Happy 11 months Brinley!

OMGOODNESS...

Can it really be that my baby girl will be 1 YEAR OLD next month. Please tell me it's not so! I truely believe people now when they same time flies by when you have a little one.

Brinley is truely full of life and developing her own little personality. Sometimes I wonder what I have gotten myself into, but I would not trade her for anything in the world. She is such a happy girl! She brightens my day every morning when I walk in her room to wake her up and she has the biggest smile on her face! She also has a bit of her temper, not sure where she got that from, ha! She will throw a fit if she doesn't get what she wants! She jabbers all the time and we have deep conversations. I have no idea what we are talking about but she always answers me! She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger and it will only be a matter of time before she wants to go to the shop to work on the racecar instead of staying inside to play with mom:( I thanks God everyday that he gave us this precious gift and allowed us the pleasure of being her parents!

What is Brinley up to?!

• She is eating more and more table food everyday. She is mainly eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with 2-3 snack times. She has a bottle 3 times a day... when she wakes up in the morning, at naptime and at bedtime. 
• She loves anything that she can pick up on her own...corn, green beans, hamburger, chicken
• She is drinking apple juice from her sippy cup. But loves water the most!
• She is eating yogurt, jello, pudding, cereal, muffins, crackers, and cheese.
• She is pretty much done with baby food! 

• She is sleeping 10-11 hours at night!
• Her Schedule: 8 ounces at 7AM and a few bites of whatever dad is eating, breakfast at 9:30ish, 1 hour nap, lunch at 12PM, 6 ounce bottle and 1-2 hour nap at 2PMish, dinner at 6PM, then bath and 6 ounces at 8PM, and then bed.

• She has 7 teeth. (4 on the top and 3 on the bottom)
• She is in size 2 diapers.
• She wears a size 2 or 3 shoe. (depends on the brand)
• She has sucks on her fingers when she is tired.
• She LOVES bath time if she is in a good mood. (she is still in her tub in our big tub)
• She is wearing 9 month tops and 12 month pants. Her legs are just way to long. 
• She will still go to anyone as long as she can see momma and daddy.

• She LOVES Coco and tries to get her to play. (she will pick up Coco's toy and hold it in front of her trying to get her to play tug of war, It is so cute!)
• She is saying momma, dadda, bub, ba-ba(for bottle and bye-bye), papa 
• She waves Hi and Bye!
• She claps when you say, "Yeah" and "Go Pokes" - Grandma helped her with that one!
• She makes a kissing sound when you blow her a kiss (we are working on that one)!
• She has a "CHEESE" face (it has been hard to get a pic because she does it so quick!)
• She LOVES to give open mouth kisses and will give them on command now!  

• She is letting go and standing on her own!
• She has taken 3 steps at a time, only Grandma can get her to do this!  
• She is into climbing on and over everything. 
• She LOVES to climb up and down the stairs at Grandma Jane's house. (She has started to climb down from chairs as well)
• She is loving all of her toys. She loves any of them that make any type of noise, especially her radio! 
• She loves to dance anytime she hears music!
• She LOVES other kids. She stops what she is doing to watch them and then just wants to touch them! 

• She is the happiest when she wakes up from sleeping and gives the biggest smile.
• She is noisy! She is always making noises: laughing, squealing, screaming, growling, and fake coughing! 
• She gets to play with her cousins all day while mommy and daddy are at work! (My cousin is her sitter) 

• She loves to be outside! She loves pulling the weeds in the front yard!
• She loves to drink water out of a straw (her daddy holds it and lets the water drop in her mouth).
• She is in her crib in her own room.
• She is in a convertible car seat!
• She loves to play Peek-A-Boo and Patty Cake!
• She has started giving hugs! 

 Brinley Nicole,

I cannot put into words how much I love you. You mean the world to me and I would do anything to keep you safe. I just doesn't seem possible that you will be 1 year old next month. You have the most wonderful personality that any little girl could have. You are so sweet. I love everyday that I get to spend with you teaching you new things. Your smile can ligh up a room and everyone comments on so happy you are. You make your daddy and I laugh like we have never laughed before. You are such a joy to be around. I think you ahve your daddy wrapped around your finger. He loves you more that life itself. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. I hate being away from you when I am at work but I love the smile you give me when I come to pick you up. You always wave bye-bye as soon as I get there because you know we are going home! You always keep us on our toes because you get into everything you are not supposed to. It is so cute though because when you know you have something your shouldn't, you imediately look at us and hand it over very innocently! I hope that your daddy and I can teach you how to be an honest, responsible young lady. We love you more that words can express!!!

Love,

Mom-mom

Wild West Speedway - Clinton, OK

We left Enid around 1pm to head to Clinton, OK. Greg was going to race a 2 day show at Wild West Speedway! We arrived at the race track at about 4ish. It was windy but the sun was trying to come out. Brinley and I hung out in the toter for a while and then I took her out. This girls loves to be outside! Grandma Jane got her this lion a few weeks ago and she just loves it.

Check out my glasses!

 Things didn't go so good for Greg. He started 3rd row inside and was running second when he spun out in turns 3 and 4. When he spun another car hit him in the front drivers side wheel. It didn't look like a hard hit and I thought everything was okay because it didn't even ct the tire down, but he pulled into the pits. It was bad news!! He had bent the frame!! So we packed up and headed home. What was going to be a 2 day racing trip turned into a 1 day  one.

 Brinley is telling Uncle Dan what he needs to do to fix daddy's car!!

I can't say that I'm disappointed that we came home earlier because I hate having a late night before going to work the next day. But I am disappointed that Greg broke and now has to spend some money to fix his car. But he wasn't pissy (which is unusual) and I get one more day to spend with B and Greg before it's back to reality.

Spring Break 2011

I'm gonna break this down into days because I don't have many pics, we just did a lot of stuff!

Sunday: We did a practice run with B and a cake. We are taking smash cake pics on Tuesday and I want to make sure she is going to dig in. Boy did she ever. She loved it. I think there was more that ended up in her lap than in her mouth. But she made a mess and that's what I wanted!

Just starting

messy girl

Monday: Brinley and I stayed home most of the day. She slept till 9am. (I love you for letting me sleep baby girl!) We played and she took a nap while I cleaned and then it was over to Grandma Jane's house. I went to the gym at 1 and B stayed with Gma. After we got home and dad got off work it was play time once again. B loved being pushed around in the laundry basket by her daddy.

Tuesday: B and I had to run a few errands before dad got home and then it was off to Yukon. We went to Scantling Photography to have her 1 yr pics taken. I know it's a month early but I wanted her invite to have a pic of her on it. Lora does an awesome job and it is taking everything I have not to post them on here. I will save those for next month, so you'll just have to wait! (no pics for today)

Wednesday: Jordan came over to visit. She was so bored at home so she came to play with B and help me clean out her clothes, which was much needed. B had a fun day. The girls were nonstop from the minute Jorge arrived until her mom came to pick her up! Thanks Jorge for all the help!

Thursday: St. Patrick's Day - I completely forgot about St. Patty's Day and wearing green when I dresses B and then remembered afterwards and decided I didn't want to change her. Besides we weren't going anywhere except Gma's house. That evening my mom (Grandma Berneta) came over to watch B so Greg and I could go have a nice dinner and a few drinks. My how times have changes! We went to Chili's and by accident meet up with Jessy and Ryan as well as Cody and Vanessa. Jessy and Cody are Greg's niece and nephews. (You can read about the fam history here.) For those of you who don't know Cody, you need to go here and read about his story. Make sure you have some time and start from the beginning. Let me just say that we as a family are LUCKY and BLESSED that Cody is still alive and with us today. We ate and then joined them at the bowling alley for a few games. It has been years since Greg and I have been bowling. It was a blast and made me miss the times we all used to spend together. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We were only missing Jen and Mike, but they had a pretty good excuse not to be there (a brand new baby!!)

 (no pics today either)

Friday: We had to get up early and take Grandma Berneta to the hospital because she is having carpal tunnel surgery. When she is finished we will take her home to rest and enjoy the rest of our day. (maybe I'll get a pick and post it later for today.

We will also be packing for our racing trip this weekend. We will leave tomorrow to go to Clinton for a 2 day race. Another night in the Toter!

Till next time!

Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track

~This is a long post and the pictures are in no particular order!

~Videos at the end!

Last weekend (3-3-11 through 3-5-11) we went to Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.  Greg wanted to race as I was happy to take off of work and go with him. ~When he went in September Brinley and I were left at home because I couldn't take off of work and I told him never again!  

We left early Thursday morning and stopped at the Winstar Casino to eat lunch at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar. It was delicious. Since we have the Toter Home I knew this would be the only "eat out" meal that I would get. Don't get me wrong, we had some great food (pork chops, ribs, hamburgers/hotdogs) thanks to Greg's mom and her portable grill (Thanks Jane!!!)  but I look forward to trying out new places! I guess I will have to give that up :( We got to the speedway early afternoon and it was a beautiful day.

 Greg's car with TMS sign in background

 B with TMS sign in background

Brinley absolutely loved being outside. I was so glad Greg decided to pack her walker at the last minute because she spent a lot of time roaming the pits in this thing! I am so thankful that this girl loves the races and the noise that comes with it! She is a trooper!

 Greg getting ready

 B checking the tires

Thursday was just practice and Greg did really good. He tried a few different setups and was very happy with the car. They print out your lap times for you and he was the fastest car in both of his sessions on the track! I was very excited for him!

 Greg on the track!

Brinley was so great the entire time. She hardly even cried the whole time we were there. I can't wait unil summer because she loves to be outdoors and is so happy when she is. I also LOVE the Toter. I put Brinley to bed (in he pack-n-play) at 8pm each night and she slept just as well as she does at home, except the first night. She did get up when we all came in after the races. But I changed her diaper and she went right back to sleep. She also took 2 naps each day!

  Classic look from the two of them

Friday was the frist day of racing for Team Burt! Greg did awesome. He started in 7th in his heat and finished 3rd. He had to run the B Qualifier and made it into the A Main. He finished 17th in that race, didn't qualify for the Feature on Saturday (which is where the money is) but he would get another chance the next night. I think that finishing 17 out of 110 cars is pretty darn good if you ask me!!! I was so proud of him!!

 Greg getting out of the car

Saturday was the last day of the show and the coldest! Dan and Alea came down Friday night and stayed. Alea and I had planned to go shopping on Friday but decided to go Saturday instead. I am glad we did. It was cold saturday (much colder than we had expected) and I didn't pack enough warm clothing for Brinley to be out in that kind of weather. So we went to the outlet mall in Allen, TX while the boys took care of things at the track.  

 She loves her daddy

I spent way to much money but the three of us girls had a great time! We got back in just enough time to relax a bit and then watch Greg race. Since it was cold I kept B in the Toter and she was not happy about that. She kept going to the door and screaming. So Grandma Jane (feeling sorry for B) went and bought her a headband to cover her ears, put her big jacket on her, and wrapped her in a blanket to take her outside. Brinley loved it! Like I said she loves to be outdoors, no matter the temperature!

Taking a bath in the Toter Home

Greg  was in the last qualifier to try to get into the A Main. He started second row outside (4th). They were only taking the top 3 cars to the A Main. He finished 5th. Missed it by 2 spots. But he drove a heck of a race and I am proud of what he did. It was great experience for him and I am sure we will be back. We had a great weekend and a wonderful start to the 2011 race season!

GO TEAM BURT!!

Here are  few videos of Greg racing. They aren't the best but hey, I'm not a professional!

Practice on Thursday Night

(view from turns 3 and 4)

Heat Race on Friday night

(view from front straight-a-way)

B Feature on Friday night

(view from back straight-a-way)

Getting Ready...

...for the 1st race of the season!!
(WARNING..Picture Overload)
This weekend!!! I can't wait. We will be at the Dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway!!!
Things are finally coming together. Last month we got a Toter home. Essentially it is a Motor home that we will be pulling our race car trailer with. It will be so nice having this because we can all ride together and won't have to pay for a motel room. Here are a few pictures!!! (Remember that we are tryng to stock up for a trip so excuse the mess please)

with the slide-out out

this is the race car trailer that we will be pulling behind the Toter

looking to the back from the cab (Greg is in the bathroom fixing the shower head)

from the bathroom looking to the front of the truck

Greg took his car to get lettered (numbers and sponsors put on) last weekend. He went on Saturday to get it back. I love it. Usually he puts the body of the car on in the color that he wants and then has the graphics, numbers, and sponsors added. This year he decided to have wrap put on. One big piece of vinyl that has everything printed on it. It looks AWESOME!! Probably my fav car to date!

the nose piece

grandstand view (Greg was working on it so the rear tires are not on)

drivers side view

Brinley loves to be out in the shop with her daddy. She is always in her walker going as fast as she can. She loves to run into things and watch what her dad is doing! I have a feeling she is going to be a daddy's girl. At least I will be able to keep the house if she is out in the shop making a mess of her daddy's tools! HA

Such a happy girl!

Love this face!