More holiday fun!

I cannot believe this is the last day of 2008! What a wonderful year it's been! Brooke truly makes us stop and realize how precious life and all things in it are....

In the two days since my parents left Brooke has almost gotten back to 'normal' and for those of you with kids you understand this statement. Brooke gets used to undivided attention because Grandad & Granny OR Nana & Paw can tag team her the entire time they are here.....then they leave and suddenly she realizes she doesn't have MY undivided attention constantly.....but she does make it interesting to say the least.

I have finally made myself start potty training boot camp for Brooke. My mother has always said that potty training is up to the parents not the child, and I have been so lazy in this regard....maybe it's easier for me to not have to find a public restroom, which I avoid anyway?! We have had a lot of successes....then a full day of no successes....but I refuse to give up. I am not going to be changing her diapers when she's five! ;o) I told my cousin that she will learn to pee every time she hears a bell ring thanks to our handy dandy timer.

Below are some pics I thought were cute of her and my folks when they were here this past weekend.....

Brooke adores her Granny.....and vice versa of course.

The 'small' piano she received for Christmas (this girl LOVES anything to do with music)...

And the guilty culprits that buy noise making presents and leave.....

Have fun tonight, be safe and hope to hear from you all in 2009!!

Look out blog world....it's my brother!

I just realized in the eight months I have been blogging that you guys have never been introduced to my brother.....well, here you go! Your lives will never be the same again! ;o) My brother is the epitome of an older brother....ornery, pull my finger, burp in your face, loving, hilarious, protective guy.....who although he IS ornery he is an amazing Daddy too....who would have thought?! My bro and I are almost 9 years apart, but I feel closer to him now as a parent than I ever have.

Brooke is usually really stand offish with men, but I think she realized her Unc Wynn as she calls him is down right fun. She really took to him this time, they played and she demanded his attention the entire time.

Brooke and Unc Lynn

The things my brother will do for a little kid.....well, they are endless...

My brother's kiddoes, Cohen and McKenzie.

How he got her I have yet to figure out, but my beautiful sister in law Michelle. ;o)

We had a great second Christmas with my side of the family Friday. It was good to get to see everyone and just visit for a while. Brooke has still been battling some head cold/sinus junk all weekend, but that has not kept her from enjoying Granny and Grandad.....more pics of them to come.

Christmas Day at Nana and Paw's.

Next we were off to Plainview to visit Nana and Paw's house for Christmas. Uncle Tracy, Aunt Angie and cousin Thomas were all there to celebrate with us. Brooke enjoys everyone in our family, but loves Thomas...... He was enjoying a cookie from Nana after we opened presents and of course Brooke told him to scoot over and squeezed in as close as she could get.

A little too close up for me, but hey......we decided we would actually take a picture we were in....

Our little princess. She loves to dress up, but especially in anything that makes her feel like a princess.....

We are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.....thank you all for being in our lives!! We headed home after a day of fun in Plainview because Steven had to get back to reality and go back to work....next up, Christmas with my side of the family Friday!

Christmas Morning at home.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Brooke normally wakes up in the morning yelling for us to come get her.....but of course this morning she walked into our room yelling "HI GUYS!!" because she had to walk by the fun stuff Santa brought her to get to our room. She then kept yelling "get up, get up, Santa was here!"

When we walked out she was already sitting on one of the things Santa brought her.....

After we attempted to tame the wild morning hair she noticed that Santa ate the cookies she left out for him, she was SO excited that he drank ALL the milk too.....and of course she is holding chew rolls which Santa left in Cooper's stocking.

After opening all of her presents, she really couldn't decide what she wanted to play with first!!

More Christmas Eve Fun.

After a relaxing, restful day.......

And fun with our neighbors and friends......

(Angie, Alexis, Mike and Aiden Martin)

It was time to get busy! Brooke had been asking us to bake more cookies for Santa ever since Cooper got one she decorated......so, with Steven home to assist with the mess making we were off!

As you can imagine, there was a huge mess to clean up......but it was well worth it to hear all of the giggles coming from the kitchen table.

AFTER the mess was made and cleaned up.....I had to get a picture of all of our fun work....Cookies for Santa was done!

Merry Christmas Eve!

My wish for Christmas is to not let my baby girl be SICK when Santa comes! As if you don't know, we live in West Texas....and for some reason every single time the dirt blows for a few days after that poor Brooke's allergies and entire head seems to get stopped up! Today she is already doped up on Benadryl and sort of just lying around in her pj's still at 11 asking to watch Christmas movies. She isn't fussing or anything, so I know she doesn't feel too bad, but her little red nose could double for Rudolph's!

Our poor little red nosed reindeer.....

She is definitely her Daddy's girl.....he brings her tricycle in for her to ride it and what does she do?! She lays under it with a flashlight and screwdriver acting like she is working on it.....you know she didn't learn that from me!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention her hammer too.

We have a busy day of baking cookies for Santa ahead of us.....she is so excited about her Daddy being here to help us bake cookies, so I am sure there will be a real mess involved.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

Cookies for Santa.

Just over a week ago now, Brooke and I went to a local cookie shop (Cookies by Design) to decorate cookies for Santa. I enjoyed it because THEY did all of the baking, preparing and the best part cleaning up! Brooke enjoyed being around the other kids because like me, she loves to watch people. If you live around here I think it is by far the best bang for the buck when it comes to pictures with Santa. We got two huge cookies to decorate, a goodie bag filled with all sorts of things (including my fav, a cookie of the month membership), and a picture with Santa framed all included for a mere $10.....AND I didn't have to go to the MALL!!

Brooke having fun decorating.

I had to throw this one in....notice the tongue of concentration....

Brooke was having a blast, then the big man made an entrance. It was a high schooler who in my opinion was a Graham Harrell look alike....but to the kids in the room, they gasped as they saw Santa.

Brooke's reaction to Santa....what you cannot tell from the picture is that she was hiding behind my thigh, with her arms wrapped very tightly.....like I was going to sell her to Santa or something!

The finished cookies......and yes, they were tasty. We will make more for Santa tomorrow night, Cooper managed to get one (and got in trouble of course) and Brooke and I shared the other one....sorry Steven. ;o)

This is the closest to Santa Brooke would get....and if you cannot tell by the picture, I am pushing her away from my chest to get her even THIS close! Oh well, maybe next year she won't be scared of the guy!

MOHAWK!

This is how Brooke prefers to wear the hat I made her earlier in the week, and yes it resembles the perfect mohawk!

If you want to see a real mohawk click here. This is my cousin Donna's blog and her husband is sporting one during a head shaving moment....I have to say I love it Roy!

My how things change rapidly. On one of my previous posts I told you about the new job Brooke and I accepted....well, it is no longer. No hard feelings at all involved, just after a day of emotions and dilemmas we mutually agreed that it is not what is best for Brooke at this time. It is unreasonable and unrealistic to expect any two year old to sit quietly for three hours a day, not touching anything and being silent to boot..... I have always been happy at home with my baby and that is where I plan to stay as long as it's possible!

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend! I am excited because I get a date night with my hubby!! Even if it does start out at his company Christmas party any night out is still a night out right?!

What I just figured out.....

Why parents of young children do these things.....wait until really late at night to wrap presents, and put them in the closet after they are wrapped until Christmas. I have now wrapped the same package 3 times....why did it take me that long to figure this out...that is the real question?!

Gotta go, I hear the crinkling of paper....and NO, I haven't moved all of the presents yet!

Life with a toddler.

The happenings of this morning were shocking to me....Brooke made her first claim of not liking Santa! But, she showed her true love for a certain somebody in her life in the process. Brooke woke up a little earlier than normal this morning, so we were lying in bed together watching cartoons when I started trying to get her re-interested in Santa Clause....she made sure to pop my bubble very quickly by saying "Momma, I don't LIKE Santa" which I am sure caused a huge gasp from me and I continued to tell her how Santa is a nice loveable guy like her Paw.....which made her think very seriously before she said with pure excitement in her voice "I don't want Santa to bring me presents, I want PAW to bring me presents!" Paw, you have a large task ahead of you. ;o)

This picture is what you get when you let Brooke pick out her clothes....she has a style of her own! Now, I did add the socks and hair bow but the rest was all her!

I am still awaiting our pic with Santa, when I get it I will post it along with all of her fun cookie making pictures from Saturday. I have decided that along with a smart little girl comes an occasional smart mouth.....I thought I would have at least until she was nine before she starting back talking! Entertaining for sure, and of course she rarely does it where anyone else can hear it, so I am sure friends think I am making it up about my angel! She already has the teeth gritting, mumbling under her breath down that comes with teenage years....I know, I know, better get a handle on it now!

News for us this week....well, Brooke and I got a job yesterday. Brooke and I have been going to Mommy and Me music classes at Joyful Noise Music Studio now for well over a year and after just chit chatting about how my other bosses work load has gone down dramatically for me she called me yesterday and officially offered myself AND BROOKE a job. Meaning, I will be her office manager from 3 to 6 daily and Brooke will go to work with me and she already has her own little play area set up where I will be working! I am excited about the possibilities this job brings, but also a MOM.....totally nervous about how Brooke will react to the situation. Only time will tell, but wish us luck!

What I do on cold days....

Come up with goofy craft projects for Brooke to wear! I love making things for her, and I am doing it while she is still too young to care! ;o)

Funny story from last week:

Brooke walked in to the room to play with her Elmo TMX she got a couple of years ago....

Brooke: Oh no, Elmo not working

Steven: Well turn him on then.

Brooke: I can't do it, he's broken.

Steven: He's not broken, the switch is on the bottom.

Brooke: No Daddy, it's not on his bottom it's on his foot.

(Steven meant the botton of Elmo, but to a two year old there is a huge difference in Elmo's bottom and the bottom of his foot!)

What advertising!

No, we haven't sold our daughter for advertising purposes....but Grandad sent these t-shirts from the balloon rally that was a couple of weeks ago in my hometown and who better to show them off than Brooke?! Or, should I say she was the only one willing to pose in one for the camera. ;o)

Best advertising available! The family business.....

We had a great and hectic weekend.....and as soon as I download pictures you will see all about it!!

Christmas is here....at least the decorations finally are!

"Christmas Clause" as Brooke calls Santa Clause, will officially have a place to put those presents now!

After a very long day (Brooke was up at 2:30 am Wednesday morning and only napped the rest of the day), we were very tired and I never expected Steven to get in the Christmas spirit with so little sleep. BUT, last night when Brooke asked her Daddy for Christmas lights I think he felt a little tug at the heart strings because he soon emerged with everything we needed to get the inside of our house Christmas ready! Now Brooke keeps asking me, "Momma when is Christmas Clause coming to our tree?" Oh what fun this year will be!!

Brooke got every single ornament out and handed it to one of us and told us all about whatever it was. In this pic is one of her favorites, the drum.

Brooke hanging ornaments, and Steven doing the 'electrical' work down below.

A tradition we started two years ago, but this is the first year she's actually CARED about the angel on top of our tree!

One of my new fav's! Little does she now how ummm, close to Santa she really is in this picture!

I have to brag on Steven for a change.

For those of you who know me, you know I am not one to talk sappy talk about my wonderful husband.....but you also know how strongly I feel about this man. He is one in a million, works his fingers to the bone in order for me to stay home with our daughter, on top of dropping everything to help a friend in need and of course loving us unconditionally. While I could go on and on about him, today's post is to talk about what he did yesterday that was so far above and beyond normal standards! After a long, really stressful day at work he still found time to rescue Brooke and me! I know how melodramactic I am making this sound, and it is for a reason.....

Yesterday, Brooke and I decided to go to Walmart to do some Christmas/grocery shopping before the cold front hit (that has left us in the 30's all day). When we went TO the store it was 60 degrees and sunny, yet when Steven called to find out where we were he told me it looked a tad bit different outside. Apparently the storm hit while we were in Walmart, along with a wall of dust (normal for Lubbock), and winds gusting up to 60 miles an hour. He drove out of his way (if you know how much he dislikes Walmart, that makes the story even sweeter), parked right up front and rescued us from having to deal with the weather. He grabbed Brooke, fastened her snuggly in the warm truck, then proceeded to help me with the groceries and the basket. At first I thought he was joking about the intensity of the storm, but after he drove me to the car I knew he was serious when I almost could not even open the door wide enough to get in due to the wind! I know this might not sound like as big of a deal as it was to us....but imagine this.....me trying to get Brooke in the car out of the wind all while holding on to a shopping cart full of groceries in 60 mph wind...?! I think our groceries would have hit Slide Road long before I did!

Anyway, Brooke and I are very blessed to have such a wonderful man in our lives. He is a terrific husband and the best Daddy he could be. I love him more and more every day. Thank you Steven for all you do for us!

Please take the time to do this.

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?

Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's. Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

What Brooke says she wants for Christmas.....

Brooke and I were watching the Mickey Mouse Christmas movie this morning on the Disney Channel and when it went on commercial I asked her what SHE wanted for Christmas. She put her little finger on her chin, which she always does when she is going to take a while to make a decision....said, "hmmmmm" then it was if a lightbulb went off in that little head and here is what she said: "I know, I want Christmas Clause, snow, lights and mouses!"

As you can tell it is up for interpretation. I did however tell Steven and he will be on "light" duty soon. ;o) Happy Monday everyone!

Another season behind us.

Well, another cotton season is behind us! Brooke and I (as well as some wonderful friends) went out to the farm to 'help' close out the LAST day of stripping this season! More on that later of course, but just some fun and beauty of the evening to get you through another day. ;o)

Our farmin' angel.

God's beauty is sure easy to see when you just take a look.....and no I am not referring to the John Deere.

Brooke decided to 'pick' the last little bit of cotton and take it to Unc Bro herself.

Fever Blister?!

Okay you other moms, grandmothers or people that know more about these pesky things....do you think this is a fever blister?! I am sure it is, it's just that we are in denial. Steven and I have both been lucky enough to never have one, so when Brooke woke up this morning with what appears to be a fever blister I was quite shocked! I have always associated them with not feeling well, hence the name fever blister....but, she's been fine and as you can tell by the second picture is as ornery as ever!! AND to be realistic, what are our options.....either it's a fever blister or somehow she managed to smack her lip and it swell up over night without waking her up.....doubtful. I will face the facts and pray that it doesn't happen often, nor hurt too bady!

Happy Friday everyone! Tomorrow the plan is for the 'farmers' to FINISH up stripping cotton for this season. I am almost as excited as they are! Excited that they will be done, excited that we will have Steven home more and excited that we can get Christmas decorating done and start driving Brooke crazy by telling her, "No, it's not Christmas yet."

*Addition* I did my research....and called our nurse (yes I am one of THOSE moms). A fever blister is a viral infection, so contrary to popular belief they cannot be passed on by kissing (which was Steven's first question: "who's she been kissing on?"), nor are they hereditary.....they are just as any other viral infection where some people are more susceptible to them than others. My poor baby, I hope it doesn't hurt!

A little behind...

The reality of Christmas being just around the corner has suddenly hit me! It's already December and our scarecrow would still be out from Halloween had Steven not been nice enough to at least throw it in the garage as he walked out yesterday! Normally, I have 95% of our shopping done by Thanksgiving and am ready for Christmas decor December 1st.....shouldn't I be MORE prepared for this holiday as a stay at home Mom?! I am rapidly tackling the Christmas shopping, and when Steven is finished with stripping cotton (hopefully this weekend!!) we will make the house appear more holiday ready.

I have already discovered that I can no longer shop with Miss Smarty Pants without expecting her to know what's in the basket behind her. One quick example, our girlie girl loves cars.....so, I found a matchbox car that resembles one of the old cars her Daddy has and every single day since she saw me touch that car she has been asking me for her NEW blue car!

Believe it or not I haven't been taking AS many pictures as I normally do lately. BUT, I do have some cute random pics to share just because. The first one is Brooke dressed as "Super Bunny" again with her 'cape' on, but this time she added a new accessory. She added her "necklace like Nana's," which for those of you who do not remember....Nana is currently sporting a lovely neck brace from her recent surgery, so I think she pegged the 'necklace' right on!

Just proof that Cooper really DOES follow her everywhere. She was hollering at him to "GO!"

Just a cheesy, wet headed grin!