For the Love of Family: February 2012

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Adventures of a Big Boy...Starring Connor!

Once upon a time a very excited Mommy and Daddy spent hours upon hours searching for the perfect bed for their babe. This Mommy and Daddy knew that they wanted to find just the right bed for their soon to be son. Off they went to Babies R Us, Target, Baby Depot and numerous online stores. One day, while shopping at Baby Depot, they finally decided on THE perfect crib. It was ordered, and the parents waited patiently for it to arrive. There were BIG plans! The room was painted to match a very cute canvas with a football jersey, the #32 and a beautifully painted "Connor" across the top. The crib finally came, and the Daddy was put to work putting it together. Soon, his room was finished!! The Mommy spent many quiet afternoons reading to her unborn son in the glider, waiting for him to join the family!

Here was the finished product:

The cat needed to make sure it was suitable!

The finished product!

He even loved it so much, he tried to eat it!

Fast forward two years and three months! Connor has spent a great deal of time sleeping in his little crib! Finally, after a couple of climbing adventures out of the crib and night after night of attempting to climb in, it was decided that it was time for a "big boy" bed! Much thought was put into whether or not this was the right decision-after all, wouldn't it be easier for the little prince to stay in the crib until he took a wife?
The search was on for a perfect bed for this big two year old. Then, on a magical site called "Craigslist", a very nice bed and dresser were found. It was put together, a new mattress was bought, matching racecar sheets were washed and ready.

Then nighttime came, and it was time to try it out. No Goldilocks story here! He climbed right in, read his three favorite books, and was covered up and tucked in. Mommy and Daddy kissed their big boy, and patiently watched in the video monitor. He fell fast asleep and slept the whole night through!

And what fairy tale would be complete without...

And he lived happily ever after!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Brooke is FOUR Months!

Four months! Am I really writing this?!?!

My oh my how she is changing! Just before her four month mark, she caught a little cold. Just a little stuffy nose, no big deal, right? Until it quickly turned into more...bronchiolitis to be exact! So, amidst other "firsts" this month, in a matter of a week she also had her first sick related doctor visit, an ER visit, and breathing treatments. *SIGH* Luckily, she's resiliant, and recovered very quickly! They said she should have a cough for about four weeks, and she hasn't coughed in a few days. We blame it on this awful Phoenix air...horrible air quality, super dry, and just a sesspool of nastyness. But that's another story! Back to Brooke!

* Just over 12 pounds-we had to wait to go to for her 4 month visit since she was sick.
* ------ for length (will fill in after dr visit!)
* Neck is so strong! She's trying so hard to sit up. She's starting to fit on my hip! :)
* First church service on the 15th-It had been awhile since we went to church, and we missed the Vineyard! (Connor cried the whole time at the nursery, but Brooke did great!)
* First laughs! Brooke is soooo ticklish! Right under her chin to be exact-Ryan got her to laugh first, and is still the one that can make her laugh the hardest!

* First family hike! She traveled in the Ergo and slept the entire way up. The looks we got were pretty fun-Ryan with Connor in the Kelty and me with Brooke! Once we got to the top, the little stinker pooped her pants so bad that there was no salvaging the onesie. But since I'm a genius, I didn't bring even a wipe or diaper with me, so she had to sit in her own poop the whole way down. Otherwise, success!
* First GIRLS DAY!!! (minus Jennie) Mom, Aunt Mary, Aunt Carrie, Brooke and I went to the Glendale Chocolate Affaire in Downtown Glendale. It was so fun! Carrie bought us all totes with necessities. We didn't even need the stroller-Brooke just traveled in the arms of the wonderful women in our life!
* First SuperBowl! Ok, so this isn't that big of a deal, but for Daddy's sake, it's here!
* First solid food! Rice cereal constipated her, so we tried oatmeal. It's now becoming part of the evening routine, and she sleeps much better now! 6:30-6:30!

* Trying to hold her bottle. She grabs for it, and wants to hold it so badly. She can hold it for a few seconds, but then it drops.
* Nursing is still going strong! She still recieving mostly my milk, with about 2 oz of formula at each bottle feeding.
* Tyring to reach for toys. She gets so frustrated because she's trying to get her hands to catch up to her brain!

* She grabs her feet every chance she gets. As soon as you lay her down on the floor or in her seat, the feet fly up to her hands. It's pretty cute!
* Starting to pay so much more to her surroundings. She's nosy and inquisitive, and I love it! She's constantly paying attention to what everyone is doing, especially brother when he's around. When she's content, she loves to be sitting in someone's lap. She's definitely a cuddler, and I love it!

We can't wait to see what "firsts" Brooke will have in the next month!!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Connor Lately

My poor son has been a little bit neglected on this blog of mine! I have been so focused on making sure that I kept track of Brooke every month, that Connor's growth and developments have been put on the blog backburner. Here it is, February 9th, and Brooke is 4 months old and I have still yet to blog about my favorite little man in the world! So, here's Connor lately!

* Growing like a weed!! He is just shy of 3 feet tall
* Still only 26 pounds though. He keeps growing taller, and the weight stays the same!
* Size 4 diapers still...man I can't WAIT until potty training happens!
* Size 7 1/2 shoes. I just ordered him some killer R2D2 star wars shoes. Ryan was pretty excited about that!
* Very much a picky eater. We've been sticking to offering only what I make for dinner, and if he doesn't eat then he doesn't eat! Some nights I'm sad to say he only has milk. *sigh*
* Size 2T (some 3T) shirts.
* We're in between on pants. 18 months fit around the waist, but are too short. 2T are too big around the waist (even with the adjustable strap) but fit great in the length. Soon, it will be shorts weather and that won't matter any more! He just has no tush!
* Still loves Elmo's World, but currently Potty Time is the favorite. We've also reverted back to liking Baby Einstein again. Yuck!
* Has mastered the iPod. This kid can maneuver through that thing better than my Mom can (sorry mom!). He loves her iPhone too, so we have to try to hide it. I do let him have it while we're all getting ready in the morning, but I usually try to limit it to that...unless I forget to put it up, and then he finds it. His favorite apps are the "Talking ____" (Dog, Cat, Bird, Robot) and BabyFirst. He also loves looking through the pictures. When I do get it back from him, all my apps are moved around. Someday, I will have the iPhone, and I'll pass that handy little device down to him. Then the peanut butter smudges won't matter!
*Words: Tiger (GaGer), Elmo (Melmo), Ball, Bubble, Tractor (kinda sounds like tiger), I love you (syllables), and today he said Gorilla and tried Kangaroo. He puts his fist in the air while he says them, like he's at a concert. Then he gets a huge smile on his face...he's so proud, and so am I! We still have a long way to go in this communication road, but at least it's a start!

Here are some cute pictures of my little man. I sure love him!