My Funny Little Girl

Brea is a very social and talkative little girl. Whenever we have visits with other little friends, Brea will inevitably be the one babbling away, telling all the other little people about her day.

A visit from Max!

I couldn't help but laugh yesterday when I saw her latest interaction. I was in the kitchen grabbing a bite to eat when I heard Brea in the living room babbling and then giggling - seeing as we were the only two at home, I peeked around the corner to see what was happening. There she was, talking up a storm with the king and queen figurines on her exersaucer! She was obviously trying to get them to smile back at her. I was laughing for a while before I managed to grab the camera, this is near the end of the "conversation" so she's calmed down quite a bit.

We have successfully started onto SOLIDS! Brea is quite enjoying her rice cereal at lunch and has been a very neat eater so far. She especially likes thunking her wooden caterpillar on the high chair tray while I feed her.

In her onesie designed by Glenda :o)

Air Mail

Brea's cousins, her aunt and uncle, and Nana and Grumpa are currently enjoying the beautiful sunshine of Mexico. However, they have been sending some mail this way and I thought it would be nice to share some of their correspondence here.

First there was a Christmas letter that arrived some time in late-January. Madison showcased her beautiful penmanship:

Dear Brea I lost my tooth. I love you soon you will get your first tooth. Caylie wants to be a dolphin and I'm going to swim with one!
miss you love Madison

Valentine's Day brought a special Spanish card from Nana and Grumpa:


The cousins display their skills as artists! These works of art are now on our fridge :o)

Brea's Half Birthday!

So much to drool on and so little time!

My little girl turned 6 months yesterday! I can't believe it. She's growing and learning and changing every day. She is such a happy girl and her smiles and giggles light up our day. Craig and I are so proud and so in love with her.

Brea even received her first email, a birthday wish from her friend Susanna - it's super cute!

Hi Brea!

I know tomorrow you will be 6 months old!!! I think that is pretty awesome!!! I hope you have a super fun half birthday!!!
I can't wait for our next playdate!!!

xo xo xo
susanna

Brea's latest stats:
Weight - 18 lbs 9 oz
Height - 27.5 inches

Brea has been super active this last little while and she is so curious about EVERYTHING!

Is that a camera? Let me see!

She has never really liked tummy time and now that she is quite capable of rolling over, it's hard to get her to stay on it. In addition, she is now a confident sitter and loves playing with her excersaucer. Her fingers are definitely getting a workout too, if something has texture, she's all over it! On our walk the other day, we had to stop at all kind of bushes and trees for her to explore. We still haven't seen any signs of teeth popping out but we'll keep you posted.

We have had Uncle Eugene stay with us for some time so Brea has really gotten to know him, it's great :o) It's important for her to have lots of people who love her around so that she can interact with them.

I thought I would showcase some pictures that document her growth, similar to what my friend, Lynda, did on her blog:

Fresh from the hospital.

~ 2 months old

~ 4 months old

6 months old

A special package from Colorado

Last week, the postman delivered a special package from Colorado... I was so excited!


In the summer of 2005 Craig and I were married and on our honeymoon cruise we had the joy of sharing our dinner table with a couple from Colorado who had also just gotten married, Jessie and Jason.

Enjoying the Carribbean with new friends!

Jessie and Jason on the links.

Since then, we've stayed in contact and they even came to visit the Great White North :o) (They were saddened that they did not get to see a moose or igloos despite the colourful descriptions I had made). It was wonderful to have them explore our beautiful city and we look forward to journeying out their way soon so that they can meet Brea! We are so thankful and lucky to have great friends :o)

Jessie is a very creative individual and when she heard of my need for a memory box for Brea, she offered to make one. It is beautiful! It is so special and I'm so happy that Brea will have something made just for her to treasure forever. Thanks Jessie!

Brea's special memory box

Lucky for us, the box came stuffed with other goodies too. Brea loves the handmade octopus and Craig has been enjoying his special "sodas" made locally in CO.

Brea loves to smile and laugh, except when the camera is on her,
then she practices her dopey look :o)

"Special" Colorado soda

Our friends are brave and were not scared off by the mail peoples threat to put them in jail for mailing alcohol (that happened in a previous year). And we having lots of fun with the game, "Gloom". It's just up my alley, a card game where the objective is to have your characters suffer the greatest tragedy before snuffing it while making your opponents' characters happy and gleeful. For those of you who have played games with me, it'll be reminiscent of other darkly comical games like "Guillotine" and "Kill Doctor Lucky".

And she floats!

Brea went swimming for the first time today! We went to the family swim at Chimo and met up with Kaitlyn and Malaya's families. The three girls had a great time in the water. Brea needed a little while to get used to the water but Daddy helped make her feel safe in the water. We eventually made it out of the wading pool and into deeper waters. Brea even found a ducky to float on. Unfortunately, water and cameras don't mix too well so I didn't get pictures but we'll do more visits and I'll get pictures one of those times.

I spent nearly every day at the pool the last two months before Brea was born so it was nice to be back. It's quite different though, packing things to change baby. It is so wonderful that the pool has a universal change room, it really makes it so much easier for the whole family to be in one cubicle, I don't know that I could have rinsed Brea and changed her all by myself, especially since she was quite scared of the shower. We'll maybe try an earlier swim time next so that she is not so tired. Can't wait... it'll be fun :o)

Sunday

It's Super Bowl Sunday! Craig will be in front of the telly at 3:30 for the game but we managed to make it out in the morning for some shopping. My brother, Eugene, is staying with us for a little while so Brea has been having fun with her uncle. It also means a trip to Costco to bulk up our fridge. I don't know if Uncle Eugene had a teething baby in mind when he decided to stay with us. Brea has been sleeping very oddly these last few nights. Last night, she thought 4-6:30 am was a great time to play with Mommy. We hope things will settle down soon.

We got an invite from Dawn and Malaya to go swimming next weekend. We're very excited about it and I went out today to get a pair of Swimmis for Brea. It's from the same company that makes the cloth diaper covers I use. I chose a super cute fishy pattern, she'll be stylin' at the pool. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Rock n' Roll!

Brea rolled over all by herself for the first time yesterday!!!

Craig had been practicing this skill with Brea for several nights during naked time and it's paid off. Dawn and Malaya were stuck at home due to fire alarm testing so Brea and I had a little walk over to pay them a visit. I usually lay Brea down next to Malaya for some playtime but when I put her on her stomach she looked at Malaya and rolled right over. I've taken a video so that you can see!

We are so thankful to Dawn and Malaya for lending us the teether that Brea likes. She's still super grumpy at night with the whole thing and won't go to sleep until 11 or 12, when she's so tired she finally succumbs. On the plus side, Craig's found a cure for his insomnia - it's called a teething baby! He slept for over 7 hours last night and fell asleep when his head hit the pillow.

Today we are going to head over to StrongStart to check out the visiting dietician. Hopefully we can get some tips on starting Brea on solids. She's pretty intense with her stare these days when we are eating. Craig's a bit worried because of his allergies but I'm sure things will be fine. I've been eating pretty much everything so far and Brea is doing fine.

Oh, and as promised, here's a picture of Brea in her Chinese outfit. Thanks Ange! She's such a cutie!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!