Sunday School

Brooks had his first day of "real" Sunday School today. Up until this point, he has been hanging out in the nursery while we go to church. It is so great to have him in a classroom where he will begin to learn about the Bible and the really important things in life. He "didn't want to play with the kids" on the way to church, but as soon as he got there he was excited and did well.

It was fun for him to show us everything he did today in class. They sure keep the kids busy, as Brooks had about 5 different projects to give us when we picked him up. The teacher told us he did great and we are so proud of him. What a big boy he is becoming.

Another fun week

We had another great week and I am starting to get back in the swing of being at work two days each week. I am actually enjoying work once I get there, it is just leaving the house that is hard at first. On the days I don't work, we get to spend lots of quality time with our cousins! We love that they are home schooled (with a great teacher, I might add) so we are able to spend afternoons with them.

Kennedy is such a little mama to Chloe-Belle. She loves to get the diapers and wipes ready when it is time to change her and just recently has started to carry Chloe on her own around the house. Kennedy is very proud of the fact that we trust her to do this and she takes her "motherly duties" very seriously. It is quite adorable.

Like I have said before, Brooks and Maggie are either best buds or worst enemies depending on the day. I think it might be their age difference as well as their personality traits. Last week, while Kennedy was "taking care of Chloe", Brooks and Mags were best of buds in the kitchen working on art projects. It was fun to listen to them laugh and be silly. I think they look so much alike. I suppose they have 75% the same bloodlines since Steph and I married first cousins!

Everything that Brooks does is with great intensity and energy. I love this picture because he is so intense when showing me his pipe-cleaner! I hope he channels this intensity into sports or something else healthy as he grows up. Although a challenge, I adore Brooks' energy and would like to get just a little bit of that for myself!

"That's not a tractor!"

We continue to have a huge landscaping project in the works at our house. We are so excited to see the final product and will be able to enjoy a patio with a fire pit as well as some new bushes, plants, flowers and rock gardens. We can't wait to have it done and have been so impressed with the company who is doing the work for us.

Brooks has been watching the progress each day and is absolutely mesmerized by the work being done. He is such a worker himself, and can't get enough of all of the tools, tractors and equipment in our yard. The crew noticed that Brooks loves to watch out the window for long periods of time and asked Brooks to be part of the "crew" late last week! He was thrilled! The worker asked Brooks if he "wanted to ride on a tractor" and Brooks responded, "That is not a tractor, that's a back-hoe!" The worker got a kick out of Brooks knowing what each machine was called.

Princess Chloe-Belle

My Two Year Old BOY

Brooks is such a sweetie, he really is. Brooks is also 100% pure "BOY" and has been testing our patience quite a bit lately. Brooks has more energy than any child I have EVER met and is constantly on the go. We would love to put a pedometer on him to see just how many steps he takes each day! I am surprised that he doesn't crash each night before his head hits the pillow. Instead, he goes to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 most nights and is still up singing, reading books and talking to his Ba-Ba most nights until 10:00 or so. You would think that because he stays up so late (in his bed) he would sleep later in the morning. That is not the case with Brooks, as he joyfully announces that "he woke up" each morning around 7:00 am!

We continue to work on discipline with Brooks and have seen more obeying in the last few weeks. We try so hard to be consistent and we can see it paying off little bit by little bit.

We had a chance to go to my parents lake home last weekend and Brooks got to spend some quality one-on-one time with his Opa. It is so good for Brooks to get that and they had a blast watching golf and goofing around on the bed. They must have been in there for close to an hour giggling and having a blast.

We are having some work done to our yard next week and the crew dropped off some machinery yesterday. Brooks is thrilled that there are "workers" in the backyard. I am sure he will enjoy watching the digging that will go on for the next month or so. Greg took Brooks outside this morning to explore the machines and as you can see Brooks was in Heaven!

I love that Greg took a picture of Brooks' head after playing. It does not matter if we are inside in the air conditioning, or outside in 90 degree weather, Brooks is always sweating by the end of his play sessions. He works so hard and puts so much energy into playing (and everything he does) that he breaks into a sweat several times a day.

Last week I was so excited to find a great deal on baby soap (in bulk) at Sam's Club and I told Steph about it. She so sweetly informed me that she didn't need bath soap in bulk for her girls because they don't need showers/baths every day like Brooks does! I laughed and informed her that Brooks has had two baths most days this summer! We must buy our bath soap in bulk! Ahh...the difference between boys and girls.

But really, when all is said and done and the day is over I would not trade this little boy for anything. He is so sweet and it is great to learn more about boys each day.

Thank you Lord for giving me my little boy.

Smiles from Chloe-Belle

Chloe is six weeks old! Yikes, the time is just flying by. She still struggles to sleep more than 4 hours at night, but it is so hard to get upset when you see this beautiful face peering up at you from the crib at 2:00 in the morning.

Chloe is a little bit harder than Brooks was as a baby, but everyone just reminds me that Chloe is a "normal" baby and Brooks was very "abnormal" with his sleeping patterns and his level of contentedness. Brooks has done a good job making up for his super easy infancy by testing us multiple times each day lately. More on that later. In the meantime, enjoy the many smiles of our sweet princess Chloe-Belle!

Sleeping Beauties

Being a Mom

I love being a Mom. There is nothing more rewarding (and nothing harder) than being a good Mom. I enjoy my kids so much and need to remember to cherish every moment that I have with them. They are so precious.

Chloe still doesn't do much except for snuggle. I love her warm cheeks next to my skin.

I have about 20 pounds to lose from having Chloe so a run was in order last week. I don't think I am "supposed" to be running yet, but mentally I had to get out. It felt awful in my lungs but pretty good in my incision (I have gone 3 times now). I wore a special pair of shorts that compress the incision to protect it and I think they really helped.

Brooks, Greg, and Chloe came with me on Sunday to the Lakewalk. They walked while I ran. It was a blast and the weather was amazing. Once I was done running, Brooks and I ran together. He was so excited to be running with his Mommy. He said several times as we were running, "I'm excited!" It was cute. We took a break to read a book and enjoy the beautiful evening.

I know the flower is as big as her face, but I love it. I don't think I would be able to find a bow or flower big enough for her! She is my little princess and always will be.

We are having some work done to the outside of our house and Brooks wanted to get in on the action. He went and got his "workers" and was ready to help the crew with the job. He is such a boy.

I just love my kids.

Rose Lake

We headed to Rose Lake to spread Greg's Grandma's ashes last weekend. Rose Lake had a special place in her heart and it was only fitting that her ashes be spread in the lake. Greg's Grandma Carol died this spring, but this was the first opportunity to get everyone together to honor her. The day was absolutely beautiful, so Brooks got to enjoy himself swimming in the lake. He is so good in the water and has no fear. I am thankful that he enjoys swimming.

Brooks was all smiles as he rode on the raft that usually is pulled behind a boat. He had his Daddy pulling him instead of the boat.

We got to see Dylan (Brooks' only male cousin) as well. Brooks was excited to share the golf balls and golf clubs with Dylan. I don't think that Dylan knew what to think but we are working on sharing, so I think Brooks was just trying to share.

Seriously how many people can you fit into one Pontoon boat? This was not the smartest thing that we have ever done and we will not be doing that again. I don't know what we would have done if the boat started to sink. Greg had a plan to get people to jump off, but it was still a terrible idea and I was afraid the whole time.

Brooks enjoyed time on his Grandpa Johnson's lap and had fun going from Grandpa's lap to Grandma's lap the whole ride.

Unfortunately, we will be taking another trip to Rose Lake soon for the same reason. Greg's Grandpa Gordy died on Sunday (also Greg's 37th birthday). He was not in good health, but it is still hard to lose someone who you love so much. The funeral is on Friday and we may be out at the Rose Lake as soon as Saturday to spread his ashes.

We told Brooks that Grandpa Gordy is in Heaven. So Brooks asks us "Where is Heaven?". We answer, "It is where Jesus lives". Brooks asks us "Where is Jesus?" We answer, "In Heaven". Brooks says so proudly, "I'm not Jesus!" Not sure where that came from, but it is still pretty cute.