Layout

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Busy (but Great) Christmas Weekend

Christmas weekend started on a very good note. Since Jeremy had to work on Christmas Day, we had asked Santa Claus to come early and deliver the presents so we could open them Christmas Eve morning. When Brooke woke up that morning, Jeremy and I darted out of bed. He was in charge of putting on the Christmas music and setting up the video camera. I went into Brooke's room and told her that Santa Claus came that night while she was sleeping. She immediately smiled from ear to ear. We went into the bathroom, brushed teeth and went potty, and then waiting at the top of the stairs for Daddy to call us to come down. As we were sitting at the top of the stairs, she looked through the mirror above the fireplace and spotted the presents under the tree. She exclaimed "There's presents under the tree" and started to do a little happy dance. Daddy called us downstairs, and she immediately ran to the Christmas tree to start opening presents. She was a pro! There were a few presents that she needed Mommy to start, but she ripped the wrapping paper off in no time at all. Everytime she unwrapped a present, she would ask us to open the box so she could play with whatever was inside. After the presents were all opened, we played for a while before we had to go to Church.

Later that day, we went to St. Albert for Church with G.G. and Poppop. We sat in the cry room (not because of Brooke, but because no other seats were available). It ended up working out well, because Brooke got a little louder than "church level" at times. After Church, we went to Grandma's and Grandpa's for some appetizers. Because of impending bad weather, Jeremy ended up leaving Christmas Eve night for work the next day. He arrived to work safely, only to wake up to a measely inch had accumulated during the night. Oh well...better safe than sorry!

On Christmas morning, Brooke woke up and we went over to Grandma's and Grandpa's house so she could open her presents there. Again, she had a great time opening all her gifts, and I have to say that Grandma hit the jackpot this year. Her favorite gift is a carrier of stuff for Baby Lexi. She plays with it nonstop. We ate breakfast over there and hung out for a bit, and then went home.

While Brooke napped, I got things ready to go to Aunt Sharon's for the Rembold Christmas party. We arrived there around 3:30 and stayed until 10:00. Brooke had a ball following her cousin, Jake around. She couldn't quite keep up, but she tried! It's nice to have another little one around the on Rembold side. Again, she made out like a bandit on Christmas presents. A ton of cute clothes and lots of good toys to play with. Her favorite from that day was probably the princess books that Aunt Sharon got her or the pull along dog that G.G. and Poppop got her.

On Sunday, we had the Eadens side of the family over to our house. We did a brunch (which is my favorite meal), and it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves. We don't spend enough time with some members of the Eadens family, so it was nice to spend several hours together. She got a penguin pillow pet, a portable DVD player, a learning laptop and a princess palace little people set. The princess palace has been a lot of fun for her to play with!

After the Eadens family left on Sunday, I mandated family nap time. We all layed down on the floor in the den with pillows and blankets and watched Cinderella. It took Brooke all of 15 minutes to fall asleep.

We had a fantastic weekend spending time with family. Brooke is very lucky to be born into such a wonderful and loving family. We are truly blessed to have wonderful people in our lives. I thank God everyday for that.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Strep Throat yet again

Well, I woke up on Saturday morning with a little bit of a sore throat. Didn't really think anything much about it, until the extreme nauseaousness hit around noon, quickly followed by feverish chills and a temperature reading of 101. I immediately knew that I had strep throat again, but went to the Immediate Care Center, and they confirmed what I already knew. This marks the third time in four months that I have had strep throat. The question now becomes whether or not I am a carrier of strep throat. If I am, the possibility of getting my tonsils out becomes quite a reality. This is not a reality I am ready and willing to face. I have read a little (okay, a lot) about adults getting their tonsils removed, and it's one of the most painful experiences. There is about 2 weeks recovery - off from work, and possibly another 2 weeks of not eating solid foods. Do you know what would happen if I could not eat solid food for a whole month? I would seriously wither away to nothing, and Brooke would weigh more than I do. I don't deal well with pain, especially throat pain. For whatever reason, I am a HUGE baby when it comes to that. Then you multiply the worst throat pain times 1,000 and give that pain to me for 2 weeks? No thanks. I will pass.

So, please please please, pray that I am not a carrier (and that Brooke is not a carrier) and that I just have not gotten rid of my first round of strep. I am hoping that this strong antibiotic (shoot, brb, gotta take my meds...K, better now) will kill all of the bacteria and I will be strep free for quite some time.

On a better note...

Brooke has been the sweetest child for the last few days. I am not sure if it's a phase she is going through, but she is listening well, playing well, and so incredibly lovable. She has been just wanting to sit and read books, play quietly, no temper tantrums or anything right now. I love being her mommy all the time, but it's times like these that I thank my lucky stars for the child I received. Not sure how I got so lucky. As I was typing this last sentence, Brooke started to whimper and whine while sleeping. I walked upstairs to see if anything was wrong. She looks at me, smiles and says "Mommy?" in the sweetest little voice. Then she asks where Daddy is. Then I tell her to go back to sleep and that I love her, to which she returns with "I love you too, Mommy", and smiles and goes back to sleep. Ahhh, the joy!!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Funny things

Just wanted to post a few funny things before I forgot them altogether....

- The other morning, I gave Brooke a granola bar and some fruit for breakfast. She got done eating, and she said "More mommy". I wasn't sure what she wanted more of, so I asked her. She had a very puzzled look on her face when I asked her. She thought for a moment about what she wanted, and said "Green Butt". Huh?? Green Butt? Then I thought about it...she forgot the word for granola bar. She came up with Green Butt. I laughed and asked her if she wanted a granola bar, and she said yes. I love that she is learning new words everyday, and that when she could not remember granola bar she made up her own words that were close to what she couldnt remember.

- The other night, Jeremy and I were upstairs brushing her teeth and we were lying on the floor together. She climbed on top of Jeremy and all of a sudden starting singing "Boom, Boom, Shake your Boom, Boom". Jeremy and I cracked up hysterically. I guess she learned that at school. She really didnt dance with it - but she sang it over and over and over again.

I love listening to her talk, watching her facial expressions as she talks, and learning new things everyday.

Edited to Add: We got some new hat and gloves for Brooke for the winter season. She calls her gloves "glubs". Basically, anything with a V sound, she makes a B sound instead. Its really sorta cute. But, everytime we go outside, whether she has her glubs on or not, she always says her hands are cold. She knows that glubs are supposed to keep her hands warm.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Grandpa's Birthday, Singing Songs, Potty Training, and Snow Day

December 4th was Grandpa's birthday, so Brooke and I decided to do a craft project for him. We built a fire truck out of a shoe box and construction paper. She had a lot of fun helping me make the fire truck, and Grandpa loved it! We made him a card and stuck it inside the shoe box. We were singing Happy Birthday all day to Grandpa, but when we got there, she wouldn't sing in front of him. It amazes me how shy she can be at times. It also amazes me that she only has to hear a song a few times and then can remember most of the words and sings along with me.

Some of the fun songs we have been singing recently:
- Happy Birthday
- Jingle Bells
- Ruldolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
- BINGO
- Deck the Halls
- The Days of the week song

Speaking of the days of the week song....When I was telling Brooke that it was Grandpa's birthday, she was excited to hear about it. A few minutes later, she said that Grandpa's birthday was on Tuesday. Tuesday? My child knew what Tuesday was?? I had no clue that she knew the days of the week. I figured that she had to learn this at school, so I googled the days of the week songs. I clicked on the first one, and she listened, but didn't sing along...so I figured that wasn't it. I clicked on the second one, and she immediately started to sing along. It was so cute. I love that she is learning new things at school, and seems to really enjoy going there. She has also learned most of her letters as well. Out of the 26 letters, she knows about 20 of them. I am really impressed.

As far as potty training is concerned, she is really doing great. She only has about one accident a day. Unfortunately, two out of the last three days - it has been a poop accident. It's so much easier with a diaper!! On a better note, the last three days she has woken up completely dry. We are still putting a pull up on her at night (just in case). The first thing she does when she wakes up is go pee...and goes a lot! I am so proud of her! I never thought she would be doing this great this soon. I am hoping, however, I am not going to eat my words soon!!

When it snowed this past weekend, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get outside and play in it. Brooke was very excited about the thought of playing in it...and I was thrilled that she wanted to. Last year, she hated the snow. She had one bad experience (fell face first into the snow and couldn't move), and never wanted to get in the snow again. I bundled Brooke up in her snow bibs, heavy coat, two pairs of socks, hat, gloves, etc. She was ready to play! We got out in the snow, and she immediately took to it. She made snow balls, threw them at Carson, and rough housed with Carson in the snow. Both of them were having a blast. I was in the process of building a snow man when Brooke came over to me and showed me her glove. Somehow, it completely split open at the top and her poor, frozen little fingers were sticking out. At this point, she was only out in the snow for 10 minutes, so I know that she could not have had her fingers exposed for more than 3 minutes. She came over to me and then started crying. Her little fingers were soooo cold. We immediately came inside and I wrapped her fingers up in a blanket. In a few minutes, she was just fine asking for a snack. She was very traumatized that her gloves were broken and requested that we get new gloves - but this time, she wanted PINK ones. That child could have everything in pink. Cracks me up.

On another random note, we are going to Gatlinburg this weekend with Dana and Travis. I am looking forward to an adult weekend, but this will be the first time that Jeremy and I will be away (together) from Brooke for that long...and that far away. I know that we will have a blast, and Brooke will be in great hands, but I am sure going to miss her! I also worry that the impending snow storm may cancel our plans - or at the very least we would have to come home early. I don't want to drive home in hazardous conditions. I guess we will just have to keep a close eye on the weather to see what we will need to do.