The things she says...

So B was walking around in Seans' UK slippers this afternoon. Later today, Sean ran up to Kroger to get popcorn for his new popcorn machine. When he went to change back into his lounge wear, he asked Brooklyn where his other house slipper was. Her response: "Ummmmmmm, lets see......I don't know. Maybe you left it at Kroger!"

Seriously, they rationalize at 2?

This week off with her I have more than realized how...um...."opinionated?" she really is!! ("you put my stuff in my drawer daddy, put blue on top so I can get them! And close the drawer when you're finished!)
And how loving she really is!! ("You ok mommy? Are you hurt? [she uses my belly to help herself up], I love you Daddy! I love you Mommmy!)
And I still don't know who Lewis is, but I'm going to ask at daycare.
"Am I funny Mommy? Lewis says I'm funny"

Lets just double check

I went for my belly measurment on Thursday, only to find I measured 3 weeks less than I should so they scheduled an exta ultrasound. Turns out, everything is just fine. The tech mentioned that he is low, & depending on the babys' position at the precise minute they measure, it can be as much as 3 weeks off.
According to my original due date, I am 33 weeks, 6 days. I measured 33 weeks, 3 days. The baby is exactly 5 lbs, & in the 40%. The books say the baby shoul be putting on a .5 lb a week, so that puts him in the mid 8 lb range.
When we got home, I told Brooklyn nothing fell off, its still a boy, & that she'll have to think of something else to call her brother other than 'sister!'

Christmas Day, our annual Pajama Brunch

A bit of a late start with morning breakfast, but so happy to sleep in a bit! Fruit bowl, Vermont bacon, pancakes & a delicious apple compote started the morning off right.
This year, we made room for family & new friends! Merediths friends from Dayton who were unable to travel to see their family joined our crazy bunch for a day filled with gift openings, endless tea parties, & multiple rooms of video gaming (the new Kinect & Move.) Aunt Mere Mere is quite competitive on the volleyball games, & I'm looking forward to our first match, once I can jump with more ease! This will be the only arena in which I could possibly beat this volleyball star!
All Brooklyn asked for was trains...ok well, really she asked for presents (what kinds of presents you ask?, 'Christmas presents,' she'd tell you!) Santa brought a train table, & several others gifts, but at the end of the day, it seems her top 5 gifts were 1) food for her kitchen playset from Santa 2)baby dolls from aunt mere & Godfather Sean 3)Bee pillow pets from the Boutelle gang 4) Aquadoodle from Daddy 5) princess wand book from GG. And above all of this, her favorite activity is still playing "tea party!" I'm not sure how many tea parties she had with her new friends Lea & Abbey, but I'm guessing more than 1 hand count!
I think Seans' fave gift came from his parents- a 5ft. popcorn machine, perfect for his media room viewing. And me? Sean nailed it this year. All I asked for was my body back! It came in the form of a personal trainer for a year, coupled with a beautiful right hand ring! (Little man, you stay in there a little longer & keep growing so you come out super healthy! I'll put this gift into action soon enough.)
The party continued well until 10pm, snacking on Mimi's potato snowman, shepherds pie, soups, the ever disappearing Quinoa crackers & guacamole dip, & Grinch punch.
Glad everyone had a great time, & looking forward to the next one being filled with as many great memories! (sans the head cold!!)

Mimi & her Grandkids

Chrismas Eve

Wow, church gets crowded earlier & earlier each year. We saw some walking in, & watched them walk out it was so crowded! Luckily, Mimi got there first & was nice enough to find a seat for Granny & me. It was so crowded & was surprised at how little people I recognized. They had a live manger out front & B enjoyed petting the donkey as we sprinted back to the car to avoid the cold ( & traffic) as much as possible. We headed over to Mimi's for a nice Christmas Eve dinner of soup & sandwhichs, while B lay on the floor in her good dress playing with Buddy the neighbor cat, hiding under the table! I really hope this cat allergy goes away, as I'm sure we'll have another 4 legged member of our family again one day.
Daddy's profile pic on facebook is a bit outdated so I asked them both to give me some Cheese!!! I'll tag him, but who knows if he'll change it. The one he has now is super cute!

'Tiss the season

Headed downtown for a day of trains at the Duke Energy center around noon today. We were pleasantly surprised to see Santa there too! Brooklyn waved to him, & since she sat on his lap last year, I figured this would be a breeze.....until we got up there for her turn & all she did was death grip my neck! Finally, we scooted back about 5 feet & I knelt down by her & said " Brooklyn, you need to sit on Santas' lap & tell him what kind of Christmas presents you would like since you've been a good girl this year." She turns & yells over to Santa: "I WANT TRAINS!" LOL.
A short line for ice skating gave everyone time to mock mommy for dressing her child like the poor little kid in Christmas Story (Maaa....I can't put my arms down!!) Ok, so she was bundled, but I cannot help the puffiness of snowsuits! :-) Ice skating was a blast for some...ok, B & Noah! Aydan wimped out on the cold, Q went a round or 2 after being a wall hugger, & the ladies suffered sore backs after leaning over to hold up a 2 year old wearing size 8 skates since that's the smallest they had (she's in a 5) but smiled & giggled the entire time, not wanting to come off the ice! Hopefully, everyone recovers easily, b/c I'm sure we'll have a video game marathon on Christmas day!

Winter officially starts today?

Straight from wcpo.com:
CINCINNATI - Winter officially starts tonight at 6:38p.m. December snow totals continue to go up and up and up! Another 1 to 2 inches fell across the Tri-State late last night and early this morning. This brings the monthly total to more than 14 inches at CVG making December one of the snowiest and in the "Top 5" coldest on record.
And we're likely not done yet!

Thank you for my shirt Uncle Joe!

Ready for her nightly Grinch viewing!

Friday Nights

I remember when these used to filled with friends, cocktails, & dancing into the wee hours of the night. Here's how tonight is spent!

SNOW DAY

We've got every bit of 5 inches out there fresh today, and another 2 from earlier in the week. Sean worked from home today, & luckily, I was already off. She's been looking outside all morning, wanting to wear her snow boots & go outside & play. MAYBE, we were out there 15 minutes!!! We might try again after naptime, since there is no wind whipping thru you. My original thought was to go out before naptime so she'd take a nap, but she may have just been too tired. For someone who told me as we were coming in "I do not take naps anymore," she fell asleep very quickly. THe fussin' stopped once Daddy picked her up! LOL

Just a quick side note- ski pants don't zip like they're supposed to when you're pregnant! Brrrr on the belly! :-)

The things we say to our kids

Background: Mimi received a Dora sample pull up in the mail,brought it over & it came with a sheet of Dora/Diego stickers.
Last night Mommy says to Brooklyn "Oh Wow, Brooklyn!!! DORA sent you a very special pull up. It has her picture on it!! How special is that!!! But Dora only sent ONE, so if you want to keep wearing your Dora pull up, you're going to have to make sure you don't have any accidents & put all the pee-pee in the potty tomorrow."

So, she wakes up this morning, asking if she can wear her Dora pull up & I told her she could after we go potty this morning. Dora was on within 5 minutes. Off I go to work, crossing my fingers she tells Sean when she has to potty today. Fast forward 8 hours & I come home to a napping Brooklyn. I woke her up as it was time to rise & shine, & she says 'hi mommy, can I put Dora on now? (she wears a diaper during naptime.....with Sean.) I couldn't BELIEVE it! There sat her Dora pull up on her dresser, still dry!!! She didn't tell him when she had to potty, but did go every time her took her in to try. And to top it off, she went potty twice more with me since I've been home. Dora is still dry & on her dresser.

8 week countdown

2 months, 8 weeks...either way, it still sounds to me like "I've got time" before this baby comes. But somehow, when the doc today says its time to start coming in every 2 weeks, it seems SO MUCH CLOSER to the end!
Everything still looks good.

OWWWWWWWWWWWW..............

If you were a fly on our wall last night, you would have seen me flopping around on the couch, grabbing at both legs, severely cramped up, tears rolling out of my eyes, screaming in agony, & Sean panicing over what to do to try to help out. He grabbed Icy Hot & tried rubbing my legs but they were so sensitive to touch, but it did still help a little. What seemed to be an eternity, was about a half hour long event, followed by my entire body just chattering for the next 10 minutes or so, & no, I wasn't cold, & I couldn't control it. WEIRD. Ahh...the joys of pregnancy! So here I sit, on lunch break at work, drinking LOTS of water today just in case that was the issue and hoping it never happens again.

Dr. Suess Nursery is coming together

We've finished the "Oh The Places you'll Go," and just about finished with "Horton Hatches an Egg." Who should I paint next? What was your childhood favorite Dr. Suess book?
You can see in the one photo his main crib sheet, & we have 2 pillows- A Cat in the Hat, & Thing 2. Next pic I'll post is when the room is complete.

Good Ol St. Nick

Visited our house last night! He brought all 3 of us new Christmas pajamas & house slippers. Here's her new snowman pair! We've attempted watching Dora's Christmas special & Shrek, but I keep hearing "I cuddle with my daddy & watch Grinch Mommy!"
Just like her father....a Grinch addict! LOL.

"I wake up Mommy!"

So, just before nap time, Mimi calls & B proceeds to tell her that she's not going to take a nap today. So, after our phone call, we headed in to her room to read a book & take a nap as we usually do. I headed in to my room to work on Christmas cards/gift wrapping. Hour later, I come into the living room to hear someone singing "....all the colors that we know, live up in the rainbow." I open up the bedroom door & this is what I see: a half naked kid with all of her diapers pulled into her crib & she's changing her bear & kitty. She tries to tell me "I wake up Mommy!," but as I soon found out, she really wasn't going to take a nap today!

Early Christmas celebration

G-ma Kay has been in town this week, getting the rest of her condo emptied out & prepped for its closing. We celebrated Christmas a little early this year since she'll be Florida this year. She was more than happy to open her presents, and even though she liked everything, she very quickly moved on to open the next present. Daddy got after her to stop & say thank you so she did run over to G-ma Kay to give her a big hug...and then she wanted to open more! I thought she'd be most excited about her legos, but it turns out, she wants to use her new Dora plate & bowl at just about every meal thus far.

Trying to dress herself

SOMEONE is trying to grow up on me superfast! These last few days, she's trying so hard to dress/undress herself. She can get her shirt up & over her head, but then her arms are stuck! She can get her pants pulled up, but both legs in 1 opening. Either way, she wants a "HIGH FIVE!" because "I do it all by myself!" :-)

Potty Training Update

We're on a good roll right now... Thursday and Friday- we only had 1 accident each day & were dry after naptime. Daddy has sole potty duty today so we'll see how it goes! The 1pm report had 1 wet pullup, but she's also gone in the potty 2x's! Keep your fingers crossed! Santa may have to deliver an extra special present under the tree this year.

Lil man, I haven't forgot about you! I kept meaning to take a belly pic at my 100 days left post, & not sure where the time has gone. So, here you are growing at 30 weeks. This past week, your new room is really coming together. I've finished the sky & mountains, & Mimi came over to help with the Projector images of Dr. Suess: Oh the places you'll go & hot air balloon. Can't wait to meet you, but for now, you stay cozy inside and finish "cooking!" lol. I'd sure like to know which body part of yours loves the right side of my belly button. Man, do you ever push out strongly there sometimes. Your big sister was leaning up against me last night as we read books in her room, & she leaned forward,turned around saying "what was that Mommy?" Brooklyn is still a little confused about the whole baby brother thing, but she has told us that she's not sharing Mommy's lap! Don't worry, we're working on it for you!! She's changing her babies diapers about 20 times a day so she's ready for you there, and loves playing kitchen. I'm sure you'll be attending lots of tea parties too in the begining.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Had a great dinner celebration; one of those days you're glad you're pregnant so no one can tell how much you've ate! Outside lights were put up- not turned on- last weekend when it was 71 degrees. It's been raining the last 2 days & the temp has just dropped low enough to switch it over to snow. Tree is up, all inside decor complete, & hoping everyone in our neighborhood was finished with their cooking while there was a power outage for a few hours earlier today. Black Friday madness starts in under 10 minutes & doubt I'll stay awake much longer. Ready to retreat to a nice cozy bed!

2 Year Check- Up

Sorry B, I really didn't think you were due for any shots today- looks like they're now vacinating for Hep A & blah blah blah. You cried, but paused long enough to tell the doctor bye! And you did like your Scooby Doo band-aids! We walked out into the waiting room & I told you you could have a sticker from the basket for being so good. You grabbed one out of the basket & told me it was Dora- It was Dora the Explorer. Your father & I are still wondering how you know who she is.....
On to your stats- at this point you are 24.4 months old weighing in at 26 lbs even (39%), 35.25 inches tall (83%) and a BMI of 8%.

Birthday Photos -Eat, Play- Nap!

So much for Falling Back last night, Brooklyn woke up at 6:50 am wanting to "go play with kitties." Here's a 7am video.

Family/Friends,
Mommy is pooped out, & going to bed! A lot of pics were taken during B's b-day, so I'll get a good blog post up by end of tomorrow. I'll try & send out pics of her opening your individual gifts too! She loved everything!!!!! Walking kitty & purring kitty for her to kiss & pet, a camera, kitchen, Lil leap my first computer, memory game, shirt, stuff for her baby doll, color books/crayons, books, broom/dustpan, Clifford software, finger puppets, stacking blocks, savings bond......I think I got it all!
Thanks so much for coming to her party, calling, skyping, & your thoughtful gifts. Love you all much,
Julie, Sean, & Brooklyn

100 DAYS TO GO!

I have a very active baby in utero today! Belly is going from side to side & twisting all around! I swear this one is coming early. Tomorrow, only double digits remain.

Why it's sometimes OK to work on weekends

With the upcoming holiday, Brooklyn might have been thinking about being a Phantom Pooper for Halloween. Sean had to wash bedsheets, clothes & then some two days in a row around nap time.
Mommy only had to swoop in later for the discussion of 'I hear you're becoming a big girl & you've learned how to take your diaper off, but Brooklyn is only to help take her diaper off if she's in the bathroom & ready to use the potty!'

On day two, our discussion was more of "obviously you understand that being in a poopy diaper is yucky. If you poop in the potty, you won't be sitting in something yucky anymore! You're almost 2 & when you turn two, no more diapers except during bedtime. You need to start telling us when you have to go potty."

This morning we resumed action on the commode with a little voice telling me she only wears diapers to bed. Regression over? Let's hope. In the meantime, I admit, I put a onesie on her that snaps at the bottom so I didn't wake up to an issue this morning!

Halloween Night- Mmmwahahahahah lol

OMG! What a fun night with the fam! Trick or Treat was from 6-8 this year & everyone arrived around 5. Mimi made mummy (hot)dogs, Chicken fingers, bat dip, & a green potion drink for some added festive fun, and all Brooklyn safe at that! We had 3 adult witches, 1 Raggedy Ann (me- but I was guessed as the Wendys' girl 4 times!), a lady bug, scary clown, werewolf, skeleton & 2 party poopers! (Yes, that's you Paul & Sean! I think the two of you have some makeup work for next year-lol)
The funniest part of the night was trying to get a pic with our neighbor, Lexi (Abbey from Sesame Street), except she calls out "this is stupid!" Everyone busted out laughing, including Brooklyn who's clueless as to what was said but just laughs & says "silly Lexi!"
Brooklyn quickly got the hang of trick or treating concept, with a constant 'do this one next,' & saying her 'trick -or-treat!' One family puts Reeses Pieces in her pumpkin saying I'm sure you can eat this! Oh my. Mom & dad will be enjoying the candy this year at work or swapping some pieces with her cousins for the dum-dum lollipops. Sean & I walked around with her for a bit, then the wagon came in into play & we finished off the street with her cousins, Aunt Mere Mere & Mimi while Gma Kay & Quinton handed out candy. She even went through a haunted garage maze without pause or terror! And...we got as close to the blow up ghost as we've ever been!
Needless to say, everyone had a great time & the kids were very patient with our multiple photo requests! Wearing her skeleton pjs, she very easily went to sleep tonight!

Prepping for Halloween

G-ma Kay arrived back in town & came out to help decorate pumpkins! We made 2 silly faces (1 w/ G-ma Kay, 1 w/ Daddy) & Mommy carved a ghost she picked out from the book!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

As I've mentioned before, Brooklyn is all about having choices/being able to pick things out. She picked out her card, was certain she needed to pick out my card, & helped pick out a new pair of shoes for her daddy. In fact, she brought his gift over to him, pulled out the shoes one by one & handed them to him showing off what a good job she did!! Too cute.
Dinner, I must say, was fantastic! I did a lot of cooking, but it was worth it in the end. (Cleaning up the kitchen afterwards.....not so much fun!) Anyway, I bought eggs for the first time in over 18 months! I made Sean & I a pan of lasagna, Seans' requested yellow cake/choc icing, Brooklyn safe tofu & vegi lasagna & her chocolate cupcakes! We sang Happy Birthday with one of B's cupcakes as we were so full from dinner we waited a few hours before dessert. All in all, a great night! Glad you had a great birthday, Sean!

GHOSTS

So, on the 9th, our blow up ghost was put outside. Apparently, she was a super helper getting it laid out, but the minute it was plugged in, she was scared to death of it!! Not walking in the yard at all, unless one of us was holding her as long as it was inflated & no conversation about it just being a big balloon was satisfying her! Mimi brought over this mini ghost that lights up & a book about ghosts to help her overcome this fear. It took 4 days before she'd even hold this ghost! Now she'll flip its switch & give it a hug without question. It's her 'squishy friendly ghost.'
It's been 2 weeks with the inflatable ghost, & while she wants to go outside & watch it blow up, she has no interest in going anywhere close to it without death gripping my neck! Another neighbor has a blow up spider & Scooby Doo. We went to visit Scooby with the same reaction. Oddly enough, she has no fears at all over our neighbors house with all the grave stones,grim reapers, skull heads & casket on their front lawn!

Yes, it's October, & yes, we can still wear shorts here! It was 75 degrees this weekend! Here we are, trying to get a good pic with Allie & Brooklyn- this was the best of 5.

mystery allergy

See this happy face? She's having fun playing with her new Avon bath body paint that rolls on Mimi found for her. See where she's painted her belly green? Well, within a few minutes, she turned bright red & starts scratching everything. ARGH. Nothing on the label matches a current allergy, & notifying Avon didn't turn anything up either. She hasn't had any issues with dyes in jello thus far, so I guess I'll try green jello next & see what the result is. Guessing something with the purfumes?? Who knows. We'll just need to find something else for bath tub fun!

23 weeks

Well,I had my doctor visit checkup today, & if you read my post on the 10th, you'll understand when I say "that scale LIED!!!" Said I gained 5 lbs this month. I'll gt the 'real' number at next months' visit; I'm totally not counting this one! lol.

Division Playoff Games- Reds v/s Phillies Game 3

WOW! What a FANTASTIC night!! Sean got Club Seats, & we went down with the Shupes, Damon & Trey. We thought it would be crazy parking downtown with the Bengals game, & Disney Princess on Ice all in the same day, but it wasn't bad at all. Another benefit was the food inclusion. I walked in the club section, they said "good afternoon, here's you're braclet so you can enjoy all of our food & drink stations, pointed out the restrooms, & told us to enjoy our experience!" The first food station was a fruit bar where they hand washed & cut your fruit choices, & directly next to it, they were carving steak for the steak salad. This is Pregnant lady heaven!!! Lets just say I enjoyed eating & I won't say how much! LOL.
Energy in the stadium was more than I've ever felt before! Cheering, waving, stomping, claping, & waving of our towels. I teased Sean for as much as he is into watching baseball, I was the one standing & cheering the most! Unfortunatly, it didn't help them much as we didn't get to see a game 4.

FRIDGE ART!

We started off the morning calling G.G. to sing Happy Birthday before up to Toddler Time at the Library. This week had us making "leaf people." This is her leaf woman, we gave her a skirt! Then, we were off to Mimi's, to help celebrate her birthday too! Brooklyn helped make a chocolate birthday cake last night. This isn't the best pic of them but it turns out I only had enough camera battery power for 1 shot. Eventually, she sang 1 verse for Mimi before heading out.....and after touching every halloween decoration that was being put out!-lol.