6 Month Stats

Head: 16 7/8 in. (50-75%)

Height: 26 3/4 " (75-90%)

Weight: 14 lbs. 10 oz. (25-50%)

k./'''b,.hc m4- Brooke really wanted to type and this is what she came up with.

Her check-up went well and she was champ during her 3 shots. I'm still clueless on where she's getting her height from but hey, I'm not complaining. Now for the highlights of what she's up to:

-she can roll over from back to front but she hates to roll from front to back. She forgets that she can do it and ends up spreading her arms out and rocking on her belly. Most of the time it leads to a tantrum.

-she started eating solids at 4 months. She likes oatmeal, green beans, and applesauce. Not so much on peas, bananas, peaches,and plain rice cereal.

-she's starting to sit up although she prefers to stand. She can sit for a good couple of seconds then she tips over.

-she has found her tongue and loves to stick it out all the time. Makes it difficult to feed her sometimes.-she's sleeping through the night which is fabulous for Troy and I.

-she loves to play with her pacifiers and yank them out of her mouth with a popping sound.

-she loves to grab anything and everything within her reach. She especially loves to eat paper.
(sorry no pics of that)

All in all she's a great kid and we love her to pieces.

Here's a little bonus of her talking while trying to be fed.

Gung Hay Fat Chow

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!!! My mom would be proud. I hosted a Chinese New Year dinner last night and we had some of our friends from church come over. I made egg drop soup (I know, so authentic), chow mein, potstickers, and almond jello. I do have to say everything was muy delicioso. Troy helped wrap the potstickers and he even crimped the edges. I never do but since we were having guests over, I didn't want to be outdone by my white husband. Thanks Troy!!!!! The other highlight of the week was car hunting. Troy had Monday off from work so we went out to lunch to celebrate his passing his exam. We even had Brooke sit in a highchair. I think she liked not being stuck in a carseat. Like Troy mentioned in the post before, we checked out and test drove the Honda Pilot. Saturday, we went to the GMC/Chevy dealership and test drove the Acadia and Traverse. I'm still a big fan of the Honda Pilot and I think we're leaning more towards that way. Stay tuned. Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll have some pictures.

Making silly faces with Daddy

Just hanging out

I forgot to mention the fabulous weather we had last week. Monday, we were in the 60s. It was windy so it made it slightly chilly but Tuesday and Wednesday were absolutely gorgeous. I believe we broke the record high Wednesday with 71. I wore capris and Brooke was able to wear one of her spring dresses. It was a great couple days but a cruel teaser to spring since it's still January. Currently we are sitting at a whopping 14 degrees. I am so ready for sunshine so we can go on walks. Yesterday we woke up to frost on all the plants and trees. It stayed cold enough all day for it to last. It was pretty to look at but I wish the sun had decided to show it's face.

Brooke loves the beanie uncle Brett made her.

As for Brooke, she hit her 6 month mark on Saturday. Can you believe it?!?!?!?! She's 6 months. She has her Dr. appt tomorrow so I'll post her stats then but to give you a tidbit of what she's doing now, here's a video of her playing peek-a-boo with Troy.

I have a dream...

First, happy Martin Luther King Day to all! He was a great man, who did a lot for this country, without whom a day like tomorrow may not be possible. I'd also like to personally thank him for allowing me to have the day off today!!
Saturday night, we had dinner with Stephanie and Taylor, and it was a lot of fun. It's always good to get out of the house, spend time with other adults, have people make food for you... :)
Speaking of food, Brooke continues to eat well, and stick out her toungue when she is done.

Here she is getting bundled up for a walk to the neighbor's house. This isn't really necessary during the day, since it has been in the mid 60s for the past couple of days, and will be for the next few days. I think the snow and cold gods are just waiting to release their fury!

Our cute little sleeper and her sleeping bear blanket.

What happens when you flick a nipple out of your mouth with warm milk inside? It gets all over you nose!

Tracie and I are off to Old Chicago for lunch, and then on to some car dealerships to get some ideas about how we can stimulate this economy ourselves!

Exam Results

So, exam results came out today, and I passed! Now I can add a ,EA to the end of my email signature! Hooray!! Thanks to all for your support, especially you Tracie. Is it really possible that we may only have one more year of this? Let's celebrate with lunch on Monday, you get to pick the place!

I'm a Big Kid Now

Okay, maybe not a big kid but Brooke is growing up. We bought her a high chair this last week since the bouncer proved to not really hold her in. She seems to like it and I love the fact that I can pin her arms down with the tray so she can't swat at the spoon when I'm trying to feed her. She has also started sleeping all the way through the night as in from 8-7. Not too shabby. She's close to rolling over too but hasn't quite figured out how to get over the arm that's underneath her. I expect that she'll be able to figure it out by the end of the month. Other than that she's still the same easy-going kid and we love her to pieces. So much so that we could eat her cheeks.

This is the face she likes to make when she doesn't want to open her mouth. What a stinker.

We had guests this weekend. It was my old friend, Elise and her family. We didn't get any shots with all of us but we did of the kiddies playing together. I think Brooke liked the entertainment.

Dream

Have you ever had a dream so vivid, you thought it was real? Last night, I was asleep on my back, and I was dreaming that I was throwing Brooke up in the air. On one of the throws, Brooke drifted away from me to the right. So naturally I leaned forward and to the right and made an effort to grab her... and then, contact... with the sides of Tracie's head! I made a couple efforts to grab Brooke before I fully woke up, and realized that I had scared the crap out of Tracie. Sorry babe! At least I wasn't snoring!!!

As promised, video evidence

Happy New Year!!

Well, this has been a weird week from a timing standpoint, since Wednesday and Thursday both seemed like Saturday, and Friday seemed like Monday. Nontheless, it was a nice week to ease back into the routine after the big vacation.

Lexie has enjoyed having us back, especially since we brought home a new fuzzy blanket for her to sleep on.

We celbrated New Year's with some other friends at the Steele's home. The food was good (it always is) and the company was fun. We were going to leave at 10, but then Brooke fell asleep in her car seat. We ended up staying until 11, and by the time we got home, got everthing settled and had just started to doze off, our neighbors set off a nice fireworks display. Luckily it was visible out our bedroom windows, so we watched that and immediately fell back asleep.

On Saturday, we woke up to these ominous looking clouds. The sun was definitely deceiving and the 60 degree temperatures from Friday were quickly a thing of the past. In fact, the high on Saturday was 49, which happened at midnight. We ended up with some snow on Saturday and probably ended up with 3 or 4 inches by the end of the day.

On Saturday morning Brooke woke up with a little bit of a cold and a stuffy nose. She has handled it pretty well for the most part. It was easier to feed her food, since she had to open her mouth to breath. Yet today, she figured out how to breath with her mouth just barely open, making it harder to get the food in. Add that to her talents of smiling with her mouth barely open, laughing with her mouth barely open, and crying with her mouth open, and she has a full repetoire of skills to make feeding her difficult.

Brooke is starting to fill up her bathtub. Once she is able to sit up, we will transfer her to the big tub.

For perspective, here is a shot from 5 months ago.