Drum Roll Please...

Introducing the new Branna Rose!

As many of you know, in November Branna was diagnosed with strabismus. Because of that and her farsightedness, the doctor felt that glasses would be the best to help correct her vision. Right now, her left eye turns in turns when she is straining to see something and when she is tired.
So far, Branna has been very good about keeping the glasses on, considering she's just 20 months old. She's had the glasses for a day now and we've had our battles, but I think as she gets more accustomed to wearing them and realizes that she can see better with them on, she'll prefer to have them on.
Our next appointment is in February where Branna will have her vision re-evaluated and prescription possibly changed.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

This post is a little late in coming, but the pictures were too good not to post...
This fall, my brother played youth football with the YMCA in Eldorado. We were able to make his last home game at the end of October. Branna was fascinated with all the festivities of the game: the clapping cheerleaders, the cheering crowd, and the running football boys.
At the end of the game, we got to go out onto the field, where Branna was personally escorted by Uncle Jess. After wrapping up at the football field, Grandma Honey took us to the pumpkin patch where Branna was able to pick out a pumpkin to take home! She loved running from pumpkin to pumpkin and seeing which one was small enough for her to pick up! :)

Admiring her favorite football player

I think I'll take this one...

FYI... the pumpkin was plastic :)

Easy As 1-2-3

For the last month or so, Branna has been working on her counting. Last week she made it all the way to 15! I've made several attempts to get it on video , but so far this is the best I've been able to do.

She's gets so proud of herself and most times will start clapping before making it too far. Between that and her becoming distracted by the camera, capturing her counting on video has been quite difficult!

Happy Halloween

Branna had a fun "first" Halloween. Last year, she was too little to do anything (although we did dress her up as a skunk just to take pictures), so this was a brand new experience for her. At first, she wasn't too sure about the whole thing, but once she figured out what was going on, she became an instant pro. By the end of the evening, she was opening her bag as soon as a door opened, waiting for more candy to be dropped in.
(A big thanks to my mom who made Branna the poodle skirt. Thanks Grandma Honey! :) )

Waiting to head outside...
Enough pictures! Let's go!
Trick-or-Treat!
Ending the evening back home
Examining the loot!

I had to throw these in from last year's Halloween. :)

Pizza Pie

Pretty much since Branyon and I have been married, we have had a tradition on Friday to make/have pizza for dinner. Branna has really enjoyed being a part of this tradition, as she LOVES to get the breadmaker out and help me make the pizza dough. She gets her spoons and bowls, pulls her chair up to the table, and is ready to start cooking.

Mama's Big Helper

Today was cleaning day and Branna was such a big help! As soon as she saw me get my vacuum, she got hers out and got busy! I can only hope that her excitement for cleaning continues as she gets older. :)

Cleaning Daddy's Shoe
Counting and Cleaning

Places Branna Shouldn't Be...

A few weeks ago, Branna took an interest in "helping" me get the clothes out of the dryer. I realized that this might be a problem when she started trying to crawl into it a few days later. Trying to prevent it from progressing further, I told Branyon that we needed to make sure that the door was always closed.
However, I forgot one day, and while cooking dinner, Branyon and I noticed that she was gone. After a little bit of searching, we heard some noise from the laundry room. (She's gotten very good at hiding... to the point that she won't respond when you call her name.) The video tells the rest of the story...

Daddy Daughter Date

Last Saturday, while I was at Southwest's Ladies Day, Branna and Daddy had their first outing. Branyon took her to the Austin Children's Museum and it sounds (and looks) like they had a blast! The theme was "Stop and Go", so there were all sorts of vehicles and different representations of "cause-and-effect". Branna also enjoyed fixing up a pretend meal for Daddy in the play kitchen. I think they had a great time!

Future Bus Driver? All-Aboard!

Choo-Choo!

Making Lunch For Daddy

Resting After a Fun-Filled Morning

Hats Off

I'm not really sure which Branna likes better: shoes or hats. From previous posts, you know that Branna loves trying on Daddy's and Mama's shoes. She also daily enjoys trying on shoes from her collection. The same goes for hats.

Impressive... 2 Hats at Once!

She's Been Caught!

I Don't Think She Was Fully Awake

What A Silly Girl!

Who Stole the Cookies From the Cookie Jar?

Branna has figured out that food is kept in the pantry... Even more exciting is that she can now open the boxes and eat her cookies. I think we'll have to move them to the top shelf... :)

Just Plain Cute!

I don't really have a theme for this blog, but I have a smattering of pictures from the last few weeks that I wanted to post. As you can see from these pictures, Branna has LOTS of personality. She's really starting to talk alot, too, and verbalize things.
A few days ago, she was looking at the planets in one of our astronomy books. She came across a picture of Venus and pointed it out to Branyon, who told her what it was. Branna looked at him and said, "No, it's a ball!". We were both quite surprised since she hasn't really strung many words together, yet, but she was going to make sure that Daddy knew what he was actually pointing out!

The Noodle Aftermath
Creating Works of Art
Just Being Silly!

Vesicoureteral Reflux

We got the news that we didn't want to hear... Branna's VCUG came back with a positive result for vesicoureteral reflux. (That's pronounced VESS-ih-koh-yoo-REE-ter-ul.) The degree of the reflux is broken into grades, I being the lowest, V being the worst. Branna's scan showed that she has a grade II, borderline grade III. From my reading about the reflux, 80% of children with lower grades, outgrow it by age 5 or 6. I hope that this is our case.
For now, the doctor has recommended Branna be on a prophylactic (low-dose) antibiotic for 6 months. (The antibiotic will not correct the reflux, but will keep the urine free from infection. This will ensure that her kidneys are not damaged as the reflux happens.) At the end of the 6 months, we'll need to repeat the VCUG to determine if she still has the reflux.
Our prayer will continue to be that Branna will outgrow this soon. We appreciate your thoughts and concerns for us.

Another Zoo Trip

Last week, my brother Jess came for one last visit before starting back to school. On his last full day here, we decided to check out a "zoo" that is fairly close to our house. While it wasn't the typical zoo (rather than plexiglass, the animals were behind chicken wire type material, to name one oddity), they did have a fun collection of animals. My favorite was the herd of guinea pigs . :) Branna enjoyed getting to see pigs and goats close up and well as watching Daddy and Jess feed the camel.

And We're Back...

Boy! I really try hard to keep current on our blog, but it's amazing how quickly life can get in the way. Most of you probably know that Branna recently had a urinary tract infection, and because of that, the last couple of weeks have been crazy. Thankfully, she's over it now and feeling back-to-normal. I'm hoping that I can get the blog updated with new pictures soon.
Yesterday, Branna had her 15 month appointment. (It was a month late because of us switching doctors and scheduling in their office.) Her checkup went fine, although she cried most of the appointment because of her memory from the visit 2 weeks ago. The doctor and nurses were sympathetic and understood, which I was glad for.
Tomorrow, we have to go to a radiolgy clinic to get a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG). It will help us determine if there will be any further action needed for the urinary tract infection. We're praying that it was just a one time occurence and won't be something that will reoccur.

Miss Priss

I had Branna try on a shirt that I recently bought her, and as you'll see in the video she wasn't very interested in taking it off. She is really perfecting her, "No".

Big Shoes To Fill

OK... so it is the classic picture, but still cute, nonetheless. Branna loves to find our shoes and put them on. She's even mastered walking in them. What a stinker!

Please Don't Feed the Animals

Most of you know that Branyon and I have been teaching Branna sign language so that she can communicate with us easier while her speech is developing. She can sign more than 50 words and is now starting to verbalize alot of the words.
However, over the last couple of weeks, she has really developed a language of her own and an imagination to go along with it. It's very humorous to hear her "babbling" as she's walking through the house or we're driving in the car. She definitely knows what she's saying, now it's up to Branyon and myself to decipher it!

Box Car

Branna and Daddy found a very fun toy: an empty pampers box! Branna loved pretending it was her car and sailing across the carpet in it. Her stuffed animals even got a ride!

(FYI: Because the video is lengthy --therefore large--, I had to do the full video in 3 pieces. I also, had to make the resolution lower on the last piece because of it's size.)

The Girl in the Yellow Hat

I'm not really sure what Branna was thinking about in this video... She's getting so silly! (Sorry about the background noise...)

Our Week With Family

Last week, my mom and brother came to stay with us for the week. Branna had a great time showing off for them and we all had a really good visit.
While they were here, Grandma Honey and Branna played "dress up" and talked on the phone:

Jess celebrated his 10th birthday with a homemade cake:

And Branna showed off her artistic side:
I'm so glad that we got to spend time with them before they start back to school and everyone's schedule gets busy again. We can't wait to see them again!