Our lil' B-bert

I have decided that I need a couple of posts devoted to helping readers get to know our children. One post per child. I'm going to start with Brianna.

Brianna will be 2 years old on September 2nd. We most often call her B. Other nicknames include Baby B, B-Bert, Bee-bopper, and of course Banana. She developed physical skills earlier than verbal skills (opposite of Kaitlyn). However she is recently really starting to talk to us more. Some of her more common utterings include hello, no, mine, love you, more, again, please, yay, and of course mama and dada. She is at a point now though, where she will try to repeat almost anything you throw at her (if she is in the right mood). She tends to stay quiet around people other than us. If she is unsure in a situation, she tends to hand on to mom or dad TIGHTLY, for a few minutes until she gets her bearings about her. She likes to observe and she is very sensitive to the moods of others. For example, if she thinks you are crying or sad, she comes right up, looks at you with concern in her beautiful green-ish eyes, and gives the sweetest hug and kiss. She isn't a huge fan of the TV, except has developed a bit of an interest in Dora the Explorer lately. She loves climbing up on our laps with a book, letting us read the first page, then getting down to find another book. It is rare to get through an entire book with her! She likes peek-a-boo, and she likes when I push on her nose and say "Beeeeep!" She also loves to rub noses and of course, to be tickled. She has a very girly voice and beautiful curly, dark blondish hair. She will surely steal the hearts of plenty of boys one day! (Maybe when she is, say, 25). One of her recent new found abilities is jumping (with both feet up at the same time). She concentrates real hard, bends down a little, and POP! She bounces up and forward, just a little. It is so freaking cute. SHE is so freaking cute!

She does have another side to her.... It is not uncommon for her to pitch 4, 5, 6 fits per evening. Fits 10x worse than Kaitlyn normally throws (not that she hasn't ever thrown her own doozies). She went through a head banging phase, and thankfully that is pretty much over. Now the problem is hitting and biting. Screeeeching and screaming. Throwing herself on the floor and kicking her legs as hard as possible. All of this goes on and on. Not sure how long it would go if we let it...we normally bring her to her room for a few minutes and when we go back for her, she is better. Whether being better lasts any length of time or not depends.... sometimes we are back downstairs for 2 minutes before she starts again, so back to her room she goes. If she is throwing a fit when we need to go somewhere (for example when I pick her up from daycare and we have to go home), I wish I had 5 arms. She is an expert fighter against getting into her carseat. People say "Oh just hold down the pelvis while you strap her in" HA! I'd like to see YOU try when she is at her peak fit throwing. I dare you! Just watch that you don't get your face too close to her flailing arms, and that nothing gets too close for her to lean forward and bite you, and watch for shoes flying off, and have earplugs, a hand to hold her pelvis down, another to keep her legs still, another to keep her arms still so you can situate the straps right....I usually end up sweating profusely after one of these ordeals. Bringing her to do something fun can be another interesting thing. For example, going out back to play. It is all good and fine, she is so cute and loves the slide and loves to run around. On hot days she loves the pool. But I absolutely dread when it comes time to go inside. Sure, Kaitlyn will throw a fit sometimes when she doesn't want to come in. But Brianna brings it to a new level and you pretty much have to haul her in, kicking and screaming and arching. Something else that sets off fits is not letting her do what she wants, for example go into the kitchen when someone is in there cooking, or rip up an important piece of paper.

The things that set her off are endless and sometimes I wonder what am I doing wrong? But then she hugs me and kisses me and giggles and says "Helloooo" and shows me her belly because she wants me to tickle it, and I realize I'm doing just fine. She is challenging, but so darn smart and cute and fun and loving. As stubborn and strong willed and insistent as she is, I have a feeling that she is going to grow up to be very successful, partially thanks to those exact traits. As long as we teach her how to use them in a positive way

That's our lil B-Bert....she has quite a personality and I love her to pieces!

I love you through and through.
I love your top side, I love your bottom side.
I love your inside, and outside.
I love your happy side, your sad side, your silly side, your mad side.
I love your fingers, and toes, your ears, and nose.
I love your hair and eyes, your giggles, and cries.
I love you running, and walking, silent, and talking.
I love you through and through
yesterday, today, and tomorrow too.

-"I love you through and through", by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak