Eleven Months(!)

I am slightly in shock that Bria is eleven months old today (and positively in denial that she will be one year old in one month). Several times a day, Sam and I talk about what a sweet, cute, funny, wonderful little baby we have. She is constantly squealing, babbling, jabbering, and she does have one official first word: "hi." She waves as she says it in this very high, breathy voice. So cute. She says "mama" all day long, but I don't think she has quite connected that mama refers to me.
She stands up to everything and walks along holding on to everything. And just while we were in Arizona, she started walking around while holding our fingers. She will also stand on her own for about a minute, and she does it all the time (I used to have to prop her up).
Her favorite food is cheese. I basically can't shred it fast enough. When she sees the grater and the cheese come out, she will often start to cry and scream for it and I grate as fast as I can. Then she shoves fistfuls of it into her mouth, leans her head back, and smiles while she chews.
Bria has a few tricks. She recently started crawling with her head down, maybe to be more aerodynamic?
She waves "hi" and "bye," as I mentioned (hard to capture an action shot, but this is it; I promise):

She still scowls:

She listens to the iPod (she dances for a minute until she pulls out the headphones and sucks on them, then I take them away, and she cries. maybe I shouldn't do that anymore?):

She blows kisses:

And she shakes. I won't even try to explain it. But we all think it's hilarious.

Happy eleven months, Beebee!

Another round of mostly just pictures

I'm always at a loss for things to write on this blog, probably because I know most of you just want to see pictures of Bria (don't worry, there are plenty in this post). Plus, the truth is that our lives aren't that exciting. The most exciting thing I have to share is that we finally got Bria back to sleeping until after 7 am. Since she was sick and then daylight savings started (argh), Bria's nighttime schedule got a little wonky. After about a week of her waking up at 6:15 or 6:30, we finally found a good bed time again, and this morning she woke up at 7:15. I never thought 7:15 would feel so late (and wonderful!). Plus, Bria's molar is completely in, thank goodness!
So, now, what I know you came for: some pictures.

I took this one this morning. I think she's just looking so old!
Bria has the most amazing scowl-- interestingly enough, my mom wrote that same thing in my baby book when I was ten months old. This picture is actually pretty mild compared to some of the looks I get.
Followed quickly by this look (as you can tell, I'm trying to introduce the sippy cup. This is our third type of cup, and it seems it might be successful.).


We went to Rock Canyon Park on Sunday because the weather was just so lovely! Please don't ask what's going on with my hair. I decided to try bangs, and they are not working.

Sam was eating a fudge bar, and gave Bria a few licks.

Unfortunately, she loves chocolate. This is look we got (accompanied with growls) when Sam finished it.
But she quickly got over it. She stands up to everything, and will even stand on her own for a bit before she realizes what's happening, and she sits down.

And lastly, Bria has quite the hair. When she wakes up from naps, it is always crazy, especially if she had a bath right before and it dried while she was sleeping. The other day, I went it to get her, and Bria had Utah Hair. Full of volume, ratted in the back, poofy, and very sassy. I think she looks like she could be a news anchor or something. Believe me, this picture does not do it justice. And, you can see her new crib in the background. My sister Lindsay was letting us use hers this whole time, but we finally decided to give it back and get our own since Lindsay had a baby (five months ago). :) Thanks Lindsay!


And since the weather on Sunday was only mostly nice, we're going to take off to Arizona tomorrow for our own, self-made Spring Break. The high tomorrow in Phoenix is ninety-one!

Bria and the Cookie

I feel like a real mom: yesterday Bria covered me in vomit. She had some kind of 24-hour stomach bug that made for quite a sad Sunday. When I got her up yesterday morning, I saw she had been sick in her sleep, then in the afternoon she threw up all over herself, me, and the couch. So we took took the cover off every couch cushion and tossed it in the washer, and Bria and I got all cleaned up. She wouldn't eat much-- we couldn't even get her to drink pedialyte, so we took her to the doctor. By the time we went there, she finally drank some milk, so she was doing much better. Luckily, she is almost completely back to her normal self today. It was so sad!
Then, tonight, I was eating a chocolate chip cookie, and I gave Bria a little bite. Bad idea. Bria went nuts for it! So she finally got hold of a whole cookie and went to town. She is a girl after her mother's heart. Maybe not the best bedtime snack for a baby (particularly the day after she was sick), but she absolutely loved it, so I don't feel bad at all.

Bria's Dental Report

This has been quite the week! Tuesday night, I kept hearing Bria fussing nearly all night long. I don't think she was ever fully awake, but she certainly didn't sleep well. She was very grumpy all day Wednesday, and hasn't had a great day since. Since she has also been the Queen of Drool lately, I figured she was teething. I can see one tooth barely below the surface of her gums, so I chalked it up to this one difficult tooth. It did strike me as odd, since she had no trouble with previous four teeth.
WELL, yesterday, I saw her chewing on something, so I swiped her mouth (it was a piece of fuzz), and I felt a MOLAR. Yes. It's true. Bria has a molar. I think it probably broke through Tuesday night or Wednesday, but it still has two more corners to come fully in. No wonder she been having a tough week! I think it's strange and hilarious that she has a molar when the only other teeth she has are the two on top and two on bottom.
Also, Bria has started her own interpretation of blowing a kiss to someone. She pushes her lips out and puts her chin in her palm. It is basically adorable. I love it. She'll only do it to me or Sam, so it might be a while before I can capture a picture of it. I am definitely trying though. So just settle for these pictures in the mean time.

We went to my parents' house last week to celebrate my sister's 21st birthday. I made the cake and some jalapeno poppers, and we put Bria in her cousin's bumbo while I was cooking. Bria doesn't need help sitting, but sometimes she needs help staying put so I can cook. :)

Bria always gets to eat yams (in a real high chair!) at my parents' house. And this time she also ate pork, which she devoured. I love the look on her face-- general surprise or excitement.

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.