Theme Songs

As you may know, Brianna was actually born in Texas. This means that to us, she will always be a Texan, whether we live there or not. Actually, Travis has often referred to her as his "Brianna Rose of Texas," which sort of naturally led to us deciding that "The Yellow Rose of Texas" was her "theme song." Which is a fitting song for her daddy to choose for her since part of the lyrics go:

She's the sweetest little rosebud that Texas ever knew,

Her eyes are bright as diamonds, they sparkle like the dew;

You may talk about your Clementine, and sing of Rosalee,

But the yellow rose of Texas is the only girl for me.

Which to me, sounds like what a Daddy would think about his daughter.

Here's Elvis's version and he's changed the lyrics a little bit, but they work too since Bree has some pretty blue eyes...



And of course, Noah was born here in Montana which has made Travis decide that "Wild Montana Skies" by John Denver is Noah's "theme song." And those lyrics go:

He was born in the bitterroot valley in the early morning rain

Wild geese over the water headin north and home again

Bringin a warm wind from the south

Bringin the first taste of the spring

His mother took him to her breast and softly she did sing

Oh montana, give this child a home

Give him the love of a good family and a woman of his own

Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes

Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild montana skies



I'm not exactly sure why both the kids' theme songs are country songs since neither Travis nor I is particularly fond of country music in general but there you have it. Just thought I'd share since I find it kind of amusing that we even have "theme songs" for the kids at all.

Backfire

Brianna is 3 yrs. old. So, she's just at that age where she can try your patience to the max all day, in every way possible. This was the kind of day we'd had yesterday and then, finally, to my relief it was her bedtime. But, she was feeling her oats and instead of coming over to me when I asked her to help me get her into her PJ's she decided to hide in her closet. After repeatedly asking her to come out and getting no results I excercised extreme parental control and instead of opening the closet door and yanking her out, (an act which would inevitably result in a tearful showdown since Brianna is prone to burst into tears at the drop of a pin lately), I decided to try a different, more lighthearted tact. I realized that the large 3 yr. old sized, stuffed Dora the Explorer doll Bree has would fit into Bree's pajamas. And, completely ignoring the kid in the closet I proceeded to stuff the large dolly into the pajamas and say, "Oh Dora, you're such a good girl for putting on these pajamas so nicely. Next I'm going to read you a bedtime story." I was actually pretty proud of myself for not loosing my cool and escalating the situation and expected to hear some giggling or have Bree burst out of the closet but instead all I got was heartbroken sobbing from inside the closet. "What is the problem?" I asked her. "Mom, those are MY pajamas, not Dora's! And this is MY room, you should read ME a story!"

So, ultimately I guess my little ploy worked out just as I planned and made her decide all on her own that she wanted to come out and get ready for bed...but it also kind of backfired since I was hoping to AVOID another bursting into tears loud sobbing episode since I'd had just about enough of them that day. Oh well....

Modesty Leaf

Poor Noah...he is just helpless against his sister doing silly things to him. First it was the embarrasing pink earmuff in the swing incident and now this:

See, we were all enjoying the beautiful evening weather one day after dinner and Noah was out there with us in his "little man recliner" as I call it (so nobody tell him that it's got a cute yellow baby duckling on it). Yep, we were all just hanging out when Brianna decided that Noah might think this leaf was neat. And so she gave it to him...I don't think she meant to put it right THERE but... I didn't see her actually placing the leaf so it made me laugh when I turned around to check on the baby and there he was wearing a modesty leaf, just like he was in the Garden of Eden.

Well, I guess we'll have lots of these kinds of shots to embarass the poor kid with when he brings home his first girlfriend.

Yet Another Round of Breeisms

Another installment of odd, funny, and quirky things from our little Brianna:

• This one isn't so much something Bree says, but rather something she's been doing. At one of her visits this past summer my mom brought us a mint plant. The moment she smelled it, Bree has been really into her "mint leaf" plant. (That, and we also have a cherry tomato plant that she makes sure to water each day and makes the ripe tomatoes disappear about 2 seconds after they turn red but anyways...) Bree just loves her "mint leaf" plant. She goes out and sniffs it every day and usually sneaks by with picking a few leaves off of it too. In fact, we've had to get after her for it - the poor plant is practically snatched bald. Finally, wanting to put those picked leaves to good use we showed her that you could make tea with the mint leaves. So now our 3 yr old is really into having a spot of tea. Maybe she's an Englishwoman at heart, pretty much every day she asks to have tea time. (Which I'm sure will tickle her Grammy Deb, who's also a tea fanatic.)



• "Ingy" - This is what Brianna is now naming everything. Even stuffed animals who have previously been named are getting called "Ingy." (Except for the bear formerly known as "Green" who is actually tan. He's now renamed "Big Billy Bear".) Not sure where she got the "name" Ingy but when she plays pretend and does both sides of the conversation, which is often, she'll say things like "Don't you think so Ingy?" and then in a high-pitched voice, "Yes I do Brianna!" and so on. Who am I to judge though..if she likes the name "Ingy" right now then hey, more power to her. (It could be worse..I've heard stories of little kids naming their dolly "Diarhhea" because they thought that sounded pretty.) The only problem is that it makes it hard, as the parent, to determine which little friend she is referring to. "Mom, could you hand me Ingy?" could pretty much mean any toy in her room!



• "If you say so!" - One of Bree's more recent little sayings. I think it's kind of funny just on it's own but she uses it in odd places. Like today when I told her, "Sit down and eat your lunch please." She said, "If you say so Mom."

Funny little kid...

Career Considerations...

He may be only 2 months old but being the responsible little guy that he is, Noah is already thinking seriously about what he wants to be when he grows up...

Naturally, since we live in Montana, and therefore in the "wild west" area, he thought about being a cowboy first:

Check it out...even has authentic cowboy fringe on his shirt.

He would make a cute cowboy.

Then he thought about being a professional baseball player:

I'd buy that baseball card wouldn't you?

After that was his brief flirtation with the idea of becoming a pirate. Darn the bad influences of Johny Depp, Orlando Bloom and not to mention Noah's own sister Bree for making it seem SO cool.

He would be a jolly pirate though.

Since he's patriotic he also thought about being a man of service in a branch of our armed forces:

But, I'm pretty sure he's underage and besides...

I'm also fairly certain he had an ulterior motive for that one. (The shirt says it all!)

Then there was his short-lived but creative idea of perhaps being a professional food taste-tester/monkey wrangler.

After all, it's obvious he does love his food as his super chubby cheeks will testify to.

And his most recent big idea is to follow in Daddy's footsteps and be a man of education:

Of course, getting your PhD is a big commitment and takes lots of thought and time and effort. It's a serious thing.

But, not when you're 2 months old! In that case P.H.D. stands for "Pretty Heavy Diaper!" Funny huh?

After all that I still don't think he's fully decided what he wants to be when he grows up. I guess there's still time to decide yet. We'll let you know when he makes a final decision though.

Meanwhile it's sure good to know that he takes this kind of thing seriously...or on second thought maybe he just likes to wear shirts that say stuff on them...or maybe they just make a lot of shirts for little boys with those types of things on them...whatever.

Seriously though, thanks to everyone for all the fun clothes you've sent us for Noah! We've obviously enjoyed them!

Deja Vu

Okay, I know I have pounded this drum before and I don't want to beat it to death or anything but... as Noah is growing I continue to be struck by how much he looks like Bree when she was his age, only he's the male version. They don't look identical but, again, there are some pretty strong similarities. If nothing else, I keep having this strange sense of deja vu that we have ended up with pictures of Noah with virtually the same expressions and poses as earlier shots of Brianna. It's like we're taking the same picture of a different kid. So, here's some more fun comparing my kiddos for ya:

Brianna



Noah

Brianna

Noah





Brianna

Noah

Brianna

Noah

And here's a few other cute ones of Noah I couldn't help posting as well:

I know all mothers think their children are beautiful and I'm no exception. I just look at them and think how very beautiful they are in every sense. And come on, when you look at those pictures don't they just melt your heart into a little puddle?

One Cool Cat

Like most 3 yr. olds, Bree is way into dress up. On this particular day she took the show on the road and wore her funky attire to the park down the street. Actually, I don't really think she considers this "dressing up" so much as just choosing cool accesories to go out in. In case you can't tell...that's a fuzzy pink cat hat with leopard print and ears, and then some yellow sunglasses. Oh, and two popsicles she decided to eat simultaneously. That's one cool cat....

Playing Both Sides

It's true, kids learn to manipulate their parents into getting what they want on a pretty regular basis. And, they learn to do it very young. Since she's had the verbal skills to do it almost everything is a major debate/compromise around here with Brianna, right down to what color cup her drink of water is in. I tell you, that kid should be captain of the debate team down the road.

And now Brianna has figured out that she has two parents. So these days she'll ask me something and if I say no she'll immediately run over to her daddy and ask him instead. Quite often when that happens I end up repeating, "I said no," so she hears it again and so Travis knows what my answer was. In response to this though Bree usually says, "Mom, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Daddy...pretty please Daddy?" To his credit Travis always backs me up...united parent front and all that.

There's one issue though that Bree is really pushing. Not only playing both sides but also trying to ask her grandparents and even strangers on the street for... She has wanted a dog since she was old enough to say the word. Pretty inevitable, you have a kid and you end up getting a dog at some point when the child has whined and asked enough to make you cave in. We're still holding out over here...no dog yet. But, a dog at some point in the future seems pretty certain because Mom and Dad are starting to soften and lose a little ground on the arguement. What is tipping the scales is that now Brianna has already named her future dog...Odie (this after she watched part of the movie Garfield on TV the other day). She talks about him as if we've already picked him out. She'll stroll up to one of her parents and start in like this, "Odie and me are gonna play fetch and he can bite his tail and go 'round and 'round and 'round. Can Odie come in the house? And I'll throw a ball and do dogs eat kitten food? Mom, hey Mom, can we go get Odie today? Can we? Let's go get him!" It's just so darn cute and irresistable not to mention the fact that you can just imagine how much fun she would have with the dog. At this point I start chanting in my head, "Dog poop, chewed up shoes, ripped up furniture, dog smell..." and etc. to remind myself why I don't want a dog. But, it's getting a little harder each day.

Little Boy in a Big Bed

It has happened on occasion, (okay, pretty much every night), that I get tired of getting up in the night to nurse Noah and in the interest of staying horizontal for a few hours in a row I tuck him into bed with me. This practice is actually a hotly debated issue in parenting...whether or not "the family bed" is a good thing to do or not. (Me, I just do what I need to in order to get sleep.) Noah has his own opinion though..he likes the big bed. No ifs, ands, or buts he likes to sleep in the big bed. Not only does he sleep better there but also longer. Darn, only 2 months old and I've already spoiled him! It happens so easily...

Sacked out and hogging up the whole bed.

Ma...can't you leave a guy alone to get some rest?

How can I resist knowing how happy it makes him?

Earmuffs

Noah likes his baby swing. Lucky for me...when I need to get something done and have to have my hands free then in he goes. He even catnaps in there. But, when I walk in the room to check on him I keep finding him like this:

Apparently big sis thinks he looks cute in them or something. Who knows?

Silence is Golden - Why? Because!

I often decribe Brianna as "talkative." Well actually, that's a major understatement. The child never stops talking from the moment her eyes pop open in the morning until she goes to bed at night. She just has lots to say...and even if she doesn't really have anything pertinent to say then she'll have conversations with her pretend friends, (doing both sides of the dialogue), sing a made up song with nonsense lyrics, or she'll just be giving a running commentary of what she's doing, as she's doing it. Yep, it truly never stops.(Sometimes I feel like my ears might actually bleed!) Now, even though it makes for lots of background noise, all this talking isn't really a bad thing. First off, for safety reasons - she can tell you her full name and address quite clearly. Secondly, you can have really interesting conversations with her, she can recount things in great detail to you and she often says funny little things. So, it's fun to talk with her. And it makes parenting a little easier because she can tell you what she needs, as opposed to the days when "ba" could mean, "I need my diaper changed," "I'd like to eat," or "I want that toy."

On the other hand Bree being so verbal is a little frustrating because, well, she can tell you what she "needs" (read as every little whim that pops into her head). And it's kind of a blow to the ego to lose a debate to the logic of a 3 year old, which it seems I quite frequently do.

So, just due to the sheer volume of the dialogue, I have to really concentrate just to keep focused on what all she's talking about and give appropriate responses. Sometimes I miss my cue when I've drifted off for a minute and then I notice (rarely) that there's a pause and she's staring at me expectantly. :)

To add to all of this already going on Bree has now entered the infamous "why" phase. (Or, she's in it again. It seems to come and go.) Asking "why" to everything turns what should have been a 30 second conversation into a good 5 minute one. Now, I think asking questions is good and all that so I usually try to answer the "why" but despite that, after 10 why's asked in response to the answer to the previous why, these session usually end in me finally either not knowing the answer or getting tired of answering and me going, "I don't know why...just because." A phrase that makes me feel so much like a mother. :)

County Fair

It's fair time here in Ravalli County over Labor Day Weekend. And, it also just so happens that my parents are in town visiting as well. So we loaded the kids up and headed over to the fairgrounds. We had ourselves a great time, rode a few rides, petted a few farm animals, and chowed down on some horribly unhealthy but wonderful fair food. What's a fair without funnel cake?

Bree went on a lot of kiddie rides. She loves them! This is her on the carousel.

Of course, we ended up with a lot of blurry pictures of her beaming as she whizzed by on this ride or that. :)

But, even when you can only see her eyes peeking out over the top, it's obvious she's having a great time.

Inevitably, we also ended up standing in a lot of lines for rides as well. Too bad for Noah, he didn't meet the height requirements to ride any of them...just had to endlessly wait in line.

One of the highlights for Brianna was getting to ride the Ferris Wheel. Maybe because she owns a Little People Ferris Wheel she's been dying to try one out. We thought it would be fun to ride with her on her first time.

Here we are stopped at the top. See Bree's eyes peeking out under the bar? She loved the ride and was mostly excited to point out the other rides she wanted to go on from that vantage point.

After awhile we took a break from rides and went to check out the petting zoo. Here's Bree's expression after getting up enough nerve to pat a goat on the head.

Couldn't resist snapping a shot of her posing in a little Viking girl cutout.

And then my dad couldn't resist trying out being a little Viking girl as well...

Finally, it was time for a few last rides before we headed home. This is an airplane ride.

Speeding by in a race car. Check out the grin....crazy driver.

Yep, that's a picture of one kid who had a lot of fun at the fair.