1 Year Old!!

She is officially 1 year old! This past year has flown by so fast. Brooke is becoming more independent each day. She is eating more solid foods and we have introduced whole milk at meal/snack times. Her stats are 17.2 lbs and 28.75". We celebrated her birthday on Saturday Feb. 6th with family. Everyone came in for the special occasion. Brooke had a great day. She looked so cute in her birthday outfit. I had the hat personalized from Etsy.com and her Great Granny made the adorable onsie. She loved opening all her presents. Mama and Dada gave her a 4 wheeler of which I have included a little video. She still doesn't really get the concept that she has to hold the button down to go. It is cute to see her play with it. She also loved eating her cake. It was the first time I have really given anything sweet to her. She ate most of it which really surprised me and I guess it helped her sleep because that afternoon she took a 3hr nap. If anyone knows Brooke they know she is not a long napper. Anyway, the party was great and it was nice seeing everyone! Thanks for celebrating this milestone in Brooke's life. Enjoy the pictures!This is one of my favorite photos!

Bath time with the cousins


This was the only non-blurry picture of all three.

Brooke riding her 4-wheeler

On February 11th, we got a record setting snow in Arlington, 12.5"!

Our Little Snow Bunny



Our Snowman


....and his backside


Our Backyard after all the snow finished falling.

We did end up losing a few crepe myrtle limbs and some bushes and a tree limb off of one of our live oaks in the front, but not bad compared to some people.

11 1/2 months

Last night I was updating Brooke's baby book and I was just amazed at how many things she is able to do! I can't believe she is almost a year. Sometimes I feel like I am just looking forward to the next milestone and what she will be doing next. I try to catch myself and just enjoy what she can do now because it will all change TOO soon! I remember when we brought her home she was so small and fragile. All I wanted to do was hold her all day. She still loves to cuddle, but at the same time she is so independent now. She does well playing with herself. She loves to flip through books and babble. She is starting to try and imitate our words. She has been saying "booo" for book and "dat" for cat, although she says "da" to just about anything, but I can tell a difference. She is very good about pointing to what she wants. She loves to climb the stairs and has figured out how to come back down on her belly. She loves to be pushed around on her ride-on toys and chase mama, dada, or the dog. She is all about exploring her world. She has recently discovered how to open cabinets and drawers. She also loves to pull all the clothes out of the laundry basket. She is a very happy baby and it is easy to make her laugh by making a funny face or playing peek-a-boo. I love this age!

I have been working on weaning her and now I only nurse her in the mornings. We have also introduced whole milk at meal times. She mainly just lets it dribble out of her mouth, but I want her to get used to the taste, so we can switch her when she is a year. We have also been working on eating more table foods and using a spoon and fork. Most of the time if I have her bowl on the table she completely disregards the utensils and just picks up the bowl like a cup. Thank goodness her bib is thick and has a cupped edge at the bottom. This has saved many messes!

Here is a video of Daddy pushing Brooke on her ride on toy.

Catch up....

11 months

Wow, since Christmas our life has been non-stop! The week after Christmas Brooke was sick with a nasty cough and runny nose that turned into a double ear infection! Poor baby didn't feel well and that meant that Brooke nor mama slept well. She finally recovered and is feeling better now.

This is a video of Brooke playing with her rocking horse that interacts with the TV.

On January 4th, Brooke was promoted to the a new room at daycare to make room for more babies. At first, I was worried about this room because they have scheduled nap times. I also didn't know that the first nap was at 11:45! Well, considering that Brooke wakes up most mornings around 5am that is a long time to be awake. I told them she usually takes a nap earlier in the day, but she refuses at daycare to do that now that she is in the big girl room. At home she still takes her morning nap. We are also working on more table foods and drinking more consistently from a straw cup. She is doing great!

Brooke doing her favorite finger pointing move.

Brooke also turned 11 months on January 10th, which is also the day that we got her
Baptized. I can't believe she is already 11 months!!!! (only one more month of my sweet baby and then I will officially have a 1 year old! sniff...sniff...) I have been busy preparing for her birthday bash! We are going to keep it small the first year and only have family over to celebrate. I don't want Brooke getting too overwhelmed. I have started taking a cake decorating class at Michael's. I have had two classes so far and I am having a blast. I want to make Brooke's first birthday cake. Pictures to follow after the party!

Baptism Picture

This last weekend was an exciting weekend! Not only did we celebrate Brooke's 11 month mile marker, but we got her Baptized at our church here in Arlington! Both sets of grandparents came into town to celebrate the momentous occasion! It was such a blessing and it was also the celebration of Jesus' Baptism. I had my hands full trying to keep her occupied during service. Normally, we take Brooke to the nursery, so we can pay attention and enjoy the service, but obviously we had to keep her in church this time. I packed a full container of puffs and had a full bottle. Well, she ended up finishing them about 5 minutes before Rev. Mosser was finished with his sermon. She let out a few bursts of joy, but overall I think she did pretty well.

Brooke getting Baptized
(disregard the humongous sheet of black plastic in the back, they are currently working on redoing the whole organ and conveniently tore down some walls the week prior)

Not only did we do all the things mentioned above, but Ryan and I got a special unexpected surprise...we got to got to the Cowboy's game on Saturday night!!! One of the doctors that Ryan works with had purchased tickets and was unexpectedly unable to go to the game, so he offered the tickets to Ryan. It was so awesome! His tickets were on the 20 yard line 4th row up!!! I have never been to a game with such good seats. You could see the players tattoos from our seats! (not that I am a fan of tattoos, just an observation) It was truly a great time and a great game to go to, since they won! Lucky for us, Ryan's parents had already arrived in town for the Baptism and were graciously willing to watch Brooke for us! It was a night I will never forget and then when I came home Lisa and Mark had not only fed, bathed, and put Brooke to bed, but also cleaned the kitchen and did all the dishes! That was the cherry on top that made it perfect! Thanks for all the kindness and help! Cowboys coming onto the field!

This was our view!!!

Christmas

Our Christmas Tree

Christmas from Brooke's perspective....

My mommy told me all about why we celebrate Christmas and that Jesus died for our sins. She read me the story about Jesus's birth in the bible. My Nana and Poppy came to visit me at my house and we celebrated Christmas with them. After a yummy Christmas meal that my Mama fixed, it was time for a nap. After the nap, my Dada told me that Santa came to visit.

This is what Santa brought me.
Finally a chair just my size and my first baby doll!

I think I got the hang of opening presents.
This is fun!

My Nana and Poppy got me a fun new rocking horse that interacts with the TV. My Uncle Chris and Aunt Amy got me a ball popper, which I giggle every time Mama turns it on. I am starting to like
Christmas!
The next day it started snowing at my house and I got to see snowflakes for the first time! My Mama told me it was very special that I got to see snow on my first Christmas because it doesn't usually snow in Texas!
I didn't get to play in it because we had to pack up and go to Longview.
That night we went to Dada's Aunt Dona's house. I got to play with Aunt Stacy, Uncle Jonathan, my second cousins Grayson, Olivia, and Elizabeth. I got lots of lovin' from my Big Mama and Big Papa. Aunt Dona gave me a monkey which I love! The next day was Christmas! We celebrated with Big Mama's side of the family. I got to see my great grandparents and all of my aunts/uncles from my Dada's side, including Aunt Sara and Uncle Lane. My Uncle Jonathan made a very special present for me, my very own toy box. My great Grandpa stained it and Big Mama sewed a cushioned top for it. Now I have a great place to store all the presents I am getting.

My great granny also made some special gifts for me. I have my very own Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. They were made using patterns from my great great Grandma and stuffing from my great Nana Pevey (I have to clarify because I have two great Nana's). She also made me some bloomers that I thought looked cute as a hat, but Mama told me they are supposed to cover my diaper. Big Mama and Papa got me a walker. I love my new mobility. I can see things from a new perspective. I get lots of kisses from Sam.

I love playing with Daddy and my new walker/rider.


Shake, Shake, Shake
Thank you Aunt Sara and Uncle Lane for my new instruments!

I had a great first Christmas and I am glad that I got to spend it with most of my relatives! I think I am going to like this time of year! Have a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving and 10 months all rolled up into one!

Thanksgiving was great this year. We got to go home and enjoy both of our families, including my brother's family! It was so much fun watching Brooke play with her cousin Andrew. First we went to Ryan's Aunt Dona's house the night before Thanksgiving and she had a blast crawling around her house and interacting with Jill's kids. On Thanksgiving, we ate lunch with Ryan' s family and Brooke tried turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and some of Sara's delicious mac n' cheese. She liked everything except the mashed potatoes. Then for dinner we headed to my parent's house. Brooke did very well for a 9 1/2 mo old and seeing so many people! The next day was also lots of fun. We went to a place called the Mud Hut in Longview with Amy (Chris's wife) and Brooke's cousins, Andrew and Ethan and my mother and mother-in-law. We needed lots of extra hands to help especially with 3 kids under 2! It was still fun and I think our pottery will turn out nice. I will get to see it in a couple of weeks. I made an ornament with Brooke's hand print and a plate with Brooke's footprints. My mom made a plate with Andrew and Ethan's footprint and Brooke's hand print and Amy made a picture frame with her boy's footprints that looked really cute! That afternoon we took professional family photos at my parent's house. After an eventful two days, we just spent the weekend visiting and relaxing. Ryan had to work on Saturday, so Brooke and I stayed in Longview and headed back on Sunday. Much to my surprise she slept the whole way back to Arlington. I guess she needed to catch up on some sleep after a busy Thanksgiving holiday!


My dad and Ethan


Andrew hugging Brooke

Brooke excited about playing with a ball


The following weekend Ryan and I decided to continue our tradition of going to a tree farm and finding our perfect Christmas tree. This year was extra special because it was Brooke's first time to visit a tree farm and take a hay ride. It was also perfect winter weather. The temperature was in the mid 40's (cold for Texas) and sunny.

The tree we picked out before we cut it down

Brooke watching daddy saw the tree


Brooke is now 10 months old!!! Time sure does fly! As usual, she is sucking on her two fingers of her hand. This is her pacifier. She prefers her fingers, which is fine with me because at least she has them with her all the time and she can't lose them. She is crawling all over the place. She loves to climb the stairs and when she gets to the top she turns around, sits, and claps. It is so cute! She is pulling up on everything and cruising along furniture. I know she is going to let go any day now. She loves to practice walking with us holding on to her hands. She is eating more and more "real" food. I can't get away with snacking around her anymore because she wants whatever I am having and I usually give her a little bite. She loves most food, but mashed potatoes is one thing she doesn't like, surprisingly. She will also eat pasta and rice that I fix, but doesn't like it in the premade 3rd stage foods. We are working on getting her to drink out of a sippy cup. She does great drinking out of a cup with a straw, but this is not spill proof. In addition to mama and dada, she has also learned the word dog, but she says it like daag. There are so many things that she can do now, it is hard to name them all. I just enjoy watching her grow and learn new stuff. This is such a precious age!

New Skills

Here are a couple of new videos ...

Brooke cruising


Brooke saying "mama" and waving

I was trying to get Brooke to imitate me, but she didn't in the video's. After I stopped recording the second video she started saying "dada".

Pictures

Here are some pictures of Brooke that I have been meaning to post for a while.


Brooke's 9 month picture

Last weekend, my parents came to visit and on Saturday we took a picnic at the park. Then, we went to the ICE show at the Gaylord Texan, which was themed How the Grinch Stole Christmas and it was really neat.

Our family at the park. This was the only picture where all of us were actually looking at the camera. It is very hard to get a picture with a baby and a dog!



Acting silly at the park.


Having a blast getting dirty and playing in the leaves. Also, displaying her "Mowgli" crawl.


Brooke with my parents at the ICE show.


Brooke and Santa at the Gaylord.