Brooke's Christmas Party.

I could say this about anything Brooke has done, but is there really anything cuter than a three year old's Christmas party?! After the chaos in Brooke's classroom yesterday I think not! I have always commended teachers, but after yesterday and the loud craziness happening in this one little classroom I have a whole new admiration for Brooke's wonderful teacher Mrs. B!

For starters, they got to wear pajamas to school yesterday. Brooke thought this was great, but when we got there she wouldn't take her big black sweater off, so it was almost like a robe all day. On the way to school Brooke kept telling me she needed to call her Daddy, she needed to ask him a question. Finally I got him on the phone and she very sweetly said, "Daddy, will you please come to my Christmas party at school?" How any Daddy could turn that down....I will never know! Steven and I walked in together. She saw me first and squealed "Momma!" Then she saw Steven and YELLED as she was running across the classroom throwing elbows at anyone in her way....."DAAAAAADDDDDDYYYYYYY!" Mrs. B said before we got there she was telling all of them that her "Daddy was coming to the party, but they could call him Steven."

Anyway, on to the pictures. There are a lot of Steven helping Brooke because I was on the other side of the classroom trying to help a few kiddoes who's parents couldn't be there. If Steven even dared to LOOK away Brooke made sure to capture his attention again very quickly.

Making a Christmas wreath out of wrapping paper and a paper plate.....

Oh, and lots of glue too....

They did a wrapped book exchange. Brooke was so excited to get a new book!

The awesome Daddy's cleaning up the glue covered table while the rest of us watched them open presents.

I think Brooke is the only one that had her heart set on the book SHE picked out and helped wrap. Oh well, why not?! We came home with "Mater Saves Christmas" and have already read it enough to have it memorized.

Now on to cookie decorating time! I volunteered to make the cookies, then my wonderful Mom in law made them for me.....how I lucked out and got her to do that with a smile on my face I have yet to figure out. Be careful Nana, don't make it too easy on me....I might volunteer for more next time....wink, wink. Brooke made sure to tell everyone that her Nana made the yummy cookies.

Steven caught in the act.....apparently the icing WAS good!

Helping.....

Sampling.....

Helping some more.....

I think it is safe to say Steven was well entertained while there too......

Now, on to the next holiday surprise this evening.....will post pictures of a certain Polar Express ride after it happens!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Inside anyway.

We decorated our tree one night last week since Steven is finished with cotton stripping for the year (YIPPEE!), after Brooke asking us non stop about it. It was as if she was on a sugar high, jabbering non stop (which is pretty normal anyway), singing, skipping and literally making every single step her Daddy made while putting the tree up and the lights on. To give you a visual, what happened several times is Steven would stop suddenly and Brooke's head would hit him in the rear.....yep, that's what she's done every night with her Daddy home!

Our angel putting the angel on our tree.

Daddy might eventually get tired of having every single step shadowed, but it hasn't happened yet. I think I could pretty much disappear when her Daddy is here, but since I enjoy the family time too I just sit back and listen to them talk and catch up. Daddy was just trying to back the computer up, but she had to be right there with him.

Happy Daddy's been home! She found some kiss stickers I had stashed and we now have kisses all over the house. Little Missy here has started making requests when it comes to her hair style. Her two favorite hair styles these days seem to be two braids or just a bow....here is just a bow. Love this angel and those beautiful blues!

She wanted me to take her picture in her apron by "her" tree.

And last, but not least.....our other kid. Poor Cooper doesn't know he's a dog. He sleeps inside, has his own doggie door so he never has to stay outside, gets to choose between the foot of the bed or leather......don't you feel sorry for him?! He's such a good dog!

More Brooke-isms....

There are tons of things this girl says or does on a daily basis, but when you are around it all the time you tend to take it for granted. I am trying to use this blog as my scrapbook by documenting some of the things she does that do make us giggle so.



She currently has an obsession with Volkwagons, yes you read right. The little VW bugs are her favorite. She used to argue with me that PT Cruisers were Volkwagons, so I had Steven set her straight (because she believes every thing her Daddy tells her). NOW when she sees a PT Cruiser she says "Look mom a PT Cruiser with wings." And when she sees a VW Bug she says "Look mom a Volkswagon with circles." If you're wondering what this all means....well, look closer the next time you see one of either.



Thanks to her Daddy and his love of anything with an engine she knows the difference between a Camaro and a Corvette, a Tahoe and a Yukon (thanks to Unc Bro of course), a Traverse like Granny, and the vehicles she does not know the name of she just says it looks like whoever owns one. Examples, "Look Mom it's a truck like Gie and Aiden" or "A thing like Johnna's" because she doesn't know the name of it. And Nana got a new car a few months back, so it's always "Momma that looks like Nana's NEW car."



Every time we drive by certain businesses she has to squeal with delight....so, this will most likely tell where we frequent....oops. Every time I drive her to preschool she squeals, "Momma there's Whataburger!" Or anytime she sees a Taco Bell she says "Momma look it's Taco Bell, that's where people work." Don't know how those two things got put together. Any time we drive by Rosa's she tells me "Momma, that's Rosa's. I ate there with McKenzie and Michelle." We did yes, but it was a year ago or longer.....so her memory amazes me.



Her current FAVORITE place to eat I would have to blame on my Dad, but blame Paw, Nana and Gie for fueling it, haha. Fazoli's. It's good, don't get me wrong, but every single meal when I ask her what she would like to eat she squeals "FAZOLI'S, FAZOLI'S, FAZOLI'S!" When I tell her we are not having that for breakfast she will finally move on to something else. We do not eat out all that often believe it or not....so when we do she gets so excited that we are eating at a "real restaurant". Any time we drive down 82nd Street and see the Fazoli's there she will ask me, "Momma, why did we not stop at Fazoli's?"



She is big on imaginary friends. She almost always has one of her friends with her. She is currently avoiding a nap in her room, when I went in to ask her what the noise was she said "Momma, Brooklyn and Gracie are getting me in trouble." Uh oh.



She also drags out bed time now, which is something she has never done. One more book, one more prayer, one more drink, my shirt is crooked, I need to potty, I miss my Granny, I need another hug, I didn't say goodnight to Cooper....etc, etc, etc....and now that her Daddy is through with the late nights of stripping cotton and is here at bed time it has gotten even worse!

Hey, I am trying!

Don't expect perfection any time soon, unless you're talking about my kiddo of course, wink, wink. This afternoon I attempted my first French Braids ever. Brooke, of course being a particular little girl had to have TWO braids, so it was a little tougher for a first timer.....but I have a feeling I will have plenty of chances to practice!

Not perfect, but hey it was my first shot!

Random.

I haven't sent any updates in a week or so, mainly because Brooke's been under the weather. The day before Thanksgiving she got violently ill, which I actually hate (strong word used on purpose)! The day after Thanksgiving her doctor happened to be in the office for a few hours thankfully, so we found out all of this stomach stuff she had, as well as congestion and snotty nose were all caused by a double ear infection! Poor thing has never complained about ears or head hurting, she just hadn't had any energy....which just shows me what a tough little cookie she is! I am very glad to report she is on the mend, and other than some congestion she seems to be back to normal!

On to the title. Brooke does keep me on my toes, so I am going to try to share some random things she manages to come up with to crack me up.

~Yesterday morning Brooke asked if I would get her some juice, then ran in front of me all the way to the fridge squealing "Waaaiiitttt!", swipes a credit card between the fridge and freezer doors and tells me "okay Momma, now you can open it." Has she seen one too many swipes of the debit card?! No comments from you Steven. ;o)

Brooke reading me one of her favorite books 'Are You Ticklish'.

~I let Brooke completely go through my makeup drawer. Yesterday she found an old birth control case. No worries, no medication anywhere she can reach it! She decided this little case was her laptop/cell phone/palm pilot. As I am putting my makeup on she starts emailing Uncle Lynn (out of the blue because she hasn't talked to him in a while). When I asked her what she was asking Uncle Lynn she said, "Dear Unc Lynn please come soon and share my lip glosses with me." I giggled and told her Uncle Lynn does NOT wear lip gloss, she replied, "but Momma I am going to share MINE with HIM." So, Uncle Lynn.....expect to be wearing lip gloss over the Christmas holiday! ;o)

Brooke out on the farm before cotton stripping was finished!

Brooke STILL will not wear blue jeans! It drives me nuts because I LOVE them and think they are absolutely adorable. She tells me, "No momma I don't like jeans, I like pants, skirts or dresses".....ummmm, okay!

Just stylin', NOT in blue jeans.....

I am not big on dramatic hair cuts....obviously since mine has been the same for years. This is Brooke after she got her 5th or 6th hair cut....sadly I lost count. It was just a minor trim of a 1/2 an inch or so, but it looks great and healthy again. Brooke and her 'pooh'.

Since it is December, anywhere we drive after dark there are Christmas lights lighting up the streets. And anytime we go in a place there are lots of decorations. Brooke's question to me is always, "Momma, can it be Christmas at our house NOW?" I suppose we will have to do Christmas decorating soon!!

Brooke this morning before school. It is cold and windy here today, so I pulled out a sweater and she LOVES it. According to her it is, "girly, soft, and all my friends will love it." Man, it starts early doesn't it?!

I was just thinking this morning how bored I might have been with dressing a boy. No arguments about an outfit not being enough like a princess would wear or not girly enough. What would I have done without a little girl to beg me to put bows, braids, flowers in her hair then gripe the entire time I am trying to comb that wild, thick, curly hair?! I love everything about my overly dramatic, girly, picky, funny, sweet, cuddly angel!!

A LOT to be thankful for.....

I am SO very thankful for my family. I learn more and more every day just what feelings my parents have had for me all these years through my feelings for my own child. I must say it has made me even more thankful for the wonderful people in our lives.

It also means a lot when Brooke is asked at school what she is thankful for and she tells the class, "My momma Vicki and my daddy Steven." I have heard so many other kids be thankful for the pets or their toys....so, this means even more to me!

This time of year we don't get to spend as much quality family time with Steven as we would like, due to cotton stripping. But, I am thankful for this time for many reasons. To sound silly, absence DOES make the heart grow fonder. Brooke and I both miss our time with Steven terribly, but it does make us grab onto him when he is home and make the most of our time together. It also makes me get out of my own routine and try to think of ways to keep a little girl's mind off of the fact that her Daddy isn't home.

I am thankful for my angel of a daughter, who never seems to get tired of....well, ME!

I am thankful for friends who try to make Momma's feel like princesses too!

We've had a LOT of play dates, book readings, craft time, lunches and dinners with friends.

With friends at a Princess Tea Party.

Her "hurry up and take the picture so I can eat this thing" look.

Brooke and Brooklyn.

We've done things I cannot say I would have normally done. Such as waking up earlier than normal on a Saturday morning to go have breakfast with Santa. Thanks to wonderful friends giving us tickets, we will finally have a professional picture of Brooke with Santa!

This year, she sat in his lap like SUCH a big girl, told him she wanted a violin for Christmas and when the photographer asked her to smile she had the sweetest grin on her face. She hugged Santa and told him to have a Merry Christmas. I cannot wait to see the pictures, and of course I will share when they come in.

Brooke and Marleigh after Breakfast with Santa.

I am thankful for my child's very own sense of style. I let her at least once a week choose every single thing she is wearing without me changing a thing. She seems to now color coordinate really well. It may still be way too many accesories for my own taste, but she walks around with such pride because she dressed herself without any help.

I am thankful for everything (well almost everything) Brooke is learning at her preschool. She loves going to school and asks every single morning if she can go today, even on the weekends.

This week they had their Thanksgiving Feast, so she was ecstatic to get to eat with her friends. Here she is with her classmates.

Even though we DO miss Steven, I am very grateful to him for all the hard work he does in order for me to be able to stay home with Brooke. I don't think he could ever understand just how much I appreciate and enjoy this time with her. Steven, thank you for all the sacrifices you make for OUR family. Oh yeah and for putting food on the table too. Wink, wink.

Why I've GOT to learn to crochet.....

Need I say more?!

Not really, but I will anyway. Brooke asked this morning for me to put a hat on her....well, Sunday morning I didn't exactly want her to be wearing her normal pimp hat or cowboy hat, so I dug through her closet and found this black hat that came with a shirt we bought her. Put it on her and she squealed with delight. Then I added her pink flower and she said "it's perfect Momma" and hasn't taken it off since. One of her little classmates wears hats like this to preschool and apparently Brooke loves the idea too. Now the thrifty/tightwad/cheapskate/creative person in me knows I need to learn how to crochet so Brooke can have one of these in every color!!

Our little monkey.....wearing a monkey shirt.....showing her newest monkey, 'mom do you HAVE to take another picture' grin.....you will see it a lot in upcoming posts.