1st Mother's Day

Ever since we found out we were pregnant with Brooklyn we decided that we didn't need to purchase each other gifts for birthdays and holidays, which was supposed to include Mother's Day, but Craig decided it was okay to get me flowers since they were from Brooklyn.  Craig really did make it a special day for me.  When we got home from church he made banana chocolate chip pancakes (my favorite).  He then hung out with Brooklyn, who didn't want to nap, so that I could take a nap. 

When I came out from my nap this is what I found, Craig and Brooklyn watching the Players Championship (golf).  Tiger was playing well, so Craig was very focused.  That evening Craig grilled up some delicious chicken and made roasted potatoes and asparagus.  It was delicious.  It really was a great day and I am so grateful to be a mother to our beautiful baby girl.  Being a mother has really made my appreciation grow for the mother's in my life.  I am so grateful for my mom, mother-in-law, grandmothers and my sisters and the examples they are to me.  They all have greatly influenced me and I love them so much.

Nashville

Craig had a week off school in between semesters so we decided to take a little road trip to see Nashville, TN.  It is about a 3 hour drive from Memphis and thought this would be a good first road trip for Brooklyn.  We left for Nashville Monday morning May 6th.  Brooklyn got up to feed at 5:45am and we left right after she ate and luckily she slept the entire way.  Our first stop was at the Pancake Pantry.

We couldn't check into our hotel yet so we decided to grab some delicious pancakes and I mean delicious. I had crepe like pancakes with chocolate ganouch rolled up inside with chocolate syrup on top and whipped cream and a raspberry compote.  I mean seriously that is my kinda of breakfast.  Craig went for the classic buttermilk but he said those were great too.  After breakfast we headed downtown to pick up our city passes and then on to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

We didn't want to do a guided tour just in case Brooklyn decided to have one of her freak outs so we just wondered the museum our selves. They have a cool museum with the history of country music and then have the actual Hall of Fame.

Garth Brooks: Craig's Favorite country artist

After the Hall of Fame it was finally late enough for us to go check in to our hotel.  Brooklyn took a short nap and then we headed out to dinner.  Some friends of ours had told us about a restaurant that had a huge aquarium in it and it just happened to be really close to our hotel so we decided to head over there for dinner.

The food was a little over priced but it was a pretty cool atmosphere. There was a 200,000 gallon tank right in the middle of the restaurant.  Brooklyn slept all through dinner, which was awesome, but she woke up just before we left so that she could take a look at the fish.  Back to the hotel and off to bed. We are not used to sleeping in the same room as Brooklyn, she only last in our bedroom for 1/2 a night when we got home from the hospital and now I remember why, she is a noisy little sleeper.  Needless to say Brooklyn slept great and Craig and I were a little tired the next morning. Tuesday morning we headed just outside the Nashville city limits to the Hermitage, which is where President Andrew Jackson lived before and after his presidencies.


Brooklyn started off in the front back but that only lasted until we got to the front door, Craig had to run back to the car to get the stroller

The first part of the tour was a museum

Andrew Jackson's Mansion/Plantation 

It was an audio guided tour which was nice because we could go at our own pace with Brooklyn.  We were able to go through the mansion and all over the grounds.  There were these cute 4th graders all dressed up and scattered all over the grounds to tell you about the history of it. Next we grabbed some lunch from a little BBQ shack that was recommended by Food Network and then we were off to the Parthenon.

An exact replica of the Parthenon from ancient Greece

Inside the Parthenon on the first level was a museum about it being built and Nashville at the time it was built and then on the second level was information about the Parthenon and the figures that are on the outside of it.

Huge gold statue on the second level of the Goddess Athena (I think)

 We decided that was enough for the day and we headed back to the hotel for Brooklyn to take a nap somewhere else besides her carseat or Craig's arms.

Brooklyn hanging at the hotel

  That night we made a quick stop at the Grand Ole Opry.  We couldn't go to Nashville without seeing it. 

We didn't go inside because we didn't think Brooklyn would handle a 2 hour guided tour very well so we just admired it from afar. Wednesday morning Craig woke up a little more refreshed because he was able to tune out some of Brooklyn, but I still somehow heard all of her noises.  After we ate breakfast and packed up we headed off to the Nashville Zoo.

Brooklyn slept the entire time at the zoo so we don't have any pictures with her.  It was a pretty small zoo but kept up really nice.  After the zoo we started our journey back home to Memphis.  We had to stop just once to quickly feed and change Brooklyn, but other than that she was an absolute trooper.  We would definitely consider it a successful trip, although we were glad to have Brooklyn back up in her nursery. 



2 Months Old

April 22, 2013
10 lbs. 1/2 oz
22 inches
 

I can't believe that our baby girl is already 2 months old.  She had her 2 month check up yesterday, which I was not looking forward to because of the shots.  I know she needs them, but I just hated the thought of her being stuck with needles.  She was a champ though. The nurse was awesome and got all 4 shots done in less than 30 seconds. She of course screamed like crazy when she was getting the shots, but luckily I was able to calm her down in just a few minutes and then she fell asleep in her car seat on the drive home and slept for 2 hours.  She did get a fever later in the afternoon, but we just gave her some children's Tylenol and she soon felt better. She even slept pretty well for us last night.

 

 

So we just barely switched her over from newborn diapers to size 1 and they still look huge on her.  She is in the 25th percentile for weight and almost the 50th percentile for height, we've got ourselves a little one.  The rest of her check up went well, we have a healthy baby girl.

 

Here are just a few more pictures from earlier in the month:

 

Naked baby after a big poop

Hanging with Dad

Holy double chin

Such a big girl

 





1st Baseball Game

On Saturday the 20th we took Brooklyn to her first baseball game. Memphis has a triple A team called the Redbirds that are affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. We went to quite a few of their games last summer and were excited to go again this year.  They have a super nice stadium, but when we go we bring a blanket and sit on the grass for only 6 bucks. Brooklyn did really well, we did learn however that she does not like to take her bottles cold, so Craig had to sit with the bottle between his legs for about 30 minutes to warm it up a little bit(what a good dad).  We had a lot of fun and look forward to going again with our awesome group of friends.

Funny Faces

Brooklyn likes to make a lot of faces. Some super cute, others not so much. It has been fun because she is really starting to smile, but she has also mastered the quivering bottom lip that melts her Daddy's heart.  Here are just a few of her funny faces that we have been able to catch on camera.


Sweet smile

 Cute girl has a hard time keeping her tongue in her mouth

 She feels much better after a big poop

Happy girl

 Satisfied

 Big yawn

 I call this her Elvis Presley, we do live in Memphis so I feel it is appropriate

 This is her Zoolander (if you've seen the movie you'll know what I'm talking about)

She loves her tongue

Nana & Pops Visit

Craig's parents came out to Memphis to meet their newest granddaughter. Diane was able to come out for a week and Stan was able to come for 4 days.  Brooklyn loved meeting more of her grandparents and can't wait to meet grandpa Williams.  We mainly hung out at the house while they were here. Diane spoiled us with her cooking, Craig requested some of his favorites like fajitas and shrimp salad.  We had a lot of fun with them and can't wait to see them again.

Happy Easter

 Easter Sunday was the first time that we took Brooklyn to church. Brooklyn did really well except for the really loud hiccups that could be heard throughout the chapel.  It was nice to be able to go to church and partake of the sacrament again, especially on such a special day when we are remembering what our Savior did for each and every one of us.  Brooklyn loved listening to the beautiful Easter program that our ward put together. She was entranced by the music, which made me think I need to get more church CD's especially some primary music ones. We had a really enjoyable day together, including a delicious ham dinner, thanks to Diane.