Hat Lovin

Every kid I know hates hats. Not Brooke! She talks about hats all
the time, requests to wear one in the house and won't let me take it
off once she has it on. Here she is watching her favorite show, Yo
Gabba Gabba, with a hat on (of course).

For Uncle Tim

We have recently discovered that Brooke has chosen a select few words that are worthy of a deep raspy voice. The words include bacon, blueberries, bagel, cracker and pancake. We arent sure why :) She sounds normal with all of her other words, but these few words she feels deserve a unique interpretation.

Uncle Tim asked for me to capture the uniqueness that is Brooke...

The Search Is Over

On Her Own Terms

Brooke didn't want to wear these headphones on the plane, but since
we've been home she insists on wearing them at least once a day ...
And what Brooke wants, Brooke gets ;)

"She's So Tall"

Inevitably, when you are chatting with someone else who has a child that appears to be somewhere within the age range of your child (anywhere within a year or so) people will ask "So, how old is she/he?". This question comes up any time I speak with someone who has a child, I'd say every 2-3 days. And though I'm not a one to generally talk with random strangers, having a child appears to open oneself up to random stranger talk - in the line at Starbucks, at a store, on the street, in public restrooms while your kid is having a diaper-change-fit, and most commonly where other children are at play like a class or the park.

So every 2-3 days another person asks me how old Brooke is. I reply "16 months". They reply (with a suprised look) something along the lines of "she's so tall". I guess meaning that they thought my kid was a lot older since she towers over their kid by a good couple of inches.

I honesly have no clue how tall Brooke is at the moment. Her last measurement was at her 12 month appointment, which was almost 5 months ago now. (At that time, she was in the 90-95th percentile in both height and weight, which she pretty much has been since she was born). I can confirm she has indeed had some sort of growth spurt, but whether or not she is some sort of little-giant I do not know. She looks pretty normal sized to me, but then again, regardless of her current height I have a good couple of feet on her.

My goal is to try to get her measured for her 17-month "birthday" (March 1) so we can see what were actually working with here. In the meantime, I'm looking for a toddler basketball camp in case any one knows of one ;)

Another First: Using A Fork (Successfully)

Brooke has been tinkering with silverware. She can put a spoon to her mouth but cannot scoop the food herself. Essentially, I fill up the spoon and hand it to her and she puts it into her mouth. She hasn't really understood the idea of a fork until today. I showed her how to stab a piece of zucchini with the fork and then handed it to her, she put it in her mouth. She then took the fork herself and made a few attempts to pick up a piece. Finally, she got one! And she got two more after that :) Go Brooke!

A First: Up On The Couch

Brooke has been trying to climb on stuff for months. You name it, she will attempt to get up on it. The majority of her attempts are unsuccessful thus far ... she just cant seem to figure it out. Yesterday she finally got herself up on the couch, but seems to be unaware of her accomplishment. She is probably so used to us giving her a little boost she assumes that was how she got up there :) Today she has made several attempts, each one of them unsuccessful.

I doubt she is a one-hit-wonder. I fully expect Brooke to be all over the furniture within the next week or so!

Getting Ready For Her Trip

Brooke is getting ready for her upcoming flight by practicing wearing her new headphones.

16 Months

Brooke is 16 months old today. She had quite the busy day.

She ate lunch with a monkey.

Wrestled a pillow.

And sat in a basket.

She leads a very busy life...