5 months

I'm really starting to sound like a broken record but I really can't believe Kenley is 5 months old as of yesterday. It really does seem strange. Sometimes it feels likes she has been around forever and other times it feels like yesterday when I saw her sweet little face for the first time and she grabbed my thumb. I can't imagine life without her and wouldn't want to try. I am amazed to see how fast she grows and how she learns. Her hair is coming back in nicely and it's almost as if she gets more each day at the sitter's. She started food last month and isn't a huge fan yet. She makes some of the funniest faces with the flavors and texture but she is a trooper and tries it all. She is a happy baby (a majority of the time) and Clay and I both love the smiles and the giggles she gives. Here is a picture of our lil' stinks on the day she turned 5 months old.
She is learning how to smile for the camera ;o)

 We can't wait to see what each new day brings with this wonderful little girl!!

Yes, I'm to blame for this hot look

Okay so this outfit is my fault but she only had it on for a few seconds...

I wanted to make sure her swimsuit fit and the bottoms looked so small. I was also trying out some of the cute new bows I found at Target. I won't keep the bow in the front that far but she kept turning her head so it moved around a bit. I can't wait to get her in her swimsuit this weekend and see that cute pudgy belly stick out. I hope she likes the water. More pictures to come.

Knock, Knock.... Who's there?

This weekend was a weekend full of wonderful visitors.

Saturday morning my Aunt Judy and Uncle Vern (who live in AZ) came to visit. They were in Decatur for their grandson's 8th grade graduation and made the drive up to Normal to meet Kenley.

After a nice visit with them, my friend (and college roommate) Alissa came to spend the day with Kenley and me.

We had some Wendy's for lunch and made a trip to the mall (where of course Kenley got a new outfit). We ended the day with a few laughs at the musical stylings of Alissa singing some "Thong song" to Kenley.



Sunday was another special day filled with wonderful visitors. The Farris Family (Russ, Heidi, Ryan, and Dylan) came to visit. This was a visit that had been moved several times in the past due to someone being sick and last weekend moved again due to Kenley having her 1st cold, but this weekend found us all healthy. Here is Kenley finally meeting everyone.

We had a wonderful visit and went to eat lunch at Olive Garden. Of course, it was the same time Kenley decided it was her turn to eat, so she got priority feeding. Surprising though, my food was still STEAMING when I got to dig in. After OG, we went to Toys R Us, where Dylan and Ryan checked out all the Legos and Batman toys. Kenley did find a very amusing WONDER PET toy of Linnie (I think he is a guinea pig) dressed up as a chick and singing a song with very made up lyrics. After the adventure we came back to the Hotel Brockman for some more visiting and some pictures. Both of the boys held Kenley and it looks like Dylan even put on some moves throwing his arm over her shoulder like a date.

And Kenley had a great time playing with everyone. Heidi got some good chuckles out of her too while playing with the cute teddy bear they brought her.

After the Farris family headed back home, Kenley ate and took a nap (almost 2 hours). I had to lay with her for part of it, but she must have been out good since we had to wake her up for dinner and bathtime.

All in all another wonderful (How many times did I use that word in this post?) weekend and we are thankful for all of our friends and family. We were so happy to spend our time visiting and hanging out with all of you this weekend. We definitely need to do it again soon!

Updates

We learned this weekend that COLD + CONSTIPATION = poor baby that is unable to sleep (which means mom and dad can't sleep either). Poor little Kenley had her first cold. She was very snotty and couldn't breathe (which is part of the reason I think she had trouble sleeping).  She was relatively good throughout the weekend but you could tell she was beyond tired and something just wasn't right. She wasn't her normal "smiley bug" self and although we got a few smiles and giggles they were much harder to come by. Saturday night we ended up on the couch cuddled and would wake up every 30-45 minutes just screaming ;o(  Of course I didn't know exactly what was wrong or how to fix it so I just rocked her and cuddled her back to sleep. Sunday and Sunday night were a little better but she still woke up quite often so we all played hookie and spent a sick day home with her yesterday.  She has been taking 2 hour naps each morning which is completely out of the norm for her but she is starting to feel MUCH better and had a good day at the sitter's today.


I also took some pictures this weekend like it was our own photo shoot. I took them on Saturday before I realized she was getting sick. She only had a runny nose but was acting fine so I turned her into my own little head of lettuce.

I actually took the pictures for my mom. I guess this little outfit (and matching blanket in the next pictures) used to be mine. I think Kenley looked adorable but I didn't know what to put under it so we just rocked the diaper.

I think I got a couple good ones. Now I need a picture of me in the same outfit from 30 years ago to compare.
After our little photo shoot we got dressed for the day and wore our new HOT PINK Flamingo onesie for Grandpa Brockman (who we were going to see later that day.)

It was too cold for short sleeves so I took a picture to show it off and then we put on some long sleeves to stay warm.

Another time that I enjoy taking her picture is when she eats. We are having fun trying new things but she makes some of the funniest faces and the biggest messes. She isn't quite sure about it all and neither is her little belly (hence the constipation mentioned earlier) but I think we will get the hang of it. Us Brockmans are big eaters so I'm sure she will be too.

I also can't believe how BIG she is getting. Tonight she hung out in her swing for a few minutes so I could finish eating dinner and she almost doesn't fit.

Such a big change from these pictures taken what feels like ages ago...

 And finally she is just learning so quickly. She will now see something and want it, so she will reach out and TAKE it. This happened tonight at bathtime when daddy tried to rinse her with the warm water.
She wanted the cup, so she TOOK it.

and then of course, she tried to eat it.

Can't put my favorite bath time picture on since it shows a little too much baby but I thought the ones above were cute. We will save that embarrassing picture for later down the road when she brings her boyfriends home to meet us.. ha!

Well there you have it. A few updates from the Brockman household. Hope these find you all well and having a good week. I can't believe tomorrow is already Wed and another week is half over.

My first Mother's Day

Today I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mother. Kenley woke up at the regular time (around 7am) and we had some snuggles after she ate. Then I curled back up in bed for another half hour before we all got up and had cinnamon rolls. After breakfast, Clay and Kenley gave me my gift(s). And although she looks really surprised in this picture, it was super cute to have her bring me the box.

Yes it is a jewelry box. Kenley gave me earrings for Mother's Day. They are Blue Topaz which happens to be the birthstone for December and therefore Kenley's birthstone. I love them! They are bigger than I'm used to wearing but they are just PERFECT. Thanks Kenley!! Clay also got me a gift for my 1st Mother's Day. I get to either go to the spa for a massage or facial or go get a mani/pedi. Given it is summertime, I will most likely opt for the pedi but we will see.
After breakfast we all go up and dressed for the day. We invited all the grandparents up to spend the day with us so that we could celebrate Mother's Day with our wonderful Grandmas (and our wonderful Grandpa too.) I decided we needed lots of pictures...
Here is a picture of just Kenley and me (is that the right way to say it??)

Then more pictures with the grandmas...

We had a little cookout for lunch featuring burgers, hot dogs, beans, pasta salad, and chips & dip. YUM! After lunch we all took a walk in the wonderful sunny afternoon. Kenley enjoyed it and even rode in the stroller like a big girl without the carrier. She loved it!

and she rocked the super cute hat we got from "Tizzy Dee on Etsy"  (Check it out if you haven't. Courtney makes very creative and fun hats, accessories, and such!!!)

After the walk, we all had some banana cake for dessert and then Daddy and Grandpa put up new lights on the house while Kenley ate some cold carrots and warm cereal. Weird combo but she enjoyed it and ate like a big girl!!! Shortly after Kenley's dinner, everyone left to head home and Kenley headed to bed. It was a fast but very enjoyable Mother's Day. I am blessed to have such a wonderful little girl and I can not put into words how deeply I love her and can't imagine a single moment without her. Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms that read this blog. Hope you all had wonderful days too!!!

Another post about pumping (and a weird one at that)

Few random thoughts either about pumping or I had while pumping. They are all over the board but keep popping in my head so it's time to get them out.

• In my quest to use each of my corporate "mommy" rooms, I have successfully used 2 of the 3. I now use the one in the CSB (Customer Service Building) on a regular basis. I have standing meetings over there every Thursday and Friday morning so I usually just pump there before going back to my building due to the timing. However, the room there is not as glamorous as the one in the main corporate building that I wrote about in the past. In fact, the room is quite flawed. It is a small room featuring 2 oversized bathroom stalls with cluttered tables and crappy chairs.   It is located in a very high traffic area so you almost run into people on the way in and the way out and they give you the strangest looks wondering why you are entering or emerging from a room they didn't know existed. It is hotter than HADES itself in that room too, so I feel like I almost sweat more than I can pump sometimes. (Gross! I KNOW!) Oh and it is situated right by the "back" room of the cafeteria so its LOUD. You just hear the cafeteria workers in there banging away or talking. Very distracting and almost like you are just pumping in the wide open. I don't know how Mel survived using that room so much. I prefer my non standard conference room in the basement of our building hands down. Now only one more room to check out in the FSB (Financial Services Building) and my overall review will be complete... just have to think of a way to get over there...hmmm....
• Do you pump too much if pumping makes it into your dreams? I have to say probably so. Well, last night I had a dream about pumping. I went in to pump and it was a large room like a hospital room you see in movies with the beds lined up down each side. Instead of hospital beds they were really just cots and a few phone booths at the end. (I have no idea where the phone booths came from.) There was also a pump "warden" for lack of a better term that monitored the "halls" and kept everyone in line. In last night's dream I was so upset because when I went in to take care of my business, we had mandatory video time and they showed some weird film about a deceased person (the details get a little fuzzy here but it was very strange) So I couldn't pump until the film was over and I threw a fit because it was called the "pump" room and not the video room, so I got thrown out. Go figure! Weird Weird Weird!!!
• The last random thought isn't necessarily about pumping but does relate to breastfeeding. How do you think breastfeeding started? What random woman (or not so random if it was Eve herself) decided to try latching their new baby onto their breast as the sole source of nutrition? What ever gave them the idea? Where did they find the motivation to work through those first few days/weeks to keep going? Can you imagine the conversation trying to convince your friends or relatives to try it too? (I know, I know, yes, I am weird)

Wonderful Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend this past weekend.

Friday, we took Kenley to her 4 month check-up. The doctor's office moved upstairs in the building and for some reason Dr. Kane had new nurses. Clay wasn't fond of the new nurses necessarily. I guess we were used to the way the other nurse did it and liked her a bit more.  We were surprised when Miss Kenley got to the scale. She topped it off at 15lbs and 0.5 oz (I like to count that little 1/2 ounce but the file will officially say 15lbs). WHOA CHUNKER! She was also 25.5 inches long although we think this is wrong since the lady didn't really get her leg straight so I'm gonna say 26 inches is prob more accurate.  Both of these stats keep her in the 75th-80th percentile still. Of course we ended Friday's appt with SHOTS! OUCH! She did not like care for them. It wasn't that she was crying because they hurt. She was crying because she was PISSED. I love that she has a little temper. It makes Clay and I laugh.  When we got home from the doctor I had expected her to eat. It was after 2pm and she hadn't eaten since 11am at the sitter. However, she had other plans. She just wanted to be. She didn't end up eating until bedtime around 630. It was nuts! She went to bed like a champ and slept like one too.

Saturday my mom was over to help watch Kenley so Clay could do some yardwork and I could do some spring cleaning. I wanted to get the blinds in the kitchen and livingroom clean and then get all the windows and windowsills washed. It is a boring task for cleaning and very time consuming but I got it all done and my mom and Kenley had a great day together. They enjoyed storytime, playtime, and took a walk. They chatted about their day and Kenley turned into quite the jabber jaws telling me all about it. (She also hasn't stopped chatting yet. She's gonna be a talker like me! Watch out Clay!) We caught one funny video of her talking.


It just makes me laugh to hear her chatter. It's like she is trying to tell us something and we just don't quite understand yet. She does it all the time now. She has also started trying to go "bbbbbbbb" with her lips. I don't know how to explain it but it's super cute. I'll try to get a video of that soon too.
During her walk with grandma they also stopped to pick mommy a "flower."  Guess it will be one of many dandelions I will receive over time as she grows ;o)

Saturday night also brought a new FIRST. We had CEREAL for the first time. She did rather well. She will open her mouth and then close it around the spoon. I think she was able to keep a little in. She made some very funny faces and seemed to enjoy the experience.

Sunday we had a nice relaxing day. We woke up from our morning nap and decided to do some snuggle time with mommy. As a result, Kenley and I both slept another 1.5 hours that morning in the fresh air. It was some good snuggle time! The rest of Sunday was spent playing and shopping. We went to the mall and Kenley had a bad experience. She blew out the diaper, onesie, pants, and into the carseat. She did not care for the hard cold plastic of the changing station at the JC Penny's bathroom. She whailed endlessly. You would have thought I was torturing her. She did settle down long enough for one lady to say she was cute and she was much happier once we got changed and back in the car to go home.

All in all the weekend went too quickly (as it always does.) I'm looking forward to this next weekend already too as we go to D-town Friday for my mom's mother/daughter banquet at her church and will celebrate my first mother's day on Sunday. Kenley and Clay have been discussing what my gift will be but she is making her daddy go buy it since she doesn't have a licnese or an income right now.

Hope everyone is having a great week!!