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!!

Tannerisms 2012

I'm desperately trying to catch up on posting about Tanner before this new little addition comes to our family. Here's some of my favorite stories and quotes that have been accumulating over the past months:

SUPERHEROES

At Chik-Fil-A, Tanner saw a police officer eating lunch. As he walked by him, Tanner commented, "He rescues people just like me!" His super-Tanner-hero shirt he was wearing gave him every bit of confidence.

CHOICE WORDS

"Holy Crap, that tree is covered in toilet paper" Tanner recently commented as we drove by a neighbors house that had been recently tee-peed. Anthony explained that perhaps "Holy crap" was not the best choice of words. Tanner's response was, "Well, I'm just talking to myself."

And a few days later, I overheard Tanner playing by himself and said the same"Holy Crap" phrase. But this time it was followed was immediately followed by an "Oops, I didn't mean to say that." And he didn't even know I was listening...

When he gets reprimanded, it's not uncommon to hear, "We'll you're not the best [at XZY]" or even better, "I'm just a different person!" I see the teenage years starting early...

But unfortunately, he's not the only person that says things we later regret. While I usually like to think I'm really patient with him, one day I most definitely was not. I freaked out on him and he was totally shocked and ran to his room crying. When I apologized to him, he reminded me, "Mommies are never ever suppose to yell. They are suppose to say, [Tanner turning on his sweet high pitched voice], "Please don't do that and ask nicely."

Oh yes...you are right son!! My own words coming back to remind me...

SHOPPING BUDDIES

When I let Tanner pick out a toy from the store today for Valentine's Day, he was in shock.

Is it my birthday or Christmas?
Mom, does this cost money?
Do you have money with you?
Do I get to take it home with me or does it have to stay at the store?
Do I have to bring it back to the store in a few days? ... Or does this mean I have to bring another toy back to the store?

He went through every reason I had ever given him on why he couldn't get a toy. And afterwards, I've never seen him so happy!! I LOVE that little man.

One day at the grocery shopping, Tanner all-of-a sudden was hungry and starving, of course.

"Okay, let's go get a cookie."

But he saw some rolls, and insisted of one of them instead.

"Are you sure, here's a cookie?" I tried to ensue.

"No, I don't want it. I just want a roll. "

Seriously, what kid says NO to a cookie?? Tanner is Anthony's son, 100%! But agreeing that a roll was a slightly healthier option, I consented.

BIRTHDAYS
For Anthony's birthday, Tanner wanted to help make the cake. He's my little assistant when it comes to baking in the kitchen.

"Let's make a cake for Daddy a yummy carrot cake for his birthday."
"No, he wants a chocolate cake!"
"Really? Daddy just told me he wanted a carrot cake."
"Let's make a chocolate cake!"
And I wonder who wanted the chocolate one...

Tanner went to a birthday party and became distraught that his friend, Easton, was turning 4 and Tanner wasn't. I explained to Tanner that he would have a birthday in the summer, and then also turn 4. "Oh, and then I'll be older than him!"

DOCTOR'S OFFICE VISIT

Tanner managed to poke his eye at school, and from there, the rest of the day was downhill. I didn't think much of it, just figured he was tired and not feeling well, so I picked him up early from school and he slept for 3+ hours, but intermittently, would wake up screaming that his eye was hurting, but then fall back asleep a few minutes later. Even when he finally woke up, he was refusing to open his eyes.

We called the pediatrician a visit and she fit us in right away. Apparently he had scratched his cornea or lodged some dirt in the back of his eye. The doctor put special drops in his eyes and flushed them out, all of which he did not approve. Afterwards, it was better much better and within another nights sleep, completely better.

When the doctor left for a brief moment, Tanner looked at the equipment sitting next to him on the table, like a big que-tip, and said in all seriousness, "Those are very dangerous!"

GENDER-IDENTITY

I was taking Tanner to the bathroom, and he insisted on using the men's restroom. At first he ran in there and it was a miracle he ever came back out. I tried to explain how girls don't use mens restrooms, but it's okay having him come into the women's restroom with me, but apparently was not being successful. "No, it's okay. No one is in here. See, there's a girl on the picture too -- pointing to a handicapped pic on the door."

How do I explain to him to ignore other stereotypes, like boys can eat of a pink plate, drink red fruit punch, or use girl's syrup (thanks, Aunt Jemima), but some things can definitely not be crossed.

ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE

When I told Tanner he couldn't go to church since he wasn't feeling good, he told me, "But God will miss me!"

We went to KC to visit family in January. Mason, his cousin [my Mason-y according to Tanner], was having a heard time wanting to go to sleep my himself and was getting scared. We offered to have Tanner and Mason share a room to make the transition a little easier. Tanner piped in, "Yes, I'll be Jesus and protect you!"

Tanner had the right idea, but yet so very wrong.

My favorite part about Sundays is having Tanner come home singing his favorite primary songs. "Families can be Together Forever" and "I loved in Heaven" are 2 of his recent faves. After singing the song one night, I commented that his new lil sister was in Heaven now with Jesus and that when she's born, she'll come to live with us. He thought about this for a moment, and then commented, "No, I think she's in your belly!" He had me on that one...

Getting ready for baby

When we were driving past the hospital, I mentioned to Tanner that's where the baby will be born. "Yeah, Mom. You'll go to the hospital and the baby will pop out!" I prefer his interpretation of the whole delivery process :)

It could be any day now...we'll just have to wait and see when she decides to make her grand entrance into the world. I'm happy to report that the bags are finally packed..

For all those demanding preggo pics, this is as good it gets :) This was when I was just 4 weeks shy of due date, and now there's less than 2 weeks to go.

Here are the best 2 friends in the world who put together a splendid baby shower. I'm one lucky girl!!

Doctor's Orders - At my 37 week appointment, my doctor informed me that I should be on "modified bedrest." I had been joking with friends how joyace such an occassion would be, but when it was "for reals" I didn't have quite the same reaction. The fact that any little thing could be wrong set me off in tears. But after I got over the initial shock and re-assured myself through prayers that everything was going to be okay, I've been trying to make the most of it.

Here's how Tanner has been getting ready for the baby:

Tanner seems to be demanding 110% of my attention. Not sure if this is normal considering the baby hasn't even come yet... We play for hours each day and it's still never enough for him. And considering my mobility and energy is comparable to that of an 80 year old lady...it's not neccessarily easy. But I'm lucky for this time that we do have together. When I get sappy, I think of him 20 years down the road and wishing for more moments to do nothing else but just play.

While complaining about how much this lil girl was killing my back, Tanner responded, "It's ok. She doesn't mean too!" He's already sticking up for his lil sis.

Baby Bunny - Lately, he's taken up an obsession with his tiny little baby bunny he got when he was first born. He gently cares for it and it's not uncommon to hear, "Ssshhhhhh, her is sleeping!" Or she'll be hungry and want bottle. Or sometimes he goes in his tummy. I just hope all this pretend baby play is getting him ready for the big day!!

Choosing a Name - When we first mentioned to Tanner that his new little sister would be named Brooke, his reaction was "No, you can't name her that. Her will cry!" He seemed to have a change of heart cause the next day he was playing Legos and one of the guys names happened to be named Brooke. When I asked him if it was still okay to name her Brooke, he said, "It's okay. I think her will like it."

Firefighters

Tanner has a wee-bit of obsession with firefighters. For Thanksgiving, he told everyone he was thankful for firefighters. For community helper week at school, he wanted to be a firefigther, of course, when he grew up.



And lucky for him, he even got to see a real fire engine and firefighters.

Lately, it's been "Mom, hurry, there's a fire in our house. Quick, outside!!" while Tanner sounds the alarm (aka manual alarm clock), puts on his special gear, and puts our the fire with his hose.

Or "You're on fire. Quick, stop, drop, and roll!" And you must follow-thru with the orders.

He also has a obsession with his firemen Legos. He builds a firestation. The firefighters sleep in their bed until the alarm sounds, -- in which case they immediately slide down the poll, put on their helmets, and jump into the firetruck to rescue a person/car/animal on fire.

It's even cuter when he sings the Fireman Sam theme song as he goes:
When he hears that fire-bell chime,Fireman Sam is there on time.
Fireman Sam! 'Cos he's gonna save the day.
Fireman Sam! He's the one we adore.
Sam is the hero next door.

If you enter our house, you'll immediate be asked if you'd like to play firefighter Legos with him. Except for Aunt Katelynn. She wasn't being "careful" when she was playing and accidentally caused a piece to fall off the firetruck -- so she's not allowed to play anymore.

Somedays it's adorable and I think, what will he come up with next? And somedays I think I should be concerned. You could get rid of ALL his other toys and he's still be completely happy as long as he had his firemen legos and firemen dress up clothes.

Oh my Little Tanners

You've grown up big and every day I look at you in wonder. But every day, you remind me you're always my little boy at heart.



Maybe it's the way you sweetly stroke my hand or face when signing you bedtime songs or run into my room first thing in the morning to smoother me in hugs and kisses.

Or when you get sad when you can't have things your way, afterwards, you just want me to hold you [or your hand if we're in the car] and whisper to you how much I love you.

Or just always want to be right next to me. When we were playing with Legos the other day, I told you I had to sit up on the couch rather than lay on the floor since my back was hurting. You told me, "It's okay Mommy. My back hurts too. I'll come sit by you!!"


When I'm around, everyone else seems to dissappear and only mommy can help you. And you make sure everyone talks to me nicely or they're going to hear about it from you.

When I come home from work, you'll ask me, "Did you miss me?" And I'll say, "Yes, of course, I love you so much!" And you always respond, "Well, now you don't have to cause I'm right here!"

Or maybe it's because today you told me I was your best friend. And I'm sure the yummy ice cream treat I let you have had nothing to do with it.

While another little girl will be entering our hearts and home soon, just wanted to let you know you are loved, forever and always!!

Love,
Your Mommy

Christmas Festivities

Tanner really got into the Christmas spirit this year. He loved hearing the Christmas story straight up from the scriptures. The next day, he started telling me other scripture stories, and then asked if he could take the scriptures to bed with him. It wasn't long before he had the story down and would repeat it with more details than most adults, "King Herod was an angry and mean king. He wanted to hurt Baby Jesus so they had to leave." He also was obsessed with the 3 wisemen (kings) who took gifts and followed a star that directed them to Jesus.





One day, Tanner was "pretending" to be at church with one of his friends. We overheard them taking the sacrament water and bread, then passing it along. I love when their little imaginations run wild!





When I told Tanner he couldn't go to church since he wasn't feeling good, he told me, "But God will miss me!" As parents, it's easy to feel like your child doesn't pay attention to anything you try to teach, but these little glimpes help remind me that we must be doing something right.








Tanner liked decorating our home. When we were first setting up the Christmas tree, he saw it in the box and said, "Oh no, it's all broken!!" He was very happy when it got "fixed" and put back together. He also loved putting ornaments on the tree, although he'd easily get distracted and start playing with some of the figurines. He also liked coming home from school and adding a new ornament he made to the tree. He had a very busy month of making cute Christmas crafts at school.



Tanner's other favorite parts about Christmas has to be signing Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and Silent Night.





My Little Angel



Tanner's Preschool Christmas Pagent included all the characters from the Christmas nativity. Tanner was very sad about not being one of the 3 Kings -- his favorite part of the Christmas story. All the 3 year olds were angels, but in my opinion, he sure does make a cute lil angel!





Tanner loved singing and doing all the hand motions with the songs. I love how he comes home from school singing new songs. I also loved how he sweetly sings "Silent Night" and knew the sign language.


But my the end of it, his tassle was falling off and it was getting too loud with all the "Jingle Bells" ringing in his ears. Every good thing has an end...


Christmas Baking

We started our baking early right after Thanksgiving so we could have more helpers.

Some of the "helpers" can only be counted on to do one thing -- eat!!

The Pops. These are his favorite cookies to make, a tradition carried down from his mother.

Nanny didn't mind getting her hands dirty either

And Tanner just adores his Aunt Katie!

Ward Christmas Party

We had a special visitor come, Santa Claus! Tanner got really shy at the last moment...

Trains at Northpark

Another Christmas tradition is going to see the model train exhibit.

He requested a Christmas tree with trains running through. Maybe next year...

Texas State Fair Exhibit. This time, Big Tex wasn't so scary now that he's not so big

Next to the Dallas Skyline (aka mommy's work)

Tanner could spend all night in the place.

After thinking about this last December, I'm ready for it to be Christmas all over again. I love the Holiday spirit, focus on Christ, and extra family time we spend together.

Preggo Update - 7 months

Here's a quick viewing of the humannoid growing inside of me. At the last appointment, we got a few shots of her close up, sucking and sticking out her tongue.

[sorry folks, I can't seem to figure out how to upload the video -- I'll try again another time]

My life is stressful. Managing busy season at work, a 3 year old that refuses to takes naps and still wakes up at the crack of dawn, dealing with allergies every time the Texas weather determines its time for spring, and trying to think through some big decisions.

But I'm pretty sure just being 7+ months pregnant just makes life hard. Yes, I look huge. But trust me, on the inside, I feel even bigger. There's no room for my bladder, my lungs to breathe, my stomach to eat, etc. I could keep going with all my woes but I'll spear you the discomforts.

And I haven't done anything. Except go shopping for clothes/accessories/etc. The nursery, nonexistent. Names, still deciding. Registry, what's that?

Not that I'm not extremely grateful to still be pregnant. A friend of mine was due within a week and due to several complications, delivered at 32 weeks. I'm reminded how lucky I am everytime I read a friends blog or think of how desperately I wanted this pregnacy over the past 3 years.

And luckily, I have a great husband and other friends/family that help a ton. And one little boy who has been completely adorable and excited about this little baby girl.

The other day, someone asked Tanner if he had any pets. His response, "No, but I have a baby sister!"

He already knows this baby is his and takes the big brother role very seriously. He comes with me to all the doctor appointment and is always very inquisitive.

When we're eating, he'll ask, "Does the baby like it?" Usually it's when we're eating yummy treats. There's certain foods Tanner finds absolutley apailing, like grapefruit. And he's shocked everytime I say YES! Grapefruits are one of the weird preggo things I grave.

When Tanner is rough-housing with Anthony, he gets nervous when he's too close and says, "Be careful, that might hurt the baby!" He remembers to be extra gentle w/o constant reminders he can't run and jump and give tackle hugs.

Tanner was sick this past weekend and cuddling with me on the couch. He rested his head on my belly, and instantly, she got jealous and started kicking him (apparently, sibling rivalry starts in the womb). Tanner jumped up and said, "Hey, why did she do that?" and started to laugh. He loved the feeling!!

Tanner also likes to come and rub my baby belly. I told him that the baby can recongize his voice and likes it when he talks. He got a super huge grin on his face and started talking to the baby in a the sweetest, highest pitch voice I've ever heard him make. It was so cute!

Tanner's world will change when he has to share the attenion with this little one, but I think Tanner is going to be just as obsessed with this newest edition to our family. Honestly, we can't wait for another 8 weeks to pass and meet this little bundle of joy!

-Feb 24th 2012

Christmas - Chicago Style

This year for Christmas we packed our bags and headed for a Chicago to celebrate Christmas!

My eldest brother, Jeremy, invited us all to his bachelor pad in the city.

I didn't think he was serious as first when he said his house would be big enough for the enormous Knickerbocker family -- along with their spouses and kiddos. Nor did I think he knew what he was getting into having 5 little kids running around his house, 20+ mouths to feed for each meal, and the whole gambit.

But let me tell you something -- he thought it ALL through and then some! He had Christmas crafts for the kids, outings planned in the city, and fabulous food like we've never eaten before. But half the credit, if not more, should go to his girlfriend Corinne. We hope to see more of her at other family gatherings!

While it was stressful having to think about not being at our own home on Christmas morning, it was nice to get pampered and enjoy the Christmas holiday. I'll take it anytime!!!

Our festivities included shopping on Michigan Avenue while stopping to watch all the street performers, touring all the surrounding 'hoods, eating too much popcorn at Jarrett's (or deep dish pizza/hot dogs/food, etc), seeing Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo (disappointing, all the animals were sleeping), seeing plethora of animals the next day at Shedd's Aquarium.

Interesting moments included seeing homeless man walking around with cardboard shoes -- only later to find out he was just a scam. And attending Christmas at the local LDS church where our family trippled the attendance and only one speaker, the Bishop, showed up to speak.

Otherwise, we nestled around the homestead and ate yummy food, play games, and enjoy one anothers company. The stuff holidays are made of!

Christmas Eve

Best cousins -- Tanner and Mason (i.e. my Mas-y)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas reading by Grandpop

Part of the gang

Yummy snacks for Santa Claus and kiddos. Seriously, Corinne totally outdid herself.

This is just one of the 100+ yummy things she made!!!

A huge smile right before bedtime

"Pretending" to be asleep on Christmas Eve

While we had spent a lot of time talking about Christmas and gearing up for the big day, I don't think we really ever talked much about Santa Claus. While part of it was intentional to focus on Christ's birth, the other part was more accidental. Before bedtime, Tanner finally started thinking it through and had a million plus questions. How is Santa Claus going to come through the chimney? Won't he get stuck? Will he know I'm not at my house? etc. Eventually, we got him to go to sleep.

Christmas Morning

They didn't waste any time getting to the stockings!!

Oh yeah! Tanner got so excited about everything!!

Matching cars in stocking. One of their favorite toys. It's the little things that make such a big big difference!

Look at that tongue. You can tell he's really concentrating...

Tanner has one minor obsessions. Legos.

Tanner must have been on the "nice list" cause he got just what he wanted.

Seriously, one very lucky little boy

Love the Quincy smiles!! She just wanted to "eat" her presents.

A big thank you to Jeremy for all this hard work and mad Santa-skills.!

And another thanks to Nanny who always goes overboard at Christmas time!!

Umm, yummm!!

Shedd's Aquarium

This fish was sucking on the glass

A snake can always get Tanner's attention

Row, row, row your boat. This was Tanner's favorite part...

We had a great time and will come back anytime. Thanks to a great family for making this Christmas so memorable!