3 Month Professional Photos

Since these photos were taken in the evening Brooke was crabby and wasn't smiling at all so I was very pleased that they came out much better than I expected. Normally when Brooke smiles her whole face lights up, but of course since I wanted those smiles she didn't give them!

Talking to her new doll

Brooke's First Christmas

Christmas morning in her pjs . . .

In her Christmas outfit ready to open presents . . .

A Year Ago

How signficant is a line? A line can be something as simple as a dash between words, a way to underline words to give them emphasis, a way to connect two dots, or really just the slip of a pen on a piece of paper . . . but for us (as I'm sure it is for many), one little line changed our lives forever!

On December 22nd of 2007 we came home from celebrating Christmas with my in-laws in Poplar Bluff and I had a sneaking suspicion that I might be pregnant. Ryan and I had driven seperately and I stopped and grabbed a pregnancy test while he was out running errands. I felt a real sense of calm as I set the testing stick on the bathroom counter and walked away. . . because watching the stick would be unheard of. I busied myself around the house for a few minutes telling myself that I would be pleased either way even though I was starting to feel like we were definitely ready! I had already prepped myself on what the signals of the test meant, because if you are cheap like me you don't get the pregnancy test that actually spells out the word pregnant! This one had one line or two lines so I knew that two lines meant pregnant. I was walking in the bathroom and in my head I was faintly thinking "two lines . . . two lines . . . two lines". And just like that . . . in a matter of seconds, my life changed when it said "TWO LINES!" My sense of calm rapidly disappeared and I think my whole body was shaking . . . with fear, apprehension, excitement, pure terror, thoughts of "what have we done" . . . who knows . . . probably all of the above.

When I bought the pregnancy test I thought about buying a little baby item so that I could wrap it up and have Ryan open it as a way to tell him I was pregnant and now I was regretting that I hadn't done that. The phone rang and Ryan said he was on his way home and I was in a frozen state of panic and I think all I said was "okay!" I was thinking that maybe I could wait until Ryan got home and then run out and get something but then I quickly realized that Ryan would take one look at me and know something was up! So in full panic mode at this point because a) I'M PREGNANT, and b) every minute is bringing Ryan's car closer. I was disappointed because in my mind I always had some fun/exciting way that I would break the news to Ryan and of course he would reply with an overjoyed reaction (instead of panic)! So with minutes to spare . . . I remember a semi-gag gift my mother gave me as a wedding shower present. . . it was a tank top and pair of underwear that have "mommy-to-be" written across them in little crystals! I felt like a genius for remembering these long-forgotten items so I frantically go tearing through drawers to figure out what dark corner I'd buried them in! Success! I drag them out and through them on!

At this point I'm really in full blown panic/excitement/terror/stomach knotting mode! So I sit down at the piano to play since it was always a method I always used growing up to calm down and smooth my nerves! I feel like I'm starting to relax and I hear the whir of the garage dooor opening! Instantly the calm evaporates and literally my whole body feels like it's shaking and cramping. I hear Ryan open the door and holler that he is home and instantly the tears start pouring down my face. . . yet I continute to play! Our piano is located in a room that has two doorways (one opening into the kitchen and the other opening into the entryway). Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryan walk by the kitchen doorway with his arms full of some rugs that he had purchased. Then I realize that it's now or never and I get up and walk around to the other doorway just as he is rounding the other corner. I'm quietly standing there . . . yes . . . in only a tank top and underwear (in the middle of winter) and tears are streaming down my face.

Ryan looks at my face and instantly he is very concerned and says "oh, honey, what is wrong?" I then point to my shirt and in slow motion I see him look down at my shirt and read it and then a huge smile erupts on his face. He drops the armload of rugs he is still holding and races over and gives me a huge hug! It was so wonderful.

Then we wanted to come up with a fun/creative way to tell the family. We knew it was early to be telling people but we knew there would be no way we could make it through the holiday without spilling the beans. We wanted to wrap up little presents that said something about grandma/grandpa but we couldn't find anything we liked. So we bought some blank onesies and some puff paints and had a blast decorating them. It turned out that Ryan is way more skilled in the art of puff pants so his turned out much nicer than my pathetic onesie.

So Christmas Eve we wrapped up two onesies for Pete and Donna to open simultaneously. And it was quite comical as they opened the presents and stared at them for several minutes before they understood what it meant. And my parents did the same thing on Christmas morning. They unwrapped them and held them up and were very confused until my sister-in-law looked at me and said "oh my gosh . . . you're pregnant!"

Pulling on Poppy

It's amazing how quickly things can change. It seems like each day brings something new. Brooke has now started to get coordinated with her hands. Her new thing is to pull her pacifier out of her mouth (which she is quite proud of) and it's just about the cutest thing ever. She has also started arching her back . . . which is a development I'm not too pleased to see! She is also starting to develop new levels to her crying (unfortunately it's much louder and it sounds like she is being tortured). Granted we are two parents who haven't heard a great deal of crying from our baby so we probably don't have any room to complain. I heard a newborn crying in the mall and Brooke doesn't sound like that at all anymore and it makes me sad. But we eagerly look forward to each and every day and the developments and changes they bring. Unfortunately her newfound hand coordination has made her good at pulling hair . . . poor Poppy doesn't have much to spare!

Whelan Christmas

Over the weekend, we met the Whelan side of the family down in Branson to celebrate our Christmas with them. Brooke had a really great time.

Christmas gift

We've already been blessed with the best Christmas gift we could possibly have!

Wait for it . . .

Cute new hat

Thank you, Sherrill Schlimpert, for Brooke's cute hat!

Piano Prodigy

Concentrating hard . . .

Just having fun . . .

Straight out of Total Recall

Cutest cow I've ever seen

3 Months Old

Our precious baby girl is 3 months old today and not a morning goes by that I don't hold her in my arms and say "THANK YOU JESUS!"

Thanksgiving

Brooke's first Thanksgiving was a good one. She got to see a lot of family and spent a lot of time hanging with her cousins from Kansas City.

Brooke is giving her younger cousin Hadley the stiff arm. I guess Brooke figures she needs to show Hadley who is boss right off the bat!

Aunt Mei Mei is campaigning hard for "super aunt" status by taking on all 3 babies at once (Hadley is on the left, Ariya is on Amaris's lap and Brooke is on the right).

Ready for the Holidays

Already walking???

My family always calls her "stiff as a board Brooke" so we'll see how soon until she can walk since she obviously doesn't have any problem standing up!

Laughing at her daddy

Brooke with her great grandmother

First plane ride

Brooke took her first plane ride last week. My mom, sister, Brooke and I all flew out to Virginia where Brooke was able to meet her great grandmother and great aunts. I was a little nervous about flying with a baby. As we were boarding the plane I was making jokes about how everyone was watching me get on with an infant and was praying that I wouldn't be sitting near them. Several people were smiling at me and I could tell they were thinking just that. But then another guy said he'd love to have us in his row (. . . sounds creepy I guess but he looked like a dad that was probably missing his own kids)! Anyway, the flight out went great. Brooke slept the entire time (besides nursing on the way up and the way down). She didn't make a peep! While waiting for our baggage in the terminal, several people came up to me and couldn't believe what a great baby she was and others said they didn't even know there was a baby on the flight until they saw me get off. Of course I beamed under the compliments . . . like I had anything to do with her being so well behaved!

The return flight home turned out to be slightly more eventful. Since the way out was so easy I figured she'd probably cry the whole way back, which would be a frightening prospect for me since Brooke hardly ever cries I don't know that I would be all that adept at calming her down (hey, I don't claim to be an experienced mom)! But on the way home crying wasn't the issue . . . her bowels were!

Luckily we ended up being some of the last few people to board because the plane felt like an oven. After we got in our seats my mom pulled off Brooke's pants . . . which proved to be a fatal error for my shirt! So I nursed Brooke on the way up and was burping her against my shoulder. Nana was napping peacefully next to me when I felt a rumbling in Brooke's diaper. I started to giggle! Then I felt more rumbling and the giggle turned into a chuckle. Then Brooke pretty much blew the doors off and I was laughing out loud. I leaned over to Nana and told her what her little granddaughter was up to. With all the action going on in her diaper I figured there was going to be a mess on our hands and sure enough . . . I picked Brooke up and found a giant yellow splotch of baby goodness on my shirt! Since the flight was 2 hours long and we were only 15 minutes in I didn't think it would be prudent for me and my smelly daughter to endure the rest of the trip as we were. So my mother suggests that I change her on my lap! I look at my mother like she has two heads because I'm thinking it must be logistically impossible to change a messy diaper within the confines of a cramped airplane seat. The stewardess is headed our way with the drink cart so I said I wanted to ask her if there was a place to change the baby.

Sure enough, the stewardess said there is a baby changing station in the bathroom. So I tromp to the back of the plane juggling the baby, her pacifier, a changing pad, a new change of clothes, a diaper, wipes and a ziplock bag to put her dirty clothes in. I struggle to get the door open and luckily the passenger sitting one inch to the side of where I was standing helped me with the door!

Whoever called it a "changing station" must have a flair for the dramatic since a changing station to me implies that there is a nice comfortable area with a place to get organized and set down your wipes and paraphernalia with plenty of room to change your darling infant. This consisted of a small board over the metal toilet! Since the plane we were on was a small plane (with 2 seats on one side and a single seat on the other), the bathroom wasn't even the size of a small closet. So I get in there and don't even have enough hands to lock the door. So I get the board down and get Brooke up there and am looking around thinking that if any of her clothes or the pacifier hits the floor or the shiny stainless steel toilet then they'll be a goner! Brooke's eyes were as big as saucers and it was like she was stunned because a) the noise of the engines was pretty deafening and b) everything in there felt like it was vibrating. So I got her changed and got back to my seat.

About 15 minutes later I felt the rumbling again and smelled a suspicious odor! Luckily this time the diaper did it's job and contained the mess! But I went tromping back to the bathroom for a second round of fun. This time while I was changing her, Brooke wasn't quite so shell-shocked so she was smiling and kicking her feet like we were at a party . . which made things a little more difficult! But thankfully we all made it safe and sound and since the worst thing was having to endure the afternoon with a yellow stain on my shirt, I consider myself blessed!

Chatty Cathy

I think spending time with cousin Ariya is teaching Brooke that it's fun to talk! :)

Chillin' with the Cuz

Brooke and Cousin Ariya are becoming fast friends!

Ariya is showing Brooke the ropes on posing for the camera!

Another Doctor's Visit

At 9 weeks of age Brooke had another doctor's visit. Now she weighs 11 pounds, 4 ounces which puts her in the 50-75th percentile for weight. She is 22 1/4 inches long which puts her in the 25-50th percentile and her head cirumference is 39 cm which is the 25-50th percentile. So all is going well!

Young Jedi

Morning Bed Head

Daddy Day - Part Deux

Fridays are daddy day (except from January - April 15th). Ryan eagerly looks forward to spending the day with Brooke. Last Friday was the first daddy day, but I ended up taking a half day off work so Ryan only had her for the morning. Brooke and I are both blessed that Ryan is an extremely capable and involved dad. Ryan is also a lot of fun which Brooke will appreciate a little more when she gets a little bigger! I remember Ryan trying to play peek-a-boo and blow strawberries on her belly when we were freshly home from the hospital and I was thinking . . . does he really think she'll respond to that yet . . . she's not even a week old! :) God bless him for trying! So right now we're currently in the middle of remodeling our basement and daddy lost track of time since Brooke was napping so he woke her up close to an hour and a half late to eat (which I wasn't too thrilled about hearing). When he woke her up she realized how hungry she was and she let Ryan know that she didn't appreciate it . . . but who came blame her . . . I love food as much as the next person (okay, maybe a little more) and I don't appreciate missing a meal either! Then she chugged 8 ounces (which is a lot for a newborn) and it knocked her out (pictured here).

Ryan even said that she propped her fists up around the bottle because she was so eager and he said he let go off the bottle and she held it there! Albeit, a newborn propping up a glass bottle by herself isn't the best of ideas, but what can we say . . . Brooke's got skills (and dad might need some refreshers on child safety)! :)

Hanging with Had

Brooke had a crazy weekend with the family. Pictured below she is hanging out with her cousin Hadley who is a month younger than she is. They are relaxing on what my sister dubbed "the dusty dog"! Hadley's mother wasn't too keen on her daughter lying on a big dog that has surely been collecting dust for years. I'm surprised by some of the things my sister comes up with to worry about! :) Last night my mother had all of her grandkids in her house and it was a zoo with 8 kids who are 9 years old and younger . . . with 5 of them being 18 months and under. Talk about chaos!

A Halloween Chick

Happy Halloween! Brooke got dressed up like a little chicken and went down to the annual bash that Christian Fellowship hosts every year that has games and candy for kids. Obviously Brooke was a little young to participate, but she did get a lot of attention being in her cute little costume! The picture quality of this video isn't very good, but the noises she makes are so cute!

A Case of the Hiccups

A Cold Morning

I had to bust out the cold weather gear since it was 23 degrees this morning!

Daddy Drop Off

In order to be able to squeeze in a morning run without dragging the bambino out in the cold, I thought it could work nicely if Ryan was the one to drop Brooke off in the morning at our babysitter's on his way out of town. In order to make it as easy as possible on him I had packed up all of Brooke's daily supplies in her diaper bag and loaded them in his car. So I woke up at 4:50 AM, fed Brooke, put her back to sleep and then got dressed and ready to meet my running buddy at 5:30 AM. We had a great morning run and I hopped in the shower at 6:35 in order to make it to work. So about an hour later I talked to Ryan and asked him how it went! He said he didn't know if he would be able to drop her off again because it took a long time. I asked him what the deal was since all he needed to do was get her out of her crib and load her in her pumpkin seat and drop her off. Ryan said it started off poorly when he got up to her room and it smelled like a dumpster. He said he couldn't very well show up at the babysitters with a stinky daughter and look like a bad dad. So he said he changed her diaper and got distracted and lost track of time because she was being all smiley and cute and he couldn't tear himself away. Then he said he finally got her loaded in the car and he listened to her filling her britches the whole way over to drop her off (our daughter definitely doesn't have any elimination problems)! When I went to visit her during lunch she was all smiles!

Home away from home

Well Brooke passed major test number two over the weekend (with her first major test being that she enjoys the running stroller)! We took a little trip to my home away from home and Brooke did great. I strapped her into our front pack carrier and at first she was sleeping peacefully against me. She must have innately sensed what an exciting place we were at and she woke up and was holding her head up like a big girl and checking out the sites. I wish I had our camera with us at the time because she was pretty precious. Where were we you might be asking? We were at what my husband and I loving call the D - Pot . . . or what normal people call the Home Depot! Since we didn't capture that trip on picture I've included a picture of Brooke and Ryan when we all took our first trip to the Farmer's Market.

Afternoon Musings

I have to say it is quite a blessing (or maybe a mixed blessing) that Brooke loves to ride in her jogging stroller since that doesn't give me any excuse for slacking on my running. So on our run yesterday I began wondering if Brooke will be a runner or a golfer or a pianist . . . and then I thought back to something shared in Bible study this week. My sister shared that another parent was praying for their child and they prayed that their child would have a profound relationship with God. This really struck me because it's easy to pray that your child will be healthy or intelligent or athletic or a blessing to others or that they won't fall on hard times . . . but really all of those things are insignificant! So I pray that our little Brooke will love and follow God (and I will try not to be disappointed if she doesn't like to run . . . and her daddy will try not to be disappointed if she doesn't like golf)!