Overheard at My House

My friend Naomi does "Overheard at My House" and I thought I would join in the fun.

Mommy: "Savannah, you need to take your hands out of your pants. Don't do that."
Savannah: "Why?"
Mommy: "Because its yucky."
Savannah: "Only boys do that?"


Savannah: "I so hungry! I want jelly beans."
Mommy: "You can't eat jelly beans for a snack. Can you think of something else you might like?"
Savannah: "Why?"
Mommy: "Because they just aren't good for you."
Savannah: "Oh yes. They're real good. You should try one please."


Savannah: "Is Grandad Mimi's husband?"
Mommy: "Yes."
Savannah: "I not like husbands. I just like Grandad, not Mimi's husband."
Mommy: "Why? Whats wrong with husbands?"
Savannah: "They scare me."


Mommy: "Its naptime, Savannah!"
Savannah: "I can't take nap."
Mommy: "Why not?"
Savannah: "Because there are scary people under the bed trying to take my Barbies away."


Savannah, talking to Barbie: "Barbie! You have got to start obeying me! Go sit in timeout." (Pause.) "Barbie! Are you listening?! You are driving me crazy."


Savannah, to the drive-thru attendant as Mommy pulls away from the Starbucks window: "Hey! Excuse me! Where my fry-fries?!"

Look Alikes.

I'm not gonna lie...
I think these two are looking more and more alike.

Their noses are a little different... and I think one will have curly hair and the other has straight...

..but they are two beautiful blue-eyed blessings!

[I know my hand looks random in these photos...but we don't want any drowning during a photo session! Or any time for that matter. Ahem.]

Happy Tuesday!

Good morning, Sunshine!





Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Grand Finale

Here are the last (and my favorites) of Miss Brooklyn's newborn pictures...


Now if only they stayed this small forever...

Photos courtesy of Beth Simmons Photography

Visitors

We've been blessed to have several visitors lately. Not all of them have had their pictures taken, but these two in particular were noteworthy because they visited us from rainy... Seattle!

Well, they didn't travel all this way JUST to see us, but still. Ahem.

My high school friend Kristin and her daughter Haley stopped in to visit us and we were so glad! Although, I'm pretty sure that Savannah thought Haley was her real life baby doll.



Kristin and Haley live far away because they are a military family... and we are so thankful for men like Frank who serve in the Navy.

But we'd be okay if they moved closer too. Hint, hint, Uncle Sam.

One Month Old

Is she really already a month old? I swear that time flies by when you don't want it to.



Brooklyn is a fantastic baby. I can't believe how good she is. She is a great nurser, a great sleeper, and is just very sweet-natured. She has made it very easy to transition to life with two children. [I have a theory that when you have one high-maintenence child, God knows better than to grace you with two...after all, He knows what we can handle!]



She eats every 3-4 hours, and I've been able to exclusively breastfeed her, which makes us both very happy. She sometimes stays awake for about 20 minutes after she eats, but that is about all at this point. She is still very sleepy, but thats normal for a preemie. At night, she gets up 2-3 times to eat. She is sleeping in her crib in her room because she snorts and grunts in her sleep and it was keeping me awake. She has only pulled an all-nighter twice...so far...



She loves to swing and loves for Savannah to talk to her. She also loves to be held or snuggled up against you. She likes to ride in the car, as long as it is moving. She cries when we buckle her in, but as soon as we go, she's good. She does not like baths, changing clothes, or getting her diaper changed... but other than that, she isn't picky!



She weighs in at just under 6 pounds now and is almost 21 inches long. She is still wearing mostly preemie clothes, and a few newborn things, depending on the brand and how small they run. She is just so tiny! Other than a small battle with pink eye due to her underdeveloped tear ducts, she has done just fine since coming home. She goes back to the doctor in a week for her check up and shots. I can't say enough how thankful I am to have her home and healthy. When I think that they expected her to still be in the NICU now, my heart is so glad she is here with us. What a precious gift!







We are so thankful for this beautiful, sweet, healthy, tiny one-month-old girl!

Inventive.

My husband is so weird inventive.

He always finds the oddest most creative uses for things.

Its the Beckner in him. (They'll all be proud of this post.)

Last night, he was holding Brooklyn and said that he was going to give Savannah a bath (he has a phobia of sticky things). I asked him how he was going to do that with his hands full and he said he'd manage (I was cleaning the kitchen).

This is what I found.

And he proudly declared that it was a great idea. Because it was the perfect bed for her.

And then... to top it all off... he said...

"You can even take pictures and make fun of me on your blog if you want!"

Consider it done, babe.

A Good Reason To Have Health Insurance

Not Me Monday - Mother of a Newborn Edition

1. I did not eat 8 cupcakes in 5 days because someone went to Bubblecake while I was in the hospital. Not me!



2. I did not dig through the trash to retreive a Pampers wipes container because my husband threw it away without entering the code on the Pampers rewards website. That would be gross. Not me!



3. I have never fallen asleep sitting up nursing the baby and slept for about two hours with her in my arms. Not me!



4. I did not catch myself saying to Brooklyn as I was changing her diaper... "now lift your bottom up." I know very well that a newborn can't follow directions and I didn't mistakenly confuse her with my toddler for a minute. Not me!



5. I don't call my children by each others names. I don't start sentences with, "Brook- I mean Savannah..." or "Sav- uhh Brooklyn..." I know who they are. Not me!



6. I did not leave my toddler unattended while I fed the newborn and find that she had decorated the walls of my bathroom by sticking pantiliners to them. Not me!



7. I didn't try to use a Walmart giftcard in Babies-R-Us. I can read. Not me!



8. I didn't tell someone at the doctor's office that yes, Brooklyn was my first child, and then correct myself later. I know that I have two children. Not me!



Anything you haven't done today?!

She's Got Air.

Her daddy is grooming her for a college basketball scholarship.



Think she stands a chance?!

A Walk In the Park

Its the time of year that mothers of small children pray for. The warm weather has arrived.



So we did what anyone with cabin fever would do.



We headed to the park!



Savannah had a great time on the swings, slides, and everything else.

And Brooklyn enjoyed the sunshine too. From her place right next to Momma.

And then we ended the outing with ice cream!

Savannah enjoyed greeting everyone that walked into the store.

She isn't shy.

Shocker there.

It was a perfect day!

Breakfast with a Fairy.

I bet your Saturday morning didn't start like mine did.

Did you eat a poptart with a fairy?

Didn't think so.

Silly girl.

I can't believe she is two-and-a-half. This girl brings a lot of joy into my life. I sure do love this smile [even covered in pizza sauce]!

Just For Size

Sometimes I think in pictures you can't tell how little Brooklyn really is. But then when I took this one, I realized the pacifier looked huge on her tiny face. What a sweet baby!

Big Sister.

Photo courtesy of Beth Simmons Photography.

Bathtime Beauties

Sleep Deprivation.

I just wanted to take a minute to laugh at myself. And thank you all for not laughing at me. You know, when I wished you all a Happy Friday in the post below... on Monday.

You see, being sleep deprived can make you do crazy things. Like forget what day it is. Or send an email to the wrong person. Or my personal favorite, when Savannah was two weeks old, I backed into a parked car. Hmm. Maybe wishing you a Happy Friday isn't so bad afterall. ;)

Just to Make You Smile

Gina took this picture of Emma and Savannah hanging out at Emma's second birthday party. It makes me smile every time I look at it. We hope you're smiling too on this wonderful Friday!

Praisin'

How great is our God
Sing with me
How great is our God
All will see
How great, how great is our God!

I just wanted to take a minute on this beautiful dreary Sunday to share my heart full of praise! I'm so thankful that Brooklyn is home and thriving and waking me up five times last night! I can't hardly believe that just two weeks ago, she wasn't breathing free of assistance.

Brooklyn had a followup visit to the doctor on Friday and was "upgraded" to newborn status. The day she was born, she was critical status. The following day she moved up to intensive care status. A few days later, she was upgraded to preemie status. Now... drum roll please... we've come full circle to newborn status. Hip-hip-hooray! She's finally gained weight and now weighs in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and her jaundice level has almost returned to normal. Additionally, some newborn screening tests that came back abnormal were repeated and came back normal the second time around. So, things are looking up for our sweet girl. She doesn't have to go to the doctor again until April, and other than an expensive shot injection of antibodies she gets every month, she can now be treated like a normal newborn! I do have to admit however, that I'm still slightly paranoid and will make you wash and sanitize your hands before touching her. Just because the NICU scarred me for life.

I'm so thankful that my Father knows just what He is doing. You know, when He allows things like gestational diabetes to give a baby a fighting chance. I know that it is only under His hand of protection that she has made so much progress and done so well. And He is so worthy of praise!

Flower Child.

Photo courtesy of Beth Simmons Photography.

Sweet feet.

Photo courtesy of Beth Simmons Photography.

Towels.

Photo courtesy of Beth Simmons Photography.

Sister Love.

Photos courtesy of Beth Simmons Photography.

Black and White

Over the course of the next several days...
I will be posting pictures taken by Beth Simmons Photography.
You can view her blog here or her Flickr site here.
I think her pictures are amazing! [You should all book photoshoots!]

Just a Taste

This morning, Brooklyn got to model for a new [awesome] photographer who is building her [incredible] portfolio. Here is the first proof! We'll get the rest of them next week, so this is just a taste of what is to come. I'm so excited! I will post the rest when I get them, and also give you Beth's information so that you can spread the word... she is really good at what she does!

Of course, it helps to have really cute models. ;)

This is the life.

I sure love cuddling with my baby. Maybe even more than she loves cuddling with her momma. But maybe its a tie.

Either way, this is the life.

Attention Deprived.

Hi, my name is Savannah. I'm a new big sister.



Who is tired of not being the center of attention any longer.



Who will do absolutely anything to get the attention of everyone around.



Is it working?

True or False

True or False...


In the past 10 days...
... I had a baby six weeks early.
... My baby was hospitalized in the NICU.
... My baby had to have a shot that cost $2000.
... I was told I'm anemic and asked if I was tired. [Just a little bit.]
... My heat pump broke, big time, and will cost $2500 to fix.
... My grandmother had emergency surgery.
... I realized the inspection on my van was bad.
... I've made 19 trips to the hospital.


If you answered "true" to all of the above, you are so right.


But... can I just tell you how awesome my God is?!
He has provided everything we have needed so far.
And Brooklyn is home with us.
And she is doing well.
And remember that bummer of a thing called gestational diabetes?
It might've saved her life.
You see, the doctors were hoping she was at least 4.5 pounds.
Weighing in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces, she surprised them (the first of many times).
Do you know why she weighed above average?
Diabetes causes big babies.
Hmm.
Got chill bumps?
Me too.
Do you serve an awesome God? Me too.

Monkey See, Monkey Do.

[And yes, that cabbage patch doll is as big as Brooklyn!]