Brynn Tracker: 18 Months

Oh. Muh. Gah.  Why am I so awful at being timely?  I'm sorry.  Please forgive me.  Let's still be friends, internet.  Please?  Truth be told- I fell off the wagon (as you'll notice I do often on these Tracker posts) because I couldn't get my act together to do a proper photoshoot.  So.  Lest we further delay my life's documentation, I'm going to write this post and attach the hasty photos I took on May 18th in an effort to get one for Instagram.  It's by no means my finest work nor the greatest representation of how FREAKING CUTE my kid is.  If I happen to get some photos later, I'll add them.  If not, well, who will be surprised?  No one.

The Big Cheese.

The Story
On May 18th my Boo Boo Kachoo (I totally exclaim this when I walk in the door to pick her up each day at school- second grade Brynnie might not be as thrilled by it as toddler class Brynnie) hit 18 months.  So I guess this was kind of a Golden Birthday, Round 1?  I pray her real Golden Birthday is every bit as family-filled and classy as this one.  (Haaaaa.)

Brynn still adores books, chugging milk, dogs, her sister, her Mama and going to sleep on her self-imposed time schedule.  I'm not sure if I've fully elaborated on it before, but she also LOVES laughing and smiling.  Perhaps Buddy the Elf is her real father?  I'm not sure, but my Mom or Dad pointed out the other day after she capped off a short-lived fit with a huge toothy grin, "she really can't go long without smiling."  I realized how accurate that is and how utterly blessed we all are for it.  Her sister, Daddy & I have all been known to get a little cranky sometimes and Brynn completely dissipates it in seconds.

What makes her laugh?  Playing chase.  Funny faces.  Lola.  Tickles.  A lot of stuff, but nothing makes her laugh as hard as stunts with her Daddy.  She like a maniac when Daddy tosses her in the air, tosses her on the bed, lets her ride around on his shoulders- basically, all the things that cause Mama to question whether she needs blood pressure meds.  She also LOVES being upside down.  I am sure I will rue the day that she meets her first roller coaster.  She will probably put personal roller coaster on her Christmas List soon thereafter.

She is also VERY into shoes.  She always wants her shoes ("doos") on.  She also wants YOUR doos on.  If you leave them out where she can see them... or even get to them... she will bring them to you and demand they go back on your feet.  I have to be very careful about which of her shoes she can see and/or reach.  Otherwise when I ask her to bring me her shoes in the morning, she'll return with some red, sparkly mary janes that are 2 sizes too small.  That's not a fun battle- speaking from experience.

Couldn't you just eat the ponytail up?!  I'll miss the antenna when her hair starts to lay flat.

Brynn still has a temper.  It's still a little funny because its such a stark contrast to her general personality and attitude.  It remains short-lived and always ends well.  As you'll note in the school section below- her new teachers have also noticed it.  Lately when something makes her angry, she will throw herself on the ground kicking.  Or she'll randomly hit the air.  We, of course, still work on hitting when/if it actually extends to one of us or Emery, and as she gets older and understands more we will work on emotional control.

Physically, she's more advanced than I recall Emery being at this age (sorry Em- you probably got some Mama genes there).  Brynn can "hop".  She doesn't fall much at all.  Her running is looking more and more controlled.  She climbs things with no problem.  On the flip side, she's not as good at fine motor skills as I think Em was (sorry Brynn - Daddy genes there) at this age.  Brynn still has a ways to go when it comes to using a fork or spoon.  She gives up and uses her hand when we aren't watching nearly every time.

In this 3 month time span she came a very long way in terms of speech.  She has added agua (used for ANY beverage- milk, water, my coffee), Nonnie, Pawpaw, da-dawg, kitty, go, hi, ba ba (bye bye),  my (mine!), ow-side, bah (ball), wee-bra (zebra), happo (hippo), cuppy (cupcake, muffin), cookie (can't phonetically write this one), seesee (sissy), Em-a-nee (Emery) and I'm sure a million I'm forgetting.  Her FAVORITE is "no."  That's her answer to most things.  Ohhhh, how I wish I could bottle up how she says it and save it for rainy days down the road.  It's so adamant and so precious.  She can also say yes, but you have to twist her arm.  She signs "please" and I swear I've heard her say it a few times.

She "talks" so much more than her vocabulary allows.  She will just babble away.  She looks you square in the face.  She uses inflection.  She uses facial expressions and pointing.  If anyone were to watch it as a silent film, they would swear she was the ultimate conversationalist.  The only problem is- when she gets going like that, we have zero idea what she is talking about.  I wholeheartedly believe she does, because she will repeat sounds.

Comprehension-wise, she understands so much more than she can communicate.  She can follow most directions you give her.  She can make quite a few animal sounds (snake, cat, dog, mouse, bird, cow, sheep, duck and her go-to: lion).  Basically she's just awesome.  I adore this age and getting a front row seat to watching her learn and see the world.

Ghost of Olan Mills?  Are you there?

The School Stuff
In this time frame (late April), a spot opened up in the class above her and Brynn moved up to the toddler class.  She was heartbroken at first as she was pretty attached to her Infant B teachers.  Thankfully her closest friend at school, John, moved at the same time which lessened the blow.  We definitely noticed a change immediately.  All the fun standard "toddler" things started happening overnight.  Everything became "mine!"  The answer to everything was "nuh!"  Toy hoarding got added to the resume.  Living the dream!

Generally when I get to talk to her teachers they mention how good-natured she is.  One evening when I got to school she was sitting in her teacher's lap with her thumb in her mouth and her teacher made a comment to the effect of how she's either all over the place... or very settled.  That's my Brynn- 2 speeds.  A few evenings later a different teacher mentioned how when she gets mad, she hits the air.  I know these are such small, meaningless details to everyone else - but as a Mom it's so comforting to know that my baby is comfortable enough at school to act just like she does at home.

The Stats

• Height: 33.5" (92nd percentile)
• Weight: 25 lbs 6 oz (81st percentile)
• Head: 18.75" (83rd percentile)
• Diaper Size: 4
• Clothes: 18-24 months & random smaller 2T items Mama could find in our apartment clothes stash
• Feeding: She eats 3 meals and drinks milk like it's her job.  Milk, you need a spokestoddler?  Call me.  She's picky.  Still loves meat and pasta.  She's "eh" on nearly everything else food group wise.
• Sleeping:  She's still a great sleeper.  We got so lucky.  She goes down around 7:30ish each evening and wakes up happy every morning.  Naps are getting more and more challenging.  She's getting old enough now to have a tinge of FOMO.  We still usually get in 2 naps during the weekend though.  The first is from 9:30ish - 11:15ish.  The second varies greatly but we try for 3:00ish - 4:00ish.
• Favorite Songs/Games:  Chase.  I don't know if this will ever change.  Oh, I don't think I mentioned above, but Brynn has gotten very into babies.  So avoid fights, we got her a baby so she wasn't always stealing Bella from Emery.  Emery has named her Twinkle although Brynn still refers to her as "Bebe."  Brynn is pretty attached to Bebe and, of course, her blanket.
• Other Notables:  You know how Brynn used to only suck her thumb when she was tired?  Not anymore.  She is sucking it increasingly more often.  AND she gets pretty feisty/annoyed when we try to take it out.  Le sigh. Her pediatrician tells me not to worry and that she'll eventually grow out of it.  I hope so because I don't want her to get teased!

Me?  You think they'll tease ME, Mom?  No way.  I'll just bring them their doos.

Brynn Tracker: Fifteen Months

The Story
Per the ush (short for usual- never know how to spell that one...anyone?)- I'm late to the party.  On February 18th my little nugget turned 15 months old (1.25 years for those who are into expanding decimals in Excel).

Because I'm a bit behind, it's difficult to remember exact dates and milestones, but what I can tell you for certain is that our Brynnie gets funnier by the minute.  I am constantly telling people** that both of my daughters are hilarious but in completely different ways.  With Em it's pretty easy to convey the hilarity but with the Boo Boo, you kind of have to be there or to know her personality.  Her Aunt Tiff the other day described her as "undercover funny."

*thinking: Maybe if I distract her, I can run away*  Pssst... Mama.  I think I see something really cool over there.

During this 3 month time frame a lot of things stayed the same- she still loves her thumb.  And babbling.  And her Mama.  And sleep.  And being chased. And her blanket.  She added a few new obsessions to her Rolodex though- namely dogs, books and crackers.

I spend approximately 55% of my time at the park trying to keep her from chasing people's dogs and/or getting too close to them.  I blame this on our own dinosaur dog.  Since Lola is huge, and completely non-threatening, Brynn assumes all of them must be this way.  She loves to stick her fingers in their noses, touch their feet, pet them in an aggressive fashion.  You know- all the things dogs love strange children to do.  (Save us a spot, nearest ER!)  She also very clearly started saying "Lola".  (Em also said Lola early on but she said "Woh-wa" and Brynn says "Lala".  Completely uninteresting to anyone except me, I know.)

For real though, Mama.  Why don't you go check?

The obsession with books is definitely genetic.  I think I made my Mom take us to the library nearly daily in the summers.  No exaggeration- she wakes up (happy as a clam, of course) and starts saying "boo, boo" (book) and will run to find the nearest one.  It's THE cutest.  Oh, also, she gives you the book, turns around, backs it up and plops down where she assumes your lap should be.  No thought is given as to whether her aim is appropriate.  This results in quite a few slips, trips and falls for her.  As long as there's a book at the end of the rainbow though- she's good.

After she gets you to read her approximately 1,276 books in the morning, the next line of business is to run into the kitchen and start pointing at the pantry door saying "cacka" on repeat, with increasing desperation, until you deliver one.  Also, if you eat one in front of her there's a high probability she will stick her hand in your mouth and try to get it out.  Maybe she'll be a zookeeper?

Hellllllp.  They're doing it again.

She continues to be a busy, busy child... except when she's not.  Like I said in the photo dump, she has 2 speeds- pedal to the metal and nah- I'm good.  She. Gets. Into. So. Much. Stuff.  If she didn't look so much like a human, I would swear she was a raccoon.  She is constantly bringing us items from the trash.  So if you ever show up at our house and she's holding an empty beer can- no cause for alarm.  She's just been dumpster diving again.

It wasn't within the 15 month window, but she totally dumped Em's potty, full of fresh urine, out allllll over our bathroom floor while I was putting dinner in the oven.  Then she slipped in it and screamed while Em trudged around in it with her pants around her ankles.  (See also: how beer cans end up in the trash can.)

Brynn is still a pretty picky eater.  She will voraciously eat any variety of meat.  She's hit or miss on just about everything else.  We did have a few successes this quarter with fruit- mainly bananas ('nana, 'nana!) and a blueberry or two.  She's also pretty into noodles because... well... Mama's genes.

In terms of milestones, she cut some more teeth and drooled up a storm in the process.  I didn't document the dates of those because if you stick your finger in her mouth, you're probably going to lose it.  She also started saying a few words.  I can't recall exactly how many she had at 15 months but I think for sure uh-oh, Ma-Ma, Da-Da and Lola.  (Since then we've added quite a few but I'll save those for her 18 month post.)

Man I have some good-looking feet.

The School Stuff
Brynn is still in the Infant B class because there's a bottleneck in the Toddler class above her.  I'm fairly certain her main teacher doesn't mind this one bit.  It's going to be a noooooisy couple of weeks at the girls' school when she does finally have to transition.

In this time frame Brynn's teacher told me one day, "oooooh, I finally saw Brynn's other side!"  I knew immediately what she meant by the tone in her voice and the look on her face.  She's the most laid back child ever until you activate baby Hulk mode.  Apparently the trigger on this particular day was that it was time to come in and Brynn wasn't feeling that.  She wanted to stay outside (which Ryan would attribute to his "Native American Roots").  The temper shows itself so infrequently (and is harmless at this stage), so we really just laugh, but I'm curious to see how it develops.

If they're going to keep putting me back in this chair, I'm just going to keep not looking at them.  Take that, family historians!

Most of the time her teachers tell me what a sweet little bug we have on our hands.  Just this morning in fact I had to drop her off instead of Daddy and her teachers said, "is she always this happy at home too?"  They have also referred to her as the classroom helper and intimated that she is really quick to respond when one of the babies is crying.  By "respond" I mean pat a little too aggressively.  Gotta love the kind intentions though, right?

Ahhhh, the rare #MomWin.

The Stats

• Height: 32" (91st percentile)
• Weight: 23 lbs 3 oz (76th percentile)
• Head: 18.5" (83rd percentile)
• Diaper Size: 4
• Clothes: 12-18 Months & size 4 shoe
• Feeding:  She eats 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks at school.  We follow mostly the same schedule at home dependent upon what all we have going on.  She has milk or water at all sittings and will sometimes demand milk via sign language (or pounding on the fridge) in between.  This kid chugs.  I'm pretty nervous about college.
• Sleeping:  She's still a really great sleeper.  As she gets older she does make more of an effort to fight sleep from time to time if there's a lot going on but generally she still sticks to her own schedule.  She prefers to be in bed by about 7:30 and will wake up on her own sometime between 6:15 and 7:00.  On the weekends she naps 2x a day, her better one in the morning for about 2 hours.  At school she naps better than Emery ever did at her age, but they're becoming fewer and further between.
• Favorite Songs/Games: Chase is still her absolute favorite.  Nothing makes her giggle more.  She is also starting to take more and more interest in what Emery is doing and playing with.
• Other Notables:  Brynn LOVES to climb.  She's much more of a monkey than Em, so I am a little nervous about what that means for our medical insurance.

** Duh.  I'm a Mom.  But still totally unbiased.  ;c)

Bye, Felicia!

Brynn Tracker: Twelve Months

The Story
Oh, my tiny love- where to even begin?  This month Brynn got closer and clooooser to walking.  She took a few side steps pretty regularly during the month.  Without fail though as soon as she realized what she was doing she said- naaaaah and plopped to the ground.  Then, all of a sudden, the day after her birthday she started walking like she'd always been doing it.  I'll post more on that in her quarterly post since it technically wasn't in this month but I love the milestone so much that I couldn't skip over it.

Hey!  Hey, look at me!  I'm such a big girl.

This month Brynn also started drinking out of a sippy cup.  If you recall, this transition with Em was not a smooth one.  It took probably 20 different cups and a sizable investment in said cups before we found what worked.  With Brynn she really doesn't care where milk comes from as long as it comes NOW.  We begrudgingly decided one afternoon that we needed to start working on it so we gave her a sippy cup with her lunch.  To our surprise she tiled her head back and shot gunned it like a champ without a moment's hesitation.

Whoa.  Whoa.  WHOOOOOA.  What's on my head?!

One thing Brynn didn't work on this month?  Her manners.  When she's done with something, she side swipes it off the table before you even realize it's about to happen.  "Done" is a relative term.  You may think... oh she only had 1 bite, surely she'll want more.  You would be wrong. This is ALWAYS the case with fruit.  Oranges?  Straight to the floor.  Yogurt raisins?  Straight to the floor.  Raspberries torn up so maybe she won't see what you're giving her?  Uh uh.  Straight to the floor.  The other day she even denied applesauce.  Definitely not your standard kid.  While this isn't her Mama's favorite trait, Lola is really finding it beneficial.

Her personality reallllly started to evolve this month.  This kid is a talker.  I'm not sure if it's just that she has a second-child fear of being forgotten, but she is CONSTANTLY making noise.  No real words except maybe uh oh.  She does seem to be a fan of that and uses it appropriately maybe 60% of the time.  She prefers to stick to what I affectionately call "dinosaur noises"- squawks of excitement, growls just so you know she's there - that type of thing.  It always makes us laugh.  She's definitely a babbler.

Can I outrun it?

Some other elements of her personality that she started to showcase this month were- a sense of humor (not shocking) and a temper (more shocking).  Brynn seems to know when what she's doing will make you laugh.  If she catches your eye across the table, she'll start shaking her head no and grinning from ear to ear.  She also likes to pop up from over the side of the chair or peek around the corner of a door at you because she knows it will generate a laugh.

Why do we think she has a temper?  Well, the hanger that we mentioned previously.  But also, as you'll be able to tell from the story in the school stuff below, she has a tendency to get mad and start throwing things.  I am not completely sure where the temper comes from because while I do get riled up easily, I wouldn't say I have a temper. Ryan certainly doesn't have a temper.  So we will see if this one develops into a true characteristic or is just a passing phase.

Nope.  This seems like something I'll need to tackle from a seated position.  Just give me a second...

Brynn has started to really remember people who aren't her Mama and Daddy.  I know this is always such an exciting milestone for the grandparents, aunt/uncles, etc.  Every once in a while Nonnie will go pick the girls up at school and she says that Brynn will grin across the room and crawl over at lightening speed when she sees her.

I'm trying to think what other things I want to remember about her at this age as I know things come and go so quickly.  She still sucks her thumb.  She is obsessed with a blanket that Shawna gave her.  It's the first thing she looks for when you lay her down in her crib.  She still adores her sister and is becoming more and more interactive and in tune with what she's doing.  She's still a bit of a Mama's girl but with each passing day I see this fade more and more (huge tear).  She remains a super star for her age at entertaining herself.  She's definitely more of an explorer than her sister was.  She adores baths and sprawling out on her belly in the tub.

... Huh.  Weird.  Why do they put these up there?

Overall, she is just our Brynnie.  The peanut butter to Em's jelly, the gimme-my-milk to Mama's love of cookies and the Robin to her Daddy's fantasy that he's Batman.  I truly can't recall the day that our family functioned without her.  We are beyond grateful for this little nugget and all she brings to our world.

The School Stuff
Brynnie's teachers mainly comment on, in this order, 1) her being an easy baby and 2) "that baby love to eat".  So there's not typically too much to report in here.  However, one evening when I got to school to pick her up her teacher was telling  me how at snack time Brynn started to choke a little bit on a cracker.  Her teacher said that made her really angry.  Once the cracker was safely dislodged, she angrily swiped all the food off her plate.  Because clearly it was that cracker's fault.  Who'd have guessed that Boo Boo was a baby hulk?!

I'm so offended.

The Stats

• Height: 30" (80th percentile)
• Weight:  21 lbs 5 oz (73rd percentile)
• Head: 18" (73rd percentile)
• Diaper Size: 4
• Clothes:  Should be 12-18 months but unfortunately that size for Em was in the dead of summer.  So I still squeeze her into 9-12 month stuff sometimes.  #secondchildprobs
• Feeding:  She eats 3 meals a day and 2 snacks during the week at school.  She sleeps better at home so on the weekends she probably averages 1 snack a day but otherwise the same schedule.  She loooooves meat.  She likes veggies.  She despises fruit.  She's also not huge on sweets (she threw her birthday cake on the ground) but is coming around slowly.
• Sleeping:  Same story, different month.  Kid's a superstar sleeper.  She wants to be in bed, firm grasp on beloved blanket, at 7:15 pm.  She wakes up on her own around 7:00 am and babbles happily away to herself.  She honestly might do this all day if we let her.  Surely this means she is going to be a terrible sleeper later but for now I'm enjoying it.
• Favorite Games/Songs:  Chase.  Hands down this kid still loves chase.  And being upside down.  She may or may not have a future in the circus.
• Other Notables: I probably haven't mentioned it much but she isn't one for road trips.  Heading to Conroe always means intense fits for at least the last 30 minutes.  I suppose I can't blame her.  The best part of road trips are the snacks and she isn't old enough for those yet.  ;c)

I see you over there flailing Mom and that's almost funny, but please know I'm still offended.

Oh, we're done?  Yayyyy!  That's a wrap on infant-hood.

Brynn Tracker: Eleven Months

THE STORY
On October 18th Miss Brynn added an 11th (monthly) notch to her belt.  This month was, say it with me now- just fabulous!

Does this necklace make me look fat, Mom?

I'm sure from the outside these months between 7 and 12 or so sound so boring because they aren't about hitting a new milestone every day but I can assure you from life on the inside that could not be further from the truth.  These months are actually some of my favorite because you get to see them really refine some of the fun stuff, start to interact with people and delight along with them at how awesome the way the world works is.

In terms of the milestone-y kind of stuff, Brynn really got good at standing up.  I spent most of the month thinking that she might decide any day was the day she was going to start walking.  She was definitely strong enough, just not generally very interested.  Mobile doesn't begin to cover this kid.  I stated at least 2x a week when people asked if she was walking that I looked forward to the day she did because it would at least slow her down for a second.  I'm not sure if the fact that she could outcrawl me was more a testament to her quickness or proof I should exercise more.  I prefer to think it was mainly the former.

Get my bow side, please!

Food wise, this kid remained in firm BFF-hood with meal time.  Brynn has the sweetest, most laid-back demeanor until she gets hungry.  Then she goes from model child to extreme h-anger in a millisecond.  If ever they do a "you're not you when you're hungry," Snickers commercial gears towards kids- she needs to be first in line.  This same level of enthusiasm and lack of patience can be found in her drinking skills.  Look out UT (we all know she'll side with her mother's Alma Mater) Class of 2036- your beer chugging champ resides in Houston in my home.

My little love bug's personality continued to evolve along the same lines you would expect.  Her demeanor is sweet and laid back except when hunger strikes.  I would say about 50% of the time she can be found contently playing by herself and the other 50% she can be found trying to see and do exactly what her sister is up to.  Her absolute FAVORITE game on the planet is being chased or chasing you.  She starts laughing like a maniac as soon as she thinks you're after her.  And because her laugh is so contagious- you start chasing her even if that totally wasn't what you were doing.  Cutest. Thing. Ever.  Unless you're running late and trying to get her in shoes.

Step off sister, this is MY spotlight!  (Editor's note: Sister is ALWAYS off to the side.  Meaning one parent takes photos and the other tries to distract her whilst acting a fool to get Brynn's attention.  If I thought taking these with one was hard, I had no idea what awaited.)

She continues to be way more into Lola than Lola is into her.  One of her favorite pastimes is crawling into Lola's bed.  Lola and I share the same sentiment on this one- we both dislike it.  This month Brynn also got really into shaking her head no.  I actually do think she understands it but mainly she knows it is sure to make us laugh and so that's it's most likely usage.

Another incredible month with an incredible kid.  I can't say enough how much we love you, my little doll face!

Apparently my attention-getting tactics were particularly offensive this shoot.

THE SCHOOL STUFF
Brynn had a great month at school and there really isn't too terribly much to report.  Based on what her teachers tell us, I think she's exactly the same kid at school that she is as home.  She loves to play with books, babble and is easy to put to sleep.

Oh, one thing Ryan has mentioned is that, like her sister, when he drops her off in the morning, once she sees the Cheerios come out- he may as well not exist.  Food over everything.

Look at all those luscious locks.

THE STATS

• Height: 28.5"
• Weight: 21 lbs 0 oz
• Head:  Not sure why I keep putting this on here in months we don't go to the Dr.
• Diaper Size: 4
• Clothes: I still squeeze her in 9-12 but I think she really needs to start moving into 12-18
• Feeding:  A 6 oz bottle about every 3 hours.  Although sometimes she's more or less interested depending on if she just had a meal.  She eats 3 meals a day and 2-3 snacks when she's at school.  At home with us she probably eats meals that are a little larger and thus only has a couple snacks.  She's still not into fruit.  At all.  Meat and veggies are her main squeeze though.  I blame this on my gestational diabetes.
• Sleeping:  Same story, different month.  Kid has a strict 7:15 bed time.  If you don't have her bathed and aren't headed up the stairs at this time, she will let you know about it.  At school she takes about 2 naps a day each for a total of 45 mins to 1.5 hours.  On the weekends with us she takes 2 naps for a total of probably 2.5-3 hours.  She is usually up by 7:15 am on the weekends.
• Favorite Songs/Games:  Like I mentioned- her absolute favorite game is being "chased" which is closely followed by anything that results in her being upside down.
• Other Notables:  At this age Emery flipped back and forth a lot between using her left and right hand.  Brynn nearly always uses her right hand.

I call this series the proof-shes-her-Daddy's montage.  Closing eyes and spoiling the otherwise-perfect picture?  Check.

Unamused side eye directed at Mama?  Check.

Complete refusal to cooperate when she's tapped out?  Check.

Brynn Tracker: Ten Months

Author's Note:  Ugh, I really have to stop getting so far behind!  Precious Brynn Brynn, I hope you understand that my delinquency in posting these days is a by product of how busy our lives are as opposed to a disinterest in documenting, or cherishing, all you're up to lately.  I promise to keep after it- hopefully my tenacity at least counts for something.

The Story
On September 18th the Boo Boo hit 10 months.  I have said it before and I'll say it again- I just adore this age.  Such a perfect blend of starting to understand and interact with the world around them without having too many opinions to assert.  Discovering the world through an infant's eye is truly so much fun.  Particularly this one who laughs uncontrollably and prefers to discover it upside down.

I'm a biased Mama and all that jazz, I know, but isn't she beautiful?

So let's see- honestly this month was more of the previous.  If there were a speed crawling medal in some sort of Infant Olympics, this kid would take the gold.  I am sure I should be ashamed to admit this- but there are times when I have to dash after her so quickly that I nearly break into a sweat.  She also crawls like Penguin (anyone watch Gotham?!) walks.

She continued to loooooove food.  Oddly, she's not much for fruit.  Bananas are about the only ones I can get her to eat at home.  She started eating the school lunch this month and appears to be doing very well.  See the school stuff category below for more detail.  Her love of food doesn't end at human food.  This child has made it her personal mission in life to eat Lola's food.  Thanks to the miracle of being a second child- she's come close on multiple occasions.  One day I had to shove nearly my whole hand down her throat to get it out.  Her response?  She just laughed.  We are in trouble.

Sister, I think it's pretty cool how you're scaling those huge tubs of clothes and it's going totally un-noticed while Mom and Dad are distracted with me.  Teach me your ways.

I always struggle to capture her personality accurately.  She's actually hilarious but in a much different way than Emery.  The best way I can describe her is contagious.  When she laughs- you can't help but laugh.  When she smiles- you can't help but smile.  When she tears off across a room- you can't help but want to follow her.  She makes a lot of noise.  A looooot.  Happy coos.  Excited shrieks.  Machine gun sounding laughter.  You nearly always know where she is because she's rarely quiet.  If she is, it means she got to Lola's food and you better run.

Brynn is such an awesome juxtaposition between being observant (she's constantly craning her neck to see who's behind her) and being in her own little world (she's completely not bothered in the least by even category 5 Emery fits).  She's very good at playing by or entertaining herself- a trait this busy Mama is overwhelmingly appreciative of.

So if I crinkle it all up, I wonder if they'll keep taking pics?  I'm going to try it in 3...2..1...

She is my little cuddle bug.  My heart will break more than a little when she starts refusing to let me squeeze her on average every 2 minutes.  She still sucks her thumb at night and when she's really tired.  I secretly find it incredibly adorable.  I probably won't as much when she's 16 but hey- that's a bridge to cross later, huh?

I could go on and on but seeing as I'm 2 months behind I suppose I should go ahead and call this one so I have some things to share in the 11 month post, right?  We love you so much it hurts little B!

The School Stuff
So the main story for the month regarding Brynn and school is - wait for it- her eating.  Sound familiar?  When we first started letting her have school meals, the cook talked to us specifically to let us know the fruit we initially approved was not going to cut it because our child was hungry.  Brynn's actual teacher echoed those sentiments by letting us know "that baby needs to eat!"  I have a feeling when I take her to the doctor in a couple of weeks on her birthday her pediatrician may tell me we need to dial it down.

Nope... They just laid me down.  That backfired but gosh I'm hilarious!

The other day Ryan and I happened to be together at pick up time so we double teamed the kiddos.  Brynn's teacher was sooooo proud to tell us that she ate TWO who pancakes (insert size of pancake wild gesturing here).  She also informed us she wasn't supposed to let her have another pancake but "that baby needs to eat!'  Heaven help us.

The Stats

• Height: 28.25"
• Weight: 19 lbs 6 oz
• Head: Yup, still there
• Diaper Size: 3
• Clothes: 9-12 months
• Feeding: A 6 oz bottle about every 3 hours, breakfast, lunch and dinner (that baby needs to eat!)
• Sleeping:  Our little booger has a very strict internal schedule.  You best be moving her towards bed at 7:15 pm or you are going to hear about it.  She still wants you to just put her down and get out.  She generally wakes up around 7:00 am but will sometimes fall back asleep until 8:00 or so.  On school days we wake her around 6:30.
• Favorite Songs/Games:  She loves chasing or being chased.  She also loves being bounced around, held upside down or jumping.  Basically all the things that make my head hurt just thinking about.
• Other Notables:  I didn't mention it above but she's still easily cruising and pulling up.  Her teachers, Ryan and I have all seen her stand multiple times but as soon as she realizes it's happening she plops down.  I don't think she'll walk any time soon because her level of interest is pretty low.

Like her father, she's learned that if she starts making cheesy, ridiculous faces the camera disappears.

Brynn Tracker: Nine Months

The Story
On August 18th, in the midst of my getting caught up on this here corner of the interwebs, toots hit 9 months young.  I say this each month but it's mind-boggling to me how fast time is flying.  This particular time a year ago is so fresh in my memory.  Last year there were so many pregnant women, or husbands with pregnant wives, at my office.  I believe there were 6 when I found out I was pregnant with Brynn.  At this time last year I was about to be the last one standing and suddenly the fact that my toddler was going to be a big sister got really really real.  I wondered who the little bean in my belly was and what she would be like.  Now here I am, what feels like the next day, simultaneously vividly remembering that feeling but not being able to recall how our family functioned without her.  Just one of a million crazy juxtapositions that go along with being a parent, I suppose.

Why hello there!  Are you impressed my Mom is getting this done before my next monthly birthday?  I am.

So- speaking of that bean... how was this month?  Say it with me now- awesome.  Duh.  She crawls so, so fast.  That girl is on a mission.  Maybe I've forgotten about this stage with Emery but I'm much more aware of Brynn following me around.  I am looking forward to her walking, of course, but I will definitely miss hearing the sound of my little steam engine grunting and smacking the ground behind me as I pad around in the kitchen.

You know who else she follows?  Her sister.  Those two loooooove to chase each other around.  They do a lap around the living room to the foyer through the dining room and back into the kitchen.  Whenever they catch each other they both cackle like little hyenas.  The most adorable, heart warmingly sweet hyenas on Earth.

Whoa whoa whoa- no yum yums until AFTER we finish this?

This month we started bathing Emery and Brynn together which meant that Brynn graduated from her little tub to the legit bath tub.  This rite of passage was probably premature because her favorite pasttime is trying to see how much she can raise her mother's blood pressure while in it.  She tries to climb the sides.  She belly flops on her sister.  She makes it her personal mission to find the area of the tub that the non-slip mat does not cover.  Basically it's the most stressful 2 minutes of Ryan and I's evening.  They both have so much fun though that we can't stop now.  On the bright side, we are probably the fastest infant bathers in the US.

I know this face well. It's the same look of unadulterated joy she exhibits before lunging for my phone and knocking it off of something.

Another exciting progression with the Boo Boo this month was that we learned she, in fact, does have a hot button issue.  What is it, you might be wondering?  Food.  Shocking, right?  If she is in her chair and you aren't feeding her- that's a problem.  If you aren't feeding her fast enough- that's a problem.  If you stop feeding her- that's a problem.  If you try to sneak in a bite of your food with one hand which slows your other hand down even a fraction of a second- that's a problem.  She has the patience of a saint until it comes to mealtime.  Then you better step on the gas.  I can't even be mad- that's 1000% genetic.  Hanger is in our blood.

She's become very proficient at pulling up and cruising.  I've seen her stand a few times on a few different occasions but she's generally not that interested in it.  When I try to get her to walk holding my hands she's not into it.  She's way more interested in jumping.  In fact one of her favorite activities is having Daddy hold her and jumping with her in his arms.  She just laaaaaaughs and laaaaughs.  The only thing she seems to love more than jumping is being upside down.  Seriously.  This kid adores throwing her head back to see what things look like upside down.  It makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

It's so hilarious they keep laying me down on this like I'll stay.  They never learn, do they?

Personality wise she continues to be a sweet, good-natured, loving little nugget.  Unless you're withholding food.  Then you're public enemy #1.  We all love you so much more than I can put into words punky doodle!

The School Stuff
The week after we returned from Florida Brynn got moved up at school.  I believe August 4th was her first official day in there.  Whomp whomp.  I handled her getting moved up much better than I would have guessed I would.  Probably because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was ready for it.  That and I was legit worried one day I would show up and have an incident report that she crawled over a classmate's head or something.

Uh uh uh sis.  You stay over there.  This is MY spotlight.

In her new class she has one of Ryan and I's other favorite teachers from when Em was little.  She loves on her just as much as we knew she would.  Case in point as to why we love her so- on day 2 in there she did an impression of Brynn's "uh uh uh" (the one I detailed in her 8 month post) face and told us how much it made her laugh.

Also, in her new class she has snack time.  As you might have guessed from the above, that alone was enough to win her over.  It helped that her 2 friends from class that are closest to her in age also moved with her.

This is still going on, huh?

The Stats

• Height:  28" (71st percentile)
• Weight:  18 lbs 8 oz (59th percentile)
• Head:  17.5"  (71st percentile)
• Firsts:
• 7/26 - First road trip
• 8/4 - First day in Infant B Class
• Diaper Size: 3
• Clothes:  6-9 months but honestly only because I need to wash and procure some new 12 month clothes because they're REAL snug
• Feeding:  She usually has 3 meals a day and is still taking a 6 oz bottle every 3 hours while awake.  Lately she's decided that to really drive Ryan & I nuts she will leave about 0.5-1 oz in each bottle.  No matter how much or little you put in there.  Just so you know who's really in charge.
• Foods Tried: Eggs, Tiny pieces of tortilla chip (#Momwinning), Cheerios, Blueberry
• Sleeping:  She most definitely has her own night time schedule.  Between 7 & 7:30 pm she wants you to put her down and get out.  She will wake up any time between 6:30 & 7 am.  Nap-wise she typically takes a short-ish nap in the morning around 10 and then a longer one around 1.
• Favorite Songs/Games:  Jumping with Daddy.  Hands down.
• Other Notables:  I think that Brynn is an early to bed/morning person type.  Her better nap is always in the afternoon and she is DONE with the day around 7.  Em always slept better in the morning and getting her to go to bed is still a struggle.

Doesn't it figure that the best smile we get is when we think we're done with the camera bag in the back?  Cool.  Thanks dollface.

Brynn Tracker: Eight Months

The Story
On July 18th my little snuggle bunny hit 8 months old.  EIGHT, guys!  That's 67%.  She's ALMOST passing infant-hood.  Say whaaaat?  I swear she was just a little sugar-fiend in my belly yesterday.  Le sigh.

Pardon my broken record-ness but MAN was it a good month!  She had crawling on lock down.  She could clear a room in the time it takes that Usain Bolt character to finish 100 meters.  Speaking of mobility- she digs it.  Big time.  She's quite the explorer and can frequently be found on top of things she shouldn't be.  What, might you ask?  Oh, the first step.  Sister's green chair.  Sister's potty (with the lid closed guys, relax).  You have to watch her like a hawk. She also started pulling up this month.  I don't have the day documented but she was a pro by the end of the month so I imagine it was sometime in June.

What. A. Doll.

This month Brynn also experimented with her ability to express herself.  I don't think of her as a baby who has about a million different expressions- she's generally either looking at you trying to figure you out or grinning like a cat who just got a canary.  In month 7 though she went through 2 facial expressions that had Ryan and I cracking up.  They're hard to explain and I never caught either on camera, but I'll try to document here.

The first was this funny cheesin' smile where she would grit her teeth, scrunch up her nose and brows and blow air in and out of her mouth and nose at the same time.  So think of like a bull snorting but a REALLY HAPPY bull.  It generally happened when she was eating.  I think it was her way of trying to smile at you but she also knew it made us laugh.

Whhhhy do you keep putting me back on this piece of paper and then having a fit when I try to eat it?!

The second one she still does periodically but not nearly as much as she used to.  She will round her mouth and say "uh uh uh uh uh" over and over.  It's usually accompanied with bouncing and flailing and it always convey excitement.  Ryan is the best at re-enacting it.

I would say this month Brynn really took to food.  She was slow on the uptake for sure but this month she really hit her stride.  She finally got the hang of puffs (after many near heart attacks from her Mama) and wasn't nearly as picky as she had been.  This might be partially because I gave in and started giving her more fruits this month, but I prefer to think that she's just tapped into her inner love of food.  So we will go with that.

This one?  Is this the smile you were looking for Mom?  (No.  No it wasn't.)

I know all parents say this, but I'm going to anyway- she's just so funny.  She cracks me up in a completely different way than Emery does.  I know this is going to sound nutty because she's an infant... but she just seems so at peace with things.  Oh, you're dragging me to the store now even though I haven't had a morning nap?  Ok- cool.  Whatever.  Oh sister's taking things from me?  Fine.  I'll just crawl over to the next thing.  I'm not bothered.  What, Mom?  Sister's loudly doing something behind me?  Can't even hear it.  I'm totally inspecting this block right now.

I included this because I love this kid's lashes.  LOVE.

Another source of entertainment to her father and I?  Her babbling/squealing.  When she's in a good mood she will just babble away.  That's how we wake up most every weekend morning- to Brynn loudly squealing or laughing at herself in her crib.  She also does it in the car quite a bit.  She went through a phase where she would try to babble over Emery and I's conversations each day on the way home from school.  Trust me love- no one is forgetting you!

Two other tricks she picked up this month were waving bye bye and making kissy faces.  She went through long and consistent enough phases that I know she's doing both on purpose.  Now she's over it though and will do them on her terms.  Generally her terms are after whomever I'm trying to get her to do it for has walked away.

Have I mentioned that she puts everything in her mouth?  She does.  I'm not kidding.  She spit up a leaf the other day.  True story.

The School Stuff
Brynn continued to do well at school and they still didn't have room for her in her next class.  So she spent some more quality time either in the exersaucer or pulling up and down on the mirrored wall at school.  Most days her teachers would tell me stories about her babbling at or playing with 1 of only 2 boys in her class.  I hope this isn't any kind of foreshadowing but I generally refrain from telling her Daddy anyway.  ;c)

Ryan actually makes this same face when confronted with a camera.

The Stats

• Height:  27.75"
• Weight: 17 lbs 6 oz
• Head:  16.75" (I tried)
• Firsts:  
• 6/28 - Easily getting puffs in her mouth without pretending she's choking
• 7/2 - Second tooth broke through (bottom right)
• 7/4 - Easily pulling self up and setting herself back down
• Diaper Size:  3
• Clothes:  6-9 months
• Feeding:  2-3 solids a day and a 6 oz bottle every 3 hours
• Foods Tried:  Peaches, Yogurt, Mangos, Apples, Spinach
• Sleeping:  She's a good little sleeper.  She is generally ready to be put to bed between 7 and 7:30 and sleeps until 7ish.  I can't recall  if I've mentioned it here before but this kid puts herself to sleep.  You lay her down, walk out and you're done.  It's nuts.
• Favorite Songs/Games:  She likes when you make faces or tickle her.  Continues to LOVE watching and "chasing" her sister.
• Other Notables:  Brynn is WAY more interested in Lola than Emery typically was.  At first Lola was a lot more tolerant of her than she was of Emery but recently she's decided she's just as afraid of Brynn as she is of Emery.

Annnnd... curtain.

Have you ever wondered what these photo shoots are like?  Close your eyes and imagine how you feel after a full day of work.  Then open them and look at this.  It's all that.  And a bag of chips.

Brynn Tracker: Seven Months

The Story
On June 18th my littlest bebe hit the 7 month mark.  Lucky #7, as it turns out because this month she was so much fun!

At the beginning of this month she was still playing the random wake up game but that slowly fell off towards the end of the month.  I don't recall when exactly... it was just one of those things where you look back and think to yourself- man, when was the last time we got a middle of the night wake up call?  I don't remember. This month she also transitioned up to her room.  She did this only a little bit after Emery did thanks to the aforementioned affinity for middle of the night wake ups plus her first ear infection.

Come hither, month 7.  Come hither.

I'm going to stop commenting on being a Mama's girl and/or sucking her thumb because both seem to be in it to win it.  If there's some notable change to either characteristic, I'll note it- otherwise you can assume her favorite place in the world is in my lap with her thumb in her mouth.

The most momentous thing this month was... drumroll please... she finally started crawling.  I say finally and that actually isn't appropriate.  I only use that term because she was such a wiggle worm and got up on all 4s so early that I was convinced she would start officially crawling before her sister did.  She had me fooled though because as with most things thus far, she followed the same timeline that sissy did.  Her crawl is hilarious though because it's so deliberate.  She lifts her arms so high and smashes them down with authority.  It's adorable.

Baby twerking.

This new found skill made her love affair with Emery even more aww-inducing.  My favorite pastime this month was watching these two learn how to play together.  It typically consisted of Emery getting way too close to Brynn with the stroller, then running away, Brynn chasing her and both of them laughing maniacally.  Most. Adorable. Thing. Ever.

This month we started experimenting with more foods.  We tried zucchini, guacamole and bananas.  She did pretty well with all of them, surprisingly.  One day I think she flipped a switch and decided that eating actually wasn't as bad as she originally presumed.  Or maybe watching her sister devour whatever was put in front of her finally wore off on her.  Either way- it was certainly a welcome change.

For reals, how cute is this child?!

Brynn continues to be the same consistently smiley and content little goose she has been most of her life.  It's interesting because I see parts of both Ryan and I in her but they're completely opposite of the pieces of us I see in Emery.  In Brynn I see my interest in people and Ryan's laid-back demeanor.  I see my love of laughing and Ryan's appreciation of quiet time by himself.  I absolutely adore these facts because I think that she and Emery completely balance one another and I hope it stays that way the rest of their lives.

Mom is this how up dog works?

The School Stuff
With Brynn's burgeoning mobility I expected that she would have to move up to Infant B this month but there wasn't room for her.  These facts combined led to her teachers having to exercise their creativity to keep our little Babyzilla from crawling over her younger classmates.  Luckily she had cultivated a love of the exersaucer at home because I think she spent some QT in it at school as well.

Wiggle wiggle.

She also developed a real fondness for her own image and the mirror.  I'll chalk this up to Ryan's genes.  Most days when I went to pick her up she could be found catching a snooze in her crib OR checking herself out in the mirror.

The Stats

• Height:  27.25"
• Weight:  16 lbs 2 oz
• Head:  Ummmmm.  Your guess is as good as mine.
• Firsts:
• 5/22 - First official crawl
• 5/25 - First ear infection
• 5/31 - First tooth broke through (bottom left)
• 6/09 - First day of no nursing
• Diaper Size: 3sy peasy
• Clothes: 6-9 months
• Feeding:  Most of the month she nursed every 3 hours while with me and took 3 six ounce bottles at school.  They started feeding her solids once a day around lunchtime and we would feed her a solid for dinner at home.  
• Foods Tried:  Zucchini, avocado, banana
• Sleeping:  As noted above she returned to her regularly scheduled program once she kicked her ear infection and busted out her first tooth.  She typically went to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 pm and slept until 5:45 am or sometimes even 6:30 am when we wake her.
• Favorite Songs/Games:  As pointed out above, she LOVES chasing her sister and cackling at her antics.
• Other Notables: Towards the end of the month I had to stop nursing which was a super emotional thing for me but she did just fine with it.  I still had milk saved so she continued to get a least one bottle of BM a day.

Okay.  I'm done.

Peace out, guys.