Crown Center

I wanted to do a few fun things with Brooklyn before PDO started this week.  It is too hot to do anything outside, which is hard for her to understand, and we both wanted/needed out of the house!

We headed to Crown Center for the day! We hadn't been to the Curious George exhibit yet, so I knew it would be the perfect time, with school for the older kids already in session! Brooklyn has never seen Curious George so I kept telling her we were going to go see a monkey.  She thought we were going to the zoo and started talking about all the other animals.  I had to quickly clear that up so she wouldn't be disappointed!

She LOVED the exhibit.  It wasn't very big, which I was surprised by and a lot of the activities were not for her age.  The activities seemed to be geared toward older kids, like 4yr-7yr+.  That did not stop Brooklyn from having fun!

saying hi to the Lego figures at Crown Center!

golfing at Curious George exhibit

Hugs for Monkey!

loved putting shapes on this and spinning it!

really enjoyed putting different types of food in the cubbies!

After we were in the exhibit for about 45 minutes I suggested we go get lunch! Brooklyn threw a little fit.  I told her we were going to have lunch at a train place! She instantly became happy! We went to Fritz's! Brooklyn was amazed at the trains! She loved every minute of it. We were in the restaurant for close to an hour! Brooklyn ate 4 chicken nuggets and enjoyed a vanilla shake! It was a very laid back lunch and I loved spending the time with my baby girl!

ordering our food!

yummy shake!

cheese!

our food being delivered!

my little conductor!

Not in the mood for pictures!

When we got done at Fritz's, I told her it was time to go home! I had milk in the car for her, thinking and hoping that would be enough to get her to leave! I was wrong! She kept saying "play, monkey".  So, we went back to the Curious George exhibit.  She just played with one thing...the animal houses! She loved putting the pig, chicken and bunny in the little houses! I let her play for about 15 more minutes then we headed home! 

It was a great day!! I am trying to soak up every last minute of Brooklyn being an only child! There are several more things I want to do with her before Molly arrives, so hopefully the weather cools down and we can get back outside and do some outdoor activities! I love my baby girl!

Five on Friday

{ONE}
This is what I have been doing in the evenings after Brooklyn goes to bed! Never thought I would paint furniture, but Molly's dresser is slowly turning pink!!

{TWO}
We had maternity pictures taken this past weekend! Brooklyn cooperated right at the beginning for about 3 minutes and then she was done, but we got an awesome picture! Here is a teaser from the session! I love Monica with ME Photography!

{THREE}
I have been painting a lot! I have done so much DIY in the nursery, which is so unlike me! Today I painted the monogram that will hang above the crib! I love it!

I brought it in the basement after I painted it outside, the light is making a glare so it looks unfinished, but it's not! 

{FOUR}
I can't believe my baby girl started Fall Parent's Day Out yesterday! She is growing up too fast!

{FIVE}
Speaking of growing up too fast...this was a year ago!

Be still my heart...

First Day of PDO

Today was the start of the Fall Parent's Day Out session! Last week we went to Meet the Teacher.  Brooklyn has the same teacher as she did for the summer session she did in June. Ms. Patty is her name and she is wonderful! On the way to meet the teacher I kept telling Brooklyn that I was going to stay with her and was not going to leave her that day.  She seemed to understand, but right when we walked in the door she started crying! Once she realized I wasn't leaving, she played and played and ended up crying again because she didn't want to leave.  Ms. Patty told me she wishes I could be a fly on the wall, because in June, Brooklyn would cry after I dropped her off but 5 minutes later she was playing and perfectly fine! That made me feel so much better!

For the past week, I have been talking about "school" and going to see Ms. Patty every day to let Brooklyn know it was coming up! She would get excited and say "play", "toys", "Patty".  I was getting excited for her!

We actually met up with two boys in her class, Pierce and Colton, last week for them to play together to help make it feel like they knew someone in class!

Brooklyn woke up about 30-45 minutes earlier than normal and all she wanted was for me to hold her.  I think she knew what was going on!

We got dressed and took pictures at home with her chalkboard!

She sat in the chair and said "no picture"!

Love her new backpack!

She really seemed and acted excited to go to school! I was excited that she was excited! We arrived at school and she got out, but slowly walked to the building.  Several times she stopped and said "no"!  I knew then that it wasn't going to be good! I snapped one picture of her walking in and then she wanted me to carry her!

Right before we walked in the door she started to cry.  I stepped into the grass to hold her and tell her it would be ok and asked her if she could be a big girl and not cry.  She said "OK", so we went in! I signed in and made her walk into her classroom.  She immediately started crying.  I calmly told her it was alright and we took her backpack off and hung it on her hook.  I gave her a big hug and kiss and told her I love her, all while holding tears back.  At this time I am walking out the door, she is crying and hugging on Ms. Patty! I cried all the way to the car and all the way home. 

Once I got home and started cleaning I didn't think much about it! Colton's mom, Courtney, hadn't dropped him off yet, so I text her and asked if Brooklyn was crying when she dropped Colton off and she said NO! She told me she was playing with toys and perfectly fine! That made my mommy heart so much better!

I couldn't wait to go pick her up! I walked in her classroom and she had her back to me sitting on the floor playing.  I just stood there and watched her for 2 minutes, while talking to the helper teacher, Ms. Jennifer.  Brooklyn finally turned around and noticed me, and right when she did, she started crying again! I don't know why she does this. My mom said I did the same thing growing up-when she got to daycare to pick me up I would start crying the second I saw my mom.  So funny!

Brooklyn said bye to her friends and teachers and we headed for the car! She was very happy once she stopped crying.  Her teachers said she had a great day! Everyone cried off and on, but it wasn't anything too bad!

Conversations Brooklyn and I had about her day at school:
Me: "What did you do at school today"?
Brooklyn: "Play...toys"
M: "What kind of toys"?
B: "ummm...horsey, kitty, ball, kitchen"

M: "What did you have for a snack"?
B: "Fruit Loops"..."red...yellow...green...blue..."

M: "Did you play outside?"
B: "Yes! Swing. Slide."

I don't know how true her answers are but it is still fun to ask questions and see what her answers are! I love having conversations with her!!

I am looking forward to a fun year of PDO for Brooklyn! I know after a couple of weeks she will run right in and have so much fun and won't miss me at all!

Baby #2-Weeks 31, 32, 33 and 34

Where is the time going?! Every time I want to sit down and blog something else catches my attention and I never start blogging! Ugh! I hate playing catch up.  I better get used to it, because I know I won't stay on top of things once Molly is here! Speaking of which, I can't believe I only have 6 more weeks (or less) until she arrives-so crazy!!

Weeks 31-34

How Far Along: 34 weeks and 1 day

Total Weight Gain: Scary!!! As of Tuesday at my 34 week appt I weighed 156 pounds.  I started out at 120 pounds.  Yikes! 36 pounds with 6 weeks to go...I had the nurse look back in my chart to see what my final weight gain was with Brooklyn-4 days before Brooklyn was born I weighed 158 pounds, and I started out at 125 pounds.  So, I only gained 33 pounds with Brooklyn and have already passed that this time around! I sure hope it comes off just as quick and easy with nursing as it did with Brooklyn!

Maternity Clothes: YES! I feel like some are getting too short.  

Favorite Moment This Week: Working on the nursery! My goal is to have it done by 36 weeks! I can't wait to do a blog post all about the nursery! I am loving it!!

Gender: GIRL! Molly Kate

Movement: This child is NON STOP all day long! It wears me out some days! I know I will miss it once she is born, but some days I really get tired of getting kicked in the ribs or feeling pressure on my bladder all day long!

Food Cravings: I will eat just about anything and everything, hence the high weight gain!

What I Miss: feeling comfortable! I am starting to get uncomfortable and this heat is not helping!

Sleep: Not too bad! I am still getting up several times a night, but I seem to be falling right back to sleep! 

What I Am Looking Forward To: Besides meeting Molly, I am looking forward to getting the house cleaned from top to bottom and getting the nursery finished! My to-do list is a mile long, so hopefully it will all get done!

Symptoms: Foot pain! Back pain! 

Belly Button: OUT!

Next Dr. Appt: September 11

Contractions: YES! I have had a few that have been very strong! I have at least 5-10 a day.  They aren't close together, they just come and go randomly.  I am always feeling a little crampy throughout the day!

Picture time: (Ben was out of town when I was 32 weeks so we never got a picture...)

I can't believe how much bigger I am this time around! It is so crazy looking back and comparing!!

Brooklyn-20 Months

Brooklyn turned 20 Months on July 26th.  A little late getting her monthly update/picture up.

It has been a great month! This little girl is very determined and full of energy.  She gets frustrated very easily, which makes things difficult at times.  When she can't figure something out in 3 seconds she throws a fit and throws things.  We are working on controlling our anger and frustration, but it has not been easy!

She loves learning and it amazes me how much she soaks in and remembers.  It was super easy to teach her to count to 10.  Now that she knows how, she counts anything and everything that she sees. It is so cute listening to her count all by herself!

We are working on recognizing letters and saying the alphabet.  When I sing the alphabet, I will pause at random times and Brooklyn will say the next letter! She can do this with letters: A, B, C, G, K, O, P, S, V, X and Z!

She is so fun to be around and always keeps me on my toes and laughing! Such a fun age!!

Royals Game

Ben and I have been to several Royals games this year, but Brooklyn hasn't been yet.  I wanted to take her earlier in the season before it got too hot, but that never happened.  It has been a cool August so far, so we thought last night would be the perfect night to take her! The Royals played Boston (Ben's second favorite team)!  I packed the backpack full of snacks for Brooklyn and we headed to the K! We got there so early that the gates weren't open yet.  Ben and Brooklyn walked around the parking lot while I waited in the line to get in. 

Am I a bad mom that I didn't buy Brooklyn a Royals shirt or dress her in blue? She really doesn't have anything that is "Royals" blue...so we stuck with pink!

We got in the stadium and went into Diamond Club to show Brooklyn around! She loved it! We decided since we had an hour before game time that we would head to the outfield to ride the carousel and play at the playground! Brooklyn loved the carousel!

After playing (and trying to avoid Brooklyn getting trampled by 12 year old kids at the playground) we headed to our seats to eat! Brooklyn was so good and sat/stood and ate dinner and looked around!

 We had to take a break from eating and sing the National Anthem! We showed Brooklyn how to put her hand over her heart and she did it and left it there for the entire song! She started dancing too!

 She was so good! After the first inning we went back to the outfield one more time and she rode the carousel with daddy! She played on the playground and even got to see Slugger up close, but she didn't want to get too close!

 She was getting tired and ready for her nightly milk. 

 We stopped at the "O" in Hall Of Fame to get a picture, because we took her picture in the "O" last year and I wanted to compare!

{2013}

{2012}

We had a great time and we were so proud and happy with how Brooklyn behaved!! We left after the 4th inning, Brooklyn was exhausted!  It was a lot of fun! We are hoping to take her to one more game this season! Ben and I are going back to The K for date night on Sunday! Hopefully the Royals can get another "W"!

My favorite picture from the night:

Weekend Recap

What a FUN weekend!! Saturday morning was laid back and we stayed in and played at home! My mom came over around 11am to play with Brooklyn.  Ben ran some errands and I showered and got ready! My mom and I were spending the afternoon together before heading to my cousins bachelorette party!

Mom and I started the day with pedicures! It had been way too long!! So relaxing!

We then did some shopping and got Frozen Yogurt! Yum!

We headed to the plaza to join the bachelorette party! There was a lingerie party in the hotel room and then dinner at Seasons 52! Yum!

 I look HUGE! When Ben saw this picture he asked "You have 10 weeks left?!"...(jerk!)

While I was away Ben and Brooklyn played! They went to Don and Janet's to swim and eat dinner!

enjoying a snack pool side!

Ben said Brooklyn was so good and loved being the center of attention! He said she was worn out!

cuddles with daddy while mommy was away!

Ben said she was out the minute she laid down!

After dinner the bachelorette party headed to Westport! I was a good sport and went to the Piano Bar for a little bit! It was actually a lot of fun! My mom got called up on stage! Too funny!

mom dancing!

{dark/blurry} Me and Sally (the bachelorette)

Abby, Amy and me!

I was exhausted this morning and was doing everything to stay awake, but I kept dozing on the couch! It looked like it could rain any minute, but Ben suggested we go outside and maybe that would help me to wake up! It worked! It was a beautiful morning out! We played out front with chalk and bubbles for awhile then Brooklyn ventured to the backyard to swing and slide! Brooklyn was being crazy on the slide and ended up biting her tongue...I caught it on camera right as it happened...she was shocked at first then started screaming...there was a little blood!

Brooklyn loves being naked, so I let her take her jammies off outside! She loved it!

After coming inside and playing for a little bit it started to rain so I let Brooklyn go out on the front porch and play in the rain! She loved it!

I thought for sure she would take a long nap, but she didn't...little stinker! We had to get creative this afternoon with things to do! We played in boxes, colored and so much more! Daddy taught Brooklyn how to say "Tiger Woods" and showed her how to golf! She would say "ball in hole!"

Nana came by to bring me my sunglasses I left in her car yesterday! She also had surprises for Brooklyn...some new toys! yay! Nana stayed and had dinner with us and played for a little bit!

Every night before bed Brooklyn always wants to go upstairs and play in Molly's room.  She loves taking toys in there and playing with the baby bows! She wanted Ben to put all of the headbands on her head...it was very comical! There were so many it was pushing her skin over her eyes! Ha!

 We ended the night by downloading the Elmo Talks app and let Brooklyn call/FaceTime with Elmo, she LOVED it!! She was laughing so hard...cutest thing ever and best $0.99 spent!

Love my little family! Hope you had a good weekend too!


And just a trip down memory lane...this was a year ago yesterday (Aug 3, 2012)