Brooke's Bday, 3 year old room, and Taylor updates

Brooke's birthday has came and went. She's officially three years old. My oh my where has the time gone? We had a lovely party with family and friends on the 15th. The theme was owls and I made an owl cake out of cupcakes and then individual owl cupcakes. They were fairly easy to make - just time consuming. She thought they were the coolest things! I thought the party was very fun. Weather was nice, so the kids got to play outside. It was nice to see her interact with boys and girls of all ages and personalities and how she would deal with each person. She got about 1,000 presents too many. The hit of the party was a Jessie costume from Toy Story. It was the pants, the shirt, the hat, and the boots. She stopped opening presents and had to put the costume on immediately. Watching her face and her reaction brought tears to my eyes! We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Brooke has finally moved up to the 3 year old room. Unfortunately, she's not in Ben's room, but she is at least with kids closer to her own age. She has a computer in her new classroom, and I think she will come to love it and probably be able to teach me a thing or two next week! Hopefully she will enjoy school a little more again.

Taylor had her one month appointment on the 12th. She weighed 8lbs, 13.5 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long. She is doing great! Doc said she was gaining an ounce a day, which is perfect. I went back and looked at Brooke's baby book and saw that she went from 6 pounds at birth to 8lbs 12 oz at one month old. Taylor went from 7 pounds 5 oz at birth to 8lbs 13.5oz at one month old. Brooke gained a whole extra pound during that time. I am curious to see the comparison at two months old.

Taylor still will not sleep in her bassinet. If I lay her down in there, she fusses and whines and moves around until I cuddle with her. From that point on, she sleeps very soundly. I know I am creating awful sleep habits for her and for myself, but I just can't help sleeping with her. She is so sweet and so cozy - I can't put her down.

Three out of the four family members are battling sinus issues. I am not sure how I am the only one who does not have any snot dripping out of my nose. Everyone else is green and yucky...even Taylor. Taylor can produce more boogers and bigger boogers than her mom! It's quite shocking. I feel sorry for the little girl.

Brooke's new thing is asking "Where are we going next?". If I get her dressed, she will ask where she's going. I tell her school, for example. She will then ask where we are going next. I will say home. She will protest and ask if we can go somewhere else - like Grandma and Grandpa's house. I guess she got so used to running around right before Taylor was born, she expects to go somewhere new every day. Whether it be grandma's, aunt patti's, target, or the playground - that girl doesn't want to stay home!

Oh, and terrible twos? Oh no...not at all. Twos are angelic compared to the glimpse I have seen of the threes. Brooke is defiant, she is bossy, and she is very demanding. I feel like I am always saying no and answering the question of "Why". This is the time where she is certainly questioning authority and I just have to make sure that she knows mommy and daddy are boss and that we stick to our guns when we say something. It's just hard sometimes!

Well, that was a very long post...I will try to not make the amount of time between posts so long - but life has been pretty crazy recently.

A few updates

Well, the big news this week - is Taylor smiled a real smile for the first time on Thursday. That means she was just 3 weeks, 4 days old. Brooke was 5 weeks when she first smiled. Taylor has been smiling about once or twice a day since Thursday. The first time she did it, I got really teary eyed. Everytime she smiles, it melts my heart. I absolutely love it! I can't wait until she really smiles at her big sister...I think that will just make me keel over :)

Brooke wanted a special treat after dinner the other night, so I told her that I would give her broccoli. She looked at me and said "Broccoli is not a special treat". So I asked her what broccoli was - and she said that it was dinner. I got a little chuckle out of that. Her facial expressions made this story even better!

Brooke has had some issues going to bed recently. She keeps making excuses to get out of bed...she has to pee...then she has to poop...then she has to blow her nose..then she needs to be covered up. It goes on and on. Not really sure what's going on with her. She also has been waking up in the middle of the night with some sort of problem. Last night, she said that ants were crawling on her. I have no idea where this has come from. Don't know if she dreamt about ants that were crawling all over her or what. Either way, I hope that this stops!

Taylor has been a great baby. She eats, sleeps, and poops. She stays up for about an hour or two a few times a day, but mainly will just sleep! She has been eating pretty well, although she likes to "snack" and then eat again in an hour. Luckily, she doesn't do this as much during the night, but it does continue throughout the day. Oh the joys of a newborn ;)

Very Observant

I put Taylor in the swing earlier today, and she just sat there and watched the mobile go round and round. It's so funny because Brooke never really did that. Not exactly sure what that means about personality differences and such, but I just think it will be cute to watch and see how different the two girls are.

Mommy's First Night Out and Sleeping Patterns

Mommy had her first night out without children last night. I went to Stoney River with work for an end of busy season celebration. It was a nice evening out for a few hours, but I was glad to get back home to my girls.

Taylor slept last night from 9:30 until 3:30 in the morning. It was lovely! But, there is still no ryhme or reason to her sleeping patterns. She sleeps and eats when she wants to. Anywhere from every hour and a half to every 4-5 hours. She is definitely ruling the roost around here right now! But, I don't mind. I love being with that little girl. Actually, I love being with both of my girls!

Tummy time and rolling over

We have been doing Tummy Time every day since we brought Taylor home from the hospital. As soon as Taylor starts to fuss, I end up picking her up. Jeremy, on the other hand, will let her fuss/cry for a bit. This evening, I went to Dairy Queen and Jeremy stayed home with Taylor and put her on her playmat for some good tummy time.

Well, during tummy time this evening - Taylor rolled over from her tummy to her back. Not once. Not twice. But three times!

We are going to be in some serious trouble with this little girl! She is going to be a strong one!

Umbilical Cord

Forgot to mention this in yesterday's post...Taylor's umblical cord came off the day before yesterday when she was just nine days old. It was very sad! I kinda wanted to keep it, but Jeremy said it was gross and made me throw it away!

When it fell off, Jeremy cleaned her belly button, and asked if Brooke's was that much of an outie when it fell off. My answer was yes - I remember being concerned about her belly button becoming an outie - but it turned out to be just fine! I am sure that Taylor's will too. It's funny how much you forget in just three years, but how easily it all comes back.

10 days old

Well, baby Taylor is officially 10 days old today. It's hard to believe that she is already over a week old...time flies! I have to say that she is a very good baby. Sleeping patterns are still very erratic - but that's to be expected, I guess. She only cries when she is hungry or getting her diaper changed. She is starting to stay awake for longer periods during the day, so I am hoping that she is going to be more tired at night and sleep longer than two hours at a time!

Brooke is doing much better with the adjustment than I ever imagined she would. She is a great big sister. She is genuinely concerned with where Taylor is, what she is doing, and why she is crying. She wants to help out in everything we do with Taylor. When Brooke is in her room at bedtime, and she hears Taylor cry, Brooke will call downstairs and say, "Mommy, my baby sister is crying"!. It really is cute.

Mom and Dad are adjusting as well. Since I am exclusively breastfeeding right now, there has been some long nights, but luckily Jeremy is there to help out with Brooke during the day so I can rest when I need to. It's harder to get out of the house with two kids and one husband who takes an hour to get ready! So far, it's been an adventure - but an adventure worth taking!