"Selander, Party of Five"

I can't even begin to describe how happy I am at the ways in which both Brooke and Brandon accepted Leah into the family.  Seamlessly is the only way to describe it.  They love her, want to help with her, want to be right next to her, amd beg to hold her.  They way they interact with her couldn't make me happier. 

In terms of the family in general, Leah really does fit in seamlessly.  Her transition, besides a little bit less sleep, has been EASY!  Who would have thought that the 3rd child would be easier than transitioning from 0 to 1, or 1 to 2!  I know thats not what I expected. 

Even though each child is a blessing, while being pregnant, the thought of the unborn child brings a bit of fear and guilt to you as a mother, in terms of the children you already have.  At least it did for me.  I experienced it while pregnant with Brandon, worry and feeling bad about the attention that Brooke would lose, and the same feelings were there this time around.  As soon as Brandon was born and same for Leah, those worries diappeared, and were erridacted completely when Brooke and Brandon met Leah.

These first 2 pictures, thanks to my sister in law, capture Brooke and Brandon's faces, the moment they saw Leah. Obviously, I was not there in the morning to do Brooke's hair :)

Blessed Month Of January

January 19th, 2007 Brooke Elizabeth

January 26th, 2009 Brandon Jon

January 4th, 2012 Leah Jean



Need I say more..

Brooke 5 Years Old

How do I have a 5 year old?! I mean, I know how it happened, but I can't believe my little baby is 5. 

I forget her stats from the doctors visit but I will get them.  I do remember that she is just over 30lbs, 10th percentile and she has 20/30 vision.  I think the 20/30 vision is wrong, I dont think it was that she couldnt see the picture, I just don't think she knew what the picture was.  A sailboat, with full sails.  Either way, its not big deal until she gets a bit older.

Inquiring Minds

Since we have had Leah, Brooke has had a lot of questions about babies and everything baby related.  On the drive home from the pediatricians today, I was asked, "Mommy, how do you get pregnant?"  Luckily for me, the answer, "It's a long story", was enough for her little mind to quell the curiosity brewing inside.

First Official Letter for Santa

No words necessary.  She is so sweet :)

Holiday Card Attempt #2

There are some shots of Brooke.  Maybe attempt #3 will include both children.  Anyone want to attempt to photoshop the hair out of her mouth in photo #3?

Grandparents Day 2011

On October 5th, Brooke's school held their Grandparents day.  This year all the grandparents were invited to come to the school for an hour to participate in activities and a snack with their grandchild.  My dad was able to take the day off and make the trip up overnight just for the hour he got to spend at her school.  Brooke was lucky to have 2 grandparents at her school because Eric's mom was able to make it as well.  Here are some shots I got of my Dad.  Later in the morning my dad was also able to participate in Brandon's gym class, and was able to observe Brooke's gymnastics class in the afternoon before he headed back to PA.

The boys

Pretending to sleep 

Artist?

Or just a fairy enthuiasist.  There is definitely a recurring theme in the pictures in our house.

Remember?

Did anyone else do this as a kid?  I remember doing it.  Plus, Brooke had a cute outfit on and I need to get better about taking more pictures even if I want a new camera first :)

More Pre-K Pictures

Besides Brooke looking a little silly and her hair looking a mess, I guess they are ok.  After school the 2nd day and still raining!

Girls and Tools

I don't really think this one requires much of a description.

Pre-K

Today was Brooke's first day of pre-k.  I wasn't as enthusiast about pictures today, mostly because the weather was horrible, but I managed to motivate myself to take a few after her first day was over.  Same school and teacher as last year, so nothing too excited, but she had a great day.

Brooke says "Yes", Brandon says "No"...Typical

Hmmmm

After scrubbing Brooke's face last night, a bath last night, and trying to wipe her face again this morning....I finally realized that the dirt I was having trouble getting off, wasn't dirt at all.  My little girl is starting to get some freckles!  Poor thing had me picking at her face as soon as she woke up with morning wondering what those little spots were still on her face!

Poor Brooke

The other day she told me being a girl was hard... (poor thing has a long way to go)

Her main reason for this was because she has to get her curly hair brushed every morning.  She even told me she wish she was a boy so she didn't have to get her hair done.  I try to be as gently as possible, but curly hair is such a mess in the morning!

Some days she asks Brandon if he wasn't his hair spiked, and I think the only reason she does, is because she thinks it is just as bad as when she gets her hair brushed.

Brooke 4yr Stats

At 4 Brooke is:


31lbs-17th percentile
39"-not sure what percentile

When she was born she was in the 20th percentile at 7lb, 5oz.  At a year she was 18lbs, 6oz.  At 2yrs she was 25lbs.  I need to get a hold of her records so I can compare her stats with Brandon.  Anyway, neither are going to be really big kids.  Doc says genetics and her current height have her being approx 5'3" as an adult. 

She is enrolled in pre-school 3 days a week and joins Mommy and Brandon in Music class one day a week.  She sleeps through the night.  She has pretty much given up her nap.  Some days she is sent off to rest time, some days she falls asleep and others she stays awake the whole time.

She complains that she doesn't like school, but says she likes her teacher and is always happy when I pick her up.  She gets up and gets dressed happily in the morning until I mention "school"....then the whining, complaining, and doing everything as slow as possible starts.  She even tried to pretend to throw up the other day so she didn't have to go to school.  Not very promising starting that behavior in pre-school.  She is going to be a fun teenager!

Both her tubes (2nd set, 10/10) have fallen out, hoping her eustachian tubes have matured enough to ward off any more ear infections.  Speech, hearing, motorskills and everything else is on track. 

More Snow

Since December 15th, we have had snow on an average of every 4 days.  With that said, I took some pictures of Brooke playing in the snow with Kacee and her attempt to make a snowman with some very powdery snow.