Brooklyn's Walking!

Here's a little video of Brooklyn walking around! Sorry it gets blurry sometimes, I'm still trying to learn my camera.

Brooklyn Walking from Whitney Martin on Vimeo.

Scott's 27th Birthday

Scott turned 27 on January 4th! His parents took us out to dinner to Cheesecake Factory and we had a little celebration on Sunday for him. Happy Birthday Scotty!!

  We let Brooklyn practice for her birthday next month...

11 Months

 (it's only fitting that Mickey made it into the photo shoot)...

I'm kind of freaking out that my baby is going to be a year old in less than a month!! How did that happen??!! Everyday she is becoming much more like a toddler and less and less like a baby :(. Don't get me wrong, there are some aspects of that, that are really nice, but can't she stay my little baby forever?? Anyways, here's a little bit about Brooklyn's world right now...

-She has been quite the little monster the last few days. The little stinker is completely refusing the afternoon nap (I swear I have tried EVERYTHING!!- I'll try something new, it might work for a couple days and then she's back to playing and crying in her crib for over a hour and never falling asleep) So after a little research and some mother's intuition, I've decided to try to transition her to one, long nap. Because her being awake from 11:30 a.m. till 8 p.m. is no bueno for any of us. It hasn't been the easiest transition but gets better everyday so I'm crossing my fingers (and saying lots of prayers) that we can get her schedule figured out so my happy baby will return. 

-I'm pretty sure her top teeth are close to breaking through too, which may be another reason for all the crying.

-She started taking steps on her own around 10 1/2 months and has improved everyday. Tonight she decided to take off and so I'd definitely say we have a little walker!  

-I took her to the Pediatrician last week to check and see if she had an ear infection (she didn't) but she weighed 24 lbs. 

-Loves her Mickey Mouse that we got her for Christmas (see pic above). She pushes his belly and gives  him a big hug when he starts singing- it's so cute!!

-She started putting our phones up to ear and goes "OO!" I'm assuming she's trying to say "hello!"

-Knows how to push the button on our phones to turn it on and slide her finger across to open it up. Also knows how to push the button on the Ipad to turn it on. 

-Says "Dada!"-also pronounced "dad-o!" "Mama"-much less now (I got replaced) and really only says it when she is really whiny, "Uh-oh", "Go," "Da-Du" (thank you)- will do this when I play blocks with her and I hand her one, "ba-be" (baby).

-Loves to hand us things and feed us food.

-Loves to sneak up behind us when we are on the ground and pat us on the back. Also loves to sit on our backs and go for "horsey rides."

-Has turned into quite the "Momma's girl" and sometimes will only go to me. She is also starting to exhibit some stranger anxiety and separation anxiety at times. 

-She is seriously non-stop!! This has made church quite the fiasco most weeks and I spend the majority of the time chasing her down. 

-Claps when she is proud of herself and anytime we say "Yay, Brooklyn!" I love it!

-Eats lots of finger foods and really doesn't like to be fed from a spoon anymore. 

-Finally holds her own bottle!! She was so stubborn about this for the longest time - it was so weird!

-Loves to play with her musical car and shopping cart. Loves to look at her books (on her own),  but still won't sit still for too long while I read her stories. 

-Has decided that she loves to hear herself scream - that's been a lot of fun ;).

Please stop growing up so fast Brooklyn!

These are some older pics of her off my phone...

LOVES little kids...

And a few more recent ones...

 She must get this from her Dad ;)...

Happy 11 months Brooklyn!

Christmas Season

This year the Christmas Season was a lot of fun having a baby around. It was fun to shop for her and to start introducing her to Christmas traditions. We always try to get the most out of the Christmas Season and pack it with fun activities. Some of those activities included cutting down our own Christmas tree, decorating the tree & house, Christmas shopping, making sugar cookies, going to the Ward Christmas Party, and Brooklyn sitting on Santa's lap.  We spent Christmas in Boise with my family and it was fun to spend time with them and I know Brooklyn loved being center of attention all the time.  

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went up to Apple Hill and cut down our Christmas tree.

Here are some pictures of Brooklyn sitting on Santa's lap. I had to wake her up early from her nap to go to the Ward Christmas Party so she was really tired, which usually equates to a clingy baby, so I thought she would freak out when we put her on his lap. She just sat there for a second with a "Who the heck is this guy?!" kind of expression and then she was done and reached out for me. I also made a cute, little craft with Brooklyn. 

 Loved hanging another stocking this year...

At the Town Center for dinner...

Christmas dress made by Grandma Martin

We had a great trip in Boise. Brooklyn did a lot better on the drive than expected! Thank you Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

There is no better sight during a 9 hour drive...

She loved talking to the dogs through the window. She would stand up and pound on the window till they came over, it was so cute!

In her Christmas Jammies...

We started Christmas morning when Brooklyn woke up. It was so fun watching Brooklyn unwrap her presents. She got a little overwhelmed and just wanted to play with each present that she would open and couldn't figure out why we kept taking them away and having her open more. We had to take a break and do a second round of opening presents after her nap because she became very uninterested! She loved having all the wrapping paper and boxes around to play with too! Get ready for some picture overload...

This was our favorite present to give Brooklyn. She LOVES Mickey Mouse and it sings her favorite "hot dog dance" when she presses the stomach...

Brooklyn was SO spoiled!! Only a small handful of those are from us...I guess that's what happens when you are the first and only grandkid! We are so grateful to my parents for all the great gifts! She was in serious need for some more mature toys but I kept holding off because I knew she would get plenty at Christmas.

I wish she would wear hats again!!

We torture her by making her practice walking lol...

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!