For The Auntie's

WARNING: I'm aware that the song being played is not child appropriate. Just letting everyone know beforehand. I'm also aware that there is one shocking "phrase" and I'm hoping no one hears it ;) NO, I don't let my child listen to music like this, EVER. We are country music folk! However, my iPod was on shuffle and an old song from high school came on, he totally started busting a move. It was too funny not to re-create once we got home. We will not be dancing to this song in the future, though.

The arms are key to dancing like a gansta' in the car!

Thoughts...

I've had a lot on my mind lately. You would think that things would be calming down now that I'm not working. It's the opposite for some reason, and I'm not liking it. My mind is running a thousand miles per hour and that's very physically exhausting (as well as emotionally).

Brooks had a wonderful birthday and everyone we invited came! I'll post pictures as soon as I get a free moment, hopefully tomorrow during his nap.

Question to any of you who read my blog... how do you journal? I have a journal that I keep in my nightstand but I don't like writing by hand. Due to the fact that I have anxiety and my mind typically runs at that fast rate, my hand writing skills are not quick enough to keep up with my brain. I prefer to type! I know I could simply create word documents for each entry and keep a folder for journal entries, but that seems boring. Are there any creative and exciting resources I don't know about?

A second question - have you ever done anything that has helped your self-confidence? It's difficult for me to admit this publicly but I'm sure it's not difficult to tell, I have very low self-esteem. I've read self-help books, bought new clothes, tried new makeup, done my hair differently. I feel like I'm beating my head against the wall! All of the things I struggle with seem to relate back to a lack of self-confidence. Have any of you tried any self-talk, affirmations, etc? Any books you suggest? That's assuming that you've ever gone through a struggle like this. I'm very jealous if you haven't, consider yourself lucky because it's frustrating.

Life Has Been... Well... CRAZY!

Here is the really short version of the past few months:

*Started teaching preschool for Head Start while still finishing up my degree

*Was set to graduate this Spring and found out that the program I was planning on using for my state teaching license no longer exists.

*Took a few weeks over the holidays to make the decision that I needed to quit my job and go back to school full-time for Elementary Education in order to be fully licensed K-6.

*Cried for weeks due to the change and heart-break of leaving my children at work and my wonderful colleagues.

*Excited to be home with Brooks more than 2-3 hours a day, though!

*Brooks is turning TWO on the 23rd, he will be having a tractor party.

*Brooks and I had photos taken yesterday morning for his second birthday and because him and I haven't had family pictures taken since he was 4-months-old.

That's about it. I haven't blogged in SOOO long because I simply just didn't have the time. Working, commuting, school.... it's all very time consuming. Everyone at my work is sad to see me go but extremely supportive. I think they can sense my frustration and understand that it wasn't what I wanted, quitting my job. I suppose it all comes down to the fact that, "Life happens."

Brooks is doing so well and getting so big. He talks all day long and does the cutest things! We had a brief period of time where it was a glimpse of terrible attitude on his part. Luckily, that went away after a week or two (knock on wood). Brooks has never been a big TV/movie watcher but lately he LOVES the movie, Rio. He doesn't sit and watch all of it, the longest he's ever gotten in 30 minutes. I think he likes the music the most. For a mommy who has lost her groove I'm pretty good at shaking my "tail feathers" like Blu does in the movie. Brooks thinks it's hilarious and tries to do it, too. My little man is ALWAYS dancing, and talking! He is so much fun and I love being his mommy!

I was leaving the house on Friday night to meet a friend for dinner and I had a pretty hilarious conversation with Brooks that went as such:

Mommy: "Brooks, I'm leaving."
Brooks: "Hug Mom. Kiss too."
Mommy: "Okay, you be good! I love you."
Brooks: "Ok Mom. Bye!"
Brooks: "MOM! Brrr... it's cold outside. Coat on!"
Mommy: "Uh, okay Brooks? Thank you sweetie?"

I stood there thinking to myself, "I just had a miniature version of me, talking to me. Do I really sound like that?" Fortunately, I really do sound like that! I'm proud that my little guy has taken so well to my "training". Haha

The finale is a sneak peak of the beautiful pictures Michelle Hanson took.

Since Blogger Won't Let Me Upload Photos...

It might be a boring post! As you can tell by the title, blogger won't let me upload photos. So much has happened and as you can tell, I haven't had much time to blog. I'm now working full-time as well as going to school full-time (well, three classes). I'm teaching preschool for Head Start and I'm a Lead Teacher this time around. I'm not sure if I've even blogged about the fact that I accepted this teaching position. I work out in West Valley City which is quite the commute from Sandy! I'm not looking forward to the additional time and danger that will accompany my commute during the Winter months.

My daily schedule is as follows:
6:15 - 6:30 - Hit snooze button too many times
6:50 - Finally start to roll out of bed
7:15 - Suppose to be leaving the house (this usually occurs around 7:25). Drop Brooks off to the sitter/nanny.
8:00 - Get to work (Commute takes me 45 minutes in the morning)
8:30 - AM class starts
12:00 - AM class ends (Try to unwind for 45 minutes before the next class of rugrats start)
12:45 - PM class starts
4:15 - PM class ends. I race out of work in an attempt to shorten my commute by missing the worst part of rush hour. (My evening commute takes me anywhere from 45 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes)
5:00-5:30 - Pick up Brooks in this time frame, depending on when I left work and how bad traffic was. Brooks leaves the sitter/nanny at one o'clock and goes to his dad's house for the remainder of the day. This saves me $400 each month on the cost of Brooks's sitter/nanny (I pay for this full amount on my own.)

Side note: If a spot opens up for a Lead Teacher closer to my house I could transfer there but I've weighed the pros and cons and I'm very lucky to be at the center that I'm at. I have an amazing assistant who feels more like a friend than a co-worker. I have the most wonderful supervisor who makes my stress and anxiety at work very minimal compared to what it naturally would be. (Memo, I'm OCD - literally, no joke. I also have really bad anxiety, seriously. Whole different post on this as well) It's worth the commute to have the assistant, the students, the supervisor, and the gigantic new classroom!

On Mondays Brooks stays the night at his Dad's house because I have a class from 4:35-7:00. So my Monday schedule is just, well... long and grueling!

At the end of the day I come home and attempt to multitask (which Brooks HATES!) I do a lot of work at home and school work takes the backseat to Brooks and work. I am pretty proud that I actually do sit down and play with Brooks for quite a good amount of time at the end of the day. I've decided that this is the last week that I'm going to do work at home while I should be spending time with Brooks. There are a few exceptions but I've chosen that I'm not doing anymore of the unnecessary, because my child is too important. End of story.

-Brooks is talking SO much now and is putting sentences together. He definitely has an opinion (wonder where he got that from?!) and he makes it known.
-I learned a very good lesson in motherhood recently: Don't make a habit of letting your child shower with you. Brooks refused to take a bath for weeks, so he was getting a lot of showers. We are working very diligently to rekindle his love of bath time.
-He also says, "Eat" when it's time for bed, little stinker has learned a way to con his way out of bedtime. It doesn't work anymore ;)
-Brooks has an allergy to Amoxicillin. We found this out the hard way. Hives from head-to-toe, swollen face, itching, no sleep. It was an interesting weekend!

Once blogger will let me upload pictures I'll do another post with additional pictures of Brooks from the shoot of the grandkids with Michelle Hanson. Other things that will be blogged about soon:
-Conversion story
-College Career
-My AMAZING Family

One last update for those of you who haven't already heard, I'm graduating in the top 15% of my class!!! I'm extremely proud of this, I believe that's Cum Laude. I did the first half while my life was pure chaos, completely lost, and very low; the second half while being a single-mom to a very "needy" little boy who was sick the entire first year of his life; and the last stretch while working full-time (more than 40 hours usually and with the commute it makes for a 10-11 hour work day) then coming home to a very active toddler! I'm feeling like Superwoman :) HOWEVER, I would NEVER have been able to do this all without the help of my family. That's an entirely other post. I'm blessed, period. Excuse me for tooting my own horn but I am very excited to be so close to the finish line and as I mentioned, I'm very proud of this accomplishment in my life. I did a lot of things wrong for a very long time and I feel like this is the first really big thing I've done right in a long time (aside from Brooks, he was the best thing. Ever. Period.)

Michelle Hanson Photography, and pee.

Yup, pee. So I don't really know how to word this eloquently but I figured I'd share anyways. The past couple of weeks Brooks has been trying to put his hands down his diaper more than normal. Little boys his age do this anyways so I didn't think too much of it but it was becoming excessive in my opinion. After all, no mother wants to see her little boy trying to put his hands down his pants. Last night while I was giving Brooks a bath he reached down and held his "thing" while he peed in the tub. I didn't think much of it other than, wow he's smart. Well Brooks' Dad has him for the night and he just texted me to say that Brooks ran out of the bathroom after his bath, sat on the couch, held his "thing" and peed. It didn't click for a minute but somehow (I'm assuming from Papa or his Dad) Brooks has learned how big boys pee. So, each time Brooks is trying to stick his hand down his diaper I think it's right when he is about to pee. I don't really know what to think or do about this, but I do think Brooks is awfully smart! I still have about 6 months before I even entertain the idea of potty training, but maybe he'll be ready at two!

On a non-pee related note, Kim (my sister) and I went to have our children's pictures taken two evenings ago. The photographer is in my sister's ward and she was WONDERFUL!!! Her name is Michelle Hanson, she was really nice and she did great with three little kids. Some of the pictures were edited and up on her website by the time we went to bed that evening, she's quick. Here's a sneak peak, our family was ecstatic to see how amazing the picture of the three turned out. The last picture we have of all three kids was from when the boys were 4-months-old and they were both crying. I know that we will be looking at this picture for decades to come.

18 Months and Never a Dull Moment

Well it's official, I'm the mother to an 18-month-old boy, toddler I suppose. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wonder, "Where did my baby go?" It has been an adventure so far and I have learned so much more than I ever thought possible. Brooks is stubborn, vivacious, and such a happy little boy. He is inquisitive and extremely smart, he keeps me on my toes! My sweet friend, Ann, did a wonderful post about her son Jacob turning 18-months. In a previous post I mentioned that I'd be stealing a few of her ideas.

Brooks had his 18-month well-check and his stats are as follows:
Weight: 24 Pounds
Height: 33 Inches

On average, an 18-month-old has a vocabulary around 50 words (I think?) Here are some of Brooks' main vocabulary words:
Mama
Dada
Nana
Papa
Apple
Juice
Moon
Bubbles
No
Uh-Oh
Ouch
Shhh
Tobe (For Toby)
Stop
Up
Up Please
Help
Help Me
Doggie
Kitty
Hi
What's This
That
Oh No
Milk
Eggs
Cheese
Shoes
Three
Chase
Shane
Pop
Hot
And I'm sure there are others that I'm probably not understanding.

As of today, I packed away Brooks' bottles, receiving blankets, and his infant car seat. Talk about emotional overload! For the longest time I cried every single time I packed up his clothes that got too small. I now have the philosophy to move quick so as not to dwell on the fact. I was getting sheets out of my hope chest and even stumbled across his blessing outfit. I still can't believe that my little baby isn't a baby anymore. He is independent as at this very moment is upstairs standing outside of Nana's room jibber jabbering to her through the door.

Brooks is a very healthy eater and LOVES fruit. He could eat oranges, peaches, and pears all day long. He loves peanut butter sandwiches, mac n' cheese, and pasta. He loves green beans too! His favorite breakfast items are oatmeal or eggs. He loves yogurt and string cheese for snacks. The most recent love... PEANUTS!!! He could eat peanuts everyday, multiple times a day, and be a happy camper. The realization has set in that little kiddos love their carbs! They have to get all of that energy they burn off somehow. He likes chicken and fish too, not tuna though. Thank heavens that he doesn't like tuna because I HATE the smell of it. Of course he likes pizza, bagels, and french fries. He loves watermelon and anything else on our plates but not his.

This is where I steal Ann's great idea of 'ramblings on motherhood'. There have been many things that I have learned to love and some that I basically hate about being a mother:

-I hate that I'm always tired, always! No matter how much sleep I get or even if I sneak a nap in. I'm still tired.

-I hate that I'll probably never be a size 4 or 6 again. I may weigh the same as when I was a size 6 but I'm in double digit clothing. BOO!

-I hate that I have to share my food. I'm not big on sharing my food. Even worse than having to share my food... the fact that I'm used to eating a cold dinner. Oh well though, at least I'm eating! Right?

With those few things being said, let me say this:

-I LOVE that I'm tired from chasing my little man around, from laughing so hard that I cry, and from spending my energy making memories.

-Not that I have horrible stretch marks but this sums up how I feel about my post-baby body: "A mark for every breath you took, every blink, every sleepy yawn. One for every time you sucked your thumb, waved hello, closed your eyes and slept in the most perfect darkness. One for every time you had the hiccups. One for every dream you dreamed within me. It isn't very pretty anymore. Some may even think it's ugly. That's OK. It was your home. It's where I first grew to love you, where I lay my hand as I dreamed about who you were and who you would be. It held you until my arms could, and for that, I will always find something beautiful in it."

-I LOVE that I get to share EVERY aspect of my life with you Brooks. We shared a body, we share a home, we share our love, and so many other things... so why not share food too ;)

-The moments when Brooks actually calls out for me, reaches for me, or cries for me... are the moments that keep me going. They are few and far between but truly warm the heart.

-Prior to having Brooks I slept in sports bras because I figured they would thank me for it later. Well now I HAVE to sleep in sports bras. They have a mind of their own and must be supervised at all times.

-As a mother we are blessed with the ability to forget very quickly the negative aspects of being a parent. ie. Giving birth, breast feeding, being pooped on, etc. Let's just say that I'm carrying this philosophy over to the women at church who give me 'the glare' when Brooks is misbehaving. They have forgotten what it's like to be the parent of a toddler who you haul to church for three hours in the middle of their nap, without lunch, and sitting in sacrament meeting. If I was an 18-month-old I'd be freaking out too!

-Courtesy of Ann: 'Being a mom, you must change your definition of a successful, productive day from what it used to be. AMEN

-It took me a really long time, like more than a year, to accept that I'm never going to sleep again!

-As you can see by the picture at the beginning of this post... nothing is done easily with a toddler around. The first few times I freaked out when Brooks destroyed something I was working diligently on... now I just have fun with it and realize that I can fix it later when he won't be 'helping' me.

Well there you go... that's 18-months in a nutshell for you!

Summer Lovin'

WOW! It has been a very long time since I have blogged. I often think, "I'm blogging about that today!" Quite often though, I've already mentioned it on FB so I feel a bit redundant. This Summer has been a bit crazy, as you can tell by the lack of posts. I just finished up my second class and I have two more left to finish out. Brooks is old enough now that we are going plenty of fun things so I get pretty antsy sitting in class wishing I were with him. We swim on Wednesdays and Fridays typically, and Brooks still spends Tuesdays with his Dad. We went to Cowabunga Bay this past Friday, it's our local little water park. There is a Seven Peaks in Salt Lake and Provo, I think Brooks and I will have to check it out as well. Brooks LOVES the water and has a pretty sweet tan these days. He has the most beautiful dark olive skin :) I love it.

Brooks has been going to nursery on Sundays at church, this is a huge event for me. In the LDS church, up until 18 months your child is with you for all 3 hours of church. Relief Society, Sunday School, and Sacrament Meeting. Well now Brooks spends the first two hours with his friends in nursery playing with trucks, Mr. Potato Head, and coloring. They even get a snack which I'm pretty sure Brooks loves because quite often it's Fruit Loops and he NEVER gets sugary cereal so he is probably in heaven. I get two hours to focus on the lessons being taught and I only worry every two minutes about him ;) There have been a few times where I have heard his cry half way across the church building, it broke my heart. However, I remind myself that it's something he needs to get used to and that it is good for him... and me!

Brooks is all over the place and into EVERYTHING! What's new though, right? I will post his stats and all of his fun updates next week after his 18-month well-check. I plan on stealing a fantastic idea from my friend Ann, she did a very fun post on her blog about the exciting (and a few not so exciting) things she has learned about motherhood. Keep checking back for my post on that topic!

I apologize for the lack of pictures. Needless to say, Brooks has currently high jacked and hidden all of MY cords for the camera as well as my phone. This is extremely disappointing for me and I have no idea where else to look for them. We have found things in very weird places but shockingly, the chords aren't there. He hid Papa's wireless mouse for his laptop in the floor vent for months. I find sippy cups in our ottoman, toys in his clothes drawers, and random stuff in kitchen cabinets. Who knows where the cords are at this point!

I will have a HUGE post next week or the week after so as I mentioned, keep checking back guys! There are going to be some funny stories, you don't want to miss this post.

Hiccups

Have you ever had the hiccups numerous times in one day? I don't think I ever have until today. I think this is the fourth time and may I advise that you try never to hiccup with water in your mouth! It's like a brief moment of panic from drowning in your own hiccup of water.

I decided it was time to post pictures of Brooks' nursery (thank you Ann for the motivation). There are only one or two tiny things left to do but it finally has stuff on the walls and even two shelves! WOW. The past week I had another mini project, redecorating his bathroom. Before I picked new towels and rugs it was just a mix of stuff from the past million years. I felt like it was time to make it Brooks bathroom (because it is), I chose fun colors and monster towels! I'm so excited with the final result so I'm going to share pictures of his bathroom as well.



The aluminum foil has only been on the top of his window for 3 days, I ordered a custom blind so I have to wait for it to be made. I promise I don't go for that look any other time. The patches where the old curtain rod was were patched today, those will be painted tomorrow!






I only have one last detail and that's a vinyl quote! "Always lead with your heart"

I just bought the window valance and was too impatient to wash it before putting it up so don't mind the fold lines!


I bought two canvases to paint and match the monsters and use as wall art. One will go here!


The second canvas will go above these towels.




The wash cloth on the shower door says, "Wash your face"

Sorry about the horrible lighting, it was late so I had a mix of poor indoor lighting and flash.

The sweet life.

I have this problem. I have so many wonderful things I want to post but I never do because I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog?! So if anyone is out there, please leave a comment! To any of my family who don't have blogspot accounts you can comment as well, just choose "anonymous" and make sure you write "Hey Kate it's ..." so I know who it is ;)

So many wonderful things have happened lately and I can't help but think every single day "I'm so lucky and truly blessed". I am so incredible grateful to my family for all of their endless support and love. Brooks has been the most wonderful and happy little boy the past couple of weeks. He is learning new things daily and pours out giggles and smiles all day long. School is amazing and I absolutely love my classes, I'm even making some nice things in ceramics. I have enjoyed a few play dates with the wonderful new moms and friends I've made in the neighborhood. Their children are wonderful and even though our kids don't really play together, it's really nice to get together and chat. A few of us took our little ones to the aquarium this past Friday. There was no school that day so it was a complete zoo but it was still neat to see Brooks try to grab and touch the fish through the glass. Brooks' best friend Jacob is one month older than him, they were the two youngest there and I don't know about Jacob's mom Ann but I know I was a little worried about Brooks being knocked over by the bigger kids. Actually if memory serves me right I think sweet little Jacob did get knocked over. We'll definitely have to go back on a more calm day.

The weather has been wonderful lately and I will freely admit that I have Spring fever, I busted out a pair of flip flops a couple of days ago! Brooks and I took advantage of the beautiful weather today and we went to the elementary school right up the street to play on the play ground after church today. I brought him to the kindergarten play ground because it's more his size than the big kid play ground. Brooks is 100% boy, we left early because he had a fat lip and blood on his sweat shirt. He had on a new pair of shoes and wasn't as graceful as usual and did a little face plant on the cement. Luckily he didn't actually hit his face, he did cut his lip with his tooth though. So we left early and came home to see Papa in the shop! Brooks swept Papa's shop for him and found a big bucket of golf balls, he thought it was great!

Brooks had his one-year pictures taken a little while ago and I have posted them on Facebook but there might be a few people who still haven't seen them so I will put them on this post. It took two tries to get pictures, the first time it was his nap time and he cried the entire time. The second time he was still hesitant but we managed to get some really cute pictures.

Obviously there is no interesting news about Mama but Brooks has learned "Uh-oh" and uses it often. (Excuse my scattered post but I won't be taking the time to make it eloquent). I just realized that I haven't posted about Brooks' first birthday, I will include that also. His dad had a party for him on the Friday two days before his actual birthday. Well he got fed a cupcake with icing which I forewarned was not a good idea. Needless to say poor Brooks paid the price for a couple of days it seemed like. So because his party was Saturday he wasn't feeling well and didn't even eat a plain cupcake without frosting. There were only a few people who showed up to his party but him and I are very grateful and appreciative to our sweet and dear friends who came! It meant the world to us to share in his special day. Our awesome friend Littia even stopped by before hand because she and her two kids couldn't come. How nice is that?!

There are so many things to say about sweet Brooks, I could go on and on. I will just post pictures though. I get so excited to see him after naps or when I pick him up from Jamie's (daycare) after school. He is the cutest and most inquisitive little boy. I wish I could feel that way about him at 4 AM! HAHA. I'm never excited to see him at 4 o'clock in the morning these days. Its been 13 months, I've gotten up enough. Don't you think?!

Enjoy my sweet little love!!!

P.S. - Sorry the text to this post was so long!

Right after his first haircut on December 5th. He had his second 6 weeks later and is in need of his third!


Family picture of my mom's side that was taken the week before Christmas while we were in California.


Christmas morning.


The birthday boy.


Rian, Brooks, and Cole. Sorry for the horrible lighting (my mom took the picture)


All ready for church today! It was a big deal because he's never worn a tie before. I usually put him in a nice sweater.


This is Jacob. Brooks' best buddy! Isn't he adorable?!
I hope it's okay that I posted this adorable picture of your little guy Ann?

STOP!

I know I know, I was so determined to catch up on posting but it didn't happen. I had good intentions so that has to count for something. As I sit here typing, Brooks has gotten into the dog drawer and is pulling out every leash, bag of dog treats, shock collar, more treats, another shock collar. He is unstoppable. Oh and yes, now he is chewing on the shock collar (yes it is turned off and no he won't get shocked). The reason for my post title comes from two evenings ago. I kind of did something bad, I accidentally taught Brooks how to say stop. I was short on patience by the end of the day and he was being especially difficult aka naughty. He had thrown his food all over the kitchen and thought it was so stinkin' funny. I kept saying, "Stop that" and "Brooks stop" you know I was trying to avoid "NO". I am trying very hard to avoid the word NO as long as possible for fear that I will be hearing "NO" back. Well what do you know, after a few minutes Brooks says to me "No" then a few minutes later "Stop that". Yesterday I was playing the piano because Brooks loves to sing along, well he had apparently moved on to better things by that point and came up to me, started banging on the piano bench and exclaimed "Stop". UGH, what have I done? Luckily, Brooks picks up a word, says it for a few days, then quickly forgets. I will be on my best behavior and will not be using that word anytime soon. He is such a smart little guy, last night in the bathtub he did the coolest thing. He has a red plastic ring from a stacking toy that he plays with in the bathtub, he noticed that the ring had a hole and that his blowfish was round. So he put the blowfish in the ring (like an innertube) and floated the blowfish around the tub. Pretty cool huh! I'm still in the process of teaching him how to go down the stairs. If I get him started he can do it, but it's the initial scooting to the edge backwards that he is hesitant with. Yup, he is still playing with the shock collar right now AND talking to the dog. Multitasking baby! Just in case anyone was wondering, I'm not a crazy parent that let's her child play with EVERYTHING. Okay, maybe a little... but I do have boundaries. Not many, but some. I don't know how I ended up this way, I'm not sure how I feel about it really. All I know is that with a baby who screamed for the first few months of life, you don't ever want to rain on their parade. Also, Brooks is extremely extremely active and inquisitive which morphs into naughtiness! I did my best for a long time to stop him from getting into everything but the kid is like the Hulk I tell ya, I can't win! It was either my sanity or his and he won. I often tell people that unless it's a health or safety concern I'm not too concerned. I have a feeling this is going to come back and bite me you know where someday. Yup, now he is playing with the dog comb (which has never been used so yes it's clean) and his pants are falling down ha.

Well I know this isn't the most interesting post but it's a mere glimpse of my day.

Curious... are most one year olds suppose to be able to do hand over hand fine motor skills because guess what, my Brooks does!!!

Quick funny story: There's a girl in one of my classes, she is from Vermont. She raised her hand and asked, "So do you teach different literature and use different textbooks in Utah because of the Mormons?"
UH... HHHEEELLLOOO. No we don't teach differently because of mormons in Utah. Just an interesting fact, did anyone know that Utah has a larger Catholic population than LDS. I could die, I just can't believe she asked such a question. Laugh a little at it with me, will you?! Have a great day :)

Let's play catch up

Don't you love my new blog?! I SURE DO!!! Now I can actually post and not be embarrassed by the sad state of my blog because it's no longer sad. YAY. Jane Rhodes of See Jane Blog did a giveaway for a new blog header design and Brooks and I won. What a wonderful new gift for a new year. Now if only I could come up with better post titles, I'd be in business. So much has happened and I am going to do my best to post as much as possible throughout the day today.

Brooks has a horrific plague of a cold so last night was one for the books. However, he is happy as a clam and roaring to go today... snotty nose and all! I can't believe he turns one on the 23rd. I look at him every single day and I don't know where my little baby has gone. He is so grown and independent but I really love the age he is at. Brooks is such a happy little boy and he is extremely active (code word for always getting into TROUBLE).

Keep your eye out for posts about: Christmas, California, First Haircut, First ER Visit, etc. OH and many videos!

10 months, walking, and growing growing growing...

Brooks is finally over his C-diff (not sure if I already mentioned that?) Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't come back. There is a high chance that it will come back in the 6 months following, I pray that doesn't happen with him. I have been having a rough time with his naps lately but I admit that it makes it worth it when I walk into his room and see him jumping on his bed. Or more appropriately, jumping in his crib! I can hear him doing it over his monitor when he does it and it make me laugh every time. It has ruined his bumper but who cares it's worth it to see this little midget man jumping like a wild bean! I hope I can figure out how to upload the videos I have, and hopefully the one of him jumping won't be sideways.

Also... Two days before he turned 10 months, he started walking!!! YES WALKING... WHAT?!?! I know, he is TROUBLE as mentioned a thousand times before. He is doing it more and more everyday and at this point it is still selective but if he keeps going at the rate he has the past few days, he will be walking in the next week or two. OH MY GOSH!!! It's so funny to see this tiny little baby walking around, he is tiny. He is definitely smaller than most babies his age, or at least I think he is! He is only in the 20th percentile for height and even less for weight. Which is fine, he will sprout up at some point. Cross your fingers that these videos work!

ENJOY MY LITTLE MONSTER :)

UpDaTes

It's been a while since I have posted anything, I will post some current pictures tomorrow but in the meantime here are some updates.

-Brooks was a giraffe for Halloween. His costume stayed on about 2 minutes but we managed to snap a shot or two of him with his cousins.
-He is also on the verge of walking, he takes one to two steps all the time. I'm sure in the next couple weeks he will be walking like a big boy.
-The third round of medicine for his c-diff seems to have worked, we will know for sure within the next week. If it did work then it's a matter of crossing fingers in hopes that it doesn't come back in the next 6 months (the rate of recurring c-diff is extremely high).
-I've been actively looking for Mr. Right (with no luck).
-I'm finishing up Fall semester and I'm looking forward to tackling Spring with an even bigger "go get" attitude.
-I've gotten a "papa" out of Brooks quite a bit, but now he refuses to say it. I just have to make it known that I will just die if his first official word is "dada" so I sound like an idiot ALL day long saying, "Brooks say Mama, Brooks say mama, Brooks say mama, mama, mama, mama..." You get the point...
-Brooks loves playing in the toilet, so all bathroom doors must be closed at all times.
-He also loves singing and dancing.
-As always Brooks still loves my high heels but now he loves Rian's pink Barbie doll! He will be a well rounded little boy.
-It looks like he could very possibly be left handed!!! WOOHOO, if not, I will train him to be ;)
-He loves playing with his huge Tonka truck and his little trucks too.
-He eats bread like it's the last loaf left on the face of the earth. He loves cheerios too.
-I tried to teach him to use a sippy cup, but he isn't figuring it out. In time he will.
-I have caught Brooks on top of the end table (long story - short version is that he climbed up on a kids chair then onto the end table it was next to and proceeded to stand and play with the phone).
-He also managed to open a full bag of chocolate chips and spread them all over the family room, he had chocolate melted to his butt and then proceeded to throw up from eating them.
-I find cheerios stuck to Brooks and myself all the time, I'm wondering when the day is going to come that I will be in public with a cheerio stuck to my butt!
-I HATE HATE HATE sharing food and I have now learned that I will have to share food the rest of my life, I resort to eating in a different room just so I don't have to share. He could be busting at the seams full and the kid would still shovel food in. (But he definitely isn't chunky)
-Yes, he knows how to open all the cupboards and gets into endless amounts of trouble.

Basically, Brooks is a big ball of lovable wonderful amazing energy and not a single person can resist his huge 8 tooth grin and darth vator noises. He is beautiful and the best blessing in the world.

On a slightly different note, and pretty random as well... I bared my testimony in church a week or two ago and it was simple and basically I would just like to say to all of my wonderful family and friends who do read my blog that I was looking for answers and help long before Brooks came into my life. Not a day went by that I didn't ask for something to change (in a more positive/better way) and I now look back and realize that every single answer I was looking for, every change I needed, every single thing I prayed for over and over day in and day out was all answered by my Brooks. There is a scripture in the BOM (Book of Mormon) that says that all gifts are sent from our Heavenly Father. Well I would just like to say, "THANK YOU HEAVENLY FATHER FOR THE BEST GIFT YOU HAVE TO OFFER, I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A MOTHER AND I'M SO GRATEFUL THAT I'M WORTHY OF THIS GIFT OF MY BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY!"

I hope everyone had a great Halloween :) BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!! (I'm decorating this week and I am so excited I can hardly stand it)

*Grammi and Grandpap, if you read this Brooks and I have a request (if it's not too much to ask) Could you please come out for Thanksgiving?! PLEASE. All our love, xoxo.

Steven Seagal crackin' down on the Sister Wives

Meri, Christine, Janelle, Robyn


Okay I'm totally kidding, Steven Seagal isn't cracking down on the Sister Wives. It was a really cool post title though! I am IN LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE with Sister Wives. It's a new show on TLC sharing the story of a polygamist family here in Utah. They actually live right down the road from us, less than 20 minutes. I don't even know where to start about this show, I just think it's fantastic. Kody is the husband and he now has 4 wives, he married the 4th during this season of their show. Meri was his first wife, Janelle was the second, and Christine was the third. All together there are 13 children and his 4th wife, Robyn, has 3 children from a previous marriage. Kody is a charmer and all the wives bring something to the table: Christine is the domestic one, Janelle is the career woman, Meri falls in the middle and is good with tons of things and is back in school, the 4th wife is new so I'm not sure where she falls. Maybe Robyn will pick any slack of the other three wives.

Now keep in mind that they aren't "old school" polygamists, they dress modest just like all LDS people do but they don't have the gigantic bangs and braided hair. They don't wear the nasty dresses, they wear regular clothes and act normal not overly conservative. They are amazing, these women are amazing. I see their point of view and that they want their love to multiple and that they are a support system. Bottom line though, these four wives are seriously some of the most amazing women I've ever seem depicted on TV. Call me crazy, I know, but we could all learn a LOT from them. They are so unconditionally accepting and willing to love. It's something that can't hurt for all of us to learn, to be a little more unconditional and of course forgiveness is a necessity in life. I just had to share my thoughts on how fantastic this family and more importantly these Sister Wives are!!! Oh, BTW, the Browns are pretty reasonable, their children are free to decide if they want to live that lifestyle with spouses someday, Kody and the wives aren't the kind of polygamists that bring their children into it, and they aren't into crazy bizarre things.



One slightly off topic comment. Steven Seagal. RAWR. I stay up late and watch Steven Seagal Lawman, and I'm not sure if it's his unbelievably calm manner or perhaps it's the way he says "Louisiana" but man oh man he is dreamy. Gross haha. I can't believe I have the hots for Steven Seagal. I think this means I need to go on a date! Can you blame me? He is so cool, calm, and collected. Intelligent, well rounded, stable. Sounds like a winner to me!

The Prophet Spoke To ME, On My B-Day.

My birthday happened to fall on the same weekend as this (LDS General Conference). My sister and I were lucky enough to have gotten tickets to the Saturday morning session which was absolutely fantastic. General conference speaks to everyone individually, and this particular session and actually the entire weekend I got a ton of family tradition ideas. I don't know how I got tradition ideas out of the general authorities talks, but I did! Everyone always says that you feel as though they are speaking directly to you, and they do! The Prophet spoke to ME on MY birthday!!! It was a wonderful gift and I felt so blessed and lucky. My sister and I really enjoyed the time together and I think we were both in need of some spiritual "healing" if you will.

I only asked for a few things for my birthday. I needed some new sheets and a duvet cover for my bed, and I asked for a watch. I got all three! Side note* I've always been partial to white. That's actually an understatement, if everything could be white I would be unbelievably happy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE white. All three things were white! My duvet cover, my sheets, AND my new watch :) I love them all so much. Thank you to my family for sharing a lovely day with me. Brooks was delightful and exciting as usual which makes any day and extraordinary day!!!


My new duvet cover. (My sheets are white and I don't have the grey pillow)


My SAWEET new watch!!!

Blogger changed all of their settings and I now have no idea how to change the font, size, or position. Bare with me.

WE HAVE NEWS!!!

Brooks has started sleeping through the night!!! SHHH... can you hear the angels singing?! Haha. It has been about a week and it has been wonderful. I never thought I would have the baby that didn't sleep through the night until 8 months of age but it's a little bittersweet but still so fantastic. I will cherish every night feeding and try to always remember the silence at 3 AM and the noise he would make when he was really relaxed with his bottle. Kind of a sigh, like everything was just perfect. Now that he is sleeping through the night I finally got a glider. Haha, I'm doing things a little backwards can you tell?! I did the calculations and I really should have invested in one before he was born! Thank you for the glider Mom, now remind me to have one BEFORE baby comes for the next ones. So my calculations tell me that if I had my glider 8 months ago I would have already used it for 250 bedtime feedings and 360 night feedings. That's 610 uses I could have gotten out of my glider, what was I thinking trying to make due without? It's like the NAP NANNY, remember the NAP NANNY? How could you forget? It saved my life! Had I bought the NAP NANNY when he was first born I could have gotten like 75 night time uses out of it plus 3 times that amount during naps. I guess we all learn the hard way with the first one. Well congratulations my little man, you're sleeping through the night like a big boy!!!

pUzZlEd

I'm not sure if this is normal for all babies or just my special Brooks. If I start feeding him a bottle and it runs out or if I swap bottles without help (like being super quick and swift so he doesn't know it's a different bottle) he won't eat anymore. Tonight, he was freaking out so I gave him his 2 oz. bottle as I changed his diaper for bed. I had another 8 oz. bottle made and I usually do it the other way around but he can't hold the big bottles on his own. Make sense? So I go to rock him and give him his bottle within a minute of his other one running out and he refused to drink it. I fought him and fought him for ten minutes and he just refuses to drink a bottle if events like that occur. To say the least, it is EXTREMELY frustrating. Which means, I have to get up to do a night feeding. Seriously, he will be 8 months old this Friday and I'm still getting up more nights than not. I have had 2 good nights in a row which is a miracle, no feedings! My philosophy with future children is "How much harder can it get?" Let's weight this out: there is only one of me, no spouse. He screamed for the first 2 months of his life because of his milk protein allergy. He is 8 months old and still doesn't really sleep through the night, but we are making big progress. He rolled over at 3 weeks, crawled at 6 months, learned stairs before 7 months, will be walking well before a year. He is incredibly active. I mean really, how much harder can the next one be when the odds of the milk protein allergy probably aren't high. I will have a spouse to help. I'm determined to get the next one to sleep through the night before I lose my mind at 8 months. I mean come on, weigh those out and tell me I wasn't blessed with a challenging child. Haha. I'm better for it right?! NO, I'm not complaining, just wondering when the heck it's going to get a tiny bit better. Oh yes, the one thing people don't tell you about babies, it gets better for like a week then you go back 10 steps because of a cold or teeth or something funky (like the 3 weeks of diarrhea Brooks has had). It's all a new and surprising journey for me. I just can't figure out his weird preferences still, hence the eating thing.

On a more exciting note, Brooks has his two top teeth now so he is up to 4 teeth by 8 months. WHAT?! Tell me about it. He is almost standing on his own, I think it will happen soon. He walks while he is holding onto the couch, fireplace, and ottoman. He takes the stairs. The other day I was making a bottle and within the time I started and as I was about to mix it he made it up 3 flights of stairs! WHAT?! Tell me about it, AGAIN!!! He went from the family room all the way up to my parents room which is 3 different flights like I said and is a total of 18 stairs. Yeah, crazy. A few funny things he does: he hides his toys behind the DVD stand. He can pull the outlet covers out of the plugs so we tried the super flat kind and he figure those out as well. I can barely get the outlet covers out and he does it like it's a piece of cake. He loves the toilet brush, GROSS, so all bathroom doors stay shut at all times. He sits in the bath tub all on his own like a big boy, no more bath hammock thing. Hmmm, what else can I tell ya?! He loves playing in the dog's water bowl and he tries to slide Toby's kennel all over the kitchen floor. He LOVES playing with our metal dry measuring cups he puts one under his right hand and slides across the tile floor. Oh boy, It's LOUD!!! That's kind of his new thing, taking his toys and putting his hand on top and sliding across the tile like a skateboard. He loves playing with cousin Rian's toys, especially her plastic princess dress up shoes. She yells at him, "NO!!! DON'T EAT MY SHOES!!!" It's pretty cute. He loves playing with cousin Cole, but he is a bit rough for Cole's liking. He gave him big kisses on his head the other day which made Cole cry because his kisses involve a bit of a bite! Brooks plays really rough, I think it's my fault, I play REALLY rough with him. But we have fun. I guess it probably isn't the best because he pulls Rian's hair and hurts Cole too often I think. I need to take a video of his "slide" it's really neat. I set him on the ottoman sitting on the edge and he scoots off and into my arms, just like the scoot you would do to go down the slide.

On Sundays his naps correspond with the time church starts which is pretty inconvenient because I end up leaving him home and I would really like him at church with me. BUT, it's a little nice because it's pretty hard to entertain an 8 month old for 3 hours at church and not let him roam around everywhere. His favorite part of Sundays is riding to church and home with me in the car. He doesn't have to be in his car seat, he can play with the steering wheel, and look around the car and out the windows like a big boy! My church is like ten houses away and it's WAY more work to put him in the car seat twice and take him out twice than to drive slow and hold him tight. I NEVER EVER thought I would be that lax but it's the one and only thing I'm so laid-back with. He also LOVES the hymns we sing at church, which is neat because holy cow, no offense to the church, but they are a snooze fest. I love the hymns, of course the lyrics are fantastic, but they lack any personality or giddy up! I know church music isn't like that but the Presbyterian church my parents go to have AWESOME hymns. I miss that. Brooks sings with everyone it's the best.

On a personal note, I'm biting the bullet and accepting that it's time for me to start dating. I know it's up to me but at the same time it's kind of not. I don't know, I would LOVE to be single the rest of my life but I know I'm lonely. It's a double edge sword. I am learning some very important lessons already though. I don't like anyone in authority and I don't like being told what to do. So that rules out dominant men. I don't like being told sweet things all the time (because they're lies) haha so that rules out butt kissers and needy guys. So basically I've been told that I'm a heart breaker and that I'm never going to give a guy the chance because I don't trust any guy. YUP!!! Ding ding ding, WINNER!!! Haha. I've had a LOT LOT LOT of bad experiences with dating and guys in general so I'm not the most excited about it all. I'm easing my way into it and mostly I'm just enjoying some time with friends and grown ups in general. Perhaps I'm a bit apprehensive but it will pan out well. There are two ways to look at it: (1) I'm a convert to the church with liberal views compared to the majority of members so I have to find a guy who isn't completely strict and narrow minded but someone who is a member so I can uphold my new values and morals with support and live the life I want to live which means I'm never going to find someone OR (2) the narrow playing field I have means I'm going to get quite the catch which is difficult to find these days. I'm looking at it with the silver lining, I'm going to find an upstanding man is difficult these days. I know a lot of things that work and a lot that don't in a relationship with me so I will be quick to notice red flags. BONUS BONUS BONUS, it will be a journey! I'm excited. I'm not sure if anyone cares about my dating life but all these great new things that are happening are a part of mine and Brooks' life! Hope you all enjoyed the updates. I will post some pictures and maybe I will be lucky and figure out how to post videos.

tHe 7 OcLoCk HoUr...

Only I am up during the 7 o'clock hour on a SATURDAY!!! I remember when Saturdays were for sleeping in until any hour. That's long gone, Brooks is an early riser, YIPPEE. (Can you sense my sarcasm?) Throughout my entire pregnancy I swore I would schedule my child to sleep in and go to bed late because that's my schedule. Yeah, definitely never going to see that happen. I always heard stories from moms whose children got up at the wee hours and every time I thought, "They're nuts, I would never let my kid get up at 6:45 AM" HAHA I'm eating my words, I see 6:45 very often these days. Luckily Brooks will play in his crib til 7 or 7:15 which gives me a little time to wake up and accept the 7 AM IS in my vocabulary these days. Oh well, I have to get used to it since I go back to school on Monday. EEK.

So many things have happened lately I don't even know where to start:

-The 4th of July. It was cold! We bundled up the kids and did fireworks, the boys loved them.

-The 24th of July. Much nicer outside! We enjoyed more fireworks and all of the kids enjoyed them.

-Brooks is crawling like a turbo jet. He is into EVERYTHING. He loves electrical cords, paper, and magazines.

-Brooks also got his first two teeth about a month ago. This means that he now has a super adorable toothy joker grin.

-He has also mastered standing (while holding on to something). Let's just say that I'm in BIG TROUBLE with this little guy. He is doing things very quickly (even the pediatrician said I'm in big trouble).

-Not only is he standing while holding on to something but he will walk in between the couch and ottoman while holding on and will walk to me if I hold his hands. He isn't standing on his own yet but let me put it this way... when he starts to learn something it doesn't take him a week, it's like a day! So I'm sure standing isn't far behind these recent developments.

-We took our first trip. I'll put it this way, Our trip to my little HeAvEn On EaRtH wasn't what it used to be. I expected this because obviously nothing is the same once you have a baby. It was an adventure, a great learning experience, and a week of complete and utter anxiety. I don't know that I will be taking a 6 month old camping ever again. At least not Brooks! My little man didn't do so well and when you manage just fine at home, it's frustrating to not be able to take care of him so easily or make him happy easily as well. It was a good experience none the less and I wish I could have enjoyed more time with my grandparents but maybe that's an excuse to go visit them for a long weekend. NOT while camping, haha.

I will try to post some videos of this crazy kid and all the TrOuBlE I'm going to be in. For now, enjoy a couple pictures!

Cole and Brooks on the 4th of July. The first picture is Brooks and I on the 4th.

This was after church, he got called a girl that day! Look at his outfit... NOT girly.

He falls asleep in some cute little positions sometimes. This was in the swing on the back porch.

Don't those little piggies look so delicious!

Away to HeAvEn!

This is my heaven.

We're heading out tomorrow to go camping for one week. One week of no cell phones, no computers, no tv, nothing. Nothing but family and the beautiful scenery. The picture is of a lake you can hike to near where we camp, it's a far ways though. I'm surprised I made it to take that picture in 2007, I thought I was going to die. We go to Kennedy Meadows in the Sierra Mountains in California. It's south of Lake Tahoe and north of Yosemite. It's heaven, as stated before. When I was taking the missionary lessons, Sister Garvin told me that her idea of heaven was a disco party with Heavenly Father! Funny huh! Well, when I picture what I'd like heaven to be like, Kennedy Meadows is exactly it. There is a pack station where you can ride horses up into the meadows and the most amazing little restaurant. They have a little convenience store where the same lady has worked since I was a little girl. The man who runs the meadows grew up there, his name is Matt (I believe). Now his kids are growing up there, cool huh! One of the neatest things about having all the same people there, seeing them and knowing each other. The older couple that run the restaurant now used to run the camp sites we stay in so they remember all of us grandkids as little children riding around on our bikes and going out all day on fishing adventures. They even got on our case if we weren't wearing helmets on our bikes. It's wonderful, there are no words to express how amazing this little piece of earth is unless you experience it. My family is lucky enough to have been camping their since we were babies and as a matter of fact, my Mom has camped their since she was a little girl. I'm so excited I can't wait.

My Savior

So this neat contraption is called a NAP NANNY...

And it's my savior...

Seriously.

I got onto Babies R' Us online and was looking at their different sleep positioners in my desperation to get Brooks to sleep in his crib (or anywhere besides his swing). I had seen this before and thought it was a really good idea but couldn't justify paying $130 for a piece of foam. Well, I'd about had it the past two days and decided to look up reviews and feedback about the NAP NANNY. To my surprise there wasn't a SINGLE negative comment!!! I thought about it all last night and all this morning and I figured it was worth trying, even for $130. I called one of our local baby stores which I love oh so much and asked if they had any in stock. I also asked if I could return it if my Brooks ended up hating it, and they were so kind and said that as long as it wasn't all dirty and I kept the original packaging that they would be happy to return it if he didn't like it.

So today after class (I drive by the store going to and from school) I stopped in and picked up the giraffe print (adorable) NAP NANNY! I got it home and told Brooks that this was his new big boy bed and that it would make Mama so happy if he would please sleep in it. He was ready for a nap about 30 minutes after I got home and I thought "What better time to try the NAP NANNY". OH MY GOSH!!!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven!!! I still think I might have!!! I gave him a pacifier, cuddled his snuggle frog to his face, tucked him in with his favorite blankie, turned on his mobile twice and he was out like a light... for 2 1/2 hours! WOOHOO. He looked so comfy in it, I wish they made one for adults.

I was thinking that I'd only use it for naps (in case things didn't go so well except the one time) for a little while. But then I realized that he needs to get used to it, NOW. So I bit the bullet, rocked him to sleep for an hour and put him in it again tonight for bed. He didn't really fall asleep while I was rocking him but he got VERY comfortable, once he started rubbing his eyes I knew that was my chance. I gave him his pacifier, cuddled his snuggly frog to his cheek, covered him with his favorite blankie, turned on the mobile twice and then the music on his swing... and OUT!!! WOOHOO.

I'm a total believer in the NAP NANNY, it's the most amazing item I think I've ever found. Okay, besides a swing (his swing has saved my sanity MANY times). This product cannot be described in words how awesome it is. Any Mom who has a baby that is fussy, colicy, has acid reflux, allergies, etc. NEEDS the NAP NANNY. I'm speechless, how the heck can a 3 pounds contoured piece of foam work miracles? I don't even care how it does, I just know IT WORKS!!! EVERYONE MUST HAVE A NAP NANNY!!! They are a little big but the second you see how amazing they are, it could be 50 times bigger for all I care. It works!!! I put in it his crib right under his mobile so he can watch his giraffes dance around, appropriate that the print matches his bedding huh! I figure that maybe he will get used to being in his crib and someday I will be able to use his crib without the NAP NANNY.

God bless whomever invented this miraculous product, I love you, period.

Oh, let me add... Brooks has NEVER gone to sleep on his own like without being rocked, walked, swung, etc. He did once yesterday and I think I imagined it. But both times in the NAP NANNY he went to sleep ON HIS OWN, without moving!!! MIRACLE.

Yup.

YUP.





This picture is a pretty accurate depiction of how I feel today.

I went to a BBQ yesterday evening. I showed up late because Brooks was sleeping and left early because Brooks got tired. I learned a new lesson, be home BEFORE Brooks gets tired. A baby like Brooks thrives and survives on consistency. So leaving at 8:30 instead of 8 was a mistake that I've been paying the price for all day. I bet I will be paying the price ALL week.

Preface to the above comment: I no longer take Brooks out with me to run errands (I no longer run errands). Not even to the library to pick up books on hold (total of 10 minutes). Not to the store (total 30 minutes). No where. And not because I have a 2 door car, which makes it super fun to get him in and out. But because he HATES when I take him anywhere, I don't know if it's the car seat or just being somewhere besides home. But he just cries. Cries. CRIES. Okay, I could probably manage running to pick up books at the library but anymore than 10 minutes and he... imagine that, CRIES! I guess I should be more accurate, it's not crying. It's whining and fussing which is almost worse (actually it is worse) than crying.

Bottom line: I've decided it isn't worth leaving the house or going anywhere anymore. I've gone out ONCE since he was born. Dinner and a movie, home early of course to tuck him in... because of course, he wouldn't let anyone else do it for a short while. I don't know how to talk to anyone anymore, I don't know how to be a normal person. I know motherhood consumes your thoughts and actions, basically your whole life. But motherhood is swallowing my whole, I guess I asked for it though. That's exactly how I wanted it! I got EXACTLY what I was asking for, and now I'm wondering what the crap I was thinking.

Brooks is now 14 pounds and 25.5 inches long. So his swing, which he sleeps in for naps and bedtime... Which I change batteries in every week or two (4 D's) $$$ ka-ching... is not quite as big as it once was. He can just about roll out of it, and of course, he doesn't let me strap him in. Or, guess what!!! He cries!!! Don't get me wrong, Brooks is a pretty dang happy baby these days. UNLESS you don't do EXACTLY what he wants, EXACTLY when he wants it. 5 minutes late and you're in for it, ALL day long. Depending on the severity or tardiness of my mistake I could be paying the price ALL week sometimes.

The pediatrician wasn't kidding when he described Brooks as HIGH MAINTENANCE.

I've tried to put Brooks in his crib numerous times and obviously it isn't successful, EVER. I have every single book about infant sleep on hold to pick up at the library. However, I'm starting to believe that the tips and trick in all these books don't work unless you do them from day one. I'm on day 130 somethingish and I'd say it's a bit too late for some of the things they suggest, actually a lot of the things they suggest.

It's decided, I will be spending every moment that I'm not in class at home with Brooks or with Brooks doing something VERY short in length of time. I'm done with classes in 3 or 4 weeks and I have the rest of Summer to do anything I'd like. HAHA yeah right, I will be spending that time TRYING to ATTEMPT to get Brooks to sleep in his crib and it would be a living miracle if he went to sleep on his own someday.

Answer me this: How many babies can you cuddle or wrap up, give them a binky and they will go to sleep? Like Cole, put the kid in his car seat with a blanket and a binky and he goes to sleep... no crying most of the time, you dont' even have to rock the car seat. Don't most babies do this? Brooks? HAHA that's the most funny thing I've ever thought of. Perfect example why it's so funny... Today, Brooks woke up at 8 something so I took him to church with me and by 9:30-9:45 he was tired. Attempted until 12:30, yes 12:30, to get him to sleep in every way possible. Of course he wouldn't go to sleep though because we were at church and he won't sleep ANYWHERE EXCEPT his swing!!! I've only been able to get him to fall asleep in it a handful of times without it running, and that's only because he was already DEAD asleep.

I give up. I think I've tried just about everything. I've lost my mind. I've lost my "normalcy". Can't you tell? I've rambled and complained for how long in this post. Forgive me, like I said, I've lost my mind.

:)

Jillian Michaels is EVIL

Alright everyone, here's the scoop... I've started the 30 day shred! I have a girlfriend who told me that she was doing the "30 day shred" and I thought "HUH?". So I asked and she told me that Jillian Michaels has a DVD called 30 Day Shred and that it's amazing. So seeing how I'm trying desperately to lose weight I did some research on the handy dandy internet. Long behold I found a woman who blogged her entire 30 days in detail along with many other reviews. I was sold!!! This lady lost 20 pounds and INCHES in 30 days by eating healthy and doing the shred everyday. There are 3 levels and each level has an easy and advanced. All of the reviews were just as convincing, but I don't have time to workout. Even better, it's only 20 minutes WOOHOO. I can manage 20 minutes a day for myself so I'm devoted. I just finished my first day and it was an even whimpier version of the "easy" moves on level one but I did it! Maybe not the best, but I did it! I think my body is dead though. It's HARD. I watched part of it and thought "PSH, that looks like a cinch!" My sister said the same thing, HAHA WRONG!!! SO WRONG!!! It's a 3-2-1 method, so 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and one minute of abs. THREE times. I will be "blogging" my journey for the next 30 days and will post it at the end and KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED, hopefully I will be a huge success story. Wish me luck :)

Jump, Jump... ZZZZ...

I'm not sure who all knows how Brooks works when he's tired... he's not like a "normal" baby. He's normal for him, but that consists of him crying and/or screaming for EVERY nap and EVERY bedtime! It's become totally normal in my life so it's not out of the ordinary for me to deal with it now. He will ONLY sleep in his swing and ONLY if it's SILENT..... I'm having to let him cry for a little bit before he will fall asleep, the pediatrician says he already has separation anxiety, YIKES! I notice it A LOT. So you can imagine my surprise when things got a little too quiet while he was playing one day and I look over to see him sleeping in his jumper! WHAT?! Cole had done it the day before and was oh so graceful about it, laying his head sideways and falling asleep easily like he pretty much always does. (Kim's kids break the mold every time she has one, they're way TOO well behaved it's crazy). It didn't surprise me that Cole had done this, and I've seen one other baby do it.... but NEVER my Brooks! He is a high-maintenance man and life would be just way too easy if he fell asleep so easily. But it did happen, and not just once but TWICE in ONE day... then once the following day. I'm sure he would do it again but he has been so much easier to get down for naps the past week that I haven't needed to leave him to fall asleep "jumping". Please giggle at these completely awesome pictures, because it may NEVER happen again. Oh and YES, I DID capture EACH occasion with a FEW pictures. I wasn't about to forget these moments, like I said... it may NEVER happen again!