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.