Brooks is my best buddy. He is so active and challenging at times, but there are so many times when all he wants is some mommy time because he "loves me" so much. Listening to him tell me he loves me and tell me we are "buds" may be the single most wonderful part of being a mommy. Who knew that a 3 year old boy could change me for the better in so many ways.

Today Brooks told me that his bubbles were "strong because they ate protein". He continued to tell me that the bubbles were "miniature"". Yep, "miniature". The kid is three years old and his vocabulary is that of a first grader.

A couple of days ago Brooks was hitting a tree with a stick. In the middle of hitting the tree he put the stick on the ground, got sad, started to hug the tree and said, "Oh, the tree is sad. It is hurt."

Yesterday Brooks took Scotch tape and taped it all over the refrigerator. It was in some sort of pattern. He explained to us that the pattern was the "pipes" for the refrigerator. When you really examine it, it totally makes sense.

My son makes me so happy. Looking at his freckled nose and seeing joy in his slitty eyes makes me overwhelmed with love for my little guy.

Thanks, Brooks for always cheering me up.

Chloe-Belle is Kennedy and Maggie's favorite toy. They had a dance party with her last week. They were sure that Belle was having a blast, but I really think Kennedy was having far more fun than Belle was.

It's really hard not to think that Chloe has the most beautiful blue eyes ever. Her eyes are exactly her daddy's eyes. Pure beauty.

This is our "Uncle" Rolf. He is our pastor, but to Brooks he is an uncle. He loves his "Uncle Rolf" so much. Uncle Rolf is someone who Brooks runs to, asks for and adores. It is so cool. There is a very special bond between the two and we are so thankful that this wonderful man is such a huge part of our lives. We love you, Uncle Rolf!
(I love how Brooks is looking at Rolf...it just shows how much Brooks adores him.)

We went to the Edge Waterpark this weekend. We rented a room and no one slept there since we live 15 minutes from the place, but it was SO worth the money. Brooks had a ton of fun with Ka-Ka and Jo-Jo. We should have put a pedometer on him to see just how many steps Brooks took in two days of swimming. He ran from slide to slide (even when the Lifeguards and Mama told him to walk) and played hard. We were not surprised when we had to wake him up for church this morning after 8:00 am. Our little guy has been busy.

Since I am broken, I couldn't do much but sit and hang out with Chloe. Steph, however, volunteered to take Chloe in the water. Chloe loves her Ti-Ti more than most people, but she was not happy when Ti-Ti put her in the water. It was just about her least favorite thing and it was so traumatic that she fell asleep, wet swimsuit and all. It's funny she didn't like it because she is a sweetheart in the bathtub and seems to really enjoy water.

Have I mentioned lately how wonderful Greg is?
Greg "Rocks the house down" as Brooks would say!
We love you, Daddy.

We had a packed weekend that started on Thursday! Brooks was pumped to have his cousins Dylan and Isaac over to play. Well, mostly Dylan since Isaac is still a baby. Brooks and Dylan had a blast and Brooks keeps talking about wanting to "go see" Dylan. It's funny how we only live 3 hours from Dylan and yet we don't get to see him often. Brooks had a great time playing and showing Dylan all of his toys. We'd love to know what Dylan must have been thinking. Brooks never stops moving and was more than happy to show Dylan all his toys, his playground and his new tractor. The boys had fun and Greg had a great time getting to spend time with his sister.

We had a fun Easter weekend as a family. It started early on Saturday morning and just ended. Our kids are tired, Brooks is sugar loaded and Mama needs to go to B..E..D! We have 100 plus pictures from the festivities, but in case you were in Chloe-Belle and Brook withdrawal, here are a few to tide you over. Enjoy!

PS...SO glad that Christ the Lord is Risen TODAY! HALLELUJAH!

This is Katie. She volunteered to come over today and hang out with me while I am injured. She took excellent care of my babies and was such a huge helper. She isn't like a "typical" teenager. She is sweet, kind and responsible. The world really needs more Katie's. We feel blessed that she offered to help us out and love her attitude. We have a feeling she'll be a part of our lives even after the injury is healed.

Thanks Katie!

NO! Chloe is already 8 months old? What? I can't stand it. She is getting so OLD! She is our last baby and our last baby won't be a baby much longer. Our two-toothed, blue-eyed bundle of JOY is changing before our very eyes.

This 8 month old:
--Is back to having better nights. She was waking up LOTS for a while and now seems to have figured it out the sleeping thing again.
--Mimics sounds. She say "ahh" back to us and also growls at us if we growl at her.
--Flirts! Chloe giggles and seriously bats her eyelashes at her daddy. She only has eyes for him.
--Loves to eat. Loves to eat. Loves to eat.
--Has more dirty diapers than any one human being has ever had in any given day.
--Giggles when she is tickled.
--Is teething. Everything is a teething toy, including the ends of Mama's crutches. Yuck.
--Has these blue eyes that are piercing. She will not, however, be allowed to look at any boys with those eyes. :)
--Wears 12-18 month clothing and is completely out of all 6-12 month outfits.
--Loves to be outside. She plays in her pack-n-play while her brother does the stuff boys do.
--Really should be moved to a big girl, front facing car seat. This weekend?
--Snuggles her head in your shoulders and melts your heart until you realize she is just trying to chew your shoulder.
--Has really bad hair. It's long and scraggly if it isn't in a sprout on top of her head.
--Scoots. Don't know how to put a video on this blog (another story) but if we ever can we will show you what the "Chloe-Scoot" is. It is hilarious.
--Is a JOY. Is a BLESSING. Is LOVED beyond belief. This little girl is our very own princess. XOXO