My "Cool" Dude!

This week didn't consist of anything too exciting so I thought I would just show you what a "cool" kid my little "man" has become. He is in a temper tantrum stage right now where he arches his back, kicks his legs and tries to bang his head on the floor. I guess I had this coming to me because I hear I was the "temper tantrum" child of our household. I have been practicing walking away from him and ignoring his tantrums (that is what my Mom used to do to me!), but he is just so pathetic and cute when he has them. I will try to capture one on video or at least get a picture of one. On a serious note though, I hope he stops these soon. I am starting to worry he is going to be that kid that no one wants to be around. I realize he is only 15 months--but I just want him to be a happy boy! Enjoy the pictures below of the moments where he is in a good mood.
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Here is Brooks just chilling in his play-zone. If you can't see it clearly, he has a dress shirt on underneath a basketball T-shirt. His Daddy dressed him this day and I was very impressed. It was super a super "hip" outfit. Way to go, Greg!

We have a joke in our house that Brooks got his mommy's head. I have a HUGE head and Brooks does too. Here he is wearing my hat. We also have a joke in our house that Greg has a tiny head. It is so true and right now Greg and Brooks have almost the same size head. I have a picture of Greg wearing one of Brooks' sun hats, but I think he'd kill me if I posted it, so I won't! :)

Today Brooks decided that he was just going to hang out under the table. The funny thing is that he kept bonking his head, but couldn't figure out that if he didn't go under the table he wouldn't bonk his head. Shortly after this picture, he hit his head (not very hard) and started to have a temper tantrum. Auntie S'ers snatched him up and put him to bed. He is still sleeping right now and went down two hours ago! All the screaming and flailing must make him tired.

This is what Brooks looks like when he is begging to be taken out of his play zone. I love the nostril shot. Imagine him saying "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" while this picture is being taken. Don't get me wrong on this post, I LOVE my son. He is challenging me right now but I know that things will get better! Hopefully this weekend we can have some quality family time and get back on track. Love to all who read!

L-O-N-G Weekend! (Late Post!)

Let me start with last weekend. I realize that it is already "this" weekend, but we had some adventures that I must blog about. Greg took his annual trip to the BWCA on Thursday of last week. He returned on Monday. I knew I needed Greg and I knew I loved Greg, but this trip made me realize just how much I need Greg. I give credit to single moms (or dads) and don't know how they do it. It is tough stuff and I hear we have a pretty easy baby! Anyhow, it ended up being a good weekend and I am very glad that Greg got some quality time with his buddies and was able to enjoy the outdoors.

On Sunday we attended our Cousin Dylan's baptism. It was a nice service and great to see Dylan. We don't see him as often as we would like, so it is fun to see how much he's grown. After the baptism we were treated to lunch at a local restaurant. It was very nice and Brooks did very well seeing he didn't have a nap and was pushing 5 hours since he last ate. I was so proud of my buddy. He was sound asleep within a couple minutes of getting in the car for the ride home.

I had lots of help while Greg was gone. I have lots of family who love to take care of Brooks. My parents volunteered to take him on Thursday night so that I could workout on Friday morning (I workout at 6:30 am, so it was best that Brooks just went to their house) and Auntie Lee-Lee took Brooks on Sunday night for the same reason. Brooks loves going to his Auntie Lee-Lee's house. She has an awesome set up for kids. You know you've got a great Auntie when she has a high-chair and she has never even had her own kids. We are glad that she is such a big part of Brooks' life. Yeah Lee-Lee! :) P.S. Doesn't Linda look good? She's lost almost 70 pounds recently! We are so proud of her!

We went to a picnic at our Pastor's house on Monday. It was great to see all of our family again and also a treat to spend time with our Great Grandparents. Brooks loved the hamburgers and dessert. He never fails to get his food ALL OVER himself.

Brooks loved getting cuddles from his Auntie Bean! I was so anxious for Greg to get home. Seeing him walk through the door was the BEST thing ever. I missed him so much and also was reminded of how much we need our Daddy!

Enjoying the weather and our Cousins!

Auntie S'ers came over today to watch Brooks so that I could get a much needed haircut and color! While I was at the salon, Auntie S'ers put together Brooks' sand and water table and also put together his picnic table! It was just about the cutest thing pulling into the driveway and seeing a miniature picnic table in the yard. Thanks Auntie S'ers!

Kennedy, Maggie and Brooks ate lunch at the picnic table. Brooks stood for most of it, but eventually decided he wanted to sit on the picnic table bench. It just doesn't seem like Brooks should be sitting at a picnic table yet! I feel like I just had him yesterday!

Here is Brooks enjoying his PB and J! He was stealing pieces of sandwich off of his Cousin K-K's plate! I'll have to be sure to teach him how to be a gentleman.

Brooks gave us a QUICK lesson in not turning our backs. He did this on his own, no help. I snapped a picture, but don't worry Auntie S'ers ran over there first. This picture is "posed" in a way because Auntie S'ers is standing at attention to catch Brooks' in case of a fall. He is such a climber. There is nothing feminine about Brooks, he is 100% pure boy!

A busy week!

On Friday we got a chance to play outside at the local park. It didn't last long because it started to rain. It is so funny how Brooks is still very hesitant with the sand. You'd think he'd like it better than cement to learn to walk on, but this just is not the case. Brooks really doesn't like the sand and doesn't know what to do when he is standing in it. He doesn't want to get his hands dirty so he stands there with a sad look on his face until he falls down and starts to cry.

On Friday night we went to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. I should say Brooks got an ice cream cone while his mommy sat there wishing it was her "cheat" day. (I only get one a week!) Anyhow, Brooks did awesome on his cone and didn't want it from the spoon. He wanted to eat his cone like a big kid. It was fun to watch him. Greg took Brooks to the top of the play land. Here is a shot of them climbing up the tree. Brooks did really good walking on Friday night. He was so busy watching the other kids that he didn't realize he would walk 5 or 6 steps at a time. (BTW--he is currently walking about 10 steps at a time. I would feel comfortable saying he now walks, but it is not his main mode of transportation!)

Peek-a-Boo! By the way, Greg is a REALLY good Daddy. He must have had a dad who was involved in his life. Thanks, Larry!

Greg and Brooks had a chance to hang out with Cousin Dylan and Auntie Michele on Monday. This was an exciting time since we don't get to see Michele and Dylan very often. Michele is in town for Dylan's baptism. Greg reports that they tried for a long time to get a good picture of the cousins together, but it just wasn't happening. I think this is a pretty cute one of Greg and his sister and our little buddies! It was really fun to have time with Michele, Grandma Johnson and of course, Dylan!

Afraid of a BIRD! Are you kidding?

This little (and I mean TINY) bird was in our garage last week. It made itself comfy in our canoe. I got completely freaked out and was screaming like a little baby when Greg was trying to get it out of our garage. I finally went inside to "hide" from the monstrous bird. Greg was such a sweetie to get it out of the garage for me. I had no idea how scary birds are...even if it was the smallest bird I've ever seen!

We were on our way to Target when all this drama happened. Once Greg "secured" the garage, he called for me and I came out to the van to go participate in our shopping excursion. Too funny. (This whole time, Brooks sat in the van waiting for us. Bad mommy!)

Fun Filled Weekend!

We started our Mother's Day weekend at the Oakdale Duathlon. We had a sitter for Brooks on Friday night so we were able to have some kid-free time. It was very fun and relaxing. It was the boys turn to race. We registered a long time ago and decided that we would take turns racing this year so that the kids were always being watched and didn't have to be farmed out each weekend. We ended up getting an offer for a babysitter at the last minute, so we could have all raced! It worked out well though, as Steph and I were able to get a great workout in on Saturday morning before the duathlon. It was nice to sit in the hot tub at the hotel and have an evening of adult conversation. I thought about our Buddy lots but needed a break! Thanks Auntie Bean and Oma for taking such good care of Brooks!

The boys did great at the race. Greg got 22nd place and Keven got 35th place. This is pretty good considering that there were close to 500 racers! Way to go, Boys!

Steph and I decided to wear our Wookiee shirts in support of our guys. We had fun ringing the cowbell. There was one guy who gave us a hard time and said "Oh no, not the cowbell again!" Get a life! It is a sporting event isn't it? We can cheer as loud as we want! (So there!)

Mother's Day was super relaxing and fun. We had protein pancakes in the morning. If anyone wants a great recipe for these pancakes let me know. They are delicious and packed with nutrients. After church we headed to a local restaurant to spend time with my wonderful mom. It was fun to be with the family. Once we were done with lunch I had a massage. Greg lined it up for me without my knowledge. He is just about the sweetest man on this Earth. Really. Anyhow, I had a massage while Greg and Brooks headed out to see Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. They had a good time celebrating Greg's mom.

Big news--Brooks is now able to get food on his fork and put it in his mouth. The food has to be thick and soft in order for him to be successful. Once he puts it in his mouth he looks to us for clapping and smiles. It is super cute. Brooks still won't walk. He is really getting to be a heavy boy and his mama would appreciate if he'd at least try to walk. In the meantime, my biceps are getting ripped from carrying him! Yeah!

Just Chillin'

Brooks got a new chair last night at Target. He loves to get in the chair and just "chill". So cute.

Brooks also got this cool rock star outfit last night. He is growing so fast! In the picture below you will see that he is standing on his own but he refuses to walk at this point.

Today we played outside for lots of the day and got to enjoy some pretty nice weather. Brooks also played homemade play-dough for the first time. He mostly ate it until we gave him some crackers to sidetrack him. Regardless of the green that I am sure we will find in his diaper, he had a blast.

YUMMY!