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LA Baseball Trip - Day 2

> So we definitely learned a few things about Tyler on this trip that will be covered in today's blog. The main thing we learned Friday night is Tyler sleeps naked and on top of the covers with the LED book lights pointed at him!

We started the day at the Burger King drive thru, Brooklyn needed milk and Tyler needed Sprite. So Tyler orders, as we get to the window, we pay and are handed the milk but no sprite. We can see the workers making something but no one is near the drink machine. Tyler wonders, did they forget? Cindy loses patience and says honk, Tyler refuses. Minutes have now passed, Tyler is waving his arms trying to get their attention. Cindy still says honk, Tyler finally does....about 5 times, but after each honk he says something like "get me my Sprite now or I'll have INS here in 5 minutes." None of this worked, the employees are on the other side of the restaurant, we see them, they see us, they are franticly preparing something....Tyler still honks. Then finally a bag comes from the back of the restaurant, an out of breath Mexican employee in broken English is saying here are your "fries."
>
> From there we went to Mel's Diner for an outdoor breakfast on Sunset Blvd (and they did have carrot juice there.) Supposedly of Entourage fame, although that theory cannot be proven at this time. After breakfast we went to the Kodak Theatre, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Walk of Fame, etc. But all of those things paled in comparison to Crumbs. (after a vanilla sprinkle, pistachio, red velvet, and cookies n cream, we now have a new favorite cupcake place!......not written by me, that was Cindy)

Next up, we went up in the hills to find the Hollywood sign. Cindy swears she saw Spielberg. Tyler managed to u-turn 3 times on Mulholland Dr, pretty impressive considering it isn't exactly a wide road, there was one point I was worried we might drive off the cliff. Cindy learned....traffic laws do not apply to Tyler. Do Not Enter (unless I think I can make it) is how he reads signs.

Then we did a drive by a hotel near Disneyland called the Tropicana, apparently Tyler stayed there when he was 7. He claims that was the last time he was happy.

Interesting Observation of Day 2 - According to Tyler, Brooklyn is on the fast track to becoming a stripper. Every pole we walk past, she stops and starts dancing with it.

Dodger Stadium. Perfect weather, nice view, 2 bad teams, and disinterested fans. It was a surprisingly calm all game. Apparently the only thing that gets these fans going is putting a Giants fan in a coma in the parking lot after the game.

We left the game, went to Santa Monica Pier to walk around, then called it a night.

LA Baseball Trip 2011 - Day 1

And so it begins, another baseball trip, another blog.

I want to give a special shout-out to the Crowne Plaza. I am truly flattered that you want to be the place our next child is conceived. Why else would you have placed a gift set that includes ear plugs, sleep mask, and aromatherapy oils only on Tyler's bed and not ours? Not sure he got the hint, but I heard you loud and clear. It's not happening though. I don't want Brooklyn to be on a girl's trip in 20 years to LA where as their plane is approaching the city, she points out to everyone, "that's the hotel where my little brother was conceived". That is just too weird and something only strange people would do. So unfortunately you will not be the equivalent of that house in West Lafayette. (Angie, if you are reading this.....yes I've seen the house where you were conceived.)

Most Confusing Conversation of Day 1: As we are at the last security checkpoint of the car rental place:
Tyler asks the guard: Do you know where the Crowne Plaza is?
Guard responds: Do you have an address?
Tyler: No
Guard: Do you know the street?
Tyler: Nope
Guard: (looks at Tyler like he is crazy)
Tyler: Well I have an address on a printout but I is in my bag.
Guard: Is it Century?
Tyler: Yeah I think so
Guard (gives directions), then asks if we want a map of LA.
Tyler: Nope we're good

Most Memorable Quote of Day 1: Literally 15 seconds after take-off at DFW the little boy behind us looks out his window, sees that nasty pond/lake on the outskirts of the airport and announces to his mom "I can see the ocean. Is that California down there?"

In-N-Out Experience:
So we empathize will all of the people this week who went to Frisco/Allen and waited 4 hours to have some In-N-Out Burger. However I guess our time is just a little more valuable to us than yours is to you because rather than wait the 4 hours in TX, we took a 3 hour flight to LA. Saved an hour.....so one word to you "Scoreboard!" This was our first time eating INO, so we decided to waste the poor order taker's time. We went drive thru, but they were busy so they had an employee, Jennifer, out there taking orders. When asked what we wanted, Tyler goes first "a glass of carrot juice." Her response, "we don't have that here." He was supposed to then say "fine, then I'll have nothing!" Instead he paused and let awkward silence take over. Then Tyler says, "So what do you have?" She shows us the menu with 3 items.....it still takes us 10 minutes to order....in fact it took so long, the line in front of us disappeared....but the line behind us tripled. Near the end I think I even heard a honk directed at us!
As to the overall food----greatness!

>

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

So we are having our family pictures taken this weekend in an attempt to not only get a family picture but to get a nice photo of us for this year's Christmas card. I was searching around for where I wanted to order them this year - usually I get them done at Target but I am open to other options. Well I just heard that Shutterfly is giving away 50 holiday photo cards if I post a blog entry about it! Too cool!

Of course, I plan to go with the traditional Christmas card design. Some of the standard holiday ones are cute, but I have to narrow the choices down somehow – there are so many! I’m also thinking about creating some calendars for family members that show pictures of Brooklyn each month over the last year – I think it would be a cute gift and I’m sure the grandmas will love it!

So anyways, time to get ready for the photo shoot. My sister-in-law, Rose, is going take our picture. I think we’ll both do our family Christmas pics that same day so we can get our cards created and sent out. It’s hard to believe we’re almost half way through the month!

These are a few of the super cute cards Shutterfly has now - you should check 'em out!

To Brooklyn on your 1st birthday

My Sweet Brooklyn,

It's after 1:00 am on October 27, 2010 and I can't sleep. You're turning 1 today! It's hard to believe that one year ago today I was laying in a hospital bed awake, just as I am now, waiting to see just when you'd make your debut. It turns out you were fashionably 6 days late and may have been even later! But it was meant to be and you joined us in this world at 8:59 am that Tuesday morning - a head full of beautiful dark hair, all 9 lb. 1 oz. and 20" of you! Your Dad couldn't stop looking at you - amazed at how active you were, trying to get away from the nurses. We should have known from those first few moments that you would be so independent early on.

I sit here counting the hours until you wake up, knowing I really must get some sleep so I can be pleasant and really enjoy our day together. But I just can't seem to rest my eyes. Each time I try, I flash back to some moment you made me proud - and there sure are a lot of those for just 1 year of life. Whether it's catching you rollover for the first time on video, knowing when a book is right side up, or practicing your very first steps over and over again, I can't help but smile remembering each and every exciting moment of your first year.

I can't wait to see you grow into a happy, smart, funny little girl, but I'm going to enjoy every single second of it!

You are our special girl and we love you more than words can say.

Love,

Mama

6 Months Old!

Brooklyn turned 6 months on April 27 - wow how time flies! She's so much fun and learning new things every day. She's sitting up on her own now but not yet crawling. She rolls all over the place and if we turn for just a minute, she's 6 feet away from where we last saw her! It's hard to believe 6 months ago, she was our new little baby. But this time has been amazing and I look forward to each day!

Age: 6 months (+ 1 week, 2 days - I'm a little late!)

Weight: 18 lbs. 5 oz. (89th percentile)

Height: 27 1/2 inches (96th percentile)

Milestones: sitting up and eating solids

Highlight(s): officially switched to a convertible ("big girl") car seat in one of our 2 cars

Favorite toy: books that play music & exersaucer

Food: she's had lots of puree'd fruits & veggies and we tried some puffs snacks last week for the first time, too

Teeth: None but still lots of drooling going on

Steps taken: None

4 months

Our little girl is 4 months old! My how time flies by. Everyone says it does, but it sure is true! Just last week, B started rolling over consistently, which has been very exciting! So as she grows up, I thought it would be kind of fun to keep track of some milestones for her, kind of like what I did during my pregnancy. So here goes!

Age: 4 months (+ 6 days!)
Weight: 16 lbs.
Height: 25.5"
Milestones: rolls over from front to back - both ways!
Highlight(s): we can make her laugh now, not only by tickling her, but by making funny faces
Favorite toy: hard to say - probably her monkey rattle and any teether she can grab
Food: still on formula, exclusively
Teeth: None but lots of drooling going on
Steps taken: None

Jumpin' girl!

Brooklyn seems to be growing so fast! Today, I opened up her jumper - it seemed like it would take forever for her to be big enough for it. But she loved it! I'm looking forward to many months of jumpin' around! :)

It's been 2 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days...

Thanks to Adriane, I'm reminded that my last posting shows a picture of me at 40+ weeks pregnant. My how things have changed! As all 6 of our blog followers know, Brooklyn Olivia was born on Tuesday, October 27 at 8:59 AM. She weighed in at 9 lb. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. Oh, and had a beautiful full head of hair as we hoped (and still does)! Brooklyn is now 11 weeks old and the pregnancy is a distant blur. Here's her 2 month milestone picture.She makes us laugh every day - I think she gets that from her Daddy (aka Papa). And I'm lucky enough to be able to spend every day with her, as I work full-time from home. She's still a little baby but as things start to get more exciting, I'll try to post more often. And I might even get Brad to post, since we all know everyone enjoys his posts more than mine! :)