Big Sister...to a baby sister!!

As most already know through Facebook, the new baby is another girl!!  We couldn't be happier!  I am extremely excited to be having another girl because I already know how to take care of one! Taking care of a boy kind of scares me...I can imagine it is completely different and seems much more complicated.  I can't wait to watch the bond grow between my two girls, especially because they will be  soo close in age.  I hope that they will be best friends and be able to go to each other for anything.  Now don't get me wrong I completely understand that there will be days, weeks, months, and years where they "hate" each other and will fight terrible. I can't wait for holidays and am so excited that Brooklyn will have someone close to her age to share in the joys of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny...unfortunately the boys have all already outgrown the holidays, I mean, they still love all the holidays...but you get what I'm saying.

Anyway...the ultrasound went great.  The tech that did the ultrasound was fantastic.  She explained everything to us and was very friendly.  I made her check and recheck the gender just to be sure :)
We got to see all the vital organs and they all looked great.  Everything looks to be forming as it should and functioning well.  The only problem was that my placenta was too low (placenta previa).  I will have to go back around 30 weeks to have another ultrasound to make sure that the placenta has moved up towards the top of the uterus.  If it hasn't it is possible that I will have to have a c-section.  I definitely am a little worried because I DO NOT want to have to go through the recovery afterwards, but obviously I will do whatever is safest for the baby and myself.  If I was to deliver naturally with the placenta too low it can cause hemorrhaging. Yikes!

So the ultrasound was a few weeks ago and we had a very small family get-together to surprise everyone with the gender.  Derek and I found out this time at the appointment but wanted to make it fun for the boys and everyone else.  We set up a balloon and dart game board outside with black balloons and only one balloon had either pink or blue confetti in it.  All the kids and adults took turns throwing darts at balloons to try and hit the right balloon to reveal the gender.  Everyone seemed to have a great time!

Uncle Andy hit the right balloon but unfortunately it had a leak in it from getting nicked by another dart so it deflated.  The kids all watched as he tore open the balloon to see what was inside.  It's A GIRL!

Summer is flying by! 7 months...almost 8!

Wow I can't believe July is over and its already August! That means school is going to be starting soon..Boo!  I have really enjoyed being home with Brooklyn...especially in the mornings when she is happiest.  She is definitely a morning person...at least for now!

The boys are FINALLY done with baseball.  They had a great post season with All-Stars and both made great improvements in their game.  Zach had quite a few awesome hits and even hit the winning run in a game!  He couldn't have been happier!  Colton got the chance to pitch and did awesome so they put him in quite a bit to pitch.  He even got to be the starting pitcher in a few games!  He got his picture on the front page of the sports section and was PUMPED! Both boys thought they were way cool after this season of baseball and all three now argue over who is the best ball player..oye!

Football starts soon...I believe practices will start towards the end of August.  Zach and Dylan are excited to start playing but are not looking forward to the hot, sweaty practices.  They only like the games!  I'm excited to watch them this season especially since they have grown so much athletically (especially Dylan).

Then there is Brooklyn...I can not believe she is almost 8 months old!!  It amazes me how fast she is growing! She is getting so big and so smart!  She is like a little person with her own personality.  She makes me laugh and smile all day long and it melts my heart when she gives us her baby kisses!  She absolutely adores her brothers and just lights up when they walk into the room.  I have to make them leave the room when she is napping in her swing because she will just lay there and laugh and smile at them.  Its really sweet to see them interact with her.

At 7 months..almost 8 months Brooklyn:
 - loves to eat real food...like baked potato, kiwi, carrots, garbanzo beans, macaroni and cheese, blue berries, yogurt, apple sauce, cottage cheese...and other mushy foods she can gum...NO longer a fan of baby food AT ALL
- is starting to crawl...or I should say scoot kinda...more like an inch worm
- loves to babble and chit chat with everyone
- makes funny faces and makes us laugh
- is able to pull herself to her knees
- loves to sit on the floor and play with her toys
- is starting to get adjusted to sleeping in her crib and has slept in it for about 3 weeks now!  Not through the night yet though
- still loves her swing for naps...won't nap anywhere else
- doesn't like her sippy cups..just wants to chew on them
- loves her bottles before bed and nap time
- has crazy hair...getting thick and curly
- is definitely showing her personality...she has a temper when she wants!
- loves her brothers and her daddy like crazy
- likes to throw things on the floor and watch everyone else pick them up
- loves to eat Gerber puffs...would probably eat them all day long
- is into everything and very curious
- chews on anything she can get her hands on
- is afraid of her Eeyore stuffed animal that Nana got her
- loves to be held up to stand and then won't bend to sit
-at the very end of month 7 she was able to pull herself to standing and started to do a real crawl!!
-has two bottom teeth

These were taken right on the day she turned 7 months but I am just getting them on here..

My favorite!