loved them. I am so excited we had this extra time with them because Breanna definitely formed a relationship with them that she didn't have before. She would scream in excitement to see Todd or Michelle and would cry when they left.

Every night when Todd would get home from work he would sit on the couch and Breanna would climb up next to him holding out and X-box remote for him and one for her to hold....she wanted to be just like Todd. She also wanted to play on their laptops so she could be just like them! (i know they were not thrilled about that one :)

I hope Michelle has some more pics, once Rob left Hawaii....our Camera went with him!!

It was a great experience and one I will never forget!

The Parkers

We were so happy to be able to spend time with Matti, Johnny and Eden Parker when we were in Hawaii. It was so nice to be around great friends and have some fun times with them.

Matti and I were able on many days to go to the beach with Breanna and Eden, which was lots of fun. Matti was a trooper even though she wasn't feeling well because of the yucky first trimester pregnancy stuff :( But, she did a great job acting like she felt okay, even if she didn't!

We went to Waimea, our favorite beach, with them, out to eat at Pizza Bob's, pool-hopping at Turtle Bay, hung out at the beach at Turtle Bay, Alligator pond (so much fun for the kids), and the movie on the beach in Laie. We also had dinner at their house, played with the kids in the baby pool outside and Breanna even got to have a "timeout" in Eden's room :)

At Waimea we decided to dig a "pool" for the girls, which was their favorite thing of the day! The waves would bring water up to the hole and the girls would splash around and play in it...lots of fun. Eden's favorite part was sipping the water from the hole, Breanna's favorite was doing baby "headstands" in the pool.

At Pizza Bob's we were all starving waiting for our food. Breanna learned a new favorite "food" during the wait....Parmesan Cheese! We were loading mounds of it on plates for Eden and Breanna to eat it, they were quite entertained....and i'm not gonna lie, we all enjoyed tons of cheese before they brought our food out :) Let me tell you , it was quite a messy table after that...(don't worry, i cleaned most of the mess up so the waiter wouldn't be upset about the disaster:)

It was lots of fun. We miss you guys. Thanks for all the fun days!