Here we go again!!

Tomorrow I start school. The beginning and ending of each school year is always bitter sweet. I am excited in some ways, yet nervous and anxious too. This year is going to be extra tough because I will have to leave Brooklyn each day (and be out of the house at 7:00 a.m. fully functioning on little sleep!!!). I know she is receiving awesome care while I am at school, but after being home with her every day all summer, it will be an adjustment for both of us!!!

We all have been sick here. Eric first had a bad head cold/sore throat. The next week Brooklyn got a bad cold and after a few days developed ear infection. Three days after that I went in and had a sinus infection. No fun!!!! I am hoping we are on the mends here and that the sickness doesn't continue on and on like it did during the school year last year. I guess that is one of the joys of being a teacher--you are exposed to a lot of crud each day! Hand sanitizer has become my new best friend.

We haven't really done anything fun lately so I'll share a few pictures of everyday life.

Brooklyn enjoying her duck tub that we got from her cousin. The first few baths she screamed because she was deathly afraid of the thing--especially when it quacked (you need to pinch its beak)! Now she loves it!!

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Daddy getting me out of the tub.

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Brooklyn cheesin' out

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Her first corn on the cob experience

Sorry these videos are so dark. Our digital camera isn't exactly high quality :)

Uneventful

Uneventful...that basically sums up our life right now. Last week Eric was gone on a fishing trip to Pierre so Brooklyn and I spent a lot of time outside going on walks, swinging at the park, and swimming in her little pool. I am going to miss doing this stuff during the day with her when I go back to school. I love spending so much time with her!!!! Brooklyn has been doing absolutely wonderful lately. Two weeks ago I took her back in because she was projectile vomiting after each feeding and I was sick of scrubbing my carpet 5+ times a day (and all the blankets, bibs, spit rags, shirts, etc. and everything else that got hit). We would sit her on blankets or towels on the floor and somehow she still would manage to get our carpet! The doctor put her on Zantac again and the combination of that and the soy formula has done the trick (when she was on Zantac at 4 weeks old, she was still on milk-based formula and not soy). After her third dose of the medicine she slept from 9:00 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. straight!!!!! She has basically done this now every night since then and sometimes even makes it until 6:00 a.m.!!!! It is wonderful to get a large amount of interrupted sleep again...it had been WAY too long! She is also napping more during the day. She is so happy and makes us laugh non-stop. She is at such a fun age and it is so neat to see her develop/change each week. Here's some pictures for you to enjoy!

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She likes to cock her head to the side now....hmmm, is this an Auntie Shelly trait?? :)

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Swimming in my pool...

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Just lounging in Dad's chair...

As you can see in the pictures by her many rolls, Brooklyn loves to eat. Awhile back I was unloading the dishwasher and Brooklyn was in her saucer watching me. As I took some of her baby spoons out of the dishwasher she started to shake and get all excited. I put the spoons in the drawer and she started crying. I took one back out and showed it to her and immediately she stopped crying and started to pant and get all excited. It was hilarious!!! Here is a video showing you how excited she gets when she sees food. I wish you could hear her panting in the video. Watch her arms and legs go though...she gets the shakes!!! ;)

The Fair

Two nights last week we took Brooklyn to the Rock County Fair. She loved it! All the animals, noise, and people to look at were right up her alley! Here are some pictures:

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So my Mom thought Brooklyn should get up close and personal with the sheep...

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and, by the look on Brooklyn's face, you can tell what she thought of that idea :)

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A beautiful rainbow after the rain storm. We decided to walk to the fair that night--bad idea! We were stuck in one of the buildings for over an hour waiting out the storm. We were a bit wet and muddy by the time we got home.

I have a funny story to share with you that happened today. A friend of mine had a baby yesterday so Brooklyn and I went to see her at the hospital. While we were there Brooklyn started to get fussy, so after pulling out every toy/object in her diaper bag in hopes of distracting her, I decided it was time to go home. When I buckled her in her car seat she started to cry and by the time I got on the road, she was screaming. Thankfully we live close to the hospital (I hate it when she screams in the car...way too small of a space for that kind of noise :) So I pull into our garage and quickly went to open the back car door, when I see a cop car with its lights on in our driveway. Oh great! The officer gets out of his car (and our neighbor kids come running out of their house to see what's going on) and tells me that I was speeding. I immediately apologized and told him that my daughter was screaming and I just wanted to get her home. On the verge of tears, I again told him I was sorry and that my baby was crying and I was just focused on getting home. At that point I realized Brooklyn was still in the car so I went to get her thinking that once he heard her high-pitched, deafening screams that he would understand and let me off the hook. So I take her out of her seat and she immediately is quiet and looks over at the police officer and smiles...SMILES!!!! Not just a little grin either--a big huge smile!!! Seriously!!! Not only did he pull me over for speeding, but now he is going to think I am a liar too!!! Thankfully her eyes were all red and she still had tears running down her face. Again I try to explain myself while he is running my license and then Brooklyn started to fuss again so he told me this time I was off the hook and that just because I have a daughter who is crying in the backseat, doesn't make it okay to speed. I thanked him and quickly grabbed Brooklyn and took her in the house...before she could look at him and give him another smile. I guess there are advantages to having a baby that can really scream :)