Brinley aka Houdini

Right before we went to Utah, Brinley decided she didn't like her crib and started crying when it was nap time.  One day she threw a fit so I tried everything I could to get her to calm down and when that didn't work I figured she would cry for a few minutes and fall asleep.  She started crying harder so as I was headed to get her and give up on a nap, she threw open her door and met me in the hallway.  I was more than a little surprised to see her!  She had never attempted to climb out but she was so mad she was determined to get out.  I didn't know if she threw herself over or what but I didn't want to ask her to do it for me to encourage it.  She would go to bed fine but she climbed out twice for a nap before we left.  

At Grandma's she surprised me again by climbing out of the crib there and coming upstairs.  We tried to  fix the problem by lowering the mattress all the way to the floor.  We put her in and the bar was almost to the top of her head so we thought there was no way she would climb out.  Again, SURPRISE! Chad told me he heard her coming and I thought he was joking with me but somehow she could get her big toe on top of the bar and pull herself up.  So for the three weeks we were in Utah she was spoiled with someone laying by her until she fell asleep.  This wasn't going to happen when we got home so my mom came up with a solution.  

 Hello sleep sack!  She can't climb out if she can't get her leg up!  We call her Houdini now.  She loves her new ensemble.  Chase calls it her sleeping bag but she is happy to go to bed again and is sleeping 12 hours again.  I was not ready for her to have a toddler bed so I'm so glad this worked.  We'll move her when I'm ready!

 Notice the mattress on the floor. She had a hard time going to bed the first day or two we were home.  One day she didn't want to take a nap so I asked her if she wanted Mason to lay by her and that made her happy.  Mason was nice enough to comply and I couldn't believe they actually fell asleep.  Brinley woke up first and Mason was mad that she kept talking and wouldn't be quiet!

 The crazy girl likes to climb and she isn't afraid of anything.  I turned my back for one second and found her on the second shelf.  I didn't even know she could reach!  Of course she is smiling!

 Again climbing in the bucket for her stuffed animals and dolls.  They were actually playing the iPad together and being cute!

 Such a goofy girl! She makes us smile!

I was packing their jackets for Utah and she had to put it on and kept yelling "hat."  She thought it was the coolest thing!

She has been talking so much the last month and we can understand her.  Her blanket is no longer 'nanny' but 'nannet.' She says Teagan instead of baby.  She likes to show me her owwies and when I ask her what happened she always says "daddy did it" and when I ask her how come she says "tuz."  

She likes to sing and her favorites are Baby Bumblebee, I am a Child of God, Wheels on the Bus, and Old MacDonald. She can sing about the wise man and foolish man well enough for us to know what she wants and she also sings 'ashes, ashes" when she wants to do Ring Around the Rosies.  One day when Mason was jumping on his bed I was telling him (again) that he will break the bed and we need it for Teagan.  It took me a minute to realize Brinley was paying attention and was wagging her finger saying 'no more monkeys jumping on the bed!" She counts to 3 all the time and says new things all the time.  She doesn't throw as many fits and I have more patience with her now that we can communicate better.  She is getting so big!