Celebrating our Brooklyn Hope

On April 11th, our baby girl turned one year old! Wow, what a quick and marvelous year it was too! This  girl of ours is such a joy and will forever be our perfect "baby" girl! She is sweet and funny with a gentle spirit, yet she knows how to assert herself and stand up to her big sister, already!

The day after her birthday, I took her to see Dr. Smith for her well check. Poor baby, she is much more sensitive than Maddie ever was at the doctor, and she cried from the moment they weighed her till they finished with all her shots and blood work! :( But she checked out perfectly. Here are some stats at one year:

-weighs 19 pounds 4 ounces (25th percentile) and is only in the 10th percentile for length. She is my short, compact girl!
-wears 9 month or 12 month clothing
-wears size 4 diaper
-WALKING and roaming everywhere
-since she is right about at the 20 pound mark, we went ahead and switched her to Maddie's old car seat once she moved to a booster. She looks so much more comfortable now that she is out of the baby carrier!
- eating table foods or graduate meals. She is a great eater and doesn't pass on much!
-no more formula or bottles. We transitioned to whole milk and she loves it. Once she finally got the hang of sippy cups a couple of months ago too, we never looked back!
-4 teeth on top and two on bottom
-goes to bed about 7:30 and will usually sleep till 7:00

Heading to church-Easter Sunday

Playing @ Dr. Smith's office-before the meltdown

We are a Ranger lovin' family!

Today, we had Brooklyn's 1st birthday party at my parents house! Family and friends came to help celebrate our baby girl! We had a blast at our "Easter/Spring" themed party. We had snacks, cake and punch that were all so yummy! Brooklyn had her very own cupcake and enjoyed the frosting and sprinkles! Then we opened presents (with the help of some bigger girls!) and enjoyed visiting with all our friends! Here are a few pictures from the party:

And in conclusion, here are just a few more random pictures of Brooklyn-particularly of her walking!

Precious

Words can not describe how much I love these two! Maddie is my smart, big girl and Brooklyn will forever be my sweet baby! Together-they are the best sisters. I am so incredibly blessed!



11 Months

We are one month closer to our baby girl becoming a one year old! Wow! Not much has changed since last month and unfortunately I failed on taking many pictures this go-'round. But here is what 11 months looks like for you, sweet girl!

-still sleeping great. Usually going to bed at about 7:30 and sleeping till about 6:30.
-drinking formula from your sippy cup. Not a big fan of juice.
-a hungry girl and eating mostly graduate foods or table food. Enjoys snacks.
-we are brushing 5 teeth these days with some more trying to come through
-can still wear 6/9 month clothes, 9 month, and some 12 month if it is a smaller fit
-weigh about 20 pounds
-wearing size 4 diapers but with plenty of growing room
-short. Really short!
-fighting an ear infection that we've battled for well over a month
-can stand by yourself and maybe take one step unassisted. Usually cruising around furniture though or pushing your walker.

A Girl and Her Horse

Some friends of ours gave Brooklyn this Disney princess horse and she loves it. She does her best to rock it herself and it's just so cute! Of course, the baby on top of that horse is the cutest thing of all!!

9 Months & A Surprise

Brooklyn bear turned 9 months old yesterday! I can't believe that in a few short months, we will actually be celebrating her 1st birthday! She went for her well-check and here are her stats along with a few other pieces of info about our growing girl:

-weighs 17lbs. 6oz. (30th %) and only 26 inches long. Dr. Smith says you are a petite girl and you are smaller than your sister was at this age.
-wearing 6/9 month clothing and size 3 diapers
-eating 3 good meals a day. You can easily eat stage 2 1/2 foods (which is something new since having Maddie) and can even slowly handle some stage 3 foods. You can self feed yourself a snack but only if it's something large, i.e. a cracker or cheetoh puff. You rely on my help if it's a smaller baby snack. You also still nurse but we are trying to wean you onto a sippy cup. This has not been a fun process!
-Your good sleeping habits have been interrupted as of late. We are blaming the weaning process and teething. You use to sleep through the night and take two great naps. Now, for about 2 weeks, you have been waking up every night atleast once and taking only semi good naps. Im a little worn out and ready for you to adjust back to sleeping well!
-You have 2 teeth coming through on the bottom and will probably have 2 on the top before we know it.
-You can officially crawl and pull up. We've lowered your bed all the way down now.
-learning to sign the word "more"
-will say "dada", "ma" and will sometimes imitate us if we clap our hands

You have, so far, been a very healthy girl. Other than the sniffles from time to time, you haven't been sick. Praise the Lord! Now knock on wood, that that lucky streak only continues!

It's become increasingly more difficult to get a good picture of you these days because you will not stay still. But here are a few:



A few days before Christmas, I began to have a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. That weird feeling progressed into me taking a home pregnancy test and much to my surprise, this is what I saw:



I almost fainted! We were very much not trying to get pregnant, but low and behold, pregnant we are! I remained in a state of shock for several days. My risk of miscarriages and hard pregnancies always puts such fear in me. Now what was I going to do?!?!? Could my body even handle another pregnancy right now?!?!?! I was really nervous. But after talking with Jaime, my parents, and a few close friends...the consensus was finally this: that this 100% has to be in the Lord's plan because it certainly wasn't in ours! Once again, He is reminding me that I am not the one in control and He can handle anything. We've since been to an early sonogram with my doctor to check for viability. We weren't able to see much because it's so early, but inside the gestational sac was a faint little flicker. We saw a heartbeat! That's always a good sign and I am praying that I can continue to make it through the first trimester, especially, with no signs of miscarriage. For now, we think that this baby is due sometime around the end of August. Between now and then, we are just taking it one day at a time at praying a lot! We would welcome any and all prayers that we can get for a smooth pregnancy and healthy baby!

A Very Merry Christmas

This year was our first Christmas as a family of four and we have tried to make the most out of the whole month! This time of year is my absolute favorite and I have such fond memories of Christmas as a child. I go to great lengths to make sure my girls not only love the magic of Christmas, but also remember that ultimately, it's all about Jesus! This year was great in both regards. Maddie and I talked about Mary/Joseph/baby Jesus almost on a daily basis. JTB really helped her put things into perspective this year too! She was also super excited about Santa this time and was always asking about him. A few highlights from our month were:

• looking at Christmas lights
• watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate
• Maddie helping mommy decorate the tree
• shopping for our yearly Christmas ornament
• going to the Cracker Barrel and getting Brooklyn's stocking
• Tyler Christmas Parade
• Journey Through Bethlehem
• talking to Santa and later, writing him a letter
• making cookies and other snacks
• daddy's Christmas party in Longview
• Maddie's Christmas party at church
• young adult SS class scavenger hunt
• Christmas stories

It was a busy month (always is) and I intentionally cram as much in as possible! There are so many fun and memorable things to do! On Christmas Eve, we went to my parent's house and ate some fabulous chicken and sausage gumbo. Then we stuck around long enough to listen to my dad read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas so that we could all sign the book. Then we scurried out the door and drove down the road back to our house so that we could do our own things before putting the girls to bed. We made some cookies for Santa, and while those cooked, we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas (a favorite of Jaime's from childhood) and the story of Jesus' birth from Luke. Maddie was then allowed to eat one cookie and watch a short Christmas movie before heading to bed. I told her that she HAD to stay in bed tonight and go to sleep as quickly as she could so that Santa would stop by. I think she listened because I didn't hear a peep and began wrapping gifts around 10 or so. I was able to get in bed at about midnight only to be woken up at 2! Maddie told me that she saw a shadow and thought it might be Santa!! I asked her if she looked at the tree yet and she hadn't so she ran into the living room. She was gone for several mintues and I just knew she was destroying all the presents, so I got out of bed. However, I found her quietly sitting in front of the tree, thumbing through a Christmas book that was propped in front (she gets a new one very year)! It was so cute. For a few minutes we sat in front of the tree, oohing and aahing. We then decided we better go back to sleep! Luckily, the family slept from that point till 7:30! Then we got up, opened presents, ate breakfast and headed to church for a worship service. After that, we headed back out to Nana and Papaw's house to spend the day doing Christmas with them. We opened more presents, took naps, played with new toys, and ate the greatest chicken and dressing meal ever. The green beans, sweet potato casserole, homemade monkey bread, and turkey weren't too bad either! ;) Yumm! By the end of the evening, Jaime and I were completely worn out but it was such a fun day!

Now, a new year is approaching us. Jaime and I are about to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and we are both very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this next year as we reflect on the past year of 2011. We are already so blessed!



8 months

I can hardly believe that 8 months have passed since I delivered our beautiful little Brooklyn! What an amazing addition she is to our family! She is my sweet cuddler and a terrific baby!

At 8 months you:

-wear size 3 diapers
-6/9 month clothing
-you will have your next well child exam next month so I will know more about weight and length then
-are still a great eater! You enjoy cereal/fruit for breakfast, a veggie for lunch, and the same with maybe some fruit for dinner. You also are starting to enjoy little puffs and yogurt melts, though I break them up pretty small because you still don't have A SINGLE TOOTH! Nope....only gums!
-still love to nurse though we are coming down in feedings. You usually nurse for the last time at about 7 in the evening and go to bed at 8.
-sleep from 8 to about 6:30 or 7.You nurse as soon as you wake up. You usually take 2, two hour naps. Once around 9am and again at about 1 or 1:30 in the afternoon.
-you are still easily amused and love to laugh. Recently, you've started making grunting noises when you see something you want along with trying to make other noises with your mouth(usually to mimic sister).
-you lean over pretty far when you are sitting with toys, especially if you see a toy you would like, and almost make it to the crawling position. I think that you are close to crawling but still struggle with getting one leg stuck from underneath you.

I can hardly believe how great of a baby you are. I am just so blessed!!

Watching daddy's fire

Your ornament

Tyler Christmas Parade and JTB

Every year, our church puts on Journey Through Bethelehem; a drive through nativity scene. It's my favorite event of the year and we always have a huge turn out! The past few years, we've decided to enter a float in the Tyler Christmas Parade to spread the word even more. This year was my first opportunity to participate in the parade and it was a lot of fun! Since I have a litle baby again, I was given the honor of dressing up as Mary and showing off the most adorable baby Jesus (2nd only to her big sister)! Brooklyn did great as we rode through downtown. It was so cute to hear the crowd clap for her and take pictures of my precious little one! They really got a big kick out of seeing a "real baby Jesus"! Big sister was awesome too. She dressed up like a donkey and rode on the float as well, hollering "Merry Christmas" over and over again! This week, JTB begins. It will be Wed-Sat from 6-8:30 at Trinity Baptist Church and it's totally free! So if you're looking for something fun to do, feel free to take a step back in time with us and watch as we try to display what Christmas is really all about! Rumor is....there's going to be one cute baby Jesus in the manger this year..... :)

Sweet 7 Month Old

Our Brooklyn is 7 months old today and such a joy! I can hardly believe how quickly the time is passing and wish some days that I could just freeze time. I can not even begin to describe how much I love this baby girl of mine. She is such an easy baby and I am just so blessed with her in my life!

At 7 months, you are:

-sitting up all by yourself
-eating 3 meals a day and still nursing as well
-sleeping from about 8-6
-taking 2 to 3 naps during the day
-wearing 6-9 month clothing
-wearing size 3 diaper
-becoming more interested in toys and sometimes, I'll catch you watching a cartoon on tv
-still no teeth but you have started messing around with your ear some. Maybe a sign of things to come.
-loves to cuddle and really enjoys bath time
-very ticklish still and you have the cutest little side-to-side rock when you hear music

I bought a new outfit last night that I thought was so cute. So along with our usual monthly photo, I decided to do a little mini photo shoot too!

I love you baby girl! :)