Brooklyn-18 Months

Is it really time for another monthly update for Miss Brooklyn?!? Wow! 18 months old! That seems so big to me and very hard to believe! My baby girl is growing up so fast! She is such a joy! It is amazing to me what she learns each day and all of the new things she says each day! She is non-stop all day long, always moving and talking! There is never a quiet moment unless she is drinking milk or reading a book.  Even when she is watching her shows she is always talking and saying what she sees on the t.v. 

Brooklyn starts PDO on Tuesday (June 4)! I have very mixed emotions about it! I am excited to get a few hours a week to myself and excited Brooklyn will get some good kid interaction and direction from a teacher, but I am so dreading drop-off.  No one except my mom and mother-in-laws have watched Brooklyn.  It is going to be a very hard morning for both of us! But, I know we will get through it and Brooklyn will love going to "school"!

Brooklyn had her 18 month appointment this morning! The doctor said she is doing great! His exact words are "she is a very bright child"! That makes my mommy heart happy and makes all the hard work of trying to teach her letters, shapes, numbers and colors worth it! Brooklyn is in the 80th-85th percentile for all of her measurements; weight, height and head circumference! We have a big girl on our hands!

I love her more and more each day, which I didn't know was possible, but it is!!!

iPhone Dump

Here is our week in iPhone pictures!!

Eating an apple at City Market!!

The storms on Sunday woke Brooklyn up so I let her get out of bed. She was in a great mood and full of energy!!

Mommy got a new Vera bag from Don and Janet and Brooklyn thought it would be fun to get in the bag! 

I cleaned out my car and had a little helper! She loved "driving". She stood up to touch buttons up top and she opened Ben's garage door and got very excited because she thought daddy was home!!

Playing outside. She was driving-I asked where she was going and she said "Pa-Pa's"!

Brooklyn woke up from nap at 3:40pm the day Sonic was having 50 cent corn dogs. I quickly got her out of bed and in the car and headed to Sonic before happy hour ended at 4pm. We made it with 5 minutes to spare. Brooklyn loved getting her own drink (water) but she wanted nothing to do with the corn dog she had the best time playing in the front seat of the car while we were parked in a stall!! 

Play group this week was at Penguin Park! Brooklyn loved it!! 

Baby #2-20 weeks

Halfway there!! How is that possible!?! Some days I feel like this pregnancy is going by really slow, but other days I can't believe how far along I am.  It is still so crazy to me that I am going to have 2 babies soon! I'm getting pretty excited!!

How Far Along: 20 weeks 2 days

Total Weight Gain: 12 pounds

Maternity Clothes: some things, but not all!

Favorite Moment This Week: Brooklyn saying "seester" and "Mahl" for Molly!

Gender: Girl! Molly Kate

Movement: YES! more and more each day! It is funny because she seems to be active when the house is quiet (i.e. Brooklyn is asleep), or maybe that's just when I notice the movements more!

Food Cravings: Vanilla Shakes

What I Miss: having energy! I am SO tired!

Sleep: not too bad!

What I Am Looking Forward To: decorating the nursery! I have all of these ideas in my mind, now I just need some money and time to get them done!

Symptoms: Tired! Tired! Tired!

Belly Button: Half in, half out!

Next Dr. Appt: Friday June, 7

My crazy girl did not want to take a picture! She was being very silly!

 Comparison!

Here is a link to my post when I was pregnant with Brooklyn at 20 weeks! (click on the word 'here')

Baby #2-19 weeks

19 Weeks

How Far Along: 19 weeks 2 days

Total Weight Gain: 11 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Yes, but not all

Favorite Moment This Week: Finding out we are having another GIRL! 

Gender: GIRL!! Molly Kate will be her name!!

Movement: Yes!! I love it!!

Food Cravings: Milk Shakes

What I Miss: having energy!

Sleep: Some nights are good others are bad!

What I Am Looking Forward To: Starting on the nursery!

Symptoms: Some swelling in ankles after walks

Belly Button: Half way in/out

Next Dr. Appt: Friday Jun, 7

This past week has been so much fun! I am so happy and excited we are having another girl! When people ask if I know what we are having yet, I excitedly tell them another girl!! Some people ask if I wanted a boy and I usually answer no! Secretly Ben and I both wanted another girl, but we both would have been very happy and blessed if baby #2 was a boy! We think having girls 22 months apart is going to be A LOT of FUN! I am also very excited about using all of the girl clothes again! They will pretty much be in the same season, I might need to get a couple of fall outfits for Molly but other than that all winter clothes are 0-3 month and 3-6 month! Perfect! We might be saving money now by getting to reuse clothes, but we will have to pay for 2 weddings in 20+ years...yikes! 

 Wow!! I am quite a bit bigger this time around! I feel like I am more wide (and look it too).  Pregnancy #1 my belly seemed to be more out in front, this time around it is out front but also on the sides too! I also had a nice tan going on first pregnancy! There is no time for laying out with an 18 month old! Ha!!

Brooklyn wasn't in the mood to take a picture, but I still think it's fun to watch her grown throughout this pregnancy too!

Mother's Day 2013

We had a great Mother's Day! The weather was perfect! The day was perfect! We had a BBQ at our house.  My mom, brother, his girlfriend and their little boy, Jaxson came over.  Along with Ben's mom and his sister and her boyfriend! We grilled out burgers and dogs and had some great sides! The kids got to play outside! They had a great time!

When I was getting things ready my mom and Brooklyn were playing outside.  I came outside to check on them and couldn't find them.  I finally found them...

...in Nana's car playing!! Brooklyn loved it!!

I tried several times to get a picture with Brooklyn but she was not wanting to sit still or cooperate!

We tried to get a picture with Brooklyn, my mom and me...again, didn't work out so much!

Instead of making Brooklyn take a nap at her normal time, we decided we would walk to the park! Brooklyn and Jaxson had a blast!

Mother's Day last year was the first time we took Brooklyn to the neighborhood park! Here is a comparison from the two years! This girl LOVES to swing!

After the park, we came back to the house and Brooklyn went down for a nap-2 hours late! Jaxson stayed and he fell asleep too in Nana's lap! When the kids woke up we played out on the deck in the water table and Nana made ice cream cones! Yum! Brooklyn had never had one before but she LOVED it and would not let it go!

My favorite picture from the day...Brooklyn and Nana eating ice cream! Yum!

 

Jaxson enjoyed his ice cream too!

 

We tried one more time to get a picture of Brooklyn, my mom and me but again, no cooperation from Brooklyn! Ha!

After everyone left, Brooklyn wanted to try celery with Ranch dressing! She loved it!!

What a great day had by all!! I love being a mommy to this precious girl! I can't wait to celebrate next Mother's Day with two baby girls!! My heart is so full!!

And, just to look back to last years Mother's Day...

Baby #2-Weeks 15-18

Weeks 15-18

How Far Along: 18 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 12 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Some but not all!

Favorite Moment This Week: Pretty sure I felt flutters, so I am counting that as first movement! So exciting!

Gender: Find out tomorrow, May 9th!!

Movement: Little flutters!

Food Cravings: ice cream, vanilla shakes

What I Miss: sleeping through the night and not going to the bathroom 4-5 times a night!

Sleep: See above!

What I Am Looking Forward To: Finding out if little nugget is a boy or girl!

Symptoms: Tired

Belly Button: In, kinda...

Next Dr. Appointment: Tomorrow!! Thursday May, 9th

The stomach flu hit our house and because of that we did not take 15 or 16 week pictures.  No one was feeling up to it...I am sad about it, but life will go on!

Week 17:

 Week 17 Comparison from Pregnancy #1: my belly is definitely bigger and more round this time!!

 Brooklyn did NOT want to cooperate...

Week 18:

 I didn't take an 18 week picture when pregnant with Brooklyn.  Also, Brooklyn wanted nothing to do with taking pictures tonight.  She would just run away when I tried to pick her up.  I didn't fight with her!

Tomorrow is the big day!! Pink or Blue...??????

Brooklyn-17 Months

Brooklyn still likes her milk warm! It makes it inconvenient when we are out and about and she wants milk.  My goal is by June 1 to have her drinking cold milk! We will see how that goes!

I can't believe my baby girl is almost a year and a half.  Time, please slow down!

Fun Day

Brooklyn and I had a fun and busy day!! We got ready this morning and headed out the door around 9:45 to go to Oak Park Mall. I needed to take Brooklyn to Stride Rite to get her foot measured and buy new shoes! Things were going well until we came to a stand still on 635. I was worried Brooklyn was going to get fussy, but I brought a Barney DVD for her to watch in the car. Usually we have Baby Genius on and lately I could tell she was getting bored with it. Since I knew we would be in the car a lot today I decided to bring along Barney and it was the best decision ever! It saved me. I never heard a peep from her on the way there. Due to traffic and road construction it took us about an hour to get to the mall.

Once we got to the mall we headed straight to the play place and carousel. She had so much fun!! I loved seeing her smile and run around squealing! She was a little nervous at first on the carousel but after a few seconds she started loving it and kept saying "neigh neigh". Too cute!!

 After we played we headed to Stride Rite for shoes. I bought her a pair and was a little disappointed I didn't find another. I'm now searching online for another good summer shoe for her.

After shoe shopping we headed to Panera for lunch. Thanks to a friend I now take a vegetable peeler with me so I can quickly and easily peel an apple for Brooklyn. She loves eating apples whole!! And, it keeps her quiet and content so I can eat!! Win-win!

I was very worried Brooklyn was going to fall asleep on the way home. We ran into more road construction and it took almost an hour again to get home. Crazy! Thanks to Barney she was very interested in the DVD and didn't fall asleep. We came home and she took a 3 hour nap!!

After her nap we spent all afternoon and evening outside. We played in the driveway with chalk and bubbles. Went in the backyard and played on the slide and swing. After daddy got home we took a family walk and went to the park. We stayed at the park a lot longer than planned but we had fun! Brooklyn wanted dada to swing next to her the entire time! We finally got home and had dinner at 6:45, which is late for Brooklyn! She got to stay up until 8pm, which is also late for her!

 
What a fun day we had! This weather sure does make for a happy toddler and happy mommy!! Hopefully spring is here to stay!!

"May is for Moms" (Link-Up)

I came across a 3 week link-up series all about Mom's. Here is where you can find the original post for the link-up! I have decided to join in! I think it will be fun! The first link-up is a little interview with myself about motherhood!


Here we go...

1. Before you had children, how did you feel about being a mother?

I have always loved, Loved, LOVED kids! I always knew I wanted to be a 'mom.'  I haven't always known what being a mom fully and truly meant, but I always knew I wanted to be one! I always said I wanted a big family (5 kids), but now that number has decreased to 3 kids! Growing up I always wanted to be a dentist and a mom.  I wanted to be the parent who went to work every day and wanted my husband to stay home with the kids. Oh how times changed!  When Ben and I got married we said we would wait 5 years to have our first baby...5 years? Were we crazy?!? It wasn't even a year into being married that I was ready and was really wanting to become a MOM! It was the best decision we ever made! I couldn't imagine myself being a working mom, but I also never really thought I would be a stay at home mom, but it is the best thing ever and it is what works for our family!

2. Since becoming a mother, what is something that has happened that you never thought would?

Two things come to mind. The first thing is my child have meltdowns in public.  I remember before I was a mom or when I was pregnant and I would see parents with their children at the store and they would be screaming and a mess.  I always thought, my kid will never act like that.  I always thought I will make sure it is the appropriate time to take my child out, not when they are tired or hungry, etc.  Wow! Does being a mom change that perspective?! It is very difficult to schedule going to the store or to run other errands always around your childs schedule.  And, even if you do go when you think it is the right time, you never know when your child is going to have a meltdown or be moody.  These times are becoming more frequent as Brooklyn gets older! The second thing that comes to mind that I never thought would happen would be my child throwing up on me, multiple times in a short time frame! I don't know why I thought this would never happen, I just didn't.  And, there is absolutely nothing you can do to prepare yourself for it!

3. Is being a mother less difficult, more difficult or exactly how difficult you imagined?

My quick response is exactly how difficult I imagined it would be.  But, the more I think about it there have been times when it has been more difficult.  I think working with children every day since before I can remember really helped me know what goes on inside the home and all different ages.  I have experienced a lot being around other kids.  When I was pregnant everyone told me I would be such a great mother because I have so much experience and I know what can happen and what kids are capable of doing and how they can act.  My response to them was always "thanks, but the one thing that is going to be different with my baby is I am always on call and don't get to 'leave' them like I do the kids I work with."  This is exactly what has happened.  I didn't know what is was like to watch a baby on 2-3 hours of sleep.  I was not prepared for that.  I did not know what it was like to be with the same child day in and day out with no break.  I love my daughter dearly but sometimes momma needs a break!!

4. What is your fondest memory of being a mother, so far?

Wow! This is a tough question! The first thing that comes to mind is the first time Brooklyn said "mama" and was saying it in the correct context! That melted my heart! A close second is childbirth! That was the day I truly became a mother and it was the best day of my life! I love looking at pictures from Brooklyn's birth and I cry every time! What a special, happy day!

5. If your children only learn one life lesson from you, what do you hope it is? 

To be honest! Honesty can get you a long way in this world! An honest person is a true person and a person with confidence! Sometimes it is hard to be honest, but that is a part of life.  The reward for being honest always outweighs the consequences of lying.  Be honest!!

I can't wait to look back on this next May and answer the questions again, but instead add into the question "with 2 children"! Things will get interesting when there are 2 little ones to take care of!! 

3rd Anniversary

On May 1, 2013 Ben and I celebrated our third anniversary! I can't believe it has been 3 years already!!

The traditional gift for year 3 is leather.  I had no idea what to get Ben.  A wallet is practical and leather, but he just got a new wallet not too long ago.  Leather loafer shoes are not a bad idea, but I will NEVER buy Ben a pair of shoes again, long story! After searching, planning and organizing I finally came up with the perfect gift! Marriage has not been easy lately, being pregnant and having a 17 month old have made times tough! We need some alone time, away from Brooklyn (not in a bad way), away from work and away from the house.  I planned a "Stay-cation" for both of us! I had to line up babysitters for Brooklyn (my mom said she will watch Brooklyn Fri-Sun, hopefully she doesn't regret committing to that when the weekend is over-ha!), things for us to do, hotel and several other things. The "stay-cation" will be June 7-9.  I have an OB appointment that Friday, so Ben will take the day off work, go to my appointment, out to lunch, check into the hotel and then to a nice dinner.  Saturday we can do whatever we want (I will be sleeping in!) and then Saturday night we will go to the Royals game. I am very excited for this! It will be fun and will help us get back to right where we need to be!

So, what does a "stay-cation" have to do with the traditional leather gift? Well, I got Ben a leather dopp kit and filled it with travel necessities.  On each of the items I tied a little saying/note to it! Ben loved it and told me he was totally surprised and that I outdid myself! Yay!! This is the dopp kit I got from Pottery Barn! It is very nice! I wish it was a little bigger but Ben says it is perfect! I can't wait for our "stay-cation".

I had no idea what Ben was going to get me! The only thing I could think of that is leather is a purse! Every girl can always use another purse! Ben went beyond a purse and got me a huge tote from Coach! I love it! He suggested I use it this summer, it is called the Beach Canvas Tote, but I am going to use it for a diaper bag when I have 2 kids to pack for! I have been on the hunt for a big diaper bag but can't find one! Ben found one for me! It is perfect and will hold so much! I LOVE it!! Thanks, Benja-even though you went WAY over budget!

May is a tough month for Ben in the gift category-he has our anniversary on the 1st, Mother's Day and then my birthday the 19th! Can't wait to see what other goodies he finds this month!


We waited until after Brooklyn went to bed to eat dinner and exchange gifts.  I made breakfast for dinner (egg, bacon and pancakes) and for dessert I got a huge cinnamon roll from Corner Cafe! Yum!

Before Brooklyn went to bed we hung out as a family, sitting on the couch eating Fruit Loops (Brooklyn is obsessed) and watching Wheel of Fortune!

Last year on our anniversary we took a picture of the 3 of us standing by our couch-Brooklyn was so little! I wanted to do the same again this year!

May 1, 2013

May 1, 2012

Just a quick trip down memory lane to our wedding day in 2010...

Happy 3 years, and cheers to MANY more!!