Snack time!

Brooke and I love snack time! She has a bottle around 2:00 and doesn't eat dinner until after 6, so a snack is in order in the middle somewhere. She loves it and I enjoy the time-filler (because I typically run out of ideas for entertainment by this point in the day.) Snack time has become even easier now that Brooke has mastered the pincher grasp, i.e. picking up small bites with her thumb and index finger. She can now help herself to puffs, fruit, etc. While she eats, we typically have chats and play peek-a-boo and all that jazz (or Mommy starts dinner, but, if I'm being honest, this is a rarity.) Love, love snack time!

This video also shows how much Brooke adores her Daddy. His arrival after work often coincides with snack time, so it's seriously her favorite time of day. Right around the 1:08 mark, you'll hear the door open and see the complete elation on my daughter's face when she sees her Daddy. She just goes crazy every time he comes home - such a beautiful thing. Enjoy!

Little goofball.

My daughter is a nut. Seriously. A weirdo. A hilarious little ball of crazy. She is one of the goofiest kids I've ever met. (From whom could she have gotten this silly & sassy personality? It's a mystery.) She makes me laugh a bazillion times a day. She's a certifiable loon. I give you the evidence:

Exhibit A - She crawls around the house with a turtle bath toy in her mouth. Oh, you couldn't tell it was a turtle? Maybe that's because his ENTIRE HEAD is in her mouth. She literally crawls around like this like it's no big thing.

Exhibit B - She loves to stand on the A/C vent and let the air blow up her dress.

Exhibit C - She will wedge herself in between the fireplace and her house to play with the empty toy basket, rather than the hundreds of toys she has spewed all around our family room. It looks like Geoffrey the Giraffe threw up in this place, I swear. Yet she goes straight for the non-toys. I'm going to get her an empty wipes container and some plastic hangers for Christmas.

Exhibit D - She shoves a third of a banana in her mouth, whole. And then proceeds to chew the whole thing up for the next 3 minutes. (This is either evidence that she's a goofball or that she has a big mouth/likes to eat. I think her thigh rolls are proof enough of the latter.)

I need a nap.

It has been a ROUGH 36 hours up in this joint. It all started with a craptacular night for the Big Lady. Well, really, it was hell for all of us. Brooke's body has decided to rebel against her transition from breastmilk to formula. Not sure if it's formula in general or the type of formula I'm giving her, but she is one gassy gal! On top of that, the husband and I are a mess. Our allergies have started a "Say No to Fall" campaign and, as a result, we are both a big, fat, coughing, snotty mess. (Add snot to the ever-growing list of bodily fluids I'm not afraid to blog about.) So when Brooke decided she wanted to wake up at 1:45 and then stay up until 3:45, we all suffered.

Now when I say she was "up", I don't really mean she was awake that whole time. I was, she wasn't. She didn't, like, cry for 2 hours straight. Trust me, if she had, the husband would be blogging about this right now because I would have checked myself into a padded room at the hospital. (And that would be tragic, because the husband isn't nearly as witty as I am.) She's not one of those kids that cries endlessly- thank GOD. Here's how it goes with her: she cries out, I go in and give her the pacifier & rub her back until she falls back asleep, I tiptoe out, climb into bed, and 5 seconds after I get comfortable she cries out again. Repeat. For hours. Sometimes she gets so worked up that she stands up and reaches those chubby arms up for me to pick her up. And, sometimes, I do. Because I'm a sucker for those big now-brown eyes. When that happens, I sit and rock her back to sleep, then stealthily transfer her back to bed (as stealthily as one can when one has to literally drop her into bed because it's so low to the ground.) This has about a 25% success rate; most of the time she pops back up and we start all over.

I promise this is as painful as it sounds. And sometimes it goes on forever, as it did then. So as I'm up and down messing with her, getting no sleep in between, I'm also hacking up a lung and trying to figure out how to breathe. Hot mess, folks.

Somehow - I'm still not sure how - we survived the night. I knew that the day was going to be just plain awesome. And it was. I spilled formula all over the kitchen floor. Brooke peed on the carpet mid-diaper change. (This was actually hilarious. She wiggled away from me while I dealt with her smelly diaper. Before I could pull her back to get a new diaper on, I noticed she was sitting in a puddle. I was laughing so hard, I didn't have the strength to lift her pee-soaked body. So as the husband begrudgingly picked her up, shouting "This is why we don't have pets!", I was racing up the stairs in a fit of giggles to get the bath started.) Basically, I was in a fog all day. The lovely, whine-filled day was capped off by craptacular night number 2 last night. Same 2+ hour fight to get her back to sleep. Same groggy, foggy Mommy today. And poor Daddy's not doing much better.

Needless to say, we could all use a nap.

Shadow.

Brooke went to the doctor on Monday (to have her hoarse voice issue checked out - we're going to reevaluate at her 9 month appt.) She weighed in at 26 lbs 10 oz., the 50th percentile for - wait for it - a 2 year old. A toddler. Not surprisingly, my 8-month-old now officially outweighs her 2 year old cousin.

Take a moment to let that sink in.

OK, let's proceed. So Brooke heard "size of a 2 year old" and decided that gave her permission to act like one. That's right, we have entered the Terrible Two's in this house. Or at least it feels that way. The Big Lady now has a temper. Sigh. Trust me when I say I'm working feverishly to quell this behavior before it gets out of hand. Meltdowns are not well-received. Because she's so mobile now (more on that in a minute,) we're constantly chasing her around and pulling her away from things she's not allowed to be into. She does not appreciate this. At this age, she doesn't yet understand boundaries, so I think consistency is key. If we're consistent in what we allow her to play with, she'll eventually learn...or at least that's what I keep telling myself. It's just going to be a battle of wills.

Our day has become one giant game of shadow. Either she's following me around, hoping to get ahold of whatever I have or whining for me to pick her up, or I'm tailing her, making sure she's not getting into trouble. Because if I don't tail her, I end up having to say things like "Brooke, let's not use the toilet to stand ourselves up" or "Brooke, the trash can is not a toy." Or I'll find her climbing up the stairs or trying to eat the curtains. I try really hard to strike a balance between hovering and letting her be independent. If what she wants to play with is harmless, it's all hers; I don't want to stifle her curiosity. But I do draw the line when situations could be potentially harmful. (That being said, I do let her climb up on the brick fireplace. The hearth is low to the ground, the corners are covered, and I'm always right there. She loves to climb. She's a little daredevil, after all!)

The following are examples of the craziness we live with. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go chase down my heavy baby.

This last one is Mommy's leg barrier, my attempt at keeping her away from the computer while I'm on it. And yes, I used it multiple times while I typed this post.

8 Months, baby!

Dear Brooke,

We can hardly believe you're already 8 months old! It's been such a fun month - but so exhausting. You are crawling like a madwoman and getting into everything (especially things you aren't supposed to.) For example, just yesterday Mommy found you on the 2nd step going upstairs (when did you learn how to climb stairs?!) You are such a curious little lady, always wanting to touch things and figure out how they work - just like your Daddy! Your personality is hilarious. You make us laugh all day long with your crazy antics and silly faces. You think you're just as funny as we do, too. This month has been so delightful - here are the things you're into (and not) right now:

Favorites

Standing - You pull yourself up to a standing position any chance you get. We always find you standing when we come get you out of bed in the morning. Pretty soon you'll start cruising around the furniture you pull yourself up to and, then, next stop: walking!

Elmo - You are in love with this furry red friend. Oh how you adore watching your Elmo on TV! You are mesmerized by Elmo and the whole Sesame Street gang. We're not sure how it started, but every time we mention Elmo's name to you, you start waving to him. It's too cute!

Table Food - You love food as much as the next guy. Most specifically, you love "grown-up food", as Mommy calls it. While you'll eat the pureed fruits and veggies without complaint, you prefer to chew things with those 2 little teeth. Your favorites include celery & carrots, crackers, peaches & pears, bread/rolls, and anything frozen (popsicles, smoothies, etc.)

Waving - It warms our hearts when you wave "hello" and "goodbye" to us. You wave to anyone and anything you can. Our friends, family, and even strangers love it! You typically use the arm-flailing wave, but just learned how to do the open-and-close-your-hand wave. Both are too precious for words.

Doing Tricks - You're the biggest ham we know! You'll put on a show to get the attention of just about anyone. Waving is your favorite and most frequently used. But you also love to make your fishy face and talk to us. You just learned how to do "sooo big!" so we can add that to your list of tricks.

Not-So-Favorites

Being told "No" - Even at 8 months, you already understand what "No" means - and boy do you dislike hearing it! Mommy & Daddy firmly say "No!" when you get into something you're not allowed to be into. You quickly stop what you're doing and turn in our direction, but then half the time you go right back to doing it. When we remove you from that situation, you sometimes get angry. We know how much you love to explore, but it's our job to keep you safe and away from things that might hurt you!

Amusement Park Rides - You wanted no part of the amusement park rides we introduced you to. You were all smiles until they started to move and then you lost it! We're surprised you were afraid of them; you're such a daredevil when it comes to other things. Hopefully you'll grow out of this by next summer!

Diaper Changes - We hope you potty-train as early as you've done everything else because you hate diaper changes! You hate sitting still, so it's no surprise that you try to wiggle your way out of this every time. We used to be able to distract you by letting you play with something strange while we did it (like a comb or sunglasses,) but even this no longer makes you happy. Mommy reminds you every time that she is stronger than you and will always win, but you still fight her anyway!

You're growing up so fast, so we're trying to soak in each and every moment we have with you. Like this morning, when Mommy nursed you for the very last time. You were so happy and relaxed that you closed your eyes while you ate. It's as if you knew it was the last time you would bond with Mommy that way. She just stared down at you, cherishing every last second of it. And like this evening, when you looked at Daddy and said "Dada". His face lit up as much as yours did, just as it does every time you say it (Did I forget to mention you said your very first word this month?) You'll always be our baby girl, even as you grow up and become our Big Girl. We promise to keep cherishing these moments with you forever. Love you babe!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Kings Island :)

This past weekend, we joined my sister's familia and my BFF at King's Island. I haven't been in a few years (not since the magical pass disappeared, so sad!) so it was exciting for me to get back there. Plus it was the Big Lady's first trip, so I was determined to soak it all in with her. Of course, she couldn't ride much, but she did have a field day doing what I like to do best there: people-watch. And boy did she have a lot to look at! There are some winners floating around that place, my friends. I always leave feeling good about myself - classy, thin, pretty. I told Brooke about this before we went in and, sure enough, she left feeling average-sized :) (Don't judge me for judging others. If they didn't want to be judged, they should have thought about that before they chose to wear what they did. Way too much flesh was exposed!) Anyway, enough about the trash, I mean people, at KI...

Brooke's evening was fun-filled. She rode on a few carousels, which didn't really go well (the pic was taken before it started to move.) She got to try her first fried food: pink funnel cake! (Dyed for a breast cancer awareness event, not strawberry-flavored, though that sounds delicious...) She rode a few kiddie rides, including a big yellow airplane that went up in the air in a circle about 10 times. Sooo not a fan of this either, crying every time it came back down to the ground and she could see Mommy again. All-in-all, though, it was a delightful evening despite how late it was for the babe. She got in bed about 10:30, but was such a trooper! Hopefully this will be the first of many KI trips for the Reeder family :)

So many faces.

The Big Lady is a character these days. She is a ball of emotions and makes sure we know how she's feeling at all times. She's loud and sassy just like her mama! Each emotion has a "face" and she managed to give me a slew of them while sitting in her high chair at dinnertime yesterday.

The Happy Girl Face.

We get this one about 90% of the time. She really is a very good-natured, upbeat child.

The Angry Face.

This is hilarious! Whenever she gets mad or frustrated, she scrunches up her face like this and breathes loudly in and out through her nose. It's usually the result of not being able get to something she wants or that I won't let her have it.

The Mommy-You-Really-Don't-Amuse-Me Face.

My antics to get her to eat or to keep her happy are sometimes met with smiles and giggles. But sometimes, she looks at me like I'm a huge idiot. Which, sometimes, I am. Like when I sang Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl to get her to eat her bananas. Mommy = all sorts of crazy.

The Blowing-Raspberries Face.

Ok, so this isn't so much a face as it is an action shot mid-raspberry. But it's cute as hell.

The Fishy Face.

My new personal favorite. This picture kills me. The cheeks! She taught herself to do this. She can do it on command some of the time.

She pretty much has multiple personalities. Her mood can change in an instant. And she totally wears her mood on her face, which can make for some serious entertainment. Just tonight, one of her uncles said that he could just sit and watch her faces for hours. I couldn't agree more. Hilarious, I tell you.