A Belly Laugh

Brielle just had her very first BIG belly laugh.  Chris was holding her facing me swaying back and forth while I was dancing and singing in front of her because it was making her smile so much.  Who can resist numerous baby smiles?  I was singing a song with her name in it like we usually do and when I stopped to drum on my leg we got a fabulous surprise.  All of a sudden she just belted out a huge laugh.  It was so cute and high pitched.  We thought it was so funny and unexpected we immediately started laughing so loud with excitement.  It scared and startled her because I don't think we have ever been that loud or laughed so hard in front of her so I had to help wipe away her little frown.  It was so priceless!  Wish it would have been caught on video but I am sure we will one day.  Can't wait to hear her laugh again.  She has been giggling for awhile now but no huge laughs like this time.  Sometimes we can tickle her a little and she will giggle or the dogs with run around like chickens with their heads cut off chasing each other and she enjoys that but nothing as great as what we witnessed dancing and singing to her.  Chris now makes the most awkward and annoying sounds he can muster up trying to hear that sweet laugh again.  Lets hope he finds a sound soon that works before I get a headache listening to him ; ) 

Earlier in the night we had date night with Brielle.  I thought it would be fun to go to Barnes and Noble, get some Starbucks but I can't say no to $5 drinks (I swear they put crack in them) and read some cute books to baby girl.  As I came back from the Cafe this is what I witnessed, baby and daddy time talking about books.  He wanted to show her a book called "Who was Elvis Presley" but it was for older kids and didn't have pictures so she wasn't too interested in it.

Grandma Jenny Comes to Town

A week and half before Christmas Grandma Jenny wanted to visit her sweet baby girl so she drove the long 7 hour drive to stay with us for a few days in Tulsa.  We did all sorts of things while she was here; ate Wawee burgers (burgers from the deer Chris' brother Eric killed), visited Santa so Brielle could meet him for the first time, made Christmas candy, Brielle got to stay with Grandma Jenny for a day instead of going to Mrs. Cathy's house, made foot and hand impressions and finished some Christmas shopping. 
First lets start with the oh so fun meeting Santa visit.  Thank goodness Santa was a good sport and hopefully had a stuffy nose.  Did the last sentence give you a clue as to where this story is going, if so then you are 1.) a parent 2.) have been around babies or 3.) have been around babies and situations like these are amazing birth control!  We decided to go out to eat to Charlie Mitchel's which Chris is not a fan of but is a great husband because he knows how much I LOVE the BLTA there (BLT with AVOCADO).  Anyway, Chris was holding Brielle for awhile and then he passes her off to me.  I immediately "smell" something so I gathered all my changing diaper tools with me, you know the usual things rubber gloves, head to toe plastic coat, helmet with face shield, water hose, hand cuffs, pine tree scent air freshener (you never know what could happen), the mother-in-law and of course the baby.  Typically the mother-in-law in not included but thank the Lord she was for this particular visit.  We get into the bathroom and find the changing table.  Giving that this night Brielle was going to meet Santa and have her picture taken we did not pack another "Christmas outfit" and she had completely pooped straight through her onsie.  Thank goodness it did not get on the pants or the dress that was covering the onsie because there was a huge stain on the back when we were all finished.  We used about fifty bajillion, (bajillion is a number right?) wipes to clean the mess and tried as much as we could to clean her onsie but the poor kid stunk for the remainder of the night.  I used a citrus scented lotion on her to try and cover no make that mask the smell a tiny bit but it didn't work so well so I had to go to Bath and Body Works and spray her with something to help it since we were at the mall.  We still caught a small whiff here and there so we explained to poor Santa that Brielle had had a tiny explosion and we were very sorry.  The first picture they got was a little frown because she had just woken up.  I had noticed her dress was messed up a little so I quickly asked if I could fix it and when I did and sat down in front of the camera Brielle spotted me and gave the most adorable smile I could have asked for.  It was the perfect first Santa picture and a great story to go with it. 

The next night was a little less exciting but still a great night.  We tried a few times to get hand prints and footprints so the trial and error was quite interesting.  It was pretty simple to make though.  Salt, flour and water.  Mix, kneed, roll into a ball, flatten, make the impression and bake for three hours at 200 degrees. 

 (This is us torturing my child just so we can have a hand print to gaze upon later in life to remember how tiny she once was.  To me it sounds like it is totally worth it)

 

Rub a Dub Dub, Baby in a Tub

Giving Brielle a bath is so much fun.  She enjoys it so much and usually we have to change out the water a few times because she thinks she can go to the bathroom in the tub.  All we can do is laugh : ).  Tonight baby girl and I had bath time without Chris but it was still fun.  I can't wait until she can sit up on her own so she can splash around and play with toys!

Loves getting her hair washed.

She looks scared right here but she was actually very excited.  Her little legs were just kicking like crazy and she kept making her excited panting like noises.  : )

Christmas With My Mom

My mom came to Tulsa so we could do our Christmas together and so she could watch Brielle for us while we went to my work Christmas party.  It was nice to get out of the house without the baby but we did miss her.  It is getting a little easier to not be sad when we go somewhere without her now. 
 Anyway, so Christmas was fun. Tons of presents which is always fun because who doesn't love opening presents.  I honestly could have gone all Christmas without one gift for myself because I still open up Brielle's for her so it feels like a fun little gift for me too.  We ate at Spaghetti Warehouse because Dave loves that place, went to Bass Pro to look around and buy a few Christmas presents, took family photos and looked around at all the fun shops downtown Tulsa has now.  It was a pretty awesome weekend. 
These are some of the gifts Brielle got this weekend:

We got some awesome family photos as well.  My mom wanted some to send to our family up north so that was a great way for Chris and I to give her another Christmas gift.

 

 

(my favorite picture of Brielle thus far)

 

Three Months Old

Three months old already, only nine more months of being a baby and it is going by so fast.  She is such a blessing to have and I can't go on enough about how lucky I feel to be her mother.  How could God give me such an adorable and sweet little girl to love?  Everyday she seems to be learning something new or doing something different.  Listening to her little laughs and seeing that little smile must be is definitely the highlight to mine and Chris' day. 

Weight: 13.4 lbs

Length: 25 inches
Favorite Toy: She loves her teddy bear, her little turtle that hangs from her car seat and her linking circles. 
Favorite Food: Formula

Favorite Game: She loves when we pretend to nibble on her toes.  She stills loves us to sing and dance with her.  She is starting to like "peek-a-boo".

Sleeping Habits: Sleeps until about 5:00 or 6:00 every morning.  It is very nice.  On the weekends she when she wakes up we will feed her a few ounces and she will go back to sleep and we can sleep in a little longer.

New Skills: She is talking up a storm to us a lot now.  She tries to sit up on her own all the time.  We can hold her and she can stand on her feet.  One morning Chris and I were playing with her in bed.  He was holding her and she just began taking steps all the way to me.  We did a little swap and then she began walking to Chris while I held her.  We both just sat there quiet looking at each other in amazement. 
Size of Clothes: Pretty much out of newborn size clothes.  Some 0-3 month clothes but mostly all 3 month pants and onesies.  Size 1 diapers still but getting close to outgrowing them.

  

  

Baby Coos and Jimmy Choos

Wait, I don't think that is how it goes.  Oh well, but anyway you should hear how much this cutie pie is talking lately.  It's like a switch went off and she found her voice.  She talked before but all of a sudden she is cooing a ton with us.  It is just so precious.

Zzzzzzzz

8 hours, I repeat 8 HOURS.  Ummm did you hear me, 8 HOURS!!!!  Why am I repeating myself, because that's how long Brielle slept last night!  WOO HOO.  Of course I constantly woke up through out the night to make sure she was still breathing (don't worry all you people who don't have children yet and will one day, you will understand why sometime in the future.)  It was amazing.  She is starting to eat more ounces at a time so she stays more full longer which means more sleep for her which in turn means more sleep for mom and dad.  Watch, tonight she will get up more than once ; ).

Road Trip With Mommy

Brielle and I took a road trip to north West Arkansas to do a newborn photo shoot for my friend Nikki.  Brielle was great the whole drive there.  I actually pulled over once to make sure she was still breathing because since she is so tiny right now I can't see her completely in her mirror.  She of course was just fine.  After the photo shoot we visited Jenn at work for a little bit and then went to go see Gigi at work.  She got to walk around and show off Brielle which she loves to do.  We drove back to Tulsa shortly after and it was a great quick trip.

On a more impressive note, she rolled over today from her tummy to her back.  Yea she is two weeks old.  Slow down baby girl, mommy wants to enjoy her baby for awhile!