Bree At Little Gym

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLsr7vEDxeQ

This video shows how Bree runs around Little Gym like a maniac. But at least she's following the instructions, rather than making up her own routine! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0eKjiBuiIg

This video is of Bree learning to prepare for a back handspring. She really likes this, but doesn't really understand what she's supposed to do with her hands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkxM6CUQi6k

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Strawberry Picking & Mall Adventures

It's strawberry season here and I thought that Bree might enjoy going strawberry picking. The area has quite a few u-pick strawberry farms, so we headed out for one called "The Flip Flop Farmer."


Bree actually wasn't all that interested in picking strawberries. Or eating them, actually. She took a bite out of one and said, "Ew, Mama, it's HOT." And promptly threw it back into the bucket. Bree was then relegated to holding the bucket and being the strawberry spotter. I did the picking. We were only there for about 45 minutes, tops.

So what to do, what to do? It was still early, and the girls had quite a bit of energy left. So we headed to the mall!

One of the local malls has a carousel. We rode it three times, and on the last time, the girls opted to ride in the "coach" rather than on a horse. This is where they got REALLY silly. And it makes for some great photos!

This is actually Bree's "true" smile - not posed, not forced, not under duress. I love this picture.

We try to get Bree and Sophie together every so often to play together. They have a lot of fun together. The best part is that they wear each other out. Always a good thing. :)

The Butterfly

On Mother's Day we went to ElmoPark. It was a cool day here, but sunny and a great day to be outside. The park wasn't very crowded at all - probably not the top spot to bring moms for Mother's Day. :) But Bree and I have been having a LOT of fun at the park together, so I figured it would fit all the requirements that I had for Mother's Day: 1). we'd be doing something together; 2). it would be fun; and 3). I wouldn't have to cook or clean up afterward.

The last time we were at the park, Bree wanted to get her face painted. Given all of the things we still had to do on that particular day, I told her that we'd have it done the next time. So, we went to the face painting booth and deliberated about getting the tiger, the "mardi gras" or the butterfly. Bree eventually decided on the butterfly.

Bree was very interested in the process of the face painting at first. Then her attention started to wander. Then the painter had to reminder her "criss cross applesauce!" so that her legs were tucked up underneath her. When I was younger we called this "sitting Indian style" but for obvious reasons that phrase has been discontinued for something more generic: "criss cross applesauce." Bree is fascinated by this, and will ask me, "Mommy, is this 'criss cross apples 'n sauce?" Then I have to rearrange her legs until it's the correct position.

When the lady was done painting and handed Bree the mirror, Bree just looked at herself and it was almost like she couldn't comprehend that she had paint on her face. She seemed pretty darn underwhelmed with the whole thing, but was very happy to have the painting (and sitting) parts done with.

We stayed a record-breaking SIX hours at the park on Mother's Day. We still had to do some grocery shopping afterward, and everyone complimented Bree on how pretty her face painting was. Bree would just smile and agree, "yeah!"

The little girl in the picture above was getting her face painted right before it was Bree's turn. We ran into them again at the boat ride. Bree was very interested in being her friend. Her name is Wendy. :)

It was a great day, a lot of fun. I'm not sure if we'll do the face painting again. It was quite the fight at the end of the day to get Bree to agree to wash it off. EPIC BATTLE OF WILLS. But as it was Mother's Day, I did get my way. Eventually.

Dancefloor Diva

So, this is Bree's first time on a dance floor. She's doing test laps, figuring out how quickly she can take turns, achieve maximum twirl and look good doing it. :)

Bree ran like this for about 10 - 15 minutes. I talked her into taking a break by bribing her with the special drink.

Cuttin' A Rug

The Party Girl

So the evening started off on this note:

Bree: "Hey Mommy, how 'bout I don't bite you on the butt tonight?"

Me: "That sounds really good, yeah!"

Maybe it's obvious to everyone that Bree doesn't really like to have her picture taken. She knows that I send pictures to her daddy and to her grandparents - but even so, she just doesn't like to look at the camera and smile.

So I take a million pictures and hope to get even a few good ones. This one was taken in "mid-twirl." We had a bit of a challenge finding a dress for Bree - well, let me rephrase that - the challenge was not actually finding a dress, but finding one that didn't cost an arm and a leg! Thanks to an online sale and a discount code, I got a great deal on this dress. I even had a friend searching thrift stores for a deal - and while she did find two great deals, the dress I thought Bree could wear to the wedding turned out to be a bit too short on Bree.

So, with party dresses and party shoes all set, we were ready to go! It was a gorgeous day here, a perfect day for a wedding. Nick & Sarah were getting married at a local venue on the water, and they had their ceremony pier side - just perfect!

However, any time you have any activity (such as a wedding) outside, you run the risk of third party interference. Like, right when the officiant says "you may now kiss the bride," a boat is passing by and some girl in a bikini cheers you on. She's going to be in everyone's wedding photos of this moment, memorialized for all time.

And, uh, okay - we have the same thing, this time with BREE in the photo, waving "hi" to the new Mrs. Combs. :)

I did make Bree take a nap earlier in the day, so I knew that with a little bit of sugar and adrenaline, she'd go ALL NIGHT LONG. Bree's drink of choice that evening was Sprite with some cherry juice. Oh, but let's not forget the ice. Ice that she had to dig out with her hands. Guess we've still got some work to do in the table manners department. Lots of work.

A friend took this picture of Bree & I together. Again, Bree is making the cheesiest face ever.

Second try, not bad.

What these pictures don't convey was just how much Bree was the belle of the ball. This girl took up residency on the dance floor and refused to leave. She started out by doing laps on the dance floor (when it was empty) and then just letting her freak flag fly. I have some video of it - because really, that's the only way you get the true flavor of this girl and her love of dancing. I'll try to upload some videos.

Around 8:45 there was a casualty on the dancefloor - someone accidentally stepped on Bree's foot. Since she was obviously slowing down, I decided that it would be a good time to end the evening. Oh boy. Poor Bree cried all the way home. "BUT I DON'T WANNA GOOOOOOO!" and really? there's no good response to that one. Also? By 8:45 they hadn't yet cut the cake. So I didn't realize until we were in the car that this was Bree's second wedding where she didn't get any cake. To make up for this, I'm going to make Bree some cupcakes this week.

We had a great time at Nick & Sarah's wedding. And Bree only asked about Miss Katherine Lee twice. :)