1.5

Our Brinn is one and a half today!  As of 12:45pm, she became closer to 2 than to 1.  When did our baby turn into this big girl?!

Time is FLYING right now, and I am finding myself devoting time to committing moments to memory.  Moments that may seem mundane to some are the exact moments I never want to forget. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone- Thanksgiving was last week, Christmas is in less than a month, and then it will be 2013 (speaking of 2013, who's with me that its shocking that we are almost 13 years into the new millennium? Y2K anyone?).  Seems like a short time ago when I posted her 6months blog post here.  In that post I wrote about how much Brinn had changed since birth and several things I love about her.  She's changed so much more since then.  If its even possible, we love Brinn even more.  She is one of the most passionate little girls I've ever known.  She smiles bigger, laughs harder, kisses and hugs more often, and plays more energetically than some other children.  BUT, she also screams louder, tantrums more often, and cries longer than those same kids.  That's our girl.  She knows what she wants and can somewhat communicate it with her own mixture of words, signing, whining, and grunting.  Her signing has recently increased to essentially surpass me, and she knows almost all of her animal sounds.  Her words are a little limited at this point- mama, dada, hi, hello, dog, shoes- but it is so fun to watch her little mind work and try so hard.  I remember thinking at around 6months that being a mother couldn't be more fun, but we are truly in a sweet spot right now!  I love that she, without fail, always gives her mommy and daddy a kiss before bed (and as of recent, she blows a kiss and waves bye bye when placed in her crib).  I love that when she knows she isn't allowed to touch something (like the fireplace), she will look directly at me, almost touch it, wrinkle her nose, and shake her head.  Almost like she is telling me that she knows better- OR, more likely, to see if the rules have changed ("can I touch the fireplace NOW??").  I love her unsolicited kisses and hugs- especially running bear hugs of my knees.  I love that she will grab a phone and walk around the house having a 5min intense conversation in what sounds A LOT like Chinese.  I love that she is obsessed with holding our hands:

 

I love that she still has her chubby cheeks (and thighs, wrists, etc).  And she is beautiful.

 

 

I love that she can successfully climb into her highchair, although this is not encouraged... 

 

I love that she wore her Halloween costume- headdress and all.  Although it seemed like she was trying to convince every house to take it off.  Cutest pink flamingo EVER.

I love that she is not afraid to get her little hands dirty (from Thanksgiving):

 

 

I love that she has a best friend whom goes everywhere Brinn goes- her pink and white stuffed dog.  Pictured here:

And here:

I love how much she loves to brush her teeth (to the point that there is typically a tantrum when the activity is over):

I loved her first ponytail:

I love that she loves my eskimo kisses, my awful singing, my sweaty palms, my plush bathrobe, my cooking, my shoes, my cool dance moves, my cuddles, my laughs, and hates my tears.  And I love everything last thing about her, because, really, what's not to LOVE??

We love our girl!  Happy half birthday Sweetness, XOXO

Groundhog's Day

Again, its been a long time since I last posted.  Mainly because it seems a little like groundhog's day around here- same thing, different day with nothing new to report.  But, that statement is really not accurate at all.  We have been busy, busy!  We spent a lot of time in the North Carolina mountains this summer, avoiding the Alabama sweltering heat.  Chuck and I went to New York City for a long weekend getaway.  And, most importantly, our sweet Brinn is now 16 months old!  She is truly no longer a baby; she's a personality-plus toddler!  She is talking up a storm (although most of her 'words' are babble), pretend playing (feeding her baby dolls, cooking dinner, etc), learning sign language, and understanding a whole lot (Chuck and I need to now start watching what we say...).  It is so amazing and interesting to watch her little mind work and grow.  Anyway, here are some recent pictures from this summer.  We are so excited for fall!  Hope everyone is doing great- XOXO

Happy girl!!

 



 

 

Day at Santaland in NC

 

 

Cheese!!

 

 

Can I see the camera??

 

 

Please???

 

NO?!?!?!?!

 

Recent pictures

First treat from the ice cream truck!

B and her bear:

What does your bear say?? Grrr

Sweetness

Crazy hair!

Strolling

Huge teeth!  She has 12 (8 front, 4 molars)

Until next time,
Corrine

Happy 1st Birthday!

Brinn Saganiac was born at 12:44pm, one year ago, today.  It has been the most fun, challenging, and completely fulfilling year of my life.  Congratulations to us- our little family of 3- we've survived the year!  I look forward to all the years, days, hours, minutes, seconds yet to come.  I love you- we love you- forever our girl, our sweet little miss Brinn.  Happy 1st Birthday.

We celebrated just as our family of 3 today- next Saturday is her party.  She opened some presents, we went for lunch, and then to the McWane Science Center.  It was a GREAT day, and we all had a blast celebrating- pictures below...

She loves her trike from Nonnie!!

Fun at the McWane Science center... clapping for the fish...

Pointing at the fish:

Playing in the water with Daddy:

And a preview of birthday decorations...



First steps!!

Yesterday our girl took her first successful steps!  She had so much fun teetering between Chuck and me- it was absolutely adorable.  Yay Brinn- we're so proud of you (and she's very proud of herself)!  Check out the video:

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had a great Easter!  We certainly did!  We started the day by packing up the family and heading to church.  Brinn slept in the car on the way over, so I was optimistic that she would do well in the church nursery.  While Chuck and I enjoyed the service, poor B was miserable.  When we picked her up, she was hysterical- blotchy faced and all.  I was so sad for her and felt completely guilty.  Next time, she'll be attending church service with us- we'll see how that goes... After she calmed down, we went home.  She felt much better when she saw that the Easter bunny had visited our house while we were out:

She received some new teethers, a banana toothbrush, a stuffed bunny, apple puffs, and the book Runaway Bunny.  No candy this year :)  I assume that the Easter bunny knew that B is too young for candy, so if she received any it would have been up to Chuck and me to eat it.  And since we are headed to Vegas at the end of the month to celebrate my 30th birthday, Momma doesn't need any candy ;)
While Brinn played with her new teethers and Chuck brushed her teeth, I whipped up a spinach and ricotta frittata (recipe from clean eating, here: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Recipes/Recipe/Ricotta-Spinach-Frittata.aspx).  It was delicious and perfect for our Easter chardonnay brunch! 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing.  It really was a great Easter Sunday- Brinn's first :)

Earlier in the week, Brinn was invited to an Easter egg hunt and playdate at a friend's house.  It was a blast- they brought in live chicks and a bunny:

B was really unsure of the chicks, but I was happy to see that she didn't touch them- I really was worried that she might accidentally kill one.  They also had someone dress up as an Easter bunny:

I felt bad for the girl, because I was sweating in my sundress.  She must have been on the verge of a heat stroke.  Regardless, Brinn had fun playing with the other babies and sitting in an inflatable ball thing (not sure what its actually called):

And a video:

10 months!

B is 10 months old!  I feel like every day she is growing up, and its all going too fast.  Just today she started to walk with her little walker (see video below)- I'm so glad that I caught it on video, because I've watched it several times today- each time with a smile and maybe even a tear.  She definitely has the desire to walk- she can cruise through our upstairs playroom and 'walk' through the hall by holding onto the walls.  And shes always SO proud of herself for her great accomplishments.  Its just amazing to see how much she's progressed since the little, tiny, helpless girl 10 months ago!  She is still staying strong with her 8 teeth, which has provided the family with some downtown from teething (YAY).  But, her gums are looking super puffy again, so I'm thinking she may be cutting her first year molars in the next couple weeks.  And its a good thing that our girl has so many teeth, because the girl can eat!  I typically serve her two 3 course meals a day (lunch and dinner) with a bottle for breakfast and snack.  I've been cooking for her a lot more often now that we are moving onto proteins and table foods.  I'd say her favorites are blueberry kashi waffles with cream cheese, homemade mac and cheese, and pastina with meat sauce.  Those would probably be my favorites too, so she's clearly my daughter- the girl loves her some carbs!  I'm attempting to make homemade baked meatballs this week, we'll see how that goes...
Anyway, I don't really think there is anything else to update.  We're just living our lives and enjoying sweet Brinn.  Below are some recent pictures... Hope everyone is doing great and have a happy Easter weekend!
XOXO,
Corrine

9 months old!

Our girl is nine months old (9 1/2 as I write this)!  Only 3 more months until her first birthday- whoa!  Initial party planning has begun, thanks to my addiction to Pinterest :)  I've learned that I need to self edit or else I risk Brinn's party to end up looking like a big fat obnoxious pink wedding explosion.  Hopefully it will turn out tasteful...

Anyway, updates... Brinn had her 9 month check up, and here are her new stats:
Weight: 20lbs 11.5oz (80%)
Length: 28 3/4" (90%)
Head: 17 1/4" (50%)
Our pediatrician was again happy with Brinn's development and growth.  Brinn smiled and laughed the whole appointment until it was vaccination time; then she gave the nurse a death stare. 
Brinn is a very fast crawler now and is starting to cruise (walk while holding onto furniture).  She's pretty good at the side step, but hasn't yet figured out how to steadily step forward.  We're in no rush :)

Its been a warm winter, so we've spent a lot of time at the park by our neighborhood.  Brinn loves the swings and crawling around to meet older kids.  I've even had a little girl ask me if Brinn could play with her- so sweet!  Here's a little video at the park and some recent pictures:

Swinging:

Lunch with Mommy:

 Deep thoughts with Daddy:

More park time: