Where is the time going?

I cannot believe that this little girl is 12 weeks old! Seriously, where did those weeks go? Brooklynn is getting so big and growing so much (in size, personality, and developmental skill), I just can't believe it. She's not my tiny little infant anymore! She is SO strong!! She stands like a pro and loves doing it. She loves, loves, loves sitting up, whether it be in her bumbo, in someone's lap, or propped up in the boppy. If she is propped up in any fashion she will grunt and groan trying to sit herself up, usually succeeding in getting her shoulders up and forward and she has even succeeded in getting enough momentum to sit forward on a rare occasion. There is no doubt in my mind that she is going to be a very active child, she is almost always on a constant move! She has always mover her arms like crazy, and now she is kicking like crazy.

What a cutie pie! Can't get enough of her!!

She seems to be becoming more and more aware of herself and things around her.She has more control of her arms and hands and is able to grab onto things. She's finally figured out that there are toys in her playmat and that she can grab onto them!

Such a smart cookie!

She continues to love her hand and always finds a way to interwine her fingers and they are almost always in her face. She has a newfound love of sucking on things, so her intertwined hands also often find themselves into her mouth (yes at the same time).

Her other newfound love is talking. She has turned into such a talker, we can't get her to stop! She loves talking so much that she will stop eating after just a few minutes so that she can talk to me! I don't think she is my daughter if talking is more interesting to her than eating!! She just might give her Aunt Ali a run for her money!

Heading out for a Saturday morning walk!

Who needs a carseat when you have a trunk!?!

Words cannot even express how much I love this little girl! She is such a blessing and a joy in our lives. I am so grateful to have the wonderful opportunity to stay home with her and spend so much time with her. She continues to constantly amaze me. Call me biased, but I think she is the smartest baby ever and I love her bright smiling face. I don't know how it's possible, but every time she smiles at me I fall deeper in love with her! 

Blessing and other fun

Brooklynn is just conquering each week! She is growing like a champ and impressing us daily. 

Her new thing is spitting. She blow bubbles with her saliva and then she will literally spit it out. It makes for a wet shirt front for her or a wet shoulder for whoever is holding her! She is getting stronger and stronger and wants so bad to be sitting up by herself. I've been putting her in her bumbo chair more and she is getting so good at keeping herself upright and not wobbling. When she is sitting on your propped up knees she tries to sit herself up and will successfully get her shoulders in the air. When I was taking her 10 week picture yesterday she was doing the same thing with the boppy (you can see in the picture how she is holding herself up). She is such a strong little girl and will be sitting up on her own in no time! She is even starting to become more aware of herself as well. I am pretty sure that she has discovered that she has feet! The other day in the car she was looking down and reaching for them and a few days ago I gave her her feet and she was so happy to touch them. She is also figuring out what her hands do. She grabs on to things more frequently and is even using her hands to bring things to her mouth. What a smart cookie!

She's always got her arms moving it's hard to get a picture without one, or both, of them doing something crazy!

So I don't know if you have noticed in Brooklynn's pictures, but she is a little obsessed with her hands! They are always by her face in some fashion, and now they are very often in her mouth. We do not have a thumb/finger sucker though, we have a fist sucker! She loves her some fist!

Who needs a pacifier when you have a fist!

We had quite a busy weekend this past weekend. My Grandma Perkins and Aunt Nancy came in on Thursday afternoon, Ali & Kyle's reception was on Friday, and Brooklynn was blessed on Sunday. Whew! It was jam packed and whirlwind but it wasn't too much. We've been enjoying spending time with Grandma and Aunt Nancy and introducing them to Brooklynn. My Grandma Perkins is Brooklynn's only Great Grandparent still with us, so it has been really special to be able to have this time for them to meet and spend time together. 

Meeting Great Grandma Perkins for the first time!

Spending some time with Aunt Nancy

Ali and Kyle had a beautiful reception on Friday night. It was in our friends backyard which was the perfect backdrop and the weather was pretty much perfect. They had delicious cheesecake bites (made by my mom and Ali) and grilled cheese! My dad has teased us forever about serving grilled cheese at our weddings, I was very adamant about not having grilled cheese at my reception, but Ali called him on it! It was actually pretty popular, everyone seemed to really enjoy it! 

 

What a great couple! We are so glad to have Kyle in our family!

Enjoying their cheesecake! No smashing at this reception!

Ali getting as much time with Brooklynn as she can before moving back to Utah. We are going to miss Auntie Ali!!

Cousin Bryson enjoying the grilled cheese!!

Look at that face! How could you not love this little one?!?!

Sunday was such a special day for us. We were so happy to have Grandma and Aunt Nancy with us as well as Ali and Kyle still here to be able to witness Brooklynn's blessing (as well as the rest of our families!). Brooklynn was able to wear my great-grandfather's (Grandma Perkins' dad) christening gown, which is the blessing gown that my sisters and I all wore, so it made the day even more special to have her wear that beautiful handmade gown.

 Eric gave Brooklynn a beautiful blessing. We truly are so blessed to have a beautiful, smart baby girl and we are so grateful that our Heavenly Father has entrusted us with one of His children. She is such a joy to watch grow and develop and I hope and pray that we will be able to teach her all that she needs to know in order to be prepared to return to Him someday. She definitely will not be short of love from us, or from her aunts and uncles and grandparents, and hopefully she will not be short of spiritual example and guidance as well.

Gotta Get a Move On!!

In case you didn't check out this video on Eric's blog I thought that I would post it as well. Brooklynn is definitely a leg kicker and always has to have them moving. When we put her on the bed in one of our hotels she was trying to get somewhere in deed. If she was able to control her upper half better and move her arms then I think she would have been gone! Before we got this video she was moving her lower half so much that she was ramming her face into the bed with her bum in the air. It was so cute! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the camera before she got frustrated and was ready to be done! Keep trying Little One!!

Are we there yet??

I know, it's a little late!

So last week we went to Utah for Ali's wedding, and yes, we drove! It was our first long car ride with Brooklynn (the farthest we have gone before our Utah trip was Yakima!). Brooklynn has had a love-hate relationship with her carseat and being in the car since the day she was born. We have had many nights coming home from my parents house where she would scream the whole way home! Considering her history of being in the car she did really well. We drove straight through (from Eric's parents house in Wapato) on the way there. We were traveling for 11 hours and only stopped for a picnic lunch and a carseat break just outside of Boise. Brooklynn was the perfect little traveler until just outside of Salt Lake. She had a few moments of fussiness but other than that she slept pretty much the whole way. 

Look at that tired little traveler!

The drive home was a whole different story! We broke it up into two days, stopping in Boise the first night, and after spending 4 days in the  car Brooklynn was beyond done! We had to stop every few hours to console her as she would start screaming! She wouldn't even sleep longer than an hour without waking up screaming. Poor little baby! I promised her a break from her carseat and so we are staying home all day today!

We're in the car again?!?!

We had a great time in Utah visiting family and friends and most importantly attending Ali & Kyle's sealing. 

Congrats Ali & Kyle!

Brooklynn did great in unfamiliar surroundings and loved being passed around to Aunts and Cousins who wanted to love on her! I think we pretty much ran her ragged as we were out and about and she didn't always get a good nap in. But she slept well at night and even let us sleep in until 9:00 when she went back to sleep after all her night feedings. 

Looking beautiful for the wedding!

It's very tiring being so cute!

Brooklynn hit a few milestones while we were gone. She turned 2 months old the day of Ali's wedding! I cannot even believe how fast the last 2 months have gone. It is so amazing to watch our little girl grow. I love how observant she is, she has to take everything in and is not happy unless she is able to see every corner of a room. She really is pretty mellow and content to just be. She has been a good sleeper from 3 weeks on and I don't think that I could ask for a better baby! Speaking of sleeping, the night before Ali's wedding Brooklynn surprised me and slept 8 hours straight! I almost couldn't believe it! (She even repeated her amazingness last night as well!). I hope that this is the start of something great! 

That's right, this little just slept 8 hours straight (and then another 3 after eating)!!

My two babies sleeping peacefully!

She has also started drooling! Before our trip she had definitely started slobbering and would soak your shoulder if you left her up there too long. But while we were in Utah she started soaking her front! She loves to blow bubbles with her saliva and then she just lets it dribble on down! 

Notice the drool accumulating!

We had her 2 month appointment when we got home. Brooklynn is now 11 lbs 23 5/8 inches. She is in the 95th percentile for height and 70th percentile for weight. We always hear how tiny she is from people who stop to admire her, but she is definitely above average! I love Brooklynn's Doctor, she is so nice and takes the time explain things about her development. I think that Brooklynn likes her as well because as soon as I put down on the table to be checked out she was smiling. It was actually the easiest I have ever seen Brooklynn give a smile to anyone (maybe aside from my mom). I am very happy to report that Brooklynn is a healthy baby! And her Doctor was very impressed with her ability to hold up head, she said that Brooklynn is at a 4th month level in that regard. Way to go Little One!!

Sitting up on her own in her Bumbo!

It's also fun to eat our Bumbo!

 I am also very happy to report that Brooklynn's hair is growing! Her peach fuzz on the top of her head is no longer fuzz! There is actually length to it! So exciting!!

She's getting SO big!!

Some more pictures, just because she's so cute!!

She's getting so good at standing!

We love bathtime!

Spending time with Aunt Ali before she went off to get married