I think my heart may have just stopped for a second while typing the title of this post. My oldest little baby just has one more month left as a two year old! Make the time stop please! I swear I just came home with her as a brand new baby just yesterday.
My My, where do I even start!? I feel like life is just crazy busy these days with these two little girls of ours. They make me laugh one minute, and the next minute I am ready to rip my hair out and have a meltdown. =) . I feel like I clean and do laundry and I turn around and there are twice as many messes as I just finished cleaning up, or twice as much laundry to do, or better yet, the clothes that I just folded have now been unfolded by one of my sweet children. I am constantly breaking up fights these days, and it's enough to drive a woman crazy! People tell me that "it gets better" and I often find myself thinking about the different stages my children will go through, and I know there are things I will definitely miss from this stage, like the cuddles, the sweet things they say, and their sweet little voices. I will miss being the one they turn to for every little thing, but then at the same time, I am looking forward to not being needed for EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING. I'm ashamed to admit that when my kids push me to my limits, I have been known to sigh and say something like "You guys are driving me nuts!" Brooklynn will even say now when she knows I'm frustrated "Are we driving you nuts mom?" or "Madison, you're driving mommy nuts!" =) ha ha ha! Sometimes I just have to verbalize it, and express what I'm feeling. I'm hoping I can learn to control my tongue better, especially as they get older and will remember the words that come out of my mouth. Heaven help me!
I have learned that we do better if we can at least get out of the house to go do something at some point during the day. Whether that's running an errand, going to the park, or taking the kids somewhere fun like the zoo or the children's museum. Joe travels about 3.5 days every other week, and that has been a big adjustment for me. It's so hard not to be totally burnt out by the time he gets home. I think I'm learning more and more how to do it without complaining though.
What's new with these sweet girls? Brooklynn talks and sings nonstop. I need to capture her singing on video, because it seriously is the sweetest thing ever. She belts songs out at the top of her little lungs and it doesn't phase her if we are in the car, at home, or out in public. Most of the time she's singing church songs, and I have learned to just let her be, and to share the gospel through song wherever she goes.=) ha ha! She also LOVES singing "Let it Go" from FROZEN.
She still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and her favorite movie is still Frozen. Her favorite color is pink. She's got her shapes and colors down pretty well, and now we need to work on numbers and letters. She is a pro at going potty by herself now, and rarely has accidents, except for some reason she will go pee in the potty, and then she'll still go a drop in her panties. We are working on stopping that. She loves riding her bike she got for Christmas, loves going to the park, and loves to help me however and whenever possible. She is a great listener and is good at following directions and helping. Every night one of her jobs is to run up to her room and get her jimmies and undies, and Madison's jammies. She loves to color, paint, play with play dough, read books, and is obsessed with her new purse from Grandma and Grandpa, and her jewelry. She's been wearing a CTR ring and a cute little heart necklace I bought her from Sam Moon. She's so cute! She loves for me to sing to her and to rock her. She is crazy about Oikos Greek Yogurt, and eats it almost every day for breakfast. She loves chocolate, and anything sweet. She loves doing things all by herself. She gets herself dressed, buckles her seat belt, likes to open her own yogurt, carry her own plate to the table, and is constantly saying "I do it!"
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Well, the holiday season has been upon us, and with that life gets to be busy, and I have missed a month. So, to catch up on what changes have happened...... Madison is now walking! She's a pro at it now and her little waddle walk is adorable. She has the skinniest little legs that carry her quickly wherever she wants to go. She also climbs on things WAY more than Brooklynn ever did. She's constantly climbing up on our little chairs, stools, the stairs, my aerobic step, or anything else she can climb on.
That little girl is feisty! She doesn't back down when Brooklynn or anyone else tries to take something from her. I was taking a shower one day and low and behold I hear Madison and Brooklynn fighting over something in my bathroom, and I look out of the shower to see Brooklynn running off with whatever it was, and Madison has her by the back of her shirt, and is running behind her holding on for dear life. She wasn't about to let Brooklynn get away. She has been known to hit, pull hair, bite, kick, scream, and whatever else she has to do.
She now as 4 top teeth and two bottom teeth. She is quite the picky eater when it comes to fruits and vegetables. She loves bananas and avocados, sometimes apples and pears, and that's about it. If she doesn't like something she spits it out immediately, and continues to spit dramatically afterward like she can't believe I would feed her something that tastes like that! Contrary to her sister, she loves macaroni and cheese, and most rice. She loves greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, cheese, oyster crackers, french fries, hot dogs, and she loves most soups that I make. She killed some broccoli cheese soup, and chicken noodle soup that I made over the past couple of weeks. She loves potatoes and steamed carrots, and she'll usually eat at least a little bit of whatever meat we cook. She got to experience her first ice cream cone, which was at home, and was Blue Bell Peppermint Ice Cream. She was in heaven when I broke a sugar cone down really small and filled it with some ice cream and handed it to her. Her face lit up after the first bite and she was smacking her lips and making "mmm" noises.
She's finally keeping socks and shoes on for a decent amount of time, now that she can walk. She'll wear shoes throughout all of church, and she'll sit down on the bottom step when she sees me get her socks and shoes out, so that I can put them on her. She'll usually walk out to the car now by herself, and when we get home I take her out of the carseat and let her walk inside by herself. It's so crazy to me that my baby is walking now!
She is FINALLY SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! Hallelujah!!!!! There were a few weeks where she would wake up around 3 and stand up and cry for about 5 minutes, then she would just drop back down to her mattress and fall right back to sleep. It's like she just needed to cry herself back to sleep. She hasn't really had to do that for the last couple of weeks though. Now if I could only get Brooklynn to stop waking up and coming down to my room most nights, I could finally get a consistent 7 to 8 hours of sleep, after over a year!=) Joe has usually been the one to put her down at night. She'll drink her bottle of milk and then he can pretty much just walk her up and put her in her crib and she won't cry when he leaves the room, and she'll just go to sleep. That is such a difference from what we went through with Brooklynn when she was that age I feel like! She's consistently napping for about an hour and a half a day. I still put her down after I put Brooklynn down, because she will still wake up before her. So every day after lunch Madison sits in her little bouncer toy so I know she's safe and won't get into trouble, and then I turn on a Baby Einstein and she'll sit there while I go put Brooklynn down for her nap.
Madison LOVES being outside. Whenever I open a door, I feel like she's right there ready to run out. She loves going to the park. She loves to swing, and she has figured out how to go down the slides by herself. She'll climb up to the top and then she sits down and turns around and goes down feet first on her belly.
If she doesn't get her way she flings herself back in my arms, or lifts her legs up and refuses to stand up when I try to set her down. If Joe looks at her and sternly tells her "NO" for something she did, she immediately gets her feelings hurt and starts crying.
The child can still down some water. I'll fill her water bottle up full for every meal and more often than not she drinks the entire thing. She's always filling up the little tea cups she and Brooklynn play with in the tub, and drinking water in the tub too.
I often think about if she had been my first child, how things would be. When she's playing on her own she really is the best little kid. She will just go upstairs by herself and play with the kitchen, or tent, or books up there. It's when she and her sister start fighting, that it absolutely drives me crazy. There are several days a week Im guessing, where Joe gets a text from me letting him know I am about to sell his children because they are driving me so crazy. Being a stay at home mom, and I'm sure just a mom in general, is seriously SO hard!! There are days when I feel like I have given so much of myself, that there literally is nothing left to give. I don't even get to use the restroom or shower in peace, without little girls being RIGHT THERE. Thankfully, with Madison walking now, I do feel like I have a little bit more freedom, but it has also opened up a lot more fighting between her and Brooklynn because now she can get in to whatever Brooklynn is playing with, or doing, and it instantly starts a big fight. It's crazy to think that when Brooklynn was this age, I was already several months pregnant with Madison. At this point, I am no where near ready to even think about getting pregnant again! Maybe I'll be fine with just two kids.=) Wink Wink.
Brooklynn just has two more months of being two. (Insert sad face here). She is such a sweet little independent girl, who wants to do most things by herself at this point. She does still need help taking off her shirt, so at least she still needs me for that, and for wiping her bum after she goes #2. So great to feel needed. Ha ha! She routinely wakes up around 6am, and will come downstairs and lay in our bed for a little bit, then she gets up and will go to the fridge and get out her own greek yogurt, which is her favorite breakfast, and I'll come out to an empty yogurt cup and undoubtedly some smeared yogurt on the table. It's so nice to get to sleep for a few more minutes though while she takes care of herself. This momma prefers more of a 7am wake up time. Now if I could just get Madison to stop waking up at 6am too.
Brooklynn loves putting puzzles together, playing with play dough, coloring, painting, blowing bubbles, going to the park, reading books with her dad or me, taking bubble baths, and she is always singing primary songs or "Let it Go" from the movie FROZEN. She loves playing with her little friend, Evan Alder, and loves her little sister. I just recently started a babysitting co-cop with some girls in our ward, and she has loved when we have other friends over to play. Surprisingly, on the days I have other kids here, I am able to get more things accomplished, because they will just play and keep each other entertained and occupied.
Brooklynn is a rule follower and a little OCD like her dad. For example, she has been sick this past week, and last night I gave her some cough medicine before bed and after she drank it from the little cup, I set the cup on her dresser so I could rock her and sing her some songs before bed. She immediately said "Can you please wash that cup?" Just like her dad! I had to tell her the cup would be just fine until she fell asleep, and then I would wash it. ha ha!
She picks her finger and toe nails, and I'm not sure if she gets that from me or from Joe. Joe chews his nails, and I used to bite mine, but since having kids, I have actually done much better.
She loves saying her prayers, and almost always wants to say any meal prayers that we say. I love listening to her pray, it is the sweetest. She loves going to church still and loves nursery. She and Madison love when we sing hymns in church too. They both sit there and pretend they are leading the music.
That little girl is feisty! She doesn't back down when Brooklynn or anyone else tries to take something from her. I was taking a shower one day and low and behold I hear Madison and Brooklynn fighting over something in my bathroom, and I look out of the shower to see Brooklynn running off with whatever it was, and Madison has her by the back of her shirt, and is running behind her holding on for dear life. She wasn't about to let Brooklynn get away. She has been known to hit, pull hair, bite, kick, scream, and whatever else she has to do.
She now as 4 top teeth and two bottom teeth. She is quite the picky eater when it comes to fruits and vegetables. She loves bananas and avocados, sometimes apples and pears, and that's about it. If she doesn't like something she spits it out immediately, and continues to spit dramatically afterward like she can't believe I would feed her something that tastes like that! Contrary to her sister, she loves macaroni and cheese, and most rice. She loves greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, cheese, oyster crackers, french fries, hot dogs, and she loves most soups that I make. She killed some broccoli cheese soup, and chicken noodle soup that I made over the past couple of weeks. She loves potatoes and steamed carrots, and she'll usually eat at least a little bit of whatever meat we cook. She got to experience her first ice cream cone, which was at home, and was Blue Bell Peppermint Ice Cream. She was in heaven when I broke a sugar cone down really small and filled it with some ice cream and handed it to her. Her face lit up after the first bite and she was smacking her lips and making "mmm" noises.
She's finally keeping socks and shoes on for a decent amount of time, now that she can walk. She'll wear shoes throughout all of church, and she'll sit down on the bottom step when she sees me get her socks and shoes out, so that I can put them on her. She'll usually walk out to the car now by herself, and when we get home I take her out of the carseat and let her walk inside by herself. It's so crazy to me that my baby is walking now!
She is FINALLY SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! Hallelujah!!!!! There were a few weeks where she would wake up around 3 and stand up and cry for about 5 minutes, then she would just drop back down to her mattress and fall right back to sleep. It's like she just needed to cry herself back to sleep. She hasn't really had to do that for the last couple of weeks though. Now if I could only get Brooklynn to stop waking up and coming down to my room most nights, I could finally get a consistent 7 to 8 hours of sleep, after over a year!=) Joe has usually been the one to put her down at night. She'll drink her bottle of milk and then he can pretty much just walk her up and put her in her crib and she won't cry when he leaves the room, and she'll just go to sleep. That is such a difference from what we went through with Brooklynn when she was that age I feel like! She's consistently napping for about an hour and a half a day. I still put her down after I put Brooklynn down, because she will still wake up before her. So every day after lunch Madison sits in her little bouncer toy so I know she's safe and won't get into trouble, and then I turn on a Baby Einstein and she'll sit there while I go put Brooklynn down for her nap.
Madison LOVES being outside. Whenever I open a door, I feel like she's right there ready to run out. She loves going to the park. She loves to swing, and she has figured out how to go down the slides by herself. She'll climb up to the top and then she sits down and turns around and goes down feet first on her belly.
If she doesn't get her way she flings herself back in my arms, or lifts her legs up and refuses to stand up when I try to set her down. If Joe looks at her and sternly tells her "NO" for something she did, she immediately gets her feelings hurt and starts crying.
The child can still down some water. I'll fill her water bottle up full for every meal and more often than not she drinks the entire thing. She's always filling up the little tea cups she and Brooklynn play with in the tub, and drinking water in the tub too.
I often think about if she had been my first child, how things would be. When she's playing on her own she really is the best little kid. She will just go upstairs by herself and play with the kitchen, or tent, or books up there. It's when she and her sister start fighting, that it absolutely drives me crazy. There are several days a week Im guessing, where Joe gets a text from me letting him know I am about to sell his children because they are driving me so crazy. Being a stay at home mom, and I'm sure just a mom in general, is seriously SO hard!! There are days when I feel like I have given so much of myself, that there literally is nothing left to give. I don't even get to use the restroom or shower in peace, without little girls being RIGHT THERE. Thankfully, with Madison walking now, I do feel like I have a little bit more freedom, but it has also opened up a lot more fighting between her and Brooklynn because now she can get in to whatever Brooklynn is playing with, or doing, and it instantly starts a big fight. It's crazy to think that when Brooklynn was this age, I was already several months pregnant with Madison. At this point, I am no where near ready to even think about getting pregnant again! Maybe I'll be fine with just two kids.=) Wink Wink.
Brooklynn just has two more months of being two. (Insert sad face here). She is such a sweet little independent girl, who wants to do most things by herself at this point. She does still need help taking off her shirt, so at least she still needs me for that, and for wiping her bum after she goes #2. So great to feel needed. Ha ha! She routinely wakes up around 6am, and will come downstairs and lay in our bed for a little bit, then she gets up and will go to the fridge and get out her own greek yogurt, which is her favorite breakfast, and I'll come out to an empty yogurt cup and undoubtedly some smeared yogurt on the table. It's so nice to get to sleep for a few more minutes though while she takes care of herself. This momma prefers more of a 7am wake up time. Now if I could just get Madison to stop waking up at 6am too.
Brooklynn loves putting puzzles together, playing with play dough, coloring, painting, blowing bubbles, going to the park, reading books with her dad or me, taking bubble baths, and she is always singing primary songs or "Let it Go" from the movie FROZEN. She loves playing with her little friend, Evan Alder, and loves her little sister. I just recently started a babysitting co-cop with some girls in our ward, and she has loved when we have other friends over to play. Surprisingly, on the days I have other kids here, I am able to get more things accomplished, because they will just play and keep each other entertained and occupied.
Brooklynn is a rule follower and a little OCD like her dad. For example, she has been sick this past week, and last night I gave her some cough medicine before bed and after she drank it from the little cup, I set the cup on her dresser so I could rock her and sing her some songs before bed. She immediately said "Can you please wash that cup?" Just like her dad! I had to tell her the cup would be just fine until she fell asleep, and then I would wash it. ha ha!
She picks her finger and toe nails, and I'm not sure if she gets that from me or from Joe. Joe chews his nails, and I used to bite mine, but since having kids, I have actually done much better.
She loves saying her prayers, and almost always wants to say any meal prayers that we say. I love listening to her pray, it is the sweetest. She loves going to church still and loves nursery. She and Madison love when we sing hymns in church too. They both sit there and pretend they are leading the music.
Madison is 1 year old and Brooklynn
We were able to celebrate sweet little Madison and her first birthday last month! We had a one year photo shoot for her after we took our family pics for this year, and she was just absolutely adorable! I honestly can't imagine my life without that little girl. She's so full of spunk, she's such a happy child, and she brings so much joy into our home. She's 21 pounds and 29" tall. She's in about the 50th percentile for weight and height. I love that she's still little. She has her four front teeth now, and she's just so cute! She has curly hair like my mom, and brown eyes like her dad and sister.
She loves anything that has to do with music, and will start dancing, or bouncing around almost immediately. She loves when I pick her up and dance, twirl, and spin with her, and she'll just laugh the entire time. She's become a pro at finger foods and loves feeding herself. She learned how to drink out of Brooklynn's water bottles with the straws, and the girl can down a bottle of water. She doesn't say any words yet, but she can communicate very well by squawking or screaming, or hitting her tray. She will also start laughing with joy when she gets what she wants. She's determined and tries to be independent. She's started climbing up on Brooklynn's chairs and bed, she can climb the stairs, and she'll climb up on my step that I use to workout. She isn't walking quite yet, but she crawls around at lightning speed.
She HATES anything on her feet. I seriously can not keep socks or shoes on that child's feet to save my life. If I put them on before we leave, she has them off before we get to wherever it is we're going. If I put them on when we get there, she yanks them off in the store or wherever we are. I have all but given up. It's starting to get chilly now and I think people think I'm a bad mom because my kid doesn't have socks or shoes on. ha ha!
She's learned to fight back when Brooklynn takes something she's playing with. Sometimes it takes everything in me not to laugh when I see her start whacking Brooklynn after Brooklynn has aggravated her. Growing up with a little sister, I know that there are many more years of "fighting" and aggravation ahead. On the flip side, I wouldn't trade having my sister for anything in the world. I'm so grateful for Tiffany, and I hope that Brooklynn and Madison can have that kind of close relationship throughout their lives.
She is STILL, at one year of age, waking up in the night for a bottle. I swear, if she weren't just in the 50th percentile, I wouldn't wake up with her in the night. Thankfully though, she will scream till I go in her room, she will pick up her blanket and pull it out with her when I pick her up, and then she'll drink her bottle while I change her diaper, and then I can put her right back in her crib and she will go right back to sleep. Sometimes thinking that it's been OVER A YEAR since I have gotten 7-8 hours of sleep without having to wake up in the night, is just about enough to drive me bonkers. It's a good thing she's cute!
She has a shy streak to her, and it's so funny to watch her bury her little face in my chest when strangers or people from church come up and talk to her.
She easily switched to cows milk, and has loved eating eggs, cheese, yogurt, and a bunch of other foods. She loves avocados, garlic bread, pasta, chicken, bananas, and I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of. Besides fighting me on the issue of socks and shoes, she also fights me on wearing a bib. I have to use the heavier plastic ones, and she'll wear it for a bit before ripping it off and throwing it on the floor. She'll start throwing her food on the floor when she's had enough, and that's how I know she's done. If she doesn't like something, she'll also just drop it off the side of her high chair onto the floor. She's down to one nap a day, and she'll take a good 1 to 2 hour nap, just depending on the day. Before, she was just taking two short 30 minute naps. At least this way I get a little bit of a break from kids because I can put them both down for naps around the same time. Madison has been pretty clingy lately too. She starts crying as soon as we walk in to the gym daycare center. She hates when I leave her with anyone. Hopefully this is just a phase, because if I don't work out I am a little bit on edge. So far I have just let her cry it out, so that I can get that time in, and so she can learn that I'm not leaving her for good. I'll always be there to pick her up.
Brooklynn has reached a huge milestone in her life. She is potty trained!!! Woot Woot!! I really have dreaded the thought of potty training, since she was a newborn. Thankfully, it really ended up being so much easier and less messy than I imagined. Luckily she caught on really quickly, and has a minimal number of accidents. Brittany R. Griffin emailed me "How to fully potty train in 3 days" and I followed that pretty much, with the exception of offering rewards when she went potty. We camped at home for one full day, and I let her have flavored vitamin water and watch movies and she was just in heaven. It got her to have to use the restroom frequently, and gave her some practice. Julie had given me two of Millie's little potties, and Brooklynn did so much better with those than on the big potty. We ventured out to Hobby Lobby on the second day, and as long as I made her go potty before we left, she did great! The instruction said to go cold turkey at night also, and not use pull-ups, because they can be a crutch to the child and the parent. I decided to just buy a couple mattress covers and new sheets, and if I had to change sheets every night until she got it, I would. Fortunately I think she has only had 1 or 2 accidents. It's so nice to not have to change her diapers anymore. As long as I remember to have her use the potty before we leave the house to run errands, or do whatever, she is usually totally fine. We haven't really had a "I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM NOW" type of moment when we have been out in public, so I'm thankful for that. She did great when we flew to Utah for Thanksgiving too, and didn't have any accidents while we were there. Turns out I was terrified of it for no reason!
Brooklynn does great when we go to the gym, and she usually looks forward to spending time with other kids, and most of the time she's camped in front of the tv watching a movie when I go pick her up after my workout. I'm thankful I don't have to deal with two crying children when I drop them off.
She still loves going to nursery, and she loves going to her friend, Evan's house. I really think she will love going to preschool next year.
She loves for me to put her down at night. Our routine is we say family prayers, and then I take her upstairs and she says her personal prayer, and then I will rock her and sing her 3 songs, and then I lay her in her bed, and she'll fall asleep on her own. For the longest time I have sung her the same 3 songs every night because that's what she chooses. "5 little Ducks", "Speckled Frogs" and "Popcorn Popping". She knows every single one of them and sings right along with me.
She is still taking naps, thankfully. For those I usually rock her and sing to her until she falls asleep in my arms, and then I lay her in her bed. If I try to let her fall asleep on her own it doesn't happen. She'll just lay there and sing to herself and then get up and play with all of her stuffed animals. At least this way she is getting the rest her body needs so that she's happy and not a grump, and I am still getting some peace and quiet to myself during the day.
Brooklynn has always been, and continues to be a great eater. She doesn't snack a whole lot, maybe one small snack between breakfast and lunch, and sometimes something between lunch and dinner. But she usually eats whatever I make, and she's not super picky. She doesn't really love rice or macaroni and cheese. She's not a fan of cottage cheese or tomatoes. She will eat almost any fruit though, and she will try most vegetables. Her favorite by far though is canned green beans. She LOVES greek yogurt and that's what she chooses almost every day for breakfast. She always has to have jam on her toast, and it has to be the strawberry freezer jam that I learned to make from my grandma. Surprisingly she loves Tuna and Crackers, and she'll eat Salmon and cooked shrimp. She chooses to say the prayer before meals more often than not, and she loves helping with getting things out for lunch or dinner. She also wants to put her own condiments or salt and pepper on.
She loves reading still and will choose several books every night after scriptures for either Joe or me to read to her.
I feel like she's growing up so quickly. Sometimes I look back at pictures and can't believe how much she has grown and changed in such a short amount of time. She still loves going to the park any chance she can get, she loves the zoo, or the Children's Museum, and feeding the ducks. Her favorite show right now is still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and her favorite movie is Frozen. She also loves Cinderella and Tangled.
She loves going in and getting in the crib with Madison in the morning after she wakes up, and she's always helping with getting wipes or diapers for us to change Madison, or helping with picking out Madison's clothes, and telling me what Madison would like to eat. ha ha!
I made the mistake of telling her she had a braid like Elsa and Anna from FROZEN one day when I braided her hair, and now EVERY day she asks for "A let It Go braid." It's not worth the meltdown and an argument to me, so that's pretty much what her hairstyle is every day. If a braid makes her day, then I'm fine with her having the same hairstyle every day. She gets excited over new clothes or shoes, and will say "OOOOH that's so pretty! Thank you! Thank you!" She gets herself dressed on her own now, and she buckles herself in her carseat, she gets her own bibs on, and grabs her own silverware. She helps with unloading the dishwasher, and tries to help with folding the laundry sometimes. She loves helping me clean the toilets when I clean bathrooms. She loves sprinting the AJAX in, and then helping me use the toilet brush. She'll help refill the toilet paper basket that I keep next to the toilet also.
Brooklynn has reached a huge milestone in her life. She is potty trained!!! Woot Woot!! I really have dreaded the thought of potty training, since she was a newborn. Thankfully, it really ended up being so much easier and less messy than I imagined. Luckily she caught on really quickly, and has a minimal number of accidents. Brittany R. Griffin emailed me "How to fully potty train in 3 days" and I followed that pretty much, with the exception of offering rewards when she went potty. We camped at home for one full day, and I let her have flavored vitamin water and watch movies and she was just in heaven. It got her to have to use the restroom frequently, and gave her some practice. Julie had given me two of Millie's little potties, and Brooklynn did so much better with those than on the big potty. We ventured out to Hobby Lobby on the second day, and as long as I made her go potty before we left, she did great! The instruction said to go cold turkey at night also, and not use pull-ups, because they can be a crutch to the child and the parent. I decided to just buy a couple mattress covers and new sheets, and if I had to change sheets every night until she got it, I would. Fortunately I think she has only had 1 or 2 accidents. It's so nice to not have to change her diapers anymore. As long as I remember to have her use the potty before we leave the house to run errands, or do whatever, she is usually totally fine. We haven't really had a "I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM NOW" type of moment when we have been out in public, so I'm thankful for that. She did great when we flew to Utah for Thanksgiving too, and didn't have any accidents while we were there. Turns out I was terrified of it for no reason!
Brooklynn does great when we go to the gym, and she usually looks forward to spending time with other kids, and most of the time she's camped in front of the tv watching a movie when I go pick her up after my workout. I'm thankful I don't have to deal with two crying children when I drop them off.
She still loves going to nursery, and she loves going to her friend, Evan's house. I really think she will love going to preschool next year.
She loves for me to put her down at night. Our routine is we say family prayers, and then I take her upstairs and she says her personal prayer, and then I will rock her and sing her 3 songs, and then I lay her in her bed, and she'll fall asleep on her own. For the longest time I have sung her the same 3 songs every night because that's what she chooses. "5 little Ducks", "Speckled Frogs" and "Popcorn Popping". She knows every single one of them and sings right along with me.
She is still taking naps, thankfully. For those I usually rock her and sing to her until she falls asleep in my arms, and then I lay her in her bed. If I try to let her fall asleep on her own it doesn't happen. She'll just lay there and sing to herself and then get up and play with all of her stuffed animals. At least this way she is getting the rest her body needs so that she's happy and not a grump, and I am still getting some peace and quiet to myself during the day.
Brooklynn has always been, and continues to be a great eater. She doesn't snack a whole lot, maybe one small snack between breakfast and lunch, and sometimes something between lunch and dinner. But she usually eats whatever I make, and she's not super picky. She doesn't really love rice or macaroni and cheese. She's not a fan of cottage cheese or tomatoes. She will eat almost any fruit though, and she will try most vegetables. Her favorite by far though is canned green beans. She LOVES greek yogurt and that's what she chooses almost every day for breakfast. She always has to have jam on her toast, and it has to be the strawberry freezer jam that I learned to make from my grandma. Surprisingly she loves Tuna and Crackers, and she'll eat Salmon and cooked shrimp. She chooses to say the prayer before meals more often than not, and she loves helping with getting things out for lunch or dinner. She also wants to put her own condiments or salt and pepper on.
She loves reading still and will choose several books every night after scriptures for either Joe or me to read to her.
I feel like she's growing up so quickly. Sometimes I look back at pictures and can't believe how much she has grown and changed in such a short amount of time. She still loves going to the park any chance she can get, she loves the zoo, or the Children's Museum, and feeding the ducks. Her favorite show right now is still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and her favorite movie is Frozen. She also loves Cinderella and Tangled.
She loves going in and getting in the crib with Madison in the morning after she wakes up, and she's always helping with getting wipes or diapers for us to change Madison, or helping with picking out Madison's clothes, and telling me what Madison would like to eat. ha ha!
I made the mistake of telling her she had a braid like Elsa and Anna from FROZEN one day when I braided her hair, and now EVERY day she asks for "A let It Go braid." It's not worth the meltdown and an argument to me, so that's pretty much what her hairstyle is every day. If a braid makes her day, then I'm fine with her having the same hairstyle every day. She gets excited over new clothes or shoes, and will say "OOOOH that's so pretty! Thank you! Thank you!" She gets herself dressed on her own now, and she buckles herself in her carseat, she gets her own bibs on, and grabs her own silverware. She helps with unloading the dishwasher, and tries to help with folding the laundry sometimes. She loves helping me clean the toilets when I clean bathrooms. She loves sprinting the AJAX in, and then helping me use the toilet brush. She'll help refill the toilet paper basket that I keep next to the toilet also.
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