The Brockert Family

Is there a tribal health dance?

2012-02-15T10:56:00.001-06:00

Alright. This is getting really old! The Brockerts are sick and tired of being sick and tired. At least one person in our house has had a cold since Christmas. Currently, all three of us are sick and we have six days to get healthy. It may be time to research tribal health dances or come up with our own. Ugh! Nick and Lainey both have horrible coughs, Lainey has a runny nose, and I have a combination of body aches, coughing, sniffling, and a sore throat.

By the way, I learned a very valuable lesson last night. When your gut is telling you NOT to take Tylenol PM, do not take it no matter how horrible your throat feels. Enduring sharp, stabbing pain every time you swallow is a much better alternative than what will happen when your two year old wakes up screaming and wants absolutely nothing to do with her daddy. Oh. My. Word! Lainey fell asleep at seven (which is unheard of as far as my kid goes) and woke up shortly after nine, right as my body went completely numb and I was well on my way to Snoozeville. The poor thing was in the middle of a coughing fit and had also leaked through her pajamas. On top of having to endure cold symptoms, she also had the most horrible bout of diarrhea I've ever had to clean up. Somehow the really icky stuff was contained in her diaper (we were literally millimeters away from a blowout) and for that I'm extremely thankful. It took me about two insanely groggy hours to get Lainey back into her bed but once I did she slept until nine this morning. Poor Lainey. Poor Mommy. And poor Daddy who wanted to help so much but just couldn't. :(

Like I said above, we have six days to get healthy. And I guess now would be a good time to mention that anyone who wants to visit Mr. Owen had better have a completely clean bill of health because a sick newborn does not sound much fun at all.

The big sister

2012-02-12T00:29:00.001-06:00

Lainey is aware that there are going to be some big changes in her life soon. Obviously, we've been discussing Owen's arrival and my stay at the hospital in terms that she can somewhat understand. And she's definitely getting it to some degree. However, I'm sure it's impossible for her to wrap her toddler brain around everything we are explaining to her. We've seen some changes in our sweet girl recently. She's always been a mama's girl but she's even more clingy these days. It's always "Mom's turn" to change diapers, put on pajamas, rock her to sleep, etc. She pushes Nick away sometimes which hurts his feelings but we understand that she's just having a difficult time right now and it's only going to get more difficult in the days to come. Just thinking about my extended hospital stay tears my heart out for my sweet girl (and that's all I can say about that without sobbing!). I took some pictures of Lainey today after I snapped some photographs of Owen's room. Poor girl is under the weather (We've had one illness after another in our house since Christmas. Ugh! Something's gotta give at some point, right?) and that explains her sad look in these pictures. I just thought they kind of illustrated Lainey's feelings about Baby Owen these days...

Lainey has said I can't be Owen's mom a few times recently. :(

Sick, rosy cheeks. Sweet girl unsure about this "baby bruver" thing.

She's going to be an awesome big sis though. I have no doubt about that!

As the day of Owen's birth gets closer and closer, we're having many sleepless nights in the Brockert house. Well, Lainey and I are. Nick typically sleeps right through these rough patches. I've figured out a pattern though. Nick and I were telling Lainey "stories" about Mommy having Owen and how I will have to stay in the hospital for a few nights so my belly can heal. Well, Lainey has woken up screaming for me every single night after hearing one of these "stories." And we are most definitely not explaining my hospital stay right before bed. The discussion could take place at ten in the morning only to be followed by a rough night of what I assume is anxiety. It's like she's just checking to make sure I'm really there. Oh, how I dread the nights when I won't be! Needless to say, we've cut the hospital story time and things have calmed down in the crazy sleep department somewhat. Somewhat is the key word.

When Lainey wakes up, it's usually extremely difficult to get her back to sleep. I've had to entertain her at 3:45 in the morning several times and the stinker stays awake! Eventually she crashes at about eight in the morning and my sweetheart is then out of commission for about four hours or so. This is what she looked like after one of our early morning parties...

Poor little sweetheart! Nick and I feel so sad for Lainey but we do know we are giving her a lifelong friend. We may have some rough days and weeks ahead of us (okay, months probably) but it will be so worth it!

Lastly, here are some cute pictures Nick took of Miss Lainey today. I had a hair appointment this morning (aka my last pampering and therapy session before the madness begins) and Lainey got to run some errands with Daddy. Nick got Lainey dressed and fixed her hair which is always a scary thing. All in all, he didn't do that bad! Well, except for the chocolate that is smeared on Lainey's face in these cute pictures. It's a good thing Lainey doesn't eat the "Daddy Diet" on a regular basis.

Lainey Elizabeth, the sweetest and silliest big sis in the world!

My basketball...

2012-02-11T23:45:00.000-06:00

I'm a few minutes away from being thirty-eight weeks and two days pregnant. If I make it to my c-section date, I'm also just nine short days away from meeting Little Man. As much as I'm ready to be "Leslie, party of one" again, I'm not quite ready to have another baby yet. I know that sounds silly, but it's true for various reasons I am too tired to explain. For now, I'll leave you with a picture Nick took of Owen and me today. I'm so carrying a baby boy this time. Here I am rocking the boy "basketball." (You can drop anytime, kid. My ribs will kindly thank you!)

Go Royals!

2012-02-11T23:34:00.000-06:00

Eagerly Presenting...

A KC Royals nursery for Owen Miles Brockert!

This fun little banner hangs on the door to Owen's room.

The view just inside the door.

Oh, how I adore the rocker recliner we picked out. Sooo cozy!

Owen's quilt was made by my mom. She outdid herself!
I purchased an extra crib sheet for my mom to use so it would match the bedding perfectly. It's a hundred times better than I imagined. Thank you, Mom!!

My mom also made this super cozy Royals blanket. Love!

Owen's crib and his super awesome KC Royals picture!

I felt so cool when I bought this picture because I got the store to knock $100 bucks off the price. Woohoo! And it has special meaning because the picture is of Opening Day 2007. Nick and I were there and it was a picture perfect day!

Owen's new dresser and changing pad.

Just another view!

Owen's tall dresser and lots of fun decorations!

Love these decorations and the wall color is so very calming!

"I love lamp." Hee hee!

I'm pretty sure winter needs to kick in here sometime soon!
Otherwise many of Owen's super warm baby clothes are going to be left unused!

Amazon.com rocks! That's where I found this cute hook and mini baseball.
Let's hope Owen loves the Royals as much as his daddy does! :)

Who knew...

2012-02-08T16:00:00.001-06:00

...eating an apple could be so gosh darn cute?

Lainey has developed a recent love of apples.
As long as we peel the skin off with a potato peeler, she goes to town!

Don't worry...these pictures are from December.
I'm way too OCD to let her wear a Christmas shirt in February.

"Santa's Favorite" will be a big sister in THIRTEEN DAYS!
Eek! I'm freaking out a little bit and hope to update when I have time.

Flashback Friday

2012-02-03T10:33:00.000-06:00

Last night, I was looking through the pictures Nick has stored on his phone. I came across some pictures from Thanksgiving. My family always takes two traditional photos on Thanksgiving: one of my parents and their grandchildren and another with the whole entire family. It's always a fun, exhausting, hilarious, and time-consuming process that gets everyone geared up to rip into a turkey. Looking back at these pictures, it appears Thanksgiving was the start of spring for us. We have had the most unbelievable winter (and fall as well actually) with the warmest temperatures and not a hint of snow in sight. And I'm loving it! Let's just hope this isn't gearing us up for a miserable summer because you all know how much I adore Kansas summers. Ick!

I haven't seen the actual family pictures yet and need to bug my sister-in-law, Rachel, about them. She always takes them on her camera because it has a timer and she's the queen of photography. As Rachel was setting things up to take the picture this year, we all got a good chuckle when Chris pointed out that it was kind of silly for her to be messing with the timer because Nick could just take the picture. Throughout residency and his first year with his practice, Thanksgiving was always his holiday to work and he never made it into our family picture. We always joked about photoshopping him in but never took it that far. No worries though! Rachel got the camera and timer arranged and the whole family made it into the picture this year! Success!

Next year there will be eleven grandchildren in the picture.
Five girls and six boys...Boys rule once again!

Lainey was such a little ham!

Getting ten kids to cooperate is no easy task!

Lainey's boy cousins are so good to her.
Check out how much she adores Sam! So very sweet!

Someone has a sweet tooth!

2012-01-30T19:04:00.000-06:00

Actually, someone has a serious sweet tooth! We had a pretty stocked candy dish around Christmas time and foolishly placed it in Lainey's sight. When I walked into the kitchen one morning, I learned that my daughter is a thief. Yep, I caught my sweetie chocolate handed and promptly found a new location for the candy dish. Well, after taking a few pictures first. :)

Pants are optional when stealing candy from the candy jar.
Didn't you know?

Farewell to the Red Dragon

2012-01-30T18:36:00.001-06:00

There have been several events that have come and gone over the past few months, never to be documented on the blog. Our eighth wedding anniversary and my 34th birthday are just a few examples. I blame the intense exhaustion that is the third trimester! Add evening nausea on top of the intense exhaustion and I'm sure you can understand why blogging has not been my biggest priority! There is one event that I do want to make sure I document and that is the day Nick and I said goodbye to a dear, old friend. The Red Dragon, aka Nick's 2000 Ford Focus. Nick purchased this car when he and his family moved to Leavenworth. Shortly after landing in Leavenworth, Nick got a job as a chemist in St. Joseph, Missouri and needed some decent wheels to get him to and from work. And that's how the Red Dragon came to be.

Nick and I both have many fond memories when it comes to the Red Dragon. Nick picked me up for our very first date in that car. I was under the impression that we were going to dinner (because isn't that the normal first date here in Kansas???) but unfortunately I was greeted by the overwhelming smell of McDonald's when I sat down in the car (After Nick opened the door for me, a sweet act that continued for several years until Mr. Romantic gave that up because apparently I can open my own dang door now.). Nick had scarfed down a value meal on his way to my house and proceeded to take me to a bar where he "fed" me three beers (Fat Tires, to be exact) on an empty stomach. Somehow, someway we have been together for over ten years, married for eight, and are twenty-two days away from welcoming our second child into the world. The Red Dragon must have put some sort of spell on me or something. I kid, of course.

Nick did redeem himself several times in the dating department and the Red Dragon was always there to deliver us to and from our adventures. We took several road trips in that car, had numerous silly arguments that we can laugh about now, and listened to hours of music together. The Red Dragon truly was a dear, old friend and Nick would have preferred to keep his trusty wheels around for several more years. However, life has certainly changed since 2000! With Owen on the way, we needed a larger vehicle since we enjoy our mini road trips to Arkansas each year. My Toyota Corolla was perfect for my every day use...with one child. With each passing day, my growing baby bump kept telling us it was time to pass the Corolla on to Nick, purchase a larger vehicle for me, and say goodbye to the Red Dragon. That happened on December 10th and it was a sad, sad day. Nick will probably kill me for sharing this but he spent close to two hours with his baby that day, cleaning her out for her new owners. Knowing how sentimental my husband is, I'm sure he shed a tear or two. Actually, I would probably bet money on it.

Farewell, Red Dragon! Farewell!

Thanks for the memories!

That's a whole lotta miles, each one driven by Nick!

Oh, the stories the Red Dragon could tell!

Battered and bruised, Nick loved her just the same!

Faded parking stickers...KU Med and Research Medical Center

The Red Dragon...Gone but never forgotten!

Sesame Street Live!

2012-01-30T11:49:00.000-06:00

Lainey got to see her very first live show this past weekend! On Saturday, we took her to see Sesame Street Live at the Sprint Center. We had four tickets to the show so we invited Lainey's best friend, Addie, to join us. The girls had a blast. Well, mostly. They were both SO excited just walking to the Sprint Center. When we were getting out of the car, we told both of them that they absolutely had to hold our hands as we walked down the street. That's when Addie said, "I KNOW, Aunt YaYa! Back when I was three (you know, less than a year ago), I saw Yo Gabba Gabba and I had to hold my daddy's hand. So I know." Both girls were amazed by the tall buildings and squealed with delight as we walked...even though the mean grown ups enforced the hand holding rule. Lainey was especially excited when we entered the Sprint Center. She looked up, down, and all around and yelled, "I'm ready to rock!" The kid cracks me up for sure!

We were very thankful that we arrived about thirty minutes before the show because there really wasn't much of a crowd as we handed over our tickets and navigated the concourse. Getting some treats for the girls was a piece of cake with no wait and then we were off to find our seats. Again, the girls were super excited and only got into one little squabble over who was going to sit by me. Oh, and then there was that other squabble over the fact that their shoes were touching. My goodness! Those two are such good buddies but they can be just like sisters in many ways. Stinkers! But thankfully the stinkers did awesome waiting for the show to begin and they were SO excited when Bert and Ernie stepped foot on stage. Addie remained happy and excited throughout the entire show. Lainey? Well, she made it about ten minutes into the first half of the show and then she and I had to make our way back out onto the concourse. She started freaking out, said she was scared, and wanted to go to her car and go home. Lovely. Lainey and I walked around the concourse until the fifteen minute break between the two segments of the show when we met back up with Addie and Nick. Nick and I thought about leaving for a few minutes but decided to get the girls a sweet treat and stick around. We're glad we did because Lainey did fabulous throughout the rest of the show and LOVED it! All in all, it was a great experience and we look forward to more shows with our girl in the future!

Thank you, Aunt Alyssa, for giving us tickets to the show and thanks for my super awesome new Sesame Street clothes as well! You rock!

Lainey and Bitty Baby before the show.

Apparently we need a picture of Bitty Baby.

Serious cheese.

Someone loooooves "Binny Baby."

Lainey's cute date!

Enjoying a special treat - "Wenomade!"

Addie and Uncle Nick!

Just the girls!

Someone's excited!

Someone's very excited!

The end!

Lainey's good idea gone bad!

2012-01-17T11:16:00.000-06:00

You've got a friend in me!

2012-01-13T11:02:00.000-06:00

We spent the evening of Christmas Eve at my brother's house. He fixed a delicious dinner and we all just sort of relaxed together. At one point, he looked over at Lainey and got the bright idea to put on a movie for her. His choice? Toy Story 3. Before this, Lainey had never paid any attention to any full-length movies but she was absolutely sucked in. I think we watched the opening sequence of the movie three times because Lainey stood up on my brother's couch and was so very vocal about the movie. She would scream, "Oh no!" and "Train fall down!" at all of the right parts. Her jaw would drop to the floor and she would put her little hands to her cheeks when she was shocked by the action. It was really hilarious and Nick and I were amazed at just how into the movie she was. Fast forward to Christmas Day and Lainey talked about "train" and "story" over and over. We asked Jeff to bring his copy of the movie over to my parents' house on Christmas Day and Lainey was just as excited about it! We are now the proud owners of our own copy of Toy Story 3 and Lainey is one happy girl. She mostly just asks to watch the opening sequence but every once in a while I will let the movie keep playing and we'll have it on as background noise. Then Lainey will tune in when her favorite parts come on. I must say that this movie is torturing this pregnant mama a little bit. The ending absolutely kills me and I just bawl every single time I see it. Lainey is usually snuggled into me when she watches the ending and the poor girl inevitably ends up with my tears in her hair and running down her neck. Poor little sweetie always asks me what's wrong and I just hug her tight. Such a sweet, sweet movie for my sweet, sweet girl to love!

Lainey invited Bitty Baby and some of her dollhouse dolls to watch the movie.

I think it's so funny that she thought to set up chairs for her guests!

The opening sequence of Toy Story 3 is pretty action-packed...

...and it is extremely captivating!

Lainey used to be deathly afraid of my brother for some reason.
She's singing a different tune these days...
"You've got a friend in me, Uncle Jeff!"

Chuck E. Cheese

2012-01-12T20:01:00.002-06:00

We took Lainey to Chuck E. Cheese on her actual birthday. It's definitely a "couple of times a year" kind of place but we were happy to see Lainey having the time of her life surrounded by loud games, tons of kids, and germ infested tokens. Both sets of Lainey's grandparents, Aunt Alyssa, and the Thoms joined us for pizza, salads, and drinks. We never made it to the cake I brought along but I don't think anyone minded one bit.

Lainey didn't really "get" most of the games but she sure had fun!

Addie showed her the ropes!

Skeeballin' Cousins

Lainey was happy that Chuck E. Cheese had a slide!

Getting ready to slide!!

She was much more excited than it appears in most pictures!

Lainey, Addie, and Stella had fun in the roller coaster simulator!

Holy Cuteness!

Party time!

2012-01-12T12:59:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Lainey's birthday with our families last Saturday. All in all, it was a wonderful party despite a few issues. First of all, Nick was on call. We dodged a bullet considering he actually didn't get many calls, BUT I would have loved to have him home on Saturday morning (his office is open on Saturday mornings and the on-call doc is the one in charge of seeing patients). Then there was a mishap at HyVee with my fruit and veggie trays. The mishap involved a worker losing my order so my trays weren't ready when I went to pick them up. The manager tried his best to rectify the situation on the spot but his solution wasn't working for me and my stupid, hormonal self started crying (Yes, I apologized and felt absolutely ridiculous!). In my defense, I was in a serious time crunch because I had to go pick up Lainey's cake before the bakery closed so I had no choice but to leave empty handed and come back later to pick up the trays. This unfortunately sucked two hours of time out of my day but I did end up getting what I wanted (and a discount to boot). Lastly, I realized that I never bought a special outfit for Lainey's party and I had intended to get her a new dress. Sadness! I decided she could wear the dress that got zero use on Christmas Eve since she didn't want to be a princess that night. The only problem? No matching tights. Ugh! I let it go and dressed her as cute as I could with most of her clothes being in the dirty laundry. Lucky for me, my kid is cute no matter what so I tried my best to just roll with it. The important thing is Lainey had a fantastic time and felt very special. She was SO animated and excited about every aspect of the night and that is all that matters!

Lainey helped me make the potato casserole.
She did a surprisingly fantastic job!

Eagerly and happily spreading the wet ingredients.

Lainey was helpful...UNTIL it was time to add the cheese.
Then she did more eating than helping but that's okay.

Extra special seating for the birthday girl!

The cake and part of the feast!
I did minimal cooking and that was probably the right decision.

I felt a little guilty about not baking Lainey's cake...
BUT I'm pretty sure baking would have pushed me over the edge.

Lainey LOVES Caillou and wanted a Caillou party.
The birthday girl's wish was happily granted!

Lainey and three of her cousins watching Toy Story 3.

Such cuties!

My best friends and my O'Douls. I could have used the real thing.
I had quite a day leading up to the party!

Lainey had lots of help opening her presents.
She wasn't afraid to let her cousins know who was boss though.

Fruit snacks from Uncle Jon who feels Lainey is neglected.
I refuse to buy fruit snacks!!

The original Toy Story!

Putting her new diaper bag accessories to good use!
Nick and I purchased baby themed gifts for Lainey.
The timing just seemed right with Owen on the way.

Lainey LOVES Bitty Baby's new crib! I love the added storage. Brilliant!

And the last gift of the evening was a new ride-on toy.
Thanks, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Rachel!

Lainey has a need for speed on her sweet new ride! :)

Lighting the candles!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to herself right along with everyone else.

Lainey LOVED the attention!!

Clapping for all of her guests and their beautiful singing!

SO very excited!

After we were done singing, Lainey got a spoon out of
the drawer and helped herself to a bite of cake. Hilarious!

Digging right on in!

We still can't believe she's two!

Happy Second Birthday, Lainey!

2012-01-02T11:24:00.000-06:00

The first thing Lainey said to me this morning...
"See my sock, Mom?!"

"Hooray! I'm TWO!"

Lainey chose the breakfast of champions.
Don't judge.

Today is all about Lainey Elizabeth! Nick is off work today and we're letting Little Miss boss us around. Come to think if it though, that's really not much different than any other day. For the most part, we are keeping the day pretty simply. Sometime this afternoon, we are going to take Lainey to Target to pick out a new toy. Then we're meeting some of our family at Chuck E. Cheese for the dinner of champions and plenty of fun and games. And, yes, there will probably be cake as well. Fun and simple is the name of the game today! The big, crazy fun will happen next weekend when we have Lainey's birthday party at our house. We're looking forward to it!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

My sweet one-year-old

2012-01-01T21:16:00.000-06:00

This first day of 2012 is also Lainey's last day as a one-year-old. Just typing that sentence made me tear up (I'm pregnant so I may or may not be bawling). Where, oh where has the time gone? Two years ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed feeling very anxious to meet my baby girl. Now my baby girl is a big girl and soon to be big sister. Two years ago today, I didn't know my daughter at all and now I can tell you everything about her. She's smart. She's dramatic. She's hilarious. She adores "chocwit." And she's the best thing that has ever happened to me. What an honor and a blessing it is to be Lainey Elizabeth's mom. I have so many days when I feel mommy guilt about this or that and I often wonder if I'm doing any of it right. I must be though because my sweet little girl still lets me rock her to sleep each night (although most parenting books out there would disagree that there's anything right about that but I so don't care!). After rocking my ~~big girl~~ baby to sleep tonight, I stole the opportunity to take her final picture as a one-year-old. As soon as I placed her in her crib, she tucked herself in a ball like she always does and curled into the corner of her bed...

Oh, how I love that sweet girl of mine! I spent many years dreaming about being a mom and what my children would be like. My dream children were so inferior to the real thing! So very inferior. Sweet dreams, sweet Lainey!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T13:45:00.000-06:00

Oh boy, oh boy! 2012 is here!

I'm having another baby this year! To be more specific, I'm having another baby next month!! Crunch time has arrived and Nick and I are definitely feeling it, especially since both of us have a funny feeling that Little Man will be here before his scheduled c-section date. It's time to get stuff done around here! And in order to really get stuff done, Little Man's nursery needed some new paint. Today's progress...

Holes patched. Adios boring neutral shade!

Nick and I were a good team today.
We didn't even fight once. Craziness!

A Kansas City Royals room is in the works for...
Owen Miles Brockert!

First coat...check!
Second coat will be applied this afternoon.

So, hooray! We're getting there. Baby is named. Furniture and bedding have been purchased. A complete wardrobe for the first three months of Owen's life is waiting to be washed. Additional outfits for an older, growing boy have also been purchased. Nick and I are now in the process of gathering all of the additional basics we will be needing and hope to "put it all together" as quickly as possible so we can rest up a bit before the madness happens! And we know from experience that madness is on its way!

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-30T11:04:00.001-06:00

The Brockert family had a truly wonderful Christmas even though it didn't quite feel like Christmas this year. First of all, the weather was so very mild. We were spoiled with white Christmases the past two years in a row and this year felt more like spring actually. Lainey, my dad, and I spent some time playing outside on Christmas day and we weren't even wearing winter coats! Secondly, we were unable to attend Christmas Eve mass which was very sad for me. Lainey was all out of sorts when it was time to leave for church and she absolutely freaked out when I put her pretty new dress on her. She said, "I no wanna be a princess!" and she meant it. The dress debacle turned into a two hour long tantrum that no crying room (or my sanity) could have handled so our decision to stay home was probably the right one. Lastly, Nick was was on call and had to work over the holiday. We were thankful that he was able to watch Lainey open her gifts and eat meals with each of our families because he was VERY busy. Of course, that also meant there were patients spending their holiday in the hospital. And some of them were (and still are) quite ill. This reminded us to be thankful of our health and the fact that we were free to spend our Christmas any way we wanted, for the most part that is.

Overall, the holiday was a good one and Nick and I felt very grateful for all of our blessings. Our wonderful families. Our warm, safe home. My ability to stay home with Lainey each day while Nick is living out his dream as a doctor (yes, even when it means he has to work holidays). Our healthy baby boy who will be here SOON!! And, of course, our sweet Lainey who we fall in love with more and more each day.

We took an insane number of pictures of our Christmas festivities but my computer is messing up and I just don't have the time to deal with a technology mess right now (I'm sick as a dog thanks to my sister sharing her nasty cold over Christmas! Horrible timing with Lainey's second birthday on Monday!). For now, enjoy the following cuteness!

Lainey obviously made it on Santa's "Nice List!"

Digging right in!

Lainey LOVES music and this xylophone was a hit!

As much as she loves her musical gifts, Cookie ties for
first place with the dollhouse my parents gave her.

I have a feeling Cookie is going to go many places with us!
Lainey says "I'm missing Cookie!" if she hasn't seen him in a while.

We sincerely hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours!

Better late than never... Part Two!

2011-12-21T12:52:00.001-06:00

Here is the final installment of pictures from our trip to Devil's Den this past September. Again, we had a blast as usual. We ate well, relaxed well, played hard, got dirty, and made wonderful memories!

The guys!

Cute kid!

My beautiful new Chevy Traverse...it was only days old. We LOVE it!

Erin and Chris celebrating five years of wedded bliss...
with some of their crazy extended family...in the woods.

Lainey's face is so cute in this picture. Love her.

She pretty much owns Arkansas.

Some of the girls...

A certain someone is still missing...plus someone extra popped in the picture.
My dad is so silly. He said, "Umm. You might want a retake."

Now that's more like it. ALL the girls!

The Thom Family

This cute fox showed up during our steak dinner.

Little dude just wanted some steak, I'm thinking.

Lainey led the seance.

And then tried on Addie's shoes. Check out that dirty face.
Kid plays hard in the woods!

Peek-a-BOO!

Wheeee!

She doesn't just own Arkansas. She owns the park, too!

We'll see you again soon, Arkansas!

Better late than never...

2011-12-18T23:21:00.000-06:00

Oh my! I have been so busy the past few months and I'm way behind on some of my intended blog entries. I've had the following pictures saved as a draft for several weeks so I guess I'll go ahead and get them published...three months late! The following pictures are from our September trip to Arkansas. We had such a great time and can't wait to introduce Little Man to one of our favorite vacation destinations very soon!

Roughing it in our cabin while watching "Sessie Street"

I thought I looked HUGE when Nick took this picture.
Oh, to be that huge again!

Freshly groomed pup ready to get dirty in the woods!

The next few pictures are so sweet! Erin, Chris, and the girls headed down to Devil's Den with us but they weren't able to travel during the day like the rest of us. They actually didn't make it into the park until one in the morning. Lainey was oblivious to their arrival since she was snoozing away. What a surprise she received the following morning! As soon as Addie heard Lainey stirring, she knocked on our door and came in to our room to surprise us. Lainey screamed the loudest, happiest scream ever. Both girls squealed with delight and giggled for many minutes. It was so sweet! Stella just looked confused but who can blame her. Ha!

A good morning surprise from Baby Stella...

...and Addie, too!

Addie had a fantastic idea!

Lainey obviously had no trouble going along with the plan either!

Lainey MUST have bubbles in her bath now...

...even while on vacation!

Getting some help from Grandma at the top of the slide!

And from Grandpa at the bottom. Rough life!

Miss Independent can do things on her own, too!

Tunnel slides are just a little bit scary!

My girl wants to party all the time...

2011-12-13T00:06:00.001-06:00

party all the time, party all the time!

(Thank you Eddie Murphy for that lovely tune!)

I am so going to kick myself in the morning! My pregnant self should really be in bed but I'm not quite ready yet. I just spent an hour and a half taking some serious frustrations out on my bedroom and master bathroom. That led to contractions (which have stopped thankfully) and now I'm just trying to calm myself enough to fall asleep. As I sit here taking deep breaths, I find myself thinking about how much I really miss nap time (and yes, I know I'm a broken record about this issue...sorry about that). Those really were the good old days. Every once in a while, Lainey does surprise me by taking a nap. Like on the day pictured below. She crawled into my lap to "sunggle" and was out within a few minutes. What a sweet little lovey! I just wish I could count on a daily instead of a monthly nap. Oh well. It just means I get lots of time with my girl every day and she's worth every exhausting minute!

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-11T18:09:00.002-06:00

Little Man's big day has been set!

2011-12-06T14:30:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
9:00 a.m.

It's a date, Little Man! Mommy, Daddy, and Big Sister are so excited to meet you. And we promise we'll have your room ready in time!

Hello, third trimester!

2011-12-01T12:28:00.000-06:00

Today I am twenty-eight weeks pregnant which means I have also entered the third trimester. It's so weird because, on one hand, it feels like this pregnancy is dragging by so very slowly. On the other hand, I'm sitting here this morning wondering where the second trimester went! If I were to go full term, I would have twelve weeks left in my pregnancy. Since I'll be having a repeat c-section at thirty-nine weeks, I actually only have eleven weeks to go. Eek! Less than eighty days and I will get to hold Little Man in my arms. I'm very excited and terrified all at the same time!

I'm excited for the obvious reasons and terrified because everyone I've ever talked to about having a second child says it's pure insanity. Apparently going from one child to two is the hardest transition for a family. After that, I've heard, you can add as many children as you'd like and it's a piece of cake. My guess is that last statement is a bunch of baloney and it's just plain tough no matter how many kids a couple welcomes into the family. That thought does make me wonder how the transition from nineteen to twenty is going to go for Michelle Duggar. Ha!

I'm worried for Lainey. She has been the star of the show for almost two years and I know it's going to be rough for her to share the spotlight with Little Man. I mentioned in my last post that Lainey has been extra clingy lately and I've heard from some of my mommy friends that this is totally normal. We talk to Lainey about the baby all of the time and she has been helping us transition his room from a guest space to another nursery. So she knows somethings up but there is no way for her to really get it until the baby is actually here. In my heart, I know she's going to love Little Man and they are going to be great buddies but it is heartbreaking to know that she may struggle in the beginning.

Plus I know Lainey won't be the only one who struggles. I'm worried for Nick and for myself, too. Starting January 1st, Nick's office is losing another doctor so there will just be two doctors as well as a physician assistant (who can't take call or do any of the hospital rounds). That means Nick will be on call every other week instead of every third week. And when he's on call, that means we really don't have much of a weekend to speak of because he has to work. I'm always much more stressed during Nick's on call weeks so that does freak me out a little bit. No, it freaks me out a lot. We will survive, that I know. And really, there's no point in worrying about any of that now so I'm going to try hard to just put it in the back of my mind and take things one day at a time.

And, like I said, I'm worried about myself. Mostly I'm worried about sleep. Yes, I know that's silly because everyone knows that parents of newborns are exhausted beyond belief. My issue is with the fact that Lainey will be twenty-three months old tomorrow and she STILL wakes up at least once a week in the middle of the night. Lately it has been much more and it's been rough on me because I'm beat to begin with. I predicted that Lainey would wake up last night because she was overstimulated before bed and was up two hours past bedtime because we were babysitting Addie. Sure enough, Lainey woke up at 4:45 and I was unable to get her back to sleep. I haven't been able to sleep for more than two hours at a time in the longest time and it just kills me when we have rough mornings like today's. And speaking of kill, the combination of my raging pregnancy hormones and my current state of exhaustion left me a bit irrational this morning. I can count on one hand the number of times Nick has woken up when Lainey cried in the middle of the night. And those times were mostly when Lainey was still a tiny baby. This morning as I was dealing with a crying toddler and struggling to keep my eyes open, I heard the familiar sound of Nick snoring in the background. Then I heard him sleep through his alarm...THREE TIMES! I wanted to kill him and started imagining myself as the main character in the next big Lifetime movie, Mommy Behind Bars: The Leslie Brockert Story. The very first scene opens with me being forcefully carried away from my home in handcuffs. Thankfully it was just my imagination that got the best of me, but you'd better believe I yelled a little bit when his alarm sounded for the third time and was ignored. A certain someone got up at that point, took a shower, and headed off to work. He's lucky because I'm not sure he would have liked the way the rest of my movie played out. I got off in the end, by the way, because the jury was made up of twelve women and the judge ordered each of them to spend a week in my shoes. Oh, and just so you know, Nick wasn't permanently injured in my little made-for-tv movie either. I'm hormonal and exhausted, not crazy. :)

To wrap things up, I am very thankful that Little Man and I have made it safely to the third trimester. The days are moving very quickly and our sweet baby boy's arrival date will be here before we know it. That excites me and scares me at the very same time for Lainey, Nick, and for myself. How's that for a quick summary? Who knew I could get to the point like that? Sorry to have made you suffer through all the babble. Oh, and I'm also tired. Very, very, very tired. However, please do know that I AM mostly thankful for my healthy little man and his sweet, big sister (and for the knowledge that I may get to sleep again in about twenty years or so).

Pardon my cord mustache. :)

Dear Santa,

Lighten your load this year! I'll be one happy kid!

Baby Sneak-a-Peek

2011-11-25T18:57:00.000-06:00

We got to sneak a little peek at our baby boy this afternoon! Nick and I decided to go ahead and pay for a 3D ultrasound since our twenty week ultrasound was so stressful and filled with worry. We didn't get to enjoy that experience much at all and we wanted to have the chance to see our boy under happy circumstances. Unfortunately, we did not get the greatest pictures today because Little Man is breech (I was SHOCKED at where his head currently is. No wonder why I can't breathe half the time!!). He was simply positioned in such a way that made it difficult to get a really good glimpse of him. That's probably the way it's supposed to be anyway! Although brief, we did get a close enough look to determine that he seems to look quite a bit like his big sister. Their noses look very, very similar! We also got many chances to see Little Man show off his healthy arms and legs. Nick said he looks like a left-handed pitcher and went on to inform me that we will be duct taping Little Man's right arm to his side whenever he is in his highchair. You know, to force him to eat with his left hand. Hmm. I guess I won't be leaving my newest baby alone with his father. Ever.

Here he is!

Big Sister came with us to our appointment this afternoon. She FREAKED OUT and cried (and cried and cried) for the first fifteen minutes or so. I guess she thought I was seeing a doctor and thought I was hurt. Poor little sweetheart. She also seemed to freak out a bit whenever we pointed out baby brother. I will admit she's been extra clingy lately so I'm wondering if she's starting to realize something's up and that her little world is about to be rocked in a few short months. Nick and I are on a mission to love her up as much as possible between now and mid-February.

Lastly, something very interesting happened when I was paying for the ultrasound. The woman at the register is also in charge of printing off pictures for moms-to-be to take home of their sweet babies. The woman asked me if the pictures were a gift for the mother. I looked at my belly and then up at her with a very confused face. I said, "Umm. No. They are just for us." And she said, "Oh, I just thought they might be a gift for the mother since you are the surrogate." I laughed a little bit and informed the woman that this baby is 100% mine and will definitely be coming home with me! God bless the surrogates of the world, but Little Man is stuck with me (and his curly headed sister AND his insane baseball fanatic of a father)!

Did you know...

2011-11-18T00:10:00.001-06:00

Did you know that clothes are washed in a "washy achine?" It's true!

Did you know that the alphabet goes like this...

A, B, C, S, E

H I, H I, H I, H

Q, R, S, Q, R, S

Now I ABC's!

You didn't know that? Well, it's true!

Did you know that you should always respond with an enthusiastic "You're melka!" every time someone thanks you? It's true!

Did you know that Lainey gets very sad whenever she talks about "Dumpty Dumpty?" Well, guess what? It's true!

Did you know polished rocks are called "punkers?" It's true! (Not a clue in the world where that came from, by the way. Not. A. Clue.)

Did you know Lainey is absolutely terrified of swinging? Well, that used to be true but is now absolutely false. Lainey now bosses whoever is pushing her around by screaming, "HIGH! HIGH!" The higher, the better.

Did you know swinging requires concentration?

Did you also know that concentration is shown by sticking out one's tongue?

Because, you guessed it! It's undeniably true!

Hmm. Did you also know tongue-sticking-out-concentration is genetic?

Did you know Lainey's mom's name is "Yessie?" True, my friends! True!

Did you know Lainey has a potty mouth? Yep! Unfortunately true. I've apparently said "damn it" one too many times around the wee one. I guess I need to come up with a better phrase to grumble as I'm tripping over one of my four-legged friends. Why must they always be under foot? Why? WHY?

Did you know Lainey is positively insane about music? Did you also know that she wakes up singing every single morning? You weren't aware of either tidbit of information? Well, BOTH are TRUE! My little music lover sings all day long and she can also cut a mean rug!

Did you know that Lainey's mommy loves her kid so incredibly much that it's difficult to put into words sometimes? Without a doubt, true!

Besties

2011-11-17T23:17:00.000-06:00

Lainey and my niece, Adelyn, are the best of friends. Just like their mommies, the age difference between the girls is two and a half years. They get along so beautifully well and it's such a joy to watch. Both girls beg for play dates with one another and I welcome them with open arms as often as possible. Speaking from experience with my relationship with my sister, I know that Addie and Lainey may have some rocky times ahead of them as far as their friendship goes. Addie will reach some milestones a few years before Lainey which will likely make for some awkward times. They'll love each other and then possibly hate each other over the course of the next twenty years. But when they're both all grown up, any awkwardness or ugly feelings will completely disappear. They'll be left with an awesome friendship which warms my heart!

Nick watched both girls on Tuesday evening so Erin, Baby Stella,

my mom, and I could do some shopping at Kohl's. What a guy!

Looks like Addie and Lainey got to enjoy a bowl of M&M's.

Hmm. I wonder if that's why my dog is now sick??

The big picture...of the mess.

And amazingly, this is tame compared to their usual destruction!

25 weeks and one day

2011-11-11T17:51:00.000-06:00

That's how pregnant I currently am. For the most part, I'm feeling pretty well just like when I was pregnant with Lainey. The biggest difference this time has been my exhaustion. My second trimester honeymoon lasted about three days and then I was right back to feeling tired. All. The. Time. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm not sleeping well (I get insomnia really bad when pregnant) AND I can't nap because a certain someone rarely naps. A certain someone is also on the go all day long so I'm a tired and busy momma! Little Man is a busy kid himself as he moves around a lot throughout the day. Right now he's positioned in such a way that leaves me short of breath quite frequently. It's far from comfortable but I know it's only temporary. Little Man just needs to drop and all will be right with the world. My biggest concern right now is my weight. I've already gained more weight this time around than I did during my entire pregnancy with Lainey. I was hoping I would get lucky again and only gain eighteen pounds but apparently I have a growing boy inside of me with different plans. Or maybe it's just because my body just thought to itself Oh yeah! I remember what to do! and then picked up where it left off with Lainey. Or maybe I need to step away from Big Sister's stash of Halloween candy. Or maybe I just need to relax and enjoy this special time with Little Man because I'll have to share him with the rest of the world before I know it. :)

Here's a silly picture I took of myself in the bathroom mirror this morning. I clearly haven't mastered the art of snapping an image of my dear old self, but you'll get the picture. I'm loving that I get to recycle the maternity clothes I wore when I was pregnant with Lainey. This gray and white striped sweatshirt was my FAVORITE with Lainey and it's my favorite with Little Man as well. So, so comfy!

Just for comparison funzies, here I am pregnant with Lainey. On the left, I'm thirty-two weeks and five days pregnant with Little Miss. On the right, I'm exactly thirty-eight weeks pregnant. (Oh man, maybe I shouldn't have done this...I'm gonna be HUGE!)

And, lastly, you know how I feel about leaving pictures of Big Sister out of posts. She's been such an awesome kid lately even though she's not napping anymore. I'm amazed daily at how smart she is and just how adorable she is. She gave me an extra special surprise last week when she did this... (I'm pretty sure this is what heaven feels like!!)

She was off to see the wizard...

2011-11-01T17:23:00.000-05:00

...The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

Actually, that's not true. Lainey was merely off to score some free candy on the streets of Shawnee, Kansas where we went trick or treating with my sister and her boys last night. And score some free candy she did! Many people commented on how adorable "Dorothy" was and, as usual, several comments were made about a certain someone's blonde curls. In fact, I think her curls may have prompted people to give Lainey some extra candy because she ended the night with waaaaay more candy than an almost twenty-two month old should have. We were a little worried that Lainey would be scared of trick or treating since our Worlds of Fun candy grab was a bust. The first house we visited was the home of my sister's very kind elderly neighbor. Lainey WAS terrified initially but when he handed her a bag of chocolate M&M's it was GAME ON! Lainey said, "Oooooh, thank you!" and she was eagerly ready to knock on many more doors. Nick and I couldn't believe Lainey's energy and how far she actually walked last night before hitting a wall which prompted us to follow the yellow brick road back to my sister's house to visit a while before heading home. Lainey hearts Halloween! :)

Lainey's costume was made by Grandma Kennard. It's extra special because Addie

also wore this costume, including the ruby red slippers, on her second Halloween.

Dorothy paid a visit to "Gama and Kapa's" house before trick or treating.

Someone LOVES to be loved!

I apparently dressed up as a whale last night. :(

Paying her last respects to the Wicked Witch of the East

You never can predict what Lainey's boy cousins will get her to do.

Dorothy turned into Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Sigh.

And lastly...

Lainey's Halloween festivities actually started on Saturday night when she dolled up in her costume to go trick or treating at "Gama and Kapa Brockert's" house.

Worlds of Fun!

2011-10-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

We took Lainey to Worlds of Fun yesterday! We went with my sister, Shelley, and three of her boys: Andrew, Will, and Sam. What an awesome day we had! There was a slight chill to the air during the day and we enjoyed all of the Halloween festivities and decorations. Worlds of Fun really goes all out and it was kind of neat being there on the closing day of the park. While Shelley and the boys were riding the big roller coasters, Nick and I took Lainey to Planet Snoopy. We're big fans now! I can't say enough good things about our experience. There were so many rides for Lainey to ride and she LOVED each one. I was also impressed with the Family Care Center. It's a building that houses at least two family bathrooms as well as a huge and very clean diaper changing room. I was also excited to see the nursing room. I scoped it out and it's filled with cozy rocking chairs and other seats for nursing babies. I'm pretty modest when it comes to nursing and I was thrilled that there were even two rooms with curtains! This means we might be able to take Lainey back when the baby is here and it will be so much more comfortable and convenient for all of us. So awesome! Even more awesome is the fun we had! Enjoy today's photo bomb!

I thought posing in front of the Planet Snoopy fountain was a perfect photo opportunity. You'll see that Lainey had other plans in the next two pictures. The fountain made foam in the water and Lainey thought the foam was bubbles. She took off her coat and then started to take off her shirt. Why? She wanted to take a bubble bath. She's so silly!

My sister cracks me up! I'm not sure who had more fun on this kiddie ride. Was it Lainey or Aunt Shelley? You'll have to view the next two pictures yourself and tell me. :)

Like I said, Worlds of Fun goes ALL OUT for Halloween. There are spooky things around just about every corner. The only thing that scared Lainey today was trick or treating. Who would have guessed? Getting free candy is horrifying but my weird girl has absolutely no problem with creepy clowns...

Knuckles!

Proof that I was there...

My belly has really popped so there was zero chance I could sneak by any of the attendants and hop on a ride. Not that I would anyway. The carousel was safe though!

A real princess...

2011-10-29T18:01:00.001-05:00

...does not need a fancy dressing room.

A tiny closet works just as well.

A real princess can put on her own slippers.

"I don't need no stinkin' prince!"

A real princess can sprint in any gown.

A real princess thinks bed head is the

perfect do for any formal gathering.

(aka breakfast in the kitchen with mom)

A real princess can dance all morning

to the lovely tunes of her Fridge Farm.

Old MacDonald rocks the house!

A real princess has great confidence.

"I pretty, Mommy!"

A real princess knows someday her prince

WILL come but for now she just needs Daddy.

A real princess doesn't just say cheese.

She screams it!

Is my mother not the most amazing talent ever? Addie and Lainey are really into dressing up when they are together. Whenever my mom and I are out shopping together, we always look at girly dress up things. The quality is typically poor but the prices are astronomical. My mom has been on a mission to beef up the girls' wardrobes. I also think her wheels are spinning and she is wanting to start selling some of her awesome creations (You should see Addie's She-Ra costume...HILARIOUS!). An Etsy shop perhaps? She also makes jewelry and Lainey's Cinderella costume came with a pearl necklace and bracelet. The little princess wasn't feeling jewelry on the morning I snapped the above photographs unfortunately. Maybe next time. Thanks for your time and talent, Mom! So much love goes into your creations and Lainey and I both know it. You're awesome! P.S.How is that KC Royals baby quilt coming along? I kid, I kid. :)

Monkey see, monkey do

2011-10-29T17:31:00.000-05:00

"Must be 1 o'clock!"

2011-10-29T12:38:00.001-05:00

Nick and I say this every single Sunday at right around one o'clock in the afternoon. That's when the ice cream man drives down our street ringing his bell. We can expect this routine every Sunday when the weather is nice. And since we've had unbelievable weather so far this fall, the ice cream man has been peddling his delicious wares for a whole lot longer than he normally does. And since our unbelievable weather will undoubtedly come to an end, we decided to treat Lainey to some ice creamy goodness earlier this month. With a wad of cash in their hands, Lainey and her daddy ran down our driveway and waited patiently for the truck to make its way to our house. The options were too plentiful for Lainey to decide so Nick picked three items which made Lainey super happy. Little Miss ended up with a cookies and cream bar and I was lucky enough to get the chocolate banana bomb pop. Holy deliciousness! Sadly for this pregnant mama who was seriously in love with the chocolate banana goodness, someone else decided it was pretty amazing too...

And in case you're wondering, this pregnant mama will definitely be stocking up at one o'clock tomorrow if Mr. Ice Cream Man decides to pay us a visit. Good thing he takes debit and credit. Ha!

Dr. Brockert

2011-10-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about Dr. Nicholas Brockert. This post is about Dr. Lainey Brockert, the cutest and tiniest physician to ever rock a pair of Sesame Street scrubs...

Pardon the blurry pictures as they were taken on Nick's phone. Blurry or not, it's pretty safe to say Grandma Kennard knows her way around a sewing machine! When my mom and I were picking out fabric for Little Man's quilt, I spotted some adorable fabric that I knew Lainey would love. You can't tell anything from the picture but it has baby Sesame Street characters on it. So so cute! My mom told me she would buy it because she wanted to make Addie and Lainey some scrubs to wear when they visited. That way they could pretend to be nurses or doctors with the medical kit she recently bought. Lainey clearly thought this was the best idea. Ever!

As you can see, Lainey spent some time examining her own nose. Ha! She also operated on Mommy, Daddy, "Gama," and "Kapa." We were all eventually fired as patients because Dr. Lainey soon realized Abbey is super cooperative when a pair of plastic scissors are pointed in her direction. Ha! Our poor little dog just collapsed in a dead-like state on the floor while Lainey took her temperature (in the ear, thank goodness!), gave her shots, examined her nose, and used plastic scissors to do who knows what to Abbey's legs. For anyone who knows our mostly blind and very sassy dog, you know how incredible this is! We just might have the next Dog Whisperer on our hands. :)

The name game continues...

2011-10-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

Wow! Naming a baby boy is so much harder than naming a little girl. When Nick suggested Lainey, I instantly fell in love with her name and still love, love, LOVE it! I also have a nice, long list of baby girl names for any future sisters Lainey might be blessed with. But Little Man is sadly still nameless. We do have one name we keep coming back to but the middle name I like is James. That would make his initials O.J.B. and I just can't run the risk of him being called O.J. This naming business is ROUGH!

Lainey is still trying her hardest to help her parents out though. She has stopped calling the baby "Baby Boy Barney" thankfully. But yesterday she threw out another lovely suggestion while we were watching A Baby Story on TLC. On the episode we were watching, the mom delivered a baby boy. I thought that was a perfect opportunity to start helping her understand that "baby bruver" is a boy. So we talked a lot about the baby boy in my tummy and then I asked her what baby boy's name should be. She thought about it for a minute and said, "Umm. Hayhawk!" Lainey and I both giggled at the suggestion but unfortunately we're still at square one.

Stella's special day

2011-10-17T15:21:00.000-05:00

The adorable Stella Jaymes was baptized yesterday! Nick and I are thrilled to have been named Stella's godparents and it was quite an honor to witness this special event. Stella is such a blessing and we adore her so much. Congratulations, Stella!

The sweetest thing

2011-10-11T22:38:00.000-05:00

Oh my word! My adorable niece, Adelyn, has been working on drawing people in preschool. Tonight she shared a picture that left my sister a little bit confused. When Erin asked Addie what the picture was, she was given a What are you stupid, Mom? kind of a look. Addie then explained, "It's YaYa's baby in her tummy. He is sad because he is stuck in there and can't play with me." After reading Addie's explanation, I bet you'll see her vision just perfectly. Absolutely precious!

Let the craziness begin!

2011-10-11T17:28:00.003-05:00

Today is Nick's thirty-fourth birthday! Today was also supposed to be the day of our big ultrasound and a day off for Nick so we could celebrate and shop for our new little one. I am so happy Nick decided to still take the day off because we just had a wonderful time shopping for Lainey's "little bruver." We're slowly but surely building Little Man's wardrobe. Every time I pick up something new, I cringe a little because I have EVERYTHING imaginable for a winter baby girl. It also makes me appreciate my friends and family so much for all they so generously gave to Lainey at her baby shower. That kid was set for the first two years of her life. Little Man is on his way to being hooked up pretty well too...

I won't lie. Shopping for boy clothes is not nearly as exciting as shopping for little girl clothes. And I have found that I'm waaaay pickier about boy clothes than girl clothes. I'm not so much into pastel blues, greens, or yellows for my baby boy and fire trucks, puppy dogs, and soccer balls can be way overdone I've found. Luckily, I scored some seriously awesome deals at Baby Gap and Old Navy today. Little Man is going to look like just that - a little man. Loving it!

We also have decided on a nursery for baby boy. Yesterday I purchased the bedding from Pottery Barn Kids (another killer deal plus free shipping!) and today we picked up the first room decoration...

A Slugger pillow pet! Sweet!

Nick was insanely excited when I told him that I was thinking we could have a KC Royals room for his new son. Insanely excited! My husband is the biggest baseball and Royals fan I know and this is right up his alley. I think the bedding I purchased is going to look awesome. It was on clearance and such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up...

Because the bedding was being offered at such a deep discount, only the bed skirt and bumper were still available. I purchased both and was then able to find the fitted sheet on Ebay at a really great price. And I've hired my mom to make a quilt to match. We're going to Joann as soon as the bedding arrives so we can find some coordinating prints as well as Royals fabric. Can you tell I'm getting excited? :)

It still feels unreal that we are adding a baby boy to our family but we're thrilled. Of course, I don't want to leave big sister out of this post! The pictures below sort of fit with the craziness part of the title. The other day she went into the master bathroom and started yelling, "Mom! Hands!!" This is what I found when I headed toward the steps to investigate...

Kid cracks me up!

Breathing a huge sigh of relief

2011-10-07T12:19:00.000-05:00

My level II ultrasound FINALLY happened this morning. I'm not kidding when I say this was the longest week of my life. When you can't sleep at all, that only makes the days even longer. Both my mind and body are exhausted and I am very much looking forward to a nice, long afternoon nap (if Lainey will allow one, that is). And thankfully I will definitely be able to rest easy today and tonight because the newest and tiniest member of our family received a glowing report from the perinatologist.

Our baby is healthy, beautiful,

and perfect in every way!

The image below is actually the first one we saw of our little one. The ultrasound tech did not have to say a word because I knew precisely what I was looking at...

That's right! Baby #2 is all boy!

A sweet little foot...

Can you tell what the picture below is showing?

If not, check out the image directly below.

Lainey keeps calling the baby "Baby Boy Barney."

She has sooooo lost her naming rights. And honestly, Nick's about

to lose his as well. He's thrown out some real doozies.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy!

Current weight: 14 ounces

Twenty weeks down, nineteen to go!

Thank you for all of the positive thoughts and prayers that were sent our way this week. Nick and I really appreciated every single email, blog comment, and phone call! Thank you, thank you!!

Lainey's THIRD trip to Devil's Den

2011-10-06T19:13:00.002-05:00

The Brockert Trio headed on down to Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas at the end of September. My parents, Erin, Chris, Addie, and Stella joined us for a weekend of family, relaxation, and fun in the great outdoors. Lainey first visited Devil's Den last September (check out the picture to the right for a growth comparison...WOW!) and then visited for a second time in March. We just love it down there and can't wait to go again...and again...and again!

I have many pictures to share of our trip but most will have to wait for a day when I have more time. Today I will share pictures of Lainey's absolute favorite activity from our trip. Never in a million years would I have predicted it to be her favorite. We all walked down to the creek bed because it was pretty dry as a result of the park needing to drain the lake due to flooding (so sad to see the dried up lake!). There were a few pockets of water and we walked down to look for fish. What started out as a quest for minnows turned into skipping rocks and Lainey was in absolute heaven. She literally sat on a rock for almost an hour and tossed rocks into the water. She had the most serious look on her face and you could just tell she was having the time of her life!

Get here soon, Friday!

2011-10-04T10:29:00.000-05:00

I went back and forth all day yesterday about whether or not I should write this post. After getting next to no sleep last night, I have decided that it might be therapeutic to just let it all out. Last Tuesday, I had a regular prenatal checkup with my OB. The baby's heartbeat was found instantly with a beat of 148 beats per minute. My only concern at my appointment was the listeria outbreak as I had eaten cantaloupe while out of town the weekend before. After receiving reassurance from my doctor, I then headed to the lab to have blood drawn for the alpha-fetoprotein test. I don't have the time, energy, or the mental capacity to explain the AFP test at this time so click on the link above if you are interested in more information. In a nutshell, the AFP is a screening test that helps determine possible risks for down syndrome and/or neural tube defects. The important thing I keep telling myself over and over (and over...) again is this test is NOT DIAGNOSTIC! However, I unfortunately have to keep hitting the replay button on the previous sentence because I received the call from my doctor's office yesterday and my results came back abnormal. Slightly abnormal, but abnormal nonetheless. Basically my risk is elevated for open neural tube defects. Although I'm trying not to be, I am pretty worried about my little one and I'm hoping and praying that everything is okay but unfortunately I will not know until Friday when I'll be having a Level II ultrasound. Nick's office apparently gets their patients with abnormal test results in for an ultrasound as soon as possible and typically the very next day so I was hoping that would be the case for me. Not so. This week is going to be very long and I don't anticipate sleeping much. Any positive thoughts and prayers are much appreciated for my little one.

As an unexpected blessing, my mom is helping me refinish our master bathroom cabinets this week. I was at her house when I received the phone call from my doctor and she kept trying to get me to put the project on the back burner but I refused. I'm certainly glad I did because it may help me take my mind off things a little bit as I impatiently wait for Friday's ultrasound. Lainey has also decided to exhibit some seriously horrible "terrible twos" behavior recently. Maybe that should be viewed as an unexpected blessing as well. :)

And I think I'll just end with this thought...Yesterday morning I woke up thinking about how excited I was for my big ultrasound next Tuesday, Nick's birthday. All I have been thinking about is whether this baby is a boy or a girl. That seems so insignificant now. Boy or girl? I honestly couldn't care less now. This little one is very much loved already and I just wish for him or her to be healthy. That's all. Just healthy.

That was a first!

2011-10-01T21:29:00.001-05:00

I love seeing pictures of kids who just sort of crash in odd places. They are always too cute for words but I've never been able to capture one of those adorable images myself simply because Lainey has NEVER just fallen asleep anywhere with the exception of her car seat and that only happens during a regular time of sleep. Today I got to take a picture of Lainey sleeping in her stroller! My girl and I went to the Applefest in Weston, MO today with my mom and I guess walking, shopping, and dancing her tush off to some great live music got the best of the little lady. At one point during the day, I thought Lainey seemed a little quiet. I looked down to see her sitting straight up in her stroller completely conked out while hugging an unopened bag of kettle corn. So cute! I immediately reclined the seat of her stroller and she was out for the rest of our adventure. I guess there's a first time for everything!

Oh my word! Another first just happened literally a second ago. Lainey called me Leslie. Ha! Now I know how Nick feels! Oh well, I guess this might come in handy if she ever gets lost in a store.

Oh, whatever!

2011-09-30T15:45:00.000-05:00

I find myself thinking that very phrase a lot these days. Lainey is quite a spirited child and she just thinks things should go her way all of the time. Being pregnant often leaves me tired and grumpy. I try to hide the grumpy from the little one whenever I can because when I'm feeling frustrated I know it's my issue and not hers (even when it's her toddler behavior that's getting to me). I have decided to just pick and choose my battles these days because some simply aren't worth fighting. Like the other night when Lainey absolutely HAD to eat dinner with socks on her hands. I tried to remove them and she had a complete meltdown and screamed at me like I was the devil. Instead of allowing the fight to continue, I just let her keep her socks on her hands while thinking to myself, Whatever!

Oh, my melted heart!

2011-09-18T16:47:00.001-05:00

Nick and I went to the Foo Fighters concert in Kansas City on Friday evening. We went with my brother, my super awesome fourteen-year-old nephew, my baby sister, and baby sister's husband. Unbelievably, it was the first night Nick and I have been out together and away from Lainey since our anniversary back on December 27th. Crazy, I know. Nick's parent's stayed with Lainey at our house which was much appreciated. It was nice being away from our sweetie knowing we didn't have to worry about her at all (although we did several times). All in all, our night out was amazing. As always, the Foo Fighters put on one heck of a show (my ears are still ringing!) and we are already looking forward to having them return to KC in the future. If you are a Foo Fighters fan and have never seen them live, go see them live. Do it. It'll be the best and longest concert you've ever been to. Trust me.

To make our night even better, Lainey did awesome while we were away. It was reported that she got a little sad when I was not there to rock her to sleep, but thankfully she fell asleep with no problem (I kept her from napping Friday afternoon for that very reason actually). To say she was excited to see Mommy and Daddy on Saturday morning is an understatement. What a sweetheart! We snuggled, hugged, gave and received lots of extra kisses, and just enjoyed a quiet Saturday morning and afternoon together. Lainey was so snuggly all day long and Nick and I just ate it up. Then I received quite a gift on Saturday night when we were at my nephew Will's birthday party. Lainey took a nice, long break from the snuggles so she could play with her cousins and play hard she did. At one point I was just watching her play and I saw Lainey catch a glimpse of me out of the corner of her eye. She ran right into my arms and gave me the sweetest hug. Then she looked up at me and said, "I yuh you, Mommy!" Melt. My. Heart! For about two weeks, Lainey has been responding with "I yuh YOU, Mommy! (or Daddy!)" whenever we tell Lainey we love her. This was her first spontaneous use of the phrase and it just melted my heart completely. I love and cherish awesome "Mom Moments" like that!

I also love when Lainey makes me laugh which is pretty much all of the time. As I've mentioned several times recently, Lainey is really excited about dressing herself these days. On Friday morning, Lainey decided her two-piece pajama set was not a sufficient outfit. She first snagged a hoodie that I had just taken out of the dryer. After that she headed to her hamper and grabbed a pair of pants and one purple sock. But it didn't stop there! Lainey then headed into her closet where she found the hat and gloves I recently purchased for this winter and her outfit was finally complete. What a sight!

Nick

2011-09-16T10:25:00.000-05:00

That's what Lainey calls her daddy quite frequently these days. It frustrates Nick a little but makes us both laugh as well. Lainey's never called me Leslie and I'm assuming it's because my name is kind of hard for kids to say with those darn l's. In fact, my nieces and nephews all call me YaYa thanks to my almost sixteen-year-old (YIKES!) nephew who couldn't say my name when he first started talking. YaYa stuck and I just love it actually! But back to Lainey calling her daddy Nick... I just had the funniest conversation with Lainey. She had just finished watching Sesame Street and decided to start playing with her Cozy Coupe. I heard her pushing it around and all of a sudden she stopped and yelled, "Mom?" This is how our conversation went.

Me: Yes, Lainey?

Lainey: Mommy, where did Nick go?

Me: Lainey, Daddy is at work.

Lainey: Ohhhhh, WOW, Mommy! Work.

Oh how she makes me laugh! We talk about Nick being at work a lot during the day but her question was so out of the blue this morning. What a silly little thing! Lainey also knows that her daddy is a doctor and she actually called him "doctor" the other day. This was after she listened (or "istened" as Lainey calls it) very intently to a phone conversation Nick had with a patient the other night. Nick had answered the phone with, "Hello, this is Dr. Brockert" and Lainey just connected the dots I guess. Shortly after the conversation, she also went to pick up one of her toy phones and pretended to talk on it. She said, "Hi, Brockert." So so funny! Talking toddlers are the best!

Determined toddlers are pretty awesome, too! We went to a park in Leavenworth (I called it the park on crack) recently to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. Lainey owned that park and refused any sort of help from her dear old mom. She just wanted to figure things out on her own and didn't care that she scared me to death several times with her independence and fearlessness. That's my girl!

I broke her heart today.

2011-09-14T17:56:00.000-05:00

Lainey made me feel like the biggest jerk on the planet today. I completely and totally broke her heart on accident. The heartbreak of the century happened after a lovely play date with my friend Amy and her daughter, Gracie, today. We met at a park to visit and watch our girls climb, run, swing, play, giggle, and have some quality kid fun (and to ensure a nice, loooong afternoon nap). When it was time to leave, I was prepared to carry an unhappy kid to the car and struggle a bit as I strapped her into her car seat. Lainey most definitely cried and struggled while saying what I thought was, "No car, Mom. No car!" However, as I was pulling away from the park I saw a little car and realized Lainey wanted to play on it. It was kind of like one of those animals they have for kids to play on at just about any park. Only this was obviously way cooler to Lainey and she really, really, REALLY wanted to try it out. When I figured out the problem I said to Lainey, "Oh, I'm so sorry Lainey. Were you wanting to ride on the car at the park?" Her sweet response in between sobs was, "Oooooooh-kay, Mommy. Ride car. Peeeeeeease!" But it was too late because we were already heading home. I could have easily turned around to get Lainey back out and let her play on the car, but I thought that would send the wrong message so we continued our journey home. Lainey cried the.entire.twenty.minute.ride. She sobbed. She begged for that car. She made a few choking sounds. It was horrible! We eventually ended up at my parent's house because they had some leftover pizza Nick and I had left at their house. Lainey hasn't been eating lately and she loves pizza. I thought that it might take her mind off the car. No such luck. When I got her out of her car seat to head into my parent's house, she was completely inconsolable. You know how it's difficult to talk after a really long and hard cry? Well, that happened to sweet Lainey this afternoon. She hugged me hard and wiped tears, snot, and lots of other nose goo all over my shirt. My mom couldn't even get her to calm down and she adores "Gama." After several additional minutes and a flood of tears, Lainey eventually stopped crying when she spotted Grandma's stash of chocolate. Milky Way came to the rescue and Lainey finally forgot about the car. She did talk about it a little bit over bites of pizza and I promised her we would check it out the next time we go to Aunt Shelley's house because it's just down the street. She said, "Oooooh-kay, Mommy!" and that was that. I still feel like a jerk though for breaking this sweet girl's heart...

Our funny little lady!

2011-09-08T16:58:00.001-05:00

Lainey has been saying and doing some of the funniest things lately. She definitely brings a ton of joy and laughter into our days! Last night at dinner, she stood up on her chair (the high chair is much too babyish apparently) and said, "Mom, pat head. Belly." She then proceeded to ~~attempt to~~ pat her head and rub her belly at the same time. Nick looked at me in disbelief and I just started laughing so hard I ended up crying. I was eventually able to find the words to explain that Bob and Big Bird taught Lainey her fancy new trick on Sesame Street earlier in the day. See, people? The television IS educational! I'm sure Lainey will go far in life simply because she can pat her head and rub her belly simultaneously. :)

Oh, and you may recall a recent post titled "You know you're addicted to Sesame Street when..." Well, I have one more to add that escaped my mind when I originally published that post. You know you're addicted to Sesame Street when you love Pampers diapers as much as your mom because they are covered with your favorite Sesame Street characters. Ha! Lainey will literally carry unused diapers from room to room, talk to them, and hug them. It's hilarious and more proof that a monster has most definitely been created!

A trip to the orthopedist

2011-09-06T15:58:00.001-05:00

Lainey had an appointment with an orthopedist this morning so that he could examine her bowleggedness. I personally thought this appointment was going to be a waste of time because Lainey's legs have straightened dramatically over the past few months. The only time she looks severely bowlegged now is after a long day of running and playing. During her appointment, Lainey had to strip down to her diaper so she could walk around the office while the doctor examined her. He noticed something I had never noticed before...Lainey's left leg bows a lot more than her right leg. I thought that was kind of interesting. After Lainey strutted her stuff down the office hallway, the doctor had her sit on Nick's lap so he could feel the bones of her legs and ankles. Thankfully, he really didn't notice anything unusual and feels that her issue is likely one she will outgrow. According to the doctor, we will likely see a worsening of her condition before it gets better. Hmm. That part made me scratch my head a little bit because her legs have gotten so much better, but he's the doctor and not me. Right now we're just waiting the issue out as there really isn't anything that needs to be done at this point. A follow-up appointment has been scheduled for six months from now and hopefully Lainey's legs will be perfectly straight and normal!

The good thing is Little Miss doesn't have a clue that there is anything wrong with her legs at all. In fact, she likes to accentuate them any chance she gets! As you will see, Lainey's obsession with socks continues...

"Let's take Abbey for a walk, Mom!"

So, yeah...my kid is weird.

I'm really loving the fall weather we're having right now because it means shirts with spaghetti straps are out of the question. Lainey loved removing the straps and wearing her shirts like a skirt. Don't worry though, that little fashion statement was and is only allowed in the house! That goes for the socks, too. Maybe my next kid will be normal. :)

You know you're addicted to Sesame Street when...

2011-09-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

you can identify nearly all of the characters by name including three human characters - Alan, Mr. Noodle, and Gordon.

you answer "Cookie" when asked what color a blue crayon is.

you answer "Ah, Ah, Ah!" when asked what the count says.

your favorite toys are the twenty-five Sesame Street Beans your mom collected back in 1997.

your googly eyes and look of sweet amazement can get your mom to remove the tags from her fourteen-year-old collection of Sesame Street Beans.

you think all goldfish are named Dorothy.

you have to take your stuffed Ernie doll with you on vacation.

Naps. How I miss them!

2011-09-03T23:12:00.000-05:00

You might recall a post a few weeks back about Lainey not wanting to nap during the day anymore. That lasted two days and then my girl was back to her regularly scheduled afternoon nap which lasted three to four hours. And, yes, it was pure heaven! Sadly, today was the third day in a row of Lainey not taking a nap and I'm thinking this just might be the new trend. I just googled "When do toddlers stop napping?" and found the following information which I already knew actually:

Toddlers need approximately 12 to 14 hours of sleep in each 24-hour period. So if, for example, your child goes to bed at 8 p.m. and doesn't get up until 8 a.m., she may get her full quota of rest all at once, giving her no reason to need a nap. But if she doesn't get 12 hours at night, then ideally she should get some zzz's during the day.

Miss Lainey has been going to sleep around 9 p.m. and waking up at around 9 a.m. So that pretty much explains what's happening. The little stinker is meeting her sleep quota at night so she can party with her mom all day. I'm coming to grips with this latest development but still may need a little time to adjust. I miss "me time" as selfish as that sounds. BUT...I will say that Lainey has been going to sleep much earlier with this new schedule which has been nice for Nick and me because we now have a little more time to spend together before we need to crash ourselves. So there is a bright side. I need to write the bright side on a piece of paper so I can stick it to the fridge. I may need to read it to myself every day at 2:30 when I'm feeling a little grumpy and am in desperate need of a nap for myself!

I do make sure Lainey gets some down time during the day. Of course, this isn't the greatest picture to illustrate down time since the little one is still in her pajamas which means she hasn't been up for all that long. And I'm sure you're probably wondering what she's doing so I might as well go ahead and admit it. She's watching Sesame Street, Lainey's newest obsession. And I mean obsession. She broke up with the purple dinosaur and now life is all about the monsters and people on Sesame Street!

Little stinker!

2011-08-30T19:26:00.000-05:00

I had another appointment with my doctor today and our newest little stinker about stopped my heart once again. My doctor had the hardest time finding the baby's heartbeat. At one point, I had to turn away from her because her face looked so concerned. After probably ten minutes, she stopped trying and said she was going to go grab another doppler. My heart sank and I really wished Nick was with me. When my doctor returned with the newer doppler, it still took her about five minutes to find what she was looking for but it WAS found (nice and strong, in the 150's). The baby was tucked on my left side playing hide and seek apparently! Little stinker for sure!

Nick and I are very excited because my BIG ultrasound has been scheduled for October 11th at 8:30 in the morning. That also happens to be Nick's 34th birthday so I asked him what he is hoping for. He claims a healthy baby is all he cares to see during the ultrasound and that's probably a good answer. :) At first, I was thinking we were going to be having another little girl and I really, really, REALLY want a sister for Lainey. However, I've been recently feeling that the baby is a boy so who knows! What I do know is this...October 11th can't get here soon enough because I'm dying to find out if we're on team pink or team blue!

Since I won't have any new pictures of Baby #2 until October 11th, you get to see Miss Lainey! The following pictures were taken earlier this month. Let's call them "Nutella."

We made it!

2011-08-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

The second trimester is here! As of today, I'm fourteen weeks pregnant. Yay! It honestly feels like I've been pregnant for a whole lot longer because I found out about our second blessing when I was only three weeks and four days pregnant. Early pregnancy tests are definitely amazing, but they can make the first trimester feel super long. But that's alright because it's behind me now. Thankfully my nausea is also behind me. I haven't felt sick at all since about two days after we got back from vacation. I was getting "night sickness" every day starting around four. Although I never actually got sick, feeling nauseous is just the pits. I'm also happy to report that my energy is coming back. On Tuesday of this week, I was in the mood to bake and cook. I made chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip banana bread, pineapple chicken for that night, enchiladas for Wednesday night, and a pan of enchiladas for the freezer. It was awesome! And then yesterday I cleaned the house despite Lainey's best efforts to ruin my plan (she was Rotten with a capital R yesterday!). I feel like I'm back and it feels so good! I told Nick the other day that I was tired of feeling like a slug but much too tired to do anything about it. Let's just hope the slug stays far away for this entire second trimester because I know the last leg of pregnancy may knock me right back on my behind!

My next appointment with my doctor is next Tuesday. I'm very much looking forward to hearing the baby's heartbeat. I'm also hoping my doc can pick it up easily with the doppler. At my last appointment, I saw the nurse practitioner and she tried for more than five minutes to find the heartbeat. That always makes me so very nervous because I know how very delicate life is in the early stages of pregnancy. After giving up, the nurse practitioner walked me right down to the ultrasound tech and asked her to check for the baby's heartbeat. I breathed a sigh of relief when the tech found it instantaneously. Then she laughed and said, "Well that's why she couldn't find it! Your baby is VERY active right now." Sure enough he or she was flipping and flopping around so much that it was difficult to get a few pictures for me to take home. Stinker!

I *think* I have been feeling this little one. I was about fourteen weeks when I felt the little butterfly movements with Lainey and "they" (whoever they are) say many moms can feel their second babies a bit earlier. I was about thirteen and a half weeks pregnant when I felt the butterflies this time around and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just gas as I've felt them every night since. I'm praying that our little one continues to stay healthy and that he or she continues to let me know things are going okay. Pregnancy is such a blessing and Nick and I are thrilled to be expanding our family!

Big sister is keeping us very busy these days! Her newest obsession is wearing Daddy's socks around the house. She has given up stealing shirts from my closet now that she has realized it's much easier to put socks on by herself. It sure makes for a silly sight, especially when she wears Nick's no-show socks. I'll have to get a picture of those soon because she looks like she has little horse feet or something when she's wearing them. Hilarious! For now, you get to enjoy Lainey wearing dark socks. What a nut! Oh, and please don't call CPS on me when you see Lainey's head. She tripped walking out the front door and fell face first onto the concrete. Poor girl!

What happens at Grandma's...

2011-08-17T20:46:00.000-05:00

Lainey pretty much has my parents' house figured out from top to bottom. She knows where all the best toys are stashed. She sneaks behind one of the family room chairs to turn on my mom's Ipod so she can host her very own dance party. And she also knows that Grandma has a sweet tooth which means her house is STOCKED with sweet treats. I'm the mean mom who hides all of Grandma's candy dishes as soon as I walk in the door. Lainey will inevitably find them and beg for just one piece of candy. When I tell her no, she keeps on begging but this time for "half!" I'm not sure where she got that one but it makes me chuckle!

Last weekend, I sent Nick and Lainey to my parents' house so they could return some bags we used on our vacation. Since my parents live literally two minutes away, I figured the duo would be back in ten minutes. After an hour had passed, I got a little worried and called Nick to see what was up. Apparently Addie had also shown up at my parents' house and she and Lainey were having the time of their lives playing in the back yard, dancing with Grandma in the family room, and snacking...of course...

Lainey apparently devoured a good chunk of that ice cream bar, or

"keemer" bar as she calls it. My girl has inherited Grandma's sweet tooth!

More Colorado Fun!

2011-08-16T16:28:00.000-05:00

Here is another glimpse into our Colorado vacation. Please forgive the quality of these photos as some of them are a bit blurry while others are dark. Like I mentioned yesterday we are certainly thankful that Nick's camera phone was available for capturing our memories since the digital bit the dust due to not being charged! Live and learn, I guess!

Cousins chilling in their PJs...

My little rock hound...

Nick gets creative in the next three photos...

Garden of the Gods rock formation...

Can we go now?

Perhaps the Garden of the Gods wasn't the best idea for a nineteen month old.

Lainey Elizabeth, Rock Climber

Manitou Springs

For me personally, shopping in Manitou Springs was my favorite vacation activity. Manitou Springs is a town with several restaurants and unique shops. The buildings are historic which made the shopping experience even more fun. Lainey's (and I'm pretty sure Dalton's) favorite part of Manitou Springs were all of the buildings that were turned into an arcade. Lainey skipped the games and spent at least an hour riding on all of the motorized vehicles that were available. And there were TONS of vehicles for her to choose from. It's a good thing I filled my wallet with quarters before we left home! We had so much fun with Lainey on this particular day!

The Batmobile!

Lainey's favorite...The ice cream truck!

She rode this ride numerous times! It WAS a good one! :)

Snackin' in Manitou Springs...

Chilling on the deck outside our cabin...

The North Pole Express

Officer Brockert!

The Boat Ride

This kiddie ride actually sent shivers down my spine and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Lainey could have easily wiggled her way out of the safety belt (and she tried!). She also kept turning around and trying to feel the water. My heart skipped a beat several times and I couldn't wait for those silly boats to stop moving!

Snackin' at The North Pole

One last look at the beautiful scenery...

Vacation Time!

2011-08-15T19:39:00.000-05:00

My little family traveled to Colorado the weekend before last. We stayed in a cabin in Woodland Park with Nick's parents, Aunt Alyssa, Uncle Sam, Aunt Shana, and Dalton. As with any vacation there were several ups as well as a few downs, but I think it's safe to say everyone had a good time.

For both Nick and me, the biggest down of our adventure was flying. I personally hate flying but the idea of driving for more than 10 hours (each way!) for a weekend getaway was just not one that we could stomach. So fly we did! In all honestly, Lainey did AWESOME for her very first flight. She sat still for the most part, was relatively quiet, and didn't cry at all. We were thankful for this because waiting in the airport was a whole lot more stressful. I'll leave it at that in order to keep myself from having nightmares tonight!

Playing with Daddy's phone in the airport...

What Lainey thought of the descent and landing in Colorado...

The view from our cabin...

Lainey and Dalton

You'll notice Lainey wants one thing and

one thing only in most pictures...DOWN!

One of the places we visited while on vacation was The North Pole, a cute little amusement park at the foot of Pike's Peak. We all enjoyed shopping, snacking, and riding on a variety of rides. Well, we enjoyed MOST rides!

Lainey at the wheel...Oh my!

The carousel...Lainey's favorite!

Bad Idea #1

Nick decided to ride the kiddie coaster with Lainey.

That's all I will say about that.

This kiddie car ride was more her speed...

Bad Idea #2

aka A Very, Very, VERY BAD Idea!

I have no idea why I agreed to have my child strapped onto the seat of the Ferris wheel. And I have no idea what I was thinking snapping pictures of the event. What I do know is this...When your nineteen month old is at the very tip top of a Ferris wheel screaming "Mommy! Mommy!" and crying her heart out while it's stopped, you feel very small and helpless. And pretty much like a jerk for allowing it in the first place. Thankfully the guy operating the horrible contraption must have seen my teary eyes and the look of absolute horror on my face because Lainey was let off almost as soon as the ride began (which actually takes an eternity on a Ferris wheel). As bad as I felt, I know Nick felt a whole lot worse because it was his Very, Very VERY BAD Idea!

Posing in Santa's Sleigh

With Grandma, Grandpa, and Dalton

Three of my favorite pictures of my doll...

My sweet family...

Waiting for the flight home...

That darn DVD player was a lifesaver and is now Lainey's new favorite toy!

And there you have it. A peek at our vacation through the lens of our crummy little digital camera. I didn't want to take the Nikon since we have yet to purchase a bag for it and we didn't think to charge the digital camera's battery. Oops! We were thankful for Nick's camera phone as he was able to take even more pictures. Those will be shared very soon, probably when I get my next bout of energy. We are all still recovering from our adventure. In addition to bringing home souvenirs, Lainey brought home a runny nose and the sneezes. The sweet dear passed it on to me along with a sore throat and a headache. Now Nick has the same thing. Good times!

Lainey Gets Dressed: Pants Edition

2011-08-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in a recent post, Lainey is very interested in dressing herself these days. She has also learned how to open her dresser drawers much to my dismay. I get a little tired of folding and refolding the same clothing over and over again. Yes, I have Lainey help me clean up her mess but, well, her help is not always all that helpful. Last Thursday, Lainey snuck into her room, opened a dresser drawer, chose a pair of pants, and proudly put them on. She was beaming when she waddled into the hallway to show me her great success...

Pillows and blankets!

2011-08-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Lainey was sick on and off for about two weeks back in early July. I felt so sorry for my little lady who spent many days burning up with a fever. Selfishly though, I kind of enjoyed those "sick days" because Lainey and I just snuggled, snuggled, and snuggled some more. When I had to get up for any amount of time, I would set Lainey up with a little bed on the couch. Ever since she's been obsessed with pillows and blankets!

Where it all began...

A non-sick day...

Lainey has recently learned that Mommy "sleeps when the baby sleeps" quite frequently these days out of absolute necessity. She takes full advantage of my snooze post when I get her up from her nap. I'm thinking Lainey might be sad when my second trimester brings more energy!

A Lainey made "bed" on her glider...

Cooking with Lainey

2011-08-05T00:00:00.002-05:00

Have I given birth to the next Food Network star? Perhaps! Lainey definitely knows her way around ~~the pet bowls~~ the kitchen. She can whip up a mean meow mix in record time!

Oh my word! Can I also just say that I am in love with Lainey's curls. They are one of her best accessories for sure. They are also quite the conversation starter with strangers in the grocery store. The hair on the top of her head is still a bit short but it gets so curly when Lainey is out in the humidity. I can't wait to see what happens when it grows a bit more!

Message from The Bean

2011-08-04T10:03:00.001-05:00

Hi, everyone!

Can't wait to meet you in February 2012!

I'm officially due February 23, 2012 but I'll

see you before that because Mommy is having

a repeat c-section around 39 weeks!

Please pray for my mommy and me because we still

have about three weeks left in the first trimester.

Love, The Bean!

"Mom! Circle!"

2011-07-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

Look at what Lainey did last night!

She was quite proud of herself!

It was pretty hard to get mad at her because she was so very proud of her circles! Nick and I had it coming, I guess. I was busy putting away groceries while Nick was on the phone with a difficult patient. Lainey was alone in her room and I knew I was in trouble when I heard her yelling very excitedly, "Mom! Circle!" I ran into Lainey's room, groaned loudly which got Nick's attention, shook my head, and ran to get the camera (giggling a little bit on my way). What else could I do?

I do have a helpful tip for removing black ink from light beige furniture! If you've ever had Stanley Steemer clean your carpet, you know they give you a little gift for using their service. As soon as you hand over your check for a bazillion dollars, they hand you a bottle of carpet and upholstery cleaner. I guess it's to soften the blow of depleting your bank account. However, that little "thank you gift" is amazing! I first started out using some Bissell carpet and upholstery cleaner. All it did was turn the ottoman gray. The Stanley Steemer stuff removed the ink quickly and with absolutely no scent at all. You can't beat that! So if you have any bottles of that stuff in your house and haven't used it, use it!

Darn you, Barney!

2011-07-27T15:13:00.001-05:00

For the longest time, Nick and I did so well with our "no tv" rule for Lainey. If the television was on during the day, it was often turned to a news station for background noise. Otherwise, Lainey and I were perfectly content doing our thing in a peaceful, quiet house. Then there was that one day when I looked at the clock and realized it was time for Elmo's World on Sesame Street. Lainey fell in love and I decided that since I grew up watching Sesame Street, it would be okay. Unfortunately, there was that other day when I left PBS Kids on for an entire morning when I was cooking, cleaning, and doing other chores. Lainey wasn't paying attention anyway. Or so I thought. It turns out Lainey fell in love with a certain purple dinosaur in a big, big way. Oh, Barney! Why must you be like crack for kids? Lainey begs for Barney all of the time. She will bring me the remote and say "TV, Mom!" What have I done? While annoying, it IS a very education show. That's what I keep telling myself every single time I give into Lainey's demands for Barney. Darn you, Barney!

It gets worse! Lainey sometimes

watches Barney in her Cozy Coupe.

She also knows Barney can be found on the "puter."

"Let's go to youtube.com, Mommy!"

Another day, another Barney episode...

Oh well! At least she isn't hooked on The Real Housewives of New York City. It could be worse, right?

"Books, Mama! Books!"

2011-07-27T14:33:00.000-05:00

As a former elementary school teacher, I am thrilled that Lainey loves books as much as she does. However, I really wish she would sit still long enough to actually let me read an entire book to her. Actually, if I'm wishing for things, I really wish she would snuggle up in my lap and let me read an entire book to her. Unfortunately for me, Lainey just likes to do things her way and her way rarely includes sitting still or snuggling. Sigh. Maybe someday!

Many times each day, I will hear Lainey shouting a familiar phrase. "Books, Mama! Books!" That means it's time for me to go into her room with her so we can check out her little library of board books. We usually sit on the floor together and Lainey plays librarian. She will choose a book for herself and then hand one over to me. She "reads" her book while I also read mine aloud. If my selection is a book that catches her attention, she will usually come over and listen to the story. Otherwise we just read next to one another. She does have a few favorite books that she will actually pay attention to from start to finish. One is Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton. Because of this book, Lainey thinks pigs really do sing "la la la!" A trip to a petting soon may be in order soon. Lainey also loves Five Little Ducks published by Little Scholastic. It's the regular old story of the five little ducks that one by one swim away from their mother only it's a sound book. When the mother duck quacks for her babies at the end, all five ducks come swimming back to her and you can hear them quacking. Lainey really enjoys this book and will wait in anticipation until she gets to hear the quacking. It's very cute actually and has me on a mission to find more Little Scholastic noise books. If some annoying noise is what it takes to get Lainey to listen to an entire story, I can live with that!

Lainey's VERY favorite book is called Peek-a-Boo! I Love You! It's a fabric lift-the-flap book where various characters play peek-a-boo with one another. She can read it to herself and even says "Peek-a-Boo, SISTER!" on the correct page even though she has no idea what a sister is. Here are a few pictures of Lainey reading her favorite book while posing in a new outfit she recently received as a gift:

Modeling her new Carter's romper!

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Brockert!

Miss Lainey's park adventures!

2011-07-26T15:42:00.003-05:00

Otherwise known as Park Adventures

That Happened Well Over a Month Ago

I can't let July have less than five blog entries, so it's time to get off the couch and step it up a little! It's almost time to say goodbye to the sixth month of the year, so we'll see how well I do! Now for a random transition...

Holy heatwave, Batman! I am really getting tired of the insanely high temperatures and the disgustingly thick humidity. If Nick wasn't under contract, I'd pack my little family up and move far, far away from Kansas. I'm over it! Lainey is over it, too. I am suffering from some big time mommy guilt because Lainey and I have pretty much been stuck in the house for the past few weeks. The heat makes me feel ickier than I already do and, call me crazy, I just prefer actually being comfortable when I'm outside. And right now comfortable is not happening outside my front door (or even outside my back door in the shade!).

In loving memory of cooler temperatures, I'd like to share a few pictures from a trip we took to the Basehor park at the end of June. It was kind of a weird evening so forgive the combination of cloudy and sunny pictures. A storm that never produced anything (except for some crazy periodic winds) blew right over Basehor that night. Despite the odd weather (which I would take over the heatwave ANY day!), we had a lot of fun together!

Lainey would have climbed around the gazebo

all night long if we had let her. She loved it!

Our little rock explorer!

Nick stopped to pose for a senior picture. Ha!

Such a serious little explorer...

Nick took many pictures of Lainey and me walking that night.

In most of the pictures, we are totally walking in sync!

My head is cut off in most of the pictures, too. Thanks, Nick!

Don't let the smile fool you! Lainey HATES swinging!

She really hates it.

I mean she REALLY hates it!

She loves slides though!

Just not this particular time! :)

Lainey Elizabeth is one cool kid!

Miss Independent

2011-07-26T14:47:00.000-05:00

Lainey is a big fan of being independent. When she can, she simply prefers to do things herself. About a month or two ago, Lainey became very interested in getting herself dressed. Unfortunately, she just doesn't quite have the ability to get her tiny clothes to do what she wants them to do. She sure tries though! One morning when I was taking a shower, Lainey was playing with some of her toys in my bedroom. The toys must not have been exciting enough because she quietly made her way into my closet. That's when Lainey made the fantastic discovery that Mommy has plenty of clothes that can be ripped off of their hangers. And the best part, Lainey learned that shirts that are much too big for her are much easier to put on! Hooray for Miss Lainey! Boo for the poor old, very tired sucker (umm that would be me) who has to pick up the twenty shirts that were ripped off their hanger and left in a forgotten pile on the floor!