Good Morning!

I would like to start your day off with a wonderful serenade by a fantastically CUTE 3 year old

I finally managed to get Braelyn to stop being camera shy long enough to sing one of her favorite songs -- “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella. The lyrics are as follows:

A Dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartache, whatever you wish for you keep
Believe in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true

Also on the list of really cool things that Braelyn does, I have a story about the following picture of what Braelyn fondly calls “her ghost.”

Here is the story:

One evening, my parents, Braelyn and I were down in her playroom and she was playing with the ribbon in the picture -- tug of war with all of us, using it as a leash to take her animals for a walk, etc. There were various other toys on the floor as well -- shocking! I know and after the ribbon had worn out its usefulness as a toy, she dropped it on the floor. After a little while, she was walking around and stopped for a few seconds to look at the ribbon where she had dropped it. She said, “Mom, this ribbon is in the shape of a triangle -- pointy on top.” “That is very true” I said. She kept looking at it and then bent over it again and said, “It looks like a ghost to me.” She went and grabbed an “eye” and “nose” and then said, “Look mom, a ghost with a face.” I hadn’t paid much attention to where the ribbon was laying but, she had dropped it over a whiffle golf ball and a red scarf for one of her animals. That became one of the “eyes” and it’s “mouth”. After she added the other eye and nose, it really did look like a ghost with a face. I was really blown away by her imagination and creativity. She really looked at that like an abstract piece of art. It could have been anything -- just a ribbon, a triangle shape or nothing at all, and yet she saw 3 things grouped together and put together a “ghost.” She never ceases to amaze me with the things she comes up with.

One more exciting tidbit -- I GOT A NEW CAR   Well, actually, it’s used but it’s NEW to me.  It is a Dodge Durango SUV and has rear A/C (which is SO important here in AZ in the summer), 3 rows of seats so we can tote more people, dogs, stuff, etc. around and it has a 6 disc-CD changer which comes in handy in switching between all the various Backyardigans, Dora and Veggie Tales CDs which accompany us wherever we drive.  We weren’t really looking to buy anything new as my truck is still really functional, is paid off, and is still in good working condition BUT with the deals they are having right now, there really is no better time to buy.  We figured we would need something new in a few years anyway since my truck is getting up there in miles & we got such a good deal, we couldn’t pass it up.

Matt is still driving his 130,000 mile 4 Runner but he loves it and wants to drive it until it runs into the ground which will probably be quite a while since Toyotas last forever!

I think that’s all for now -- have a great rest of the week!!

Love,

MLB Mama

We have been busy these last 3 weeks and hope you are all doing well!

First off, Braelyn started an art class and dance class right after her Birthday. She loves the art class and painted a dog and cat figurine (which Casie promptly took out in the backyard and ate!!!!) and made a horse and rose out of clay which are still surviving The class goes in 3 week cycles so she is off from that right now and during the next session will be sand art, more painting and other messy stuff!!

The dance class is a combo tap, ballet and tumbling which has not gone over well. She likes the tap but she says that the ballet music makes her “too sad” and she cries during that whole portion. Since it is close to her nap time, I thought maybe she was overtired too which added to the sadness. This week we are switching her to a combo jazz and tap class in the evening with the hopes that she will be well rested after her nap and that the music will be more upbeat!

We also had Casie spayed 2 weeks ago and have been on the constant “puppy patrol” trying to keep her calm so she doesn’t rip her incision. This is hard with any puppy but add in the fact that she is a Golden Retriever, extremely excited and feels perfectly fine despite her incision and that makes for a very tough job!! The vet did a great job with her and said she was a model patient and got lots of attention from the vet staff When we brought her home, she was wearing a pressure bandage and full body gauze suit to keep her from getting to her stitches. It only lasted about 2 days and then she had bitten a hole in the sleeve so we had to put her into a tank top to keep her covered!

She and Braelyn are proving to be best buddies and Braelyn is always laying down next to her in the hall, hugging and kissing her and asking me to take pictures. I obliged her……

Finally, I had to include this last photo because the circumstances around it were so funny The other night my grandparents were here and we were all downstairs at my parent’s house playing in her playroom. She looked at my grandpa and said “Grampy, would you like to wear this hat because you have a bald head!” All of us started laughing and she made both Grammy and Grampy wear hats and take a picture with her.

I hope to have some video of her dancing soon to post, as well as several other songs that she can sing. She is establishing quite a repetoire and will probably soon be singing in shows at Disneyland because of her liking for princess ballads!!! I also hope to have a post from Matt soon telling you all about his new job and how it is going after the first 2 months or so.

Because Matt isn’t going to be traveling as much this season, we probably won’t be getting out to see everyone as much as we’d like, but we are thinking of you all and hoping that things are going well for you during these difficult times. Take care!!!!

MLB Mama