Weekend Recap

It's almost mid week and I'm just now getting around to doing a weekend recap. Oops!

Friday Brooklyn and I went down to the plaza to visit my mom at work and to have lunch with her! Mom and I would always have lunch dates at McCormick and Schmick's before Brooklyn was born, but we hadn't been since. We were over due for some McCormick's. I just love their tilapia! Brooklyn did so well. She does good in restaurants but I was still a little nervous taking her in a more upscale restaurant then what she is used to. Luckily where our table was there was a little cubby area where she played when she was done eating but mom and I were still enjoying our food!

After lunch we did a little shopping. The weather was beautiful! Brooklyn did not want to ride in the stroller, instead she wanted to push her stroller! Silly girl!

On Saturday, we met Nate, Katie and Golden Glynn at Crown Center at the Funville exhibit! It was fun! Ben said he felt very dirty after leaving and said he needed a wet-one! Ha! When did my husband become such a germa-phobe?!?ha!

We learned at crown center that Brooklyn loves escalators! She kept wanting to go up and down, so of course her dad who won't tell her no, took her up and down a few times!

After Funville we went to lunch at Nick and Jakes in Parkville. It had been awhile since we had been there. It was good as always!

Sunday we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart where we bought a cantilever umbrella for our deck! We are one of the only ones on our block without a covered deck-the back of our house faces the west so evenings are always very sunny!

Busy but fun weekend! I love doing fun family things!!

Brooklyn also did a lot of swinging! She is obsessed. She points at the back door and says "sswww, sswww" (her version of swing!).

Weekend Recap

It's almost mid week and I'm just now getting around to doing a weekend recap. Oops!

Friday Brooklyn and I went down to the plaza to visit my mom at work and to have lunch with her! Mom and I would always have lunch dates at McCormick and Schmick's before Brooklyn was born, but we hadn't been since. We were over due for some McCormick's. I just love their tilapia! Brooklyn did so well. She does good in restaurants but I was still a little nervous taking her in a more upscale restaurant then what she is used to. Luckily where our table was there was a little cubby area where she played when she was done eating but mom and I were still enjoying our food!

After lunch we did a little shopping. The weather was beautiful! Brooklyn did not want to ride in the stroller, instead she wanted to push her stroller! Silly girl!

On Saturday, we met Nate, Katie and Golden Glynn at Crown Center at the Funville exhibit! It was fun! Ben said he felt very dirty after leaving and said he needed a wet-one! Ha! When did my husband become such a germa-phobe?!?ha!

We learned at crown center that Brooklyn loves escalators! She kept wanting to go up and down, so of course her dad who won't tell her no, took her up and down a few times!

After Funville we went to lunch at Nick and Jakes in Parkville. It had been awhile since we had been there. It was good as always!

Sunday we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart where we bought a cantilever umbrella for our deck! We are one of the only ones on our block without a covered deck-the back of our house faces the west so evenings are always very sunny!

Busy but fun weekend! I love doing fun family things!!

Brooklyn also did a lot of swinging! She is obsessed. She points at the back door and says "sswww, sswww" (her version of swing!).

Easter 2013

Easter 2013

We started off the Easter festivities on Good Friday! I took Brooklyn to see the Easter Bunny! We ventured to Independence Center.  We got there right at 10am when the Easter Bunny opened.  There were just a few people in front of us! Brooklyn saw the Easter Bunny come down the escalator and was super excited! We had been talking about it for days.  I would ask her if she wanted to go see the Easter Bunny and she would nod her head yes! I asked her if she would sit on his lap, and she would nod yes again! Every time she heard talk of the Easter Bunny she would say "hop hop hop"! So cute!

The packaging prices for pictures are ridiculous! Such a scam! But, in my eyes worth it! Ben doesn't agree! You had to buy a package in order to take pictures with your cell phone or camera.  The picture below is from my phone! Not the best, but I am too lazy to scan in the two 5x7's I bought for a cheap $22.  Brooklyn was good walking up to the funny but she started to whine when I sat her on his lap and began to walk away! She never screamed just whined.  The pictures that I paid for, Ben says she looks like she is getting ready to take a poop! Ha! Such a nice dad he is!

After we saw the bunny I let Brooklyn play in the kids area at the mall.  She was in heaven! Loved every minute of it! She really loved watching the carousel go round and round and would shout "Neigh! Neigh!" at the horses! I didn't have any cash so we couldn't ride it! Next time! 

Running wild at the play area!

On Saturday our neighbors Kevin and Lisa invited us over for an Easter egg hunt! Lisa said she would fill special eggs just for Brooklyn with cheerios and gold fish! It was perfect! Brooklyn caught on really fast! We had been doing little egg hunts in the house the weeks prior, so she knew what she was doing!

Kevin and Lisa have two grandchildren, so they have this little teeter-totter in their back yard! Little Zoey who is 5 loves Brooklyn! They rode on the teeter-totter together and both loved it!!

The Easter Bunny made a stop at our house! I forgot to buy carrots at the store so we gave the Easter Bunny cookies, he didn't mind-he ate them all!
Brooklyn got a little spoiled this year! I have been collecting all of this stuff for several weeks now, and I lost track on how much I had already purchased! Oops!

The Easter Bunny brought Brooklyn new pajamas, new shoes, sidewalk chalk, swimsuit, Gymbo puppet, baby doll, Elmo bath bubbles, sunglasses, coloring book, 4 Elmo books, bubbles, a photo book just for her to look at whenever she wants, a microphone that echos, a new Elmo's World DVD, a new baby stroller and an Elmo doll.

The Elmo doll was the favorite! She was speechless when she saw him.  She didn't know what to do or say, she just smiled!

 My mom (Nana) came over and went to St. Joe with us! She brought Brooklyn some Easter gifts too! Her favorite being a carrier for her baby, that also has a stand to make it a highchair!

We headed up to St. Joe to Ben's moms house for the day! It was a great time and yummy food! Lisa had an egg hunt for Brooklyn and she loved it! Lisa had Brooklyn's Easter treats out on a cute bench on the back patio!

We attempted family pictures! It was a little windy and Brooklyn had better things to do than pose with her parents!

Brooklyn is still trying to transition to 1 nap a day.  If we don't have anywhere to go during the day she will take a morning an afternoon nap! If we do go somewhere in the morning she won't take a morning nap! She didn't fall asleep on the way to St. Joe so I knew she would be exhausted on the way home.  My mom went with us to St. Joe and we left around 2:30pm to head home.  I asked mom if she could entertain Brooklyn and try to keep her awake-because we all know that if a kid falls asleep in the car, they most likely will NOT go back to sleep in their crib when they get home! A 10 minute car ride nap is equivalent to a 2 hour crib nap to Brooklyn.  Does not make sense to me! Anyway, we were passing through Platte City and my mom says "Katy, I don't think I am going to be able to keep her awake!" I look back and Brooklyn is sound asleep! I say her name loud and she opens her eyes, barely! I have mom get some Cheetos and give them to Brooklyn! Mom put one in her mouth and Brooklyn started to eat it, but sleep won! That girl was tired!! Luckily, we are only about 15 minutes from Platte City, so right when we got home I took Brooklyn to her room, didn't say a word to her and put her in her bed.  She slept for 2.5 hours! Yay!!

It was a great Easter, but let us not forget the true meaning of this special holiday!

John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Brooklyn-16 Months

Another month has passed and my baby girl is 16 months! She is so big and so much fun!

PDO

Brooklyn is going to start going to Parents Day Out in the fall! Ben and I went and toured Small Saints Learning Center at St. Stephan church in Liberty! We love it!! Brooklyn will go to PDO on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:15am-12pm. I think it will be great for Brooklyn to have some social interaction on a weekly basis and learn what it is like to have a "teacher". It will also be good for her to have something to look forward to that is only for her once the baby is here! It will also be good for me to have one on one time with the baby when he/she arrives!!

We usually go to story time at the library on Tuesdays and Gymboree class on Thursdays, but Tuesday/Thursdays for PDO just work better for us! I don't think we will continue Gymboree classes for a couple of reasons. One reason being price-Gymboree isn't cheap and adding in PDO 8 times a month, it is just going to be too expensive. Second reason, even if money wasn't an issue I don't know what I would do with the baby during Gymboree class. Gymboree is very parent involved and I don't want to be taking my attention away from Brooklyn during class! And, I think it is Gymboree policy for only one child at a class unless you pay for the second child. We can still do story time at the library on Wednesdays and I can take the baby to that!

PDO has a summer session that is just Tues/Thurs the month of June that we are going to try out so Brooklyn can get ready for the fall class!

I know there will be tears shed by both Brooklyn and me at first, but in the long run it will be a great thing for both of us! I am excited for our new adventure!!

this girl loves pushing the laundry basket from the laundry room to my bedroom where I fold clothes!

Getting her nails clipped while eating fruit loops!

Planned?

The question I am getting asked a lot is if baby #2 was planned? The answer is YES!!!

Before Ben and I got married we always said we were going to wait about 3 years before having kids.  We wanted to travel, pay off some loans, save, etc.  Well about 4 months after being married I had baby fever!!! I went off of birth control on September 1, 2010 and we got pregnant with Brooklyn in February 2011.  It took about 6 months-a very long 6 months it was, with irregular periods, my body thinking I was pregnant so I was lactating and a few other weird things. 

(To make this post a little less boring I am adding in some random pictures of my big girl!)

Loves her new cup with a straw!! When did she get so big?

I always new I wanted my first two kids close.  I thought 2 years was about the perfect age! I have seen great relationships form with siblings that are close in age! I know that the first year of having 2 kids will be tough, but I also know that it is just a phase and the reward for it all will (hopefully) be two siblings who love each other and are very close!

Her favorite thing to do right now is stack cups! She can do it all on her own!! She gets so proud of herself!

In October of 2012 I went off birth control again to try and get my cycles regular before officially trying for baby #2.  It came with no surprise that my cycles were not regular, 45 days, 32 days and 21 days.  Crazy!! In December and January we started 'trying' and just playing a guessing game as to when the appropriate time was since we had no idea with my irregular cycles. 

This girl loves her baby and she goes everywhere with us!! It is so cute to see how mothering she is! Hopefully that is a sign she will be a good big sister...we just need to work on how to properly hold the baby without strangling it! Ha!

In January we found out Brooklyn would be a big sister!! (Story here and here)

So, to answer the big question about baby #2...YES it was PLANNED and we couldn't be HAPPIER!! I can't wait to be a family of FOUR!!

(Sorry if any of this was T.M.I. but I blog for my keepsakes and an easy way to look back on life-it is real life and I want to remember everything the best I can in the exact way it happened, so for me, blogging is the best way to do that!)

Little miss would NOT nap and was a mess, I finally gave in and went in her room and rocked her.  My back was killing me in her glider and I knew she would wake up if I tried to put her in crib, so I laid her on her bear pillow on the floor-she slept like this for 30 minutes! Better than no nap!

Brooklyn-15 Months

Brooklyn-14 Months

The Floating Due Date

The title says it all...the floating due date for baby #2.  At my first OB appointment (8 weeks from last period) all was well and the nurse practitioner said my uterus felt like it was 8 weeks, exactly where I should be.  She gave me the due date of September 30.  Yay! Great!

I got home and did some calculations on baby center and some pregnancy apps on my phone and I kept coming up with September 28th.  I knew that 2 days wasn't really that big of a difference but I just wanted to know what was correct.

At my 12 week appointment last Friday (3/15) I asked Dr. Abey about it and she came back with the September 28th date.  So, that became my official due date!

Then, on Monday (3/18) I went to a specialist for the First Trimester Screening and during the ultrasound the doctor told me I was not as far along as once thought.  So...due date #3 was given! My official due date (#3) is now October 9th.

At first I was bummed, but I am over it, there is nothing I can do.  It gave me an answer as to why I am still feeling blah all the time.  Hopefully in one more week I will be feeling better and have my energy back!

I am excited for an October baby now!! It will be a great month! And, baby will share a birthday month with their daddy! Ben's is October 20, so hopefully there is no way they will share a birthday! Ha!

Hurry up October...

Telling our parents about baby #2

We were leaving for Florida on Friday February, 1st so I decided to take a pregnancy test the day before, on January 31st. We had been trying for a couple of months now, I was having irregular periods (again), so I wanted to know if it would be safe or not to partake in a few pina coladas or beers while enjoying the warm sunshine!!Ben kept saying that he knew I was pregnant, I would always roll my eyes and say "I doubt it".  Much to my surprise the test came back with 2 lines!! I was so excited and started crying! Brooklyn was still asleep and I couldn't wait for her to wake up!

I wanted to wait and have Ben come home for lunch so Brooklyn and I could tell him, but I knew I couldn't wait.  When we first started trying, I bought a Big Sis shirt from Old Navy, hoping Brooklyn would get to wear it some day! So, I put that shirt on Brooklyn and took a picture.  I took a picture of the positive pregnancy test and sent the 2 pictures to Ben in an email.  I called him and told him Brooklyn sent him something to his email.  He stayed on the phone with me and opened the email and he was speechless. He started to tear up, which made me start crying! It was a great moment! He came home for lunch and we celebrated with Chinese!

That night my mom was coming over to spend time with Brooklyn before we left for Florida for 10 days.  I had Brooklyn wear her Big Sis shirt so my mom could read it and be surprised.  Brooklyn always loves waiting at the front door for my mom to arrive.  When mom started walking up the front walk I was getting excited for her to see Brooklyn's shirt.  Mom came in, picked Brooklyn up, gave her some hugs and kisses.  She was oblivious to the shirt. Meanwhile Ben is walking in the door from work and I look at him and whisper "she hasn't noticed yet". After a couple of minutes I told mom to look at Brooklyn's shirt.  She held Brooklyn out and read the shirt and started screaming with excitement and joy! It scared Brooklyn and she started crying! Ha! Mom and I both cried and hugged! It was special!

We always head straight to Captain Curt's/Sniki Tiki when we get to Siesta Key and enjoy lunch and a Landshark.  Well, we knew that if I didn't order a Landshark to drink Don and Janet would wonder what was going on, so we planned for Brooklyn to wear her Big Sis shirt again to Sniki Tiki!  When we got in the parking lot, Brooklyn and I stayed in the car so I could change her shirt real quick.  I had her walk to the table so her shirt would be easy to read.  She walked over to Don and Janet and they were so happy to see her they didn't notice her shirt.  After standing there for a few minutes, Ben finally said "Read Brooklyn's shirt".  Don read it and said "Another one?!" and Janet got excited and gave me a hug! It was a special moment at our favorite place in Siesta Key!

I knew that I wanted to tell my dad and step mom by incorporating the beach somehow! We didn't make it to the beach until Sunday, and it was a little chilly! We sat Brooklyn in the sand and wrote in the sand "BIG SIS" and took a picture.  I text my dad and told him that I would be texting him a picture of Brooklyn soon, so to be by his phone! He said he was ready for the picture! I sent it! He called me and was very excited and happy! It was perfect!

Ben felt bad that we hadn't told his mom yet, I suggested waiting until we got a picture at the beach and we could send it to both my dad and Lisa, but I guess Ben didn't want to wait so he forwarded Lisa the original email I sent Ben with the pregnancy test and Brooklyn in her Big Sis shirt and then he called her and told her to check her email.  She was very excited and happy too!

It was a lot of fun telling our parents in different ways!! We can't wait to meet baby Brunker #2!!!!

Big News from Brooklyn...

Baby Brunker #2 will be here the end of September!! We couldn't be more excited!! Such a wonderful blessing and miracle!!

You know how you have an idea in your head and you are bound and determined to do it? Well, that is what it was like with announcing this pregnancy using Brooklyn and a chalkboard.  Whew, was it difficult. I saw the idea on Pinterest, of course, and I knew I wanted to do it! So, Brooklyn and I headed to hobby lobby for a chalkboard and chalk markers! I tried many times a day for several days to get that girl to cooperate and had no such luck! Luckily, the weather warmed up to around 50 degrees and I took her outside and put her in her swing with the chalkboard.  It was the best I could do! Her facial expressions are funny and she looks clueless but hey, it gets the message out!
I got these 3 pictures printed on cards from CVS and handed them out to close friends and family!

Stay tuned for more pregnancy updates, I will be doing weekly updates just like I did with Brooklyn!