Laughter!

I wish these pictures had sound to go with them. Here is a laughing progression that Brooks had last night. Greg was dancing like a goof-ball and Brooks was laughing hysterically. It was awesome. I had to choose between the video camera and the still camera. I think these pictures do it justice even without the sound!

It's been a while...

I can't believe how fast the last week or so has gone by. This is a good thing. The quicker the days go the quicker our little princess will arrive! :) Things around here have been very "normal" lately.

Greg attended a triathlon camp all weekend and had a good time with his cousin/brother-in-law, Keven. Brooks and I had lots of quality time together and also got to see lots of Oma and Opa which was a blessing! I can't imagine not having Greg around. I would hate to be a single mom and I really respect all single moms. I don't know how they do it.


Here are some pictures of our last week or so. Brooks continues to grow in his language. He uses full sentences now and is very easy to understand. It is really fun that he is able to tell us what he wants/needs. We continue to work on hitting and he has done much better at the YMCA and the church nursery. He has not, however, stopped hitting his two favorite people, Kennedy and Maggie. I think he just gets so excited that he doesn't know what to do and he hits them and pulls their hair to show his emotions. So, we will keep working on it and Brooks will continue to have time-outs as long as he is hitting. Overall though, he is a very sweet boy who is very sensitive (just like his daddy)!

He loves his alligator and his Mickey Mouse that he got at Disney from his Oma and Opa!

Greg took out the canoe last week while I was at work. I asked Greg, "Why was the canoe in the front yard?" He replies, "Because Brooks wanted to paddle it!" I should have known. I was thinking he had to out preparing for his upcoming camping trip, but NO, he took it out just to let Brooks play with it. He is such a good daddy.

I was telling my mom today that it is going to be so neat when Brooks and his daddy go camping together. I am all for our little girl going too, but I think there will always be something very special between Brooks and his daddy. It will be neat to send them off for the weekend knowing they are building great memories.

He looks pretty natural for a two year old! We have really enjoyed when we have sunny days. It is so nice to be outside without a million layers on. Today we took a run and Brooks does so great in the Chariot. I am thankful he is patient with me because it takes me much longer lately on my runs. I can't imagine what people think when they see my big pregnant belly, pushing a stroller, running (shuffling!) down the street. I just keep telling myself that it would be much worse to stay inside and not exercise even though it is a ridiculous sight to see me try to run! We made it 4 miles today and I think I will pass on telling everyone how long it took us!

I was asked to post a belly picture. Maybe I will do that soon. I don't have any yet. I will have to get Greg to take one for me. It isn't my favorite look but I'll try to get one and post it soon!

A new Go-Go

Brooks got a new "Go-Go" last night from his daddy. He was so excited this morning when he came up the stairs and saw it sitting there waiting for him. The only bummer is that his legs are about a half inch too short for him to pedal. (The whole reason we got the Big Wheel was because he has not caught onto his Like-A-Bike quite yet). He likes it a lot anyway, even if he can't really ride it.

I went to a luncheon at my sister's church this morning and when I got back I found two really cute boys (men) outside playing. Greg taped some wooden blocks on the Big Wheel to make it easier for Brooks to pedal. He still doesn't really get it, but he loves to scoot around the driveway on it. Brooks was dirty from head to toe and had pure joy all over his face. It was adorable.

Greg also got out the sidewalk chalk. Our drive way had lots of writing on it when I got home. Some of the things that "they" wrote were:
THROW ROCKS (which is all Brooks wants to do now that we have brought him to the lake to throw rocks)
BROOKS HOUSE (which is what Brooks says as soon as we turn onto our street--every time!)
FORT AWESOME (which is what Brooks calls his forts)
HI MA MA! (which is what Brooks says every morning when he comes up from his bath)

I love when his whole body is joyful. He is just a buddy.

Greg is out on a 20 mile run right now as the marathon is getting pretty close. I can't wait for it to be here because that means I am just over a month away from having this little girl. She is moving like crazy and growing a ton. I go to the doctor tomorrow so pray that everything is just the way it is supposed to be. I am so excited to meet her. I hope these last three months just fly by!

Fun with Opa!

I have mentioned before how excited Brooks gets when his Opa comes to visit. Earlier this week, my dad (Opa), stopped by to see his grand kids who were ALL in one place. Brooks loves to stand on his hands and I was able to get some pictures of it.

Watching Brooks stand on his hands or be silly with Opa brings back super good childhood memories. We had (and still have, of course) a close family. I was just telling Greg about how "back in the day" (all the way through elementary school) my parents flipped houses (bought them, fixed them up, and sold them) just so we could go on family vacations. We never knew that until recently when my parents were telling us about the different houses they have owned. My mom was telling me how they would have discussions about ways to save money on trips and would do things like pack sandwiches instead of eating out while on trips and finding any type of free entertainment that they thought we might enjoy.

The memories I have of our annual family trips are awesome and I never would have known they were on a very tight budget. I am so glad that having a close family who loves each other and has fun together is what I remember instead of that each trip was a financial hardship and was on a very tight budget. Oh, and thanks Mom and Dad for investing in good family fun. It was really important to us and is some of my best memories.

Fun.

Steph showed up at my doorstep on Easter Sunday riding her pink scooter. She told me to get a jacket on and get my scooter so we could take a spin! It was pretty cold, but she promised I would be invigorated when we were done. It was pretty fun to ride my scooter, but Steph couldn't get her's started again once she had turned it off to come to the door! Bummer. So, I put my scooter in the driveway and we took out our bikes. By then, Laura showed up and we all had fun riding up and down our dirt road. We know that we have motorcycle helmets on, but there was no sense in changing. I am sure that the neighbors just wonder what in the world we are thinking!

Steph, Laura, Me

My dad showed up for dinner and got Steph's scooter to work! Yeah! So, it was us on our bikes and my dad on his PINK scooter riding up and down the road. One of our neighbors was unloading his truck during our ride and kept looking at us like we were crazy. I guess we kind of are.

As Greg would say, "We have created a monster with forts!" I could not agree more. Greg taught Brooks all about forts and has been inventing cool forts for the last week or so. Now, when we put Brooks to bed at night he tries to make a fort out of his ONE blanket he sleeps with. We look at our monitor and just laugh because Brooks is trying to get himself, his water, BaBa and his Thomas stuffed animal all into the fort without it coming apart. Here is one of his daddy's latest.

Brooks was thrilled that his Ti-Ti wanted to dance with him today. Here they are slow dancing to Sade--Lover's Rock. It was pretty cute while it lasted!

Do you know the Muffin Man?

We had lots of play time today with our cousins. Does that really surprise you? We are so happy they live so close and like to spend so much time with us. We started the day at Cub Foods and got to bring Jo-Jo with us! It is so much easier shopping when she is with because she and Brooks enjoy each other so much. Later in the day, we made muffins. Each kid got a chance to stir the mix and dish the mix into the muffin tin. We cooked them up, added some frosting and enjoyed every last bite. Jo-Jo even got to have one, which is a real treat since she is allergic to cane sugar!

Muffins=Happy Kids!

Happy Easter!

We love Easter. Not because of the candy and the Easter Bunny, but because it is one of, if not the most important holiday that we celebrate. On this day we are reminded that we are all sinners and that Jesus died for us on the cross and rose again to save us from our sins! Oh, how we wish everyone who read this blog believed in the wonder of this holiday. Our prayer for anyone reading is that you find the real meaning of Easter, and thank the Lord for giving us his son to allow us to live forever!

Now that we have Brooks we are even more able to be thankful to the Lord for giving his ONLY son, Jesus. I think of giving my son and letting him die on the cross so others could live forever and I can't seem to wrap my mind around it. I don't know that I would be willing to do that. Thank you LORD for giving us Jesus and sacrificing him in order that all of us (all sinners) could live forever. I am so glad we have that hope.

On that note, we also had the Easter Bunny to our house this year. Brooks got a really cool Alligator from the Easter Bunny who showed up at Auntie Bean's house!

We had a chance to stop to see Brooks' Great Grandparents before lunch. He enjoyed the present and the jellybeans while we were there.

So sweet...

So WILD!

If Brooks doesn't throw up or at least have really gross diapers today I will be shocked. My child has eaten so much sugar today, that I can't believe he is down for a nap right now. I thought he would be on a sugar high and wouldn't be able to sleep. We figure it is a holiday and half the fun is letting Brooks indulge.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs!

Today we colored Easter eggs. Brooks has a very short attention span, so it was far from relaxing, but still very fun. Brooks did a great job cracking the hard boiled eggs before putting them in the dye! Once they were in the dye, he did a great job wanting another egg to put in a different color! It was not a long activity by any means, but I am glad we attempted it. Memories for Mama, I guess.

After the eggs were done the kids played (as usual). Here is a snapshot of how they play. It is usually so cute (until they start to fight). Today Maggie was teaching Brooks how to spit out his water once it was already in his mouth. Nice, Maggie! For the most part they are wonderful playmates. I am so glad Brooks has them to be buddies with.

There is nothing new on the baby front. I am still just plugging away at exercise and TRYING not to eat too much. Today Greg told me (in an indirect, very sweet way) that I am starting to look prego. He is very sensitive to me because even though I am pregnant I struggle so much with being large and in charge! :) I have my 25 week appointment coming up and I will get checked for gestational diabetes. I didn't have it last time and would be shocked if I have it this time. Then again, I was shocked to find out we are having a girl. By the way, we have a name picked out but not for public knowledge quite yet, just in case we change our minds. It is fun to call her by name though!

Spring Fun!

We can't wait for it to warm up. It was fun to head to the Lakewalk (before Florida..since we have had a snowstorm!) and get some fresh air. I had to put Brooks in his sledding/skating helmet because he doesn't have a bike helmet yet. He didn't end up riding his bike much though, he mostly wanted his Auntie to run with him while he was connected to the leash. I kept him in his helmet the whole time because I was carrying the bike he didn't want to ride and didn't want to carry another item. It turned out to be a good idea because there were several times that Brooks fell and I think even a couple times he may have hit his helmet instead of his face. We must have walked over a mile with the kids. It was really fun and refreshing!

Brooks like to say "Ready, Set, Go..." and off they went running down the Lakewalk. Brooks is actually pretty fast. I was impressed that Steph kept up the whole time. Just kidding, Steph!

Here is my sweet Angel throwing rocks. He couldn't make them into the water, but he still had a blast throwing rocks towards the water. I apologize for the boogers..."Gross" as Brooks would say.

Three Amigos!