Exactly 12 weeks ago!

These are some of our JCPenny pictures when Brynn was 5 weeks old.

Scary Santa

We finally put the Santa picture away last week. Can you see how mean this Santa looks? He looks exactly the same in the picture of my cousins kids. It's as if he hates kids! He chose the wrong seasonal profession! Little Brynn didn't cry though. Instead she pooped in his lap! Unfortunately it stayed in her diaper! We had a good laugh!

Fun with Family

On the 18th we drove down to Vancouver to visit my dad, stepmom and sister (Grandpa Jim, Grandma Linda and Auntie Lindy). We stayed the night with my stepbrother Jason and his wife Cara. It was a blessing to not have to stay in a hotel. Thanks again guys!

Brynn did great sleeping all night in the Pack 'N Play. She was fussy on the drive down and back near the end of the day. If she's in the carseat too late in the day and for too long she gets hot, sweaty, tired and fussy. I managed to keep her relavitely calm by shaking her Rattle Rat (it's probably a mouse but Rattle Rat sounds better) or Lion Chime. She also listened to her Singing Seahorse. She finally dozed off near the end of each car ride.

Greg took Brynn out of the carseat when we arrived at my Dad and Linda's. She looked around the house for a minute then looked at my dad and chuckled. It was too cute! She chuckled a couple more times that night. They had a great time together. My dad and Lindy hadn't seen Brynn since the first weekend in November and Linda hand't seen her since the day after she was born. It was fun to catch up on lost time.

I love these pictures of our trip to Vancouver.

Auntie Lindy and Brynn

Check out the cool fish!

Grandma Linda and Brynn

I especially love these of my dad and Brynn. I love all their expressions!

Brynn is so much fun! What took us so long?

Over the last couple weeks Brynn has really been developing her hand-eye coordination. Lately when she's fussing I'll show her a toy and she'll immediately calm down, stare at it, hold it and suck on it. When I made my last post she had just rolled over for the first time. I was a few weeks behind on my Week by Week baby book. I caught up that week and relized that I hadn't been giving her enough toys to play with and she was a couple weeks behind on reaching, batting and grasping. I am proud to announce that she has caught up nicely, but she has only rolled from tummy to back one other time! Oh well, I know she's learing and growing just fine. Lately she's been trying hard to roll from back to tummy, but so far can't quite get over her arm.

Zoe, this is my table! Zoe eventually left from the kicking.

Allllmost made it! That darn arm is in the way!

She would have made it from tummy to back if the arches hadn't been in the way!

Last week Brynn weighed 14lbs 5oz. She is turing into a Chunky Little Monkey! She has always been a strong girl. She began holding her head up around the time she was a month old. Over the last month or so she has been sitting in her chair. Tonight she sat up between my legs as I was lotioning her up after a shower. She leaned forward but kept herself up pretty well. Yes, she showers with me, and loves it! We still bathe her in her tub too. Tonight she stayed happy after her shower, but the last two times she screamed when we took her out! She's already so opinionated!

Happy girl smiling in her chair!

Hey! Come back here crazy bird! I'm either going to eat you or Tigger!

Still lovin' bath time!

Sitting up after her shower tonight

We are having lots of fun with Brynn. She is growing so fast! She enjoys laying on her back under her gym and grabbing the hanging toys. She enjoys being held while I jump on the mini-trampoline. She giggles and smiles. She enjoys looking and smiling at herself and Greg and I in the mirror. If I hold her on her tummy in the air infront of the mirror she smiles and kicks her legs. She enojoys playing with her little toys while on the changing table. She likes being held close against my chest while in the Sleepy Wrap. She is a great sleeper and napper. Most of the time she is easy to put down and wakes up smiling. She is still sleeping the the bassinet in our room. We like having her close by.

Brynn is also still peeing in her potty multiple times per day and occasionally pooping in it too! Today after her nap I changed her wet diaper and was snapping her back up when she started to fuss. I said, "Oh, I didn't hold you over the potty." I unsnapped her and held her over the potty and she immediately peed. I enjoy helping her stay in tune with her need to urinate. And I am looking forward to her being trained early.

Milestones

I'm trying to think of all the cute things Brynn has done lately. She is growing so fast and getting big. Last week she weighed 13lbs 5oz. Brynn smiled at her first stranger this weekend. She smiled at one of the nurses in the Silverdale ER where I worked for two years (we had stopped in for a quick visit). Linda told her how beautiful she was and how much she looked like Mommy and she grinned!

Yesterday she rolled over for the first time. She was arching her back while on her tummy. She kept listing over to her right side and suddenly rolled over onto her back! What a big girl! According to my book she's 2-3 weeks early for rolling over!

On Friday we were out to dinner. Brynn was sitting in her car seat next to me in the booth. She spit out her pacifier. For a couple minutes she tried to push it back into her mouth with her right hand. With some encouragement and determination she eventually did it! She shoved it right back in with the back of her hand! We thought it was pretty cute! She really likes to suck on her right hand too when she's not sucking on her bottom lip or her pacifier. We figure she's right handed since she likes that hand so much. We also think she's right legged because she kicks that leg a lot more than the other one.

When Brynn spits up I often say "yucky" as I clean up her chin and shirt. Two weeks ago the three of us were in her room. I think we must have been getting her ready for bed. I was holding her and she spit up. I immediately wiped her face and she said "yucky!" Greg heard it too! I know if he hadn't have been there he never would have believed me. Sometimes she says "daddy" too. Of course we know these are just sounds, but we like to think she is a genius! At three months she's potty trained and speaking, who wouldn't say she's a genius?!! ;)

Brynn is getting very talkative. She especially likes to talk when she's tired. She'll carry on and on when it's time for a nap. That's one of my clues it's time to put her down (funny how this means different things with animals and babies). I love it when she talks, but I have to let go and do what's best for her - a nap. She's also laughing. Yesterday and the day before I got her to laugh at me. I was making sounds with my mouth and bopping my head around. She was watching me and smiling and suddenly she chuckled. It was so cute. She did it a couple times!

Meeoow (please give me some treats) !!

Here Ti (pronounced Ty) is begging for treats or Max Cat food. He had surgery last week to relieve a blocked urethra. He couldn't urinate because of crystals in his urine. Ti only eats the food the vet perscribed when he really gets hungry. He also has small kidney stones and his special diet is supposed to dissolve them in 6 weeks.

Here the garbage can is sitting in front of the cat door to the garage where Max Cat awaits.

Back to work

After 12 weeks of paid maternity leave I went back to work two weeks ago. I was nervous, but pretty much got right back into the groove. Luckily it hasn't been too busy. I was a flustered and felt like I didn't know what I was doing when I got my first code. Fortunately I had lots of help, but unfortunately the patient didn't make it. Codes are never fun for anyone, especially when the patient dies. But now that I am a mommy it seems much harder. Life just seems so much more prescious.

I thought it would be hard to leave Brynn, but it hasn't been too bad. I know she is in good hands. Since I work night shift she gets to be home with Daddy. She's usually sleeping when I leave at 8:40. We put her to bed together. She usually sleeps from about 8pm-6am. I get home from work just as she's starting to wake up. Occasionally she'll wake Greg up at night like she did last night. Then she sleeps in longer. I work every weekend so we don't have to pay for multiple days of child care. Our friend Elizabeth plans to watch Brynn 2-4 days a month. We are very thankful for the crazy but flexible schedule I have at work, 9pm-5:30am three days/week.

Greg went back to work today after 2+ weeks of Chirstmas vaction. He got two extra days because of the snow. It was great having him around again. So today was my first day at home with Brynn after working all night. I got to sleep two hours after getting home, fed her, slept for 20 minutes then was up with her for a while. Brynn got tired again and took an almost 3 hour nap. I napped for two. Not to bad. I usually get about 4-5 hours of sleep on my fisrt day off anyway. Tonight I'll sleep well.

We had my mom and step dad visiting when I went back to work which I think made it easier for Greg. He was glad to not be alone the first night I went back. They stayed with us for 10 days. They were up from California and were unable to go to their cabin in Lilliwaup because of the snow. We were happy to have them. My mom cooked every day which I loved and she made Christmas dinner for us. Thanks Mom!

White Christmas

Did I say let it snow?! Boy did it. We got well over a foot of snow just before Christmas. It was so peaceful and beautiful until we tried getting out of our driveway. What an adventure! The county didn't plow our neighborhood till a week later. My first day back to work was the day after this big snow. Security had to come pick me up, along with other staff, in their 4x4.

We finally made it out after lots of shoveling, pushing and burning rubber! The reason the car wasn't in the garage is because the door has been acting up so we stopped parking in the garage.... just in time for the snow!

Our beautiful dogwood tree. I love this tree in every season!

Brynn stretching on the changing table after her Christmas day bath. She loves staring at and talking to these monkeys when she's on her back. Such a cute naked little baby!

Getting ready to eat Christmas dinner. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us all. My grandma wasn't feeling well and wanted to go back home after dinner. I got distracted and forgot. It makes me sad that I didn't get more pictures of Brynn's first Chirtmas with family. Though it was wonderful to have Mom, Frank and Grandma Doris with us for Chirstmas.

Grandpa Frank singing to Brynn

Daddy, Brynn and Tucan

So sad to see her first Chrismas over

Looking sleepy as we get her ready for bed

Brynn was really fussy this night so I pulled out the "Brynn" sling (I purchased it on ebay because the pattern was called Brynn) and put her in it. She's getting so big that her legs were bent up to her chest. She liked it though and she stopped crying. It probably relieved some gas!



Our friend Jen with her two daughters Cecily on the left and Rosemary on the right with Brynn in the middle, plus the baby doll of course! Rosemary is exactly 4 weeks older than Brynn. Such pretty ladies!



Although Brynn loves bath time these were her first smiles during a bath.



Brynn and Sock Frog (from Grandma Brenda) on her 3 month birthday. She is growing so fast!


They were staring each other down. Brynn loved the red lips and beady eyes.