The big kid

Brooks is such a big kid lately. I can't believe we only have two more months until he is a year old. It just keeps getting better and better though. He is such a good kid, he really has been good at entertaining himself more lately. Usually I blog when he is taking his nap... but today he is happily banging on the sliding glass door and investigating the hamper. He is such a ham. It's funny the things kids do to make you laugh. I swear he knows that he'll get a laugh out of us too when he does most of the stuff he's been up to lately. For example... he's learned to play peek a boo. We took a trip up to SLC this last weekend to visit Pat's sister. On the way home he was playing peek a bood with my scarf.























Brooks had so much fun with his cousin Jack while we were visiting. Erin and I bought them matching sweaters... aren't they cute? We are all so excited for them to get a little older and be able to play with each other more. For the most part they just stare at each other now. Other then the few times that Brooks let out his high pitched scream and it would make Jack cry.











We went to the car show and had a great time just haning out with Erin, Kyle and Jack. Brooks slept almost the whole way up there. The trip back we weren't as fortunate, but he was still pretty good for the majority of the drive. The last hour he screamed till we got home.... but four hours is a long time to be stuck in your car seat.

Bath time & Pajamas... our favorite things

Bath time is Brooks' favorite time of the day. We got him a few new bath toys for Christmas. One is the basket ball hoop thing, which he hasn't quite figured out. The other is the shark toy. It has a trigger you use to open the mouth, and it came with two little fish that it eats...

He's terrified of it... can you tell? I think he may actually be wondering "why is daddy making these weird growling noises with this strange blue thing in my tub ?"


He is so funny. Loves sticking out that tongue of his.


Brooks is so happy when he wakes up in the morning. He is so stinkin cute in his pajamas... We love this kid!

New Years Resolutions

I usually don't make resolutions... but I decided instead to make more of a 2009 goal list. They aren't life changing ambitions, rather some fun things I've been thinking about lately. I heard once that if you write down your goals you are more likely to accomplish them... so...

1. Learn to play the guitar - I've had a guitar since I was a senior in High school with great ambitions of learning and I think it's about time I get around to it.
2. Learn to Knit - I have always wanted to learn how to do this. Making all those blankets really sparked some interest in making things... I am also going to try sewing some pieces of clothing for myself.
3. Get fit - I really would like to get into running... I'm not completely out of shape, but I've never been really fit. I consider being able to jog or run for a significant distance... without passing out... fit :). I saw an interview a few months ago with Howard Stern's new wife (I can't remember her name). She runs a lot of marathons and was explaining how she can eat practically anything she wants due to the amount of running she does, and I thought... that's reason enough for me. :)
4. Take ballroom dancing lessons - I have actually talked Pat into this. I think this would be a blast, and a really good way for Pat and I to spend some time together without Brooks being our center of attention.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas.. and have a wonderful 2009

We had a very quite and happy Christmas. Brooks wasn't quite into the present thing this year. But we had a great time watching him play with all the toys once they were opened. Hopefully next year he'll be a little more into the tearing of present wrapping. Pat and I had very meager means this year for Christmas, as many of you I'm sure can relate. We actually ended up using our change jar that we've been filling for the last few years. We spent what we could on our family, and then of course spent the rest on gifts for Brooks. In light of that, I made a lot of gifts this year. In all it added up to, a growth chart for Jack, Blankets for my four youngest nieces and youngest nephew and one for B (which actually didn't get finished in time). It was quite an undertaking and wasn't helped by the fact that I got started just after Halloween. I think next year I'll start a little earlier. I didn't get a chance to get many pictures of the blankets just a few and two of the growth chart. It really made my Christmas this year to make that stuff. I felt like I was really putting more love into all the sewing and painting then just going out and buying toys and clothes.

Pat and I have had a pretty busy year with Brooks birth and a few other challenges that have come our way. We are so grateful for all our family and friends who stand by us and continue to be such a wonderful part of our lives. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful 2009.




Jack's growth chart, this was really fun to make. It has a frog at the bottom and then says... Growing by Leaps and Bounds :D






One of the better pictures of the blankets I actually took a picture of. I made my this one for Hailey, sister's little girl. They were all pretty much the same except different colors. I signed each one with their names and a little iron on patch. They turned out really cute!

Christmas cards

We had some family pictures taken this weekend so I can get my act together and send out Christmas cards. B has been such a character lately, and the day we took pictures he decided to make this face the whole time. It cracks me up every time I look at it. Just wanted to share :). I can't believe Christmas is a few weeks away!! AHH!!








Here are the family pictures...
















I also wanted to add a picture from Thanksgiving of all the girls and the three babies.

More...

Sorry that last post the font ended up REALLY big, for some reason I can't change it... anyhoo I just wanted to add some stolen pictures :D. My afternoon with Ky, so fun and the one of Brooks and Shae.. sooo cute!! Yes I always cheese it, I just can't help it! Especially when I'm with Kylene, she just makes me smile :D LOVE you Ky!!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving always seems like the busiest weekend of our lives. Pat's older sis and family come down for the weekend and we try and spend as much time as we can with them. We never get to see them enough. We Miss You GUYS! There little guy is three months younger then B and he is so stinkin cute. I got some really cute pictures of him over the weekend. It's so weird to have grandkids at Pat's mom's house this year, but also so much fun! We had dinner at Pat's mom and had a ton of fun playing with all the babies. Pat had to work on Friday so I went and took some family pictures for Erin and went to St. George to visit my really good friend Kylene. We went to the coolest park over by Green Valley, with all these crazy toys. Of course I did not bring my camera :(. Sat we took a nice trip up to Zion, the tram stopped running so we got to drive into the Park. It was a really nice day! Sunday we had aspirations of cleaning the house but ended up just lounging most the day instead :). My parent's anniversary is the 27th and usually falls on Thanksgiving so they never do anything, but this year they decided to go to Kauai for a five day vacation. It was a little sad not having them here this year; however, I'm sure they were not dissapointed since it was rainy most the weekend and 85 in Kauai. Here are some pictures of our weekend.

B loves his books









Jack and B... Ahh!









Happy Turkey day, Erin bought all the boys matching bibs, so cute!









All the boys and their dad's.. John and Alex, Kyle and Jack, Pat and Brooks.









Erin and B









Brooks loves these wood blocks Nana has












Jack is such a cutie!








My favorite family picture of them.

Fun in Zion