Dear Bria-

You are obsessed with keys. Whenever we go out or come home, you'll shout, "Keys!" I'm a sucker and I'll usually give them to you and you'll go crazy with sticking them in and out of the door. It doesn't matter if you choose the right key or not. You just like the trying. Although I will say, if I lead you in the right direction by giving you the proper key and turning it the right way, you're pretty good at fitting it in the hole.

You're slowly growing out of nap time. If you take a nap during the day, it's harder to get you to sleep at night. I have to be strict on how long your naps are. Some days, I don't even bother with one. However, those nights you're ready to go to bed at 6:30! You'll usually go to daddy and say, "Night night," or, "Go to bed." I love when you do this because it's so sweet and shows that you're listening to your poor, tired body.

Another thing you're doing is you're fighting winter. We didn't have to get out the warm clothes until the end of December and you do. not. like. them. I had to hide all of your shorts and short sleeved shirts because you would put those on. Even wearing winter clothes, you find ways to defy them. You rolls up your sleeves and pant legs.

You refuse to wear pajamas. If I put them on you, you'll take them off. It's not ever worth the battle and so you usually go to bed in clothes. Granted, you have very comfortable clothes. *Cough* leggings. This makes me a little sad because you have some very cute pajamas. I've taken to putting them in your clothes drawer to fool you. My favorite ones are sweats which could technically be worn to the store anyway.

I noticed the other day that you chipped your front tooth. It's a tiny chip but it still amazes me that you did it. I'm wondering when and how. That's footage I definitely want to see in Heaven.

We're moving in two days, Bria. You have no idea what's going on. I've taken you to the new house for closing and cleaning but I think you're still pretty dang oblivious. You're world is about to be rocked. I'm a little sentimental for this apartment now that we're leaving it. You came to this apartment when you were a tiny baby, about two months old. Now you're a big two year old. This house we're moving into may be the only house you know until college. That's incredible.

I love you, Bria,
~Mom

Dear Bria-

You did the cutest thing yesterday. Our dehumidifier alarm went off but you thought the fire alarm had gone off. You screamed, "Uh-oh! Uh-oh!" I was baffled by your behavior until I saw you get a cutting board and wave it up at the fire alarm like I do when it goes off. I had a good laugh, sweet girl.

Bria, I lost my patience with you too many times today and I'm sorry about that. You are in the midst of the terrible twos. I don't always have the patience that I should.

This week, you have taken off your diaper twice at nap time after going poop. You then proceeded both times to smear poop everywhere in your room, on the walls, your bed, the floor. It's not unusual for you to take your diaper off. You want it changed every time you pee! After the latest poop-smearing incident, Dad and I have resorted to duct taping your diaper on you.

Tonight you "read" the scriptures with us. Normally we whisper the words in your ears but today you wanted to read them all by yourself. You spouted off a bunch of nonsense. If you were using real words, only you could understand them. It was the cutest thing. We tried to get a video of it but Dad's phone won't take videos and you were using my phone to "read." If you do this tomorrow, I will try to record it.

I love you,
~Mom

Dear Bria-

You make me hate chairs. You scoot them everywhere and get into all kinds of mischief. I finally started locking our chairs up in Dallin and Akarie's room while they were at school. Then you started scooting the unlocked toddler chair all around. So I locked that puppy up. Next you moved on to scooting the bench around. You are incorrigible.

I still love you,
Mom

P.S. Dallin, Akarie, and I played Swish and Spot It tonight. Swish was a disaster because you kept picking up random cards. Spot It went a lot better. Every time we put a card down, we handed the old card to you. You were very well entertained with your steady stream of cards. Each time one of us would hand you a card, you would proclaim, "Thank you!" So cute!

Dear Bria-

You are so hard right now! You get into everything and refuse to keep your diaper on. You don't want to be potty trained. Don't judge me too hard, but I might have had a minor meltdown today over how many times I get you dressed. It's exhausting!

I wanted to write to you about something cute tonight. You have been a stinker about getting your teeth brushed. You would scream and run away and it was a miserable experience. I still half-suspect you'll have a dozen cavities at your first Dentist appointment. I digress. Daddy and I figured out that if we sang your favorite song, you'll actually let us brush your teeth. What's your favorite song? Oh, you know, "Happy Birthday." Seriously.

For you, dear Bria, every night we brush your teeth is your birthday. I've figured out ways to drag the song out so that I can brush your teeth for long. I hold out the last three words of the song really long and get really dramatic with it. Then, I added a little part on the end where I say, "And many more to come, doo!" I yank the toothbrush out of your mouth on "doo!"

I brushed your teeth in front of the sister missionaries tonight and they got a kick out of it. I loved it because you sing along half the time, even the last, "Doo" part.

I love you sweet girl,
~Mom

Dear Bria-

One year olds are so hard! I completely forgot how hard one year-olds are. Dallin and Akarie have been away at Bible School. I thought this would be a nice break but it means that you are a lot less entertained. Being less entertained means a lot more whining to mom. You're starting to talk a ton but I can't understand most of it. Our day is full of me pretending to understand you or working ridiculously hard to understand you.

Worst of all, you discovered how to climb out of your crib last night. You kept climbing out of your crib and we kept lowering it. When you climbed out last night, it was as low as we could make it. We locked you in your room for 45 minutes. That's how I remember handling Dallin and Akarie when they figured how to climb out. However, you screamed the entire time. Your room was a wreck and I also worried about choking hazards.

I called Aunt Shawna in despair. How did we get Dallin and Akarie to sleep after they were done with cribs? Shawna reminded me of what she called, "Pick and Place." You pick your crying child up and place them back into bad. You tuck them in lovingly one time and then you become a robot. You show no emotion. She suggested letting the child walk to the door so that you don't resort to holding them down in bed.

Your dad tried this method out while I breastfed Crew. He said that you fell asleep. However, when I came in at midnight to check on the situation, your dad had falling asleep and you were sitting next to him reading a book. I had him go to bed and proceeded to do the pick and place method for forty five minutes before you fell asleep.

I promptly went to bed only to have you wake me up at 5:00am! My immediate reaction was to let you sleep with me. Thankfully, you are the worst to sleep with! You want to lay on top of me and that's not comfortable at all. So I did the pick and place method. You fell asleep on the floor and I stayed there for twenty minutes until Crew started cooing. I got up to feed Crew and you got up with me! I had to get Dad to help you back to sleep.

Tonight so far has been better. Dad went to put you to bed and I haven't heard much of a commotion. I suspect that Dad fell asleep because he's been in there for over an hour and a half.

I love you, Bree,
~Mom

Dear Bria-

Your talking has exploded lately and it's about time. You were at a standstill with your words for a while. You would use the same ones over and over without adding much to your vocabulary. I remember with Dallin and Akarie that once they started talking, the progress was steady. You've forged your own path. Now you finally started to say multiple word sentences and your words are becoming more and more recognizable.

You say, "Water" all of the time. Your water is two syllables but leaves out the "t." "Milk" is another popular word for you. You'll say, "Muh!" I love hearing you say, "I don't know." It sounds like, "No know!"

We just came back from Virginia. Your cousins and Aunt and Uncle are amazing with you! By the end of the trip, you were pretty comfortable with all of them. It's a comfort to me because if your dad and I ever died, you would go live with them. I liked seeing you so comfortable and well-loved.

I can't determine if you're shy or not. You have situations where you're painfully shy and situations where you're terribly outgoing. One minute, you're hiding your face on my shoulder and the next, you're letting a stranger carry you.

Have I told you about your tenders? You are a sensitive child and get your feelings hurt very easily. Since you were twelve months old, all I have to say is, "Bria, no!" and you'll pout your face and start crying. The best is when you sniffle and pout. It is possibly the cutest thing ever.

Nana and Grandaddy are aware of your tenders. In fact, I didn't expect for you to have a good relationship with your Grandaddy. He tends to be a yeller of "No!" While he has hurt your feelings, you two are good buds.

Okay, I best be getting to sleep as it's quite late. I'm sorry I haven't written to you very much, Bree. I love you so much. While you are currently at a hard age, you are also the cutest and sweetest little girl a mom could ask for.

All my love,
~Mom

P.S. I forgot to tell you that in the past few weeks you've learned to say your siblings names. You learned to say "Crew" first. I love hearing you say it, especially when you first learned it. You would say "Crew" in the softest voice. Your voice would rise like you were asking a question. "Creeeeeew?" It was adorable.

You say Akarie's name quite well, too. You learned that about a week and a half ago. Akarie annoys you the most by far. It's not uncommon to hear you loudly proclaim, "Stop, Karie! Stop Karie!" This phrase is so ingrained in you that you'll say, "Stop, Karie!" to Dallin!

Aunt Christina had you call her Aunt Nina for ease of pronunciation and you humored her at the end of our Virginia trip by saying it.