Conversations

Not only does she repeat what she's asked to, she also makes her own stories up now and I can't tell you how much I enjoy our conversations!  Here's a typical conversation on our way home from school:

"We're going home now!"  "Yes, we're going home."  "To eat breakfast!" "No, breakfast in the morning, dinner at night." "Breakfast in the morning, dinner at night." "Daddy at work?" "Yes, daddy's at work. He'll be home soon." "Daddy be at home?" Yes, daddy will be at home for dinner."

"Brooklyn, are you ready for big girl panties tomorrow?" "Audrey wear big girl panties." "Yes, Audrey wears big girl panties." "Audrey's puppies. Audrey has puppies at her house." "Yes, she does."  "Audrey's puppies go outside and play."

I know this seems elementary to many, but to a mother experiencing these milestones for the first time? They're remarkable, momentous times that I hope to never forget. Not a day goes by that I'm not amazed by your growing mannerisms and intelligence. She actually said "excuse me, mommy" when trying to pass me in the hallway tonight. Really? What a polite little princess!  What a smile you bring to my life, Brooklyn.  Love you.  "Mmm Hmm" she responds every night.

We've got a crawler!

At 8 months and 7 days old, Bryson crawled across his bedroom floor, beating his sister's record by one day!  She was 8 months and 8 days old when she crawled for the first time.  Crazy how similar their development has been!  But....he hasn't repeated the cheer-inspiring action since his first mobile moment.  He seriously crawled from his crib to his doorway that night. But hasn't gone more than 4 strides since then. It's like he fell asleep that night and forgot everything he learned!  C'mon, bubba! You can do it!

Big girl bed

It took six months, but now we go to sleep knowing that both kids will sleep all night long...and wake up happy. Icing on the cake!  Neither are quick risers.  They wake up quietly and enjoy a little time to themselves before being picked up. 

This is probably because they transform into ping pong balls during their hours of slumber, bouncing from side to side of their cribs. They sleep so similarly: tummy down; head at the top of the mattress. But by morning, they've pinged off each wall time and time again.  They start the day tummy up, with their heads where thier toes began. 

With that in mind, maybe you'll understand now why my eyes were glued to her monitor tonight.  You see, I tucked my little girl into a big girl bed tonight.  Boy was she excited!  And me? A paranoid mess. What if she falls out? I have pillows lined up in front. What if she gets out in the morning, playing so quietly that we don't hear her? This fear forced a final run through to ensure that nothing of danger resides within her four walls. Scissors removed. Check. Outlets plugged. Check. Cords secured. Check. Crayons gone. Check.

I'll sleep like a baby tonight. Tossing and turning and glimpsing at the monitor til the nagging buzz of my alarm at 6:30. I want my eyes to be the first to open tomorrow...who knows what'll happen if she beats me!  I must log off now...just realized the race I've entered...lay still, my girl.  Lay very, very still...

2 Years

Two years ago today, I was entering my second full day of laboring. Wednesday night had been a breeze. Slept like an uncomfortable pregnant woman in a hospital bed. But I'd been used to that. (Maybe not the hospital bed part, but those are just minor details.) Thursday, the pitocin started, but I never progressed past 1.5 cm dilation. Today, a sunny Friday morning, they would break my water and the fun would begin. An Epideral and 14 more hours of pitocin later, I met the on-call doctor for the first time. Dr. Nolan introduced herself to me in the same sentence that she said, "it's time for a c-section, Mom". The room had been full of panicked nurses, shifting me from side to side, tummy to back, trying to regulate Brooklyn's heart rate. Jackson had just left to fetch his dinner in a box from Pei Wei. My sister felt weak-headed and laid on the couch for a moment. Someone had to call Jackson to turn around and rush back to get suited up for the operating room. Yet, among the chaos and hurriedness, I had an odd sense of relief and calmness. I was just ready. Ready to be done trying to labor. Ready to meet my little girl. And so we did. At 9:11, she cried her first cry. But not for long. She was instantly alert and aware. It was odd how awake she was; not even crying during her first bath. She was everything we had prayed for. She was perfect. And two years later, I say the same. She's such a wonderful little girl.

Two years...730 days...such a small sliver of time, yet so much has happened.  She learned to crawl at 8 months; walk at 11 months; talking select words by one, and babbling sentences by two. She can count, she jumps off the ground (with both feet!). She dances and swims. Says cheese for pictures. Rocks her babies to sleep. Loves to play at the playground, cautiously manuevering her way around obstacles and down slides. She can't get enough time with her cousins, and her new-found bestie, Audrey. She's forming opinions about the clothes and shoes she wears. Loves everything girlie - pink toes, mommy's lotions, bows, dolls, and dress up. Her favorite color is a toss up between blue & yellow. Her favorite book is still Goodnight Moon, though there are numerous seconds, like the Little Blue Truck and the Big Red Barn.  Elmo outshines out any character she knows, eliciting giggles of joy and smiles every time. And what a sister. It's second nature to her to love and engage with her bubba. She'll pause her playtime to bring him toys and jump up & down to make him chuckle. He's one of the first words that comes out of her mouth in the mornings. "Bubba sleeping...shhhhh..."

Brooklyn, you light up our lives. We love you oh so much. Happy second birthday, my girl. I hope you had a good first two years...and I can't wait for more!!

730 days ago

Brooklyn was due to be born on November 1, 2009. When that Sunday came and went, my blissful pregnant memories had ended. (Well, maybe they ended before that. Like months before that. But I digress.) Point is, I was an impatient mother-to-be that Monday morning when getting my disproportionate body ready for work, only to arrive and be asked thirteen more times that day "wow, when are you due? Know what you're having?" I worked Monday and Tuesday, went to the doctor and begged for induction. After all, my original due date was Oct 27th and let's be honest. Patience has never been a strong point of mine, so having the date pushed back...and then missing my new due date? I was fit to be tied and ready to meet this stubborn child of mine, who was showing no signs of coming on her own. 

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 p.m. 730 days ago today...

Sat down for a breather...

...and a mini Snickers. It is Halloween after all.  It's my first treat...I've had a grocery bag full to the rim since September and it's my first piece.  Jackson, on the other hand. Well, he can't claim the same. Nearly all the skittles fell victim to his lack of self control.  Sorry kiddos. If you're looking for the magical rainbow, don't come a-knockin on our door tonight.

What a morning! The kids' school hosts a Halloween 'parade' for kids of all ages. Sounds sweet, doesn't it? Bring your kids in costume for a parade of trick-or-treating!  I'm still recovering and trying to figure out who in the crowd enjoyed it most? The wailing kids, screaming infants, anxious mothers, or camera-holding dads trying everything in their power to elicit smiles from the terrified children. Here's a before...

...during...

...and after...

Get this thing OFF of me!

Looks like fun was had, huh?  NOT.  And poor Bryson. You are so loved, Bubba. But Mommy bought you the worst costume ever. The cutest, but the most unrealistic made. Daddy was right for the first time when he told me your eight fat legs wouldn't fit in the car seat or stroller. But I just couldn't resist.  So I bought it, and you're the most adorable spider ever!  But after 3 hours of lugging you around Boo HaHa this weekend, I couldn't bear the thought of carrying you for this silly parade.  So, no costume for you on this parade day!  Sorry bubba. 

I fell in love with my husband all over again today, as I lived out a morning in his every-day life:
1) Wake up to babbling Bryson.
2) Hop in the shower.
3) Scramble to beat the cries and get ready for work, as if a participant in a timed event. (This is where his hair (or lack of) gives him a competitive advantage!)
4 & 5) Rush to prepare bottle & cereal for Bryson.
6, 7, 8) Dress, feed, and load both kids into car.

And that's just what he does to get out of the house!  We won't even go into the logistics of unloading 2 kids and their backpacks, walking up stairs to the school, and taking them to separate classes.  Jackson does this every single morning. And when he calls me with a morning report, I can tell there's a smile on his face most days. How he can have such a whirlwind of a morning, and still be smiling before finishing his first cup of coffee will forever remain a mystery to this ever-appreciative mother and wife.

My girl's perspective...

"Mommy. Daddy. Bubba." I hear Brooklyn repeating these names over and over while playing on the playground this weekend. She didn't know I was following her like white on rice as she carefully maneuvered her way through the play set.  Jackson says she was repeating the names of those she loves in order...Mommy. Daddy. Bubba. But I tell him that can't be true because she stopped there, and there are many, many more names that she'd list if that were the case. But it makes me wonder: what does go through the head of my little princess? There's one story that we read at night that asks her to tell a story about herself at the end. She repeats after me: "My name is Brooklyn. I have a mommy, and a daddy, and a bubba. They love me a lot. And I love them, too. My favorite color is blue. And I'm beautiful."  I can't wait to hear her own story...and I love watching it develop every day.

Jumpin, jumpin, jumpin!

Even though he's been robbing us of our precious zzzz's for six months now, I'm still so happy to pick him up out of bed every morning...as long as it's after 5:30, that is. Before 5:30? Now that's another story. But I regress.  My point? Jackson & I agree that there can't possibly be a cuter or happier baby on the planet!  (I can say this because Brooklyn is a Big Girl now. :))  And it's not just us that gush over him. You should hear his teachers at school!  He's the reason they come to work every day! 

Well yesterday was his 6 month birthday, and he partied the night away in his jumper:

Partied til he was out like a light...in his jumper:



He goes from ninety to nuthin in that thing!  One second he's jumping like a mad man and the next, he's passed out!  One day I ran over with concern, thinking he'd knocked himself unconscious on one of the toys.  But no, he was just asleep. 2.3 seconds after he was jumpin his heart out.  The best part is that when you go to pick him up, he startles and immediately starts jumping again!  He was jumping with his eyes closed last night, as I picked him up to relocate to bed.  Happy half birthday, my boy. You are oh so loved.

OUCH!

We spent the evening at the neighborhood park again tonight, where Bryson swang on the swing and Brooklyn fearlessly tackled the rest of the playground.  Until she saw him swinging and immediately realized that she wanted to swing really, really bad.  We were just about to call it quits and head home for bathtime when the begging began. "No swing, bubba." Little did we realize that she was directly in the line of fire. BAM! Right to the face!  Bryson's swing collided with Brooklyn knocking her backwards off her feet!  Big cries and some healing kisses later, and she was M.A.D. at him!  Pointing and scolding, "no, no, bubba."  We tried to hide our laughter while explaining the term 'accident'. 

Minutes after recovering from the fall, we begin our foot race home.  Running in full force behind me is a red, swollen-foreheaded girl with a couple crazy curls flying in the wind and a mouth open wide with excitement. Until BAM!  She bites the dust...I mean blacktop.  This poor toddler not only met, but slid across the blacktop like a baseball player sliding in for a home run!  Oh, man. I couldn't get to her fast enough. 

I wanted to document this evening not only for memory's sake of how accident-prone and resiliant toddlers are, but also because we'll be dropping off a knot-headed princess with 2 skinned knees, ankles, and hands at school tomorrow.  Looks like we have some explaining to do after this crazy "play, play" time!

BIG cookie

Every day when I pick the kids up, I'm welcomed with big smiles from my boy. He just gushes with excitement and brings so much joy to my afternoon!  So I get him all loaded up into the carseat, (which must weigh 30 lbs now), and we head down the hall to get big sister. She runs to me, arms open wide and we hug a "BIG" hug...until we separate and the whining for "bi-bi" (aka blankie) immediately follows. I try reasoning with her, "you're a big girl; you don't need your blankie! It's not nighttime yet."  This is usually to no avail. My new tactic: straight up bribery. At least until we get out of the building!  Usually it's crackers, but today I offer a cookie. Of course she doesn't want just a bite. She wants the WHOLE darn thing! So she double fisted her entire oatmeal cream pie and says with extreme emphasis and excitement "BiiiiG cookie, BiiiiiG cookie" the whole way home. Until the cookie was gone and she was parched. "Wa-wa, wa-wa, momma? Please?!" At least she's a polite begger, right?

Play, play!

If you're ever in the car with Brooklyn and happen to drive past a playground anywhere in sight, you'll hear the words "play, play" as she holds her hands together signing 'play'. Sometimes I have a hard time even finding the playground, but inevitably, if I search enough, I'll find what she's eyeing. Well this was a weekend full of "play, play" time!

Look at those wild locks of blonde!

 She's just as fearless on the playground as the 3 year old boy she towers over (not pictured, unfortunately):

Meanwhile, Bryson's dreaming of next summer when he dominates the spotlight with his cool kid tricks...

She can't get back to the top fast enough.

"Must find faster way. Ah ha! Climb!" 

 Wonder where she learned that?

 ...AND...she's out! "Night, night," she says:

Cousins Retreat!

Jackson's cousin, and my lifelong bestie invited us down to their house for our 1st annual cousin's retreat!  So I loaded up the house into the car Thursday night and we headed for the lonestar state after closing shop at the cube farm Friday evening. It was half past midnight before we entered their house with a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed little girl in tow. After endless efforts to shush her to sleep, my eyes were closing involuntarily and the last thing I remember was a head butt. Or maybe a kick to the back. Either way, we awoke Saturday morning in the same bed that the 3 of us fell asleep in.  (Bryson, of course, slept like a prince in his pack-n-play.)
Weekend festivities included some Bumbo time for the baby cousins:














Dancing time for my girl:

Loungin time for the big boys:

Shoppin time for the girls (pictures of this event may be incriminating and therefore won't be posted), and of course some poses in our special t-shirts (thank you, Katy!!):

And Bryson realized that there's another love in his life...Bethany!!

After the kiddos were tucked in each night, the girls schooled the boys in a few games of Taboo.  After a weekend filled with fun, family and friends, we headed home Monday morning, turned on a DVD for Brooklyn's viewing pleasure:

Six hours, 3 stops and several diaper changes later, we were home again, home again, jiggity jig! We unpacked the house, did bathtime, bedtime stories, and enjoyed some shut eye without the busy body in between us. Thank you, Katy & Ross for organizing such a great weekend!

Dropped like flies

One by one we dropped like flies to the stomach bug that Bryson so kindly brought home from school to share with us. I greeted him Wednesday morning as usual, but found that he'd gotten sick in his sleep Tuesday night. Poor guy. He needed a bath ASAP. After staying home with him all day, I resumed work Thursday while Jackson played Dr. Dad. He seemed to be fully recovered that evening so I went to bed relieved...only to wake up sick to my stomach at 4 a.m. At least it was my scheduled day off! So off to school Jackson took the kiddos, while Mommy moaned and groaned in bed all day and into the evening...when it overtook Jackson! Three down, one to go. And of course, it had to hit Brooklyn during an overnight stay at Grammy's house. :( Grammy was up all night doctoring Brooklyn until we got to her after a short hibernation period that took us through mid-day Saturday. And once we were all in the house Saturday, we were in lockdown mode. And I entered sanitize mode! Wouldn't you know, this had to happen on a plan-filled weekend. We missed the Gender Reveal party of some friends expecting twins. (They're having one of each & we couldn't be happier for them!) We had to cancel Granddaddy's birthday party Saturday. Missed a house-warming party for another couple Saturday night. And we barely made it to my cousin's baby's baptism Sunday afternoon. I've already had a talk with Mr. Bryson to please plan ahead with these nasty bugs, as to not interrupt important functions in the future! We'll see if he took heed to my warnings...oh, the joys of parenthood!  It's like Big Brother: Always expect the unexpected. 

Watch out!

Little Markert has teeth!  Yes, plural...just like his sister, not wasting any time and producing two at a time! And months ahead of their peers!  Some kids don't teethe til their first birthday. We thought it was starting last week from the amount of drool and his inability to keep things out of his mouth. But when I massaged his gums I didn't feel anything and disregarded the concern. The weekend came and went with no additional fuss. It was his teacher that brought it to my attention Monday afternoon!  What a champ. Grew new teeth and didn't even complain...UNlike his sister. For memory's sake, I looked back at old pictures from when her first teeth were breaking through:

It was Easter Sunday of 2010. One of the most challenging days of motherhood I've experienced to date! I didn't know what was wrong, and while we were giving her Orajel, it was just a guess as to what was wrong, and it clearly wasn't helping from the look of her little face!!  Poor princess. These aren't attractive poses, sweetie.

And then here's Bryson while his first teeth are coming in:

(His sister put the hat on his head.) 

Quite a difference, huh?!  How was I to know that this happy camper was in any pain whatsoever?! 

Disclaimer: This is not representive in any way, shape or form of how tough boys are in comparison to girls. We ARE tougher, no doubt! We'll just let you know how we feel! :) 

Observing life

Bryson spends the majority of his time observing the world around him. He knows he'll always have a big, fun friend in his daddy and has already learned how to veg out with him...

But that sister of his is a little more complicated. She's always on the go!

Can't sit still long enough to pose for a simple picture:

What more does he need, with a sister like me?!

  So on the rare instances that she's still, he's enthralled with her. She watches the TV. He watches her.

She's done worn the fellow out. He simply can't keep his eyes open any longer. But she's still right there by his side.

He wants to participate so badly! And we can't wait til he can!!

Family trip

I joined Jackson &; the kiddos on Thursday, so we had an extended weekend together. We visited the zoo Thursday, where we watched the elephants get baths. If you haven't heard Brooklyn's elephant noise, you oughtta ask when you see her next! Needless to say, I think the elephant's bathtime was a hit.

We posed like monkeys in the scorching heat:

Brooklyn shushed the birds as we cooled off indoors for a few minutes

I loved this pose. See the cheesy smile?! :)

Then Friday morning we hauled the lil guy to Dr. Sood for his 4 month check up, where it was confirmed that he's not a lil guy whatsoever, topping both the height & weight charts. After his shots, (where he proved to be his mommy's son, barely wincing at all), we hit the road for a weekend at the lake! 

I wish so badly that I had paused to take a picture of the living room before loading up. You can only imagine all the stuff that goes along with these two. It's ridiculous. Borderline embarrassing, actually. But not a bit of it that seems avoidable at this young age: beds and blankies and toys and diapers, oh my! 

Among all the toys, I love the fact that Brooklyn chooses books:

(That makes all the stuff more acceptable to me.)

When we got there, we met up with some friends who happen to be the parents of Bryson's first girlfriend, Ella. Here's a shot of some quality footsie time:

We enjoyed our time together, but branched off for some separate family time the next morning. Brooklyn walked outside first thing in the morning & couldn't wait to get in the water! "Water! Water! Boats! Boats!" was all I heard as we loaded the car back up from our overnight stay. Little did she know, though, that we wouldn't be entering the lake water. Off to the safe, more shallow and clear neighborhood pool we headed!

I don't think she minded much.

Jump!

Lots of air time on this visit!

Meanwhile, Bryson basked in the shade of his floatie.

Thank you Aunt Jan & Uncle Jerry for sharing your wonderful lake home with us. We enjoyed every minute of our stay!

Brooklyn loved the view of the water from the back porch.

School's out for summer!

Or maybe just a week, but for the attention span of a toddler, we can call it summer! The kids' school was closed for the full first week of August and Jackson took the role of Mr. Mom! Days, possibly even weeks leading up to the event, Jackson was sweatin it..."what am I going to do with them all week long?!"

So, 'what did they do?' you ask:

#1: a little dress up...

Guess who dressed me?!

Don't leave Bryson out.  Strike a pose, buddy!

#2: Sisterly loving:

She's very carefully inserting his pacifier. But it won't stay in his mouth because he can't stop grinning when she gets so close! He love love loves to interact with her! 

And of course a trip down to McAlester to visit Great Grandma & Papa brightened the day for all involved!