Culmination of the first week

We made it through the first week! In our communication with Miss. Bridget, it was very clear that the transition was harder on mom and dad than Brooklyn. Brooklyn ate very well, napped on average for one and a half hours and had fun playing with her new friends.

Every day at drop off Brooklyn would cry when Mandy left her at day care; within minutes she'd be happy and playing with the toys. By Thursday, Brooklyn was reaching for Miss. Bridget (however, she cried when Mandy passed her over) and then off to play. Friday she didn't cry when Mandy left (while it was great to see, it was a little sad for us too!).

Mike picked Brooklyn up all week. Brooklyn was very happy to see him but after the first couple of days, she would give him hugs and then want to get down to go back and play with the kids.

We have been pleasantly surprised at home too. Brooklyn has continued to sleep in her crib all week. When she has woken up, she's put herself back to sleep within minutes. We could not be more proud of how well she's handled the transitions. Such a big girl. <3

Playing with her new friends...

A day of firsts

Transition day finally came. In retrospect, the anxiety over the day was far worse than what we experienced. Brooklyn started at an in home child care with Miss. Bridget and Mandy started her new job. The transition was much easier through the help of Miss. Bridget. She was kind enough to help us make the first day as seamless as possible and kept us updated throughout the day. We're proud of Brooklyn -- a little sad for us -- she never cried once at day care today. She enjoyed playing with the other kids, exploring her new surroundings and even napped for almost two hours! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful baby girl.

Mommy and Brooklyn getting ready to leave for their big days....


Giving Daddy love before we headed out...


A nice gift from Daddy...

MN Christmas celebrations 2012

We celebrated with family before we headed to Florida for the holidays. We enjoyed our time with the family and sharing in the festivities.

We also met with Santa many times. As you can see in the picture (below), Santa was not a big hit with Brooklyn this year. She cried at every time.
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Hanging at home... (Can you believe we forgot to have her open her gifts before we left for Florida?!)

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Terry's...

Uncle Terry, Cousins Blake and Carson, Jenny and Nathan...

Great Grand Parents Russ, Fran and June...


Great Aunt Tami and Uncle Joel's...

Legion Christmas party

Mike's family joined us at the Arcade Legion's Christmas party. The kids got to sit on Santa's lap and each got a present. We enjoyed the magician, good food and great company.

Christmas in Florida

We had the nicest weather we've ever had during our Christmas visit. It was nice to get outside and play without our coats. All of Brooklyn's Uncles on Mandy's side of the family were able to make it for the holidays. She enjoyed lots of attention from family she doesn't see as often.

Sleeping in her own bed

We said we'd never do it -- and have since learned to never say never -- but Brooklyn had been co-sleeping with us. It started as temporary relief to her incessant teething and quickly became a bad habit. We kicked the habit two weeks ago and are happy to report she has handled the transition like a champ. She's been sleeping 10+ hours on average a night on her own. ...She even slept for Grandma Linda on our first overnight away. Go Brooklyn!

Bedtime greetings...