Getting there...

We hope you all are doing well.  I had really gotten behind on my blog.  I'm trying to get it caught up.  So far, I've made it thru Easter weekend.  Keep checking back, as I hope to get the rest of the way by next weekend.  Our little one has grown so much since my last posts back in February.  Stay tuned for more to come (including some pics of the flood).  Have a great week!!!

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its Way!

Easter weekend was really fun.  Ashley and Maddux came to visit on Thursday before Easter (4/1) and stayed thru the annual BBC Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.  Ashley and Maddux went to the zoo on Friday while Brooklyn and I went to school/work.  Maddux was so tired when they got back from the zoo that he fell asleep on the landing at the top of our stairs.  Too funny!!!  After Brooklyn and I got home Ashley and I took the kiddos to the mall.  While I was there I ordered Brooklyn a swimsuit for the summer that I'd been eyeing for a while.  It is SO cute.  I can hardly wait to see her in it...she loves bath time, so I'm sure she'll enjoy hanging out at the neighborhood pools this summer too.  On Saturday, Grandddad and Nana drove up to visit and go to the egg hunt with us.   Well, as luck would have it...someone stopped an exit out from us to buy gas and acciedently pumped disel into the tank.  Oops!!!  After a few quick calls, we quickly got them a tow truck and found someone who could fix the car for them that day.  Amazing!  Here are several pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Sunday.

I have to share this picture...Brooklyn is such a happy camper and is all smiles most of the time, but on occasion...she's like all other babies and has a little crying spell.  She was so tired before the egg hunt.  We wanted to get pictures of her in the "sea" of eggs, so we took her little bumbo chair to the egg hunt.  Well, to get a picture without a shadow, she had to be facing the sun.  Tired + sun in my eyes = Unhappy Brooklyn!

Our friend Maddie...

Maddux picking up eggs...

Ainsley and Jennifer checking out Ainsley's loot...

Our happy family...

 

Granddad, Nana, and Brooklyn

My little sweetheart!

Brooklyn scooping out her Easter basket from Granddad and Nana.  She really had lots of fun rattling the paper.

 

Brooklyn's first Easter morning.  The "Easter Bunny" left her a few books this year, including the Legend of the Three Trees.  I had never read this book until this year and immediately fell in love with it.  Her other new reads included a little Bible with a sing-a-long CD, a Precious Moments book called "Loving," and "Love you Forever."  Auntie Laurie sent her the adorable little basket for Christmas.  It even has her name monogrammed on the back.  It was really cute!!!

So, I had to have a close-up of her little shoes.  They are so precious!!!

Mommy nad Brooklyn playing after church.

Brooklyn and her little friend Emma on their first Easter Sunday.

Just chillling in the exersaucer...

Ms. Angela let us borrow their exersaucer (a huge Thank You to the Pace's).  Brooklyn has so much fun playing it in.  Here is one of the first times she was in it (3/29...a day shy of 21 weeks old).

Our Youngest Honduras Helper!

On Sunday, the 28th, many of our Honduras team members met at church to start packing boxes and pills.  So how does a 4-month old help?  She sweetly observes us all and offers the most adorable smiles!

19 Weeks Old

Wow! Brooklyn is changing and growing so very fast. On Wednesday (3/17) she rolled over from her back to her stomach without any assistance at all (she'd been doing it for a couple of weeks with very little assistance) and she laughed at Star. That was so cute. She really does love Star. She always tries to pet her. I hope they'll be best buds!!! On Thursday (3/18) she found her toes. While this may seem a little late in the development world, I must add that she really hasn't had a chance to find them yet. With it being so cold until now, I've kept her bundled up so much that she didn't have a chance at touching her toes. Poor girl. It's really fun to watch her grow and explore all sorts of new things. I adore hearing her laugh and seeing her smile. It would brighten anyone's day!!!

The pics below of her laying down are from Wednesday and the ones of us going for a walk are from Thursday. Our dear friends Jennifer and Ainsley joined us on Thursday for a walk. It was fun and so cute to watch Ainsley and Brooklyn interact.

Yum, Yum

Well, Saturday (3/13) we started feeding Brooklyn rice cereal.  We made it just like the package said, you know...so it's almost like drinking milk.  Well, Brooklyn did great sitting in her high chair and eating from the spoon right away...BUT, she didn't like the consistency of it.  I think she thought she was working extra hard for her milk.  So on Sunday when we made her cereal, we thickened it up a bit.  She loved it, and I really do mean LOVED it.

Did someone say shots?

We took Brooklyn for her 4-month old check-up on the 12th (Nana's Birthday).  She weighed 13 pounds and 2 ounces and was 24 1/4 inches long.  I'm still not convinced they measure her accurately.  She sure does seem to have grown more than three inches since she was born.  She has and continues to develop just perfectly.  Praise God!

She had fun playing with the mirror at the doctor's office.

She's just too cute!  The smiles and coos were so fun...that is until the nurse came in to give her shots.  It didn't go as bad as last time thank goodness.  Once I picked her up, she stopped crying rather quickly.  For those of you who don't know me very well, I have a huge fear of getting shots.  I always say it's because I was scarred as a child...I had to get lots of them because I was so sick all of the time.  This is a horrible trait that I don't wish to pass along to my sweet girl, but I'm afraid I will.  I just get so anxious having to take her to get them.  I know the shots will protect her from terrible things, but that doesn't make me like them any better.

4 Months Old and a Trip to Lexington

What a busy two weeks.  We survived our first week back to work/first week at daycare.  It was very emotional, but we made it.  I so miss being able to be with Brooklyn everyday, all day.  She is just so very, very special! 

My grandmother turned 91 years old on March 1. We are so very blessed!!!  For the past several years, we have a party for her every year.  This year we celebrated the weekend after her birthday.  I somehow missed Brooklyn's actual 4 month old/17 week old picture, but have several from the birthday celebration.  Granny is so special.  She loves to see and hold Brooklyn!!!

Aunt Teddie and Brooklyn

Uncle Bill and Brooklyn

Cousin Madison and Aunt Louise with Brooklyn

Pop and Brooklyn

Fun Times...

Today (2/25) is Pop's birthday.  Happy birthday!!!

Here are a few more pics of Brooklyn playing in her Bumbo chair.  I've also included a few of us reading books.  I hope she continues to love books!!!

16 Weeks Old

Today we tried out our Bumbo chair for the first time.  She did so well sitting in it.  I gave her a couple of toys and she had the best time.  It was so cute!!!  A huge thanks to Mr. Mike & Ms. Jill for the Bumbo chair.  She loves it!

Back to Work

Well, I started back to work on Monday, February 22, 2010.  I got up extra early to make sure I had plenty of time to get Brooklyn up, fed, changed, and a few minutes to play.  Once I got all ready, we were off.  I did fairly well keeping myself together until I left daycare.  For those who don't know where daycare is in relation to my office, it's across the street, approximatley the length of a football field.  I cried and cried.  I missed her so much!!!

My coworkers were so sweet.  Janie and Anna arranged for me to have my favorite coffee that morning.  Yummy!  It took a few hours, but I finally sifted through four months of emails...whew!!!  My office was also gracious to let me ease back into things and work from home on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for a while.  I cannot express in words how precious that was to me!!!

With daycare so close, I went to visit Brooklyn during lunch.  She was having a great time!!!  Ms. Valerie and Ms. Zaid are so wonderful.

Here are a few pictures of Brooklyn from that Sunday (2/21) and us that morning!

Brooklyn and Ms. Valerie:

That afternoon, she slept all of the way home.  I gave her a bath, then she ate, and went to bed.  I know she had a long day and was so tired, but I was so sad that we didn't get to play.

Just some random stuff...

Brooklyn is such a joy!  She'll be 16 weeks old this Tuesday, and I can hardly believe that!  It's just truly amazing to watch her grow.  I love to watch her face light up when I pick her up in the morning.  She's started laughing a little bit, and that makes me giddy!  It's so funny to hear her laugh.  She loves to play, which is so fun for Andy and me.  She's been rolling over from her tummy to her back since she was six weeks old, and can almost go back to tummy...I know it will be just any day now.  She's started touching the pages of books when I read to her, and started really liking her soft books last weekend.  She's such a great little baby and it's even greater that she's ours.

This weekend in Nashville, is gorgeous. Brooklyn and I went for a long walk on Thursday and Friday and took Daddy and Star with us this morning.  I'm loving Mr. Sunshine.   Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the snow, but the sunshine makes me very happy!

On Monday, I return to work and Brooklyn will go to daycare.  Please keep me in your prayers next week.  I'm so attached to her and love spending every moment with her.  We met her teachers on Thursday, Ms. Valerie and Ms. Zaid.  They seem wonderful, and I know they'll take excellant care of her, but I'm going to miss her so very, very much!!!

Well, I'm all caught up again...except for the pictures I need to get and post from my mom's camera.  I think I'll see her next weekend or the next, so don't forget to go back and check them out.

15 Weeks Old

Another picture of my little princess playing (on 2/17).  Oh, that sweet little face!!! 

Here's a few more pictures from Friday, including ones of her first night to sleep in her crib.  She's so tiny in that big bed.  She's been sleeping in a cradle in our room, which is downstairs.  She did great!!!...Mommy...not so great.  We ended up sleeping in our guest bedroom upstairs to be closer to her.

Brooklyn says, "Star, you're on my toy."

Brooklyn says, "Mommy, help.  Star won't move."

Her first night in her crib.