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.

You know you're a new mom when...

...you find pacifiers down your shirt. Not kidding, this has happened twice. Last night, I get down on my stomach to join Brooke in tummy time and kept feeling something hard underneath me. Assuming it was just a button on my shirt, I roll over and feel a hard lump. A pacifier. 2nd time this week.

...you have no interest in shopping for yourself, yet you instantly gravitate towards babyGap the second you enter the mall.

...your husband gets home from work and you're still in last night's pajamas, but your baby is on her third outfit of the day (sometimes more with the Poop Monster here.)

...(speaking of last night's PJ's) you sleep in whatever you wore that day because, let's be honest, you don't wear anything that isn't comfortable and sleep-worthy anymore.

...the most frequently used word in your vocabulary is "pappy", and it's not even a real word (it's our word for pacifier.)

...wait, today's Thursday? What happened to Tuesday and Wednesday?

...you're 2 sips into a mimosa at Grandma's 95th birthday brunch and you can feel it, thanks to a wicked combo of sleep deprivation and being sober for a year.

...you find yourself encouraging your child's bodily functions. "C'mon, baby girl, give Mommy a big burp" and "Just poop it out, Big Lady, you'll feel so much better if you get it all out" are daily phrases.

...you catch yourself listening to (and enjoying) the Disney Lullabies CD in the car when you know your little princess is fast asleep...and has been for awhile.

...you've mastered one-handed typing. And eating. And cooking. And laundry. And just about every other task.

More to come, I'm sure :)

Brooke & Daddy.

He may not always think so, but Brooke loves her Daddy. Sure, she's often fussy and inconsolable when she's with him. It doesn't help that her crankiest and most awake time of the day is between dinner and bedtime, right when he gets home from work. So, she's hit and miss with happiness for most of the time she spends with him. And it doesn't help that she instantly calms down once he hands her to me. Talk about frustrating for him (still boggles my mind that I am the person that can do that...) But when it's time to play or sleep, Daddy's the guy for her.

He almost always takes her the second he gets home from work, which is a-okay for Mommy, who is usually ready for a tiny break at that point. If she's asleep, they cuddle. If she's awake, they play. He's pretty aggressive with her, scaring me at times. I think I'm less scared for her safety and more scared for his clothes. Throwing an infant into the sky (and by throwing I, of course, mean just gently lifting her - see below), especially the Spit Up Queen that has taken up residence in our house lately, frequently results in dirty laundry; it's just a fact. And guess who does all the laundry... Anyway, I've been around my share of babies and I know she won't break as he throws her around and pushes her quickly in her swing - that doesn't mean I don't get a little nervous.

They have conversations together (video to come - too cute!) They have staring contests. They have watched their fair share of TV together (poor baby girl has to watch Daddy's DVR'ed History Channel shows...) Brooke and Daddy are best-good friends. And let me tell ya, it's precious to see. Daddy thought he wanted a little boy, but this little girl has him wrapped around her chunky little finger already :)

Seven Weeks.

Seven weeks already - I can't believe it! It's been quite a busy week for Miss Brooke. She celebrated the start of her first Olympics (hooray!!), her baptism, and her first Valentine's Day. All 3 events were wonderful. She's been loving the Olympics as much as her Mommy, even staying up late to watch Bob Costas' full coverage (our sleep has seriously taken a hit due to the Olympics!) Her baptism and the party after went off without a hitch. She was an angel during the service and wasn't even bothered by the water as it was poured on her head. Valentine's Day was a lazy day for the whole family; we literally napped the day away, staying in and even getting Chinese take-out. She was all dressed up for the occasion (see below), just with nowhere to go!

Brooke is super animated now. She can now be entertained by hanging objects on her swing or car seat for a decent chunk of time. She laughs all the time, straight up Stevie Wonder-style with the closed eyes, open-mouthed goofy grin, and head swivel. Too cute. She's a huge fan of Mommy singing Old McDonald to her - she even sings along with a Moo-Moo here and a Moo-Moo there :) She hates her car seat more than ever, but we've attached a blinking musical toy to it that seems to be helping calm her a bit. Hmmm, what else...still a poop monster. Still wearing 6 mo. clothes (but the 6 mo. Ralph Lauren stuff is already getting too small...sigh.) Weighing in yesterday at 14 lbs 13 oz.

To make up for the picture-less post, I even have a little video for you from Valentine's Day. The end of it is the best part, so try to suffer your way through my voice to get to the end. Enjoy!