A Head Above the Rest

Well, July 24th came and went without a hitch. We started the weekend off by welcoming Troy's family with dinner and mini golf Friday night. I would like to say that I won because of my awesome hole-in-one but Dad Ware beat us by 2 strokes. To even think that I was in the competition was good enough for me though. Afterwards, we headed to Cold Stone for Brooke's free b-day ice cream. By the time we got home, it was a late night for our soon-to-be birthday girl. Saturday morning, she decided to sleep in so she could have enough energy to make it through the rest of the day. We went and saw Toy Story 3. Brooke was all prepped and ready to go having seen Toy Story 1 & 2 several times. She would say Buzz every time he popped up on the screen and say uh oh if the screen went dark. It was her first time to the movies and she did really well. Afterwards, we stuffed ourselves at Sweet Tomatoes then put Brooke down for a well deserved nap. The evening was pretty chill and relaxing. We had a great dinner, sang Happy birthday to Brooke, and opened her presents. She was one spoiled gal but she loved all the gifts she got. I finally broke down and bought her a doll. Surprisingly, Brooke was ready to go and feed the baby, push her in her stroller, and was also pretty adamant that the doll suck her fingers like she does. Silly girl.

Tuesday was Brooke's 2 year appointment. Her stats are:

Head: 19 1/2" (90-95%)

Height: 34 1/2" (50-75%)

Weight: 24.8 lbs. (10-25%)

Some of the things that she's been up to and learning are:

How to ride her new tricycle

-Is mostly potty trained. We've had a few accidents here and there but I think she's quickly catching on.

-Loves having Squishy around and wants to cuddle with her maybe a little too much
-Loves to sing. Her favorites are ABCs, Wheels on the Bus, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

-Likes to make a mess anywhere she is.

-Loves to read

-Since coming back from CA, she loves climbing on everything and anything

-Sleeps in a big girl bed

-Finally is fearless of the park and the slide.

She is a great gal and we love the fun and laughter she brings to our family. Thanks a great 2 years Brooke!!!!!!!

Camping

We've been saying every summer for the last 5 years that we should go camping, and we actually got around to going this past weekend. Though a late departure by me from work nearly ruined it before we started.

We went with our friends the Cowans. It was a lot of fun, and hopefully we've established a yearly tradition. Here are some of the highlights.


Brooke and Lizzie had lots of fun, and they were well rested and relatively clean at the beginning of the trip.

We made peach cobbler and homemade ice cream (thanks Jer and Kenz!). Lizzie was the only kid to make it up long enough to partake.

What happens when your two year old wakes up at 4:20 am because it is starting to get light outside? She looks like this at 7:15. Luckily she took an hour long nap later in the morning.

This is why we love Colorado. Bright blue skies, beautiful mountains, and Pikes Peak pink granite whose high erosive quotient leaves rounded rocks like these all around Devil's Head.

We hiked up to the top of Devil's Head on Saturday morning, and Brooke started off with a bang. She busted out the first third of a mile or so all by herself. All told she walked a good half to three quarters of a mile. Guess that morning nap really worked.

The fire lookout tower at the top provides some stunning views...

... and randomly lots of ladybugs. Not sure why.

The kids were worn out from the hike up, so the hike down was quick and quiet!

It was a fun weekend, and Squishy was glad that we were back (I think).

Changes

In less than 2 weeks, are little girl won't be so little any more. I can't believe how quick these past 2 years have gone. In celebration of her upcoming birthday, we decided to put her in a big girl bed. We set it up Saturday and so far, she's done very well. I was also planning on potty training her this week but decided that since we're going camping this weekend, this week was probably not the best to do it. So it's been pushed back to next week. Wish me good luck on this because I have absolutely no clue in what I'm doing. I'm pretty sure Brooke is ready to go though.

I've already found pen marks in her bed. A nice reminder to make sure there are no writing utensils of any kind in her room.I caved and bought bedding that had pink in it.

The other change this week is we decided to get Lexie a pal. Her name is Squishy (named by the shelter we got her from). She's 2 months old and loves being around people. We thought that Lexie would like to have a friend around when we're not home. We'll see in the next couple of weeks if our decision was a good one. Brooke loves having Squishy around and loves giving her hugs and kisses all the time. Saturday was a busy day for us. A neighbor was putting on a carnival to raise money for the school's P.E. teacher so we headed down there in the morning. Brooke had a lot of fun playing the games and winning tons of candy. I believe in the 2 hours we were there, she had 3 dum dums, a snow cone, capri sun, and a hot dog.Later in the evening we headed downtown to catch a Rockies game with the Powells. We had fabulous seats in left field and a couple of home runs were close to where we were. We were even able to stay the whole game and Brooke loved the attention she got from the people around us.

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun and relaxing 4th of July weekend. I slipped out of work early on Friday and we had a productive start to the weekend. Saturday afternoon we coned off the cul-de-sac and had a block party. Everyone barbequed on their own and then shared salads, drinks and desserts. The kids all played in the middle of the cul-de-sac and on the small bounce house our neighbors had set up in their front yard. By the end of the evening, Brooke was wandering around shoeless, with lips and dress stained with raspberry lemonade. She was so worn out that we didn't want to force her to stay up for the fireworks. She slept right through the neighborhood fireworks display!

Sunday we relaxed and enjoyed the rain in the evening.

Monday Tracie and I went to the funeral of Aaron Stones, one of my good friends from growing up in Colorado. While the reason for the gathering wasn't the greatest, it was good to catch up with friends that I hadn't seen in 12 years. It was a good service, and a reminder to all the good memories that we shared with Aaron. May God welcome you into His rest Aaron.