If I could freeze time

Seriously, if I could stop time right now I would keep Brinley exactly how she is for a really long time. She is the sweetest, most wonderful girl in the world and I love her so much I could just eat her! Okay, not really, but she's at such an amazing stage and I can't get enough of her lately.

She has always been curious but absolutely everything is fascinating her right now and it's so amazing just to watch her take it all in. Plus, she is super sweet and giving us hugs, and kisses (well more like bites) and the biggest smiles in the world. Last week she learned about nose kisses and she scrunches her nose and gets the biggest smile on her face and then leans in to touch your nose. Seriously melts your heart! I pray that I will never forget that sweet face as she does that!

Both Matt and I feel like we've recently entered the golden triangle of parenting. She was recently teething and super miserable and then before that she just wouldn't sit still but for some reason these last couple of weeks have been so perfect. She will sit and play by herself, grab a book to read to herself and then also play and interact with us. 

And I know I recently wrote a post about how smart she is but I really want to remember all of these little moments so I need to elaborate. Just in the past week she has mastered all of the sounds to monkey, doggy, duck, rooster, sheep, fire truck and just tonight, train. It is so adorable quizzing her on all of them and having her say the right sound back. And just in the last few days she has learned how to put her own dirty diapers into the diaper pail. She absolutely LOVES doing this and if we forget and don't let her she gets very upset. And tonight, she was trying very hard to use her fork and dinner. It's been so amazing how fast she picks up on things. What they say about a being a little sponge is absolutely true!

Her sign language skills are great and she will use "more" and "eat" pretty consistently. She will say "more" and also point to the food that she wants more of. She has learned to recognize people in photos too and will say "da da" and "mum" when she sees us. And just tonight she learned "baby" for when she sees herself in photos. 

Almost any word you say to her she will repeat back so we need to be much more careful what we say but she has melted more than a few hearts with her "ba pa" (grandpa) and "na uh" (nana). And of course her "uh oh" after she drop anything is just so precious. 

So yes, I am gushing tonight over this sweet little girl but she is just such an incredible joy in our lives and neither Matt or I ever imagined parenthood could be so sweet. And we are reaching the end of an era because Brinley will be starting daycare in a couple of weeks and she won't be home with Daddy everyday. I have also been very fortunate to see her a couple of days during the week when I work from home and get to eat breakfast or lunch with her and sneak in a couple of quick hugs between meetings. But for now, we are relishing in this wonderful phase right now and the precious blessing that we've been given! And looking back years from now, this post will serve as my frozen moment in time.

Her latest fashion accessory (yes, it's a life jacket)

Brinley selfie

I could just eat her up in her new "college" girl pjs

Feet up and lounging against Momma while I rock her to sleep

Almost 14 months and such a smart girl!

So even though the "official" monthly posts for our little princess came to an end at one year, I still want to update every so often with how Brinley is developing and all the cute new things she is learning!

My oh my baby girl, you are now just shy of 14 months and have become so incredibly smart! You are learning new things every single day you are talking up a storm. It seems like right after you mastered walking (it didn't take you long!) you focused all of your energy on imitating, learning new words and exploring everything.

You are now not only pointing at everything and saying "dis" but you will even repeat the word that we tell you it is. You don't exactly enunciate the words, but instead you copy our intonation. For example, last night in the bath you were splashing in the water and I said "wa-ter" and you repeated "a-er." Or this last weekend we were up at Nana and Grandpa's cabin and you dropped your paci off of the balcony. I said "uh oh" and you repeated "ou-oh" in the same tone. It was the cutest thing ever!

Your interaction has also reached a whole new level and you look right at us and tell us what you are thinking. You explain your toys, tell us about the cat, the ceiling fan or windows in the room, cars outside, we can tell that you are trying so hard to tell us what you think. We can't quite understand you yet but it is so fun to just watch you and listen to you!

You have also developed a fun new game where you pretend to give us your piece of food or whatever you are holding in your hand and then snatch it away at the last minute. You find this hilarious!

You react to things around you now and are constantly dancing or swaying back and forth to the music or doing your little butt bouncing dance (Daddy calls this the t-bag dance, don't ask!).

A couple of days ago you fed yourself yogurt for the first time with a spoon (Mommy helped a bit) and you were so proud of yourself! You'd take a bite and giggle. It's so sweet, you tend to smile and giggle when you are proud of something new you've learned.

Last night you also learned "no" for the first time and would shake your head back and forth and say "no, no, no, no" absolutely precious!

Your motor skills are developing really well too. You can put toys in an out of your baskets, are stacking blocks and playing with your toys versus just eating all of them :)

You still love to hold hands and sometimes it's the only way for us to get you to not cry in the car is if we reach back and hold your hand. Mommy has taken a few road trips with you where I held your hand for hours and my arm felt like it was going to fall off!

We really can't believe how much you've grown these last couple of months. You are at such an incredibly fun age and we can't get enough of you precious girl! We love you to the moon and back!

And here are some pics of what we've been up to lately:

Another parade pic we found!

Ponytail!

This girl loves to hide

Heading to the park with Daddy in style

She loves the swing!

Baby pigtails!

Uncle James graduated from the police academy! So proud of him and hoping he gets a job nearby!

It was Uncle James's special day but this little bug steals the show :)

"dis"

Grandpa and Brinley at the fire station with our church group 

A rare moment sitting with all the kids

She loved Emmy's beads, good things she was a good sharer! :)

So proud and amazed at how well she SAT! This was seriously the first time in months that she was still!

Trying to get a pic of all of the kiddos

Not too bad!

Friends :)

The whole gang!

Matt and some of the fire department guys making meals at Let's Dish for fellow firefighter who's daugher is battling cancer. Really cool to be a part of this extended family!

Hiding in her stuffed animals just like I used to do. She's becoming so much like me when I was little!

Playing in the egg at the zoo

She sat for 8 whole minutes like this watching Frozen it was awesome!

Devouring a whole nectarine

Right down to the pit

Brinley and her friend Cooper. So cute!

Hanging out at the concert int the park

Selfie at the cabin before bed

What, I'm not supposed to be in the drawer?