Favorites

Ok, here you get a version of updates and a few of my kids' favorite things lately all wrapped into one post!

Brooke

Favorites:

• She really enjoys all her activities - dance class and Kindermusik and school. I think I failed to tell the blogging world that Kindermusik started off very well. I was enthusiastically surprised a bit at just how much they will learn this year! After just one class, she had learned who Mozart is, simple rythym and the beginnings of note lengths (ta, ti-ti, ta's). I am super excited!
• She is always singing songs and sings along to her Kindermusik CD, Mamma Mia (still), and any others that she knows.
• One of everyone's favorite pasttimes is dancing around the living room crazily. Recently we stayed up late and she learned how to Limbo, do the Bunny Hop, the Chicken Dance, and more!
• She skips everywhere we go practically. She's contanstly asking, "Mom, can I skip here?" In the store, down the sidewalk, around the house...doesn't matter. If there's enough room, she's going to be skipping.
• She loves playing "boat" with Brenna - getting a big blanket, laying it on the floor and pretending its a boat
• Dressing up is always fun for a 4yr old little girl
• She enjoys reading chapter books now. We've been doing them for some time now but now, we're getting into longer and longer ones. She really enjoys showing off her reading skills, but still likes to be read to as well.
• She loves all animals, but especially cats
• She enjoys jumping on the trampoline (when weather permits)
• She likes all things princess
• She loves "shows", although really she probably only watches 1 30-min TV show every few days..she still enjoys it. Her favorites are still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Mermaid, Word Girl, and any movie we let her watch.
• She likes making Brenna laugh. And when they get to cracking each other up, its hard to not join in on the laughter.
• She likes going for walks around the neighborhood....in the wagon. Even better if we take the dogs.
• She enjoys her Leapster and Tag books as well, but really...she plays a lot of pretend play and easily plays by herself (or with Brenna) with simple things.
• She's not a great eater, but like most kids her age, her favorite meal would consist of macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, grapes, cheese, and goldfish or some variation of those. We have a rule that she must try everything on her plate at least one time. She used to not like bananas, but now...after trying them and wanting to like them, she has grown to like them ok. So hopefully the rest of the good food, fruits and veggies will follow.
• She would probably eat at Olive Garden for every single meal if we let her. My, how she loves her some fetuccini and breadsticks!
• She really enjoys a good story...esp a great story, made up by Daddy. Where he gets some of his stories, I'll never know...
• She will laugh at any kind of silly behavior. Or made up words or the wrong words or whatever. Silly is key to this 4yr old. The other day I was reading Clifford the Big Red Dog to her and kept calling him purple. She was in stitches laughing so hard. She loves being silly, making silly sounds, silly voices, saying silly things and loves for someone to reciprocate the silliness. The sillier the better. A new thing we've been hearing..."Mommy, lemme tell you a joke." And then comes, "What if Barkley was purple and could fly?" That's her version of a joke. Please commence into laughing hysterically...that would be the appropriate response if Brooke tells you a joke. ;)
• She enjoys cuddling, though too. Maybe she's just stretching out her bedtime, but she always asks to snuggle a little bit before bed. And even better if you "smooth her" or rub her arm or back slightly. She's an affectionate girl. :)
  

Brenna

Favorites:

• The girl loves her food! Anything really. She will try anything you give her and only spit out a very few things. But particularly, she LOVES black eyed peas. She can easily eat an entire can if we let her and more times than not, she's eaten at least 3/4 of a can completely by herself. She also enjoys corn on the cob....a lot. Maybe its the feeling of power. That she can hold it by herself or something? And simple saltine crackers (or any crackers for that matter) are still like a dessert to her. She will pass over ice cream or cake to get a cracker. Haha!
• She enjoys playing with Brooke, of course and misses her sooo much when she is off at school.
• Next to Brooke, Barkley is her true best friend. I cannot explain how much and how often she loves on that dog. (the cat outside however, recently scratched her...a little too much loving)
• She has only had her first class of Kindermusik this semester and wasn't too excited, but I think she was tired. Because we just ended one this Summer and she really enjoyed it!
• She loves books. Books, books, and more books. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is always one of her top picks. Won't sit still to watch a TV show, but wants you to read the same 4 page book to her over and over and over again.
• She's into phones right now. My phone, your phone, toy phone. She puts it up to her ear and then hands it to you...for you to talk on the phone.
• She loves playing in the toy kitchen...and the real one.
• She really enjoys being outside and likes when we get time to 'play' when we go pick up Brooke from school. Pickup is at the end of playground time, so if I'm a good mommy, I go a little early so Brenna can play a bit too.
• She loves to walk everywhere and rarely likes to be carried (and she really despises having to ride in shopping carts or strollers). The exception to this rule? When there are people around. Then its "Up. Up. Up. Up. Up."
• She is talking more - FINALLY! - these days. She now tries to repeat things you ask of her. They don't always come out right, but they are close in that you get what she's trying to say. Even hard words she takes a good stab at it! Her newest understandable words: PaPoo, Baby, Night Night, Da-Deeee, Mommy (as opposed to MaMa...I kinda liked her "Mama"), Up, Puppy, Purple (notice the "P" sound? Yea, its her favorite)
• She still signs like crazy. Some of her signs overlap and we have to try to take it into context. For instance, elephant, balloon and giraffe all look similar. She also made up her own sign for glasses (for my glasses).
• She loves to brush her teeth and knows the sign for it..she asks for her toothbrush at the changing table at every diaper change.
• She likes getting into the car by herself. Yea, she TRIES to get in by herself. She is all about doing things herself now. Just today, Brooke was so sad that Brenna didn't want to hold her hand while walking down the sidewalk at school. :(
• She loves playing in the bath and in water and enjoys the sand table outside (again, weather permitting).
• She enjoys helping to clean up. Really, what it is...she enjoys taking things from one place and putting them in another. She's all about simple instructions these days. "Brenna, go put the book on the shelf...", or "Take this to your kitchen", or Go put your shoes up...". If the command is simple enough, 9 times out of 10, she will follow the instruction. There's that other percent of time though that she's cranky or in a mood and is just mad and will throw something down. However, her tantrums are short-lived. Give her literally one minute and she will come back, pick up the book she just threw on the floor in anger and put it where you tell her to put it. :)
• She loves to dance...and by dance, I mean dance crazily. Not a typical baby shake your bottom up and down kinda dance. I mean, she will flail around, waving her arms, going in circles, around and back and forth. Its as if she knows some kind of new line dance they are coming out with? Its so funny to watch! And then...if she adds in her, um...singing? Even better.
• She loves to make us laugh and will make silly faces and silly sounds and whatever she can to get us to laugh. Quite the comedian we have.
• And I have to mention, her thumb is definitely another one of her favorite things. :P A few times now, I have put her to bed with a pacifier and she hands it back to me, shakes her head "No" and sticks her thumb in her mouth. Ugh. Most of the time, though, she still goes to bed with a pacifier and just sometime in the night/nap, she ends up with her thumb.

Both our girls are true blessings. I love how they love each other. I love how they make each other laugh and make us laugh.

Brooke says some of the funniest things (see the "Quotables section on my sidebar) and has some pretty lengthy discussions with me about things going on. Recently, she was so curious and wanted to know the story of Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and Indians and such. So we had a looong talk about the first Thanksgiving. Long, because she asked a zillion questions. But I love her desire for information. I love her creativeness, her abilities, her unique-ness and I love how knowledgable she is becoming. It makes my heart melt when we are sitting at the dinner table and out of the blue and for no reason, she will just say, "You know, I really love you Mommy." It's also an exceptional compliment when her teacher tells us that there is just something special about her and her connection to God.

Brenna is in the toddler stage of needing to explore everything. And while it can be challenging, I enjoy that she wants to do things. I envy her desire to be a tad dangerous. At the Children's Museum, she only wants to play on the things you can climb on...you know, right next to the brick wall that she can bust her head open on. I often wish that when I was growing up I had had that outgoingness. Of course, she is extremely shy around people and has often cried at the mere thought of someone talking to her. (I'm not kidding. She has cried before just b/c someone talked to her) I love how willing she is to try new foods and how she loves to give hugs and kisses. She is constantly showing her affection to us and nothing makes me feel better.

Oh, how I love my girls!