Tanner's 4th Birthday

We celebrated Tanner's 4th birthday at Pump It Up bounce house.  We wanted an excuse to have one last hoorah with all of our Dallas friends and family just a few days before we moved away.   Looking back, it was a little crazy squeezing in a party a day before our moving truck was loaded up.  But if was so fun to celebrate with so many friends and we wouldn't have it any other way.

According to Tanner, when he turns 4, he'll no longer be scared of fireworks, be able to swim, won't need to wear a pull-up at night, will always choose the right, and will be older than all his friends.

Happy Birthday Tanner!!  May all your wildest dreams come true!!


Pictures of the festivities:

Our own "Spidey"

Let's sing happy birthday!!!

PALS

Easton has a man-crush on Tanner.  These two are practically inseperable...and when they are seperated...Easton will come running over asking where Tanner went.  

Johnners

Stockton was dancin along to the music -- he has moves like you've never seen before.  

 
Brnylee and Caden

Presents

It's not a bday without presents, right?  Well, kinda.  We asked guests not to bring presents, but mom/dad got him is own real drill and spiderman scooter.  He was so excited!!

 For more pics, you can view the entire album here.  

Brooke's Baby Blessing

Just over a month old, Brooke Adeline Callison was blessed on Sunday May 27th. Coincidentally, Brooke was blessed in the same church building and same blessing gown as myself  - the gown was made by my Grandma Knickerbocker.  Isn't it absolutely gorgeous??   

Anthony gave her a very simple, beautiful blessing inspired from the Lord.  Here were a few thoughts captured:

• Health, strength, and happiness
• Know and follow the spirit
• Be a peacemaker in the home
• Know what the Lord desires of you
• Live in manner of happiness

I was joking wiht Anthony when I told him he should have elaborated more -- but Anthony felt that she would have a very simple, happy life.  We're so grateful to have the knowledge of the Gospel to provide us with the peace and joy. 

We were fortunate to share this special day with so many family and friends.  We must have filled up 3+ entire rows at church.  It made me realize just how lucky we are to be surrounded by so many wonderful people -- and how much we'll truly miss them when we move to Kansas City.

Tannerisms

We're a little obsessed wtih babies over hear.

Tanner is still taking the big brother role very seriously.  When her beloved pacifier falls out, Tanner is the first to run over to her and put it back in.  "That's my job!" he'll respond.  He also likes to whisper sweet nothings to her, telling her, "You're so precious."  

Remember the Beyonce song "All the Single Ladies".  Tanner chants "All the Little Babies" to the same song-- just like his dad taught him.  It's pretty cute.

He also likes to help with diaper changes -- he'll help grab a diaper and gets a few wipes ready to use.  And some days, he'll even insist on helping wipe.  Now if I could only teach him to do it all by himself.

"Wow, she has a beautiful big flower on her head!"  The way he said it you couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. 

But afterwards, when I wasn't looking, I caught him sporting one of her newest hair bows.  Apparently, he feels like he's been missing out.

Forever Small

I wish she'd stay like this forever.  But the other day, I caught myself.  I saw a mom and her teenage daughter taking a walk together and laughing as they went.  I thought to myself, "Oh, that'll be Brooke and I someday.  We'll be best friends sharing our secrets together.  I can't wait until she grows up!"

But then it hit me.  What was I thinking?  No, I don't want her to ever grow up.  I want her to be my little girl forever.  period.  And I looked down at her, holding her tight in my arms, inhaling the sweet smell of her skin, caressing her fuzzy head of hair and baby soft skin, and whispering sweet nothings.  Just when I didn't think this moment couldn't get any better, she gave me the widest smile --and on purpose.  That's the joy of motherhood -- it just keeps getting better!!

Despite my wishes, she does keep growing -- and way too fast!!  At her two week appointment, she was an ounce shy of her birth weight, but has done more than enough to keep up since then.   Newborn clothes never really fit, and now at 6 weeks old -- 3 month clothes are getting to be too short.  Her dresses are mini skirts and barely cover her diaper cover.

Brooke is just the happiest and sweetest baby.  When you talk to her, she'll bat her eyes and smile with her whole face.  And if you're lucky, she'll coo back at you.  You'll wish you had a video of it to play over and over cause it's the cutest thing ever.

Of course she loves to be held, but a close second would be her swing.  She also loves to stare into lights and ceiling fans.  And baths always calm her down and she gets right to kicking those little legs.

When it comes to sleeping, she's a bit of a princess.  Or she has a noisy brother who doesn't know how to not wake her up.  She loves to be in an inclined position -- and if you try to lay her flat on her back -- well, you're just asking for her to be wide awake.  She loves to sleep in her car seat, swing, and my favorite --Rock N Play sleeper by Frisher Price.  This is SO much better than any cradle or crib.  At night, she's gone up to 6 hours (once) without waking up to eat, but usually sleeps anywhere from 3-5 hours at a time.  It took Tanner at least 6 months to do this -- so I consider it a HUGE blessing.  But when she wakes up, she gets right down to business and wants to eat.  Really, it's the only time you might hear her wince or cry. 

Brooke's Newborn Pics

4 weeks old

Brotherly Love

Tanner is such a proud big brother to Miss Brooke.  And she already has Tanner wrapped around his little finger.  Oh wait -- Daddy too!


In the hospital, he couldn't wait to come meet her.  Tanner was in awe as he checked over her tiny little hands and feet.  He was so excited to finally get to hold her.  He liked to softly rub her face and gave her sweet kisses.



One time wasn't enough.  The next day Anthony picked him up from preschool and grabbed lunch at his favorite place, Chic-fil-A.  Tanner usually loves to play on the playground, but this time he just wanted to rush to the hospital to see Brooke and mommy again.

On our way home from the hospital, Tanner told us "I cleaned and picked up all my Legos so Baby Brooke won't eat them." He had to make sure no one ate the last two blueberry muffings for breakfast.  "One is for Brooke and one is for Mommy." But since then, he's realized babies only drink milk, at least for now.

When we have visitors, he makes sure they treat her just right.  "Make sure you're gentle," or "Shhh! Her is sleeping.  You have to whisper." 

Listen closely and you'll hear him in action:

And he's always showering her with hugs and kisses. 

When she begins to cry, he's the first one to run over her to comfort her, "It's okay Miss Brook-ie!" he calmy reassures her in his sweet high pitched voice.  He'll try to do things to make her happy -- like make silly faces or give her a paci.  When it didn't work one morning, he was very sad and ran to his room, crying "Baby Brooke didn't want me to play with her!"

One morning, while I was getting breakfast ready, I overheard Tanner serenading Brooke with "I am a Child of God!" It was so precious I just wanted to capture the moment forever and never forget.

Introducing...Brooke Adeline Callison

Our sweet little girl has finally made her big debut, arriving right on schedule on her due date. 

Arrival

Tanner always understood that we'd go to the hospital when it was time for her to be born and she'd just "pop" out.  Well -- his version wasn't far from the truth.  After pushing one time, I had to stop and wait for the doctor to come.  In a few minutes the doctor was scrubbed in and ready to go -- and a few pushes later she was born. 

Weighing in at 9.0 lbs and measuring 20 1/4 inches long, there's really nothing little about her. The doctor had a good laugh when he saw her.  All along, I'd been measuring small so they surely didn't expect her to be so large.  "Well, mommy didn't gain that much weight cause it just went straight to you."  Everyone was shocked and was making comments, "She's a two handed baby, you'll drop her wiht just one!" But I'm in love with those rolls!!

 

With Tanner, we had a birth plan all written up and nothing went as planned.  This time around, it was amazing how easily everything went. As it should be -- she made up for the hard pregnancy by having easy delivery. 

The best part was being able to hold her immediately after she was born.  Once I held this newborn little baby Brooke in my arms, I felt a little closer to heaven.

 Sleep

The first night in the hospital, we agreed Anthony should go home to be with Tanner and get a goods night rest since we were up most the night before.  I thought for sure she would be asleep majoirty of this time, but I've never been more wrong.  I was up until 4am in the morning with her -- and the only thing that would calm her down after screaming from top of her lungs was being able to nurse.  Which is fine for 15-30 minutes -- but not the entire night.  One of the nurses tried to put her to alseep using a few drops of glucose -- but it only lasted for 5 minutes.

But since then, she's slept like a champ.  Most nights she goes 3-5 hours in between feedings and sleeps heavily during that time.  It took me months to get Tanner to sleep for more than 3 hours (let alone 5!) at a time so this already is a small victory.

Feeding

She's a complete natural and knew just what to do when it came to feeding. But she's also a little animal and anytime anything comes near her mouth -- she literately attacks it.  Trust me, never thought feeding could be this painful...

Here's a video at the hospital of Brooke 'attacking' her fingers:

She also left her "mark" on Grandma. She was holding Brooke and out of no where, got ahold of her chin and started sucking. Now Grandma has a nice bruise...

In the hospital, I was suprised how they no longer offer pacifiers to babies since it can interfere with breastfeeding.  I was so relieved when I talked with a lacation consultant -- after observing Brooke gulping down milk for 20+ minutes and then still not being satisified, she totally agreed .  We quickly learned a binky would be the only way to pacify her never ending addiction. Now she doesn't have to be "attached" 24/7 so it's been a life saver.

At her follow-up doctor's appointment, she had already gained another 3 oz in 2 days so luckily, they're not concerned about her not eating enough.  This means she can sleep as long as she wants inbetween her feedings.

Here's some pics of the chunky monkey:

Overall, we could not have prayed for a happier, healthier little girl.  All along, I had a feeling peace that comforted all my fears and I knew everything would be fine -- despite concerns about her kidneys, measuring small, and my high blood pressure.  It's such a relief to know that our Father in Heaven in looking over us and giving us the reassurance that the doctors could not.  She's absolutely perfect!!