Brushing our Teeth

Brielle's most favorite past time right now is brushing her teeth with Daddy, which we do right before pajamas, stories, then bed. However evening isn't the only time to brush teeth, oh no! Every time the bathroom door is left open Brielle runs in, climbs up on the toilet, from there to the counter and grabs her toothbrush, flips on the water and starts brushing away!

Swim Lessons

Brielle had her first set of swim lessons last week. Every day at 11:00 she and I would go and learn to swim with about 16 other toddlers and their mothers. On the last day of swim class we went back to the pool later in the afternoon so that Brielle could show her daddy what she had learned.
The biggest thing she got out of class was confidence in the water. Our community swimming pool has a huge kiddie pool that gradually goes from 1 to 3 feet, and Brielle now has no problem walking around in there up to her neck in water.
Practicing our "kicks" on the side of the pool

Swimming with Daddy


Jumping in from the side of the pool

(we don't have any pictures of the actual swim class partly because I didn't bring a camera, and partly because I'm too pregnant to want to be in any pictures right now!)

Sandbox

Russell made a tiny little sandbox for Brielle right next to our front porch. She loves it, as does her mother since I can sit in the shade and read a book while she plays there for a bit.

First Ice Cream Cone

She's had ice cream before of course, but never her very own cone.

We have no idea how she got it on her forehead, we weren't watching, but it didn't seem to bug her too much.

18 Month Check Up

Here's Brielle's stats from her 18 month check-up:

weight 27.5 lbs which puts her in the 75th percentile
height 34 inches (almost 3 feet!) which puts her in the 95th percentile

It's crazy how much she's changed in the last six months! She's a walking talking funny thing! Brielle can say about 30 words very well, and there are several others that she's working on but only her parents understand. She also uses sign language for lots of things. (American Sign Language, it's all the rage right now with the babies!) Some of the words she says are: mama, daddy, baby, dog, bear, more, teeth, elbow, sticky, go, no, down, up, milk, eye, knee, hat, bubbles, grandpa, grandma, hot, cold, banana, ball, Nemo (the fish) and there are lots of others. She also does most of the animal sounds (she is very interested in animals) and can point out most of them in her books.

Washing the car

Brielle thoroughly enjoyed washing the car with her daddy the other day. Any excuse to be wet and dirty!

After helping daddy wash his car, Brielle turned her attentions to her own vehicle.

More California Fun...

Our little swimming princess, sitting on the boogie board and issuing demands!



Escape!! Brielle found a small hole in the screen (used previously by the family dog, Cindy) and decided to make good use of it in her escape to the outside world (enlarging the hole considerably in the process.) She was quite pleased with herself and ready to head back to the pool, but unfortunately was caught by her Daddy before she could make it there!