4th of July Weekend

Anyone besides me think that it doesn't really feel like the 4th of July when it's on Sunday?

It was weird watching fireworks as we drove home last night. I was like, "Oh yeah, it's the 4th!"

So because of it being Sunday our 4th was pretty low-key, which it probably would have been anyways since I'm still not too keen on doing to much with our little one.

Somehow I managed to go the whole day without taking any pictures, which really is unfortunate because my mom made Brooklynn the cutest little 4th of July dress. I guess that means I'll just have to put it on her again and take a picture later! Anyways, our celebration started with a BBQ at our house with Eric's brother and sister and their families. It's always fun to have the cousins get together (even if 2 of them are way too young to interact with the others)! Best part of the BBQ? Homemade ice cream! Homemade ice cream is the best and pretty much brings a happy ending to any get together! In fact, when I was growing up homemade ice cream was the only time that I would eat vanilla! 

After our BBQ we went over to the Olson's to see my family and show off Brooklynn (that seriously was my motivation for going....I think everyone needs the pleasure of meeting my little beauty!). So we enjoyed the company there and had a wonderful "FHE" lesson before we got to enjoy some fireworks. Fortunately for us, it was a good night for Brooklynn. She's been getting fussy in the evenings, but not yesterday! (Probably because she would only take cat naps after church so she was wiped out and slept the whole time!).

Today we went on a hike with Eric's brother and sister. It was supposed to be a pretty easy kid-friendly hike that Eric's sister found in a book she has of hikes for kids. Well, Eric has a day hike book and while the hikes had the same name in both books they were not the same in difficulty level. The hike we ended up on had huge inclines and was way more than I bargained for. And now, a few hours after being done, I think it was way more than I should have done considering it's only been 4 weeks since my c-section. We're a little sore tonight! Live and learn right?!

It is so hard to believe that our baby girl is 4 weeks old today! Time is flying by so fast. I swear when we woke up this morning she looked different to me and she is starting to lose the infant look. For the last few weeks she has been a really good sleeper, which I am grateful beyond words for! She will normally go down anywhere between 10:00 and 11:00 pm and then, depending on her last feeding will be up some time between 2:00 and 3:30 and then again sometime between 5:30 and 7:00. Maybe she'll be sleeping through the night soon! Brooklynn is such an alert baby and when she is awake she loves to take everything in. And I feel like she is more becoming more aware of people around her. She is beginning to follow people as they go by and sometimes when you talk to her (but you are out of luck if she has found a good corner to stare into to!) She is a very complacent baby and will just sit there and stare (although that doesn't always last very long if she's not being held by someone). I have always been amazed by her strength. From the day that she was born she has been so strong! When we went to our first doctor's appointment she was on her stomach being checked out and practically doing push ups! It's always fun to try to burp her on your shoulder because she usually doesn't want her head to be resting. She will hold her head up for up to 30 seconds! The weird thing is that she really only is interested in lifting her head when she is on your chest or shoulder, she's not so much interested in that when she is having tummy time! She can also be a pretty stiff baby. She will go so rigid sometimes and it is impossible to move any of her body parts, which is especially fun if you are trying to change her or when I'm trying to feed her! I am constantly amazed by her and I am so excited for this next stage of development. Bring on the cooing, the increase alertness and awareness and definitely bring on the smiles (I think they are close)!