Travel, Truth, and Trick-or-Treat
October was another busy month. I enjoyed my last month of maternity leave and continued taking a lot of prenatal exercise classes. The second weekend, Hanleigh and I ventured to Ft. Lauderdale for Kristy’s baby shower. I was quite nervous about the trip beforehand because I wasn’t sure how in the world I was going to lug a baby, my suitcase, the car seat, and stroller around the airport. But, to my surprise, I actually managed quite well. Trent dropped me off at the airport and, after purchasing a piece of luggage large enough to stow an elephant, I was able to make my way around without too much problem. Kristy was radiant and it was so amazing to see all of my college girlfriends and a few that I’ve gotten to know better over the years. We had a great time and I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends.
This month also included many birthday parties as well, including Brayden’s! She turned four (where did the time go?) and had a great party with her friends at MyGym. It was like a circus with all the kids running around like little banshees. Brayden had a perma-grin on her face constantly and was doing her silly huffing noise (she makes a huff noise when she’s really happy and running around) because she was so excited. We really can’t believe our little girl is getting so big. Miss B had her four-year checkup as well. She was 39 ½” (52%) tall and weighed 32 ½ pounds (38%)…right on track. Her shots went well and there was a bit of crying, but it wasn’t anything that cool Band-Aids couldn’t solve.
Hanleigh had her two-month checkup as well. She weighed 10 lbs., 5 oz. (39%), and was 22 7/8” (69%)…tall and lean. We decided to spread out her shots by one week, therefore giving her two shots one week and two shots the next. Her personality is really starting to shine through as well. She loves to be part of the action and snuggle and will let you know when she is lonely and wants to be held…and she likes to be held A LOT (of course, that could be that we like to hold her just as much). She has recently discovered her fists and they are constantly in her mouth, hopefully acting as a self-soothing mechanism. We have also been experimenting with her bedtime. It’s a fine balancing act. You don’t want to feed too early or she could get up early. You don’t want to feed too late because then Trent and I become sleep deprived. As of the end of October, we were feeding her at 9:30pm and she was sleeping until 7am or 8am…that’s 9 ½ hours! Not bad at all! We also moved her to her crib, which was bittersweet. And she is a mover and shaker. That child will move about 180 degrees in the middle of the night while swaddled. Sometimes what wakes her up is that she’s scooted to the edge of the crib and her face is against the slats. It’s hilarious! I need to get a picture of her at night and then in the morning to show how much she moves!
One thing that made this month more hectic than others is the fact that we had hardwood floors installed. Before, we had linoleum in the kitchen, berber in the den, and hardwoods in the office and living room. Now, we have it throughout the entire downstairs. They sanded and refinished the floors, which made us displaced for three nights, so we headed to DC to spend some time with Trent’s parents. It was nice to have a free place to stay and head downtown to the Smithsonian museums. Brayden had a blast and she said her favorite things were the dinosaurs and the turquoise/diamond tiara near the Hope Diamond (that’s my girl!). Trent and I also had our first date night since Hanleigh was born (why did we wait that long?) and later that week, my mom came in town and watched the girls while we went to the FSU game. Thanks moms and GO PACK (it looks like we could be headed to a bowl game)! Brayden continues to be the best big sister to Hanleigh. She is now notifying us when Hanleigh is spitting up or when she needs her mouth wiped and the hugs and kisses are endless. It is so cute to see them together!
Telling jokes is one of Brayden’s favorite pastimes, specifically “Why did the chicken cross the road?” and “Knock-Knock” jokes. She usually makes up the jokes and then will crack herself up laughing. She also claimed she would eat new/different foods once she turned four…we haven’t seen that happen much yet, but are hoping her tastebuds become more ambitious this year.
We enjoyed a beautiful, Sunday afternoon at a local pumpkin patch and farm where we navigated our way through a corn maze, enjoyed a hayride some face painting, and a bouncy house. For Halloween, we all dressed up. Brayden was Princess Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), Hanleigh was a pumpkin (a very cute one, I might add), I was a makeshift princess (assembled from items in Brayden’s dress-up bin), and Trent was Zac G. from The Hangover…100% authentic with Baby Bjorn, full beard, aviator shades, and all. It was hilarious!
Brayden has had so many comical things come out of her mouth this month and I’m sure I only recorded a small percentage of them.
• One of her centers at school is called manipulatives, but she calls it “nipplytips”.
• On the way to school one day, Trent and Brayden saw a squirrel cross the street and Trent said it didn’t look both ways, but should’ve. The next day, they saw a goose cross the street and Brayden said the goose looked both ways. Then she remembered the squirrel from the day before and said, “Why did the goose cross the road? It didn’t look both ways.”
• When I was in Florida, Trent gave Brayden four cookies for her special treat one night. She said, “Why am I gonna have four cookies, Dad?” He said, “Because I’m being nice to you.” She said, “And you’re being sneaky because mom is not here.”
• We have been talking to her about how it is important to tell the truth and be honest. She has been a thumb-sucker for awhile, so we either put this spicy “thumb stuff” on her hands or she puts pretty band-aids on her thumbs. One night she came into the bonus room (after she was supposed to be in bed) and said, “Mom, guess what? At night, I sneak into the bathroom and take the band-aids off my thumb and then sneak back to my room and suck my thumbs.” I said, “Why did you tell me that?” and then corrected myself and said, “Thank you, sweetie, for telling me the truth.”
• When we were in DC, we were going to Fran’s office and Trent told his dad that he wasn’t sure of the perfect way to drive there, but he was going to go the way he knew. Terry said, “Go the way you want. I’m not your mother.” Without skipping a beat, Brayden said, “I have that book!” (she was thinking of the book “Are You My Mother?”).
