How your baby's growing:Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

How your life's changing:You may be feeling a little tired these days, especially if you're having trouble sleeping. You might also feel clumsier than normal, which is perfectly understandable. Not only are you heavier, but the concentration of weight in your pregnant belly causes a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, thanks to hormonal changes, your ligaments are more lax, so your joints are looser, which may also contribute to your balance being a bit off. Also, this relaxation of your ligaments can actually cause your feet to spread permanently, so you may have to invest in some new shoes in a bigger size.Remember those mood swings you had earlier in pregnancy? The combination of uncomfortable symptoms and hormonal changes can result in a return of those emotional ups and downs. It's normal to worry about what your labor will be like or whether you'll be a good parent. But if you can't shake the blues or feel increasingly irritable or agitated, talk to your doctor or midwife. You may be among the 1 in 10 expectant women who battle depression during pregnancy. Also let your caregiver know if you're frequently nervous or anxious.

Main Ingredient for a Happy Brooke?

Add water!

Belly Pic

I figured I should get this belly pic when I was actually out of a t-shirt and ponytail. Rare, I know. The occasion? My work anniversary dinner was tonight.

Not sure why shutterfly will only make it gigantic or minute. Grrrr.

Having another baby the same time of year not only saves money with their clothes but I have hardly bought any maternity clothes this time around. Working in scrubs also helps.

My clone

Loves tennis shoes, cute purses, and being in comfy PJs.

29 Weeks

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet her increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Ice cream counts as calcium, right? :)
We also have a growing list of possible names. She won't be Baby Szparka in Kindergarten after all.
I promise to get a belly picture soon.

She prefers to be naked....

Yep, my daughter is an exhibitionist. She prefers to take off ALL of her clothes, including the diaper. This had made for many surprising and disgusting ends to her nap and bed time. There were no "surprises" on this particular day. She decided to empty her crib of all the blankets, animals and pacifiers.

This am:

Brooke is screaming

Tim is silent

Bath water begins running

Brooke is still screaming

Tim remains silent

I get out of bed to find out what is going on and see the presents she had left for him in the crib. I didn't even have to have my glasses on to see the mess, and smell, oh the smell. I too am silent. What do you even say when you find your daughter covered in poop in the first seconds of you being awake? Potty Train!

Animals

It is Lorian County Fair week. Although my parents don't live in Lorain County anymore, it is the same fair we used to go to as kids day after day. We eventually were at the point where we no longer cared about the the barns. In fact, we stayed away. Stinky animals!

Brooke is fascinated by all the animals. I take for granted that I know what a horse looks like and the noises roosters make. Brooke was able to take it all in some animals for the first time. This was pretty much what happened as we walked through all the barns. She pointed at each and every animal, "whooa, whooa". She was delighted at the sights of the many animals.

After the animal barns we walked around a little and enjoyed some yummy fair food. Once we were done eating we walked through the display barns. They were filled with antiques, woodworking, flowers, photographs, blankets, and all sort of different sewing projects that people entered to be judged. My Aunt, Uncle, and Grandma all walked away with ribbons.

What is her other favorite animal?

Well, at my parents house it would have to be their owl. My dad has an owl that he hangs in the plum tree to keep the squirrels from ruining all the plums.

During the winter Brooke became very fond of this owl that sat on top on the refrigerator in the basement. My dad would get it down for her to play with. Even though it is now outside she walks in a points to the top of the refrigerator repeating bird over and over. My dad took her out to the tree to see this "bird" and she won him over getting her Papa to take it down and let her play with in the house. She strapped it right in her stroller and off they went. He gets rides in her stroller, car, and she even tries to feed him her snacks. Brooke and her owl, BFF.

Like Pink?

Since that may be all Tim will be surrounded by I thought I could make it even better with a bright pink page. Poor Tim already has to put the toilet seat down when he is finished and is getting kicked out of his closet. What next? The poor guy had to go on the boy side at Gymboree just to see what it was like over there. As if it is a different universe. There will always be your corner in the basement for your tools and you can have the garage anytime. All your girls love you very much!

Family Portrait

Carrie and Christa shared their family portrait so now here is mine....

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

I really wanted to pick the picture of the skinny mom with the bikini but I went with the more realisitic pregnant Mommy.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

My motto:
Nothing is ever easy for me.
I decided that I want to change up my layout by changing my template. Easy enough? Not for me. I lost everything.
Yes, I did save my original layout but this is what it gives me now. I have looked at too many errors and spent too much time on this so bear with me. It will eventually be back to normal. That or the computer will be in pieces in the driveway.

Third trimester already?

How your baby's growing:By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
How your life's changing:You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.

Guess Tim and I better to get work on the name, nursery, shopping, ahhh. Time to do what I do best, make a list! I heard time flies the second time around but geez.
I also had my 28 week Dr. appointment today. Baby is good. Heart rate was 154 and she was kicking as usual. The Dr. laughed at all the movement you could see from the outside while he was looking for the heart beat. Blood pressure and Hgb were low but I passed the 1 hour glucose tolerance test. Yes! I will be back at 32 weeks and then starts the 2 week appointments.

While on vacation I was able to do some reading of my own while she was down for her nap or in bed at night. Not that I don't enjoy reading to Brooke but it was nice to read a book that suited for someone more my age.

Synopsis:
In this emotionally charged novel, Jodi Picoult delves beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different in our society.
In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents.
Even those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the Houghton case, Alex—whose daughter, Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded—must decide whether or not to step down. She’s torn between presiding over the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie, meanwhile, claims she can’t remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter’s rampage. Or can she? And Peter’s parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their son to such extremes. Nineteen Minutes also features the return of two of Jodi Picoult’s characters—defense attorney Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls, and Patrick DuCharme, the intrepid detective introduced in Perfect Match.

These are the other 2 books I have read by Jodi Picoult. She never fails to have an unexpected ending. Although, since I have found that with the first 2 surprising endings I had a pretty good idea as to how Nineteen Minutes might end. Thanks to Amanda for recommending My Sister's Keeper.

and we are back...

We spent the week at the Johnson cottage on Black Lake in Michigan. It was so nice to get away out in the middle of no where land. No noisy neighborhood, lawnmowers, or cars, just the three of us with piece and quiet.

Turns out our little fish is more of the "pool" kind and becomes a land lover with lakes. She is still our little sissy baby when it comes to getting her feet in the sand. "EwwwEww", she yells as her toes are curled up inside her shoes and she is trying to dust off the speck of sand left on the bottom of her foot. Not even water shoes made the experience any better.

Before everyone starts flipping out that we had a 20 month old on a wave runner. She was in knee high deep water and they barely went past idle. Brooke loved it.

Brooke enjoyed sitting on the boat and pretending to drive. Vroomm. Everything has it's own sound effect now.

I naturally have more pictures and could go on for days with little narrations for each one of them. Brooke on Tim's shoulders, Brooke putting gobs of sunscreen on me, the wild turkey Tim was so excited about, Brooke dumping buckets of cold water on Tim, etc. We had great time.

Ahhhh...

My View

Don't even think about it....

She must know we have been trying to find a good time to take the pacifier away. Her incisors have been slowly working their way in so she wasn't sleeping well at night anyway. I certainly didn't want to make it any worse. Now the top incisors are working their way in. The better she sleeps the better I sleep. If that means a pacifier still, oh well. I don't think many kids go to kindergarten with them in their mouth.
These aren't even the pacifiers she likes. She tends to use these with her babies. Guess she wanted to make sure she didn't like them. Hmmm maybe it will be better 2 at a time.

Meeting for Coffee?

Not a fan of coffee? No matter how much gooey caramel or yummy chocolate goodness they try and mix in I just can't do the taste of coffee. I did however fall in love with this tasty treat at Caribou Coffee. RED TEA & RASPBERRY - Sweet, tart raspberries blended with bold red tea and ice resulting in a caffeine-free crowd pleaser. Also available in GREEN TEA & MANGO or WHITE TEA & PEACH. Don't let the tea turn you away, it is so good and tastes nothing like tea.

The Cold Face

Just like Mommy, Brooke loves ice cream. You wouldn't think she liked it considering the faces she makes. These pictures are of her enjoying a cool frosty from Wendy's. Just the mention of the word cold or ice cream and this is the classic expression. Such an animated child I have.

Aunt Kelli

Congratulations to Carrie & Dustin. They are expecting their first bundle of joy March 16.

Botanical Gardens

It was a semi nice day yesterday so we decided to take Brooke to the Botanical Gardens to run off some energy. So loved chasing the ducks, swans, geese, or any other animal that moved. Tim was close behind in case on them decided to turn on us. We have all seen the videos where the kids end up being chased by the geese. We all had fun and gave the camera a workout. I seriously love it. How did I go so long without it?

Watch Yourself..

I guess now is the time that I really need to behave and watch what I say and do around Brooke. Not that I am not always on my best "Mommy Behavior".
She may not have the vocabulary to carry on a conversation just yet, but don't be surprised if your toddler starts to mimic your telephone style with her own toy phone. You may also catch her imitating the way you act behind the wheel of the car, preparing meals, or cleaning the house. This copycat behavior can be charming or potentially embarrassing. Pay extra attention to your own language and behavior, so you don't inadvertently teach him something you'd rather not see him do.
And the baby with no name:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.
Come on people we need name ideas or she is going to be named Kyle forever.

Finally convinced...

Welcome Christa & Chris to the blog world. She finally set it up and it is ready to go. Visit http://chrisandchrista.blogspot.com/

Playing around...

I love, love, love my new camera but haven't quite figured it all out. For right now I have just been sticking to what I call the "dummy buttons". They are the ones that do everything automatically you just pick the setting that matches the type of picture you are taking. The shutter speed is AMAZING and the retouches that you can do right on the screen are also great.