Easter Dress

Here's my cutie girl in her Easter dress. A friend of Jason's mom had given us this dress over a year ago. I thought it would be perfect for Easter this year. Little did I know that Brooklyn would be 10x the size of a normal 18 month old. =) So, this size 18 mos dress was pretty snug and short on my 18 mos girl. But she was still cute! Jason was the assigned Easter dress photographer. This first picture makes him mad because you can tell that she is defiantly not looking at the camera even though she is well aware that that's what he wants her to do.

"Yeah, yeah... I know you want me to look."

"I'll get to it right after I go look at that tree over there."

"My what a fascinating specimen!"

"Okay, no excuses, I'm just ignoring you."

"Fine, if I'm gonna look up for you..."

"This is as good as it gets!!"

What a cheeky chica!

Spring in Utah

The grass is green, the flowers are out...and we have snow!

18 months

Brooklyn turned 18 months on Easter day (April 12th). She went to the doctor for a well child visit the next day. At 27 lbs 11 ounces and 35 inches tall, she is at the 90% for weight and officially off the charts for height. Her head measurement is still around the 30%. I really don't know where this tall, thin, little-headed child came from. I'm glad she's here though. I told the doctor that she could say about 15 words and she seemed impressed. I actually counted her words when I got home and its more like 30-35, so I guess she's not dumb. =)

She is certainly developing QUITE the personality. She's still pretty laid-back when we're around other people, but at home she makes her opinions known. I love all the stuff she is learning to do. I can give her something and say trash and she'll throw it away. Or I'll say diaper and she'll go get me one. For as long as she can remember, it has been cold outside and she's had to put on a jacket. So when I say "let's go bye-bye," she goes to the coat closet to get one on. A couple of times last week it was warm enough to go out without a coat and she was quite confused.

I decided that now that she is 18 months, she's too old for a bottle. She doesn't agree. She throws a FIT when I hand her a sippy cup instead. Yesterday was her first day without a bottle before bed. I said, as usual, "Brooklyn - jammies and milk??" She happily went back to her room and got her jammies put on. Then she rushed to the fridge for some milk. When I handed her a sippy cup, she was SO INSULTED!!! She threw it on the floor and then flung herself on the floor and screamed. When she didn't get her way, she got up and started picking up everything she could find (toys, shoes, etc) and throwing them across the room. I had a folded stack of blankets on the table and she made short work of those. Then she went and got her sippy cup and put it in the time-out chair with an emphatic "No! Stop!" and a shake of her finger. It was hilarious. My mom was sympathetic and said I should wean her off the bottle a little at a time. Like, give her one at night only for a while. I decided to go cold turkey because I didn't want her thinking she had a chance of getting one of she threw a big enough fit. She's been less dramatic today. I think she'll forget about the bottle soon.

I've been feeling like a bad mom lately because I really think she's ready to be potty-trained and I haven't done it. She hates having a dirty diaper and will immediately say "poop? diaper?" when she needs to be changed. Poor thing doesn't like going in her pants, but she doesn't have an alternative! It's just been so busy with work and school and getting ready to move and everything. Jason has needed my help with several final papers. He had his last day of class yesterday!! EVER!!! Unless he decides on grad school down the road... but for now, no more lonely nights!! I think I'm a lot more excited about it than he is. He still sees all the final exams and the last online class he has left to complete. Anyway, I'm putting off potty-training until we are settled in our new place. Then I don't have to worry about panties and accidents while we're trying to clean and move. Plus, we'll be on a more fixed schedule this summer.

I am so impressed with my baby girl. She's my best friend. I love that I'm starting to be able to understand what she wants and vice versa. We have a lot of fun together. Here are some of the words she can say. I always think that I have them all, but then she reminds me of another one I forgot. Or she'll learn a new one! What a little smartie, I can't even keep up. =)

bye-bye
hi
no
stop
don't
apple
diaper
pear
cheese
fish
arf
meow
moo
ribbit
poop
book
mommy
dad
there you go ("dare go")
diego (from the cartoon)
baby
nose
ear
eye
balloon
one
two
three
shoes
eww
oh no
oh man
uh-oh
night-night
peekaboo

I'm totally forgetting some. I'm gonna add them later cuz I think it's fun to keep track. Lately, we can say almost any word to her and she'll try to say it if she's in the mood. So fun! Love you baby!!

Easter

I know we took some pictures of the Easter festivities, but I can't seem to find the camera. Perhaps Jason took it to work to document Customer Service Week. Anyway, we decided that the Easter Bunny would be polite enough to come on Saturday instead of Sunday since we have 9:00 church. Brooklyn loved her basket and loved getting to have her own egg hunt with no other little kids to swipe them before she could get to them. The Bunny brought her a little candy, some crayons and coloring book, a Peeps rubber ducky which (terrifyingly) lit up in the tub, and A NEW BABY!!! She didn't really have a baby before, and she loves it. She likes to have us change its clothes, she feeds it its milk, puts it in its little bed, etc. It even cries and coos! (I really was impressed at how many accessories the baby came with for just $10 - lol!) On Sunday we taught a Resurrection lesson in Nursery. They didn't get it. But they did understand the bunny masks we made - oh, and the Easter cookies. The joys of Nursery. At home, I baked a ham from a Food Network recipe layered with mustard, brown sugar, and crushed gingersnaps. We had it alongside candied yams (Jason's favorite, too sweet for my taste), fresh green beans, deviled eggs, and cranberry juice. It turned out pretty good and we've got tons of leftovers. Can't beat that! Pictures to come.

Table & Chair

A few days ago, Jason took some pictures of Brooklyn playing with her princess chair and activity table. Both of them were Christmas presents - the chair from us and the table from my parents - but she's the one who put them together. It was so cute to see her pull up her chair to her table and go to town one day. Now we keep the set-up in the corner of the entryway. These pictures give a good idea of how much fun she has - they also show you what her hair looks like before it is combed. =)

Little Mozart tickling the ivories... er... colored plastic.

Easter Eggs

The Sunday before Easter, between Conference sessions, Jason's work had a mini Easter egg hunt for the kiddos. That is where Brooklyn discovered the wonder of the egg. Little colorful balls full of candies, crayons, stickers, and toys, all free for the taking!!! She did really well at finding them and placing them into her basket. The next day, we colored eggs for FHE and she was equally as enthralled.

Peas & Water

Brooklyn gets so bored here with nobody else to play with. I try to entertain her the best I can, but sometimes I just need to get stuff done! The other day she was so desperate for something new, and I was so desperate for her to stop whining, that I opened the cupboard, got out a bag of dried peas, dumped them in a tupperware, filled up a pot of water, and put them on the floor. She brought over some of her play dishes and had the time of her life for almost an hour! Eventually, she got enough water on the floor that she decided to start using it as a slip 'n slide. Of course she was soaked and there was a big mess, but she had fun and I ended up with a clean floor when it was all put away. =) Here are some pics: