Aaron, Leah, Brooklyn, Lillian & Greyden Stitt

.5 Years Old.

2012-02-07T11:40:00.001-07:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2012/02/5-years-old.html

.6 Months.

2012-02-01T14:18:00.001-07:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2012/02/6-months.html

.5 Months.

2012-01-12T11:14:00.001-07:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2012/01/5-months.html

.Baby Giggles.

2011-12-29T20:01:00.001-07:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/12/baby-giggles.html

.4 Months.

2011-12-12T11:07:00.001-07:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/12/4-months.html

.Brookie the Astronaut.

2011-12-03T14:56:00.001-07:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/12/brookie-astronaut.html

Forget You Parody (for the strength of youth)

2011-12-03T10:07:00.001-07:00

.Fridge Lock Out.

2011-12-02T10:58:00.001-07:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/12/fridge-lock-out.html

.I'm Busy!.

2011-11-28T11:57:00.001-07:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/11/im-busy.html

.Pre-Thanksgiving Fun.

2011-11-25T11:21:00.001-07:00

Some random Pre-Thanksgiving fun at the Stitt house.

.I Am Thankful #21.

2011-11-22T20:50:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for my family's health.

Yesterday was my birthday. We celebrated it on Sunday, so there was nothing special planned for the day. I just expected to relax a bit...which did not end up happening.

Aaron woke up feeling terrible. He seems to have the same sickness that I had for a full week and a half. You just feel terrible and exhausted with no other real symptoms. I would probably call it a "Man Cold", minus the cold symptoms.

Lily woke up in the middle of the night Sunday complaining that her ear hurt. She had cold like symptoms off and on for a week, so I decided to take her in to the Dr. on Monday to check for an ear infection. Sure enough, she had an ear infection and we ended up getting her caught up on her shots as well.

THEN the car decided it needed an oil change, it was time for a turning signal light to go out AND have tire pressure issues with the lights on the dashboard all going crazy that morning on the way to taking Brooklyn to Preschool. So I ended up spending my evening at the mechanic while the girls stayed home to relax with Aaron. Greyden also decided that he was going to be a cranky little baby that night and was fussy the whole time we were at the mechanic...which is not like him at all!

I am thankful that my family only has minor illnesses that require limited antibiotics and maybe some cold medicine to ease the small amounts of pain and discomfort.

.I Am Thankful #20.

2011-11-21T10:11:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for random story time moments from one of my favorite little ones.

.I Am Thankful #19.

2011-11-19T23:18:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for random movie nights.

It always makes for some fun moments to remember.

.I Am Thankful #18.

2011-11-18T08:23:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful Aaron and I taught Grandma Helen to be so efficient on the internet.

Today she sent me this HILARIOUS forward about Mitt Romney.

I had to share it.

How Mormon is Mitt Romney?
Last week, Florida evangelical Christian leader John Stemberger endorsed Rick Perry’s campaign for GOP presidential nominee. According to Stemberger, Perry was more “trustworthy” on social conservation issues like abortion rights.

On Romney, Stemberger said: “The issue not that he is a Mormon. The issue is that he wasn’t Mormon enough. If he had been consistent with traditional Mormon values his whole career, that would make me feel a lot more comfortable about where he’s coming from.”

Mitt Romney. Not Mormon enough? Yeah, right.

Stemberger’s ludicrous assessment of Mitt Romney’s Mormonism inspired an eighteen-hour-stream of “Mitt Romney is so Mormon jokes” on Twitter The best are reprinted here…
So, just exactly how Mormon IS Mitt Romney?
Mitt is so Mormon… he’s related to the other Mormon presidential candidate as well as half of his own campaign volunteers.

Mitt is so Mormon… his campaign bus is a pioneer handcart.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’d call 19-year-old boys to serve as US ambassadors.

Mitt is so Mormon… his Israel policy will be centered on Jackson County, Missouri.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll make the income tax a flat 10% and collect fast offerings to fund Medicaid.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll ask the Senate to “sustain” his appointees by manifesting with an uplifted hand.

Mitt is so Mormon… he doesn’t do regular Pilates, he does golden Pilates.

Mitt is so Mormon… that his campaign “oppo” team has done all the other candidates’ genealogy.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’s organizing his precinct walkers in pairs to knock on doors with a very special message.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’d make the Book of Mormon required reading at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Mitt is so Mormon… that if elected, the “First Lady” will be known as the “First Wife.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll choke up during his inaugural address and then say, “I told myself I wasn’t going to cry.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he will commission a presidential motorcade entirely of 10-passenger family vans.

Mitt is so Mormon… he will actually hang the Constitution up by a thread, just so he can save it.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’s concerned about joining the Tea Party because of Doctrine & Covenants 89.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll start the State of the Union with the words: “I wasn’t going to come up here, but the Spirit just carried me off of the bench.”

Mitt is so Mormon… his campaign biography begins, “I, Willard, having been born of goodly parents.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll ask members of Congress to go home and pray about his economic plan.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’d ask the Elders Quorum to help move him into the White House.

Mitt is so Mormon… his first act will be to make July 24th a national holiday.

Mitt is so Mormon… he asks donors to stack chairs after fundraising dinners.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll award Ty Detmer, Steve Young, and Jimmer Fredette the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Mitt is so Mormon… his campaign slogan is “What do you know about Mitt Romney? Would you like to know more?”

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll reroute the Freedom Trail through Palmyra, New York; Nauvoo, Illinois; and Winter Quarters, Iowa.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll rename the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms” the “Word of Wisdom Squad”.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’d do an ad formormon.org <http://mormon.org/> stating: “I’m a husband, father, and leader of the free world. And I’m a Mormon.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he isn’t as concerned about getting American youth jobs as he is about getting them married.

Mitt is so Mormon… he tried to convince CNN to let him bring a visual aid to the debate so he could turn it into an object lesson.

Mitt is so Mormon… that he refers to Congress as “The Great and Spacious Building.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll end every address with “hope you’ll all get home safely, without any harm or accident.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll assign a friend to every new member of Congress.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’s already picked out a room in the White House for his year’s supply of wheat and beans, and he’ll require the White House Chef to rotate the food storage.

Mitt is so Mormon… he doesn’t campaign. He “fellowships.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he’s having two basketball hoops installed at the Inaugural Ball so there’s a place to hang decorations.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll change the name of “Cabinet Meeting” to “Correlation Meeting”.

Mitt is so Mormon… if he gets elected all of the White House 9x13 pans would have a piece of masking tape on them with the name “Romney” written in Sharpie.

Mitt is so Mormon… he has four cats named 1st Nephi, 2nd Nephi, 3rd Nephi, and 4th Nephi (4th Nephi is the smallest).

Mitt is so Mormon… late last night he snuck out to put 5000 plastic forks in the lawn of Jon Huntsman. And after that, he heart attacked Rick Perry.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’s going to rename the 101st Airborne as “The Stripling Warriors.”

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll rename FEMA the Federal Relief Society.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll start his acceptance speech with “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.”

Mitt is so Mormon… the Marine Band will play “Praise to the Man” when he enters a room.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll appoint Lavell Edwards as Secretary of Defense.

Mitt is so Mormon… he won’t allow advisers wearing non-white dress shirts to participate in cabinet meetings.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll rename the weekly presidential address “Politics and the Spoken Word.”

Mitt is so Mormon… his cabinet would consist entirely of unqualified, yet enthusiastic, volunteers.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’d convene a Munch-N-Mingle after cabinet meetings, with refreshments blessed “to nourish and strengthen our bodies”.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’d hang a copy of the Proclamation on the Family and a picture of the Washington, D.C. LDS temple in the White House.

Mitt is so Mormon… he has volunteers combing through old GOP voter rolls for less actives he can reactivate.

Mitt is so Mormon… he’d put everyone in his stake on the inauguration invite list. Just because.

Mitt is so Mormon… he will add the phrases “every fiber of my being” and “beyond a shadow of a doubt” to the presidential oath of office.

Mitt is so Mormon… the Inagural Dinner will be Ham, Funeral Potatoes, green Jell-o, and red Kool-aid.

.I Am Thankful #17.

2011-11-18T08:18:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for the ability to cook.

I know there are women out there that are cooking challenged...luckily I am not one of them.

I still have plenty to learn, but the experimenting will wait until my kids are a bit older and maybe a bit less picky.

My favorite GO TO recipe:

http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/09/autumn-chicken.html

Except you can use pork chops or even a pork roast.

My family loves it when I just use pork chops/pork roast, apple juice, apples and cinnamon. SOOOO easy & SOOO yummy!!!

.I Am Thankful #16.

2011-11-16T16:56:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for kind strangers.

I ran to the store to grab a few things before dinner. I was grabbing the last thing I needed and a lady popped in front of the aisle asking me if I knew where the ice cream was. I pointed her down in the right direction and she stops and looks right at me and says "You are so beautiful! I bet you hear that all the time though." I thanked her and told her it was always nice to hear that.

That sweet lady made my evening. :)

.I Am Thankful #15.

2011-11-15T20:53:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for the gift of creativity.

It is something that I not only enjoy, but brings my husband and myself closer together.

We enjoy having discussions about random ideas of things we have seen throughout the day, things we would like to create or things we have created during the day.

I try and do something at least SLIGHTLY creative every day to keep me going...whether it be by myself or something with my kids.

.My Big Little Guy.

2011-11-14T12:44:00.001-07:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-big-little-guy.html

.I Am Thankful #14.

2011-11-14T10:36:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful to be a Stay At Home Mommy.

I have been SO lucky to be able to stay home and watch my babies grow. It would break my heart if I had to leave them with someone else and miss any little moments of theirs. I am definitely a proud mama and think EVERY little thing my children do is the most adorable thing in the ENTIRE world! :)

When Brookie was a baby I was able to work from home with the job I had. I was able to do that until Brookie was almost 1. I then took a 2nd job as a server, but was still only away from her a few short hours every day and I didn't do that for very long either.

Since then, I have been able to be home with all of my babies and not work. I am so very grateful to have a husband that works so hard and that is able to provide for us in a way that allows me to be home.

Since I was a little girl all I wanted to be when I grew up was a Mommy. There was nothing else I could have imagined doing and nothing else that I want to do now. I imagine I will have to do something when I am doing being a Mommy...but for now, I am just enjoying every little moment that I have with my little ones. It is already going by too fast and I don't want to take it for granted later in life.

This little moment made me laugh this morning...I love this little guy.

.I Am Thankful #13.

2011-11-13T17:17:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for the AMAZING Ward that we live in.

Seriously...these people are so awesome! I haven't felt so accepted and loved in a ward since my home ward when I was 14 that I grew up in since I was a baby.

Every Sunday there is someone that says hi, says something nice or just does something to make the day much better.

I also got a calling this morning. I am now a Visiting Teaching Supervisor. Another great way for me to meet people and talk with more women in the ward.

I am feeling very grateful today. :)

.Dear Landlord.

2011-11-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

Tuesday evening, we received a note from our Landlord, along with everyone else in our complex.
The note explained that they would be putting in new windows at our apartment starting Wednesday and finishing up Friday. It detailed out that they would be doing the building in front of us first and they would finish that building up Thursday morning and start on some of our buildings apartments. Then they would finish up the rest of our building on Friday.

Thursday morning I had sick children with colds and was feeling very under the weather myself. So I had my husband let the landlord know that we would like our apartment to be one of the last ones done on Friday. He agreed and said that would be fine.

We ended up leaving Thursday night to head up to Aaron's parents house and stay the night since we had a wedding in Ogden on Friday afternoon. On the note from our Landlord, it said he would be available to let the window company in if we were not home. I figured this would work out the best. I would have my kids out of their way and we wouldn't be trying to get ready for the wedding and just the day in general with them in all of our rooms and the living room.

Friday evening, Aaron's brother Chris came by to pick up the board games that we keep at our house and bring them up to the parent's house with him. I told him where the spare key was and when he arrived, our apartment was already unlocked. Aaron called up our landlord to let him know about the situation and he more or less call Chris a liar and told Aaron that was not possible. STRIKE #1 on our dear sweet landlord during this situation.

We came home last night and I walked in excited to see our new windows. Let me note that the landlord had asked that we remove anything ON or AROUND the windows. I made sure to do exactly that. No curtains, nothing on the windows...it did not state I needed to rearrange my furniture to have the windows put in.

When I walked in the house my computer desk was still moved away from the window in the living room. I didn't think much of it and figured that we could just move it back. I would have been completely fine with the situation had that been the end of it.

As I walked down the hall towards my room I looked in to girls room. Brooklyn's bed was moved away from the wall as well. I could feel the frustration starting to build as I knew I was going to find our bed still moved away from our window...and I did. Let me just tell you now...our bed is definitely not the easiest bed to move. It is heavy and big. It is not something that Aaron and I could have done too easily together...at least not as easy as 2 grown men that are lifting windows all day and have some strong muscles. Thankfully, Aaron's brother Ky & his girlfriend Savannah were coming over and got here shortly after we did.

I was very frustrated over the situation and did not understand why the landlord had not had them simply move our things back. So I called him at 9pm on a Saturday night to let him know I was unhappy with what I had come home to.

I started out the conversation VERY calmly and RATIONALLY. I explained that we were excited about our new windows and knew that it would entail them probably moving our furniture out of the way, but that I was a bit frustrated to come home and find all of my furniture moved away the windows still...mainly our bed since it was very heavy and not something I could help my husband move easily. It all went downhill from there (not on my end...I am VERY proud of how well I kept my cool with this guy).

He explained to me that we had somehow inconvenienced him because we wanted our apartment to be last and that he should have just skipped our apartment all together. (WHAT?!?) I explained to him that my children and I were all sick and we had simply asked that we have our apartment done on Friday. I read to him exactly what HIS note to us had said about finishing up the rest of our building on Friday. He quickly dropped that and moved on to his next argument.

He told me that he had to drive all the way from across town to let them in because we had not let him know we were not going to be home. (WHAT?!?!?) Once again, I let him know the note said that he would be available to let them in if we were not home. It does not ask for us to inform him that we will not be there. I had assumed he would be around the area if there were any issues or concerns from his tenants or the window company.

**This ENTIRE time, I simply wanted an apology that things had been left that way by the window company...which I told him multiple times throughout the conversation. Yet he kept coming back at me with more things.**

NEXT - He complained that he didn't appreciate having phone calls on Friday & Saturday nights. (WHAT?!?) I think my jaw dropped and I said "YOU'RE A LANDLORD!!! That is part of your job!!"

I then told him that, as we had told him when we moved in, that we used to manage properties and were landlords ourselves. I know how this all works. We pay our rent on time, we don't come to him with stupid problems *like neighbor problems...we have dealt with them ALL ourselves and it has ended better than it would calling the landlord like a school child*, we keep our apartment nice and clean & certainly do not trash the place as he would have seen when he let the window company in. I told him that this whole situation was being created simply because he could not just apologize that things were left differently than I felt they should have been. Instead, he tried to place all of this blame on us.

**This is not the first time he has done this either. We had only lived here for 2 days and our freezer wasn't working...he tried to blame that on us**

Finally, I had to end the conversation and I told him that I just felt he could have handled the situation differently and not tried to place all of the blame on me. I told him that this conversation clearly was not going anywhere productive. I let him know that I was sorry if I had interrupted his Saturday night and that I hoped he enjoyed the rest of his evening.

When I hung up the phone my whole body was SHAKING because I had held in all of the anger he had sent running through me with his ridiculous behavior. I could have VERY easily stepped down to his level and had a yelling match with this guy. I am glad I didn't though. It may have taken 10 minutes for my body to relax back to a normal state, but I walked away from the conversation very proud of the way I handled him. To me, it is more of a slap in the face to someone if you are the bigger person and YOU walk away. Not to say I am expecting him to feel remorse and come apologizing still. It would be nice...but I most certainly do not expect it.

This story was not fabricated in any way...our Landlord truly is that rude.

.I Am Thankful #12.

2011-11-12T17:44:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for my patience.

Not that it has been tested too much lately...but I have definitely noticed a difference even from how I was 6 months ago.

I have learned how truly important it is to exercise patience...especially within my marriage. It can make or break an entire day depending on a choice I make when it comes to even the smallest of disagreements.

I love my husband...but he sure knows how to test my patience better than anyone else. :)

.I Am Thankful #11.

2011-11-11T22:43:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for Grandparents.

Tonight I got to enjoy 3 hours of relaxing and playing games while Grandma 'chilles held Greyden and put him to bed.

Now...I just hope that he decides to not wake up at 6:30 AM again.

.Awesome Ellen Guests.

2011-11-10T14:33:00.001-07:00

This little girl is adorable and SO funny!! She has a pretty good voice for an 8 year old as well. :)

.I Am Thankful #10.

2011-11-10T12:18:00.001-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for the right to bear children.

(I am also thankful for the right to bear arms...but I can get to that in another post ;) )

I posted a Status Update on Facebook yesterday about The Duggar Family from 19 Kids and Counting on TLC and the news of them expecting their 20th child.

The responses I got were more or less what I was expecting hear, but it was truly interesting to read everyone else's point of view on the subject.

Where do I stand on this subject? If you hadn't already guessed by what I am thankful for today...I think it is great that they are having another baby! More power to them! I truly commend the woman for going through pregnancy, having an infant and raising a toddler as many times as she has. Let's not forget the fact that they have raised some truly amazing children and are managing to support such a large family and remain financially stable.

I am so thankful for the ability that I have, as a woman, to bear children. There are so many women out there that are unable to have children and would LOVE to be able to experience pregnancy and even child birth. I have realized, even more so after having my 3rd child, what an AMAZING thing it is that we can create. We create little humans! The most intelligent creatures on the planet with more potential that you could even begin to imagine.

Now on to the fun part...and the hardest part...raising them to reach that potential. :)

I Am Thankful #9.

2011-11-09T18:33:00.003-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for my COMFY bed.

I looked in the mirror when Aaron got home from work and noticed some nice dark circles under my eyes.

I don't remember the last time I actually had dark circles under my eyes.

I think I am going to spend some quality time with my bed tonight...starting really soon.

*It's only 6:30 in the evening...*

.Dinner Blessing.

2011-11-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/11/dinner-blessing.html

.I Am Thankful #8.

2011-11-08T11:28:00.002-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for music.

I love that a simple song can invoke so many emotions and bring back memories from a time that you may have forgotten or just love to be reminded of.

This is the song that Aaron played when he proposed to me. It has always been a special song to us and every time I hear it, I am reminded of that moment.

.Jimmy Kimmel Candy Prank.

2011-11-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

This video was awesome!

The consensus seems to be that the kids at the end were definitely the favorite.

I did some research and found the entire video of those kids at the end. It was even funnier in it's entirety.

.I Am Thankful #7.

2011-11-07T13:11:00.002-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for cold medicine.

Honestly, I do not know if I would have survived this morning without it. The back & forth of getting Brookie to Preschool can be quite a chore. The way I was feeling BEFORE my medicine kicked in had me wondering "HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO DO THIS TODAY?!?!?"

We have survived so far and I am now trying to get Lily down for a nap. The time change had us all up bright and early at 7am, so it is definitely nap time for her.

Speaking of Lily, she now has this funny little thing that she does. She insists that she has her feet sticking out of the blanket when she goes to sleep. I just noticed this last week.

Just a cute little thing she is now doing that I will look back on fondly when she doesn't need me to tuck her in any more.

.I Am Thankful #6.

2011-11-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today...

I am thankful for the extra hour I had before church this morning.

I am pretty sure I have caught the cold my children have had recently.

Without the extra hour to get ready slowly and have time for some cold medicine to work it's magic....I definitely wouldn't have made it to church AND gotten a roast in the crock pot for dinner.

Sadly, I didn't think to look at how often I can take the cold medicine and started feeling awful again halfway through church. We made it through most of church and left halfway through sacrament after Greyden threw up all over himself and I realized I had no diapers for Lily who was about to leak through her diaper.

Oh Sundays! :)

.I Am Thankful #5.

2011-11-05T18:34:00.000-06:00

Today...

I am thankful for Date Night!

Greyden and I all ready for Date Night with Daddy Aaron.

Aaron and I have not been on a date in almost a year!!

I found myself a gift card for a place called "I Love Sushi" in Downtown SLC.

Lizzie came over to watch the girls and was later joined by Ky & Nana.

The food was AWESOME!

Greyden slept almost the entire time in his car seat and we got to hang out with him a bit towards the end of our meal.

The weather on the way home...not so awesome to drive in.

We got up this morning and had chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs.

THEN we got all ready and went over to G&G Cutlers and played in the snow.

Daddy made one of his famous sledding hills and we had a TON of fun.

.I Am Thankful #4.

2011-11-04T11:38:00.000-06:00

Today...

I am thankful for baby smiles and giggles.

A sweet little smile or attempted giggle for Mr. Greyden can turn my entire mood around.

There is nothing as sweet and as innocent as a smile for your baby.

.I Am Thankful #3.

2011-11-03T12:03:00.001-06:00

Today...

I am thankful for my washer and dryer.

I remember when Brookie was a baby, her Dad and I would drive from Orem to Magna EVERY Sunday to do our laundry at my parents house. Back then, that worked out just fine.

I can not imagine doing anything like that now. I have to do AT LEAST one load of laundry a day to stay caught up and not have a giant mound of laundry needing my attention...clean or dirty.

.I Am Thankful #2.

2011-11-02T13:58:00.000-06:00

Today...

I am thankful for Preschool.

Those 2 hours that I had today with only 1 cranky child were priceless.

Brooklyn is loving every minute of Preschool.

She is so good at making friends and always has something nice to say about someone in her class.

She is still working on writing her name in lower case letters, but is so proud of the fact that she can write "Mom" and "Dad".

.I Am Thankful #1.

2011-11-01T22:12:00.000-06:00

Today...

I am thankful for my wonderful husband.

He always seems to save my sanity just by walking in the door after he has spent a long day at work.

I feel strangely rejuvenated simply by the fact that he is home, especially if it has been a long and exhausting day with my little ones.

Anytime I need to relax and even head to bed a little earlier than the kids, he is more than willing to hang out with them and make sure they let me sleep.

He is always teaching our children many things and giving them the extra push they need to accomplish something they may think is out of their reach.

He constantly reminds me that I can do anything I put my mind to and supports me in any endeavor.

Our marriage is far from perfect...it has had it's many ups and downs...through it all, he is still my best friend.

He has also given me 2 BEAUTIFUL babies that I love more than anything and has been an equally amazing Daddy to Brooklyn.

I love him more each passing day and I am so lucky to call him mine.

.Greyden's Blessing.

2011-11-01T21:48:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/11/greydens-blessing.html

.3 Months.

2011-11-01T20:28:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/11/3-months.html

.This Is Halloween.

2011-11-01T20:04:00.000-06:00

This year, Brookyln definitely got to enjoy Halloween to the fullest.

Last Wednesday was her Preschool Halloween Party. She wanted to dress up as a Ballerina. We had pizza, fruit snacks & milk, enjoyed story time and the kids prepared some songs that they sang for all of the parents.

That night was our ward Trunk or Treat. We all dressed up in our Star Wars themed costumes.

Aaron and I dressed up as Princess Leia & Han Solo with our 3 little Ewoks in tow.

Halloween morning, Brooklyn decided she wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood and had Lily convinced that she wanted to be a Monkey. I really didn't mind not dressing up for Halloween since we had already worn our costumes for the Ward Trunk or Treat.

The girls did WAY more Trick or Treating than I expected. They lasted almost 2 hours and we ended up with more candy than I know what to do with. Now to hide it out of their reach...and Daddy's too.

.What's More Important??.

2011-10-20T14:13:00.000-06:00

Look Daddy!! I may not know how to write my name...but I can fold laundry like a champ!

Start 'em young and MAYBE they will fold their own laundry when they are older....

That might just be wishful thinking on my part.

.Say Hi to Jesus!.

2011-10-18T16:23:00.001-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/10/say-hi-to-jesus.html

.Primary Program.

2011-10-17T12:47:00.001-06:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/10/primary-program.html

.Greyden Smiling.

2011-10-04T17:17:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/10/greyden-smiling.html

.Aunt Lizzie's 26th Birthday.

2011-10-04T15:11:00.000-06:00

This was when we celebrated Elizabeth Stitt's birthday a few weekends ago. I love how Lily is not only laughing hysterically, but for some reason, we have allowed her to stand on the counter during all of this.

.2 Months.

2011-09-29T09:20:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/09/2-months.html

.Preschool.

2011-09-26T16:18:00.001-06:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/09/preschool.html

.7 Weeks.

2011-09-15T13:55:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/09/7-weeks.html

.Lily the Computer Monster.

2011-09-15T12:04:00.001-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/09/lily-computer-monster.html

.Oh My.

2011-09-15T11:33:00.001-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/09/oh-my.html

.4 Weeks.

2011-08-23T11:31:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/08/4-weeks.html

.Dear Jaundice.

2011-08-01T16:00:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/08/dear-jaundice.html

.Greyden Benjamin Stitt.

2011-07-30T19:32:00.001-06:00

July 27th, 2011 at 5:30pm Greyden Benjamin Stitt joined our little family. He weighed 7lbs and was 20 inches long.

Wednesday morning I got up at about 7:45 waiting for the call to tell us to come in for our scheduled induction. I did my best to not get excited and anticipate the call too much, because I knew there was a chance that they could push it back a day or even 2. So, when the phone rang at 8:40 and I saw the hospitals # I just about jumped out my chair as I answered the phone. They told me that they were ready for me and to come in as soon as possible. Brookie had already gotten up and was ready to go, so I just had to get Aaron and Lily up and ready.

We were out the door by 9:15 and headed to drop the girls off at Aunt Katie's. The whole drive I just kept saying to Aaron "I can't believe that we are going to have a baby today!"

We got to the hospital about 9:40 and they got us straight to a room where they started some penicillin as I tested positive for Group B Strep. About 30 minutes later they started the pitocin.

When we got there I was dilated to 2cm. I let the pitocin do it's thing for about an hour and a half before I requested my epidural. I knew it would be a lot less nerve racking getting the epidural if I was in at least some pain. It didn't take long for the anesthesiologist to get there once I had requested my epidural. In true Aaron fashion, he was fascinated at what the anesthesiologist was doing and was peaking over me the whole time watching the process. Then Aaron says "Now THIS is Spinal Tap". He got absolutely no reaction from the nurse or the anesthesiologist. I probably would have laughed had I not been getting a giant needle inserted into my spine, but I know that everyone in his family would have gotten a kick out of it.

After getting my epidural it seemed like my progression was taking FOREVER!! I was dilating about 1cm every 2 hours even after the Dr. came in and broke my water. Aaron and I were SURE that we were going to be waiting until 9 that night until we got to meet our baby boy.

At about 3pm our nurse came in and told us that she would be going in to a delivery and that another nurse would be taking care of us while she was there. At about 4:30 the babies heart rated started to drop with every contraction. Since the last time the nurse had checked me I was only at a 4, the nurse figured it was the way I was laying and that I just needed to get some more oxygen. So I got rolled over onto my other side and started on oxygen. 20 mins later his rate was still dropping, so the nurse checked me again to see if it was because I was getting close to labor. I was only dilated to a 5 at this point. So we figured the waiting game would just continue even longer.

Well, we were wrong. 20 minutes later I felt what I thought was an intense contraction, so I pushed the button for more medicine through my epidural. Then I felt it again and told Aaron to go and get the nurse. This was not an intense contraction, but an EXTREME amount of pressure. The nurse came in and checked me...I was fully dilated and ready to push. The timing seriously could not have been any better. My nurse had just finished her delivery and my Dr. was scheduled to go into a C-section at 5pm, but was running a bit behind finishing up with some patients. So they paged her down to my room and we were ready to have a baby!

It took them about 15 minutes to get everything all prepped and ready for baby to come. Then came the pushing...if you can even call it that. 1 and a 1/2 pushes and baby Greyden was born! Everything went great for me and for baby. Aaron cut the cord and then I was able to do what they call "skin to skin" where they lay the baby on your chest so you are both touching bare skin. They have found it helps the bonding process between Mommy and baby. After 10 minutes of that, they weighed him and checked all his vitals. Then they all left the room for about 30 minutes while Aaron and I just got to enjoy our brand new baby boy.

It was seriously such an amazing experience! I can't imagine it having gone any better.

Now we are home and adjusting to life with 3 little monsters needing our constant attention. The girls both LOVE their baby brother...sometimes a little too much. Things are going well, except that Greyden has a bit of jaundice and has to lay on the light bed all the time. :( Hopefully his levels go down tomorrow and we can be done with the bed. I hate it more than anything.

.38 Weeks.

2011-07-19T10:36:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/07/38-weeks.html

.4th of July.

2011-07-19T09:56:00.000-06:00

I better get this done before I have no time to get caught up on my blog!

First thing Monday morning we got up bright and early (6am) so Aaron and Chris could run the Huntsville 4th of July Rob Burton Memorial Run.

They both ran the 10K. Chris finished in 6th and Aaron was right behind him in 7th. Lily and I were pretty proud of Daddy.

Can't forget a picture of my adorable niece Clara at the Parade.

Aaron, Ky, Nana, Lizzie and her friend David all decided to enter into the volleyball tournament. They did awesome and it always came down to the final point or 2. They didn't make it to the finals, but it sure was fun to watch.

We then enjoyed a nice BBQ up at Grandma & Grandpa 'chilles.

After dinner, Aaron and I took Lily with us and went to the park to let her play on some of the inflatables and see the Hypnotist show. We had a lot of fun and the Hypnotist show was hilarious, as always. It is definitely one of my favorite parts of the day.

We then went back to the house and played a game of Killer Bunnies before heading back to the park for Fireworks.

I didn't get a lot of pictures, as I was just enjoying the day with family and not too worried about documenting every little moment.

I can't wait until next year when we have Brookie Bear and Baby Boy with us to enjoy the fun we have every 4th of July.

.36 Weeks.

2011-07-07T17:52:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/07/36-weeks.html

.Our Little Princesses.

2011-07-01T10:09:00.000-06:00

Brookie insisted that she wanted her nails and make-up done so her and Lily could both play Princess together.

.34 Weeks.

2011-06-23T10:18:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/06/34-weeks.html

.The Ball Chaser.

2011-06-16T11:11:00.000-06:00

Last Monday was a pretty fun day.

The girls and I went swimming at Grandma Helen's right before dinner and just missed the rain that poured down as we were driving home.

We had a yummy dinner as we waited for Daddy to get home.

Daddy took the girls with him to run errands so I could enjoy a nice, relaxing, uninterrupted shower.

Then we all ate ice cream sandwiches outside before playing on the grass with the big blue bouncy ball Lily got for her birthday from Uncle Kyler.

That's where the fun ended...

We were all laughing and giggling as we took turns bouncing the ball off each other's heads. I bounced it off of Aaron's head a little too hard and in the wrong direction. It bounced off a car and headed right into the parking lot. I was the closest one to the parking lot and also right next to the "higher than I calculated" curb. Our neighbors were just pulling in and the girls were on their way after the ball as well. So, I quickly turned around and went to chase after the ball.

#1 - I was wearing flip-flops that I never wear and are thicker than the ones I usually wear.

#2 - I am 7 months pregnant and my center of gravity is off.

#3 - I am naturally clumsy, pregnant or not.

As you probably imagined...I tripped over the curb at a high speed, took 3 large "trying to catch yourself" steps and fell face/belly first onto the ground. If you ask Aaron, I landed belly first and rolled forward to scrape up my face and tooth. I must have caught myself at least a little due to the fact that I scraped up my left shoulder, the palms of both my hands and my left knee.

I stood straight up, looked at Aaron who was standing there with his mouth open and all I could do was say "Aaron?" in a voice wondering why he was just standing there staring (I now know he was in just as much shock as I was over the whole thing). I then immediately walked away and headed in to our apartment. Oh, and yes, our neighbors saw the whole thing and I am sure didn't know what to think either.

I headed straight for the bathroom and wasn't really feeling any pain yet. As I washed my hands I looked in the mirror and noticed my face around my mouth was all scraped up. I started to whimper a bit (yes, whimper) as I started to feel the pain in my knee and hands. I grabbed a wash rag and cleaned up my face as I walked back to the door to see where Aaron was.

He was just heading in the house with the girls and all he could say was "Wow!" I was slowly starting to feel all the pain more intensely. Aaron rushed me into the shower telling me to get everything cleaned out really good before the shock wore off completely and the pain was hitting me at full force.

As I was in the shower, the pain hit me at full force. I was trying my best not to cry because the girls kept coming in and wanting to see my owies. When I got out, I started to panic a bit realizing that I had landed right on my stomach. So I laid down and luckily didn't have to wait long before Baby Boy started kicking me pretty hard. I knew I should still call the on-call doctor and see if I needed to come in to be monitored. Without any hesitation the doctor told me that I definitely needed to come in and be monitored.

Once we got in to Labor and Delivery, they informed that I would need to stay and be monitored for 24 hours. Definitely not what I was planning on having to do, but I knew it was definitely best considering the situation.

Once I was in my room and starting to get changed into my hospital gown, I was starting to feel a pain in my left hand that was definitely not something small. It was throbbing in pain and definitely swollen around my knuckles under my pointer and middle finger. They did an X-Ray that night and I found out at about 3am that nothing was broken. Well, I was still in a large amount pain, so they had an Orthopedic doctor come in and look at it. He told me that I must have torn some ligaments in my hand, but nothing bad enough to need surgery. So he gave a splint to wear and told me to wear it for a week or two.

Everything with baby turned out great. No problems there at all.

So, for the next 2.5 to 4.5 weeks I will just be taking it easy to avoid any further trips to labor and delivery, unless it is to deliver baby boy.

.You Lied To Me!.

2011-05-20T12:17:00.001-06:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/you-lied-to-me.html

.Hiccup!!.

2011-05-13T12:26:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/05/hiccup.html

.Easter 2011.

2011-05-13T12:16:00.000-06:00

Here was our fun Easter weekend in pictures...a little late, I know.

Lily absolutely LOVES the snakes at Gma and Gpa 'chilles. She tries to get them out by herself every time we are there.

This was the best picture we could get Easter morning before church.

Grandma & Grandpa 'chilles with 2 of their adorable Granddaughters...Clara & Lily.

We came downstairs to start the Easter Egg Hunt and found Nana & Ky like this. It wouldn't be Easter without an egg in the bear trap!

We somehow got Lily to find ALL of the eggs before she started eating candy. Yes...that is A LOT of eggs. We made sure to divide up the eggs that she found between her, Brookie & Clara.

.28 Weeks.

2011-05-12T11:37:00.000-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/05/28-weeks.html

.Baby Brother.

2011-05-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/baby-brother.html

.Baby Lily is 2!!.

2011-05-11T16:27:00.000-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/05/baby-lily-is-2.html

.27 Weeks!!.

2011-05-03T10:22:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/05/27-weeks.html

.Spring Break.

2011-05-02T11:18:00.001-06:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/i-feel-bad-that-i-dont-post-about.html

.Kitty VS Kitten.

2011-05-01T10:58:00.001-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/05/kitty-vs-kitten.html

.We Have Progress!!.

2011-04-26T17:49:00.000-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/04/we-have-progress.html

.26 Weeks.

2011-04-26T09:28:00.001-06:00

http://itsababybaby.blogspot.com/2011/04/26-weeks.html

.Oh Da Man!.

2011-04-25T13:40:00.001-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/04/2-vs-potty.html

.Who's Training Who?.

2011-04-22T10:03:00.001-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/04/whos-training-who.html

.Potty Mommy! Potty!.

2011-04-19T12:15:00.001-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/04/potty-mommy-potty.html

.Random Hiatus.

2011-04-14T18:36:00.000-06:00

I didn't realize how long it had actually been since I posted to my blog. It really isn't like me to go so long in between posts on my main blog.

Here is what I have been up to...

For the past 24 Weeks I have been making a human. He has been a lot more active and so I have been getting a lot less sleep. He likes to keep me up late with his acrobats and wake me up early with his punches.

I have been crocheting hats for my little monsters.

I have also been attempting to potty train this one. Let's just say, I am aware this is just the 1st attempt of many I will be enduring. Lily has her own ideas of how potty training will be done...and when.

.It's Potty Time!.

2011-04-14T15:13:00.000-06:00

http://babylilydiaries.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-potty-time.html

.And I Love Him!!.

2011-03-27T20:57:00.000-06:00

It's not very often that I write a post about my dear sweet husband.

Probably because he isn't my "dear sweet" husband. :P

He can be sweet at times, but that's not why I married him.

I married him because he is my best friend.

I can be quite irrational at times. Yet, I know that he will still be there for me when I come to my senses.

He can make me want to pull my hair out the ENTIRE day, but then I can look at him at the very end of the day and be able to sweetly tell him that I love him and his reply is "I know" and it is still endearing.

His hugs can make even the WORST day feel like it never happened.

I love that we can joke around and mess with each other...even if it is during Sunday School.

I would rather spend my time just hanging out with him than anyone else, besides my kids. :)

We made the most adorable and crazy kid EVER...and I can't wait to see what our true "mini-Aaron" turns out like.

Last, but not least, he sure is HANDSOME!!

I definitely think I am one of the luckiest girls in the world.

.It's Only After We've Lost Everything That We're Free To Do Anything.

2011-03-22T09:21:00.000-06:00

Time to share the GREAT news!!!

Aaron has a new job...that he LOVES!!

Yesterday was his first day and he came home in one of the best moods.

We are all SO proud of him for how hard he worked to get this position. This will be a great change for ALL of us.

WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!

.He's gonna be a soccer player. He is...HE ISSSSSS!!!.

2011-03-16T14:51:00.000-06:00

Yes...it is...A BOY!!

We couldn't be more excited!!

He had his hands in front of his face the ENTIRE ultrasound.

He must be a bit camera shy.

He measured to be 19 weeks and 6 days. So he is EXACTLY in line with the dates we have been going with. So my due date will remain August 2nd, 2011.

The ultrasound was SO much fun having the girls along for the event. I mean that, with no sarcasm. Brookie was asking questions and talking with the ultrasound tech the whole time. When we were looking at the umbilical cord Brookie says "That's how the baby eats!"

The tech was shocked with how much she knew and replied "That's more than some people know when they come in here."

After the ultrasound was all done, the Doctor came in to let us know that everything looked great with the baby. As he started up the ultrasound again Brookie looks right at him and says "You're doing it wrong!" he laughed so hard. It was so funny how she serious she was about it.

Then she told him "The baby is in water. The water is blue and the baby is blue too!"

He replied back, quite quickly "Oh so the baby is a smurf?"

Best ultrasound visit ever.

.The Most Precious Thing.

2011-03-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

This is seriously the most precious thing Lily does. It melts my heart EVERY time she sings "Baby of Mine" to me or chimes in while I am singing her "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

I grabbed the camera while trying to get her down for a nap. She wanted to sing to me, so I thought this would be the perfect moment to preserve this little memory.

.Puddles & Rain.

2011-03-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

What else do you do with a rainy day???

.Now THAT Sucks.

2011-03-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well, this morning definitely did NOT go as planned.

It tugged at my heart strings and it took EVERYTHING in me to not cry.

This morning was SUPPOSED to be Brookie's 1st ballet class.

If you know Brookie, you know how excited she was.

Well, the teacher ended up calling in sick. They had forgotten to take down my phone # when we registered for the classes, so we didn't find out until we were already there. Brookie started crying HUGE tears that you could see hit the stairs as we walked back outside. It makes me sad just typing this and having to relive that moment *gosh darn pregnancy hormones make it 10 times worse!*

So, after a small little talk in the car and letting her cry on my shoulder for a few minutes, I convinced her that it would be just as fun to go to the library and play Puppet Show with their Puppet Stage. She was definitely all for it and we ended up playing at the library for an hour this morning.

If I hadn't gotten the lessons for a really good price, I would DEFINITELY be switching to a new dance studio. I mean, seriously, who doesn't have a sub or at least a make-up day scheduled for things like this? Especially when they charge a monthly tuition.

So, next month, we will definitely be looking for a new dance studio in Salt Lake. Any suggestions that do open enrollment all year would be appreciated!!

.18 Weeks.

2011-03-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

.18 Weeks.

I moved my ultrasound date up to the 14th. So less than 2 weeks until we find out what we are having.

What do you think?

Girl?

Boy?

.Smile!!.

2011-03-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that there will be no more trips to the dentist for the girls...for the next 6 months.

Brookie did SO good. I was very proud of her. I was able to focus on Lily the whole time because Brookie did everything the Dental Assistant asked her to do with no hesitation. She actually enjoyed it. She also ended up having ZERO cavities!! YAY!!

Lily did pretty good for her first dentist appointment. It took a little coaxing to get her to open her mouth to get her teeth cleaned. Once the dental assistant let her hold onto the cleaning tool with her, she was great and just helped clean her teeth.

Lily wasn't so lucky on the cavity department. She had 3 small cavities...2 in the back of her front teeth and one on the bottom towards the back. The dentist said he could literally get them done in 5 minutes and not have to put her under or anything. He had just had a cancellation, so I figured, let's just get this done. It did take literally 5 minutes and Lily hated EVERY second of it. She was just fine a few minutes afterwards though.

So, for a 1st dentist appointment, it went pretty well. I am definitely glad it is over and out of the way. Let's just hope we can keep her from getting any more cavities.

.McDonald's Breakfast.

2011-03-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

I grabbed some burritos and hash browns from McDonald's on our way to Katie's yesterday.

This was what was left of Lily's hash brown...

I guess McDonald's food and paper taste quite similar.

.So Far, So Good.

2011-02-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I survived today...without a nap.

I am going to call that truly amazing.

Especially since I woke up with a sinus headache that stuck around all day...only disappearing while we were at Katie's.

We got Katie's old apartment cleaned in just under 2 hours. That also included me running home to get the vacuum that I forgot to bring with me.

Katie treated us to lunch at Village Inn afterwards. That involved a lot of chasing Lily around and a little bit of eating.

We came home and Lily took a nice 2 hour nap. I decided to crochet instead of nap. Then when I felt exhausted, it was nearly time for Lily to wake up.

I made dinner and then immediately after eating ran out to run some errands. Only a small amount of my grocery shopping got done...a VERY small amount.

Here it is, almost 9PM...I wish I would have gone to bed an hour ago. I will still get at least 10 hours in if Lily decides to sleep half way decent tonight.

Let's hope I survive my ever increasing list of tasks to accomplish tomorrow.

.This Week.

2011-02-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

...is going to be a bit crazy.

Monday - The girls and I are going to help Aunt Katie finish the last little bit of clean-up at their old apartment. Plus, I have to get the grocery shopping done that got neglected yesterday due to my body telling me I overdid it last week. I had an annoying, yet still debilitating, cold/body aches/complete lack of energy that lasted ONE day!! This has happened to me TWICE now in the past 3 weeks. It's not really a cold, as the mucus symptoms are just pregnancy related, but they are just more severe.

Tuesday - Lily's 1st dentist appointment and a cleaning/check-up for Brookie. Lily's teeth have something funky going on with the enamel, so we will find out what is going on with her teeth. It may be due to her love of grinding her teeth, that she is now growing out of. It could be the massive amount of water she drinks and too much fluoride. I have NO idea, but we will find out.

Wednesday - Brookie has been waiting for this day for quite some time now. Her 1st ever ballet lesson!! This little girl loves to dress up and pretend she is a ballerina ALL the time. She is quite good at her little twirls too. I am excited to get her started in some sort of class, especially this one. I can't wait to see my little dancer in action.

Thursday - Catching up on shots for Lily and a 4 year old check-up for Brookie. I purposely planned this for the END of the week, due to Lily not doing so well after she gets shots. Plus, Brookie spends this weekend with her Dad, so Lily can have my undivided attention if she needs it.

Friday- NOTHING!!.....Ha...if only that were true. I will probably be playing catch-up on laundry and housework...or my body will force me to relax. We shall see!!

.Oliver's Labels.

2011-02-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was really excited to get this product. Just a few weeks ago we had actually had a coat go missing at church and we luckily found it the same day. I had never needed to label things, such as an article of clothing, until recently. If it is going to be washed, there is only so much you can do to label your clothing. With the coat having a black tag and label inside, permanent marker was out of the question. I haven't had a chance to wash the label yet to see how it holds up in the washing machine and dryer, but it is the PERFECT size and went on perfectly. It doesn't peel off easily at all.

The set also came with labels to place on cups and bottles. Once again, they stick perfectly and are sized just right...I just have yet to put them in the dishwasher and test out their durability. *I will update this review after I wash them tonight, as I just put them on this morning*

I would definitely recommend this product simply for the ease of use and all the WAY cute designs that they come with. I ordered the Rococo design and they are definitely something I don't mind placing on an article of clothing.

Get your own at: http://www.oliverslabels.com/

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

.The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

2011-02-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

What a day...

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/2011/02/good-bad-and-ugly.html

.Are You Exhausted?.

2011-02-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today was particularly exhausting. I wish I could say it is because I got a lot done. Sadly, that is not the case.

Lily has started a phase where if Brooklyn so much as LOOKS at her wrong, she has a MASSIVE meltdown. Throw yourself to the ground, crocodile tears, won't stop until Mommy has her in her arms and is consoling her meltdown.

Of course, there are plenty of times where Brooklyn actually does something to provoke it, but most of the time, Lily just doesn't like the way Brooklyn is doing things.

Lily's communication skills have suddenly advanced to a level I didn't know she was old enough for. She can literally tell me anything she wants in a fairly understandable sentence. She still talks a lot of jibberish when other people are around and she is trying to carry on a conversation like her big sister. It's amazing to me how much a 21 Month Old can understand once they start communicating back.

My favorite thing that Lily has started doing is singing her own version of the lullabies that I sing to her and Brookie every night.

Her three that she is getting the best at are

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" which in her version goes "Up above the (insert jibberish)

"Rock A Bye Baby" which goes "Rock a Baby"

and "Baby of Mine" which goes "Baby Mine, Baby Mine" over and over.

So, I guess you could say, no matter how much Lily exhausts me...she always makes up for it with the fun side of her crazy little personality.

.Best Gift Ever.

2011-02-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

For Brookie's birthday she got a Tonka Bounce Back Racer from her Grandma & Grandpa 'chilles. It has been the most played with toy in our house lately.

It is super easy for any child to control (Lily is the one that gets it out to play with the most).

It doesn't ding up your walls or furniture.

It's fun to play with, even for me.

I definitely recommend it for ages 2 and up.

Pretty much until they know how to work the controls on a real remote control car.

.It's A Mystery.

2011-02-17T18:12:00.001-07:00

Well....I wish I had different news...

The baby was cooperating..in a sense. It was kicking like crazy and I even felt it's kicks while I was seeing them on ultrasound. So, it looks like I was wrong about the baby maybe being A LOT more mellow than Lily. I am pretty sure baby #3 will be another ninja in the making.

The baby parts weren't really visible enough for a definitive answer as to the gender of the baby. March 18th we should have a DEFINITE answer as to what this baby is.

Until then...we shall all wait in suspense.

.A Princess Party.

2011-02-17T12:32:00.001-07:00

http://brookiebearadventures.blogspot.com/

.Not As Planned.

2011-02-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

I have felt AWESOME this week.

My house is finally back to normal. It took a lot longer than I would have liked, but I am so glad it is done.

The weather this week has definitely given me spring fever. The girls and I have been outside every day and the wind today didn't stop us. It was still warm and Lily LOVES the wind.

I haven't really been too tired lately and I am actually starting to remember how much I ENJOY being pregnant. I don't really feel pregnant, except for my growing belly. It isn't really getting in the way quite yet, so I am taking full advantage of this small time of "normalcy" that I am getting.

Today...I have been EXHAUSTED! It just hit me out of nowhere while the girls and I were at the park this afternoon. I had a few errands to run, but that didn't end up working out. Lily fell asleep in the car on the drive to Daddy's work and I was so bummed because I was pretty sure that meant there was no chance I was going to get a nap.

Well, we got home and within an hour of being home, I could tell that Brooklyn was clearly in need of a nap. Since Lily's nap hadn't been too long, I decided to try and get them to both lay down with me. After about 30 minutes of them giggling and talking...they BOTH fell asleep! I had hoped it would have happened quicker, as Brookie was supposed to go to dinner with her Dad and I knew she would do much better with a nap. So I had to get out of bed and call him to see if we could reschedule their outing. He was very quick to agree to let her sleep, which I was VERY grateful for.

So, I crawled back in to bed with them...and the worst thing possible happened...I couldn't get relaxed again for the life of me!! Here I am, wide awake, dreading what bed time will be like tonight. I definitely could have handled a late night with the 2 of them had I gotten some sleep. I am just hoping that my body just needed that small bit of relaxation to refuel itself for the night since I know Daddy is going to be exhausted after having to work late tonight.

.Valentines Day 2011.

2011-02-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

Valentines Day took on a brand new meaning for me this year.

It wasn't about getting chocolates or flowers from my husband.

It wasn't about going out and enjoying a night of romance.

It was about my Family.

Last year, Valentines Day was not celebrated.

It was the last thing I wanted to even think about.

The evening of February 12th, 2010...Aaron and I miscarried what would have been our 3rd child.

The last thing I was thinking about was getting chocolates or flowers.

Romance was the FARTHEST thing from my mind.

This year, the girls and I spent the day delivering Valentines to Family, taking lunch to Daddy and spending the day together.

It was so much fun to see all the surprised looks on everyone's faces as the girls handed them their Valentines and Chocolates. It was even more exciting to me to watch Brookie run up to everyone with her Valentine for them behind her back and then whip it out shouting "Happy Valentines Day!" She could have gone around giving people Valentines all day long.

I enjoyed Valentines Day more this year than I have any year in the past.

I honestly enjoyed it more than my first Valentines Day with my hubby...which was truly one to remember...let's just say...Aaron has never cooked for me since and for good reason. :)

We all know Valentines Day can be a good day and a bad day, but it is a good reminder to show the ones we love how much we care. It can be one of the best days of the year once you get away from the stress of what we all think its supposed to be... and make it your very own.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

.No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.

2011-02-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

I guess Brookie hasn't learned yet that shutting the door

is a sure sign you are doing something you shouldn't be.

.BRILLIANT Screen Cleaning Wipes.

2011-02-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

When I received this product, I assumed it would be just like every other screen cleaner or monitor cleaning wipe. It came in a box with 5 wipe packages. Each package includes a Wet Wipe and a Dry Wipe. They have designed it specifically for Phones, PDAs, TVs and Computers. So I decided to first use it on my computer screen.

I started with the wet wipe and didn't see any different results then I had with our monitor wipes. Then I used the dry wipe and truly saw a huge difference. It was like my screen got instantly brighter.

The wet wipe was still fairly wet so I next used it on my iPhone. Another large difference after following it up with the dry wipe.

I decided to try one more thing that they do not list as a use for it...my make-up mirror. They do have on the box that it is mean to remove smudges, dirt, dust & make-up. So I decided to really test it out...and it definitely did the job better than anything else I have used when followed up by the dry wipe.

They say on the front of the box that they are Anti-Static and 50x Scratch Resistance.

The Anti-Static seems to be true so far. My iPhone collects dust and little hairs constantly and I haven't really seen as many on my screen since using the wipes.

The scratch resistance...well...I can't honestly say if that is true or not. I am not about to test it out on my computer monitor. :)

So I am going to say that this is a great product simply for the fact that they added a dry wipe to the packaging. It makes a HUGE difference in my eyes.

You can visit their site at: http://www.sr-8.com/BrilliantWipes/index.htm

Also, follow them on Facebook and Twitter and enter their contest to win some free wipes of your own.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

.Can I Just Say...

2011-02-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

that being pregnant with 2 VERY rambunctious children (Brooklyn DEFINITELY feeds off of Lily's craziness), is SO different than being pregnant with 1 VERY mellow toddler (Brooklyn) who just wants to cuddle and is perfectly content watching movies and napping with Mommy.

.Gaseous Maximus.

2011-02-02T13:03:00.001-07:00

Last night was a night to remember...and hopefully NEVER repeat again.

After dinner, Aaron noticed that Lily's tummy was kind of hard. I just looked at it and didn't think too much of it at the moment. She didn't seem to be in any pain and we had just eaten dinner.

About 10:30, while trying to get Lily to sleep, she just kept crying in pain. I sang her some songs and rocked her to sleep, but as soon as I laid her down in her bed, she woke up screaming in pain again.

I brought her out to Aaron and told him that she must not feel well. Her tummy was now hard as a rock and we both came to the conclusion that she was gassy. So we tried EVERYTHING we could think of to try and relieve her tummy pains.

*Warm heating pad

*Rubbing her tummy

*Bending her knees up to her tummy

Nothing was working. Aaron did some research on ways to relieve gas and found a medicine called "Mylicon" for infant and toddler gas relief. Ky was on his way back to the house, so he stopped and picked some up from the store for us.

By the time he got back and we were able to give it to her, it had been 2 hours since she had started her non-stop screaming/crying in pain.

About 10 - 15 minutes after giving it to her, I picked her up to lay her on the ground with me so I could rub her back. As I picked her up, she shot vomit out her mouth and RIGHT into my face. It was so powerful it sprayed to the side even and got in her hair and even sprinkled Aaron in the face a bit.

At this point, I was just praying she hadn't thrown up ALL of the medicine. So I told Aaron that I was going to take her in the shower with me to rinse off and I knew the warm water would relax her. She LOVES it when we take a shower together and I hold her to rinse off her hair.

2 minutes after we got in the shower, she was SOUND asleep. So I stayed in there with her for a few more minutes to see if I could get her relaxed enough that her tummy could maybe work out the gas still.

After we got out of the shower, she stayed asleep in Aaron's arms for a bit. I then got her jammies on and moved her to floor again to lay with me. Then, the most AMAZING thing ever happened. I seriously almost cried...

SHE PASSED GAS!!

Until you go through a moment like this with your child, you will NEVER understand how awesome that moment was. Aaron and I both just looked at each other and I could see him completely relax.

So, a little after 1AM, we all got to go to bed and Baby Lily slept straight through the night.

I am SO glad moments like that have been few and far between.

.14 Weeks.

2011-02-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

You know how they say one day you just "Pop Out"?

Saturday was that day. After Brookie's party was over, I came downstairs to use the restroom. As I walked past the mirror I had to do a double take. I stopped in front of the mirror and my jaw just dropped.

I sure do love baby belly's though. :)

.Happy 4th Birthday Brookie!.

2011-01-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

Singing Happy Birthday to Brookie with a minor version of Lily's famous "Epic Meltdown"

.Balloon Box.

2011-01-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to be a kid again!