Birthday Shout Out

Just wanted to give a birthday shout out to Troy!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!! Thanks for all you do!!!!! We love you!!!!!

Laundry Day

Brooke decided she wanted to "help".

Also, here are some extras.

65 more days

Only 65 more days until the end of the year!!!! Can you believe how quickly this year has gone by? A year ago I was looking for a new job, trying to get pregnant, and looking forward to the holidays. This year, I got a new job...as a mom, had a baby, and am once again looking forward to the holidays. This last week was great. From the post before, we got Brooke to laugh for the first time. It was the best and I'm glad that I caught on camera because she hasn't done it since. Boo. She'll look like she'll let one out but then hold back. I think she's just teasing us. Brooke has started rolling over to her side. It's kind of fun to see her swing her legs over. I started switching out her 0-3 month clothes to 3-6. Is she really getting that big?!?!?! It was kind a sad moment for me. She's also been "sleeping through the night." She's done with the 5 am feeding and will go until 8. She'll usually start to stir around 6 ish but if I pop the pacifier in she'll go until 7:30. I can't complain. I think I really got a great baby. Hopefully I won't be paying for it during the teenage years!! :)

I went to go change after to church and came downstairs to find her like this. She wasn't a fan.

On Thursday I decided to use my gift certificate that Troy had gotten me for my birthday. Let me tell you, those 85 minutes of massage went by so quickly but it was fabulous. Afterwards we went to dinner at Cheesecake. It was our first official date with a sitter and all since the Friday before Brooke was born. It was nice to get out and spend some time alone. I even brought the camera but unfortunately I forgot to take it out until we got home. Brooke was very good for our friend Stacie. Thanks Stacie for looking after her!!! Friday, I went to my neighbor's to make cards and we made a really cool picture frame. Now I just need to take a nice picture of us and we can finally hang a picture on our wall. (Yes, our walls are still bare of pics of us. Maybe someday). Saturday was a pretty chill day. We wanted to go to the Red Bull Soapbox derby but decided that it would be too chilly for Brooke and finding a place to park and all would be too much of a hassle. Instead, we went to Costco, filled up on samples, then went grocery shopping. I even got to sneak in a game of Mario Kart and Troy got to play football.

Highlights

So, here are some updates on Brooke. She's about 12.2 lbs and is quickly growing out of her 0-3 month clothes. :( I can't believe that she'll be 3 months this Friday. I think I've said that every time she's hit a month mark but it's true. Brooke is always full of smiles and it's amazing how much better they can make my day. She's also talking a lot. On Sunday, in Relief Society, she could not stop jabbering away. Like Troy mentioned earlier, Brooke loves her fingers. I think she just likes the way things feel on her tongue because I'll catch her sucking on her clothes, zipper to her jacket, blanket, or her toys. She also likes to bat at her toys when she's in her bouncer or on the playmat. She'll also hold onto her favorite rattle, Mr. Crab. Her sleep schedule has changed within the past week. Prior to last week, she would go down for the night around 9ish and wake up around 3ish to eat. She would then sleep for another 3 hours, wake to feed, and then go down for about 2 hours. Now she'll go down around the same time but sleep until 5ish, eat, then sleep until 7:30. When I put her down for her morning nap, she'll sleep for about 30 min. then get fussy. I'll bring her downstairs and then she'll sleep for at least an hour. At least she'll sleep long enough for me to get ready in the morning. She's also able to put herself to sleep most of the time...as long as you catch her at the right time.

And last but not least here is the last highlight...hopefully you'll be able to hear it.

Fall

So, we used to take pictures of just Tracie and I, but it seems that Brooke gets more of the camera time. We did have one of my former co-workers over to dinner with her boyfriend on Friday. It was nice to see her again, and a good excuse to clean the house. As you can see, Brooke is channeling her inner Jason and sucking her two fingers on her hands.

I came home from work on Friday to Brooke like this. Apparently she has enjoys the mental stimulation of Jeopardy!

On Saturday we took advantage of what could be the last nice Saturday of the year. We went to Dim Sum at a new Chinese restaurant that we've been hearing about. It was pretty good, but the wait almost had us going back to the other place. Then we headed down to the Aspen Grove shopping center to walk around and enjoy the weather. It was a beautiful day!

This picture is a bit scary, but shows Brooke's new hobby, chin drool!

If you look hard enough, you can see the part starting to form in her hair, as well as her curly cue cow lick at the front of her head.

Home Sweet Home (Beware, it's a long post)

Brooke and I had a blast hanging out with Troy's family this past week. On Thursday (a week and a half ago) Troy went to Chicago for a seminar and I flew to Salt Lake. I'll have to admit that I was kind of scared traveling with Brooke on a plane by myself for the very first time but she was a gem. She didn't make one peep the whole flight. I never realized that traveling with a baby would require so much packing. Brooke, alone, had one full suitcase to herself. Another thing I noticed is that no one wants to sit next to a baby. I boarded the plane after group A and found a seat in row 5. There was already another gentleman sitting in the aisle seat so I sat next the window. As people passed, they would make eye contact with me and show a little excitement of "yes, I found a sweet seat" then they would notice Brooke sitting in my lap and pass on by. It was pretty humorous. We tried giving Brooke a bath in the sink. I think she was a little to big for it. Friday, Troy's mom and I went down to Lindon to hang out with the ladies on her side of the family. It was a lot of fun catching up with everyone and to see how big all the little kids have gotten. Unfortunately, I never pulled out my camera. Saturday and Sunday were pretty chill since it was conference weekend. Will and Kristin came up Sunday night for dinner. Little Sierra is a cutie and I can't believe she can already walk! We tried doing horse faces again. Here's how they turned out. Monday I met up with some friends from back home. I hadn't seen them in years and it was fun to catch up. That afternoon I started feeling a little achy and I worried that it was the onset of the flu. Well, it turns out that it wasn't the flu but a really nasty stomach bug. Starting Tuesday morning and going through Wednesday I could not keep anything in me. It was pretty horrible and I have never experienced anything like that. It sucked. Luckily I had Grandma Ware to help because I could not give a whole lot of attention to Brooke. By Wednesday I was starting to feel better so I drove down to Provo to meet up with Troy. He was doing recruiting at BYU. We hung out with Shane and Heather that night. Thursday, I had lunch with Jenna at L&T on campus. That was the first real meal that I had since Monday night that I was able to keep down. It was delicious. Friday we flew back home. It was such a great mini vacation but it's nice to be back home.

I left Brooke in the crib while I was packing and I found her like this. I thought it was pretty funny.The weather leading up to Friday had been great but a cold front moved in bringing frigid temps. I think when we got into Denver it was somewhere in the mid to high 50s. Saturday was in the low 50s and today was in the mid to low 40s. Yowza!!! We also had some crazy fog. Too bad it was Halloween because the weather would have been perfect for it.

Last but not least I thought I would add this pic of Brooke. A neighbor made this little beanie for her. I think she looks like a little elf. Troy thinks she looks like the one of the hammer brothers on Super Mario. I think she's just a cutie.

Chicago

Since I got feedback 6 months ago that no one appreciated the details, I am in Chicago for an EA2A exam seminar. It is much better than the last one, mostly due to being in downtown Chicago. I did get away to meet up with Spencer and Mardee and watch Priesthood Session tonight. Once again Tracie was "bailed out" by parents, this time mine, and is spending the week in Utah. So once again, the updates of the interesting weekend will come from her!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!

One year older and maybe wiser too. We celebrated my 26th birthday this past weekend starting with my birthday dinner at Red Robin Friday night. Brooke was fabulous the whole time. She didn't make one peep and all the waiters thought she was cute. I got a free burger and a sundae. If you haven't signed up for the birthday club there you must so you can get your free burger. Saturday, Robyn drove down and we went to go see Night at the Rodanthe. Troy took one for the team and stayed home with Brooke. We then had chicken kabobs, twice baked potatoes, and fruit salad for dinner. It was all very delicious. Afterwards we had cupcakes. I decided this year that I wanted all the candles on one cupcake. Let me tell you, that flame was pretty high but it was funny.

Brooke wasn't sure what to make of all this fun.Troy came close to singing off his eyebrows.Luckily the smoke alarm didn't go off!!!The cupcake after all the candles were taken out.Robyn got me The Five People You Meet In Heaven and a cookbook for making soups. I'm excited to dive into both of these books. Today was a pretty chill day for it being my birthday. I was all celebrated out from Friday and Saturday. After Troy came home from his meetings we opened my other b-day presents from his family and him. His family got me a cool cookbook for making creative cakes. It will definitely come in handy in the future. Troy got me the best present of all...a 85 minute Swedish Massage at some spa. I had told him a little bit ago that what I wanted for my birthday every year I had a kid was a massage. It's amazing what pregnancy has done to my back and I am looking forward to scheduling my massage. I will have to let you know how it goes. It will be my first one ever. So all in all I had a fabulous birthday. Thanks to all for the phone calls and emails.

Just thought I'd add a cute pic of Brooke. Don't you just want to eat those cheeks!!!!!

She's what?!?!?!

Can you believe that it's been 2 months already?! I can't. Time has flown by too fast and Brooke is getting so big. We had her 2 month check up this morning and here are her stats:

Weight: 10 lbs. 3 oz. (25-50%)

Height: 23 in. (50-75%)

Head: 15 1/4 in. (50%)

She originally measured 23 1/2 in. but the nurse didn't believe it so she re-measured and knocked a half inch off. Brooke also had a series off vaccinations and she did really well. Now she's sleeping peacefully.

Weekend Update

So I feel that Tracie is generally better at posting ever since Brooke was born. She's got all the funny anecdotes, etc. Maybe it is because she is around Brooke all day. So Tracie spend the afternoon with Robyn and I watched Brooke. See if you can notice an improvement in this post. First order of business is that Brooke is into sucking her hands. This leads to the inevitable slobbery face, chin, mouth and also to Tracie and I pondering whether or not she could get the whole fist in her mouth.

We went on a walk after Tracie got home. It was a little chilly outside so we put on her ear jacket. Tracie is hoping that it is cold next week in Utah so she can wear the whole outfit. This is a frequent position for Brooke when she is being burped. Somehow this helps.

So Brooke is beginning to make more noises, especially when she is happy. When she is sad, she makes this face, which despite her best efforts, make Mom and Dad laugh. Love the lower lip.

So I did not anticipate how fun it would be to dress up Brooke on Sunday. It makes it that much easier to get volunteers to hold her during the meetings!!

So on a somewhat related note (Brooke watches the games with me), I find it exciting that BYU is ranked #11 in the country. Usually I try and downplay the BCS talk for BYU, since it generally leads to disappointment. But I embrace it this year, since there will be no controversy about BYU going to a BCS bowl if BYU goes undefeated. This season has been two years in the making, and BYU won't get this kind of chance every year. Take advantage of it if you can. (We'll do our part at the Air Force game!)

The Start of a Beautiful Friendship.

This One's for You, Erin!!!

Erin wanted to see pics of our garden since she last saw it so here it is...

Here's out traveling zucchini plant. This is the other side of the fence. I think the vine would be longer but some guy was out weed whacking the other day and chopped it. No fun. :(

How many zucchini?!?!?!?

So since we harvested our first zucchini back at the beginning of August I would venture to say that we have picked at least 40 zucchini and they're still coming! Troy's mom was right when she said that we only needed to plant one seed. Originally we planted 15 seeds (as directed on the seed packet). Nine of the 15 took and Troy thinned out the mounds. Luckily, the six that he transplanted died. I don't know what I would have done if we have 9 zucchini plants. The funny thing is that one of the zucchini has actually grown to be a vine that has decided to migrate to the other side of the fence. Good thing the other side of the fence is just open space. Troy says that there's a zucchini growing on that side too. We also have a one too many rows of green beans. I'd say that we get at least 1/2 - 1 lb of green beans a week. Good thing we have plenty of neighbors to pawn them off to. We decided to harvest our potatoes this last week and what a disappointment. They were just little dodes. I'm thinking we're going to have to wait until fall of next year before we can pick them! Anywho, I think we've had a good season of vegetables. Maybe next year we'll try to venture out and plant something else besides green veggies.

Besides harvesting vegetables, I've been able to enjoy seeing how quick Brooke has been growing. She's getting better at being put down for naps and bedtime although she's extremely spoiled on Sundays because she does not like being in her carseat if it isn't moving so we end up holding her pretty all 3 hours. I've been able to also distinguish her tired cry from her other ones. I still haven't figured out her other cries but this is a start. I have also noticed that she's becoming more independent as in there are times that she does not want to be held. Earlier this afternoon Troy was holding her and she began to fuss. He thought that she was tired but I told him that she might not be. He put her on the play mat and she had a great time batting at the rattles for a good 10 minutes. I can't believe how much she has changed in these past 7 1/2 weeks. She's almost 2 months old!!!! Where has the time gone?!?!?!