Monday, June 29, 2009

Swings and Things...

Brooke's afternoon with Nana...

Just before heading to Walmart - where everyone LOVED her bow!

Chubby-Bubby!

Her first pancake breakfast - she ate 1/8 of a pancake, but ONLY if it was smothered in syrup! She IS my daughter!

Yummy panny-cakes!

So gorgeous!

Weeeeee! Daddy FINALLY hung my swing!


Riding in the wagon at Pap and Nana's...

Church with Great-Pappy Fred!

Brooke with Turner and Teagan! We love making new friends!

My Brooke with the 1st Brooke in my life -

The Richard - Heckman - Bowersox- Richard clan...minus any Bowersox's!

The Richard-Richard-Heckman parents!

The entire clan - parents, kids, and grandkids!
We've had a fabulous weekend! Can you tell??

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Baby Jack!

Meet Brookie's newest friend, Jack!
Jack's Mommy, Ashley, is a dear teacher-friend of mine who has now joined me in this adventure of Mommy-hood!
She is yet another reminder of how thankful I am to have other Mommy-friends around me... to vent, to complain, to scream, to cry...and also to celebrate with and marvel at our precious miracles together!
Simply said... we love you Jack and Ashley!
Thanks for coming to play!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Week of Play Dates!

Not the greatest picture - but this was bathing suit #1...

...and suit #2... notice the puffy eyes and twinge of 'attitude'?

This is where Brooke spent most of the time outside...she wasn't big on the pool!

...but Malaina was!!

...Monster Caleb was too busy 'working' to swim with the girls!
Yaaaaaaaaawn... Sigh...
What an afternoon!
Leah and I have been unable to get together for the past few weeks for our regular playdates - so when the sun came out this morning and our afternoons were clear, Brooke and I packed up for McVeytown - and a quick dip in Caleb's pool!
It all started out great! Lunch with some of our favorite friends, lots of catching up for the Mommies, lunch and toys for the babes!
After lunch, I dressed Brooke in a bathing suit for the very first time! I was so in love with how cute she looked! Caleb even let her wear some of his 'swimmy pants' underneath! When we went outside to get into the pool, I realized Brooke had a dirty diaper, but I had no idea how dirty it was...
She had pooped through the swimmies AND the bathing suit - poop all over Leah's house - and one screaming Brookie!
She has been struggling with teeth - even has one on top almost through - so sometimes her diapers are a little messy! This was definitely the worst!
So, she was fussy, seemed to be achy, and was ready for a nap -
But we pressed on - took our first dip in the pool!
She screamed. A lot. Sigh...
After dipping in and out every few minutes, she finally stayed sitting and played with the fun toys! It only lasted for a short while, but we enjoyed watching all 3 of the kids play together!
Shortly after that, we packed up, Cloroxed Leah's house from all of the poop, and headed home! Brooke fell asleep in the car and has been sleeping for the last hour...
I'm exhausted! Swimming with babies is a lot of work!
We better rest up though - this is the week of playdates for us!
My teacher-friend Ashley and her new baby Jack are coming tomorrow for their first visit and I'm so excited! I adore Ashley and I've missed her this year - so we have lots of catching up to do!
Wednesday, Mommy has a playdate with some teacher friends! Nana is keeping the Beam while I spend a few hours at SCHOOL with Dee...figuring some things out, already in preparation for next year... Oh dear... It's already quickly approaching! Soon - I'll be a working Mom - and I have to say, I'm kinda excited!!
Stay tuned for lots of pictures this week!






Sunday, June 21, 2009

Pictures for Daddy!


Daddy's first time with his baby girl!


They were inseperable from the start!



Daddy's first diaper change!

One of my favorite pictures from the hospital...


Fast forward to now...

What would we do without that 'stinky bink!?'

...pants optional!

Finally! A little bit of hair for Mommy to put in a bow!
Helping Daddy open his Father's Day gifts...

We got him framed pictures of us for his desk at work!

Another headband?
You haven't seen ANYTHING yet!!!!!

Our Daddy... Our Everything!


Everything Dad

A little girl needs her daddy
To love her with manly charm,
To soothe her when she’s hurt,
And keep her safe from harm.

A girl needs her dad
To show her a man who’s good,
To help her make right choices,
As only a father could.

A woman needs her father
Just to be aware,
He’ll always be there for her
To sustain her and to care.

You’ve been all these things, Dad.
I hope that you can see
How much I treasure you;
You mean everything to me.
The Best Man I Ever Knew

When we married, I saw you as perfect,
The ideal husband and more;
I thought I knew all about you,
All the things to love and adore.

But when you became a father,
I saw new qualities to treasure.
You enrich all our lives in fresh ways;
As a dad, you bring so much pleasure.

Our child isforever blessed
To have a father like you,
And I love you more than ever,
You’re the best man I ever knew.
To all the special 'Daddy's we know today - we love you!
Happy Father's Day!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Happy 3rd Birthday Halle!

Zoe, Halle, and Brooke
Playing before bedtime!

So tall!

Brooke and Daddy before church!
What a weekend we had!
With the madness of Bible School from last week, it seemed that we hardly got anything done around the house and didn't have much time to spend with Daddy or our friends!
So when Friday night's party with Halle finally came, we were ready to celebrate and enjoy some time with some of our favorite people!
The kids enjoyed playing together until late into the night - Halle and Max were in bed, Brooke was asleep in the Pack-N-Play, and Zoe was sleeping on the couch! The parents enjoyed a fire with S'Mores and mountain pies before heading home to bed!
Saturday morning, we got up bright and early to travel to Nana and Pap's to meet Aunt Meg and Josh! Meg graciously gave up her weekend to spend the afternoon with Brooke while we went to yet another wedding! Since the reception didn't start until almost 3 hours after the wedding, Zig and I decided that we didn't want to be gone that long in the evening, so I chose to stay home and spend the day with my sister and favorite nephew! A trip to the BonTon, Gus's Pizza, and Josh in the gator was exactly the way I wanted to spend my Saturday night! (See Meg's blog for pictures and more stories of the kids!)
Sunday morning, we headed to church as a family of 3! It was Bible School Wrap-Up, so church was over shortly after 11! Just before Brooke started to melt-down in need of a nap, we snuck out the back door! She fell asleep in the truck on the way home, so we made a quick stop at home to grab comfy clothes and some lunch for Brooke - and over the mountain we went!
Mommy and Daddy are in desperate need of time together, so we spent the afternoon at the mall! We ate lunch and shopped for a few hours until it was nap time again. Brooke napped on the way home and for another hour after we got home!
We headed back to my parents' house for supper outside and then came home for a relaxing evening at home!
So - back to the grind this week!
We are hoping for a play date with Malaina and Caleb this week -
We're also super excited for Brooke's 9 month appointment tomorrow! I can't wait for Dr. Sheilah to see how big she is and all of her new tricks! Any bets on the weight of our big girl?
Have a great Monday, everyone!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Brookie Does Bible School!

Ava, Brooke, Lilliyan, and Riley

Future BFF's!


...and a balloon for being such a good girl!
It's Bible School week at Maitland Church of the Brethren!
In many ways I dread this week - and as bad as that sounds - it's only because it becomes a very full and stressful week...
Zig has taken on the responsibility of Daddy-sitting all week while I'm gone for a few hours after supper, but on Monday night, I decided to take Brooke along!
The first picture of the 4 beauties was taken on the boat used as decoration for this year's "Crocodile Dock" theme!
The little ones are 4 of the 6 babies born all within 8 months - and all to Mom's and Dad's that grew up in my generation at church! We spent years in Sunday School and Children's Church together - and now we're getting all caught up on life while we spend most of our Sunday's in the Church nursery!
Brooke, Lilli, and Riley will most likely go to school together - although Lilli will attend another elementary school. We hope that they'll meet up in sixth grade where I can keep my eyes on ALL of them at IVMS!
Lilli's mom and I go WAY back! We weren't exactly friends in high school - actually, enemies.
But years passed and we all grew up - she married Justin, had 2 wonderful boys, and later on, we were both pregnant with our girls, and grew very close in the process!
Lilli is one of the tiniest babies I've ever seen! She is 8 months old and only weighs 13 pounds! I weighed Brooke this morning and she was 20.5 pounds! What a tank!
Brookie stayed home with Daddy while I went to church last night, but I'm considering taking her back with me tonight! The church ladies weren't very happy with me when I arrived without the princess - so, for me to avoid lashings tonight - she'd better come along!
Bible School is over Thursday night...
Halle's 3rd Birthday party is Friday night...
Kimmy's wedding is Saturday...Aunt Meg is coming to keep the kids!
Sunday is Bible School Wrap-Up at church...
Whew!
No wonder time is passing so quickly!
Stay tuned!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Little Mama!

How much wood could a Brookie chuck...?

A Mommy's view of the crib!

Zig, Me, Jason, Meg, Stephy, Noah and Stacie at Abby's wedding!

Zig with the beautiful bride!

Meg, Shannon, and Stacie - all expecting miracles!

The 'Little Mama' with her stroller and baby that Nana got her!

Lots of miles to stroll...

She works hard for the money!

"Here baby, let's make a quick stop at these toys!"

What a character!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

On the move!

My sister definitely said it best today... It's so hard to believe that my little girl who took nearly 8 months to figure out how to ROLL OVER has totally taken off - wasting NO TIME learning to crawl, climb, and take her first steps!
We've had such a crazy week - so full of life outside of our little home - and so much development with our sweet girl...
Going all the way back to last weekend -
~We are still recovering from our first patio party of the season! A million times since Saturday I've said, "I'm too old for that crap...!" What started as a cook-out with Manda, Brandon and the kids, quickly turned into a party for all of Burnham! All of our favorite people turned up for some great food, a warm fire, and good company! The fire in the new 'poe-valley-esque' fire pit was burning until well after 1:00am, and after a sleepless night with Brooke, it has taken most of this week to catch up and recover! I really AM too old for late night parties anymore, but I truly loved spending time with some of our favorite people!
~On Tuesday, Brooke and I made our 'maiden voyage' to Milton to visit with Aunt Meg and Josh! I had never had Brooke in the car for a long trip by myself... Zig and I have traveled as far as Carlisle with her, but never have I had the guts to do it myself! I hadn't been to my sister's house since the weekend I was 36 weeks preg with Brooke and stayed with Josh while they went out of town for the weekend! Luckily, I have a very thoughtful (and well traveled!) sister who doesn't mind ALWAYS coming to Lewistown to see us!
We had such a great day with the kids! Aunt Meg broke out some of Josh's baby toys (which she will have to get out again very soon!) so that Brooke had some new things to play with - although she showed much more interest in the Josh's garbage truck and drums! Cool!
After lunch, we loaded the kids in the wagon for a walk to the swings! I've been wanting to get Brooke into a swing for a long time! It seems strange to get excited about a swing, but think back to how much you loved swinging as a child and multiply that by a million! She loved it! She giggled and kicked her legs as if it was her favorite thing in the whole world! If the sky hadn't started to turn gray, we probably would still be swinging at Aunt Meg's!
As Brooke was doing the 'sleepers-head-bob' in the wagon on the way back from the playground, we decided to load up and head home so she could sleep on the way. She was a fantastic traveler - so much so, that I just might have to plan another trip to Milton very soon! Thanks for such an awesome day, Aunt Meg!
~Wednesday, we enjoyed a special playdate treat with Leah and Caleb! We decided to meet at Walmart, eat lunch at the Subway inside, then get some shopping done! Don't make fun of us for enjoying ourselves so much at Walmart! We had a blast! The kids ate their lunch while the Mommies shoveled lunch in their bellies - then we loaded the kids up in the carts and covered the entire store! I wonder if our 'jabber-jaws' actually made our feet move quicker?! Or maybe it was the fact that nap time was quickly approaching and we had to get the cars before one or both of the angels started to melt down!? Either way, we crossed off a few things from our store list AND got to spend a few hours with our favorite play daters! (Please note: I came home with a PINK Fisher Price SWING for our back yard. Thank you very much!)
~Although the events of today were unfortunate, they gave me a reason to be anxious for the weekend to come! Read on...
My cousins Stephy and Stacie's grandfather passed away this week. Although it wasn't the grandfather that we share, these girls are about as close to me as we can get - and I wanted to be there at Pap RJ's services today to tell them that I love them.
The services were beautiful - and I was glad that Zig and I were able to be in attendance.
Where was Brooke, you ask?
Zig's Aunt Kim was available to keep her for the short time we were gone!
I had to laugh, because this was the first time that I ever had to search for a babysitter! I'm used to picking up the phone, calling my Mom, and saying "Do you want her,?" followed by, "Of course! I'll be right there!"
So this morning, Kim arrived, Daddy came home to change his clothes, and we made it just in time to visit with the family and celebrate RJ's life.
While driving home, I started to think about the fact that Brooke was at home. And she was fine. And she was surviving. And I wasn't AT ALL worried. Cool!
As much as I love being at home with my daughter, I need time to myself. Lots of it.
Even though I don't consider a funeral to be free time, it was time alone with Zig. Time to talk about things other than poop and how tired I am.
And it made me SUPER excited for this weekend!
My cousin Abby is getting married on Saturday and Grammy Kathy will be here with Brooke all afternoon and evening!
I'm not anxious to be away from her, but I'm very excited to be with my cousins, celebrate Abby's marriage, be an adult for a few hours, and maybe even have a 'beverage' or two!
I'm looking forward to some time with Zig and to the same feeling I had today - I'm fine. Brooke's fine. It's all good!
And speaking of Brooke... (since that's who you tune in to read about!)
This child has literally TAKEN OFF!
I spent yesterday afternoon sending videos on my cell phone all my friends and family - Brooke has mastered walking behind that crazy lion! She walks the entire length of our living room and back, over and over and over!
Then, last night, she decided to follow her Daddy up the steps. Yep. Up the steps. I was standing right behind her, but she climbed our entire set of steps, all the way to the top, to get that Daddy! It was in utter disbelief!
Like Meg said, she took her good old time with the rolling, and now she has found her independence and is totally sick of just sitting around!
Needless to say, I have a ridiculous amount of gates in my already small living room area! Crazy...
There's a gate to keep her out of this kitchen...
...and a gate to keep her out of this dining room...
...and a gate to keep her off of the steps...
"Daddy! Wait for meeeeeeeeee!!!"
"Look, Mom! No hands!"
Have I mentioned that I'm going to have my hands full with this child?? Ugh...
Have a great weekend everyone!
P.S.
Today was the last day of school around here! That means, that my true countdown begins for the first day of school...yikes!
P.P.S.
Meg hasn't blogged yet, but I can't wait anymore!
It's official!!!! I'm going to have a new little NIECE in September! HOORAY! Someone to take all of Brooke's clothes! YAAAAAY!