Brin's Grins

Little Brinley turned 1 this summer, so I decided save some cash (and anxiety) and take her out on a homemade photoshot with mom. I wish I could say that she loved every minute of it and was more than cooperative, but she wasn't. My big goal was to get one adorable picture of her in the flowers, but instead she is wailing. I was disappointed at first, but now the crying picture is my favorite. Mom doesn't always know best.

Here are the updates on Brinley...

*She has just started to really say words. She says mama, dad, bow (ball), hi, bye, hot, teeth, tickle, quack, oh oh (woof woof), up up up, and dinky dinky dink (lyrics to her favorite song), and kind of an amen at the end of our family prayer.

*She also blows on her hot food, says shhhh when it's time to be quiet, blows kisses with with the back side of her hand, loves to click her tongue and spit, and pretends to read books out loud.

*She gets most excited when her sisters leave for school. It's become quite a ritual to wave bye bye and scream as they head up the street.

*She's got some moves. She is a expert at twirling, stomping, and bobbing to the beat.

*She's our human garbage disposal...she will eat anything.

*She is also very regular, if you know what I mean.

Zoo Crew

Big Giraffe, Little Brin

"Egg"cellent smiles

Our View From the Zoo

My "Little" Girls

Well, it's our bi-yearly (does this mean every two years, cause that's what I'm aiming for) trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Matt was rooting for the pet store or the fish tanks at Walmart, but with a little coercion, we talked him into spending the big bucks to see undomestic animals. The girls loved the Budgie Buddies (these little Australian birds that are adorable and eat off of a stick that you purchase from the zoo keepers...Grandma J nightmare). We also saw an adorable baby chimpanzee and baby wallaby that was pet-able (but of course I didn't because I think I have an obscure petting animal phobia). My favorite part of the day had to be the giraffes, but for all the wrong reasons. There was a male giraffe that kept trying to mate with a female giraffe. Avery thought this was hilarious. "Look at that crazy giraffe, I think that he wants a piggy back ride." She kept going on and on and on and was really, really loud. All of these little grandmas thought that it was the funniest thing. I think that it is time to have a little talk about the bird and the bees (elbow, elbow). Unfortunately, our day wasn't perfect. I don't know how many times we had to say "it's not snack time/lunch time" or "we're here to see the animals, not to _____." I know it's not healthy to spoil them and give into every carousel ride and giant, overpriced snow cone, but I don't want them to think I'm a stick in the mud. Anyway to ease my guilty feelings, I bought them a giant Smartie at the grocery store and bingo, I'm the coolest again.