This SAHM says TGIF.

Who says stay-at-home mom's can't look forward to the weekend? When I said to the husband yesterday "I'm so glad tomorrow's Friday," he acted as though I had no real reason to be excited for it. After all, I don't work so all my days are the same, right?

Let me tell you why I'm so excited it's Friday. Weekends mean an extra set of hands at home. Weekends mean seeing friends and family we don't always get to see. They mean either lots of activities or lazy days as a family. They mean extra sleep because Daddy can take her in the morning. But most importantly, weekends mean Brooke gets to spend extra time with her Daddy. He doesn't miss the smiles and the laughs (and, at the same time, the poo-splosions and spit-ups) that Mommy gets during the day (her happiest and most active time.)

On a completely unrelated note, here's Brooke's first adventure in an exersaucer. This is at Grandma's house; she still hasn't used ours. But look what a big girl she is now! She had fun in here, though I didn't let her stay in too long as her neck control, while freakishly awesome, isn't that great. But we're looking forward to being able to have more fun in this soon!

"Look at me, Mom! I'm such a big girl!"

"If I concentrate hard enough, maybe these things will spin on their own since I haven't figured out how to do it yet."

Nine Weeks.

The Big Lady is fantastic this week. She's still sleeping like a champion most days. She has recovered from Monday's vaccines and we're slowly getting back on our schedule. Morning playtime is the best part of my day. I think Brooke's favorite part of the day is when Daddy gets home from work and they chat and play. It lasts about 20 minutes before she gets angry and starts her usual evening fussy time. Fussy or not, we just adore this kid more and more as the minutes roll on.

I have a million nicknames for this child now, don't ask why. Each day I come up with something new; they're all so fitting. I thought I'd make a list, mostly so Brooke will know the origin of these names if she grows up thinking her name is, in fact, "Big Lady" or "Mama". (Or so she has proof for her future therapist of just how crazy her mom has been since she was born...) Let's see, we have: Big Lady, Big Mama, just Mama, Ladybug which sometimes morphs into Buggy (fitting for my nature girl, don't ya think?), Mommy's Girl, Pretty Lady, Poop Monster, and the latest - Drool Queen (we go through so many bibs a day...)

Below are some of my favorite pictures from the week:

Her bib is always cocked to the right like this. She thinks she's ghetto. That's her gang sign.

Brooke's spot at the dinner table at Grandma & Grandpa Reeder's :)

Airplane with Mommy. A fun game for Brooke, exercise for Mom.

Brooke's best buddy: the previously mentioned flower carseat toy.

Wow, Brooke wore that bib a lot this week. Note to self: rotate bibs.

Trip to the doctor.

Brooke had her 2 month doctor's appt this morning. She's weighing in at a killer 15 lbs 4 oz. She grew half an inch, up to 24.75 in. Her head size is now 16.75 in, up 3/4 of an inch, meaning her head grew more than she did this month! When the doctor came in, she jokingly asked how my 4-month old was doing. No concern whatsoever on her size. And for all you skeptics out there thinking "That child is way too big! She must be feeding her too much!", let me quote the doctor for you: "You can't overfeed a breastfed baby. Your body won't produce more milk than she can handle and needs." So there.

Guess who's still off the growth charts. See that red dot down there? That's the 50th percentile, average size of a 2 month old at about 11 lbs. The curve at the top is the 97th percentile, around 13 1/2 lbs. See the purple dot? Yeah, that's Brooke. Wahhh wahhh!

Anyway, as the doctor was examining her "perfectly proportioned" body, she unsnapped the diaper to take a look at her, um, girl parts. She proceeded to count the rolls of fat around her legs and that area. (Apparently they need to have an equal number of rolls on each side. I kid you not, folks, this is an actual part of the exam.) So she gets to 5 and says "I think that's the most rolls I've ever counted on a baby." Go ahead, laugh at my little girl some more. Are you done? Ok, then let's continue. Otherwise, she's fit as a fiddle. She was talking and laughing so much during the exam that it took awhile for the doctor to listen to her heart. God bless the pediatrician though, she didn't try to quiet her down once - in fact, she encouraged the cooing.

Then the sad part happened: the 2 month vaccines. Oh, how bright red and angry her little face got when they stuck her! She got shots in both legs, but luckily they have 2 nurses do it at the same time so it's all done at once. She was so terribly sad for a few minutes, sadder than I've ever seen her. I picked her up as soon as they'd let me and just cuddled her with her pacifier for about 10 minutes before leaving the room. She fell asleep in her carseat on the way home and is still sleeping there now, 2 hours later. I imagine it'll be a sleepy/fussy day. I'm going to give her all the cuddling she wants today to make up for letting them hurt her!

2 months old :)

Dear Brooke,

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you, baby girl! You've grown so much this month and are such a ham now. We love your gorgeous smile and nothing warms our hearts like the sound of your sweet voice. And boy do you love to use it! Oh, and those cheeks - it's impossible to hold you and not kiss them incessantly. Looking at photos of you from one month ago, it's amazing to see how much you've grown, both physically and developmentally. These are a few of your favorite and not-so-favorite things this month:

Favorites

Your Swing - Now that you can see and focus on the little things that dangle down from it, your swing is one of your favorite pasttimes. You love to stare up at the little bug that dangles down, as well as, oddly enough, the pivot point on the side (possibly a sign that we have a future engineer like Daddy on our hands?) You coo and giggle and kick your little legs while you swing. Though, like everything else, you only last about 10-15 minutes before you're bored.

Bugs - Because your Mommy didn't want to overwhelm you with animals on all of your things, several of our toys have bugs on them (butterflies and beetles and such.) And you love them! They literally make you giddy. Are you going to be a nature girl? You didn't get that from your Mommy...

Your Flower Carseat Toy - This toy has become a lifesaver. You aren't a fan of being in the car, but this little toy delights you. It sings and the flower lights up when you pull on the dangling bug (another bug, shocking.) Mommy and Daddy have the 5 or so songs that are on a loop memorized already, after only a couple of weeks.

Old McDonald's Farm - "With an oink-oink here, and an oink-oink there..." This song is by far your favorite. Mommy sings it to you daily and you love to sing along. Sometimes we sing so long that Mommy runs out of animals!

Talking - You love to hear yourself talk, a trait you definitely get from your Mommy. Sometimes the sounds that come out of your mouth surprise all of us, even you.

Not-So-Favorites

Tummy Time - Not many babies like tummy time, and you're no exception. It's a lot of work having to lift your head and shoulders. You're a big girl, after all. But you do it so, so well, Mama (Don't be confused; Mama is just another one of Mommy's nicknames for you. Yep, your Mommy is a strange ranger.) If you're in a good mood and we lay on the floor with you, you can last up to 10 minutes doing it. We're trying to come up with alternative exercises that simulate this without you having to actually be on the big belly.

Bellyaches - Your poor little tummy is still strugglin'. When you start to get stiff and grunty, we know it's because your belly is a-rumblin'. Mylicon and certain squatting positions seem to help, but it's heartbreaking to watch you get so sad.

Outfit Changes - If it were up to you, you'd stay a Nudie Judy 24/7. You just don't like having to get your clothes changed. And, unfortunately for all of us, you sometimes explode through your clothes multiple times a day. After the 2nd day in a row of ridiculous, throw-the-onesie-away explosions, we've upped your diaper size. Hopefully this will help minimize the # of changes, munchkin.

Fleece - Being hot is just not your thing, so fleece clothing gets a big fat No Thanks from you. When you get too hot (usually in your carseat and typically when we're nowhere near our final destination when we can get you out), you start flailing about and this only makes matters worse. Talk about a sweaty mess! It may be cold outside, but fleece is just out of the question for you.

Hiccups - You hated them in the womb, so it's no surprise you hate them now.

Mommy and Daddy adore watching you grow each and every day. We're so in love with you, Miss Brooke. Happy 2 months, Ladybug!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Nightly chats.

As promised, here's one of the nightly daddy-daughter conversations had on Kingsport. So delightful. They have serious chats, full of political banter and economic debates. No? Ok, fine, she's not that advanced. Maybe they're about diaper explosions, bubble-blowing, and tummy time.

She already knows most of the chorus to NKOTB's The Right Stuff. "Oh oh o-o-oh, oh oh o-oh...." (If you're not singing this song in your head right now - or out loud, if you're a true fan - you didn't grow up in the late 80's/early 90's.)

Eight Weeks.

Eight weeks feels like a big milestone, though I'm not sure why. The Big Lady is doing so well this week! She's finally sleeping through the night most nights. (According to "the books", STTN officially means 5+ hour stretches at a time. Brooke's hit 6 and 7 hour stretches this week.) She's got herself on a pretty killer schedule, which is so funny to me as I didn't influence it a bit. It's quite nice for me, as I can now anticipate having a little time to myself to get things done. Her little digestive system wakes her up every morning; she grunts and jerks around throughout the night and then gets it all out in the morning. Poor thing. We change outfits with almost every poop now, which is causing a Great Debate in our house - is it time to move to size 3's (ridiculous for this age, right? There is such a thing as too big/loose!) or is this just what babies do (I'm leaning this way...)?

Doctor's appt on Monday for official weight/height, but we are definitely over 15 lbs now. She'll get her immunizations at this appt, so Mommy's preparing herself for heartbreak. We were brave with the last one; we'll see how this goes. I'm going to give her Tylenol before the appt so it can kick in by the time they stick her. I'm interested to hear what the pediatrician thinks of her size this time. Will we get another "Holy Smokes!" or perhaps something even more graphic?

Brooke is acting much older this week, what with all her conversations and facial expressions. She's growing up right before our weary eyes (yes, you read that right.) Two months old on Sunday :)

"Hey Bug. Tummy Time is boring. Want to have a staring contest?" "I'm going to drool through this game; it's my distraction technique."

"Ready, set, go! You don't stand a chance, Bug."

"Haha, I win! Victory is sweet. Better luck next time, Bug."

Baby jeans.

Jeans for babies. They elicit gleeful squeals from this Mom. In the words of Rachel Zoe, I die. (Oh, you don't watch The Rachel Zoe Project on Oxygen? Well, you should. Right after you stop judging me for watching - scratch that - DVRing it.) Gymboree, I love you and your baby jeans.