Friday, May 30, 2008

"privacy please"

Whenever Brooklyn sits on the potty she likes to have both doors shut to the bathroom. I made the mistake of saying everytime she shut the door, "oh, do you need your privacy" and she always replied "yeah". A couple weeks ago she started to say "i privacy" when she would shut the door. Well today i was making lunch and Brooklyn walked past me into the bathroom, a couple minutes go by and i go to check on her and she stands up off the potty and shut the door in my face and said "privacy". I was shocked!!!!!!!! So i decided to let her have her privacy. I suddenly hear the toilet flush and she knocked on the door for me to open it. I let her out and checked the potty and sure enough Brooklyn pooped, dumped the potty wiped and flushed. She also today went pee on the adult toilet for the first time...yay now she doesnt need to wear diapers out in public anymore!!!!!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

photo shoot

These are my favorites!














Since Christmas i have been wanting to get Brooklyn in to get some pictures taken. We only were able to get a few good shots but the few good ones are adorable!!!!!!!! I am so glad she was able to get Brooklyns signature cheesy smile!!!!!

Santa Ana Zoo








We were going to go to Disneyland today with Tara but decided last minute to go to the zoo because Brooklyn and I are going with Lisa and Jackson to Disneyland tomorrow. We had such a great time. They don't have tons of animals but Brooklyn is slightly obsessed with monkeys right now and they have a wide selection of monkeys. Brooklyn walked almost the whole time, again another sign of being a "big girl". She thinks strollers are for babies. The highlights for Brooklyn were the monkeys, feeding the goats, picking out whatever she wanted from the gift shop (the benefit of going with Tara, she cant say no to her)and of course picking out a stuffed monkey and watching the choo choo train go by. My highlight was lunch afterwards at Fridays and sharing a brownie ice cream Carmel thing...yummmmm!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Sweet Success




Well she did it...no more diapers. (well, except at night and nap) We bought her first pair of "big girl" underwear, she of course picked Cinderella. She is down to only maybe one or sometimes two accidents a day! The best part is that I don't even need to remind her, I just hear "poopoo" and the little patter of feet through the kitchen. When i get there she is already undressed (depending on what she is wearing) and usually sitting on the potty. She even wipes herself, dumps the potty and flushes!

The next American Idol




We pretty much stole the show...

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Grandparents Day Out













I have been promising my Grandparents for along time now that I would take them to my work. My Opa has an eye and a touch for beautiful gardens and landscaping. It was neat to see them be in awe over the property. It is funny because words and even pictures don't do my work any justice, you just have to experience it in person. I don't think they believed me when i told them it was prettiest place i had ever been...now they agree!

Friday, May 16, 2008

The BIG One Eight!!!!

Today is Brooklyn's half birthday...the big 18 months! It is hard to believe that my baby has officially turned into a toddler. I remember crying this same day last year in complete disbelief that she was turning 6 months old! It has been a whirlwind of a year. In twelve months time Brooklyn has learned to crawl, stand, walk, run, talk, go potty in the toilet, play games, dance, sing, the list could go on and on! Just in this past week Brooklyn went from a 1 year old to a 2 year old. She now wants to watch the same movie over and over and over and over again and cries when it ends, doesn't eat the crust of the bread, cries when i tell her its time for bed, finds reasons to not go to bed, example asks for more drink, tells me she needs to go poo poo when she knows darn well she doesn't, asks for one more book, or simply hides! She also now realizes when i take a bite of her food that is one bite she doesn't get, is constantly hiding from me, runs from me when i ask her to "come here"! She also doesn't think she needs to nap. She went from taking two naps equaling 3 plus hours to only taking one for 45 minutes! "sigh" Brooklyn right now loves anything that has to do with water! We spend all day in the pool, water table, running through sprinklers, playing in the hose. It is nice for me because i get to lounge in the chair and get some sun. Brooklyn is also starting to sing and dance more. Toilet learning Like all things Brooklyn has done it a little different then most children. She learned to go poop on the toilet before going pee. She officially only poops on the toilet. It took a little over one week to learn. She pees probably one out of every 5 pees in the potty and 100% of poops in the potty. Even when we are out she tells me she needs to poop and she will wait till get home and runs straight for the potty! I am hoping by the end of the month she will have conquered peeing! Everyday i thank God for giving me this time with her. I wake up every morning with the intent to be the best mom i can be. I put my problems, concerns, worries, and laziness aside to be what she needs me to be. She is so smart, sensitive, compassionate, funny, adventurous and most of all loving and affectionate. I am so glad i get to be around to enjoy her.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Back on track and feelin good!

I have been trying for the past 4 months to get back on my diet with no success! I kept telling myself "I'll start tomorrow" and of coarse never starting tomorrow. The good news is that over the past 4 months i have been able to maintain my previous weight loss and only gained 4 pounds back. Well i finally did it. Monday was the first day of getting back on track. Tuesday was hard but by today i know that i am completely committed. I feel great, except for my sore throat! I have tons of energy again, i am sleeping better, and just overall feeling really good! My goal is to loose another 30 pounds by the end of the year. Wish me luck!!!!!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

"hey babe-a"

This always makes me smile!


you can see she gets a little irritated with me in the end...she HATES to perform!!! It is really hard for me to catch her doing something on camera!!!

Future Disney Cast Member

Step aside Karie, Brooklyn is looking to take your job! If i even mention the parade she starts dancing. She always does the same dance moves in the same order...bounce, do a weird arm movement, bounce again!

Friday, May 9, 2008

The best day EVER

Yesterday we went to Disneyland with my friend Lisa and her son. She also has a pass so the plan was to only go for a few hours as we usually do. We all ended up having SO much fun that we didn't even realize that it was 8 o'clock when we finally decided to call it a day! We have been wanting to watch the "Micky's playhouse" stage show. It is a show geared for children 5 and under. You sit on the floor and kids get to run, jump and dance. Brooklyn was terrified! It was too loud, too dark and WAY too many kids screaming and running everywhere! Brooklyn likes things quite, calm and controlled and this was definitely far from that!!! I am hoping next time she will enjoy it a little more. We saw tons of characters, rode some rides, played in the water section and Brooklyn's favorite part of all was watching the parades!!! She has never seen a parade and i was worried it was going to end up like the stage show...but NO! She couldn't get enough!!!! We first watched the "big parade" in California adventure. They sing and dance and all the floats squirt water at you. Then we went and waited for the princess parade in Disneyland. I am completely exhausted, but it was all well worth it!!! We cant wait to go again...maybe next Thursday!
Brooklyn and Jackson are such a good pair! Out of all the children she plays with Jackson is the best match. Their speech is on the same level, their physical activity is also the same. They also shine where the other lacks. Brooklyn is the first to share a snack without being asked, could care less if a toy is taken away from her by another child she just quietly finds another toy. Jackson on the other hand is brave and confident. It also helps that Lisa and I always have the best time together!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

living with a mastiff



The size, the hair and most of all the drool are the only down falls to living with a mastiff!!!!

bibitty bobity booo

Brooklyn has a Cinderella snow globe in her room and it plays "bibity bobity boo." It is one of the few songs she will even attempt to sing. Music is not her strong point!!! But enjoy anyways!

Good old 26


I am not a huge birthday person, but i did end up having a pretty good birthday! The day of Laura took me out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We ate some yummy grilled cheeses and she listened to my woes. It was nice to receive all the phone calls and cards. I also got some killer gifts!!! My mom bought me a gift certificate to Burke Williams and Tara bought me a Juicy bag and three Juicy shirts!!!

I cant hear you!



I have no idea where she learned to do this...


I will be talking to her from another room and she wont respond so i will go and investgate to see why she isnt listening and this is what i find! I am already in big trouble!!!!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

update

the chart and toys worked!!!!! Since yesterday morning she has only had 1 poop in her diaper and 2 pee!!! All the rest have made it to the toilet...GO Brooklyn!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

the sisters




Brooklyns compassion, gentleness, and true love for animals is one i have never seen in such a small child. She hates to hear them cry at the door, gets VERY unset with me when i scold them, and she almost punched out the Vet who was examining Lacey 2 weeks ago. Working at the hospital i saw my fair share of childrens interactions with their own animals, our adopted animals and other people animals. Watching children pull their hair, roughly "petting" them, scare them, shout at them, always made me upset. Brooklyn on the other hand will walk up to a cat outside, squat down, hold out her hand and will let the cat come to her. She only touches softly and only in the right places. Today we just pulled up and there was a lady walking a dog i had never seen before. I ask if it is friendly and the owner said yes so i told Brooklyn she could pet the dog. Brooklyn slowly walks up to the dog and sits down in front of it and slowly sicks out her hand for the dog to smell and dogs smells it then jumps on her lap and starts licking her face...Brooklyn was in Heaven!

all "grown up" this week


I decided that Monday was going to be the first day with no bottle. I was going to wait till 2 years but in the last couple of weeks Brooklyn went from asking for her bottle only 2 a day to asking at least 50 times a day. I knew everyday that passed was only going to make it harder. Monday morning came and she asked and i had the "talk" with her. It was a rough morning but improved throughout the day. This morning has already gone much smoother.


Also this morning i told Brooklyn "no more pee pee and poo poo in the diaper, only in the potty." We went to the store first thing this morning and i let her pick out "potty toys". I bought a basket and let her fill it with toys and books that she can play with with sitting on the potty only. I also bought stickers and a poster board to make a potty chart. I let her help me color it and i explained that every time she uses the potty she can put a sticker on the chart and we hung it in the bathroom where she can reach it. So from 6:30 this morning till right now at 11:45 Brooklyn has put all her pee and poo in the potty. she has worn her big girl underwear all morning with no accidents! I am not saying that she is completely trained but she is well on her way...she just gets it!

Mommy and Baby

Mommy and Baby
One year together!

About Me

My photo
Our journey of life together has just begun. I look forward to every twist and turn that lies ahead. We are a team, and together we will conquer the world!