So long, Summer

On August 18, we finally went to the drive-in as a family. I put off going all summer because I didn't think Brooke and Porter would do very well staying up that late. I envisioned a screaming baby and a toddler throwing a fit. But I was wrong. Brooke was so happy and excited to be in the back of the truck watching a movie, and Porter was content to sit in his carseat and sleep.

We got to the drive-in and played the matching game while we waited for the movies to start. We watched "Ice-Age 3" and ate popcorn and m&ms until we were stuffed. When the movie ended at 10:30 and everyone was still happy, I decided we should quit while we were ahead and not stay for the second movie.

 Brooke loves her daddy:

 Last Sunday, we found Brooke taking a nap on her bed laying this way (she woke up just as I took the picture)

 I love this picture because 1) notice the way her stuffed animals are lined up on her pillow 2) she is wearing a ballet skirt, red tights and her church shoes, 3) she had made her bed and cleaned her room before she fell asleep.
Recent Brooke funnies:

• mom, my legs are tricky
• dad, guess what? I have two dinosaurs on my sholders. They're just little.
• her imaginary friends are the "little enstein" characters. Even though the titles means the characters from the show are "little thinkers", to Brooke that means they are really small. So whenever the little einsteins come out to play with Brooke, they are always pocket-sized.

Last Sunday, we went on a family hike to one of our favorite trails

 Brooke is sad in this picture because she handed me a fistful of dead flowers she had carried the whole way. Apparently I was supposed to keep them and not just toss them to the side of the trail. oops.

 On the way home, we stopped and Honey and Pinch's house for some S'mores and all was right in the world again :)

So long, Summer! Until next year!

She's Got The Beat

This summer, Brooke was able to take an exploring dance class. It was a fun way for her to get out of the house for an organized activity. It was also a good lesson for Brooke in listening and following directions. She just had her final dance recital on Saturday so I put together all the pictures/videos I had taken of her this summer.

First day of class:

We were very fortunate to have older cousins send us their old leotards and tumbling outfits.

During warm-ups

The little girl in the orange is A. and she was Brooke's little friend during class. They were not the best listeners when paired together, so they were separated most of the time. (Is this a prediction for when Brooke starts school?)

The girls with their teacher, Miss M., at the end of class doing their "I did great!" cheer.

Outfit #2

Practicing cartwheels over the blocks with teacher, Miss D.

Back-bends

Ballet time!

Dance recital day! I knew the lighting in the gym would be crappy, so I took a lot of pictures outside

This is Brooke's "cute face" that they end with on one of her dances.

Go Red! Go White! Goooooo Utes! All Right!

Doing the "wheels on the bus" move

Doing another dance move:

Mermaid stretch:

Summersalt:

Short video of Brooke in class:

Brooke doing her cheer

During the first dance (see, I told you the lighting was crappy)

 So proud of my dancing queen!

 Our caboose..

 And Porter deserves some credit for being the best baby during the performance

I have the videos of Brooke's performances, she actually did SO GOOD! I was so proud of her.

To see Brooke's first dance to the chipmunks version of "Say Hey" click here

To see Brooke's second dance to "Fly to Your Heart" click here

Right Now

I am typing a post using the iPhone app so excuse my spelling.
I am loving the rain
I am listening to Porter giggle and jump in his bouncer and Brooke play outside...yep in the rain :)
I just told Brooke to go wash after she came in with wet chalk smeared everywhere. Maybe playing in the rain was a bad idea.
I am ecstatic my pinterest account is working again
I am stressed about going back to school next week
I am stressed about trying to train for this half marathon I said I would do. I don't get to run near enough and running should be a de-stresser not a stress causer. But I feel a huge sense of failure of I don't do it and give up.
I hate couponing! All I have to show for it is a bunch of coupons for razors and tampons and most of them are expired bc I was waiting for that "really good sale". My nerves can't handle my chatty 3 year old who runs away from me in
The store while I am trying to sort through my pile of coupons. I don't care if I get a good deal, I just want the heck out of the store!

Right now...I wish it was January and I was sailing away to Mexico.

More of this

My baby is growing up way too fast! And oh how I love this munchkin of mine. I love his sweet smiles, giggles, chubby cheeks, and how he just adores his big sister. Porter at 6 months:

• Weighs 15lbs 14 oz and is 26.8 inches long
•  LOVES his feet and Loves to kick. Also loves to chew on anything and everything.
• Is happy most of the time. Except we've worn him out in the car. We've done several day trips that have been a few hours ride. Now, if we are in the car for more than 45 minutes, the screaming begins.
• Has mastered rolling over from his back to his tummy, which is what he does immediately after being placed on the floor. The down side is he's forgotten how to roll back over onto his back so when he gets tired he will lay his head down on the carpet and cry.

• Still is on a 2 and a half hour nursing schedule during the day. Yikes, that's exhausting. My dr encouraged me to try to get him to go longer between feedings.  I have been better about introducing solids into his diet, though. He now eats baby food with breakfast and for dinner. And he is loving veggies! That is something I am really excited about.
• Goes to bed around 7:30-8pm and will sleep until 4 or 5am. I feed him and he'll sleep until usually 7 or 7:30. I would really love for him to sleep until about 6am, but haven't figured out how to make that happen yet.
• Porter is a binky-loving man. The first few months he didn't really care for it, but all of a sudden he can't get enough of it.

For our first Christmas, Blake bought me a really nice Nikon SLR camera. It was film because way back in 2003 (hehe) digital photography was still expensive, especially DSLR cameras. A few years later we bought our first digital camera and I've hardly touched my SLR since. Well, I pulled it out of storage for some 6 month photos and am pretty happy with how they turned out. It was hard taking pictures and not knowing if any of them were turning out. It was also kind of a pain that I had to take my film and pay to get the images put on CDs, but it was really fun to use my camera again and see how much better (I think) the images are using a nicer camera. I could never be a children's photographer, though, it was so much work!

 Porter can't sit up yet, so Blake served as my backdrop :)

Brooke at 3.5: 

• Has such an active, wild imagination. 
• makes up songs and sing all day long,  also loves singing primary songs
• loves reading and going to the library
• LOVES dress up, helping mom cook and doing crafts
• is a good helper with Porter
• naps have pretty much gone to the wayside...even getting her to stay in her room for quiet time is getting more difficult
• we are practicing use nice words (aka not yelling or throwing fits) I fear my toddler has some serious anger issues. She made a little girl cry at playgroup because Brooke got angry with her and said, "I'm going to spank you!" She now knows that is not a nice thing to say.
• loves to play with friends. I think that is why she and Porter get along so well. She is just so happy to have someone else in the house!