Thank You, Grandmas!!

This is a Jillian first... Posting 2 times in one day! You're probably wondering what could be so exciting that I had to post twice in one day. Right?? You just can't stand the suspense anymore so I'll tell you. We picked out the perfect birthday dress today!!!!!!!!! I fell in love with it but it is from Gymboree so the whole outfit is around $80. John and I really didn't feel like spending that much on Brooke's birthday dress so we both kind of shrugged it off. However, when both of her grandmas heard about the perfect dress, they got together and decided that they would each pay half and buy their grand baby her special dress. Aren't my moms awesome??? I love them both so very much:-) The fact that they love Brooke so much melts my heart.

Here's some pictures of the outfit. I love it because it's kind of a cross between the princess theme and heart theme I had wanted for her birthday. It's MORE than perfect.










Isn't it precious? I must tell you, though, that the pictures don't do it justice. It's much pretty in the store. The skirt is kind of like a tutu but it's not too gaudy. That's the princess part of the outfit and then the hearts on the sweater and shirt will tie all of my heart decorations together beautifully! I can't wait dress her in this fabulous outfit!

One more quick thing and then I'm off... Brooke was miserable today and it was obvious that she was completely exhausted. She refused to go to sleep and we knew that she would just continue to be grumpy until she did. So, John put her in her crib and let her cry. He went in every couple of minutes and reassured her and calmed her down. She ended up crying for half an hour on and off but when she did fall asleep, she slept for 2 hours without stirring once! For almost 11 months now I have struggled with a baby who won't nap anywhere but in my arms or in the car(except for on the rare occasion) and John and I decided that we NEED to nail down nap times. Not only did Brooke benefit IMMENSELY from what we did, but I was so rejuvenated myself. That 2 hours helped us all out. I'm thinking that if we're persistent with this for the next few days she'll be a napping champ before we know it. When we let her cry-it-out to go down at bedtime it only took 3 nights for her to learn so I'm holding on to that hope. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Well, John's off so I'm going to go get ready to enjoy a movie with him. It's one of our favorite past times. We're cracking down on Brookie's sleep tonight so please say a little prayer for us.

*Stacy, thanks so much for your nice and encouraging comment. It's wonderful to know that you have gone through this and that Marissa has improved. There is hope for us! Yes, Brooke walks and I definitely think that her new developments and interests are playing a huge role in the lack of sleeping. She did the same thing when she was learning to pull up. I totally agree with you about my next baby. John and I also decided that we will work our bedtime routine differently for baby #2 because we have made so many mistakes with Brooke in this area. Live and learn, right? Thanks again. Your comments really mean a lot to me:-)