Brooke-o.

I'm not a nickname fan. Just not my thing. I chose a name for my child that doesn't easily lend itself to nicknames, after all. Other than my own quirky nicknames for her (Big Lady, Mama, Ladybug, etc.) very few people have nicknamed Brooke. With the exception of her cousins. Out of the blue one day, her cousin Molly started calling her Brooke-o. And it stuck like glue. "Brooke-o" this and "Brooke-o" that. Honestly, I find it endearing.

My sister's 2 little girls ADORE my little girl. They think Brooke is the bee's knees. They get so excited to see her. And Brooke lights up when she sees them, too. They love to talk to her, sing to her, and shower her with hugs and kisses (though Claire just gives her air kisses, as if she's afraid to really touch her,) and Brooke just eats it all up. They already have the sweetest relationship and that thrills me. Molly & Claire are preparing for a baby brother or sister of their own - and what great big sisters they will be!

Especially Miss Molly. She spent a few hours at our house tonight and was very helpful. She made sure Brooke had toys to play with at all times (the ones she wasn't playing with herself), helped me bathe her (well, really she just wanted to play with Brooke's bath toys), and even watched Elmo with her (you know, because Brooke really wanted to watch it.) All in all, it was great having a real "big girl" around tonight.

p.s. Speaking of cousins, Happy Half-Birthday to Brooke's cousin Owen! We can't wait to have him back stateside to spend some time with all the girls!

23 Weeks.

Brooke is 23 weeks old. I know what you're thinking: "23 weeks? Who cares? That's an oddball occasion to celebrate." And I'd agree with you most of the time. But in this 23rd week of life, our little woman decided to grow the heck up. She got old this week, my friends. How so?

~She now has 2, count em, TWO teeth! I tried my very best to capture it in a photo (do you have any idea how hard it is to get a 5-month-old to open her mouth long enough to snap a picture?) You can kinda see the first tooth (the one on the left) but the 2nd has just barely broken through the gum.

~She has decided she wants to roll both ways now. She has conquered getting over that second arm to roll from back to belly, which is now her favorite way to go. She especially likes to do it in her bed, which then makes her angry because she can't fall asleep on her belly...yet.

~She can now drink from a straw. This is huge. And very beneficial to her, though she doesn't even know it yet. It means she'll get even more sips of Mommy's water while we're out and about.

~She scoots backwards. She'll go across the room if you let her, though she's not thrilled about doing it. She still doesn't like being on the tummy all that much.

~She helps me sort the mail. Ok, well not really, but it was funny to watch her throw the ValPak coupons everywhere.

~She has started rocking on her hands and knees - could we be in the beginning stages of crawling already? Sheesh!

~She wears 2-piece jammies now. I realize this isn't a developmental milestone or anything, but she looks so old in them! And as the jammies say, she is one in a million!

Worries.

Is she going to be cold with the thermostat at 69? Should I go down and turn it up to 70? What will I feed her for breakfast tomorrow? Is she getting enough to eat now that she's on solids? Should I be giving her more breastmilk? Will she start to hate veggies if I introduce more fruits? When was the last time she pooped? Wait, did she just grunt or was that something else? Is she waking up again? If I feed her now, when do I think she'll get up again? If she gets up by X o'clock, will she have enough time for a morning nap before we have to leave? If I get up an hour before that, will she sleep long enough for me to shower? Did I turn the monitor off downstairs before I came up? Did I pack enough diapers in the diaper bag for the whole day tomorrow? Oh crap, did she just grunt again? Did I remember to wash her pink pajamas in that load of baby laundry I did today? When is her next doctor's appointment? Will she still be way off the charts? Should we be concerned she's so far off the charts? Did I put her teething ring back in the fridge for tomorrow? When is that second tooth going to pop up? Do I know where the Baby Orajel is in case she needs it in the middle of the night? OK, that was definitely a grunt. How long should I let her cry before I go in?

...and it goes on and on.

This is why I can't go right to sleep at night. This is why I can't fall right back to sleep after getting up with her each of the 6 times she's up during the night. This is why I go up to bed at 9:30 and am still awake at 11 when the husband comes to bed. I'm constantly thinking, wondering about all things Brooke. She is my first and last thought of every day and a significant majority of the ones in between. When I was pregnant, no one told me I'd spend my whole day worrying about her well-being and if I'm doing an okay job parenting her. It's constant.

Does the husband have this problem, too? Doubtful. The man is asleep within 60 seconds of his head hitting one of his 4 pillows (yes, that's right, the man that gave me so much crap about all my pillows when I was pregnant now sleeps with 4.) It's not because he doesn't care, but because he knows I'll take care of all of it. I'm the mom - it's my job. And, frankly, I love that he trusts that I'll take care of it all.

But that's not to say I wouldn't mind one worry-free night's sleep now and again. Surely it'll happen one day, right? I know, I know, not likely. Because I know for a fact that my mom still worries about all of us...and now her grandkids, too. I wonder if "When was the last time Brooke pooped?" is in her thoughts as she tries to fall asleep...

(p.s. The pic above is the aftermath of a teething meltdown, hence the wet eyes. Love this picture of my pretty girl with her hazel eyes and long eyelashes - she gets those from her Daddy.)

Not yet a fishie.

So my daughter enjoys the bath now. She can sit up by herself (though she does slip around a bit so we keep our hands super close) and loves to play with her duck and octopus toys. I mean, look at this face, water dripping down it and all. Could she be any happier?

But then there's the pool, this giant expanse of water with loud fountains and giant inflatable whales and rambunctious kids freshly out of school for the summer. Our little munchkin sooo does not like the pool yet. We took her to the Family Pool Party down at the Rec this weekend and she was not having it! She lost it the second we sat her in the super shallow part. I think it was partly due to the cold water and partly because she felt very insecure. When I picked her up, she clung on for dear life. I took her out into the deeper water and got most of her body in the water to keep her warm and she seemed to handle that okay, but did not want to go to anyone else. I think it's going to take some serious getting used to for her to enjoy the pool. (Doesn't surprise anyone that she isn't a fish yet; both her parents are reluctant around water.) Fishie or not, she looked a-dor-a-ble!

Oh and did you notice I said "I" took her out into the water? That's right, I went in the pool. I wore a bathing suit. In front of people. A lot of people. First time in years (aside from the FL trip in Sept when I was 6 mos. pregnant and couldn't care less if my sister, BFF, and FL strangers saw me in a suit.) Why? Well, because I have decided that I cannot deprive my child(ren) of summers at the pool and beach vacations just because I have insecurities. That, and it's much easier to be happy with myself in a suit these days. I am now 50 lbs lighter than the day I gave birth, which also happens to be 25 lbs less than the day I got married. I've said it before and I'll say it again - breastfeeding is a beautiful thing.

(Try not to stare directly at me. My pasty white skin might blind you. I haven't had a tan since 2008, my last pregnant-free summer.)

30 minutes.

I'm such a fool.

I went ahead and posted all about Brooke's new tooth and how there were no signs of teething, no drooling, no fussiness, yada yada yada. And then BAM! We've been attacked by the all-time fussiest child ever. OK, well that's probably a tad dramatic. I'm sure there have been fussier children in history. But when she just sits there bawling for no reason it certainly doesn't feel that way. I guess there is a reason - there's something sharp jutting through her gums; I don't remember how it feels, but I can imagine it blows big time.

I'd be willing to bet this fun crying-out-every-45-mins game we've been playing each night for the past bazillion nights is all thanks to her new tooth (and its imminent incisor buddies that I'm sure will be joining us anytime now.) Did I mention how much fun this game has been? Pardon my language, but Brooke's mommy is flippin' exhausted. And, frankly, so is she, which is also contributing to the fussiness. She is the queen of 30-minute naps. Her Highness herself. No joke, 30 mins and she's done. She's happily in dreamland at 29:59 and then, as soon as her internal clock switches over to 30:00, her eyes pop wide open. The girl has incredible timing. She must have a 30-min REM cycle or something. Needless to say, 30 minutes is just not enough. On rare occasion she can be coaxed into going back to sleep, but it's rare. Sigh.

When she's not being crab-tastic, Brooke is getting cuter by the day. She's such a ham, loving when Mommy plays paparazzi. Here are a few pics of her in her oh-so-yummy pear dress. The second one is mid-laugh and I love it. Also, thanks to my new camera, when you zoom in really far, you can see her budding little tooth! The last one is from the park - our daredevil loves to swing! Enjoy!

Sophie & a tooth.

First, let me start by saying (or, rather, yelling) GUESS WHO HAS HER FIRST TOOTH! I felt it this morning as she was gnawing on my knuckle. Something sharp poked me and I thought "Well that can't be a tooth." She hasn't been drooling, isn't very fussy, and has shown zero signs of teething. Not to mention the fact that the husband and I were late teethers and it's a hereditary thing (or so I'm told.) Well, after struggling to see her bottom gums myself (her tongue instantly hid the gum when I put my fingers in her mouth,) I enlisted the help of my mom. It only took the seasoned mother-of-6 half a second to separate her tongue and gums so we could see it. And sure enough, her first little tooth has popped up! She has never seemed older to me than she does today!

Ironically, this happened on the same day I was going to post a photo of Brooke going to town on her buddy Sophie the Giraffe. This little rubber buddy of hers provides endless chewing entertainment. It's not a fancy or even modern toy; it has been around forever and, evidently, is all the rage in Europe. As its popularity is not as rampant state-side, I had to order it online for Brooke after reading about it. And she LOVES it. Seeing as she's now most definitely teething (I still can't believe it...) I'm sure she'll be munching on her more often.

Weekend in Pictures.

It was a very fun and eventful long weekend for the Reeders. Here's a taste of what we did. (Prepare yourself for picture-overload. There are some really cute ones and, according to the husband, I owe my readers quite a few.)

We took a very hot walk, like 87-degrees hot, and Miss Brooke was dressed for the occasion. She loves taking walks. We brought along a sippy cup of icy juice to keep her hydrated.

Brooke discovered her German roots this weekend with a liter at the Hofbrauhaus. Not surprisingly, she ADORED the giant, cold mugs. She wanted to take a drink in the worst way. She even danced up on the benches with her Grandma.
This one is my absolute favorite. It's bigger than her head.
These are the infamous ab crunches I've mentioned before. She does this the instant you lay her down; makes diaper changes a little more difficult.

Just being cute during our 5-month photo shoot. Loves those toes.

Brooke attended her first Memorial Day parade, a family tradition. I've missed very few since I was a kid (one of which was the day we left on our honeymoon.) She seemed to enjoy the whole thing, especially the music.

Someone was a little tuckered out from all the excitement. This is also the very last time she rode in her infant car seat. See how her feet stick out the end?

Hello, Big Girl car seat! Here's our princess in her throne.

Apparently the big toe tastes the best :)

Hope your holiday weekend was as fun as ours!