Twenty Eleven

Josh calls my turning 31 "Twenty Eleven".
I don't feel any older. I do feel worn out. Brooke is still in her teething/whiny faze. She was a little better on my birthday which is nice. I just had to have her in the MobyWrap for 3 hours to accomplish that.
Josh has been spoiling me all week with "Birthday Week" giving me presents every day and hanging up cute signs throughout our apartment. He is such a sweetie. I love him. :)Thanks for making my birthday special!(By the way, one of my theories of Brooke's whinyness this week is because she is jealous that it is MY birthday week and she has to share all of the attention.)
We are celebrating on Friday by going out to dinner. I get to wear a new outfit. Yay! Clothes that fit me! Thanks, honey!

I am SO OVER the teething-induced whining!

Ever since Monday morning Brooke has been whining. All the live-long day. It's driving me crazy. I don't know what to do with her. I am pretty sure it's related to teething; she is chewing on everything in between her whining. I've tried Baby Orajel, I've tried Tylenol, I've tried putting her down for a nap, I've tried getting her up b/c maybe she's tired of sleeping. I've tried being very focused with her b/c maybe she feels neglected. I tried taking her to the zoo for some fresh air and some fun. (That actually helped a little, she didn't whine quite as much there.) I've tried changing her diaper, letting her be JUST in her diaper, putting her in warmer clothes, I've tried letting her sleep in her crip, letting her sleep in bed with us, letting her sleep in her stroller or in the car...basically everything I can think of and nothing is working. I can't wait until she cuts those teeth because maybe it will give all of us a break.

Storehouse Beach Baptism

Around 3:30/4:00 in the afternoon it got FREEZING! The baptism wasn't scheduled to start until 7:00 so that meant several hours of waiting in the cold. It was a bonding experience. Look how foggy it was! We all prayed that it wouldn't start storming and God heard us! It didn't rain until we went home. Yay! (I guess we also should have prayed for warmth?)


I think Brooke thought she was going to get baptized. Look how sad she was when we broke the news to her that she wasn't going in the water this time!

7 People got baptized! Yay!

Yay, we made it without any rain! Some of us wentto Mack & Manco's Pizza afterwards to eat. Yum.

How I Found Brooke This Morning...

So most mornings Josh takes Brooke out to play while he gets ready for work and I sleep for another half hour to hour until he has to leave when he brings he into me or wakes me up. Most mornings when I go out she is playing contently. This morning she was WAILING on her gym, almost like she was kickboxing it. I am NOT a morning person, but this actually woke me up, it was so amuzing. She is so funny.

Brooke's New Tent

We needed a beach tent for Brooke for the summer. We finally found one and we love it! Brooke is really excited about it. I didn't quite capture her excitement, but she was SQUEALING with delight when I first put her in it.

Silly Baby

Brooke figured out how to blow raspberries. She does it constantly now. It's hilarious. She is very proud of herself, too. Like she has been working SO hard for so long to do it and now she is like, "HEY! I finally got it! Did you see it? How about now?"

Uncle Dennis Comes for a Visit

Brooke's Great Uncle Dennis came over last night for dinner to meet Brooke! She was very excited about it. (So were Josh and I). Thanks for coming! It was great to see you!

Brooke was VERY excited about the clothes he brought for her! I've never seen a baby this small so in tune with fashion. She is going to make her Mommy VERY proud at the mall.

Brooke is Rolling!

Brooke's First Trip to the Pool!

So our pool is officially open! Josh and I celbrated by taking Brooke down for her debut pool experience. She LOVED it! We knew she would. The water was FREEZING but she didn't seem to mind. (Except at the end, her legs were in and when I put her down a little more so her belly got wet she started crying. I think she gets that from her Mommy.)

The Many Trials of Starting Solid Foods...

Well, we're very excited to get Brooke started on solid foods, the Doctor has given us the OK, I'm excited for her to take to them since she won't take a bottle and maybe then someone else could feed her while I did a Pampered Chef party or some errands or even had some time to myself...so far she likes to eat her foot more instead. I think she likes the food, but she still needs her foot in her mouth to make herself swallow? Or maybe she likes the skin contact? I'm not really sure. Maybe she like that she can reach them so well in her high chair. Or maybe she is being sneaky by breaking the good old rule, "no feet on the table" while she is still young enough to get away with it.
If she isn't eating her foot she is eating her bib or even falling asleep. Or pooping. Pretty much anything except actually eating. I know she wants to. I had her on my lap today while I at a bowl of cereal and she kept trying to eat my bowl and grab my spoon.
I know she is just starting so I'm not too stressed about it. I think it's pretty funny and am enjoying this cute stage.