The food continues....

Brennan was introduced to Green Beans today and the survey says...YEAH!  She did sooo much better with the Green Beans than with Carrots or Infant Cereal!  Now the trick is to get her to eat it on a regular basis (also without her "helping" so much!)

Brennan continues to work on her crawling...today she actually moved forward one step!  I'm actually wondering if she may start dancing on her own before she starts crawling!  We shall see we shall see!  At this point I think she should just sleep through the night (aka longer than 4 hours at a time...)

As for me I am going back to school...I start classes on Monday so we'll see how it works.  I think I'll be good as long as she keeps sleeping and I get my study time!

Summer has begun!

 Wow!  So since we left Barrow on May 10th life has been busy!  Brennan and I stopped to visit Aunt Danielle in Anchorage, then headed to Whittier to see Nana Diane (and meet Brennan's newest boyfriend!)  From there we flew to Seattle so Brennan could be introduced to Aunt Kara and Uncle Ryan and the fabulous city of Seattle and finally on May 17th we landed in Michigan!  Brennan did a great job with meeting new people and traveling in general.  Of course since we got to Michigan she has decided to put herself to sleep (as in NO more Mommy helping!) and has started to eat solid foods.  Yesterday we tried carrots for the first time...and she actually did pretty well!  (Thank you to Aunt Ham!)  

Moving moving and....talking!

Brennan is on the move!  This weekend alone she's rolled over from back to front and started to scoot along the floor!  The flights could be VERY interesting at this rate! She's just amazing though and she talks NON STOP (I know surprise not really sure where she gets that from huh?!  LOL)

Getting big...

So I realize I've been quite the slacker on keeping the blog updated....even though I constantly have new pictures of Brennan...someday I'll catch up!  Brennan is currently rolling over but prefers to be on her side. She LOVES her jumper and her saucer (thank you Fred and Ryan) and is in need of constant attention...which she gets!  She has friends over every day while I'm at work (Juls is watching some others and loves it!)  But most of all when she wakes up and I'm home she's all smiles!  She's constantly talking and looking about and hates to be in the same position too long...gotta luv it!

I only have 5 weeks left of work for the year and then it's on to summer!  It could be a very interesting one as we're traveling to Anchorage, Seattle, Richmond, Spokane, and Holland.  I'm just hoping she flies as well on this next trip as she did when we came to Alaska after Christmas....

Bathtime....

has GOT to be Brennan's favorite part of the day!!  Thanks to Fred and Ryan she graduated to the BIG tub last night via the use of a duck.  (See picture LOL)  After flooding my kitchen for the last month Brennan has now found that the big bathtub is even better.  Last night she sat up all night in her duck but tonight she had the big tub all to herself!  And she kicked and kicked and kicked and finally kicked herself across the tub...it was GREAT!!  She just laughed and laughed!!  Who knew!  She might just be a natural born swimmer....

Food, food, food

I'm thinking that Brennan is SLIGHTLY interested in food as EVERY TIME I'm eating she watches and it's not a "I'm watching Mommy to watch Mommy", it's a "I'm doing something else entirely until that fork moves and then I'm opening my mouth to see if she'll give me any!"  She could be playing next to me but as soon as that fork touches food and comes up she watching it VERY intently.  Last night she was licking her lips at the same time!!  LOL  Gotta luv it!

Sleep, sleep, sleep....

So I'm finding that sleep is the biggest issue every day!  Somedays she sleeps during the day...sometimes not so much...sometimes she sleeps well at night, sometimes not so much...  Yesterday she turned 4 months old and I keep hoping that I'll stop worrying about sleep...or that one of these days she'll sleep through the night and it'll be like that forever!  I know it's a wonderful dream but between her starting to sit up and she's still teetering on the edge of rolling over!  She is getting up on her side everyday and it's just amazing!  And yesterday she held her bottle by herself!  Every day she does something new but the sleep thing is crazy!!!

I know I'm loved...

Well after a crazy busy weekend I now know that my daughter does pay attention to my schedule and when I'm home or not!  Friday I didn't have to leave the house until after 8 so I was up when she got up and she was SOOO excited...not so excited when I came home at 5:30 which is WAY later than I normally do.  She was NOT a happy baby!  But...she was happy to see me so that means the world!!

I think she may be teething...she's chewing on EVERYTHING!!  But she's also been sleeping a lot too...so I say now we'll see how she does tonight...

How to Keep Car Windows Fog Free Using a Potato - wikiHow

How to Keep Car Windows Fog Free Using a Potato - wikiHow

Ok so I'll be honest...I just thought this was too cool!

What a week!

I know I know I'm slacking on keeping this updated again...like to the point that I'm thinking of using iWeb to help me stay on track!  But Brennan is doing some amazing stuff besides giggling all the time we've introduced the jumper this past weekend and today I introduced the walker to her!  She LOVES sitting up and being able to see everyone!

Today she was HILARIOUS with the mirror on her walker...she couldn't stop talking to the baby in the mirror but was getting mad when the baby wouldn't talk back!  LOL  Gotta love the moods of a 3 month old!

To add to it she's also been getting into her bath...and EATING!!!  LOL

Barrow, Alaska: Ground Zero for Climate Change

Barrow, Alaska: Ground Zero for Climate Change

Summer

It's kind of scary to think about summer already but it's the case!  I'm working on housing now...which is just crazy!  But at the same time it's probably because I'm looking for a 3 month furnished house/condo/apartment on the Northside of Holland (the 2nd greatest place to live if you read The Holland Sentinel and USA Today!) 

So we'll see...school gets out May 8th and by then Brennan may be walking!  (Just kidding..she's just getting so big it's amazing and she's strong!)  I got her new 5-in-1 gym yesterday in the mail so she'll be using it today...I'm hoping she likes it!  She's still practicing her sitting up...daily!  She may get it for more than a few seconds at a time soon!  But those feet get her EVERY time!  Plus they won't talk back which is VERY irritating to her!  Oh well.....

C’mon get happy! Gallup ranks Holland second happiest in nation - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel

C’mon get happy! Gallup ranks Holland second happiest in nation - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel

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3 months old!

I can't believe Brennan's three months old today!  It doesn't seem possible!  She's starting to sit up on her own...she still wants to roll over but hasn't quite figured it out....yet!  But she's absolutely amazing!  Of course she must have known today was special because she refused to go to bed last night!  I gave up at 11 and Juls stayed up with her...I have no idea how long they were up!  But she was at least in a good mood about it!  Every day she learns something new...this week she has found her feet.  She talks to them, she plays with them....but she also gets mad at them when they don't answer her!  (We're working on that!  LOL)

Have I mentioned her amazing hat collection???

Sitting up!

On Monday I get home from work and what do I see....but Juls and Brennan had been practicing sitting up!  So Brennan can now sit up!!  She's getting so strong!  Plus she had a party just for her this weekend!!  She was sooo good and all dressed up!  So enjoy the pictures and I can't believe she's sitting up!!  Plus she was trying to crawl...and now she doesn't want to be held all the time...poor me!!

Horrible...

Ok so I work hard not to worry about Brennan's sleep habits...as she's FABULOUS (she's currently been asleep since 7 pm last night, was up at 4:20 for a "snack" - like 5 minutes and it's now 6 am) but because she does sleep so well I feel like I never see her!  Plus I do hold her when she first goes to sleep...once she's out of the bath it's our time.  I just hope I'm not setting myself up for problems as she's not even 3 months old yet...we'll just have to see.

Too big...

So I've decided that Brennan has already gotten too big!  Laying down on my legs she's just as long...it's crazy since she's not even 3 months old.  But oh well...she's smiling and laughing and having so much fun!  Her and Juls doing great with Miley as well...they seem to be doing well!

This morning I was able to get our PFDs filed and taxes started.  I'm just waiting for her first baby book to come in the mail...Snapfish is my friend!  From here we'll work on the next one...mainly to show how big she is!!

Baby Einstein...

So for the first time Brennan and I tried out Baby Mozart from the Baby Einstein collection...she HATED it!  As soon as it started she began to cry and not just a gentle sweet cry but a SCREAM which didn't stop. We tried watching it on the floor, we tried walking around the room...everything until I finally gave up and put it on CMT once she heard Trace Adkins she calmed down and relaxed.  She definitely has her preferences!

And Brennan has officially done the one thing I was hoping she wouldn't...she found her thumb!  And she loves it!  Oh well....she's still using her binky but is starting to prefer her thumb....hopefully it doesn't last too long!

Airplane

Brennan has now started to figure out airplane...Airplane 1-13-10.MP4

Last week of January...

Well I've officially made it through my first month back at work. Brennan is growing like a weed and she and Juls have gotten into a rhythm which I promptly kill every weekend!! :) The joy of being Mom. I firmly believe I'm the luckiest mom ever as she CONSISTENTLY sleeps 6 hours a night...which is fabulous! She still hates her tummy time but oh well...it's good for her! We've now started to get "real" laughs from her too. I never thought I could be this entertained by a child all the time...but I am! This morning when I got her up and out of bed she had the BIGGEST smile on her face! It's the best way to wake up!

We're now at 3 hours and 39 minutes of daytime and it's getting longer by 15 minutes now...amazing that just last week it was dark and now it's becoming soooo very light outside!

I've started playing hockey once a week again! Thank goodness for Andrea who comes over and watches Brennan while Juls and I head to the rink. It's a great way to get out and do something besides just go to work! Add in that we're starting volleyball tomorrow...it makes the time go by plus by staying active I may not look like a bear when summer comes! :)

Pictures, pictures, pictures!!

Here's a link to pictures of Brennan!!

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1680468016/a=143153787_143153787/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Two Month Shots

Once again I am the LUCKIEST mother in the world! Friday Brennan and I went in to the Wellness Center on Friday for her two month shots...and I was feeling horrible for her plus it was -41 outside which really made me feel bad for her. But she was all wrapped up in her Polar Bear Suit and we made it over there without incident. But when we got into the office and weighed her to check how much Tylenol to give her if I needed to. She's a big 11 lbs 15 oz with her clothes on! I'm amazed two months ago she was 7 lbs 10 oz and now she's getting even bigger. We need to get her height checked but she's growing as she's almost too big for her infant tub because she stretches out and kicks (makes a mess!! I think there's swimming in her future!) She took the oral immunization fabulously and didn't even really drool much! (What a big girl!) But as soon as she realized the needles were for her for the next three she started to scream like her whole head turned candy apple RED! It was sooo sad!! But then she did stop crying and calm down. She was fussy on and off the rest of the night but really just wanted to be held...which was good since we lost power for about 30 minutes on Friday night. It was -41 outside which didn't help anything but oh well....we survived! I think the worst part was we lost cable AND internet until this morning! It was horrible!! (LOL - I know I now realize how dependent we've all become!) Oh well!

This morning though we almost rolled over while playing on the floor! It's a bit scary that she's getting so close in being able to do it! I'm just constantly amazed by her! She's also getting more and more of a personality...she has quite the stubborn streak but on the bright side laughs and cheers when there's hockey, football, or college basketball on...but hates the NBA...no idea!

John de Graaf :: News from the 5th International Conference on Gross National Happiness

John de Graaf :: News from the 5th International Conference on Gross National Happiness

I think this is a great article and one that everyone needs to think about and put more effort into.

Sleep...

Ok so I'm FULLY aware that I have NO room to complain as Brennan is 2 months (9 weeks) old and is sleeping EXTREMELY well but the last two nights she's gone to bed EXTREMELY early. Tuesday she was asleep by 5, she kind of woke up so I gave her a bath at like 8 and she was back in bed for the night...I had tried to feed her and she refused but slept great. She even took a 3 hour nap Wednesday morning. And since she's so young I thought I'd let her figure it out last night. After her 3 hour nap she napped two short 30 minutes in the afternoon and fell asleep at 4 when I got home from work. She proceeded to sleep until 7, woke up, I gave her a bath...which she screamed after, fell back asleep by 7:45 and slept until midnight. Then she got up, ate, went back to sleep a bit after 1, woke up at 4:30 ate, back asleep by 5:15 and is currently still asleep. I know, I am the luckiest mother alive right now! So tonight's goal is to get her to stay up until at least 5, do her bath then and see if she sleeps completely through the night. We'll see...I've decided to experiment since she's doing most of this on her own with no help anyway!

As for life in Alaska...Juls is adjusting and seems to love it! She's even thinking of staying in Barrow for the summer! It's made a huge difference in going back to work knowing that Juls is here every day with Brennan and that's also what has helped put Brennan on a schedule. She's always watching a 14 month old and I'm ALWAYS highly entertained when I come home...as the kids are up, ALWAYS clean, the house is clean and she makes it look like the easiest thing in the world! I have no idea how it happens but it does!

In the process of all the craziness Brennan has seemed to master tummy time...she can get up on her on arm and is thinking about rolling over...I'm soooo NOT ready for that! It seems like she's growing so fast and I'm going to miss something! Plus she has mastered Airplane on her tummy...not on command yet but she was mastered it! I'm thoroughly amazed with her every day! She also is developing quite the personality...obviously with the sleep stuff we're dealing with she's a bit stubborn (NO idea where she gets that from LOL)! But she also knows what she wants and when she wants it. She's starting to become more vocal about her diaper and what she'll tolerate in it...and for how long!

Brennan Kathleen

Well now that Brennan is two months old I realized it was time to begin my blog again! Brennan was born on November 16th, 2009 and has kept me busy ever since! She's absolutely amazing! And in the middle of a growth spurt as we speak! I was hopeful that she would be able to wear her 0-3 month clothes until she was close to three months but that's looking like it's not going to be the case! Oh well...it means she's healthy and happy for the most part. She sleeps through the night (at least 5 hours) 6 out of 7 nights a week and loves to cuddle! She is a HUGE fan of babbling to the fan in our room. As she's doing right now! :) Yesterday she was able to do "airplane" by herself on the floor. Her new trick when she's on her tummy is to lean on her shoulder and put everything else in the air! And I WILL get better about posting pictures and so forth from now on! But it will probably be all about Brennan and our life in Alaska....