Playing Pretend

The other day Brooke started playing pretend. She pretends to make food, eat the food, put her babies night night, and feed her babies. It is so cute! Just another reminder how big she is getting.

New recipes and old recipes

In the spirit of the holidays I have been baking and cooking up a storm. My kitchen is always a disaster and today is no exception. I have an ornament exchange tonight with some fabulous women and I decided to bring buffalo chicken dip and a veggie platter with dip. The buffalo dip is to die for and I make it a lot, so I though I would share. For the dip to go with the veggies, I wanted to make something different; I'm tired of ranch, green onion, or french onion dip, so after a little searching I found three AMAZING dips that you must try.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

• 1 cup of ranch
• 1 cup of Buffalo Wing Sauce ( I have used hooters and Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce)
  
• 20 oz. of cooked, chopped shredded chicken (I usually boil 2 chicken breast or you can use 2 10oz cans of chicken- although I have never tried it with can chicken.)
• 2 cups of cheddar cheese
• 2 8oz blocks of cream cheese softened

Directions:

First I blend the ranch, buffalo sauce, and cream cheese together. Then add the chicken and cheese. Mix ingredients together and put into an oven safe casserole dish. Bake (350-400°F) until bubbly. Serve with Fritos.

(The temperature doesn’t matter, you’re just trying to heat it through. So if you have other stuff in the oven that needs to be at a certain temp, just go with it.)

It is delicious and really hits the spot if you love buffalo sauce.

Veggie Dips

Cheddar Bacon Dip

(I doubled the recipe, because after making it, there wasn't enough)

• 1 package (3-oz size) cream cheese softened
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 4 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 slice bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon parsley dried

Directions:

In a small mixer bowl with the mixer at low speed, beat cream cheese, mayonnaise and heavy cream for 2 minutes or until smooth, stopping mixer to scrape sides of bowl a few times.

Add Cheddar cheese and beat for 1 minute.

Add bacon bits, Worcestershire sauce and parsley flakes. Beat until well mixed. Place dip in a pretty bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes before serving.


Pesto Veggie Dip

• 1 container (7 ounce size) prepared basil pesto
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place pesto, cream cheese, sour cream and Parmesan cheese in food processor or blender; cover. Process until creamy and chill until ready to serve.

Spicy Dip

• 1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing
• 2 (8oz) packages cream cheese
• 1 can of Rotel

Directions:

Cream salad dressing and cream cheese. Slowly mix in the Rotel. Chill for an hour before serving. The more this sits the better it gets. I would suggest making a few hours ahead of serving time. If you don't like things too spicy I would suggest buying the mild Rotel.

I can't explain how easy and yummy these dips are. ENJOY!

Around this time, I also bake and I have been making these cookies since Kyle and I were married. I though I would share the yummy Monster Cookie Recipe. You can find the original here.

Monster Cookies

(I add a little extra M'Ms and chocolate chips!)

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup mm's
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Where are your eyes!

Last month I realized that Brooke knew all the parts of her face. I have been meaning to get it up here in November, because I was afraid she wouldn't preform for me- sometimes she gets bored after doing something over and over again. This never grows old for her though. We think she is pretty smart!

She loves to get inside baskets and what not and she is only in a diaper because she made a mess after dinner.

14 months

Brooke's first trip to the zoo was on November 6, 2011 at the

Chaffee Zoo in Fresno with her cousins Abby, Adam, and Madison and Grandma and Mommy.

I can't believe that it has been 3 months since my last blog. I have wanted to come on here and let you all know how fun Brooke is and everything we are experiencing as parents, but our family has been overwhelmed with school, work, traveling, and family that everything is lacking in our lives; we haven't taken pictures of her, been able to be in the Word, menu planning is just starting up again, I haven't worked out, laundry is piling up, I have 453 emails to look at, and so much more. But as of today, school is pretty much done and I can now catch up on blogging, making bows, her baby book, and hopefully a work out!

Feeding the giraffe. She was a little unsure so I helped.

She was so happy when she saw the animals, she starting clapping

Let’s talk about the cutest little mini mite I have ever seen! She is now 14 months old and talking up a storm. She said her first sentence, "Hello dada!" the other day and it was adorable. She really emphasizes the O and it is too cute! Others words she can say are, more, bye, sippy, shhhhh, woof, momma, dada, poppa, bobo aka Bernard, and I can't think of anything else. She is pretty good and communicating what she wants- she can sign all done, more, please, thank you, and help me. Sometimes she mixes up more and help me, but I understand. She

loves to sit on Bernard and she loves to talk on the phone. She seems so short and it is so cute to watch her run around the room. She LOVES to eat; I think she could do it all day and never be full. She still isn't a fan of watermelon, but is starting to enjoy turkey and chicken more, as well as milk and green beans. She has been more interested in using a spoon lately and can do a pretty good job. It works best if I help her get the food on her spoon, because she usually can’t get the food on her spoon and pretty soon she is back to using her fingers. I have been having a hard time figuring out her nap schedule. She can go down at 9:30am still, but she has a hard time taking that afternoon nap and then is just grumpy most of the day. I have to push her past 10:30am by using snacks and then she is fine, but when I put her down for her one nap at 12:30 she has a bowel movement consistently and 1:30pm and usually can not go back to sleep. She is asleep now and I am hoping that she will go down for a short second nap this afternoon.

Playing with Bernard when we decorated for Christmas on November 8, 2011

She also can nod her head yes or no, but prefers to say no. Some things that we are struggling with and would love some advice is she likes to hit. She hits us when she is upset or hits others when she says no. We reprimand her, but she is still doing it. She likes to test us all the time; we put a gate around the Christmas tree and even though we kept telling her no and taking her away from the tree, she kept going back. Last night I was doing school and she was wondering around as usual. I saw her stop in front of the fireplace and look at me. I looked up at her and gave her the look; she then turned around and touched it. I got up to scold her and she ran off. After her little scolding I looked at Kyle and starting laughing- the look on her face before she touched the fireplace was priceless.

She loves to dance and will lie on the floor and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street with us. She is so much fun and it is amazing how much she is teaching us about ourselves, Jesus and his love for us, and how to be a parent.

She strutted around wearing her Santa hat. It was so cute!

Hopefully today I will be able to post some stuff about Halloween, her birthday, and thanksgiving too!

Thanks for reading!

Walking and 11 months

We went to Disneyland at the end of July, but I hadn't had a chance to share this with everyone. I think it turned out so cute!

I have not been very good about blogging this month, but I am hoping that after the heat wave is through, I will have a bigger desire to get on the computer.

Brookelyn turns 11 months in two days, which is crazy it has been that long. It is amazing how fast each year seems to be going as I get older. I remember when I was a little kid and summers seem to last forever! Now they are gone in the blink of an eye. The next couple months are crazy for our family; I am planning a bridal shower for a dear friend next month and then also planning Brookelyn's first birthday. We are going to celebrate her birthday here in San Diego around her actual birthday with friends, but then we are planning a big party with friends and family the same weekend as my friends wedding. We are so excited about celebrating with all of our family and friends this very special day for Brookelyn. I have decided that I will have a little bit more fun with this birthday party then the next ones, but still trying to keep the cost minimal. I making a lot of my own things: cupcake stand, cake, center pieces, games, and asking friends to bring different sides.

Now lets get to the most important part of this blog, Brooke! She has become such a big girl this month, it makes me tear up! She sits and reads her books, saying lots of words and sounds, another tooth, and of course, walking. One of her favorite games is to pull out her books and thumb through the pages. Her favorite toy is her stroller and the rings she has had since she was a baby. She still goes to bed around 7:30pm and still wakes up at 5:50 am...on the dot! Every once in awhile she will sleep past six, but for the most part we are up with the sun. Kyle and I take turns getting out of bed with her and then we put her in her play pen and give her some toys and turn on Play with me Sesame for about 30 minutes. This gives us just the right amount of time to wake up and sometimes catch a few more Zzzzs.

Watching the penguins at Sea World

I am nursing her on average three times a day. There has been days where it has only been twice and then right before her second tooth came in it was back up to four. The night before her second tooth came in, she also slept in until 7:00 am. I remember waking up and wondering if she was okay, but I didn't want to wake her. It felt so nice to sleep that extra hour, I made pancakes that day!

Kissing her baby

The beginning of the month she took off with her walking and around the 12th she was up to four steps. Then, it just stopped and I wasn't sure what was going on until that tooth came in. I had read that develoment is paused when teeth are coming and sure enough, the same day her tooth came through she started showing more signs of walking. Her right leg was dragging behind her for awihle as well and I wasn't sure if I should have her hips checked out, but as soon as the tooth came in her hips started turning evenly and that right leg is not longer lagging behind. Today she was going everywhere; walking between things and for the first time she took two steps and when she got off balance instead of falling she rebalanced and stood and then took another step. Her biggest problem is that she doesn't walk, she runs! This makes it very hard for her to get her balance and she is only able to take so many steps.
She started saying tickle, tickle this month and does the hand motion with it. She also can sign more and all done. She tries to say thank you, but can only get out the 'th' sound- I know what she means though. She jibber jabbers all the time and I love to hear her talk to everything around her.

She looks like such a big girl in this picture

I introduced her to a small amount of cheese this month and also some tomato. I made her a marinara sauce mostly out of carrots, but it also had tomato, a little onion, cheese and basil. I put orzo past in it becuase it was the perfect size. She loved it and I made it chunky enough that she could eat it with her hands. Her favorite food is still avocado and banana. We also are giving her regualr oatmeal now and she loves that. I will make it in the morning for me and then stir in fruit for her and she can also pick it up with her fingers. She sill hasn't wanted to try eating with her spoon, so for now we are a big mess!

Here is a video of her walking tonight. She has been doing this length all day, but we recreated it for the camera. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KTZM6bIQ-o

Dancing

She loves to dance. She does it all the time and it is so cute!

Her favorite game

Brooke is really into giving us stuff right now and taking things in and out of bags and baskets. It is so funny! She is so much fun!!!

Disneyland- It's a small world

Brooke loved the ride it's a small world. Here is a video of her adventure. I will post some cute pictures from our trip soon.

The last video wasn't the right one. Check out her video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xys9m_ImKto

9 month pictures

I forgot to share some of my favorite pictures from her portrait session.

July and 10 months already!!!

Brookelyn enjoyed playing in the Tupperware drawer. Abby didn't leave her side the whole time we were there.

Abby and Adam did a great job babysitting

After out trip to Nebraska, I flew to Fresno with Brooke and Kyle came home. I decided to spend a couple weeks with my family and it also gave me a chance to do some swim lessons. We ended up staying with my sister, Judy, because my parents house was a mess from renovations. Brookelyn had a lot of fun playing with her cousins and aunt. I was able to see most of my family and was also able to make a little money with my swimming lessons. I also got the chance to visit with friends that I hadn't seen forever. It is always nice to catch up with good friends. I met with a friend from high school, Kimmy "Wilcox" Sorenson, and she gave me a ton of cute clothes for Brookie with lots of match bows. I am very blessed to have such great family and friends that love and support me. Thank you Judy for being hospitable and keeping us for so long. We love you!

Playing in the bath with Brenna

Brooke is going to be 10 months old in a few months and I can't believe how fast time is going. She is so much fun and has become such an easy baby. She sleeps well, goes to sleep easily, and even when she doesn't get a lot of sleep she can still have fun. She nurses about 4-5 times a day and eats three meals a day. She is getting closer and closer to walking, loves to wave, make silly sounds, claps, plays games with us, and got her first tooth this month. She is really in to this cheesy grin, where she kind of snorts and show us her gums and little tooth. It is the cutest smile ever! She talks constantly and eats all the time. I bought her this snack container that she can feed herself from, but the puffs don't fall out and she loves it; it is her favorite toy and impossible to take away without tears. Even if it doesn't have a snack in it, she will put her hand inside and crawl around with it. She gives us kisses all the time and also gives others kisses. She still laughs when I say no, but I do think she understands what it means. She seems to understand what a lot of words mean, but just can't say them. She says three words: mama, dada, and baba, but she talk all the time. She prefers to jabber more than anything. Another favorite game she likes to play is taking things out of baskets, drawers, and purses, but after she takes things out shedoes put it back. She is quite the monkey, climbing over everything! There is nothing that she can't get through, past, or around; her persistents is inevitable. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the month.

Having a great time on the Riverboat at Disneyland

Daddy trying to make the same look as Brookelyn. I think they look a lot a like in this picture.

I made this picture bigger thinking you might be able to see her cute, little tooth

She is so precious!

July 4th

We left on June 24 for Colorado Springs for Hazley and Matt Sutter's wedding. It was a great time and Kyle and I had so much fun visiting friends and meeting up with Poppa and Grandma Ferguson. Poppa and Grandma hadn't seen Brookelyn since January and she had such a good time playing with them. She went right into Grandma's arms at the airport and spent most of the vacation in their arms. Brookelyn was a flower girl in the wedding and despite teething, she did a great job!

We went to Poppa and Grandma's cabin for fourth of July and Brooke went on the swing for the first time, hung out in the lake, played in the sand, played with her cousins, and with new friends. She did get off schedule and woke up more than usual during the night, but it didn't seem to make her moody and cranky, but the lack of sleep at night was hard on me. Kyle had a great time seeing his friends that he hasn't seen. He spent most of the time hanging around the fire pit and playing in the lake.

Our friends

Playing with Poppa

Brookelyn taking a bath with her cousins

Playing with Grandma in the sand

On July 4th, Kyle's extended family came to visit and Brooke was able to see Grandma Great. She was also able to meet cousins that she had never seen before.

Grandma Great and Brookelyn

We were also able to visit Erik and Krissy Gray on our trip to Nebraska. They had their baby girl, Birkley Jane Gray a few weeks before and it was wonderful to spend the whole afternoon and evening with them. Birkley is beautiful just like her mommy. They are both amazing friends and I only wish we could live closer.

Me, Brooke, Krissy, and beautiful Birkley

The end to our trip was very sad, because Kyle's other grandma, Grandma Stave, passed that morning. We were actually going to visit her the day that we left, but unfortunately we didn't make it. I was extremely sad to not get the chance to say goodbye, but we were all glad that she was no longer in pain. I am going to miss her very much. She was sunshine every time I saw her, greeting us with cookies and brownies. She loved to crochet. She made Brooke two cute sweaters and much more. Grandma and Grandpa Stave would always go to these swap meets and buy a box of jewelry for a $1. Every visit she would hand me a box of jewelry that they got for me and I always found the cutest stuff. We still went to visit Great Grandpa Stave to send him our love and comfort. When we got there, the first thing he made sure he gave me was a box of jewelry that grandma wanted to make sure I got. When he handed it to me, it was impossible to stop from crying. I will miss her very much, but I know that she is celebrating with Jesus right now.

Great Grandma Stave with Brookelyn in January

I love tutus!!

I have received a couple of handmade tutus from friends and family for Miss Brookelyn. She took her 6 months pictures in this cute pink tutu and Hazley made her a cute purple one, which I am going to use for her 9 month pictures. I have looked at many tutus and bows over the last year and there is so much cute stuff our there, but I must say that these tutus are the best!

http://www.poshlittletutus.com/index.htm

You have to check them out! They have these adorable halter dress tutus that are to die for and with the matching bows, can you imagine how cute Brooke would be? They are the ultimate tutu and I would love to have one for her one year pictures and then I reuse it for her Halloween costume. Currently Village of Moms, http://thevillageofmoms.com/2010/06/posh-little-tutus-3.html, is having a tutu give away and I am crossing my fingers that I win, because I know that Kyle will not let my purchase one! Thanks Village of Moms for the opportunity!

Beach weekend

Chad and Kelly came to visit for their 10th anniversary this last weekend. We had so much fun and despite being out of the house most of the time, Brooke did fairly well. She went to the beach for the first time on Thursday and had a lot of fun crawling around. She thought the sand was interesting and luckily was too busy playing with it in her fingers than attempting to eat it. I think for our future visit we are going to purchase a pack in play to put her in; it was difficult to eat and put things on the blanket with a wiggly girl trying to get into everything. We put her feet in the 63 degree water and she didn't seem to mind- no tears. We took a walk on the beach with Chad and Kelly and on the walk Brooke feel asleep in my arms. We went back to our spot and she slept for an hour on my chest under the umbrella. It was so sweet! She has decided that she doesn't love her stroller anymore and would rather be held, which I blame Kyle for because every time she makes a peep he picks her up. Oh well!


Saturday night was adults only and my friend Jen came over to watch Brooke. It was the first time someone else has put Brooke to bed other than me or Kyle, so I was a little nervous. Brooke did surprisingly well. Jen changed her diaper after reading time and then had a little bit of a struggle re-settling her, but Jen assured me she only cried about 5 minutes and then when she put her in her bed, she instantly quieted and fell asleep. We ate dinner at Phil's BBQ, which was delicious. Then we went to the National Comedy Theater for Improv. It was hilarious and we ended the night with Ghiradelli's sundaes. It was nice to stay out late, eat dinner with out keeping Brookie happy and to be fully present for adult conversation. Now that I know Brooke can handle it, I think Kyle and I should take more time to go on dates!


Brooke had so much fun with Uncle Chad and Aunt Kelly. They made her laugh and smile and she really enjoyed their company in the back seat. We will miss seeing them, but are glad we will get to see them again soon!


Brookelyn has the sweetest and most sassy personality. She knows exactly what she wants and doesn't mind telling you how she feels. She is still a big eater and devoured an avocado yesterday. She talks constantly and is very loud. She is a lot of fun and I am very blessed to being able to spend my days with her.

8 months old

Brookelyn turned 8 months old last Wednesday and I can't believe how fast this last month went. She is becoming a real chatter box and experimenting with all different sounds. She is saying yeah, yeah yeah, over and over. She also loves ba ba, dada, and has started going mmmmm. She also started waving this month and when she waves she tries to say hi and she only says the h sounds so it seems she is whispering. It is so cute! She is a very fast crawler now and is cruising like crazy around the coffee table, couch, chairs, and whatever else she can walk along. She can stand by herself for about 20 seconds and every time we practice she always looks up at me and starts laughing. She is getting into everything and I spend most of my time watching her, making sure she doesn’t put anything in her mouth. Her fine motor skills are very good and she can pick up the littlest object now.

Brooke still has no teeth, but she has become a master of gum mashing. She can put about 5 of those Happy Puffs in her mouth and chew them up just fine. We also started giving her chopped up banana and she has done very well with that. She is eating three meals a day, if I remember to give her food and nurses 4-5 times a day. She is still sleeping through the night until about 4:30 or 5:30. If she wakes at 4:30 I can nurse and she will go back to sleep until 6:30, but if she wakes at 5:30 she has a hard time going back to sleep. I think she is too rested to sleep, but she is not alive enough to play. We spend the first hour cuddling on the couch and then all of sudden she is ready to play.

I started school a couple of weeks ago and I am embarking on week 3 of my class. I am really enjoying it and more than anything can’t wait to be done with the program. Kyle's brother, Chad, and his wife, Kelly, are coming to visit tomorrow and we are so excited to see them. I am planning an adult only night and I am very excited for the chance to go out without my precious baby.

Brooke is a lot of fun and we are enjoying every minute of parenthood. She makes us laugh all the time and has a huge personality. I know there are so many more fun and new things that she has done, but that is all I can recall right now.

My camera died suddenly a last week so I don't have any new pictures, but I got my new camera in the mail today and can't wait to take pictures of Miss Brookelyn with it.

One more thing, last month I got to hold a newborn baby and I must say it brought on a little baby fever! :)

Brookelyn waving and saying hi to the camera

Brooke's baby doll

Brooke loves playing with her baby and she has been such a chatter box lately.

Quick update

Here are a few pictures from this last month. I will write more when I am not so tired and maybe closer to her 8 month birthday. I am still taking suggestions on how to get Brooke to sleep past 5:45am.

Another round of baby food

Yesterday I made Brooke more baby food and decided I wanted to try some different vegetables that even I have never had. I made sweet potatoes, parsnips, and zucchini and rutabaga, butternut squash and green beans. I only made one flavor combination for fruit, apples, apricots, and prunes. Come to find out that parsnips are more nutritious then carrots and rutabagas are sweeter than turnips. Kyle and I tasted all of the combos and they were very yummy and Brooke enjoyed them too! I loved making the fruit because I only had to dirty one pot and my food processor. First I skinned the apples and boiled them. After I added them to the processor, I put more water in the same pot and added my scored apricots. When the skin started coming away from the flesh, I took them out and peeled them and added them to the processor. The last thing to plump up were the prunes and that didn't take long. It pureed very quickly and only took a little of the leftover water to get the consistency that I wanted.

Life with sleep...I think!

She stayed in the nursery all during church. When I went to pick her up, they told me she was the most social child in that age group. Afterward, she was so exhausted from all the playing she started to fall asleep on the walk back to the car.

Brooke has been sleeping through the night for the past week now and it has been amazing... I think. She now wakes up at 6am every morning and even with the uninterrupted sleep I wake up exhausted. We have tried putting her down later, but it doesn't matter. Our little bundle of happiness is ready to greet the day with the rising of the sun. I think over time I will get use to the early wake up and I should now take advantage of the 11 hours that she sleeps and go to bed earlier, but if any of you have suggestions on how to get her to sleep in a little longer, that would be great!

She borrowed this bow from Peyton Miller. It is the biggest bow she has ever worn. I think it is as big as her head!

Going down for naps is also easy!!! She doesn't cry and if she wakes up early from her nap, I let her fuss for about 5 minutes and then she is back to sleep for another hour. I am thrilled that her sleeping has officially become easy and I no longer have to stress about the amount of time it is going to take me to get little Brookelyn asleep.

Grandpa, Grandma, and Brookelyn

She is now walking around the coffee table and sometimes it seems she is waving and other times I think she is just moving her hands. She talks all the time and I believe that her first word is just around the corner. She is also standing on her own for about 10 seconds and is able to pick stuff off the ground while she is standing. She still doesn't have any teeth, but is doing a great job using her gums to smash smaller objects.


For mother's day, my mom came down to San Diego and I hired a photographer to take pictures of the three generations for her mother's day gift. Brooke was very happy for about 20 minutes and then after that, she was done. I don't know why she didn't want to take anymore pictures, maybe it was because we were outside and it was hot, but she usually hams it up for picture time. Even so, I know we were able to get some great pictures and I can't wait to see them and share them with you.


I hope all my mother friends had a fabulous day full of relaxation and special treats!

Bows, pins, and necklaces

As some of you know, I love putting cute bows and flowers on Miss Brookelyn's head. I decided that if I wanted to continue on having new bows to match her different outfits, I was going to start making them myself. I went to Michaels and bought a few different $1 ribbon spool and have made five cute bows. I have so much leftover ribbon that I decided I would make extra and see if I can sell them around $2 a bow. I will post some pictures soon, if anyone is interested. The best thing about these bows, is that they can be used as clips when they get older and go in their hair (they do stay, I put it in my hair).

Today, I went to a class that taught us how to make ribbon rosettes (pic #1). The ones I created are pins, but could have and will be attached to alligator clips. I think they are actually a little big for the head, but are the perfect size to attach to your blouse. Next week I am going to attempt to create this beautiful flower necklace (example of one in picture #2). It is made out of five flowers that are rolled and glued to make little roses. Then you attach it to a chain with some ribbons and you have fashionable necklace. I am thinking about selling those as well. I think the one in the picture is cute, but a little fancy.

Last night

We stopped by Disneyland yesterday after Kyle worked at a nearby college. Brooke fell asleep in her stroller around 6pm on our way out of the park. She was able to take a 30 minute nap before we got to the car. I figured she would just fall back asleep, but instead she was awake the whole ride home. We got home around 8pm and I fed her and gave her a bath. By the time she was all ready for bed it was 9:15 and instead of being completely exhausted she played like crazy. I didn't see any end in sight so I fed her to help calm her down and that seemed to work. We then continued our bedtime routine of books, singing, and rocking. When I put her down in her bed she was awake. I left the room and instead of hearing a little objection, the room was quiet. I went back about ten minutes later to check on her and when I peeked in she was laying down rubbing her bumper. I think she finally asleep around 10:00. Here is a video of all the fun she had before going to bed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCknkdB6iA

ENJOY!!!

7 months old

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Brooke is 7 months old tomorrow and has learned a lot in one month. She is crawling more and more each day. She now crawls about four or five steps, takes a break and then starts up again. I can already see things that I am going to put away and cover up. Her clothes are always dirty after she crawls on the laminate; I pick her up and she is covered in dog hair. She has a tendency to scoot and slide more when she is on the laminate. She loves playing on the floor with all her toys and we went to an antique store in La Mesa and she fell in love with this Minnie Mouse that talks. She gets so excited!

She is also pulling herself up using just about everything she can- the coffee table, baskets, my leg, crib, Bernard (if he will let her), and much more. She also likes to go into the crawling position and then does the bridge on her tip toes. Brooke also loves baby mum-mums and has now discovered that if she holds her hand out Bernard will come and eat it out of her hand. Bernard loves it and always stays close to Brooke whenever she eats. Also, now that she can crawl, she will crawl to Bernard and grab his paws and every time he gets up and lays somewhere else. Yesterday, he had to find a new spot three times, she was all over him!

When I turn the TV on for her she really enjoys watching the Wiggles, Sesame Street and anything else with puppets and doesn’t really like animated cartoons. She enjoys watching some TV in the morning and then when I am taking a shower. I usually only turn it on when I know it will distract her long enough for me to get some stuff done, like right now. She still isn’t sleeping through the night, but more time is elapsing between feedings. There were a couple times this month that she would go 5-7 hours between feedings, but usually it is around 4 hours. She usually wakes at 11pm, 2am, 5am, and then up at 6:30.

I love how her face lights up when Kyle walks through the door and she can’t wait for him to hold her. I love how she stands up in her crib when she wakes up for a nap and reaches up to me to pick her up. I love that she is finally getting some hair. I love that she is a good eater and eats lots of yummy vegetables. I love that she sleeps well in her car seat and enjoys talking walks in her stroller. I love that even if she doesn’t get a good nap, she is still a pretty happy baby. I love that when she is really happy, instead of laughing, she smiles and opens her mouth up wide and you expect there to be a sound but there is nothing. I love that she loves to cuddle now and will lie on my chest and fall asleep (something she didn’t use to do). I love that she scrunches her face and snorts when she is done with something.

I am excited to see what adventures this next month is going to bring- maybe some teeth!