This month has been hard.

Really hard.

Maybe the terrible two's just hit B late. No, cause I swear we went through those.......

Whatever is going on....I just want it to stop. The crying over everything, the whining, the yelling, the potty training, the waking up in the middle of the night like she's a newborn. I want it to stop. I NEED it to stop.


Potty training: We wear underwear all day long. She does awesome at telling me she needs to go pee, so we pee on the toilet. But she wants a diaper to poop in. And since she's been constipated (I don't want to go through that again!) I put one on her. Yesterday she got a UTI. Fun. So every time she pees, she's screaming. The antibiotic they gave her is disgusting, so she doesn't want to take it, which means I hold her down and it gets everywhere but in her mouth:) There was a lot of crying yesterday (A LOT), mostly by me.

Waking up in the night: This one is the hardest for me. I LOVE my sleep, and when I don't get it.....it's not pretty. B has had night terrors. I think. When I read about them, it sounds like what she's doing, but I can talk to her after she calms down. I wonder if she's just overreacting to a bad dream. I don't know.

Too many hard things this month all at once. I'm just drained. Oh, and to top it off, she has one cavity. Great.

But, I want to remember the good, cute and funny things Brenna has done this month also. Because at the end of the day, I love her. I love her so much, it hurts.

The other morning, she woke up super early after a bad night, and I brought her into my bed. We slept in til about 8:30 and I woke up to her rubbing my arm. She said, "Does this feel good mommy?"
"mm hmm, it does, thank you."
"Mommy, let's hold hands." And she held my hand til we got out of bed.

The other night when I put her down for bed, as I was leaving her room, she yelled "I love you more Mommy!"

Sometimes she pats my face with her hands and says "Love this face!"

"Mom, I want to go to Target."

"You and Daddy are my best friends."

"Look, balloons! I want one so I can give it to Papa!"

Seriously, being a mommy is hard. But, I know one day I'll miss her being so little and innocent.....

we're having a......

GIRL!!

Yay! We're so excited to be welcoming another little girl into our family. Guess I don't need to go baby clothes shopping.......

yeah right! :)

three.....

Brenna had her 3rd birthday on January 10th. We had two parties for her, one with my family and the other with Ross' family. We're hoping next year our basement will be done so we can just have one party :) I was always asking Brenna what she wanted for her birthday, what she wanted to do, who should be there....and it always came back to red. " I want a red birthday, with a red cake, and Hallie/Colie."

Done.

Here's her first party at my mom's on Sunday before her birthday....

My sister in law, Lorena, made this cake. I thought it was perfect!

Brenna's favorite game is Candyland, thanks to Hallie and Colie.

The second party at the Wentworth's. This one was a bit harder. Brenna was not feeling well (we're potty training and she's constipated), so she layed around most of the night. Poor kid. But things are starting to look better!

watching a movie after all the festivities....

Some of B's favorite things:

Favorite color: red.....still.

Favorite food: French snow (french toast with powdered sugar) and chocolate milk.

Favorite thing to do: play games (Hungry Hippos, Candyland, PlayDoh.)

Favorite primary song: Once there was a Snowman

Favorite thing to say: "Come on, I'll show ya"

It's been so fun watching this little girl grow up to be a big girl. It has definitely been the hardest thing we've ever done, but also so rewarding. It's amazing how much you can love someone.
I read this verse today while reading scriptures in 2 Nephi ch 33 vs 3. Nephi is talking about his people, but when I read it, I thought "this is how I feel about Brenna."

".....For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry."

So true. I don't think I've ever prayed so hard until I had Brenna. I just want the BEST for her.

We love you Brenna! Happy Birthday!

christmas day....

Christmas is always a busy day for us. This year was no exception. Brenna woke up at 7 am to open presents. She really wanted a "Big Buzz" (big Buzz Lightyear), a Jessie doll, and a Bullseye. And Santa delivered :)

After opening gifts at our home, we were off to my mom's for breakfast. Santa left the kids some presents there too. What a nice guy! There were some coloring books and games to play at Gma Rosser's house when they come over.

After my mom's, we headed to the Wentworth's for more gifts and lunch....

This Christmas was a great one. Brenna loved every minute of it, and so did I. I loved watching her face light up.
This year, the Wentworth's gave us some money again to do a service. I look forward to this every year. It's just such a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. We gave it to someone we know who is struggling.
We have been very blessed this year. And I'm grateful for everything we have. Merry Christmas!

christmas eve.....

For Christmas Eve this year, we took a ride on the Polar Express. We had never done it before, and we had a really good time. Brenna especially loved it since she is into the movie Polar Express. Santa made an appearance and met with each of the kids and gave them a bell off of his sleigh.

Love Ross' face in this one.....

Our niece Lily.....

That night, we went out to my mom's house for dinner that was made by Ben and Lorena. It was SO yummy! After dinner, we went to see the lights on Christmas Street, then made it back home to open up new jammies.

Brenna was so excited for Santa to come!! I think this year she finally got it :)

So fun.