Daddy's Big Girl...

She truly is a BIG GIRL NOW!

Yesterday was Brooke's 2 month check-up (even though she'll be 11 weeks tomorrow!)...and let's just say that it has taken me this long to get her settled enough to even THINK about blogging! Poor little thing...

She did fantastically throughout the check-up with Dr. Sheilah! We were so proud - and also very happy to have had a very sweet nurse this time around. Last time, I wasn't too sure about the staff at FHA, but this time was much better...

The best part of the whole appointment was stripping Brooke down to weigh and measure her! I was shocked to hear that our little Beam was 12 pounds 5 ounces and 23 inches long!! SHE'S HUGE! Well actually, she's still considered pretty small! Dr. Sheilah kept saying she was 'just a little peanut!' To Mommy and Daddy however, having a 12 pound-er is just crazy! I guess it's just proof that we're doing SOMETHING right...she's eating and growing and is very healthy!

So that was the easy part...

Next came the shots! ALL...THREE...OF...THEM! She was first given an oral medication, directly followed by the shots. I've been trying to prepare myself for this for weeks...just knowing that she would be in pain broke my heart!

The nurse, who must have said "I really don't want to do this to you, Brooke!" about 10 times, positioned Brookie so that Daddy could be at her head, I could be right beside her, and so she could be scooped up into Mommy's arms as soon as the yucky shots were over! And that's just what we did! I keep trying to block out the image I have in my mind of her little face after that first stab - God lover her, she had no idea what was happening and just wanted the pain to stop! And that CRY! Oh the cry! It was definitely different than any we've ever heard...and I hated it! I'm pretty sure I cried as much as she did...

And Zig... Brooke had calmed down in my arms, so Zig took her while I got all of her things ready. He gave her lots of kisses in order to get rid of the tears and told her "You're a BIG GIRL now hunny! Daddy will have to buy you something!"

His heart was absolutely broken for her - and he was willing to do whatever or BUY whatever it took to make the pain stop! What a good Daddy! We'll have to remember that as Brookie gets bigger!

The rest of the day was a little 'ouchie' for all 3 of us! Brooke was fast asleep by the time we put her into her seat at the doctor's office to go home, and with the help of Tylenol, we figured she'd get a good nap! She slept the whole way home and an hour passed her feeding time. When she woke up, she was happy and smiling, so I thought maybe she would be fine for the rest of the day. After she ate and took another long (Tylenol induced) nap, she woke up in hysterics! It was over an hour before she was due to eat again but it seemed that a bottle was all she wanted! So we ate...and screamed...and slept...and screamed...and screamed...and screamed...and slept...

She was just 'ouchie' - and for as much as she uses her little legs to kick and stand on Mommy's lap, I'm sure she was sore and just not used to that kind of feeling!

She didn't sleep very well through the night either - she was up a few times every hour just whimpering...broke my heart. She woke up smiling this morning and seems to be doing just fine... So hopefully, the shots and pain in her legs will soon just be a distant memory! Just in time to do it again in 8 weeks! HOORAY!

Still sleeping in her carseat after the S-H-O-T-S!

In other news, we GREATLY enjoyed a trip to Carlisle for Brooke's first Thanksgiving last weekend! We hit her nap times perfectly, so she slept the whole way there and the whole way home! Yes!

We had such a great visit with everyone - and can't wait to do it all over again at our house for Christmas!

Well DUH! Of COURSE we had an outfit perfect for our baby's 1st Thanksgiving! And yep - we have 2 more for our next 2 Thanksgivings this week!

Grammy's latest project for 'her girls!' An old highchair to decorate with their names and hand prints. Needless to say, Marlee and Brooke's handprints didn't turn out too well - but Princess Zoe's was perfect!

As the princess sleeps...enjoy a few of our latest snapshots!

Big Girl can hold her head up!

Check out our new FAVORITE blanket! It's soft and warm and makes the perfect tummy time blanket! Thanks Vicki and Danielle!

Mommy's Helper...

She's just the best!

These pictures are of her sitting in her bouncy-seat in the kitchen while she watched me make supper for Daddy! We were having one of those days where Mommy needed to be in her line of sight for the entire day - so she came with me into the kitchen to prepare supper! She smiled and squealed as I explained each step of my tater-tot casserole - we popped it in the oven and waited for Daddy to get home! This was new recipe that I probably wouldn't recommend to anyone - but I've been trying some new things... Having Brooke be my supper-helper was the best part of this new experimental meal!

The 'Snowbunny' outfit she is wearing in these pictures is probably Mommy's new favorite! It's a 0-3 month size, so I knew I needed to wear it on her soon - and with the snow flurries that have been making an appearance in the area, I thought this was the perfect time! The weather is getting colder - and with my house already prepared for the holidays (with the exception of outside decorations), I'm getting more and more excited about the holiday outfits that Brooke has to wear!

I'm spending part of today washing up her 3 - yes 3 - Thanksgiving outfits and her wide variety of Christmas outfits! This will be the only year that I will be able to dress Brooke in 'holiday first' outfits - so I'm going ALL OUT! I can't wait to take lots of pictures of her in these outfits and post them on here for all to see!

Anyway - beyond the world of clothes and girlie things - Miss Beamer is getting stronger and growing more every second! I swear, every time she takes a nap and wakes up, she looks different than she did before she fell asleep! She's changing her looks and getting heavier! She's just awesome!

Brooke is also sleeping through the night! Without any help from cereal or baby food, she sleeps from about 10:00 pm to 8:00 am! Cool, huh!!?? She's a big girl now!

We spend time on our tummy and our back every day! Although her neck is incredibly strong when you're holding her and she basically sits up by herself in your arms, she doesn't hold her head up yet while she's on her tummy! We're still working on that... We're also working on rolling over! I know it's really early for her to be rolling on her own - but we practice - just incase she's advanced for her age!

We enjoyed a visit with Great Grammy Janet and Great Pappy George in Belletown a few nights ago! We're sort of the Wray family outcasts because we don't live in Belletown, so it takes great effort to coordinate a visit with the family! We see them a lot between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we have been trying to get extra visits with them since Brooke was born! Enjoy a few pictures of her with Gram and Pap!

We are looking forward to our first Thanksgiving celebration with Grammy Kathy, John, Uncle Scub, Aunt Stephanie, Zoe and Marlee in Carlisle this weekend! Mommy is a little nervous about the long car ride - since Brooke isn't always the best passenger in the car! I have a feeling it'll be a long ride...there AND back... I'm sure we'll have TONS of pictures of her adorable turkey outfits in a few days!

Until then, enjoy a few more pics of our gorgeous girl!

Yep - she's watching Brad Pitt on Oprah! Good Girl!

Kinda looks like a mug shot!

The Notebook

ABCFamily has started playing a few holiday movies, and in my attempt to look ahead on the TV schedule and record some holiday movies to watch this season, I was able to catch "The Notebook" and schedule it to record.

"The Notebook" is probably my most favorite movie (tied with "The Wizard of Oz," "Mary Poppins," and "The Sound of Music!") - and the reason it's my favorite is mostly due to its sentimental value. The story of Alli and Noah is so close to my heart -

I remember an evening nearly 4 years ago, when I sat in my parents basement (before it was "Club Bob") and watched "The Notebook" for the very first time. I was dating someone other than Zig at the time - but found myself in tears for most of the movie because I knew at that moment that Zig was 'my Noah,' and that somehow, some way, we would find each other again.

The story of young but very true love was a reminder that the love Zig and I had was real from the beginning. It never mattered where we were, or who we were seeing at the time, Zig and I always came back to each other.

Throughout our college years, Zig and I were apart for close to 4 years - but it never seemed to change the fact that he was my first and truest love. Somehow, my thoughts always came back to him. No matter how many people told me that we would get back together - I fought it - and I continued to date other people who I thought I was meant to be with, and maybe even marry!

In the movie, the very moment that Alli accepts the proposal of Lan, the extremely rich southern gentleman, Noah's face popped into her head. I remember having many of those moments while dating the two other men I was with. Many, MANY times, I found myself comparing them to Zig - never speaking my thoughts - but wondering what a situation would have been like with him instead of them.

We always had contact with each other -
I remember a day during the summer of 2004... I was working as a waitress at a local restaurant and as far as I knew, Zig was living life on his own... During my break, he called my cell phone from OUT WEST! This was very Zig-like! Even though we were both dating other people, we talked quite often... He called to tell me he was moving to South Carolina to pursue his dream of moving 'away' and building a new life at CCU... He called me when he had made the decision to move back home... He called me to warn me about rumors that were circling about me... For whatever reason, things were never 'over' with us - no matter how hard we tried to fight it.

In January 2005, when Brandon and Amanda were getting married, and Zig and I were both in the wedding party, we spent the night celebrating our friends and ended up rekindling a flame that had never truly died.

There is a moment in the movie when Alli and Noah are falling in love on southern beaches, splashing in the waves and watching seagulls dive for fish. Alli decides that if she were to die and be reincarnated - she would come back as a bird! She flaps her arms and 'caws' like a bird as Noah laughs and thinks she's crazy! Alli insists that Noah agree that she could be a bird and makes him announce that she, in fact, is a bird! His love for her brings him to this realization:
"If you're a bird, I'm a bird."

At that moment of the movie, I looked at my husband and said "Ziggy, if you're a bird, I'm a bird." He smiled and said "See...that's why I love you so much! I have the best wife ever!"

We then started talking about what that really meant and I told him about the day I cried as I watched this movie and thought only of him. As we thought about how far we've really come in the 11 years we've known each other - and the best part of our lives together - all we could do was look at our gorgeous daughter and say "and look what we have now."

So - My dearest Ziggy -
If you're a bird, I'm a bird - for the rest of our lives, I love you! Thank you for loving me and for the greatest gift of all - our daughter.



Alli: I was afraid you were never coming back.
Noah: I'll always come back.
Alli: What's going to happen when I can't remember anything anymore? What will you do?
Noah: I'll be here - I'll never leave you.
Alli: I need to ask you something.
Noah: What is it, sweetheart?
Alli: Do you think that our love could create miracles?
Noah: Yes I do. That's what brings you back to me each time.
Alli: Do you think our love could take us away together?
Noah: I think our love can do anything we want it to.
Alli: I love you.
Noah: I love you, darling.
Alli: Goodnight.
Noah: Goodnight. I'll be seeing you...