Apples!

These pictures from the Lakewalk today capture who Brooks is so well. He keeps us so busy and is full of energy. We adore his free spirit and his desire to be active, fun and adventuresome. He is such a joy and is such a boy!

We went to the Christmas City of the North Parade last night. It was a beautiful night and the temps were perfect for the little kiddos. We had fun getting in the Christmas spirit.

Princess

I knew when I had a little girl she would be spoiled. It is so much fun and so addicting getting her all dolled up. She might not appreciate it but for now when she can't tell me she hates it, I will take full advantage of playing dress up with my own personal baby doll!

She isn't always excited about me trying to get the perfect picture.

Chloe-Belle's little butt is just adorable.

Our cousin Dylan celebrated his 2nd birthday on Sunday! It was really fun to be at the party (in the Cities) without our kids. I know that Brooks would have had a blast, but it was really nice to be able to focus on Dylan and give him some snuggles and loves since we never get to see him. He is growing up so fast and has become such a smart little boy. He loved his gifts, especially the ones that he could stack and make into piles. We love you, Dylan.

This was the last day of Dylan's life that he is an only child! The very next morning, Greg's sister gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Isaac Nicholas. He was over 9 pounds and Michele didn't even look like she was ready to give birth the day before. We are shocked she had a big baby and are so happy that he is healthy. We can't wait to meet him.

Last weekend was packed full of FUN, FUN, FUN. We started the weekend with a bodybuilding/figure competition in the Twin Cities to support Steph, my older sister. It was her first competition and she ROCKED the stage big time. She was simply amazing and it is hard to put into words the science, hard work and dedication it takes to build a body like hers. She just dominated and even took home a trophy.

We were all decked out in H12 gear courtesy of Keven.

Steph's girls are so proud of their mommy. When she was on stage they screamed, "Go Mommy! You can do it!" They are such great girls and such fun to be around.

Here I am pointing out Steph's abs! They are ripped and she looks awesome. The super-duper tan is only for the stage. Obviously, she knows she looks a little FREAKISH in public. When she was on the stage though, the paint on, super-duper dark tan was needed. She looked fantastic.

After the show, Greg took me to an awesome hotel in downtown Minneapolis for a glorious night of relaxation, a wonderful Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert and some bonding time without out kids. It was by far the most wonderful weekend I have had in a very long time. It was pure bliss and I came home refreshed and ready to be a great mommy for my two great kids. (By the way...Auntie Linda kept the kids for two entire days and did great. She is amazing and they adore her. Thanks, Linda!)

We had the best weekend. It was without kids though which made it fun to come home. Who wouldn't be pumped to come home to this beautiful face? Oh, and details of our weekend to follow...

As we were putting beads on string tonight Brooks says to me, "Mom, I need another rectangle. This necklace is going to be beautiful!"

Halfway through his art project Brooks says to me, "This is fun!"

Brooks tells me that he "needed to go and put the necklace on Chloe-Belle". I told him that Chloe-Belle was sleeping. He said he "needed to put it on her because it was little and he made it for her".

He left out the part about him liking to disobey sometimes and his getting joys out of waking Chloe-Belle up. He eventually obeyed with some convincing by me that Chloe-Belle really needed to sleep and she would love the necklace once she woke up.

Brooks broke a rectangle in half and said to me, "This used to be a rectangle, but now it is a square". Sometimes we wonder where he learns this stuff.

Bows

My friend Keely started a new business making hair bows and accessories for kids! She said she was shopping for a baby gift for Chloe-Belle and got inspired to start her own bow business! She is so talented and it was fun to visit her at her first "show" today. Of course, we had to support her and I never seem to have problems buying bows and flowers for Chloe-Belle.

If you love what you see (and this is only a little bit of what she offers), go to:

www.hairbowsduluthmn.vpweb.com

or email her at:

keely@hairbowsduluthmn.vpweb.com and ask her for a free brochure!

Enjoy our little Belle showing off her new styles.

Muffins

Brooks made muffins with his daddy today. We both worked a half day and I am sure the first half of Brooks' day will be much better than the second. Greg puts all of his energy into his kids every day. He is so great.

Brooks made "one point" muffins from Weight Watchers for the family. (For those of you who do Weight Watchers, we actually calculated it out and they are three points, not one point.) They are so delicious. In case you want to know how to make them here is the recipe:

1 can of pumpkin (regular sized--not the jumbo size)
1 box of spice cake mix

Mix the two ingredients together (no water or milk)
Stir
Spray muffin tin with Pam
Spoon mix into a muffin tin
Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes--we like undercooked muffins best so sometimes we take them out sooner!

That's it! They are so good, gooey and healthy. Yum!

Enjoy. Brooks sure did.