Motherhood & Homemaking

This morning after breakfast I turned on PBS for the kids and went upstairs to clean up. I could hear that the kids were entertaining themselves because of Brookie's high pitched squealing and giddy laughter. I assumed they turned the fan on and were putting small balloons over it to watch them "magically" fly up into the air. This usually provokes the uncontainable squealing and laughter. However, I went downstairs to find a shivering Brooke sitting on my drenched couch. I asked what happened and Jace said " they were just dirty and I was cleaning them". I'm just glad it wasn't juice. The following is what happened yesterday.

Sometimes I get So frustrated that my house can absolutely NOT stay clean. I honestly try but sometimes I wonder what the point of cleaning it is? Of course, if I didn't try to stay up on it then my house would turn into dump and I hate living in a cluttered mess so I go from task to task every day only to turn around to find this . . .


. . . . yes, my child, the walls, the floor, hurricane Brooke arrived.



I of course put her into the bath, clean her up, put the smelly good Johnson + Johnson lotion on, comb her hair, and go downstairs to get a night night milk for her and this is what I find when I return . . .


. . . she's back in the tub fully clothed in her jammies.






Sometimes, I feel like I'm loosing the parenting game. I can't keep up. Also, the last couple nights she has been crying when we put her to bed. She never did this before. She used to just drink her milk and go right to sleep and sleep through the night. I've been trying to stay consistent and just let her cry it out. We already learned the hard way that we don't want to bring her into our bed because then it takes forever to get them out. Jace slept in our bed until he was almost 2 and I am NOT doing that again. I always feel horrible when I hear her crying though and I always wonder if she's crying just to get us to come in there and get her or if she's uncomfortable and needs help of some sort . . teething, maybe she's wet or can't go to sleep because she's cold and I feel guilty but I have to stay put because if I go in there then she will cry even harder when I put her back down. It's the worst when I can hear her yelling "MAMMA HEP HEP" . .in other words mommy help! Finally, after she had been crying for like 45 min straight Craig and I decided to go check on her only to find that she had taken her pants and diaper off and had peed all over her crib so she was wet and freezing cold. I felt HORRIBLE and to boot . .she wouldn't go to me. She only wanted to be comforted by daddy because she was mad at me. She stayed up for 20 min giving Craig snuggles and giving us a sermon about how she "need Jace" even when we told her that he was sleeping. Craig asked if she was ready to go back to bed and the reply was "nope". I got her some more warm night night milk and warm jammies and put her into her crib with fresh sheets and blankets. I wish being a mother was easier some days. I know I'm just venting and rambling and I do LOVE being a mother. I'm actually completely baby hungry again. I do however find solace in reading Nickolas Sparks books and temporarily escaping. He's a great writer . .I know you have heard of him. Several of his books have been adapted into movies . .The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a bottle, and A Walk to Remember. I'm usually crying by the end of the book and have more appreciation for my own circumstances . . even if it is cleaning up messes . . .it's cleaning up messes of a family that I love and would do anything for. Sometimes, I forget how appreciative I am that I have a husband that works his butt off so I can stay home and be a mother and homemaker. The job that I have always wanted. I just need to get through the daily confusion and find what's really important in my life . . teaching my children the importance of the gospel through kindness, patience, and example. This post was mostly just for me to put thoughts into words and come to a realization that I am one lucky woman.

Visit to Utah

We were lucky enough to be able to fly to Utah and spend Feb. 17th - Feb 28th with family. Jace was so excited to fly on an airplane . .I was a little less excited and a bit nervous to be flying as the only adult with 2 little munchkins. We spent the first 4 days down in Hurricane with my parents. It was wonderful to see everyone. Jeremy,Brittany and their 2 kids Erik and Ryan. My mom, dad, and Jessica. Julie and Jenny went to Cali and picked up Becky's boys: Carter, Taylor, Hunter, and Ryker and brought them over for us to play with. I was a sad to not be able to see Becky but happy that she got a much needed break and let us steal her boys for a bit. Jace had a blast with Carter, Taylor, and Erik! Little Ryan was a peach . .he was so happy. Beck's babies were adorable too. I was so happy to finally meet them all. My mom won over Brooke's heart by playing in the hot tub and Jace loved getting a ride on grandpa's new motorcycle, climbing the tree in the back yard and jumping on the trampoline. Plus we had a late Christmas there . .the kids had fun playing with all their new toys. The favorite was a remote control car that blows bubbles out the engine. We even got to see my baby sister do some cheer leading at the high school. Here are some pictures from our time there.

(Just click on the pictures for a close up)






I loved that I caught Taylor kissing Brooke on camera. He just thought she was too cute and that he needed to give her a smooch several times that day. I think it's hysterical that Becky is letting his hair grow out to look like Edward Cullen's hair. Brooke certainly thought he was dreamy. . . he was the little Casanova of the day.



Craig was able to come for the weekend so he picked us up in Hurricane and we headed back to Centerville on Sunday morning. We had tons of fun at Nani & Grandpa's house! They picked out such fun toys for the kids. A buzz lightyear and woody doll from Toy Story for Jace and and dress ups for Brooke. She loved putting on her little plastic high heels and tromping around the house. We were all quite impressed that she was able to walk in them at all. I had a great time shopping with Paula! I got a wonderful deal on a new painting. We also went swimming at the rec center too.

Grandpa Brammer reading to the kids. Nani was a bit camera shy so I didn't get any pictures of her. I love that Brooke has a double chin in this picture.






The night before we headed back home my parents came up and we were able to visit both of my grandma's with my brother Josh's family.


Grant,Grandpa Johnson,Jace,Kendall,Grandma Johnson,Brooke

It was so fun to see almost everyone! We just missed out on Becky and my little Brother Justin who is serving a mission in Florida. We love you all!

Valentines & a Birthday

I just wanted everyone to know what a wonderful husband I have. We had a sweet little weekend with Valentines Day on Saturday, the 6 yr anniversary of our engagement on Sunday and my birthday on Monday the 16th. For Valentines he bought me flowers & a wonderful card and cooked me a very romantic candlelit dinner, by himself. Craig doesn't' cook much besides brats,grilled cheese,and toast so this was quite the accomplishment! I loved that he took the time to show me he loves me. Unfortunately, Jace took an unexpected late nap and woke up just as our romantic dinner started which made the event a little less romantic . .although he did take the picture of the two of us together. We ended up falling asleep while watching Toy Story 2 as a follow up to dinner. It's the thought that counts though. I can't believe that I'm 25 . . YIKES! I feel old and young at the same time. Craig planned a night out on the town with a fancy restaurant, a movie, and no kids (we don't get out much) but, unfortunately, our plans were spoiled again when the kids got sick. I spent the day cleaning up barf with my sweet husband. Again, it was the thought that counts. He did get me a sweet gift certificate to Massage Envy that I am very excited to use! I need a good massage! I LOVE YOU CRAIG!

Brooke Michelle Brammer, 18 Months Already?

I wanted to do a child tag for Brooke. I can't believe that my baby is 18months old now. They grow too fast! I wish she would stay my little princess forever but it is nice to have her in nursery now at church. They should start that at 12 months instead of 18.

Birth Date: Brooke was born at LDS Hospital in SLC, Utah on August 13, 2007. She was induced a week early. Her due date was actually August 19, 2007. I was having intense back labor for the last month and was on bed rest for a week after going to the Hospital at 35 weeks . .she was ready to come but they were worried about her health and gave me morphine to stop the contractions. After that she seemed content to stay until we forced her out on the 13th.

Age today: 18 months old

Named After: Brooke was a name that both Craig and I liked. Growing up I loved the names Laurel and Cherish but Craig didn't want to name our girl either of those. We decided between Brooke and Jenna. Jenna may be the name of our next girl because we both still really like it. Craig let me decide between the two and it was SOO hard. Finally a couple hours after she was born I prayed and felt like her name should be Brooke. Her middle name Michelle is after a very good friend of mine: Michelle Rich. Michelle was one of my college roommates and one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She was killed in a car accident in Oct. of 2004. I still think about her often and I told myself then that when I have a girl I wanted to have her middle name be Michelle. I just hope that I am able to raise Brooke Michelle up to be as amazing a person as Michelle Rich.

Nicknames: Brookie, Brookie bean, Rollie pollie angel, baby girl, little sweetie heart, snuggle muffin.

Favorite Food: Brooke loves to eat! When she had her 4month well check she was 90% for weight and 50% for height. Everyone joked that I must have been producing straight cream because she was so "pleasantly plump"! I actually nursed her until she was 14 months old (I was WAY past ready to be done at that time but she just had a suckling issue and I couldn't resist her pouts) Brooke loves all food but if I had to peg a couple of her favorites it would be strawberries, and mini marshmallows. If I ever needed to see her smile I would grab a couple mini marshmallows and she would be all smiles and happiness!

Least Favorite Food: It is very unlike Brooke to reject anything that is edible . .she is my food motivated child. She however, refuses to eat Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Spinach.

Favorite Toy: Brooke loves her babies. She got lots of dolls for Christmas and loves to carry them around and give them kisses, and rides on her pink pony. She also loves anything that she can accessorize herself with including: necklaces, bracelets, and shoes. It doesn't matter whose shoes they are she likes putting them on. Whenever Jace has friends over I always find Brooke over in the shoe cubby trying on everyone else's shoes. She also makes her own accessories if she can't find any. For weeks she would wear an old cool whip container as a hat and she liked to wear one of Craig's old work ID badges.

Favorite Activities: Brooke loves swimming and dancing. She is my little fish and she just goes crazy whenever we go to the clubhouse pool. It scares me though because she really doesn't get scared and will just squirm right out of your arms so she can be free in the water. She is also my little dancer. She has been dancing since she was just months old. . .when she learned to sit she learned to swing her arms and move to the music. I often turn on some tunes just to see her break it down. I plan to put her in Ballet as soon as she is old enough . .probably 2-3 yrs. old. I know that she will enjoy it. Dancing is her passion.

Favorite Book: Right now her favorite book is her Word Book but she loves reading Baby Please Baby and I love you more with her daddy. She brings those books to him all the time. He is so animated when he reads to her and she just loves it. I can honestly say that she is a little daddy's girl.

Favorite Time of the Day: When daddy gets home from work she gets so excited she yells "dadadadadadad dadda" and does this little dance of excitement then she runs to him hugging his legs until he picks her up and they dance together.

Favorite item of clothing: Accessories, Accessories, Accessories!! Shoes, jewelry, and hats mostly.

Favorite movie: She loves watching anything elmo and home videos.

Personality: It's so fun to see how different every child is. Brooke is opposite of her older brother Jace. She doesn't really like to be in charge, she is very happy and easy going, she is very sensitive - she doesn't like having anyone mad at her. If she has upset someone in any way then she quickly gives them a hug. It's so hard to get mad at her because if she does something naughty and Craig and I say "NO" loudly to her she bursts into tears because she hates doing anything wrong. She is very loving and gives hugs and kisses often. I find her off playing by herself in her room all the time, she doesn't have to be entertained by someone else. She does get her feelings hurt easily. She is very creative and loves to color. It's funny because a lot of the time she tries to sneakily eat the crayon or chalk when I'm not looking. She knows this is wrong but it's just too tempting to her so if she gets caught she quickly starts coloring again and acts like nothing happened. She hasn't hit the stranger anxiety yet. We took her to nursery and she stayed the whole time and loved it. She is such a good sleeper too. I literally just put her in her crib at 8:00 and she goes to sleep until 7:00 the next morning. She is a sweet heart.

What makes her sad: When Jace beats up on her or doesn't want to include her. Usually a couple times a day she comes running to me "mamma mamma, ja ja" which means Jace gave her a bonk, took her toy or just didn't want to play with her. Ironically, it also makes her sad when Jace is taking a nap. She loves him so much and misses playing with him when he's sleeping.

What makes her happy: Snuggling with Jace on the couch watching Seasame Street, whenever I put her in her highchair and she knows it's time to eat, when daddy comes home from work and dances with her, and when mommy gives her kisses and plays tea party or dolls with her.

WE LOVE YOU BROOKE!

Cupcake Party

Jace LOVES cupcakes or cake of any kind. He gets that from me. I'm a cake girl. I prefer it to other desserts, cookies, candy, etc. I decided to let him host a Valentines Cupcake Party with his friends. He was SOOO excited! He helped me make the invitations with construction paper. They had a big cupcake on the front and he glued all the pieces on by himself . .he was so proud! Then we walked over to his friends house and he delivered them himself. He asked me what it meant to host and I told him that it meant that he got to be in charge and it would be at his house. That made him even more excited . . he loves to be in charge and be THE BOSS.

He and his friends had soo much fun. They each decorated 2 cupcakes and then took some home to their mommies and daddies.

The Cupcake King




Jace and his friends.
From left to right: Gavin, Gabe, Nolan, Andrew, Jace, and Brooke.


My little Brookie Valentine. She enjoys anything that has to do with food . . especially treats!


Sweet Sweet Cupcake Treats !!!



Here . . one for you too!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!

Seattle

Saturday morning (Feb. 7th)we slept in and then finished watching the movie that we had started the night before but didn't finish (Remember the Titans) and Craig randomly says . . "Hey, lets go to Seattle today". How spontaneous!! I love that about him. I'm the one who likes to have things organized and planned out but I also love it when Craig puts a whack in my schedule and we end up doing something a lot more fun! So, we went to Seattle . . .and we had a blast!! Here are some pictures from our trip.



The city view from the freeway driving in.







Driving down to the pier and The Space Needle.




Me and the kids on the pier.



Craig and Brookie on the pier.



Me and Jace in front of the City of Seattle.


We walked around the waterfront quite a bit checking out the Puget Sound. Then we ate at a restaurant out on the pier serving fresh seafood. I had fish n' chips and Craig had Steak and clam chowder. The kids loved it. Then we took the kids on a carousel ride that they had on the pier as well but . .

. . Jace's favorite thing was using the telescopes on the pier to spot some boats.








We ended our trip with a drive out to Bellevue to see the Seattle Temple. We also stopped at Deseret Book and picked up some books and movies there.

We had such a fun time. It really felt like a mini vacation . . something we both needed but we got to sleep in our own beds at the end of the day. On our way home we rented Sleepless in Seattle and watched it that night. What a good husband.

Seattle was Awesome!!

Sunday Best

Here are my two little sweethearts in our Sunday afternoon photo shoot. They are both tooo cute!



I had to bribe them with suckers so I could take some pictures. I still ended up chasing them around the yard for the most part though.

I LOVE this dress of Brooke's especially matched with her cute little boots!

Sweet Kisses from a big brother!

Big smiles.

Me and my little angel.