Halloween fun!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I love costumes, parades, trick or treating - all of it!  It's even more fun now, with a child to dress up.

Last night was Harvest Night at Brooke's daycare.  The theme was "Once Upon a Harvest," and each classroom was decorated based on a book.  Brooke's classroom was Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom - one was Clifford, one was the Grinch (yay!), 5 Little Monkeys, etc., etc.  Brooke had a blast going from classroom to classroom giving hugs, getting candy, and playing games with her little friends - and we had a great time swinging and playing on the playground.

I'm sure everyone's seen this on Facebook already but, without further ado, may I present to you.....BIG BIRD!!!

Today, we went trick-or-treating at the local mall, and Brooke got more candy!!  She loves Halloween too, and she keeps asking to put her costume on.  I love my girl!

Fall fun weekend

This weekend was eventful, that's for sure. 

Friday after work, Brooke (aka Abby Cadabby) and I headed to a Halloween party at Busy Bee Kidz.  We decorated mini pumpkins, ate pizza and other goodies, participated in a costume contest, got pictures with Elmo and Abby Cadabby, and played until they kicked us out (literally!).  They handed out goodie bags to all the kids that included lots of candy.  They also had some Halloween movies playing in the "disco" room where the seats all looked like animals - we never even set foot inside there! There are a lot of times I feel guilty about the amount of time I'm away from Brooke due to working during the week, so I love doing these special things with her that she loves so much.

In the middle of the night, I heard Brooke moaning in her sleep.  I went in to check on her, and she was burning up!  She had a fever of around 101.  That may not seem super high, but it affects her the way a 103 degree fever would affect another kid - she NEVER gets fevers.  I woke her up and was surprised by a barky cough.  Since she just had croupe in July, I figured I would bring down her fever and then call the doctor in the morning.  Nope - she promptly vomited the Motrin I tried to give her and was acting lethargic and clingy (this may be because it was also the middle of the night and I woke her from a deep sleep).  So, off to the ER we went - chest x-rays (normal), tylenol suppository (poor baby), oral steroids, and a popsicle later, we headed home.  Tonight's her last day of her steroid, and the poor thing is feeling better but still not completely back to normal.

Saturday, we cancelled plans and lounged around the house.  When Jim came home from work, Brooke was begging to go bye-byes.  So, off to dinner we went, picked up her prescription, and picked up a pumpkin. 

Sunday morning, I got to sleep in - until the fire alarm started going off.  There was a fire a few apartments down in our building (small enough to be put out by the sprinklers).  Loads of fun, let me tell you.  Brooke was acting more like her normal self and wanted to go "paint pum-kin at fest-bal."

So, we headed to the Fall Festival at Flamingo Road Nursery.  It was so nice - we got a beautiful pumpkin, and Brooke painted a sugar pumpkin.  She loved it!  We couldn't stay too long because Jim is really allergic to hay, but we got a few pictures. 

This week is going to be full of more fall fun!  Carving pumpkins (I'll give you a clue - the theme of the pumpkins is going to go with Brooke's real Halloween costume!), Harvest Night at school, and trick-or-treating this weekend!!

MIA

Looks like I've been missing for far too long.  I don't even know where to begin.

October 1st, we moved into our new apartment.  We love it!  Brooke and I are so much happier being closer to work/school, and the hubby is just happy to be in this area.  We're still working on getting everything together.

I have LOTS of DIY/crafty projects going on right now, alone and with Brooke!  I love crafting/sewing, and I'm planning on making some Christmas gifts this year, too!  Right now, I'm finishing up my "autumn" themed coasters, then I'll be making some Christmas coasters, then coasters for the rest of the year.  Then there's throw pillows, wall hangings, and more!  Watch for lots of posts about my projects ;-)

Brooke took a trial ballet/tap class yesterday. She says it was fun and she liked it, but she doesn't want to go back.  We'll see what happens with that.

Now that we're slowly getting settled, I'm hoping to post more frequently!

10 years ago

When I think back on the last 10 years, there are many things I can point to as eye-opening, life-changing events.  Graduating college, moving to law school, losing my grandfather, graduating law school, my wedding, having my first baby...the list really goes on and on. 

And I bet you think this is another post about 9/11.  It's not.  (Of course, I remember exactly where I was, exactly what I was doing...).  In fact, I blocked myself from the images of 9/11 - because I remember and because I didn't want my daughter paying attention - she's only 2, she has plenty of time to learn how this world can be.  And I will never forget.

But, no, something else happened to me 10 years ago that changed my life and rocked my world.  I met my hubby.

On September 16, to be exact.  In the afternoon.  In front of the IUP Hub.  He had on a white t-shirt (of course!) and his Virginia baseball cap.  I had on a lavendar tank top with a long striped cardigan that was lavendar, blue, and green.  Would have been the day before, but his parents took him to dinner for his birthday that day. (See, told you I remember ;-) ).

Sometimes I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if my mom had grown up in NY, if Dad had taken the job in Philly when I was young, if I hadn't gone to IUP, if Jim had joined the Marines like he'd planned - would my path still have crossed Jim's, would we still be here, in this place, a family of three?  I like to think we would have - that there is that one person you are intended to be with and God will find a way to bring you together.

Regardless, the past 10 years have been filled with ups and downs, good times and bad - here's hoping the next 10 are just as amazing.

2 year well visit

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!

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! 

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.