15 month checkup

Last week Brennan had her 15 month checkup. She weighed 23 lbs 12 oz (65th percentile) and was 31 1/2" long (80th percentile). She had to have 3 shots and a TB test. She already has a fear of the doctor's office so getting shots is not easy for her. She screamed her head off, I tried singing to her which usually calms her down but it didn't. She was not happy at all, she cried all the way to the car. On the way she noticed the keys in my hand and grabbed them. Suddenly she was happy!! So I put her in her carseat and let her play with the keys to her heart's content. I had a bunch of paperwork from the doctor so I laid it in the front seat while I packed up the stroller. It was a windy (and cold) day and when the wind blew some of my paperwork blew out of the car. I had to run around the parking lot to get it. Once I got it all back in the car I closed the doors. I went to the back to put the stroller in and when that was done I went to get in the car. I pulled on the handle and the doors were locked. I felt my back pocket for my keys and they weren't there. I then remembered that Brennan had them, in the car, with her. OMG! I looked into her window and she was there having the best time playing with my keys. I stood there looking at her for a minute hoping she would press the unlock button but she kept pressing the button just below it. Then she realized that I was looking at her and she got excited and threw the keys down. I started to panic and thank God I had my cell phone on me (my purse was already in the car). I called Stephen to see what I could do. He was in Marietta so there was no way for him to help me but I thought he would give me something brilliant that I would never think of. Of course, what is there to do? By this time I'm crying so I hang up with him and called my sister. She works 10 minutes from our house so I thought she could go get my extra key and bring it to me. Well she wasn't at her regular office that day but she was leaving to go back to her office and could go by the house on her way. I told her ok. I was standing outside in the freezing cold hoping my sister would get there soon but she was 15 minutes from my house and then another 20 to the doctor's office. I called my mom (who lives in TN, like she'll be able to do anything but I guess I needed the moral support) and I'm crying and telling her what happened. By this time Brennan is in the car screaming crying and I feel so bad. I asked my mom if I should call the police so she looked up the number for me. I call the police station and I get transferred. The phone rings and rings and rings. So I hang up and call back, the lady tells me not to hang up. The phone rang at least 30 times so I hung up again and called back. This time she explains to me that she has been transferring me to 911 but it puts me in the back of the line (behind all the real emergencies) and that I should not hang up. Finally someone answers and I tell them what happened. She said they would send someone right away. Not two minutes later I hear sirens but I didn't think it was for me, it had to be a coincidence. But no, here comes the firetruck with sirens blazing. That humiliated me even more than I already was. The firemen were able to get in the car in about 5 minutes and as soon as the door opened I started crying again and hugged my baby girl. So not only did she have to have 3 shots she got locked in my car for 30 minutes (and I failed to mention it was lunchtime). I hope I haven't scarred her for the rest of her life. We left, went through the drive-thru for some food and had to go straight to Ethan's school to pick him up. I kept thinking the entire time that she was locked in the car that I was going to be late picking Ethan up and then he would be at school crying and wondering where I was at. It was a day I hope to never have to re-live.

Christmas

We had a busy Christmas weekend! On Christmas Eve we went to Canton to visit my grandmother. It was the first Christmas without my grandfather so the entire family made a point to go visit her for a while. We even got the family to take a picture with my grandmother. We were missing my aunt, Ouida, but she was home getting ready for all of us to invade their house!. :) We left Canton and headed to my uncle's house in Waleska for dinner and opened presents. The night went better than expected. We missed my Granddaddy but had fun just being together. Mom, Dad, Eric & Evan came home with us to stay for the weekend.

On Christmas morning when Brennan woke up she came walking into the den and was so excited to see the Christmas tree. Santa had moved it from the office (where it was protected from little exploring hands) to the den. She would not stop looking at it and touching all the ornaments, I really think she could have cared less for the presents. So after everyone else came down and my sister and her boyfriend arrived we let the kids open their gifts from Santa. Brennan got a baby doll that laughs when you touch her tummy and a baby doll stroller. My grandparents arrived so we made breakfast and ate. After breakfast we opened presents from everyone. Brennan got a tray with some play food, a Vtech Touch and Teach Turtle, an outfit, books, a Little People Palace, a pull out Princess couch and a book from Grammi & Papa for her & Ethan to share. The book was one where my parents recorded themselves reading the book, Brennan loves it! We finished opening the presents and then Vicki & Leonard came over. We visited for a while and had lunch. They brought Brennan the cutest outfit, a pair of leggings with a long sweater. Not long after they left me, my sister & mom started cooking our Christmas dinner. We were in the kitchen cooking for hours but the end result made it all worthwhile! We ended the night with our annual family picture.



The next day we went to Memaw & Papaw's for their Christmas gathering. We got to see pretty much everyone except those who live out of town. We had a nice lunch and got to visit with everyone. Brennan got a chance to play with her cousin, Kaylee, who is 6 months older.

When we left we headed home. My dad's family was coming to our house for our Christmas celebration. As soon as we got home it was Brennan's nap time so we put her down. She slept through the family opening presents. When she got up she was able to open her presents. She got a little car from Uncle Eric & Evan. Grandma & Grandpa gave her an outfit with a furry pink jacket. She loved the jacket so much she wanted to wear it most of the night.

On Sunday we went to Gammi & Poppy's house for brunch. They made an awesome breakfast casserole & french toast, plus we had fresh fruit which made it even better. Brennan loved the cantaloupe! After we ate and cleaned up Brian, Melinda, Chandler & Weston arrived. We let the kids open their presents. Gammi & Poppy gave Brennan some books and money. We plan on using the money to open her a checking account. We then went to the basement where the kids could run around and play. They had a good time playing and we enjoyed visiting with everyone.

A Visit With Santa

I'm so behind on blogging it's not even funny. On Dec 5th we took the kids to see Santa. I wasn't sure how Brennan would react. She doesn't like Leo at church (a guy dressed as a friendly lion) she is terrified of him. But we have to get the kids pictures taken with Santa, right? So we went to Discover Mills and found Santa. We stood in line for a while and I kept trying to point him out to her. I wanted her to see him with other kids, etc. Every time I tried to point him out she would look at something else. Well our turn came and we let Ethan go talk to him first and have his picture taken. Then I wanted a picture of both kids with Santa. I put her down in his lap and for about 20 seconds she was ok. At least they were able to get a picture! I really wanted her to have a picture with him alone but she wasn't having it so I sat next to Santa and held her in my lap. Ethan has never been scared of Santa so this was all new to me. I guess one kid has to have that fear!




















When I got all the Christmas stuff out Brennan had a blast going through all of it. She found our Santa hat and tried to put it on. I put it on her head and of course had to take a few shots.

Growing up way to fast

I can't believe how fast Brennan is growing up. On Oct 19th she took her first steps. She would occasionally take steps but preferred crawling until 2 weeks ago. Over a couple of days she started walking more & more. Then all of a sudden she was walking everywhere!! We love it! It's the cutest thing to watch her walk. Ethan loves to take her hand and walk around the house with her, it's adorable.

Brennan is also saying a bunch of words. She can say: Mama, Dada, Bubba (aka brother), Papa, Grammi, Grandpa, Grandma, book, bye bye, good girl, doggie, woof woof, more, hi and hello. I feel like I'm missing a couple too. She loves to look at pictures. Every time you pick her up she points to pictures and we tell her who is in the picture. I swear we do this 100x/day. She also loves to look at books and loves to be read to. When I sit on the floor she'll go get a book, bring it to me and sit in my lap while I read it. When I'm done she'll get up, go get another book and bring it back.

The other night we went to Chick-Fil-A for milkshakes. I gave Brennan some in her own cup. Once she took one sip she couldn't stop. I'm glad I didn't give her a lot! She was so cute drinking that milkshake that I had to take pictures!







Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving Day:

Halloween

I was so excited for Halloween this year. I couldn't wait to pick out Brennan's costume. At first I wanted her to be a lady bug but the store was out of them. So we decided on a witch, it was the cutest witch costume that I have ever seen. I couldn't wait for Brennan to wear it.

The weekend before Halloween, Sterling on the Lake had a Pumpkin Festival. All the kids were encouraged to dressed up because they were going to have a Costume Parade. So we dress her up and she was so cute! Her witch hat was almost too small but we managed to keep it on her for a few minutes while we took pictures. We went to the Pumpkin Festival and met Gammi & Poppy there. It was a really cold day so we had Brennan in her stroller most of the time bundled up with a blanket. When it was time for the parade the kids & I went and got in line. We couldn't keep Brennan's hat on because it was too windy.

A few days before Halloween we decided to carve our pumpkin. Ethan's favorite part is picking out which face Stephen will cut out. He doesn't really like cleaning out the pumpkin. Not Brennan, she was putting her hands all in it! After we cleaned it all out I told Stephen to put her in the pumpkin, she wasn't so sure about that.















On Halloween we put her in her costume again and we all went to Publix to trick-or-treat with The Lee's. Then afterwards we went to The Lowe's to trick-or-treat in their neighborhood. I didn't take Brennan door to door, we just walked around with Ethan. When we got back Kimberly took some pictures of Brennan in her costume and they turned out really cute. In one pic it looks like she's posing . . .



















Ethan & Brennan getting ready to go trick-or-treating











Here are some pictures we took before we dressed the kids up. We all had our Halloween shirts on.

1 year checkup

At Brennan's 1 year checkup she weighed 21 lbs 10 1/2 oz. and she measured at 29 1/2" tall. She is about the 60th percentile in both. She had to get her follow up flu shot and a couple of others. The day after the shots she ran a little fever for about 1/2 the day. This was a first for her, she's never had any problems with the shots other than soreness.

She can now say Mama, Dada, Papa, Bye Bye, Hi, Hello, Thank You and Bob. We are not sure what Bob is but we think she's referring to Ethan. She is standing on her own a lot more now and has taken a couple of little steps but would rather crawl. I would really like for her to walk but I also know that means a lot more work for us. :)

ETA: I thought of a few more words Brennan says. She also says nana (banana) and I love you!

Last week I took Brennan to get her one year pictures done. They turned out awesome (of course)!!

Brennan's 1st Birthday

I am still in shock that our baby girl is a year old. I can't believe how fast the past year has flown by and how much she has grown. On Friday (her actual birthday) I made cupcakes with chocolate icing so she could have something on her birthday. My brother & nephew were already in town so they got to celebrate with us. I put her in her chair and she started crying. As soon as I brought out the cupcake the tears stopped instantly. She dug into that cupcake so fast and I think she ate it in 3 seconds! After she got the cupcake all over her we gave her a bath and then let her open her presents from us. She was excited to rip the paper off the presents, it was so fun to watch. We bought her a cute little outfit that came with a matching purse and a tea set. She picked up the tea cup and put it to her mouth like she was drinking it! I'm sure we'll be having lots of tea parties!!














On Saturday we had her birthday party. It was a huge success and we had 41 people at our house. We had the party from 11:30-2p. I chose that time because that is one of her happiest times of the days (except for when she wakes up in the morning but I didn't think anyone wanted to be here for a party at 7a!). We made BBQ pork & chicken for lunch and it came out awesome. After lunch we let Brennan open her presents. She got some really cute outfits, books, toys, a baby doll, a stroller that is also a walker and a princess car. I don't want to offend anyone that gave her a present but the princess car is her favorite. It is the first toy she goes to when she wakes up everyday. She has even used it as a ladder. The other day Stephen & I were in the kitchen making lunch and Brennan was playing in the living room. Stephen looked up to check on her and she was sitting on the ottoman. She had pushed her princess car next to the ottoman, stood on it and climbed up on the ottoman. Yes, she is our monkey and trouble maker!! :)

After presents we let her eat her cake. She had her very own cake and got really excited when we pulled it out. She had it all over her and was rubbing it in her hands like lotion. I had her wear her Birthday Girl shirt so it would get dirty. I thought it would be cute to keep it and when she gets older I could pull it out and show her how stained it was. I washed the shirt 2 days after the party and it came out completely clean, I couldn't believe it. She had cake and icing everywhere on that shirt. Oh well, we have plenty of pictures to show!

On Sunday, we went to Canton to visit my grandmother. Since my grandfather passed away she has been in a home and there was no way she could be at the party on Saturday. I decided that we would go up there and have a little party with her. I brought the leftover cupcakes from Friday and I let Brennan have one again. My grandmother couldn't believe I was letting her get it everywhere but I think she enjoyed watching her eat that cupcake. It was a bittersweet day, I was glad to be able to spend time with my Granny but was also sad that my Granddaddy wasn't there. I'm sure he was looking down on us though.

Click here to see all the pictures from her birthday weekend.