In, On, and Into

Our little sweetie has become a serious busy body.  I'm never quite sure how, or where, I will find her.  She climbs in and on everything!  Most often it's baskets, bins, and buckets...

But, we've also seen, oh let's see... frying pans, pots, dresser drawers, buckets, wagons, furniture, step stools, dishwasher doors.... the list goes on really.  It's something new every day, and she is more proud of herself all the time.

  

Her current lounge favorites are the big bean bag (of course) and her very own Brinlee-size camping chair that she can (and does) pull around and set up wherever she wants.  We inherited Tim's old legos, and she loves them!

Her true love however is helping in the kitchen, whether mommy or daddy are there or not.  All of our apples are bruised, most of our dishes have random homes, 

and she has discovered where the cereal cupboard is.

Just this morning we found the little one watching a movie, and helping herself to breakfast.

Yes, that is an entire bag of Cheerios.  And this is the face of the guilty just discovering she's been discovered.  Cute face isn't it  :)

Here we are cleaning up.

And here is her "look how cute and innocent I am" face.  Cheerios on my floor are not my favorite thing, but that sweet blonde fuzz head sure does melt your heart.

This little habit of getting in, on, and into everything sure does keep us on our toes (read: wears me out!).  But, I'm told it's part of having kids.  And I sure do love having this little kid around.... even if I'm never sure where I'm going to find her.

Now, I should probably go and figure out where she has climbed into.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas time is fast approaching and we have been getting into the spirit around here.

Just the other day Tim came across a Santa Clause while he had Brinlee at the grocery store. A fun festive photo was free, and every kid needs at least one of those, 

so Tim had the gal snap a shot...

Awe... the joys of the season.

Thanksgiving and Snow Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  Tim's parents were able to come for a few days, and we even managed some decorations this year (a serious accomplishment for us!)  We put together a thankful tree, and we recycled Brinlee's oh-so-loved Halloween decoration, "Baby Pumpkin".

Meet Tom the Turkey.  It was a good thing he was up on the wall shelf, because for the 2 minutes Brin had a hold of him she tore him apart.  This was his second set of google-eyes... 

I actually had to work Thanksgiving night, so I can't say I was much help with any cooking.  I did win the wishbone pull though.  Score.  Reed and Melody did the turkey, it turned out awesome!  And Tim made his pumpkin pecan pies.  They are divine and, consequently, didn't last long for leftovers. 

Little Miss wasn't so much into the food options.  She did however LOVE the cranberries!

We had an afternoon of nicer weather and went for a walk down by the river.  Brin really latched onto "Grampoo".  She wouldn't let him out of her sight and only agreed to go back in her carseat when she saw he was sitting in the back by her.

Overall, it was fantastic!  I almost wish Thanksgiving could come more than once a year and not go by so quickly...

But alas, the leftovers are gone and we are now onto colder weather, and SNOW!  The little one isn't totally sure, but I think she likes it.  We took her out yesterday and almost couldn't get her back inside.

We only lasted a couple minutes outside.  Brin really needs some boots.

It has been SO cold this last week.  I don't love the cold... But I do love drinking hot chocolate, cuddling up in fuzzy jammies and blankets, and love seeing that sweet bundle of winter baby.  She is, the cutest!

Nurse's Note: Bed Baths and Ode To Coban

Our family is having a hard time keeping the sickies away (thank you winter), and poor Little Miss has had it bad.  She spent a week and a half really moody with a nasty cough, fevers, and a terrible runny nose.  We exhausted our bag of tricks early with no luck and the poor baby ended up on her first round of antibiotics for her first ear infection.  She's taking it without a fuss and handling it really well.  It did give her some diarrhea though, which re-kindled a somewhat dormant quirk of mine.

One of my "things" is dirty bed sheets.  They totally gross me out.  I get these terrible mental images of developing nasty diseases or of things crawling on me in the night.  Gack!  I used to have a very strict "change at least once a week" policy.  Lately I haven't been so vigilant though, and Brinlee's sheets had been on for quite a while.  And then the diaper happened.  At first she was all tears and really upset about it.  That cleared up quickly.

This round of bed baths was more involved than my usual.  Brinlee sleeps with several "cuddlies" (blankets and stuffed animals).  We bundled all of her stuffed friends into pillow cases and stripped her mattress and it took two loads!  Why does she have so much stuff??

While her stuff was washing, Brin got to dress out of mommy's closet.  She was thrilled.  And adorable.

And she was fascinated with her stripped mattress.  She was perfectly content in there...

...until she fell and whacked her face, and then she couldn't get out of there fast enough.

When the laundry was all done I had her help me make her bed, and I could not have been a more proud mama.  I am a weird bed maker.  Poor Tim has given up trying in that department, I always strip it and re-make it.  I can't help myself, I have a system.  

And apparently Brinlee has a system too.  She spent forever straightening all her blankets until they were layered and flat and lying just so.  Like mother like daughter.

She was very pleased with her work.

Her friends didn't dry very quickly, our bathroom stayed occupied over night.  They smelled awesome though!  I love that smell.  I think I have gotten re-excited about doing this more often.  There's nothing more comfy than a fresh, clean bed.
Well... except for brand new socks... there really is nothing more comfy than that.

On a non-cold weather related note, I sliced my thumb off last week.

That was annoying.  I was trying to cut apple slices really quick to appease a hungry little girl while we waited on dinner, and instead I got trapped in the bathroom, without the tip of my thumb, getting nothing done. 

I really shouldn't be left unsupervised I guess.     

Quite honestly, it wasn't that bad.  Just dumb.  Naturally the ER never crossed my mind (I work with those people, how embarrassing!).  Besides, our cupboard is stocked with a few goodies that did the trick just right: sterile gauze, and coban!

I use this stuff all the time at the hospital, and I knew it was neat.  But it has officially gained a permanent place on our "must have for our first aid kit" list.  This stuff rocks!  No bandaid in the world will really stay on the tip of a finger.  But coban... it stays anywhere.  It doesn't use adhesives that leave nasty stuff on your skin, serious bonus.  And it comes in all kinds of cool colors.  With coban, you can keep your ouchies dressed without ruining the look of your outfit.  I'm sold!

Coban does not however take away pain, and that stinking thumb hurt like crazy for a long time.  I am happy to report that it is almost 100% better now though.  But I am tempted to keep up with the coban bandages anyway.  It's that awesome.