Two at once!

I know this may look like an announcement that we are having twins, but no no no. This is a very belated announcement that last Wednesday I noticed the source of Brooke's fussiness.... she had two teeth coming in, one on each side of her two front ones. Now she has a total of 7. That is just pure craziness to me!

This is a cute picture Camilla took of her today. She was so good to watch her while I was at work.

I have decided that to be a mom you have to be a mind reader. You have to be able to distinguish whether any abnormal fussiness is from teething or from being hungry or having a dirty diaper or being tired or being constipated or being bored. It's hard work! Brooke is still so sweet though, even when she doesn't feel very good.

She has a few recent accomplishments. Her dad takes credit for teaching her to point at people and do this deep kinda froggy-sounding laugh. It's too funny, but not feminine at all! She is also in that mimicking stage where she will laugh after you do, and I have taught her to raise her arms up when I ask "How big's the baby?" Sunday morning I was feeding her breakfast and she sucked her cheeks in and made a fish face. Her newest favorite food is yogurt. I have been giving her a little after lunch if she eats all her vegetables. She loves it!

She has started to get tired around 7:30 lately and sleeping until 5-6. This is great in the sense that I can get a lot of stuff done at night before we go to bed, but on the other hand it means that we have to be done with our errands and everything else by the time she is ready for bed. It also means that I have to get up with her at 5 when she is wide awake and ready to play. Oh well, we'll do it for our little Brooke!

I just had to add this picture of us in Vegas a year ago when I was 8 months pregnant...boy how things change quickly!

We are so excited to put her in her costume for Halloween....will post pictures later.

Brooke's first cold

I am sad to say that Brooke has now officially had her first cold. Last Thursday she was pretty fussy and wouldn't eat very much. When she woke up from her afternoon nap she had a clear, runny nose. It just so happens that is the exact day that the FDA pulled all infant's cold and decongestant medicine off the shelves due to parental misuse. So, we have basically been left with Vick's Baby Rub and a humidifier to try and help her get through it. She seems to be getting better, it's just rough at night when she tries to sleep. Thursday night we kept trying to lay her down and she would scream louder and longer than we have ever seen her do before. After about 4 hours of this Tyler gave her a blessing and we finally got her calmed down. She slept in her swing with me on the couch next to her. Despite her obviously not feeling well, sleeping well, or eating well, she continues to be such a sweetheart.

Today Brooke took a big step in validating any tiny bit of success for me as a mother. I have been doing some sign language with her, the little bit that I know. When I feed her I always sign 'more, please' for her. More is done by bringing fingers to thumb on both hands and then bringing both hands together. Today I told Brooke to say more and she brought both her hands together. Of course, only a mother who has been working with her would know that this is what she is doing and that it was different than her just clapping her hands together, but for me it was a big accomplishment! It just goes to prove what we suspected all along, that she has her mother's brains :)

Already?!?!?

It is so hard to believe that today Brooke is 9 months old!! Time has flown by so fast. I was thinking the other day how much our live has changed but how much we love it. Brooke is at such a fun stage right now and we are so lucky to have such a good girl. Here are just a few reasons why we love her so much:

- She has such a cute laugh, it has changed from being a pigeon laugh from a full-fledged nasal laugh, with snorts at times
- She loves baseball as much as her dad does, and was such a trooper when we took her to the opening game of the D-backs/Cubs series. We were cheering for both teams inside, but all wore our Cubs gear because we had it

- She loves her jumperoo....the best toy ever! She will jump forever and when she's tired of that she will rock back and forth and in circles

- She loves the Denver Broncos!
- She is such a good eater and has eaten everything I have fed her so far. Her favorites: peas, macaroni and cheese, and bananas
- That smile she gives when we get back from work....melt our hearts!
- She loves everyone and is so good to go to almost anyone who wants to hold her (including my boss!)
- She loves books and can be caught in her pack-n-play or under the coffee table reading herself a book

- She had her first date on her 9 month birthday! Bryson and her went around the block accompanied by chapparone Grandma Margaret. At the end of the date they parked, then kissed.

- She loves baby Landon and always tries to give him kisses

- When she gets excited she throws her arms and legs up and down. It is so funny!
- She cut her 5th tooth without really even fussing at all!
- She can climb up and down the step at Grandma Carling's all by herself
- She will copycat people when they imitate her pigeon laugh (which looks like this...with strawberries)
- She loves (and looks like) her daddy
- She loves her silky blanket from Grandma Steadman and will immediately put her thumb in her mouth when she holds it
- She falls asleep on her own and still sleeps 10 hours at night
- She loves being outside - Her "Frohawk" (like a mohawk, but only in the front) is awesome! - She is such a trooper to go everywhere with me or Grandma
- She is so observant of everything and looks all around when she goes into a room - She loves horses, especially Magic

And the reason we love Brooke most of all.....God created her and gave her to us, what more could we ask for?!?!

(I lost all my links when I changed my layout, so please send your address to me so I can get them back up and running :)