36 WEEKS AND A NAMELESS BABY

Four weeks left in this amazingly easy pregnancy! I thought having Brooklyn was easy, I really lucked out this time. No morning sickness, no acid indigestion, no constipation, no sciatic nerve pain (sorry if thats too detailed but mamas out there know these are the not fun parts of being pregnant). I wasn't able to escape that super tired feeling first trimester or the last and definitely am having a hard time sleeping recently but overall I can't complain. 

We are so excited to welcome our new little baby to the family. Its starting to feel real now as we begin to buy diapers, new carseats and things for the nursery. The only thing we have left to do now is name this little baby. We are having a REALLY hard time. We want the name to be perfect and fit our little girl really well we just can't find something. We know we are going to do Taylor (Rob's mother's maiden name) for the middle name. We have narrowed it down to a few first name selections and decided we will choose once we see our baby girl. It feels really risky not having something decided before the big date but we think this will be the best way. 

A sneak peak to one of our favorite combinations: 

It almost felt like a sign when I saw these little license plates next to each other in Hawaii. 

ONE YEAR CHECK UP

Going to Brooklyn's wellness check is actually really fun for me. I get to take her cute sitting in a bucket picture, find out her weight/height stats and reflect how different she looks and acts at each one of those appointments.

It was cute to see how differently she recognizes situations now. For example, when the doctor went to listen to her heart with the stethoscope she screamed in fear and tried to wiggle away. Just a few months ago she sat there with a blank stare. At her nine month she screamed and hated being in the weighing bucket. This time she smiled and patiently waited to be weighed.

She actually ended up getting her one year check at 13 months, my dad was suppose to take her last month when he was in town but couldn't find her and missed the appointment. (Nora, our nanny took her for a walk about 30 minutes before the appointment. Since my dad didn't have her cell phone he couldn't call her so instead drove around the neighborhood searching for her. To no avail. He called me two minutes before her appointment with the bad news.) Sounds hilarious and kind of was until they told me they couldn't get us in again for another month because of back to school physicals.

Stats: Our child is BIG...

Height 31.5 inches above 95% aka off the chart

Weight 24.8 pounds 90% 

BROOKLYN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

I cannot believe the day has come, my little baby is officially a toddler! The last year has no doubt been the best of our life. Brooklyn has blessed our family in ways I could never have imagined. At her first birthday she has three teeth, she is 75% weight and 95% height, mommy is her favorite person in the world, she loves baths, the pool, beach and ocean, her favorite book is Goodnight Moon, she holds her "baby" and gives it hugs, she gives kisses, she can say several words, my favorites are cookie and donkey, she loves her baba and binkey, she will let us brush her teeth just for a second then she finishes, she likes all and every food, some favorites are avocado, banana and sweet potato, she's very social and likes to play with her friends.

Her first birthday party was a blast! We decorated some tables and set up chairs in the center green area of our neighborhood. We had a petting zoo come, face painting, a cake smash and lots and lots of really good food. A special thanks to my mother-in-law Victoria for her amazing baking, father-in-law Bob for his grilling skills, my sister Lisa for organizing everything, my dad for helping set up and sister-in-law Shannon for more baking deliciousness. Brooklyn is so loved by family and friends, we felt an outpouring last week.

^^ some party-goers

^^ lucky we could have so many family members from the east bay and boston!

^^ the birthday girl! 

^^ i love my family 

 

^^the cake smash was everyone's favorite part