Waves of Emotions and Memories....

Hey mom! Look what I can do now...

sit up on my own after nap time.

Peek-a-boo

Mom said she never posted pix of my cool room.

I love spending time in here.

That's my name...don't wear it out!

What's up with all these owls?

Weeeeee.....

I love going to the Carmel farmer's market

every Saturday with mom

-Well... this week has been a wave of emotions for me. Brooks has officially weaned himself from nursing. He became less and less interested each day. As of 8/27/10 he was done. That was the first day that I did not nurse him. You can imagine how I felt the evening before knowing it was our last time. I know it sounds kind of silly to some of you, but nursing was such an amazing experience for me. It was my special time with my little guy. When he started to wean, I felt kind of rejected. Silly I know...but he had been "attached" to me in some way since I found out I was pregnant 4/9/09. I just could not imagine anything different. But, I am quickly learning that in order to be a good parent, you can not always do what is right for yourself. I needed to listen to my son. He was shouting (in his own way)...I want to move on mommy. I know this will not be the last time I have to "let go" and give him room to grow and make choices on his own. Ok Ok...I know he is only 8 months, but he is definitely opinionated. He knows what he wants!

-On a happy note, 8/27/10 was Josh and I's 5 year anniversary. Wow...what a difference 5 years makes! We ended up celebrating it the previous weekend because Grandma McCarroll was able to watch Brooks then. Brooks had his first official sleep over at her home. He did great! Josh and I went to a movie and dinner. It was SO nice to just hang out. Not to mention sleeping in without a monitor by my head:) Josh was so sweet and bought me some wooden roses (5 yrs is the "wooden" anniversary) as well as some real ones. I am looking forward to what the next 5 years have in store for us.

-Since Brooks was done with nursing and I was a little sad about the whole thing...we celebrated our actual anniversary at home with a dairy party!!! I had not had dairy for almost 5 months. We ordered my favorite pizza (Ale Emporium) on Friday and I got to have some buttered corn on the cob on Saturday! The simple pleasures of life!!! I sure did miss my cheese and milk. It is one of the only positive things about stopping nursing.

-Brooks went to the doctor last Monday to see if there is anything more we could do about his eczema. The doc gave us some ideas on things to change and what to put on it. It looks so much better...but that is thanks to the medicine. We have also changed his formula to Soy since I am no longer nursing. We are thinking the milk may be causing the eczema or maybe our dogs. We know he reacts to the dogs saliva, so why not the hair too? We are trying our best to keep him on the blankets and away from the dogs. I hate having to do that because he squeals with delight when seeing our bullies. He loves going on walks with them and enjoys holding onto Brutus's leash. He has also learned a new trick. As you can see from the above pix, he has learned to sit up in his crib after nap time. I freaked out the first time....but then thought it was so funny. I was just caught off guard. Soon I know he will be standing at the side when I enter. He is growing up too fast! He is 20 lbs now....my back is feeling it!

8 months old

Pretty soon I'm going to be all over this place! Watch out dogs!

I like to dance

My mom likes to put me in this weird position

-Brooks is now 8 months old! He is getting so big and heavy to carry around now. Not sure how much he weighs..but probably close to 20 or so pounds. He is wanting to grab and get into everything! We are in trouble when he starts crawling. He likes me to put him on his hands and knees as he rocks. He is not getting there yet himself, but is real close to moving forward on his belly. He is also close to moving in and out of sitting. Brooks loves playing with toys and is working on his grasp patterns. He impresses me by putting objects into containers (he loves the ball popper). He also loves playing the "drums". Well....we made our own drums out of pots and pans. He is so funny and loves us to make silly faces or dance around him. He is now trying to dance himself. I will say "dance, dance" and he is starting to respond by bouncing. Too cute! He loves the African music. He is saying "mama" all the time. Even though it is not purposeful yet...it fills my heart with joy to hear those words! He has 4 teeth now and likes to bit things. Speaking of biting.....he is starting to show signs of weaning himself from nursing. (might be a good time now that he has 4 teeth...ouch!). It makes me SO sad to think of stopping, but I have to pay attention to his cues. He is so busy and social that he does not want to take the time to be "down" and nurse. He has been nursing for less time each day and would then snarf a bottle down. He still is interested at night time and sometimes during the day. I just can't think about cleaning all those bottles and buying all that formula. Pricey! But, like I said, I need to listen to him and my body. I am going to try for awhile longer to make sure this is not just a phase he is going through right now. I think I will miss it more than him! He is starting to eat more baby foods finally. He still has bad eczema on his legs and still appears to have food sensitivities (milk for sure). I just pray he outgrows it. I have been really missing my dairy and will look forward to some ice cream, mac and cheese, pizza, grilled cheese, and cereal! Yum Yum.

My First Wedding!

I've been working on my pinching and snapping.

Mom seems to be impressed with this...don't know why.

I just like to use it to pull her hair!

My mommy loves me so much. I had fun hanging

out at Aunt Tammy and Uncle Brian's house Thursday

before their wedding.

I was SO excited to play in this cooler thing. I really

did not mean to flick my mom off. I just could

not control my excitement!

My first massage chair. I got stuck with all the

ladies at the nail salon. I could get used to this!

All ready for the rehearsal dinner. Ties only.

Hey...look at me! I love mommy and daddy! I got to

meet lots of my mom's family too!

Uh....what are these things?

Grandma looked so pretty!

Ahhh...the life of a baby. I was the ring bearer for my

Aunt Tammy's wedding. This was an easy job. Why was

everyone laughing? Maybe it was this silly peacock thing.

-What a weekend we had!! My little sister Tammy got married this past weekend to Brian. We are SO thrilled for them. It was a beautiful wedding and my sister looked like she stepped out of a bridal magazine. I can not wait to see the professional pix. These are all the ones I had to post...but I'll post more as they come in.

-We started the weekend of festivities Thursday night for a cookout at Tammy and Brian's home. It was a nice chance to get to know the rest of the bridal party. My sister Tara and I were the (old) Matrons of Honor. Brooks was the ring bearer (the cutest one I've ever seen!)

-Friday all the bridesmaids and some of my extended family had our nails done. It had been forever since I was pampered like that...thanks mom! Brooks got to hang out with the girls and did great. He enjoyed the massage chair, but no manicure for him! Friday night we met at the Woodstock Club for the rehearsal dinner. It was very nice and Brooks hung in there for the most part. These late dinners make bedtime routines difficult. He fell asleep in the car ride home and was out for the rest of the night. It is so nice to know he can adapt to the situation and still sleep.

-Saturday was packed with wedding stuff all day long. We started off at my parent's home for hair and makeup. I felt so pretty! Again...not used to the pampering. Thanks again to my mom. Brooks enjoyed the ladies again and was passed around the party. My Aunt Sharon and Cousins Heidi and Gretchen were a huge help that day! We then headed off to the IMA for the wedding. We had lots of pix before hand and then the wedding took place at 4:30pm. Brooks was asleep in the pack'n'play until 4:15. We rushed to put on his tux (grandma made the suspenders and bow tie) and off we went. He just chilled in the wagon as cousin Cassidy pulled him down the isle. He was a pro! Tammy and Brian had a beautiful ceremony and the rain held off. It was HOT...but the sun made the wedding site beautiful. The reception was stunning. The florist did a wonderful job and it really had that garden feel. Brooks hung out during dinner but quickly got fussy after a full day of festivities. We had the babysitter put him down for the night in the bridal suite. He ended up waking up an hour later totally freaked out. He acted like he had a cold or ear infection with coughing, choking, and runny nose. Nothing would settle him. Finally after some Motrin and nursing....he settled and was out. We ended up leaving early because he was so out of sorts and appeared to be getting sick. However, he woke then next morning at 8am all smiles. So, who knows what was going on. I quickly got a dose of what parenthood is like with all the sacrifices that are made to keep your child safe. My heart was breaking for him and he ended up not even being sick. This little man is filling my heart so full that it is about to overflow. He lights up my day and can always make me smile. He was so wonderful this weekend despite my anxiety and fears of everything that could go wrong. He always proves me wrong. Even though we had to leave early, he got through the day without any problems. Josh was quick to point out the positive side of the weekend. I was so upset about missing out on my sister's reception. But, our little man needed to be home.

-I wanted to thank my parents for a wonderful wedding and all the love they put into my sister's wedding. They are such wonderful parents and Grandparents. I just hope I can be half the parent to Brooks as they are to me.

Lots of Firsts.....So fun!

Uhh....what is this on my head?

Ok..not the best quality. Mom is still new to the video thing.

She keeps making me wave "hi". What's the big deal?

Here she is again.....enough mom, I'm trying to play!

-Brooks and I had a nice last week despite the fact that Daddy was gone to Florida for a guy's trip (nice huh?). I really love spending time with my little guy, so it was not that big of a deal. Don't get me wrong...I was a little jealous when he called from the pool or beach. But, I got to see many more of Brooks' "firsts". He is sitting well to play with toys (still falls back at times if not paying attention) and starting to transition out of sit. He still does not show interest in crawling...but I'm really ok with that right now! He is putting balls into containers and really starting to figure out the cause and effect toys. It is SO fun to watch his mind work. He is imitating funny actions or sometimes sounds. He is now waving! I love this one!!! I captured just a glimpse of the wave in the above videos. Of course when you have that camera on him, he does not perform quite as well. I apologize for the quality. It is from my camera and not video camera. Still trying to figure it all out.

-Brooks also got this third tooth. His upper left tooth has popped now. He has taken very small pieces of solid chicken and seems to like it. He still does not eat too much of his baby foods (maybe 2 total jars a day). Everyone says it is just for practice, but I feel like he should be eating a little more. He would rather eat solids or nurse. He continues to nap a few times a day and sleeps 10.5-11.5 hours at night (knock on wood). He tends to wake up around 4 am the week before his tooth comes in.

-He is getting ready for his big debut as a ring bearer for my sister's wedding. So exciting! Again...pray for some cooler weather for the big day. His cousin Cassidy has been such a big help this summer taking care of him while I helped finish all the wedding stuff. She is SUCH a good babysitter at 10 years of age!!!

-On a side note, I wanted to brag about my nephew Cameron. He just got back from the youth National soccer camp. There were 100 U-14 boys there that made it from the regional soccer camp. Then there were 20 boys that were personally invited to the camps. Cameron was one of them! He played against the top 120 boys in the nation at this camp. Then, at the end of it the coaches choose the top 36 to play in some games. From that 36, then the coaches choose the top 18 for the U-14 National team. That team then plays in tournaments across the country. Well...Cameron made the top 36 boys and there is a very good chance he made the top 18. Nothing is official yet....but we may have a superstar on our hands!!! Great job Cameron. Brooks has such a great role model to look up to!

"Chew Toy"

Just hanging out with mom and dad on couch

What is this thing?

-We introduced the sippee cup to Brooks this past week. He did a great job of bringing it to his mouth (as you can see in video) but to chew rather than sip! Oh well. Figured I would introduce it now so he can get used to it. Right now it is a good teething toy. I think his top teeth are wanting to come in soon. He woke again at 4:30am last night. He did that last time his teeth were ready to pop through the gums.

-He has been doing this crazy thing with his jaw. He tilts his head down and says "yah yah" as his "pops" his jaw! It is so weird and I hate it! I feel like he is going to pop his jaw out of place. Don't know where or why he picked that one up. Babies do the silliest things when experimenting with their bodies. I hope this stage passes soon or he might be the youngest known person to have TMJ!