5 months old!

Dear Brooke,

What a wonderful 5 months this has been! Mommy & Daddy are still having a blast with our favorite girl! You keep amazing us by doing one "big girl" thing after another, like drinking from a sippy cup and sitting up completely unassisted. You started eating food this month and you're doing really well with it; you gobble up oatmeal and a veggie twice a day. So many things have changed this month; here's what you've like and not liked this month:

Favorites

Drinking from a Glass/Cup - This is your absolute favorite thing to do right now! Both of your Grandpas introduced you to drinking ice water out of a glass (and they were both willing to continue drinking their water, even with your backwash in it - that's love!) We think you like the cold glass against your gums. You even grab for the glass with your chubby little hands and pull it to your mouth (more like yank it there.) You drink feverishly, too. We've recently started giving you juice and water out of a sippy cup. It's amazing that you're able to drink from it at your age, but you do it very well!

Peek-a-Boo - You adore playing peek-a-boo. While you enjoy the traditional cover-up-the-face kind, you especially like it when someone just turns their head and then whips back around and says "Boo!" You go crazy for this. It's one of the easiest ways to get you to laugh.

Your Toes - You discovered your toes this week and they are your new best buds. You are surprisingly flexible enough to get them to your mouth to eat them (and I say surprisingly because both Mommy & Daddy failed the sit-and-reach tests in gym class in grade school.) Just today you started sucking on your big toe - it had Mommy laughing so hard! Your feet are an instant toy for you. Whenever we come into your room in the morning, the first thing we see peeking out the top of the crib are two feet in the air with two tiny hands playing with them.

Cell Phones - And so it begins. This was inevitable - you have a Daddy that loves electronics and a Mommy that loves to talk. Of course you're going to like cell phones! You mostly love to stare at the bright lights and try to get it to your mouth. A few times we've held it up to your ear while someone talked to you on the other end; your eyes get really wide and you turn your head to try to find the voice - so cute!

Sophie the Giraffe - Sophie is a new friend that we got for you this month. She's a squeaky little rubber giraffe, the perfect size for your little hands, and you love to eat her! She tastes like a balloon (Mommy tried it), but you don't seem to mind. You can easily get her in your mouth and you just chew away.

Giggling - You think it's hysterical when other people laugh. It then causes you to giggle, which delights you even further. Grandma just bought you a little doll that giggles and it brings a huge smile to your face.

Not-so-Favorites

Your Infant Car Seat - Frankly, you just don't fit in your infant car seat anymore. The straps are on their loosest setting and just barely fit over your shoulders. Also, when you fall asleep in it, your head now hangs to one side or the other. Luckily for you, Big Lady, we just installed your new big girl car seat today (and it's so big, Mommy's dubbed it your "princess throne".)

Laying Down - For a while now, you've been doing ab crunches when we lay you on the floor. You pick up your head and shoulders as if you want to sit up. Now that you've had a taste of what it's like to sit up, laying down is just not your thing. Which is why you no longer enjoy....

Your Playmat - You are not very content laying under the playmat anymore. Having to lay down with toys dangling over top of you that you can easily reach but can't pull to your mouth to eat is just not your idea of fun. We've sat you next to it so you could grab the hanging bugs (which are then at eye level) and you seem to be okay with this. But for the most part, it's too baby-ish for you.

Prunes - I think the video summed it up perfectly. You are not a fan of prunes one bit!

We couldn't be prouder that you're our daughter, Miss Brooke. You truly light up our world. Daddy loves to see that big grin of yours when you first realize he's home from work; you smile so big because your favorite playmate is finally home. And Mommy cherishes the time we spend in the rocking chair at night, right before you go to bed, when you just snuggle deep into my shoulder with your bunny. We each have a special bond with you that we promise will never go away. Love you to pieces, honey!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Obsession.

Hello. My name is Sarah and I'm obsessed with my child. Altogether now: "Hi Sarah."

We're talking major obsession. In my opinion, this child walks on water. Everything she does is adorable/hysterical/incredibly precious. I mean, how could you not love this face?

I love being with her all of the time. Almost. I can't lie, there are times, though rare they may be, when she tests my patience. She gets me worked up on occasion. I even pass her off to Daddy and go to another floor of the house to have a breather now and then. But 98% of the time I can't get enough of her.

She fascinates the heck out of me. It's the craziest thing; each day she becomes less and less of a baby and more and more like a big girl. She learns how to do new things, makes new sounds, and discovers new body parts to play with (she found her toes this week and now they are BFF's.) I'm filled with so much pride, as if I had anything to do with her learning how to blow raspberries with her mouth (a new fave for her.) I know many parents are overwhelmed with sadness at the thought of their child growing up too fast as they hit each milestone; not me. I'm super-excited each time she does something new - it means she's blossoming, plus it leaves me feeling confident in my parenting abilities.

So she does all of these "big girl" things....and then she gets tired and just needs to cuddle with her Mommy and her pappy and I'm reminded that, while she's the size of a 1-year-old, she's still a teeny baby. Like I said, it's a crazy thing.

A crazy thing that I'm obsessed with. Motherhood - I can't get enough of it.

Which is probably why I'm jealous of every pregnant woman I see now. No joke, I was green with envy at Babies R Us today. I can't wait to give Brooke a sibling. (Scratch that. I can wait and I will wait because having another this soon would be crazy and my head knows this. But that doesn't mean my heart wants to wait.) Now that I've seen how fantastic Brooke is and how ridiculously happy I am as her Mommy, I'm so excited to have some more.

(I'll stop rambling now. Was there a coherent idea to this blog post? Not sure... I blame the Riesling I had at dinner. The husband and I had a date night tonight, complete with 4 courses and wine at P.F. Changs sans the babe. Delightful. I may be obsessed with her and want to be with her all the time, but sometimes a girl needs to eat a meal hot and with both hands. And a little wine to go with it is just icing on the cake.)

Yum-O!

Guess who loves sweet potatoes? I'm pretty sure she's going to love everything we give her; anything is better than bland cereal! Brooke has become such a good eater lately. It took a few weeks for her to understand how the spoon works in her mouth, but she's a pro now. It makes feedings go much faster (and by faster I mean it takes 15 mins vs. 30 to eat a tiny amount.) We're going to introduce a new veggie every 4 days (the pediatrician's recommendation to watch for food allergies). On Friday's menu: squash!

1st Road Trip :)

Brooke successfully survived her first road trip. She not only survived but gets a medal for being an angel. Two 4-hour car trips, a crazy feeding schedule, and a night in a pack n' play all within 36 hours should have a been a recipe for disaster. Not for my Big Lady! She handled it all so well and had a great time with her crazy cousins. The adorable photo above is from Sunday morning at the hotel; all the girls brought their "company" on the trip - you can't see Brooke's, but she brought her bunny and her new Minnie Mouse :) The bridal shower was wonderful and the bride-to-be got a lot of great stuff. Everyone commented on how calm and well-behaved Brooke was. She really was so good (not surprising, as she usually is!) We all had a wonderful weekend, though I'd venture a guess that the adults are more worn out from it than the kids.

I must say, packing for this road trip was a PRODUCTION! We were gone only 36 hours and yet it took me all of Friday night to get ready for it. Babies require A LOT of stuff. They are so unpredictable that you pretty much just have to pack everything they own for just-in-case situations. For example, she pooped through the outfit she was wearing in the first 3 hours of the trip. So on top of the multiple outfits I packed (including 2 fancy dresses for the shower in case she pooped/puked on the 1st before we got to the party), I bet I took a dozen bibs, 20 diapers, 8 burp cloths, enough cereal for a week, and what felt like a million toys. She had her own suitcase on top of the regular diaper bag. And when I unpack her bag tomorrow (nope, still haven't done it - I told you, worn out!) I bet more than half of what I packed will be removed clean & unused. I'm a horrible overpacker (got it from my Dad) and evidently that rings true with baby-packing as well!

I'm still exhausted, so this lady is off to bed. I'll leave you with a pic of Brooke at the shower - such a sweet girl!
p.s. Happy Anniversary to the husband! 2 years have flown by, haven't they? Love you :)

Still here...

I promise we're still around, still alive. We're just busy. And this weekend is just as busy, as the whole family is heading north (the girls for Brooke's soon-to-be-Aunt Sarah's bridal shower and Daddy for a bachelor party.) So, you'll have to patiently wait for more of my witty stories about my precious little one just a few more days. I've got lots to say, trust me. (For example, remember this post about tact and pregnant women? Turns out people don't have any when it comes to babies either.) Have a great weekend!

Intuition.

This beautiful little girl here helped teach her mother a valuable lesson today: always trust my "Mommy's intuition".

Brooke's been a hot mess this week. On top of her digestive issues, which, by the sounds of her screams and cries, have been painful in and of themselves, she's had several other symptoms to deal with: slight fever, ear-tugging, loss of appetite, etc. While these are typical teething symptoms, they're also classic ear infection signs. So all of it prompted me to call the pediatrician this morning, mostly to get ideas of things to try for her belly. After talking to the nurse about everything, I decided to take her in and have her ears checked and discuss her belly.

Well I'm so glad I did. Her ears are clear - no ear infection. However, after examining her belly, the pediatrician decided that she doesn't think it's constipation; rather, she thinks she has some other gastro-intestinal issue, in addition to some minor dehydration. Had I not taken her in and figured this out, we might have continued doing things to help "move things along" which would have only made her more uncomfortable. So instead, we're going to keep an eye on her and add a few ounces of juice to her daily fluid intake.

I can't tell you how happy I am we got her checked out; gave both Mommy and Daddy peace of mind that it's not something more, something we weren't prepared to handle.

Oh and p.s. She was weighed today while we were there. 21 lbs 3.6 oz, folks. (In all fairness, this was with a sleeper and onesie on; usually they weigh her in just a diaper. So she's probably hovering around 21 even.) The pediatrician couldn't believe I was still carrying her around in her infant seat. (On that note, we have to start shopping around for a big girl car seat because the limit on our infant seat is 22 lbs. Better get a move on, I guess! I'll talk about how sad it is that my infant has to get a big girl car seat before she's even 5 months old in another post....too tired to tackle that now.)

Fruit #1.

Brooke has been having a bit of a, um, digestive issue this week. Let's just say I would welcome an explosion right now, because that would mean she's been, um, relieved (there's no polite way to talk about this.) Poor baby girl, her belly is such a mess. In an attempt to get things moving, we introduced her to her very first fruit today - prunes. They went over about as well as can be expected. I'm sure it tasted about as good as it smelled and looked. (And no, I'm not going to be one of those mothers that tastes all her baby's food so she knows what they're eating. Certainly not the gross ones. Maybe I'll try peaches or bananas or something...)

Her reaction to each bite was too funny. She shivered and made the most hysterical disgusted face with each bite, yet the little goofball continued to let me put the spoon in her mouth. It may not look like it, but she did get about a tablespoon or two in. Fingers crossed that it helps, because I'd hate to have to feed her more!