Off to the Lake

Jamie, Branigan and I are heading down to the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend for a little R&R at Jamie's parents' house, but as they are in Germany, we are on our own. Looking forward to a little down time!

We've had quite a week, full of Murphy's Law. Yesterday morning I went to leave for WW at 6:30am, and my jeep (which was just fixed) wouldn't start. GRRR. So I jumped into the other car (which is actually Fred and Shirley's Lexus, as now Jamie's truck is getting fixed, and they are nice enough to let us use it while they are on vacation) and headed out. As usual, the car that Jamie's been driving has no gas. So then I had to stop and get gas - and ended up missing the meeting. GRRR. Then when I got home and started packing us for the lake, I knocked a bottle of perfume off my vanity into the bathtub. Ever had a full bottle of perfume break in your room before? Not too pleasant. Everything smells very sweet in there now. :) I was supposed to take the Jeep back up to St. Joe to the mechanic and trade it out for Jamie's truck, which was done. But the Jeep never started, so I never left. Ugh. Add in Branigan's teething whining, and it was a long day.

But yesterday is the past and today is a gift, right? So, I'm looking forward to getting off to the lake. I'm just waiting for Jamie to get back home with the truck so we can load up and take off. Or did I mention that when he got up there this morning that the truck wasn't actually fixed? Another GRRR. Lake - here we come!!! :)

Spring/Summer Season Fruit

Have I ever mentioned that spring is my favorite time of year? I love it, when everything turns green and blooms, the days lengthen, and oh yeah...the weather turns warm! Finally. Winter is over. But one of my favorite things about spring/summer is the fruit that comes into season! After a long winter of eating apples from last year (or at least I think that's all the grocery stores here get) and bananas grown who knows where, it is SO refreshing to have strawberries, pineapple, mango, watermelon and now even peaches!

I'm also having a ton of fun with Branigan with these fruits. I've been experimenting with pineapple mango, banana peach, banana mango, all kinds of fruit combinations for her rather than Gerber food. She likes them better (or at least she sure gobbles them up better) and its sort of fulfilling for me to feel like I'm really making her food. We are now almost completely Gerber free. I'm cooking her carrots, green beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and really its so easy that I'm not sure why I ever relied so heavily on the Gerber. I'm still buying peas and applesauce, as these seem more time intensive to make, and she likes the Gerber versions. But other than that, we are really trying to convert her to table food. As soon as I finish this post, I'm going to go steal a bit of pork chop, potatoes and carrots from the crock pot and put it in the food processor for her dinner. Easy now that I'm used to it!

The other good thing about this has been getting her used to more textured foods. A few weeks ago she would just scream if I put anything in her mouth that was not pureed (the exception was if she put it in her mouth, and sometimes she would still scream ;). Now, I can control how thick or thin the food is just by adding water and she is doing so much better with chunkier food.

One other thought, Branigan now drinks out of her sippy cup during her meals and in between bottles independently. I'm going to be moving from water in it to formula soon, and then within a month or so I'll start introducing her to milk. Everything has been going smoothly here until yesterday when I bought her a "big girl" sippy cup, that holds much more than her Avent cups do, in an effort to get a bigger cup for her to eventually drink her milk out of. Problem? I can't get any liquid out of it myself for drink, and neither can she. Nothing makes you feel more dumb than not being able to drink out of a sippy cup. ;) I bit down on the end to open the little whole, but still no real success. If anyone has any tips, they are welcome. :)

First Kiss

Every time we start to think that Branigan is getting teeth, we are wrong - but I think this time it might be starting. We can really see her two front teeth on top and it looks like they are ready to break through, but its looked like that for about a week now. She's also started really biting, has had a low fever, and is CRANKY. Our friendly laughing baby has been replaced with one that, not just cries, but SCREAMS to get what she wants (yes, I'm using a lot of capitalization here - the emphasis is needed). If you leave the room, you might think that she is dying the way she goes on. Wow. So I guess I hope that she's teething, just to explain these new, and not so delightful, behaviors.

Hmmm...will mom notice if I pull all of my clothes out of the drawer?

On the other hand, I got my first "kiss" from Branigan on Monday. She crawled over and stood up, then reached up like to hug me (one of my favorite things that she has started doing the past few weeks), and instead of just a hug she put her lips up to my cheek and then gave me a hug. Needless to say, I started crying. I got another kiss on the cheek this morning. :) Those moments make it ALL worth it.

There's my good little girl :)

Branigan was really good over the weekend. Jamie and I re-did one of our flower beds on Saturday, so it was at least a productive day. Sunday, not so much :). Branigan went to her Aunt Jamie's, and had a great time with her. Meanwhile, Jamie (husband) and I totally vegged out, watched old episodes of LOST, and then settled in for the finale. It was so nice to just relax. I did miss Branigan, but it was nice to not have to be on my toes all the time for a day. :)

Really liking her pillow pet that her dad got her for Christmas

I've heard that lots of people didn't like the ending of LOST, and if you didn't watch the show all the time, I'm sure you wouldn't like it. But to me it had such a great message, the whole show was really about finding those people that you will spend the most important time of your life with - whatever that means to you - and cherishing those people and that time, because it is important, and we all leave the world at different times. For me, I feel like this is the most important time of my life, starting a family with Jamie and all the memories we are making. I feel so lucky.

She couldn't quite figure out how to lay on it, so she just kept flopping down on it :)

Yesterday, Branigan and I walked to the park, as I found one only about a mile from our house that has baby swings! Yeah! I had been driving all over the county, and felt ridiculous that I hadn't really checked out the one closest to my home. :) We had a blast. Here are some pictures.

Finally, a new laptop!

Ok, so I have a new laptop, but is not loving me at the moment. Anyway, this last week was a quick one (as they all are), but her is a brief synopsis.

Trying to get Branigan to smile at the camera is impossible these days!

Reading, or at least picking out a book

Did I mention that it was not just rainy, but also cold this week?

Sacha has to be the most patient dog in the world - Branigan is attempting to pull out her whiskers here

I've gotten the house pretty much clean, as its been raining all week so Branigan and I have been stuck inside. I did take her to the park on Tuesday so she could swing, and you could tell that everyone else had cabin fever as well - the place was packed! Branigan did get to meet a couple of other babies her age, so she was happy. The sun has finally decided to peek out today, so we will be heading to the park again just as soon as she wakes up from her afternoon nap.

We've done a lot of grooming this week - as in I, Jamie and Lacey all got our hair cut. We were all overdue - I decided to just have them go ahead and shave Lacey so she looks like a short haired dog now. I can't believe how much difference it made! I should have taken a "before" shot of her.

Bran's had a busy week - her two new things are standing on her own, from the floor, and fighting sleep at naptime. The former is pretty cool, but not so much on the latter. She is now pinching, scatching and pulling hair (we rock her to sleep and then lay her down) to get a reaction from me - a very charming combination. I guess this is the point where I start letting her cry herself to sleep until she learns to fall asleep on her own? We keep talking about doing this, but neither Jamie or I want to go through the week of tantrums that it will take. But the standing up on her own is fun, it just seems so weird to look over and see Bran just standing there in the middle of the room!

Still no teeth, but I think we are really close. I can see her two front teeth (both top and bottom) through her gums, and the top ones really feel ready to pop through.

She likes the homemade baby food a whole lot better than the Gerber stuff (I still use some Gerber foods that she likes, such as mixed veggies), so mealtime has been easier this week. She really likes it when I mix bananas and mangos. But she's also eating some textured food now, so we are making progress. ;)

Jamie is in a golf tournament today in St. Joe (his second this week), and he will be staying the night up there tonight so Branigan are on our own today. Tomorrow we are going to be playing catch up in the yard, and then my sister Jamie has Branigan on Sunday while Jamie (husband) and I celebrate the end of Lost (my fave TV show ever). Looking forward to a fun weekend.

Branigan at 10 Months

10 months ago this minute I was laying in a hospital and staring down at my tiny baby girl. It was the first time that I had become truly overwhelmed with how much I love her. We were preparing to head home that afternoon with our healthy (thank god) baby, and it was the first time that Jamie and I had some time alone with Branigan to get to enjoy being parents. I'll never forget that moment.

Branigan at about 2 hours old

10 months later, we have a toddler crawling around our house at break neck speed, almost ready to walk. How fast it went. I thought that first week when we brought Branigan home that this was so fun! (granted I hadn't slept in how long, so I really had no idea what I was thinking) And, it was fun. But this is every bit as great. Branigan brightens everyday with her smiles, giggles and sweet personality.

Branigan, about 2 days old

I don't know what she weighs right now, but Branigan is definitely tall for her age. I see other 10-month-old's and am like, wow. They are small ;). People will ask how old she is, and when I tell them, their eyes get huge, like WOW! She's not a chubby baby, but you definitely know it when you pick her up. We are currently leaving size 9-12 month clothes behind and moving into the 12-18 month sizes. I hate moving up in sizes, as it seems to mark time moving too quickly.


As I said before, Branigan's is a really good crawler, who "cruises" around the room using whatever available. She is getting better and better hand-eye coordination, so I mop and vacuum every day so that she won't test her pinchers (thumb and forefinger) by picking up dog hair and grass from the floor. Her favorite floor activities include: playing with noisy toys (such as her activity tables and "shapes" cookie jar), looking out the windows, and dumping every drawer that is within reach (really have to keep my eye on that one).


A typical day starts with getting Branigan out of bed around 7am, when she gets a new diaper, gets dressed for the day and has a 6oz bottle. She then plays while Jamie and I get breakfast, clean the kitchen and plan the day. Around 8am she has breakfast, which is either oatmeal, whole grain or rice cereal (1 Tablespoon) with a fruit. Since she has been difficult to feed lately, we've decreased the amount of baby food but keep pushing it so that she gets the nutrition she needs. She also gets finger foods while Jamie and I eat our breakfast - usually cheerios and some fruit (part of whatever I'm eating like apple or banana). She doesn't eat much of these finger foods, but we keep trying.

Branigan then takes a nap from usually around 9 to around 10:30. She gets another 6 oz bottle when she wakes up. After that she plays until lunch time, which is about noon. Then she has some kind of meat and veggies. I've been feeding her Gerber meats, but I decided yesterday that I was done with that. She hates them, and I see no reason to train her taste buds that something that smells like cat food is "yummy". So, starting today I'm getting out the food processor, and she's getting some of whatever we've been eating. For instance, today I've got pork chops, potatoes and carrots cooking in the crock pot. So, this morning I kept out of the chops and cooked it without any seasonings for her, and at lunch I'll put it in with some veggies and we'll see how that goes. She hates the Gerber food, so it can't get much worse than that.

"Reading" to her pal Scout

After lunch, its back to play time and story time. Branigan will pick out a few toys and I'll play with her on the floor and then read her some books. She LOVES books. She knows where I keep them, and is always getting them out and "reading" them. She'll also bring them to me all day to read to her. When she does that, I can't help it. I drop everything and we go and sit and read.

Blowing raspberries at the park - this park had no swings, so I was blowing raspberries at it too - what kind of a park has no swings?!?!

Around 1:30, Branigan gets another 6 oz bottle and then takes her second nap until around 3. Its at this time that we typically get out of the house. We go on walks, shop or go to the park for about an hour or so. Its a lot of fun, and I sure am going to miss my little buddy during this time when she goes off to school some day. When we get home its time for another 6 oz bottle and a snack (usually cheese and some fruit like mango or pineapple). This is probably the part of the day when she is most ignored, as I'm busy getting everyone's dinner ready, feeding the dogs, etc.

Yesterday at the park - please ignore what a terrible picture it is of me :)

She eats her dinner between 5 and 5:30. Typically this is all veggies and fruit. Sometimes she gets a "treat" like Gerber Peach Cobbler or Mango Smoothie. She still likes these sweet baby food options. She eats her meals in her high chair, and then moves to her booster seat to sit with Jamie and I while we have our dinner, promptly at 6 pm. I give her pieces of our food while we eat, but typically she won't eat it, and gets mad if she puts some in her mouth. I still laugh at her when she tries mashed potatoes - she hates them! Her facial expressions are hilarious.

Okay, so we can't blame her for the face when trying a lemon ;)

After dinner, Branigan is typically exhausted and its time to get her ready for bed. We start her bath anytime between 6:30 and 7, and are staying true to our "5-B's for Branigan's Bed Time". (I made this up, and it works for us). After her bath, she gets a massage with baby lotion (really just her feet, as she seems to have inherited her mother's patience, which=none) then we read books, take a bottle (8oz this time), and then off to bed. The whole ritual takes around 45 minutes to an hour, so she is typically asleep anywhere between 7:30 and 8.

I hope I never forget how Branigan looks sleeping so sweetly on my lap

Ahhh. Then we get to relax. Its funny, by evening I'm usually very worn out and ready for Branigan to be safely tucked into bed. But still when I go to sit down to read or watch TV, I always get a sensation of missing her.

I can't believe to look at this new, 10-month-old Branigan, that she is my little baby girl. I love her so much! She is doing lots of new things. She makes all kinds of sounds, dada, mama (discriminately now, as she seems to know which one of us is which), bah bah (when she wants a bottle), nanananana, bababababa, and pfffttttt (blowing raspberries - with her tongue stuck out now, like all the time). She's probably a fairly quiet baby, and really is so easy (as long as we stay close to her schedule). She almost never cries and is very interested in new things. She loves the dogs, and really gets more excited about seeing them in the morning than she does us. :) Her other favorite is dancing and music. I've "danced" with her pretty much every day since she was born, and now she loves it too. When music comes on, she bounces all over whether sitting, standing or in her car seat. Doesn't matter - the rhythm catches her and it is too funny.

Branigan still has no teeth, but is starting to get a good amount of hair - all down the middle with hardly any on the sides. So, a true mohawk. It started curly, but the longer it gets is falling flat and straight like mine. It's also still carrot red. I can't wait until we get to spend more time in the sun this summer to see if it will bleach out - but I hope the red stays, its too cute! Her eyes are still that weird "undecided" color of blue on the outside with gold in the middle. Her skin is paler than mine (if that's even possible?), so she gets sunscreen nearly every day. She sort of hates me putting it on her, but she's starting to understand that this means she gets to go outside, so is being more patient.

Eating is a really weird thing with Branigan. She'll sort of eat her Gerber food (fruits and veggies) when forced, which happens three times per day. When feeding herself, she likes American cheese, pineapple, mango, bananas, puffs, cheerios, and graham crackers. She hates anything with very much texture and gets really mad when its in her mouth. I'm sure the lack of teeth doesn't help here, but regardless I keep putting pieces of hamburger, chicken, turkey, or pork tenderloin in front of her in the hopes that someday she'll start liking them. She hates pasta too - I'm actually enjoying this time, as I figure in a year or two I'm going to hate the smell of macaroni and spaghetti from making it so often for her. :)

This has probably been one of my most rambling posts ever, and yes I've cried through part of it. I just feel so lucky. I thank God every day for our little sweetheart and everything she has brought to our lives.

Woah. Fast Week

I've had trouble getting on here lately, as my laptop has finally, truly died. Branigan hates going down to the office (and its IMPOSSIBLE to keep track of her down here), so I can only write when there is someone to watch Bran for me, or she's asleep. When she's napping, I'm always rushing to get everything done so that I can play with her when she's awake, so I guess blogging comes last right now :)

See all that hair?

The last week has been a busy one. My mom got to town last Thursday, and we kept busy the whole time she was here. We drug her from here to there, on Friday, and then on Saturday she drug us around our neighborhood to check out the subdivision-wide garage sale. If you've never been here on this Saturday of the year, it is really an experience. You have to literally chase people out of your drive way (even when you are not having a garage sale) as there are cars parked everywhere. People rent golf carts and there are food tents set up everywhere. It is ridiculous. But, this is the first year that I've actually went around. Some of the places had brand new baby stuff (I figured I would have been in trouble last year at this time) and some other places had the typical garage sale stuff that makes you go, "Seriously? This is broken - and even if it wasn't, its still not worth a nickel." :)

Super cute little skirt from a couple of friends - her first little ballerina outfit.

My first mother's day was a good one, albeit very uneventful. We went to breakfast with my mom and then helped my sister move landscaping brick in the morning. That afternoon my mom hung out at Jamie's (sister), so Jamie (husband), Branigan and I enjoyed part of my mother's day gift and watched the first six episodes of Lost. Most people don't know this, but I'm a total lost freak - I'm already in withdrawal with the series ending next weekend. Just so that everyone knows, on Sunday, May 23, do not call. Do not write. Even in most cases of emergency (JK). There will 5 1/2 hours of Lost on ABC that day - and I will be sitting with a container of popcorn with the phone off. :) Weight Watchers be damned (although I hit the 19lb loss mark this morning, which feels good).

Monday my mom and I went shopping around, and really just kind of hung out. It was a really nice day. Mom and Bran got to spend lots of quality time together, which was a good thing. Branigan is becoming such a little character, and I got to enjoy just watching her instead of really watching her (as in there was someone else around to be responsible - whew. Felt good).

Mom took off on Tuesday morning, and Jamie and I have been playing catch up double time since. But what a great weekend, so glad my mom could come and stay for a good visit.

Very excited about her food :)

Deanna Rose

Yesterday Jamie and I woke up to a pleasant surprise - he had the day off! So we took full advantage of it and headed off for Deanna Rose to see the animals and have a picnic. Branigan had fun touching the goats and swinging. Can't believe how fast this week is going! Jamie (my sister) and I went out to dinner and drinks last night, for the first time in like two months. It was so fun to get out together and catch up (and the guava-tini's at Houlihan's were nice too). My mom is coming to town today for the weekend, so today I'm getting her room ready and going grocery shopping. Looking forward to a great weekend.

She walks behind her lion on the carpet now, but I won't let her loose with it on the hardwoods yet

Playing with her table, her main walker now :)

This cute dress is from our manager Jenni - adorable and easy to keep on her! :)

Under the table with my tennis shoes - she loves shoes right now

Luna May, the 4-day-old calf at Deanna Rose

Hangin' by the cows

Luna's mom

She was really more interested in the sign than the cows

She was like clucking at the goats, and loved being around them

Loves to swing!

All alone...ahhhh.......

Jamie took Branigan to St. Joe for the evening for a meeting, so its just me here at the house. Alone. Ok, so I'm sure by the time they get home I'll be missing them, but for now the silence feels nice.

Having a snack of cheerios and milk this morning

Branigan had a big day! She discovered toilet paper to start off, meaning that she got hold of one end and crawled across the room with it. I started to get the camera, as it was pretty cute, but then I saw that she had a mouthful that she was trying to chew up and swallow, so getting that out of her mouth became a higher priority. Needless to say, all of our bathroom doors will be closed for a while.

Next, Branigan started walking with her table (see video below for explanation). She has a little lion cart thing that should help her walk like this, but I'm a little scared that the wheels on it will move too fast for her for now, so I'm going to hold off on letting her loose with that until she gets just a bit more coordinated. I can't believe how close she's getting to walking. I know she still has a ways to go, but I'm no where near ready to not have a baby any longer. I guess I better buck up, but why does it always seem like she is more ready than I am, and she's dragging me along? :)

Still up on her tippy-toes

Kissing the baby :)

Saturday Visit from the Frederes

Friday night Jamie and I went to the Bristol for dinner, and someone overserved us on the wine :). I woke up yesterday morning with a killer headache that stuck with me throughout the day. Branigan tried to help - she has found a really high pitched scream that she enjoys shouting as loudly as possible about every five minutes or so, which totally helped to remind me that yes, my head still hurt, and no, I will not drink wine again for a little while.

Branigan showing off her new found volume

Playing on Friday afternoon

Diving over my legs to get to a toy

Playing while vertical - her new love :)

She loves it when Daddy carries her around on his shoulders

On our way out

Jamie's parents came by yesterday afternoon on the way back from the lake, and we had a nice visit with them over lunch. The rest of the day went quickly, as Jamie put Branigan down for a nap while I mowed and showered. Then it was dinner time and Branigan's bed time. It was Jamie's turn to put her to sleep, and for some reason she was having no part of that. It was about 9 when she finally gave up for the night. So much for Jamie and I hanging out or watching a movie on Saturday night, as I was pretty much asleep when he came up to bed. :)

Playing with Grandpa

Me and Grandma

Today the weather here is supposed to be good, so of course this is the day I'll be doing paperwork. Hopefully I can finish up early and go enjoy the day with Bran and Jamie!