The Last Cupcake

I let Brooklynn have the last cupcake from her party after dinner last night. I decided to document how "neatly" my daughter likes to eat her cupcakes. She sure knows how to savor things, though, I will give her that!

Part Two: The Sugar High kicks in.

Smiley Gabby

So last night at dinner I ALMOST got Gabby's smile on camera. She's been smiling for quite a while now, I think she did even at the Birth Center. Every day she smiles more and more frequently, but I haven't really come close to capturing it. This is sad because it's the best thing in the world when you are talking to her or give her a kiss and she gives you the biggest smile ever. I try and take a picture of it and she just stares all glazed over at my camera. I don't blame her, but I still really wanted a picture of her precious smile. This is more her "smirk" or "half-smile."

I finally got it today, though! It's a little blurry, but you can still see how precious her little smile is. It totally lights up her whole face and you can't help smile back.

Breaking Free

So every night Gabby wears a long sleeved gown for bed, and then we swaddle her with both arms inside her swaddle blanket so she doesn't wake herself up as easily. The other night in the middle of the night she woke up to nurse and when I picked her up I noticed her arm was completely out of not only her blanket but also her gown like this:

I laughed to myself thinking how funny that was, changed her, put her arm back in, fed her, etc. Then last night  at 3 am THIS is what greeted me:  

I started laughing so hard, I almost had to wake up Josh. I did start talking to her and continued to laugh, hoping maybe he'd wake up and I could tell him....no such luck. 

(I re-created both of these pictures....I'm not about to go get my camera at 3 am to take a picture....although I did think about it for a minute. Too much work.)

New Play-Doh Stuff!

Brooklynn got some new Play-Doh tools from Melissa & Rob for her birthday. She LOVES them. In fact, we've played with them several times a day since we got them. It keeps Brooklynn very busy. I couldn't believe they even managed to find a Cookie Monster! I didn't even know this exact toy existed but we love it.

Thanks, Newmillers!

Birthday Shirt

Brooklynn got this adorable shirt from the Beer's family. Thank you!!! She looks adorable in it, even though she wouldn't really take a good picture in it.

3 Weeks Old

It's been a rough week for Gabby. She's had a sneeze, cough and major runny nose. She's also had icky stuff leaking from her eyes. I am pretty sure it's just a blocked tear duct and it's worse because she has a cold. It has been so sad. You can tell she just doesn't feel good. She has been Miss Fussypants at night. I think in her short little life she doesn't understand that she will eventually feel better. Brooklynn never really got sick at all until she was about 11 months old...and she got the Croup which sucked. But it's also so sad to see such a little baby have a cold. It's hard for her to breathe, it's hard for her to nurse because she can't breathe, and that is the only thing that makes her happy (well, almost.) and so it's been so sad. Feel better, soon, Gabby. 

Play Time

Today I paid a few bills while Gabby slept and Brooklynn played for a little bit by herself. When I was done I found this. No big deal but it brings a smile to my face when I find little things like this that shows that she's been playing and keeping busy. 

Brooklynn's Turn.

So lately when I go to put Gabby in the Moby Wrap Brooklynn holds her hands up like, "Please carry me in there." It's so hard to resist. So today before Gabby woke up I made sure to put it on and ask Brooklynn if she wanted a turn. She said yes and I was happy to oblige. She helped me stir our waffles and drank the rest of her milk. We snuggled. And she is SO much heavier than Gabby. So I was glad when she wanted to get down. But it was easier to carry her like this than actually hold her with my arms so I got to hold her for a little longer. What a snuggle monster.

25 Months

Well, a lot has happened since last month. Brooklynn is now a big sister! And she's been getting into all sorts of trouble. She's super FEISTY. That is the perfect word that describes her.
In fact, Dictionary.com defines "feisty" as:

1. full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited; spunky; plucky
2. ill-tempered; pugnacious.
3. troublesome; difficult.

So there you have it. Brooklynn defines FEISTY.

And we love her. So much. She's actually gotten a lot better with the transition to having a little sister. She has started bringing me diapers for Gabby and takes a lot of pride in this new job. She also helps me burp her. Only sometimes is it a little too hard, usually it's right on. She still acts out occasionally, especially when I'm nursing Gabby and my attention has to be 100% focused on her. But she's starting to realize I can still read her books when I do this or do something else quiet. So it's not so bad. 

We had a really nice week my first week alone with the two girls. That made Brooklynn really happy since we got to spend lots of time outside. Now there is snow all over the place again so we're back inside. One of these days I'll have to venture outside with her to play in the snow. 

Brooklynn still continues to be such a picky eater. Sometimes she won't eat anything. Like AT ALL. It's really frustrating. Other days she'll eat pretty well (for a two-year-old, anyway.) and I'll be so happy. 

Brooklynn has been playing all sorts of really fun, active games with Josh. She loves it. She's starting to be one big ball of energy. I can't wait until spring. I can just have her run around outside all day. 

Brooklynn is definitely acting the part of a two-year-old. But it really isn't so bad. And it's really not "terrible" like they say. I would say "challenging...unexpected...and fun." 

Brooke's New Do

Sorry, Josh. I know you really didn't want our little girl to have bangs. Like ever. But I just couldn't help myself any more. It was one thing when I could put her hair up but she won't leave anything in her hair and I'm sick of it hanging in her face and then coating it in all kinds of food at every meal...it will be better this way. At least for a while. I was only going to cut off a teeny tiny bit but once I started I decided to cut them a little bit thicker so she could just have it down and it still be out of her face. I hope you forgive me. :)

I let Brooklynn check out her new reflection in the mirror. This was a very fun game for her. I think she likes it, what do you think?

My Loves

I don't really have anything specific to write about this picture, except: :)

Where There's a Will...

I was trying to get a picture of Brooklynn's birthday outfit. She decided one was plenty but then stripped her skirt off of her little body and then ran over and said, "purple!" and put the purple one on. What a silly silly.

Brooklynn's Cookie Monster Birthday Party

So we thought it was about time we had Brooklynn's 2nd Birthday Party, since she's been two for almost a month now and everything. :)

Actually, we thought about having it earlier. The one Saturday we had free in January was my ACTUAL due date with Gabby, so just in case we didn't schedule it. And then if I went late for some reason, I could have still been pregnant, REALLY recovering or even in labor on the 5th. I knew I'd most likely have the baby by the 12th but probably not feel up to having a party yet. So we went with the 19th. Sorry, Brooklynn. You were so patient. (Plus we thought she wouldn't mind and probably not even notice if it was later.)

It ended up working out great timing-wise. I felt up to everything, plus it was a great excuse to give Brooklynn some focused special Brooklynn time. I thought it would be great because even though we have been trying really hard to do lots of that, you can tell she's still struggling and is still jealous of Gabby. 

If only it wasn't GORGEOUS on Friday. Instead of actually working on party prep we played outside all morning. And then Gabby barely let us put her down that afternoon and evening so it was hard to work on stuff. 

Here is Brooklynn color all her Cookie Monster pictures for the decorations.

Here are some of our decorations. I wanted it to just be cookie overload for Brooklynn. Cookies are still her favorite things and so we had a Cookie Monster theme. I wanted to have tons of cookies. And we even let her have as many as she wanted all day. We're still detoxing a little bit. (She actually got to a point when she stopped eating them, and was finally full of cookies. It took a while, though.)

Here is Brooklynn in her Cookie Monster birthday outfit. We ordered it off Etsy. She looked ADORABLE. 

Gabby was a big hit of the party, too. It was great having other people there to hold her. I felt so free!

Brooklynn did SO good blowing out her candle! We were actually a little shocked. I didn't even know she knew that she was supposed to blow out the candle.

And of course she did a number on that cupcake...or did it do a number on her?

I almost forgot about opening her presents. We had them underneath our table because there wasn't really a spot for them. Someone reminded me and I was like, "Oh yeah!" So I asked Brooklynn if she wanted to open her presents and of course she shook her head "yes."
She knew just what to do. What a big girl. I think one of these days I'll just wrap all of her toys up while she's sleeping and let her go to town. 

I had Josh pick up a balloon at the store...this is what he came home with. It is HUMONGOUS!!! She of course, LOVES it.