Car conversation with Brenna

On the way to school this morning, I told Brenna that Chelsea, our dog, was going to the vet today to have her teeth cleaned. This is how the conversation went:

Mommy: The vet is going to make Chelsea go to sleep, so he can clean her teeth. She doesn't know how to open her mouth and keep it open.

Brenna: Is the doctor going to rock her to sleep?

So sweet that image, but can you imagine the vet rocking our ball-crazed Border Collie to sleep? Not even when she was a puppy!

Sweets from our Sweetheart

Last weekend we were meandering through Target (yes, Brenna believes that Target is the place we go to every Saturday...it's kind of like church to her) and we passed by the Halloween section. She spotted all of the Halloween cake decorating supplies and said "I'na do that", so we grabbed a cookie mix, orange frosting and gobblinee sprinkles. Brenna had a blast cracking eggs, mixing and decorating. They were quite tasty!

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But what will I wear?

It started out as a typical Saturday. Wake up, eat breakfast, watch Noggin, get dressed and head out for morning activities. The activities for this Saturday were pedicure for Mommy and Brenna, lunch and haircut for Brenna. We had to endure a bit of a wait to get in for the pedicure, so a special frozen treat from Starbucks was acquired. Brenna sat very patiently while her toe nails were painted what I can only describe as Dallas Cowboy's blue with an overlay of sparkles. Adorable on her, but would have been hideous on anyone over the age of 10. With our toes looking fantastic, we headed to Chick-fil-a for lunch and a bit of playground playing. Brenna ate well and didn't argue when it was time to leave. Clearly the day was going well. Next we were off to get her haircut. She did really well getting her haircut. She even let the stylist wash it which is always an iffy thing.

After the haircut, I thought things are going so well let's go shopping for some fall/winter clothes, so we headed over to JC Penney. Upon entering the store Brenna said she wanted to get a cart which translates into she was tired and didn't care to walk. I told her no that she was a big girl and could walk. We got about 20 feet into the shopping area and the request for a cart came again. I held my ground and once again told her she could walk. We made it back to the children's clothing section where I began perusing options for the new wardrobe. I picked up a pair of pants and said "How about these?" My simple question was met with an ugly "No, I don't like those." I tried other options and got the same response. I then decided that shopping wasn't in the cards for us that day and told Brenna that we were leaving and going home. This caused her much stress and she begged to stay and shop vowing she'd be good. I held my ground and when she wouldn't walk on her own to the front of the store, I picked her up and hauled her to the front door.

She did manage to walk to the car, climb in and buckle her own seat belt all the while saying that she would be good if we went back in. As we pulled out of the parking lot, she began sobbing, saying she was sorry and could we please go back to the store. I told her no and that we would go another day. The next thing I heard from her mouth was "But what will I wear when it gets cold outside?" It was hard not to laugh out loud at the drama going on in the backseat. I should have said something like "Well, hopefully one of your grandparents will send you some clothes, since you blew your one opportunity for shopping." Sigh, opportunity lost to further scar my child for life...

A Bedtime Chat with Brenna

Last night Brenna and I were chatting as she wound down for the night. She knows that this Friday is the day we find out if the new baby in our family will be a boy or a girl. We've never explained how this will be done and apparently she's been mulling it over in her 4-year-old mind. This is how the conversation went:

Brenna: "Mommy?"
Me: "Yes sweetheart."
Brenna: "Is the doctor going to pull the baby's pants down to see if it has a wiener or girly parts?"
Me: "Are you talking about this Friday when we find out if it's a boy or a girl?"
Brenna: "Yes"
Me: "The baby in my tummy is not wearing clothes right now. The doctor will use a special camera to look inside my tummy to see if the baby has a wiener or girly parts."
Brenna: "Oh, okay."

The next question was "How does the doctor get the baby out?" I'll save that for another post. :)

Pool Party

Checking for the all clear...safety first!

Splash down!

Awww...she got me!

Brenna recently attended her first swimming birthday party at a local indoor pool. The depth in the kiddie play area is about 2 feet. This was good news as I didn't have to "suit up" for the occasion! She had a great time crawling through tunnels, climbing stairs while being pummeled by torrents of water and sliding down a corkscrew slide. The little girl in the pictures is Brenna's friend, Merrin, from school. Merrin calls Brenna her "four twin" since they turned four around the same time.

Summer Swimming Lessons

Watch out Aaron Piersol!
I'm getting this back stroke thing down!

Playing with dive sticks

Face fully submerged!
Big doin's!

This summer we've had Brenna in swimming lessons at the South County outdoor pool. She has really enjoyed taking lessons, and I think it has made her more comfortable in the water. Is she ready to go out and win 8 gold medals in 2012? Not so much, but at least she is getting better at putting her face in the water and can relax when lying on her back. You may want to click on the first picture for a bigger image to get the full impact of her relaxation and dazzling technique!