Sunday Stories Week 7

I can't believe that I have been doing this whole Sunday Stories for 7 weeks. As I sit here, watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S on Netflix and sipping on my morning coffee, it makes me excited for what each week is going to hold this year as I continue to do this little catch up on the weekend. Aaron and I have been talking a lot, a lot, about the future and are anxious to see how things play out. Here is a little catch up for this last week.

one. My fitness journey.

In my previous post, I talked about how my crazy strength training workouts for impacting me and how I needed to tone it down a tad. I think I may have actually pulled something in my back, or I am just super sore, but I am giving myself another rest day today. Staying healthy is all about listening to your body - and today, my body is telling me to relax and watch the Seahawks play for the NFC Championship!

two. Brinnley's growing up!

This was a week all about Brinnley. A few weeks ago we bought her a potty in hopes to start introducing her to it. I am constantly telling her what it is and what she will use it for, but her reply is always, "no pee pee, no poop poop". We will continue to try. 

A cool feature about it is that it can be used as a step stool. Brinnley absolutely loves to brush her teeth and whenever she sees me go into the bathroom, she wants to brush them. She can bring her stool over to the sink, put her toothbrush under the water, wait for me to put toothpaste on it, and then she brushes her teeth. When she is done, she puts the toothbrush on the storage counter. 

We made a family trip to Fred Meyer the other day to just walk around and get out of the house - they have the BEST selection of toddler shoes and so of course I go look. As soon as we told Brinnley to look at the shoes, she went nuts! She sat down and tried to take off her boots to try some new shoes on - we ended up getting a great deal, better than we thought, on some new purple converse shoes. She loves them so much she will get them from her room and bring them up to us and say, "my shoes" and sit and wait for us to put them on. Even just to wear around the house! 

Brinnley loves to watch this great PBS show on Netflix and she has been learning more letters than just O like we taught her. The 2 days I picked her up from daycare they have had such great things to say about her - she is so smart with her letters and they are so impressed that she knows more than some of the pre-schoolers that they teach there! I am such a proud mommy. I tested her skills with her chalkboard and she was able to recognize and say each of the letters, B, R, T, D, and O. We practice with her quite a bit because we get such a hoot out of hearing her pronounce the different letters. Her R is pronounced like a pirates, "arrrghh".

three. Brinnley's birthday.

We officially have Brinnley's birthday party booked. So much of my family is flying into town for that time that we wanted to be positive that we had a place to have her party. We chose Jabbers in Nampa. It is an indoor play place for kids and Brinnley loves it. She can run around and play while we just sit, relax, and watch. I first went there over Christmas break with a friend and her 2 boys and Brinnley had a blast! When we went to book her party, it was $2.00 off because it was close to closing and since we both get in free with a 'paying' child, we decided to let her run around. She loved it, of course, and really enjoyed playing with the big giant dollhouse (don't get any ideas mother!) and was even putting the barbies on the couch, in the bathtub, and wherever else! She may or may not have screamed when we had to leave...  :)

four. Family.

Brinnley loves her aunt Ab-a-day. She came over yesterday and it just melted my heart to watch how much she connects with her! 

five. Big girl bed.

We got a bed for Brinnley!!! We had an air mattress in there that sometimes we would sleep on, but Brinnley just knew that it wasn't an actual bed. When we were setting it up she kept trying to get on it! It's a full size and once we let it air out and get a mattress topper (water proof!) and some nice sheets, she will be able to transition to her own room. At least we hope... We know that letting her get in the habit of co-sleeping with us isn't ideal for most people, but we have thoroughly enjoyed it! We are ready for her to be in her big girl bed though, especially if/when we decide to get pregnant - I will NOT want to share a bed with a kicking toddler! It comes just in time as well for when my parents come for Brinnley's birthday weekend and they can stay in there!

six. What's coming up.

Have I mentioned that Brinnley is amazing? :) She "watched" the Seahawks play last week and we are gearing up for the game today! Tomorrow I have a teacher work day so it's basically a 3 day weekend and then I have a 3 day work week. This week will be a little crazy as Aaron has his normal days off, but also the weekend as I get ready to visit an ill family member on the east coast. It will be a whirlwind of a trip and be very quick, but I am looking forward to seeing so much of my family that I haven't seen in about 8 years! I love that Aaron took the time off to stay with Brinnley, they have such a blast together and I know Aaron needs a little break from work right now.