Tis the Season!

It’s been a fun couple of weeks around here! We’ve been out and about shopping, going to see Santa, and playing outside when it’s been warm enough.

Last week I heard that Santa was going to be at The Little Gym in Jones Valley, and you could get your picture made with him for free. I wasn’t really sure how Brooklyn would feel about Santa this year, so I didn’t want to spend a lot of money trying to get a picture. This worked out perfectly. They let the kids run around and play after they got their picture made, so that was Brooklyn’s favorite part, of course. She did NOT want to sit on Santa’s lap. In fact, she cried really hard when I tried to put her there for a picture. Whoops :) Thankfully, Santa was very friendly and got up and interacted with the kids when he wasn’t taking pictures. Right before we left, we managed to get a few pictures with the two of them together…and me! I wasn’t planning on being in any pictures, or else I would have worn something a little more festive :) Oh well!

Santa came and sat nearby, and this was as close as Brooklyn would get to him. Haha!

She loved those shakers! (This is her look of determination…shaking them as hard as she could.)

Bubbles were another big hit with Miss B!

She wasn’t shy around anyone…except Santa! :)

Sitting in Santa’s seat

The best picture we managed to get…haha!

It was still a fun afternoon, and I’m glad we went! Back at home, Brooklyn has done really well with our Christmas tree so far. I’m honestly pretty surprised. She has touched the ornaments a few times, but she hasn’t tried to pull any off and mess with the tree too much. I was afraid it was going to be a month-long battle trying to get her to leave it alone :)

Saturday morning, Travis and I tried to get a few pictures of Brooklyn for our Christmas cards this year. Boy, that was interesting. Just trying to get her to stand or sit still for more than a split second is nearly impossible. We managed to get a couple of decent pictures, but nothing that I would call really great. Oh well. I even tried to bribe her with M&M’s, and she still wouldn’t stay still. About a year ago, I remember thinking that it was getting “difficult” to get Brooklyn to stay still for her monthly pictures. Ha! If I’d only known how much harder it would get :)

Here are a couple of the “better” pictures we ended up with. (These aren’t going on the Christmas card though). I just thought that dress was so cute that it deserved a good picture. Maybe her little sister will be able to wear it for a picture in a couple of years, and maybe she’ll be a little more calm than B. Here’s to hoping :)

You may have noticed that Kitty made an appearance in the pictures we took with Santa at the Little Gym. Brooklyn has gotten very interested in her stuffed animals in the past couple of weeks. Kitty, Puppy, and Sheep all sleep in the crib with her, and she always asks for “Banket” (blanket) too. Every night before bed, we help her tuck her animals in by covering them with the blanket, and then she gives each of them a kiss. It’s very sweet! Kitty is definitely her favorite of the three, and she has been accompanying us on all of our outings lately :)

Last week, she wanted to take all 3 of her animals to Publix…

So we compromised, and they all went with us in the car…

and then Kitty went inside the store with us!

Kitty also went with us to Bridge Street last week for a little shopping fun. Brooklyn really liked the water. I don’t have a picture of it, but I showed her how to throw a penny in the fountain, and she did it. Not sure she made a wish though :)

Alisha and Carter joined us that afternoon, and we had fun just doing a little window shopping and getting some frozen yogurt. It was a beautiful, warm afternoon! Carter slept pretty much the whole time we were there. He did great! This was his first time in his stroller, and it was also the first picture we’ve gotten of the cousins together :) I’m sure there will be many more to come! Brooklyn is definitely warming up to Carter, I think. Last night as we were leaving church, she said, “Bye Car-tuh! Bye bye, baby!” Carter wasn’t around to hear it, but it was still so cute.

Knock on wood, Brooklyn has been really well behaved for the last week or so. We went through a rough couple of months from about September to November where it just seemed like she was constantly testing us and doing things that she knew we didn’t want her to do–the same things over and over and over and over (like throwing food and milk off her tray and kicking Gabby). She obviously has a stubborn streak in her! I’ve noticed a big change in the past several days though, and it seems like I’ve had to get onto her less lately. She has also learned how to say “please” (pees) and “thank you, Mama” (me Mama–not sure where that came from), which is pretty exciting. It makes it easier to bear how demanding she can be at times (a.ka. Milk? Milk! MILK!!!…followed by throwing herself on the floor if I don’t get it for her immediately) when she at least says please and thank you. She has even said “thank you” a lot lately without being prompted. Whew! So, maybe we are making some slow progress. I’ve heard many times that each stage has its own challenges, and that couldn’t be more true! This stage has been very challenging in some ways, but it’s also been the most fun and enjoyable too. I am just so proud of all the things she has learned to do and say, and I really do love spending my days with her. Some days are more fun than others, but overall I feel really blessed to be able to stay home with her and spend so much time together.