Brooke is 6 months!

Well, this blog has become only a monthly check-in on my kids! I am okay with that so I can have the memories...maybe someday I will update more.

Well, our little Brookie Cookie is 6 months old! Wow, this has went fast!

• Brooke is wearing 6 months clothing. She can still fit in some 3 month but the arms are short.
• Brooke is eating lots of food. I wanted to get it all in before I started back to school. She loves the orange veggies and pears. She almost refused to eat the green beans tonight. I might have a picky eater on my hands...bummer!
• She loves her bottles...they have to be warm though.
• Brooke and Cole have started to "play." Brooke loves to be with Cole and she thinks it is really funny to grab him and he laughs too! Super cute to see a relationship forming.
• She had a rough patch of sleeping but now we are doing better. She goes down around 7:30 and wakes around 5:00 am to eat...not always though...somedays she doesn't wake until 8:00.
• She can find her nuk in the night now! WOOHOO
• She loves the little puffs.
• She LOVES my mom. She gets super excited to see her.
• She really loves most people and is such a smiley girl.
• We started using a little noise maker in her bed, she likes the stream flowing.
• Brooke celebrated her first Christmas. She greatly enjoyed the wrapping paper...and her new presents.
• She sits up and grabs at things all the time. She wants to pull herself up and stand but we need a bit of time for that.
• Brooke really doesn't love to be on her belly...we need to work on this. When she IS on her belly she reaches to grab things in front of her. Crawling will happen sooner than we think!
• She grabs my face and comes in for kisses. Love her interactions.
• She is a big coo-er.
• Words to describe Brooke... Silly, Loving, Excited

With 6 months comes the end of my maternity leave. I have been so blessed to be able to only work 1 month of Brooke's first 6 months of life. She is such a joy. This time at home with her and Cole has been wonderful. I am excited to go back to work because I love my job and my students but I will definitely be missing my kids. We will live for weekends again! :) I love my babies! :)

Photo Book - Merry Christmas Mom!

My mom wanted a book of all the pictures from the start of Cole's life to now Brooke and Rylie's life. Well, the book ended up being mostly Cole but since he was alive the longest, that is to be expected! Here is a glimpse of it! It was super fun to make! And I had a few teary eyed moments remembering how fast Cole has grown up!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo books are the perfect gift for any occasion.

5 months!

It is just amazing how fast this all goes! Brooke is getting to be a real moving active baby. She is not content to just sit and lay around anymore...she wants to be involved! :) She is still soooooo sweet and such a good baby girl!

• Brooke is now drinking formula. Since having the formula she has gained at least a pound. Woohoo!
• She has been sick most of the month so I was able to get her weight. 13.8 lbs! At her 4 month appointment she was 12.8 and the doctor wanted her to gain a bit more weight. There you go Dr. B. :)
• Brooke is also eating solids. Rice cereal for breakfast and Rice Cereal and Veggies for dinner. She wasn't thrilled with green beans but tonight she actually enjoyed the peas. Wierd.
• Brooke is ready for all her 6 month clothing. 
• She loves Nala and Cole. When they are running around she is content to watch them. She gets a big smile when Cole tries to play with her. 
• She loves when Cole jumps on her and tries to roll her around. Cole likes to be her babysitter.
• She is sitting up almost all the way by herself. She prefers to be sitting up.
• Her favorite laying down position is happy baby...so stinkin cute!
• Brooke is learning to go to sleep on her own...she is doing really well with it. 
• Brooke has finally went to the zoo and stayed awake. She didn't really see the animals but she was awake for it...hooray!
• Brooke spends lots of time with mommy during the day...I am her favorite...or my mom! I love when we are with my mom for a little arm break. My biceps are getting pretty huge though! 
• Brooke loves bath time and kicking her legs in the water.
• Speaking of kicking her legs...when we go into her room after she starts crying she starts kicking her legs and smiling at us. Adorable!
• BIGGEST NEWS...Brooke has a new playmate...baby Rylie!
• She should have a few teeth coming in.
• She isn't pooping through her clothes as much but when it happens it is A MESS.
• Her favorite game with me is riding on my legs or grabbing my cheeks and pulling my head to hers. I love it!
• She celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time...she slept through dinner!
• She likes to play ball...Cole is working on learning to roll the ball to her instead of chucking it! :) 
• 3 words to describe Brooke: Demanding (this month), Observant, Sweet

I am so thankful for Brooke. It is great to see her and Cole forming a relationship. I love knowing that God made her perfectly for our family. I can't wait to see what next month holds!

4 Months

Brooke is 4 months! Wow...time sure does fly! Let me tell you, this maternity leave is just wonderful at this stage of her life. I am so enjoying seeing her grow and change and get a glimpse of her personality.

• Brooke loves to eat...right at 3 hours. 
• Brooke is wearing 3 month clothing but I might be able to start switching to some 3-6. It is on my to-do list this week to go through her clothes.
• Brooke loves to laugh and smile. If I could pick a love language of hers already it would be physical touch. She just loves to be in close contact with others.
• Brooke is still working on sleeping. I can't figure her out yet. She likes to be rocked only sometimes. She sometimes needs to just lay down and go to sleep. Sometimes she screams ridiculously and won't settle down when I try to let her cry it out. It is so much fun. At night she sleeps until 4:00 and then cries and we put her nuk in and she goes back to sleep until about 5:30 to eat. PS: I looked back at Cole at 4 months and this was the exact same thing he did. 
• Brooke is rolling over!! Super fun to cheer her on!
• Brooke loves Cole...she loves to watch him everywhere he goes. Again as long as she can see people around her she is happy!
• Brooke poops through her clothes at least once a day. Now this is not a negligent parent situation...I am on it! It just keeps happening! 
• She looooooves to swim and be in the water! We have been to quite a few of my brothers football games this year and she goes swimming in the hotel pool with us. And she looks super cute in her swimsuit.
• She is starting to play. She loves the crinkly toys and is putting everything in her mouth. She is always kicking her legs and being busy. 
• Some words to describe Brooke: Calm, Sweet, Busy (I find it interesting that both my kids are busy bees...hands are going to be very full)

Brooke totally rocks! I love having a baby girl way more than I ever expected! I mean even her cries are more girly than Cole's were. Or she will randomly squeal and it sounds like a girl. We love our Brooke! 

2 Years Old

Cole is a big 2 year old! I am wayyy behind on posting about your big boy! Let's chat about Cole:
Cole is so joyful. He is entering the terrible twos and is really only terrible when he is teething or bored. I have to keep him engaged and active all day long. He has a busy mind. We play hard all morning, we do school, we cook, we play outside, we run back and forth, we jump off beds, etc. I love his personality. He really loves life and loves to explore every thing. He looooves to learn new things. Some of his favorite things are animals, hikes, playing ball, playing on the bed, swimming, doing projects, and baking. If I give him a bowl of food and then put something on the side...everything gets put in the bowl and he starts mixing. A few words to describe his personality are exuberant, sweet, active, and determined. He loves to challenge me. We have been working on a few skills like picking up, listening the first time, and cleaning up messes. He is now in his big boy bed and is doing a great job. We switched at the perfect time. He knows that rule, "stay in bed until mommy or daddy come get me" and he likes to tell us the rule before we leave. Then he laughs! But he follows it. He is now starting to read before bed. I think it takes him a little bit to really calm down. We always read with him but now he likes to read a few books on his own. He gets scared easily. HAHA It is pretty funny but it has really made me think about the things that we show him on TV or in books. It also has showed me how fast he is growing up and that he is so aware and observant that I need to be careful. This is the first stage of life that has made me realize that he is growing up and I want it to sloooow down. Cole loves to eat. He loves chili, tacos, mac and cheese, peanut butter and jelly and fruit. Lots of fruit! He loves his baby sister so much. He is learning to share with her and not to take toys from her. This is something that he learned in nursery at church when other kids took toys from him and he didn't like it. He was like defeated ...haha! So, he does a good job of sharing until she really starts playing with his toys! :) He also loves to play with his friends!

I am really proud of Cole. He is a good boy! He has started to learn about Jesus in his toddler class at church. We can ask him who made the stars or the moon or Noah's Ark and he says, "God." It makes me so happy to know he is learning these things at such a young age. I could write for days so I will stop now! :) That is our Coley Oley!

3 Months!

Brooke is 3 months and still super sweet!

• She is wearing 3 months clothing - I love that my babies were exactly the size they are...it helps with organization and I love it.
• She has found her hands and plays with them and sticks them in her mouth all the time.
• Still eating every 3 hours and lots to eat. She now stops in the  middle of eating and looks up at me with a big smile before heading back for more...sooo cute!
• She is a very smiley girl.
• I think her love language is physical contact. She loves to rock or just be held. 
• She LOVES her brother. She could watch his craziness for hours.
• She was very spoiled at the babysitters...I am so thankful they love my kids so much...now I am working on some good sleep habits.
• I am now on my family leave time - until Christmas. Me and the babes until Christmas...woohoo! Lots of fun in store. 
• She has spent the last 3 weeks sleeping in a little chair from her stuffy nose. This must stop.
• She is starting to drool more.
• She is finding her voice...she coos and chats and coos and chats. She likes to respond to me and is a good listener. 
• We have had fun going to the apple orchard, pumpkin patch, on many walks, on a few rides down the slide, and a Homecoming parade. 

2 Months!

Baby Girl is 2 months! See her 2 month picture on Facebook as I have not gotten to making a new blog yet...I am thinking October when I am on maternity leave. Brooke is just a great baby! Here are the stats:

• Brooke weighs 10lbs 14 oz. She is in the 50th percentile for height and weight. 74th percentile for head. I mean that is normal for my kids. :)
• She is wearing 3 month clothing.
• At 5 weeks I let Brooke sleep in her room for the first time since I had the pack n play at my parents house. She started sleeping through the night then. I wish it had continued... :)
• She wakes up at about 1 and 5ish. I think it is because she was adjusting to me being back at work or being more aware of her surroundings in her big crib. I just let her do some cry it out...it was probably the first time she cried that hard. Poor girl. It took about 30 minutes and then I calmed her down and she was out. And now I feel really guilty. :)
• She is a smiler. I love it sooo much...I can't wait to see her personality.
• During her awake time she loves to be sitting straight up and watching what is going on. Mostly watching Cole be his crazy self.
• She enjoys bath time!
• She has started to coo and make cute little noises.
• She is drinking 4 oz every 3 hours and then not at all during the night.
• She loves to hold hands and is a big cuddler. She loves to be rocked as well...that is why she was so mad about being in her crib before she was asleep. HA!

Baby Brooke, we love you so much! Cole even tells us that he loves you. We are so thankful that God gave you to us. :)

1 Month!

Brooke is 1 month and we are so happy to have her around! She is such a little blessing. She is content and very relaxed...I think she must know that we have our hands full with big brother! :) Here is her update...

• She weighs 9.6 pounds...that was determined by the very accurate weigh myself and then add her method! :) 
• She is on the same routine as Cole was...my mom said it must be me! :) She eats every 3 hours and is sleeping 5 hour stretches at night. Having a baby full term really helps with that sleep stuff! 
• She is awake quite a bit in the morning and then takes a pretty good nap. 
• We have been laying her down in her crib for 1-2 naps a day...she does really well with this. 
• She is still sleeping in our room
• She doesn't really cry in the middle of the night...she grunts. HA!
• She has been a busy girl in this first month of life...weddings, parks, walks, pools, beach, etc. She sleeps through most of it. 
• She loves bath time...it is almost like she gets excited about it.
• I think she might smile soon as a reaction...I think! 
• I love when she smiles in her sleep...so cute!
• She loves her nuk. 
• Cole and her are getting along well...he doesn't want me to take her back to the hospital yet. We have a few moments where he wants all my attention but we are working on it. 
• She is almost done with her newborn clothing...good thing cause I am excited for the 3 month stash...super cute stuff!
• Dressing a girl is very fun!
• We walk every morning...Brooke in the baby bjorn and Cole in the stroller. That is another thing that Cole is getting used to sharing...the stroller. Sometimes he has to be a big boy and walk...poor guy!
• Everything about her is more girly...even her squeaks and coos sound like a girl! :) 

We are having fun and adjusting to having 2 kids. It is going really well I think. I am lucky to have this time and more coming that I won't be working. Even though I did enjoy going to my training this week. Brooke really is a doll and we thank God for giving us this gift! She was meant for us and it is amazing how God plans that out!  I will make sure to post some more pictures of her when I figure out how to add more photo storage...I AM OUT! OH NO! :) Either I will be starting a second edition blog or buying more space...Guess which option Kyle is going for? I suppose after 4 years it was bound to fill up.