Enjoying the beauty outside.

We have had beautiful weather here (I know I am jinxing it) for the last week or longer. And every afternoon/evening Brooke and I go outside and just enjoy it. Of course, bubbles are a huge part of our time outside. How these little soapy wonders keep kids (big and small) so entertained is funny to watch. This post contains a LOT of pictures and not as many words because, well....my three cups of coffee has done nothing for my energy level this morning therefore I am not very talkative. ;o)

My Brookester blowing bubbles.

I hate to giggle as I type this, but Brooke has the same love for bugs as I do.....it does NOT exist. I walked inside to refill our bubbles when I heard a shrill scream from Brooke and she ran as fast as I have ever seen her run to my side while squealing and near crying. When I asked her what on earth happened she took my hand and showed me this large.....well, flying thing on our butterfly in the back shrubs. No clue what it is, don't want to know either....it's not pretty and it flies. Steven later came home and picked it up showing it to Brooke and myself as we were hanging on to one another cringing and asking him to put it down.

I posted that ugly pic to show you what happened until Daddy came home and removed it from our back yard. This is the look she gave it any time she got anywhere within a yard of it. Her exact words, "Momma I don't like dat ding."

To get her mind off that critter I told her to go slide, and the rest of the pics on this post are of just that.....her totally relaxing on her little slide. Ah, the life!

Looks comfy doesn't she? Finishing up a juice box.

Making sure Momma was still watching.

Bird watching.

And of course, one of my fav's....the pose.

Lunch with my princess....and a few others.

First off, Happy belated birthday to Nana! Don't worry I didn't forget her birthday, just forgot to send a blog telling her Happy Birthday! She is a true blessing to me, as is her son of course....

Man o' man, talk about a good excuse to take a TON of pictures....get your little girl all dressed up like a princess and take her to a picnic at the park with other princesses. It was a ton of fun...even for me! Brooke and I are together every day, but getting to go to a Mommy-daughter thing was really a treat! This little Picnic with the Disney Princesses was far more impressive than I expected. It was well organized and put on by a local production company. Every Disney princess I knew existed and a few I'd forgotten about were all there. Most of them were high school aged girls, but they danced, sang, mingled with everyone the entire time and just made LOTS of little girls squeal with excitement. Brooke knew several of them by name, Tinkerbell of course, Cinderella, Snow White, etc....she saw Fiona and asked her where Shrek was, to which 'Fiona's' response was that Shrek had a bad attitude so she left him at home. Well, Brooke told EVERYONE that would listen to her that Shrek had an attitude and was at home. Too funny.

On to pictures, My princess sitting on a picnic blanket awaiting the princesses arrival....yes, it was windy for a while, imagine that!

We invited a friend, Ella who also brought her friend Liv. They were having such girlie fun!

Brooke ran into one of her friends from music class, Olive aka Snow White.

Riding in the adorable horse drawn carriage. It was pulled by miniature horses, Prince Charming helped us all up into the carriage, well all except Brooke....she doesn't like help from men, which Steven is more than okay with. She nearly knocked him over to do it herself. They really thought this production through!

Me and MY princess on the carriage ride.

Brooke and Jasmine.

Brooke standing up dancing while the princesses were dancing on stage.

Miss Ella after a delicious cupcake!

And Miss Brooke enjoying every morsel of hers.

We had a wonderful day for sure! I of course, remembered to slather Brooke in sunscreen and forgot my own, so I am quite lobster looking today....but it was well worth it. The rest of the day we spent goofing off with Nana for her birthday. We went shopping, and even went to the Ragin' Cajun, which is a local Special Olympics fundraiser for all you can eat seafood, after we stopped at McD's for a happy meal. ;o) What a great day, and yes we all slept really well last night!

Brooke's prayer...

This child makes me happy. She does so many things that make me laugh and just feel as though I am smiling all over. I hope all parents get as much joy out of their kids as I do.

Last night before dinner I asked her if she wanted to say our prayer, which of course she did....here is the prayer the best I can retype: "Dear Lord thank you for da food, thank you for Momma, Daddy, Nana, Paw and Nipper, Granny, Grandad, Unc Bro, the strippers (john deere, not dancers who lose their clothing), the tractors, Cooper" then she paused and looked at me, when I asked her "what about the food" her response was, "Thank you for the matoes and mushrooms, Jesus name Amen."

I just think it's priceless, she makes me giddy.

The pictures are of the extra accessory she added after the 'glubs' yesterday....yep, boots. I had to literally peel them off of her before we left in 90 degree weather yesterday.

She is always told not to get on furniture with her shoes on, so this is how she watches tv a lot.

Stylin'.

For those of you who don't live around Lubbock, we've been having beautiful summer weather this week WITHOUT wind. It has been SO nice. We've been playing outside a LOT, but yup I have forgotten my camera. I will remember it so I can show you just how filthy this girl gets, it's quite amusing.

I got Brooke dressed this morning and she disappeared in her room and didn't want me to come in there yet, so I knew she was up to something. Normally she will come out wearing a hat, skirt, jewelry, etc...but this morning her accessory of choice in her own words, "GLUBS."

Yep, she's still a tippie toe walker, check out those muscular calves! Oh, and please ignore the PILES of clean clothes in the background....I know, I know I will go fold them now.

When she saw me with the camera she decided to hide her gloves.

Hopefully she will take them off herself before we head out in the heat again!

Daddy's girl.

Steven is going to kill me for posting pics of his wild pajama pants, but hey. And even though he doesn't even know I took it, the shot was too cute not to share.

To explain, I have come to a NEW conclusion when it comes to cleaning house. We clean on a regular basis, so instead of cleaning more before people come over we now clean after they leave! My folks stayed with us for a few days over the last week and when they left we cleaned the house from top to bottom. I was working on the bathroom when I heard a very sweet, "Daddy I need you" as he was vaccuuming, but I never heard the vaccuuming stop....so, naturally I had to see what stopped Brooke from talking and this is what I saw.

Talk about an awesome Daddy AND a multitasker! No one ever asks why I love this man! ;o)

Brooke acting bashful....

Yes, I cut off the first half of the song, but you get the gist. She loved it, but also loves this new phase of acting bashful! Too cute in my opinion.

You might have to pause the music on the player on the bottom right of the blog to hear the beeeautiful singing, ha!

A birthday celebration

Man o' man, where to begin! This last week has been such an action packed, fun filled week for us all, but especially for Miss Brooke! We hopped every single day last week and plan to recuperate this week! We had so many good photo opportunities this weekend, but I decided to choose a select few to share! Here are some from Brooke's Mickey Mouse party Saturday! Oh what fun she had!

My wonderful Mother in Law has always made Brooke's cakes. They are always delicious and more than I could ever ask for....see how awesome Brooke's Mickey Mouse cake was!

Thank you Nana!

Brooke being introduced to her Mickey Mouse cake after her nap. What did she do, of course sampled the icing immediately!

Steven had to light the candles three times because she kept blowing them out before we could sing or take any pictures! She knew the drill this year!

We seriously wonder if we could have gotten away with nothing BUT balloons at her party. She loves balloons and made sure every one that walked in the door got one.

Us trying to get her to wait until the END of the song!

Our good buddy Aiden, and the only other little kiddoe at the party. He always poses for me better than my own child does! For those of you planning Mickey Mouse parties, you can download these free party hats at playhousedisney.com!

Brooke STILL sampling the icing. I think she would have licked the cake clean if we'd let her!

Enjoying the first of many presents.

I remember last year having to tell her to open presents....that was NOT an issue this year.

Every time I'd ask the two kids to say cheese this is what they did. Brooke is saying cheese....just not bothering to LOOK at the camera! Thanks Aiden!

A Miller family photo op, WITH the balloons of course.

With Nana and Paw (Cooper too)

With Granny and Grandad.

It was such a great week and weekend. Thank you to everyone who helped make our baby girl's third birthday so wonderful! I might get around to posting neighbor pics....but I want them to keep talking to me, so I will choose wisely. ;o)

Birthday play date!

I have been joking with people and telling them that Brooke is having a birthday WEEK this year. Her birthday was Tuesday and Brooke and I spent most of the day just the two of us, but I decided to do some things that we don't normally do in order to make it feel special. Yes, it was more for ME than for her, but she enjoyed our lunch at McDonald's, which for those of you who don't know me....well, that is rare. We also toured the little preschool we are thinking of sending her to starting his Fall. She didn't fuss when we left McDonald's at all, but I had to take her out of the preschool kicking and screaming. She wanted to stay and play with all of her friends. Her Daddy took off early that afternoon to play, and clean up the yard for her to play in. She loved having him home....of course!

Yesterday we had her normal music class before lunch. And, AFTER lunch we invited a few of her friends over for a play date. Not a party, just a chance to play together. Below are some pics of the group. They were so fun to watch, all played so well together and are all such good kids. These kids are all within 4 months of one another in age, and it is so funny to me to see how different they are in everything they do. I enjoyed the play date as much as she did because the mom's came along too, so I got some adult conversation time while Brooke got some fun time!

Aiden, who is normally a hamm didn't want his picture taken....hence the strange looks he's giving me. He is younger than Brooke by 8 weeks. Brooklyn is younger than Brooke by 4 months. Miss Brooke, aka Miss long legs. Ella is the oldest in this group. She is exactly a week older than Brooke.

Trying to get them to stick their tongues out for the camera. Do you think Aiden was outnumbered?! He is so easy going around Brooke and will wear anything she tries to get him to...including awesome jewelry. At one point all of the kiddoes were wearing clip on earrings, necklaces and bracelets....but, to save Aiden from his Daddy's groaning I didn't capture it on camera! ;o)

Today my folks are already headed into town for a couple of days. To round the week out we will have her party with family and a homemade cake (thanks to Nana), ice cream and all that jazz Saturday!

THREE years ago today!

Three years ago this morning, our lives were changed forever.

This is the anniversary of the day I met an angel.

Our lives will NEVER be the same, nor would we want them to.

I could bombard you with pictures from her birthday, but instead I leave you with one. This is Steven holding our sweet Brooke just minutes after she was born via c-section. He is patiently awaiting grandparents to come meet our new angel for the first time. The tear in his eyes speaks for itself.

Easter Fun.

Man, this girl is getting so big. And yes, I am a bit sentimental today as I post these pictures....this is her LAST day of being TWO! Wow, how time flies! She is going to think this is her birthday WEEK because first off Easter was yesterday, so she got goodies from the Easter bunny, tomorrow is her actual birthday, she has a play date/party with friends Wednesday, grandparents will be here AND we have a birthday party planned for Saturday! Talk about a week full of birthday festivities! That makes me realize I have a LOT to do today!

On to the pics. Easter morning and Brooke getting Easter goodies. She's already realized they are from Nana and Paw, or Momma and Daddy vs. the Easter bunny. Apparently I didn't play up the Easter bunny enough this year. Notice Cooper not far behind checking out the loot too.

Smart girl, she loved the egg full of coins!!

And CHOCOLATE!

The Easter bunny, aka Steven and I got her a blow up, punching bag elephant.....and we had to blow it up and tie it or we were afraid of her hyperventilating by blowing it up so much! She turned pale for a while and had to stop to get her breath!

Decorating Easter eggs....each egg got maybe two stickers and that is it, but she had fun with it!

I wanted a picture of Brooke with her Nana and Paw. They do so much together, yet when I tried to find a picture with them actually LOOKING at the camera....well, one didn't exist since last spring! Note Cooper....he claims Paw's lap when he's here!

Look at the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen!

Daddy's girl....

Being blessed enough to be here with her in the mornings when she wakes up, Brooke and I both take for granted. Brooke loves the weekends when her Daddy is here when she wakes up, so Monday mornings she always yells, "DAAAAAAADDDDY!" then when I go in there I always get, "Not YOU Momma, DAAAADDDYYY!" A lot of adults might not look forward to Monday's, but because of this, Brooke doesn't care for Monday's either.

I love handmade goodies.

Anyone that knows me well, knows I have a special place in my heart for handmade goodies. And now that I have a daughter I love it when her grandmother's make her things to wear, and she will wear them until we cannot fit it on her anymore! You will see lots of handmade goodies soon because her Nana and Granny both have made her some beautiful things I cannot wait to get on her again!

This picture below is in May of 2008, when Nana first gave her this handmade dress. The following pictures will show both how beautiful the dress is....and how long Brooke's legs are getting!

The same dress in September of 2008.

And the same dress just minutes ago....it is now a shirt that hardly covers her cute little bootie!She is 'eating' a fake banana in this pic, hence the funny expression.