Not Quite but Almost There

Brooke has finally started taking her first steps. We forgot to mention it in the last post and I was kind of hoping that by now she would have gotten walking thing down. Not the case here. Brooke is perfectly content crawling to wherever or whatever. I think the most steps she's taken is about 5 and I may even be guessing high. I suppose it's okay that she's not walking yet but she's just so close.

There's not much to report anywhere else. Last week was a pretty quiet and chill week. We excited, however, for September but you will just have to keep checking to see what we will have been up to.

Playmate

Brooke and Lexie have come to tolerate each other much better over the last couple of months. Lexie is generally patient with Brooke, and too her credit, Brooke is generally quite nice to Lexie, showering her with kisses and small pats. Here, Lexie and Brooke both enjoy checking the toy that Tracie got at a garage sale. Yesterday morning, Lexie was hiding between the blinds and the window. Brooke thought that it was quite humorous, and decided to get a closer look by climbing on the file box. Once there she discovered all the cool stuff on the desk. Of course she also tipped over the nearly full shredder, but at least she was nice enough to help me pick up the mess.

This week we also got a crazy hailstorm on Monday night. It was pretty fascinating to watch, but the next morning the aftermath wasn't quite as fun.
Our garden got hit hard, ripping leaves off the peach tree, knocking down tomatoes, putting hail holes in the zucchini and leaving the garden in a general level of sagginess and disarray. Hopefully we can still get some growth out of everything before the season ends.

Also, our firepit cover was apparently not hail proof, because it got ripped to shreds. Luckily, no structural damage to the house or cars, and it came late enough at night, that no one got caught out in it. Just another chapter in a wacky weather summer here in Colorado.

Baby Einstein

Yesterday I dressed Brooke up for church and decided to give her some piggies. I didn't realize how much of a little girl it would make her look but she's still my baby. After having her hair up all day this is what it looked like when I took it out. A small but visible resemblance to Albert, eh?

Last week went by quickly and before I knew it we were already to the weekend. Thursday was our 5th anniversary so our neighbor, Patty watched Brooke while Troy and I had dinner at a local restaurant called Augustine Grill. We also gave each other new Wii games. I got Troy the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10 since I've been hearing good things about it. Troy got the Big Brain Academy for me. Troy also spoiled me earlier in the week by making a fantabulous dinner. The beans even came from our garden.

Sunday night my cousin, Jonathan, came up to visit. He's here for the next few years attending pharmacy school in Denver so I'm sure we'll be seeing him often. Brooke sure loves having people come to visit and shower attention on her. Speaking of visiting, my good friend, Megan, is coming to live with us for a couple of months. I definitely know Brooke will be loving that.

In other news here is one of the things Brooke has been up to. I give her 2 weeks until she's off and running. (Mom- can you tell what she's doing in this picture?)

Shout Out

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to Troy and thank him for a fabulous 5 years. Has it been 5 years already? The time has gone quick but I've had a blast along the way. Thanks for being the best...the be-est.

Ware Reunion 2009

This week we went to Heber City, UT for a nice Ware Family Reunion. It was a fun few days. Here are the highlights.
Our picnic on the way in lovely Rawlins, WY.
Aunt Heather, Aunt Kenz, and the constantly happy Cousin Scarlett.
The downstairs playroom that included foosball, ping pong, pool, and the kids favorite treadmill. No pictures, but I really enjoyed Samara 'working out' on the treadmill in just a diaper.
Brooke sometimes had a hard time being the smallest of the active cousins. She got stepped on, run over, etc. Luckily there were lots of adults to keep her company, especially her Aunt Kenz.
Brooke took her first stab at coloring. She managed to make a few marks on the bag, and did not eat a single crayon!
Heading out for the family hike. It was a very strenuous quarter of a mile!
Brooke really enjoyed the sunflowers along the way.
The best from a few rousing games of dunk ball.
Brooke loved the balls.
Bubbles!!

The fishing game was a hit.

Behind the scenes. The fishing poles came in handy the rest of the week, especially for Channing. He managed to get 2 or 3 stuck in the most random places!

To the victor go the spoils. A princess wand and animal crackers. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

The kids getting ready for finding Nemo.Tracie getting ready for the alpine slide

Wild, Wild Weather

Some of you know that Denver has been having some wacky weather this summer. This past week a cold front moved in from the northwest. For 3 days straight we were in the 60s while on the other side of the Rocky Mountains Grand Junction was hitting the high 90s. I believe on Wednesday (or Thursday) Denver set a record for having the lowest high for the day at a whopping 63. I don't even think the tempurature fluctuated more than 10 degrees that day. But no worries the summer heat is back again this week with highs in the 90s. Great. I've actually really enjoyed the cooler, wet weather and not having to go out and water the garden every day.

Speaking of the garden we've got produce!!!! We've picked our snow peas several times and just picked our first zucchinis. Our green beans and tomatoes are coming in nicely and we got another green bell pepper growing. Our other bell pepper got picked and destroyed accidentally by our neighbor's little boy.

Because it has been so nice in the early afternoons, Brooke and I headed to the park one day. She was a little unsure of the swings this time but loved the little play areas where she could make some noise.

I wish I could say it was a windy day but it wasn't. Brooke just woke up with her hair like that and it stayed like that the whole day.

Lastly, a funny story about Brooke. Troy, Brooke, and I went for a walk the other night to the mail box. It was still sunny outside so I stuck a hat on her. When we got up to the mailbox I noticed that her hat was gone. (Side note - this is not her first time "accidentally" dropping her hat). Normally I can look back at the steps I've taken and see her hat but this time it was not in view. At least this wasn't done on one of my long walks that I like to take in the mornings. When we got close the house again we spotted the hat including Brooke. The first thing Brooke said was "uh oh." Aren't you supposed to say it right after the fact and not wait until we've made it to and from the mailbox? Silly kid.

All Growed Up (Beware, Lots of Syrup. Maybe even some powdered sugar)

A year ago today Brooke had her first doctor's visit. At that time her stats were:

Head: 13 1/4 in. (sorry, no percentiles were given)

Height: 19 in.

Weight: 6 lbs. 8 oz.

Now a year later here she is just as cute but slightly bigger.

Head: 18 1/2 in. (90-95%)

Height: 30 1/2 in. (75-90%)

Weight: 19 lbs. (10-25%)

For some reason I was not surprised to see that Brooke was at the top of the chart for head circumference. She did great while getting her 3 shots and the doc even seemed more impressed that Brooke is as social as she is. He said that kids her age normally don't interact as much as she did with him. Way to go, Brooke!!!!

Now a "quick" review at what Brooke has accomplished in the past year:

Crying really loud

Learning to enjoy bathtime

Smiling

Learning to play well with cousins Hanging out with Lexie
Putting up with mom and dad's craziness Mastering tummy time... but not always liking it

Learn to laugh (one of the best sounds in my opinion)

Rolling over

Being a great sleeper since 3 months.Taking after dad's goofinessLoving other peopleSitting upCrawlingFeeding herself.

Anywho, after a trip down memory lane I'm sure you all get the idea that Troy and I have had a fantastic, fun-filled year of Brooke. We love her to pieces and are so blessed to have her in the family.