Where does time go?

I can't believe another month as past since my last post. Life continues on and changes are a daily occurrence at our house. It's like I can just see the information going into Brynlee's head and watch her process every detail. She turned 10 months on the 10th and is getting so animated lately. She loves to ham it up for everybody and is such a sweet girl :)

10 months old!

We have been at the Dr. a lot lately as the influenza bug hit our house. I got it first and then Brynlee went down. Thankfully Kyle and Hayden were spared the horror. (It really was horrible. The worst sick I have EVER been).  Hayden did have a cough for about 3 weeks and Kyle had to take a couple days off work to help take care of the girls while I was down. I am just thankful that he stays pretty healthy throughout the year.  Right now both girls are dealing with ear infections and I have a sinus infection. BUT...then we are DONE. No more being sick for the rest of the year!

Because we have been at the Dr. so much I know that Brynlee is 28 in long and weighs 17 lbs 12 oz. Such a big girl! After dealing with sickness for so long she is finally getting back into a good sleep routine. She is up around 8 in the morning, takes a couple hour nap, lunch, nap again around 2 or 2:30 and then does really well for the rest of evening. I think we are safely past the crabby every night stage :) She crawls around everywhere and gets into everything. And of course everything goes in her mouth. She is way worse about that then Hayden ever was. I can't even let her have cardboard books without watching her or she will eat them!

Busy little bee!

Night night

B is starting to interact more and more all the time. She claps her hands every time you say "Yay!" and gets a HUGE smile on her face. She is super ticklish and laughs and laughs even if you get close to tickling her. She loves her sister but gets irritated quickly if Hayden tries to hold her. There is no restraining that girl! Just recently she has started sitting still for a couple minutes to read a book but gets mad if you don't let her go when she is ready. Her favorite word is DAAAAAA-DAAAAAA! Which she says constantly and loudly, lol.  Kyle thinks it's funny that she rarely says mama, but I can play it to my advantage once in a while. Like when she's hollering for him in the morning instead of me :) Despite saying dada all the time she really is a mama's girl. She can be quite the pill for Kyle when they are alone together, but as soon as I get home she's all smiles again. I can't say that bothers me all that much :) She likes to "share" her crackers and if you say "mmmmm, that looks good" she'll offer you a (soggy) bite then grins a huge grin, giggles and takes a bite her herself. Man, I love that girl! We are in copy-cat mode right now as Brynlee will copy pretty much any sound you make with your mouth and then give you the biggest smile when she does it. It just melts your heart :) She will also give kisses if you ask her. BIG, wide, open mouth kisses right on the cheek. And of course gives that gorgeous smile when you make a big deal about it.


We are making quite a few strides in the signing department. Brynlee does "drink" really well but it could mean she wants anything from food to water or to nurse. Although, usually she does pretty well about signing "milk" when she wants to nurse. She doesn't do "eat" really, but will do "more" by clapping her hand and will do "sleep" if you do it first.  Sometimes she will wave her hands around like she is trying to sign something and when I try guessing what it is she wants she'll laugh when I get it right. It's so cute!

Recently I tried taking Brynlee off her Zantac, but after a couple weeks it really started to take it's toll, so I put her back on. My next task is to try a few diary items now that she is healthy again. I have heard that some people who are lactose intolerant can still have yogurt sometimes so we tried that this afternoon. She ate an entire container of plain yogurt. I really hope it sits well because she really liked it. Once I see how that goes I'll try a few more dairy items myself and see how she reacts before trying to give her any more dairy items. The Dr. said at her 9 month check up that I can try dairy free milk options at a year and slowly incorporate regular milk to see how she does. I am praying that she grows out it completely!

One thing that doesn't seem to suffer at all, in spite of no dairy, is her appetite.  The crazy girl eats ALL the time. I feed her until it seems like she should be getting full and then she usually eats several crackers. And then still wants to nurse! I suppose it's a good thing though...she's got to eat so she doesn't waste away with all her crawling around all over the place. Since she started crawling she never stops moving! At this point there's pretty much nothing she won't eat. Just yesterday she ate peas with minced red peppers, mushrooms and ham.

My little piglet :)

Hayden is getting bigger as well. And while I don't see huge changes every month like I do with Brynlee, I do see her learn more and more all the time. We are over half done with our journey through the alphabet in school and she LOVES learning. I can see a huge change in her ability to make the letters themselves since the beginning of the year and she is slowly getting the hang of sounds and what sounds words start with. She likes to color, use her scissors, and glue. Any time she can do all 3 is a happy day! Almost every time she colors she will ask me to color with her. I am beginning to think that her "love language" is quality time. Just like her mother :) Even at 3 she still loves to cuddle and do anything we can together. Color, watch a movie, have a picnic, play outside, read books. I have even started reading longer, mini chapter books to her and she will sit quietly and listen for a long time. Just as long as she can sit next to me and suck her thumb :)  That's another conversation though...

Story time before bed

She is a bit of a mini-me and likes to do things like mommy. Put on make-up, wear a towel on her head after bath time, wear "lip stick", put on smelly lotion, match clothes. Pretty much anything she can to be like mom :) Its flattering but also eye opening as I see her do and say things just like I do. A walking, talking mirror is what she really is! I love her bunches and am excited to see her growing more :)

When we went to the Dr. with Hayden she weighed in at 31 lbs and was 39.25" tall. She is in the 66th percentile in height and 30th percentile in weight. The Dr. said that's just perfect :)  She has grown 5 inches since we moved to Cleghorn a year and a half ago. She just wont stop growing! I think both her and Brynlee are in the middle of a growth spurt because I can't keep either one of them fed. You would think I was starving the poor things.

Track starts up for Kyle next week and I am trying to enjoy the time I have with him after school during this
couple week break between basketball and track. I am REALLY trying to have a positive attitude about track this year (his first year coaching this sport) since it means that he won't be working full time this summer. I have BIG plans for this summer :)

We are mobile!

Yup, today,Thursday, January 10, 2013, on her 9 month birthday, Brynlee Rae started crawling. And within MINUTES (seriously, not an exaggeration) she was into EVERYTHING. The object of desire that started it all was Hayden's toy keyboard. Which Hayden, naturally, did not want her to have. Of course that made it all the more desirable and shoving the thing several feet away was not going to stop her. There she went, off to get the keyboard. I was so excited to see her crawl that I completely disregarded Hayden's upset cries and told her it was fine and Brynlee could have it if she wanted to. I know, totally mean mom.

Bryn at 9  months old

I am sure some are wondering why I was excited to see her crawling. Most moms I have talked to have to suppress the desire to knock their children over when they start crawling or walking. But, if you have been in our house for the past several weeks you would be excited too. Brynlee has been on the verge of crawling for a little over a month now. She will go to her tummy and then SCREAM because she can't go anywhere. So that means mom spends all her time chauffeuring her around the house to keep her quiet. So yes, I was excited! But, my excitement lasted about 10 minutes. It took about that long for Brynlee to get into the computer power cords, find the dogs toys, tear up a Menards add and generally reach havoc on my living room. What can I say? When she learns something new, she REALLY learns :)

My little Beanie is growing and changing every day. It seems like just the last couple days I have a completely different child on my hands. Lately, her sleeping-all-night times out number her up-every-hour times so that's been awesome. She still takes great naps every morning and every afternoon and the occasional evening cat nap as well. Although, if we have something going on in the morning she does fine without a nap and takes an extra long afternoon one. Brynlee recognizes several signs including: milk, more, all done, sleep, no, eat and drink. And the exciting part is she has started signing drink (she's pretty pleased with herself and does it quite often cuz mom gets so excited) and just today did all done and milk. Such a smart girl! Also, just today, (a big deal this whole turning 9 months thing!) she broke through tooth number 4. The "fang" on the other side :) She still loves to play peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake, but nobody makes her laugh the way her sister does. Just today I couldn't help but smile as they played together in the dining room. Hayden was hiding under the table and Brynlee was laughing hysterically! Warms a momma's heart :) I didn't even get upset with Hayden for messing around under the table when she should have been eating her lunch.

The infamous fang tooth!

Our 9 month check up is next week and I am looking forward to seeing how much she has grown physically. I am guessing she weighs somewhere around 18 lbs and getting much longer as I have had to put away several outfits that are now too short.

Speaking of playing together, I am really hoping that Hayden learns quickly to put her stuff up or keep it in her room or I am going to have one upset 3 year old on my hands. She does so well with Brynlee now and I hope that continues even if she gets into her things. A learning experience for all three of us I guess.

Hayden is getting so grown up too. On New Year's Eve we spent the day together as a family, shopping and eating out for lunch. As we were getting ready to go I was having to push back tears as I watched Hayden standing in the kitchen. She had on a long sleeve shirt, skirt with leggings and boots. Super cute but didn't stop there. Her long hair was up and she had a watch on and her own purse for shopping complete with cell phone, lipstick and debit card. Seriously, it was like she was 3 going on 17! What happened to my little girl! Later in the car I voiced that exact opinion and she answered in a very matter of fact tone, "Moooom, I am your little girl, but I am growing up!" *Stunned look on my face* Waaaahhhhh! That's what I wanted to do, break down and cry right there in the car. But I didn't; I held it together. Just barely.

I guess I have a bit of a double standard when it comes to growing up. With Brynlee, I get so excited to see her at the next stage of learning and growing, but with Hayden, I just want it all to STOP!  I love the age she is right now. The age where I am her best friend; where she still likes to cuddle up and read books; the age when things are still exciting and new and I am the first person she wants to share it with.  I don't want this age of trusting everything I say without question to end; I don't want her to ever be too old to "snuggle on the couch, eat an orange out of a bowl, and watch a movie." And yes, that is a direct quote. The ages of 2 and 3 get such a bad rap but it's my favorite. There are those that love the baby stage and there are even those that love the "empty nest" stage. Me...give me a 3 year old any day :)