Playing Pretend :)

There are a few girls at church who just adore B. They make her things all the time; paintings, drawings, onesies that are decorated with fabric markers, decorations for her room, etc. I know that they also like to play pretend! I remember being there age and loving to play mommy with my baby doll! Well the other day I went over to one of the girls homes and she took me upstairs to show me her play room. I just got chills when I saw this room and how cute it was......not to mention that she was pretending to be me and my little Brooklyn. So sweet....I felt super special;)

This is what you see when you walk up the stairs:

There is a changing table, a basket of clothes, and the cradle....

View from the other side....here is the cradle, car seat with the baby, and a pretend closet :)

This is what melted my heart....she used fabric marker to draw this on the sheet..."BRW"....and you can see the hanging "B" on the side :)

I just LOVE this girl and to top it off she just found out she is going to be a BIG sister again!!!!

A Snap in Time

Our wonderful friend Rebecca Helvey came out when Brooklyn was two weeks old and took pictures for us! She did an amazing job, we just love her work!

Thanks for helping to capture our sweet baby Rebecca!!!

Here are a few pictures from the shoot. We had such a fun day and with a naked baby came lots of accidents....it seemed that every time we took off her diaper she decided to go...HAHA!

I am not sure how to add a link but here is her blog :)

http://rebeccahelveyphotographyanddesign.blogspot.com/

Or find her on Facebook

Rebecca Helvey Photography and Design

This is B's announcement...Rebecca designed it herself!

Our Cutie Pie:

Confessions

I have a few confessions I would like to share:

My house is a mess!!

The floor needs to be swept

Sink is full of dishes

Dishwasher is full of dishes
Laundry baskets are full

The washer has clothes in it that need to be moved to the dryer

Trash needs to be taken out
Refrigerator is empty
So is the pantry
Inbox is full of unanswered emails
Phone calls need to be returned
Bills need to be paid
Thank You's need to be written

and

Most likely I will still be in my PJ's when Brad gets home
Maybe a different pair....if they get peed, pooped, or spit up on

I think I fed the dog....poor Target ;)
I think I brushed my teeth today
I think I ate today

I think I smell....ok, not too bad, but maybe a little ;)

BUT

I sang to my daughter today

I read her a book

I stroked her face

I tickled her belly

I kissed her

I talked to her about God

I took her picture (no surprise there!)

I changed her diaper to keep her healthy and clean

I changed her clothes when she spit up

I danced around with her to the music

I celebrated any "first" she had today

I cheered her on as she tried to roll over

I congratulated her on lifting her head so high

I put her in different positions until I found the perfect one to soothe her

I walked her around the house until I lost count

I told her she is beautiful inside and out

I whispered in her ear how much I love her

I rocked her

I bounced her

I held her

I am no pro, but I tried to be the best mommy today and accomplish the things that are most important and let go of the things that are not.....

and one more confession:

I might have kissed her a little too much while she was sleeping that it made her wake up early from her nap....I know I know....It took so much work to get her to sleep...

but I missed her

A Smile.....

Brooklyn has been smiling in her sleep a ton and sometimes she would when she is awake, but I could always tell it was more of a reflex than a real "social" smile.

Well.....

on September 2nd I caught this smile! It was quick and I was amazed I caught it on camera! A few days later Brooklyn really made eye contact with me and gave me the biggest smile ever. It was magical and got me all teary eyed! I just can't get enough of this sweet girl!

I LOVE being her mommy :)

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!