7 Months Old

September 22, 2013
16 lbs
Size 2 diapers
Size 3-6 & 6 month clothing

I think this last month Brooklyn has gone a little crazy, or maybe she is making me go a little crazy.  She has the cutest, funniest, craziest personality and I couldn't love her any more.  She is a little out of control, but it is awesome.  She rolls all over the place.  One day we were hanging out in her nursery and she rolled all the way across the room, out the door and down the hallway until she got sidetracked by a doorstop, which kept her occupied for like 10 minutes.

She eats solid food at least once a day, but normally twice.  She loves sweet potatoes. We normally strip her down to just her diaper and put a bib on her but she still manages to make a mess, although by the end of the month she was getting better at opening her mouth wider. She sits up so well now. We no longer have to make sure that she is positioned just right before we let go.  We can just plop her down and she will stay there.

This last month was not her best sleeping month.  It took her a while to get back into her routine when we got back from Idaho.  She still goes to bed around 8:30 and will wake up around 7:15am but she normally wakes us up at least twice a night crying, but she does a great job consoling herself and for the most part puts herself back to sleep.  She is down to 2 naps most days. Her morning nap is fairly short, normally around 30-45mins, but her afternoon nap is thankfully around 90 minutes. She no longer sleeps swaddled up.  I thought it was going to be a tough transition, but of course she did it like a champ. We thought she was teething at the beginning of the month. She was kind of cranky, extra drooly, wasn't sleeping well, had a super runny nose and was biting the crap out of everything, but here we are 3 weeks later and still nothing.  So maybe she just had a cold I guess or it is taking forever for her tooth to come through, either way it was not fun. Other than that she is still a super happy baby.

Just a few days ago (9/20/13) she figured out that she doesn't have to roll to get to things, she started to scoot.  She is still pretty slow at it, but it was amazing to watch her figure it out. Her head is still pretty flat.  We don't feel like it has rounded out at all, so we are going to take her to a neurologist in a few weeks to see if she needs to get a helmet.  I can't believe how much her personality has blossomed this last month.  She laughs and smiles all the time, she shakes her head no constantly, her feet are ticklish and she loves to play with toys.  She especially loves tags, she will find the tag on anything and then start sucking on it.

Here are a few random pictures from throughout the month:

We found her an old remote to play with so she wouldn't slobber all over the real one

 

Time to change out of the jammies

She loves playing with bottles and she always tries to drink out of them



The Joys of Homeownership and being a Grown-Up

New water heater... $1500

 

Plumber fixing master bathroom toilet... $500

 

Katie's dental work... $200

 

New air conditioner... $7500

 

Fixing Craig's truck... $400

 

Homeownership & being a grown-up... Very Expensive and kind of sucky right now

 

Needless to say these last few months have been a little stressful.  When we bought the house we figured there would be some small things that would need to be done. We thought we might have to replace the washing machine or the dishwasher. So when our water heater was leaking and the technician told us that it wasn't fixable, we thought that was going to be our "major" contribution to the house.  We had no idea what was coming in the next month and a half.  All I know is that when it is time to sell the house we are taking people right up to the attic so they can see the $9000 worth of new stuff up there.  All of this wouldn't be that bad if we were planning on being in the house longer than another year and a half.  All I know is that we better sell this house for a profit.  I guess all of this stuff is just part of growing-up, I just wish it didn't have to happen all at the same time, yay for student loans.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that there nothing else comes up.

Boise/McCall Trip

Craig got a week off from school in between semesters so we decided to head back to Idaho to visit family.  Brooklyn and I headed out early and left Craig to join us when he finished up finals.  Brooklyn and I flew out on August 15th and Brooklyn did pretty well again.  She had a small melt down on the flight from Minneapolis to Boise but luckily we didn't get any nasty looks from anyone and the people sitting next to us were super nice.  Once we were in Boise we stayed with my parents and just relaxed.  We swam almost everyday, it was nice to get a little tan.

A little tummy time in the pool

We ate a ton of peaches off of my parents trees (I think I ate about 3 a day), visited with some old friends, ate Costa Vida, went boating a few times, got family pictures, read, and just relaxed.

At first Brooklyn was a little unsure about the life jacket but she did pretty well with it. It was so nice to get out on the lake and be able to ski a few times and just spend time out on the water.  It had been way to long.  Luckily I was able to get up the first try, I was a little uncertain.

My whole family was able to get together for family pictures. It was so nice to see everyone. My mom did a great job choosing outfits for everyone and I can't wait to see the final product, I bet they turned out great.

Brooklyn loved spending time with all of the family.  She especially loved spending time with her Uncle Tucker.  T is great with all of his nieces and nephews and is by far the favorite uncle.  She loved watching Sports Center with him.

First time on the swing. All she wanted to do was eat the chain

Once Craig got into town on the 23rd we spent a few more days in Boise. He shadowed a few doctors to try and get a feel for the area and he also golfed with his Dad and brother. We then headed up to McCall for the rest of the week with Craig's family. While we were up in McCall we ate at our favorite places (My Father's Place, Si Bueno, Pancake House, Ice Cream Alley), Craig golfed, we walked around downtown and by the lake, had a lot of fires in the back yard, and went boating.

While we were up there my only form of exercise was walking (since I still can't run), so each morning we bundled up Brooklyn and went for walks.  Most of the time she fell asleep, but she seemed to enjoy them.  Aunt Missy made her the super cute hat and I'm glad she had the chance to wear it and the jumpsuit, because she sure won't need them in Memphis right now.

We love to walk around downtown and at the park by the lake. It is always fun to see all the boats and to go into the different shops.

We took the boat out on Payette Lake and had a picnic (which is the only reason her life jacket is off, I swear the boat is stopped) and then we decided to take Brooklyn on a little tube ride.  She was a little unsure about it at first but once we started moving(very slowly mind you) she was laughing and smiling, even when the cold water would splash up and hit her legs.  I also got in after and skied.

Each morning we would eat breakfast out on the patio and each evening we would have a fire and make S'mores.  As you can see Brooklyn loved the fire. Luckily she didn't try to reach for it.

We flew back to Memphis on Labor Day.  Brooklyn was awesome.  She took an hour and 15 minute nap on the second flight, which was more than half of the flight.  It was so nice to be able to fly back with Craig.  What a difference a second pair of hands can make.  Our baby girl is now a seasoned traveler.  Hopefully we will be able to make it back to Boise again for Christmas.  We can't wait to see everyone again.  It is always so nice to get to spend time with family. All in all we had a great trip but it was nice to get back to our own house and Brooklyn into her crib.

6 Months Old

August 22, 2013
15 lbs 8 oz
25 1/2 inches
Size 2 diapers
Size 3/6 month clothing

 

I feel like this month has definitely brought on the most changes yet.  She started eating solids (rice cereal on 8/1/13, sweet potatoes on 8/4/13), she loves toys, she started sitting up for more than just a few seconds at a time (sat up for almost 5 minutes on 8/20/13), she discovered her toes, and her personality just seems to keep developing.  She also got her first "Hair Cut" this month.  She had some scraggly long hairs that had never fell out with the rest of them, so I decided to take scissors to them on 8/13/13. Now her hair is a little more uniform.

 She gets very messy while eating, we now use a bib

She loves to eat her toes

 

For the most part she continues to sleep well, going to bed between 8 and 8:30pm and waking up usually around 7:30am.  Still doesn't really like to nap, I usually get 30-45 minute naps out of her.  At the end of the month she started to drop her last nap, so most days she takes 3 short naps. She still hates her tummy and doesn't like to roll over very often. She loves to smile at anyone who will smile at her and loves to giggle. She is still a very happy baby almost all the time we are very lucky.  Her 6 month check up went well.  She is very healthy.  We are still trying to get her head rounded out, but her doctor continues to tell not to worry about it and to just keep doing what we are doing ( I think we might try to get a 2nd opinion).  She had to get more shots and she introduced me to a new cry, her "I'm in pain and I can't believe you just did that to me" cry.  The whole doctors office got introduced to it.  The doctor said that if a 6 month old could swear, that's what it would sound like.

 

Here are a few more random pictures from throughout the month:

Every once in a while I can get her to smile while on her tummy

 





New dress from Grandma Williams

Before church

Right before she figured out the whole sitting on her own thing

Playing on her Monkey Mat

 

Still loves to make faces, she started to do one that we call her denture smile because it looks like an old man who forgot to put his dentures in.