I know that as a parent we are going to have a million 'firsts' with our baby and soon to be toddler (hopefully not too soon).  And each new thing will be just as exciting as the next.  And it is so amazing to get to witness the things you teach your child when it comes to fruition.  Whether that is once they start walking, talking, driving or even clapping.  Every morning we sing to Brynn (sometimes I will sing to her if we are still sleeping when Matt leaves for work) and then at the end of our song we clap, saying "clap clap".  Nothing too crazy right?  But still it is sweet and she lights up every time we do it.  This morning for breakfast Brynn is in her high chair and before she goes to town on her banana pieces she just started clapping.  A lot.  Over and over again she was clapping all by herself and smiling.  It was so sweet.  She has been clapping all day long and every time I could well up with tears just because of how sweet it is to see her learn and then do new things.  It is another moment in time where I am thrilled and then I say a little prayer that time does not go too fast and that we enjoy each moment our baby is in (even when she is ten or fifteen or twenty).  Brynn spent some time at my mom's house this afternoon and had her first 'big girl' visit where she was totally content playing there and did not seem to be upset that Matt and I were gone.  She was very comfortable and got to explore and show my mom and Steve her personality more than she ever has before.

10 things I am happy for today as a new parent...

10.  Seeing my baby girl walk, with assistance of course.  But goodness, does this girl love walking.  Hold hands and lift her up, and she is off.  Even if she is bugging out, nothing will cheer her up faster than getting to walk around. 

9.  I love seeing the determined look my girl gets on her face when she sees something she wants.  Usually a toy, but it could also be anything new that enters her line of vision.  Today it was my glass of water.  She eyed it so hard, then looked at me and back at the water.  Sure why not? I thought.  I let her try and figure out how to take the tiniest sip of water out of it, and as the water rolled down her face her eyes lit up and let me know that I had opened a door.  Now I need to make sure to have a tight grip on any glass I hold or it is either going to her face or on the floor.

8.  Sleeping.  I have never been one of those people that can fall asleep in three minutes or less (my husband) but you would think after a good but long day watching my daughter all day or running errands that I would fall asleep faster than before.  False.  I find that as soon as my head hits the pillow my body is worn out, but my mind is racing.  I think about important things to really ridiculous things that make me even say in my head 'why in the heck did that just come into your brain?!'  So needless to say when I eventually do fall asleep, it's nice.

7.  Hummus.  I do believe some days I eat half my body weight of hummus.  It is a delicious snack but more importantly it is fast.  And some days I just have a minute to grab some food if my girl wants to play or needs my attention, hummus is the way to go.

6.  The two bottom teeth that now peak out of my girl's mouth every time she smiles.

5.  Clean clothes.

4.  A hot shower.

3.  Hearing my girl "talk" more, she is trying out more "pft" and "bbb" sounds along with her usual "mmmm momma mom ma".  So sweet hearing her little voice.

2.  The fact that I have figured out exactly which parts of the floor in our entire house creak and which parts are safe to walk on.  We play music while Brynn sleeps but sometimes it still seems to quiet in there and I will not risk me walking around the house to wake her up.  I think the show Up All Night should do an episode just on how new parents eat (with one hand, or shoveling food down quick before the baby gets upset or needs you) and watch t.v. (quietly or near silent).  Oh how things have changed... but thank goodness for it.

1.  The thumbs up my husband and I give each other (depending on who puts girlie girl to sleep that night) and the big sigh of relief we feel afterwards.  Sometimes she just doesn't want to miss the party and fights going to sleep, but other times she falls asleep easy. 

What you lookin at?!

What we've been up to....

 Oh goodness, we borrowed this great new toy from a friend and Brynn likes it more and more every day.  It is so fun to see her get excited and bounce around in that thing.  And her face lights up anytime she makes eye contact with me or Matt while she is playing.

 Matt's mom came to visit and got some good playing time in with Brynn.  My dad stops by about once a week to visit and Brynn just loves it.  She really studies their faces and observes everything they do while they are playing too.

 Brynn is a good eater!  She has now had peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados and butternut squash soup will be next. She will giggle when she gets the food in her hand and plays with it, so cute.

 I made this onesie for my friend Megan's son.  I have liked getting in an art project or two here and there considering I have done much of that lately.

 I can't get enough of this girl, not only is she beautiful and sweet, she is so much fun to be around!  And she loves reading!

 This is me clipping her toe nails, we do this about every other day.  Matt is not comfortable doing this on her tiny hands and toes and I will say after 6 months of doing this I am quite the pro.

 My big girl sits up so well on her own now and she still smiles and is so proud of herself every time she stands up.

 This is her excited face, whenever she sees a new toy (in this picture she was lunging towards the camera) she will open her mouth up like that, her eyes get big and she darts towards whatever it is she wants.

Brynn doesn't mind tummy time at all now and she is scooting herself around whenever she gets determined to move towards a toy.  Can't believe I managed a post update when she is on the floor rolling around all over the place, don't worry I'm still watching her... :)

Photo update

We took our first family trip to the zoo this past Monday and it was great!  A little cold when we first got there but it warmed up and we had a blast.  Then Wednesday we joined my sister and her boys at the zoo again.  We take advantage of fresh air any day it's nice enough to get out.  Brynn is eating more food (we tried peas for the first time, that's the green stuff on her face).  And my mom finished painting an awesome mural in her guest room for the kids.  I had a few seconds to actually post a few photos so here goes... enjoy!

My birthday!

I am 29 years old, y'all.  I will never be 28 again.... I'm trying to sound dramatic but truly I couldn't care less or feel any different than I did yesterday. I think if anything 30 might be a little weird just to say the age "30" but I don't need to think about that for a whole 'nother year.
Matt was ready and waiting to hear what I wanted him to make me for my birthday dinner, but what I really wanted was a birthday breakfast.  And oh did he make me a good one.  Delicious omelet, fresh avocado, veggie sausage, crispy hash brown and turkey bacon, ohh it was gooood.  We had lots of good family time today, including some crazy laughing from Brynn which then made Matt and I laugh like crazy people followed by my face hurting and all of us craving a nap.
Matt and I went to see "The Vow" today in a 200 person movie theater that was occupied by us and 5 other people, it seemed wasteful really.  But awesome, the screen was imax level huge and no one was near us so we could shovel popcorn and reece's pieces in to our mouths like we'd never eaten before and I could ask silly questions without worrying about having to be super quiet.  It was a sweet romantic movie (with some funny parts) and really made you think about the power of the vow of marriage and the incredible strength that love can give you.  And a reminder, to me anyways that we are all really here to find love and be loved.  It's a beautiful thing.

I haven't posted in a while and I have managed to write two new posts in two days.  I think it only makes sense to end this post in a random sweet way.... I am listening to Elton John's "Your Song" and it is one of the very few songs that really sticks out to me that we played in the hospital room after Brynn was born.  And I just love hearing "... I hope you don't mind, that I put down in to words, how wonderful life is... now that your in the world".  I love it.

My little buttercup

...is just one of the dozen names I call my sweet baby girl.  My eyes are heavy even writing this as it is nearing my bedtime (yea 10 pm on a Friday, so what?!)  This little girl of ours is just "all the joy in the world" as I call her, and it's true.  Her laugh, her intense eye contact, her big cheeked smile, her tiny toes, the little dimples she has on her knuckles, how excited she gets to read books, how proud she is of herself when she is standing while holding our fingers, I could go on and on and on... but the point is, this little girl has brought more joy to our world than I ever thought possible.  We are tired, no doubt about it.  But so very happy.  And truly, the sleep deprivation is getting better as her sleeping habits improve plus I think her teeth are bothering her less. Knock on wood.

Matt took Monday off for my birthday surprise!  He told me tonight and I am thrilled!  We are going on a lunch date tomorrow and to see a movie as my mom will watch our girl.  Lots of good food, movies, and family time and a few naps here and there and we have one heck of a weekend planned.  Oh yeah, I might make some mashed up peas for Brynn to try for the first time.  Crazy exciting, right?!