The Rest of February

This will be a hodgepodge of updates since I can’t seem to find the time to blog lately…

Snow Days: Last week was a crazy one! I think Travis went into work late one day, got 2 days off, and then was home on Friday for his normal off day. So, he only had one full day at work the whole week. It was nice to have him home, but it would have been nicer if he hadn’t been working from home a lot of that time. His job lately has been very stressful and demanding, and I’m afraid it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. I think he has over 20 hours of “comp time” built up, and he never has an opportunity to use any of it because he has too much to do. I hope they will be more understanding after Savannah is born…

Anyway, back to the snow! Brooklyn had a runny nose and was sneezing last Wednesday, and she had a slight fever one time when I checked it. She didn’t really seem to feel bad, but we still kept her inside the whole day. It didn’t start snowing until about 3:30 PM anyway, so there wasn’t a whole lot of snow to play in before it got dark that night. She never ran another fever and seemed fine Thursday morning, so we bundled up and went outside! She loved it!! It snowed last year around her 1st birthday, but this year she could actually run around and play in it, so it was much more fun for all of us :)

I made a quick run to Publix on Wednesday morning before the snow started…

Everyone else had the same idea :)

We made homemade pizza for lunch….it was delicious!

Checking out the snow Thursday morning before going out to play…

What is this stuff??

Even though she had some trouble walking in it, she didn’t let that stop her! She took off all over the backyard :)

Snowball fight! (They were aiming at me!)

Daddy accidentally hit B in the face…twice!! :) Typical Brooklyn…it didn’t even phase her!

Can you tell she’s loving it??

The start of our snowman :)

Brooklyn was a good helper patting the snow…

I went inside to get the snowman some “eyes”, a “nose”, and a scarf, and this is what I saw when I came back out…

Brooklyn loved sitting on the snowman!

Putting his face on…

We only had “baby” carrots in the fridge, so his nose was kinda short…haha

When it was time for pictures, Brooklyn quickly realized that Mr. Snowman’s “eyes” were edible. Raisins—her favorite!!

Yum yum!!

I just love this picture…even though Mr. Snowman has no eyes :)

Snack time–eating the leftover raisins :)

After we were finished building the snowman, we came inside to warm up. Nothing better than hot chocolate in your sippy cup! :) I’m thankful to live in a place where we don’t get snow ALL the time, but it sure is fun to play in every once in a while!!

Pregnancy: I am now 32 weeks along, as of yesterday. Woo hoo! Everything is still going pretty well overall. I’ve been pretty tired lately, but I’m not sleeping well at night…so I’m sure that’s the reason. Usually I will sleep solid for maybe 2 hours or so, and then I just toss and turn the rest of the night, sleeping in short little stretches. It’s a similar tiredness to how I felt when Brooklyn was a newborn (but not quite as bad). I just wish I could enjoy my sleep now because I know in a few more weeks, I will be REALLY tired! Other than just being tired, I’m doing fine though. Sometimes my lower back will hurt, and it’s getting harder to pick up things off the floor…but I’m managing! My 32 week appointment went fine yesterday, so my next appointment will be in 2 more weeks. I’m getting excited thinking about meeting Savannah in a few more weeks, but I’m also getting really nervous about it too. I think that knowing what to expect (as far as having a newborn) makes me even more nervous than last time when I had no clue what was coming. Then, thinking about trying to entertain a 2 year old on top of that…eek! So, although we are ready to meet you, Miss Savannah, I wouldn’t mind if you stayed put for at least 7-8 more weeks ;)

(Last week) – 31 weeks along

Swim Lessons: Brooklyn finished the last of her 6 swim lessons a couple of weeks ago. We made it to all 6 lessons, and she did great each time. There was only one night where she didn’t really want to do the different activities (floating on her back or stomach), but even that night she eventually came around :) She loved jumping off the side of the pool! It was almost as if she didn’t even care if her Daddy was right there to catch her. Kinda scary too :/ We will have to watch her like a hawk this summer when we are near the water. The last week of lessons, they actually practiced going all the way under the water. Travis held her nose and basically just quickly dunked her head under and back up. She didn’t mind at all and never cried. I was very proud! I think the lessons were definitely worth $30 just to get her in the water and practice doing some of those things before this summer. I’m also glad we were able to sign her up for lessons before Little Sis comes along too. It really worked out well in every way!

I like how Travis is holding his breath even though he didn’t go under. He was showing her what to do like a good daddy! :)

Swim lessons were a fun daddy-daughter time!

2nd Professional Haircut: On Saturday while we were in Trussville, I took Brooklyn for a quick hair cut at Kuttin Up. This was her 2nd professional haircut, and it had been several months since her first one back in October. She was getting a little shaggy! This time, she didn’t want to sit in the chair by herself, but she actually did wear the little cape (unlike last time). So, she sat in my lap, and she did really good the whole time. She was very still and hardly squirmed! At the end of her haircut, she was very excited to get a little treat…a sucker! :)

What a cutie! (Also, we turned her carseat around last week, so she is now forward facing. She seems to enjoy it a lot, and it’s easier to get her in the seat. A win-win!)

Brooklyn’s and Aunt Jenn’s Birthday Celebration: This past week, we celebrated Brooklyn’s and Aunt Jenn’s birthdays in Trussville with my family on Saturday night, which equaled a yummy meal, more cake, and presents! Brooklyn was a happy camper :) It may have been our last time to visit my parents’ house too, which is kind of sad. It’s the house I grew up in basically, and they recently listed it on the market. It sold in 10 days!! I think we were all shocked. They are supposed to close on March 30th, and they’re moving into another house in Trussville about 2 miles away. I haven’t been inside the new house, but it looks nice from the pictures, and it will be better suited for them (no steps leading into the house, etc.). So, we also spent the weekend going through stuff and figuring out what to bring back home. (I still had a few boxes of stuff saved from my “younger years”—yearbooks, trophies, schoolwork, etc.) So, it was a busy but fun weekend doing that plus celebrating birthdays too!

Mickey Mouse cake for Brooklyn!! She loved it!

Strawberry cake from Edgar’s for Jenn—always a hit in our family :)

The birthday girls!

Brooklyn actually blew out her candle this time all by herself after watching Aunt Jenn blow out hers. I was surprised!!

It’s hard to tell in this picture, but she stabbed the entire piece of cake with her fork and tried to eat it all at once…haha!

Time for presents!

She got a couple of really cute pairs of shoes from Aunt Jenn and Uncle Chandler…

…a book from Mommy and Daddy…

…and a wagon from Paw and Rae Rae! She loves riding in the wagon at their house, so this will be a huge hit once the weather warms up around here :)

And, in case you’re interested, here is her birthday video with pictures from the last year…

Brooklyn’s New Closet: We recently finished putting up the new shelving in Brooklyn’s new closet (formerly the guest bedroom). It looks great!! Before, there was only 1 row of shelving along the back wall of the closet, and now there are 2 rows on the back wall AND left wall. There will be much more space to hang clothes and store things in there now! It’s going to be great :) It took us 2 Saturdays to hang the shelving, so we were glad to get it finished. Travis had recently repainted the walls and trim in there too, so it looks much better overall now!

Brooklyn and I ventured out to Lowe’s on the coldest day of the year to buy some of the shelving stuff. It was freezing, but we managed!

This isn’t a great picture, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like now. Of course, we couldn’t have done it without our little helper and her Finding Nemo “friends” ;)

Potty Training: There isn’t really an update here. She got her very own “big girl potty” from us for her birthday, and it sits in the guest bathroom. I was told by multiple people that bribing her with something like M&M’s to use the potty would work like a charm. Not so much! She will occasionally sit on the potty, but she never actually does anything in it. Sometimes she even pulls her pants down and asks to go sit on it, but nothing ever happens. And, at first I had the jar of M&M’s sitting on the counter, but she just cried and cried every time she saw it because I wouldn’t let her have one unless she used the potty. So, basically I’m just not going to force it. She will start using it when she’s ready, and it’s not worth stressing out over when I have other things I can be stressing over…like setting up the girls’ rooms ;)

This has become a common occurrence in our house lately!

Practicing sitting on the potty before bath time :)

Miscellaneous: 

Rae Rae came up to babysit a few weeks ago, and I ended up being called out from work AFTER she was already here. So, she ended up spending the night anyway, and we had a fun girls morning together that Friday. We ate at Cheddar’s for lunch, and this was Brooklyn’s first time to get her very own kid’s meal. She ate a grilled cheese sandwich and an apple/raisin/yogurt medley. She ate most of it all by herself!! It was a great day with Rae Rae!

Every once in a while we get lucky, and Brooklyn will take a 2.5 or 3 hour nap. This was one of those days a few weeks ago! She now sleeps with 2 blankets, multiple pillows, and a load of stuffed animals in her crib at all times. She doesn’t seem to mind being crowded :)

We haven’t had a lot of warm days recently, but this was one afternoon that was in the 50s I think. Brooklyn has figured out that sliding down the slide on her belly is even more fun than sliding the normal way :)

Sometimes, Brooklyn will lean over her kitchen chairs like this and pray. She folds her hands together and says “thank you” for various things: “Thank you…balloons. Thank you…food. Thank you…Paw. Thank you…Rae Rae. Thank you…floor. Thank you…fishies. Thank you…milk. Thank you…Carter. Thank you…Tyler, Alisha.” It’s very sweet!

“Side you, kitty!” means “I want to lay beside you, Kitty, and snuggle!” Gabby usually doesn’t oblige, but Brooklyn keeps asking regardless ;)

Luckily, her mommy doesn’t mind the cuddles…especially when it’s cold outside like it has been lately!

Well, if you made it to the end, you must really be bored ;) Or named Rae Rae, Paw, or Cici…haha! I will try to do better at updating more often so that my posts aren’t all this long. Hope you’re having a great day and staying warm!!