Update

Brooke was at 12 pounds 5 ounces on Tuesday and was 12 pounds 9 ounces today. This is still a half of a pound lower than she was at 4 months but it seems as though she is hovering in one area. Thankfully she is not continuing to drop weight but we still need to get her moving on up! The Pediatrician is working with another doctor in the practice on a plan for Brooke's weight and we will be implementing the new plan next week. We also have yet to have success with the bottle but we are not giving up.

Prayer Request

Preface: This weekend Dustin and I found ourselves in quite the situation. We were out and about shopping -- 30 minutes from home -- when Brooke acquired a dirty diaper. Unfortunately I forgot diapers AND wipes so we had to make the rounds at Target to get some. She has been wearing a size 2 but it has been really loose on her lately so we bought a small pack of size 1s.

They fit, which is actually a really bad thing because that means her weight is not improving. I cannot even begin to explain how inadequate I feel when it comes to meeting her needs and feel as though I am doing something wrong. I have a weight check scheduled for Friday but called the Pediatrician today and got the go ahead to start supplementing formula. Miss. Brooke decided that the foreign milk was gross and will not take a bottle... but we are still working on it!

So please pray for Brooke's weight and that she will learn to take a bottle of formula from her daddy. Since I nurse her I am not giving her the bottle since I know she will just turn her head towards me and forget completely about the task at hand! She takes solid food like a champ though so I think we are going to up the amount of meals she eats as well.

Our Weekend

We had such a busy, yet fun weekend! Friday night we went to a baseball game at the local high school. Dustin's dad is an assistant coach for a local high school -- the high school Brooke will attend when we move -- so we went and showed some support. After wards we headed to visit with Dustin's friend Kevin, his wife Brittany, and their little girl Brylee. They just moved back from Colorado and we are excited to have more parent friends, especially since Brylee is just a few days younger than Brooke. Saturday morning we woke up at 6:30am and went to a large garage sale. SO. EARLY. I did get a radio flyer wagon, among some other smaller things, and Dustin's sister bought us a bench for our new front porch! That night Kevin and Brittany came over for a BBQ and games. Today -- are you tired of reading yet? -- we went to lunch at TGI Fridays and then furniture shopping. When we got home we watch Kung Fu Panda while Brooke took a 2 hour nap. 2 hours!

Nice Weather

WOW. Spring sure has been hiding the past couple weeks but today we had 70 degree weather and sunshine! My friend Randi came over to scrapbook and after the girl's afternoon naps we took them out for a walk. The neighborhood we live in right now does not make for good walks but we will soon be moving to a neighborhood with sidewalks! SIDEWALKS!!

Brooke and Teagan

Brooke after she woke up from her nap

Consignment Shops

We have a consignment shop nearby called Once Upon A Child. I am pretty sure they are a partner with Plato's Closet since they are right next door to each other! Well, I packed up some of Brooke's old clothes and picked out a few I would not be using again. I stopped by Once Upon A Child today to drop them off and end up gaining 11 dollars. The rest will be going to a local mother's shelter! Anyway, I took some time to browse their toys and found a really neat Fisher Price table. They retail for $50 and this one was priced at $15, gently used. Well, paired with the $11 I got back for her clothes... I was able to get her the table for $4!!

The Easter Bunny

Ermmm... a little late? Who cares! I decided not to have Brooke's picture taken with the Easter bunny at the mall because they charge a ridiculous amount of money. Why should I pay 25 dollars for one 5 x 7 of my child sitting on some stranger's lap? I mentioned this around Easter and Dustin's grandmom told me she has a large stuffed bunny her other grand kids take pictures with. Well, today we made our way over there and got some great shots. It was free and I could take as many as I wanted!

Wearing her own bunny ears...

Mmmm eggs

With Great-Grandma!

Babbling Brooke

No pun intended on that post title.

6 Months Old!

Brooke is 6 months old today! Where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday she was kicking around in my belly and now she is sitting up all by herself. This also marks 6 months of breastfeeding, which I did not think was going to be possible at all. So what has the half-birthday girl done all day? CRY! She has been sick all week and is very cranky. Yesterday we were at the Pediatrician and she has lost half a pound, so pray that she has gained by her appointment tomorrow morning!

Happy Easter!

What a weekend we had! Yesterday we headed down to Kokomo to meet up with some of Dustin's good friends from college. It is crazy how fast life can change! Stacey and Kreg have a two year old little boy, Aiden, and a ten week old little girl, Makayla. Their friend Heather was also able to travel down all the way from Chicago. We had a great time catching up, and of course, playing trackers with Aiden! It was even nice enough to out on the deck and fill up the sand box! Oh, and do you now how hard it is to get a picture of three kids all together?!

Makayla, Aiden, and Brooke.

This morning we got up and got all dressed up for Easter! After church we headed to Dustin's parents home where we ate an amazing lunch and watched the Masters! Being the horrible mother I am, I did not buy Brooke an Easter basket. Thankfully, her Grammy was kind enough to buy her that and some outfits. Some of Dustin's Aunts and Uncles had just gotten back from a trip to Florida so we were able to see pictures and hear stories from the time they had there. It makes me excited for our beach vacation to North Carolina this summer!

Posing with her gifts

Our family

Playing in her dress

Trip to the Park

Every Thursday I meet my friend Randi and her 8 month old girl Teagan. We walk the mall, shop, etc. Well, today we finished our mall walking early so we decided to head to a playground near her house. It was very crowded when we arrived, probably since it is the first nice weather we have had in at least a week, but the infant swings were open! Sadly, Brooke was not a fan of the swing when it was moving but she would sit in it if it were still. Silly girl. I also held her as she went down half of a slide but that was unimpressive as well. Days like this make me really look forward to warmer weather when we can visit the park more often, as long as Brooke learns to enjoy it! Soon enough she will be running around in the mulch chips, pushing kids down the slide and skinning her knee.

She did okay if it was not moving!

Again...

Brooke and Teagan

Fun on the slide!

Red Lobster

Tonight I had my first dining experience at Red Lobster, and it was a good one! Our brother in law's birthday was today and we all got together to eat dinner and celebrate. I had some amazing salmon and Dustin had a huge plate of shrimp, surprise surpise. Brooke even had a great time, taking some time to read the menu before sticking it in her mouth.

It's the weekend!

Here is a recap of our weekend.

Friday:

• TV bulb blew out
• Ate dinner with friends at TGI Fridays
• Furniture/appliance browsing for whenever we buy a home

Saturday:

• Sleep in
• Warsaw, IN for Taylor vs. Grace baseball game
• Dinner, games, and basketball at Matt and Randi's house

Sunday:

• Sleep in
• TV and laundry at Dustin's parents home

Sorry for the lack of details, I'm too relaxed to think deeply.

Good News, kind of.

Okay, so, rewind to a week ago when we headed to the doctor for supposed belly and ear aches. After checking Brooke out and listening to the symptoms, the Pediatrician diagnosed her with Rotavirus. Poor girl! She had horrible stomach cramping and the smelliest poop... I had to leave her room gagging at one point. We were given the okay to go to Philly and it looked like she was getting better... but she had another bought of diarhhea on Monday. I made an appointment to bring her in and have her weight checked because she has not gained weight since her 4 month appointment. She was up to 13 pounds, which means she is gaining and not losing, and it looks like the Rotavirus may be on the way out! Cross your fingers!

I will say that it has been really hard for me to see Brooke not gain weight. I know she was 4 weeks early and may be on the smaller side, but she is still wearing 0-3 clothes at almost 6 months. The doctor did not seem worried, which reassured me, as she is hitting milestones at a normal pace and is already sitting unassisted. So, if you think of it, pray that the Rotavirus will completely disappear and that she starts gaining some weight!

New Look

I have been experimenting with a "new look" for the blog. SO I apologize if you get headaches from all the changes and/or do not recognize it from time to time.

Anyway, Brooke is currently sleeping in her car seat and it is gloriously quiet around here. I have a handful of new clothes for her that need to be washed, yet her nursery and the laundry room seem too far away! I can be so lazy at times! She has some adorable summer outfits to wear whenever this chilly weather decides to disappear... perhaps June?

Aren't you glad it is Friday? Dustin is excited because the Taylor baseball team is playing 45 minutes from here tomorrow and he plans to go watch. I however will be staying home, as I refuse to go to a game until Brooke needs to wear nothing but a onesie and sunglasses. I paid my dues when Dustin was on the team! Tomorrow night we will be headed to our friend's home to watch basketball, eat snacks, and play games... our usual Saturday adventure!

April Fools!

I have always wanted to come up with a good April's Fool joke, but I am always unable to commit. Each year, as it draws closer, I usually search for other people's ideas, since I cannot come up with my own. Here are some ideas, and why they would fail...

1. Tell Dustin I am pregnant: Did you know that Ebay sells pregnancy tests that always show up positive? What a great way for a teenage girl to really freak out her parents! Well, I thought about using this one on Dustin but 1. I think he would know, considering he is involved. 2. If for some reason he believed me, I am not sure if he would recover.

2. Tell family that I am pregnant: Just like the above idea but with a twist! I even mentioned this to Dustin last month, which threw out the idea of number one, but he said that he does not think his family would recover from it. I guess I could see that.

3. Wake Dustin up and tell him I heard someone. First, I would probably scare myself with this lie... and, who wants to be the girl that cried wolf?! Also, considering it took him 5 minutes to wake up fully before he understood, "My water broke, we need to go to the hospital" chances are, he wouldn't be phased. Oh, and one more reason, we have a housemate.

4. Rubber band around the sink hose. This one has been used for generations! This is great, except I use the sink 95% of the time, and chances are high that I would forget and squirt myself in the face.

5. Out of order sign on the elevator. Okay, if I worked in a building a couple stories up, this would be so worth it. I would love to sit at my desk and watch people huff and puff it up the stairs. People are so lazy these days!

And that is all I got for now. Lame, I know. No creativity flowing here today, too much lack of sleep!