Brynn Tracker: Four Months

The Story
Goooooodness.  March 18th marked 4 months since we met the missing piece of our family.  It, once again, has been such a fun month of learning about our little lovebug.  First let's bring ourselves up to speed on previous issues though, hmmmm?

Why is this happening to me?

First- carseats.  They were still basically public enemy #1 in last month's update.  Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Brynn was okay with the car.  I can't pinpoint when it happened, but all of a sudden one day on the way home from school I realized that Boo Boo wasn't screaming... and hadn't for a few days.  Maybe she just realized that when she piped down it allowed her to hear about Emery's tales of "shaaaaaring animoes."  They're pretty priceless, so I can't say I blame her for wanting to hear them.  Or perhaps it's because she couldn't hear her Mama's Grammy-worthy voice over the screaming?  Regardless of the cause- I. Will.  Take.  It.

Sleeping?  She still rocks at it.  I (still) have all my digits crossed that the 4 Month Sleep Regression fairy continues to skip our house.  Every once in a while (maybe 1x a week) she will wake up at some odd, unexpected time.  For the most part though she completely sleeps through the night.  I don't know how we got so lucky, but trust me- I am beyond thankful.

My toes?  They're right there.  And hilarious.

Her love of Mama?  Still there in spades BUT she has started to accept other people, most notably her Daddy.  We joke that we know the exact moment she decided that Daddy was a passable substitute for Mama.  It was the weekend of Emery's birthday in fact.  No matter where she and I were, she would find her Daddy and just stare at him.  If she caught his eye she would smile sooooo big and giggle.  I imagine those were the seedlings of a future Daddy's girl like her big sister, but for now I still sit on a pedestal.  I know one day I'll be knocked down, so for the time being I'm just soaking it up.

Next up?  This kid is a thumb sucker.  Big time.  For the first 3 weeks of the month her teachers would mention it to Ryan and/or I at least 3x a week.  We tried knocking her hand out of her mouth.  We tried finding a special toy she could use as an alternative.  We tried another kind of pacifier.  None of that worked.  In Brynn's mind, her thumb is nature's pacifier.  You win, pumpkin, you win.  I've kind of given in and decided this is a battle we will fight in the future.

Ohhhhh, pink grass.

Annnnd it wouldn't be a Martin child monthly update without a new issue, would it?  On March 6th when we went to the pediatrician for shots, our doctor mentioned that she was worried about how far Brynn had fallen off of her growth curve.  She said that because she was so big when she was born, she certainly didn't expect her to stay that large but because she had dropped off in all 3 categories, most notably her weight, she was a little concerned.  So.  I cried.  In my car by myself, but tears still happened.  I THINK that might have been the first time I cried non-happy tears regarding Brynn?  #secondtimeMama   We decided maybe I wasn't sending enough in her bottles to school and she just wasn't complaining.  So I've started sending more and feed her as much as she will let me.  Oh and weigh her obsessively.  Because everyone knows that helps.  We will see at our next check up how we're doing.  Fingers crossed!

Enough with that noise.  Let's talk about the awesome things because there are a-plenty.  My little Brynnie Boo still looooooooves to smile.  She might be Buddy the Elf's soul sister.  As long as she is securely in her Mama's arms, she will smile at just about anyone who talks to her, looks at her or even thinks about her.  Ryan and I are constantly amazed just because it isn't very like any part of either of our personalities.

Was that supposed to make me smile, Mama?  It really only makes me question your sanity.

Brynn is just generally so content.  At home we constantly remark on how she really only cries if she is hungry or tired.  I can't blame her - if it were socially acceptable, I would still cry for those two reasons also!

She continues to be our little observer.  As long as there are things to look at, and especially grab or pull on, she is a happy camper.  One of her favorite pastimes is to pull on things, mainly to see what happens.  I find it a certifiable miracle that any hair remains on my head.  Her first priority when I pick  her up is to grab as much of it as she can and tug.  I swear she knows that if she doesn't learn how to grab things and hold on she won't get anything around here.   The second child instinct is strong.

Oh, you're still here?  (I know not everyone agrees- but I still don't think they look at all alike.  Bonus:  you can really see her wild standy-up hairs.  Love them.)

I know this is totally the mark of a Mama- but I feel like she's fairly strong.  She will put her feet down and stand if you prop her up.  If I'm holding her on my lap while I sit down, she tries to climb me.  She rolls all over the place when you put her on the ground for tummy time.  Also during tummy time she will sometimes do a little push up with her shoulders held high OR stick her booty in the air.  Again, I'm sure all Mamas think this of their kids, but I'll go ahead and document it here for Future Brynnie's ego.

Brynn continues to be simultaneously completely enamored with, and terrified of, Emery.  I think in equal parts.  When she's down on the ground and Emery comes close to her she blinks profusely.  She just KNOWS something will come flying in her face.  Already she understands that past history is a predictor of future performance.  She loves to watch Emery though and I have a lot of faith these two are going to have loooots of fun in the future.

I'm so bored I could eat my hands.  Don't test me.

Clearly, I could go on forever talking about this little doll that lights up Ryan, Emery & I's lives, but I'll stop.  I have to save something for next month, right?

The School Stuff
Brynn has taken to school really well, thankfully.  She seems to adore her teachers there (as do we).  From what they tell us, she must behave at school exactly the way she does at home.  Their standard comments usually regard how sweet and smiley she is.  They also say that for the most part she only cries when she needs something.

I know that I say it often, but it really is never enough considering how much they do for us- I feel so fortunate we have found a place to love our baby so well in the hours we can't be with her.  I highly recommend them to anyone!

Praying for the flash to stop.

The Stats

• Height @ 3.5 Months: 25" (87th percentile)
• Weight @ 3.5 Months: 13 lbs 6 oz (45th percentile)
• Head @ 3.5 Months: 16" (66th percentile)
• Height: 25.25"
• Weight: 14 lbs
• Firsts:
• First fever - 2/24
• First roll from back to tummy - 3/6
• Diaper Size: 2
• Clothes: 3-6 months
• Feeding: Every 3 hours during the day.  I have to say though that if there's things going on, this kid is perfectly content not to eat- she won't necessarily remind you. So I really have to watch the clock.
• Sleeping: She is still a pretty fantastic sleeper.  During the week she usually goes to sleep sometime between 7:45 & 8:00 and about half the time wakes up sometime between 4 & 5 (which is actually awful timing for my morning routine) and the other half sleeps until I wake her at 6:30 or so.
• Favorite Songs: This little lovey is probably the founder and only member of my fan club.  She loves just about anything I goofily sing to her but her favorite is probably either Itsy Bitsy Spider or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
• Other Notables: Boo boo's hair started to grow back this month and is coming in pretty evenly.  Did I mention somewhere that she had craddle cap?  She did but she seems to have kicked it to the curb this month.

Big gummy grin for da Mama.

Our assistant.  Let me know if you'd like to book her.  I wouldn't check her references.

i(Phone) Spy: Month Four - Brynn

Just a few days after her sister's birthday party, it was our little Brynn-cess' turn for a minute in the spotlight.  On March 18th she turned FOUR MONTHS old.  That's 1/3rd of a year you guys.  More than a quarter!  I know it wouldn't be a monthly update on either kid unless I said this, so let me put your mind at ease - it still doesn't seem real to me.  Time is just going by way, way too fast for this Mama's approval.

Enjoy some pictures of our littlest love bug while I work out my differences with Father Time.

This was boo boo the Friday evening of her first week of school.  I believe we had been home approximately 10 mins.  She comes by this naturally as it's exactly how I feel on Friday evenings.

I can't imagine what this face was about because this child is rarely troubled.

Sister moves so fast it puts me in a trance, Mama.

I maintain that there is nothing sweeter on the planet than a sleeping baby.  Especially true when it's YOUR sleeping baby.

She's sharing again.  Heaven help us all.  Does she think I'm going to diaper Uma?!

Huh.  I wonder why Daddy's medicine comes in a can and mine comes in a bottle.  Adults are so weird.

L-O-V-E this baby's smile.

I have a fun game, Mama.  I'm going to wake you up at the EXACT worst point in your morning to wake you up, then I'm going to fall back asleep to really throw your day off.  You're welcome.

I fart like a full-sized man.  Isn't that hilarious?!

My rendition of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" really IS this hilarious.

I dread the day that my smiling like a maniac and saying "BOO!" doesn't elicit this response.  It's such a fun ego boost.

Her pensive sleeping pose.

Dragonfly... how did you manage to follow me out here?!

That's a wrap on month 3.  Now let's talk about some green beer, shall we?

Flash Dance

On Saturday March 14th, we hosted Emery's 2nd birthday at our house.  Why such a big gap between her actual birthday and our celebration of it?  I am fortunate enough to work 9/80's.  This means that when nothing crazy is going on, I have every other Friday off.  Thanks to the great mystery of the universe, Emery was born in a working-Friday week.  Are you comprehending the weight of this #firstworldproblem?  Knowing myself the way that I do, I am aware that it is standard practice for me to swear up and down that I will put together a simple event and then on my 45th trip to Target the week of said event realize that I've once again duped myself.   This fact causes me to try to book any events within my control (read: Em's birthday party) in a weekend following an off-Friday.  This year in particular I chose the one after her big day because the one before we uncomfortably close to the date I went back to work

Thankfully I recognize this about myself because I somehow thought making 18 animals out of those obnoxiously-difficult-to-work-with tissue paper poufs would be a cinch.  After a few 4 am dates with the alarm clock, late night cut and paste seshs after the girls were asleep and arts & crafts time during lunch hour in my office- I realized that was nooooot exactly true.  Death by Pintrest.

Exhibit A.  Free cookie to anyone who can guess what each of these are.

All of that aside, it wound up being an absolutely awesome day.  The weather had been horrendously rainy, cold and dark the weekend before (and was the weekend after also), so we were so excited to get to see the sun.  Somehow, thanks to the help of Grandma & Pawpaw M coming over early, we managed to pull things together enough to fool people into thinking we life in an organized home.  (Now it's your turn to get duped.)  Other than the fact that Nonnie & Pawpaw B were too sick to come, the star were really aligning.

You could probably shoot an entire Oriental Trading Co ad in my garage.

Per usual I took a picture before food was out.  WHOOPS.  Maybe one day I will learn.

You're getting sheepy.  You're getting verrrrrrry sheep-y.

I took a lot of pictures so my parents could feel like they were there.  I think they were pretty crushed when they realized they still weren't well on Saturday morning.

If anyone ever needs decor for a fiesta-  I am your woman.

Wasn't lying- I reaaaaaally wanted them to feel like they were there.

Queso station.  You know it isn't a Martin-sponsored event without Ryan's queso.

Grandma M was kind enough to hang all the extra paper lanterns outside.  Thank you, Grandma M!

Do you think by next year's party we will have actual patio furniture?  Ohhhh, the anticipation.  (Probably not.)

As I've documented multiple times on this little blog o' mine, my sweet eldest child inherited her father's extreme skepticism coupled with her mother's extreme aversion to risk.  Bless her, I know.  All week Ryan and I worked on her to get her ready.  We told her about her party.  We told her people were going to come see her.  We told her WHICH people were coming.  We told her there would be good food.  All week things seem to be going pretty well.  She was excited.  Enter the moment we came downstairs from her nap to a house full of people... not so excited.  She did not love a bunch of people in her house.  She did especially did not love being the center of attention.  She did not want to be put down.  At all.  Aunt Julie was Emery's personal chauffeur for a solid 10 minutes.  I eventually convinced Emery to let Julie and I attempt a hand off- trading E for B.  At which point I was really wondering why I had devoted so much time to mental prep for the birthday girl at the expense of bicep prep for yours truly.  

Luckily, not a moment too soon, cousin Kylie showed up and Emery relaxed.  She finally agreed to be put down and spent the remainder of the party running around and playing.  And grabbing cookies from the table while no one was watching.  I know because I can't begin to quantify the amount of hot pink icing Ryan and I cleaned up from the rug in the front TV room.  

It wound up being an incredibly awesome time for at least all of the members of our house.  We were humbled and so thankful to everyone who came out to show us their love.  Thank you so, so much for being such an awesome support network.  We are way too lucky.  Way, way too lucky.  We know that driving out to the 'burbs, even if there is the lure of lots of beer, isn't easy.  Again, THANK YOU.  And, of course, to my favorite two year old - happiest of birthdays.  I know you won't remember this one, but your Daddy & I always will.        

This series of pictures really highlights what a sweet, patient cousin Kylie is.  The look on her face leads me to believe Emery just did something ridiculous.

... Like perhaps stealing her cousin's club?  Because clearly Emery needs both.

Sweet, sweet Madison.  She was such a cuddly little doll!

Babies and balls.  This isn't leading anywhere good.

Bahahahahahahaha.  Patrick demonstrating that he's absolutely all boy.

This is not what I envisioned when Emery kept telling me she would "shaaaare" all week.

Ahhh yes.  Our little lady.

Thank you for mothering our children, Lynda!

Aunt Niffy with her nieces.  (Is Brynn trying to karate kick Emery?!)

Just a Daddy and his beer daughter.

Yo, Mom!  Grandma said you cut me off from the cookie table?  Did you not hear that it's MY birthday?!

Sometimes when a jungle isn't available, Tarzan has to improvise.

I really think she might be the happiest 3 (now 4) month old on the planet.

What's that?  You dare me to put my whole fist in my mouth?  Challenge accepted.

Hey ladies.  Want to crawl into my make-shift Minnie tent?

Oh Uncle Matt.  You had no idea what you were getting yourself into, did you?

I think Kylie actually had a more firm grasp on how to put this together than Ryan did.

Let me get this straight.  You gave me a glorified stick... for play?  Which means... I can dust ANYONE I want ANYTIME I want?  Best. Gift. Ever.

Oh, nice.  This model looks like it has a longer handle for more reach.

Brynnie says parties are exhausting.  We all looked like this by 8 pm.

The aftermath.