Now I get it

Now I get it.  There really doesn't seem to be time for anything and the weeks fly by.  We have decided that we are going to put our house on the market soon.   Thought it made perfect sense to battle that stress while just having a baby, learning how to be parents and me going back to work.  Almost like that one time when we graduated from college, moved to a different city, bought our first house, bought our first car, took the bar exam, started our first jobs, got married and took a honeymoon all within six months.  Almost. 

Bryn has been doing okay the last couple of weeks.  She caught her first cold last weekend and is still battling it.  In a weird way, we were glad it finally happened so we can know what to expect.  Now we know how to suck snot like the best of them!  Bryn has been a trooper.  Every once in awhile, she sees the blue sucker and starts to cry, but just as often, she raises her head to give me better access.  I choose to believe that is because she is super smart. 

On the note of brain development, Bryn is now recognizing when toys are dropped or taken away.  Our sweet little girl who is usually full of smiles and laughs now completely loses composure when she doesn't get what she wants.  This is adorable for now and leads to her getting, well, whatever she wants.  We might have to re-address the issue if it is still happening in a few months, but we're pretty sure four month olds don't understand discipline.  If they do, I'm not willing to start it yet.  Nick can try.  I'm happy to see how that works out for him.   

Bryn chillin' with Ms. Blaira!

Becky, Libby and Bryn hanging out.  Libby is the sweetest little girl and it was so great to see them and Trevor! 

Play time with Sophie and Grandma Sterner!  Thank you again Davy for Sophie.  Bryn loves her.  So does Tegan.  Poor dog.  Baby toys should not have squeakers.  Tegan knows she can't touch Sophie, but it doesn't keep her from looking at us like we've committed some ultimate betrayal when we get Sophie out. 

Good laughs!

Sleeping--often with a toy or on Nick.  Not so often with Miller.  I think it is pretty obvious what her opinion is on sharing her toys.

Last, but certainly not least, big shout out to Ms. Sarah Wiles who got engaged last weekend!  We are so happy for you and can't wait to celebrate!

Could be Worse

Well, we made it through the first week of day care and work. It was difficult, but not as bad as I had expected. Bryn's day care really made it as easy as they could for us and we really like them. I call 1-2 times per day and they have always made it seem as if talking to me is not a hassle. It doesn't hurt that they have such wonderful compliments for Bryn either. They said that she made the transition better than most babies and she is really "calm and happy." I guess the only time she fusses is if she is hungry or it is nap time. Hey, a girl's gotta eat. She also really likes the other babies and will talk to them as they crawl by. They told us talking is her favorite thing to do. We didn't fully experience that until today.  They weren't joking.



Every day, they send home a sheet that tells us when she ate, slept, and had her diaper changed. It also has the list of activities they did in each developmental category. For example, her first day, Bryn listened to a book being read (Language Arts), grabbed a duck and was tried to be taught to hand it back (Cognitive Development), learned the sign language for "eat" (Self-help skills) and experienced a new texture by feeling ice in a ziploc bag (Sensory Stimulation). If she were a little older, she also would have painted with a paintbrush to learn the color blue, sang a song and done a butterfly yoga pose. I can't wait to see that some day! All in all, I make myself feel better by thinking she is learning more than she ever would have with me at home.

Looks like Bryn's new typical day, from her point of view, is something like this:

5:30-6:00- Start talking up a storm in my crib. Mom can get up if she wants, but I kind of like to talk for awhile.
6:00- eat
6:20-6:45- play and get dressed.
6:45- Go to day care with Dad. I like to talk with Dad the entire drive and sing country songs with him.
7:00-5:45- play with my friends at day care (see above).
5:45- grin real big at Dad when he picks me up. Talk all the way home.
6:00- grin at mom real big when I come in the door and have patience with her snuggling me.
6:00-7:30- short nap and lots of play time.
7:30- bath-kick my legs in the water
7:45-baby massage from mom.
8:30- eat and go to bed.

The biggest problem is, of course, that we don't get to see her awake more than a few hours a day. Weekends will be very cherished, but 2012 overall has treated us well.

We visited Great-Grandma Mitchell and cheered on the Jayhawks:

We got to see Erin, Lane and Jan for a day and take pictures in matching outfits.  Lane is so adorable!

We celebrated New Years.  We stayed in and played some scrabble after Bryn went to bed.  Oh how times change.  You might be able to tell that we aren't so great at scrabble.  I especially liked "VIN."  Nick didn't challenge it. 

Here are some other fun pictures from the last couple of weeks.  Happy New Years everyone!

Bryn Laughing

Best sound in the world!