What we've been up to

Brooks got some crafts for his birthday and has really enjoyed creating art. He loves to glue things on paper, put stickers on paper and color with markers (the markers we got only color on the special paper)! I think he looks so old in this picture. He concentrates so hard when he is working on his art. Brooks has also developed a love for play-doh! We love to play it every day!

We have started to work on potty training Brooks. It is not working well at all so I don't think he is ready. We might continue to try, but we might back off a little bit and try again in a couple of weeks. A typical potty training day is really hard. It consists of having Brooks run around the house and play with no diaper. I ask him if he needs to use the toilet pretty often and he usually says no. After about an hour I see that Brooks is doing the potty dance with his knees together and a really funny face. I ask Brooks if he needs to use the toilet and he says "yes". We run to the toilet and Brooks sits on the toilet for one second and says "all done" (there is nothing in the toilet)! Then, he asks for "gum" because Ti-Ti told him he can have gum if he goes in the toilet. He has never successfully gone in the toilet (and can't chew gum anyway) but also has never gone on the floor. After about 3 or 4 hours I have to put him in a diaper for nap. He is soaked when he gets up from nap and also has a dirty diaper. I can just imagine what he is thinking when I finally put his diaper on..."Oh Mama, thank you so much, now I can quit holding it!" Oh well, we'll keep trying!

Here he is sitting the wrong way on his baby toilet. He usually sits on the big toilet during the training, but once in a while sits on this little one that his Auntie bought him. It is a pretty cool toilet (flusher, toilet paper holder...) so he mostly plays with the toilet which isn't what he is supposed to do. We finally put it away and are working on just using the big toilet for now.

Looking out the window on a potty training day!

Brooks enjoys reading while he uses the bathroom. He likes to look for his Daddy on his "go-go" (bike) in the bike magazines. Too cute. (By the way, this is Steph in the picture, not me. We look a lot alike when I am not pregnant. I am currently way bigger than Steph and this is SO not me!)

Tomorrow is the big day...will Brooks have a sister or a brother? Can't wait to know. I hope the baby cooperates during the ultrasound.

Not Small...

We had Brooks' two year check up on Monday and let me just put it this way...my child is not small. Brooks weighed in at 36.6 pounds putting him off the charts for weight. The good thing is that he is 38 inches tall which also puts him off the charts for height. At least he is proportioned! I recently picked up another two year old (about 5 days younger than Brooks) and I think she must have weighed 10 pounds less than Brooks. It would be so much easier to have a child who was a little bit lighter...pretty soon I won't be able to pick him up and carry him into the grocery store! Yikes! I love every inch of his chubby little body though! I will post some pictures soon. Brooks is finally feeling better, so we've got some cute ones to share.

Party for Brooks

We had a party for Brooks yesterday. We went with a fish theme. It was really nice to see all of our family. Brooks got lots of nice presents, but more importantly had a fun time being the center of attention. At first, he just cuddled in his Auntie and Oma's arms and told people "I'm shy". He got over it pretty quickly though and enjoyed his day.

Here is Brooks having breakfast in bed for is birthday. He is actually in our bed having his breakfast. He has breakfast in our bed every morning, so it isn't anything different other than the hat. He doesn't typically like to eat breakfast, so usually he just has a granola bar and juice each morning.

Here is one of the cupcakes that we did for his party. My sister Steph is an elementary school teacher at heart, so she was a huge help to me. I have never been very creative so I appreciated her a ton. This is a twinky, fruit leather, a chocolate cookie and of course a cupcake. Pretty fun.

We served the adults real food, but the kids got mac-n- cheese and hot dogs. Another Steph idea!

Brooks was trying to tell us he is "2" but he has a hard time getting just two fingers to cooperate, so it looks more like he thinks he's 10. He does say "I'm 2" when asked how old he is.

So yesterday was great and Brooks seemed to do well. Today he woke up really sad and not himself at all. He was crying about everything and seemed really clingy to us. We brought him to church only to leave with him 20 minutes later. Brooks is now sleeping. He has a temperature and is burning up. He only wants to be held and cuddled. It is so sad. He goes to the doctor tomorrow for his 2 year check up, so hopefully he is better by his appointment. If not, I guess there is no better place to be than in the doctor's office.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Brooks!

Today my sweet angel turns 2! I can hardly believe how fast the time has passed. My buddy is so grown up. He speaks in sentences, is healthy, active (understatement) and happy. Brooks has blessed our lives in a way that we can't explain. We can't imagine life without him and it has just been two short years since he joined our family. My older sister Steph said to me this morning "I can't believe Brooks is two! It makes me so sad. I guess it is time to have another one!"

With a new baby on the way, it is hard to imagine loving someone as much as we love Brooks. We know that we will be able to, but it is hard to fathom that the amount of love we have for Brooks will be duplicated when the new baby arrives. Brooks has given us such joy this past two years.

Brooks today, 2 years old (3T outfit).

Brooks one year ago today, 1 year old. (24 month outfit). I can't believe how much has has changed.

Brooks the day he was born. Amazing.

Brooks loves Thomas so much. He like to make tracks anywhere he can. In this case, it was below the sofa table. I just stare at his hands and am in awe of how big he is. He is very coordinated and able to do so many tasks that we never thought out little boy would be able to do. Greg and I were reminiscing last night about how we used to think it was the coolest thing in the world when Brooks would bat at the toy above his car seat. We would turn around in the car and just feel so proud that our baby could bat at an object. Wow, times have changed.

We love you, Buddy. You are the biggest blessing that the Lord has given us.

XOXO

Mama and Daddy

Big, Big Boy Bed!

We finally ordered and received Brooks' big-big boy bed. He moved into a toddler bed at around 18 months, but we wanted to transition him to his "final" bed long before the baby arrives. We ordered him a bedroom set a couple of weeks ago and it was delivered on Friday! We had a chance to put the bedding on tonight and started to get his room situated. Once it is completely done we will post some pictures. Before we were able to arrange the furniture, Brooks had to take a few minutes to get excited and lay in his new bed. He isn't sleeping in it tonight because we still have to child proof his new room (he is moving to the bigger room to make way for his baby sister/brother). He seems to love his new room. If you couldn't tell we are doing a nautical theme. It should be cute.

I'm not proud to tell everyone that Brooks is addicted to TV. Of course we control it as much as we can and think we should, but sometimes I wish I was that "super" mom who never let her kid watch TV until they moved out and went to college. That just isn't the case in our family though. I do love that Brooks watches TV for selfish reasons. During TV time is one of the only times I can get him to hold still and cuddle me.

We had our cousins over on Saturday and as always had a blast hanging out with them. Here is Maggie. She did this all by herself...tail and all! She "snuck" out of the house with her swimsuit under her clothing and was really proud of herself when she announced she had it on.

Another peaceful moment...WATCHING TV of course! Don't worry, he doesn't watch that much TV and what is watches is limited to Elmo and the Wiggles. It just seems that we get really cute pictures while he is watching TV. Maybe because that is the ONLY time the child holds still.

Brooks turns 2 on Friday! We are going to go to lunch to honor him and then on Saturday he will have his family party. It should be fun. I am sure he won't remember a thing, but it is still really fun to plan. We are going with a fish theme this year since fish are on his list of favorites (also making the list: TV, the moon, Ka-Ka, Jo-Jo, Thomas the Train, Elmo and the Wiggles)!

Two weeks from tomorrow we find out if we are having a boy or girl! Wow, I can't believe we are already half way done with this pregnancy. I am still working out a lot and trying to be as active as possible. Greg has to remind me that I am not getting fat, I am just growing a baby inside me. It was a struggle for me last time and is again this time. If you are a praying type, you could pray that I don't get depressed. It is hard to be a good mommy when I am down about my weight and how I feel. There are lots more important things to pray for as well...but if you have the extra ten seconds I would love a prayer! Thanks!

Super Daddy...

Is anyone sick of me talking about my husband yet? I can't help it. Here are a couple more examples of what a good daddy Greg is. He made a fort in our bedroom for Brooks the other day (Sorry about the outfit, its a combo of PJ's and real clothes. Don't worry, I don't think it matches!) Brooks LOVED this fort and I can't stop smiling when I look at the pictures. Brooks loves little places and cubbies, so it does not surprise me that this fort made his day/week/life! I think the pictures are awesome too, because they show the one and only WIGGLES! I hate the Wiggles because I wake up in the middle of the night singing Dr. Nickerbacker, Nickerbacker, number nine... You won't understand unless you TiVo the Wiggles. All the episodes seem to be the same and Brooks cannot get enough of them. It will be exciting when Brooks decides he likes a show other than the Wiggles!

Play your guitar with Murray (Wiggle) the super cool dude that wears RED!

That is Anthony Wiggle on the screen if you were wondering...

The next reason that Brooks' daddy rocks is shown in the picture below! What dad (well my dad did growing up, but I put my dad in the same category as Greg) would do something like this for dinner? The hair is cheese, the ears are turkey pepperoni, the eyebrows are carrots, the eyes are grapes, the nose is a pear, the flesh is turkey and the mouth is a banana. Oh my! Greg is so amazing. I keep telling Brooks how lucky he is to have the daddy he has. I know it might get old because I always talk about Greg on this blog, but he never stops.

We had a good weekend and Greg got a chance to ski a race in Hayward, WI. He did really well and got 4th in his age group. He doesn't take any sports seriously anymore, so it is cool that he still does a really good job at the events he gets to participate in. This week is pretty "normal" for us. The next thing we will start to think about is a very special 2 year old birthday party!

Baby Update--16 weeks

I had an appointment this week and it was great. I have some friends and acquaintances that have recently lost babies (one almost full term and one at 16 or so weeks), so I have some heightened anxiety regarding the health of our little guy/girl. I am reminded often by my sister Steph that we are not in control and that God has a perfect plan for every baby. I have had to call her several times though, to ask her if she thinks the baby is still alive. She is very reassuring, even though she'd be the first to remind me that only God really knows what is going to happen.

Anyhow, the appointment went perfectly. We heard the baby's heart beat and it was 155 and strong. Yeah! It was wonderful to hear that sound. The doctor told me to expect to be able to feel the baby sooner during this pregnancy than the first! I thought I felt him/her last night, but it might have just been something I ate. I will have to pay attention tonight when I lay down.

The baby is the size of an apple right now and I am enjoying following the weekly emails about what is developing. It amazes me that baby J has joints the bend now and is "fully developed". He/she just needs to grow (a lot) now. I get to find out if it is a boy or girl on March 16th. Yeah! We both feel like it is a boy, but only have ideas for girl names so far. Interesting. We'll see...

I was also very excited that I have gained 8 pounds so far and am 16 weeks prego. Last pregnancy, for those who didn't SEE me (it wasn't hard to see me!), I gained 75 pounds. I was a very large girl when I gave birth. Who knows, maybe that will happen again this time, but I would have to gain LOTS more weight in the next 24 weeks for that to happen. I am fighting the weight gain a lot more this time. I have been working out every day (except Sunday) and have finally started to feel good. I am also doing much better on my diet, although I love to have an occasional piece of candy, which I used to be very strict about avoiding. Who knows, maybe the weight gain is still on its way, but this seems better so far.

No pictures today, since I am updating from work (on lunch, don't worry mom and dad :)!). Brooks gets his haircut today so that it grows out in time for his 2 year old pictures and party! Wow, I have a two year old in three weeks! I can't believe my precious boy is growing up so fast.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John...M&M's!

Tonight we taught Brooks how to say the first four books of the New Testament. I was bribing him with M&M's. Check out how stinking cute he is.

Wordless Wednesday

Winter Fun

We got to watch the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon up close this year. The dogs ran right through one of our local golf courses, so we were able to eat lunch at the golf club and walk right outside to see the dogs. It was a really cold day, but was also really fun to see the dogs. They are so strong and so beautiful. Greg thinks that our lab, Scout, would be a good sled dog. I think it would be funny to see a lab mixed in with a team of sled dogs. I bet that would turn a few heads.

We have skijored (cross country skiing with the dog pulling you) with Scout before and it is really fun. She is a super fast, super strong dog. One of the first times I tried it (Greg and I were just dating) and Greg tells me to stay put (with Scout attached to me) and he kindly volunteered to ski ahead so that Scout would pull me to him. We both thought this would be a good idea until Scout decided to take off after his master (Greg). I had no idea Scout was going to run and I was attached to her. I am sure you can imagine how many different directions my ski equipment went and how many different directions my body parts went. It hurt, but I am sure I told Greg it didn't because we were so young in our love that nothing could really hurt that bad! Good memories.

Here is Brooks with his buddy Opa. We are so blessed to have Oma and Opa as such a huge part of Brooks' life. They love him and spoil him like crazy. I was just commenting to Greg last weekend how nice it is to be able to leave Brooks with them and not have to give any directions to them. They just know Brooks so well and love him so much. No wonder Brooks always asks for his Opa and Oma!

Brooks continues to grow up way too fast. He loved the dogs and kept asking for "more puppies". He is putting sentences together pretty well now and it is fun to be able to communicate with him. He has a little bit of an accent/lisp. We hope it isn't because he still sucks on that stupid pacifier. We really need to say goodbye to that thing.

I turned 30 last week and Auntie Bean brought over a donut the size of Greg's head (I would say my head, but I have a huge head). Brooks loved it and got a bit of a mustache while eating it. Greg thought it was so funny and later admitted to me that he "helped" Brooks get the mustache. It made for a good picture though.

Brooks loves his Auntie Bean. The evening of this picture he did not want to go to bed. I think his idea to cuddle with Auntie Bean was pretty cute. It did delay his bed time by a few minutes at least! Notice the bruise on Brooks' cheek? That is due to his inability to "sit on hie bum" while on a chair. I feel bad because it happened under my care and I hate when he gets hurt. He cried pretty hard and had real tears which we don't see very often. It is almost gone now though and I am sure we will have our next bruise soon. Boys will be boys, I guess.

Baby J is still growing and all seems to be going well. I am getting pretty chubby pretty quickly this time. I am also eating way better and exercising way more this time around, so I don't really get that. Oh, well. As long as the baby is healthy that is all that matters. We will know if it is a boy or girl in mid March and I personally can't wait to find out. It will be fun to plan the bedroom and buy cute baby clothes. Yeah! I still hate being pregnant, but can't wait to snuggle the little one.

Love to all who read. XOXO