Team Blue

We are officially on team blue! Today I had an ultrasound and it is a BOY and we cant be more excited! Brook has been saying for weeks now that it is going to be Luke and not a girl. We went to a birthday party on Saturday where there were lots of babies and she told me she wanted a boy and not a girl. She is going to be a great big sister in a few months. As far as the baby goes everything looked great. I am 18 weeks and 2 days and he was measuring 19 weeks so we are right where we should be. All of my test results came back from the first screenings and everything was normal. Praise God! I feel so blessed because now my family will be complete! A girl and a boy, I cant believe it!

Dewberry Farm

Back in October we took Brook out to Dewberry Farm to pick a pumpkin and have some fun. Nay-Nay, Coco, Nana, Papa and Bubba went with us to enjoy the festivities. There was so much to do there but by far her favorite thing was to ride the ponies. I think she rode them at least 6 times. We had fun swinging in the haybarn on the rope swing.

Aunt Coco had to go down the big slide with Brook because we were scared it was going to shake the baby out of me! It was made out of pvc pipes and it was a very bumpy ride.

Next we did the hippity hop and Brook had a lot of fun. I dont think the baby enjoyed it as much because I was very nauseous when we were done.

Here she is walking through the flower patch.

Here is Nana, Papa and Bubba waiting for us on the wagon while Brook decides on a pumpkin.

I definetly think this will be a tradition from now on. It was so fun and there were so many things to do!

Wordless Wednesday

Catching Up

Well a lot has been going on since my last post. Our lives have changed and we are getting into a new routine. Brook started off this school year staying at home with Ms. April keeping her and going to MDO at the baptist church on Mon and Wed. She was going to storytime at the library on Tue and Thur. Here are a few pics from storytime and playing at the park!

Here she is on her first day of MDO cheesing for the camera!


When I mentioned we were getting into a new routine I was referring to the fact that Ms. April had to get a new job and we had to find a new sitter for Brook. She is now a preschool teacher at a new daycare/private school that just opened in our area and Brook is now going there full time. I was really nervous at first because of her being around other kids all day long and all those germs. We toured the school and it was awesome so we decided to enroll Brook and I felt a little better knowing Ms. April would be there with her. At first Brook had a hard time with me dropping her off in the mornings but she is starting to get settled in.

Brook is going to be a...

BIG SISTER!

We are so excited and praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby!

First Day

Today was my first day back to work and Brook's first day of gymnastics! I was very sad this morning when I had to leave :( Travis is off this week so she gets to have fun with Daddy! When I got home she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug and was patting me on the back. I cried again, it was so cute and sweet!

I was unsure of how she would be at gymnastics, but she loved it. It is a parent and tot class but she did not need me at all. She saw all the fun stuff and she was kicking her shoes off to get in the room! At first the teacher did some stretching with them and she didn't want any part of it. She wanted to play but when she saw everyone else following directions, she joined in. Little Miss Emma is in our class so Laura and I had fun watching them.

The room was set up in a little obstacle course. The teacher showed them what to do and then we all kinda began at different things. The slide was first and of course she loved it.

After the slide she jumped on the hopscotch and over the hula hoops. She kept wanting to pick them up and swing them around her!The teacher was at the next thing which was the "cheese" mat where she was helping them do forward rolls. Brook passed it many times until I showed her myself what to do. Yes, I was the only Mommy that did a forward roll. Go Me!
Next there was a tunnel that she crawled through but I didn't get any pics. Then she walked on the balance beam.

She thought she was so big and strong on the bars! She could hold herself for about two seconds and then she would drop.

The trampoline was real long and there was a mirror wall behind it and she loved running down it and watching herself in the mirror.

The rings were at the end and I think this was her favorite! She would scream "swing!" She was really good at them. The teacher would tell her to pick up her legs and she would and hold them up and swing.

The cutest thing of all is that when she is really into something or concentrating she sticks out her tongue just like her Daddy. Travis does this all the time when he is building or working on something. It was so cute!

Here they are at the end of class. The teacher was so sweet and good with them. She put a little sticker on each foot and hand and then one on their nose!
I think the first night was a huge success. I had a lot of fun watching her and doing some of the things with her. Daddy was off tonight so he got to come and watch. Nay-Nay and Coco came too! Brook was so proud to show them what she could do!

Thank you Nay-Nay and Grumpy for the gymnastics class!

Saying Goodbye

Today we said goodbye to Sarah and Leah. They are Travis' cousin's daughters and I watch them every summer so they don't have to go to daycare. I am going back to work on Monday so today was our last day together. These two little girls are like Brook's big sisters. They are sure going to miss each other. We have spent the summer hanging out at the water park, shopping, playing on the water slide, watching cartoons and a couple of days of babysitting Emma and Gavin. We have definitely eaten enough frozen corn dogs, chicken nuggets and pizza to last us until next summer! We spent our last day together by eating donuts and kolaches, shopping at IKEA and getting my classroom together. We love you and are sure going to miss spending everyday with you!

Until next summer!

Trip to the Circus

The circus came to town and boy did we have fun! Last year Daddy was working when we went so we made sure he was able to go this year. Brook loves animals and people watching so she had a blast. We went to the 7:30 show so we had time to eat dinner before we went. We asked Brook what she wanted for dinner on her special day and of course she said "beans please!" The kid loves to eat beans........breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner, whenever you will let her.

Here she is at Pappasitos eating her beans and rice!

We got to the show a little late to see all of the animals up close but we did get to go down on the floor and see some good stuff. She loved watching the elephant paint a picture!
Here she is riding on Daddy's shoulders so she could have a better view.

I think her favorite part of the show was getting this neigh snow cone! Her little green eyes spotted this thing as soon as we got there. We held her off until intermission though.

One funny thing that happened was when a motorcycle came flying above us on a wire and she screamed "there's Bubba and John and Mark" Travis and I started cracking up laughing! All three of them have motorcycles and everytime she sees or hears one she thinks it is them!

I'll take you for a ride on my............

big green ranger!

Daddy got a new toy and Brook and Hunter just love it! Travis has been wanting one of these since we bought our property 2 years ago. He has dreamed of riding around our neighborhood with Brook and Hunter enjoying the country life. Well anyone who knows me, knows that I am a planner and a saver and it took him awhile to convince me we needed it. We are on this thing all the time now! We took about a 20 minute ride (one way) to the next town the other afternoon. We went all the back roads. Of course we had to stop at every pasture that had a moo cow or a neigh-neigh! It was so fun because we could drive right up to the fence and see them. Our favorite ride though is at the end of the day after dinner. We all load up and take a drive as the sun goes down and it cools off. Brook has been know to fall asleep a couple of times because it is so peaceful!

Brook's New Babysitter

In just 2 weeks I will be sadly leaving my little girl and heading back to 22 first graders. Wow time flies when you are having fun. I can't believe summer break is almost over. Brook has always stayed with family and this year will be the first for her not to. This year she will be staying with my friend April. She is from the same town that I grew up in and she was my teacher's aide for 2 years when I taught Pre-K. When I moved to my new school she decided to go back to school full time. I also had her daughter in my class the first year I taught. This year she is going to watch Brook and continue to go to school at night and take some online classes. She came to spend some time with Brook today so they can get to know one another a little better. I have been so nervous, not because of April but just because of the fact we just moved, she will be staying with someone new and starting MDO at a new church. To me that is alot for a little girl to go through. (or maybe just her mommy) Today went really well though. Brook talked to April, took her into her room to show her all of her toys, and the best thing is she gave her a big hug and smile when she left!

Happy Birthday Grumpy

Tonight we went and had dinner for my dad's birthday, Brookie's Grumpy! We ate at one of his favorite Mexican Food restaurants, Las Polamos. Brook played outside most of the day in her pool and on her slide and did not have a nap. She fell asleep on the way there and slept through most of dinner.

Here she is asleep.......oops I dropped queso in her hair while I was trying to eat and hold her!

She woke up long enough to give her Grumpy the card she had made him and for this picture!

Nay-Nay just had to send home the whole box of cupcakes! As you can see this was her favorite part of the birthday dinner!

Happy Birthday......We hope you had a great day!

Playdate

A few weeks ago Brook hosted her first playdate at our house. Three of my high school friends came over with their sweet babies. Alecia brought Makaely who just turned 2, Ashlee brought Aidee who is about 7 months and Brandy brought Brayden who is 5 months. We are so excited that Alecia will be adding another friend to our play group in about 8 months! It was fun to sit and talk with the mommies while the kids played. I made pasta for lunch and the two big girls had cupcakes for dessert. Once the two babies went down for their nap Brook and Makaely had fun playing with the baby toys!

Wordless Wednesday

Planting Trees and Waterslide

Today we planted five new trees in our yard. Travis did some research on these trees. They are called Royal Empress. They are supposed to be the fastest growing shade tree. They are about two feet tall and should grow atleast 15 feet in the first year. They should grow to be about 45 feet tall when they are done. We lost so many trees during Hurricane Ike so we wanted to plant some more but we didn't want to wait forever for them to grow.

So here is what our little tree looks like!

Here is Brook watching her daddy give it some water!

Hopefully this is what they will look like in a few years!

After we got done planting the trees while it was 100 plus degrees outside, we set up Brook's new waterslide to cool off in! At first she was a little scared but after she tried it one time, she was hooked. I got it on clearance at Walmart and I am totally glad I got it. It is the perfect size for her because she can climb up the back all by herself and when she slides down the pool is the perfect depth!

Here she is getting ready!

And weeeeeee......what fun!

And of course it wouldn't be fun without "Big Sissy" Hunter to swim with!