We LOVE Uncle BRETT!!!

Happy 26th Birthday Uncle Brett!!! Brett celebrated his birthday on Saturday, and we can't help but continue to wish him Happy Days!! Here are some adorable pics of Marilyn from Uncle Brett from the past few weeks.

Isn't that smile precious!!! Of course, it's because she is looking at her favorite Uncle Brett behind the camera.

Aunt Kate snapped a cute one!

Marilyn with Uncle Brett's beloved Yankees cap!

Marilyn unwrapping! She loves tissue paper!!!

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day!

Marilyn spent the night on Valentine's Day with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Kate & Uncle Brett. She was also treated that night to a visit with Great Grandpa & Grandma Brenton. Here are few Brett captured from their evening. Hunter and I were out enjoying an actual date night!

Marilyn snuggling and reading with
Great-Grandma Brenton

Marilyn was spoiled by Grandma with a Valentine's Day treat of a new laptop. It is adorable and she loves the singing button!

Brown Bear with Aunt Kate

This is Marilyn on the phone. She puts her hand up to her ear and talks. She is quite interactive with her hand phone and has mastered the "hi" and "bye".

Marilyn and Grandpa with one of her phones. I can't imagine where she gets her chatty nature.

Playing Dress Up

Isn't she cute in her pink tutu?

Notice the resemblance?

Marilyn enjoys trying to Wii a little too.

Maybe she will grow up to be a terrific dancer like cousin Joel or maybe she will be "blessed" with her mother's rhythm.

The Zoo for Aunt Kate's Birthday

Last weekend we celebrated Aunt Kate's 26th birthday with a trip to the Zoo! Since it is still a bit chilly we stayed in the aquarium area, and Marilyn LOVED it!!!

She waved to the fish and said "HI!" to the penguins, but I think her favorite was the shark exhibit with Uncle Brett. Here are just a few from the day.

What a special day to celebrate with Aunt Kate and Uncle Brett!! Thanks for the fun (and pictures!)

Keeping Busy!

Marilyn has been keeping busy. For the past few weeks she has had the opportunity to spend at least one day a week with Aunt Kate! She gets so excited when I drop her off that she does her happy dance. This involves her bouncing up and down repeatedly with a little squeal. It is so cute and is made complete when she finds Uncle Brett and does it for him too.

As you can see, Marilyn LOVES to sit and read!

Reading with Grandpa

Look closely, isn't this such a cute picture... Marilyn and Bolivar are both so excited to have found Uncle Brett! Marilyn and I are both so happy Aunt Kate & Uncle Brett are still here to play with us!!

Splish Splash...

Marilyn loves taking a bath,
and her great big smile shows it!

Marilyn's First Big Girl Haircut!

Last weekend, we traveled to Nashville to visit Hunter's family. We had a great time and a wonderful trip. While in Nashville, Marilyn had the opportunity to have her very first big girl haircut! It was extra special because we were able to invite Grandpa Don & Grandma Jane along for the fun. We went to a place called Snip -Its, which specializes in kids haircuts. Marilyn was a bit squirmy but the stylist did an excellent job, and Marilyn ended up with a cute swing bob, extra stylish and perfect with her glasses.

The before shot... nearly a mullet.

Grandpa Don captured the event on tape for us.

Marilyn & Grandma Jane

All Done!

Uncle Chris (Hunter's brother) and soon-to-be Aunt Abbey reading with Marilyn.

You may have noticed Marilyn's new red glasses as well as her new hairdo. The red ones are a temporary pair while her pink ones are being fitted for new lenses. They are a little bit big, and I swear she looks just like one of her little people. But at least she can see!

Marilyn and Grandaddy Robert reading two of her very favorite books: Peek-a Who? and Brown Bear.

A cute new hairdo and an extra special trip to Nashville.

Brenton Family Christmas

Kate & Brett have safely returned from their East Coast visit, and now that they are back... here are some of Brett's pictures from our Brenton Family Christmas. Brett told me that over the past three weeks he has taken nearly 1000 pictures. Whew, I can hardly remember to get out the camera let alone take such great shots! Thanks Brett for the pictures and for saving the day for your camera-less Sister-in-Law, AGAIN!

Grandma & Marilyn

Marilyn and her Brenton footies.

(We each get a pair at Christmas from Grandma)

Too cute!

With so many colors, they will match all her clothes!

Marilyn and her 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Doll. Grandpa & Grandma used to buy these same dolls for Kate & I when we were little. How special that they can now do the same for Marilyn. She already has our pre-loved babies to play with. Of course I kept both mine and Kate's for future enjoyment.

Grandpa or Santa?

At our house, they are ONE in the SAME!

Oh, Goodness, what could it be???

It's ELMO!! I have never encountered such a "real" toy. Marilyn surely enjoys Elmo's stories and interaction, but my personal favorite is when he encourages us to DANCE! Thankfully no pictures of that!

Great Grandpa-pa

Kate received some books on traveling the world...

go figure!

Great-Grandma & Marilyn

Brett looking much too excited for running shoes!

And this is my favorite present of all! For those of you who know my Uncle Greg (dad's brother), you know that he is very clever when coming up with a gift. Beyond Elmo, he thought Marilyn should have her own dog toys, since she is so keen on playing with our dog toys and every other dog toy she can find, so he found her some of her own! They are too cute, and she plays with them

However, the best part is that our dogs cannot figure out if they are toys for them or for Marilyn, and they are too afraid to play with her. She throws the toys and the squeak, which thrills the dogs, but they are too afraid they will get in trouble for chewing on her toys to play with them. (We had to perform emergency plastic surgery to a little person who lost her hand in the teeth of Spud.) I get such a kick out of watching her throw the "dog" toys to our dogs who are terrified to play with them. hahahaha, Life is funny when your little one thinks everything is a toy!

But that's what makes this life so great!