1 month

Wow it is hard to believe she is already 1 month old!!! I was telling someone how it is funny to think in "weeks" for so long (all through my pregnancy and for the past 4 weeks of her life), but even though she was 4 weeks old a few days ago, she really was not a month old until today!

I have decided to start writing about her monthly instead of weekly....it is a lot of writing, but was really important to me that I did it her first few weeks of life. So much happens!! I am going to jot down notes throughout the month and then blog about it at the end of that month, and of course include lots of pictures! I will write a few short blogs in between though of fun stuff along the way :)

Anyway I don't have a ton to write about since I have been writing weekly but I wanted to share this:

So I officially diagnosed my daughter with "Arm Colic!" She loves to be held and cries when you put her down! This might be my fault (I picked her up every time she cried) or it might be her personality or just the fact that she is a baby, but I don't mind! Sometimes she is cuddly and sometimes she pushes away and just wants to look around. If you sit down she usually starts to squirm and kick her legs so she likes it when you are standing. This makes for some pretty sore arms!!! Now granted there are times when I just can't hold her so she cries some, but mommy doesn't let her cry that long...I just can't ;)

Now you might be wondering about her swing!?! Well.....she doesn't like it :( I would love it if she did....I thought she would like the movement since she likes to be walked around, but no luck! We have tried several times since she was born and every times she cries and cries. What is a mom to do??? I can't hold her all the time (even though I might WANT too...hehe)!

Anyway this past week someone from church gave me a bouncer. Guess what....She LOVES it! Ahhhhh I was so excited!!! I now can put her down! It has been an "ARM" saver HAHA! Funny thing though is I have to BOUNCE her! If she falls asleep in it and I stop bouncing her she wakes up right away...Ahhhh! Again....What is a mom to do??? I can't hold her all the time OR bounce her all the time...HAHA! Someone mention a side to side swing might work better than her swing which went front to back, so we might give that a try down the road.

For now I am just holding her and bouncing her (don't get alot else done during the day), which I really don't mind too much because I just get to look at her all day :) And another plus is my arm and leg muscles are really getting a workout ;)

Also I am trying to take advantage of this......I know these days won't last forever and someday I will look back and long for the days when she WANTED me to hold her all day long :)

The first time in a bouncer..... No Tears!

Chillin' in my car seat....

Still loving bath time....

"Supervised" Nap time ;)......

I could just stare at her sleeping all day

Happy 1 Month Baby Girl!

Sweet Dreams.....

Bryce Austin Walker

Brooklyn has a new cousin!!!

Our sweet nephew arrived today :).....

Bryce Austin Walker was born today

August 25th 2010

He weighs 8 lbs 5 0z

and is 20.5"

Everything went great today for Blake and Erica. She was induced, but progressed quickly and Bryce was born around 5:30 pm! The first thing everyone noticed was his head full of dark black hair!! Brooklyn was just a tad bit jealous that her cousin was born with ALL the hair. She wished he could have shared a little so she could clip a bow in...hehe! Brooklyn and Bryce are almost exactly a month apart! WOW I just can imagine the fun these two are going to have in the future :)

Congratulation on your new and beautiful SON Blake and Erica!!!

Here are the two cousins together for the first time!

Ahhhh What a CUTIE!!!!

Week 4

Brooklyn:

• Is 8lbs 9 oz
• Is super active...she loves looking around and watching things as you can tell by the video below :)
• Is giving momma a run for her money....she LOVES to be held. I really can only put her down for a few minutes before she starts fussing.
• Loves to kick her legs...I wonder if she is going to be a runner (she already has the shoes!...these shoes fit into the palm of my hand!!!!)

• Her legs are also super strong. Sometimes I feel like she is putting a lot of weight on them when I hold her up!
• Her B-Pa and Nana came for another visit....they just can't get enough of her! This weekend they kindly asked Brad and I to go on a date! I loved how they made it sound like we really needed a break and should go out, but I know deep down they just wanted to spend some time with Brooklyn HAHA!!! Brad and I decided to take them up on their offer. We went to Red Lobster and then ran to Babies R Us (go figure!). We had a nice time, but of course kept thinking about her and if everything was OK. I think I called only twice...OK.....maybe three times ;) Everyone had a great time

Here she is having a nice chat with B-Pa

• Sometimes she sounds like a dolphin when she sleeps, not sure why, but it sure sounds cute....OK maybe not AS cute at 3:00 in the morning, but it is still cute ;)
• Is starting to nap on her tummy during the day. She sleeps so much better!! I only put her this way when I can watch her! If I am going to take a nap when she naps or if it is at night we still put her on her back.

I love dressing Brooklyn up...especially on Sundays! She rarely goes without a bow ;) I blogged about these cute bracelets that Jennifer made a while back. I remember holding them and thinking that I couldn't believe they would fit Brooklyn....they looked so tiny! Sure enough they do and I love putting them on her. Oh how fun to be a GIRL :)

Week 3

Brooklyn is:

• 8lbs 9oz and 21 1/4 inces long. She is in the 90% for length and above 50% in weight.
• She went to the peditrician this week and did really well. She had to get her newborn screening again. When they did it in the hospital she didn't even cry....this time she BAWLED! It was hard for mommy, but daddy kinda laughed and then snapped this picture :-/

Poor Baby!

• She meet her Auntie Andi this week! Andrea came for a week and spent time lovin' on Miss B! She was such a big help again and I loved seeing her hold and cuddle her niece :) She is missed terribly...it was a wonderful week!!!!

• She is very gassy...I wish I could ease her pain...we have tried a few things, we shall see.
• She got a stuffy nose..the pediatrician said it was not a cold, but a coating to help when she spits up. We feel soooo bad for her at night when she is sleeping....you can tell she is all stuffed up and trying to breath. Hopefully it will go away soon!
• Well she doesn't take a paci and she hasn't found her fingers to suck on. I know I will be glad later, but there are times when she is crying and I wish she liked either one of these things to help soothe her. So I have had to try and find some other ways and these are some things that we have found to be helpful....

1. Take her outside....she likes the humidity.

2. Run the shower or bath water....she likes the noise.

3. Swaddle her....she likes to be all wrapped up.

4. Sometimes singing to her helps :)

5. Give her to her Daddy!....There are times when I have tried everything to settle her, and her daddy comes home, and takes her and BOOM she is like another child all calm and serene. AHHHHH....sometimes it drives me crazy....HAHA, but most of the time I am thankful that she is all better :)

• We have bath time down pat! One day we decided to fill the bathroom with steam from the shower to try and help her with her stuffy nose. We ended up giving her a bath in her whale tub in the steamed filled bathroom. She did not cry once and LOVED it! I don't know if we will do this every time but it definitely helps for it to be warm!
• Grammy and Poppa enjoy coming to see her. Poppa always wonders why she is sleeping everytime he comes over...hehe!

• She went on her first walk. We saw the most amazing sunset...although she missed it b/c she slept the whole time ;)

We are loving her so much and can't believe how much she has already changed! There are times when I just want to freeze time and keep her just like this! Ahhh it is going so fast already!

Just a few more pics and a fun video:

Here we are playing with Brooklyn ;)

My Baby Doll

Andrea took some pictures of the TINY things we love about Brooklyn

Week 2

Brooklyn:

• Now weighs 8 lbs
• She discovered her lungs this week ;)
• She went to church for the 1st time on Sunday. Nana made her dress as I mentioned in the last post. She slept through the whole thing. After evening services she woke up and cried because she was hungry. Mommy and Daddy couldn't wait to get her home we felt so bad....we pulled over at a park and I fed her in the car...HA!

Here she is with Nana

• She got to meet her Uncle Adam this week. Adam just moved to Tyler TX from Colorado and we are sooooooo excited that he is here!!! His work transfered him so we are not sure how long he will be in Texas, but we are so glad it is now! Couldn't have been better timing with Brooklyn :) He was actually moving the weekend she was born!

• On day 9 she lost her umbilical cord....we were glad to see it go, BUT Brad made me cry because he made a joke about it being the last thing that connected the two of us together (wahhhh *tear*)...I think I cried b/c of hormones too..HA!
• Brooklyn still makes lots of noises and grunts....and Mommy still checks on her ;)
• This week I was home with her and she projectile vomited all over! I was covered, she was covered, the floor was covers, and so was the couch and Brad's camera. I knew Brad was just over at his parents house about to come home and I called him crying (I think it was the hormones again and me feeling bad for her). He came home to see me and every thing else covered in spit up. By the time he saw me I started laughing and he did too...it was quite a sight!!
• Bath time was a little better...it was the first time in her big girl tub! She only fussed at the end; I think we still took too long HA!

• She went on her first shopping trip....to none other that TARGET :) Brad and I kept her in her carseat covered the whole time so she missed it all, but it was fun :)
• She got her first piece of mail..... (yes we document EVERYTHING...hehe)

• Our good friend, Becky, came and took pictures of her this week! I think they are going to be awesome and we plan to use some for her birth announcements! Can't wait to show them to you :) It was a pretty funny day because we had Brooklyn mostly naked for the photo shoot and she decided she was going to poop and pee pretty much the whole time! It was everywhere and all over me...HA! We got a good laugh though :)

We Love:

• watching her sleep. She loves to sleep with both her arms up...it is so cute!
• watching her wake up. She loves to stretch and stretch when she is waking up and smack her lips....I put up a video of this in my "week one" post, but we still can't get enough of it ;)
• when she stares at us....fills my heart with joy!

I just LOVE this one...they are so in love with eachother!

Beautiful Girl!

Due Date

Today was my due date!

Instead we are talking Brooklyn to church for the first time :)

We thank God today for letting us have her already for 2 weeks!

Her Nana (my mom) made her 1st church dress! I thought it turned out so cute!! It is a pillowcase dress and yes we decided to put the BIG bow on her today...hehe!

1 Week

WOW...our baby girl is a week old!! It is hard to believe! I would have to say this was one of the most challenging weeks of my life but the most REWARDING too :) I am super tired, but the joy and love she has brought makes the exhaustion so very worth it! I could just stare at her for hours...my heart overflows with love :)

Brooklyn is:

• Very content (she has not discovered her lungs yet!)
• She sleeps ALOT and we have a hard time waking her to feed and keeping her awake!
• She was 7 lbs 4 oz when she was born, 6lbs 12 oz when we left the hospital, and has regained all her birth weight in 1 week....she is now 7lbs 6 oz!
• She has had many visitors already :)
• She screamed when she had her first bath at home. We learned ALOT....

1. Turn the air off so it is not freezing for her little wet naked body :(

2. Don't use so much soap....alittle goes a long way ;)

3. Go FASTER...we took way too long HA!

This is what she thought of her first bath :(

• She makes LOTS of little grunts and noises that keep mommy awake all night checking on her. I better get use to that....maybe by week 4 I won't get up every time!
• She doesn't eat much...just for about 10 minutes. Mommy was worried, but the doctor said she is gaining weight and not to worry.
• We are so sleep deprived we have said things that don't make sense, have our days all mixed up, and have done some pretty funny things!
• I am so tired that sometimes I wake up thinking that she is still nursing and I have fallen asleep and rolled over on her!! It really scares me and I wake up jumping out of bed!

We Love:

• Her soft soft skin!
• Her smell....I love the way she smells after she eats...even her milk breath smells good :)
• Her little EVERYTHING! She is so tiny!
• They way she smiles in her sleep....It makes us feel good because she seems so content and happy!
• The way she stretches when she wakes up :)
• Her big beautiful eyes (they are a dark blue right now)....she is VERY alert and like to look at everything!

Brad's favorite picture ;)

Daddy is the best at swaddling!

Our Little Peanut

Here she is waking up from her nap :)

One more thing....

We saved the paper from the day she was born and this was the cover! We thought it was neat that the title was "Embarking on New Life"...seemed fitting ;)

Hospital Stay, Coming Home, and Visitors!

After Brooklyn was born we stayed at the hospital for 2 nights. Our time there is quite a blur to me as it went by so fast and we were bombarded with lots of information! Also, because of the overwhelming feelings of what just happened; getting to know her, her getting to know us, and just enjoying our little blessing :) Plus a lot of exhaustion ;) We were excited to come home after those 2 days but of course a little nervous that we did not have that button to call the nurse every time we had a question...HA!

Brooklyn came HOME on July 29th! I remember riding down the hallway in the wheelchair with her in my arms and tears filled my eyes. She was ours and we were headed home! It was a great feeling :)

Brad put her in her carseat and I rode in the back with her. Brad and I both cried tears of joy on the way home. We are just so humbled that God gave us this little girl and we just want to take care of her the best we can. It was quite an overwhelming feelings. I told Brad to drive extra careful ;)

When we pulled up to our house there were signs everywhere. Kathy have made a big "Welcome Home Brooklyn" banner and attached to the mailbox was a pink cutout of a bottle with Brooklyn's information on it! It was so sweet and again made me cry (WOW lots of tears in this post...all HAPPY ones though!)!

One of my favorite things about coming home was seeing Brad. Brad wanted to have a special moment with just the three of us before we had visitors come. He wanted to show Brooklyn her new home. He took her out of her carseat and walked her around the house. He showed her everything and I just stood back and took a few pictures. It was the sweetest thing and just melted my heart. He has been an amazing daddy. He just stares at her in awe or he smiles at me with the biggest smile as he holds her when she makes a funny face or noise. I just love it!

Over the next fews days we had a lot of visitors :)....and many people brought food which was wonderful!! It was so fun getting to introduce her to our family and friends!

I had too many pictures to post so I just made a slideshow of the past couple of days! Most of the pictures are family and friends who were very anxious to meet this sweet little girl :) I also included a few from our stay at the hospital and her big trip to her new home! Enjoy!

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