For our rec time they decided they wanted to go roller skating. Brooke was super excited. The girls had a blast and so did Brooke, even though she didn’t skate for very long. Brooke didn’t really want to skate that much once we got there and made it around the rink once with Brandon. The rink had these toddler bars you could rent so the kids could push around to help them skate better. Brooke used this to go around once but then enjoyed playing with it more off the rink. We had a great time and again had a great group for D-Now!

So here lately I have been going to the doctor for fetal heart checks on Luke, just the normal check ups. Brooke has gone with me on most all of these. She loves my doctor and the staff at her office. Brooke get a sticker and a sucker every time. I think this is why Brooke enjoys going! Today was my 35 week check up and while we were in the room waiting on my doctor Brooke got out the play stethoscope to check Luke’s heart beat herself. After she checked it, she said “sounds good.” Then she got the play blood pressure cuff out and checked my blood pressure. It would only fit on my wrist but she didn’t seem to know the difference. According to her my blood pressure was great!

Checking Luke's heart beat

When my doctor came in, she saw what Brooke was doing and let Brooke be her assistant. She got to help measure my tummy and then got hear Luke’s actual heart beat. She was so cute and I loved that she was concerned with my heath and wanted to make sure I was doing alright. Love this sweet little girl of mine!!! Only 5 more weeks till this sweet little Luke comes and joins our family!

Brooke was excited to see the animals and even got to pet a few cows. One calf she got to pet was only 2 days old. This little calf was so cute. The calf was very curious and would smell Brooke, Brooke loved this calf and I think would have sat there the rest of the night petting her if we let her. She also got to pet a snake for the first time. She wouldn’t pet it at first but then had no problem touching it after mommy showed her it was ok. We had a great time walking around the stock yards and then went to the rodeo at the stock show for the first time. The rodeo was entertaining but we all were so tired at the end of the night!

We decided to feed the birds in the children’s zoo and Sadie got scared right away. Of course as a good friend, I captured a picture of my best friend holding her child who was scared to death of the bird. Before we went in, Brooke was talking about how she wanted the bird to land on her shoulder. I told her they would fly on her and to not drop the stick of food. Well, the bird flew right to her and landed on her hand to eat the food and Brooke didn’t like it. I guess the bird didn’t know she wanted him on her shoulder not her hand. I will have to give Brooke credit, she listened to me and did not drop her stick. She shook it like crazy trying to get the bird off her hand but the bird just held on, trying to eat the food. It was quite funny to me but not to Brooke. I took the bird off of Brooke’s hand and then we were better, until the bird landed on her head. She then started crying saying the bird was eating her hair bow. The only problem with this was, Brooke had already taken off her hair bow and hadn’t had on the entire time while we were at the zoo. I got the bird off her head and from this point, she was done with the birds and not willing to hold the stick any longer.

After we left the birds, everything was back to being great for both kids! They enjoyed the rest of the zoo much better. Today, I did notice that I had to walk slower and take my time. I am out of breath more frequently now and just have to take it slow. Only 6 more weeks till baby Luke makes his appearance! Then we will be a family of 4 coming to the zoo! The day was beautiful and we all had a great time at the zoo.

Before any work

I had Brooke and Shawn’s son Slade, who is also one of Brooke’s favorite friends with me at the barn while they were working on the round pen. The kids had a great time playing with each other at the barn and on the flat bed trailer. We had a minor set back when Slade got attacked by the rooster, but after a trip to McDonald’s and a Happy meal we were good again! Although, the attacking was quite funny. I wish we had it on video!

After the kids and I left, the men got the round pen done a few hours later and it turned out great! Brandon and I can’t wait to get Cash in there to train and ride him!

The ground is leveled and sand is poured and spread!

The final product! Our Round Pen!

Brandon and Shawn! They did a great job!

I grew up dancing and have such wonderful memories of being at the dance studio. Brooke loves to dance to music here at the house and so I was looking forward to putting her in a actual dance class.

Yesterday, we went and got her tap shoes, ballet shoes, leotard, tights, dance bag and skirt for her class. The class she takes is a 3-4 year old ballet and tap combo class. I put her in her dance wear and boy did she look as cute as ever!

At the dance studio it is typical that the parents can’t watch them dance, but I would have LOVED to be a fly on the wall to see how she did. I can’t wait till they ask the parents to come watch and also for her first dance recital!

After dance was over, Brooke came running out to me and said “I want to do that again!” I am so thrilled that she loved dance class. When Brandon got home she showed him her dance shoes and clothes and then showed us what she learned in class. She is so funny and makes us laugh every day! We just love our little dancer to pieces!!!!

Watching Mommy!

Rachel, Brooke and I were the most excited! We all got the old brownies (Brown ugly skates) and made our way out onto the skating rink. Brooke liked to just be pushed or wheeled around, but we wanted to to skate on her own.

Brooke has scary eyes

Skating with Aunt Rachel and Uncle Preston

Daddy teaching Brooke!

She did great but did enjoy falling. I didn’t want her fingers to get ran over so I told her not to fall and she did much better! Although, she did prefer to go back to being wheeled around. Preston busted a few times, which I think people falling is hilarious, specially adults, I know that’s mean, but it’s so funny! He is ok and didn’t kill Brooke while falling so we are all good!

After 30 minutes of skating in these brownies, my feet were killing me! They are so old and have absolutely NO padding inside. Luckily I wasn’t the only one whose feet were killing them. We skated for about 45 minutes and then called it quits.

Brooke did awesome and I defiantly see a future birthday party at the skating rink. I will for sure tell everyone to bring their own shoe insoles! Also, pictures are with the phone again! Pregnant, watching the baby girl skate and taking pictures all at the same time was hard enough! I didn’t want to chance falling and breaking the camera or hurting myself!

Our skates!

We found a horse we both really liked and went out to look at him and have Brandon ride on Monday. The horse looked great in warm up and with the owner riding him. When it was Brandon’s turn, he hung on for about 4 bucks then got thrown into a wall. Obviously, this horse wasn’t for us and we left disappointed. When this happened it scared the heck out of me because the horse ran straight for the wall and all I was thinking and yelling was “Oh babe” and maybe a choice word. I was scared for my husband and just wanted him off. He was off quickly and was not hurt. Brooke watched this whole thing too and was very concerned about her daddy. We kept it positive though and told her the horse just didn’t like Daddy. We didn’t want this to be or put bad thoughts about horses in her mind.

The rest of the week, we just kept looking online for other horses and found several to go look at. We found 2 out in Weatherford and decided to go check those out. When we got there they actually had 3 to show us and the last one is the one we truly fell in love with. The first 2 were nice but the third one we just couldn’t walk away from. He was gorgeous, sweet and Brandon said he rode really nice. Brooke got to ride as well and in fact rode one horse for about 30 minutes with a lady who rides out there. They were all so nice and Brandon and I were excited about finding a horse that worked for us. When Brandon got off the first horse, Brooke said “Daddy, you didn’t run into the wall.” It was quite funny and we all had to laugh.

Brandon riding Cash

So needless to say, we bought oursleves a horse named “Cash” and got to bring him home to the barn we are keeping him at today. He is absolutely gorgeous, we all 3 love him and cant wait to ride him and get him back into showing. Brooke is so excited she has a horse now and loves to feed him treats. He is so good around her and she is getting more and more brave around him.

Preston and Rachel had a blast and Brooke loved having them there to explore with them. I think they had just as much fun as Brooke did at the museum! We didn’t bring our camera in, so the only pictures we have are either from our phone or on Preston and Rachel’s camera that we forgot to get from them before they left. Before we left, we went to see the electric show. Brooke did great and dint get scared at the loud sounds that were made! She is such a big girl!

At the electric show!

We passed out all of presents and began to open them. When I handed Brooke hers, she lined them all up in a line. It was so funny! She really liked opening presents and would want to play with them right away. One of her favorite toys was a snake bracelet and a toy kitty cat for her baby dolls. She also liked her bike and well pretty much everything else she got! I love watching her open presents. She is so funny and says some of the funniest things!

Celebrating Christmas with a child is such a joy. I was really glad to hear that she remembered and recognized that Christmas was Jesus’s birthday. I hope that we never loose site of that and He truly is our focus. Our family showed up a little later that morning and of course she got more presents. Brandon and I were cooking in the kitchen but weren’t extremely busy. We time managed our meal very well this year, which turned out very nice!

We had such a great Christmas and really enjoyed spending it with our family. Our family is such a blessing to me and I look forward to celebrating Christmas each year with them.

Brooke stayed with us in the service and did awesome. She loved when we sang and attempted to sing along, even if she didn’t know the words. Her favorite part though, was when we got to light our candles. Brandon tried to let her hod it on her own, but she wanted his help. She did great and was cute holding her candle as we all sang silent night.

After church we went to my moms and had a great time as always. Brooke loves to play with her friends over at Nana’s. I really like that she gets to play with kids during this time, because on Christmas she is typically the only kid. Not that any of don’t play with her, but it is always nice and fun to play with someone your age! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and are so blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus

Brooke and her Nana

Matthew, Big Brooke, Brooke, Lily and Bethany

Me and Rachel, friends since we were 5!

Our family on Christmas Eve!

I made 2 batches, one with chocolate kisses and one with peppermint kisses. The peppermint kiss ones turned out so cute since they have stripes and are red and white.

Ingredients:
1-2 bags Hershey kisses
1 bag pretzels
1 bag Large M&Ms

Directions:
1. Pre heat oven to 200 degrees
2. Place pretzels on foil lined cookie sheet
3. Place an unwrapped kiss in the center of each pretzel
4. Place in oven for 7-9 minutes or until the kiss is melted
5. take out of oven and place a m&m in the center of each melted kiss
6. Allow to cool before transferring (this will take a long time if you just leave them on the counter, you can place them in the freezer or refrigerator to speed up the cooling and setting process!)

This worked out GREAT! Allison, Brooke and I went to the mall, got our number, shopped some then ate lunch and then went home. After Brandon got off work, He, Brooke and I went to get in line. Since we had a number we only had to wait maybe 30-45 minutes.

We talked to Brooke about smiling at us for the camera, not being afraid of Santa and to not be shy and talk to him. Talking things through to her and explaining things to her works wonders! She is so smart and picks up on things quickly. The whole way to the mall she talked about how she would not cry and not be scared and tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

Right when it was our turn she got real clingy to me, and I thought this might not work. She gets real shy around people at first, so I was a little worried. But, I acted excited and talked her through it and she did awesome. She told Santa she wanted a pink bike. Brandon and I were so proud of her. She was so excited and so proud of herself as well. She cracks me up.

Brandon's Meal

Janie and I outside of Bob's

After dinner, we walked around the square some, and then went to the performance hall for the ballet. Our seats had a great view and the ballet was beautiful. I am glad it ended up being a double date. Sorry for the quality of the pictures they are all taken from the great iphone.

Bass Performance Hall

My love and I

The kids today at the party were so cute. Each of them brought a book for a book exchange. Then after they opened their books they had their snacks. Brooke was very excited about her cupcake. She got lots of great little gifts from her friends and teachers. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful teachers and directors here at play school!

making her reindeer hat

My sweet girl and her reindeer hat

Before the race

Friends before the race!

Brooke and I took Brandon to the starting line then went to our first spot. We saw Brandon around mile 4 and 1/2. I forgot his race bag int he car and he needed some ibuprofen, so I felt like a bad wife for not having it with me. Thankfully Melissa and Tony were right around the corner and were able tot give him some. It was raining pretty hard here at this stop but luckily Brooke and I found a bench under an awning. We saw Daddy then went to our next stop.

mile 4 and 1/2

Our next stop was at mile 8 and 1/2. This is where we met Grandma and Papa. Brooke had to go to the bathroom here, we were in a residential area so no bathrooms were around. Brooke had to pee in the grass for the fist time. It took some convincing but eventually she did it! I hope we don’t have to do that again. Brandon needed some jell shots, said hi and then kept going! He was doing great!

mile 8 and 1/2

Our next stop was at mile 14. We were able to park really close to the race path so Papa backed the suburban up and we got to sit in the back out of the rain and wait and watch for Daddy. Brandon wanted new/dry gloves which he needed help putting on since his hands were cold and wet. He also got another ibuprofen and was doing great! It is always so fun to see him during races. I love just waiting and then finally seeing him. I think I get more excited than he does. Brooke absolutely loves seeing her Daddy during races.

waiting for daddy at mile 14

The next stop was mile 17 and 1/2. Here Janie met up with us to cheer Brandon on. We held up our GO DADDY sign and cheered Brandon on with a cow bell as well! Brandon said he was feeling good and asked for some potato chips. We didn’t have any so Grandma and Papa said they would get some for him at our next stop.

Janie came to cheer on Brandon

mile 17 and 1/2

Cheering at mile 17 and 1/2

Daddy at mile 17 and 1/2

Our next stop was mile 20 and 1/2. Brandon got his potato chips and was doing great. I was thinking he might be hitting a wall by this point and was getting a little worried for him but he was in great spirits and said he felt good and was doing good. I was so proud of him and knew he only had 6 more miles to finish his first marathon. I asked him if he wanted to see us another stop before the finish line but he said he was ok.

Brooke seeing Daddy at mile 20 and 1/2

Janie, Brooke and I made our way to the finish line. We actually got close parking spots and got a good spot to see Brandon finish. I couldn’t help but think about what Brandon was thinking. I knew I was so proud of him for doing this and completing his first marathon especially in the cold and rain and knew he could only be just as proud if not more proud of himself. At last we saw Brandon make the final turn and was on the home stretch to the finish line. We cheered loudly for him but he didn’t turn and ended up not seeing us.

After the race!

I hurried around to the other side in hopes to catch him but missed him. We just met him at the end of the finish line building and there was able to congratulate him. Of course I hugged and kissed him and so did Brooke. Brooke kept telling him, “I am so proud of you.” Brooke amazes me on how well she does during these races. She is such a trooper and does great waiting for and cheering on Brandon. Brandon did amazing and all of us are so very proud of him!

Daddy and Brooke after the race

Our Marathoner!

A Letter from Mommy:
Brooke,
You are my sweet little pumpkin, snuggle bug and munchkin. Words cannot express how much I love you and care for you. Having you as my daughter has changed me forever. I love watching you grow up and you have become this sweet little 3 year old. You absolutely love to talk, sing, play and explore. I love to make a mess with you and play with you as much as possible. Sometimes though, I just love to sit back and watch you play on your own. You are so smart and have such a great imagination. You are great at knowing how to get your way. If you don’t want to take a nap or go to bed you try everything possible to stay up with Mommy and Daddy. My favorite time of you doing this is when you called for me, told me “I can’t see you” and then said “lets talk.” You melt my heart by the kind words you say to me, your hugs and kisses you give to me each day. I love to hear you laugh, it just put a huge smile on my face. You don’t really get rocked to sleep anymore but I sure do love to hold you and rock you when I get the chance or when you let me. Sometimes you are quite bossy, even though it gets you in trouble at times I love that you show independence and leadership! You follow me around and want to do everything I am doing, which shows me and teaches me so much. I think it is wonderful that you want to be like me and I hope and pray that I continue to be a wonderful role model for you and that you continue to look up to me and follow my actions and footsteps. I only want the best for you and pray for you each and every day. You are so incredibly special to me and even though time has gone by fast and you are 3 today, I know and count each and every day with you a blessing and one I will cherish forever! Brooke, baby girl, you mean the world to mean and I love you so much. I hope you have a wonderful 3rd birthday!

Love Always,
Mommy

This year at the farm, Brooke got to ride on the horse swings and the train. She loved this so much!I think she would have done these 2 things all day. Our Christmas tree is bought and I can’t wait to put it up and decorate it!

showing me the leaf she found

This years theme was Dream Works, Shrek the Halls. Brooke has never seen these movies so I wasn’t too sure how she would like it. Although she didn’t know the characters, she liked to touch the ice. Her favorite part though was going down the slide!

I love the Christmas season and going to this hotel puts you more in a Christmas mood because of all their beautiful decorations. We had a great time with our family and enjoy spending time with them no matter what we are doing!

G.G. and Brandon

The kids and adults were excited about the ponies. I think the adults wanted to ride too, I guess we should of rented a couple of horses for the parents! Brooke rode almost the entire time and rode every horse. She only got off because she was hungry. She got off and said “I need popcorn.” After some popcorn and a drink she was right back on! She loved it!

Cami and Brooke

Brooke and Faith

Telling people she is going to be 3

Chatting with some of her favorite people!

Nana and Mickey

Tammy, Brooke and Emily!

After the ponies left, we had cupcakes and opened presents. We have the best friends and family and they truly made this party special for Brooke. She loves all of her gifts and we couldn’t be more thankful for such great and awesome people in our lives!

Opening presents!

Our sweet birthday girl!

The cookies turned out so cute. The horses are my very favorite. The black flood icing we made, didn’t turn out quite perfect when it dried,but even still, the cookies are adorable and Brooke LOVES them!

The Process!

Outline

Flood

When we got there they were still taking the cars out of “Mack.” SO, we got to see them drive. These life sized cars were remote control. They were awesome. Brooke loved every minute of and was so excited to touch them.

Brooke and Haley

We had the artist draw Brooke. Brooke did great at being a model!

Brooke had the option to have either Woody from Toy Story or Peter Pan as our waiter. She surprisingly choose Peter Pan. We sat in the Christmas area which Brooke liked but I will say, I was a little disappointed. I just remember it being nicer. Oh well, Brooke enjoyed it. Peter Pan was a little over the top and kinda scary so Brooke really didn’t talk to him much.

Haley and Brooke!

Our Christmas table

checking out the bus

and the pumpkin

We had a great time hanging out with Haley and Chad and are truly blessed with great friends!

Ready for the Oven!

Ready to be enjoyed! Happy Fall!

I ended up winning second place, out of 28 pies! I was super shocked and very excited!!!

preparing for the race

Brandon and some friends at the race

She has been a real Daddy’s girl lately. She wants to be with him consistently and do what he is doing. When we kissed Daddy bye for him to run, she cried for him. She just loves her Daddy. Once we got to our first spot to see Daddy she couldn’t wait to see him. She started cheering for other racers but she stopped becasue she said they weren’t telling her thank you. We got to see Daddy and then went to our next mile marker. Each time we saw him, Brooke wanted to run with him and just wanted her daddy.

We got to see daddy at 3 different spots before making our way to the finish line. Brooke liked to give Daddy pretzels we had for him. She was so cute and does great at waiting for him. The parking wasn’t great at this race so on the way to the finish line I just prayed for a good place to park. God provided and we got a close space. God reminded me that even the small things He takes care of and no pray is a silly or unworthy prayer. It’s amazing how and when God teaches you things!

Brandon did great and we are so proud of him. He finished in his best time yet and we were so excited to him at the finish line. We love you Daddy and are so proud of you!!!

Finishing strong!

wearing daddy's medal

Brooke fell back asleep on the way down, which was great! We stopped in West first, got our breakfast and then made our way to the parade route. We watched the parade again from downtown, which I still have mixed feelings about, but it is less crowded than campus and you have plenty of room for chairs and room to catch candy!

For the parade, it was still pretty cold, so Brooke stayed on Daddy’s lap the entire time under the blanket. I can’t blame her, I would have been under there too, if I could of fit! Brooke loved the parade! She loved seeing the band, the floats, and getting candy!

watching for the parade to come down the street

The winning float

After the parade we shopped some and then went and ate lunch at Viteks. It is now a rule if we are in Waco we have to eat here! This is place is amazing! Once we were full, we went to campus to visit the bears, shop and walk around campus some. We had a blast and I am sure glad getting up so early this morning was worth it. I love Baylor, SIC EM BEARS!

Where I spent many hours learning about Speech Pathology

Visiting the bears

Swinging on the campus swings

The drinks!

Spider Web Bean Dip

Mummy Pizza's

Mummy dogs

Spider Eggs

We decorated our house awesome this year with a smoke machine, lights, ghosts, spider webs and a jack-o-lantern. I was super excited to see the response we would get. Brandon wore his mask again this year and stood by the smoke to scare kids as they came up. We defiantly had a great response and the kids and parents seemed to really like our house!

Here is the video!

Brandon in his scary mask. He made a few kids cry. Some kids would not even come up to our house!

We had such a great time with our family and friends. There were a ton of trick or treaters so that great candy deal I got was defiantly worth it! I can’t till next year. Brooke loved trick or treating but was kinda confused when they only gave her one piece of candy. At daddy’s work they gave her several pieces so she excepted the same thing from the neighbors. She went up about half way to one house and asked the lady “do you have candy?” the lady replied “No, I have pretzels” Brooke then said “I don’t want pretzels, I want candy.” I then had to explain that what she said was rude, even though it was funny and had Brooke apologize to her. This girl knows what she wants and makes me laugh everyday!

Nana and Brooke

Papa, Brooke and Grandma

Brooke and Zach checking out the dry ice

they loved the scary eye glasses

Mommy and Brooke

Of course, when we first got there we had to stop at Haley’s office first! Brooke and Haley adore each other and so her office is always the first stop. After Haley filled Brooke’s pumpkin about 1/4 of the ay up we made our way around the rest of the office. Everyone loved hearing my little southern girls accent saying she was Little Bo Peep.

Haley and Brooke!

Our last stop was Daddy’s area. One of Daddy’s co workers was dressed as a gorilla. Brooke wasn’t too sure about him and would not get near him. She later let me take a picture with her and Daddy and Matthew the Gorilla. She made sure everyone knew that the gorilla was scary.

Getting candy from Daddy's area!

After Daddy’s area we went back to say bye to Haley. Brooke told Haley that her pumpkin was almost full and she needed more candy. Haley then made sure Brooke’s pumpkin was filled to the top! We visited with a few other people and then headed home. Brooke loved every minute of being at Daddy’s office and so did I! We love Daddy’s work and all the people who work there!

Our pumpkin before the carving

She really liked to watch Daddy carve the pumpkin and take out the pieces that fell inside the pumpkin. Once the pumpkin was done, Brooke was very excited and loved to just look at it. I think our pump
kin this year turned out awesome!

So excited to see the Jack-o-latern

Our pumpkin!

Brooke and Brandon did the kids project together. Brandon was brave and let Brooke hammer these tiny nails. She didn’t get his fingers, so she did a great job. They both had fun doing this project and of course I loved watching them do it together!