I suppose it's time for an update.

It has almost been a year since I last posted.  I would do a big year recap, but really, all we have done is...not a whole lot.  The highlights of the past year include: Brooks turned 1, we visited family in WA, my older brother, Richard, got married...and that's about it.  Until a week and a day ago. 
Sunday, Sep. 9th. we welcomed little Hadley Lyn to the family.  She came out 21.5 inches and 9lbs 3oz. Pretty good size.  Labor went smoothly and I only had to push for about 15 minutes (which was awesome).  Recovery is going well and Hadley sleeps and eats like a champ.  Brooks is adjusting well.  His Grandma is here so he still gets all the attention he wants.  I feel like the real challenge for/with him will begin once my mom leaves and he isn't the center of the universe. 

Here are Pictures

Maybe I'll be better this next year with updating this thing on time.

Halloween, Thanksgiving and Anniversary

This is a catch-up post, so it will be mainly pictures.
Brooks was a Tiger for Halloween. I was a lion and Nate was a bear. Get it...lions and tigers, and bears.
Carving pumpkins. Brooks was trying to climb inside the pumpkin toward the end....but once he was in, he didn't like it.
Here he is playing with the top we cut out.
Brooks gave uncle make a congratulation hug after the big semi-finals win...for football. And Matt was trying to make him listen to his music.

Brooks cheering for uncle Matt with grandma and grandpa.
For the past...I don't know how many years, Thanksgiving has been focused on Connell High School Football. They seem to always be playing in the semi-final game the saturday after Thanksgiving.
Great Grandma Hadley teaching Brooks to play some notes.

Here we are in front of the tractor that Brooks...loved. He was so mad when we had to leave. I know where I am sending him for the summer when he is older.


For our 3 year anniversary we went to a bed and breakfast up in Levensworth, WA. It was a lot of fun. It snowed a ton the night we were there (Nate LOVES snow) so we went snowshoeing the next morning.

9 Months and 6 Flags

Brook at 9 months


Brooks at 8 months.Here is a cute picture of Brooks helping with the dishes.


Brooks turned 9 months last Saturday and we decided to celebrate by going to 6 flags. Well, we actually went for Nate's work party. It was a lot of fun. We went with some good friends who were able to watch Brooks for us so we could ride some rides. Here are some pictures of our adventure.



This is how our sweet boy was ALL day. He took a good hour nap and he was such a good, happy boy the whole day. He is really easy to take out and do things with.

There were a lot of animal shows that were really fun to watch. I have never been to Disney Land/World or Sea World so I found this part of the park amazing.

Tigers are my favorite animal...the picture should be enough to show you why.
You can see the white tiger at the right in the cage. Brooks really enjoyed the shows too.
My absolute favorite show was the dolphin show. It was AMAZING. I can't believe how smart they are. They were doing jumps and crazy tricks together. One trainer was able to swim with them and did a bunch of cool stuff. Anyway, can't say enough about the dolphin show.

Brooks is changing so fast these days. Here are some new things he can do.
1) He can climb the stairs.
2) He can pull himself up to standing everywhere and on everything.
3) He can climb up into my bike trailer/jogging stroller. Amazing...I know.
4) He eats solids like crazy.
5) He takes only 2 naps now.
6) Usually sleeps 8 hours straight at night, eats, then sleeps another 2 or 3 hours.
7) He has his 2 bottom teeth.
8) He is crawling and getting into everything.
9) He had his first real sickness...Roseola, poor guy, but he took it like a champ.
I'm sure there is more, but I can't think of anything else right now.

Here he is at 7 months.


Here he is at 8 months.


Oh, and he reads, haha, kidding. But he doesn't let me hold the books when I read to him. He likes to hold them himself. I have to stop him from eating the pages sometimes, but he is getting better at just holding it and looking at the pictures while I read.

Currently his favorite book.
He eats in this lovely highchair we got. And he plays with toys while I make dinner.
This is what happens when I don't keep an eye on him at all times. He is everywhere.
He loves to help me do laundry. Basically he rides in the laundry basket.
Here is our city league softball team. It is so much fun to have a sporting event to look forward to during the week.


Another favorite book of his...Brown Bear Brown Bear What do You See? Dad makes the noises of all the animals and he loves it.

Well, we haven't been up to much lately except the normal daily routine. My mother, sister Amanda, and cousin Liz are coming out in a week and a half, so I'll post our adventure with them. We are VERY VERY excited.

Summer So Far

Here are some pictures from the summer so far. Brooks and I went to Washington for a few weeks and then Nate joined up and we drove to Boise to vacation with Nate's family for a week.Here are some pictures of our adventures.
But first...here are the monthly pictures.
Here is Brooks at 6 months old.

Now, here is Brooks at 7 months. He is growing like a week and he has cut a tooth already.
Just a cut picture of him watching TV in Boise.
We were trying to dress Brooks up as a bobcat. He was moving like crazy and we couldn't get a good picture.
A Grizzly at Yellowstone.
A Black Bear at Yellowstone.
The biggest dog I have ever seen. There were two of them walking the streets of downtown Boise.
Grandpa Hadley feeding baby Brooks. Brooks is a messy eater, so we feed him in just his diaper.
The whole family together in WA. April was MIA for the picture because she was working.
My parents. My mother wouldn't let Brooks go. He loves being outside especially with the dogs.
This is Brooks' new trick. He will get up on all 4 and rock back and forth. He is funny.
Brooks and Daddy with Ol'Faithful blowing up in the background. We timed it perfectly. We only had to wait about 5 minutes.

We had such a great time spending several weeks with family. We are now back in CA and Nate is back at work and Brooks and I are trying to get back in a routine.

Brooks is 6 Months Old!!

I can't believe he is 6 months old already. Its pretty crazy. He is getting to be so fun. Here is what Brooks is up to these days.

Sleeping:
Morning Nap 10am for about 1-2 hours
Afternoon Nap 2 for about 2-3 hours (depending on morning nap)
Night from about 8:30-7ish.

Size:
27 inches long - 80%
15 lbs 13oz - 25%
He is a long skinny one.


He can army crawl pretty well now.
He has no interest in sitting. He wants to be down and moving so its hard to get him to practice sitting.
He can swing in the baby swing outside. He loves it.
He loves reading books with me. He laughs when I make the bear noise when I read "We're going on a bear hunt"

Here is Brooks at 5 months.

Here is Brooks at 6 months. (He is a cheese ball. He smiles and laughs all the time now.

Brooks having A LOT of Firsts

Brooks has had a lot of firsts this last month. I should be better about staying up with the blog now that we have started doing a lot of things with Brooks. But for now I will just play quick catch-up. His first MLB game. He did so well. Slept a few innings at the end, but all and all he really liked it. Just sat and watched (although, I'm not sure his eyes can see that far).
His first time trying rice cereal. He loved it. Since this picture, he has tried bananas, avacados, and sweet potatoes. He does NOT like green beans. When I tried to give him some he started spitting it out and turning his head away, so I guess I'll try again when he is older.
His (and mom and dad's) first time at the Golden Gate Park. We went into San Fran to celebrate Nate's birthday. Nate is the big 26 now. We spent time walking around Golden Gate Park, then went the Ocean beach, and after that, went to eat at crepevine...it was very very good.
We couldn't resist. This is basically the best picture in the world. I love it.
Brooks first time watching fireworks. He LOVED them. This is what he was like the whole fireworks show. Very interesting. This was after the As game we went to (picture above).
This was Nate's happy birthday dessert. Unfortunately, Nate looks like a creeper right here, but he is actually is way more photogenic than this picture...oh well.
Ocean Beach in San Fran. It was SO SO SO windy. I had a blanket wrapped up over my head and around me. The locals said it was way more windy than usual. We will just have to go back and see if that's true.
Here we are spending a day at Stanford University. It is a beautiful campus.
The main quad of Stanford. There is a big Catholic church in the middle. It is really pretty and there were about 4 weddings we saw that Saturday we were there.
Brooks first time trying ice cream. He was staring and reaching for my spoon, so I decided he could have a little taste.