Updates all around...

First off, Kevin and I had a wonderful anniversary. He surprised me with tickets to the musical The Light in the Piazza which played at the Buell Theatre. We both really loved the musical, and apparently, it was one of those things that people either really love or really hate it. We knew a few other people that went to see it, and there were definitely mixed emotions on it. Granted we do are not regular theatre-goers, so we weren¹t sure if our opinion was because we didn¹t have all the knowledge that someone who frequents the theatre does. Like, was the setting changes too slow, the lighting not right, etc. However, our good friend who has annual passes to the Buell to see a wide range of productions said that he too liked the Piazza. So, we weren¹t completely off our rockers because we really loved it!

Some Brooklyn news to share -- When I took her to the doctor for her 15-month check-up last month, her doctor informed me that she is developing at the level of a 2-year-old. I knew that my lil¹ girl was very smart, and I felt like she was advanced as far as what she is capable of doing, but to hear her doctor say that, really meant a lot to me. I am so proud of her and how interested and determined she is to learn new things.

Kevin and I have realized that she is watching everything that we do -- she tries to put on her shoes like she sees us doing, she tells her doggy to get down when he jumps up on her highchair after dinner to see if there are any scraps left over, she walks around the house on her cell phone (one of our old ones) talking and walking all around. It has definitely put a question in our mind when we do things like drink directly out of the milk carton ­ do we really want her doing that? ­ probably not, so we better not.

She did surprise us one night though -- I was making dinner and Kevin was doing something in the one of the cabinets. Needless to say, we both had our backs to her for a moment. I heard a trickle of liquid, but I wasn¹t sure where it was coming from. I turned around and saw her holding a pitcher full of Kool-Aid. She had grabbed the pitcher ­ plastic, thank goodness! ­ off the kitchen table and was trying her very best to maneuver it over to us. By this time, Kevin whipped around to see what she was doing. The pitcher proved to be more than she could handle, so down went the pitcher completely full of Kool-Aid. She had this shocked look on her face, I started laughing and Kevin looked at her and shrugged. She shrugged back at him, completely in disbelief, as I ran up the stairs to get some towels. Both of them were still in the same transfixed positions when I returned. She literally just stood in one spot, barely moving as I cleaned it up. When I was done, she came over to me and gave me a hug as to say she was sorry. I told her that accidents happen and that it was okay. Needless to say, Kevin and I learned a big lesson -- Keep things in the middle of the table because our daughter is TALL!

One more thing to share -- We have started teaching Brooklyn to fall asleep on her own. Up until now, we have either cuddled with her, rocked her or walked around with her to get her to go to sleep for both naps and bedtime. She has taken many of naps with us laying in our bed, or laying across us in the rocking chair. I must admit that we have really enjoyed holding her, breathing in her sweet scent, getting to gaze down at her beautiful face, watching as her chest moves up and down, watching as her hair turns from straight to curly as she is a bit of a sweaty sleeper, listening to her little snore, watching as she drifts off to a heavier sleep as her pappy (pacifier) falls out of her mouth and watching in amazement at how still she is after all she is usually so busy running around playing. While those times will be missed so much, Kevin and I both feel that it¹s time for her to learn how to fall asleep on her own. Please say a prayer for all of us that it¹s a smooth transition, as this family does not believe in the cry-it-out method, but instead helping her learn through encouragement, human touch in the form of back rubs and support.