We took Brooks to Florida a few weeks ago.  We thought (and so did he) that Islands of Adventure would be the best place on this Earth for him.  We were so wrong.  

It was way to old for him and the Spiderman ride scarred him for life.  

He couldn't stand it and cried most of the time we were there.  

It was a great reminder to us that HE'S ONLY FOUR!  He's so big, so brave and so into Superhero's that we just assumed he'd be okay on a ride that was fast and freaky.  

He wasn't.

He much preferred the rides like Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.   

 We took him to Sea World on the wettest and coldest Florida day we've ever experienced.  It was still a blast and Brooks didn't care if he was wet.  We offered him a hat and a rain poncho several times, but he declined our offer and assured us that boys are supposed to be wet. I hate being cold, but somehow managed to survive.  It was 60 degrees, after all.

 Brooks does not like to be the center of attention.  He cringes when we ask him to do silly things or wear silly clothing.  He just doesn't love having people look at him.

 We went to Lego Land as well.  Brooks adored this place and was thrilled that every ride (even the big ones) were geared for kids under 8 years old.  He ran from ride to ride, the place seemed empty and the lines were short.  It was perfect and a really fun day of bonding with our little man.

 Once he got over being embarrassed to ride the "baby rides" he had so much fun. A lot of the time he looks at us for approval and when we nod our heads that it's "cool" he's all for it.  He seems to need more approval than some kids.  It kind of makes me sad because I just want him to be free and confident to be who he is and enjoy what he enjoys.

(Someday, I'll have to blog about how sad it is that a four year old is worried about what he wears to school.  It breaks my heart and I have some thoughts on what I'm going to do to teach Brooks to love himself and have confidence in who he is and how he dresses and what he's interested in.  That will be a great post.  Someday when I'm rested (what?) I'll share my deepest thoughts on that.)

 I have a picture of me at Disney when I was about 6 years old looking through a rope bridge.  I need to find it because Brooks and I look like twins.  It's amazing how strong my gene pool is.

 Not to be left out...DADDY.  

Brooks has the best Daddy in the whole world.  I don't even know where to start.  He's patient, loving, fun, athletic, silly, involved, smart, and everything that a kid would want in a Daddy.  

 I love pictures like this where you can just tell by the look in his eyes that Brooks adores his daddy.

Where was Chloe during the trip? 

She was home with her Oma and Opa. 

That post will be next.

Don't feel bad for her.  She didn't miss out on anything and got more attention and spoiling than any little girl I've ever met.

Super.  Hero.

Although she won't remember it, Chloe had a fun Christmas too.  Chloe's theme this year was DORA.  It's funny to us, because when Brooks was two that is the only show he liked to watch.  We'd try to get him to watch Diego but he much preferred Dora.  So, the Dora obsession is nothing new to us.  We are already experts on Dora, Boots, Benny, Swiper...the Grumpy old Troll.  Impressed?

 Chloe helped her brother make cookies that were supposed to look like snowmen.  On all of her creations there was no shortage of chocolate chips. Not one of them looked like a snowman. It was fun though to watch her put a handful in her mouth and then a handful on the cookie.  

 Everything that Brooks does, Chloe does too.   We are constantly telling Brooks not to climb on things (couch, chairs, island) not only because it's not nice manners but also because right behind him his two year old sister is attempting to also scale the couch or climb on the island just like her brother.  There are some healthy things that she copies though, hockey being one of them.  She loves to go to the rink with her brother and this will likely be the last year we can get away without skates for her.

 Chloe got a sweet Christmas haircut.  It was her first haircut and makes her look so grown up.  The first few days she had it she'd beg me to flat iron it and she held so still.  

She's such a diva.

 Chloe got swimming lessons for Christmas along with a new pair of goggles.  Once she had opened this gift, the goggles were worn the rest of the night.  She insisted that we kept putting them back on her  when they fell off.  

Funny girl.

 Chloe enjoyed  Christmas night shakes made in my new Vita-mix.  Thank you, Greg.

A January Christmas update.  What's wrong with that?  We've been busy.

Brooks had a fun Christmas.  We think it will be the first one he actually remembers so we tried to do things that would create great memories for him.  

He helped his Daddy buy a real tree and was a played a big role in decorating the tree.  He organized the presents and counted them, making sure that everyone had something under the tree.

 Brooks did lots of art projects at school and showed them off each day that we picked him up.  Sometimes, he'd need to show us his projects that were hidden in his backpack even before we left the school parking lot.  He was most proud of the wreath ornament he made us for the tree.  He explained that the project took several days because he had to wait for the paint to dry before he glued on the decorations. The multi-day project was a huge deal and his excitement inspired him to open our present for us.  What a sweetie.

 Brooks had a beautiful, five minute long Christmas program at school.  He got all dressed up, which is out of the norm for him.  He much prefers wind pants and a short-sleeved t-shirt for school. He gets hot and doesn't like to deal with buttons.  But, the day of his performance he was so excited to put on his new sweater and corduroy pants with a belt.  He even took some time in the bathroom to brush his hair and sneak a few squirts of his daddy's cologne.  I suppose when you are a little boy man, hygiene becomes pretty important.  

 We made cookies.  Brooks wrote the list of what we needed to buy at the grocery store and helped with the project from start to finish, including the shopping.  This day was one of his sweeter days and he was so patient with his sister, who served as a mess maker rather than a helper.  

 We took Brooks to The Sound of Music.  He cousin, Kennedy, was in the play (big deal...adult theatre...she's 8) and he was so excited to see her perform.  He only made it to the intermission because it didn't start until after his bedtime, but it was still a magical night.  It was fun to see him all dressed up and feeling like such a big boy.  And, his cousin was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

 We've (I should say GREG and kids) have done lots of skating. This mama doesn't like to be cold.  Not one bit.  The weather was pretty much hot until Christmas, but they still managed to find a few days cold enough to skate.  Brooks picked up right where he left off last year and we still are encouraging him to love skating without pushing any type of organized hockey on him.  We want him to be interested in lots of things and know that if he gets into hockey, that will limit his time for other things that are just as important to our family.  

We also did lots and lots of talking about the real meaning of Christmas and took lots of time to celebrate family, Jesus and our many blessings.  It was a special time of year and seeing it through Brooks' eyes made it even more special.

Long ago, before we had a girl, Greg bought me an American Girl Doll. When Chloe was not even 1 year old, her Auntie bought her one.

Today, for the first time, we took Chloe's doll out of the box and pulled my doll off the top shelf of the closet. Chloe was thrilled and is taking such good care of her girls.