ELMO

I have a lot to post about but I'm tired and headed to bed. I will try to catch you all up tomorrow about the incredibly LONG day we had Monday and Kenley. We have had a little bout with a respiratory infection and another ear infection, but tonight after work (and a day at Daddy Daycare) she is acting more like herself, so we caught her telling us who her new favorite friend is.... ELMO! Thought it may make you smile. It definitely makes us smile.

HI Megan!

Hi Megan! Hope you have a good weekend ;o) Thanks for reading our blog.

Life for the Brockmans

Clay came home from work yesterday and said that I was in trouble. One of his co-workers (who is a friend of mine and reads this blog) wanted to know why it hadn't been updated since 3/16. My quick response was that I didn't have anything to blog about.

Now I guess that's not entirely true so here goes.

Life for the Brockmans can be described as a busy routine right now. Weeks are flying by and weekends are a blur. Both Clay and I are fairly busy at work with different projects. My calendar is filled with meetings and leaves me wondering when I will ever actually be at my desk to get any work done. Our nights go just as quickly. After work and picking up Kenley we figure out dinner and have either been trying to enjoy the recent warm weather with wagon rides or trips out to the lot to check on the house. Then it's usually bathtime and bedtime before we know it. And after getting Kenley in bed, Clay and I haven't been too far behind. I don't know if we are still recovering from the time change or just feeling the wrath of long days.

On Kenley's side of things... all 4 of her molars finally popped through! YIPPIE! She doesn't really let me see in there but occasionally I can sneak a finger in there to feel their sharp points coming through. She is sleeping well again at night but still has a bit of a rattle. She just needs to learn how to clear her throat. I wonder when kids learn to do that? Her hair is going curly and it's super cute but VERY UNRULEY (is that spelled right?)  Even after I brush it she has random curls shooting out over her ears or on the back of her head. I'll try to get a new picture to show it. It's also getting long enough that it hangs in her eyes sometimes. I tried to do piggies last weekend but she wanted nothing to do with it so I let it be.  She is enjoying the warmer weather and wants to constantly be outside if she can. She will even forgo a nap to play outside so we may have a long grumpy summer ahead of us.

On the home front, our box is coming along. They have the interior framed and were working on the Envirodry yesterday and should be doing the roof soon too. Clay and I are starting to get into decision mode and picking out doors, windows, siding, brick, flooring, cabinets. You name it and we have to pick it at some point I'm sure. We are also shopping for new bedding for everyone so that we can pick out new paint colors. I think we will do Kenley's room in either yellows or purples. Those seem to be the colors I'm gravitating towards. Our bedroom is still up in the air (if you ask me).  We make a few trips out there each week for pictures and updates. Kenley LOVES running around and ducking through the "walls." She also likes going up the stairs like a big girl.

So I guess I've bounced all over the place here. I do have one picture of "our little box" and its progress to share. Stay tuned for more...

Glad to have our girl back and other updates

I've been meaning to post since Sunday night. At that time it was going to be titled, "Can I have another weekend?" Even though I technically lost an hour last weekend springing forward, it was a LONG weekend. Something took my wonderful daughter hostage and replaced her with a fussy, crabby, refusing to nap, clingy, screaming child.

We noticed a slight fever on Thursday but figured it was mostly due to cutting our molars. She seems to be getting all four at the same time. FUN for all! Then Friday morning she was still warm but being the great parents we are, we gave her medicine, sent her to the sitter, and played dumb so we could go to work. By the time we picked her up Friday afternoon it was almost 103F. OOPS! We medicated again and by the time Saturday morn came she was under 100F. However Saturday morning she wanted to be constantly held (which is very hard on one's back when she now weighs almost 22lbs) and she cried and screamed non-stop for what felt like hours. We couldn't get her to nap unless we I held her. I thought she sounded "croupy" so we took her to the doc. Sure enough we had a double whammy of croup and an ear infection, so it was off to the pharmacy for steroids and antibiotics. Sunday felt 2x longer than normal and really wore Clay and I out. Monday and Tuesday were long days at the sitter and she continued to refuse to nap so we tried to put her to bed early as much as possible. However, today, we have our little girl back. She still has a cough and isn't sleeping as soundly as normal but she is definitely more happy during the waking hours so its so nice.

In other updates, our house is moving right along. It's so exciting. They decked it and started framing today so we had to go out after work and take pictures. I'm hoping the rain stays away and they can keep going. Here are a few pictures just in case you don't/can't check out the Shutterfly site.  We enjoyed walking around and identifying what everything will be. We even snuck down into the basement to take a look around.

My 31st birthday

Saturday was my 31st birthday.

Here is a recap of what I did all day:

12:05am- I got up. Not to celebrate early but to calm a fussy toddler who had just puked all over herself and her bed (again. She also puked Wednesday night.)

2:30am- Finally got said pukey toddler back to sleep after getting puked on 3 times and changing clothes while holding a toddler (not easy). Fell asleep on couch holding toddler. (Always thought you were supposed to puke on yourself for your own birthday and not have someone else puke on you.)

4:00am- Woke up and had to pee. Had to figure a way to get the sleeping toddler from the couch to her bed without waking up. Succeeded and rewarded self with a trip to the bathroom and then some time back in my own bed.

6:30am- Up for the day to celebrate right. Kenley was feeling much better.

Day proceeded uneventfully with much play time and lots of books and laughs.

1:00pm- Went for my birthday present. A lovely mani/pedi. I went for a soft pink color called "Aphrodite's nightie." I wanted something "springy." Not as bold or colorful as I normally do but I will admit it's a nice change.

Afternoon is blur after relaxing treatment and some additional playtime while Clay napped.

5:00 pm- Took a few family pictures before heading out to dinner. I like family pictures.

5:15pm- Out to dinner. My hankering for Steak N Shake and a greasy Frisco melt won out. I also had a few very good cherry fountain cokes and cheese fries. YUMMO! Our server looked a little young but she sure was CUTE!!!

After dinner (and Kenley's bedtime)- Enjoyed a movie with my darling husband and some birthday cake and ice cream to end the day. All in all 31 wasn't so bad!

Bittersweet discoveries...

Clay and I occasionally discover things on the weekends that we didn't know Kenley could do or that she knew how to do. They are often a little bit bittersweet because I wonder what else she knows and learned at the sitter that I don't know about and didn't help teach her ;o( Oh well, they are also usually really really cute things so I'll just go with it AND I know she picks up lots from us at home too that she does at the sitter's.

On a complete whim today I started to sing an old nursery school song. I don't know where it came from and it's not one that has ever popped in my head in the past. What happened next had Clay and I both laughing and about the 3rd or 4th time, I went for the camera. Here take a look...


TOO CUTE!!!

Fort Building 101

Not sure if I would have passed Fort Building 101 based on this little "concoction," but I give myself at least a solid B on effort given the materials I quickly found today.

 Now those of you that know me, know I don't really like being a B student, but I'm learning to relax a little in my old age (ha!). However, judging by how much Kenley loved our little fort today, I am sure there are many more forts in my future. I hope that with practice I will get more creative and more skilled with my fort building skills. However I will have to figure out how to properly ventilate said forts because let me tell you it was WARM in there, especially when all 3 of us squeezed in. 

For now the fort has been torn down, but tomorrow is another day ;o) Any fort building tips to share??

First real wagon ride

Today the sun was out and it was nice. Despite the chill still in the air (since it really was only 40 degrees, I decided Kenley and I needed a little fresh air and vitamin D (at least for the exposed skin). Therefore after work, we went on our first official wagon ride. I say official because you may remember seeing several pictures of this

Those were the indoor wagon rides in the first few weeks after Christmas when the wagon was still inside.  But today we broke in the red wagon and hit the road!! (Okay we stayed on the sidewalks, but still.) We loved every minute ;o) It was a short ride just for a few minutes but it was so enjoyable to be out of the house and in the fresh air. I think we are both looking forward to just a bit warmer weather when we can take long walks in the sun. Hurry up Spring!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Val!!!

Today is Aunt Val's Birthday. So to wish her a HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY we made a little video this morning.


We hope you have an excellent birthday Aunt Val. We love you!!!