Brooklyn is 5!!

Oh my sweet firstborn! How did you turn 5 today?

You have lost your baby/toddler look and are a full on big kid now! You've moved on to a real kid bike (with training wheels), you don't need our help to swing, and you've outgrown all of the toddler sized play structures in our backyard.

You are an amazing big sister - always showing Dylan and Griffin how to do things, helping them with zippers, or giving them a boost on to the couch or up the slide. I love that even when they come and mess up your work you use your words (even if they are piercingly loud words) and rarely ever push or hit out of frustration. I love that you are quick to forgive.

I love the way you are enjoying the competition of games but after winning will move my game piece to the finish line so that I can "win" too. When you include a friend from school or teacher who was out sick in your prayers it makes my heart full seeing the little ways you think of others.

I'm fascinated at the things you learn and the excitement that you have for learning and for reading. I hope that excitement stays with you your entire life. Seeing the joy on your face as you finished reading your 1st book all by yourself last week was one of my favorite memories.

I'm beginning to see you've inherited some of my anxiety and while a little nervousness is healthy I pray that your daddy and I can model well for you that with Jesus there is a courage and a peace that can overcome any fear or worry.

You have compassion for others, are a seeker of justice, have a thirst for knowledge,  a desire to inform others, an incredible memory, and a tender heart. We love you Beeks and pray blessings over your 5th year!

Brooklyn turns 4!

Height: 41 inches

Weight: 35 lbs

4!!! It's like she's turned into a mini adult. The baby and toddler features are slowly disappearing and more and more "kid" is appearing. 3 was a whole new frontier in parenting as she learned to push every button and find and stretch every boundary imaginable. It was also super fun to watch her personality develop and see her learning to understand and communicate different emotions.

Here are just a few of the things she can now do that she couldn't one year ago:

• Hold her breath under water (for like 2 seconds)
• Ride and steer her tricycle alone (without crashing)
• Drive a powerwheels (only crashing minimally)
• Identify most sounds of the alphabet and is starting to sound out whole words (3 letter)
• Buckle herself in her carseat!
• Sleep without the bed rail
• Swing on the big swing without help
• Dress herself (minus zipping a jacket/hoodie)

Brooklyn is my firecracker. When she gets frustrated or mad it's, well, let's say a scene. She FEELS everything so strongly it's like she physically can't contain herself. The same when she's excited or happy. We are learning acceptable ways to express these big feelings without you know, throwing toys, or hugging a sibling to pieces. She wears her heart on her sleeve.

She's too smart for her own good. She's independent (well she desperately wants to be), she asks lots of questions and has learned to rephrase them if the answer isn't to her liking in hopes to hear what she wants.

She's such a helper. She gets upset if you take the trash or recycling out without her. She loves to help in the kitchen, rarely complains when it's time to clean up, and always is up for helping with feeding Dylan or helping Griffin with a puzzle. Lately she's been "cleaning" the bathroom mirror for me by smearing hand soap all over it and wiping it with a hand towel. I can't even be mad - she's so excited to show it off. 

Happy 4th birthday to our silly, kind, helpful, smart and beautiful Brooklyn!

Brooklyn - 3 1/2 years

Height: 40 inches

Weight: 33.6 lbs

I love seeing how much she's grown in just 6 short months. She's certainly taller and wearing mostly 4's but her development in the last 6 months is astounding! She's become more independent -an "I can try it myself" kind of gal rather than immediately depending on one of us.

She's growing into such a helper. She jumps at the chance to help clear dishes, dust, sort laundry, or get a toy for Griffin or Dylan which she'd done before, but now does it without us even asking.

She's more social and outgoing. She's the kid who sees other children at the playground and runs up an says "Hey guys wanna play?!". This has me so excited and scared all at once. I adore seeing her put herself out there and the excitement on her face when she meets a new friend, how she's inclusive and welcoming. I'm also petrified of the days to come when inevitably there will be kids who don't want to play or aren't as kind to her. 

She is much more excited about Dylan than she was Griffin. Maybe because she's older or because we talked about it more while I was pregnant or possibly because she realized after Griffin that no one was going anywhere :) and having a sibling was pretty awesome.

There's definitely still boundary testing and pushing but at this age is more in her tone of voice or her attitude and is often her just wanting attention. 

Milestones and things to remember:

• She had her 1st dance recital. 
• She's officially moved from the toddler to the EC program at school. I have a preschooler!
• Became a big sister (again)!
• Can now ride her tricycle without constantly crashing into the curb! (Tr: she can steer!)
• Her imagination is in full swing! Her pretend play is so creative and less "matter of fact"
• Completely solo on the potty! Like she just goes in on her own and can go, redress and wash up with zero help from us!!
• Can get herself dressed (unless there are small buttons)- including shoes!

A 3rd birthday letter to Brooklyn

Brooklyn,

What a character you are becoming! This year you became a big sister and after the 1st few weeks of uncertainty and meltdowns, you realized that being a big sister was pretty cool! I love the way you always want to be there to wake him up or help with changings. You tell us when you think he's hungry or tired. You remind us to clap and cheer for him when he does something new and how you seem to be the only one he absolutely adores. I pray that bond grows as you both grow.

This year you moved to a big girl bed, nearly potty trained yourself, learned to pedal your tricycle without help (steering is a whole other beast!), moved up to the 3-4 year old dance class, are learning to play games (and becoming excellent at puzzles!), and have become a leader in your class at school, even if that means sometimes it's not always the best influence!!

I love that even at the young age of 3 I can see some of the strengths and giftings that God has given you! You are a helper, always wanting to lend a hand, whether with feeding or changing brother, helping mommy sort laundry, or helping to make dinner. I love hearing "Oh- mommy wait! I want to be your helper!!" and seeing you running at me full-force! I see how you help and show Griffin how to do things like rolling over or clapping and reassure him that "Maybe when you get big Griff- you can do it too!"

I love (and truthfully, sometimes dislike) that you are determined to accomplish what you set your mind to. As you attempt to dress your dolls yourself, then yell "I can't DO IT!" you continue to try through the tantrum and eventually ask for help. What I love most is that afterwards you try again and to see the expression on your face when you FINALLY do it yourself is priceless! You definitely get that from your daddy cause your mommy is a quitter!

You are such a hoot to be around and I appreciate that like your mommy you like to be silly and lighthearted. I see you learning to not let the little things bother you (learning to be gracious in defeat, not freaking out if you don't get dessert and others do etc.) and that's hard for a toddler!

Daddy and I continue to pray that you grow to know, love, and serve the Lord, that you would be a woman of great integrity, leadership and grace. We also pray that we would be parents who truly make Christ the center of our home and not something we discuss just on Sundays and holidays. That our Faith is the cornerstone of our family and that we would be examples of Christ-like love to you and your siblings.

Happy 3rd Birthday my sweet girl!

Love,
Mommy

Brooklyn is 2 1/2

She's still at an age where 6 months is huge developmentally so I'm continuing to do half birthday posts (even though I'm almost a month late haha!)

This little firecracker is keeping me on my toes! She is so verbal and has a very determined little mind of her own. This usually equals a very tired mommy and daddy! It also means that she keeps us laughing constantly!

We just had her well child check up at her pediatrician and she is weighing 28 pounds, and is 36ish  inches tall.

Milestones

• sleeping in a big girl bed- we did this shortly after her 2nd birthday (mostly because we needed the crib for baby #2) she was great until baby brother was born - now many nights she climbs out of bed and sleeps on the floor lol!
• potty training - she wears big girl undies and is finally starting to either tell us she needs to go or just goes on her own instead of us having to ask her 500 times a day. Pooping is a whole other story...I'd say she goes on the potty maybe once a week haha!We do still have her in pull ups at night.
• Super mega verbal - like talks in full sentences and is at an age where you can have a conversation with her. She talks all. the. time. She is hilarious!
• She's still a great eater!
• She climbs. Oh lordy, she climbs. On furniture, on her trashcan to get on her dresser, on her bed frame to get to the light switch, and she hangs from the bar ledge and walks her feet up the wall and says "Mama LOOK! I danglin'!!" I don't yet have gray hair but I feel that I will be getting some soon.

Things she loves:

• swimming
• ballet & gymnastics
• toy story - she's obsessed right now
• reading books
• playing soccer
• her stuffed animals - she sleeps with a minimum of 6 - at some point we'll need to cut her off

Things she doesn't love:

• getting out of the ball pit at gymnastics
• obeying her parents
• any kind of assistance because, "NO, I can DOOOOO iiiiitt!"
• sharing
• going to bed

I love that she loves to laugh and how she beams when she says something that makes you laugh, or when you praise her for doing something good. I love seeing her play with her toys and sing songs and bring them to life with her imagination. I love (most of the time) that she is determined to try until she gets it. I love that she enjoys learning and reading and puzzles. She is an amazing little tot!

"Big Ghul Bay-ed"

Oh my how quickly they grow!

Now that she's 2 all of the sudden my little toddler is a "big g-uhl". We were worried a bit at the beginning of her first weeks as a 2 year old because she went through a 2 week phase where she flipped out every day when we'd take her to school. Like start wailing before we got out of the car to go in the school flipping out. She would hold her "G" the entire day and be extremely clingy and emotional. I mean it was a faucet of tears and "I hooold you momma!!" every. waking. second. She'd get out of the tub after bathtime and just cry and say "Hold you?", or refuse to sit on the potty in the morning cause she just wanted to lay on my shoulder, or half way through breakfast start crying and want me to take her out of her high chair and hold her.

I couldn't figure out if it was just that we'd had Christmas then her birthday and then all of the sudden life went back to normal where there aren't cookies and presents everyday (literally we had 2 Christmases and a birthday within 2 weeks) and she was adjusting. Or maybe after meeting her new baby cousin Leah she realized that mommy was going to have one too and she wouldn't be the center of attention? It was so unlike her and so off that there were a few times where I wondered if we should take her to the doctor lol!

Then- one day, she was just....over it. I'll chalk it up to a "mental leap" and hope that the rest of her brain growth spurts are less intense.

So about 2 weeks ago we decided since she seemed to be over the clingy phase (we didn't dare try to throw something new at her when she was in meltdown mode) we'd attempt the transition to the big girl bed. I'd had her new bedding for a month or 2 and had it sitting out in her room where she could see it and we could talk about how those were the pillows she got to have when we got her "big girl bed". So we put the bed together on a Saturday morning so her 1st "sleep" attempt could be a nap. I figured if it was a disaster I'd be awake anyway and we might even have time after to take it apart and put the crib back up lol.

So there we were at nap time. 1 twin bed, 1 bed rail, and a toddler who was really excited about her "BIG GHUL BAY-ED!!" She loved it. She loved it so much she decided to crawl around in it like a crazy person, jump on it like a trampoline, and stand up in it and try to pull her video monitor off the wall.

It took almost 2 hours of going in, reprimanding her, putting her in several timeouts, and 1 spanking. Finally she stayed still long enough to fall asleep. And that is only because she tried to climb out of bed and fell (on carpet with a fluffy rug on top of the carpet) and it scared the bejeezus out of her (and me!).

That was the 1st and (so far) only time she's tried getting out of bed without me or Daniel there. She has slept like a champ for her naps and nighttime every night since. She loves reading books before bed in her new bed, she adores that she finally gets a pillow and she likes to help mommy make the bed in the morning (I figure train them early right?).

So I figured we'll get the big bed down and maybe in May try to do a real potty train before baby brother arrives (a girl can dream about having only one kid in diapers at a time right?!?). Especially since she wakes up dry and goes potty every morning, we just haven't made a concentrated effort to be intentional about it yet.

Well- her teachers informed us that this week she's been going on the potty at school!! (And that's in addition to the morning and sometimes before bed pottys she does for us!)  So we think we'll try an attempt at real potty training sometime this month! Wish us luck!

Brooklyn is 2!

2 whole years have passed since we welcomed this little human into the world.

Kellie Parry Photography

and now we have this.

Alison Frenzel Photography

This year has been a year FULL of new things, new discoveries, new clothes (she's growing so fast!), new independence, new words, new lessons and new boundaries, and new laughs.

I can no longer cradle her whole little body in my arms in a sleepy heap on my chest for hours a day, but rather (when she lets me) let her climb in my lap to read a story or fix her hair for school. And sometimes, when she wants her mommy, will hold up her hands and say "I hold you!" to which I happily oblige. As her long legs dangle from my hip and only her head now fits on my shoulder, I have quickly learned to savor every single second of these ever so short baby and now toddler stages.

Brooklyn has grown up so, so much even since her 18 month post. Here are just a few of her milestones:

She is really good with a fork and spoon, although she still often chooses to use her hands especially at the beginning of the meal, as using a fork and spoon takes too long to get the food in her mouth. She still eats like a champ and will eat anything at least once. She's also mastered what she calls "Cookie Monster"-ing her food. When there are just a few bites of something left she'll sometimes look up, grin, then grab what's left on her plate by the handful and shove it in her mouth. Then look up with a stuffed face and say proudly "Cookie Monster! Nom! Nom! Nom!" 

She now is using lots of full sentences, usually to boss a toy (or a parent).  She says her prayers on her own without prompting and it's always an adventure to hear what she's thankful for. She's also acquired a thick Texas accent in the last few weeks and neither of us have one so we're a little stumped as to why she now says:

"Baby Chah-lee go ta BAY-ed" (baby Charlie go to bed) 

"Mo' br-ayy-ed" (more bread)

"Mommy! I bonk a HEY-ah-ed" (Mommy I bonked my head)

Her memory is ridiculous. She meets someone once and will see them months later and remember their name. She knows where she is. When we exit I-35 at 17th and 18th street she always asks if we are going to school, then if we say no, asks if we are going to church (both places are off the same exit). She knows when we've turned on to our street, or either of her grandparents streets and happily yells "Hee we ahh! (Here we are!)." Every time we drive by a certain furniture store she yells "New Couch!" as it's the place we took her once to buy our new furniture.

She's really started to pretend and use her imagination. She plays and interacts with her toys, puts them to bed, feeds them, puts them in time out, cooks meals in her play kitchen for them. I love seeing her nurturing and caring for them. She adores coloring and "paintin' pitchers". She sings all. the.time. and has starting re-mixing songs. Her newest is to mix old McDonald into any part of a song she forgets the words to. (Over Christmas she'd sing Jingle Bells and get halfway through the verse then just throw in an E-I-E-I-OOO for good measure). When a song comes on that she likes she can't contain her excitement. She turns in to a jumping, dancing, squealing ball of happy.

She knows all her shapes and letters, counts accurately to about 16 (but thinks she can count to 20) lol. She knows how to get to, open, play, and close all of her apps on both of our phones (yikes!) and she can halfway dress herself! She's great at her socks and surprisingly her shoes (she usually gets the correct feet!), shes a pro at putting on her pants, but gets really frustrated at shirts. She rarely wets her diaper at night anymore and uses the potty every morning and we are working on using it during the during the day as well.

Brooklyn is definitely a feelings girl. When she is excited, she can hardly contain her squeal and she physically shakes with excitement. When she's mad or frustrated she yells and usually throws her toy or sock or whatever isn't doing what she wants. When she's happy (which is thankfully 88% of the time) her eyes twinkle, she has a huge grin and she walks with a little gallop in her step. When she's tired or sad or scared the tears come easily and the "I hold yous" become more frequent. I love that about her and I love that you never have to guess with her- she'll tell you. She's testing and exploring her boundaries like every toddler should and we are hopefully showing her firmly but lovingly where those boundaries are. I love that our laughs greatly outnumber the timeouts!

Here's her official school picture lol!

Happy 2nd birthday sweet BK! I love praying with and over you and am constantly in awe that God would entrust me with such a precious creation.

Big day!

December 20th was a big day for our little family!

Brooklyn had her last day of Fall semester at WMS and they had their holiday party and an early release day.

They did a special circle time with their adorable matching shirts and reindeer hats and sang Jingle Bells for all of the parents then had juice boxes and decorated sugar cookies.

Brooklyn ate her entire table's bowl of mini m&m's. I'm shocked that she didn't vomit. I tried to regulate her... but she's sneaky. I'm pretty sure she even took a few off of other kids' cookies. Oops.

After the icing buffet cookie decorating they all (surprisingly) sat back in a circle for the book gift exchange and each took turns going to the tree and picking a gift to unwrap and thanking whichever classmate gave the gift. It was really sweet to see them all so excited about their books and be so kind and thankful!

Then we went home for lunch and a nap and took Brooklyn to my parents so that Daniel and I could go to our anatomy sonogram for baby #2!

We got to see arms legs, fingers, toes, kidneys, lungs and a heart - it's so much easier to identify major body parts now that we've had a few of these appointments under our belts. I still have no clue how sonographers work all that magic and measuring but I'm sure thankful they know what they are doing. L&D aside, this Dr. visit is always my most anxious one - making sure everything is there and looking good and growing is no small task. 

The fun part about this appointment was that we got to find out gender if we wanted to - which we totally did! I know some people like to wait and be "surprised" but to me you're surprised either way -at 18 weeks or when it pops out on its birthday. I prefer to be surprised at 18 weeks when I still have 22 weeks to prep for names, bedding, and shop lol!

Here's the video we took of how we told Brooklyn and then we used the video to send to our families to let them know the gender too! Brooklyn could care less what we were having - she was over the MOON about those balloons!

Just some videos...

Brooklyn's personality is really starting to show in this toddler stage.

She's strong-willed, wants desperately to be independent, she's kind and loving, and loves to make people laugh and be silly. When she feels something she really feels it and you usually don't ever have to guess what kind of mood she's in.

We've captured a few of her little quirks and new tricks on film so I wanted to share them here.

She loves singing! A few of the toddler top charts for Brooklyn are "La Bamba", "He's got the Whole World", "Skidamarink" and "Twinkle Twinkle". Below is B singing "Jesus Loves Me" and her ABC's in the bathtub!

Her first time using a fork (correctly) a few months ago

There are more but three will do for now haha!

Brooklyn is 18 months

Yep! A year and a half! And I'm only a few days late ha ha! Here's B at 5, 12 and 18 months. I would have done 6 but we were in OKC for that pic so she wasn't in her "chair".

Height: 31 1/2 inches

Weight: 23 ish pounds

Milestones:

Teeth teeth and more teeth! I didn't do a tooth count at 17 months (mostly because she thinks it's funny to chomp down when mommy puts her finger in her mouth to count teeth) but this month I have a number. She has 7 new teeth bringing the total (from the 16 month tally) to 17 teeth! She seems to get teeth like 3 or 4 at a time.

She can use the potty! That's right people I said POTTY. This in no way means she's potty trained. We noticed that 5 out of 7 mornings she'd be dry when we woke her up so we bought a little potty (I thought she might freak if we started her on the big one.). It has a removable seat that you can put on the big potty for when she's ready and then the little potty becomes a step stool. Anywho- we started sitting her on the potty in the mornings and after nap and most of the time she just goes! Sometimes she says she has to go potty just so we can sit there and read books. Now during the day she'll tell us but it's usually right after she's already gone. So we will be working on that (and she'll work on it at Montessori too) but seriously- yay!

Putting words together. She's starting to go from single words to more word combos "Yuv- you" (Love you!) "Mo- (insert food here)" etc.

Recognizing locations. I've noticed in the last few weeks that when we turn down our street she'll start chanting "Hooooome, Hoooome!" and when we turn onto my parent's street "Pa-pawww!" or when she can see the steeple of the church where she's going to school, "Skooooo! Bussss!" and any other building we pull up to "Eeeeat! Eeeat! ha ha!

She has literally mastered the TV remote. She can turn it on and off, change the channel and the volume. And she doesn't fumble around for buttons. She points that sucker right at the TV and hits the button she wants. Then she grins and usually ends up in timeout (it's a standing rule that she's not allowed  to play with the remote which is why we are so surprised that she can use it so well).

Words: Baboon "Ba-BOO", Sorry "Sa-REE", Howdy "Ah-DEE", Potty "Pah-EE", Nite-Nite "Ny-Nye-t" among others.

Personality: She's become a little copycat. She likes to say things the way you say them and make the same faces you make. She's very persistent and has a pretty good little memory which doesn't help me out when I pull the "we can watch 'Wheel' when we get home line to get her to not freak when it's time to leave somewhere that she's playing. As soon as we get into the driveway it's "Wheel! Wheel. Wheel Wheel Wheel". And if she wants something she'll first say it as a question "Cheese?"- then immediately follow that up with saying it as a statement and nodding her head yes "Cheese. Cheese. Cheese".  She's super silly and loves to squeal and laugh and loves to make others laugh. She likes to come at you with her little hands to "tickle tickle" you.

Favorite things: Getting the mail, going to the splash park or the pool, eating, "hiding"  she loves to go in the closet or laundry room and shut the door and just sit there in the dark. When you open the door she'll giggle and yell "More! Hide!" until you close the door and wonder aloud where she could have possibly disappeared to. Scooting herself backwards on her little motorcycle scooter is another current fave (she only knows how to go backwards).

Brooklyn is 17 months

That's right folks- we are just shy of a year and a half!

Height: 31 inches

Weight: 22 pounds

Milestones:

WOO HOO!! She is finally walking on her own! (Like it just happened 3 days ago!) She had been able to take steps (5-10 at a time) from me to Daniel when we begged her but never would do it on her own. All the sudden this weekend she'd be standing by something and just walk out from it, and yesterday started standing up from the floor (without having to hold on to something) and walking. She was walking in circles saying "WEE!" and when we tried to get it on tape she started doing this....

Enjoys washing her hands. If the faucet comes on she'll look up at you and start rubbing her hands together. She will turn the water on, stick her hand out until you put soap in it and rub them together under the water and then turn off the water and dry her hands on the closest piece of cloth (which is often your clothes if you aren't one to think ahead).

Loves spelling her name. We have her name in wooden letters over her crib and every morning when we get her up she points to each one and says most of the letters (she usually skips the "O" or the "L") and when she's finished Daniel will ask her what that spells and she grins and shouts "BOOK- IN".

She can has finally learned the correct way to get down from our bed or the couch by turning around getting on her belly and sliding feet first. (To which she also says "Wee!")

She has also learned and loves giving neck hugs. If you are sitting on the floor she'll crawl up,  pull up to standing next to you, and stick one arm around the back of your neck, squeeeeeeze your neck and lean her head against your head/shoulder and pat you. It's can make anybody's day infinitely better.

Favorites:
Loves just about any music, but particularly the songs "La Bamba" (it's on a kidsongs video that's at my parents and I think she likes it because the can quasi sing along), "Itsy-Bitsy Spider", and some song by Drake (don't judge me- it comes on the radio and she dances like mad in her car seat).

Currently reading: Dr. Seuss' "Foot Book" still on "What Shall We do with the Boo Hoo Baby" and "Blue Hat Green Hat" by Sandra Boynton.

Still loving Wheel of Fortune, coloring, and splashing in her kiddie pool.

16 months!

I actually have some stats this month! ::happy dance:: We went in for her 15 month well baby about a week ago (which was actually really more like her 16 month well baby - we got behind on shots so we are off by a month) so here's how she came in.

Height: 30 & 3/4  inches (54%)

Weight: 21 lbs 4 oz. (23%)

Milestones:

We are catching up on teeth! She has 2 more teeth this month - the last of the top four that usually come in first is finally poking through and a molar on bottom. Current tooth count: 10! (I can't believe just 2 months ago it was half that!)

yes, she's eating the wood chips on the playground

There is no consistent walking going on in our household. None. However, she will, when encouraged, take a few steps on her own. We are very slooooowwwwly getting there. 

More and more words! Tortilla "TIA", Pizza "PEE-PEEAh", Oatmeal "Oh-ME", Wheel "WEE-Wh",&  Bubbles! (which she says well just without the 's') 

We have started the cold turkey bottle weaning. I mentioned in an earlier post that homegirl will drink anything from a sippy or straw-cup except milk- she only drinks milk from a bottle. Well when after trying every type of cup and adding chocolate and strawberry syrup didn't work we got the OK at this months well baby to go cold turkey (really I just needed reassurance I wasn't going to dehydrate my kid). We are on day 5 and she's gone from taking a sip and refusing the sippy to drinking about 1-2 oz. at the 3 times of day it is offered so we are slowly moving to a bottle free home!

The disciplinary stage is in full effect. She loves testing our boundaries and seeing if we are true to our word. I've found she gets in trouble most often when she isn't busy or if she wants our attention. We do the "tell her no and redirect her to something else warning her that if she does it again she will go to time out, then if she does it again put her in time out...even if it's in the middle of dinner" method. It's frustrating because when you pick her up to take her to time out she grins, then during time out she'll stay put in her spot and sing or clap or be silly....almost like she enjoys time out. On the bright side, she doesn't really ever come out of time out and go right back to doing whatever got her in trouble in the first place so we think she's beginning to get it.

Favorite Things:

Still obsessed with Elmo, and Al Roker, and recently has become enamored with Wheel of Fortune....she'll just chant "Wee-Wh, Wee-Wh" and flap her arms if it's on. I swear we don't just sit her in front of a TV all day- She gets to see Elmo a few days a week (and only watches the segments with Elmo in them- the rest of the show she is off playing with her toys) and I always have the Today show on in the morning and she stops everything when Al comes on. 

She loves splashing in the tub, dancing with mommy and daddy, rolling around and free falling on our bed, taking every plastic container out of the cupboard, swinging at the park, and standing in the seat of peoples parked cars (?? beats me).

Favorite Books:

'Now I lay Me Down To Sleep' recordable bedtime book that BeBe and Grandad gave her, 'What Shall We Do With the Boo-Hoo Baby?'  and Brown Bear or Panda Bear What Do You See books. 

Favorite foods: 
Pizza (I make her homemade veggie topped pizza bites), homemade Smoothies (we've added a smoothie a day to sneak in the dairy), "Bean-Beans" (Green Beans) and graham crackers to name a few. I'm sure this will jinx it but she has yet to try a food she didn't like.

We love our silly, independent and sometimes stubborn little 16 month old!