Happy Halloween Every Buggy!

Before the day really began, we dressed up both our bugs and took some pics outside. Its really cold here today, so Brooke was lucky that we got her a cold-weather Halloween costume. Because she is essentially wearing pants and a hoodie, she really doesnt notice she is wearing a costume at all. But, she sure did notice that Wrigley had a costume on! And she was thrilled.

By the look on the dog's face, you can tell that the joy only belongs to one of the bugs. The Butterfly thinks the Bee is pretty awesome ... the Bee not only isn't so happy with the Butterfly (who cannot stop herself from grabbing the Bee's wings) but isn't so happy with being a Bee in the first place. Luckily, we have a dog that will endure anything for a treat.

Fall Fun

First Sentence?

We thought that Brooke said this the other day, but sometimes she is just a jumble of words and we think she might be saying something but arent sure. She mixes incoherent babble and real words together on a regular basis, and as first time parents we eagerly listen in hopes something delightful comes out of her mouth :)

Today she said it again, which confirms we werent making it up last time

"Bye, Dad"

She loves to say "bye" (not bye-bye or buh-by or anything like that, just bye). I think she eagerly waits for people to leave just so she can shout it out. She also loves to say "Dad", in many versions from "da" to "da da" to "dad". She simply says the word or sings it, just depends on her mood. She also loves to say "bye" to her Daddy. When he leaves a room, goes into the bathroom, goes up or down the stairs or just disappears from her sight.

Tonight Daddy went to get the mail, and Brooke and I watched from the top of the stairs. He got to the bottom of the stairs (still in her eyesight) and she shouted "Bye, Dad".

How cute is that?

And it might mean she is pretty darn smart, because putting to words together generally doesnt happen until later. Babycenter says 19 to 24 months and What To Expect says 18 months, in fact!

Reading At Starbucks

While Mommy enjoys her morning coffee, Brooke reads an in-house
book ... That has flaps she can lift all by herself!

Cabinet Exploration

Guess what? Another rainy day. Today it's actually ok because Brooke
is a bit under the weather. So we are spending some time checking out
what's in the cabinet.

First Pumpkin Patch Trip

This morning was the nicest morning we have had in a week. Still a bit cool, but no rain. We decided it would be a good day for Brooke's 1st trip to the Pumpkin Patch. She must have been really excited, because she woke up extra early this morning :) We got her all dressed, packed up, got into the car and headed off to Didier Farms, about a thirty minute drive. As we were driving, Brooke realized that she woke up a bit too early this morning ... and passed out about 1/2 way through the trip. That means, when we got to the farm, this was the level of excitement we got from Brooke.

After we woke her up, it took her a few minutes to gather in her surroundings. From the moment she was fully alert until we left, there was a lot of waving and shrieking going on. Brooke got to see lots of animals: pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, ponies and a llama. She correctly said "neigh" to the ponies, but for most other animals it was either a shriek or a "moo". Close enough though!

After we checked out the lay of the land, it was time to pick out some pumpkins. Until that point we had been carrying Brooke. Though she is walking, the recent rain created a really huge mud pit at Didier Farms. They kept laying down more hay to walk on, but as soon as you walked on it it sunk into the mud and you were back to square one. The pumpkin area wasnt too bad, so I put her down to check them out.

And, of course, she immediately sat down in the mud next to them.

She wasnt too thrilled with the idea of picking a pumpkin out. We convinced her that getting her own little pumpkin would be awesome, and with Mommy's help we found the perfect one. After picking out another little pumpkin for Mommy, and a big one for Daddy, Daddy put all of the pumpkins into the wagon. This is where Brooke got very excited, in fact, it was definitely the highlight of our whole trip. She wanted to push the pumpkins around in the wagon ... and that she did! Didnt matter that there was a ton of mud, a rusty old wagon, or 25 lbs of pumpkin ... she was going to push that thing as hard and as far as she could.

After we spent some time pushing our pumpkins around in the wagon, it was time to head to lunch, and then home for a nice nap. It was a pretty great day. One that she won't remember, but her Mommy and Daddy sure will!

ANOTHER Gloomy Day

It feels like it's been a week since we have been outside. It's cold
and rainy every day, with no end in sight. So we walk in a lot of
circles, read a lot of books ... And spend a lot of time looking out
the windows.

Stuck Inside On A Rainy Day

Guilty Confession

I read everywhere about the challenges of transitioning to one nap. I have heard many other mothers still struggling with the transition months after they began it. I have talked to friends with babies the same age as Brooke who either have babies that are still not even on a regular nap schedule, or if they are regular nappers, are not ready to move to one nap yet. Most of them have no clue how they will do it when the time comes.

So here is my confession...

Brooke "transitioned" in one day. She went from two naps a day to one nap a day overnight. Without out fuss. Without struggle. Easy as pie.

I was really nervous the first day we tried it. Generally she wakes at 7 and naps at 10. The first morning we tried to eliminate a nap and go down to 1 she had slept in until 8. I figured it would be easy to push her nap until 11 and I would push a bit more till 11:30 or 12. So I fed her lunch at 11 to keep her awake and put her down at 12:20. She slept for about 2 hours and went to bed that night at 7PM.

The next day we ate lunch at the normal time (12:00) and went down for a nap at 1:30, and thats been the schedule ever since. She hasnt been tired, hasnt fought a nap, and has had great night time sleep.

This whole parenting thing is a piece of cake ;)

What A New Perspective Brings

Brooke is walking more than crawling now, and its changed a lot of how she goes about her activities. She isnt looking at the floor anymore, she is looking straight ahead ... and sometimes even up. This helps her see new things (meaning new trouble) that she did not previously notice. Today it was the corner cabinet.

We have most of our cabinets childproofed, but were told that we should leave a couple of them unlocked in order to provide opportunities for Brooke to explore. The corner cabinet is a tougher one to latch, and one that I primarily keep tupperware in ... so we left it open. And today, she realized it.

The Object Of The Day

Brooke likes to carry around objects when she walks. Usually, they
are HUGE objects ... Like pillows. Today it's a beanie baby tiger
(which we call a "kitty") that she I insists on carrying everywhere.
While I wish she would focus more on improving her walking skills
instead of trying to transport items ... I do have to admit she looks
pretty cute carrying the kitty around ;)

Future Mechanic

Brooke likes to check UNDER her car. She will lay on the floor next
to it and look under it, and flip it over (pictured) to check out
what's going on underneath.

We might finally (someday) have someone with actual automobile
knowledge in the family!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I promise to always be a Daddy's Girl ... As long as you continue to
do what I tell you to.

Time To Move To One Nap?

Brooke has had a crazy run with naps lately. About a month ago she changed her two 1.5 hour naps to two 2 hour naps. I think this was just something she had to do with the increase in activity: cruising, talking, modeling after other behaviors. She was just pooped! She then went back to 1.5 hour naps. But, she was staying awake longer between naps and her bedtime shifted from 7 until 8pm (occasionally even later), with still the same wakeup time. Essentially, she was losing sleep at night and not making up for it during the day. More recently she has been all over the place. She has been very random with her AM nap. Sometimes she will try to fall asleep only 2 or so hours after she wakes up. Other times she fights her usual naptime (3 hours after she gets up). Some days she sleeps for 45 minutes, other times its for 2 hours.

I figured the later bedtime, combined with the odd AM nap, might mean its time to move to 1 nap. Generally, by 18 months all toddlers are on one-nap-a-day, but the transition is often difficult and happens at different times for different babies. (Check out a bit about napping for 1-2 year olds here).

There is one other random thing she does regarding sleep. She wakes up every morning at about 6:45, but about once or twice a week she sleeps an extra hour ... till 7:45. It doesnt seem to be related to anything. Not her bedtime, or her activity level, or what we did the day before ;) This morning was one of those days. While it created some issues getting to our 8:30AM class, it did provide me an opportunity to push her nap for today. Since she woke up later, I decided to try to keep her up and put her down AFTER lunch. So we went to class, went to Target, came home and played, ate lunch (early), played some more, and went down for a nap at 12:20. I'm hoping she sleeps for a while and that will be it for today! I am sure it will take many months until she is consistently on one nap, but for now its a work in progress. Today marks the official start of our transition. (Wish us luck)

Hello Winter

(Yes, she is eating her stroller muff. She is funny like that)

We Have A "Toddler"

Brooke has been teking steps here and there for weeks, but has just
recently begun taking some initiative with walking. She still prefers
to crawl, but is pretty steady on her feet and getting more confident
with walking each day. I'm sure it won't be long till she is running
to escape the grasp of her parents ;)

Another Present!

Brooke actually got TWO more presents today! And although it has been
a few days, guess what is still her favorite?

(hint: look at her hand)

Monkeying Around

It's Party Time!

In order to celebrate Brooke's 1st birthday, we hosted a little family get-together. There were about 25 people in attendance, and Brooke made sure everyone knew she was the star of the day :)

The morning started off great and Brooke went down for her nap a bit after 10 ... with expectations that she would wake up at 12, the time the party was supposed to start. Unfortunately, she was so excited about her party she couldnt sleep. She cut her nap short and woke up crabby. Both her Mom & Dad were a bit concerned. Turns out, we were worried about nothing. Brooke was so busy showing off that she forgot she was crabby, and in fact, stayed up about 2 hours later than she normally does for her second nap. She was awake for her whole party! Here is a little recap. Brooke greeted all of her guests with a little piano solo
There was one constant for the party - the balloon(s). Everywhere Brooke went she had to have her balloon.
She didnt have any cake, she had raspberries instead ... her favorite!!!
After raspberries it was time to open presents. Brooke didnt understand it, but Wrigley showed her how to do it.
Brooke got a lot of wonderful presents, including a baby doll ...
her very own cash register,
quite a few books,
a set of balls that she can hold in one hand,
and a ride on toy that has a secret compartment under the seat!
Brooke ended her special day by enjoying a book in her new rocking chair.
Though the party was for Brooke, Wrigley found herself quite exhausted at the end of the day :)

Brooke Is ONE!

My how she has grown...

Weight:24lbs 11oz
Height:31 inches


According to What to Expect the First Year, at 12 months Brooke...

should be able to

• walk holding on to furniture (cruise) X
• use a few gestures to get needs met X

will probably be able to

• play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye X
• drink from a cup independently sort of
• pick up a tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger X (cleans the floor for us!)
• stand alone momentarily X
• say "dada" or "mama" discriminatelyX
• say one word other than "mama" or "dada"X (current faves are "more" & "bye")

may possibly be able to

• "play ball" (roll ball back to you) throws ball back!
• stand alone wellX
• use immature jargoning (gibberish that sounds as if baby is talking in a made-up foreign language) X
• walk well

may even be able to

• say three words or more other than "mama" and "dada" X
• respond to a one-step command without gestures ("Give that to me," said without hand out)

X means Brooke can do this at 12 months