Shoo, Flu!

Our house got hit with the flu. I guess I can't complain, because it's a short 24 hour one, and I didn't get it. But I would MUCH rather be sick than have Brooklyn be sick! Having a sick kid is the worst. Craig got sick on Saturday (luckily, so he didn't have to miss work), and Brooklyn on Monday. I have to say, since this was my first experience with the flu I was impressed with my innate ability to clean up puke without puking myself. In fact, Brooklyn threw up all over me and I didn't even say "Ew!!" At least not out loud. I just smiled and held her while she vomited all over the carpet, tile, clothes, towels, and in the bathtub. Poor baby. She slept a good deal of the day, and today is feeling much better. According to the pattern, I'll be getting it tomorrow. :)

Here are some pictures - I can't help but share how happy Brooklyn makes me! We watched my sister-in-law's dog Gunner, and Brooklyn was in heaven. She just followed him everywhere and laughed all day. It was hilarious. He's a French Bulldog, so he's smallish, but he's sturdy as a brick. Bucket and Brooklyn loved his visit :) I'm still getting used to being the "adult" in my life. When I turned my back, I found Brooklyn here. In Gunner's crate.

This is the tree in front of Craig's parents' house. Brooklyn spent lots of time exploring the tree, got tired and sat down. She's tiny compared to this huge tree!

You know, as a mother and adult I am often struck by how beautiful and perfect children are. They are the purest souls, and embody what we should be like as adults. They are so quick to forgive, eager to seek comfort, and (at least at Brooklyn's age) accept help from others. They aren't smug, and love without fear. I can see why they say that in a parent-child relationship, the child is often the teacher and the parent the student. I learn so much from Brooklyn! Her little smile and laugh bring me so much true joy, and to know we will be together forever takes my happiness to a whole new level.

When listening to General Conference this weekend, someone said something that really caught me off guard. He said that our children are not ours - they are Heavenly Father's children, and He is showing us how to be more like Him by teaching us what pure, unconditional love is. Something only children can teach us. I hugged Brooklyn a little tighter that day, feeling so grateful for what a gift she is to me! I was blessed with a perfect, sweet, loving little angel so I can feel what love is. I would do anything for her, just like our Heavenly Father would do anything for us. Just like the Savior gave his life for us. I know I would give my life for Brooklyn without a second thought, and so would Craig. And our parents would do the same for us. It's an amazing thing, the relationship parents have with their children, and I never want to take it for granted! I was a little chagrined to think that I often think of Brooklyn as mine. I want to take care of the precious soul that was entrusted to me - it's a huge responsibility! I want to be sure I am showing by example the things I teach her as well, because children learn from watching what their parents do more so than what they say.

From Bad to Worse

Brooklyn's luck is going down the drain. She has had run of bad luck lately, and we are trying to keep our heads above water! Besides her swollen, bleeding gums, she fell flat on her face on Wednesday when we were playing. Her nose was bleeding, and she got a rug burn on her lip and chin. This is the best shot I could get of it. :(

The only thing that seems to make her happy is swinging. So we do it. A lot. She loves the castle park at West Jordan, although the other kids there are often bigger than her and don't pay any attention to her, even when she says hi to them. At least she hasn't been knocked over yet.


Craig is playing basketball tonight for our ward's regionals, and I am here with Brooklyn and John, a friend's little boy. He was feeling a little sad when his mom and dad left, and both he and Brooklyn ended up crying on my lap watching Signing Time. I think this picture is hilarious. Currently they are both sleeping peacefully. :)

Last night was the first night that Craig didn't have Thursday night class! It was so nice, only have 1 night with him gone. I am counting down the days until he's done. Sort of. I guess I'd say I'm looking forward to August when he's done.

Hunger Games is next weekend! Oh boy I can't wait. We're going on Friday night with a group of 27 people! Matt and Jen are even coming up, which is very exciting! I can't wait to see them, and have a humongous family get together - both sides! Yeah!

From Angel to Monster

Yes, teething is the devil. I'm sure it hurts like the devil. And it certainly turns my little angel into a monster! Side note: it turns me into a crazy. If you were to come over to my house during the day when Brooklyn is awake, my hair would be all askew, and I would have the crazy eyes and loopy smile. It is the worst. I can't even explain how awful it is; only those who have experienced it will understand. And it's awful. Horrible. Makes me want to scream. Brooklyn is cutting 6 teeth - four molars and two in the front. She whines and cries all day, and I do all I can but I can't take the pain away. Behind my crazy eyes is hurt that I can't help her. It's a helpless feeling, and I don't like it!

On a different note, I got to see my childhood best friend at her wedding reception! So excited for her! She looked beautiful, and it was great to see her after so many years (I think since my own wedding).


My dad came in town to audition for a movie about Ephraim Hanks, so i got to spend some time with him. Love my bunch of crazies!

Brooklyn's new discovery - paper ripping! It's so fun, and Mommy gets to crawl around and pick up all the pieces when she goes to bed! It's an exciting ceremony accompanied with a yell whenever a piece is torn and thrown to the floor.

And she knows what no is. When she is doing something naughty (like playing with the DVD player), she'll either shake her head "no" while doing it, or stop right before and look at me. Then she does it anyway.

She loves to read. I catch her every day reading to herself in her room. It's adorable.


And her other new favorite game besides paper ripping and screaming. This one I like. She takes an object - in this picture, a crayon - and puts it in her room. One by one she takes the rest of the crayons and makes a pile. When they're all gone, she takes them one by one to another spot in the house. Etc, etc... Love it! It occupies her for at least a half hour on a good day. She does it with blocks, books... anything she can carry. She does it with her food too. Here is one of the spots - in the baby swing!

Today I took her to the castle park in West Jordan, and swung on the swing. She's never done it before and I wish I'd had my camera! It was so cute - she was smiling and laughing the whole time. And it was such a nice day today (besides the wind). We had a great time. Next time we go to the park, I'm bringing my camera! She's such a big girl. She says "hi" to everyone. Most of the time when they aren't looking, or if they are a dog. :)

Brooklyn's First Snow (pretty much)

So it's been a freakish winter - hardly any snow! Brooklyn has only seen it once or twice, and she loves it. This is the first time I actually got some pictures of her and snow. They are farther down. Here are some cute recent pictures:

Brooklyn trying to put shoes on her feet... when she's already wearing shoes...

Stacking!

I made these cookies. Yes, me. The most cookie handicapped person on the planet - these are the first cookies I think I have ever made that didn't turn out caved in and gooey, while burned on the edges. I feel great.

She loves to play on her keyboard.


Learning to snuggle and give loves...

My favorite picture - snuggling with Dad.

Talking to Dad while he's in the bathroom...



And here are our snow adventures! She was soooo excited to see all the snow! It took us about a half hour to actually get to the car, because she had to stop and touch everything (and pick everything up). We had fun.



Saw this one coming. This is her picking up an ice chunk from the street.

So excited about her find!

And into the mouth it goes. I had to snap a picture quick before I intervened and made her put it back down. Yuck!

I finally got a picture of this face that she has been making constantly. It's hilarious.

She's been having some separation anxiety, and tends to scream and cry whenever someone comes over to our house (even if she knows them!), anticipating me or Craig leaving. It's so sad. :( Other than that, things are normal here!

The trudge

Here is a close up of her perma-face during my "photo shoot" gone wrong.

Fruit Snacks

We’ve been having so much fun! I’m experimenting with my camera, and although I’m no professional, I can see how a good camera makes a huge difference! I certainly feel like a profesh :) They load on my computer a lot faster too. Anyway, we’ve been all business as usual, and Brooklyn is growing faster than I can keep up with! She has added a few words to her vocabulary – light (lathhh), Jesus (sess), uh oh (ohh), and that (that!). She also makes her own doggie noises that sound like monkeys, and I can tell she is understanding me now. When I ask her where something is, she’ll find it. She loves to nod her head and say “yeah!” – it’s adorable. She can shake her head “no” too, but doesn’t say that yet. She sorts her food, and doesn't like to eat unless she puts it in her own mouth. She knows how to be soft with animals, and absolutely loves them. She sticks her face right in their face and pets them. It’s sweet.

Craig and I are going on a date tonight! I can’t wait! Dates are so precious – just me and him! I have learned to treasure those moments, even though I love being with Brooklyn. There’s something refreshing about conversing with another adult about adult things… It’s nice. And I always love spending time with my hubby, because I rarely see him! He has school two nights a week, and when he gets home from work, he often has to do homework.

I try to get my homework done during naptimes, but sometimes a 2 hour nap just isn't enough time! I read a blog post that emphasized how much children understand when they're being ignored, so I'm staying off the computer when Brooklyn is awake. I also try to stay off my phone as much as possible, and I see now what I've been missing. Not that I blatantly ignore her, but she is so much happier when I can give her my full attention. Since she's our only kid, I want to spend as much time with her one on one before we have another one. This is our time together! Just the two of us! Here are some fun times:

Bathtime! We have fun. She splashes and gets water all over the floor, and I splash her back and make her look like a Who from Whoville. :)

This was one of my attempted "photo shoots". It was a horrible failure. Brooklyn was in a terrible mood and wouldn't even crack the beginnings of a smile! She just trudged around like a grumpy pants.



And she got stuck in the fence. It took us awhile to get her out, and then she just went right back in.




This is the face she makes when I say, "smile!" It cracks me up. She looks like Craig's baby pictures to a T!

My little Elvin Princess.

She was eating an apple the other day, and she started hitting her chair and wanting more, so I turned around and saw this. When I pulled it off of her head, she looked at me like I was magic! She squealed and grabbed it from me and ate it.

Her new favorite game - carrying a pillow around the house and falling on it. It's. So. Funny. She does it on the bed too; she laughs and laughs until I'm laughing too. Simple pleasures.



Here I am a little ashamed. I put her hair in pigtails after not doing it for a long time, and I just couldn't help myself. I just used some water and a comb and those babies stuck straight up like antennas! This face says to me, "Mom, you're mean. I look ridiculous."


This was her face when she saw a dalmation running across the parking lot. She was ecstatic and chased him all the way to the next building. Unfortunately he went inside and she didn't get to meet him. :( Cutest face ever.

Another new trick is taking off my headband and putting it on her own head. Then back on mine, and hers, etc. I don't know why this is so funny to her but it makes her laugh till she's red in the face. This one broke after we played with it for awhile :( Lesson learned!

The other day I was having a terrible day (we're transitioning to one nap) and decided to comfort myself with a pack of shark fruit snacks, our favorite. I opened them up and dumped them out, and they were all yellow. Ok, there were two oranges, but those are just as bad. Seriously?!? No purples, no reds, no pinks... it was awful. I should write them a letter.