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