Brooke -2 months

Our sweet girl is 2 months already! She's 10lbs 13 oz of pure love! This month she's starting to smile and coo at us. It's amazing, all these "firsts" are still just as exciting to us the third time around. We're having so much fun with her and as a family of 5. Babies really do make life and family better -- definitely not always easier, but better for sure. I can say though, that I think this has been the easiest transition of all the kids. With our first, we were just trying to figure out what to do with this little screaming, hungry, poopy bundle of joy. Then with Jake, we had to try and figure out how to split our time appropriately. But now with Brooke, I feel like we already have the hang of dealing with multiple children and when I need to deal with just Brooke (crying, feeding,etc) the older kids can play with and entertain each other. It's nice. It's still a transistion for sure, but not as a drastic one as the changes before. However, this time around has certainly taken more of a toll on me and Darrin. The sleep deprivation and the transition to juggling 3 kids can bring out selfishness and pride. But we've been working hard at continuing good communication, frequent date nights, lots of prayer and showing true love -- putting each other above ourselves. God is certainly teaching us a lot about ourselves and we're grateful for this tough time where we can grow stronger together and in the Lord. We're finally feeling like we're coming out of the craziness a bit and although I'm grateful for all we've learned while being there- I'm very happy to be coming out of it all! :)

On the sleeping front - Brooke is doing GREAT! She's on a good 3 hours or so routine during the day and has been averaging about 6 hours at night in between feedings. She'll normally just wake up once in the middle of the night. The other night - she gave us EIGHT hours of sleep! HOORAY! Hoping that we start getting a little bit more of those. But right now - I can't really complain. She's a pretty easy baby and a good sleeper and we're so grateful for that!

Baby rolls! I could squish these rolls all day long! :)

Brooke loves her Gloworm! She will not take a pacifier but give her the Gloworm and she's immediately mesmerized. It's adorable.

Rylee and Jake are both (still) in love with Brooke. They're pretty careful around her and know that if she's on the ground, they're not to smother her or get too rough around her. I'm really grateful that I don't have to be concerned for her safety around them. They really are gentle and caring. If she's crying, Rylee starts singing a lullaby to quiet her down. Jake loves books and often sits and reads to her. It's so sweet! Here, Jake was reading a Dr. Seuss book to her. ahh...I just love them!

She fits in the Bumbo now! Brooke loves sitting up and checking out the (crazy) scenery. I love that it gives me another place to put her while playing/wrangling up the big kids! And don't yo
u just love this huge smile she has? Lights up my heart! :)