Starting School Tomorrow

Here I am again, months later doing another post. Life gets busy! It's hard to sit down and think about writing on these blogs. Lately, however, I have had a heavy heart as I am going back to work tomorrow, and the girls are going to a new school. I am not worried too much about Ellie, because she is excited to learn and make friends. I do not think Brynn is excited. She's a mama's girl, and a homebody, and she is kind of shy. She is not used to being around a big group of kids, and a new group of adults. She's still shy around her own grandparents! I just feel bad also because she doesn't say much. She has a whole (maybe) 8 words so she can't tell me if she isn't happy or not. I know she will adapt and be fine, it's just a sad transition to have to go through.

In other news, Brynn is still my mellow Marley, for the most part. She is starting to show signs of being two when she doesn't get her way though. Sometimes she will yell, sometimes she will throw herself on the floor, and sometimes she will shake, but nothing lasts more than a couple seconds and she is easily redirected. I am hoping she stays more on the calm side, but know that the two's are well on their way, and I remember what a great heap of fun they are! Brynn's likes right now include swimming, she thinks she can swim without help and gives us quite a workout trying to hang on to her while we are in the pool. She also loves to find things throughout the house and displace them where ever she feels like it. She enjoys pulling multiple wipes out of the wipes case and throwing them all over the room as well! She will play with a couple of toys here and there, but doesn't necessarily have a favorite. She doesn't seem to care about the TV at all either. For some reason, is she finds my phone, she presses the button and tries to talk to Siri every time.

As for her development, Brynn finally started walking when she was 16 months, actually on Mother's Day. It was a pleasant surprise, and an awesome Mother's Day gift. Nowadays, she takes off running and it's pretty cute. She's really into climbing right now. She loves to climb on all the big stairs and ladders at the park and she gives me a heart attack every time. She also loves climbing on the kitchen chairs, the couch, and our bed. She's been attempting to jump for some time now, and she is almost clearing the floor! As I mentioned earlier, Brynn doesn't talk too much, but she does make her needs be known around the house. The "words" she is using on a regular basis are "Mama" or "Mommy", "Dada" or "Daddy", "Papa", "Eh-wee" (Ellie), "Ah-hunn" (all done), "Ma" (more), "Bah" (ball). She's also said a few words when she's been prompted but she doesn't use them on a regular basis. She makes a lot of sounds and we have no clue what she means, but she definitely thinks she's saying something :)
We are looking forward to what she will blossom into once she is in school with her friends.

Well that's about all I have time for now. We just love Brynn to pieces and we cannot believe how old she is getting!

14 Months

I am such a bad second-time mom.

Pooooooor Brynnie hardly has any blog posts about her. I am sorry my Brynnie Bear! Well, as you can see she is now over 1 year old and I cannot believe it. Brynn is still just cruisin along, not yet walking, but she likes to walk with her push-cart. And just recently, she will actually walk alongside one of us while holding only one hand, so we are getting there! I know a lot of people say your life is over once they start walking, but at this rate I am just ready for her to walk because she wants to get down and crawl everywhere-- Target, Costco, the Park, the gym... she's ruining all of her clothes cause she won't get off her little knees!

Lately, her favorite thing to do is climb all over the couches and bury herself in the pillows, she laughs so hard knowing we are right behind her trying to pull her off the couch. Luckily, she has learned how to get off the couch safely. She is still just loving any and all food we put in front of her. She's not too keen on Oatmeal though, that's about the only thing I think she dislikes, but I don't mind, cause it's messy anyway. She still loves the bath and loves to splash like we are in an Orca show at Sea World, the entire bathroom is soaked after bathtime is done.

She's starting to really "love" Ellie like a sister would... (That's said with sarcasm) Ellie is in that stage where she wants to help whenever possible, and it's nice, sometimes. When she tries to pick up Brynn, or force Brynn to do things she doesn't want to do, it's not so nice, and Brynn gets upset. I have even seen Brynn swing at Ellie like "Leave me alone!" ....you can't help but chuckle under your breath.

Brynn is using her voice quite a bit. She still says "mama" "dada" "Eh-Wee" and now "mah" (more). I have been trying to get her to say please and Auntie, she will get there soon enough I am sure. I am not going to rush that though, we already have one motor mouth in the house :)

Well that's about it for now. Hopefully I will write again soon, before she starts Kindergarten!

10 Months

I can't even believe it. Yes, time flies when they are young but I feel like Brynnie's time is flying way faster than I remember Ellie's flying.

So I may or may not be guilty of keeping Brynn behind and treating her like "a baby" for as long as possible. I don't want her to grow up!!! I didn't relize it before, but I actually adore the first year. It's so fun, and they do so much!

Well, Brynn has been chattering more. Although she doesn't say anything more than "mama" and "dada"(sometimes) she is able to understand some language. When we tell her to dance, she will dance and when we ask for a kiss, she leans in, and with an open mouth, plants one on us. I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but Brynn's absolute favorite time of day is bath time. She would stay in there all night if she could. She loves the water, and splashing and playing with the bath toys.

Brynn is still just standing all day. She likes to stand up and cruise on the couch quite often, but most recently, she loves to stand up while holding onto my or Paul's legs, while we are trying to get things done! When I hold her hands out and try to help her walk, she doesn't really seem interested in taking any steps... but I am more than ok with that for now. She knows how to get from point A to point B if there is something she wants, she is quite quick with her crawl.

Brynnie Kitty

Brynn now has two little bottom teeth, and I think she may be getting a couple more. When the first two came in, she wasn't too fussy, just a little more slobbery. However, lately, she has been fussy and slobbery, and she has also been yanking on her ear. She hasn't had any fevers, so I am pretty sure she's teething. She just hasn't been herself, so I know something is up. For now that is about it. We had fun on her first Halloween, and we are looking forward to her first Thanksgiving and first Christmas!

7 Months...Gulp!

3 months

It is so amazing to me how fast time flies with the second child. I still feel like I just had her last month. I cannot believe she is already 7 months.

Brynn has had a few new milestones lately. She is now eating solids. I am feeding her purees because her motor control is not ready to do baby led weaning like I did with Ellie. Brynn really enjoys eating from a spoon. So far she's had applesauce, peaches, zuchinni, sweet potatoes, avocado, blueberries, bananas, green beans, peas and rice cereal. I need to cut out some time to cook up a bunch of food and freeze it for her, but we have been on the go lately. I plan to make up some food for her this week, and we will be letting her try new things as well. She seems to love eating, and hasn't really turned away from anything. She makes a few funny faces when trying anything sweet, which is interesting to me, cause she sure made me eat a lot of sweets while I was pregnant... haha.

4 months


Brynn is finally able to sit up on her own. I am glad she is sitting on her own now I was kind of getting worried that she wasn't sitting by 6 months, but I keep telling myself, all babies are different. She just took a bit longer. Now she will sit on the rug and play with toys for quite some time. She is even trying to crawl! She will either lay on her belly and pivot around to get different toys, or she will army crawl or roll to whatever it is she needs. She is even bridging up on all fours, and rocking forward and back, but isn't really moving anywhere in that position yet, and I am ok with that!!! I know that once she is mobile I will be in for it!

5 months

Brynn just adores her big sister, Ellie. She loves to stare at her, smile at her, hug and kiss her, and even pull her hair! I think Ellie is going to really start having fun with Brynn as she becomes a little older. I cannot wait until they play together!

Almost 6 months

Overall Brynn is an awesome child. She is just really laid back and pretty calm. If she is fussy, we usually know why and we are able to get her to calm down pretty quickly. She is always smiling, I mean all day long. When she wakes from her naps, she usually just lays in there cooing and singing, and once we walk in she is just smiling from ear to ear. It's quite refreshing and it makes my heart happy.

Almost 7 months

Well that is about it for now. We love our little Brynnie Bear!

Almost 5 months ALREADY!

I feel super bad because I never find the time to blog anymore. Poor Brynnie, she won't know about her baby-hood!

So Brynn is going to be 5 months tomorrow and I cannot believe it. I now understand why when people have their last child they "baby" them. I still feel like Brynn is 6 weeks old. She is doing all these things that I am not ready for! She is rolling in both directions, grabbing for things, jibber-jabbering up a storm and loving on her sissy. Lately, she has been making the cutest growling sounds, like shes a little dinosaur. It's surreal that she is actually a little human being now.

She has always been on the thin side, but at her last appointment, the doctor finally told me to go ahead and give her rice ceral just so that I could get some more calories in her. Yeah, we tried that, about 5 times, and she just pushed it right out of her mouth every time, so we got over that real quick. I never did rice cereal or oatmeal or even purees really with Ellie so I wasn't real excited to give it to Brynn either. I'm secretly glad she wasn't fond of it. I know Brynn will be fine- even if she is skinny! And I also knew that once I introduced formula, she would start to thicken up- which she has! I started to give her a bottle here and there about two weeks ago, just because she gets real fussy right before bed, and that is when my milk is at it's lowest, so rather than watch her squirm and scream, it's easier to give her a bottle.

I am excited, but also a little overwhelmed to start solids with her. I think we have a little time still before she's ready cause she doesn't have the best trunk control yet, but I do not mind. I plan to do baby led weaning with her, just as I did with Ellie, and I think it will be fun, but also time consuming. I hope she is a good eater like her big sissy!

Overall, so far I can say that Brynn has been a pretty easy going baby. Thank God. I am so happy and lucky to have my two healthy girls.

12 Weeks

Brynn will be 12 weeks tomorrow. The time is flying by even faster than it did when Ellie was a baby. I am having a hard time even remembering the very beginning with Brynn. And each and every day just zooms by and before I know it I am tucking my sweet Brynn into bed.

Well, so far, Brynn has been so chill. I cannot believe it most days. She is so low-maintenance. She is so easy and pretty predictable. We follow the eat-wake-sleep cycle and I just watch her cues and everything is just seeming to work. When she wakes up, she will eat, then play for a bit and when she starts to get fussy, I swaddle her up and put her to bed. She seems to enjoy her little bed, and enjoys sleeping too. This week she has been rather sleepy. I have had to wake her up to eat! She must be growing...

We went to the doctor at 10 weeks. Doctor said Brynn is healthy overall, but her growth is a little behind on the charts. Doctor wasn't worried and said this may just be how Brynn develops, dainty and petite, but she will re check her growth at the end of the month just to be safe.

Recently Brynn has been coo-ing more, and smiling a lot. What's funny is that she is so smiley in the middle of the night after she eats. I feel guilty that I am the only one who gets to see such a beautiful smile in the wee hours of the morning. :) I think she is starting to recognize her Daddy and Sissy too. It's really starting to get fun!

Well it's a turning point here with the Gregrows... We are moving this weekend into a bigger house, with a yard and more space for us, and we are so, so, excited about it. And, I am finally going back to work on Monday. I have been so focused on packing and moving that it really hasn't hit me yet that I have to go back to work. I am kinda sad about going back, but very happy that Sonya will be watching the girls. So much anxiety and stress is lifted off of my shoulders knowing that my girls will be well taken care of, and thoroughly loved while I am away at work.

Brynn's Birth Story

So, if I could describe Brynn's Birth story and my experience in one word, it would have to be: PROMPT.

Although I was given many side-eyes and various questions as to why, opinions as to why I shouldn't, I decided to schedule an induction for Brynn. My doctor asked me if I wanted to be induced and I was actually quite surprised that she offered. With Ellie, she would not induce me until I was one full week over due. This time, she said, because I had a healthy and problem-free vaginal delivery with Ellie, she did not see any reason why I should need to go over 39 weeks. She said that babies are fully developed by 39 weeks and that any further time in the womb would just be the baby putting on more weight. So, I scheduled my induction for midnight, Thursday, January 16th.

On Wednesday, January 15th, I went about my day as any other day. I was finishing up all the last minute details with packing my bag, getting Ellie ready, and preparing for Brynn to arrive. Ellie and I went to get the car's oil changed, as well as a car wash. While we waited for the car, we walked over to Target and shopped for a bit. I was just enjoying my last few hours with Ellie as an only child. Later that day, I went for a hair appointment and everything was fine. When I got home from the appt, I felt something different than I had before. I went to the bathroom and discovered I was wet. Now, sorry if this is TMI, but I just attributed it to the end of my pregnancy, Brynn pushing on my bladder and thought it was a little pee that had leaked out. But, once I pulled down my pants I realized that not only were my underwear wet, but my pants were too. I still chalked it up to just being pee, and I even joked with Paul about it. I remember telling him how I can't wait to not pee my pants anymore once this baby was out!

Later that day my mom arrived to stay the night with Ellie. I kept feeling myself leaking from time to time, but again, I just thought it was pee. I text my best friend Brie and told her what was going on. She urged me to call the doctor, but I still didn't want to make a fuss. My mom, Ellie and I went out to dinner (Paul was getting a team workout in before the big day) and I decided I would just wait and see what happened over dinner and if I was still "leaking" I would call. Well, once we got back home I was still leaking. I called. I explained what I was feeling to the on-call doctor and he said "Well, sounds like your water broke to me". So, he said I should head in to the hospital, but not to rush. I then let my mom know, text Paul, and started to get everything together to go. I told Paul to finish up his dinner at his team meeting, and come home and we would go. He got home about 9, showered, and we headed for the hospital.

We checked into the hospital and got settled in, now was the waiting game. I got moved into my room about 11pm, and that's when I started to feel the contractions. They started out very light, I could barely feel them. It wasn't until about 1am when I asked what time would be appropriate to ask for the epidural. I didn't want to miss the window. The nurse said she usually tells her patients to wait as long as they possibly can, so I did. At that point, I wasn't in pain, I just wanted to know what the typical time was to get one. The contractions started to come on stronger, and more close together around 2am. By 3am, I couldn't breathe through them anymore, and I couldn't even open my eyes during them so I decided to get the epidural at that point. Ahhhhhhhh..... the epidural is just wonderful. After getting it, I was able to rest with a few exceptions of the nurse coming in to have me switch sides or adjust my monitors. A few checks later, I was complete and ready to push around 6:15. The doctor came in, and I pushed 7 times, and my beautiful Baby Brynn was born at 6:29am, weighing 6lbs, 13oz and 20 inches long. Her Daddy had a rough time and almost passed out during the delivery because he said he "saw too much". He started to get queasy, started to sweat, and turned pale, he had to sit down. A nurse brought him some juice and he felt better, meanwhile, I cut the umbilical cord! That is something we will laugh about forever I am sure.

Brynn was laid on my chest and she was so tiny! I couldn't believe I had another miracle in my arms and I was so happy. I also couldn't believe how incredibly easy her delivery was! She was so sleepy, of course, but she took to nursing like a natural which was nice. Soon after her arrival we were greeted with all of our family. Ellie was the first one to get to hold her, besides Paul and myself. She was so excited, and I think she was a little stunned too. We are so happy to have our complete family of four.