Farrah's 12 Month Update

Farrah Oakley Brooks.  My big one-year-old daughter.  I love you and am so damn proud of you and of me and of your dad and of our family.  This year has been seriously nothing short of amazing.  I could (and probably will) go on and on, but let's wrap up these monthly updates that I've done for 9 months of pregnancy, and now 12 months of your little, young, perfect life.


You are doing so much better in the car.  You ride quietly.  We have figured out some things that work such as bringing your lambie with you, and offering you pacifiers; they go hand-in-hand.  When the pacifier goes in, the lamb must be had.  You liked to toss your paci, and the lamb or anything else near you for that matter, when you decided you were done with it, and I would have to have a stash of extras in the front to hand back to you.  Recently I attached one to your strap with a pacifier hook and for days it ticked you off that you couldn't throw it, but it has been a huge convenience for us all.


You always like to see what's going on, that's for sure.  You will stretch your neck to see what's going on outside the windows.  You sometimes quickly pick at little strings on your lamb or car seat and I find that to be so cute.  Whenever we park the car at our destination, you start kicking your legs with excitement and you snicker and yelp a little - so darn cute.  I'm obsessed.


Your hair is getting fuller and longer.  You still love, love, love flowers and you always want to pick a flower and hold it.  You really like playing in water and being outside.  You also take your dirty diapers and carry them while crawling all the way back to our bedroom, and you carefully stand up holding onto the diaper pail, open the lid, bend down and pick up the diaper, put it inside, and close the lid.  So awesome!


You give kisses!!  Along with a big "mwah" sound.  When you get started on them, you give a lot of them.  You love playing with lids, putting them on and off and twisting them on.  You also love shoes and must put on all shoes that you see.  Once I had four pairs of socks on your feet at once because you kept trying to put them on and then handing them to me.


You really are starting to talk and jabber really loudly.  You say "hi" really loudly when someone drives by or when you see someone you know.  The first (and only so far) two words you've put together are "Hi, da!"  You have a cackle laugh when you laugh hard.


So...you took your first 5 steps this month!  You had taken one step on the sidewalk in front of me and Nana (new name for Grandma McCoy)!  A few days later, I put you down on the kitchen floor wearing your jelly sandals and you stood there.  Your dad was also in the kitchen and I told him to look.  You carefully took a step, and with me not wanting to move a muscle, and your dad cheering you on, "Go, baby!  Keep going!  Good job!" you took another step, and three more, before you reached my open arms.  We were so damn proud of you and we gave you so much praise.  I smiled so big with tears in my eyes.  It's insane the way these things make me feel!


Since then you've taken 3 steps on two different occasions, but you haven't taken any interest in learning to walk on your own any more yet.  But that is okay by me, because as your daddy keeps reminding me, once you learn, you'll be walking forever, so there's no need to rush it. 


Your dad said you're going to be a giggler like your mommy.  And he said you sit with good posture like me, too.


I love this time in our lives.  I love handing you snack after snack in the car because you aren't able to hold a container without tossing it around.  I love sitting on the front step watching you spend countless time playing with the Little Tikes car opening and shutting the door, in and out, placing things in the back or in the pretend gas tank.  I love listening to your voice and the way you point at everything you see or want.  I love, love, love everything about you, darling.






I have an obsession with car seat photos!

First time swimming!

Happy 2nd Anniversary

Happy 2nd Anniversary to the love of my life.  Two years ago on this day we had rain, sunshine, dresses, guests, family, doves, songs, kisses, smiles, rings, eating, fellowship, fireworks, dancing, laughing, and happiness.  It was one of the best days of my life. 


I've learned that marriage is what you make of it.  It's what you're willing to work harder at and be better at.  It's what you find important and what you make a priority.  It's about making time.  Making time to laugh, to love, and to celebrate.  It's about finding time to take in life around you and thank God for all the blessings you have. 


Marriage isn't a given.  It isn't a have-to.  It's actually nothing of the two.  It takes constant work and it's really everything my world revolves around.  From the moment I wake up each morning to the moment I lay down each night, my marriage circumferences it all.  It typically determines how my day goes and what mood I'm in.  Together, my husband and I discuss minute details of our every day and plan for bigger days.  We laugh together, snuggle together, watch TV together, have supper together, support each other, listen to one another, and show care and affection for one another.


The tough days in between the good days, since they don't kill us, only make us stronger.  We end up stronger and with a better understanding after getting through uncomfortable conversations or hurt feelings. 


My marriage is something I always desired, wanted, and dreamed of.  It's something I am proud of and hold with a very high head and heart.  I am so very proud of my husband.


He is so handsome, and funny, and smart.  He is logical and practical, yet fun and spontaneous. 


He's my other half.  He's my go-to.  He's the father of our beautiful children.  And he's my hero.


Happy Anniversary, love.

Farrah's 11 Month Update

These eleven months have been perfect in every way.  The sleepless nights have faded to many hours of sleep for everyone, disrupted occasionally by our little baby just needing a little touch to go back to sleep.  The worries of watching the clock to breastfeed on time has gradually changed to us just knowing how to do what we do.  The concerns of baby led weaning vs. traditionally feeding rituals have worked out perfectly and led to a very non-picky, food loving, healthy eater.  The inconsolable infant cries have turned into loud bursts of laughter.  The tiny baby learning to roll over and scoot has grown into a crawling, hand-holding-almost-walking, cruising, mobile baby, who is not scared of anything.

Farrah loves to be tossed up in the air and spun around.  She loves cheerios and strawberries.  She likes helping mommy stir the tea and she loves splashing in water (i.e. the cat's water, usually).  She found her coat the other day and got her arm in the sleeve correctly.  This made me so proud.  She finds clothes and tries to put them on over her head.  She is really starting to play well independently coming up with little games (like putting kitchen utensils into a cereal box) to occupy herself.   

Farrah loves to hide behind our recliner chair and slowly peek out at us.  She enjoys going down to the farm to see Daddy and Grandpa and all the lambs and other animals, including the big sheep dogs.  She loves to walk around holding our hands and is getting stronger and faster and sometimes she is able to walk well by holding one hand.  She has been climbing into her walker and every time she gets her little leg stuck in the air and she needs help back out, but she just does it again and again. 

She can moo like a cow, baa like a sheep, pant like a dog, growl like a bear as well as say bear, meow like Lenox, and she says uh oh everytime something is dropped, even when she does it on purpose.  I bought her some animal toys from Orscheln, a puppy, cat, cow, and sheep, and she enjoys saying all the noises they make, as well as her new favorite activity of putting items into a container and taking them back out. 

After Farrah had hand food mouth disease last month, she had another fever a few days later.  Looking back now, I think now it may have been from teething (her fourth tooth).  For a week or two she slept terribly, but otherwise she sleeps great.  I had to take a night or two to stop waking up with her, and she was able to get back into her good sleep schedule.

We've been dealing with terrible tantrums where she gets bored or frustrated when her wants are greater than her ability to express them.  The car rides got terrible, and caused terrible stress for Keane and I, but toward the last week this month things have had a turn-around and although I'm practically holding my breath, Farrah has been tolerating the car seat much better and acts like what I would consider a normal behavior in the car.  Very, very exciting.

She is jabbering more and it's really adorable when she tries talking to us in her little voice.

I do not want to forget our times nursing.  She kicks back relaxed with her legs draped over mine. She flips her crocheted lamb around, sometimes tossing it onto the ground.  She knows to switch sides one time, and after the second side, she is done.  

She has been snuggling when she first wakes up, laying her head on our shoulder and just staying content. 

(Lap's full, heart's full)

Her daycare teacher, Miss Amber, had a baby and will be out until August, and I think the adjustment has been hard on her as she has cried several times as we leave her at the daycare, but we always get positive reports that she has had a great day!  Every day with Farrah is a great day!

("Watching" Uncle Kollin play baseball)

(Daddy picked Farrah flowers when he was mushroom hunting)

(Farrah Oakley and our oak tree)

(Farrah loves flowers!)

(My mom bought this adorable crocheted dress and headband for her)

(Stopping all my to-do's after work to simply spend time with Farrah)

(I love her sleepy look and bed hair in the mornings)

)She hugs her lamb tightly and loves when you say "Awww")