Because I love her

My last post was all about Eliza so I think it's time for a post all about Brooklyn! I must confess, two children is different than one (duh!). I thought I was all adjusted to this and doing OK when I realized something. I realized I was loving my baby more than I was loving Brooklyn. Everyone told me that your heart opens up when you have a second child and there's room to love them both, but I realized I wasn't doing that very well. Brooklyn is three and though she's adorable and makes me laugh, she also pushes my buttons regularly. I had to realize I was enjoying Eliza so much that I wasn't being fair to Brooklyn. Before I had Eliza, Brooklyn was all I had and she got lots of attention. We were best of friends. Then we added Eliza and Eliza needed me so much that she got most of my attention and I did my best with Brooklyn, but found I didn't enjoy my time with her like I use to. I had to really stop and ponder why I was doing this and change this quick! I know Brooklyn loves my attention and acts out more when she's not getting enough. I know I wasn't providing what she needed and so she was being naughty and it became a vicious cycle. Anyway, I basically took a step back and realized my attitude toward Brooklyn was having an affect on her and causing her to not be as good as I know she is so I've now changed my way of thinking about her and feel like we're having more fun together again. Did anything like this happen to anyone else? I have no idea because this is my first experience.
So because I love Brooklyn, this post is dedicated to her. I looked through my January pictures to help me illustrate Brooklyn and all her wonderful qualities.
She plays the Big Sister roll perfectly! She loves Eliza and loves her even more now that she walks. She has a way of annoying her so bad that she squeals. Brooklyn is always in her face or touching her. She's a great helper with all things Eliza. She especially loves to take Eliza's dirty diapers outside to the garbage can (no one else is allowed!).
Brooklyn is our biggest helper! She loves to feel needed and big enough to do things we do. She loves to shovel snow. My mom found this little shovel and Brooklyn feels so big. It snowed a few weeks ago and Brooklyn had to go to preschool that day. She made me promise that I wouldn't shovel the snow until she got back so she could help. When she got home, she immediately wanted to shovel and do it all by herself. As you can see, it was melting, but she still wanted to do it. She did an awesome job!
She loves all things movies right now. Our daily quiet time consists of a movie (it's my only time to do something I want). We also recently purchased a ITouch. Well, Brooklyn is obsessed with it! She plays all the games and loves that she can watch The Backyardigans on it. That's what I get for downloading them on there. She pretty much owns the ITouch now. If she sees that it's out, she wants to play with it. On this day, she played in her tent with the IPod during her movie time.
She's become extremely goofy! She's very much in the silly words, silly sounds, silly dances, silly everything phase. It's hilarious! Though it's been hard to teach her where to draw the line and what is and what is not appropriate.
She loves to hang out in her pajamas. If we aren't going anywhere, I really don't mind. I'm constantly telling her to get dressed and she'll say "it just a few minutes" and before you know it it's dinner time and she's still in the same clothes. Oh well, less laundry, right? She also loves to ride her bike in the basement.
Another example of our helper. I was helping Marty when Brooklyn told me it was her turn and took over. The only problem was she couldn't cover her ears from the saw noise so she improvised (see her arms lifted up by her ears?).
She loves playing pretend! And she's very good! Some of her favorite pretend things are playing "Birthday" where you have cake, sing, wrap presents (she wraps her toys in little doll blankets), and do this over and over each day. It gets old (only because I'm old and don't find the fun in it after so many times). :) I'm sure I'm over 100 now with all the birthdays I've had lately!
Last week, we went to the library after a very long time of not being there. She loved it, but instantly came home and played "Library". For those of you who aren't familiar with the Salt Lake County library system, we check out books, movies, etc on this magnetic pad and it reads the bar code instantly. Brooklyn caught on quick and found this little pad from the bottom of one of her bags and started checking things out on it. I thought it was so creative!
She also loves to play "babies", "doctor", "restaurant" and "pirates". Her imagination is booming!
She loves to pose for pictures and I love this about her because it shows her fun personality. So there's a small glimpse of my little girl who is turning 4 next month. I love and cherish her!