Mommy's First Day Back

Today was my first day back at work and it was one of the longest days I have had in quite awhile :(
Beginning last night, I had a little bit of a meltdown....it finally hit me that I was not going to be spending every waking moment with "Cutie B," and I maybe got 4 hours of sleep thinking about all of it and my crazy classroom.
Nana arrived at 7:00am and I was out the door only to tear up again on the drive to work. It was definitely exactly like the first day of school all over again for me, but slightly worse because the kiddos were, for lack of a better term, tainted. It is hard to come into your own classroom after 12 weeks of someone else running it their way. I am a very meticulous and anal person, so these next few weeks will be difficult to get situated again and back into my groove. I had to "wreck shop" and it was not pretty, but I survived and live to blog about it. So it's back to the grindstone for this Mommy Hein.
Brooklyn seemed to have a great day and was all smiles once she woke up shortly after I came home!!

Baby News

We found out today that Aaron's brother, Nick and his wife Amanda are expecting their first child on June 17, 2010!!!
We are so very excited for them and their soon-to-be family! This makes Hein grandbaby #4. Brooklyn will be surrounded by cousins her age :)

Congrats Nick and Amanda!! We love you!

Brooklyn's First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2009 was fabulous!!!

Aaron and I got a chance to spend some fun time with Brooklyn in the morning before we all headed to Nana and Papa de Wolfe's House. Brooklyn got to met her second cousins, Stephen and Andrew Treese. We ate a fantastic meal and had the opportunity to chat with my Uncle Gary and Aunt Debbie. Afterwards, we went to Gamma and Gampa Hein's House, where we got to relax and take a trip to the park! Brooklyn was completely worn out by the end of the day.....sleeping from 8:30pm to 8:15am!!!

Cousin Charlie LOVES Brooklyn and she LOVES him! He even wanted to feed her on Thursday.

** There are a couple more pictures down below, but unfortunately, we forgot the camera at the de Wolfe House and didn't get to take any :(

Little Memories

It is funny how some "casual" memories are so significant....
My dad use to make cream of wheat for breakfast when the weather turned cold. Keep in mind, my dad never cooked and when/if he did, it was certainly something very simple and easy. Nonetheless, he would make this breakfast once every few weeks or so on a Saturday morning. Of course, my brother and I loved it because it was the only food we were allowed to put sugar on! Anyhow, it was always such a big thing. And as we got older and were no longer around, cream of wheat was faded from the picture.
Now that I am married and gone, I have made cream of wheat for myself for the third time (once a winter for 3 years) and it brings back such a special memory for me.
Each time now, there is a sense of sadness in the fact that I am not enjoying it with my dad, but at the same time, a warm and loving feeling always overpowers me and I instantly flashback to times that were so "casual" but near and dear to my heart.
I still to this day, skim the top of the cream of wheat, eating it layer by layer to keep from burning my mouth (a technique my dad taught us because the top is always being cooled).
Love you dad!

Date Night

Aaron and I went out on a date on Friday night!! We love sushi, so we indulged at one of our favorite restaurants, Piranha's. And they have killer martini's as well! Unfortunately, they always fill them to the rim (probably because they are so expensive, got to get your moneys worth) and of course, shortly into dinner I spilled some of mine on the sleeve of my top :(
No biggie.....we had a fantastic time there and as always, we chatted up a storm.

Then we decided to check out this new bar, Black Finn. It was wonderful, but packed. It was early too; we arrived there around 7:00. It was definitely a place we will go again: televisions at every glance, good atmosphere and NO SMOKING (oh how that makes all the difference in the world). There was a live band playing after 10:00, but we are such "old folks" now, we were too exhausted to stay and called it a night!

It was an amazing evening and there is nothing better than spending time with my best friend!

To: Daddy

Hi Daddy! I hope you are having a good day at work and I can't wait to see you when you get home.
Love, Brooklyn

(Everyone else can enjoy too :)

Miss "Squirmy Worm"

Brooklyn is very entertai
ning during "playtime." She starts kicking her legs like mad and batting at her hanging toys. She's a wild woman! And she will do this for a very long time, especially in the mornings.
Starting last night, she began arching her back and it appears that she is trying to rollover, but I am really not sure. It is hilarious to watch though!!!

Our Little Miss Squirmy Worm

Countdown: 1 month away

Aaron runs in his first marathon in exactly one month from today. I know that he is both excited and worried about the event. During the course of his training, he has been sick a few times and has had numerous scheduling conflicts (like the arrival of Miss Brooklyn, school projects and out-of-town excursions).
All and all, he has remained determined to do well in the race. With it fast approaching, Aaron has studied the course and decided that next weekend he will tackle majority of it. Mile 18-22 there is a hill and he wants to make sure he is physically and mentally prepared for that challenge so late in the race. As many experienced marathoners will attest to, these miles are already difficult with themselves. Within his training, he has already ran over 22 miles, but never with "rolling hills.".
I know he will do awesome!!

Just a reminder to mark your calendars:

Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 8:00am

Victory Park-American Airlines Center

Dallas, TX

Pouty Face

Brooklyn's personality becomes more and more humorous everyday. She throws fits occasionally (usually when she is getting overly tired, but refuses to nap or wants some attention) and it is so hilarious. And she has perfected the pouty face!!! It is actually really cute when she does it, but I know it spells nothing but T-r-o-u-b-l-e.

Our cute little brat!

2 Month Appt

Brooklyn had her 2 month checkup and immunizations this afternoon. She is such a TOOT!!! This is the third time she has thrown a fit for Dr. Fikkert when she is examining her. In fact, she was worse for her than for the shots; totally took them like a champ again!!

Anyhow, she is in the 10% in weight at 9 lb, 6 oz. She is in the 10% in head circumference at 37 cm. And in the 50% in height at 22.5 in. She is a growing girl!!

Sleepyhead

Brooklyn slept for 9.5 hours last night.......WOW!! Daddy put her to bed at 8:00pm and I woke up to her crying at 5:30am. I was shocked when I glanced over at the clock to see what time it was; usually it will be 2:00 or 3:00, but not this time! I woke Aaron up and asked him if I had slept through her crying at one point, but he said no.
Our ultimate (fantasy) goal was to have her sleeping from 8:00pm-5:00am by the time I went back to work. This way I could wake up, feed her and then go work out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings while Aaron was sleeping (but still home).
I know last night was most likely a "fluke," but I will take the sleep anyhow!! And on top of that, it is one step in the right direction.

We are headed to the pediatrician this afternoon for Brooklyn's 2 month checkup and immunizations.......so I will blog the update later.

Flying Solo

Aaron and Chip went out to the ranch this weekend to get a little practice in before their Iowa hunting trip this upcoming week. Since they left on Friday around dinner time, I went ahead and prepared them (Aaron and John) some dinner to take with them. Then, I cleaned!! I wanted to preserve the "spic and span" shine on the floors for as long as possible....so I swept, mopped and vacuumed as they were shutting the door behind them :)

It was kind of weird being here by myself with Brooklyn, though. I mean, I am accustomed to being at the house and sleeping alone when Aaron traveled for his first job and when he does go on hunting trips. But it was slightly different this time. I'm not going to lie, I was a little spooked. Not "scary movie" type reasons; it was simply because I had numerous thoughts running through my head. There is another being in the house with me that is totally helpless and the WHAT IF's overtook my mind.
Yes, I still slept downstairs in my own bed and she was safe and sound in her own crib, but I definitely didn't sleep soundly. It happens though and I'm sure tonight will be a little easier than last. After all, it was my first night to be without Aaron since Brooklyn has arrived.

Wake Up Call

I woke up this morning around 7:30 to the soft cry of Brooklyn and so (mindlessly) I got up, went to the restroom and began to prepare her bottle. In the process of getting it going, she stopped crying. I waited a few minutes to see what was to become of this and much to my surprise, she continued to stay quiet.
So, I decided to take this opportunity to eat breakfast slowly and peacefully! I emptied the dishwasher, began a load of laundry, gave Chip some lovin' and just sat in thought. In the last couple of weeks, Brooklyn has been a really decent sleeper. Averaging around 6 hour stretches. She slept for 7 last night; waking me up at 3:30 and then through now......
8:00 rolled around (scheduled feeding time) and so I walked upstairs with her bottle. When I went over to her crib, I see her laying there just looking around. It was sooooo cute. I leaned over and said "Good morning" with a smile and she looked up and gave me a grin from ear to ear!!! It was the best wake up!
I picked her up and we sat and chatted for a few minutes. Smile after smile kept coming with some cooing. Then she told me she was ready for her bottle and she drank while starring at the beautiful morning light coming into her window. As usual, she does not like her burp in the middle of feeding because it interrupts her "yummy chow time."
She finished her bottle and I got her dressed and then we played finger puppets!
Oh, what a pleasant morning :)

Day Dreamer

This is a video of Brooklyn dozing off to sleep. She makes the craziest noises; it's too funny. It is a little long, but hang in there because she makes such a loud noise that she wakes herself up and gets upset......hehe! (You can see her throw her bottom lip out for her "pouty face.") Then in the end, she is back to normal.

First Halloween

Halloween 2009
Brooklyn was a Giraffe for her first Halloween. I'm not meaning to brag, but she is by far the most adorable giraffe on the face of this planet!!

Anyhow, we got to show off our costume to lots of people. Mommy's two college roommates were in town, Brittany and Kensley. We went to Nana and Papa's church festival for a short time and then headed to Gamma and Gampa's to greet various trick-or-treaters.

"I wish mommy had kept all the Halloween candy for herself, so I could have enjoyed some too my first year!" -Brooklyn