I have been amazed recently about how much Brooke is talking. She is forming complete sentences on her own. Here are a few examples of what she has been saying recently:
- Come on Mommy, let's go
- I throw the ball
- I pet the doggie
- Carson go outside
- We go this way
- I take a diaper off
- Tickle me Mommy
- Swing on this swing, over here
- There's Mommy's Car
- My pink princess cup with water
And those are just the ones I can think of briefly on the top of my head. Each day, a new sentence comes out of her mouth and is longer than anything she has said before. It's so cute to listen to her sweet voice talking in long sentences. She continues to amaze me everyday.
I did a trial run of Brooke's birthday cake today. I am planning on making a bumblebee cake and bumblebee cupcakes. For the longest time, I could not figure out how to shape the body correctly. I knew that I wanted to use a pyrex mixing bowl for the head, but the body was the hard part. I want the bee to look 3D, so the shape is rather important. Jeremy and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond last night and he came up with the idea of using a Wok.
So, today, I bought three boxes of cake mix. Baked one box in the mixing bowl for about an hour, and the shape came out great. Slid right out of the bowl too (and it should have for the amount of non-stick spray I put on the bowl). Baked two boxes of mix in the Wok for about an hour and twenty minutes. The shape came out great as well. I am worried, however, about the taste of the cake. Because I had to bake it so long to get the center cooked, I am afraid the outer edges are a little too well done. I hope the rest of the cake is not too dry. I iced the cake with plain white icing tonight, and am taking it to work tomorrow. My co-workers will either love me or hate me tomorrow. Hopefully they will love me!!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
A case of strep, and lowered on the family totem pole
Well, last week was a rough one on the family. I was the first one to be diagnosed with strep throat. Thought that we were getting away with no one else having it, until Jeremy started to feel bad last Friday. Then, Brooke woke up on Sunday morning complaining of her ear hurting. Both had strep throat. Luckily, I got the worst of it (and am the biggest baby when I am sick), and everyone else recovered fairly quickly. Hopefully that will be all the sickness we will have for the remainder of 2010...yeah, right! But, I can wish.
I gave Brooke a bath tonight. She has these stacking cups that she plays with in the tub. They are yellow (smallest), white (medium), and blue (large). When Brooke plays with these, she gives Daddy the blue one, Mommy the white one, and she plays with the yellow one herself. It's funny because Jeremy is the biggest (blue), I am in the middle (white), and Brooke is the smallest (yellow). I don't know if it was just plain coincidence that she always hands them out this way, or if she actually correlates the size of the cups to the size of the person. Maybe it's an ordering rule in the house - Daddy is in charge - so he gets the biggest. Mommy is next in charge, so she gets the white cup, and Brooke is not in charge, so she gets the smallest yellow cup. Well, I think Brooke is trying to take my position on our family totem pole. Today, she handed me the yellow cup to play with while she played with the white one. The blue one sat with no one playing with it since Daddy is at work. Not sure how I really feel about it - is she really trying to take charge by giving me the yellow cup? Or does she think she's bigger than me? Time will tell.
I gave Brooke a bath tonight. She has these stacking cups that she plays with in the tub. They are yellow (smallest), white (medium), and blue (large). When Brooke plays with these, she gives Daddy the blue one, Mommy the white one, and she plays with the yellow one herself. It's funny because Jeremy is the biggest (blue), I am in the middle (white), and Brooke is the smallest (yellow). I don't know if it was just plain coincidence that she always hands them out this way, or if she actually correlates the size of the cups to the size of the person. Maybe it's an ordering rule in the house - Daddy is in charge - so he gets the biggest. Mommy is next in charge, so she gets the white cup, and Brooke is not in charge, so she gets the smallest yellow cup. Well, I think Brooke is trying to take my position on our family totem pole. Today, she handed me the yellow cup to play with while she played with the white one. The blue one sat with no one playing with it since Daddy is at work. Not sure how I really feel about it - is she really trying to take charge by giving me the yellow cup? Or does she think she's bigger than me? Time will tell.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Locked out, hit the ball, methodical playing, and not on my belly!
Quite a few cute things have happened the last few days, but I have been unable to post due to strep throat (yuck!!). Finally feeling much better, so decided tonight was a good night to post the last few days' events.
LOCKED OUT
I do corporate tax for a living - meaning that the tax deadline is September 15th, and I hardly ever get Labor Day off. This year was no exception. I went into work on Monday, even though I was not feeling great. This was the first onset of my strep throat symptoms, but since we were so far behind, I needed to go in and get some returns prepared. Jeremy stayed at home with Brooke while I was working. I get a phone call around noon from him. He was panicked. He asked me where my parents were, I told him that I did not know. He told me that he went outside to get something and heard the door slam. Apparently, Brooke had slammed the door, and then locked it. He had no way to get in because all other doors and windows stay locked at all times. I asked him if he wanted me to run home from work and open the door. He told me that he didn't want to wait 20 minutes for me to get home. During this conversation, I could hear Brooke screaming and crying through the door and over the phone. She was obviously traumatized, but a crying baby means a breathing baby, and the sound of her crying was actually a relief. So, Jeremy's way of opening the door: going through the drywall. He went through the drywall in the garage and into the laundry room, and reached his hand around to unlock the door. Took a total of about 5 minutes. Here is a lovely picture of the handy drywall patch work:
Now, Brooke looks at the door and says "Daddy fixed it".
HIT THE BALL
Grandma and Grandpa (my Mom and Dad)took Brooke to go see Aunt Paige play volleyball on Wednesday night. They taught her to say "Hit the ball, Paige". So I keep asking her "What do we say to Paige when she is playing volleyball?". She will turn around and say "Hit the ball, Paige". She gets so excited to say it too! Apparently, she likes to watch Paige play for a little while, but since her attention span isn't that long, she won't sit through 5 games. Either way, it's fun for her to watch her Aunt Paige play college volleyball, and Aunt Paige loves having a little cheerleader come along!
METHODICAL PLAYING
Aunt Mimi dropped Cecily off for a little while this evening so she and Ava could check out a few houses. I was so glad to be able to watch Cecily so that the two little ones could have some one on one time together. They both played really well together and had tons of fun. However, I noticed a difference in personalities while watching them play. Cecily has a huge imagination! She will take a toy and use it in a way that it was not intended. She would take a dog and put it in a basket and say that she was going on a trip. Brooke on the other hand, will only play with toys the way they were made to play with. For example - she won't take a farmer and have him play in the house. She knows that the farmer only plays on the farm - and the farmer stays there. Her imagination has not blossomed yet - but watching her play with toys and the way she plays with them, makes me realize that she likes things a certain way. All of the pieces and parts to one toy don't necessarily have to be all in one place, but she won't play with a piece that doesn't belong with that toy. It cracks me up - mainly because it's so much like me. I only see things the way they were intended to be used. Jeremy can take a broom and make anything out of it and play with it for hours. Me, a broom is for sweeping....and that's it. Makes me wonder if this child will have any creativity like her father....or will be more methodical like her mother. Hard to tell for sure, but at this time, I am betting on more like her mother.
NOT ON MY BELLY
About two weeks ago, I was washing Brooke's hair, got it all nice and sudsy, and had tons of leftover suds on my hands. I took it, showed it to Brooke (to which she said "A Mess"), and then wiped it onto her belly. She really didn't do much, other than wipe it off. The next bath night, I did the same thing, then the next, then the next. Well, tonight, I put shampoo in her hair and was working up a nice lather. She told me "Not on my belly". I started to laugh. So after my hands were all nice and sudsy, I acted like I was going to put it on her belly. She told me, "No Mommy, not on my belly" and then tried to move away. I again moved towards her. She said "No Mommy, wash it off". This child really does not like a mess anywhere. Can we say OCD??? :)
LOCKED OUT
I do corporate tax for a living - meaning that the tax deadline is September 15th, and I hardly ever get Labor Day off. This year was no exception. I went into work on Monday, even though I was not feeling great. This was the first onset of my strep throat symptoms, but since we were so far behind, I needed to go in and get some returns prepared. Jeremy stayed at home with Brooke while I was working. I get a phone call around noon from him. He was panicked. He asked me where my parents were, I told him that I did not know. He told me that he went outside to get something and heard the door slam. Apparently, Brooke had slammed the door, and then locked it. He had no way to get in because all other doors and windows stay locked at all times. I asked him if he wanted me to run home from work and open the door. He told me that he didn't want to wait 20 minutes for me to get home. During this conversation, I could hear Brooke screaming and crying through the door and over the phone. She was obviously traumatized, but a crying baby means a breathing baby, and the sound of her crying was actually a relief. So, Jeremy's way of opening the door: going through the drywall. He went through the drywall in the garage and into the laundry room, and reached his hand around to unlock the door. Took a total of about 5 minutes. Here is a lovely picture of the handy drywall patch work:
Now, Brooke looks at the door and says "Daddy fixed it".
HIT THE BALL
Grandma and Grandpa (my Mom and Dad)took Brooke to go see Aunt Paige play volleyball on Wednesday night. They taught her to say "Hit the ball, Paige". So I keep asking her "What do we say to Paige when she is playing volleyball?". She will turn around and say "Hit the ball, Paige". She gets so excited to say it too! Apparently, she likes to watch Paige play for a little while, but since her attention span isn't that long, she won't sit through 5 games. Either way, it's fun for her to watch her Aunt Paige play college volleyball, and Aunt Paige loves having a little cheerleader come along!
METHODICAL PLAYING
Aunt Mimi dropped Cecily off for a little while this evening so she and Ava could check out a few houses. I was so glad to be able to watch Cecily so that the two little ones could have some one on one time together. They both played really well together and had tons of fun. However, I noticed a difference in personalities while watching them play. Cecily has a huge imagination! She will take a toy and use it in a way that it was not intended. She would take a dog and put it in a basket and say that she was going on a trip. Brooke on the other hand, will only play with toys the way they were made to play with. For example - she won't take a farmer and have him play in the house. She knows that the farmer only plays on the farm - and the farmer stays there. Her imagination has not blossomed yet - but watching her play with toys and the way she plays with them, makes me realize that she likes things a certain way. All of the pieces and parts to one toy don't necessarily have to be all in one place, but she won't play with a piece that doesn't belong with that toy. It cracks me up - mainly because it's so much like me. I only see things the way they were intended to be used. Jeremy can take a broom and make anything out of it and play with it for hours. Me, a broom is for sweeping....and that's it. Makes me wonder if this child will have any creativity like her father....or will be more methodical like her mother. Hard to tell for sure, but at this time, I am betting on more like her mother.
NOT ON MY BELLY
About two weeks ago, I was washing Brooke's hair, got it all nice and sudsy, and had tons of leftover suds on my hands. I took it, showed it to Brooke (to which she said "A Mess"), and then wiped it onto her belly. She really didn't do much, other than wipe it off. The next bath night, I did the same thing, then the next, then the next. Well, tonight, I put shampoo in her hair and was working up a nice lather. She told me "Not on my belly". I started to laugh. So after my hands were all nice and sudsy, I acted like I was going to put it on her belly. She told me, "No Mommy, not on my belly" and then tried to move away. I again moved towards her. She said "No Mommy, wash it off". This child really does not like a mess anywhere. Can we say OCD??? :)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Drawing in circles
This may sound really stupid, but I was so excited when this happened. Earlier this evening, Brooke and I were playing in the playroom. She has an eisel up there that she draws on with chalk. At this age, its really common to draw in straight lines. Today however, circles were drawn! I was so excited!! These were not perfect circles by any means, but they were the prettiest circles I have ever seen. Two years ago I would have never guessed that I would be so darn excited about circles. I love watching Brooke learn and grow, and can't wait to see what she does tomorrow. Life is great!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Jeremy's Trip to Dover and more
Jeremy left last weekend to go to Dover, Delaware to help my brother and sister in law remodel their kitchen. I have to say that Jeremy is one of the most giving people I know. He drove up there, and spent many sleepless nights (or nights with little sleep) to get the job done in one week. And he did all of that out of the kindness of his heart. I really appreciate him for helping my brother.
I also appreciate everyone who has helped me over the last week. Thanks to Aunt Patti for coming over and keeping me company for a bit on Tuesday, thanks to my Mom and Dad for dinner for last Sunday and Wednesday and for watching Brooke while I played volleyball tonight, and thanks to Nanny for dinner on Thursday. Thanks to Dana for coming over on Friday night and having a little girl time. I really enjoyed our talk! Thanks to everyone else who offered to help out, but I never took them up on it! Just knowing that you guys would be there if I did need anything meant a lot. I am very lucky to have a great family and close friends. It's in times like these I know who really cares.
On a side note, Brooke has been talking up a storm this week. For whatever reason, her vocabulary has expanded bigtime. She is now talking more clearly (Daddy instead of Da-E and Michelle instead of Shelf). She is also singing along to more songs and forming more sentences.
We were watching Snow White earlier this evening. During the part where Snow White is about to get killed by the Queen's helper, Brooke kept saying "Princess? Princess? Princess?". I couldn't figure out why she was asking about the princess until I realized that she was worried about the Princess. She could tell that Snow White was in trouble, and Brooke wanted to be reassured that the Princess would be okay. It was really cute to see that she truly cared about Snow White's well being.
Also during this week, I went to a neighbor's surprise birthday party. I grabbed one beer to take over there with me, and put it in a koozie. When I got the koozie out, Brooke looked at it and said "Poppops". She has not seen Poppop since the end of May, and she hasn't seen the koozie since then either. It absolutely amazed me that she remembered (from three months ago) that the koozie belongs to Poppop since he always uses them. What a memory!!
Today, we had a very busy day. We started off with Church in the morning, a birthday party for Lily this afternoon, and volleyball this evening. I will post more this week - including pictures - of Brooke's fun time at Lily's birthday party.
All in all - we survived this week. The house is still standing, Carson is still here, and nothing broke. Right now, I am anticipating the arrival of my husband from his one week adventure in kitchenland. We are all so happy he's coming home!!
I also appreciate everyone who has helped me over the last week. Thanks to Aunt Patti for coming over and keeping me company for a bit on Tuesday, thanks to my Mom and Dad for dinner for last Sunday and Wednesday and for watching Brooke while I played volleyball tonight, and thanks to Nanny for dinner on Thursday. Thanks to Dana for coming over on Friday night and having a little girl time. I really enjoyed our talk! Thanks to everyone else who offered to help out, but I never took them up on it! Just knowing that you guys would be there if I did need anything meant a lot. I am very lucky to have a great family and close friends. It's in times like these I know who really cares.
On a side note, Brooke has been talking up a storm this week. For whatever reason, her vocabulary has expanded bigtime. She is now talking more clearly (Daddy instead of Da-E and Michelle instead of Shelf). She is also singing along to more songs and forming more sentences.
We were watching Snow White earlier this evening. During the part where Snow White is about to get killed by the Queen's helper, Brooke kept saying "Princess? Princess? Princess?". I couldn't figure out why she was asking about the princess until I realized that she was worried about the Princess. She could tell that Snow White was in trouble, and Brooke wanted to be reassured that the Princess would be okay. It was really cute to see that she truly cared about Snow White's well being.
Also during this week, I went to a neighbor's surprise birthday party. I grabbed one beer to take over there with me, and put it in a koozie. When I got the koozie out, Brooke looked at it and said "Poppops". She has not seen Poppop since the end of May, and she hasn't seen the koozie since then either. It absolutely amazed me that she remembered (from three months ago) that the koozie belongs to Poppop since he always uses them. What a memory!!
Today, we had a very busy day. We started off with Church in the morning, a birthday party for Lily this afternoon, and volleyball this evening. I will post more this week - including pictures - of Brooke's fun time at Lily's birthday party.
All in all - we survived this week. The house is still standing, Carson is still here, and nothing broke. Right now, I am anticipating the arrival of my husband from his one week adventure in kitchenland. We are all so happy he's coming home!!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Kentucky State Fair
On Thursday, Jeremy and I took Brooke to the fair. We arrived at 5:30 and ate dinner there. I decided to be somewhat good, and ate a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, Jeremy did his usual corndog (although he spiced it up a little with the jalapeno version) and Brooke ate about two bites of a $7.00 chicken tender basket. We ate dinner in a tent, and Brooke danced away to the music.
After eating dinner, we went to see the animals. Brooke loved looking at the cows, and was "mooing" throughout the cow venue. We saw the goats next, and Brooke kept calling them puppies. I guess some of the tan colored ones did look like Carson. She loved running up to each goat and giving him a nice pat on the head.
We walked over to the rest of the animals and saw the birds and bunnies. On the far end of the wall, there were several geese along the back wall. My favorite part of going to the fair is trying to pet all the animals that really don't want to be touched. I am sure I am traumatizing these poor animals, but I find it really amusing. Unfortunately, I was unable to pet any geese this year, but was able to pet several of the bunnies.
After venturing through all of the animals, we decided to go to the midway and see if Brooke could ride any rides and play a few games. We knew she could ride the carousel, but wondered if she would like to be more adventurous and ride something else. As we were walking through the midway, Jeremy decided to play a game. It was the one that you take a huge mallet and hit the thingy to see how far you can make it to the top. Jeremy thought he would have no problem with this. Well, apparently the fire he had the day before wore his arms out. He made it go about 3/4 of the way up. Not wanting to lose, Jeremy handed the woman another $5 and went at it again. No winner. At this point, his pride was getting in the way, and wanted to win his little girl a big soft puppy she was eyeing. He handed another $5 over...still, no winner. He walked away with his tail tucked between his legs. We went onto another game where you throw the darts at the balloons and try to pop them. For $5 you have to pop 6 balloons out of 7 dart throws. Jeremy succeeded!! We asked Brooke what prize she wanted...and guess which one? A pink puppy!! That child loves pink. Pink anything. Pink, pink, pink!
After winning her puppy, we went on to ride rides. We put her on the carousel with her Daddy and everytime they came around the corner Jeremy would try to get Brooke to look over at me and point me out in the crowd.
There was another little car ride that I thought she could ride, but I was worried that she would jump off when the ride started saying "All done Mommy". But, we gave it a shot, and I stood inside the ride so that I could quickly get my hands on her if need be. She sat in the corvette, and was pretending she was driving. It was really cute to watch my little girl go on her first ride all by herself!!
After this ride, we packed up and went home. The little girl was tired, and so was Mommy and Daddy.
On Sunday, Grandma, Aunt Paige, and John wanted to go to the fair with Ms. Brooke. We left around 10:30 Sunday morning and thought it wouldn't be too crowded at that time. Boy were we wrong! It was packed. Again, we ate first and we finished it off with an ice cream for Brooke. She loves her "ice seem".
We saw the animals again, and she loved them again. I think this child could be a vet when she grows up. She loves her animals! They had several bunnies out for petting, and Brooke wanted to get her hands on the bunny - but as soon as she did, she would pull away. I think she was a little scared by them, but I think the bunny was still more scared!
We then decided to ride some more rides. I figured we would do the carousel again, but I also wanted her to do the kiddie bumper boats she was eyeing the previous fair trip. I was afraid that she would find more interest in the "simming pool" rather than the boat ride, but we gave it a shot anyway. Here's a pic of her riding the kiddie bumper boats.
It was a hot day, and we were all getting tired. We rode one more ride (the cars again), and we left. On our way out, Brooke started to fall asleep, and actually did so on the way home. She took a nice long nap on Sunday afternoon, and since Mommy was whooped as well I laid down too.
Two fantastic days at the fair.
After eating dinner, we went to see the animals. Brooke loved looking at the cows, and was "mooing" throughout the cow venue. We saw the goats next, and Brooke kept calling them puppies. I guess some of the tan colored ones did look like Carson. She loved running up to each goat and giving him a nice pat on the head.
We walked over to the rest of the animals and saw the birds and bunnies. On the far end of the wall, there were several geese along the back wall. My favorite part of going to the fair is trying to pet all the animals that really don't want to be touched. I am sure I am traumatizing these poor animals, but I find it really amusing. Unfortunately, I was unable to pet any geese this year, but was able to pet several of the bunnies.
After venturing through all of the animals, we decided to go to the midway and see if Brooke could ride any rides and play a few games. We knew she could ride the carousel, but wondered if she would like to be more adventurous and ride something else. As we were walking through the midway, Jeremy decided to play a game. It was the one that you take a huge mallet and hit the thingy to see how far you can make it to the top. Jeremy thought he would have no problem with this. Well, apparently the fire he had the day before wore his arms out. He made it go about 3/4 of the way up. Not wanting to lose, Jeremy handed the woman another $5 and went at it again. No winner. At this point, his pride was getting in the way, and wanted to win his little girl a big soft puppy she was eyeing. He handed another $5 over...still, no winner. He walked away with his tail tucked between his legs. We went onto another game where you throw the darts at the balloons and try to pop them. For $5 you have to pop 6 balloons out of 7 dart throws. Jeremy succeeded!! We asked Brooke what prize she wanted...and guess which one? A pink puppy!! That child loves pink. Pink anything. Pink, pink, pink!
After winning her puppy, we went on to ride rides. We put her on the carousel with her Daddy and everytime they came around the corner Jeremy would try to get Brooke to look over at me and point me out in the crowd.
There was another little car ride that I thought she could ride, but I was worried that she would jump off when the ride started saying "All done Mommy". But, we gave it a shot, and I stood inside the ride so that I could quickly get my hands on her if need be. She sat in the corvette, and was pretending she was driving. It was really cute to watch my little girl go on her first ride all by herself!!
After this ride, we packed up and went home. The little girl was tired, and so was Mommy and Daddy.
On Sunday, Grandma, Aunt Paige, and John wanted to go to the fair with Ms. Brooke. We left around 10:30 Sunday morning and thought it wouldn't be too crowded at that time. Boy were we wrong! It was packed. Again, we ate first and we finished it off with an ice cream for Brooke. She loves her "ice seem".
We saw the animals again, and she loved them again. I think this child could be a vet when she grows up. She loves her animals! They had several bunnies out for petting, and Brooke wanted to get her hands on the bunny - but as soon as she did, she would pull away. I think she was a little scared by them, but I think the bunny was still more scared!
We then decided to ride some more rides. I figured we would do the carousel again, but I also wanted her to do the kiddie bumper boats she was eyeing the previous fair trip. I was afraid that she would find more interest in the "simming pool" rather than the boat ride, but we gave it a shot anyway. Here's a pic of her riding the kiddie bumper boats.
It was a hot day, and we were all getting tired. We rode one more ride (the cars again), and we left. On our way out, Brooke started to fall asleep, and actually did so on the way home. She took a nice long nap on Sunday afternoon, and since Mommy was whooped as well I laid down too.
Two fantastic days at the fair.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Grandma Broke it
This happened a few weeks ago, but it's still funny none the less. Brooke reminded me of it this evening on our way home from the fair.
Brooke has a Little People Farm book that you can lift the flaps and see different animals, shapes, colors, and opposites. She reads this book a lot during our car rides. There was one specific evening when Grandma was sitting in the back seat reading the farm book with Brooke. Brooke peeled off one of the flaps and broke it off completely. She said "I broke it"...and that was the end of that.
A few weeks after Brooke pulled off the flap, she was reading the book again, and came across the broken flap. She looks at it, and says "Grandma broke it". I started to laugh and told her that Grandma didn't break it - that Brooke broke it. She returned, laughingly saying that no, Grandma broke it.
So we were in the car this evening, and Brooke was again reading her farm book. She got to the page with the broken flap, and said again "Grandma broke it". I think it's really funny that she remembers that Grandma was sitting in the back seat with her when she broke the flap, and that she blames it on Grandma. I am not sure if she really thinks that Grandma broke it, or if she is just trying to be funny. Either way, I think it's adorable.
Brooke has a Little People Farm book that you can lift the flaps and see different animals, shapes, colors, and opposites. She reads this book a lot during our car rides. There was one specific evening when Grandma was sitting in the back seat reading the farm book with Brooke. Brooke peeled off one of the flaps and broke it off completely. She said "I broke it"...and that was the end of that.
A few weeks after Brooke pulled off the flap, she was reading the book again, and came across the broken flap. She looks at it, and says "Grandma broke it". I started to laugh and told her that Grandma didn't break it - that Brooke broke it. She returned, laughingly saying that no, Grandma broke it.
So we were in the car this evening, and Brooke was again reading her farm book. She got to the page with the broken flap, and said again "Grandma broke it". I think it's really funny that she remembers that Grandma was sitting in the back seat with her when she broke the flap, and that she blames it on Grandma. I am not sure if she really thinks that Grandma broke it, or if she is just trying to be funny. Either way, I think it's adorable.
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