10 Months!

I can't believe little Bria is ten months old today. We had a great day today. It was free day at Hogle Zoo, so I went with my sister Lindsay and her kids, Hunter and Abby. It was a little chilly, but Bria seemed to love it. I'm not sure that she even noticed any of the animals, but being outside and watching a ton of kids run around is her idea of heaven.
Then, yesterday was such a beautiful day (60 degrees with blue skies! thanks for keeping spring in your hearts, everyone) we took Bria outside and put her in a swing for the first time and she loved it, which you can tell from the pictures.
She has just been so fun and sweet lately. We had a difficult time adjusting after Christmas when Bria started to crawl, but we are getting back into the swing of things, and things are finally feeling good again. It's a constant, steep learning curve (being a parent), but we love our little Briebe and are so happy to have her. So, happy ten months, Bria! Every day that one-year mark looms closer on the horizon . . .

Spring Fever has hit the Mangum household

Sam and I must count our blessings because we got to go on a date this weekend. That's two weekends in a row! We were up in Salt Lake to go to Caputo's with our friends (I love Caputo's-- if you live in Utah, you must go there. It's on about 325 S 300 W), so we decided to take advantage and leave Bria with my parents that night to go to dinner. Sam and I went to The Atlantic-- a kind of hole-in-the-wall place that serves mediterranean food. The food was mostly good, but like our Valentine's date, Sam and I were just thrilled to be out by ourselves. Plus, my parents put Bria to bed, and they must have the magic touch because she slept until after 8 this morning. Glorious.
Ok, now for some pictures (because I know that's why you come here):
I started giving Bria biter biscuits, and she loves them! Please note the mess all over her. And I already used 3 or 4 wet wipes. Also she loves the little Jasmine action (?) figure we found at my parents' house.
Sam thinks it's pretty funny to draw a mustache and goatee on Bria. I mean, it is funny, but I also like to pretend that I disapprove. Bria clearly thinks it's hilarious.

I gave Bria some peaches, which are fairly slippery. She is very crafty, so she slides them to the edge of the table, then slurps them up with her mouth. She does this with bananas too. So cute, and I'm so glad I caught it on camera.


Lastly, I would like to encourage everyone to have spring in your heart. I think the more people who embrace it, the sooner it will come. Thank you.

Melt Your Heart

To celebrate Valentine's Day (I like to spread the holiday out to the next day), here is a picture of Bria to melt your heart. Because that's what Valentine's Day is all about. Melting hearts.
Last night Sam and I got to go on a real live date. It was fabulous! Our dear friends Matt and Elisa watched Bria while Sam and I went to dinner. We called tons of restaurants in advance, but no one was taking reservations! Lame. So we finally decided to try Magelby's because we had never been there, and the wait was the shortest. We waited about 45 minutes (not bad-- our first Valentine's Day we waited three hours at Bombay House). Sadly, it was overpriced and not tasty. But we both agreed that it was so fun to be on a real date that we didn't care. After dinner, we went home and watched Chocolat while eating brownies, homemade truffles, and pots de creme. Holy deliciousness! Sam and I are on a slight chocolate overload, but it was so worth it.

Bria with her buds, Matt and Elisa. She loves them.

Best In Show

Bria is one of the most talented people I know. You may think I'm biased, which I am, but I'm also generous. So I will share a photo essay of Bria's skills.

Bria excels at making weird faces for pictures. She is also a champ at growing teeth. Please notice the top two.

Bria is mastering the art of finger foods. Her favorites are cheerios and peas. She also enjoys tofu (and Trix when she visits my parents).

Bria also enjoys Lion House rolls and sweet potatoes.


Which brings us to our next point. Bria is the master of mess. Just yesterday she extracted 20 wipes from the container and shredded upwards of four wipes. Silence is always an indicator of mischief, my friends.
See all those things on the floor? Our little master of mess decided to empty my closet and drawers while Sam and I were rearranging our rooms.

Bria also masters cuteness, as demonstrated by this photo of her taking her first ever bath in a real bath tub.

So you see, folks, Bria is a veritable Renaissance woman. I am currently drafting a letter to TIME magazine to give them an preemptive heads up on who should be 2009's Person of the Year, because I think the answer is pretty clear.

Bria Land -- Now Open!

I would like to announce the Grand Opening of Bria Land. A magical place where you can roam free with countless toys at your disposal without a care in the world. While there are no plugs or cords to play with, there are books, blocks, and balls to keep you entertained.
There are chairs and couches where you can practice your standing.
When you get bored, you can crawl over to the Bria Wall. You can kneel up to the border-- consisting of suitcases and a rubbermaid-- and whine. Depending on the tone, severity, and volume of the whine, someone will come and pick you up.
Others may also enter Bria land and play with you. Bria Land is much more entertaining if there is someone in there with you. Even if that person is playing his new XBox 360-- he may let you push some of the buttons on the controller if you're lucky. The tv might tempt you, but you can play with the colorful barrier surrounding it instead.

So, come one, come all. Bria land is now open for business. Its hours are 7 am -- 8 pm, Sunday through Saturday, and open all major holidays.

Nine Months!

Bria is nine months old today. It's crazy that she has now been part of the real world for the same amount of time that I was pregnant. Bria has turned into a crazy ball of energy in the past couple weeks. She won't sit still for anything, and she is constantly crawling, standing, scooting, wiggling, etc. She loves to dance-- we've noticed her favorite is Weezer, and she also rocked out to the National Anthem when we watched the Inauguration on Tuesday. I can't believe she will be a year old in just three months. Where did my tiny baby go?
We are also so happy that Bria and I are finally not sick! This past week was pretty miserable for all of us, but we are all feeling so much better now. Sam's still running at about 80%, but hopefully in the next couple days all three of us will be back to normal. Bria did need an inhaler for a couple days, which was pretty sad, but I'm just glad it wasn't worse-- it definitely could have been.
The Adventures of Food Boy played at the LDS film festival this weekend, so it was great to see Sam's brother Marc for that. And I enjoyed a girl's night in with some friends while Sam and Marc hit up Sundance. I'm a little sad I didn't go to Sundance this year, since it was probably my last opportunity with it being so close, but I didn't really want to stay out so late, so I'm ok with it. Now that the weekend is over, we're back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The Bria Marathon

Things in the Mangum household haven't been very exciting lately. We all got sick at Christmas, and while Sam and I are feeling better, Bria is still in the throes of a bad cold. In fact, she was getting better, but then got worse again, so I think she may be battling cold #2. It makes me so sad to hear her cough! But she is her usual happy self, so it's not as bad as it could be. I have a ton of pictures, so here's a marathon of our monotony.

Bria has taken off crawling, and she now loves to pull herself up to standing or kneeling anywhere she can. She also likes cords and technology. And she has a penchant for danger.


Bria loves Sam. I think the best part of her day is when he gets home from work. They play all evening before she goes to bed, and I think she really loves that quality time.
I will admit to giving Bria a bite of my pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. Saying she liked it would be the understatement of the year.


Just call her Miss Mischief. Why does she love to play with diapers? I look away for one second and . . .


She is very snuggly when she first wakes up from a nap. She has also developed some shyness. Whenever she sees someone other than me or Sam, she lays her head on my (or Sam's) shoulder and smiles (usually).

I finally let Sam use a little pomade in Bria's hair to create a punk-rocker look.

Bria also loves to watch football with Sam.

She was supposed to look like a queen, but I think she looks more like a baker.

We no longer wrap her up at night! The transition was easy-- no tears at all. I still wrap her for naps though.


This is what I mean when I say she's her usual happy self, even though she's sick.