A Morning with Brooklynn

I'm happy to report that Brooklynn is a photographer in the making. :)

Here she is at lunch time making her "Baby Smash" face.

Right after I caught her putting a black marker in her mouth.

I love my little baby.

Emergency Tracheotomy

I had to perform my very first emergency tracheotomy today. It was a little scary, having Brooklynn right there onlooking my every move. Luckily she was distracted by a container of cotton balls she kept dumping out. After about 10 minutes of stitching up my victim, I am happy to announce that all is well again in the Bean household.

My victim: Brooklynn's beloved "Baba"

I had to sew the bow back on, as you can see it's hanging by a thread. And I also had to repair his neck, which showed to be separating the head from the "body". Thankfully, I'm quick on my feet and I had a sewing kit nearby.

Baby Pile On

Last night Josh got my attention to look at him and there were a few babies on top of him. (maybe he was in the way of her game or maybe she wanted to put them right on him...not sure still, but either way it was funny.) She proceeded to put every single one of her babies on top of him until I could barely see his face, it was so funny. Then she climbed on top for a snuggle. Brooklynn is really getting pretty funny.

My Naughty Brooklynn

So today I took the bottom of Brooklynn's seat off to wash it and by the time I got to the sink to wash it I looked over and Brooklynn had crawled onto the chair (that she could now reach) and on TOP of the table. She was pretty amused with herself, although I think she was actually a little bit scared. I love the first picture of her she looks like pure evil baby with her tongue hanging out like that.

Brooklynn: 100% Sweetie?

It's hard to believe that a little girl this cute and sweet looking can be such a terror sometimes.

The truth is, she really is such a sweet girl. She just has some major melt-downs when we tell her "no." I guess she is just acting her age. Very well.

I can't stay mad at her for too long, though. She still melts my heart every day.

Last night she woke up at about 10 pm crying so sad so we brought her out to sleep on the couch. Little did she know what we meant by sleeping, she took to mean, running and dancing at full speed in the dark laughing and tripping and cracking us up. She also kept running over to the door looking out and seemed a little confused that it was so dark outside. She was OUT OF CONTROL, but in a really funny way. It seemed like we gave her a cup of coffee with extra-caffeine and with several cookies. We just kept laughing. She was so tired but so wide awake. It's moments like that that really make me smile...she doesn't really know how naughty she's being. Most of the time she doesn't understand why we even say "no". Yesterday I was working on making some cards and she ran over to the table and she grabbed my scissors and started to run away with them. Oh boy. So I quickly caught her and took them away and of course she was so sad. Like, "Mommy, I was so excited about my new toy!" I'm excited for the day when not everything has to be so dangerous and she understands how to be careful, because mostly that is what she gets in trouble for.

She can really be feisty with the best of them but then she will put her head on my shoulder or grab my hand and drag me somewhere to show me something and I am just so full of love I quickly forget how frustrated I can get sometimes. I guess that is motherhood in a nutshell.

My 3rd (17 weeks) Appointment

Today Brooklynn finally didn't hate being at my appointment! She was still a little bit ornery, but controllable. It really helps having Josh there to help with her. But after today's appointment I think eventually we might be able to just go by ourselves!

Brooklynn started out our visit by getting her picture taken next to the book of babies that have been born at the Birth Center. See her name below?! She's famous now!

I think Brooklynn's good behavior has something to do with Nancy being there. (She was the midwife that delivered Brooklynn). Maybe she recognizes her from the pictures or something? Either way, usually when I get up on the table and they poke around at my belly and try and hear the heartbeat Brooklynn gets very protective of me and starts crying and she gets so upset. This time she not only didn't freak out, but she was able to sit up there with me and she helped point to the baby and she got a front-row seat to all the action. And, this time we were finally able to hear a heartbeat! Yay! (Not that I was that worried, I've been feeling PLENTY of movement down there so I know everything is fine.)

We also got a prescription to make an ultrasound appointment for the middle/end of September! And yes, we will be finding out this time what we're having. Even though it was super fun to be surprised, more so for Brooklynn's sake I want to start calling our baby a name besides "Smash" so she can get used to the baby as an actual brother or sister, instead of something she wants to squish.

After our appointment we picked up dinner and took it to the duck pond that I love. There were only fish this time but it was still fun to see them. Brooklynn LOVED it, I haven't taken her for a long time and I don't think she remembered it. We will have to be doing a lot more of the duck pond.

Bath Dropz

I got these fun "color bath dropz" that change bath water into fun colors. I thought Brooklynn would be all about it because she likes bath time so much. Well, if you look at the picture of Brookynn's first reaction to the pink bath, I was wrong. She did eventually come around and tolerate it, but lucky for her they cost money and so it will be a special treat and not an every day occurrence.

On a side note, bath time with Brooklynn IS usually an every day occurrence since she gets so messy. Usually by the end of the day she is covered in food, dirt, and bubbles. She has done such a good job "helping" us rinse her, we have our special new rinse cup (leftover from Hershey Park!) and she loves to fill it up with water and then turn her head to the side and dump it down her entire body. Almost like she is getting ready to drink from the cup (I think this is how it started, actually.) but then she "misses" her mouth.

What a fun game.

I do recommend these bath drops. They are a really fun treat. Somewhat hard to find, I got mine in the kid-craft (Crayola) section at Michaels. It is a little weird to see usually clear bath water in a really bright color. Maybe also a fun treat for the kiddie pool?

Adventures in Potty Training pt. 3

continued pt. 1

continued pt. 2

We got a new potty book, Princess Potty. It is really cute. My favorite part: "The Princess says, "Hear ye, hear ye, I have to pee-pee." Or "Yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo, I need to poo-poo." I'm sure these will become well-recited phrases in our house in the years to come. :)

We have a great potty movie, "Once Upon a Potty" which I love, especially the Potty Song at the end. And then I have two other potty books Everyone Poops and then The Potty Book: for boys. (Yeah, I know. I had it before I had Brooklynn in case I ever had a boy, it was a freebie. It doesn't really matter, though. The ONLY differences are the main character's name is Henry instead of Harriet and his favorite color is blue, not hot pink. I know because I read ALL the potty books today at the bookstore while Brooklynn played with the train table, including The Potty Book: for girls.) My favorites were Once Upon A Potty which I chose not to get because we have the movie and Princess Potty. It was time to actually get a new potty book. We read them several times a day when we sit on the potty and they are getting old. Plus, since I had both books already, I wanted to get a "special potty treat" for Brooklynn.

Brooklynn finished her first Potty Chart! We are so proud of her! She gets a little stamp on the paper and on her hand every time she pees and then the big flower stamp is for poops. We started with the chart because the ones on her hand washed off instantly when we washed her hands, so I wanted something to keep her motivated. Hey, anything that is free that also helps I'm all about! This actually ended up to be a half-sheet of paper because she likes to (badly) help by stamping the paper on the bottom while she sits there and it is very smudgy. Plus, it fell off the wall instantly because it was on card stock, and I'm thinking too "heavy" to stay up. So it was time for a new one.

Writing on the "Wall"

Funny Story

Today I made (well, heated) beef ravioli for lunch for Brooklynn and me. I cut hers into smaller pieces and she pointed at some of the meat, looked at me and said, "poo-poo." So funny.

Uh-oh!

Aaw, so nice.

about 20 minutes later...

Babies

This morning Brooklynn took every single one of her babies and put them on the couch, then covered them all up. Then she proceeded to crawl up on the couch herself for a little rest. What a good Mommy.

Brooke's New Toy

We broke down and bought one of the toys Brooklynn absolutely loves from the toy store. I couldn't resist because it was on sale for only $6. I really want to get her a toy to ride on, but I'm hoping to hold out for some consignment sales in the fall...even though she loves them so much. She loves her lawnmower and is so excited to push it around all the time. It was a good purchase, despite looking like it could break at any moment...I suppose it was worth the $6, though. I wanted to make sure to get some pictures before it breaks. We'll see how long it lasts. :)

Brooklynn's Full-Time Job

Brooklynn is a coloring machine. (Meaning it's something she does for at least 5 minutes, but barely misses a day.) The desk we brought up for her continues to be a big hit. (Thanks again to the Murrays! We love it!) I usually have to wipe it down several times a week with a Magic Eraser sponge (which are amazing...I could go on for hours about how much I love THOSE.)

You can imagine Brooklynn's surprise the other day when she discovered an unopened box of crayons that I got for FREE at Walgreens. I was saving them for later because she already has tons of crayons, but even a 1 1/2-year-old knows something about the magic of a BRAND NEW box of crayons. She was opening some of the drawers on the side and then found them. She immediately started to try and rip it open. So I helped her and off she was in her "zone."
Sometimes she gets really angry at the paper and rips it off and just colors her desk. But I am SO thankful that she generally stays on one of those two things. If she starts to take off with some crayons I remind her that they need to stay by her desk and she will bring them all back.

We also took out the big roll of paper that I used to have in the top because she didn't really like using it. (at least at her desk.) put all her crayons in that little compartment and was so thrilled with herself.

Naughty

No matter how I say it...

I have to repeat myself constantly with this one. Only to sit. Everything else she listens right away. Do you think she thinks that "Sit down" actually means, "Oh, good job, Brooklynn, I'm so glad you continue to stand on every chair on the house?"
I think she does.

Beach Trip

Our annual trip to the beach group picture:

Our annual beach trip this year started off wonderfully. We got Dunkin' Donuts like we usually do, and let me tell you, they were ON. It was amazing. I had an amazing bagel and THE BEST donut I've ever had. Two thumbs up. We brought Brooklynn's bottle of milk and we got her a plain bagel. She wasn't really eating anything so I took it back to save for later, thinking maybe it was too early for her.

Then our great trip took a sharp turn in the other direction. Out of NOWHERE, Brooklynn threw up everywhere. Like literally all over her car seat, all over the toys and toy bag next to her, all over the floor, all over her shirt and shorts....but she missed Baba...thank goodness. I didn't even know she didn't feel good. I'm pretty sure it was bad milk (and don't get me started on the $FOUR DOLLAR gallon from Acme that I was already fuming about.) Several times that week she wouldn't finish her bottle and kind of hold it in her mouth like, "I want this, but I really don't..." I also think the combination of drinking it IN THE CAR threw her off.

So we pulled over and I tried my best to clean everything up so she wasn't sitting in her own vomit. We stripped her down, wiped her off, I wiped out her seat, some toys, the car...I threw lots of stuff in the toy bag, zipped it up and threw that in the trunk. Then we were back on our way. Even with the windows open it STUNK in there. We couldn't wait to get to the beach to clean stuff off better and just be out of the car.

Here is Brooklynn's after shot, sitting topless in her car seat. "Hey, Mom, I just threw up!" (The towel I had put down to be a barrier between her and the seat but she kept playing with it.)

All the kiddos

My two loves

This picture wasn't very good...until I zoomed in. It's still not too clear but look at the sheer bliss on Brooklynn's face. This totally captures her love of the beach.

Levi & Brooklynn had lots of fun playing in the gully for quite a while. We stayed there until we saw a dead butterfly floating by. Gross. The kids loved it.

Sunbathing

My favorite shot of Brooklynn for the day:

Our spot

Naptime after a walk

I think Cece loves the ocean even more than Brooklynn...shocking, I know. (If you don't believe me, watch the video of her at the end.)

Julie & Levi

SOME of the bloopers of trying to get a picture of all 4 kids together

My best shot...pretty good, I think!

My favorite "blooper shot". It totally cracks me up.

I think Cece wanted to sit by Brooklynn...she was pretty sad. Meanwhile I got a pretty good shot of the three other kids.

My two greatest loves: (Them and the donut from earlier that morning. That would be #3)

I had to get a picture of Brooklynn's curls. They are even cuter at the beach than usual.

Josh and Jeff in "Baby Jail"

I found out that Jessie is pregnant, too! Due one day before me, January 28th! So fun!

I don't have the picture that this actually took yet and I wasn't about to do the same thing. I just had to get it on video, and he made it! Sorry for the abrupt ending.