1 Month Old!

It is so hard to believe that one month has already passed. I'm still trying to figure out what I did to deserve such a perfect little angel. More or less since the beginning, (knocking on wood as I type this) she only wakes me once during the night to eat. She is such an easy going baby, as long as you keep her tummy full, she really never fusses about anything else. (knocking on wood again) This first month has been SO much easier than I could have ever imagined it would be. I was especially afraid of how things would go with 300 pounds of dog running around the house, but even that has gone smoothly!

Brooke with Dega and Lexxi

Lexxi showing how tolerant she is of the baby (I should say tolerant of me, for putting the baby on her while she was napping)

I have been joking all along, that Brooke's Christmas gift to me should be her cord falling out (cuz I hate them!) She must have been listening to my requests, because right before bath time on Christmas Eve, off came her cord!

Brooke showing off her inny (notice she also found her thumb)!

Below are some pictures of her monthly photo shoot.








Overall, it has been a pretty uneventful month. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring!

Christmas Day

This will probably be the first and last year I will have to wake Brooke up on Christmas morning. As soon as we woke up, we headed downstairs to see what Santa had brought.

And one more thing Santa...

Brooke, still half asleep, showing off her new toys

Brooke all dressed up and ready for the day

After we opened presents, Ashley, Brooke and I (Daddy had to work) headed to Auntie Aunt Jean's for the day. Brooke and Ashley got to meet my mom's side of the family for the first time. Brooke must have loved being passed around the entire morning, because she was on her best behavior ever! She was wide awake the entire morning, looking around, taking it all in and we never once heard a peep out of her!

Brooke hanging out with her Gramma

Santa stopped by Aunt Jean's to drop off some presents

Brooke checking out her new play mat that Gramma and Papa bought her

I don't know what I did to deserve Brooke, but she is the best Christmas present ever! It was a wonderful Christmas and a great time was had by all!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we spent the evening at Darren's moms house with his family. Brooke got to meet her Aunt Pam, Uncle Tan and cousins Sarah and Gloria for the first time. Brooke being such a good girl the past 3 weeks must have paid off. She received lots of great gifts... clothes, books and her first baby doll! Brooke wanted to make sure Santa paid a visit to her house, so she was a perfect angel the entire evening.

Brooke in her Christmas best

Brooke with her big sister Leanna

Brooke with her big sister Ashley

All 3 girls for their first picture under Nana's tree

Brooke sound asleep in her Nana's arms

Brooke waiting for mommy to open her present

Merry Christmas to all!

3 Weeks!

Time sure flies by when you are having fun, Brooke is still the best baby ever! Brooke is still letting me sleep 4-6 hours at night. She is becoming much more alert and spending more time awake than last week. She has discovered her thumb and is starting to love to smile! The only time she really ever fusses is when she is hungry and believe me, she lets you know! The little piggy has eaten so much this week, she is up to 8.6 pounds!

This week was pretty uneventful, in comparison to last week, however, we did get to visit with some friends and family. On Wednesday, Auntie Molly came over to visit Brooke. We had fun doing a photo shoot of Brooke. Below are a few of my favorites.

Wide awake and ready for pictures!

You guys sure are funny putting me in a basket with ornaments!

Ok, you wore me out, it's nap time!

On Friday, we went to see Cousin Sandy & Ray. It was nice visiting with them.



On Sunday, I decided to do another photo shoot with the idea Ashley gave me, of putting Brooke in a basket that looks like a sleigh.

And finally, Brooke laying on the blanket her Great Auntie Marie made her.

2 Weeks!

For starters, I want to say that I think Brooke may be the best baby ever! I feel phenomenal and a lot of it has to do with my baby girl letting me sleep at night. Since her second night home, she has been sleeping about 5 hours at a time at night, only waking me once to eat. And it is a good thing, I am well rested, because Brooke had a very busy week!

On Monday, the morning started out with taking Ashley to school for the first time. She was still asleep when it was time to go. So I bundled her up and put her straight into her car seat. We also went out on a small shopping adventure to get some things we needed. Brooke slept the entire 3 hours we were out and about.
Big Yawn! Did you have to wake me up Mommy?

On Tuesday, I had to go to my doctor's office for a follow-up visit, since I got released from the hospital so quickly. Everything with me checked out great, everything was healing ahead of schedule and I was released to drive and more or less do everything, except exercise. (not like I had listened anyways, but it was good to know the doctor was ok with it) Dr. Bromberger was happy to see her, since the last time she had seen her, she was gooey and wet.

After the doctor's we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa's house for a short visit. Of course they were happy to see her. She was actually awake for the visit, so they got to see her with her eyes open for a few hours, not just a few minutes like in the past.
Baby Brooke just hanging out at her grandparents house.

On Wednesday, Auntie Jean came out to go with me to Brooke's follow-up visit at the pediatrician's. She was all decked out in her Christmas Day outfit and looked adorable! The nurses oooo'ed and ahhh'ed over her, 2 of them even fought over who got to hold her and carry her back to her room.

She weighted in at 7 lbs and 11 ounces, which put her in the 40th percentile for weight and measured in at 21 inches long, which was the 82nd percentile for height. The doctor was pleased with her weight gain and explained that more than likely she will start packing on the pounds in the near future. Everything checked out great with her and the doctor was very happy with all of her progressions. Her next visit is in the beginning of February for her 2 month check-up.

After we left the doctor's office, we headed out to the outlet mall in Aurora. It was Brooke's first trip to an outdoor mall and Auntie Jean's first trip only going into children's stores. Auntie Jean couldn't resist buying her a few outfits from Baby Gap. Not like it is a surprise, but this baby is already very, very spoiled and very well dressed!

On Thursday, Brooke went with me to my golf leagues holiday luncheon. She was the hit of the party! She was passed around like a hot potato and guess what? She slept through the entire party, surprise, surprise!

The league (M.W.G.C) gave her a special onesie. A little big on her right now, but should be perfect for golf season!

Brooke decided to wake up once we got home!

On Friday, Nana came out to take Leanna, Ashley and Brooke to see Santa at Yorktown Mall. We were smart and went right after school, so the line was pretty short. Brooke was sound asleep waiting in line and the girls did their best to wake her, but guess what? Once again, Brooke slept through it all, and was sound asleep in Santa's arms. The picture turned out beautiful, but unfortunately I don't have it on my computer at the moment. I will share it as soon as I can. After Santa, we all came back to our house, ordered some pizza for dinner and enjoyed spending time with all 3 sisters together!
Brooke taking a nap before going to see Santa


On Saturday, Darren and I took all 3 girls to Aunt Jean's Country Club for Breakfast with Santa. Ashley and Leanna behaved wonderfully and guess what Brooke did? Slept through the entire party! Again, she was passed around to Aunt Jean's closest friends, but nothing seemed to wake her up, not even the loud music and laughter of all the other children at the party. A great time was had by all!
Brooke sound asleep in Santa's arms
All 5 of us in Santa's throne
Auntie Aunt Jean in Santa's throne with Baby Brooke

Finally on Sunday, we had a day off to finally relax. I think we all needed it! I can only hope that Brooke continues sleeping like a champ!

1 Week Old

Wow! Hard to believe an entire week has passed already! As for me, I feel GREAT! I'd say I feel about 90-95% "normal". No heart burn, no acid reflux, no constant bathroom trips, minimal backaches and I actually feel rested! Brooke is a GREAT sleeper and is kind enough to give me anywhere from 4-6 hours of straight sleep at night (way more than I was getting)!

On Thursday, Auntie Aunt Jean came out to visit and meet Brooke for the first time. She took us to the pediatrician for Brooke's first visit. Everything about her checked out perfect, she is already getting A+'s! We have to go back this week, for 1 more check-up to make sure she is packing on the pounds accordingly.

Brooke all dressed up, waiting patiently to leave for the doctor...

Auntie Aunt Jean, loving and adoring her new niece...

Brooke and I had her first monthly photo shoot. We plan on doing this every month, so we can watch how she grows... I wonder how many months until she makes the monkey look small?


Brooke supporting her favorite team... GO FINS!

Brooke expressing her feelings towards Jet fans...

Brooke also got to experience her 1st bath given by Daddy... Daddy did a super job and Brooke did AWESOME! You can be the judge from the pictures below of who did a better job... Brooke's first bath at the hospital or her first bath with Daddy.

Brooke's reaction after her first bath at the hospital...

Brooke in her bathtub at home...

Brooke's reaction after her first bath with Daddy...

Finally, Brooke got to celebrate her 1 week birthday with Ashley, the neighbor Johnny and Lexxi.

Homebound!

Brooke and I were released by noon on Tuesday, November 30th. We just had to wait for Daddy to leave work to come pick us up. At 2:30pm, we were on our way home with our newest addition. Brooke slept the whole way home.


We were welcomed home by some cute decorations that Leanna & Ashley had made, of course with the help of Nana.


The dogs behaved wonderfully! They make sure to always check-up on her and make sure she is ok.



Lexxi being sure not to miss anything, while Nana holds the baby.


The trip home went great, let's just hope it continues!