April 26, 2009

Daddy Time!

Brooke LOVES her Daddy! I am especially grateful that Josh comes home for lunch to see her for a little bit during the day. It is so nice. He also watches her in the mornings so I can sleep for an extra hour. What a great Daddy! It's good bonding time for the two of them. Plus, it tires her out so by the time he leaves for work she is close to ready for her morning nap.

There is nothing cuter than her smile when I tell her that "Daddy will be home soon!" around 4:55. It is definitely a different smile than her other ones because she is SO excited to see him.









Brooke LOVES the weekends when Josh is home so much more than during the week. It's alway a little rough on Mondays and then she is like, "Hey, you were here all weekend and now you're gone again! I don't like that!" And then she will punish him by spitting up all over him...






April 25, 2009

Fisty

One Finger...
Two Fingers...
Three Fingers...
And Four Fingers!

Brooke LOVES to stick her whole hand in her mouth, one finger at a time. Here she is at night tryng to soothe herself by sticking her whole hand in her mouth, and then during the day so you can see her a little better. It's pretty funny and cute until she gags herself...that is not so fun.

April 24, 2009

Later Today...

Josh, Brooke and I will be in Florida! We can hardly wait! Please pray for us while we travel...safe flight, etc. Also I'm very nervous about how Brooke will do in the sun and just being away from home. The vacation will be very relaxing and refreshing, though. We'll be back late Wednesday night, April 29.

April 23, 2009

Brooke Videos



3 Months and Look What I Can Do!








Brooke is three months old and she can now:








  • She is 25 1/2 inches long and weighs 13 pounds, 4 ounces.
  • Roll over both ways
  • Hold onto small toys
  • Holds her head up pretty well
  • Pushes her body up during tummy time
  • Reach out for toys
  • Talk, laugh, and she even was trying to sing the other day
  • Suck on her fingers (She's on a pacifier strike as well)
  • Puts toys in her mouth. She also will grab your hand and put it in her mouth and suck on your finger. She also likes to suck on cloth. Burp rags, blankets, your shirt, her shirt, washcloths, her car seat straps...anything made of cloth that gets near her mouth she will turn and start sucking.
  • Sleeps in her crib at night. Yup, we took the bassinet out of our room and everything. She seems to love it and even though it took me a few nights of adjusting, I'm even doing well with it. A lot of times I fall asleep in the guest room bed when I'm feeding her at night. Then I wake up and put her back into bed. It's working pretty well, and I think that this is a little quieter for Josh.
  • She's developed a whiny cry when she's not sad. Mommy is not happy about this one.
  • Brooke is on a two-month long bottle strike. This is very frustrating. She used to take it fine, and has even taken a couple during this two-month span, but mostly, she screams when you even try it. The other day she cried for 45 minutes before we gave up. We're gearing up for Florida to see if it will maybe work if she's desperate...no luck. I am pretty stressed about it; I can't go back to work until she can take a bottle and I was planning to start last month. The only way we have been able to survive financially is totally God blessing us and providing. Hopefully she will make the switch soon. Josh thinks Florida is just what she needs to master bottle-feeding. I'm really hoping, but am totally consumed by the frustration of this. I'm just hoping she either likes the beach or learns to like the bottle, because I really could use a vacation.
  • Brooke went into the church nursery this last week and did great! Better than Mommy, for that matter. I had to come get her before church was all the way over because I just KNEW she would be crying and hungry...she was fine. I should have known because she loves other people, especially other kids and babies.
Here is Brooke showing how she can now hold onto a rattle. She is definitely more aware of her suroundings and loves to play with her toys now. She'll be sitting in her bouncy seat and I'll look at her and she'l be either holding one of the elephants or swatting at it. She also love to talk to things and will constantly start laughing. I think it's an Ashley thing; she already laughs at her own jokes.

Here is Brooke with her friend, Julie! We think she especially loves her red hair because she always stares at it. I think she stares at it because she is thinking, "Hmm, I wonder if red hair tastes the same as brown hair? I wonder how I can find out?"

Brooke loves to sit, either while you're carrying her, or sitting on your lap. Even while she feeds. I think she looks so grown up just "chillin' on the couch."


Brooke has REALLY started to love her bouncy seat. She's playing with the toys and everything now. It's so cute. It's nice because now I can actually get some stuff done like the dishes, or laundry, etc. She's getting better about actually letting us put her down.

Brooke continues to love both the Moby Wrap and the Zoo. She has now been to the zoo 3 times! And she gets carried around in the Moby almost every day. We both love it. It's starting to get a little sweaty in the warm weather, though. That is why we're hanging out by the fountain.

Brooke likes to spit up all over Josh. This is the second time that day on Josh and she got me once pretty good, too.
Brooke is getting a little better about posing for the camera. I think she knew she was cute in her overalls.

Anything we forgot, Brooke? Here is what she had to say about turning 3 months old:

1 More Day!

Until Josh, Brooke and I are in Florida! We can hardly wait!

April 22, 2009

2 More Days...


Until Josh, Brooke and I are in Florida! We can hardly wait!

April 21, 2009

3 More Days...

Until Josh, Brooke and I are in Florida! We can hardly wait!

April 20, 2009

4 More Days...

Until Josh, Brooke and I are in Florida! We can hardly wait!

And now...Deep Thoughts with Bethany

Goals, dreams, plans...whatever you want to call them...not only can change but completely get thrown out the window and you have to start from scratch, no matter how "prepared" you think you are. I have learned that being flexible and being open to change are two of the KEY things to be when trying to raise a child. You have no idea what your child is going to be like and HOW your child needs to be parented until he or she exists. No matter how you "think" you will someday handle a situation based on what you "think" you'll do, or even prior experience, I guarantee you'll surprise yourself.
For example, before I became a parent, I had certain expectations on what I thought I'd be like as a parent. I said things like, "Oh, MY CHILD will do this, or be that way, or NEVER do that..." I said that until she arrived. Sometimes your hopes and dreams are correct, but sometimes I find yourself doing the very things I swore I'd never do.
My baby girl is only 12 weeks old and already there have been several instances that are very different than how I imagined it.

For instance:
  • I really wanted to have a natural childbirth. I realized before Brooke breathed her first breath that I needed to be open to change.
  • I was planning to keep Brooke with me in the hospital and not send her to the nursery. I wanted to cherish this stage. I can catch up on sleep later. Well, the first night we kept her in our room...the second night I sent her to the nursery. It was one of the best decisions I made up to that point. I slept for 4 whole hours that night. I remember it very distinctly. It was a Saturday night, and they were the first 4 hours I slept since the last 4 hours I slept, and that was the previous Tuesday night. I can't remember sleeping at all until then. I figured getting much needed sleep would make me a better Mommy when we brought her home.
  • I swore I'd NEVER let my infant sit in front of the TV for entertainment, just so I could have some "me-time" or to get things done. I can't remember how long that lasted...but it was maybe a week? I couldn't avoid it, Josh would be watching sports or something, and she would strain her neck trying to watch it. I can't help it, she loves her basketball, and she loves her Baby Einstein videos. I still try to limit the amount she watches, but I never thought I would have to tell a 1-month old baby, "OK, honey, that is enough television." I thought it would be at least until pre-school age.
  • I tried to get off caffiene during pregnancy and the breastfeeding stage. I am actually having a cup right now while I write this. Without any feelings of guilt.
  • I have been a nanny for the last 6 years and have sort of (but not quite) "raised" 10 other kids. I thought, "I am SO ready to be a parent", or "It's not really THAT hard, or time-consuming, or even tiring". Nope, wrong again. It's SO much different when it's your own child.
  • You really can't imagine how much love you will have for your child. No matter how much you're thinking during labor, "This can't be worth it...this sucks...this baby is SO getting a spanking when he or she finally comes out" the second they do, you are CONSUMED with emotion and love that you will never be able to describe to them.
  • You will eventually find yourself saying things that your own parents did that you would roll your eyes at and think to yourself, "I'll never say that"...things like, "Because I said so" or "Because I'm the Mommy" and think to yourself, "I get it now. I really am going to say that eventually to my own kids. Mom and Dad were right. Wow. I was not nice enough to them." And then you will find yourself fighting back tears thinking, "They love me as much as I love my baby. I had no idea." And then taking it even a step further and realizing that God loves all of us even more than that. Then you have this amazing worship experience. It's all very emotional, becoming a parent. But I love every minute of it.

Lesson #1

"And this is why we try things on before packing for vacation, Brooke! Don't worry, your Mommy has the same problem right now."
This is supposed to be a one-piece bathing suit. It said 0-3 months!

April 13, 2009

Easter







Busted...

The other day I was going through my closet trying to find clothes that fit me, since most of my maternity are too big, but my normal clothes are still way too small. I had clothes all over the place. Then Brooke woke up and I decided to put her in her swing while I took a bath. I laid her on the bed and went to draw my bath. I came back and she was rubbing her face all over my clothes, I think because they felt good and b/c they smelled like me. She looked up like, "UH OH...she caught me." It was super cute.

Brooke Reading

Brooke really likes these touch & feel books!

April 6, 2009

Brooke's Pouty Face

Brooke is really "working" the pouty lip. She does it mostly with Josh. It CRACKS ME UP. She learned this really early, I'm not sure how she knows about it. She's got Daddy wrapped around her little finger, though. All she has to do is break out the lip. (Maybe she learned it from her Mommy?) I was FINALLY able to catch it on film; I've been trying to for a while now.

The Price of Beauty

Before...
After...

Thunder

The other day it was pouring rain, but still kinda warm out. This happens all the time in Indiana but hardly ever in PA. I've always loved thunderstorms and really miss them. I decided to take Brooke out on our balcony and we were both watching the rain come down. It's cool because the balcony above us keeps us nice and dry. Then I saw Josh come home for lunch and he kinda scared me little. I was in the process of turning Brooke so she could see Daddy and get excited and suddenly there was the HUGE LOUD thunder. No warning whatsoever. We even lost power at the same time. (It came right back on). All those things were one big combination to make a very unhappy baby. Brooke started WAILING. It was so sad, I felt like such a bad Mommy making my baby be so close to the thunder. There is no way I could have predicted it, it wasn't even thundering before or after that, it was really strange. But still...it would have been a little more muffled if we stayed inside.
Brooke was so sad so we had to get out the book Thunder Cake and Josh read it to Brooke. It calmed her down and she was fine. This book really is cute, it talks about getting over the fear of thunder. I highly recommend it.

April 5, 2009

Brooke Loves Her Books

Brooke found a new book that she loves. She looked at the pictures over and over for quite a while. I thought it was so cute how she kept trying to grab the pictures. I know there are several videos, but I couldn't decide which one to post, so I'm doing several.


April 3, 2009

Lazy Friday

Friday my hip hurt so bad that I couldn't even walk, so Brooke and I sat in the same place all day. We made some cute videos that day! The first one is minute of Brooke; doing her normal routine of sucking her fingers, pulling her hair and kicking her feet. Those are her soothing mechanisms.

This video she is really smily and talky.

This one I just had to capture her kicking away...she never stops. Sometimes she'll slow down a little to sleep.

The next one is Brooke crying when Josh got home. I think she was so tired out from all these videos and she was mad because no Daddy was home and she was so tired she might miss out on Daddy Time. She likes to make a big production when he gets home, I think so he thinks that she was mad the whole time he was gone, maybe so he'll feel bad and not leave again?