Yesterday was Brooke's 2 year well visit. First and foremost, her lungs are completely clear of any and all signs of pneumonia - you know I was happy to hear that!
Brooke is currently weighing 30 lbs (85th percentile) and is 35.5 inches tall (87 percentile). How did my little peanut get so big??? (For my own comparison, my nephew Thad - who is 11 months older than Brooke - is around 35 lbs and 39 inches - she's catching him!!)
When I started naming off all of the things Brooke does/knows (list to follow), Dr. C was amazed! She said Brooke is doing a lot of what they would expect a 3-4 year old to do! Her take on it was that Brooke is going to have to be tested for a gifted program or attend a Montessori school, where they will let her work on work that is advanced for her age. We'll start researching schools and see how that goes - I am not a fan of "skipping grades" so we'll take it as it comes. For now, we want to make sure that by the time she's starting Kindergarten, we are in an area with a good school system, public or otherwise! Dr. C gave Brooke a Tupperware Shape-O Sorter to help challenge her and teach her hexagons, pentagons, etc (guess I need to look up some refreshers on the trust ole' web!)
I think most of this has already been recorded in here, so I apologize if you're hearing it again. But, I want to have a record of what she's doing at this age:
- Knows her ABC's
- Recognizes her name when it's written
- Counts to 10 in English and in Spanish
- Knows most animal sounds
- Sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Sings Row, Row
- Sings If You're Happy and You Know It
- Knows all of her colors
- Knows her "normal" shapes (ie circle, square, rectangle, etc)
- Knows her months & days of the week
- Has amazing problem solving skills (when everyone was visiting, she was having cheerios for breakfast - everyone was doing their own thing, they look over (I was at work) and her cheerios are gone - Brooke shouts "All Gone!" Then they realized that all of the Cheerios were moved into an empty cup nearby - little stinker)
So, at this point, I am looking for age-appropriate activities that will "challenge" her a little more to continue learning - I want her to have this time to just be a kid, but want her to continue using that sweet little brain :-) Suggestions welcome!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Word vomit
Gross, huh? But I just realized I never posted about our 2nd part of vacation, and of course there's Brooke's birthday party and baptism!
We spent the second part of vacation at Busch Gardens, Tampa. We were having so much fun, we went back to the park four - yes, 4!! - days. Brooke LOVED the Sesame Street characters more than I could imagine, and we had so much fun on the water rides and roller coasters.
On Saturday, we had Brooke's 2nd birthday party. Guests were us (of course), my parents, and my sister. There were supposed to be more, but after the ER trip the weekend before, many had to stay home....the theme was Abby Cadabby, and Brooke loved it. She got lots of great gifts!!!
Sunday, we had her baptism - it was nice, despite not having her godmother with us. Kelly was sick and stayed at my house, so it was just us and my parents. Brooke was a little fussy, although she was really super well-behaved during mass beforehand. She was also so so excited about the water!
We spent the second part of vacation at Busch Gardens, Tampa. We were having so much fun, we went back to the park four - yes, 4!! - days. Brooke LOVED the Sesame Street characters more than I could imagine, and we had so much fun on the water rides and roller coasters.
On Saturday, we had Brooke's 2nd birthday party. Guests were us (of course), my parents, and my sister. There were supposed to be more, but after the ER trip the weekend before, many had to stay home....the theme was Abby Cadabby, and Brooke loved it. She got lots of great gifts!!!
Sunday, we had her baptism - it was nice, despite not having her godmother with us. Kelly was sick and stayed at my house, so it was just us and my parents. Brooke was a little fussy, although she was really super well-behaved during mass beforehand. She was also so so excited about the water!
Friday, July 22, 2011
2 years old
On Wednesday, July 20, Brooke turned 2 years old. I cannot believe my baby is 2 already!! She is talking in complete sentences and is the smartest 2 year old I know! She knows all of her colors and shapes, counts to 10 in English and in Spanish, sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; Row, Row, Row Your Boat; and knows her ABC's. She also can tell you what month and day it is (right now, she say Jew-lie!!!! and Friiidayyyy! haha). Her teachers are so amazed by her and could not say enough about how smart she is - they even took a video of her doing a little puzzle thing - it's all round holes, and you match the colors and textures. The video is the first time that Brooke ever did it, and she did it all correctly in, like, 20 seconds! If someone else is doing it and having trouble, they said Brooke goes and does it for them.
She is also the most opinionated, stubborn, and sometimes bossy 2 year old I know - let's just say I am raising an independent thinker and leave it at that ;-)
Her 2 year appointment isn't until 8/3, so I won't know her height and weight until then.
Yesterday, we had a little party for her at daycare. The theme was Mickey & Minnie go to the beach. I got her a cake that had Mickey surfing & Minnie laying out on the sand, and the plates, etc. were Minnie Mouse. We also did a Minnie Mouse pinata filled with Goldfish crackers, bracelets for the girls, bouncy balls, crayons, and mini rubber duckys. I gave the kids adorable favors that had: sand buckets, beach balls, ponytail holders for the girls, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, flavor-ice freeze pops, crazy straws, more Goldfish crackers, and mini Frisbees. All of the kids had a blast!
We did have some excitement last weekend, but I will save that for another post!
Tomorrow is Brooke's birthday party at home, which I am looking forward to.
She is also the most opinionated, stubborn, and sometimes bossy 2 year old I know - let's just say I am raising an independent thinker and leave it at that ;-)
Her 2 year appointment isn't until 8/3, so I won't know her height and weight until then.
Yesterday, we had a little party for her at daycare. The theme was Mickey & Minnie go to the beach. I got her a cake that had Mickey surfing & Minnie laying out on the sand, and the plates, etc. were Minnie Mouse. We also did a Minnie Mouse pinata filled with Goldfish crackers, bracelets for the girls, bouncy balls, crayons, and mini rubber duckys. I gave the kids adorable favors that had: sand buckets, beach balls, ponytail holders for the girls, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, flavor-ice freeze pops, crazy straws, more Goldfish crackers, and mini Frisbees. All of the kids had a blast!
We did have some excitement last weekend, but I will save that for another post!
Tomorrow is Brooke's birthday party at home, which I am looking forward to.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
6 years....
I have been gone for what seems like forever - I know I haven't posted about the rest of our vacation or what's been going on since. But, this has been weighing on my mind the past several days.
I find it unbelievable that is has now officially been 6 years since Jim and I packed up our whole lives to make the move to South Florida. In mid-June 2005, we sold most of our belongings and all of Jim's furniture, packed what we could in his car & my brother's Explorer, and made the move to South Miami. No jobs, no income, nothing except the knowledge that at the end of August 2005, I would be enrolled in law school.
Now looking back at it, what were we thinking?!?!? I cannot fathom moving to one of the most expensive places in the country without any income. Maybe it's just because now we're older and we have a child (I can't even say baby anymore - sad).
But, lately, I've had a longing to pick up and leave. We've been talking for a while about moving back up north, although we're not exactly sure where yet - while I'm not willing to pick up and move without having a source of income already set up, I want to - so bad. Our goal is to move in 2012.
For now, we're going to settle for moving into our 3-bedroom apartment for a year and concentrate on saving money, Jim getting established in his new position at Walgreens, and hammering out any details....
I find it unbelievable that is has now officially been 6 years since Jim and I packed up our whole lives to make the move to South Florida. In mid-June 2005, we sold most of our belongings and all of Jim's furniture, packed what we could in his car & my brother's Explorer, and made the move to South Miami. No jobs, no income, nothing except the knowledge that at the end of August 2005, I would be enrolled in law school.
Now looking back at it, what were we thinking?!?!? I cannot fathom moving to one of the most expensive places in the country without any income. Maybe it's just because now we're older and we have a child (I can't even say baby anymore - sad).
But, lately, I've had a longing to pick up and leave. We've been talking for a while about moving back up north, although we're not exactly sure where yet - while I'm not willing to pick up and move without having a source of income already set up, I want to - so bad. Our goal is to move in 2012.
For now, we're going to settle for moving into our 3-bedroom apartment for a year and concentrate on saving money, Jim getting established in his new position at Walgreens, and hammering out any details....
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Happy 1st Birthday, Sweet Angel!
It was a little over a year ago that I started reading the heart babies blogs. There were several babies waiting to be born at that time.
On of those was Cohen. I know I've linked to his page before - I've been so touched by his story and his beauty.
Today is Cohen's first birthday. He lived for only 12 days. My heart aches for his family who - although they have shown tremendous grace and courage in the past year - do not have him in their arms. His parents, Megan and Brent, are very sweet and miss their little boy so very much. They are pregnant with twins - one boy and one girl.
Please, take a moment today and pray for this young, sweet family. I cannot imagine what they are going through today.
Happy Birthday, sweet baby. Enjoy your day in Heaven!
On of those was Cohen. I know I've linked to his page before - I've been so touched by his story and his beauty.
Today is Cohen's first birthday. He lived for only 12 days. My heart aches for his family who - although they have shown tremendous grace and courage in the past year - do not have him in their arms. His parents, Megan and Brent, are very sweet and miss their little boy so very much. They are pregnant with twins - one boy and one girl.
Please, take a moment today and pray for this young, sweet family. I cannot imagine what they are going through today.
Happy Birthday, sweet baby. Enjoy your day in Heaven!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Vacation - Disney
We had a blast on our vacation! We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's, dinner at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends, spent a day at Hollywood Studios, a day at Epcot, and two days at Magic Kingdom.
Brooke had an absolute blast at the parks. She wasn't real sure of the characters - in fact, the closest she would get was to give a high 5. The highlight for her was riding the "choo choo train" (aka the tram) from the parking lot to the park entrance. She also loved riding the ferry at Magic Kingdom!
I love Disney, and this trip was no different. We spent Monday with my sister in law, her husband, and our nephew Ethan and niece Megan.
Monday was also exciting because I finally got to meet a good friend of mine, Jen! I met Jen on the What to Expect message boards when we were pregnant - so it's been nearly 3 years since we started talking! She, her husband, and their little boy (who is just about 2 weeks older than Brooke) met us at Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, it was only for about half an hour, but we had a great time meeting them and cannot wait to see them again!
Wednesday, we left Disney and headed to Tampa to our next stop - but I think I'll save that for a later post.
Pictures will be coming soon on my facebook page!
Brooke had an absolute blast at the parks. She wasn't real sure of the characters - in fact, the closest she would get was to give a high 5. The highlight for her was riding the "choo choo train" (aka the tram) from the parking lot to the park entrance. She also loved riding the ferry at Magic Kingdom!
I love Disney, and this trip was no different. We spent Monday with my sister in law, her husband, and our nephew Ethan and niece Megan.
Monday was also exciting because I finally got to meet a good friend of mine, Jen! I met Jen on the What to Expect message boards when we were pregnant - so it's been nearly 3 years since we started talking! She, her husband, and their little boy (who is just about 2 weeks older than Brooke) met us at Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, it was only for about half an hour, but we had a great time meeting them and cannot wait to see them again!
Wednesday, we left Disney and headed to Tampa to our next stop - but I think I'll save that for a later post.
Pictures will be coming soon on my facebook page!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
4 Years and All I've Ever Wanted....
4 years ago today, I married the most amazing man I've ever met. We've certainly had our challenges and difficulties since I've met him nearly 10 years ago, but we always get through and come out stronger than ever. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.
We agreed not to do anything for our anniversary - our Disney trip is our gift to each other. I am so excited! Jim is riding the bus up to Pines to meet me tomorrow, then we'll grab dinner after work and hit the road! It's going to be a great week - and hopefully I'll have lots of stories when I come back so my blog becomes lively again, ha.
We agreed not to do anything for our anniversary - our Disney trip is our gift to each other. I am so excited! Jim is riding the bus up to Pines to meet me tomorrow, then we'll grab dinner after work and hit the road! It's going to be a great week - and hopefully I'll have lots of stories when I come back so my blog becomes lively again, ha.
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