Last Soccer Class

This morning was Brooke's last soccer class. It went pretty well, in that she actually participated in a few things here and there ;)

She kicked a couple of balls, ran in a few races, and played with bubbles.
She did kick real soccer balls too, these ones are given to them to try to encourage high/hard kicks and bouncing off the head/chest (which they do in older kids classes) versus straight into the goal.

She also participated in her new favorite thing - the team cheer!

Hanging With Some (Distant) Relatives

I'm Officially A Mommy

Since Brooke first started talking, I've been "Ma Ma". About a week
ago, "Da Da" became "Daddy" and in the past few days I've become
"Mommy".

It strange to hear her call me that, after a year of being something
else. I wonder what made her decide to change things up ;). Suddenly
it seems like our baby is gone and we've got a little girl doing all
the talking!

Snug As A Bug

Did a little swimming, but both the water and the temp were pretty
cool. Though that doesn't stop Brooke, she did feel the effects once
she was done. Of course, she still didn't want to go inside ;)

So I wrapped her up in her towel and she roamed around the backyard
like this until she finally had to be dragged back inside. (Even the
promise of putting on her Elmo t-shirt wasn't convincing enough!)

A Birthday Party!

We had a big day today. Brooke was invited to her friend Paige's 4th birthday party! We have been talking to her about the party all week, and she was very aware that something cool was going to happen today. During the week we would ask her "where are we going this weekend?" and she would reply "Paige party". We were hoping that it would live up to all the hype, and it did.

The kids were definitely older than Brooke. Most (but not all) were bigger than her too. There were a lot of games played that Brooke couldnt really take part in because she got a bit trampled, but she gave it her best effort. She turned down birthday cake (which was awesome because Mommy got to eat it) but did not turn down the goodie bag. In fact, that goodie bag must be one of the coolest things she has ever seen.

First thing she did?

Pull out the sweet pair of sunglasses and put them on.


This was a truly special day because the party ran during Brooke's nap. We knew she wouldnt want to miss the party, so we let her skip nap in order to attend. She did awesome at the party, but only made it about 5 minutes in the car before she zonked out.
(Man, that was a good party)

Since we have been home Brooke has been doing two things. 1) Taking everything out of the goodie bag, admiring the contents, then placing it all back in and 2) Singing the new song she learned today "Happy Birthday"! She likes to take turns singing it to Paige and then to herself ... which isnt too far off base since her birthday is just in a few weeks :)

What's Cooking

We have a microwave in our kitchen island, perfect height for the eyes (and hands) of a toddler. Brooke discovered it quite a few months ago and would stand in front of it staring at her reflection. That progressed a few months later to pushing buttons ... and she would frequently start the microwave. A few weeks ago she learned how to open the door of the microwave. While its annoying, it seemed to distract her from pushing the buttons. I'd rather have her opening the door than pushing the start button all the time.

Today she was playing around with it again as I made breakfast. First, she stood in front of it an pointed at the buttons as she counted "one, two, three, four, five, six, nine, ten" (yes, she always skips 7 & 8). Then she opened it and was playing with the turntable inside. I asked her not to play in the microwave, closed the door, and went back to breakfast. Shortly after that I hear it start up and she is standing in front of it. I yell "no, no, no!" and push the button to stop it. I went back to making breakfast. Then she opens the door and I get a peek inside.

I guess it was bound to happen sooner than later, but I thought maybe I would be able to escape this stage in microwave exploration. Guess not :(

Air & Water Show

We went down to the lakefront to watch the Air & Water show. As we were looking for parking, Brooke squealed and hollered from the back of the car "BEACH! BEACH!" as soon as she spotted the lake. She was sure we were going swimming, which wasnt in the plan. The more excited she got, the more worried I got. It isnt very easy trying to rationalize with an (almost) 2-year-old. I was not looking forward to explaining to her that we would not be going in the water ... just sitting close to it.

We got out to the lakefront and set up a blanket and two chairs. She kept talking about the "beach" and "swimming". I tried to convince her to eat lunch, she said "no lunch. beach". So I pulled out the big guns: bubbles.

Luckily, the bubbles worked. She learned to blow them herself and was so thrilled she could hardly even think about anything else.

In addition to bubbles, we did get her to eat a bit of lunch. She also spent some time learning how to play frisbee with Daddy, which also was a big hit.

As for the planes flying overhead that we went down there with the intent to watch?
She had some trouble seeing the planes with her hands over her eyes, but Daddy sure did think they were cool!

Pee Pee In The Potty!

We have been talking to Brooke about the potty for a while. She has her own little potty that she sits on in the bathroom, but she has been getting used to it still ... she sits on it fully clothed.

Almost two months ago she was really into the potty. She was excited about her new potty and wanted to take off her diaper and sit on it. Then she got sick. She was pretty sick for almost two weeks, and after she got better she was very against the potty. Did not want to go near it. So we forgot about it for a while.

Recently she has some new interest. We also bought a seat to adapt the one in her bathroom, so there were a couple of options. Recently we noticed that she pees pretty soon after she takes a bath, so we have started sitting her on the potty after the bath while we sing a few songs.

Today she peed in the potty for the first time! YAY!

22 Months Old

Brooke is 22 months old! While that fact is exciting alone, it is more exciting that she had a first today as well. Her first jump!

She says "jump" all of the time, but actually she gallops. Its more of a skip with one foot at a time, not a two-footed jump. Oddly enough, I get a weekly update from Babycenter on her development and this is what it says about a 22-month-old-toddler.

Your toddler can probably hop off the bottom step of a staircase by throwing one foot forward and letting the other follow. But true jumping, where both feet leave the ground at the same time and then land squarely, is a skill that requires excellent balance and may take a few more months to master. You can help her practice two-footed jumping by putting some pillows on the floor and letting her leap onto them from something low, like a child-size footstool.

So she is obviously awesome as she accomplished the feat of "true jumping" on her 22 month birthday, before she supposedly should be able to :)