Sunday, May 19, 2013

Little Lady Turns THREE!

Three Years Ago...

How has it been three years since this little girl was born - time sure does fly by when you are having fun!

  

Nine days in the NICU and then we were homeward bound!

So little - so sweet!


2 Months Old 




Brianne's 3rd Birthday!

Fast forward three years....and she has grown so much!


On Brianne's birthday, we celebrated by walking to a nearby restaurant for dinner.  Little Miss Independent was not going to sit in the stroller.

And Little Miss Independent was not going to hold daddy's hand as we walked.  :)



 After dinner there was cake and presents! 

The cake was a little beaten up....considering that it had been in the container on the table and Bryce was apparently ready for the birthday festivities because he managed to snag the cake and carry it out to the living room to me....thankfully it just gave the frosting a little more character and it was still delicious - just a little banged up!



To heck with the fork - getting down to business!
Bryce trying to steal daddy's cake

Pajama Party Celebration!

Brianne's party was held at The Hills Church where they host fabulous parties in their multi-level playscape.   The kids had a blast running around and we had bagels and donuts on the menu.




The party coordinator attempted to get all the kiddos lined up for a group photo...pretty sure that is an impossible task - but we humored her and tried to get everyone in the picture.


Birthday Girl's Donut!



I had to giggle at how most of the donuts were eaten.....frosting devoured - and then donut abandoned. 

Bryce had a pretty interesting donut eating technique.


Bryce was in donut heaven....after Brianne headed back to play, he moved in on the Birthday Girl's sprinkled leftovers!

A big thank you to all of our friends that came out to celebrate with us!  We are thrilled to have so many wonderful people in our lives who helped shower our little gal with love! 













Sunday, May 12, 2013

More happenings...

Blog updates have fallen behind....so here's an attempt to get caught up on what we've been doing the past month or so...

Potty Training 101

Little boy has started to show some interest in the pottySo we're venturing into new territory....wish us luck!

Little boy having a lollipop after his first successful potty time!

March Of Dimes - March For Babies

We love babies...so we were excited to support the March of Dimes which works to give all babies a chance to grow and thrive.  I was very happy that my company was a huge supporter of the Fort Worth event this year.  They requested 'ambassador families' to share their stories of how they were impacted by the March of Dimes, so I was thrilled to be able to share the story of Brianne and her 9 days in the NICU and to have Brianne and Bryce's smiling faces shared on the company's internal website!   I was so grateful for all of the people that supported our fundraising efforts and for those that came out to walk with us!  The day of the walk was a little chilly, but the sun was shining and we had a great time!


We finally made it to the finish line!!

Chowing down after the walk!

Yum!

Froggy Games!

  One of the many perks of Brianne being a Kinderfrog, is a chance to attend the Froggy Games.  This is a great event where amazing volunteers fill up a gymnasium with all sorts of toys and games to entertain little kids - hula hoops, scooters, ring toss, soccer nets, streamers, parachute toy...and a fun band plays great music.  It's definitely nice that there are so many volunteers willing and ready to play with the kids that the parents get a chance to sit back and relax (that is, if their kids aren't clinging to their leg and afraid to leave their side which might have been the case with Bryce...).  Brianne loved running around the gym from game to game and meeting new friends! Brianne was one of the bands biggest fan - and I definitely think she won their hearts when she was blowing them all kisses to say goodbye.  Very thankful we were able to enjoy this event!

 Froggy Games Video!






Brianne jamming with Chords for Kids! 

Chords for Kids - Love that they volunteer their time to spread music and joy with our kids! They even come to Kinderfrogs and play at her school sometime!

Best Buddies - The TCU Chapter of Best Buddies organized the Froggy Games this year - very thankful for all that they did to make this a great time for the kids - and the parents!  Thank you!

Scarborough Renaissance Festival

We ventured out to the Renaissance Festival with the kids.  It was a day filled with sun, food, music, performers, jousting, people watching, and more.

Birds of Prey Show
Bald Eagle - Up Close and Personal 
Turkey Leg and Sweet Potato Fries 
 
Bryce enjoying one of the performances
Watching the Jousting Match

 Sorting Pom-Poms 



Working on our fine motor skills - and colors!

Additional Fun and Happenings



Monday Mornings are Tough
And sometimes Tuesday mornings are tough as well!

Afternoon zoo date with my little girl!


Daddy's Lil Helper - He pulled this 12 pack right over to the fridge....
My completed masterpiece...turned out better than I'd anticipated :)
I've got the keys - I'll see ya later.