Hey, have I mentioned that my baby turned 1? No? Well, she did. On November 18th. More on her parties in a coming post, but for today let's look at how we celebrated on the actual date, shall we?
(I'm sure you can all see right through me that this is actually an excuse to post visual evidence of just how adorable she was on the actual day she turned 1, but we're all comfortable with that, aren't we?)
The Boo Boo and I were treated to a little early morning hang out time since I had to take her to her one year appointment that morning. We spent our time clapping and trying reaaaaally hard to walk. (I hadn't had my coffee yet- so she wasn't alone.)
Ok, kid. You're one now. Get to learning.
Sister's Houston Swim Club book is clearly riveting.
Brynnie is famous! First column, second up from the bottom.
Had to snap a picture while creepily watching her through the window after I dropped her off. Because what kind of parent would I be if I didn't?
To celebrate Miss Brynn we dined on the finest pizza that Digiorno has to offer and then topped it off with some pink cake that sister picked out. As you'll see, Brynn wasn't completely sold.
I have a crumb. Is this how we do this?
I should pick up the whole thing, you say? Mmmmk.
Am I doing it right? I'm watching you Daddy. (Daddy also had it all around his mouth- she's a good mimic.)
Even after the first few bites, she still wasn't sure.
Because I, shockingly, seemed to have my life together much better at the time, I posted all the videos of Emery that I'd been hoarding over the year ON her first birthday. Clearly the timeliness ship has sailed for Brynn, but that won't stop me from releasing all these adorable videos that cause me to get a "your storage is nearly full" alert at least 1x per week and post a sappy note. So let's do that, hmm?
Sweet, tiniest love of my life- what an incredible year it's been. It's been trying in a million different ways at a million different times. Some ways I haven't documented yet but will at some point. Some ways I have made silly jokes about in various forms of social media. Your Daddy and I wouldn't trade a single millisecond of any of it though because as I sit here typing this post with tears streaming down my face I can't think of a single better word to summarize November 18, 2014 to November 18, 2015 than thankful. And that doesn't even seem strong enough. For Em I dubbed the tagline for this entry "you are worth it." That is, of course, true for you as well but not quite as fitting. For you I hope you know beyond a shadow of a doubt, as we do, that you were MEANT to be. You were meant to join this family. You were meant to balance your sister. You were meant to warm your Daddy's heart with the "no" game. You were meant to bring smiles to your Mama's face in some really tough times. You were meant to be ours. No one else could do what you do. Remember that always.
Thank you for giving your Daddy and I new noises to attempt to replicate in written form, new funny characteristics to text about daily, new excuses to sit around and stare at the miracle we've created and a billion new memories. Thank you most of all for being you. I pray that we raise you in a way that makes you as happy as you've made Emery, Daddy & I. Happy, happy, happy Birthday Brynn!
As I warned with this post previously, I know no one but Nonnie and maybe Aunt Julie will click on and watch all these videos, but no one is more deserving of a little time in the spotlight than my Boo Boo is. Enjoy it!
A warm welcome for "da bebe" from her sister. (November 20, 2014, 2 days old)
Nothing is more priceless and endearing to me than the sweet movements and sounds a brand spanking new baby makes. I have hours upon hours of video footage of this. Don't worry, I won't post it all. (December 15, 2014, almost 1 month old)
So I said I wouldn't post them all but I didn't say I'd only post 1. :c) (January 2nd, 2015, 1.5 months old)
I always say that babies are born with their personalities. This one has been smiley from so early on. (January 5, 2015, 1.5 months old)
Emery has always been able to get smiles out of Brynn the most easily. Here's visual evidence. (January 6, 2015, 1.5 months old)
In case you are worried this kid has never cried. Au-contraire. (January 31, 2015, 2 months old)
Be still my heart- my little Mama's girl. (February 7, 2015, 2.5 months old)
First roll from belly to back. It's insane how exciting that first physical milestone is. I was so worried she wouldn't do this before maternity leave was over! (February 10, 2015, almost 3 months old)
Baby laughs. There is nothing better. I absolutely adored how early this kid laughed. One day I know she'll be doing it at her Daddy & I's expense but for now I soak it all up. (February 14, 2015, almost 3 months old)
This kid has been a "talker" from the beginning. (February 28, 2015, 3 months old)
This one is long, I know, but I had to include it for 3 reasons: 1) it shows she was a superstar at holding her head up by this point, 2) she still makes variations of a lot of these noises and 3) its a good representation of how she and I spent most days on maternity leave. (March 20, 2015, 4 months old)
Our little mover and shaker. (April 15, 2015, almost 5 months old)
This isn't the greatest representation I could find of it, but this is Brynn's pre-crawl. Em started with an army crawl and Brynn started with more of an inch worm technique. (May 5, 2015, 5.5 months old)
This isn't the first time she sat up but it's the best video I could find of it. #secondchildprobs (May 14, 2015, almost 6 months old)
Look out world- she's on the move. (May 22, 2015, 6 months old)
While I know she's babbling Mama, she has no idea what she's saying. That doesn't keep me from watching this video and pretending she does though. (July 10, 2015, 7.5 months old)
This is around the time that she garnered the moniker Brynnie-zilla. No idea why. (July 22, 2015, 8 months old)
Two for one video special- kisses and waving. (July 25, 2015, 8 months old)
The birth of the "no" game she and Daddy like to play. (August 13, 2015, almost 9 months old)
I included this because it's a completely accurate summarization of what feeding this kid is like. Self-made earthquakes and all. (November 5, 2015, 11.5 months old)
Visual evidence that she's a lot bigger fan of adventure than her sister is. (November 15, 2015, almost 1 year old)
My baby is a walker!!!!!!! (November 19, 2015, 1 year (+1 day) old)
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.
On Wednesday November 18th, the sweet, dark-haired and even darker-eyed, chubby cheeked little angel who made me the Mama I am today and made Emery a sister turned one. Despite the fact that we are now a month past the day and the tears it brought with it (for me, duh)- I still have a hard time accepting it.
As you might expect, I'll have a rash of posts devoted to this all important milestone, so I'll try to save the sap for those. Please know, sweet princess, that we love you more than I could ever possibly explain. Happy 365 days!
The brush seems like a waste of time. I like my toothpaste like my milk- straight up.
Brynn wasn't a fan of daylight savings time. It really infringed upon her strict bedtime policy.
Checking out what sis is doing, no doubt.
I know this is blurry but ohmigoodness how I already miss feeding this kid a bottle. (She's a sippy girl now.)
This kid is SO happy!
Zoom in on picture for a real taste of the aftermath of meal time with her. This appears to have been a peanut butter sandwich night.
Had to take a pic of what a big girl she looked like in these jeans. (Please don't report us to the authorities- those are bags for Goodwill. Clearly this was in the getting-ready-to-sell-the-house era.)
This is one of her Daddy & I's all-time favorite Brynn emotions/expressions. It's typically accompanied by her saying "uh uh uh uh!"
Last time putting her to bed as an infant. ;c(
My newly minted (pun not intended but I'll take it) TODDLER on her birthday!
As I've stated before- Halloween wasn't really my thang until I had kiddos. Now, I love it. This year was no different- I celebrated with some wild animals. (HA.) I should probably split this into multiple posts to save your eyesight, but the year is nearly over and I'm trying to get as much of it packed into 2015 as I can. So I'm cramming it all into one. Let's get ready to ruuuuumble!
THE COSTUMES
Before we get down to the specifics of this year's festivities, I need to document some of the lead up. I need future Emery to understand when she's putting together some school project or other collage of pictures how this particular costume came to fruition. I have to admit that I was pretty worried about the year that Emery was old enough to have her own opinions on what she wanted to be each year. As you've likely gathered if you are a regular reader, home girl has some thoughts. Well, enter this year. Ryan innocently asked her what she wanted to be one evening about 6 weeks before Halloween.
I waited with baited breath to see what she said. Her response? "A princess." Not what I was expecting but I was pretty pumped because that would make it a snap for me to find a coordinating outfit for Brynn (because clearly that is of the utmost importance).
The next day I spent my lunch break sifting through what I deemed acceptable princesses and their side kicks. I had Ariel & Flounder, Tinker Bell & the Crocodile, Cinderella & a Pumpkin. I was pretty pumped to show these finds to her highness that evening for her final seal of approval. I steered away from Frozen because I wanted to be able to tell which kid was mine this Halloween.
She was more than underwhelmed with the choices. She furrowed her brow, said "No. No. No," and then announced she wanted to be a cat. Okay. Fine. Minor set back. So I started googling cats. Turns out this is not just the go-to skimpy costume of teenage females, but also children. As I rifled through the Google Image options and listened to Ryan say "I don't know, Em. How about one without fishnets?" I decided I needed to gently steer her in a different direction.
So I pulled out a catalog of costumes that had shown up in our mailbox. Another rookie mistake. She decided then she wanted to be a dinosaur. I could hear future Emery taunting me for the year I let her be a dinosaur. For the next few weeks we cycled through dinosaurs, cats, princesses, a peanut butter sandwich (only came in adult sizes unfortunately). She then became fixated on a lion. Not a regular lion though guys- a WHITE lion. Which, as you might guess, does not exist.
Ultimately I decided that I, as the adult, had to make up her mind for her. So about 10 days before Halloween I finally hit the "order" button on the lion and prayed she would not point out the fact that it was not white upon arrival. Luckily, she did not and she actually was pretty enamored with it. #MamaWin.
So yes. That is how you were a lion for Halloween when you were 2, angel.
THE SCHOOL OUTFITS
You know I believe firmly in one wear holiday outfits that make my husband groan when he looks at my spending for the month. I stuck to my beliefs for this particular 2015 holiday. Enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Hey Mama- wanna see a Halloween trick? Now you see her...
... now you don't. Is sisterhood a treat or what?
Brynnie doing the Macarena, infant-style.
You can basically only get one smiling at a time.
THE SCHOOL PARADE
Ryan and I both made it to the girly's school parade this year. I have to say I was pretty nostalgic as I felt like it was just the day before that I showed up to the same parade with a big old belly in a pumpkin shirt. Life really does go too fast... but I digress.
Once again we were awestruck at how well the kids listen to their teachers. Not just our's... but all of them. Bless them.
We will chalk the fact that Em wouldn't leave her tail on to a certain someone, who's name may rhyme with Yonnie, having her try it on backwards the first time.
Tails are the hottest accessory this fall season.
That tiger is loving life.
THE AFTER SCHOOL PARADE
This Halloween we lucked out with it being on a weekend night. We got to have not just one, but BOTH sets of grandparents and Aunts/Uncles accompany us on our trick or treating adventures.
We had so much fun at the neighborhood trick or treating parade last year that we decided to partake again this year. Around 5:30 we did a lap around the neighborhood across the street behind the fire truck and police car. Em was actually pretty into it this year and had quite the haul by the time we headed back to our own house.
We made a quick pit stop at our house to eat some pizza and put the Tigress to bed (7:15 y'all. Don't be late!) A few of the grandparentals (and myself briefly) were brave enough to take the Lion back out to trick or treat in our neighborhood. It turned into more of an adult relay with each of us taking turns handing off the lion tail that wouldn't stay put as we chased down the world's most highly sugared toddler.
Overall, I would call Halloween 2015 a huge hit in the Martin home. I can't wait to see what costumes next year brings us. Huge thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us- we had too much fun!
Mama and her jungle cats.
Being in this suit is hilarious, Mama.
No time for pics, Non. Eyes on the prize!
C'mon Aunt JuJu. You talk, I'll grab the candy.
A sampling of our fellow trick or treaters.
A rare family photo.
She doesn't even know this holiday is about candy and she's still this pumped.
I forgot to mention that once Emery knew someone had candy, she liked to go back to their house for multiple rounds like 2 minutes apart. Thankfully we have kind neighbors. Here's Daddy & Aunt Tiff doing some damage control.
Guys, I have REALLY got to stop getting so far behind on these! I pretty much forget what happened when. Doh. Thank heavens for time stamps on my iPhone. :c)
October 21st marked 2 months of being the proud owners of what we have affectionately (and very jokingly) deemed our "vacation home." Here are the main highlights for the month before I jump into my usual prose.
Accomplishments:
Dumpster rental
Removal of all carpet
Removal of all kitchen cabinets
Removal of kitchen island
Removal of tile in living room
Removal of all old tubs/showers
Selection of shutter repair/refinish contractor
Removal of shutters for offsite repair
Laid hardi plank for upstairs bathrooms
Replacement of tub in Brynn's room
Selection of lay out for new cabinetry in kitchen
Selection of appliances
LOTS of material selections
Purchases:
Kitchen Cabinetry
Master Bath vanities
Master Bath tile
Half Bath tile
Girls' Bath tile
Wood plank tile for first floor
Fridge
In the Pipeline:
Paint colors. Ohhhh so many paint colors.
Lights. Because those are my favorite things to google.
So the biggest story of this month was- well, starting. As you may recall from the first month's post, we "hired" (read: bribed with beer) my Dad as our GC for this undertaking at the end of September. This was super exciting but right after making the decision, he and my Mom departed on a long-planned nearly 2 week cruise literally days after this decision. If you're thinking- man, that's a good excuse to say "my contractor fled the country," you and I are soulmates. I did that.
Does that make you anxious we lost a month? Clearly you don't know our GC. The weekend before they left on the cruise, Ryan, Matt & the GC spent the weekend removing all the old carpet in the house.
The lost 4th Property Brother.
Check out that card table. Sweet classy molassy!
Real men. Real work. Real beer needed.
Then the parental units went on vacation and left Ryan and I with the homework of "make selections" and to sign for whatever crazy equipment showed up on our doorstep in the meantime. No pressure.
Delivery #1. Emery saw it and said "Lola's Food!" In reality it was some crazy chipping hammer.
Nothing says Thursday night as an adult like beer, a bowl of peanut butter puffs, a spreadsheet filled with every wood look tile on the market and the SW fan deck.
Grays are hard. 1) SW Agreeable Gray, 2) SW Colonnade Gray, 3) SW Anew Gray and 4) SW Mindful Gray.
Sneak preview of kitchen-y things.
Also prior to leaving, the GC met and approved a subcontractor to take the existing shutters to his offsite warehouse for painting and repair. One Friday Ryan and I met him at the house so we could supervise (read: google appliance reviews while he worked).
At this point in the project, I've actually forgotten completely what this joint looks like with shutters. At the time this looked crazy to me though.
I've also since forgotten what the foyer tile looked like.
One of the weekends while the GC was cruising, my brother and Ryan spent the morning pulling down the uppers in the kitchen. They tried to do the lowers and realized they had no idea how to do that.
See ya cabinets! Fur downs, we are coming for you.
Flash forward to when the cruise ended and things really started moving. Thanks to the magic of the chipping hammer and more enthusiasm than most HGTV hosts, GC really got the dust flying. He chipped out the tile in the kitchen, laundry and living rooms himself. Color me impressed!
Hello there concrete (and my Dad's mistress, the chipping hammer). Oh, also apparently the lowers came out. And some sheet rock. Not sure where in the timeline that fell.
This day is when I heard the angels singing. Ryan and I loved the house from day 1 but deciding to put an offer in was contingent upon us being able to open up this wall. The squealing that took place when I saw it was for the record books.
Kitchen, meet the living room. You guys are neighbors.
Then the island came out. And the fur downs. 80's, you can have those back. I can't recall who of the demo crew (Ryan, Matt & GC) gets credit for these but I'm sure they were all there in spirit even if not body.
Open walls are the new open concept.
Towards the end of this month of home reno-ship our tile guy came out and gutted the showers. When this project is completely done, I'll do some much better before/during/after photos but for now trust me when I say what a difference this all made.
More "bye Felicia" to fur downs. This time they were in the master bath.
This is Brynnie's bathroom. Previously this was all enclosed. Like those tubes you shoot your checks through at the bank... but a shower.
Em's shower. We'll probably get the insulation cleaned up. Probably. :c)
Oh, and somewhere in the midst of all this we wrapped up like 40,000 hours spent at ProSource and pushed the button on our order for all of the tile for the whole house plus cabinets for the kitchen and the master bath. Not too shabby for a month where the GC was out for 2 weeks, huh? Stayed tuned for month 3.
I'm a Longhorn-supporting, Aggie-marrying, high heel-adoring accountant in Houston. I live for my family, friends, and a good belly laugh. I dream of a world without cheese, space, snakes or wind.
Reading Legend:
Ryan = The Dear Man I Married Emery = Our Sweet 1st Daughter
