New Dance

Annie and Abby have also introduced Ella to the wonderful world of "the naked dance".

Mentors

Ella is learning a lot from her Houston cousins.

Like how awesome goggles are (note that Ella is wearing some goggles fashioned from pipe cleaners)

New fancy moves.

Manicures and pedicures

Items of flair.

And toys in the tub.

Happy Birthday Amy!

Today is my second youngest sister, Amy's, birthday (it's not a mistake, they're twins, but I thought they sould get their own posts, since they always have to share birthday cake). I thought I'd post a list of my favorite things about Amy in honor of this special day.

10. She's not ashamed of really liking Lifetime movies, especially at Christmas time, when they're (apparently) "Fa La La La Lifetime" movies.
9. She brought a really funny brother-in-law into the family.
8. She wrote a persuasive essay once about why boys should ask girls to dance at Stake Dances.
7. She likes to have her nieces and nephews sleep over.
6. She told us all that we'd "changed" when we left home and started drinking Diet Coke.
5. She always remembers my birthday.
4. Her favorite song used to be "Lady in Red".
3. She has really cute kids.
2. She always has great numbers for the Brinton Family Variety Show.
1. She participated in the ill-conceived whipped-cream eating contest at the cabin, and would have won if the other participants hadn't cheated by spooning their cream into Ben's bowl while Amy wasn't looking.

Happy Birthday Suzanne!

Today is my youngest sister, Suzanne's, birthday. I won't post how old she is, because it might get people thinking about how old I am. But I thought I would post a list of things I really like about Sue. Happy Birthday!

10. She is an avid reader and always has a book with her.
9. She is really dedicated to learning to play/sing music. She's always practicing the guitar and the piano. She might be the only sibling who plays better now than she did in high school.
8. When she was having trouble learning to slalom ski, she drew strength from a Josh Hartnet sticker that we found and put on her shoulder for added inspiration.
7. She works really hard on her callings.
6. When we had a long stopover in London together (just me, her and our parents) she was irked at the idea of taking the tube into the city to look around; but she really perked up when she figured out it was the setting for the Bill Murray classic, "The Man Who Knew Too Little" and we had a lot of fun together the rest of the day.
5. "Labor-a-tory"
4. She really likes being a homeowner and beautifying her surroundings.
3. When she and Amy visited me in New York, she made sure to take full advantage of "Fleet Week."
2. She is a loyal fan-- Johnny Depp deserves no less.
1. She always goes all out when she sings in the car.

Sleeping Disorders

Last night at 1 am Ella woke up crying. I went in to try and settle her down. Usually all it takes is a hug or reassuring pat. This time though, she was upset about something in particular. She kept repeating the same tearful unintelligible phrase over and over. I finally figured out she was saying "I need my headband!" Once I provided a headband (that matched her jammies, of course) she calmed down and went back to sleep. It's so distressing to awaken in the middle of the night and realize that you are inappropriately accessorized.

Thank You For...

Every night, right before I put Ella to bed I tell her I love her. I usually pause for a few seconds to see if she responds. Sometimes she says, "yeah" or "I need double blankies" but sometimes she says "I love you" back. Tonight she said, "Thank you for my life." I'm pretty sure she doesn't realize I actually am one of the people to thank for that, but I thought it was pretty astute nonetheless. Adorableness aside, she still had to go to bed.

Criminal Behavior

Ella and I have been in Texas just over two weeks now, so I figured I was running out of excuses not to blog. Yesterday I took my two nieces, Abby (7) and Annie (4), and Ella on an incredibly exciting outing-- the car wash, followed by dinner at Panda Express. This plan was met with incredibly loud enthusiasm. Who knew that three people could be so happy with something that costs less than $20? While I was vaccuming the car, the two older girls got out to search for "treasures". They must have hit the jackpot, because I saw a sucker in Abby's mouth when she got back in the car. We had the following exchange:

Me: Eww, Abby, where did you get that?
Abby: On the ground. It was wrapped.
Me: That's still gross. You don't know where it's been... a dog could have been carrying it in its mouth and dropped it.
Annie: I think Abby might have rabies now.
Abby: (long pause, but sucker still in place) How do you know if you have rabies?

Later at Panda Express, the girls wanted drinks, so I sent them up to the register to get water. Abby came back with water, Annie came back with lemonade. We had this conversation:

Me: Is that lemonade?
Annie: Yeah, we asked for water but the machine let us get whatever we wanted.
Me: Only the water is free, you're supposed to pay for the lemonade.
Annie: (fallen face)
Me: It's okay, we'll just go and explain what happened and offer to pay for it.
Annie: (look of complete devastation)
Me: It's okay, it was an honest mistake, we'll just explain it. It's not like you're going to get arrested or anything.
Annie: (totally despondent, long face, head on table, appetite gone) I just know I'm gonna get 'rested. And by the way, what does that mean?

Fortunately the owner was really nice and didn't call the cops, or make us pay for the 6 oz of contraband lemonade that she made off with. I think I need to be a little more careful what I say around these girls.