Not Bottleless!

Brinley has decided that she will no longer take bottles. She hasn't had one since Christmas, so about a month. Yesterday Mike and I tried to give her one before bed and she just screamed. I tried again today hoping that my horrible fears aren't real. I tried three different nipple types, but no luck. She purses her lips and wails. What am I to do??

Growing little Bug

Brinley is a 1/2 year old! Crazy! I had her 6 month check up today, and this is what I learned:

• Weight: 15.1 ... which is less than when I last had her weighed. (About 2 weeks ago) 23% for her weight. The doc is concerned about her gaining weight. Apparently my breast milk might not have enough fat to butter Brin up. Really?! I didn't think that was possible.. I thought it was equivalent to whole milk, but apparently not. Formula may be supplemented to bulk her up!
  
• Height: 27.5 - 90 something percentile
  
• Eating habits - Brin usually eats every 2-3 hours. Now, I need to push that back to about every 3-4. She has started eating oatmeal, squash, carrots, bananas, apples and some more foods. I have to set up a schedule for her eating times.
  
• Sleeping habits - I need to cut the nighttime feedings down to one, so she can get a longer stretch of sleep. Doctor recommended that after bedtime routine is finished and Brin is put down, she needs to learn to go to bed on her own. I have officially been given the OK to let her cry herself to sleep. Mike and I have been having a disagreement here, but I am happy to say I was right! Oh and naps... she is the catnap queen! No consistent schedule whatsoever. So, I am going to try to change that. We'll see how that goes.
  
• Movement skills - Brin is a good sitter. She can sit up very well on her own for long periods of time. Also, she has rolled over from back to stomach and stomach to back. However, she chooses not to roll. She used to roll over to get something she wanted, but now just cries if she can't reach it. LAZY! Anyways, she is capable of doing so, but just doesn't want to.
  
• Communication - she is saying "dada" all the time! Mike just loves it!! I think she understands that he is "dada" or "daddy" but hasn't said it yet as a form of communication.
  

Basically it all boils down to me being more strict with her schedule/routine. I kinda feel like an irresponsible mother... well live and learn I guess. At least she is a happy and well tempered little bug. :)

Down with Audit!!

So, it has only been two and a half weeks into the semester, and we aren't a fan of it. I miss Mike, Brinley misses her daddy, and Mike hates school. Thankfully it is his last semester in the Master's program! Anyways, here is Brinley "throwing down" the audit book to demonstrate her disgust. I don't think I have ever seen her laugh so hard before!!

Pictures and Holiday Update

We took a few family pictures before Christmas break. Taylor Mackay was our great photographer. :) I love how they turned out. Here are a few of them:

This year my parents and younger brother, Richard, came for Christmas. It was so much fun to have them here with us. Richard, Mike and I watched Avatar in 3D. (This is the second time we have been to the "real" movie theater in our 3 and 1/2 years of marriage! And our first 3D movie ever too!) It was soo cool!

My mom and I made a Christmas dinner with ham and twice-baked potatoes. She also made some very delicious cinnamon rolls that were shaped as Christmas trees. She was also able to start and finish Twilight while she was visiting for the two days. Grandpa B (my dad) enjoyed taking long naps with our little bug. Unfortunately Mike, Brin and I had colds during the break, but we are now fully recovered.

We also took a trip up to Logan to visit my brother John and his family. There we took a little sleigh ride to see some elk. I forgot my camera in the car so I wasn't able to take any pictures of it. Our feet were frozen, but it was still a fun experience.

Here Mike is entertaining Brinley while Grandpa Brumbaugh is watching.

Here we are just lounging at John's. Richard is the pink lump to the left.

Brinley enjoying her first Christmas by eating a book. YUM!

Thanks to Lindsey Nardone for the Santa antlers! Here comes the cutest little reindeer you have ever seen! Haha!!